Richard Norris, The Man Who Had Entire Face Transplant, Becomes A GQ Model

Richard Norris first hit our radar in 2012, when he underwent one of the most complicated facial transplant surgeries in history, to correct a gruesome shotgun accident.

Since then, he's appeared in a book, The Two Faces of Richard, chronicling the struggles of living with another person's appearance.

And now he's back in front of us once again, this time gracing the cover of suave men's glossy magazine GQ.

Which we think is pretty awesome.

Richard Norris' story began a long time ago, in 1997, when he was only 22-years-old.

Though his memory is hazy, it is thought that he was trying to move the 12 gauge pump-action shotgun from against a cabinet, when it suddenly fired, blasting off his cheebones, nose, tongue, lips, teeth, jaw and chin.

For 15 years, Richard considered what was left of his face to be too offensive to appear in public.

He spent much of this time living like a hermit in rural Virginia, too afraid to walk among the rest of us.

Richard said in the book which charts his transformation: "The high ballistic shot had removed everything from just at the center of my eyes to the bottom of my chin. For the longest time I didn't even want to see what my face looked like. I didn't want to feel it nor even have people see me look that way."

Coos Hamburger, the photographer who put together the book said: "I remember standing with Richard in the lobby of a hotel, and there was a couple with a young child checking out. The girl peered around the corner just as Rich was in the process of changing his mask, and she was just petrified."

"I could see how much that hurt him. It was really the first time I got a sense of why he'd gotten to the point of considering a transplant with all its risks, including death. Living the way he did, in many ways, was untenable."

Thanks to a 36-hour surgery, by daring doctor Eduardo Rodriguez, which replaced his damaged tissue and bones with some from a donor, Richard's life changed forever.

However, as much as the surgery was a success, and Richard was given a face which no longer terrified small children, living with someone else's features was not the easiest of transitions.

So much of Richard's new face - his teeth, jaws, skin and tongue - had once belonged to a young man called Joshua Aversano, who became brain dead after being struck by a van.

His face became the new standard for miracle surgeries and he was sought out, by medical specialists, media hounds and curious members of the public, who all wanted to see the results of this complicated procedure.

He also has to be extremely careful, as even a small cut or some alcohol could cause his body to reject his new face.

He has to take pills to lower his immune system, to prevent it from attacking the new tissue.

This will be the case for the rest of his life.

According to Jeanne Marie Laskas, writing for GQ, who visited Richard and his mother at home - Richard has difficulty speaking, and he doesn't have the full range of expressions and micro-expressions that the rest of us are lucky to possess.

All-in-all though, Richard Norris' story is heartwarming and inspiring.

He is committed to giving hope to others in need of transplant surgery and he is acutely aware of the sacrifice that others have made for his new face. He has dedicated his life to Joshua's memory and is determined to live out his days helping others who have gone through trauma.

Of his own impact on the world, RIchard said: "A drop of hope can create an ocean, but a bucket of faith can create an entire world."

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Tell us your thoughts. Could you imagine living with another person's face? What would you do in Richard's situation?

The full story will be out in August's issue of GQ.