The annual affair of Manhunt Singapore returns this year with 20 contestants in the Junior category and 10 more for Senior Manhunt 2015 for men 30 and above.
Held at the Alkaff Mansion, the contestants were presented to media and trade partners on 23 September 2015. Not all the contestants were present.
This year’s pool of contestants come from a good mix of backgrounds including students, personal trainers, graphic designer, a culinary arts student and even a sports marketer amongst other occupations.
Amongst the participants include ‘MRT Hero” or “Abang Hanafie” who became popular when a video went viral in July where he stood up for a man who was being abused by another man. Muhammad Hannafie Bin Ali Mahmood is 26 years old this year. He is a freelancer and runs his frozen food business.
It is not common that a father and son joins the same competition in the senior and junior categories of Manhunt this year. This year we have Ryan Poon and his dad Jack Poon.
24 year old Ryan Poon started working in the air conditioning industry with his father soon after graduating from secondary school. After completing his national service at 20, Ryan enrolled in an academy specialised in hair fashion and design before becoming a hair technician. He spent three years in hair dressing before moving on to become an entrepreneur.
Ryan is participating in the junior category of Manhunt Singapore 2015.
Ryan’s dad is 48 years old. Jack Poon travelled into Singapore from Malaysia when he was 18. He worked as an air-con technician and started his own company later. He got married here and has a family of six. Jack pursued his dream of bodybuilding at the age of 33. This is his first time participating in a bodybuilding competition. Today he is also a personal trainer.
Jack is also the oldest participant in the Senior Manhunt Singapore 2015 competition.
Chris Ng and Benjamin Teo are the youngest in the Senior Manhunt Singapore category at 30 years old.
Chris Ng has been a freelance illustrator and concept artist for seven years. The 180 cm tall lad enjoys working out and started training in calisthenics at workout corners available outdoors in 2012.
Earlier this year he also took part in his first physique contest “Physique War” but was not placed. However, he tried again in August his year and won 1st place in category F (above 177cm). He has also won 1st place in the Asia Fitness Model Search (above 174cm) and 2nd place in the Singapore Fitness Model search overall.
Benjamin Teo works in the Navy. He wasn’t very active in his secondary school days where he was a member of the Chess Club. In Junior College, he joined six different CCAs and competed in national level competition for three of them. In university, he chaired one of the Freshman Orientation camps as well as his faculty’s graduation ball. He was active in the NTU Sports Club and Hall committees. He was also the captain of his Hall Cheerleading team, joined the emcee club and competed in two IVPs for Cheerleading and Ultimate Frisbee.
Benjamin dreams of opening an orphanage and a school for the kids one day. He currently helps to organise charity events in his free time. Benjamin is an anime fan too!
Some of the contestants showed us their talents from hip hop dance steps to Muay Thai moves. One even sang live without reverb or auto tune.
33 year old Sammy Phua was a National Rugby player who played against Waisale Serevi in the Hong Kong Sevens. He has also competed in several Muay Thai competitions.
Sammy’s ambition was to become a gynaecologist but decided to become a personal trainer after pursuing a full time degree in sports science due to financial limitations. His two passions today are fitness and medical science. He also has a Masters in Health Science.
Today Sammy owns his own fitness studio The System Gym.
Ron Kou crooned a Chinese number to the audience. Music is one of his biggest passions and he has performed in an orchestra for more than 14 years. Ron furthered his music education with NTU-NIE and teaches at some of the top school bands including St. Andrew’s, St. Patrick’s and the Singapore Management University. He used to be a member of the Singapore Police Force Band.
22 year old Dennis Aw is a Banking and Finance undergraduate and a very ambitious one too. We hear his ambition is to retire by 40. From his audition videos, we understand that Dennis absolutely hates tomatoes. Lucky for him, this is not an eating competition. Otherwise, a tomato dish would be the end of the competition.
Dennis dances with style and his height at 186 cm gives him an advantage over the other contestants in the junior category.
Muhammad Fuad is 25 years old this year. He has participated in a number of physique competitions and this year we spotted him at NutriMan 2015. Check out the contestants in the fashion segment of NutriMan 2015 here.
A year ago Fuad tore his ACL and meniscus of his left knee while doing a sport representing the Army during his service. After surgery, he was not able to walk and workout properly and lost all motivation. He managed to pull himself up again and has come back up stronger.
The grand finals of Manhunt Singapore 2015 will be held at Hotel Jen Orchard Gateway on 5 December 2015. Tickets can be purchased from www.globaltickets.sg.
You can check out the other contestants during the press conference in our Flickr album below.
