Alfred Harry – A Lover and Co-Founder of the Plus Sizes Movement Ladies. (PSM)

ALFRED HARRY, the Lover and Co-Founder of Plus Size Movement, a Nigerian Model Organization. In the interview with Endurance Robert, He speaks about his love for the plus sizes ladies, which has being his reason for venturing into founding the modeling organization.

ABOUT MYSELF:

My names are Alfred Harry known as Earl Alfie, a native of Kalabari from Degema Local Government area of Rivers State. Grew up in Portharcourt, Schooled there and up North.  A father, hubby and a lover of the plus sizes. I am an easy going person, fun to be with (i’m sure i’ll have testifiers to this.. Smiles), a workaholic, goal driven and objective.

WHO ARE YOU?

Well… I am the CEO of Alfie Plus Models, Co-Founder of Plus Size Movement (PSM) with God being the founder, and the branch manager of officine Maccaferri Nigeria Limited (an italian firm into engineered environmental solutions).

 I started Plus Size Movement (PSM) about 2 years ago, first as an idea to help boost the self esteem of plus size women whom i often met and then last year decided to make it an online support and promoting platform for the plus size woman and the plus size industry within nigeria, and subsequently outside. PSM is a family of plus size ladies and the lovers of plus sizes. An avenue where they can network, interract, share experiences and ideas, relate with one another, explore the untapped resources of the plus size industry, boost self esteem and confidence, get health and fitness tips, etc.

DO YOU  HAVE THE QUALITIFICATION AND PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS NECESSARY FOR SUCCESS IN YOUR CHOSEN CAREER?

For every vision or dream, the most important factors that would determine if you will succeed or not are;

1.     Your personal conviction (passion)

2.     Your driving force

3.     Motivation

4.     Discipline

5.     And an understanding of your strength and weaknesses

I am passionate about what i do, and hence have made it my life’s work. it’s the reason why i wake up every morning smiling, because in the little i have done, i see the number of lives i have touched and affected positively, and this propels me to do much more. I want to come to a point where, plus size ladies “love themselves” irrespective of the prevailing idea that plus size women are obese. a position where they can actually feel loved and be empowered to go into any sphere of business or career. so, i would say, yes, i have what it takes to succeed in whatever i put my heart to do.

WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF AS GOAL DRIVEN?

 Yes… i would. I set goals for everything, both short term and long term. I also give myself a reward for each goal achieved..

WHAT IS THE TOUGHEST PROBLEM YOU HAVE HAD TO FACE AND HOW DO YOU OVERCOME IT?

 The toughest problem for me was, believing in myself… growing up, i had a lot of plans and projects that i wanted to accomplish, but whenever i was to start, i saw them as “too big”, for me to handle. I often said things like, “how am i sure it would work”, “what if I try and it fails”, “let me just stick to the small things, its better for me”. Every time i was faced with a huge task, i would simply walk away or talk about it without actually doing it, because i felt i wasn’t good enough or couldn’t do it.

So one day, i had the privilege of getting books by two great men whom i love and respect, Myles Munroe and Mike Murdock. I learnt how to maximize my time, resources and intellect. It was to me a great gift, as i plunged into having an event. This didn’t go as expected but I did it. I was able to learn from my mistakes, prepare a detailed plan of action, utilize whatever i had at hand and involved people to work with as a team to produce the best results. So whenever i wanted to do anything, no matter how big it was, i gave it my all and was prepared to learn from the outcome to better the next.

 

 TELL ME ABOUT A SUGGESTION YOU HAVE MADE?

 I Really Don’t Get The Question, Please Rephrase…

 WHAT MOTIVATES YOU TO DO YOUR BEST ON THE JOB?

 My motivation comes from the fact that, whatever i do affects somebody positively.

 I want to leave this earth believing that, while i was here, i was able to help a person

 see life positively, change from the point where they never thought they could be 

anything to being someone great, wake up each day with a smile on my face because 

God gave me a gift and I’m utilizing it.

  

WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST STRENGHT?

 GOD… He is the source of my strength and my very being. Nothing that i am or have today

 came without him. I commit everything i do to god before i begin and always seek his guidance .

IS THERE AN ACHIEVEMENT OF WHICH YOU ARE PARTICULAR PROUD AND WHAT IS IT? 

 One achievement i’m proud of is that, i started plus size movement. 

I never thought i would get this much response from people (plus size ladies in particular). 

We are an online based movement, but today we have representatives in over 18 states 

carrying out our vision and objectives with joy and pleasure. We have had a lot of ups & downs, 

critics here and there, haters and the likes, but the very fact that on a daily basis i get feedbacks

 from people (even if its one person) telling me how i have helped them see themselves differently

 and now appreciate and love themselves more is to me the greatest gift i could ever wish for.

 WHY IS IT SIGNIFICANT?

 A lot of times, people say we promote obesity. We understand their point of view, but the hard

 truth is that, the African woman is big. You can’t rule that out. What we do is create a platform where she 

(in all her aspects & physique) can also thrive in the entertainment, fashion and modeling industry. 

If you create a pageant for plus size ladies you are quickly criticized, but if you do it for a slim lady, nobody says a word. 

In Nigeria today, there are only a handful of plus size modeling agencies, but you cannot count the number of

 modeling agencies designed for slim ladies. I am proud of what i have started and how like me some other wonderful 

ladies have clearly put their feets on the ground for the same cause. This to me is a very significant achievement.

 WHAT IS THE GENERAL CULTURE OR ACTIVITIES OF YOUR MOVEMENT?

Plus size movement is not only a support and promoting platform for the plus size industry. 

We have projects and events geared at touching the lives of the average plus size woman positively.

 Like i always say,” if you don’t like the house you live in, painting it or putting expensive furniture won’t

 change your perception towards the house”, so also, if these ladies do come to a point where they can love 

themselves for who they are not what people say they are, it would be difficult for them to maximize their full potentials. 

Among our projects are;

·        Seminars on health related issues and how to curb them

·        Fitness walks and group exercise sessions

·        Promoting plus size entrepreneurs

·        Workshops on business development and skills

·        Empowerment projects for plus size ladies in 20 states

·        Our own pageant tagged “plus size diva” and so much more…

I want to use this opportunity to call on the plus size community to join us, and

 make the plus size industry in Nigeria greater than it is now.

 Thank you for the opportunity to share our ideals.

God bless you real good.

EARL ALFIE – CO-FOUNDER OF PSM

CONTACTS:

BB PIN:2A5DBD9F

FACEBOOK: WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/PLUSSIZEMOVEMENT

TWITTER: @PSMONLINE