Confessions of a Pageant King

<p><em>Each week, I share no-fluff pageant coaching that helps you win. Both on stage and off. After coaching titleholders in Miss Universe, Miss USA, Miss America, and more, this isn’t theory. It’s what works:</em></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://thepageantproject.com/subscribe"><em>https://thepageantproject.com/subscribe</em></a></p><p>Most people <em>think</em> they have a strong platform. In reality, many are just accidentally creating the same hollow, awareness-only advocacy that judges ignore and contestants secretly roll their eyes at.</p><p>This week’s episode breaks down exactly how to avoid that trap and build a platform that feels real, grounded, and impossible to accuse of being performative.</p><p>Here’s the simple checklist I use:</p><p>* Share information that is actually useful, practical, and relevant right now.</p><p>* Give action steps that someone can implement today (not just more talk).</p><p>* Tie everything back to your own story so it has substance, not slogans.</p><p>We also dig into the real difference between a heartfelt advocacy and a well-executed one. They are <em>not</em> the same, and mixing them up is why many contestants with great intentions end up with ineffective platforms.</p><p>If you want a platform that judges remember for the right reasons, watch the episode.</p><p>Until next week,</p><p>Adrian</p><p><em>Our next mock interview is on Thursday 11th December at 8pm EST. Click the button below to sign up or visit </em><a target="_blank" href="https://pageantmock.com"><em>pageantmock.com</em></a><em> (3 spots left).</em></p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://www.thepageantproject.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_2">www.thepageantproject.com/subscribe</a>

<p>Have you heard of cross-pollination? Not the bee kind, the kind where you take an idea from one field and use it to level up something completely different.</p><p>Think of people like Leonardo da Vinci or Steve Jobs. They were masters at it. Da Vinci blended art with anatomy. Jobs fused engineering with storytelling and taste. Their biggest breakthroughs came from mixing disciplines, not staying in their lane.</p><p>In the same way, we’re going to take something I learned from a communications expert, and apply it to our pageant interview practice.</p><p>You already know (I hope) how useful it is to watch your answers back, but if you want to truly turbocharge your progress, try analyzing your answers in these three ways:</p><p>* Watch your answer back without sound.</p><p>* Listen to your answer back without video.</p><p>* Read a transcript of your answer.</p><p>Want to know why and how this framework is so effective?</p><p>Then watch the video 😉</p><p>See you next week</p><p>Adrian</p><p><em>Our next mock interview is on Thursday 4th December at 8pm EST. Click the button below to sign up or visit </em><a target="_blank" href="https://pageantmock.com"><em>pageantmock.com</em></a><em> (3 spots left).</em></p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://www.thepageantproject.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_2">www.thepageantproject.com/subscribe</a>

<p><em>Next mock interview is on Thursday 27th November at 8pm EST. Sign up at </em><a target="_blank" href="https://pageantmock.com"><em>pageantmock.com</em></a><em> (4 spots left).</em></p><p>I don’t know about you, but for the past couple of weeks, every time I opened my phone, there seemed to be a fresh Miss Universe drama waiting for me.</p><p>And whilst the pageant fans and “experts” are still critiquing and breaking down what happened, I’m more interested in the practical lessons we can all take away from the chaos.</p><p><strong>Lesson One: Know What You’re Getting Yourself Into</strong></p><p>Do your research. It doesn’t have to take long, and with AI tools such as <a target="_blank" href="https://www.perplexity.ai/">perplexity</a> (which is specifically built to search the internet and fact find), you can get a great overview of any pageant system in just a few minutes.</p><p>Ignorance might be bliss, but naivety equals pain in pageantry.</p><p><strong>Lesson Two: Don’t Listen to What People Say. Look at What They Do.</strong></p><p>This is a great life lesson in general, but specifically in pageantry—where there can be a tendency to gloss over things and not discuss issues publicly—it’s hugely important that you become adept at studying people’s behavior, especially over an extended period of time.</p><p>It’s like they say: trust but verify.</p><p><strong>Lesson Three: Have a Plan That Doesn’t Involve Winning</strong></p><p>Here’s a thought experiment. If you poured your entire budget, time, and energy into a pageant and still placed dead last, would you still feel it was worth it?</p><p>No? Then we need to set some different goals.</p><p>---</p><p>What were your takeaways from this year’s pageant? And what do you think it means for the future of Miss Universe?</p><p>Hit reply and let me know.</p><p>Adrian</p><p>PS Want my hot take on where pageantry is heading and a potential new trend? It’s at the end of this week’s episode.</p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://www.thepageantproject.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_2">www.thepageantproject.com/subscribe</a>

