By Ayo Onikoyi

Sandra Anthony shot into prominence in 2015 when she won the Miss Curvy Naija Beauty Pageant, which also doubled as a modelling contest. In this interview with Potpourri, the University of Nigeria, Nsukka alumna talks about life as a beauty queen and a businesswoman and the impacts of social media and many more.

What is Sandra up to lately?

I have actually been doing a couple of things. Rebranding primarily and aggressively pursuing my career as a real estate consultant. I am broadening the scope of my real estate enterprise. My company, SAC, now actively interfaces between developers of choice properties and the end buyers. Because we know what our clients desire in real estate, we are able to pass this vital information to developers at the building conception stage. So, Sandra Anthony Concept has moved from just selling land and buildings and rents to actively participating in the booming real estate sector of the economy.

I have also diversified into lingerie, lounge wears and other top of the range products for our discerning ladies. Bellisimabysac is a registered company that primarily deals in these products. As a beauty queen myself, I understand and appreciate the need and desire of our beautiful ladies to turn out beautiful and sexy even at night in bed. A beautiful lady should be beautiful inside and outside the house.

How has social media helped to promote your brand?

There is no doubt that effective deployment of the social media space can help any business. And that is what I have enjoyed. Some people spend hours on the net watching, trolling and criticizing other people’s lifestyle. I do not have time for that. I am IT savvy and I understand the power and reach of social media and I have tried over the years to leverage on the power and reach to put our brand out there.

What do you like and hate most about social media, in view of your experience?

It is a truism that whatever has advantages will definitely have its downsides. There is a saying that there is no smoke without fire, but over time I have seen that there can sometimes be smoke without fire. The deployment of social media can either be for good or for bad. And we have seen this over time here. Some bad people can just sit behind keyboards and send ‘false’ and unproven stories around the world just at the press of a button. This happens all the time and that is why the government can even mute the idea of censorship in the social media space. I have not been a victim personally of any negative social media campaign but that is not to say that everyone is as Graced as I am. I have funneled all my God given talents and energy into my business ventures that I hardly have time to socialize.

How did life as a beauty queen impact your life?

A gold fish has no hiding place. That summarizes the trajectory of my life since I won that beauty pageant of Miss Curvy 9ja some couple of years ago. But I thank God for His benevolence and my family for the love and support. Winning the pageant naturally thrust me into the limelight and there were things I could do before then that I couldn’t do subsequently. I became a brand. But outside that, it didn’t change my essential Sandra Anthony. I still maintained my close knit family and small circle of friends. Winning the pageant was actually a leverage. It gave me a pedestal to stand on and showcase my other God given talents.

What does beauty mean to you?

Some say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But I believe beauty is universal. And more importantly for me, beauty comes in a whole undiluted package. The confidence and panache, the carriage. All these characteristics go into making a beautiful person. Did you see some of the qualities of Queen Esther in the scripture? Courage, faithfulness and humility. For me beauty goes beyond the outward shape and look. It speaks to the essence of the person.

Do you think plus size models have a future in the modeling world?

Plus size and thick curvy queens are actually taking over the modeling space. Even now you hear words like slim thick and so on. And you need some flesh in the right places to do justice to some adverts. There is a higher demand for plus size models all over now. That is why many ladies do not spare slimming teas and coffee (lol).Just do what makes you confident in your skin.