Meet the lad who took on the ladies in the beauty pageant world and won
Conor Parlour is making a name for himself after winning his first pageant crown at 17
A PLUCKY teenager has told how he took on the girls at a beauty pageant – and won.
Conor Parlour decided to enter the female-dominated contests after talking to family member who already competed.
In April this year, the 17-year-old entered the Miss Belle North West contest in Holywell, Wales.
He told The Sun Online: “I was interested so I was looking on Facebook and I came across a poster and went for it.
“It’s open to males and females.It was nerve-wracking in the day but after I did rehearsals I was fine after that.
“It was my first event and I won.”
After bagging the sash and crown at the Welsh show, and being named Mr Face of Miss Belle North West, he went on to win the title of Mr Worldwide Ambassador and now plans to encourage other boys to take part in the shows.
He added: “Not many males enter them at the moment because it’s rare for men to think about it and it’s a very female run industry.”
The Denbighshire lad, along with sister Caitlyn and brother Cain who also compete, has raised £700 for charity so far and says boys shouldn’t be put off by preconceptions about the pageants.
He revealed: “It’s completely different to the American pageants. People think it’s toddlers in tiaras and they think ‘Why do people do that?’
“But over here it’s more natural and there’s a lot more that goes into it.
“You have to raise money for charity, make appearances, promote charities, and it’s not just prancing around on stage.”
He also insists it is not about body image or wearing skimpy clothing.
“You don’t have to go to the gym and be muscly,’ he said. “It’s whatever you’re comfortable with and I’m not that type of person.
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“I go to the gym occasionally to stay healthy but I don’t go to get more muscle because that’s not the sort of person I am.
“For males, at the event, there is an evening wear round which means wearing a suit and then for the fashion round it’s fashion wear, so you wear whatever you feel good in.”
He admits that his unusual hobby has met with some backlash on social media but he avoids Twitter and says he brushed off any trolls.
“My friends are supportive,” he said. “There have been a few jealous people who have been horrible but I just toss that over my shoulder.
“I’ve had some jealous comments and people saying ‘Why are you doing it?’
“I’ve had a few nasty comments on Facebook, like laughing faces and stuff like that but I don’t care.
“At the end of the day, I’m just being me.”
