states in the 18-29 year-old “Miss Bikini
Model” category. The winner will receive
an all-expenses-paid trip to Puerto
Vallarta, Mexico and compete there
for the crown of Miss Bikini Dream
International during a pageant televised
on Fashion TV.
A May 2017 graduate of Salmen
High School in Slidell who now lives in
Lacombe, Amber said, “I couldn’t believe
it when they called and told me I won. I
had never been in a pageant before. It’s
kind of nerve-wracking but I’m excited.”
Amber, a retail stylist at the Versona
women’s fashion boutique in Slidell’s
Fremaux Mall, will walk the runway in
both a two-piece swimsuit and a formal
gown. She said she is getting offers from
a number of boutiques and fashion/
swimwear designers to wear their outfits.
“They want me to use their gowns and
certain clothes in the pageant so I’ve
been looking at what they have,” she said.
“Hopefully I’ll get sponsored by them
and that will help out a lot moneywise.
I’ll be sort of a walking advertisement for
them,” she laughed.
In preparation for the pageant,
Amber is being coached on protocol
by the pageant’s state director and she
is receiving useful tips from previous
contestants. “That’s all been very
helpful,” she said.
The pageant, directed by film actress
and model Dawn Rochelle, is described
on its website as “a beauty pageant +
model search” that reportedly attracts
photographers, agents, scouts and
casting professionals from all over the
world. Unlike many other pageants,
there is no talent competition. A number
of past Miss Bikini titleholders have
been published in Sports Illustrated and
Maxim.
Described by her mother, Katrina
Gougis, as “independent and focused,”
Amber showed signs of talent at an
early age. As an 8- or 9-year-old Junior
Saintsation cheerleader, Amber took part
in a summer camp and performed in a
halftime dance routine at a New Orleans
Saints preseason game; an experience
she “barely remembers” ten years later.
From there it was on to cheerleading
in junior high school and golf and track
COVER STORY
in senior high. “I was really good at golf
and I could have gone far with it but it
was not what I wanted to do. Track was
more my thing,” she said.
“I love running,” Amber continued,
adding that she takes part in marathons
and other running events alongside her
mother. “We did the Rock ‘n’ Roll in New
Orleans recently and it was fun.”
“She would always join me with my
10 K’s and she always did the breast
cancer run with me,” said Katrina, a
frequent runner herself. “She’s always
done something to help me and others
to benefit and she generously donates
her time. She’s very much into the
community and that’s what I love about
her.”
At this stage in her young life, Amber
is seeing the Miss Bikini Pageant as
a possible step in the direction of a
modeling career. In order to stay fit and
healthy she works out every day. As she
states in her pageant application,
“Fitness, to me, means being
able to push yourself to be
physically and mentally healthy
at your own pace. It’s all about
having a positive mindset and telling
yourself over and over that you can do
it. Fitness has made me become more
positive and confident in myself.”
Despite being shorter in stature than
most of the other contestants, Amber
and others around her height are covered
by the rules of the pageant. According to
the pageant’s website, “You do not need
to be tall or have the perfect body to win.
We are looking for an all-around winner;
someone who is beautiful with a great
personality and a drive to succeed…It
is most important that you are healthy
and comfortable in your own body. Miss
Bikini US is more about living a healthy
lifestyle, whatever your body type.”
“I’m taking this all step by step,” she
said. “I got picked for a reason, so we’ll
see how it goes.”
If she wins in the national pageant,
Amber said, “I would use my title to
encourage others to take a chance at
anything they have their minds set on.
I want others to know that they are
their own competition and that selfconfidence
is the key.”
Winning the Miss Bikini crown, Amber
added, would enable her to “set a great
example for young girls. That would be a
win in itself. I’ve been working extremely
hard and that hard work shows. I am
excited to be part of something so great
and I am honored to be representing my
state.”
To follow Amber Gougis on Facebook
go to https://www.facebook.com/amber.
gougis.3.
PHOTOGRAPHER: DEBORAH NOCENTELLI
MAY / J U N E 2 0 1 8 breakthrumediamagazine.com | BREAKTHRU MEDIA | 15
/amber
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