Josef O’Brien chatted with #Powerjournalist Markos Papadatos about being Mr. Utah in the 2024 Mister USA competition.
James Dean once said: “Dream as if you’ll live forever. Live as if you’ll die today.” This quote applies to Josef O’Brien, who is the pride of Utah.
Josef O’Brien: The rugby player
He is a chemical engineer, and he is a professional rugby player who plays for both Rugby Football Club Los Angeles and Belmont Shore Rugby Football Club. “That is a pretty cool experience,” he admitted.
“I’ve been playing rugby for the past 10 years. It is definitely a big passion of mine,” he noted.
“Also, aside from rugby, I try to stay athletic with surfing once or twice a month, and I am always working out. I can’t be losing too much muscle,” he said with a sweet laugh.
“With my job as a chemical engineer, I am traveling constantly,” he said.
Mister USA
Mister USA is an American beauty pageant, which is held annually, and the winner goes on to represent the United States in the Mister Universe competition. It is a celebration of culture, diversity, beauty, intelligence and empowerment. They believe in the power of young leaders to make a difference in the world. It is not solely about outer beauty; it recognizes the inner beauty and intelligence of their contestants. The finals will be held at The Shrine Auditorium on August 31, 2024.
“It’s a pretty incredible experience, I would say,” he admitted. “I wasn’t expecting to be doing such a thing. It has been an awesome experience so far, and I am really excited. We will see how it goes by the end of the month.”
“This pageant is very cool and very interesting. It gives everyone a platform to talk about whatever they feel to get off their chest. I am coming in this pageant with a fresh mindset and I am just excited to perform and potentially share some laughs with everyone around, and share some joy. That is my main goal.”
Daily motivations
On his daily motivations, he said, “My desire to do great things. My fiancée and I are always in competition over who has the bigger achievements. I got engaged back in March. My fiancée is a model and a celebrity stylist, so she is also doing big things. It is more of a playful competition between us.”
“I am also motivated by family… and trying to make sure I don’t let anyone down. It is always interesting. I always like to do new things. I like to live life by not saying ‘what if’ and not going past something and looking back at it.
“Any time I get an opportunity, I tend to jump in headfirst,” he said.
Message that he wants to get across through Mister USA
“Be kind to others… that is probably the biggest one,” he stressed. “Right now, in America, there is too much hate, no matter what side people are on. Culturally, whatever religion people are, I think that a lot of people look down on society, as opposed to looking at the good parts of society. I want people to know that there is still a lot that people can offer. Just try to be kind to others.”
“I want to bring a little bit of love and happiness, and I want to make people laugh,” he said. “I want people to get a laugh. The best way to measure joy is when people laugh. I want to entertain people and I want my presence to bring levity and escapism. I hope people gain something from seeing me there in the competition.”
Stage of his life
On the title of the current chapter of his life, O’Brien said, “The most ridiculous side quests.” “I am always finding new and interesting ways to live life,” he said with a sweet laugh.
Favorite Superpowers
If he were to have any superpowers, he said, “Teleportation because he is traveling all the time, as well as telepathy (to think about what other people are saying), and flight, which would be pretty cool.”
Success
Regarding his definition of success, he said, “Success is what you feel is the best path forward. To me, I feel I am always being successful as long as I am constantly doing something. I don’t like it when I waste time.”
“Success, to me, means when I am creating joy and happiness for the people around me,” he added.
To learn more about Josef O’Brien, follow him on Instagram.
