A Boston-based model is in the running for world’s best little brother after he arranged for his sister, who has Down syndrome, to experience being a supermodel for the day.
Chris Garafola, 29, and his sister Brittany, 32, grew up together in the small town of Ludlow, Vermont, and have been the best of friends all of their lives.
Chris enjoys a successful career in modelling, with campaigns for the likes of PUMA and New Balance on his resume as well as having recently been named one of Harper Bazaar’s 25 Hottest Guys To Follow on Instagram.
Quite a day: Boston-based model Chris Garafola, 29, surprised his sister Brittany, 32, with a special photo shoot on her birthday when she told him she wanted to be a model too
Lots of love: Chris and Brittany have been best friends for their entire lives
But it isn’t just his striking good looks that have earned Chris a following of nearly 50,000 on the social media site: fans also can’t get enough of Brittany, who is a regular feature in his posts.
With their parents separating when they were just youngsters, Chris and Brittany grew incredibly close – with the younger sibling quickly becoming his sister’s dedicated protector and biggest champion.
‘I took this responsibility very seriously because I love my sister more than life itself,’ he tells Daily Mail Online, adding that he still talks to her on the phone every weekend and sees her on every holiday.
Life wasn’t easy for the family in those early days, with Brittany needing to undergo several open heart surgeries as a child. The financial strain meant their mother worked multiple jobs to support them. However, Chris explains, ‘our hardships only made us stronger and brought us closer together as a family.’
Up and up: Chris is a successful international model, and was recently named one of Harper Bazaar’s 25 Hottest Guys To Follow on Instagram
A little help: Aside from posts showcasing his striking good looks, fans also love to see Brittany, who is a frequent feature on Chris’ Instagram
Big hugs: Chris tells Daily Mail Online that Brittany has always wanted to do everything he does
As an adult, Chris graduated with honors from the University of Vermont School of Business and went into advertising, but hit a number of bumps in the road when he was laid off from two different agencies. That’s when he decided to try modelling.
He was signed to his first agency in 2013 and since then ‘everything sort of took off!’ He’s spent seasons in Milan and Miami and even recently starred alongside Gisele Bündchen in a Falabella commercial.
So, when Brittany expressed her wish to be a model just like him, Chris knew that it was not beyond his abilities to make her dreams come true.
‘Brittany has always wanted to do everything her little brother did,’ Chris explains. ‘Whether it was going to the movies or wearing a new pair of Chuck Taylors – she wanted the same opportunities, and deservedly so!
‘One day when I showed her a magazine I was in, Brittany said, “I want to do that. I want to model!” I’ve always tried to do everything in my power to provide Brit with every opportunity I’ve been given in this life, so I didn’t take that comment lightly. Being in the fashion industry, I realized I had a huge network that could potentially make this happen – not to mention, Brittany’s birthday was coming up!’
Making it happen! It was no surprise that Brittany one day told Chris that she also wanted to be a model, just like him
Fashionistas: After learning about her dreams, Chris decided to arrange the photo shoot, putting a call out on social media for help
A true beauty: Chris explains that Brittany looked ‘stunning’ on the day and acted like a total professional
Chris started his plans for the big birthday surprise with a call out on social media aiming to find the perfect photographer. Artists from all over the world subsequently offered their services.
‘It was such a difficult decision to make because I didn’t want somebody who was just an amazing photographer – they had to be a good person deep down because they were working with my sister with special needs,’ he says.
He ended up teaming up with HIVE.Studio and Bearwalk Films for the surprise, which involved keeping Brittany in the dark about her own birthday plans – a difficult task to say the least.
‘Birthdays are a big deal for Brittany, so she kept asking me what were we going to do. I just replied: “Eh, maybe we’ll go out to dinner or a hike or something,”‘ says Chris.
Gang’s all here: The siblings’ mother, Kerryann McQuade, also appears in some of the photos
Snuggled up: Brittany had to have multiple open-heart surgeries as a child, but Chris claims that tackling such hardships just ‘brought us closer together as a family’
Hard at work: Chris and his mother managed to keep the surprise under wraps right up until arriving on set at Stevens-Coolidge Place outside Boston
From top to bottom: Brittany was dolled up and learned the ins and outs of being a model
‘She would give me this look like, “I love you, but really?” It was torture trying to keep a secret from her because she is so adorable, the last thing you want to do is hurt her feelings.’
However, Chris and his mother Kerryann were able to keep their lips zipped right up until they arrived on the set at Stevens-Coolidge Place outside Boston.
‘We walked right onto the set and I said, “Brittany, who do you think all these people are?” She looked at me with a confused stare, and I told her that they were all there for her because she was going have a special photo shoot for her birthday,’ says Chris.
‘I asked her if she wanted to model like her brother today. Her eyes started to water as she she said “yes!” and gave me a big hug.’
Star of the show: Upon learning that she was going to spend the day modelling like her brother, Brittany cried tears of happiness
Loving arms: Chris claims that ‘I am who I am today entirely because of my sister’
Proving a point: Aside from making her day, Chris aimed to show Brittany with the photo shoot that ‘she can have any opportunity in this life that her brother has – regardless of how many chromosomes she has in her body’
Brittany spent the next number of hours getting dolled up and doted on by the photographers and their team and, according to her brother, ‘literally stole the show.’
‘I couldn’t believe how professional she was on her very first shoot!’ Chris gushes. ‘I’ve never seen her in that light before. She looked stunning.’
Chris stars alongside his sister in a number of the shots, smiling and offering up hugs while Brittany clearly has the time of her life. The siblings’ mother even joins in for a few photos.
With the shoot, Chris intended to prove to his sister ‘that she can have any opportunity in this life that her brother has – regardless of how many chromosomes she has in her body.’ He also wanted to share her story to show the world that true beauty is about living happily and spreading positivity.
‘I am who I am today entirely because of my sister. It’s because of my sister, that I don’t take life’s little blessings for granted,’ says Chris. ‘Brittany has shown me everything from feeling beautiful and confident in my own skin, to how to love unconditionally.’