ROXY GIVES THE ‘LOUW’ DOWN ON BEING THE NEW FACE OF THE HOMEGROWN RENAULT SANDERO
- Renault ROX into 2013 with Ms Louw’s appointment as ambassador for Renault’s Sandero model range
- Strategic partnership sees 100 Roxy-inspired Sandero Stepway Limited Editions hot off the production line
“For where I am in my life right now, the Renault Sandero Stepway is the perfect car for me,” says South African golden girl, international surfer and model Roxy Louw.
A young woman who has had the surfing and modelling worlds at her feet since the age of 15, Roxy is by nature an action adventure girl. Now aged 25, she is also an accomplished business woman managing a significant portfolio of her own affairs. Possessing an innate work ethic in respect of meeting and exceeding her professional commitments, Roxy says she aligns herself “only with brands that I believe and I’m really looking forward to an action-packed and adventure-filled year ahead with my Renault Sandero Stepway,” she adds.
Overflowing with positive energy and always aglow with enthusiasm, Roxy is a glass half full kind of girl. Her life experiences, her dad’s illness in particular, have taught her to put things into perspective and “not sweat the small stuff.” Unquestionably, Roxy’s professional skills in tandem with solid personal values make her a worthy brand ambassador and role model – and not just for her own generation but across-the-board.
To mark the partnership between two of South Africa’s leading homegrown models, 100 Roxy Louw-inspired Renault Sandero Stepway Limited Editions have just come off the Renault-Nissan Alliance Rosslyn production line.
Available in red or black (50 per colour), each is complemented by Roxy’s signature turtle and hibiscus Cowabanga emblem which lends her distinctive signature look and feel to the Limited Edition. Exclusive extras include a Blaupunkt Bluetooth MP3 radio with USB and auxiliary input plus a TomTom LIVE navigation unit.
Like Roxy, Sandero is as at ease in the big city environment as she is off the beaten track, both of their sleek lines and stunning good looks complemented by inner strength and soul in spades.
“Having driven my Sandero Stepway for a while now, I can honestly say that I don’t just like it … I love it! Like me, it’s spunky, unpretentious and practical. With wetsuits and surfboards to get around, I’ve never been a leather seat kind of girl, that’s really not my style.
“I love everything about the Stepway. It’s nippy and economical to run – yes, like most other people, I have to pay for my own petrol! Spacious beyond belief, my surfboards, bicycle and wetsuits you name it, all fit in or on it. What’s more, I’m 1.74 metres tall and there’s leg room aplenty for me behind the wheel. This is one sexy, hot hatchback and for my lifestyle right now, it’s the perfect car for me. My Stepway is also a bit of a tomboy, we’re like two peas in a pod.
“I’m thrilled to be the face behind the Renault Sandero range and to see my name and branding on my Stepway every day is such a thrill,” says Roxy. “There’s lots lined up between now and the end of the year and it’s going to be very exciting. I can’t say more than that right now but expect some action an adventure.”
This is one gorgeous, golden Gemini girl who is having the time of her life and wherever you see Roxy in action this year, her Renault Sandero Stepway won’t be far behind.
Roxy Louw: Biography in brief
- FULL NAME: Roxanne Louw
Her father, Rob Louw, a former Sringbok Rugby icon whom she describes as her ultimate hero, explains that he and his wife chose to name the first of their four offspring after one of Rob’s favourite songs of the previous decade – the 1978 hit, ‘Roxanne’ by rock band The Police. But call her Roxanne and she’s unlikely to answer. She prefers to go by Rox or Roxy.
- BORN: 9th June 1987, Cape Town
- SIBLINGS: Sisters Mistique, Shani and brother Robbie
- LIVES IN: Her very first ‘own’ home, Roxy has recently purchased an apartment situated in Mouille Point, Cape Town
- EDUCATED AT: Durbanville Primary and Stellenberg High Schools
At 17 and in her Matric year, Roxy’s first professional assignment saw her starting to travel internationally for Oakley America as a team rider, her father’s only proviso being to “negotiate your own time and what you do with it. But be sure to balance your life.” That’s how I’ve been brought up which has been the best thing for me she says. “I don’t like to be boxed in and I’m proud to say that for my Matric finals, I brought home four A’s!”
