Hunks drive them wild

SINGAPORE - From the moment the 24 beefcakes walked out to the tune of hit song Blurred Lines by US singer Robin Thicke, there was no stopping the audience.

With party clappers, horns and whistles, the 600-strong crowd almost brought the house down at local club Neverland II at St James Power Station on Wednesday night at the Manhunt and Senior Manhunt Singapore 2013 finals.

The women - and some men - eagerly snapped pictures of the contestants in their Waveline swimwear, and their appreciation of the guy's hot bods showed all over their faces. They also chanted and sounded their horns for their favourites Hadi Omar (Manhunt) and Andy Chng (Senior Manhunt).

But the hunks and their supporters were blindsided by the actual winners, who, when compared to the rest of the guys, were more slender.

Jason Tan, 21, and Gilbert Tang, 42, were crowned Manhunt and Senior Manhunt Singapore respectively at the three-hour event, which also celebrated the pageant's 25th anniversary.

Hadi and Chng took home the runner-up positions in their respective categories.

Both Tan and Tang are first-time pageant contestants and somewhat unexpected winners in a group filled with pageant title-holders, personal trainers and fitness models.

It's a personal triumph for Tang, who, less than a decade ago, could not even stand looking at pictures of his then-91kg self.

"I didn't dare show those pictures to anyone. I was not confident at all then. People used to call me 'Chub'," said Tang, who is single.

He does procurement for a retail brand and is also a part-time property agent and a freelance model.

In his mid-30s, fed up at being overweight, he started dieting and exercising, going to the gym five to six days a week.

Tang, who is 1.7m tall, is now 70kg, after adding daily 45-minute swimming sessions to his routine to prepare for Manhunt.

"In the five months before Manhunt, I completely cut out my favourite foods like fried kway teow, laksa and chocolate," he said. "It was torture."

But it certainly wasn't torture on stage. If anything, Tang deserved the winner's sash for the energy and overly-enthusiastic facial expressions he brought to the stage during the guys' dance routine, while others bit their lips from embarrassment or struggled to keep up with the beat.

"I really love dancing and I think you saw it on stage," said Tang with a laugh.

Manhunt Singapore 2013 winner Tan also impressed with his outgoing onstage persona,

The freelance model and Temasek Polytechnic student, who is completing his diploma in business process and systems engineering, breezily made it through his Q&A segment when asked why he would choose skydiving over bungee jumping.

"You don't get to see the world from such a view every day," was his response.

Quiet, introverted

Tan, who has a girlfriend, said he is actually a quiet, introverted person. But for the competition, he decided he would "have fun".

As for how he hopes to top the performance of last year's winner Jason Chee - who went on to be fourth runner-up at the international competition in Bangkok - Tan said he feels "no pressure at all".

"I'm going to focus on building up a strong routine for my diet and workout and maybe get someone to help me with my speech and confidence on stage," said Tan, who is 1.86m tall and weighs 75kg.

Mr Samuel Seow, who heads Beam Artistes, organiser of Manhunt Singapore, and who was also a judge at the event, said he has no worries about Tan's future as a Beam Artiste. Tan walked away with cash and prizes worth over $26,000, including a one-year Beam Artiste contract and an Oris timepiece worth more than $2,000.

"Jason will definitely be a very marketable media product. He has very good skin and a very good face and body."

Ms Jenny Tan, who was at the finals to check out the guys with her friends, said Jason is "not bad", but she was rooting for Hadi.

"I think Hadi really looked like a guy you would put next to the name 'Manhunt'," said the 28-year-old marketing executive.

But as local actor-host and Manhunt judge Paul Foster explained, Tan ticked the right boxes.

"He has the height, he has the body, and I think that combination gave him a very good chance," said Foster.

Going into the international finals later this year in Beijing, Foster advised the student to be more confident on stage.

"I'll definitely be letting him know to consciously think about these little gestures he has when he gets nervous," he said. "He has a beautiful smile too, so he should smile more."

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'There's no more chance for me'

Most of the older guys who made up the Senior Manhunt Singapore 2013 finalists were there to tick an item off their bucket lists.

But Andy Chng had a bigger mission - to take home the title that he didn't win back in 1993, when he was a Manhunt finalist.

But that dream came crashing down when the 47-year-old was announced as the first runner-up.

"I really wanted to come back and win the title," he told The New Paper after the finals on Wednesday night, looking weary and on the verge of tears.

Judge Paul Foster told The New Paper that he thought Chng should have won because he had the "overall package", but it was cold comfort for Chng.

"There's no more chance for me because I can't join again," he said.

No one can blame him for not trying his best.

Chng, a recruitment professional and fashion buyer, juggled work commitments and sessions at the gym to keep himself in tip-top shape for the finals.

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Facebook fan page

In June, he set up a Facebook fan page for himself that has garnered more than 23,000 likes.

He said: "I've been a Manhunt fan since young, and I've (attended) many finals since I joined in 1993. So there is some disappointment there, but this is a competition and you've got to respect the decision of the judges."

Crowd favourite Hadi Omar, 27,was less emotional about not winning the main Manhunt category, even though his friends and family had assured him that the title would be his.

"I had been led to believe by lots of people that I would win," he said with a laugh.

He said he could not prepare as much for the finals as he wanted to because, as a personal trainer, he found it hard to find time for his own training.

But he's not kicking himself about it

"I don't mean to sound cocky, but I would rather win for who I am, rather than for something that I'm not, so I have no regrets," he said.

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