BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – FOUR years ago, Roslyn Berkeley never thought that personal photos that she had taken for fun with a friend – in the nude – would be unearthed in a major scandal in St. Kitts and Nevis. Now at age 21, Roslyn says she has put all that behind her and is focused on the future. Her future is looking extremely bright as she is strong, independent and ambitious, turning the negative into a positive. Having the intention to open her own business shortly, Roslyn speaks candidly with ‘Juicy With Suelika’ about her future plans. She also sets the record straight about the past once and for all.
JWS: I’m going to get straight to the point. What went through your mind when the naked pictures surfaced?
RB: No one asked me anything. I guess people decided to judge. After that situation, it was kinda hard because people just started judging me and calling me names, etc.
JWS: You mean you would walk down the street and people would be saying stuff when you passed?
RB: The majority of the people would actually tell me I was looking really good. There were one or two females and drunken males who would say, “That’s the girl who in the pictures”, but no one really said anything bad.
JWS: How did it make you feel?
RB: The thing is I got over it very, very quickly, because I’m a very strong person and I believe in myself. That’s all you need to do: believe in yourself. I knew exactly what I went through. So I didn’t think I needed to go around, whenever someone said something, to stop and explain everything to them. But it made me feel funny, and I think I lost a lot of respect when it came to males. They felt like after that they could say anything to me and try to touch me or something. I don’t really go for that [so] I would try to put them in their place.
JWS: So how did you get caught up in that sort of thing?
RB: I don’t want to blame it on the alcohol; but yes, the girls [involved] were drinking. And it wasn’t something we did to just be ‘out there’. It was me and another female; we were close friends. I trusted her, and she just told me ‘Let’s take the pictures’. I took pics with her and some by myself, and that’s basically it. It was personal pictures; private pictures.
JWS: So who is to blame? How did the pictures get out like that?
RB: I’m not really sure. What happened is, me and the girl used to chill a lot together at her workplace, and it was something done between me and her.
JWS: How did that affect your life?
RB: It affected my life in many ways because, as I said, people started judging me. Even when it comes to me trying to do something to better my life or the situation, there are a lot of people trying to bring me down.
JWS: You were constantly reminded of it?
RB: Yeah, every time I tried to do anything. You know, I entered Queen Shows after, and they (organizers) would ask about it the same way. So I feel like no matter how much I try to move on, there is always somebody to remind me about the past. The past is the past, and my motto is that ‘you live and you learn’.
JWS: What have you learned from it?
RB: I’ve learned that you can’t always trust people, because it was [my naive] trust that brought the whole situation on me. I would be honest and say I don’t feel that taking nude pics are wrong because it’s who you do it with and whose hands the pictures are in. So many people here would prefer to go online and watch the same set of nude pictures from someone else overseas, and say ‘Damn she looks good’. You know what I’m saying?! But for someone from here to do that, they will say she is a whore. But what I’m saying is that they are not thinking the same thing [when viewing nude pics of someone who lives abroad].
JWS: Is that something you want to get into?
RB: Taking nude pictures? No, not that type of modeling.
JWS: So it was really just for fun?
RB: At that time, it was for fun. Plus I was young. I was 16 when it happened. So I don’t think that I should still be paying for it now that I’m 21 going on 22 and still probably when I’m 25. Honestly, I’m thinking really hard about entering the Miss St. Kitts (Pageant) probably next year. I will try out. It’s the same thing like when I entered the Miss Culture, and they tried to ask me a whole bunch of questions about it. So I don’t want them to judge me because of that.
JWS: So what has been going on with your life now? What are some of things you’ve been doing?
RB: Well, most people know that I have my own agency, Divine Modeling Agency. I look at these girls [my models] and people would say they are street girls. But I look at them and see much more because people judge me the same way.
JWS: What age were you when you started this agency?
RB: I was 17, but I started modeling since I was 14.
JWS: Tell us about your agency.
RB: As I said, people would look at the girls as street girls, but the whole idea is I wanted to help these girls because people look at me in that way. Yes, they were street girls but they could be so much more. People actually need to give other people chances and see that they are actually good people because sometimes it comes from where they are living or maybe they have abusive relationships. Or, you know, their parents at home [are in] conflict. These [girls] are the type of people that need help. If we keep bashing the same type of people, the country is going to be filled with girls just on the streets because there’ll be no one to take them off.
JWS: What were your childhood dreams?
RB: I’ve always wanted to be a model. I’ve entered many Queen Shows and Fashion Shows and have been really successful. The only show I didn’t place in was the Miss Culture Pageant. My goal now is to become a hair stylist, which I’m presently working on. My salon is gonna be in Old Road. It will be called ‘Divine Hair Creations’, the same as my agency.
JWS: What about the word ‘Divine’ do you love?
RB: I think it’s really spiritual. Divine is a very spiritual name and I’m a believer. I’m not a Christian, but I’m a believer. I’m a very spiritual person. I read the Bible and pray. I think that helped me a lot because going through everything I went through, I prayed, talked to God and read my Bible, and that made me stronger.
JWS: You seem to be doing really well for yourself. You’re about to start your own business. You have a car. Tell me about that.
