Interview with Young European International Miss East Midlands

Katie is an incredible girl! In this interview, we spoke about her pageant journey, her inspirations Harriotte Lane and Bethany Blissett, and we also touched on Katie’s amazing platform! Katie won the Aspire to Inspire award at YEMI last year, and reading through this interview will give you an understanding as to why!

Where did your pageant journey begin? So, I was involved with my local carnival, and I have been for the last 4/5 years. I was Princess for my town and one of the Kettering carnival girls – Bethany Blissett – was a finalist at Galaxy. One day she came to an event in Corby that I was at and she came up to me and asked to take a photo with me for her appearance folder. I was like… what? I sat and spoke to her about it for a while, she told me everything that she was doing, and everything she had done to get that and I thought it sounded awesome. That night I went home and applied for Galaxy. I didn’t hear anything for a couple of months, I’d completely forgot about it and then I got a text when I was at school to say I’d been shortlisted and a week later I was given a place in the finals. I haven’t really looked back since.

What year did you apply for Galaxy? So I became a finalist in… so my first competition was in 2018 but I was a finalist in the November 2017 so it’s been just over 2 years now!

This is your second year at YEMI? Yeah this is my second year at YEMI, I competed in November and I just wanted to go back. When I aged out of teen I decided to do something different. I knew I wasn’t ready for the Miss category at Galaxy because it’s such a big category and I knew I wanted to continue competing but I didn’t know where. I did a lot of research into different systems and came across YEMI and I just thought this is the system I wanted to do, this is the system for me.

What did you get up to at the YEMI weekend last year? It was the first time that I’d had a full weekend pageant. Usually with Galaxy it’s just the one day. We went down on the a Friday night, and my little sister competed as well, and she’s also competing again in November! We went down to have more time, and then on the Saturday we had the meet up, which was the PJ Party, it was pink themed and it was amazing. There was loads of donuts, and sweets and stuff like that. We played games and did a scavenger hunt. It was really fun. We did a dance battle and stuff like that. It was so much fun and broke down the barriers and the walls of people being nervous. It was great because people that hadn’t met and people that I didn’t know became really good friends within a couple of hours. The next day we had rehearsals and the competition, by that point everyone was so together and we were all rooting for each other. I dint even know how to explain it, it was one of those things that was just really nice, when Mya won who won my category I was so happy, and in the pictures I’m in the background and I’m just smiling and I didn’t even care that she won, it wouldn’t of mattered who won because I was still the same and so happy. It’s 100% a sisterhood and they say that a lot in pageantry but YEMI is a sisterhood. Galaxy was just over a week ago and I went down on the Saturday because Bethany was competing again and she won. I had to go through a lot to get there because we didn’t have a car, and I wasn’t going to be able to go, and then our friend let us borrow his car so I surprised her in the middle of the interval. I went up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder and she was so happy. It’s stuff like that, being able to surprise her like that, it’s like that with loads of different people from different systems, and to think that 2 years ago I wouldn’t have met any of them is crazy.

What has pageantry taught you? It’s taught me to love myself. I didn’t have a lot of confidence, I wouldn’t of been able to talk like this, usually. I was very much, I mean I had confidence, but in a different way. It’s brought out that new confidence in me. I wouldn’t have ever got up on a stage like that. I mean, I can sing, put me on a stage and give me a microphone I will be fine. Put me in front of people without one and I’m like… euuuuhhhhh. But now I love it, I don’t know what I’d do without it. I feel like I’ve become a different person, but I like who I am. Whereas before I would be really critical of myself, whereas now I love myself. I am who I am. I’m going to go out there and give it my all, it doesn’t matter if I win or if I don’t. I just love the experience, and obviously one day it would be nice to have a crown, but it’s not all about that for me. In fact, it’s just about being able to go out in my community and having a good experience, and live life as much as possible.

Who is your pageant inspiration? I have a couple. Harriotte Lane is a huge inspiration and she’s a very good friend of mine. I competed with her when she won Miss Teen Galaxy England which was my first pageant and I was very shy and she always made sure I was okay, and she’s given me so much support ever since then. Her look on life is just amazing, the way she goes out of her way, she does all this making stuff and I just look at her like you’re amazing. She’s so happy to help and share her advice. A lot of people that have as much experience as she does and who have achieved the things that she has wouldn’t be as willing. I love her. I love her a lot. Bethany again, is also one of my inspirations. The fact she went back to Galaxy and was like I’m gonna, she worked so hard, she did over 100 appearances, she did, she raised over £10,000 like that’s hard work and dedication. She knew what she had to do to get that crown. If I could be like anybody, I would be like those two. They are the two people I definitely look up to.

