INTERVIEW with Rachel Gallagher || Ms Galaxy Australia National Finalist 2024

Above: Photo by Zeeshawn Photography

SD: Hi Rachel. Can you introduce yourself to my readers who don’t know you yet?

RG: I’m a writer and model and pageant competitor based in Sydney, Australia. Over the last five years I’ve modelled and written for brands all around the world, but my journey started long before I earned those accomplishments. I’ve had a very diverse career where I’ve been a high school English teacher through to earning a Masters degree in Education through to competing in beauty pageants, then working as a model and a writer. 

During my journey I realised just how much people don’t know about the fashion industry, so I began my sustainable fashion blog and podcast, About Your Clothes, where I uncover the inner workings of the fashion industry so that everyday people can learn and understand what goes on behind the scenes. This year, I’m also a national finalist for Ms. Galaxy Australia. 

SD: You’re a finalist for Ms Galaxy Australia 2024. Can you tell us more about it?

RG: This is my second year competing in Ms. Galaxy Australia, and it's the first time I’ve competed twice in the same pageant system (which says a lot about how great Galaxy is)! After many years competing in beauty pageants, Australia Galaxy Pageants stands out to me for all the right reasons. It’s such a community-based pageant, where we’re encouraged to proactively empower others through volunteering and our respective advocacy platforms. 

I have always loved volunteering even before my pageant career, and during my Galaxy journey I’ve been working closely with Dress for Success. This is a non-profit organisation that’s so close to my heart, as I’ve been volunteering with Dress for Success since before entering Galaxy the first time! The greatest part about Dress for Success is regularly styling women for job interviews as they enter or re-enter the workforce. We provide them with a completely free service, using high quality donated clothing, which provides them such a great opportunity to be empowered towards financial independence for themselves and their families. 

Australia Galaxy Pageants is also a great opportunity to empower and educate others about the causes that are important and close to our hearts. As an advocate for sustainable fashion, my goal is to help people understand where our clothes come from, who makes them, and what we can do as individuals to build a better system for our world. My aim is to equip people with knowledge about sustainable fashion but to also give voices to people with knowledge to share about sustainability - especially women working in this space - who otherwise haven’t had the opportunity to share their expertise yet. 

SD: How did you become interested in pageants?

RG: Back in 2018, I was scrolling on Instagram one morning before work and found a post about beauty pageants. I come from a competitive Irish dance background, so I was very used to being on stage and decided to enter my first pageant to see what would happen. Little did I know that this decision would set me on a path that would completely change my life. 

Before pageantry I had never seriously considered modelling and struggled a lot with confidence in my writing abilities, and I’m fairly certain that without beauty pageants I wouldn’t be where I am today. Now, looking back, I think the beauty of beauty pageants comes from the journey of self discovery that we go on when we decide to take that first initial leap into the unknown. That takes a lot of bravery! Since that first leap, I just kept rolling with whatever came my way. It was the best decision I ever made. 

What’s in your makeup bag right now?

RG: You would think that someone who does beauty pageants and modelling would have a whole heap of makeup. But, I like to keep my makeup very simple. My favourite thing to use daily is Natio’s tinted moisturiser (with SPF, very important for protection from the Australian sun!). For modelling and pageants, I stick to tarte foundation, tarte shape tape concealer, and mascara from Benefit. I really am a girl of simple tastes!

Above: Photo supplied by Rachel Gallagher

SD: What is your vision of success?

RG: I think everyone’s vision of success is going to be very specific to them, and that idea of success also might change over time. A few years ago, I would have said being a full-time model travelling all over the world would be my vision of success. Now, being a little bit older with some life experience under my belt, I really find success in how I can use my skills to help other people. 

Recently I’ve started posting modelling tips on my Instagram, which started out as a bit of an experiment to see what would happen, and has since started to take on a life of its own. I’ve had so many great opportunities so far in my life, and I find that feeling of success and fulfilment in teaching other people to help them achieve their own goals. 

SD: What do you admire in a woman and why?

RG: I admire women with tenacity. Women who keep going, when the going gets tough. I think, in our society, that a lot of value is placed upon who is physically the biggest, strongest, or most beautiful. Those things are great, but I also think that mental resilience is equally important, and so I really admire women who have cultivated that skill. The great thing about being a national finalist for Ms. Galaxy Australia is that we fundraise for batyr, a mental health organisation that supports young people with building mental resilience and skills to improve and maintain their mental health now and into the future.

SD: If you could give one piece of advice to your 14 year old self, what would it be?

RG: Don’t be afraid to be who you are. I think most teenagers struggle with finding their identity, and looking back at 14-year-old me, I was always a little bit ‘different’ than the other kids. Over the years I’ve learnt to accept that I’ll always be a little bit ‘different’, whether it’s because of the interests I pursue like beauty pageants or the diverse and non-linear career I’ve had so far. But that’s where the joy of life comes from, in having great stories to look back on and think “yeah, I really did that!”

SD: Who are you most inspired by in the Pageant World and why?

RG: Definitely the reigning Australia Galaxy Queens (all of them, I can’t pick a favourite!). They each have their own platforms that they advocate for whether it’s educating others about Indigenous culture or helping people discover their confidence. It’s been inspiring watching them work throughout their year of reign and seeing how much they’ve achieved with the opportunity that Galaxy has provided.

SD: How have beauty pageants impacted your life and your career?

RG: Beauty pageants have changed my life entirely. Without that initial start in beauty pageants, I honestly don’t know what I’d be doing now. I may have stayed a high school English teacher and never had the amazing life experiences that I have now. Who knows? What I do know is that once I took that first opportunity, I never looked back!

SD: What is your best beauty secret?

RG: Beauty doesn’t come from how much makeup you put on or the outfits you wear. Beauty comes from who you are and what you choose to do to impact other peoples’ lives. Finding that inner happiness and feeling of fulfilment through how you live in the world is the real beauty secret.

Rachel’s Links:
Website: https://www.therachelgallagher.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelg.img/
Rachel’s batyr fundraising page: https://www.batyr.com.au/my-fundraising/136/rachel-gallagher---australia-galaxy-pageants-national-finalist-2024
About Your Clothes: https://www.aboutyourclothes.com/

Above: Photo by Brave Nguyen