By Yumna Bodiat
Edited by Imaan Moosa
We caught up with Zoya Pon to catch a glimpse into That Asian Girl and Three Magazine.
Better known by her pseudonym ‘That Asian Girl’, the 25-year-old Cape Town local does a remarkable juggling act of content creation and modeling to empower herself and others.
Zoya Pon is the one pulling the strings behind the online digital magazine Three Magazine.
Three Magazine is an online forum “for uncensored and constructive discussion”, says Pon. It provides creatives with a safe and inclusive platform to showcase themselves and their talents.
"The aim of Three Mag is to empower the local youth with information and views on issues that are important to them and to create a launching pad for creatives by encouraging collaboration."
The values of equality and empowerment to both Three Mag and its creator is reflected in its slogan, which is the number three in Roman numerals and represents unity, and the audience it has amassed.
As a biracial Asian South African, I feel particularly passionate about race issues and politics. Bringing Asian racism, Asian female fetishisation and exoticism to mainstream consciousness is something I've become more and more passionate about the more that people are waking up to and talking about it.
Photos provided: @thatasiangirlza and @threemagza
Taking her passion project to the internet was the first step for Pon, who learned that it is quite difficult to run a one-woman show. She put “feelers out” for people she believed embodied the brand whilst offering a unique perspective.
Providing a space for people to create and be themselves uncensored is something I needed as a creative. Facilitating and seeing the willingness to collaborate with and support other creatives among our community has been uplifting. Through that I feel empowered to change the dynamics of competitiveness and exclusivity in the industry.
Pictured: Some members of the Three Magazine team. Photo: @thatasiangirlsza
Although the publication is still in its formative years, its puppeteer has had experience with media publications to boot.
“Once I realized that writing was something I had to do, something I couldn't live without, around age 17 I started writing a few pieces and pitching it to various publications,” she told To EmpowHER.
Thus began her writing career in 2012 when, instead of following through to a tertiary institution, she was commissioned by the editor of Saltwater GIRL (SWG), a South African lifestyle magazine for teenage girls.
She slowly but steadily built her portfolio, climbing the next rung of the corporate ladder to Marie Claire where she was an online editorial intern.
Thereafter, Pon was co-opted for Associated Media as a content producer and, under the tutelage of the online editor of Marie Claire Abigail McDougall, as acting online editor for Cosmopolitan and eventually, Marie Claire.
However, in 2018 she decided to jump down from the ladder and freelance full-time in order to focus on her personal blog Apeiron which shortly became Three Magazine.
There is no stopping for That Asian Girl, who will be launching a personal blog under her pseudonym. She says it is “an authentic expression of my passions, including personal takes on various topics, discussing [societal] issues I'm passionate about, sharing my creative projects and things I shmaak”.
A note from Zoya Pon:
Whether it's writing, putting together references for a shoot, or sourcing team members for social media content, the most important part is to START. The second is to believe in your message or concept. The third is to always learn from what you've done so far and improve on it.
You can submit to Three Magazine by sending your creative work to collab@threemag.co.za and tag them on Instagram @threemagza or #threemagza!
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