Do you have a certain platform, or a charity that you support? I do a lot of fundraising for the Make A Wish Foundation. Currently I have a campaign going on for brain tumour awareness. They are both very close to me, because when I was 1 and a half I was diagnosed with a brain tumour. I was very ill for a very long time, and it’s been one of those things that has kept with me. I’ve lost a lot of people with the same thing, and I feel very lucky to be in the position that I am, I have limited mobility, but I am thankful for it everyday. I would rather have a dodgy arm than not be here at all. Raising awareness for that is what I want to do, it’s a very strange thing. It can be perceived as something different. So my arm stopped working, they automatically thought I’d broken my arm, or dislocated something. It took them a good 2 weeks to figure out what was wrong with me. At the time, back in 2002, there wasn’t as much technology as there is now, the scan I had didn’t show anything, but my tumour was huge, it was one of those weird things. So raising awareness for that especially this month because it’s brain tumour awareness month. I also fundraise for Make A Wish Foundation, because when I was 11 they gave me a wish to go and meet my Aunty Jan in America, I’d never met her before, she’s my mums Aunty, and she’s lived in America for longer than I’ve been alive! I really wanted to meet her, so they took me over there, I got to go to Disneyland and Universal. I also got to meet her, so I’ve been in their debt ever since, I always said that when I was older and I had the means to do so I was going to give back as much as I could, so that’s my goals, to give back as much if not more what they gave me. There’s so many kids that need that, especially the ones that don’t have long left. Wish kids are seriously ill, this is the one thing they want to do, it’s something that would mean a lot to me to say that I gave that child their wish. I decided to go for wearing bandanas for my campaign as a couple of years ago their official ca,Paige was Go Bandanas for Brain tumour Awareness. I was a finalist, but only just, so it didn’t really get spread as much as I wanted it to. Wearing bandanas is kinda my thing too, so what more could relate to me. Now I’ve had so many people send me pictures, even people in my town that I don’t know that well!

What has been your favourite appearance as a finalist? I think my favourite one was what I did when I was a Galaxy finalist. I’d never been very far, I hadn’t been out of England in a Britain, I’d never been to Wales or to Scotland. The first one was Galaxy, I went to Wrexham to Poppy Gordon’s event, it was amazing, I went on the train and it took me hours to get there but it was amazing and such a good night, I stayed over and then came back the next day. It was nice to be able to plan it and then be able to go. Not too long ago I went to Edinburg. Originally I went up to go and see a University, but me being me, I wanted to get an appearance! I met Lauren Whitelaw, I put a message out asking if any pageant girls in Edinburgh wanted to meet up because it would be nice to meet more people, and I got added to the Scottish Pageant Network, and Lauren messaged me and arranged to meet me. The day I was coming back I went to a bag pack for one of the really little pageant girls, I went to B&M and did a bag pack for a couple of hours. That was really good. I just love to travel. I went to New York not too long ago and I took my sash there. I don’t go anywhere without it now!

What is your favourite round to compete in? In Galaxy they have different rounds to YEMI. Surprisingly I really miss doing swimwear, which sounds really strange because at the beginning I didn’t want to do it, but I ended up really liking it. We don’t do that at YEMI, we do red, white and blue wear instead. My favourite round is evening wear, I always love my evening dresses, I can’t wait to wear the one I’ve got for YEMI this year. Last years dress is my favourite dress so far, it was a ball gown and flowery, and it was different which is why I like it. It had pockets too! Evening wear is my favourite because it’s an elegant round. You get to feel like a Princess. I always love seeing what people wear, I think that’s my favourite part of doing the pageant, is seeing everyone else’s outfits, because there are so many personalities that come out, especially in fashion wear!

