Mister Supranational 2. Runner-up Brandon Espiritu. Photo: Armin P. Adina/INQUIRER.net

Brandon Espiritu made quite an impression at the 2024 Mister Supranational pageant last month, not only by achieving the Philippines’ highest placing in the men’s international competition, but also by busting out his moves on stage.

The 29-year-old model and entrepreneur wowed pageant fans every time she took the stage, grooving to the rhythm of the music blaring from the speakers and exuding tons of energy during the final competition held last month at the Strzelecki Park Amphitheater in Nowy Sacz, Poland.

He came to Poland as one of the early favorites. He held his position throughout the competition and eventually finished second, making him the only Filipino candidate to make it to the winner’s circle. Before him, the Filipino bets only made it through the first cut.

“I lost myself. It was great, it was fun,” Espiritu said of his viral dance clips, admitting that his moves were not that well choreographed and were mostly improvisations enhanced by the emotions he felt during the competition.

He shared his stories from the competition while standing alongside Miss Supranational Asia and Oceania 2024 Alethea Ambrosio before journalists and online content creators at a homecoming press conference held at Empire Studios in Estancia Mall in Pasig City on August 6.

“Madam, there were many memories. But for me the most important one was raising the flag during the competition, and also during our rehearsals and rehearsals. Carrying the flag of your country on your back, raising it and being able to say the name of the country gives me goosebumps, especially because I have many critics,” said Espiritu.

“I have a lot of haters. ‘This guy doesn’t represent us, he represents Guam. He’s not Filipino, he’s not brown enough,’ all those things. I was never enough. But when I’m there, raising the flag and saying the name of the country with pride, no one has anything else to say. It filled my heart with great joy. Those were my fondest memories,” he added.

Mister Supranational runner-up Brandon Espiritu (left) and Miss Supranational Asia and Oceania Althea Ambrosio. Photo: Armin P. Adina/INQUIRER.net

Espiritu, a reluctant beauty pageant participant, gave in to constant requests last year when he represented the Filipino community in Guam in the second edition of the Mister Pilipinas Worldwide contest held in October, parallel to the first Miss Philippines Culture and Heritage Celebration event, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

He won the competition and was officially named to the international beauty pageant in February, when he and the other finalists were awarded their respective national titles representing the global competitions in which they would compete.

“When you get an opportunity that doesn’t sound like something you would take, you would say to yourself, ‘Oh, that’s not me.’ These are the opportunities for us to rewrite who we are. Because before the whole beauty pageant thing, when I was offered this opportunity, I was like, ‘That’s not me.’ But then I had to think outside of myself and say, ‘Who am I really?’ And giving myself the opportunity to grow and figure out who I really am allows me to try different things. So be open to trying different versions of yourself,” Espiritu said.

He also had nice things to say about the man who challenged him for the title in Poland: South Africa’s first Mister Supranational winner Fezile Mkhize.

“I am very close to him. He is a testament to greatness. You don’t meet people like him every day because he is so balanced. He is not only funny but also very smart and extremely sociable and he has been successful in his career,” Espiritu said of the South African doctor, who beat 35 other contenders in the eighth edition of the international men’s competition.

“He has everything. Whenever I see him, I’m like, ‘Man, I need to get better, I need to be a better person overall.’ I think that’s a testament to greatness.”

“I just remember the days before the competition when I had dance rehearsals and we just looked at each other and thought: ‘It’s going to be you and me up there, you against me’. I didn’t come second but that’s okay. Casey (De Vries, runner-up from the Netherlands) is a really good person too. We just had that competition in us, we’re very competitive. But kudos to (Mkhize), really a good guy. Lots of love to him,” Espiritu added.

Immediately after the competition and before his press conference on his return home, Espiritu immediately put on his entrepreneur hat and traveled abroad for his company.

He is currently working on opening a cafe in Makati City’s Poblacion district, which he will call “Rest Day.” He plans to welcome regulars in two months.