Two hotties gunning for Mister United Continents 2015

Larry Taveras, Dominican Republic and Kamel Raad, Lebanon are two contestants figuring prominently in the campaigns of the upcoming mister pageant Mister United Continents. The pageant is girding for its premier edition to unfold in Manila on May 30, 2015.

Larry was once scouted by photographer Bruce Weber and is now a model for Model Mayhem. He is ballyhooed for his stint for Larry Underwood in the New York Fashion Week. Kamel emerged 3^rd runner-up in the Mr. Lebanon 2014-2015 pageant and is a model for the modeling agency Nidal Bcherrawi. He is hyped for his volunteer work with the international humanitarian organization Red Cross.  

Of the two, who do you think holds an ace up his sleeve – the fashion plate or the humanitarian dude?  Well as far as we know Mister United Continents is looking for both admirable attributes in one person. Care to hazard a guess?  

Nomer Yuzon, Philippines - Vying for Mister Gay World 2015

You may be wondering who is the Philippine’s representative to Mister Gay World 2015 or if ever there is a representative at all. Well, there is, in the person of Nomer Yuzon. To those who have been following the national pageant, his name may ring a bell. Yuzon happens to be Mister Gay World Philippines 2009, second runner-up. Yuzon is a native of Mindoro and was based in the U.S. for a time as flight attendant for United Airlines. He is also a part-time model.

Now on its 7^th edition, the Mister Gay World title remains elusive to the Philippines. With the exception of the maiden edition in 2009, the Philippine representatives all placed in the top ten in subsequent editions to the present. The notable top-ten placements are that of Marc Ernest Biala 2011 in Manila and Carlito Floro Rosalindo Jr. 2012 in Johannesburg, both also bagged two special awards – Best National Costume and People’s Choice Award. Will 2015 be a better year for the Philippines in this pink pageant?   

Mister Gay World 2015 finals moved from Cape Town to Knysna, South Africa

The Mister Gay World 2015 happening in South Africa April 26-May 3 suffered a setback after Cape Town authorities withdrew support of the pageant’s supposed grand finals at the Cape Town City Hall. In a press release, organizers of Mister Gay World announced that the City of Cape Town declined to host the finals or facilitate events to promote Cape Town to the expected 30 visiting international delegates.

The pageant which is on its 7^th edition this year was originally to be hosted jointly by the cities of Cape Town and Knysna in South Africa. Due to this turn of events, the organizers are now forced to move the grand finals of the contest to Knysna. Although some of the planned events will still go ahead in Cape Town such as the visit to parliament and the farewell & after party.

Coenie Kukkuk, Mister Gay World Director of Africa & Middle East and Managing Director of Mister Gay World 2015 remarked that Cape Town lost an opportunity to boosts its reputation as a welcoming and gay-friendly tourism destination. In most cases he said, like in Manila and Oslo, officials have handed the key to the city to the President of Mister Gay World. On the other hand, Eric Butler, President of the Mister Gay World speaking from Sydney, Australia expressed full support for the organizers and their decision to hold the grand finals in Knysna.  

The news presentation that won Andrew Wolff the Mister World 2012 Multimedia Challenge

Watch the video that bagged Mister World Philippines 2012 Andrew Wolff the Multimedia Challenge along with being Mr. World 2012 1st Runner-up in the five challenge events which fast-track winners to the final top-ten of the competition.

We decided to post it here than lay hidden to gather cobwebs in the catacombs of pageant history. We think it is view-worthy for its engaging and informative dig into the Church of England. Wolff made a sterling effort creating a comprehensive 15 minute guide to the Canterbury Cathedral, Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion and seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Founded in 597, you can imagine the immense wealth of history lying within there. 

Ismael Aiaz - Mister Globe 2015

If there is Global there must be Globe. Yes there is also Mister Globe pageant based in France and the first run was held only January of this year through internet voting. Ismael Aiaz, the representative from Madagascar emerged the eventual winner. Selection was 50% internet vote and 50% judges vote. Reportedly the internet voting resulted to a tie for the first place between Aiaz and French Thibault Marchand who was consequently awarded the title “Mister Model of the World 2015.” The other finalists were Toumi Taher of Tunisia and Rui Neto of Portugal. The contest was participated in by 24 contestants through “virtual” competition, including Philippine representative Paolo Lester Caballero.

Ismael Aiaz bears a name that does not sound Malagasy and a face that does not look Malagasy nevertheless is confirmed a native of Madagascar. He was born in 1987 in Toliara. Madagascar is an island country in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Southeast Africa and is known for its biodiversity with 90% of its unique wildlife found nowhere else on Earth - probably why Ismael Aiaz is just as unique.

