The 8th edition of Mister Global seems to brush off the furor over the situation last year when the original winner from Spain (Miguel Angel Lucas) opted not to sign the contract to get his reign underway because of his reported objection to some of the financial terms hence the title went to his runner-up from Vietnam (Danh Chieu Linh). The Vietnamese winner manages to dispense his duties without incident and was effective in promoting this pageant in all his appearances. This probably helped in making this edition the biggest edition yet as it attracted the most contestants ever. There were 42 who confirmed, but as the contest went underway, unfortunately three of those confirmed contestants no-showed. The final roster of 39 is still a record, though, but let's first take a look at how potentially the three no-shows would've made an impact had they made it to Chiang Mai.
SIERRA LEONE - Foday Alimu Kabba. He seems to have a lean, sinewy physique, but this batch loaded with buffed men, his plain features would put him at a slight disadvantage.
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO - Aaron Mohammed. He seems like a swarthy light-skinned guy who has good looks and could be deemed at least a worthwhile contender.
VENEZUELA - Daniel David Olaves Yajure. He would've been a big standout with his long hair and handsome features. I'm not into long-haired guys but he may have a potential to have the charisma to pull off this look. Not sure if he'll be able to outdo the classically handsome guys from his region, but well, this pageant powerhouse is sorely missed.
As is tradition, the 39 contestants got immersed in local Thai culture, with visits to cultural sites and even interacting with elephants. It's definitely going to be a memorable experience for these guys. Now, how do these 39 contestants measure up? Interestingly, with the control of the Mister International pageant now under the owner of this pageant, Pradit Pradinanunt, we see two contestants from the most recent edition of that pageant seeing action here, starting with...
ALBANIA - Boris Gurtner. He's very much the same guy who saw action in Manila last October. He's still handsome and well-regarded but he's not making a standout impression, hence he'll likely miss the cut here like he did back then.
BELGIUM - Matthias Nicholas J. Coenjaarts. He has this very charismatic boyish appeal, and I think with that he has an inside track of making the Top 15.
BRAZIL - William Vinhote Libano Gama. He may initially register as rough with his bearded look but he proved why this country is a major male pageant powerhouse as he channeled oodles of charisma in motion and shone brightly in the preliminary competition.
CAMBODIA - Korn Lythean. He's arguably the strongest representative fielded by this country in any male pageant. He has a nice boyish appeal, and in a less competitive year he would've made more serious inroads into the finals, but at this point, he's at most a worthwhile contender.
CANADA - Benjamin Filiatrault. With his French accent he's obviously Quebecois, and he has a boyish handsomeness that made a positive impression with fans. But otherwise he's not quite polished so at most he's a worthwhile contender.
CHILE - Demian Salinas. He looked better than his pre-arrival photo, and he looked beefily buffed in his official swimsuit portrait. However, it seemed he couldn't manage to maintain his muscle definition by the time of the preliminary competition that his prospects of making a serious play for the Top 15 diminished.
COLOMBIA - Oscar Brayan Guerrero de la Rosa. He's polished and buffed, but I'm not certain if his swarthy features are appealing enough for the judges at hand. It's still possible he'll make the cut but there are handsomer guys to contend with.
CUBA - Juan Carlos Ariosa. He got a lot of pageant fans buzzing from his pre-arrival photos onwards as he has a charismatically handsome face with an appealing buffed bod to boot. Many are touting that he looks like the one to beat. But I've noticed that there are moments where he seemed tentative, that even with his undeniably luminescent charisma he doesn't dominate the way many would expect him to do. He can probably coast through the Final Five, but I'm not certain if he has that drive or polish to seal the deal and win it all. Still I'm actually rooting for him to go really far.
CZECH REPUBLIC - Leon Vonaky. I have a feeling he's half-African with his dark complexion and non-European features. He's actually more polished than expected so he can make up for the fact that his features are not conventionally handsome. Definitely a worthwhile contender.
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - Michael Gomez. His supremely buffed physique caught my attention. I think he has the best physique of all the contestants in this batch. But on top of that eye-popping bod, he exudes this bright energy and seems to be a very likeable chap. I can actually picture him as a possible Final Five spoiler, and as proven by his Mister International counterpart, the reigning winner Manuel Franco, his relatively short stature should be no hindrance for him pulling off a hat-trick and concurrently become the winner and have two Dominicans under Pradit's wing.
D. R. CONGO - Samuel Atana. His lean physique does have great definition, but he's obviously not as polished and charismatic as other black contenders out there.
FRANCE - Maxime Klinger. There are some people who will find him highly appealing but there are others who would consider him a tad too rough to be in serious contention for the Top 15.
HAITI - Abdias Agustin. Like his island-mate from DOMINICAN REPUBLIC*1, he possesses an enviably rippled physique and exudes a great, outgoing personality. He may not be conventionally handsome but I think he has an inside track for the Top 15.
*1 Both Haiti and Dominican Republic occupy the same island, Hispaniola.
COMING UP: HONG KONG to NORTH CYPRUS
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