A short while back, the news was awash with stories about Travers Beynon - otherwise known as the "Candyman". The 46-year-old Australian shot to fame as the 21st century's answer to Hugh Hefner when his wild parties at the so-called Candy Shop Mansion took over social media, and rumours about his polyamorous lifestyle spread like wildfire. But Beynon wasn't always such a hardcore party guy - and he's more than just a playboy, too. In fact, he's actually a fairly well-known businessman, and - unlike the Hef - he built his empire on something other than semi-nude women (though, in recent years, his parties have arguably become a huge part of his brand). [[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/BgYA80_n4_n/?hl=en&taken-by=traversbeynonofficial]] Born in 1972 in Melbourne to Trevor and Sandra Beynon, the Candyman was accustomed to a privileged lifestyle from day one. His parents are the owners of the Free Choice tobacco empire, a company that owns more than 200 stores across Australia - and Beynon is the heir to their fortune. Before he stepped up to the role of being a businessman, however, Beynon had other plans for what he wanted to do with his life. He foresaw himself more as a sports star than a desk jockey, and so ventured into the world of Aussie Rules football. And, for a while, it looked like he might actually make a decent career out of it. At the beginning of his career, he played for the Southport Sharks Football Club on the Gold Coast. Then, in 1989, when Beynon was just 17 years old, he was acquired by the North Melbourne Kangaroos. Unfortunately, he sustained a serious back injury, and found himself being transferred to a different team by the time he was fit enough to play again. Not content with the step-down, Beynon took the move as a sign that he needed a different career. So he became a model. [[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/BSi47RSDaji/?hl=en&taken-by=traversbeynonofficial]] By all accounts, he was actually rather successful in this field. Beynon's former agent, Greg Tyshing, recently praised the business tycoon for his achievements in the fashion world, saying that he was - at one time - one of the best models in the entire country. "Among the many great jobs Travers worked on, he shot for Versace in Milan, and shot a very high profile US campaign for Raw Element men’s fragrances in New York," Tyshing said. "Travers was indeed one of my most successful and professional models in Australia and the international markets throughout the time I represented him." As well as working with Versace, Beynon modelled for Levi Jeans, Moschino, Valentino, Paul Smith and Calvin Klein - so it's no overstatement to say that he was a trailblazer in this profession. Yet again, though, he cut his career short, and chose to move on to other ventures. [[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/BQc3y5lASkF/?hl=en&taken-by=traversbeynonofficial]] While living overseas, Beynon met his first wife, Ninibeth Beatriz Jiminez Leal, with whom he has two children: 18-year-old Valentino and 15-year-old Lucciana. That relationship didn't last, however, and in 2008 the pair got divorced. Rather than just live it up as a bachelor, though, the tycoon got remarried to Taesha - his current wife - and had two more kids: Velicia, who is six, and Serafina, five. And, as well as being the party-loving guy we know as the Candyman, Beynon has assured people that he's also a good father, too. "I have four children, two from a previous marriage that I have sole custody of, which no-one really brings up, but as you can imagine for a father to have sole custody, I must have been alright in the judges' eyes," he said in an interview earlier this year. "Two years I spent in the courts." He added: "If you come into the house during the day it is a normal family home." [[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/3QPulNrcd9/?utm_source=ig_embed]] Even behind the scenes today, he claims that his life is about so much more than partying. However, he also once described himself as "a cross between The Great Gatsby, Hugh Hefner, The Wolf of Wall Street and Tony Stark, with a taste for Versace, who can easily turn into a Willy Wonka character". By the sounds of it, then, it seems like he was always the Candyman deep down.

Here's what Travers Beynon was like before he became the 'Candyman'

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