Do you have any advice for somebody that might want to enter a pageant but is a little bit too scared? If I think back to when I was scared, you have to stop thinking and just do it. You will always have in your head the reasons you shouldn’t, but you only need one reason to why you should. Think about that one reason, and think about everything you can achieve, you might be scared, and you might be worried of failing. Failing is a part of it and you can’t go through life without failing, because you don’t learn. I didn’t even place in my first pageant, but I felt like I already won. You think you’ll be disappointed, but you’re not, you’re just happy for whoever does win and so thankful for the experience. That’s worth more than a crown. Crowns are just a big bonus.

Interview with Mini Miss Diamond Dorset

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Leah is one of the funniest little girls I’ve come across. From a shy little girl, to someone so sassy and confident – Leah never fails to put a smile on my face!

What is your favourite colour? Pink! It’s sparkly.

Who is your favourite Disney Princess? Belle and Ariel. They’ve got glittery dresses.

What’s your favourite song by JoJo? Boomerang and Kid in a Candy Store.

What is your favourite animal? Horses and unicorns.

What do you want to be when you’re older? A pageant queen!

What have you been doing throughout your year as Mini Miss Diamond Dorset? Raising money for charity. I did a charity pageant. And I done a tombola! The prizes were all on the living room floor. We filled the living room floor up! We couldn’t even walk anywhere.

What is your favourite thing about pageants? That every time I go to a pageant I get to play with my friends.

What has been your favourite appearance? The IJM Finals where I got to watch Macey. We also got McDonalds after!

What is your favourite round to compete in? Fashion. I get to wear my purple outfit. I can also swish my train.

What advice do you have for someone that wants to do pageants but might be a bit scared? Do it because it’s lots of fun!

Interview with Teen Diamond Dorset

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Ellie-Mae is an incredible girl, with so much potential in the pageant world. She is hard working and passionate! I had so much fun talking to her.

How did your pageant journey begin? So my sister originally started them, and I kind of went along with them to kind of see how they worked. I was immediately hooked! I wanted to be part of the action!

Was your first pageant a charity pageant? My first pageant was a glitz pageant.

What have pageants taught you? They’ve taught me that your confidence isn’t defined by other people, and you have to define it by yourself.

What have you been doing throughout your year as Miss Teen Diamond Dorset? I have been trying to raise awareness for invisible disabilities. My worst thing is when people say you don’t look like a pageant girl, but it’s so broad. No two pageant girls are the same. What even is a pageant girl that you’ve based your opinion on to then say I don’t look like that? Something similar is when people say I don’t look like I have a disability, just because you can’t see it, it doesn’t mean it isn’t there.

So tell me a little bit more about your disability and why you raise awareness for invisible disabilities? I have cerebral palsy which means that the signals from the nerves to the brain are delayed. It takes me longer to do something than the average person. It causes muscle pains, stiffness, but to look at me you can’t see it, unless I’m having a severely bad day.

Who is your pageant inspiration? I’m inspired by everyone I meet through pageants because everyone has their own individual story that inspires you in some way. If I had to pick someone, it would be Lucy Rayner who is the current Teen queen, I just like how she, like where she goes you can’t help but smile when she’s in the room. She’s amazing that her personality can light up a room.

What is your platform, or do you support a certain charity? I like to support Scope which is the official charity for cerebra palsy, as well as Premature Babies because that helps my sister to boost her campaign, I think that again, she isn’t fitting the stereotype. You wouldn’t think she was born premature, so we are both campaigning in the same way.

What has been your favourite appearance? I think.. I love all appearances for different reasons, but I think my favourite would be the one I did at my school where I did a cake sale, it was for the Diamond charities. I got to show the other side of me at school, and it was like bringing pageantry to school and raising awareness for amazing charities whilst doing my GCSEs and managing everything else. People ask3 how I manage to do it, and it’s just about finding a balance between your hobby and your education.

What is your favourite round to compete in? I think my favourite round is interview. I can tell my story and explain that I have fought for my platform and I have worked hard to build what I believe in. It also gives me a chance to talk about how important invisible disabilities are and how they are shown in society. People no longer have to say they have an invisible disability, it’s just part of society, we are here.

Have you got any advice for somebody that wants to do a pageant but is too scared? I would say don’t listen to the haters. If it’s something you really want to do you will find the motivation in yourself to persevere and push through all your fears. If you’d of told me two years ago I just wouldn’t believe that this is where I would be, in this position.

