Biography
Stanisław ‘Staś’ Cichy
I'm Staś. I write poems, work as an editorial model and live in Szczecin. I was born without vocal folds, which is a rather clinical way of saying I have never had a spoken voice. My hearing is fine. Talk to me normally and I will answer by writing, signing, or using my tablet with its donated voice.
Heads up: the story part mentions abuse and foster care. I don't go into detail.
The quick version
- ·I was born on 5 June 2012 in Kluczbork and now live in Szczecin
- ·No vocal folds, no voice, hearing totally fine
- ·My birth family gave me Polish, Japanese, Iranian and Iraqi roots
- ·I'm adopted, and one of thirteen children (my twin sister is one of them)
- ·I'm autistic, and I also have hypopituitarism, Non-24 and C-PTSD
- ·Languages matter to me, especially the small differences between them
- ·I launched my writing site and started modelling in 2025
- ·One day I'd like to study law
About my nameyes, the little marks matter
My full name is Stanisław, but everyone who knows me says Staś. If your keyboard can't do the ś, Stas or Stan is honestly fine. Just please don't make up nicknames for me. Nicknames were a big part of how I got bullied, so I'd rather skip them.
I used to be Dovganyuk. In July 2026, after my adoptive mum remarried, I decided to take her husband's surname, Cichy. Nobody made me. I chose it, and I like it.
My storythe short version, I promise
The house I was born into wasn't safe. By the time I was three, doctors knew I would never speak, but nobody there learned sign or gave me any way to talk. So when I stayed quiet, they called it being naughty instead of seeing that I simply couldn't. I was taken out of that home at five. My twin sister and I went to different places, because we needed different things.
Then came three foster placements. Each meant another house, another set of adults and another attempt to work out whether anybody would wait for an answer. One person learnt enough sign to ask me ordinary questions. Hungry. Tired. Safe. They were small questions, but nobody had thought to ask them before.
I entered foster care in 2017 and was adopted in 2024. Now I'm one of thirteen children at home, including the twin sister I was separated from when we were little. I go to a private school and often write in the evenings, because my body clock rarely matches the school timetable.
I'm not silent. I'm voiceless. It's a small word difference, but it matters to me.
My health, the easy versionthe stuff people usually ask about first
Bilateral vocal-fold agenesis
The two little folds in your throat that make sound? I never had them. So no talking, singing, whispering, laughing out loud or proper coughing. My ears work perfectly, though.
Autism
It's one part of me, not all of me. I like routines, I'm picky about textures, and surprises are not my favourite. Please don't make me look you in the eye. I'm listening anyway.
Hypopituitarism
It's why I'm small and light for fourteen. A hormone doctor keeps an eye on me.
Non-24
My body clock doesn't run on 24 hours, so my sleep slowly wanders around the day. Mostly it just makes planning tricky.
C-PTSD, anxiety and depression
They're part of my life, so I'm not hiding them. Each has its own page where I explain it calmly, without the drama.
What I dowriting first, camera second
Writing
I launched the site in 2025 as Mute Doodle Den; it is now A Boy In Letters. I publish poems, arguments and things that do not fit neatly anywhere else, including writing about adoption, disability, hospitals, politics and being fourteen.
Things I keep coming back to: war and unfairness, disability, adults talking over children, silence and words, foster care, and tiny details I notice before anyone else in the room.
Read my writingModelling
I started editorial and campaign modelling in 2025. There's always a signed agreement, my parents' permission and a chaperone on set. Give me directions out loud like anyone else; I hear normally and answer in writing or on my tablet.
Shoots I enjoy
- ·Editorial portraits that are about a face and a story, not just a product
- ·Seasonal campaigns and brand portraits, with the usage agreed first
- ·Lookbooks with quick changes and repeated setups (I actually like those)
- ·Documentary style shoots, rain, wet hair, pools and the sea included
- ·Projects where I get to write the text that goes with the photos
What's next
I'm thinking about law. For years, adults made big decisions about my life without ever asking me what I thought. I'd like to be the person who makes sure other children do get asked.
Things I lovewhat I do when I'm not working
- Poetry, drawing and pages covered in corrections
- Languages, especially where one word refuses to translate cleanly
- History, politics and arguments with evidence attached
- Music and the way it can say things without speech
- Viridian green, which has survived every redesign of this site
- Taking photographs of streets and ordinary details in Szczecin
- Walking or riding when my body clock happens to agree with daylight
- Friends who tell me when a draft is bad instead of calling everything brave
If we're working together
I'm not deaf, and I don't need things written down. Just talk to me like you'd talk to anyone. Give me a moment to answer in writing, on my tablet or in sign. Please don't finish my sentences, and please talk to me, not to the grown-up standing next to me.
Getting in touchmy team reads everything first
Bookings, writing commissions, press and interviews all go to my management. You're welcome to write in English, Polish, Korean or Japanese.