At least two Campbell River women are in the running for a feature spot in the men’s magazine Maxim.
The Mirror spoke to the two contestants – Kristy Watkins and Kyla May (profile linked here) – about their lives, their passions and what they would do with the $10,000 that goes to the winner of the Cover Girl contest.
Readers have until May 16 to cast a vote online daily, and extra votes can be purchased by making a donation to the Canadian Cancer Society through Maxim’s website.
The top ten vote-getters in each group – there are several dozen groups on the contest website – advance to the next round.
DJ Kristy Watkins
Carihi graduate Kristy Watkins describes herself as a 36-year-old woman who is finally comfortable in her own skin.
She previously modeled during her late teens and early 20s, but found she was uncomfortable with prevailing beauty standards and socially-defined ideals about women’s bodies.
“I look back at my photos and I can tell just in my pictures that I wasn’t a confident, strong woman at that point,” she said, adding that the fashion world has become more accepting of various body types.
Now she’s revisiting that period of her life by jumping back into modelling – and by pursuing her love of music.
She started DJing in her 20s, but took a break from the music scene over the past 10 years or so while working for government and financial institutions, thinking the DJ phase of her life was over.
But she jumped back into it after attending a music festival in Croatia last year that gave her a flash of inspiration.
“Something after that trip made me feel that age is just a number, and continue your passion,” she said.
After investing in some new DJ equipment, she immediately started getting invitations to perform.
Just last week, she played for high school students at the City of Campbell River’s Hackathon at the Sportsplex.
She describes her musical style as having a European feel and always featuring vocals and a solid bassline.
She’s also putting together classic hiphop sets featuring artists like Notorious BIG, Westside Connection, Tupac and Mary J. Blige.
It’s still relatively uncommon to see women performing as DJs – perhaps three or four of the dozens of performers at that festival in Croatia were women, she said.
“I made a point to actually go and see each one of those women as much as I could.”
If she wins the $10,000 prize, she hopes to use it towards her education, particularly as a counsellor.
Watkins, who was born and raised in Campbell River, had reached the number two spot in her group in the Maxim contest by Monday afternoon.
She said that local support has been overwhelming, and extended her thanks to the community.
You can vote for Watkins and see more of her photos here, and you can check out some of her musical selection on her Facebook page.
@davidgordonkoch
david.koch@campbellrivermirror.com
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