Face of Laos winner talks about plans for future

The winner of Face of Laos 2022, Mr Gabriel Soutphila, shared his experiences during the competition with Vientiane Times. The 19-year-old, who is 183 cm tall, also spoke about the reasons why he joined the contest and how he plans to prepare for the upcoming Face of Asia competition.

Mr Gabriel Soutphila.

1. How do you find out about the Face of Laos 2022 competition?
I first heard about Face of Laos back when I joined the T8 agency and all that I knew about it back then was that it’s a modelling competition that selects the best model and sends them to Korea. My knowledge of the competition was limited but now everything about Face of Laos and Face of Asia seems clear to me.
2. Why do you decide to join this competition?  
Why was I interested? Well, my goal in life is to be successful in the entertainment industry and I just said to myself, whatever opportunities are offered to me, I’ll take them with pleasure and I’ll make the most out of them. This competition was the perfect thing and I’ll do whatever I can to go as far as possible in Korea. In short, I believe that participating in competitions is the quickest way to enter the entertainment industry.
3. How did you prepare for the Face of Laos competition?
I had to prepare a lot. First of all, this was the first modeling competition I ever joined in my life. So, the number one thing I needed to work on was my inner self. Without preparing my inner self, I would never have the confidence that I had during the final. It was all about letting myself go, and stop worrying about everything – just be your true confident self. Next, I had to prepare the walk, which I still consider my true weakness that I can’t get a hang on. Preparing for this kind of event usually requires good preparation inside of your mind. If your inner self is relaxed and confident, then your body will follow it.
4. How do feel about being the winner of Face of Laos?
For me, it’s a feeling that I can’t clarify. On the one hand, considering the fact that I had worked really hard over and over, gives me the feeling that I’ve done my very best and I deserved it. But on the other hand, having seen other contestants with whom I trained for days, they’ve come really far and they started getting me worried, that I might have only a small chance of winning. But in the end, my commitment and my desire to win gave me everything for my best performance.
5. What experiences did you gain from the Face of Laos competition?
This whole competition gave me a handful of experiences, starting from how to manage my emotions, how to stay calm, how to react in any situation. And also how it is to be in a modelling competition, because in this kind of contest, it’s really important to stay patient. Of course, the experience of winning a competition will be my biggest experience ever.
6. How will you prepare for the Face of Asia to be held in Korea?
I’m preparing myself physically and mentally for the next competition in Korea. I will have to work hard on my physical self in a short amount of time because I believe that a great body and a good mindset will get me really far in this competition in Korea.
7. What job do you want to do in future ? And what’s the kind of position you want in Lao entertainment?
My goal in life is to be successful in the entertainment industry and more specifically, I want to become an actor and a public figure. Besides, I can do every job in this industry, at least I’m ready to do them. I would love to do everything because I feel like I’ll manage, whether it’s modelling, advertising, acting or something else. 

By Sisouphan Amphonephong
(Latest Update August 12, 2022)