Jillian Mercado is a fashion reporter. She also has muscular dystrophy and uses a wheelchair. While working at a fashion magazine, she met Nicola Formichetti, the artistic director for the Diesel fashion house. A few months later, she saw a casting call from Diesel–they were looking for young, hip models that represented a variety of cultural backgrounds. For a bit of fun, she applied.

Soon after, she got an email that said, "Hey can you send us more pictures? We are kind of interested in having you in the campaign.” Along with 22 others, Mercado was chosen to be the face of Diesel in their next campaign.

When photographers took photos of Mercado she didn't conceal her wheelchair, but she was worried about how people would respond when the photos were released on Instagram. To her delight, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.