Interview with Miss Diamond Curve Hampshire

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Today I am talking to a Hollie Rose! Hollie is an inspirational pageant queen to me, and you will get to learn more about her in this blog post!

What is your title? Hello! My names Hollie Rose and I am the current Miss Diamond Curve Hampshire.

How did you begin your pageant journey? It was not long after I turned 18, I was looking back at all my photos from my first night out and I felt so ashamed of my body and how I looked! I wanted to know how it felt to truly be comfortable in who you are and how you look. I had suffered for so long with how I looked and I constantly felt that I wasn’t good enough. I sat and had breakfast with my mum and she was telling me how she always said how she wished, when I was younger, she had got me into more after school clubs and dance so that maybe I would have more confidence in myself. To which I then said find me a pageant that’s good for plus size women, she did and I entered and I had 6 weeks to prepare! I didn’t know what an appearance was, or what the heck to do but I went on stage in 2017 in my first pageant and I haven’t looked back since!

What have pageants taught you? Pageants have taught me my worth and how powerful it is to be a woman. They’ve also taught me to be a better person, I’ve changed so much from the person I was to the person I am now, and it’s so refreshing to know that each and every day I am growing in the best way possible. Pageants have also taught me sisterhood, I always struggled making friends being a bigger girl, but I now have people in my life that I wouldn’t even know how to cope without and for that I am truly grateful!

What have you been doing throughout your time as Miss Diamond Curve Hampshire? I have been apart of the Diamond system since September 2019 and I’ve been working mainly on my social media. For me I think social media is so important in helping raise awareness! At the same time of competing, I have also been working in my career which has unfortunately limited how much I have been able to get out and about, but this is why I invest as much time as I can into making sure I’m taking part and supporting as many people as I can! But all the while I have been working on my career I can now say that I will be qualified as a medical professional working with the NHS as a 111 call handler and on call nurse!

Who is your pageant inspiration? Who do you look up to? This is a bit of a different one for me, because I chose my younger self as my inspiration to be the role model I always wanted growing up. I never had anyone that I related to, and I think if I had, then maybe I wouldn’t have suffered so badly with my mental health. As a 14 year old I hated who I was and how I looked, which makes me so incredibly sad! And to think there may be girls that feel that way, pushes me to make sure I am that role model and I can be that inspiration to those girls and say that, if I can change who I was and become a strong minded and powerful plus size woman, then they can too. I think it’s really important to be that inspiration you would have wanted as a child.

What is your platform, or do you have a charity that you support? Throughout my whole pageant journey I have supported 2 charities throughout which is my local charity Rowan’s Hospice and the Dog’s Trust. I support many other charities by donation every month as I think all charities deserve donations, but I like to support local with Rowan’s Hospice as they care for and look after so many people in my area including friends families, so it means a lot that if I can support them in any way, then I will.

What has been your favourite appearance? My favourite appearance, although it hasn’t happened within the time I have had my current title, was being able to share my journey with my mum on BBC One’s Inside Out. They followed our journey in 2018 about how it feels to be plus size and competing in pageants! Not only that but they got to film over a years worth of our lives and I got to share that with the one person who means the world, my mum, who made it all the more special.

What is your favourite round to compete in? Interview is my favourite round a thousand percent. I love wearing amazing outfits and giving 100% sass, who doesn’t? But sitting down and being able to share a part of me to the judges to me is the best. It gives them a chance to get to know you before seeing you on stage and I think that’s so important. So many people fear interviews, but for me I have so much in my life I am proud of and it’s amazing to share and show how far I’ve come!

What advice would you give to someone that wants to enter a pageant, but is too scared to? My advice would be to send in your application. Regardless of how you feel just send it because it could be the best thing you ever did. If you had asked me that in 4 years time I would have walked on a stage 3 times in swimwear, learn how to walk in heels properly and actually wear dresses I would have laughed. But here I am, the little sasspot that I’ve learned to love and cherish (although typing this in a dressing gown) I have learned to love the balance of being a tomboy and also loving pretty dresses and heels. They’ve changed my life and who I am for the better and it scares me now to think of what my life would be like without it.