<p>A very well known and well respected US pageant titleholder once gave me the title of “The Pageant Shrink” after a long and emotional conversation about a deeply disappointing episode she’d experienced in the pageant industry.</p><p>Conversations like this aren’t rare for me. I’ve been called on to act as everything from legal counsel to pageant confidante and everything in between. Part of that is my experience, but it’s also because of the unique position I occupy in the industry.</p><p>I’m oddly well connected, known, and respected for someone who is as close to truly objective as is humanly possible.</p><p>But I can’t have a conversation with everyone. And I know many of you will go through your share of pageant disappointments, and some of them will be deeply unfair or unjust. I have just one piece of advice:</p><p><strong><em>Know your worth.</em></strong></p><p>And then add tax (ok, that’s two pieces of advice).</p><p>But seriously, know what YOU bring to the table, not in vague self help manifestation terms, but in real skills, experience, knowledge, work ethic, and sheer hunger. There’s a different type of confidence that comes from knowing you’ve outworked your competition at every turn.</p><p>When someone tries to take advantage of you, or tries to put one over on you, <strong><em>know your worth</em></strong>.</p><p>Even if you’re fortunate enough to have an amazing team behind you, they can’t be with you every minute of every day.</p><p>There are entire industries that exist purely because women such as you don’t know their worth.</p><p>Time to buck the trend.</p><p>Adrian.</p><p>PS: Next mock interview is on Thursday 20th November at 8pm EST. Click the button below to sign up or go to <a target="_blank" href="https://pageantmock.com">pageantmock.com</a> (4 spots left).</p><p></p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://www.thepageantproject.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_2">www.thepageantproject.com/subscribe</a>

<p><em>To join our next mock interview or view upcoming dates, click the button below or go to </em><a target="_blank" href="https://pageantmock.com"><em>pageantmock.com</em></a><em>:</em></p><p>Welcome to the replay of our first ever pageant mock interview session.</p><p>In Tuesday’s email I mentioned that we would be experimenting with weekly mock interview sessions. You can join in two ways:</p><p>* Pay $19.99 for a single session</p><p>* Become a monthly subscriber for $19.99 and attend every weekly session at no additional cost</p><p>My goal was to create the most realistic and impactful setting possible:</p><p>* <strong>You practice under real pressure:</strong> answering questions from fellow contestants instead of rehearsing in your head or talking to the mirror. This helps you get used to the same nerves you feel in the interview room.</p><p>* <strong>You get an instant playback of your answer:</strong> right after you finish responding, we replay that exact answer on the call. This lets you see how you look, hear how you sound, and identify specific habits to refine immediately.</p><p>* <strong>You learn from the judges’ perspective:</strong> because you ask questions as well as answer them, you gain a clearer understanding of what judges listen for and how they evaluate contestants.</p><p>If there’s one thing I’ve learned from interviewing over 350 contestants around the world over the last decade, it’s that the camera does not lie. I look back at my earliest interviews now and they make me cringe. But being forced to watch them while editing is exactly what helped me improve so quickly. When you’re confronted with the truth, progress becomes inevitable.</p><p>Enjoy the replay.</p><p>Adrian</p><p><em>If you want weekly practice, consider becoming a paid subscriber. It costs $19.99 per month and gives you access to every weekly mock interview. Cancel any time. Click the button below to subscribe or go to </em><a target="_blank" href="https://thepageantproject.com"><em>thepageantproject.com</em></a><em>:</em></p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://www.thepageantproject.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_2">www.thepageantproject.com/subscribe</a>