Candace Michelle Ford @lilmisspositive
We are honored to bring you the exclusive interview with the amazing Candace Michelle Ford, Ms. Success Galaxy 2024, originally from Australia! Candace not only dazzles with her beauty, but she also lights up the world as the voice for survivors and victims of domestic violence.
In this interview, we will explore Candace’s inspirational journey to success on the Ms. Success Galaxy stage. From her first steps in the modeling world to her crowning as queen of the Ms. Success Galaxy, Candace shares her experiences, challenges and triumphs with heartwarming sincerity and unwavering determination.
In addition to her modeling career, Candace has become a symbol of hope and strength for those who have survived domestic violence. With courage and empathy, she uses her platform to advocate for change and provide support to those in need.
Candace is not only a stunning beauty, but also an unstoppable force for good in the world. Her dedication to making the voices of those who are often silenced heard makes her a beacon of light in the fight against violence and injustice.
With Candace Michelle Ford as our Special Guest, this interview promises to be a powerful testimony to the power of love, resilience and determination in the pursuit of success and justice. Not to be missed!
1.- Candace, tell me about the city where you were born and raised.,What do you like about your hometown?
I am lucky enough to have been born and raised in Perth, Western Australia. I have enjoyed a childhood surrounded by beautiful WA beaches, the perfect climate and incredible, world class food and wine. I love that WA is so vast and so much less crowded than any other capital city. I have never lived anywhere else in the world but once you’ve found the best, why would you risk it?
2.- What are your hobbies? What makes you laugh a lot or does it give you a lot of joy?
Hobbies: I love baking and cake decorating. It’s kind of like my creative release. I find it quite peaceful and freeing. My next favourite hobby is shopping but specifically op shopping. I love the thrill of finding a rare find or an absolute bargain. It really is true what they say “one (wo)mans trash is another (wo)mans treasure”
The thing that makes me laugh the most has always been my kids. When they were younger it was just the fact that they told you the raw truth, whether you wanted to hear it or not and now as they grow into adults, it’s the sass, quick come backs and sarcasm that is probably learnt behaviours from me if I’m honest.
The thing that gives me the most amount of joy is simple and would come as no surprise to those who know me well, Christmas. 1000% the mist wonderful time of the year for me and I love being able to spend that time of the year trying to bring joy to as many others as I can.
3.- Ms Success Galaxy 2024. When do you decide to take your first steps as a model and beauty pageants? What feeling do you have achieving your dreams, your passions and being a recognized influencer woman today?
I am relatively new to this whole world of pageantry and modelling. I started competing in pageants in 2022 and I have only competed in the one pageant system, Australia Galaxy Pageants. The reason I started was purely to push myself outside of my comfort zone and to show my daughter that beauty is more than skin deep and that you don’t have to be anything in particular to be confident and successful. Many people think that you have to be a certain height, weight, hair colour, stature, age to compete in a pageant but Australia Galaxy Pageants provides an inclusive platform for all to become the best version of themselves.
I always thought I was quite a confident person but through the personal growth journey that I have experienced while being a part of the Galaxy pageant system, I have been able to do the self work to increase my confidence in my intelligence, as well as my body and truly embrace the fact that I can be the best version of myself, and don’t have to try and fit into anyone elses vision of what perfect is or should be. The quote “just be you, because everyone else is taken” resonates so highly with me and achieving that self assurance makes me incredibly proud. I don’t believe that I have yet achieved my dreams, as my dream would be to live in a world where no one had to make the choice to endure violence and abuse in order to keep a roof over their head and where everyone who menstruates is afforded the dignity of having access to period products, regardless of their situation. Being part of Galaxy pageants, being offered opportunities to get more information and share to a wider audience is definitely helping to close the gap between what was just a dream and what I can now see as a possible reality.
I don’t know if I see myself as an influencer but I definitely hope I can be an impactor. I want to impact people enough that they are them empowered to create change and be the change they want to see in the world. Have them be empowered to speak out against was they feel is an injustice and fight for what they believe in like I do.
4.- What do you think is the distinctive, unique stamp of Candace in each activity carried out as a beauty queen and model?
I prefer the term pageant queen. Beauty is superficial, and in this context, refers to purely what is on the surface of a person, I hope you don’t mind?
As a pageant queen though, I like to bring passion and energy to everything I do. I love giving back to my community and do so with my whole soul. There is no cause or event that is not worthy of my time. Whether it is a blood donation, a fun run or creating a safe haven for a family escaping domestic violence, they are all worthy and my enthusiasm and willingness to help will never fade.
5.- What is the main virtue that any woman must have to be an international model?
I believe that everyone should act with integrity at all times. Having a solid moral compass and acting in the most honest and ethical way for yourself and for others will always hold you in good sted for every challenge that comes your way.
6.- Are you aware of being an influential woman for thousands of girls who want to be beauty queens? How important is it to you to be an idol for many girls and teenagers?
I would love to think that I would leave an impact, a legacy, that is worthy of the admiration of many, but for now, I honestly just want to be able to empower women and girls to stand up for themselves and causes they believe in, to be true to themselves an know their worth. That power can help to set them free from their own limiting beliefs. If that is the influence I have, I will leave this earth a compete woman and very happy with what I have accomplished.
7.- What was your feeling the first time you modeled in front of a video camera? What did you feel the first time at a beauty pageant?
AWKWARD! That is the honest truth. Being in front of a camera did not come naturally to me. I have video, taken behind the scenes of me throwing my arms around and saying “I don’t know what to do” and laughing at myself. I feel that even in the last 4 months, I have grown a lot and gotten more comfortable in front of the camera and I think this will hold me in good stead for the Australia Galaxy Pageants national finals this May.
8.- What do you think about the power of social media today?