Interview with Tiny Miss Galaxy UK

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Lilly is Tiny Miss Galaxy UK, and my goodness is this girl full of personality. Lilly doesn’t fail to amaze me, whether it’s her charity work, supporting pageant girls, or her very quick maths skills. This little girl is a true queen.

Hi Lilly! Firstly we are going to start with some simple questions to let people get to know you a little bit better! What’s your favourite colour? Pink.

Do you have lots of pink dresses? Yeah.

Who is your favourite Disney Princess? Tiana. She’s from Princess and the Frog.

Like we spoke about, I’m going to watch it on Disney+ because I’ve never watched it! I’ve never watched it, never ever.

What colour dress does she wear? Green and yellow.

On the subject of princesses and frogs, what is your favourite animal? Unicorn or a horse. Because unicorns are the same as horses but horses don’t have a horn.

What do you want to be when you grow up and why? A vet because I love horses and cats! I love all animals.

I told you that my sister wants to be a vet too! She’s going to a animal school so she gets to look after all the animals, there’s chickens, dogs and lots of other animals! Even cats!?

I think they do have cats! Do you know what else they have got? Snakes! And she has to clean the snakes out and hold them! I’m too scared to do that but I bet you’re very big and brave! Never. No.

Who is sitting on your knee!? Olivia, she is the Galaxy Bear.

I know that you went to Ireland didn’t you, which is where you got crowned. Did you have lots of fun in Ireland? Yeah. I am going back again this year.

Will you be handing over or do you keep your title? Handing over.

Oh no! But you’ve had an amazing year haven’t you! What have you got up to as Tiny Miss Galaxy UK? Helping the charities.

I know that you’ve been collecting items. What have you been collecting for? The baby collection. I’ve collected thousands.

What else have you been doing? The children’s boxes for children who don’t have Christmas presents.

I started when I was 2! You started when you were 2? How old are you now? I’m 5 and nearly 6! When are you 6? On April 10th.

What has been your favourite appearance? The baby collection.

What else have you done? Am I right to say you went to Florida! Did you have lots of fun and what did you get up to when you were there? Me and and Brooke went to Disneyland and Jodie and mummy had to push us in our roams. I met Cinderella. I was in my Cinderella dress last year and my Minnie Mouse dress as well.

What else did you do whilst you were in Florida. Can you remember? We watched a pageant.

Did you go to a party? Yeah both parties! I went to the pyjama party as well. I ate pizza and we did a catwalk. And we also made outfits out of toilet rolls.

What would you say to someone that wants to do a pageant but might be a little bit scared? Do your best. And be sassy!

What is your favourite round to compete in? Fashion. You get to be sassy.

Now Lilly is only 5, and so I just want to list everything that she has done for charity throughout her year. I must admit she is an incredible little girl with a huge heart.

⁃ Compton Hospice Colour Run

⁃ Collection for the Bahamas

⁃ Craft Collection for the Hospital

⁃ Christmas Aid Boxes (21 made in total, with another 19 given to other queens who were collecting!)

⁃ Mud run for Breast Cancer UK

⁃ McMillans morning with Florrieanna

⁃ Holding her own pageant awards

⁃ Baby Collection

Pageant Interview with Junior Miss Diamond UK 2019

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Sasha Star is our Junior Miss Diamond UK 2019 and it brings me great pleasure to interview Sasha, talking all things Diamond, her pageant journey and what she got up to in Las Vegas at the Regency International Pageant!

How did you begin your pageant journey? Well, my sister entered me in pageants when I was 10 years old, I was very confident, to be fair I was really bad on stage, very nervous. Since that first pageant I just fell in love with pageants from the start.

How many pageants have you competed in? Oh my god, ermmmm, I’ve competed in two title pageants.

What have pageants taught you? You’re obviously still quite young so what have you learnt from competing? Pageants have taught me friendship and confidence. It’s like a whole new world. It’s like when you say you’re quitting and then you’re like omg I’m addicted to pageants now. You just go around in circles like wanting to enter them.

Obviously we have spoken about your title, what have you been doing as Junior Miss Diamond UK? I’ve been doing lots of appearances, going to charity events, supporting people. It’s just been super amazing talking to everyone.