Our Mister Globe titlist speaks French, English and Hindi. Some think he does not speak Malagasy, but he does. He has a passion for bodybuilding and boxing and spent most of his childhood in the country. He left the Big Island in 2010 and moved to Montpellier, a city in southern France.  "I am proud of my origin, my country. That's why I defended the Malagasy colors. I wanted to represent the Big Island internationally.”

Nicklas vs. Nguyen - Black and White Photographic Modeling

Nicklas Pedersen, Mister World 2014 and Nguyen Van Son Mister Global 2015 are unmistakably of contrasting looks and ethnicity, one is European the other Asian but in these black and white photographic modeling shoots, the two parallel each other in how they pose for the camera, what their angles are and how they show their best natural style. With the colors out, it’s purely about making that connection - how they talk to the camera and give you a feel of their personalities. Don’t you find the likeness a bit uncanny? 

Nguyen Van Son on the cover of MOT Vietnam

Nguyen Van Son, Mister Global 2015 lands on the April issue of MOT Vietnam. The magazine is Vietnam’s leading fashion publication that aims to bring Vietnamese designers’ and fashion entrepreneurs’ design ideas and creative talents to the forefront. It banners the tagline “Sân chơi Việt- tinh thần Việt- trí tuệ Việt - Vietnamese magazine – Vietnamese spirit – Vietnamese intelligence.”

Mister Dominican Republic Robbed and Killed

Luis Daniel Lora, a mister pageant winner of the Dominican Republic was robbed and shot dead on Friday, March 20 in Santo Domingo while he was about to get home after returning from work. The unknown attackers took his life after he resisted when they tried to strip him of his belongings. 

According to the police version, Lora and a companion Ronald Abreu Mejia were at the grocery store "Anabel " located on the street Baoruco when unknown assailants appeared and pointed a gun at them. Lora died of gunshot wound in left chest while Abreu Mejia was injured with a shot in the left leg.

 

Luis Daniel Lora was a native of San Juan De La Maguana. In 2014 he was chosen as Mister Dominican Model and in addition was Mister Continent 2013. In his modeling career, Lora took active part in major fashion events including Fashion Night 2013. He was present in big fashion shows of Dominican designer Robert Flores and was an invited guest for the awarding ceremony of Miss Dominican Republic Universe 2014.

His last message posted in his Facebook account read: “There is always a beginning and an end. After all people get tired of the same.” His friends and people in the industry expressed disbelief and regret how innocent, dedicated working people with desire to excel are snatched from society by pure human ills. They mourn his passing and are filled with grief knowing they will no longer see, talk and laugh with him. They could only pray to God to look after him and for his soul to rest eternally with God in heaven.   

Manhunt International Bracing up for a Major Comeback this year

Whew, finally we can heave a sigh of relief after worrying too much about what could possibly be amiss with our illustrious mister pageant - Manhunt International. We got word directly from Mr. Alex Liu, President of Manhunt International Organization of Singapore that Manhunt International pageant is going to push through this year. They are just in the process of inking some final agreements before they make the formal announcement. We hate to jump the gun on you guys, but we just can’t contain our excitement so we are spilling the beans.

As you well know, we have been anxiously waiting for this annual pageant to re-emerge after two years of no-show and we were left guessing what was going on. The 2014 edition was supposedly to take place in Beijing, China when it was unexpectedly cancelled. Now we can let you in on the real score and why we can’t agree more.

Vietnam's First International Male Pageant Winner

Nguyen Van Son, Mister Global 2015 is not the first Vietnamese man to win an international pageant title. That distinction belongs to Ngo Tien Doan, Mister International 2008. Check him out in these photos that provide compelling arguments supporting his feat.

Get to know Men Universe Model

Men Universe Model is an international male model pageant indigenous to the Dominican Republic, in the Caribbean region where it has been held yearly from 2008 to the present. This year is the 8^thedition and is slated to take place in June in Santo Domingo, the capital and largest city in the country.   

The pageant was known as Mister Universe Model up until 2013 when the name was modified by pageant owners. It consistently produced titleholders in reasonably good staging. The pageant’s participation was 27 last year but was highest in 2011 when there were 42 entries.  

The show’s format is modern and upbeat, taking on the air of a fashion show and the presentation is mainly in Spanish. A preliminary competition is held to select the Best Body winner. The pageant is the brain child of designer Robert Flores of the Dominican Republic and intents to help out the tourism industry in the country by drawing foreign attention and travel to its various tourist attractions and historical sites.    

Hankering for Manhunt International Pageant

We sorely miss Manhunt International after the 2014 pageant supposed to be held in Beijing, China was unceremoniously cancelled due to unclear reasons. This is very unfortunate as this longest-running mister pageant is the most anticipated annually. This whole situation leaves us feeling antsy.

