MEET MISTER AFRICA INTERNATIONAL CANDIDATE.

As the world is preparing for the 8th of December to coronate a new king in Africa's male pageantry. On who is going to take over from Calish the current reigning King,the race has just began as more than 22 candidates from different countries are contesting for the position . One of the first challenges on the pageant,Mister Africa International was to see who will get more vote on social media platform and will be coronoted as Mister Internet Africa International. YAO-Yao Wilfried from Ivory Coast won the challenge and is expected to be coronoted as the winner in Nigeria during the pageant. 

TR:Congratulations in winning Mister Internet/Social Media Africa international 
YW:Thank you

TR:What do you think made you to receive more likes on your Facebook picture and be the favorite of many?
YW: It's really  a pleasure to know that people will follow you, especially Ivorian people too. 
Winning the vote was a real surprise, a nice surprise, and i would like to thank everyone that voted, and supported me through out the process.

TR:Tell us about yourself and how you rose in the industry?
YW:The journey began in 2016 when my friend Pierre Arnaud Fagnidi (today my agent), asked me to do a fashion show to his event (So Talent).
I enjoyed this experience so much, i decided to really put myself into it. 
Then, with my first successful casting for Festimod, and i want to thank Mr Abass Zein, the director of this Event. 
Then everything went faster, I met a very good photographer, who became my friend now, Eddy Dagher, with whom I've started having collabs that made me known on the internet.
I've also done other fashion shows like, Ethnik Mode, for Mr Carlos Desaules, "Du rêve à la réalité" ,for Mr Reda Fawaz and many more.
I've always worked on advertisement project with UBA Bank, MTN, Brasserie Ivoire, Shell and Nasco.
I wanted to thank everyone that allowed me to live those experiences.

TR:Commercial and photogenic modelling are some of the departments that you are in aside from pageantry. Why did you select them as part of your career?
YW:I followed some advices from  friends who gave me ideas and according to my profile, i'm not slim so to do runways it's still a bit complicated. I'm muscled and in my country there are not many runways for fitness models.
And i feel good on picture.
I've also discovered that i loved acting, and commercials help me to play roles.

TR:If you win the Kingship as the Winner of the competition what will it mean to you?
YW::To win this competition would be the outcome of many years of hard work, abnegation, in search of improvement.
 And above all, i want to show young man like me, that you can achieve on your dreams. 
Being Mister Africa this year would allow me to spread the message to Africa of telling, my brothers that we can achieve our dreams if we give ourselves the means to it and that it's not an easy path. But so much worth it.

TR:With this year's theme: Africa: through the looking glass' .What's your understanding of the theme?
YW:Africa, through the looking glass...
To me this theme is about us,' Africans'. 
Being looked upon by the rest of the world. We were always considered, a third world continent, but we're now expanding, evolving, showing that we have so much potential and talent. Beauty and Wealth. 
I believe, Africa is waking up, and we all have to stand together, ot be united and show the rest of the world that we're more than just the third world continent, that we are IT.

TR:Who inspires you and why?
YW:At first there was David Beckham, Like him i was playing soccer, and I loved his style, then Tyson Beckford, because we're almost the same size, and the same attributes. 
I could never forget an icon that is Karl Lagerfeld, what model he is. 
I admire his talent and what he's become with his time. adapting and he had always such class.

TR:Thank you for your time 
YW: Thank you for interview , it's a pleasure

By Rubaya Tapiwa