The winners of Miss Diamond UK go to Las Vegas to compete at the Regency International Pageant. How was it? What did you get up to? It was super amazing! I loved Vegas, it was super hot there, it feels like your skins super burning, we went to a lot of food places like Denny’s, we went to so many I can’t even name them all! I went out with Alysha, my mums friend, we went to visit Vegas, I’ve forgot what the places are called but there was the ocean and stuff, it was super nice and the Red Rocks we visited, and it was so nice that the Diamond family went on a helicopter that was super amazing, at first you’re really nervous and you feel like you have those butterflies in your tummy, but like it was phenomenal.

Who is your pageant inspiration? Well, there’s RuPaul’s Drag Race, I look up to RuPaul because all the outfits and stuff and how he’s built up his platform within his Drag Race is just super amazing and just so inspirational with how he looks and what he does on his actual show. I’m obsessed with it!

What has been your favourite appearance? My favourite appearance… oh my god is have so many I have to go through my head! My favourite appearance was Galaxy because all the girls were super nice there and you could talk to anyone, you could just approach them and you could to talk everyone. Like you could have a 10 minute chat and you could go on for hours.

What is your platform, or is there a certain charity that you fundraise for? I have #Embrace campaign which is an anti bullying campaign. It supports girls that are going through bullying, which I have been going through in the past. It’s to help them build their confidence and to say don’t listen to them, you are better than them and they are just jealous.

What’s your favourite round to compete in? Fashion! You get to show your whole outfit that you’ve made, and the style, and you get to have lots of sass in it. I love my fashion and my style and I have a certain style so I put a certain sass to it because it has to have a certain sass in each fashion.

And finally… Do you have any advice for people who are wanting to start up pageants but may be too scared? I’d start in a charity pageant because the first ever pageant you go for is so much nerves there. Sometimes you don’t understand pageants and the fashion, like my first ever pageant I wore clothing that I would wear if I was going to another child’s party, I didn’t wear an actual hi-lo or anything! When you go for a title you can design it and pick an outfit and find what is your style. Have so much sass on stage and be confident, and have fun! The main thing is be yourself on stage. Be yourself, make friends. It’s all about sisterhood in pageants.

Pageant Interview with Miss Dorset Princess – Macey Lockyer.

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I had the pleasure of talking to Macey Lockyer – Miss Dorset Princess about her pageant journey, competing in the very first IJM UK and a little bit about her hobbies too! Read the full interview below:

Hey Macey! Firstly I want to ask some questions about you! What is your favourite colour? Pink because you can have loads of different types of pink.

What’s your favourite pink? Neon.

I heard from a little someone that you like JoJo. What’s your favourite song that she sings? Boomerang and Kid in a Candy Store.

I like Boomerang too! You went to see JoJo didn’t you? Did you have lots of fun? Where did you watch her? Yes! The O2 Arena in London.

Other than doing pageants, what else do you like to do? Ballet, tap and art because they are really fun.

How long have you been dancing for? A couple of years.

What’s your favourite type of dance? Ballet or tap? Ermmmm, both!

What do you want to be when you grow up? A YouTuber, or a ballet dancer or a pageant queen!

What is your favourite animal? A penguin, because they are cool!

So what is your title? Miss Dorset Princess.

You competed in the first ever IJM UK! How did you find the weekend? What did you get up to and did you have a lot of fun? It was very fun. We went to an ice cream parlour and for all the IJM girls to get together to meet each other before the pageant.

What rounds did you compete in during IJM? Evening, fashion, casual and interview.

What was your favourite round? Casual.

What have you been doing throughout your year as Miss Dorset Princess? I’ve done lots of charity pageants, done selection boxes for the children’s ward at Poole Hospital.

Who is your pageant inspiration? Mia because she helps us when we are in pageants and when we are not in pageants.

What is your platform or do you have a charity that you support? The Children’s Ward at Poole Hospital. I’ve took the chocolate selection boxes and I was going to take Easter Eggs but I can’t because of the Coronavirus. I am going to raise money for them instead.

What has been your favourite appearance? I don’t really know. Probably taking the selection boxes. We met some of the nurses. They were grateful.

Have you got some advice for somebody that wants to do pageants but may be too scared to do then? You just have to smile and have fun. It also doesn’t matter if they win or lose, you still had fun.

Macey is a superstar, and she works so so hard. Thank you for talking to me Macey, and I can’t wait to follow your journey.