The Plus Size Industry grows more each day but to many we are still a ‘Momma & Papa’ brand and not a ‘Dynasty’. I think all of that is about to change. First rule of the game. Respect and teamwork. As vendors, models, designers and customers we need to find that unity and stick with it. There is no place or time for cattiness or even ill behaviour. I also don’t believe in the word competition. We all have something different to bring to the table we just have to find that nitch. It is with great pleasure that I bring ‘Sir Ronnie’, I like to call him. If you were to speak with him on the phone you would know what I mean. He sounds like royalty.
Ronnie Ajoku is the editor of the # 1 UK publication ‘Just As Beatiful Magazine’ for the plus size reader or fashionista. He has actually done the impossible and has provided us with a print magazine. Most of the plus size magazines are run by women. Here we have a man taking the bull by the horns and I just love it.
A little on your history..do share..
My name is Ronnie Ajoku (I’m 42-years-old) and I was born and still live in London, England. I hold a B.A Hons. Degree in History and a Diploma (Distinction) in Journalism.
I started out in advertising before my move to becoming a journalist and subsequent publisher.
Big or small family, what do you do on your down time.
I wouldn’t say I have a large immediate family as I’m the oldest of 4 (I have 2 brothers and a sister). On the whole, my family tend to be slim, although we do have some members that are bigger in size than others when I include my cousins, uncles and aunts etc.
I don’t usually get much time to relax as if I’m not at my desk, in meetings or networking, I’m out attending events. But when I do get time to myself I like to read books. At the moment I tend to live a quite sort of life, although I have been known to visit a nightclub or two once in a blue moon.
How did you get involved with the magazine.
I have always maintained that Just As Beautiful is more than a brand or magazine. It is in many ways a ‘movement’. I noticed that curvy women were not appreciated by the media generally and thought that I would do something about it. Basically, it began as a response to the fact that while the average size woman in the UK is a size 16, this was not represented in the pages of women’s magazines.
However, these same magazines that didn’t feature more plus-size and curvy women promoted diets. There seemed to be a new diet every time and an unhealthy obsession to be skinny, whether you are naturally built that way or not. Celebrities were always criticised when they put on a few pounds and on top of that, there were stories of people literally dying due to malnourishment in a bid to fit the skinny mould.
I just thought that this was all so silly, and wanted to find out if I was the only one that realised that this was unreasonable. There just had to be a balance. As a result, I conducted a little bit of research into this and found out that many women actually felt bad about the fact that they do not see people that look like themselves in magazines except when being criticised because of their size. To be honest, I wasn’t surprised.
There was also another thing that struck me and that was that even though mainstream media appeared to sweep the curvy and plus-size population under the carpet, there were a number of publications that highlighted bigger women but in a pornographic way.
Don’t get me wrong here, I am not out to criticise other peoples businesses. If there is a demand, then naturally there would be a supplier – simple economics in a capitalist world. I just thought that there must be a market for a magazine that does not do this, but still celebrates and caters towards women with curves.
But then there was the problem of choosing a worthy name for the magazine. The idea was there but I must admit took a while to come up with a name. While on a train (months after the research was conducted) I got thinking. If people say that “beauty is in the eyes of the beholder”, does it not follow that every woman is therefore “just as beautiful” as any other woman? And that’s how the name was born. The name wasn’t chosen to be patronising or anything like that and people that choose to criticise the name need to understand the origin of it.
Who would argue against saying that every woman is “just as beautiful” as the next woman if you truly believe that every body is entitled to an opinion? If you believe that “beauty is in the eyes of the beholder”, then you are simply saying that all women are “just as beautiful” as each other but in a different way.
Just As Beautiful is a magazine owned and produced by London Business Communications & Publishing (LBCP), of which I am the Director.
That is how it was born towards the end of 2006; as a free electronic publication.
A 20-page pilot issue to test responses to the possibility of us producing such a publication was distributed via email on December 20, 2006. People began passing it on to others and we started getting good feedback. The following month, January 2007, we put out the first real issue, although still in PDF format and the brand was built.
We first hit the headlines in 2007 when we began our search for a plus size girl band. Many people picked up on what were doing and we ended up securing coverage in many newspapers and on the BBC news and even Good Morning America!
A few months later we were invited to put on a plus size fashion show for ITV1 (the largest commercial television station in the UK).
After about a year we decided to go bi-monthly in 2008 and after building up a following, some of whom were asking for hardcopy, launched our glossy printed pilot version late September 2010.
As part of the change towards becoming more inclusive and our move to print, Just As Beautiful Magazine’s slogan was changed from “The UK’s First Free Magazine Dedicated To The Plus-Size Woman” to “The UK’s No1 Lifestyle Magazine For Curvy Women”.
This made international headlines and was covered in a number of national newspapers such as The Sun, The Times, The Daily Mail, The Observer, The Week, Media Week, trade publications and so many radio stations. It was also featured on television programmes and made the home page covers of Yahoo! And AOL!
Not only in the UK but all over the world people wanted to talk to us about what they had finally realised was more than just a magazine. It is a movement.
It has to be said that while Just As Beautiful doesn’t push dieting, we do encourage a healthy lifestyle and ensure we have features on practical exercise.
Could you describe the beauty of a plus size woman?
Where do I start? The beauty of a curvy woman lies in the fact that she is naturally endowed. People come in all shapes and sizes, but I do think that however people are built, they should make the best use of it. There is no point wishing you look like someone else when you are “just as beautiful” as the person you want to look like.
Be proud of who you are, celebrate your human right to feel beautiful and don’t let anyone tell you any different. As far as I am concerned it is now time to celebrate curves and remain healthy at the same time.
What is your vision and goal for the magazine in 2011.
We are planning to update our website (www.justasbeautiful.co.uk) to be more interactive as well as to strategically extend our distribution outlets and grow organically. The current economic climate means that we have to be very careful with what we do and how we do it, considering the fall in print advertising spend.
Another plan for the near future is the development of our events division which will oversee the upcoming Miss Plus Britain and Britain’s Next Plus Model events.
Copies of Just As Beautiful can be purchased from our website: www.justasbeautiful.com.
P.S. Ronnie provided me with a free version just for the DVD readers something that has never been done before here is the link: http://www.yudu.com/item/details/294473/Just-As-Beautiful-Magazine-feb-2011
Enjoy!!
Olga Ramos -- Daily Venus Diva.
Great interview Olga! I actually had a chance to come out in the Mag when it was online and the title of the article was titled “A Big Girl at 30″
I love the name of the Magazine, it speaks volumes.
Great interview…..didn’t know about this publication, Olga….thanks for the info….I am teaching at FIT and doing research for my class!!!
Hi LiMarie,
I love that you were featured. I am proud to say that I am a contributing columnist ‘Relationship Adviser’ for them and also run my famous ‘Dear Olga’ column out of that magazine as well. I love to see my work published in print. I actually have two pages full of my ‘Dear Olga’!
This magazine rocks and I love that Daily Venus Diva had the pleasure of this interview. Ronnie is addicted to our magazine he never misses a chance to read our Daily Venus Diva.
Curvaciously Yours,
Olga Gonzalez-Ramos
Lifestyle Editor
Daily Venus Diva Magazine
WONDERFUL getting to know Ronnie! Olga, thanks for bringing this to us
Hugs… Valery