Often misunderstood, beauty pageants have faced criticism for being solely focused on physical appearances, with some even believing that participants have little else to offer. However, beauty queens around the world, like Canadian beauty queen Madison Kvaltin, are breaking these stereotypes and proving that their influence goes beyond their looks. Leveraging their platforms for the greater good, these individuals, including Kvaltin, are dedicated to making a positive impact on society and demonstrating the true potential of their roles.
Madison Kvaltin is not only a top beauty queen but is also a successful entrepreneur. She holds a sociology and business degree from Queen’s University where she graduated with honors and is the founder and CEO of Mad Media Marketing – one of the leading marketing and web development companies in Canada. She is also the founder and CEO of Skilla Athletics, an athletics company which promotes healthy body confidence and the celebration of bodies through movement. Madison struggled with an eating disorder and her body image in her teenage years, thus inspiring her to form Skilla Athletics so that she could transform her pain into purpose.
Skilla Athletics promotes healthy exercise for its holistic benefits, not just to fit societal norms. Madison is actively teaching all bodies, regardless of shape, size, age, etc., how to build body confidence and acceptance. She shows women and men how to ‘train healthy’ and not just to build abs or glutes. She teaches body confidence and helps people develop a beautiful relationship with food.
Moreover, Madison currently runs a Body Confidence Foundation called ‘The Body Love Club,’ which is also geared toward body confidence and acceptance. The Body Love Club will continue to teach Madison’s body confidence seminars and provide access to mental health walks. She says one of her goals is to build a thriving community where everyone feels secure in their bodies and understands the value of loving oneself through all stages of life.
Most recently, Madison finished a 6 week intensive program preparing for Miss Universe Canada in Colombia, one of the top performing countries in the world for pageantry. Madison has previously claimed the crown for Miss North Ontario, Miss Intercontinental Canada, and Miss International Canada. Madison’s latest pageant debut was in Japan at Miss International (one of the world’s top 4 grand slam pageants, including Miss Universe, Miss World, and Miss Earth). She placed in the Top 8, breaking a several-year streak in Canada. This is the closest Canada has placed to winning at Miss International since 1961 and the highest at any of the top 4 grand slam pageants since 2009.
Madison is now 1 of 5 Canadians to make the finals of Miss International. She believes now is her time to represent her country as Miss Universe Canada. In fact, Madison has been receiving an outpouring of support from pageant queens and fans from around the world as she is the number one pick to take the crown and compete on behalf of Canada at Miss Universe. She asserts that she has been working nonstop on improving herself mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually, and financially since the day she was crowned first runner-up at Miss Universe Canada last year.
Madison Kvatlin strongly believes that beauty fizzles away with time, but your impact on the world can last a lifetime. “Pageants no longer reflect pure beauty and ideal bodies. Pageantry celebrates our uniqueness and how we are pushing to make the world a better place. It’s not enough to be a pretty face,” says Madison.
