LAST year, Marlon Atkinson, only made it into the top ten for Male of the Year, this year his luck changed for the better and he topped a field of 15 finalists to be named Manhunt Jamaica - Male of the Year 2000, at the Hilton Hotel on Sunday.
"Having entered last year I knew what it was about, and so I was more prepared. I knew I was an outstanding competitor but I guess you can never be sure what the judges are looking for," he said.
Marlon, a 27-year-old accountant and part-time model with the Champs Modelling Agency, said his main aim for entering was to represent his country in Singapore come September.
He told THE STAR he was confident of winning, especially after he came on stage in casual wear. "After that segment I said to myself that I had a good chance because I basically brought the house down and the ladies were going wild," he said.
However, he knew the battle had not yet been won because he still had the interview segment. "I was slightly tense during the interview because I knew that is one of the sessions that determines whether you win or not."
His question: "Is it important for your mate to have physical beauty?"
His answer: "It is much more important to have a good personality and content of character. Physical beauty is just skin deep."
From there it was a clear win, but even though he was confident, Atkinson said he was a bit shocked and elated at the same time, when he heard his name announced as the winner.
He said his family members and, especially his girlfriend who is also a model, were quite elated about his achievement.
Marlon says he always wanted to become a model. He claims it is not only about physical beauty but having a great personality is important in developing his career.
"In the modelling industry most companies are moving away from just physical beauty, they want a model who is able to sell their product at all times," he said.