It’s huge! It’s changed the way we communicate, how we interact, how we grow our relationships and how we do business. I love it and it holds so much power but that power can be a bad thing in the wrong hands and it is a very fine line to follow. Social media does make it easier to share and bring people together and for that, I will be eternally grateful.
9.- How do you like to interact with your followers on social media? Whats your favorite social media?
I love Instagram. It is my go to for communicating with most people, although I find that for the older generation, I need to use Facebook as that is their preferred social media outlet. I am a huge fan of voice notes. I think that text can have tone implied but when you leave someone a voice note, they get the message the exact way that you intended it to be delivered. When you can’t have body language as part of your communication strategy, tone plays a huge part is how what you say impacts people.
10.- What would you advise young people who have talent but do not dare to take the next step? What would you advise parents who do not support their children’s talents?
Chase4 your dreams and don’t let anyone hold you back. If you don’t take the risk, you are automatically giving yourself a “no” so why not just go for it and at least then you have 50% more chance of a “yes”. I am lucky enough to not have met a parent who doesn’t support their children’s talents but I guess it would be sad for them as that child will likely be successful and that parent will be sad that they never embraced it. I don’t think it is fair for parents to limit their children based on what they “know” because the world is very quickly changing and the standards that were set are now glass ceilings that have been shattered and that will continue to be the case as people push more boundaries.
11.- What important lessons have you learned from the world of fashion and beauty pageants?
I have learnt a lot about myself from pageants and I have also learnt a lot about fashion. Pageants are a big wide world of untapped resources and some of the most knowledgeable people I have ever met have been from Galaxy! Competing for the title of Ms Galaxy Australia, I have met many people with different passion projects and through those beautiful women I have learnt about confidence, advocacy, fast fashion and its impact on the world among many other things and I have learnt to be raw and real. The unedited version of me is much more passionate and relatable that the toned down side that I thought I should be presenting. I have learnt that it is ok for me to have an opinion and to voice it, in fact, that in doing so, I have inspired others and that warms my heart to no end.
12.- Candace, being a beauty queen for you has been easy? Were there obstacles?How did you overcome obstacles?
Being in pageantry is not easy, but it is fun and it is worth it. Of course there are obstacles and they come in lots of forms such as money, time, self confidence, limiting beliefs etc but I truly believe that every opportunity is an option for personal growth. If it doesn’t scare you, it doesn’t grow you and you don’t know what you don’t know so you just have to give everything a go. I always tell people that if they don’t have confidence, they can borrow mine because for so long, I was borrowing someone elses and now I have finally overcome that obstacle, I want to be able to be that pillar of strength for others.
13.- Have you thought about being an actress? Do you like the entertainment industry?
I have never thought of being an actress. I guess that is just not my role in life and has never been something I have pursued. I mean, I think it would be super cool to be able to be an extra or something in a movie or TV show but I don’t have the greatest memory so me remembering lines would probably not go so well. I think my contribution to the world of entertainment will be my daughter. I made her and she is exceptional and very talented. I shall live vicariously through her.
14.- Worldwide, women have acquired a greater role even though there are societies where they are still abused. What is your opinion of the role of women in the future in these societies?
There is still a very long road ahead for equity and equality. We have made a tiny start on changing our archaic ways but so much more needs to happen. There needs to be more understanding, more truths told and less facts disguised or covered up in order to make everything feel more politically correct. Sometimes, we need to have the awkward conversations so that people know they are not the only ones struggling. Speaking up for what you believe in and listening when other speak needs to be something we all get around. As a people, we are rude, insensitive and self absorbed. Take some time to walk a mile in someone elses shoes and see what that feels and looks like before passing judgement. It will astound you.
15.- Candace, what is your motivation and what do you feel grateful for every day?
I like to think of myself as being self motivated because I have a lot of big dreams and so much I want to achieve. I want to leave a legacy and I want to change the world.
16.- Candace, Do you like to travel? What countries do you know? What other countries would you like to know and which places do you recommend to visit from your country?
I love to travel and would love to do much more of it.
I have been to Germany, France, England, Italy, Switzerland, Greece just to name a few but I have always watched to go to Vietnam, Ireland and Spain! I know they are world apart but they are so different to anything I have experienced and the culture is so rich. I would love to see them all!
Places I recommend here? Definitely come to WA! People will always choose the East Coast of Australia, mostly because there are so many places that are so close to one another but WA has so much to offer, so much space, the greatest beaches. I think that WA definitely has the best weather all year round and we are closer to Bali if you want a quick trip to Indonesia too!
17.- You and me (Jaime William) are going to play ping pong, I will tell you one word and you will answer with another word that comes to your mind.
– Marriage Equals
– Childrens Future
– Love Happiness
– Travel Freedom
– Abortion Choice
– Dance Joy
– Sing Creative
– Europe Snow
– America Food
– Sport Achievement
– Money Dirty
– Parents Friends
– Dreams Ambition
– Passion Platform
– Madness Percentage Biology
– Character Identity
18.- Candace, your last words or final tips
My final tips are to always trust your judgement, remember that other people’s opinión of you is their problem, not yours and that growth comes from outside your comfort zone so embrace discomfort and always search for growth. And when all else fails, this saying is a fave that relates to all of the above. You can’t change the People around you, but you can change the People around you. Know your worth and ditch the bad eggs and negativity.
Peace, Love and Positivity ALWAYS!
Candace Michelle Ford
Interview conducted by Jaime William Mostacero Baca with – Candace Michelle Ford – Australia
English language
Candace Michelle Ford Contact: Instagram – Email
Interview authorized in writing by Instagram – Email: Candace Michelle Ford – Perumira – Jaime William
All Rights Reserved in the name of Candace Michelle Ford – Perumira – Jaime William