Just like our Best Female Contestant of 2018, our Best Male Contestant of the year did not make the semi-finals of his competition.
As we have always stated, the main quality that makes a male competitor great is his charisma. He needs to project approachability, to be kind of man that men want to emulate and women (and some men) want to be with. Charisma is not something you can learn or practice, although you will see most male contestants try. Charisma has to be EFFORTLESS.
There were many effortless contestants this year and there is one that in our opinion clearly stands out amongst the others. He may not have won the Mister Supranational contest or even placed in the Top 5 or Top 10 and yet, we find him the very model of the modern male contestant, He is Jakub Kochta, Mister Supranational Czech Republic.
Jakub does indeed project approachability. Besides possessing the physical qualifications for a great contestant, you get the sense that Jakub is fun to be around and that he is just being himself. In order words, Jakub is indeed EFFORTLESS.
Jakub, who is a personal trainer, hashtags himself as the Czech Brad Pitt (#czechbradpitt). We wish him the same kind of worldwide success as the other Brad Pitt.
The Best Female Contestant of 2018 is not the one who trained and rehearsed within an inch of her life to win her crown. Neither is she the first from her country to finally win her crown. As a matter of fact, the Best Female Contestant of 2018 did not even make the semi-finals of her pageant.
The Best Female Contestant of 2018 is probably the most maligned and bullied pageant contestant ever. The reason for that was the fact that she decided to follow her childhood dream and make use of an opportunity made available to her since 2012. The Best Female Contestant of this year is Angela Ponce, Miss Universe Spain 2018.
Despite unending attack on social media, especially from Latin American pageant followers, Angela never wavered on her road to Miss Universe. When she finally arrived at the concentration in Thailand, she was in our opinion the most elegant contestant. She made many friends among her fellow contestants and in all her pictures she could be seen to be enjoying her Miss Universe journey.
Angela was able to get her message to people who would probably never dream of watching or following a beauty pageant. She got a full page interview in Time Magazine, a medium that hardly ever covers anything to do with beauty competitions.
Even media hog Caitlyn Jenner tried to hop on the Angela Ponce bandwagon, in a failed attempt to regain some prominence. Angela will be remembered by the citizens of the world, when most will have forgotten who ever won the 2018 Miss Universe pageant.
As Angela herself said, she did not need the win the Miss Universe crown, she only needed to be there. Despite all the attacks, she was and competing with elegance, style and grace. That is why for us she is the Best Female Contestant of 2018.
Following the abrupt departure of Osmel Sousa from his position as President the Miss Venezuela Organisation, the organisation appears to have lost its course.
A scandal, involving former contestants and winners and their sexual favours erupted.
Then it was announced that a committee, rather than a person, would be placed in charge of the most renowned, and maligned, national pageant organisation in the world. Before that committee could even hold its first press conference, it was fired.
After that came the news that a new Executive Committee for the Miss Venezuela Organisation had been appointed consisting of three former international titleholders, one for each of the three major international beauty pageants. Former Miss International, Nina Sicilia, former Miss World, Jacqueline Aguilera, and former Miss Universe, Gabriela Isler, would take the reigns, each with a specific area of responsibility.
The Three Divas Executive Committee
In the mean time there had been radio silence about and from the three winners of 2017, all supposedly preparing to compete in 2018.
This all changed with the appearance of some very nice photos of Sthefany Gutierrez, Miss Venezuela at Miss Universe 2018. Image Director Jacqueline Aguilera was quick to point out that those were not official pictures and were made without the permission of the organisation. The Image Director may have been well in her right to admonish the beauty queen, but that should have taken place behind close doors and not as the first social media interaction between the organisation and its wards.
Furthermore, those were the last great pictures of Sthefany. Subsequent “official” pictures, sanctioned most probably by the Image Director, have not been up to the usual Miss Venezuela standards and not even of the same quality as the unauthorised images. Truth be told, lifestyle images on Instagram are of better quality that anything sanctioned by the Three Divas Executive Committee (“TDEC”).
The faux pas’ of the TDEC did not end there though. Now comes the Veruska Debacle. When Veruska Ljubisavljevic was crowned Miss Venezuela World last year, it was a public secret that she had aged out of competing in 2018. Nevertheless she continued with her preparations and was actually the only one of last year’s queens to get a hair and make-up make-over. So it was assumed that the age issue had been dealt with, with Mrs. Julia Morley.
One day before the presentation of the contestants for the 2018 Miss Venezuela pageant, Veruska issued a statement on social media stating that she would be competing in Miss World 2018, odd for someone whose participation had not been formally put in doubt.
Veruska Ljubisavljevic
The next day the TDEC announced that the new Miss Venezuela, to be selected on September 12, would only be competing in Miss World 2018. Miss Venezuela Universe and Miss Venezuela International 2017 will compete in the 2018 editions of their international pageants, but not Veruska.
The reason? Supposedly, Mrs. Julia Morley who has once again demanded a separately selected winner and also one selected in the year of the international competition. Oddly enough, Venezuela seems to be the only country subjected to these harsh rulings of Mrs. Morley.
