Curvy woman who struggled to find suitable bikinis sets up own brand – and makes £1.5m

dailystar.co.uk:

body positivity influencer started her own brand.Karina Irby, from the sunny beaches of Brisbane, Australia, regularly defies trolls by sharing uplifting and unedited pics of herself on Instagram.While the 32-year-old is known for her empowering Instagram account, she also owns the brand Moana Bikini, which is all about female empowerment.Speaking exclusively to the Daily Star, Karina shared how she doesn’t let the haters win“Moana Bikini came about because I had a lot of personal insecurities and I also grew up as a little surfer girl and was addicted to swimsuits so it was always a running joke in my family that one day I should start a bikini line,” she told us.“However, uneducated at the time, I didn’t know anything about business.

It took me losing my job at a local surf shop that I loved for me to look into it.“I lost my job quite abruptly and it hurt me so much.

I’ve got the personality type where if you're in my circle and I think you’re a good person, I’ll give you everything.“I did that with my job and when I lost it I was so upset and heartbroken about it I needed that fire to be lit underneath me to realise I don’t need to work at a job where I’m not appreciated.”This is what led Karina to start her own company that makes people feel good every day as she wanted to try and make a difference in the world.Sick of not seeing different body types, Karina has created a brand where everyone is included.“I do a lot of online shopping myself, I hate going out in public and going through the racks,” she explained.“I would love to see more body types represented in e-commerce and on the websites.