Olaniyan Thurmon

Olaniyan Thurmon (Lani) age 17, born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. Olaniyan means "surrounded by honor". He is in the 11th grade and attends Rockdale County High in Conyers, Georgia. Olaniyan is 1 of 5 children (Dakari, Jalynn, Abeje, Olatunji) born to Babatunji and Lonniecia Thurmon. He was born with Albinism a condition in which a reduction or absence of the pigment melanin causes the person to have white skin, light hair, and some vision problems. This condition affects 1 in 17,000 people globally. 2 ½ years later his younger brother Olatunji was born with Albinism as well. Being born with Albinism has never stopped him from accomplishing his goals. A born athlete, he was involved with playing AAU basketball for years and even helped lead his team to a championship in 2013. In his spare time, he enjoys playing basketball, video games and has recently picked up cooking breakfast for the family. Friends and family will describe him as mature for his age and is very mild-mannered. The one thing that excites him is buying new sneakers! Hap and Leonard was his 1st acting role, he was cast as Ivan a season 2 regular. In 2018 he was hired to be apart of the Avengers Infinity War movie. His role in the movie was Teen Groot Reader. He has hopes and aspirations of continuing this journey, moving on to do many more projects. He plans to use his platform as an advocate for people with Albinism, teaching others and helping people understand what Albinism is. After watching a documentary how unfairly albino people were being treated throughout the world; Olaniyan and his brother created an organization called GloBoyzz. Their mission is to travel the world going to schools, hospitals, and orphanages to talk to other kids about acceptance, tolerance and speak about bullying. Olaniyan is determined to make a difference in this world!