Returning home from Mr Glam International in Manilla, Philippines, John Watson Tamin, who is also Mr Glam Borneo 2022, shares his pageant experience with New Sarawak Tribune.
Mr Glam opens up about pageant journey
John Watson Tamin, a man of perseverance, believes in the phrase ‘enti urang bukai ulih, nadai kebuah diri empu enda ulih,’ which translates from the Iban language as ‘if others can, there’s no reason we cannot’. And so, he did it — he achieved his dream of competing in an international pageant.
His feat came shortly after being crowned the Mr Glam Borneo 2022 in Sabah in October. In late November, John flew to Manilla, Philippines, to compete in Mr Glam International 2022, where he earned the subsidiary titles of Mr Eco Tourism, Mr Elegance, and Mr Face of Asia.
A proud Iban, John lives by the words ‘enti urang bukai ulih, nadai kebuah diri empu enda ulih.’
The Iban lad told New Sarawak Tribune about his journey in pageantry, saying that he had never considered participating in any events before.
“I started off as a singer. Then my friends Dino and Fredrick Rino registered my name to compete in pageants. So, I just joined and was crowned Mr Elegant Sarawak 2019.”
He felt a great deal of pride in pageantry at that moment in time.
John on stage at Mr Glam International 2022 in Manila, Philippines.
“I began to enjoy the scene. Soon after, I began receiving requests to work as a photoshoot model, runway model, and fashion model. Despite this, I believed that this was not the end for me. I wanted to accomplish more.”
That’s when he entered and won the Keling Raban Ngepan Iban, a culture-based pageant, in 2019. Nonetheless, John admitted to being eager for more.
“That’s when I decided to join Mr Glam Borneo and get the chance to compete on a global scale. This is what I’ve always desired.”
It’s not easy in the industry
John’s pageantry experience was not what he envisioned because the reality was harsh.
“I thought that once I joined, I was already ‘it’. But I wasn’t. I wasn’t what I had expected of myself. It wasn’t that simple. To get to where I am today, I had to learn a lot of things. To become the best, I had to compete with others.
“I had to face the pageant alone because I didn’t have a team. But I have a lot of support back home, especially from Franky Gassan, who has been there for me since the beginning. I have financial difficulties, but it was worthwhile because I was given the opportunity to express myself on an international arena. It has always been a goal of mine to represent my country and its people,” said the 31-year-old.
However, that is only a small part of his experience in the industry. John revealed that most of his memories from pageantry were good.
“I had the opportunity to meet people from different countries. Participants in the Philippines came from Italy, Paraguay, Japan, India, Cambodia, and many other countries. Despite the language barrier, we were able to speak via the Google Translator application. We were able to get to know each other.”
John said being in the international arena does not feel like the participants are competing against each other.
“Instead of competing, we were more concerned with helping each other perform well on stage. There is no winner or loser. We are all already winners.”
Throughout the weeks and months he spent in Mr Glam — both at the national and international levels — John had learned a number of lessons from the coaches.
“They trained us how to walk the catwalk, speak, give speeches, and respond to questions from the media.”
Not just a beauty pageant
A part of society believes that beauty pageants, whether for females or males, are merely competitions to highlight each participant’s beauty. However, most beauty pageants require their contestants to prove why they deserve the title. Pageantry, in John’s opinion, is not as bad as many people believe.
“It is our responsibility to show them what pageantry is all about. Every pageant requires us to show our physique. However, by doing so, you show that you embrace your body and who you are. Furthermore, having a good physique shows that you have worked hard to achieve it.”
John went on to say that the positive qualities of pageant participants may be seen in how they present themselves on stage. Thus, a beauty pageant is more than just a show and tell.
John is an actor and motivational speaker in addition to being a pageant contestant and singer. When he isn’t in front of everyone, he prefers to spend his time in the sea — either in the deep sea or near the shore — just fishing to relax. In the future, John hopes to use his many talents to elevate Malaysia until he is no longer able to do so.
