Vincent Wilhite was 18 when a red, scaly patch appeared on his thigh — the first sign of a condition that would steadily spread across his body.
“More than half of my body is covered in patches, including my armpits and toes,” shares Vincent, now 31, reflecting on his battle with psoriasis — an autoimmune disease that triggers chronic skin inflammation. “If it keeps progressing, one of my fingernails will probably fall off.”
He’s far from alone. The National Psoriasis Foundation estimates that more than 7.5 million adults in the U.S. live with psoriasis — and another 600,000 may be undiagnosed, unknowingly carrying the condition.
On his worst days, when he’s without lotion, Vincent rates the burning pain at an 8 out of 10. Outside, his skin screams. Inside, his mind is even louder.
“You have to have mental fortitude,” Vincent says. “I can’t even go to the pool without getting stared at or people pointing out what’s wrong with my skin.”
The Weight of What Can’t be Seen
Behind the curtain of Vincent’s day-to-day life is a quiet battle only he can fight. At his personal baggage claim, the carousel never stops — and new weight is always arriving.
“My best friend committed suicide two years ago, and I lost two family members just six months ago,” Vincent shares. “I’m not sure ‘happiness’ is even in my vocabulary right now. But I can still appreciate other people’s happiness — and the things around me, in nature and life, that give off light.”
Even in his heaviest moments, he keeps moving — if only for himself.
His business, Ding Doctor Auto Spa in Port Orange, Florida, offers paintless dent repair, window tinting, and detailing services. But more than that, it’s structure—a place to pour his energy, a space to stay grounded.
“Mental fortitude is the only thing that comes to mind,” he says.
It surfaced as a reminder while he was tinting a Ford F-150 this Spring.
“I was being way too picky about the install and re-tinted it an insane number of times for no good reason,” he remembers. “The patches on my thighs and legs were on fire from sliding in and out of the truck. Certain repetitive actions during projects force me to take a break. That was a tough day.”
The Weight of a Vicious Cycle
Stress — a constant companion in business ownership — is also a well-known trigger for psoriasis flare-ups.
“The more I stress, the more it screams at me,” Vincent says. “You see your skin flare up, which makes you more stressed. It’s a vicious cycle.”
Seven years ago, he decided to fight back with serenity.
“I started using meditation and breathing techniques,” he shares. “By year two or three, I noticed real changes. I wasn’t nearly as stressed, and I wasn’t as anxious as I used to be.”
Today, those tools are instinctive.
“When I feel stressed, I breathe in through my nose and out through my mouth,” Vincent explains. “I focus on my shoulders, my face — where I’m holding tension. And I mellow out from there.”
The Relief of Resilience
Vincent’s skin started to crack in 2012, but his spirit never did. This year, he celebrates a decade of business ownership and 13 years of perseverance in the face of psoriasis.
“I’m surprised at how much of a community I have in this industry,” he says. “It doesn’t matter who you are, what your background is, or what you’re going through — you can prove yourself here.”
Some days, Vincent glides through voids vacant of joy. On others, he strives to be a light for those frozen in their own pain.
“There are psoriasis groups just as big as the tint groups,” he shares. “It’s nice to help and lean on others with the same thing. This is something we can’t cure. We can only manage it with mental fortitude … and that becomes a habit over time.”
(Photo Courtesy of Jesse Varnum / jessvern_)
