How Tash Oakley went from blogger to running a multimillion-dollar bikini empire
Tash Oakley speaks candidly to Sydney Confidential about the success of the multimillion-dollar bikini business she runs with her best friend Devin Brugman, photo editing controversy and her split from Theo Chambers.
Confidential
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Natasha Oakley is not just a pretty face.
At 29, the Bronte-born model runs a multimillion-dollar bikini empire with her best friend Devin Brugman.
Oakley’s business, Monday Swimwear, has grown rapidly around the world since it first launched five years ago and she told Confidential that their practical mindset has been the key to rapid success.
“You just have to grow slowly and not get too excited about your growth early on,” she said.
“I mean 90 per cent of small businesses fail because they scale up too quickly, we were really lucky that we already had a career going with A Bikini a Day and our other companies and we were able to put some funds towards starting Monday in the beginning.
“We started really small, in our lounge room with just the two of us. Our entire apartment was filled with boxes of swimwear when the shipment arrived and we only had our bedrooms to live in so that’s how we started. We wanted to take it slowly and do it right we’ve never been greedy with it and tried to scale up too quickly.”
The road to success has not been easy for Oakley, who has faced intense media scrutiny over her appearance and social media trolling over the years.
In 2016, she was criticised by the media for having “cellulite” in unflattering paparazzi photos and she made headlines again that same year when she admitted to retouching her Instagram photos.
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The model said despite being repeatedly attacked for her weight over the years, she feels happy and confident in her own skin.
“I’ve gone through ups and downs – I like to think that other women don’t judge other women’s bodies because you never know what’s going on in their life,” she said.
“You could be a busy mother, or in a relationship that’s all-consuming, there’s things that could be going on in your life that don’t give you the time to work out or diet.”
She said she is transparent about photo editing and understands why it’s controversial.
“Yeah absolutely [I still edit photos], it just depends on the images,” she said.
“I’m very open and transparent about the fact that all of our campaign images are edited because they go on billboards and they’re large images but anything for social media we don’t edit.
“It’s highly controversial and it’s a topic that people latch on to and like to give a lot of attention to.”
Oakley says health and wellness have become more of a priority in recent months, which has boosted her body confidence.
“I’ve definitely been toning up and I probably have lost a little bit of weight. I’ve been very into Pilates with my trainer Jacqui Kingswell at Body Love Pilates. I’m working out 4 or 5 times a week and I feel like I’ve finally found what works for my body,” she said.
“No dieting, I just generally have a healthy diet and crave healthy food. I’m pescetarian or sometimes vegetarian and sometimes vegan but I don’t eat meat. I love salad, I eat a lot of fresh foods and will definitely have a little bit of chocolate at night and on the weekends Italian [food].”
Oakley, who is based in Los Angeles, is back home for the launch of Monday Swimwear now being available in Australia.
It’s a bittersweet time for the swimwear entrepreneur, who recently split from boyfriend Theo Chambers, son of Chambers Cellar founder Steven Chambers.
However, she says they’re still friends and she’s excited about the future.
“We broke up, we’re still really good friends. I do travel a lot and have a very different lifestyle. We had an amazing relationship but these things happen in life,” she said.
“I’m really happy. I feel really healthy, fit and positive.”
Originally published as How Tash Oakley went from blogger to running a multimillion-dollar bikini empire