GUT, CAMERA, ACTION LUIS MUNANA Luis Munana’s journey has taken him from his hometown of Rundu to the Big Brother Africa house and on to London, where he was the first Namibian male model to walk the runway at London Fashion Week.
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hese experiences, as well as his work as a television presenter and producer, came because Luis hasn’t been afraid to go against the grain and trust his instincts.
seen in my life. So the plan was to get good grades because it would open doors to the future. MYD: Were you always very goal oriented? LM: Yes, that’s one thing I can tell you for sure. I always wanted career change and to see the world.
MYD: Luis, before we talk about where you come from, tell us about your successes. There are really some incredible achievements in your life. LM: My mom taught me not to talk about myself like that, not to brag, but for the interview’s sake I guess I have to say something. I don’t want to box myself into a specific industry or just one thing that I do, but to the world I am an international model, a TV producer and an events organiser – those are some of the titles. And a financial analyst, if you’d have me go into the corporate world.
MYD: Tell us about the career change. How did you become a model? LM: There’s this thing called ‘season’ in the South African fashion industry. It happens twice in a year when international clients go to Cape Town to shoot. There are so many clients, there are jobs and castings, there are models and there are bookers, agents and scouts. It was summer, I was in shorts, strolling down the streets and I was approached by a booker who wanted to sign me. I said no in the first year. I said no in the second year, then the third year came and I was struggling to pay for my schooling. I was working as a waiter to get money for textbooks and to pay for school and, since I needed the extra income, I thought, “Why not just do it?” Also, seeing that this was the third year in a row that they’d approached me, I thought, “Why not just give it a shot?” From then on, I was meeting clients, flying to Durban, flying to Joburg for jobs, and the rest is history.
MYD: What was your childhood like? ML: Believe it or not, I was an introvert. I was that kid who was always helping the teacher, writing down the names of the naughty kids. I was class captain. I come from a very Christian family. Automatically, we had to adapt and fall in line because as the preacher’s kid, you had to lead a life that set an example for others. It came quite naturally. People from church surrounded us and at home we had a good upbringing. I mean, my parents did the best they could.
MYD: What was the response like from your family? LM: Mmm, let me not say they’ve accept it fully, but they’re learning to cope with it. They’re learning to take it one day at a time. Obviously no African parent wants their son doing this, even more so when they have a qualification in finance. So, ja, they are learning to cope.
MYD: Very often though, people will rebel against having that much pressure placed on them at an early age. How did you stay true to your goals? LM: I’ve always known that there is something bigger out there and I’ve always known that you have to take the next step. The plan was to do well in school, get good grades and go to Windhoek eventually. After Windhoek, the next step was to go to South Africa. After South Africa, it was to go to the States or Europe. That was always the plan. I’ve always known that I would end up somewhere international, be it in business or something else. My plan was always to go see the world, explore, meet new people, because there were so many things I saw on TV that I hadn’t
MYD: How do you deal with the fact that it’s difficult for them? LM: It wasn’t easy at first because, at some point, we were not really on speaking terms. I just tell myself it’s a means to an end, it’s part of the puzzle. I tell myself to think about the bigger picture.
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