- SCHOOL SPORTS
She earned provincial colours for hockey while in high school and following in the footsteps of her father rugby icon Rob Louw in her early years, Roxy also played “baby rugby with the boys. But the school introduced a ruling that girls were no longer allowed to play touch sports. And now look at where we are today!”
- AND SPORTS NOW …
Following stints of boxing and mountain biking “some bruises and a good few tumbles and scratches”, Roxy’s modeling agent has advised her to “slow down a bit!” These days she mostly sticks with professional surfing.
- HOBBIES
Hyperactive in the extreme, her hobbies in terms of training include running on the promenade, gymn’ing and exercising. Roxy describes herself as a ‘sports fanatic’. Obviously she’s a huge rugby fan and – no surprise here – supports the Stormers, her dad’s old team! Roxy also loves rubber ducking through the waves.
- CHILL TIME
“I love to dance, cook, taste different foods, listen to music, travel and explore different cultures.”
- QUALITY TIME
Spending time with family and close friends – “while dad is my hero and I thrive on the father/daughter bonding time I spend with him, my mom is my best friend!”
Roxy loves to surf “mostly on the Blouberg side or get away to more remote spots in my Renault Sandero Stepway with just my dad for company.”
- DIET AND HEALTH
A great proponent of natural medicine, Roxy describes herself as a “generally very healthy person. “I’ve learned to be as I’ve learned from watching my dad’s experience of keeping his cancer at bay through diet specifically. He has not been for chemo or radiation treatment. It’s been a case of monitoring what he eats and changing a couple of things.
“So, I’ve kept my diet pretty much healthy but at the same time very balanced. If I want a chocolate, I have one. I love food and could spend hours just cooking for people, Thai food in particular.”
- LIKES
Cooking for family and friends and, being a Cape girl, Roxy enjoys a glass of wine. Red in particular.
Music: “Very commercial, sing-a-long, rock … it depends on my mood. From Jack Johnson to rap to rock ‘n roll, I love it all.”
Reading: Prefers power of the conscious, mind-type books to novels … “books that I can take something from,” she says. “As I travel a lot, I like to have a couple of books with me so that I can chop and change as I feel.”
And then of course, there’s her work which involves surfing, modeling, travelling … ho hum!
- DISLIKES
Roxy does her own housework but “hates ironing.”
Other dislikes or fears that Roxy has previously placed on record include: heights, sharks and scary old men. “Nothing’s changed there,” she says with a grin!
- WHAT PEOPLE MAY BE SURPRISED TO LEARN ABOUT ROXY
“I’m quite clumsy … very organized but very clumsy in the sense that I talk with my hands! For example when I had my flat warming a few weeks back, four glasses got broken simply walking from the kitchen to the lounge. And that was before anyone even got there and we started eating and drinking!
- ROXY HIBISCUS/TURTLE LOGO?
Cowabunga … Roxy is a child of the Ninja turtle era and has loved turtles ever since! While celebrating her birthday in June last year, she went snorkeling at Koh Tao (Turtle Island) off the Thailand coast and found herself more intrigued than ever.
According to Roxy, the hibiscus was one of the first flowers that she became aware of as a young child. “We had a red bush outside our front door and every time I walked there, dad would ask say what flower it was and then I’d say ‘hibiscus’.”
Looking at design and graphic options, Roxy decided to amalgamate two of her most favourite memories and these have evolved to become “part of my brand.”
- FAVOUITE GETAWAYS
Finds Mocambique “amazing” and says she’d like to retire there one day. (It’s early days yet Rox!)
“I’ve always like Inhambane and have just done some filming there with Tob Billing and have now just visited Quirimbas island. It’s just heaven – everything is on the island and everyone is self-sufficient. When you go snorkeling, you see fish, not dead reefs that have been chopped up! The Mocambiquan people are so pure, warm, welcoming and friendly.”
Other favourite holiday (and work) destinations include Thailand, Bahamas, Maldives, Seychelles, Bali, Costa Rica … “just everywhere”, says Roxy.
Hmmm … wonder how many passports she fills up each year?
- ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Simply LOVES the interaction with her Facebook and Twitter followers and fans!
With 16 000 plus followers (at the last count) on Twitter, Roxy says “I’d love to get them all into one room and meet them, see who they are!”
- OFFICIAL WEBSITE: roxylouw.com