Aruba, Bolivia, Panamá and South Africa, are a few of the countries who select their representatives to Miss Universe and Miss World in one national pageant, albeit all in the year of the international competition. France selects its representatives in one contest in December of each to compete internationally the next year.
We still believe that the real reason is Veruska’s age, which the organisation failed to deal with properly. In any case, throwing Veruska to the curb like the TDEX has done is another misstep in what is becoming a long line of missteps.
To top it off, considering that the Miss Venezuela pageant does not take into account the selection criteria of Miss World, we predict another lacklustre run for the new Miss Venezuela 2018 at Miss World 2018.
As we have said before, we consider the Mister Polski contest one of the two best national male competitions in the world (the other is Mister Brasil CNB). It is run over several months, with preliminary competitions to select the final 20 who will compete for the coveted title.
Many themed photoshoots are organised and the social media presence for the contest should be an example for competitions, both male and female, are over the world. The contestants are presented as examples of down-to-earth masculinity, a practice most male competitions would do well to follow.
This year, we pegged the very charismatic Jakub Kucner as the one to beat and he did prove to be unbeatable in a very strong field of finalists.
Jakub has a strong social media presence, with which he shares his life with us. From cheeky childhood pictures,
to his experience as a model,
to his charity work in the Gambia,
to regular, everyday activities, including his physical transformation.
Through it all you get to know Jakub as a well-spoken, caring human being, who takes full advantage of life opportunities, without putting on airs or trying to show off.
The Effortless Mister Poland will be a force to reckon with at the next Mister World competition.
The third contestant in our Top 3 Mister Brasil CNB 2017 prediction, Matheus Song, is the one who ended up winning the competition.
Besides the obvious qualifications for winning the title, what sets Matheus apart is his down-to-earth-ness and the fact that he is exceptionally photogenic.
In fact, the new Mister Brasil CNB is a chameleon in front of the camera. He can go from the (fourteen year-old) boy next door, to everyone’s best mate, to a suave man of mystery, to the hunk whose pictures make you feel the need to turn on the air conditioner. All this without seemingly trying, truly effortless.
We foresee a great future as a model for Matheus, as well as frontrunner status at Mister Supranational 2017 and anywhere else he is called to represent Brazil.
As the last male pageant of 2016 nears its completion, we thought it might be appropriate to reflect on what a year it has been.
Although there are plenty of male competitions around, for us only four qualify as proper event of calibre. They are Mister World, Mister International, Manhunt International and the brand-new Mister Supranational.
This year there has been abundance in the male pageantry field. Mister World, a bi-annual competition, was back. Manhunt International, the grandfather of them all, was back for the first time since 2012. Mister Supranational debuted. Regretfully, Mister International, the only yearly competition, was not held in 2016.
What makes a great male competitor? Other than the obvious physical attributes, it is all about charisma. He needs to project approachability, to be kind of man that men want to emulate and woman (and some men) want to be with. Charisma is not something you can learn or practice, although you see most of male contestants try. It has to be EFFORTLESS.
In our humble opinion there is one male contestant this year who embodies those qualities. His name is Sergey Bindalov and is representing Belarus at the first-ever Mister Supranational competition. Sergey, we salute you as the Best Male Competitor of 2016.
My decision to compete in such an esteemed pageant as Miss Wales, came from constant comments from so many, telling me that I was sure to do well.
Whilst working within Welsh television, researching and reporting on local news and events, it became apparent that I felt very involved in all that was going on in Wales. My confidence grew with age, and I eventually decided it was my time to make a real name for myself, to spread my wings, and to discover new things.
Winning Miss Wales boosted my already thriving TV career in ways I hadn’t believed possible. Being championed as a strong, passionate and generous young woman can put you at the forefront of people’s and employers’ minds, more or less, overnight. I was invited as a guest to many events, as well as a presenter to a few and a model at several.
The biggest difference I have seen since handing over my crown, is that the impact I made as a titleholder did not pass as quickly as it came. The events I had simply made an appearance at as a titleholder previously, I was now presenting to hundreds of distinguished guests. I may have been booked as a model because of my title once, but I was kept as a model due to my hard work and commitment. Even now, charities come to me asking for help, and letting me know that my ongoing work for them has not gone unnoticed.
You see, a title will open doors for us, but only we can keep them open.
Emma Jenkins, Miss Wales 2015, is the Beauty and Lifestyle Reporter at Tinopolis in Wales. In addition she is a model and a Television and Event Presenter
Over the many years I have been involved with pageants, I have heard different reasons why young ladies compete in them. Some are very lofty, some are simple and most of them are not the real reason.
The true reason you compete is what will ultimately determine how you react to the outcome of your participation. Therefore, it is primordial that you are very clear on why you are competing and what it would mean if you win or not.
It may very well be that you are not even aware of the real reason you are competing. Any objective that entails personal development, moving out of your comfort zone and challenging yourself, is a good one, because no matter what the outcome you will realise your goal.
Consider though if you are competing to prove your worth to someone else. Off course, if you win you will feel a great sense of accomplishment. If you do not, it will be a tremendous disappointment and you will probably make it mean that now the person(s) must think even less of you. I doubt that is the outcome anyone wants out of their participation in a pageant.
