Mr Kazakhstan Sees Humor as His Strength
By J.R. Breen
Contributing Writer
Roman Mironov, from Kazakhstan, is competing in the Mr World 2010 contest taking place in Korea. There are 74 contestants battling it out and a winner will be decided in the finale on March 27.
``I want to win; it will be good for my career,’’ the 24-year-old told The Korea Times in Muju, Wednesday.
At 196 centimeters with a strong physique, Mironov stands out among the contestants. He was nicknamed ``the sniper’’ after he shot seven people in the paint-ball challenge on Wednesday.
An only child, he grew up living with his mother. From a young age he showed promise in swimming, and attended a special school for athletes and became a national champion swimmer.
His next step was working as a model. In 2004 he entered his current profession as a television presenter.
``I am a TV presenter on a comedy show. I started on a music show, like MTV ― I did that for one-and-a-half years,’’ he said. ``Now I work on a comedy show where I am a presenter. I produce a short piece for the program on Friday and Sunday.’’
When asked what he thought of Borat ― a mock-TV journalist from Kazakhstan created by comedian Sacha Baron Cohen ― Mironov said he did not take it too seriously.
``It is a comedy, nothing more,’’ he said. ``But they don't show it in Kazakhstan, because the old people don't like it.’’
He added that after the film was released, he made a T-shirt, which he brought to Korea, with ``Kazakhstan’’ written on the front and ``Borat was wrong’’ on the back.
Mironov said that after Mr World, he would like to continue developing his career. ``I know (television) producing; I would like to produce films,” he said.
He attained his bachelor's degree in economics from the International Academia Institute in Almaty.
Mironov was invited to compete in the Mr Kazakhstan competition. ``I am a guy with a good model's body, and a lot of people know me in Kazakhstan,’’ he said.
Although Mironov said that he wants to win the competition, he said he would be satisfied with just performing well.
``But I would be happy to be amongst the leaders (top contestants) and I just want to be myself.’’
When asked which of his strengths would appeal to the judges, he noted his good sense of humor. He added that he believes judges are looking for good character and the qualities of a gentleman in Mr World.