Madison Kvaltin
Height: 5’7
Hometown: Manitoulin Island, ON
Languages: English
Occupation: Serial Entrepreneur
Madison is a decorated Canadian pageant titleholder who knows how much work it takes to be a successful and inspiring change maker in pageantry & life at large! Madison attended Queen’s University to obtain her Bachelors of Honours Cum Laude in Sociology and Business; inspiring her entrepreneurial spirit. Madison now owns and operates a Marketing and Web Design company. She also has an athletic company called Skilla Athletics, a brand that promotes healthy body confidence and the celebration of bodies through movement. And lastly Madison has created a community called The Body Love Club, where she uses social platforms, workshops, empowerment retreats, mindful movement classes, mental health walks and self defence classes to empower others through movement. Madison aims to teach all bodies to love and fuel themselves, because our bodies deserve to be taken care of!
A woman of passion and adventure, Madison aims to be a positive and vibrant light in any room. Born in a small town in Northern Ontario, Madison always new she was meant for something great. She is travel and adventure driven, as she believes that travel is a massive way to become educated, cultured and develop an understanding of difference.
So why Pageantry? After being hospitalized due to the severity of her eating disorder in her youth, she decided to become the light that she and so many others needed. Pageantry for Madison revolves around her philanthropy in the body confidence and mental wellness space; her goals with Miss Universe Canada are to inspire and continue to empower others to love their bodies through all stages of life. She now actively promotes her platform of body confidence and fuelling our bodies with movement to the masses, through her businesses and other social means. Madison is a massive believer that beauty fades, but the impact you leave on the world can last a lifetime.
What are your interests and what do you enjoy doing the most?
I am massively passionate about body confidence and fueling your body with movement; including sports (cross country, volleyball, soccer, football, skating, dance), boxing, pilates, yoga & so much more! I love branding and design, as this is a key role in my Website Design and Social Media Management Company. I love art & anything DIY. But most importantly I love giving back; whether it is giving workshops and seminars on Body confidence, blood drives, charity work, & so much more.
In what sports, if any, have you participated?
I love doing any and all sports!! As a child I competed competitively in Swimming; but continued to explore different sports in High School and College for fun, including Dance, Track (Hurdles), cross country running, football, soccer, boxing & so on!
Name one person, other than your parents, who has had the most influence on your life. Why?
One of the most impactful women in my life would have to be Cheryl Kozera. The Pageant Director for Miss North Ontario. Cheryl has empowered hundreds of women to find their voice within the world of pageantry. I don’t think I’d be the same strong, empowered, and change-driven woman I am today if it wasn’t for her. She believes that looks fade, but the impression and impact you make on the world is priceless. She inspired me to pursue my dreams and push my platform farther than I could have ever imagined. Cheryl has empowered me, to want to empower other young women to become the best version of themselves, to build a better future.
What is your proudest personal accomplishment (other than participating in this pageant)?
My proudest personal accomplishment has to be the pursuit of my business Skilla Athletics and my wellness community The Body Love Club. Skilla is a brand rooted in exposing the exercise realm and promoting the use of exercise for its holistic benefits beyond changing them to fit societal norms. With this brand, we are promoting body confidence and body acceptance, and the use of movement to celebrate our bodies. The Body Love Club is a mental wellness community that emphasizes the use of movement to fuel, love and respect our bodies; we provide knowledge on body confidence through social means, seminars and workshops, but we also engage in mental health walks, self defence classes and mindful movement workshops to inspire all bodies to use movement as a method of empowerment and self development; not as a means to change our bodies to fit unrealistic societal needs. As of right now, I am actively teaching all bodies, regardless of shape, size, colour, age, etc., on how to build body confidence and provide our bodies with the fuel it needs!
What is the most interesting or unique thing that has ever happened to you and/or what is the most interesting thing about you?
I think an interesting thing about me is when I was in Australia I tripped and fell while bartending abroad and fractured my elbow; requiring surgery and a screw in my elbow. For the last few months of my student exchange in Australia, I had a robot arm cast to help me relearn how to use my arm. This was super challenging for me as I went from being in the gym every day and playing a bunch of sports, to having to relearn the basics of moving my elbow, using my fingers, carrying and lifting things. To this day, I’m still trying to relearn how to do a pull up because of the pressure and angle of the screw in my arm. Isn’t it humorous, I broke my humerus, slipping on a non-slip mat!
What is your career ambition and what are you doing or plan to do to accomplish that goal?
