Candyman, aka Travers Beynon, selling his Candy Shop Mansion at Helensvale
The Candyman isn’t just switching off the lights at his notorious party house, but has gone dark on social media. Will he stage another comeback or is the party over?
Gold Coast
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It’s the end of an era.
Not only is the Gold Coast’s infamous Candyman, aka Travers Beynon, selling his Candy Shop Mansion at Helensvale, but apparently he’s ghosted the party people of the GC.
It seems the multi-millionaire businessman, owner and managing director of the Freechoice tobacco chain is not just switching off the lights at his notorious party house, but he’s also gone dark on social media.
Clicking the Instagram link embedded on the Candy Shop Mansion website diverts to a page stating ‘the link you followed may be broken, or the page may have been removed’.
Searching his Instagram handle, @traversbeynonofficial, results in the same information, while a Google search shows the last cached post was dated from September this year.
The Insta page @candyshopmansion has also been removed.
Over on Facebook, his verified page Travers Beynon is still alive, but the last post was on April 28, 2023, with many of the comments, some recent, questioning his whereabouts. The last post on the Candy Shop Mansion page was from almost five months ago.
Even his X, or Twitter, account, hasn’t seen any action since February 2022. As for the Candy Shop Mansion YouTube page, no videos have been upload for more than two years.
Meanwhile Mr Beynon has expressed, through real estate agent Evan Molloy of Hope Island Realty, that he’s selling his 5647 sqm riverfront block to “start a new chapter” with the arrival of a baby boy in 2024 and would be relocating to a more child-appropriate location with wife Taesha.
It was only back in April this year that the 51-year-old announced the couple was looking for a new ‘main girlfriend’ to live with them.
An online job application included a list of requirements for women hoping to win the position, as well as a glimpse into the kinds of daily activities she would be expected to perform.
“Being the girlfriend of Mr Beynon, a.k.a. The Candyman, not only must you be attractive to be considered as a girlfriend, but you must be fun, bubbly, outgoing, spontaneous, adventurous and respectful to everyone,” the website stated.
And it’s not like the Candyman hasn’t had a big break before … it was only one year ago when he made a comeback on the social scene, announcing a wild Australia Day party with 1200 hand-picked guests.
That came after months of social media silence and years without his once infamous Christmas parties.
But this time, there may not be a comeback … after all, a baby changes everything.
And if Mr Beynon is searching for a baby-friendly pad, that puts paid to any more parties.
Besides, without the Candy Shop Mansion, the branding is now baffling. Even the website domain is now redundant.
While many may find Mr Beynon’s ‘retirement’, or at least social silence, a relief, I’m a little saddened.
And I’m not the only one. Former Gold Coast tourism ambassador Melissa Burrows posted online she “adored” Mr Beynon.
“The parties were incredible, (I went) to all of them,” she said.
“He took my uncle on his last dying journey … he said his last wish was to go in a Lamborghini, so the Candyman came and took him for his last drive and made him feel so welcome and carried him to the car. He came to the funeral and snuck in and sat through the funeral to pay his respects.”
Love him or hate him, the Candyman sure has been entertaining.
Beyond that, he has also helped publicise our city. Sure, that landed on the tacky end of the marketing scale, but as a city famous for glitz and glamour, we have to accept that is part of our brand.
Now, sure, the Candyman’s parties were ultimately an endeavour to promote his Freechoice tobacco chain, without infringing on the tobacco advertising ban, but at least it was age-appropriate.
That’s in stark comparison to major vaping brands targeting teens in marketing campaigns. Whereas there’s no doubt the Candyman’s quasi-promotions were purely for adults only.
However, whether old-school smoking or the new version of vapes, anything nicotine-related is a tough business.
As of January 1, vape importation bans will begin in Australia, along with legislation to prevent domestic manufacture, advertisement, supply and sale of non-therapeutic and disposable single-use vapes – meaning many vape stores will have to close, or sell something else.
Last year, Freechoice stated there were more than 304 franchised stores in operation, whereas now the website states the number as 270.
So maybe this new move by the Candyman signals a new direction in terms of business, personal life and pleasure?
Regardless, without his eponymous mansion in action, there is no doubt that 2024 will be a little bit duller.
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