There could not be a more deserving winner of “Miss Personality” than peninsula girl, Elyce Vandersluys, who took out the Miss Supercars Australia category last year. For the bubbly blonde, who applied because she loves cars and promotional work, the title is one very close to her heart as she has always been a pocket dynamo, following her dreams from a young age.
“I never really knew what I wanted to do when I left school but I started out doing promotional work and loved it. It was then I moved to London at the age of 22, even though I had never lived out of home before,” said Elyce. “I thought it was warm in England and didn’t even take a jacket.”
With a plan to stay just six months and then fly back to Australia, life took another direction and soon the Somerville girl was travelling to countries on weekends and working for a talent agency doing a show on ITV2.
“It’s funny when I look back. I got there with no job, nowhere to stay and knew no one, but luckily a friend I worked with in Melbourne contacted me and asked me to share a room in London. Of course I accepted and that was the best decision I could have made,” said Elyce. “Within a week I got a job as a barista at the bottom of the Endomol Building although I didn’t even know what Endomol was. I ended up working at the cafe for about eight months and met some great people who worked upstairs. Next thing I knew I was working on the third floor on a casting team for a show called ” The Almost Impossible Gameshow”.
That was five years ago and since then life has taken off in leaps and bounds. For this 27 year old is now in the top five of Miss Supercars Australia, and runs two successful businesses on the peninsula.
“After working on different shows and getting back into promotional work for Azure Promotions like the Adidas Launch Party, London Cocktail week, and The Brit Awards ‘After Party’,
I decided to move back home,” she said.
Within a year of being back, the self-confessed tom boy who also loves to dress up was planning her own business ventures, finding a niche in the marketplace for promotional work and guided tours.
“It was 2017 when I started EV Promotions and EV Tours and they are going great. Even when I went away to do the Supercars, my business was able to still run with my dad at the helm,” said Elyce, who runs EV Tours with her father, John.
“It’s’ so great working with my dad. He drives the bus and everybody loves him,” she said of their business that does winery, cider and brewery tours, hens nights, bucks nights, races, weekend hire and airport and city charters.
“When I was away for that week doing the Miss Supercars Australia events in Queensland, dad just kept it all running,” said Elyce, explaining how she loved the whole full on week at the Vodafone Gold Coast 600 in October last year.
“The day we got there we hit the ground running with makeup, catwalk sessions and life-coaching workshops. As ambassadors, we got to experience once-in-a-lifetime high-octane supercars action on track with grid duties, drivers parade, corporate hospitality and pit walks,” said Elyce, who drove around with Craig Lowndes and had Chaz Mostert with her the first time on the Grid.
“I just love car racing and to be able to meet these guys was a real highlight. My dad only had daughters so I was the token boy, watching all the sports and car racing with him,” she said with a laugh. “I was thrilled to win the Miss Personality but just as rapt to be able to do a lap with Craig Lowndes the second time I was on the track for the drivers Parade. Even though he is a Holden driver and I’m a Ford girl, I was super stoked. He had just won Bathurst and he was retiring soon so I am very grateful to have met such a legend.”
Being part of the Miss Supercars Australia, Elyce was also involved in raising money for Variety the Children’s Charity, made some lifelong friends along the way, and came back to the peninsula even more determined to let her personality shine in her EV Tours and Promotions business.