My life as Candyman Travers Beynon’s daughter
LUCCIANA Beynon’s tobacco lord father is known for his raunchy lifestyle. However there’s something incredibly sweet about this 16-year-old aspiring Victoria’s Secret model.
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LUCCIANA Beynon’s tobacco lord father is known for his raunchy lifestyle.
However there’s something incredibly sweet about this 16-year-old aspiring Victoria’s Secret model
The final touches are put on Lucciana Beynon’s hair and make-up in the master bedroom of her father’s home, where the three kingsize beds in the background looking strangely empty minus the tangled mess of naked bodies under which they usually appear on Instagram.
Lucciana has been building her modelling portfolio steadily over the past year with a trip to New York and Los Angeles to shoot some fashion and lifestyle editorials as well a few appearances in local newspapers and magazines.
Her dad Travers modelled for Versace, Valentino and Calvin Klein in his hey day and has given her some pointers on striking a pose, diet and exercise and how to stay relevant and wealthy once the flush of youth has passed.
For the photoshoot we’ve been given free rein of the Candyman’s Hope Island mansion, which is an intriguing melting pot of decadence and regular family life.
A Rolls Royce is parked at the front entrance flanked by a tiny pink bicycle with ribbons on the handlebars.
The family pet Spartacus, a Jack Russell cross pug, saunters around the yard cocking his leg on everything he passes, marking his territory in much the same way his master places a possessive hand on a bare thigh or drapes an arm around an ample bust.
Tradies traipse across the lawn with construction on the mansion’s new wing in full swing.
Apparently seven bedrooms aren’t enough when you have as many friends as the Beynons.
The infinity pool with its intricate mosaic is drained for now but the family are still clearly enjoying the outdoors judging by the fireplace set before the outdoor setting with imposing high backed iron chairs which wouldn’t look out of place on a Game of Thrones set.
Lucciana’s stepmother Taesha, best known for starring in a controversial image where she appears to be on a leash, is make up free and in activewear at the kitchen bench.
While Serafina, 5, is at school little Velicia, 6, sporting an impressive patch of gravel rash from a run in with playground swing on her chin, is home sick.
Which as every mother knows means they come good as soon you make the doctor’s appointment.
Celebrating her “miracle” recovery, Velicia dances under the enormous crystal chandelier in the CandyShop Mansion foyer, trailing her hands on the velvet chairs as she rushes past the portrait of Napoleon and gallops up the grand staircase impatient to see what her big sister is up to.
The only naked women are those in the Roman bedroom mural who loll serenely around draped in sheets.
It could be a normal family home — if your normal involves sprawling infinity pools and marble statues.
This is Lucciana’s first cover shoot and in addition to the tips from her father the 16-year-old has done some research of her own.
She’s taken inspiration from her favourite celebrities and printed out their images to show the photographer.
Later on, we’ll recreate an image of Beyonce in a colourful smock, then there’s the range of activewear designed by Travers and launched this month, but first it’s off to her dad’s Mercedes G Wagon for a Kendall Jenner-esque set up.
With her statuesque height and sultry good looks, Lucciana’s delightful and innocent tribute to her Hollywood idols is a reminder she is in fact only 16.
“When I finish school I’ll still be 17 so as soon as I turn 18 I’m going to move to America forever,” Lucciana explains.
“I want to become a Victoria’s Secret angel and then ultimately become a supermodel.
“Then once my time is up, because you know modelling doesn’t last forever, I’ll get involved in the family business and invest in property.”
While she’s now surrounded by luxury, when Lucciana and her brother Valentino, 18, were born their father hadn’t yet reached the heady, smoke-filled heights of his current wealth.
Last year Lucciana did a stint at McDonald’s where spent her shifts taking orders for burgers and putting baskets of chips in and out of the deep fryer.
“It was kind of scary because I’ve never done anything like that before,” Lucciana says.
“But if there’s something expensive that I want I’ll talk to Dad about it and usually I pay for half of it.
“I think the luxury lifestyle he lives makes me even more driven to succeed because I want to live like he does.”
While Lucciana has already courted the interest of several US based modelling agencies, her father has insisted she finish her education first at Helensvale State High School.
The children originally attended a prestigious Gold Coast private school but never fit in.
Upon the move to Helensvale, Valentino went from being suspended at the previous college to captain at his new school.
When it’s suggested she could cause quite a stir arriving at school drop off in her father’s gold-plated Lamborghini Aventador or perhaps the red Ferrari, Lucciana looks mortified.
She doesn’t have her licence yet but when she does she knows she will be inheriting the battered Mitsubishi Triton her brother currently drives.
It’s a cast off from the family business and is still emblazoned with old FreeChoice advertising.
It seems Valentino is fresh out of luck when this day comes though.
The notion the young Candy prince will be getting his hands on any of his father’s prized cars makes Lucciana scoff.
“Um, no. He’s 18,” she laughs.
“Sometimes it’s really annoying when people assume what I’m like. I’ve heard the term ‘rich bitch’.
“They think I get whatever I want. But I think I’m really humble.
“Yes I do have luxuries but it’s not something I take for granted.”
While Lucciana has a best friend at school, the family-focused teen makes it clear she’s not striving to be Miss Popularity.
She has just finished telling us about her and Valentino’s favourite fishing spot at Runaway Bay when Travers strolls in beaming with pride at his little girl.
When Travers isn’t busy heading FreeChoice Tobacco he and Lucciana bond by riding jetskis, hitting the gym as Lucciana has done twice a day since age 13, or taking a sneaky trip to KFC.
“Lucciana is all me,” Travers says.
“She was a great football player. She was tough — 12-years-old and playing against the under 18s.
“But then she had to make the decision. Did she want to keep going and risk getting a broken nose?”
So what does Travers with his parade of beauties think of his daughter’s aspirations to become an underwear model — is he supportive?
“Yeah, 100 per cent. It all comes down to dreams and goals. It’s great my kids are setting high goals.
“They set them and then achieve them. I’d be disappointed if she didn’t have big dreams.”
With her growing number of social media followers, Lucciana has already got a taste of what is to come in the harsh world of modelling.
Crude comments about her father are not uncommon, even when she politely replies and points out she is still a teenager.
“I don’t care what people say about me but the untrue stuff they say about dad — that’s when I get upset and it gets to me,” Lucciana says.
And in that moment Lucciana isn’t the daughter of one of the Gold Coast’s most notorious playboys.
Model or otherwise, she’s just a beautiful young girl defending her daddy.
Follow Lucciana on Instagram @luccianabeynon and Snapchat lucci_beynon
Activewear available at candyshopmansion.com
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