In the vibrant world of pageantry, one name has recently become synonymous with excellence and charisma; Samuel Micheal. Having achieved the remarkable feat of making it to the Top 16 at the prestigious Mr. International pageant held in the Philippines recently, Samuel has undoubtedly left an indelible mark on the global stage.

As we sit down with this rising star, we delve into the journey that led him to this significant milestone, exploring the challenges, triumphs, and the invaluable lessons he carries from the international spotlight.

Speaking on how it felt to represent Nigeria on an international stage like Mr. International in the Philippines, Samuel said ‘It felt great to represent Nigeria and especially representing Africa alongside my African brothers, Ghana and South Africa respectively. I felt opportune and very privileged to represent over 200 million people in Nigeria on an international stage. It was overwhelming at some points, I’m not going to lie about that. However, I was able to be grateful through the process and I would say I was grateful and privileged. I felt privileged to be able to climb that stage and fly our green proudly and high on our shoulders.

He went on to share some of the most memorable moments from the competition in the Philippines saying, ‘I’ve had quite a myriad of moments. Like I said earlier, it was overwhelming and there were a lot of emotions running through my head in the course of preparing for my journey to the international competition. It’s been tasking mentally, emotionally and physically. One of the moments that I would remember is how I’ve been able to sacrifice one of the most cherished foods for myself. Also, some of the mental tasking process was how I had to work out for almost a year at home. It requires some level of discipline for someone that is usually used to going to the gym and trying to find a space at home where you can try to put your body in shape. So, those were some other moments but just to keep it short, it’s just those two for now.

With his vast experience, he shared some of the challenges in the industry and how to overcome them, ‘I faced quite a number of challenges. However, one of the most significant ones I would say was myself, I think that I was my greatest challenge. I was supposed to actually go for this pageant last year, however, due to some challenges from the embassy, couldn’t.

So this year I was faced with almost the same obstacle because it’s a different thing to prepare for a competition and  a different thing to not be sure if you are going for the competition, because a lot of it depends on whether or not you’re going to get the visa. I didn’t get a date for the interview on time, so I had mixed feelings and was caught up in a crossroad of whether or not to put my all into preparation or to think it was in vain. However, I had to be persistent through it all, and persevere.  Also it was important that I had to keep my feet strong so that regardless of what the situation would be, I gave my best in preparation.

On his remarkable feat of being among the top 16 finalists, Samuel said, ‘some of the challenges I faced during the competition were against myself. I think I’m my biggest challenger, in the sense that at some point during the competition, I kept thinking about myself, how much I could put into this competition to distinguishably make me stand out from the rest of the competitors. I kept asking myself if I’ve given enough, I kept putting more pressure on myself. No one puts more pressure on themselves than me. I tried to own my skills and try as much as possible to always do more than is required of me to be able to stand out amongst other contestants. So I would say I was my biggest challenger, and the biggest challenge I faced was myself.

I was able to overcome it by simply just being grateful and I tried to encourage myself more and appreciate how much work I have put into this was able to help me suppress the pressure that I kept putting on myself. What I believe sets me apart from every other contestant is the simple fact that I am able to effect change and promote unity because I trust that with my abilities and attributes, I am able to unite us as representatives of different countries to show that we are all united by one thing, which is humankind, also our hearts, which I believe transcends beyond our different beliefs, ethnic backgrounds, religion and perspectives of the world.I think I am able to show that regardless of what colour of skin you are or where you’re from, you can stand out with my attributes of being able to articulate my ideas and share my perspective with other contestants around the world’.