RB: I was always a spoilt child. So my Daddy bought it for me, but me and my mom use it.
JWS: You said that you will be opening a hair salon soon. Tell me more.
RB: It will be open by the end of September. It’s going to be on the opposite side of Sprat Net. I want to do it with a difference. I don’t want it to have the same clientele as everyone else, which is the gossiping kind. I’m basically going to be working on my own. I’ve been doing this for some time at home, and I’m gonna do this on my own. I feel that [doing] it [on my own] would eliminate gossiping and that kind of stuff.
JWS: Would you be specializing in any area specifically?
RB: Hair care. The only thing I wouldn’t be doing is braiding. I think that we black women can actually wear our own hair and be beautiful. You see, nowadays, they feel that it’s always best to wear a weave. I will do weaving, but I’ll be basically focusing on hair care. So even if you’re relaxing your hair, [I’ll let] you know you have to treat your hair often and that kind of stuff.
JWS: So what happened with your engagement? How long were you engaged for?
RB: I was engaged for two years. It was a long term engagement, but I don’t really like to talk about my personal life.
JWS: Ok, but what happened? Did you guys decide that you weren’t ready to get married?
RB: (Laughs) I think basically we weren’t ready. I’m a bit too young and, like I said, I want to enter the Miss St. Kitts and you can’t either have kids or be married.
JWS: So what was it like winning the Miss Pam Queen Show? You looked really happy after you won.
RB: Winning – and I don’t mean to be boasting – is a normal thing for me now. I’m used to it. I work very hard, and I also chaperone people so I know how it is. The Miss Pam show was very hard for me. I would say it was my worst experience, preparation wise. I couldn’t find anyone to do my Creative Wear. So I had to do it myself, which was a bit crappy but OK (laughs). Winning that show was really, really good. People tend to say that was the only show that they had been to where it was judged fairly, and it was good to hear that.
JWS: So what other goals do you have planned?
RB: Well, I expect to run my salon on my own for about two years. Then I’m thinking about opening a restaurant because my Mom loves to cook and I don’t think she should be working for anyone. I think she should be working for herself. So when I make as much money as I want to, I’ll open that restaurant for us.
JWS: What do you think about women being independent?
RB: I think a woman should be totally independent. When you depend on men, they feel they own you. All women should be independent. Look at it, even in the political arena, everyone is male except Marcella. I think women should be more independent because we are as important as the men. The way that I see most women in St. Kitts is to dress, to lime… not basically doing anything but working in factories for minimum wage. I think we settle too much, that they settle. I think we should do more things: be entrepreneurs, open businesses and set standards so that men can respect us more.
JWS: I know you’ve lost a number of family members to violence. Tell us how that affected you.
RB: The family members I lost weren’t violent people, especially the recent one [Dexter Marsham). He was very quiet, and it was really heartbreaking for me. I think I’ve been through it too much because that’s four murders in the past four years. All [the murders] weren’t here though. These were the same people who would ask me to be strong, especially ‘Mini Dread’. He was always the one that was there for me. We grew up together. We were more than cousins; it was friendship. It was like a brother and sister relationship. He had his favourite slang that he used to tell me, ‘You better than the rest’. (Laughs) He always used to tell me that he knows I’m going to get where I want to go. I promised him that I would have my own vehicle and my own house by the time I was 25 and that I wouldn’t be working for anyone. As you can see, I’m 21 and it’s actually working out for me.
JWS: What do you do when you get some time to yourself?
RB: I listen to music. I listen to a lot of Tanya Stephens’ songs. I think she’s strong and independent. I think that all her music is not [filled with] vulgarity unlike most of the artistes nowadays; as they say, sex sells. I feel that she sings songs that are real.
JWS: How would a guy get your attention?
RB: I hate the type that says, ‘Hey girl come here’. I hate that kind of stuff. They have to be respectful, well-dressed, working, intelligent and ambitious. They have to actually want things in life because I want things.
JWS: How would you describe yourself? Who is Roslyn?
RB: I’m a fun, loving person who is very outspoken. I’m going to tell you what’s on my mind. I was sorta like a tomboy so I still prefer to chill out with males over females. I’m someone who is ambitious and independent.
JWS: If your life had a theme song what would it be?
RB: It would be a gospel song, ‘I just can’t give up now’.
JWS: Any last words?
RB: Not really about me, but in general I think we Kittitian people should try to stick together instead of bringing down each other. In terms of society, I see white people having more positions than us. There’s no discrimination. I’m not racist, so more power to them because they are actually doing something. I don’t think they try to bring down people; otherwise they wouldn’t be there [in senior positions]. I think we should stick together, try to make a difference, do things for ourselves, and stop trying to gossip and worry about people. But for me, gossiping only makes me stronger. So I think I’m gonna make it, with the help of God and my mother. I have two supportive parents; Brian and Joan Berkeley. I think they are very supportive. Even though they went through the whole situation with me, they toughed it out because they are both Christians. They stood by my side. Anyone else would have given up on me. I could have been living somewhere else. So I say thank you to them for always being there for me and pushing me 100% with my salon. They’re pushing me in my dreams, and as much as they don’t believe in modeling they still push me.
