A winner has been crowned and a whack of incredible prizes won. It was never going to be an easy decision considering the bevy of beautiful beach babes who entered Miss Zag, 136 of them to be exact, but in the end there can be only one.
So who is the new queen of the beach? Which gorgeous lady is now officially SA’s sexiest beach babe?
Her name’s Nicole Naude, a twenty year-old stokie from Durban who’s just recently been bitten by the surfing bug – a proper bite this time. Nicole has won herself the incredible Miss Zag prize of a two year modelling contract with Boss Models; a trip to Europe to shoot her portfolio to kick-start her modelling career, and a holiday for two to Mozam to try out her quiver of surfboards sponsored by Safari. Not bad at all.
We dropped in on Nicole to break the news to her, find out if we could convince her to trade her prizes for something incredibly valuable, and to learn what the first order of business is for the new queen of the beach:
Zigzag: Hi Nicole, we think you better sit down for this one! It’s official, you’re the winner of Miss Zag, congratulations! So, erm, you’re now like officially SA’s sexiest beach babe.
Nicole: (Non-stop screaming for about a minute) WOW! Thank you so much! (More screaming) Maybe say that again, I like the sound of that title!
How’s it feel?
I feel really overwhelmed. To be honest I did not expect to hear those words, which makes this all even more exciting! SA’s sexiest beach babe, sho, didn’t think I would hear that either, haha, it’s too awesome.
Besides the minor stuff like a modeling contract, a trip to Europe to shoot your new portfolio and a new wardrobe full of clothing, you’ve also won a quiver of surfboards and a trip for two to Mozam. Are you willing to trade those last two for a autographed picture of the Zag staff?
Um… NO! Definitely not, haha! I recently went to Mozam for the first time and fell in love. So to be re-united with such a stunning place is going to be insane! And surfboards!!! My bbm status recently has actually been “I want a longboard baaaadly”, which was a hint to friends as my birthdays coming up soon. But now no need for my hints! I’m so happy to be getting a board to start my new hobby on.
Nicole has been getting hooked on surfing.
Fair enough, we don’t give those things away cheap anyways. We heard you were in the process of ordering a new board before we called. Guess the timing couldn’t have been better. What boards are you going to order?
Exactly! I have actually been looking around to get myself a board. I recently learnt to surf while I was in Cape Town and became obsessed. So I will definitely be appreciating that prize and will make the most of it. I’m thinking of starting out with a mini mal, and then moving on to something smaller.
How long have you been surfing? How would you rate yourself and what’s your dream session?
When I moved to Durbs in 2005 I actually made friends with a few pro surfers and used to always attempt to surf to impress some of the guys 😉 But I pretty much just paddled out and sat on a board at backline. So only recently on my holiday did I seriously want to start surfing and get a board, and clearly this time round it was for the right reasons, haha. So I’m not very good at the moment, but I really hope to be, and I would love to be in a barrel with crystal clear water someday – obviously with lots of practice on my new board 😉
Since you’re not willing to swap your Mozam trip, who are you planning to take with to go surfing?
I haven’t actually decided to be honest. I will see which friend sucks up the most – kidding. But I do have some thinking to do, as I don’t want to make anyone jealous, so maybe my mom will be the best bet, as she’s never seen the beauty of Mozam. She can read a book while I surf 😉
And modeling? Are you an old hand, or new to the game?
I have been modeling for a while and I model for Models International here in Durban.
Ever been to Europe? Are you looking forward to the experience with Boss?
I have never been to mainland Europe, but I visited my Gran in 2006 who stays in England, which was a great experience, but I can’t wait to see more and work in such a continent. I can’t wait for this opportunity with Boss Models and feel incredibly blessed.
You do know that the beaches over there are all bikini-optional though, right?
Haha, that will be very interesting. It will take a lot of getting used to if I had to be around that, but maybe one day I’ll join in, as right now it seems unusual but over there it’s just another norm.
Speaking of bikini-optional, the Zag online ed lost his boardies trying to duckdive a set at Cave Rock once. Have you ever had any disastrous moments while surfing / on the beach?
Well, I’ve often had close encounters with losing a bikini in the sea, but the most embarrassing was when a girlfriend deliberately pulled off my string bikini in front of a huge group of people. Thank goodness I had quick enough reflexes to wrap my towel around myself before anyone got a good show.
As the new queen of the beach, what is your first order of business?
As soon as I was put in contact with Lonnie from Safari surfboards, I called and we are getting the ball rolling in terms of getting an amazing new board. As soon as they’re ready then I will be booking my incredible holiday in Mozam to have a relaxing and fun time before the modeling part of the competition kicks in. Super excited! Thanks so much again for the amazing honor to be named Miss Zag.
