After winning the title Mister Supranational Namibia his now faced with the biggest task of his Modeling career, as he compete for the title Mister Supranational in July this year.
In an interaction with him, he chitchats about his journey in the modeling sector and to the competition
Q:Can you summarize who you are ?
A:I am Jean-Louis Knouwds, 30 years old. I am the programs manger and breakfast show host of an Afrikaans radio station (Kosmos 94.1) in Namibia. I was born in Grootfontein, grew up in Keetmanshoop in the South of Namibia and studied Drama at the University of Namibia. I am currently in my final year doing my Master’s in performing arts at UNAM. I have a passion for the arts and entertainment industry. I like working with people and my childhood dream has always been to be in a television soapy. In my spare time I love reading self-help books and working on who I am as a person. Having studied drama which has a lot to do with the psychology of the human being, I like to understand why people do what they do and also to better understand myself. I am an animal lover and have two fur babies, Bella and Bea. They are miniature pinschers and they might be the tiniest dogs alive, but they have the biggest hearts in the world and courage like you have never seen before. They really are the joy in my life!
Q:Why did you enter Mister Supranational Namibia pageant ? A:Two years ago I was the master of ceremonies at the first Miss Supranational Namibia pageant in 2020.
Before then I never believed in pageants, because I always thought you put yourself on a stage for people to judge you and form an opinion about you, based on how you look. However, by being involved with the contestants in Miss Supranational Namibia 2020, I realized that pageantry is about so much more than just looks.
It is a road of self-discovery, building self-confidence, getting to know yourself, making new friends and getting involved in community related endeavours. these things are things which I have a passion for and because I saw the immense transformation which the girls of 2020 showed, I decided, there and then that I also want to be part of such a transformational journey. And that is why I entered.
Q:When you entered the pageant , did you had any feeling or thoughts that you will be the winner ?
A:Absolutely not.
You need to be confident, but you can never be over confident.
With the Miss and Mister Supranational competition, the winner is not determined by their performance on the evening of the gala event, but the competition starts the moment you enter for the pageant.
From then onwards, every time the trainers see you, or you during orientation and training, you need to behave at your best and be your best, because you are being evaluated from day 1 until the evening of the crowning. I was, however, confident in the fact that I am very comfortable in a public setting such as being on stage and speaking in front of people, given the fact that my day job is speaking on radio and I studied drama. However, it was still not enough for me to believe that I would be the winner as there are many other factors on which you are being scored. The one-on-one interviews with the judges are one of the elements which can play a big role in whether you are one of the top contestants or not.
And then the on-stage question also has the potential to either help you win or cause you to not be crowned as the winner.
Q:If you win Mister Supranational this July how is that going to be a benefit to Namibia and Africa ?
A:Well, I will be making history as the first ever Mister Supranational Namibia to win the international title.
However there is much more to winning the international title than just the title itself.
One of the things which I want to change is the way which people look at specifically male pageantry in Namibia, in Africa and in the world.
I think because pageantry among woman has been in existence for longer some people are of the belief that pageantry is something which only woman do.
However once again, pageantry is so much more than just good looks, and a sexy body.
Pageantry also has to do with a person’s heart and what they stand for.
Pageantry has the potential to help men build self-confidence and to help them believe in themselves again. Many times, ladies say they love men who take care of themselves.
They find confident men attractive. This is what pageantry can do. Having men walk on a stage is to showcase to the world a couple of men who have taken it upon themselves to do introspection and build a better version of themselves.
If I win the international title, the spotlight will be directed to African men to start taking care of themselves, looking after each other as brothers. I believe due to a lack of self-confidence in men, that can be a contributing factor as to why we experience so much gender-based violence. Winning the international title can help put Namibia on the map as there are still people in other countries who does not even know that Namibia exists. I hope that I can be the person to achieve this.
Q:What are some of the challenges that you have been facing lately?
A:I think the biggest thing up to now is to have enough energy every day, haha! I’ve been spending quite a lot of time in the gym lately, trying to get my body in shape for the international competition.
I have also been challenged to balance both my work and the new role as Mister Supranational Namibia 2022, but I have always liked a good challenge.
It just takes time to get yourself a new routine that works for you, once you have gotten used to the new pace of things in your life, everything starts working out again.
The focus is very much on getting ready for the international competition and with it comes a lot of pressure of course, so it is also very important, if not the most important element, and that is to keep mentally positive, focused and driven.
Of course, you get days where things don’t work out as you planned or you have an off day, but it is then that you need to work even harder to keep a positive attitude.
Q:Given an opportunity to define , Namibia’s modelling industry? A:I am honoured to be part of the national and international Mister Supranational pageant and to have the opportunity to represent my country on both platforms.
It is not only exciting but also relieving to see that the modelling industry in Namibia is expanding and becoming more inclusive.
Until now we haven’t really been seeing male pageants of this magnitude and given stereotypical outlook which many Africans still have on modelling and pageantry as they believe it is a genre in which only woman should part-take.
I know of quite a few people who believe that men shouldn’t be doing modelling and that it is only meant for woman. But to see platforms such as Windhoek fashion week, Katutura fashion week as well as the upcoming Swakopmund fashion week spearheading the industry there is definitely growth in Namibia and that is not only beneficial to the local modelling industry, but can have a ripple effect into the world in an attempt to place the modelling industry of Namibia on the map. Of course, it is not yet at its best, but the Namibian fashion department is trying extremely hard to push forward. Not only modelling but the whole fashion affair including pageantry. I would love to see more men taking part in pageants such as Mister Supranational Namibia 2022.
Q:How has your family been supportive in your journey?
A:I can be very grateful to have family and friends who always support me in everything I do.
From the first day that I said I want to enter for Mister Supranational Namibia they have supported my choice and rooted for me all the way.
They don’t necessarily always understand the process, what we do and why we sometimes have to do the things we do, but that forms part of my responsibility to educate them and to help them understand. I grew up in a home where if something is important to you, then we support each other. Everyone is born different with different interests in life and we as a family have always believed that
Q:My Inspiration is …..
A:I draw my inspiration from my desire to make a difference in people’s lives.
I want to influence the lives of people and often times when I see potential to be able to make a change in someone’s life, that inspires me.
When I was in school, I used to draw my inspiration from situations where people said that I am not able to do certain things or achieve certain things in life. That was exactly what I needed as fuel for me to prove them wrong and to show them that I am able to achieve that, which they said is not achievable. That is why I always say, don’t tell me something is not possible, because then you inspire me to show you the contrary.
Q:Lastly what do you love about Namibia?
A:What I love most of Namibia is the people… Namibian people are just different. Friendly, kind, helpful. In Namibia, you don’t have to know each other to start a conversation as you are sitting in que waiting for your turn to be helped. Namibian people just have a different vibe amongst one another. I visited Sweden a couple of years back on an exchange program and I immediately realized how people at the bus stop or on a bus don’t even make eye contact. It’s almost as if they don’t want to speak to each other. Where I know in Namibia, there is no way that you will take a bus ride without speaking a few words to someone that you haven’t met before.
Then there are of course my most favourite places to visit in my country such as the Etosha national park, the coast with its beautiful dunes, the ocean and there is nothing better than enjoying a sundowner with a view of the sun setting on the horizon across the blue African sky of Namibia. These are one-of-a-kind experiences which you cannot describe to someone, they have to experience for themselves.
WORLD OF FASHION & MODELLING 