He is the Winner of Mr World 2010, a model, TV presenter, sky diver, pilot, he has partied with the likes of Rihanna and is only 26. Is there anything Kamal Orlando Ibrahim hasn’t done?
I meet Ibrahim at Sub-Urban in Dickson half expecting someone who has himself propped up on a pedestal. I am greeted with the complete opposite. Immaculately dressed, with a friendly face, Kamal Ibrahim sits down to tell me how he came to be here.
Having moved to Canberra only 10 weeks ago, Ibrahim is the capital’s newest addition. The Irishman visited Melbourne last year and that is when the seed was planted – he wanted to move to live and work in Australia. Why Canberra I asked?
“I have a few friends here. Since I have been in Canberra I have launched my website, been re-doing my portfolio, and networking. I like Canberra,” says the young model and seemingly jack of all trades.
Kamal started his modeling career in Ireland in 2005 when he attended an Ann Summers fashion show as an audience member.
“I didn’t know it, but I was sitting beside a modeling agent and we got chatting and she said to me I have actually had my eye on you, would you be interested in getting up onto the stage here and now? I said yes, had a couple of quick drinks and hopped up there and modeled an outfit for her. It was a bit of fun at first, but then she put me in contact with a woman who was a big player in the modeling industry in Ireland. I met her on the Thursday and had my first modeling job on the Monday”.
Breaking his way into the modeling industry in Limerick (his home town) and taking it to a national level, Kamal was asked to compete in Mr Ireland 2009. He won and then entered Mr World 2010. Winning that too, this was the big break Kamal needed. Being Mr World 2010 took him travelling over the next two years all over the world; America, South Korea, Europe, Australia.
Practicing his public speaking whilst being Mr World, Kamal decided in 2011 that he would like to move into TV presenting. Since then, he has hosted a number of live events, documentaries and other TV shows.
Living in Canberra for now, Kamal eventually wants to migrate north to Australia’s fashion and entertainment hub, Sydney.
“I love the weather in Sydney, the people and the lifestyle. I think Australia suits my kind of lifestyle which is very adventurous.”
“Someone told me that Canberra is quite a difficult place to meet people because it is very cliquey. But I am the kind of person that can sort of fall in with everyone and I think the people of Canberra are great.”
Having brushed shoulders with celebrities such as Michael Douglas, Hugh Grant, Simon Cowell and Rihanna, Kamal is surprisingly down to earth. This opinion I have of him stays put even after he tells me that his second cousin is Danny DeVito and a good friend of his just happens to be Kevin Spacey. Kamal met Spacey at The Jameson Cult Film Festival who was there for a Q&A regarding Usual Supects.
“Kevin Spacey came over and sat down. He was really down to earth. We ended up having drinks until 6am in the morning and then he flew back to London. We have stayed friends ever since, catching up in London when I moved there for eight months before coming here”.
Kamal recalls that on one of the last nights he was in Ireland, he went to The Wright Venue, a huge nightclub in Dublin and Rihanna was playing there at the time.
“Rihanna came in afterwards and I partied with her and her crew in the ‘Scarface Room’- a cool room that overlooks the whole nightclub. I had a brief chat with her, had a drink. It was such a great night”.
That brings us to the topic of the infamous Canberra nightlife.
“Look, its obviously on a different scale to what I have previously experienced, but I think the nightlife scene in Canberra is nice. I was brought out two weeks ago by a group of guys I’d just met. We had an absolute blast at Tongue&Groove, and all I have to compare it to is the work I’ve been doing over the last couple of years. In some ways, it is kind of nice just going somewhere and no one knows who you are. You can just do what you want… “Oh! And this is my first time to Sub-Urban,” says Kamal.
Only having been here for a little over two months, Kamal has not yet had the opportunity to visit some of the great Canberra icons, however he has found time to fit in runs around Lake Burley Griffin, visit more of the suburban quieter bars and has dined out a few times.
“The Canberra lifestyle is very similar to the Irish lifestyle. And the weather is still decent enough for me. In Limerick it always stays in the single figures, with wind and rain. In Canberra, you get blue skies. I love that.
“Being in Canberra for now allows me to get myself in the right mind set so I can focus on what I want to do.”
I have never really met someone with so many active interests. From a young age, Kamal wanted to be a pilot. So he went to college and studied electronic engineering to go to the UK and join the Royal Airforce. Unfortunately, the war in Afghanistan meant that all the entry requirements were changed and because he was Irish, he could no longer apply.
He saved his money and went to America to get his private pilot’s license when he was 19.
Extreme sports is also a great interest of Kamal’s; skydiving, scuba diving, rock climbing. Travelling, dancing (hip-hop and salsa), cooking- there is nothing Kamal will say no to.
Kamal got into skydiving through charity and he is currently trying to beat the Australian record for the highest sky dive.
“At the moment the highest sky dive is 32,000 feet and I am going to beat it and make a documentary about it for TV.”
He is also in talks with Channel Nine about a reality TV show in October in Sydney. There is also rumors around Kamal being the presenter for a new children’s show.
I ask Kamal what he would do if he won 1 million dollars.
“I would buy a house for my mum, dad and sister. Then I would buy myself an apartment in Sydney. I would put around 100 grand into savings so I could keep it for learning to fly. I’d take 50 grand and travel the world. I would also buy myself one ridiculously cool materialistic thing, like a small plane or something.”
