MANILA, Philippines — The Mr World 2019 competition is fast approaching and before the finals night on August 23 media was given a chance to sit down and talk with some of the 70  gentlemen in the competition.

The candidates fielded  questions ranging from social media’s impact on today’s society,  to describing the qualities of the men of their country. Here’s what we learned from the interview with some of the world’s most desirable men.

What is the one thing you wish that male pageants have from the female counterpart?

Alberto Nodale (Austria): What I think is amazing with the female ones is that it has gone from just superficial competition to a more deep and well-rounded package that a Miss [World] needs. And I wish that in the future that course also takes on for the men. So that we can show that we don’t just have good bodies, 6 packs and all that – we have great personalities and a well rounded package to represent the world.

Dario Paredes (Honduras): I believe that Miss World emphasizes more on “beauty with a purpose” which is Julia Morley’s legacy. I wish Mr World would focus more on that as well because I am a huge fan of how Beauty Purpose mobilizes a lot of women around the world to work with so many non-profit organizations and help children in other countries. And coming from a third world country, I am a humanitarian, I work in non-profit. So that’s the case  for all of us [to] bring projects and present them. I wish I could have talked about my project and learn charities from what other countries are doing to fight to tackle this problem, to tackle poverty. 

Describe the qualities of the men in your country?

Bright Ofori (Ghana): I would say every man from Ghana is high spirited. Every man from Ghana likes to be gentle, likes to be friendly, likes to be calm, likes to be with everyone… Every man wants to know its world – wants to know other countries, wants to know the attractive sceneries. They always focus on what they’re doing. 

Jose Cotto (Puerto Rico): Puerto Rican men, we’re mostly raised by women so we love women and we are this generous, kind men who are always trying to help people. But the main thing is that we are emphatic. Because we are a mixture of cultures.

Social media has become a powerful tool. As titleholders, how do you use this in your countries?

Vishu Menon (India): I am basically an introvert and I must say that social media actually helped me to open up. Because I wasn’t there [much] on social media. And then I won the national pageant and then I started using social media. Then I got to know that I can share my point of view, I can share my thoughts, my experiences through pictures and videos on social media. And I started getting responses from all over the world and actually inspires me and that actually kept me going and driven… I took it in a very positive way and through that platform, it is going to give me a chance to share my experience and inspire others. 

Daniel Esquivel (Costa Rica): I think that social media is powerful right now so I think that we need to use our title to give all to the people that don’t have a voice that they matter — they have dreams, they have a lot of things to say that is important. 

How do you court or ask a woman out on a date in your respective countries?

Daniel Castrillon (Colombia): First of all we chat with them, ask to drink with them or eat something. If they accept the invitation, we do and give everything because we want them to feel comfortable. In other occassions, we give them invitations for the movie theater or to see the city at night, drinking something warm over the top of the city.

Jose Cotto: In Puerto Rico, dating is mostly getting to know the girl obviously and show that we are respectful men and it’s something very special because every man has its own specialty and they always try to provide a comfortable way to get to know the girl. And it’s something really beautiful because our culture is peaceful and at the same time, we’re lovely people and we love the theme of love.

What is something from the Philippines that you want to bring home back with you?

Felipe Rojas (Chile): I think that the thing I’ll take home from the Philippines in this time is that we changed a lot fo things. In every part of our hearts, I take the happiness and I’ll give to you a part of my country. 

Alberto Nodale: Fresh mangoes because mangoes here are amazing.

Vishnu Menon: I think the love and warmth from each and everyone I met I just want to take them home and the one most important thing is the smile. I can see each and every Filipino here smiling faces. So that’s a smile that I wish to take back to my country. 

Dario Paredes: I will bring to Honduras with me the drive and the genuineness of the FIlipino people because their smiles are so big. They have made us feel so welcome and I just love walking the hallways saying ‘hi’ to everybody from the Philippines. I love that and I’ll never forget that. — Rappler.com

*The responses of the candidates of Colombia and Chile’s were through bet from Costa Rica, who acted as an interpreter.