Meet Jessica Tyson

 For those who don’t know, tell us who you are, a little something about yourself and where you are from?

I grew up in Whanganui in the Manawatū but moved to Auckland when I was about 18 to study journalism, followed by a year studying full immersion te reo Māori full time. I now work as a news reporter at Māori TV and run a charity called Brave.

I’m also the former Miss World NZ 2018, had multiple other NZ national titles and have competed in international beauty pageants about four times overseas. I love travel and exercise a lot! Growing up I was a competitive swimmer and played multiple sports like netball, volleyball and basketball. These days I enjoy going to the gym and also spending time outdoors going for hikoi, climbing maunga or just chilling next to the ocean.

Over the past year I’ve been working towards competing in a WBFF bikini body building competition. I’ve competed in IFBB before but WBFF is a bit more glamourous so similar to pageants which I’m all about! I have had a few setbacks along the way during my prep due to Covid-19 and other reasons but I’m really looking forward to getting on the stage when the time is right!

How do you start your mornings? What’s your go to breakfast?

I usually start my morning doing a bit of exercise and have breakfast straight after! My favourite food to eat is granola or muesli with fruit and yogurt (I know – not the most exciting fave meal but I love it and could eat it all day!).  But I do have a nutrition plan and as part of that plan I usually eat proats (protein plus oats) for breakfast every morning. To make it I mix oats with protein powder, chia seeds and either berries or peaches.

You have a charity foundation called brave can you tell us a little bit more about that?
Brave is a sexual harm prevention charity. Our mahi involves travelling to different schools and community groups around Aotearoa to teach young people about what sexual harm is, healthy relationships, consent, online safety, how to find help and how to help others around you who may be affected.

During these school or community visits I share my story about how I was a victim of sexual abuse when I was a child, how I testified in court against the perpetrator and how I was able to heal through counselling and whānau support. Being able to share my story I hope helps other victims realise they’re not alone and there is a way to live a happy and successful life despite going through a really traumatic experience.

I started Brave when I was Miss World NZ as my Beauty With a Purpose project. This is a project each contestant of Miss World works on and presents to judges. Brave ended up placing second out of 120 project at Miss World 2018 and has since then grown so much! Follow is on IG here https://www.instagram.com/brave_nz/

What does self-care look like for you and do you think it’s important?

Over the last several years I’ve really noticed the importance of self-care. I am a very driven person and like to be excellent at everything I do. I also have a high expectation of myself but I have the tendency to take on too much mahi and get really overtired or rundown. I’ve come to realise that wanting to do too much sometimes isn’t worth it and if it’s affecting my health I need to take a step back and relax.

To relax I love going for walks, listening to music, watching movies or painting! Before I decided to study journalism I considered studying fine arts so making time to do that is always good for the soul! I also know that sleep is super important so I try get more sleep.

What’s your favourite way to move?

I really love high intensity training, such as circuit training or just anything that gets my heart rate going! Otherwise I train weights in the gym or love climbing maunga with my friends. Doing exercise outdoors is definitely a favourite of mine. I love nature and seeing the beautiful sites that Aotearoa has is such a blessing! We are so lucky to call this place home. I’ve also started boxing which is so good!

What keeps you ryzn?
Since I have a very strong work ethic I like to be successful in everything I put my mind to, whether it’s in the gym, at work or helping others through Brave. I think life is too short and we may as well try and do and achieve as much as we can while we are here. When I am older I want to be able to look back at my life and know I had an incredible life full of doing amazing things.

If you could give your younger self or anyone else a piece of advice, what would it be?

“Do you boo!” Haha there’s not much I would say to my younger self to change in anyway. The only things I can think of is to not take on too much and get more sleep. I do however wish that I studied te reo Māori when I was back in high school. Te reo is such a beautiful language and I was too shy to study it when I was younger.

To everyone else, a piece of advice I have is to pursue whatever you are passionate about! Some people may have a dream to do well in something but think they aren’t good enough or the steps to get there are too hard. Life is too short to sit back and not do what you really want! Get up and make it happen.

Another piece of advice is to get outdoors for exercise. There are so many beautiful places to visit in Aotearoa that will blow your mind! Google bush walks or waterfalls that you can go on in your area and you will find somewhere beautiful I’m sure!

Where can we find you?

The best place to find me is on my IG page @jessicatyson08! https://www.instagram.com/jessicatyson08/