Carlo Napolitano is the newest committee member to join the AAAF team. The former Head Coach of the Italian National Rugby team has had Alopecia Areata almost all of his life and attributes many of his personal successes to his experiences growing up with AA.

“Although it was tough growing up, I never used my Alopecia as an excuse to not achieve. I failed many times but I used the failures as a lesson on how not to do things. With or without hair we are all capable of success. Negative energy creates nothing, positive energy creates champions. Be a champion!!”

My alopecia was triggered when I was around 4/5 years of age. I don’t really remember too much from the time. I do remember that my parents constantly fussed around me and I was whisked off to various doctors and countries to try and find more answers and a cure. I’ve always been a pretty laid-back character and not much really bothers me. I do remember that during this time my Grandfather passed away and I have always attributed my alopecia trigger to this moment. Either by the loss of my Grandfather or the pain the family was going through at the time. Alopecia took hold quite quickly and within weeks I was completely bald.

Lack of confidence is now a thing of the past for Carlo.

It was quite tough growing up. I was born in Salford, Uk (next to Manchester), and Salford is a working-class city with a high crime rate. So on the streets, you had to think quick and be ready to defend yourself at all times. I wore a hat till I was 21 so I constantly got bullied by older kids who would take my hat off and throw it away. Or the chants of “Baldy, you’re not going to live long” would be frequent. I discovered that humour was the best way to overcome these types of people and always tried to light up a room by using my alopecia.

It was difficult going through the teenage years especially dealing with puberty, relationships and always wearing a hat! The best part was the supportive friends and family network. They gave me the confidence to do things I wanted to do and help me deal with the ups and downs of alopecia.

There are a few challenges (as people with alopecia already know). The first one is the acceptance and understanding of alopecia. It affects us all differently, both physically and mentally. So the more we know about alopecia and the more we can learn to accept it. When my alopecia started to appear, there was no real knowledge of it, so it was hard to understand why this was happening to me. My parents were more worried than I was; it didn’t really bother me that much but I could see the pain in my parent’s faces and that hurt the most.

The second challenge was to get rid of the cap. I wore a hat every day to hide my alopecia. This ended when I was 21 and in Ibiza, Spain. I was coming through the ranks playing professional Rugby League when we had an end-of-season trip away. One of the lads was my idol growing up and he took me to one side and said that I couldn’t wear the hat forever and that tonight in a place where nobody knows you, to take the hat off. I did and never wore the hat ever again!! This was the most liberating day of my life as it was a weight off my shoulders.

Carlo with his daughter Ava

Alopecia has taught me to accept everyone for who they are and to never let anyone say you can’t do it. I love having alopecia and telling people about my journey of dealing with my life with alopecia. I now know that if people treat me differently because of alopecia, then they’re not worth knowing anyway. I don’t think I would have done the things I’ve done if it wasn’t for alopecia. It has taught me to be resilient, respectful and driven to achieve success. It has also taught me not to judge anyone, on the way they look, until I speak to them and make my own judgement. Alopecia has had a positive impact on my life and work on this craft every day. I don’t see alopecia as a negative, as I’m in control of what I do or say and I make sure I’m not seen as a victim of a condition that I have no control of. I have alopecia and I’m proud of who I am.

I think most of my memories of having alopecia are really good. I had alopecia so young that I never was really used to having hair. I think in all the successful things I have done and when I have completed some media interviews I am promoting that having alopecia is ok, you can still achieve your dreams with or without hair. These days I love to promote and educate people on alopecia – especially young children on the importance of having a focus and a good family/friends network. My door is always open and I’m always available for a chat. Really honoured to have been a part of the Alopecia UK Charity and now to be a committee member of the AAAF. Some good things in the pipeline!!! Watch this space!

-Carlo