Meleesa Natasha Payne – a woman who never ceases to amaze

Oct 27, 2019 News

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Meleesa Natasha Payne is a household name not only in Guyana but across the Caribbean. She is also known in the United States. What many will agree is the fact that she is a woman who never ceases to amaze those around her. Every time one thinks she has reached her full potential, she pushes another boundary and successfully breaks another barrier.

However, Mel, as she is fondly called by those close to her, isn’t just a ‘go getter’.
Many things have contributed to the type of person who she is today and to the things she has achieved. A reporter from this newspaper recently sat down with her to get to know her, ‘the real Mel’, and it was certainly interesting.
Describing her childhood days, Payne related that, “Growing up, I was a pretty smart kid because I knew a lot of things early in life.” Laughingly, she said that her mom popped her bubble on the whole Santa Claus perception as she told her he didn’t exist and it was her mom who was putting the gifts under the Christmas tree.
Her mom also explained that the Tooth Fairy was a myth and she was also the one who placed the money under her pillow every time a tooth fell out. In short, Mel’s mother was a realist and didn’t encourage her children to base their childhood on fairy tales.
She described her childhood as vibrant, as she played games with her siblings, neighbours and friends; even though she wasn’t allowed to go outside much until her mom said she was old enough to do so. She described this age as “knowing yourself” and since they lived next to the seawalls at the time, this was practical as it could get.
“We would go on Sundays and (sometimes) we even tried to swim in the ocean. Though I still can’t swim, it was still fun. We played tons of ring games during the August vacation and had folklore sessions,” she laughingly recalled.
Payne also came from a Christian background and her grandmother often told her Bible stories and took them to Vacation Bible School.
“I climbed a lot of trees. There was this big tamarind tree that I loved to climb and then there were two football teams, the “White Socks” and I can’t remember the name of the other one,” she recalled. She went on to explain that she was on the “White Socks” and the game was a passion of hers.
Payne was very competitive as a child and she didn’t take anything for granted. She avoided board games because if there was cheating or she lost, “all hell would break loose”.
Another passion of hers was dancing, and at an early age, she was enrolled into the National School of Dance. Being very artistic, painting and drawing came naturally to her as well.
She attended the New Campbellville Secondary School, Critchlow Labour College where she studied Industrial Relations and Social Studies; Carnegie School of Home Economics and Professional Studies where she studied Cosmetology.
Her modelling career, which helped in her become a household name, began with the Miss Guyana Talented Teen, which she considers her first pageant. It all came about when her brother made a bet with her that she couldn’t be feminine enough to wear a dress, as she was too “tomboyish”.
Always wanting to compete with the boys in their games and hanging out with them most of her time, she made a miniscule number of female friends. The fact that she was told that she didn’t look the part, fuelled her to enter the pageant and of course, there was a monetary motivation.
“The Miss Guyana Talented Teen was headed by Miss Pamela Dillon. What she did was to ensure that we were all well grounded young women and to this day, I am grateful. Because some of the things I have learnt for the very first time happened in that pageant,” she shared.
Dealing with one’s self from a spiritual perspective, to cry with an agenda, always have a ‘Plan B’ when you’re heartbroken, are things she kept with her all these years and she instils them in her models or whoever she works with. She even celebrated her 16th birthday during the pageant and it is one of her favourite memories.
“I ventured off into other pageants and modelling internationally. The Miss Ecstasy in 2005, I won Best Talent and was part of the top five. I did the Miss Caribbean World in 2006 and was Second Runner-up and copped Best Talent again,” Mel noted.
In 2006, she won Miss Jaycees, Miss Guyana Universe in 2007, Miss Carnival in 2008, Miss Tropical Paradise in 2009 and Miss Model International in 2010; that’s five consecutive years of “queening” while balancing school and work.
As Payne became older, she discovered her love for designing and she had another trick up her sleeve – business intuition. She started with fabrics and launched an Afro Caribbean Line, which included tie dyes. Now the CEO of Expression Designs, she is known for her swimsuits which she added to her budding business.
She informed this publication that she has also designed gowns and costumes for competitions and has managed to cop the top prizes with known and recognized designers being in the mix.
However, she hasn’t quit modelling and there are a number of things left for her to achieve. In fact, Payne has vowed to keep on “repping” Guyana wherever she goes and is committed to making astonishing changes in fashion and modelling industry at home and abroad.

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