Philippines' John Jeffrey “Janjep” Carlos, 41, was crowned Mr. Gay World in Cape Town, South Africa over the weekend, becoming the second Filipino to earn the honor. John Raspado won the title in 2017.
ABS-CBN reports: ‘Carlos, who hails from Cavite, bested 21 other candidates in the final round of the pageant in Cape Town, South Africa on May 4 (May 5 in Manila). He joins fellow Filipino John Fernandez Raspado took the crown in 2017. Carlos succeeded Mr. Gay World 2018 Jordan Bruno, an Australian national, for the crown. Spain's Francisco Alvarado was crowned 1st runner up, followed by Hungary's Oliver Pusztan (2nd runner up), Thailand's Cjayudhom Samibat (3rd runner up) and Belgium's Nick Van Vooren (4th runner up).'
Carlos competed on a platform of battling depression in the LGBTQ community.
And a swimsuit competition:
The winners were:
- Mr Gay World: Janjep Carlos, Philippines
- 1st runner-up: Francisco Alvarado, Spain
- 2nd runner-up:Oliver Pusztai, Hungary
- 3rd runner-up: Chayodhom Samibat, Thailand
- 4th runner-up: Nick Van Vooren, Belgium
Mr. Gay World started in 2008 according to its website: “Eric Butter and Dean Nelson embarked on a mission to create a global competition that would inspire and empower gay men to come together in a public performance that would show the world that being gay encompasses a broad spectrum. The mission to demonstrate that both inward beauty and physical appearance are equally important as is leadership and confidence. It was our hope that by bringing these men together they would share their experiences to open both each others' as well as the public's eyes that in many regions on our planet being gay is a challenge and a fight for basic human rights.”
