Former erotic dancer Chantell recalls how a Christian radio show started her transformation.,,,
A girl who struggled with abandonment, abusive relationships and suicidal feelings worked as a lap dancer until a Christian radio show sparked a transformation.
Chantell Hayles was abandoned by her father and stepfather and, because she craved male attention, began sleeping around at 14 to get it.
“I lived a promiscuous lifestyle because I felt that if someone wanted me, even if it was for just one night, I was worth something,” says Chantell, 37, from Birmingham.
Jealousy and rivalry led to severe bullying and she struggled with anxiety, panic attacks and suicidal feelings.
At 16, she suffered a near-fatal stabbing – saved only because she and her best friend had swapped coats just half an hour before.
“The doctors said the swapped coat saved my life because it was thick so the knife couldn’t penetrate my heart,” she says.
Her troubles continued as she fell pregnant at 17 during an abusive relationship. At 19, strapped for cash, lap dancing looked like the solution.
“I thought, ‘I can get attention from men, I can get money.’”
But it wasn’t the glamorous lifestyle Chantell expected.
“The other women were broken too, taking drugs, involved in prostitution. I’d sit in my car before I started and down a whole bottle of wine.
“I’d pretend to be confident, then go home and cry myself to sleep. The men, the money, the attention didn’t fill the void.”
After four years at the club, Chantell returned home one night and flipped on the radio. She stumbled on the Christian channel UCB and heard how Jesus wants to be a father to the fatherless.
With no experience of faith, she was intrigued.
“Every weekend I would go lap dancing then put UCB on and cry as I listened to beautiful songs about Jesus.
“I was still drinking, meeting up with guys, but God had begun his work in me.”
Then one Saturday, Chantell couldn’t shake the feeling she should go to church. The next day she went and again heard how God wanted to be a father to the fatherless.
Her life was changed as she decided to become a Christian.
“I felt the heaviness lift off, every suicidal feeling and feeling of brokenness, rejection and low self-esteem left. I came out feeling like a different person.”
God began to transform Chantell’s life. Her relationship with her biological father Orvel was restored and soon afterwards she met her husband, Errol.
God also opened doors for her to share her dramatic story. National newspapers, magazines and TV channels queued up to interview her, she published her story in her book, Beauty for Ashes, and UCB accepted her as an ambassador. Today, she works with them to share how her faith has changed her life.
“It’s amazing that the organisation God used to reach me is now the one I’m working with to reach others.
“I’m married, I’ve got a baby, my daughter is an amazing, beautiful woman, and these are things I thought I’d never have. It’s all because of Jesus.
“I want to reach as many people as possible with the story God has given me because it’s so powerful.”
