Interview with Anastagia Pierre, Miss Bahamas

Anastagia Pierre!

-Describe your first pageant experience.

My very first pageant experience was when I was about 5 years old! Off the record, it was the farthest thing from ‘Toddlers & Tiaras’. My mom curled my hair with sponge rollers and I remember feeling so glam! I wore an emerald green taffeta and velvet party dress. My question was “What’s one thing you can’t leave the house without” and I said “My glasses, and sometimes when I forget them at home, my mommy brings it to me at school”. Everyone laughed and cheered for me. I placed in the top three! I got a crown, a sash and $100! It was then that I fell in love with Pageantry.

-How have you used Mental Management in your training?

My first time using Mental Management training was in 2009 at Miss USA. I attended the Mental Toughness for Pageantry workshop in Dallas with Heather and Lanny, and it did wonders for my confidence. Mental Management helped calm my nerves under pressure, and gave me a much more of a consistent performance. It also explained to me how important it is to have a balanced self image, sub-conscious and conscious mind. I definitely competed at Miss USA (and Miss Universe) in the “Triad State” and I owe it all to Mental Management.

-Do you have a favorite “Mental Management” quote, story, book, etc.?

My favorite book is definitely “With Winning In Mind”. It’s a short read, but it has a powerful message. I always recommend it the girls that I coach. It puts you in a great mental place while preparing for competition. I could spend all day sharing my favorite excerpts from the book, but one that works in all areas of life is, “to get what you want, you have to get rid of what you don’t want”.

-Can you share a personal story of how you’ve used Mental Management?

Well I tend to use the anticipation, action, and reinforcement training a lot during competition. Before I go into the interview room I say to myself “These judges are going to LOVE me, because I’ve worked hard for this and because it’s ‘like me’ to give a killer interview” and right after I step out of the interview room I say to myself “That was exactly the way I wanted it go. I did my very best!” For me, positive feedback and self- reinforcement is key, otherwise I start to beat myself up over little things.

-How has Mental Management helped you outside of Pageantry?

It has helped me to understand the importance of being balanced in all aspects of life. Mental Management taught me the principles, tools, and techniques that aid me in reaching my goals with confidence, and without frustration.

-What is the best advice you can give to a new competitor?

The best advice I can give to a new competitor is to fully allow yourself to grow and learn from the experience, no matter what the end results are.

-What surprised you most about competing at Miss Universe?

I think the biggest surprise was how down to earth a lot of the girls were. I think one huge misconception with international pageants, especially at this high level, is that everyone is super cutthroat and mean, and that’s not necessarily true. As a national titleholder, we all understand that its not as glamorous as some people think. Holding a title is a huge responsibility. Its not always easy, you will have to make sacrifices, and everyone has an opinion about you even if they’ve never met you. It’s nice to be around a group of girls that “get it”. I made so many wonderful friends at Miss Universe. It was also pretty surprising that I was able to survive nearly a month in Brazil with an average of 3-4 hours of sleep every night!

-Can you share any good “back stage” stories?

Minutes before I walked on stage for the preliminary competition at Miss Universe, I had a “run in” with the wardrobe lady about my gown. The lady made me so angry that it nearly brought me to tears! Miss Belgium, one of my best friends, saw and heard the whole thing and gave me a hug to try to calm me down. Then she pulled a bead off of her dress and handed it to me, she said “Here, I know you’re going to be fierce out there, no matter what that lady says! You look stunning! Take this bead for good luck, so that when you win Miss Universe, you’ll win for Bahamas AND Beligium.” I thought that was one of the sweetest things anyone has ever done for me, especially at a pageant.

-Compare your “teen self” with your “current self.” What do you see as the most significant change?

I’ve learned to trust myself and my instincts a whole lot more. I’ve also learned that it’s impossible to please everyone, so its important to do what make YOU happy. My current self is a lot more secure and comfortable. Most of that change came with age and experience, because as a teen I was very insecure and I would always second-guess myself. I used to let those message boards and blogs really affect me. These days they don’t bother me at all. I actually think it’s flattering in way.

-So now that you have pretty much conquered the Universe.... What is next for Anastagia Pierre?

Well the most important thing to me at the moment is to finish out my reign as Miss Bahamas Universe as strong as I can. I plan to be a lot more active in my community and work with organizations that support my platform of crime prevention and conflict resolution. I’ve been modeling since I was a teenager and I plan to continue with that for as long as I can. But I graduated last May with a Bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism so my next goal is to start working in my professional career. Right now I work as the Station Host at NBC Miami and I have a beauty and lifestyle segment that airs during the morning show. My ultimate goal is work on the Today Show or Good Morning America. I know that I can do anything I really set my mind to, so I’m confident that it will happen.

For more details on how you can train with Mental Management call 972-899-9640, email heather@mentalmanagement.com or visit our website http://www.mentalmanagement.com