Josh Yugen: Meet the Filipino behind Miss Universe franchises in five countries

Candidates and creatives, such as fashion and footwear designers, are raising their countries’ flags in various international pageants.

- JERRY DONATO

These events have also become platforms for them to showcase their creativity, aesthetic sense and unique stories.

Also doing the same thing — making their nations proud — are the national directors, who help the judges to choose the best representative there is.

Josh Yugen, the founder of House of Yugen, has found his foothold in the pageant world and shown that a Pinoy can be a national director of not only one Miss Universe franchise but more.

He is now the national director of Miss Universe Denmark, Bahrain, Pakistan, Egypt and Sweden.

“So, I have a different story,” said Josh when The STAR asked him how his interest in becoming a national director began in a recent media conference.

“In 2021, I was actually offered to start Miss Universe in the Gulf (area)... and I started with Bahrain, of course, everyone knows that, and I started burkini at the Miss Universe pageant, and then the next year, I actually pitched for (Miss Universe) Pakistan because living in the Middle East for 17 years, I feel like, you know, there are just a lot of beautiful Pakistanis (Pakistani women) in the Middle East.”