My Career ambition is to build a series of passive streams of income to create a life of financial freedom, and freedom to give back (in both time and money). At the moment I own two companies, an Athletic Company and a Website design/Social Media Management company; and a developing my wellness community. I’m in the process of saving my money to purchase my first Airbnb, with a goal of owning an Airbnb in a majority of major cities around the world. I also plan on completing my Real Estate and Brokers license to build and operate a real estate brokerage, helping others with their Airbnb and investment properties. Right now, I’m focusing on building out my two companies to run on autopilot, then I will transition to the next goal. For me I do not have 1 career goal, my goal Is a diversified portfolio, continuing to challenge myself and try new things! This will then allow me to focus on spreading my message of body confidence and celebration of our bodies at all stages of life.
What would be your “dream job” in life?
Honestly, I would love to be able to travel the world and help people while being paid to do so. In those travels, I would continue to learn, educate and volunteer; in addition to promoting fitness and my platform of celebrating our bodies with movement.
Describe where you were raised and what your childhood was like.
I grew up in a small town in Northern Ontario. Most of my days were outside playing road hockey on the streets, jumping in the mud and spending time with my family! Although my parents divorced when I was 16, I learned the true meaning of love and how we should never settle for less than what we deserve. My childhood of sports fueled my competitive and athletic spirit! I’m constantly trying new sports and continuing to challenge myself. Growing up in a small town, made me realize I was made for bigger and better things. I never really fit in, I was super driven and determined to make a life of adventure and travel. Although I love and appreciate my small-town roots, I’m more excited to continue to travel, educate myself, and become a worldly woman!
List any interesting or unusual jobs you may have had.
Throughout college I worked in the hospitality industry; from pubs to fine dining, I even worked on a dinner cruise boat! I absolutely loved working in hospitality as it taught me so much patience and unwarranted kindness. You truly never know what is going on in someone else’s life, so it’s incredibly important to lead with kindness. Even as simple as wishing someone a beautiful day, or complementing someone outfit, or a smile can dramatically improve someone’s day, if not perspective.
List any volunteering you have done.
I’ve been volunteering my whole life. My biggest push at the moment is workshops and seminars on body confidence and celebrating bodies with movement. But additional volunteering I’ve worked on/with includes:
- Women’s Mud Run
- Special Olympics
- Blood drives/organizing donations at 911 (Sirens for Life)
- Canadian Cancer Society events (walks/runs, donation events, canvasing, etc).
- B3 – Women’s Empowerment Group (Sudbury)
- Multiple Mission trips to Dominican Republic & Colombia
- & more!
I’m always looking to give back, because empowering others (especially young women) is one of the greatest ways to build a better future.
What is your most unusual talent?
I think my most unusual talent would have to be Henna art. In high school and college, I took my artistic talents to skin. I love geometric and floral designs, beautifying the skin. Henna art is highly cultural & symbolic, so to avoid cultural appropriation of the artform I took it upon myself to educate myself on the history of Henna. With that, I engage in Henna art because of my love and respect for the history and beauty behind Henna.
Where is the most interesting place you have been to?
In college, I got the opportunity to go on a student exchange to Canberra, Australia. This was only my second overseas trip and my longest (this one lasted 5 months). Australia to this day is one of my favourite countries in the world. Not only is the nature and environment a sunshine lovers dream, but the people are incredibly kind and environmentally forward. Much like Canada, Australia is a peace forward country that emphasizes their multicultural base. Australia was my first time travelling to a foreign country all on my own. It allowed me to develop my independence and love for exploring new cultures and history, and because of that it is still my favourite country I’ve visited.
What do you hope to be doing in ten years?
In ten years, I hope to have my businesses flourishing and developing my real estate brokerage and Airbnb business. With that, my business accomplishments will have landed me on Forbes 30 under 30. I dream to build several streams of income that allow me to continue to travel, educate and grow. I see a life filled with travel, living in new countries every couple years to never stop growing and learning. I will have completed an Iron Man, and continue to challenge my physical health as I grow. Additionally, I will have completed a TED Talk on Body Confidence and celebrating our bodies with movement. And so much more!!
Is there anything you would like to add that we haven’t asked?
Pageantry has taught me how powerful, resilient, and driven I am to make positive change in the world. Pageantry has taught me to use my voice, speak up and make change to better the world tomorrow. I want to help inspire other young women to speak up, use their power to create meaningful and positive change. Regardless of the results I am going to keep pushing for positive change in this world. I am actively working on my platform within my community and through my small business & wellness community, promoting the celebration of our bodies through mindful movement. My motivations and passions for change do not end with this pageant, I am driven to continue to make changes for the better.