In preparing to compete in a pageant, be brutally honest with yourself. Really take a cold, hard look at your true reason for competing. Find out if you are prepared to deal with the outcome of not winning, given what your real motivation is. You may realise that another avenue of dealing with whatever is bothering you, will be more beneficial for you.
You will find that you are most successful competing in pageants when your ultimate goal is to grow as a human being. For most people, competing is stepping out of their comfort zone and that is probably the greatest benefit you can derive from pageants. At the end of the day, your success is measured by the personal achievement you walk away with and that doesn’t even have to entail a crown.
One thing I always tell my coachees is that they have to compete to win and prepare to fail. Competing to win means you have to give it your all. Preparing to fail just recognizes that the odds are not forever in your favour.
We have an interesting relationship to failure, as we attach all sorts of meaning to the fact that we have failed at something. The “Oxford Pocket School Dictionary” defines the noun “failure” as “not being able to do something”. That is all failure is, really. There were some measures you wanted to meet and you were unable to.
Off course, in beauty pageants failure is somewhat harder to take because your success depends for a great part on the opinion of others, the panel of judges. In sports you train hard for an event and after the event you know immediately whether your performance was sufficient for you to be successful. You also know which measures you need to improve in order to win next time.
Beauty pageant results are dependent on the personal opinions of a very specific group of people at a very specific moment. If you change just one of the judges, you most probably will get a different result. The opinion of those judges can also be easily affected by something very simple over which you have no control. Imagine if you will that you chose a gown colour, which is exactly the same colour as one of the judges or a judge’s date wore to the prom. Seeing that gown colour will have a whole different effect on that judge if his or her prom night was one of the best nights of his or her life or if it was a disastrous experience.
Failing at something does not make you a failure nor does it mean that you are any less than the winner. The winner was successful at meeting the measures and you and many others were not. That’s all! What you need to do is evaluate the result. You may decide that for you that one time was enough and that is fine.
If winning that crown is sufficiently important for you, do try again. Look at where you can improve your performance, make the necessary adjustments and go back on the field.
One shining example of someone who never let failure hold her back is Kandace Krueger, who won the Miss Texas USA 2000 title at the age of 24. Since turning 18, Kandace had competed in local Miss Texas USA preliminaries, doing well but never winning.
In 1999, Kandace won her first local title but did not place at Miss Texas USA. In 2000 she won her second local title and, in her first appearance in the Miss TEXAS USA semi-finals, Kandace went all the way to win the right to represent Texas at Miss USA 2001.
Kandace won that title as well and placed third at Miss Universe 2001.
Continuing from our previous discussion on the Pageant Interview, we will now look on how to conduct yourself in the actual interview.
The final piece of preparation is to select one topic which you would like to tell the judges about yourself. Then you are ready to face the judges!
The interview can have two different question formats:
the direct question, in which you are asked a specific question on a specific topic, i.e. “What would you do to inspire the youth of your country?”
the open-ended question, in which you basically get to decide what you want to talk about, i.e. “Tell us about yourself?”
Starting off with an open-ended question is off course ideal, because you can go straight in and talk about the topic you selected beforehand. Do, however, avoid the following pitfalls:
do NOT start by saying your name. You have already been announced so the judges know who you are
do NOT mention your age, unless it is relevant for the topic you are going to talk about, i.e. you are 20 years old, have been working since you are 16 and you are now the proud owner of your own home
do NOT mention your profession or study, unless you are going to talk about why you chose that profession or study as an insight to the person you are
The trick with a direct question is to structure your reply in such a way that you get to talk about the subject you chose beforehand. Some questions are easily malleable, whereas other aren’t. It also depends on your topic.
If you find that you can’t direct the question, answer it quickly in order to get another question. When I say quickly, I mean without embellishment. It is extremely important to answer every question properly.
If you are asked a question that you are comfortable with and very knowledgeable about, keep talking so that you do not give the judges the opportunity to ask you something you are not comfortable answering. Make sure you do not start repeating yourself though. Only stretch your answer if you have a lot to say about the subject.
Body language is also an important aspect of the Personal Interview. It is therefore important that you know how your body reacts when you are stressed.
if you have a tendency to fidget, sit in a way that will make make fidgeting more difficult
if you use your hands a lot when you speak, hold one hand over the other in your lap so as to control your hand movements
always address the judge that asked the question. Do however, take time during your answering to look at each of the other judges
look the judges in the eyes. Averting their eyes creates the impression that you have something to hide. If looking at them straight in the eyes makes you uncomfortable, focus on the space between their eyebrows
dress appropriately. Never wear cocktail outfits. You don’t have to wear a suit, but take into account the time of day and the fact that you are interviewing for a job
make sure what you are wearing and the way you sit does not give the judges unexpected views
do not wear distracting earrings or necklaces
It will for sure help you to practice, so invite some of your friends over and do some mock interviews.
If you are planning to compete, the best way to prepare for the Personal Interview portion of any pageant is to join a Toastmasters Club about a year before the date of your pageant. To this day I have found them to be the best coaches in the area of public speaking and structuring of your thoughts for communication to others.
The Pageant Consultancy 