Miss World 2013 Megan Young on the "Almost Honest" podcast by Kylie Verzosa. Almost Honest/YouTube
For Megan Young, the popular pageant tip "know when to peak" is not one that she lives by.
The Miss World 2013 titleholder made the statement in an interview with fellow beauty queen Kylie Verzosa in her podcast, "Almost Honest."
She believes that instead of reserving your maximum effort for critical moments of the competition, candidates should go all out in their entire pageant journey.
"I hate the tip know when to peak. This is like an unpopular opinion," she shared. "Because you should be at the top of your game all the time."
"I was at the top of my game all the time. Catriona (Gray, Miss Universe 2018) was on top of her game all the time. You (Verzosa, Miss International 2016) were the same, Pia (Wurtzbach, Miss Universe 2015) was the same," she went on. "I don't think you should lay low and then peak."
"You should show them who you are from day 1. Show them your greatness from day 1 so that they know and they see that you are a worthy opponent, that you are worthy of the crown," she stressed.
Verzosa agreed with Young, saying candidates should use their time in the competition showing everyone that they deserve to win.
"In your head, you should be like, 'There is no other winner but me,'" she said.
The popular "know when to peak" tip has been blamed by some pageant fans for the losses of many Filipina beauty queens on the international stage over the years.
But it has somehow worked for the likes of Shamcey Supsup who placed third runner-up in Miss Universe 2011, continuing the Philippines' streak of Top 5 finishes in the prestigious pageant.
"You reserve your energy to things that matter the most and when it is needed the most," said Supsup, who previously served as national director of the Miss Universe Philippines organization, in a previous interview.
But Young, the Philippines' sole Miss World titleholder, stands by her own approach to pageantry.
"I'm not one to brag... but when I was competing, I really felt like I was at the top of my game every single day, kahit na rehearsals lang 'yan. I did have girls come up to me and say, 'I think you're gonna win.'"
"Of course that made me feel good all the time, I put that at the back of my head. But if you want to make people feel that you're a winner and for people to tell you that? Then you have to make them feel that way," she added.