About The First Impression
It’s not a secret that Manhunt International 2010 is one of its most competitive edition. And Obert certainly felt that too. It was scary at first that he had to compete against so many handsome men. But much to his relief, he is not the shortest contestant among the bunch (he was initially worried about that before his departure to Taiwan). A number of contestants are actually not as tall as their vital statistics say in the internet. Some of them are even shorter than Obert himself.
About The Experience
Recounting his time in Taiwan, Obert told us that it was totally fun and he felt so grateful that he was given a chance to experience all that. “So which ones are the most memorable?” The first was when the contestants were asked to participate as a guest stars in a national campaign for a political party (Taiwan was about to held a political election that time) and got to meet the President of Taiwan himself. The second was when the contestants visited Xiuping University in Taichung. They were greeted by a special drum performance and thousand students (especially the female ones, of course!) who were more than happy to meet and take photograph together with handsome men from 50 nations. Another memorable moment was when they visited Da Ai Village where they met the local natives and learned their folk dance. The most remarkable part of the village is that it suffered a devastating landslide in 2009 but quickly recovered into a present-day tourist village thanks to the support of Taiwan government.
About The Contestants
Moving on to the most exciting part – the contestants. The contestants were mostly nice and they really had great time together. Out of 49 other contestants, Obert’s closest friends were Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Germany, England, Canada, Malaysia, and his very own roommate Pakistan. However, while most of them are nice and genuine, it doesn’t mean the competition was drama-free.
First there was an Asian contestant who tried too hard to be” Mister Nice Guy” up to the point where the others felt he was fake. Then there were two contestants, both of them are of Hispanic ethnicity, who greatly despised each other. According to one of them, the dispute started during their national casting days as he was first selected as the official representative for Manhunt but suddenly “dethroned” and replaced by the other one. Lucky for him, he managed to secure his participation at Manhunt tough he had to represent another country. And finally there was one contestant who suddenly changed his attitude. He was a total snob during the entire competition but suddenly became an angel after he won a major award on the final.
About The Luggage
In female pageant it’s not a strange thing to see a contestant brings up to seven suitcases but apparently in male pageant, three is already considered a lot, as in Obert case. He brought three – a suitcase, a backpack, and a box, and he was already among the contestants with the most luggage. The most space consuming item was obviously the Dayak inspired, Dynand Fariz designed, spectacular national costume, as it took an entire box to pack. The costume was really space consuming but it was worth it because it drew a lot of attention and praise from other contestants.
However, Obert was not alone in this case. China’s national costume took not only one, but two entire boxes to pack. You can imagine how difficult for them to keep their luggage while traveling between cities in Taiwan, right? But in the end it totally paid off for both of them as their costumes were selected as the winner and the runner up of Best National Costume award respectively.
About The Winner
Now for the biggest question of the night, “Is Peter Menky a deserving winner?” According to Obert – “Yes, he is.” Peter is a very nice guy and a certainly handsome one too. It’s not too surprising if he wins. However, the favorite choice among the contestants (including Obert himself) is actually not Peter, but Bogdan Brasoveanu from Gibraltar. In the end, Bogdan finished second behind Peter, so it’s still a satisfying result for the contestants.
About The Future
The final chapter of our interview was dedicated to Obert himself – “What’s next in his life?” This February, Obert will fly to Guangzhou to take a course of Mandarin language. The course will last for about a year, and when he returns to Indonesia, he has a plan to start his own business, something that has been his desire since he was in the college. A very ambitious dream indeed and we wish Obert a very good luck.
Special thanks to Obert and Mbak Ucy (L-Men Talent Management) for giving us the chance for the interview.
For more information about L-Men and Manhunt International, please visit www.l-men.com and www.manhunt.com.sg
Text by : Ayus Wijaya
Photos by : Nursasongko, Manhunt International website, and other source
It’s not a secret that Manhunt International 2010 is one of its most competitive edition. And Obert certainly felt that too. It was scary at first that he had to compete against so many handsome men. But much to his relief, he is not the shortest contestant among the bunch (he was initially worried about that before his departure to Taiwan). A number of contestants are actually not as tall as their vital statistics say in the internet. Some of them are even shorter than Obert himself.
About The Experience
Recounting his time in Taiwan, Obert told us that it was totally fun and he felt so grateful that he was given a chance to experience all that. “So which ones are the most memorable?” The first was when the contestants were asked to participate as a guest stars in a national campaign for a political party (Taiwan was about to held a political election that time) and got to meet the President of Taiwan himself. The second was when the contestants visited Xiuping University in Taichung. They were greeted by a special drum performance and thousand students (especially the female ones, of course!) who were more than happy to meet and take photograph together with handsome men from 50 nations. Another memorable moment was when they visited Da Ai Village where they met the local natives and learned their folk dance. The most remarkable part of the village is that it suffered a devastating landslide in 2009 but quickly recovered into a present-day tourist village thanks to the support of Taiwan government.
About The Contestants
Moving on to the most exciting part – the contestants. The contestants were mostly nice and they really had great time together. Out of 49 other contestants, Obert’s closest friends were Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Germany, England, Canada, Malaysia, and his very own roommate Pakistan. However, while most of them are nice and genuine, it doesn’t mean the competition was drama-free.
First there was an Asian contestant who tried too hard to be” Mister Nice Guy” up to the point where the others felt he was fake. Then there were two contestants, both of them are of Hispanic ethnicity, who greatly despised each other. According to one of them, the dispute started during their national casting days as he was first selected as the official representative for Manhunt but suddenly “dethroned” and replaced by the other one. Lucky for him, he managed to secure his participation at Manhunt tough he had to represent another country. And finally there was one contestant who suddenly changed his attitude. He was a total snob during the entire competition but suddenly became an angel after he won a major award on the final.
About The Luggage
In female pageant it’s not a strange thing to see a contestant brings up to seven suitcases but apparently in male pageant, three is already considered a lot, as in Obert case. He brought three – a suitcase, a backpack, and a box, and he was already among the contestants with the most luggage. The most space consuming item was obviously the Dayak inspired, Dynand Fariz designed, spectacular national costume, as it took an entire box to pack. The costume was really space consuming but it was worth it because it drew a lot of attention and praise from other contestants.
However, Obert was not alone in this case. China’s national costume took not only one, but two entire boxes to pack. You can imagine how difficult for them to keep their luggage while traveling between cities in Taiwan, right? But in the end it totally paid off for both of them as their costumes were selected as the winner and the runner up of Best National Costume award respectively.
About The Winner
Now for the biggest question of the night, “Is Peter Menky a deserving winner?” According to Obert – “Yes, he is.” Peter is a very nice guy and a certainly handsome one too. It’s not too surprising if he wins. However, the favorite choice among the contestants (including Obert himself) is actually not Peter, but Bogdan Brasoveanu from Gibraltar. In the end, Bogdan finished second behind Peter, so it’s still a satisfying result for the contestants.
About The Future
The final chapter of our interview was dedicated to Obert himself – “What’s next in his life?” This February, Obert will fly to Guangzhou to take a course of Mandarin language. The course will last for about a year, and when he returns to Indonesia, he has a plan to start his own business, something that has been his desire since he was in the college. A very ambitious dream indeed and we wish Obert a very good luck.
Special thanks to Obert and Mbak Ucy (L-Men Talent Management) for giving us the chance for the interview.
For more information about L-Men and Manhunt International, please visit www.l-men.com and www.manhunt.com.sg
Text by : Ayus Wijaya
Photos by : Nursasongko, Manhunt International website, and other source
