By Marissa V. Foster

PARMANAND “Jay” Ramcharran is one of the top models from the ancient county of Berbice. He has walked on many runways both nationally and internationally. He has built his name into a local brand of breaking stereotypes of male models in Guyana but his story was not an easy walk through the park. Growing up, he had very low self-esteem. He was even bullied in High School because of his small-framed structure. He attended the J.C Chandisingh Secondary School and had few friends while he was there. His family is the world to him but his parents separated when he was in Grade Nine. Jay even attempted suicide and continued to struggle with a negative self-image throughout high school—until of course he was introduced to modelling.

In October 2014, he auditioned for Fashion Forward Fridays— an event which saw fashion shows being held every Friday. Although he booked his first gig, he was very much intimidated by the other male models he had to work alongside. However, that did not stop him—it served as motivation for him to get his hand on any available audition. Jay stressed that was quite a difficult path but all his hard work paid off and he eventually earned a paying career as a model. His career was launched to even a higher level when he auditioned for Guyana Fashion Week. Fashion Week has moulded him into the confident and accomplished individual that he is today by the help of his trainer Meleesa Payne—who’s no stranger to the modelling and pageant scenes in the Caribbean and Richard Young, an international creative director.

In 2017, Jay’s career went to the international arena when he started to book for small private shows in New York. He also did photoshoots alongside photographers like Marvin Jackson (photographer from New York Fashion Week) and Omar Zamrudeen, an international photographer. Just last year, he was crowned Prince of the Coney Island Mermaid Pageant, something he holds as his biggest achievement to date. Jay has also worked with other well-established photographers such as Nei Valente, Dennis Madigan and Charles Chessler.

He explains that his biggest challenge to overcome was the way he felt about his body. Fortunately, he realised that his body is unique, just like other person’s body and he wouldn’t change a thing about it. While he is an accomplished model, Jay is still quite very shy. He overcame most of his anxieties and is more focused on who he is and less on what others think of him. In the process of self-actualisation, he started at the Upper Corentyne Training Centre as of last year. His grades are in the 90s and he was awarded first place at the end of every term in his class. He stressed that he is more focused on education and took a break from the modelling scene. Unlike in high school, he thrived at his new school and expressed that education is just as important to him, the way modelling is as well.

In March of this year, his sister was brutally attacked and murdered shortly after his birthday. That incident sent him into a very dark place, it was like wanting to wake up from a very bad dream. He said that his sister was his best friend and that it is an indescribable feeling for him to explain having to lose your best friend in the blink of an eye. He started to care less about his modelling career and did not even think he wanted to set foot on any runway again. Until, one day, someone told him how proud his sister was of him. A few weeks later, a good friend of his; Denica Henry (Miss Exquisitely Conscious 2019) offered him a part in the Leisure Inn Anniversary Fashion-show.
He described the feeling as being the “best thing ever” as it was the first time he modelled in Berbice.
His advice to all boys out there who might want to dive into modelling is, “Take that step, it’s going to be hard but trust me, it pays off. Whatever your dreams are, make it a reality. It feels really good to wake up every day having no regrets—so just do what makes you happy.”

Jay is currently training at the Port Mourant Hospital’s office and is an advisor for Prevention of Teenaged Suicide (POTS) spearheaded by Lisa Punch. He is currently working on launching his very own line of bowties. He is very big on volunteering and charity work but wants to keep that part of his life away from the spotlight. Jay never saw any of the hardships he faced as a challenge, instead, they were tests of life, he said. He believes that even if you fail, you can somehow rewrite that test until you get it right. It worked for him and hopes it can for others too.