Liezel van der Westhuizen, a broadcaster, neuroscience, and mental fitness coach, provides insights into the Co-Chair team and the evolving vision of the highly anticipated Miss South Africa 2025 finale on October 25 at the SunBet Arena.
Van der Westhuizen joins Basetsana Kumalo and Peggy-Sue Khumalo as the 2025 co-chairs, a powerhouse trio set to usher in a new era of Miss South Africa that celebrates intelligence, purpose, and authentic leadership.
When asked how she sees the definition of beauty and leadership evolving, Van der Westhuizen tells the Saturday Star.
“We’re finally seeing beauty and leadership defined more and more by depth and authenticity, and not perfection. South African women are embracing the power of personal truth, choosing purpose over polish and substance over surface, and subsequently also being able to make resilient, strategic, and powerful moves long after the cameras are off. Beauty today lives in self-awareness, an individual’s own drive, and the courage to stand tall in your truth, even when it’s uncomfortable.”
As a certified neuroscience and mental fitness coach, she says she brings a unique lens to the judging process, one that focuses on mindset over mere performance.
“I look for the signals of mental fitness more than the performance of perfection. In neuroscience, we know confidence isn’t about eliminating fear but about how quickly your brain recovers from self-doubt. I pay attention to how contestants regulate their emotions under pressure, how they recentre after a stumble, and whether their confidence comes from self-awareness or external validation,” she explains.
Van der Westhuizen says she believes resilience and mental fitness are central to genuine leadership, both on stage and in life.
“Resilience and mental fitness are the backbone of authentic leadership. The world doesn’t need more polished masks; rather, it needs, for example, women who can stay steady in uncertainty, lead from compassion, and manage their inner critics. When your mind works for you, not against you, you lead with clarity instead of comparison. Mental fitness builds the muscle to pause before reacting, to choose empathy over ego, and to stand tall, especially when life tests your values. That’s what creates trust, on stage and beyond it.”
To the contestants and young women across the country, her message is one of self-worth and purpose.
“You are not competing to become enough; you already are. This platform isn’t about fitting into a mould but rather about expanding what beauty and leadership mean in our country. Use this journey to understand your own mind, goals, and drive. Strengthen your inner voice too, and lead with calm, grounded confidence beyond the Miss South Africa platform.”
anita.nkonki@inl.co.za
Saturday Star
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