On top of many other reasons, this mister pageant also ranks highest for us in terms of entertainment value. Take a look at this video clip of the 2012 edition as pageant candidates took to the stage with their exciting dance moves. Watch them show off their stuff to the rhythm of the popular Spanish song “Cuando Caliente el Sol” or “When the Sun is Hot,” in English - and so are they!

Did you catch a glimpse of your favorite 2012 candidates? It’s easy to spot reigning titleholder, Mister Philippines in his low-rise jeans with some “tighty-whiteys” waistband showing above the rise. You certainly won’t miss out Mister Bahamas as he is prominently the best dancer, never missing a step and always flashing his pearly whites – very deserving of his title Mister Personality. Were you charmed by Mister Thailand’s rigid but endearingly manly moves? Whose performance is for you pretty hard not to notice?

World vs. Global - How do their trophies compare?

Aside from sporting comparable name versions of our planet – World and Global, these two mister pageants have strikingly similar pageant trophies if you’d notice. Both trophies are made of glass with a square base, a sloping body and an orb at the top. And need we say that if ever you have the good fortune of gaining one of these, the correct way to display it is with a firm two hands grip like our winners show us.  

In Helter-skelter for Helder Velazquez

Out there in the world of currently running mister pageants, some guys will most definitely capture your imagination for oozing and sizzling in testosterone hotness. If hotness is the only criterion for judging contestants in mister pageants, then this guy is in our parlance a "runaway winner" even before the contest has began.

Helder Velazquez is a professional model for Likuid Talent and Model Management and is Puerto Rico’s bet to Mister Universal Ambassador 2015 to take place in Bali, Indonesia in September. Make haste for Helder!  

Ready, Aim, Win for Nguyen Van Son

Nguyen Van Son just by the look of it is not your average Joe.  For one thing, he is 6’4” tall not the typical height for most men nor particularly for most Vietnamese men. For another, he is a professional Taekwondo athlete with over 15 national and international medals under his belt. Next to that, he is also a professional model in Vietnam. And here comes the whopping topper - at age 21 he was just declared winner of Mister Global 2015.

This Dane is the World's Most Desirable Man

This youthful looking bit of a guy next door is Nicklas Pedersen from Denmark, he is a carpenter by profession and to borrow the term of a known male pageant, “the most desirable man in the world.” It’s not at all surprising, because to put it another way, Nicklas is simply Mister World 2014.

Mister World uses the tagline “search for the most desirable man in the world” but unlike most other male beauty pageants it’s not just about looks or modeling skills. Candidates must have an athletic background if they were to survive five rigorous challenge events in the run-up to the pageant finals. These are Sports, Multimedia, Talent, Extreme and Fashion & Style. It is no ordinary competition and requires a lot of discipline, hard work and imagination.

Three Newest Mister Pageants to Watch for this Year

It seems like we have got pageants springing up everywhere and the “misters” category - yes, the one where the guys are the main attraction, is making a dramatic statement with a good number in it entering the scene this year. 

The chances of many a male pageant aspirant to snatch an international pageant title is considerably increased this year with the emergence of various pageant groups. It will not be all strut your stuff for participants of these pageants as most organizers made it a point to also back up their brands with some altruistic, philanthropic or some advocacy-focused causes. Let’s check out three of those about to debut this year. 

Mister Worldwide Competition is scheduled to take place on September 6, 2015 in Orlando, Florida. The pageant organization behind it is Hernandez Crown Entertainment Inc., a domestic for profit organization constituted by the laws of the state of Florida on August 27, 2014 for the purpose of pageant productions.

Neil Perez - The Pageant Cop

Neil Perez whose real name is Mariano Flormata Jr. is the first Filipino to ever clinch the title Mister International. It happened on the 9th edition of the pageant at the Inter-Burgo Hotel Ballroom in Ansan, South Korea on Feb 14, 2015. He succeeded Jose Amner Paredes of Venezuela, Mister International 2013 whose 4th runner-up titlist that year was another Filipino, Gil Wagas. He competed with 28 other male contenders from around the world for the prestigious title and accompanying modeling contracts.

Neil who hails from tondo, Manila has tracked a trail of many firsts since he won the title Mister International Philippines in September 2014. He is the first grand winner of Misters of the Philippines Pageant, the biggest one competition - multiple winners pageant for men in the Philippines. Neil is first and foremost a police officer, a bomb and explosives technician with the Philippine National Police Aviation Security Group which makes him the first policeman to win a major national pageant title. He is also the first Philippine delegate to use an interpreter in the Q&A portion of an international pageant.