Get to know plus-sized model Candashian as she celebrates a 20-year journey of embracing her curves, entrepreneurship and creating a family and broader sense of community while staying true to herself.

If we’re lucky, when we’re little our parents lovingly tell us we can be anything we want to be. We start finding our place in the world and discover that in fact, for a variety of reasons, that’s not always true. Some throw in the towel, some pivot and find new ways to do what they love and others simply push back and make waves when their conviction far outweighs their acceptance of whatever limitation or rejection confronts them. A woman of exceptional talent, faith and beauty; Candice Manual (35) also known as Candashian, embraces the latter (and her voluptuous curves) as a mere state of being.

A divine intervention

Celebrating 20 years in the industry, Candice reflects on starting her career at the tender age of 15. ‘I always joke and say that it was divine intervention. I was kind of “forced” into entering a beauty pageant at church with no previous intention as a 14-year-old teenage girl, to get onto stage, strut my stuff and put on a show. I was extremely introverted, literally had one bestie I would chill with and fun for me was sitting at home listening to Westlife and Backstreet Boys (my future husbands, or so I thought).

One Sunday in church, my pastor mentions over the mic during his service that he thinks I should enter the church’s pageant, either that or I would have to run a stall at the church bazaar which was taking place during the weekend of my 15th birthday, so if getting out of church duty meant stepping on stage, I was more than prepared to reel in the lipstick’, she shares after her cover shoot with our team.

A rude awakening

To her surprise, she won the pageant and absolutely loved the thrill of lights, camera and of course action. She instinctively felt that this was where she was meant to be. In no time at all, her new, full-time hobby turned into paid gigs and competitions. As she grew in her confidence through numerous pageants, fashion shows and talent shows – Candice, now 18, decided to step it up with television, print media, paid campaigns and studio modelling. She’s been killing it for 3 years so had no doubt this next step made sense. Upon finding an agency to join, she was asked to drop 10kgs.

‘At this point I wore size 8 jeans, and my body was still changing so being told by the very industry that drove my passion that I simply was too ‘fat’ to fit their mould overshadowed all their assurance that I had a pretty face. It meant absolutely nothing to me! All I heard was Reject! Fat! Not a model!’, she adds.

Trying to fit in

Candice continues saying, ‘Following my rejection, I tried every diet under the sun, but I couldn’t find my genetics. It had finally dawned on me that maybe this industry simply wasn’t for people like me when I literally passed out from starving myself’.

Her weight piled on, she got a job in corporate and stayed there for 15 years. Candice regrets nothing. The corporate world gave a coloured girl from Mitchell’s Plain the opportunity to further her studies, open small businesses, reach great milestones in her career and essentially learn the business of being a girl boss.

Keeping the dream alive

Fast forward to the girl who was size 8 and being unkind to her body, to a healthy and loved up size 18. Candice was loving life, embracing her curves and just living her best life posting away on social media. This led to her creating an activation, #EMBRACEYOURCURVES, through which women who looked and felt like her could be free to love every inch of their body regardless of their shape, weight and race.

She shares, ‘I had given up on the industry which is ironic since I was then offered modelling contracts by three of Cape Town’s leading agencies once they saw my self-love and body confidence approach on social media. Things were changing – I was too fat at a size 8 and in demand at size 18. I’m currently signed as a full-time professional model and have walked away from the corporate space I knew and had served me so well but didn’t meet my goal of making waves in an industry that needed diverse representation in every sense’.

Making strides

Candashian is a voluptuous source of light, not just a mere glimmer in the dark. She’s made her mark by staying true to herself and as a curvy girl in this industry taking on fashion week and popping up in store windows, she’s more than aware that true representation is not yet a reality.

‘It’s a fickle industry, I’ve earned my stripes and I’m killing it but I do acknowledge that we can still do so much more. Naturally, it’s not just about curves. As a woman in business and always collaborating I’ve learned over and over how important it is to support one another, all while being a source of inspiration and encouragement for your community. So many of our young are held back by limiting circumstances.

The truth is, it should never define your view on what you’re capable of – I hope I am able to be an example of how we all have every right to have our spot in the sun, to shine brighter than what anyone else thinks is possible, absolutely all of us can have that if we don’t tear each other down. I love the fact that we are able to play an integral part in someone’s career, and them in ours, through building relationships’, she passionately gushes.

Impact > Influence

The hard part for me with social media, is that with a bigger following people quickly associate Candice with being an influencer, rather than a model and entrepreneur. And while social media marketing has become such an important tool for many businesses and brands, this is not her chosen positioning or a title she welcomes as she feels it overshadows her actual career.

‘People assume I don’t pay for things which if you’re an influencer is not a negative thing, it however motivates me to be even more intentional about showing the actual work I do which includes my struggles on challenging ‘mommy days’. A lot of my work is done within churches, non-profit organisations and it’s never just about me or any sort of brand partnership in isolation – I have a daughter watching my every move and I want her to grasp a full picture of the life Shaun and I have built through a tremendous amount of long-term work that is so rooted in larger networks of values’, she emphasises.

All about love

Candice further shares, ‘When I was younger, I wanted a big family, then when I met my husband who is so full of life and such a huge cheerleader, the world became my oyster. We travelled, partied, had lots of fun and were at a point where we might never want kids in favour of freedom forever. When the pandemic hit life slowed down, my career slowed down and then sadly after losing Shaun’s dad, we quickly realised how short life really is. We decided to plan for a family and were blessed with a very easy pregnancy, smooth delivery and the most perfect little girl. I often wonder if Gods just trying to trick me into doing this again!

My family has brought me so much peace, I feared that I’d lose out on opportunities or miss out on things when becoming a mom being in the industry for so long I’ve also come to know that we all have a season and it’s so important to hold perspective in that season. God is in control and it is so my time, I love that I’ve come full circle and get to do this while changing a nappy in between.

In a flash:

– Top bucket list destinations? Mozambique and Tokyo!

– Best date night? Simply catching a movie.

– Your role model? Ru Paul!

– Your favourite film to rewatch? 10 Things I hate about you.

– WFH uniform? Gym tights, cosy slippers and a tee.

– Beauty product you can’t live without? Tinted sunscreen – I wear it every day instead of wearing makeup.

Words by: Stefanie Titus

Photography: Chanelle Manuel/HMIMAGES.CO.ZA