At primary school, Tskenya-Sarah Frazer used to hide her "ugly shoes" behind her school bag.
Now she has won a Pride of Britain award for launching her own stylish larger sized footwear brand.
The infectiously upbeat entrepreneur was handed the Prince's Trust Young Achiever award at a glittering ceremony on Sunday.
But she was horribly bullied at her Clapton primary school because of her size, and has overcome race, class, and gender discrimination on her way to hard-won success.
"I have experienced bullying in some form or other in different parts of my life," she says. "Most seriously at primary school because I was larger than my peers and it probably didn't help that I am a neurodivergent person, an ADHD-er.
"Because my feet were big, I had an ugly choice of shoes. I used to hide my clunky shoes behind my bag or put my coat over them, feeling anxious and depressed that I couldn't wear the cute dolly shoes the rest of the girls were wearing."
Tskenya-Sarah, who is "born and bred in Hackney" wore a glamorous black, beaded dress (picked up in a Fonthill Road second hand shop) and of course Tskenya shoes, as she rubbed shoulders with fellow winners Jack Rigby the son of murdered soldier Lee Rigby, and rugby star Rob Burrow.
"Winning feels like an honour and a privilege. Everyone who has been seriously bullied lives with these voices in their head. From time to time I hear those voices saying 'you don't deserve it'. But they are getting quieter and quieter.
"Every single conversation was super lovely. Before the event, the winners appeared with presenters Carol Vorderman and Ashley Banjo and it's clear everyone is there to celebrate phenomenal individuals."
Now off to No10 Downing Street to meet the Prime Minister, she says her own experiences have set her on a mission to inspire and empower others. She advises other businesses on inclusion and sustainability, has written a book encouraging budding Black entrepreneurs to achieve their dreams, and still finds time to volunteer as chair of the Aspland, Marcon and Lushington Estate Tenants association.
She credits her mum, who took her to museums and "would save up for a year to take me to the theatre," and Mossbourne Community Academy for providing a "private school style education that taught working class kids you could be more than your class" with helping her overcome her difficulties.
The Princes Trust was also "pivotal" in supporting her to found her brand selling ethical footwear in sizes 8-13. 
"Despite describing myself as a doer I have had periods of low confidence and anxiety. I never envisaged myself in business, I thought it was for old, rich, white guys. I arrived at a low point in my life and they said 'we don't care who you are as long as you are a young person with an idea, we will support you'.
It was after sharing her woes with a non-binary friend about struggling to find fashionable larger shoes that she had an idea for a brand that is 'free from gendered marketing'.
"I realised it's not just me that's suffering, and that people deserve equity in fashion."
Armed with her Princes Trust grant, and a successful kickstarter campaign, she sold out her first collection within 72 hours.
"Without the Trust I wouldn't have been able to shed my view of myself. When you exist as a marginalised person in a margialised body, it's easy for you to take that on, they allowed me to realise I had a great power inside me."
Although she looks back on Mossbourne Academy with "great fondness," she wishes they had focused more "on mental health and the world we were going out into - especially as Black children".
"You can have good grades, but there are other barriers to the individual, I had to do a lot of learning afterwards.
"Even when I went to university I experienced discrimination, racism, classism. I wanted to do a PHD but felt so disenfranchised from academia, I am only just catching up now to the micro-agressions I experienced.
"That's why I focus on empowerment and inclusion work in my community today. So people who feel marginalised see someone who can stand up for them, that person who has raised the alarm, and is not afraid to cause trouble. I am using my privilege for good."
She in turn was encouraged by others, including the late music entrepreneur Jamal Edwards who gave early career boosts to Ed Sheeran and Jessie J. Tskenya interviewed him for her book A Quick Ting on Black British Businesses. (Jacaranda Books)
"He was a friend and mentor, a shaper and leader, who connected people and always enabled that community spirit. I was thinking aout how his legacy will live on, I want to embody that spirit of helping young people to see their potential. To say 'starting a business is absolutely for you and to genuinely believe you can do it. Get out there, network, find people who can help lift you up There's real power in community."
"Even if you fail, fall down nine times and get up 10. Failure is a normal part of life, you have to dare to dream, and dare to do it."
She calls her home "one of the prettiest estates in Hackney" and fundraises for trips and activities for both older people and younger people.
"I still live in Hackney and will most probably die in Hackney if I can afford the house prices."
The Pride of Britain Awards will be broadcast on ITV on October 12 at 8pm.
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