Story & Lesson Highlights with Poohnana of Los Angeles

We recently had the chance to connect with Poohnana and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Poohnana, thank you for taking the time to reflect back on your journey with us. I think our readers are in for a real treat. There is so much we can all learn from each other and so thank you again for opening up with us. Let’s get into it: What battle are you avoiding?
The battle of being stagnant. I do not wanna get comfortable in career and began to be complacent. I want to continue towards success, elevate, and make bigger moves.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Poohnana she/her is a professional international plus-size fashion model, entertainment correspondent, and LGBTQIA+ ally from Compton, California. She have worked and been featured in
Buzzfeed, Just Fab / Shoe Dazzle, Pinterest, and
multiple fashionable brands. As well as being published in domestic and international publications such as Empowering Plus, Shout out LA, the Voyager. She has continue to grace the runways for Milan/London, Miami swim, and many other fashion runways for multi designers.

SheIsPlusSizeBeauty focuses on celebrating and empowering individuals of all sizes and shapes. The brand’s mission would be to promote inclusivity,
diversity, and body positivity in the beauty
industry. Embraces every man, woman, and non-binary individual shedding light on diversity rather sex, creed, race, or ethnicity. It promotes self-love, as well as making a significant impact in the beauty industry and inspire individuals to feel confident and beautiful in their own skin. One runway show, photo shoot, and interview at a time. SheIsPlusSizeBeauty is the single girl, the mother, the nun, the teacher, She’s everyone. She Plus-size. She’s Beauty.

Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
My house mother Floyd “FE” McLucas the WestCoast icon of the legendary House of Comme Des Garcon. He saw something in me that most people only see from my personality. He stated that he always wanted a big girl runway for ballroom. And then poof! I came along. But it was something much more deeper. He taught me the fundamental fierceness of runway and he built confidence to rebrand myself to entire different world. You can say he made me fearless in a sense.

Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Every fucking time! Countless of times I would cry and have one of those depressed days like any other content creator. But I just can’t live with myself if I stopped now. And every time I felt like giving up something will happen or another opportunity will present it self . And I will take it as sign from God that you are in the right place and doing the right thing at the right time when it needed to happen. Consistency is the key. Even after wanting to give up after you cry you get your ass up and do it again. But you’re a loser if you quit not when you fail.

Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
That the plus size industry is one big supportive inclusive community. To be honest I love my community but they can be very divided depending on your size of plus size you are. Thats why I created my brand SheIsPlusSizeBeauty because we’re not just the one ideal look that the beauty industry only like to portray all the time. Plus size beauty comes in all sizes and forms. And once the community and brands understands that’s we can get further in the fashion and industry. We can see more curves on the runway during fashion week. And I make it my duty for every runway I touch to serve the runway. Because they look at plus size models as novelty props on the runway not fierce runways. So I love to represent and slay. To show other plus seize models yeah you can do this too!

Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
She was a girls girl. She was icon. And that she fucking slayed. I want people to remember my brand and what I contributed. That I was a inspiration to all those little black girls from the hood to be better and make better for yourself. I want them to say she was the plus size Tyra banks.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sheisplussizebeauty/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/mwlite/in/elisha-brown-77b95a77
• Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/PlussizePooh
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/PoohnanaB/?view_public_for=1223951724434108
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCrJC3B3RHHYY5qg_6TV4Qyw
• Other: https://linktr.ee/SheIsPlusSizeBeautySundays?utm_source=linktree_profile_share&ltsid=676fd2f4-c88a-4336-a2be-c55f2418d27a

Image Credits
Carol Person photography
Dot Eye photography
Alex Roman Makeup Artist
Flovida Loca Beauty Makeup Artistry