Called a monster as a child, Joshua Benedict is now Mr Malaysia World

MALAYSIANSKINI | At a glittering affair at the Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur on Oct 21 last year, 32-year-old Joshua Benedict beat 22 other contestants to win the Mr World Malaysia 2022 title.

Presented by Universal Music Malaysia with this year’s “Men with Dimensions”, Johor-born Joshua (above) will represent the country at Mr World 2022/23 event in the United Kingdom in mid-2023.

Joshua is no newcomer to the pageant world. He took part in the Mr Tourism International 2017 pageant when he was scouted by one of the editors from Karangkraf’s ‘Impiana’ magazine.

He emerged as third runner-up. Joshua was just 26 then.

This young man is more than just good looks. He has a degree in psychology; an aesthetic clinic (a joint venture) with Dr Felicia Soong, who was Mrs Malaysia Universe 2018 and has worked with Doctors without Borders.

Joshua also designs a line of clothing and is also a cryptocurrency trader. With his fingers in so many pies, it makes one wonder why he got into the pageants again after six years.

“After the pandemic, I felt that I had swayed from my personal growth and I wanted to get back on track. I realised that when I had a goal, I would become very focused on it.

“That’s why when I heard about Mr World Malaysia, I thought, why not give pageants another shot?” Joshua told Malaysiakini.

He said there is this stereotype that men are supposed to look a certain way and male pageants help dispel that perception.

“Mr World is under the Miss World organisation and is one of the oldest pageants in the world and is very reputable. It gives men dimension.

“It goes beyond what men are supposed to look like such as the Greek-god look, square jawline, et cetera.

"So they are not just focusing on the physique. They are looking at overall health, intellect and everything that encompasses how a guy in this century should be,” explained Joshua.

He said when one enters a pageant, the organiser does help get you prepared, but ultimately it is the contestant who has to take it upon themselves to ensure how well they should present themselves, get their walks correct, advocacy right and how they will execute all of it.

No plans to be a psychologist

Despite having a degree in psychology, Joshua does not have plans to become a psychologist.

“To be honest, psychology as a profession was not my goal in life. I chose psychology because I believe that it was a great field to study human behaviour, emotion and overall well-being.

"I use what I learned in my everyday life - how I socialise with people, how I build my network with people and what I curate for my customers based on their liking.

"When I do design, customers can have five different ideas, but they may not know what they want,” said Joshua, adding that psychology helps him have effective conversations with people.

In preparing for the Mr World event, which will be held in mid-2023, Joshua said that he is fortunate that the Mr Malaysia World organiser, Universal Music, has allocated a special team for him.

“Mr World has different segments on a month-long competition,” Joshua said.

Contestants will first fly into the designated country - the UK - and stay there for a month where they will undergo various segments of the competition that are mentally and physically challenging.

This includes public speaking, communication and interactions.

“We are trying to make sure in which areas I can score the most points. My strength would be that I am a people person.

"I like to communicate with people, I like to interact with people. That gives me the edge because Mr World has to be good at communicating with people. The idea is to get the brand across," he said.

Once a victim of bullying

Joshua hails from Johor Bharu and moved to Kuala Lumpur after working and studying here for 10 years. His mom is from Sungai Petani, Kedah and his dad hails from Malacca.

His father is ethnic Indian while his mother is Chinese.

“I speak four languages - English, Bahasa Malaysia, Mandarin and Tamil. So I am a Chinese-speaking, Malay-looking Indian. If you are looking for diversity with a touch of spiciness, I am the perfect example!” Joshua said, with a chuckle.

“When I was growing up, never in a million years, did I think that I would be in a male pageant. When I was three years old, I had an accident at home which left a scar,” said Joshua, pointing to his upper arm.

“I had third-degree burns.”

The accident took place when his grandmother was moving a pan of hot oil after blooming some spices for “rasam”.

Some drops landed on Joshua and there were burns on the left side of his face and arm. Up to the age of 14, he had a big scar on his face that eventually faded.

“I was bullied. While studying in a Chinese elementary school, I was called a monster. I was considered dark. I was a rebel. I never thought I would be considered handsome when I was young.

"It was something I always wanted. I managed to pull through. I would not change anything because I am here because of whatever struggles I had gone through,” Joshua said with no tinge of bitterness.

Fashion and make-up icon Helena Rubinstein once said “there are no ugly women, only lazy ones” and Joshua agrees that the same rule applied to him too, adding: "If guys can take care of themselves as well as women, it would do wonders to how they present themselves.”

On that note, Joshua pointed out that he used to be a scrawny kid.

“I am quite tall at 183cm. The gym was my outlet. When you are tall, and you are out on weight without muscle mass, it does not project well. “

“As much as I don’t want to go into the stereotype of how a man is supposed to look, at the same time, we have to achieve a level of success first before we change stereotypes.

"Nobody is going to listen if you stand in the crowd and scream. If you are given the right platform and stage, when you speak, people will listen.

"That is what I'm heading towards,” said Joshua who trains at a gym regularly.

He also believes that confidence is something one has to build from within.

“The most valuable lesson I gained from my first pageant is to take everything in and enjoy it because once that moment is gone, it won’t come back. You can compete, but your true competitor is yourself.”

Joshua thinks he is more grounded now, self-aware and is also more focused on his goals now than he was before when he entered the Mr Tourism International competition.

A future as a mentor

He also sees himself helping train pageant contestants in the future. Joshua feels that entering pageants can help young men because it helps push them beyond their limits.

“Some young men can’t speak to people, open up and communicate with others.”

On that note, Joshua also does not discount the possibility of becoming a life coach.

“I think it will be a great opportunity to impart my knowledge to people who can’t get better access to healthcare or proper grooming and coaching. All this needs money. Entering pageants is not cheap.”

When he was first exposed to pageants, Joshua had to use his own money as he was unable to get sponsorship or borrow clothes from designers.

“Over the years I have built a name for myself, enough for local designers to loan me attire. That is how I got my preparations done,” he stated.

Entering a pageant, Joshua added, was just like any other competition in which you have to eat right, train for it and get enough sleep. It also takes time, effort and money.

As for the Mr World pageant, all contestants must advocate a worthy cause.

“For Mr World Malaysia and Mr World, my aim is to raise awareness of how sexual abuse, bullying and human trafficking can affect the younger generation.

"I work with an organisation Be My Protector. They have this app called Be My Protector.

“If you suspect a child is being abused, trafficked or bullied, you can anonymously go into the application and put in the details. A team (with the help of law enforcement agencies) will locate the victim, investigate and take action.”

Joshua has been working with Be My Protector since 2018.

To all the young men out there, Joshua said, “Gone are the days when men are told to be muscular, macho, not show emotion, be the head of the family and take on responsibilities.

"We are allowed to have emotions and to break down. It is okay to be not okay. At the end of the day, if you are okay, it means you have bettered yourself. Only then you will know that you have achieved the best for yourself.”

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