Today we’d like to introduce you to Nyisha Tilus.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My name is Nyisha Josette Tilus, I am born to a father from Haiti and a mother from The Bahamas. I grew up in a shanty town on a family island in The Bahamas called Abaco. While living in a shanty town came with a certain set of challenges in itself, I also grew up in an abusive household, lacked confidence, and was an all-around mess internally truthfully.
All of this changed when I decided to run away from home on a quest for more that I knew was out there for me to prove to my mother at that time that she could leave my abusive stepdad if I was able to ‘make it’… so could she. But I had no idea that it would be the thing that would propel me to my purpose. I join my first pageant after leaving home, what was attending a meeting with a cousin turned into me being a contestant in the Miss Abaco pageant, and that’s where it all changed.
I started speaking up for causes such as domestic violence and being a voice for the voiceless and in this case my mother. While my journey wasn’t a straight line, I received a ton of criticism as a young woman entering a pageant in a country with a last time that is attached to another country. With so much negativity because I was of Haitian descent I decided that I would never join another pageant again.
Some 5 years later, I get a Word from the Lord to prepare for my next pageant after moving to Nassau to pursue a bachelor’s degree with 10 dollars in my pocket, as I prepare for my next pageant… I join my University pageant as a means of preparing for Miss Bahamas to get my feet wet since I’d been out of the pageant industry for a few years. Well, God has other plans after winning that pageant and being the first Miss University of The Bahamas as the oldest and first to represent the university at Miss World Bahamas where I had an opportunity to compete and place top 5.
It is there where I began my very special movement, Uncaged. This movement grew as a member of the pageant that I competed in looks me in the face and say, “There is dignity in defeat” but I felt so full that I believed that I wasn’t defeated but rather, I was uncaged. This led to my first book Uncaged: Release Your Inner Queen as a means to express my story and journey in a tangible way while having something move to offer for my next pageant which was Miss Bahamas Universe.
I competed in this system for two years placing 1st and 2nd runner respectively and feeling like what God was saying and what He promised wasn’t coming to pass, but realized that He doesn’t lie and I make Him one if I don’t have the audacity to believe and relentlessly go after what He said. In that spirit, I signed up for the opportunity to represent The Bahamas at one of the top 5 pageants in the world and realized that as an independent candidate.
I wouldn’t have the finances to move forward but signed up on faith on OCT 13 and woke up on Oct 14 to a virtual competition created for countries like The Bahamas that would have candidates interested in competing independently and prizes including airfare and full payment of the contestant entry which was just what I needed and realized that this was for me. I informed the organization of my decision to take that route and at that moment I had the mindset of He said it and that was all that I needed.
I became the first Miss Supra Star Search in 2020 and Miss Supranational Bahamas in 2021 after competing with 44 countries. Having the chance to finally walk across an international stage with the Bahamas across my chest I was full after placing To; 30 and winning Miss Congeniality. All of this led to a dream I had left on the back burner due to my desire to compete in pageants. Today I am the owner of REGAL EXCELLENCE responsible for the training, management, and production of Miss Bahamas Teen and much more.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not been a smooth road. One of the major struggles along the way was realizing that I could have done both. There are so many dreams in us and we are often under the impression that we have to have either or when we can boldly walk into the multi-dimensional beings that we are called to be.
Accepting that it’s okay to be a student, speaker, author, business owner, and pageant girl at the same time while remembering that we have everything that we need to get started. There’s no such thing as the perfect time to launch or get started. It’s a matter of believing enough to bet on yourself.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am known for so many things depending on the space that I am in. But as of late, I am been allowing myself to tap into my creative side whether as a programs manager and planning events or producing/choreographing a pageant to writing my next book. After writing my first book Uncaged I wanted to highlight this evolving journey to self-discovery.
I’ve always been on a quest to find and live in my authentic truth and want to take others on the ride with me ever since I found my voice, built my self-esteem, and realized my self-worth. Like many women and girls out there, I’ve been faced with many conflicts, however; the most challenging was the one within. And I am known for using my triumphs and failures to help equip women to break out of the cage that they’ve developed over the years.
That is why part one of the three-part Uncaged book series is more than a call to action it is a movement and for others a lifestyle of breaking out of the cage you’ve been placed in. Whether in your personal or professional life, I believe we can be set free to truly walk into purpose but we much decide to release our inner queen.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
Family is so important to me. Now more than ever after using my little brother after the Christmas Holiday last year. My family is my world and I work as hard as I do and push myself to pursue as a representation to them that anything is possible. It has always been a matter of showing them that the world is at their feet. The fact that I’m able to make a difference and go after my dreams means that they can too.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamnyishatilus/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IamNyishaTilus
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamnyishatilus/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@iamnyishatilus5335/videos
- Other: https://www.amazon.com/Uncaged-Release-Your-Inner-Queen/dp/B0938RJWMF
Image Credits
Navardo Dawkins (N Dawkins Studios) and Roderick Wells (The Cou Studios)
