He is a doctor in the making who wants to “save lives”and a fashion model catching the eyes of eccentric fashion designers, modelling agencies, and big fashion houses like Calvin Klein. He is only 23, but Yusuf Dwairi’s star is already shining. 

On a cool summer day, Dwairi has just finished his gynaecology class at Al-Qasr al-Aini Medical Hospital in downtown Cairo. Around noon, we meet at Sofitel Al-Gezira. It isn’t hard to pinpoint him from in the crowds. His height is pretty noticeable and his Ralph Lauren maritime style makes him distinguishable. We sit together at a cafe by the Nile. He starts by saying “I never do this.”Dwairi rarely gives interviews, explaining, “he doesn’t like to talk about himself.”But his look does!

This eight-pack model can’t go wrong wearing anything, even Calvin Klein underwear. His #mycalvins photo on his fashion and lifestyle Instagram blog, “Yusufdwairi,”caught the attention of many, including Calvin Klein fashion house itself. “Great pic,”Calvin Klein fashion house wrote, “We’d like to have the opportunity to feature your photo in our marketing, website, social media, and in-store.”

Dwairi is rather quiet, humble, and “shy,”he says, as he keeps flipping his Samsung phone in his hand. The 1.91 Jordanian-Turkish model was born in Turkey and raised in the quietcity of Mafraq, located 80 km from Amman. Along with his brother Ahmad, he grew up playing football and bicycling. He also liked painting and dressing up, particularly in “suits with bow ties.”Many people complemented him for “his style,”he says, but today when he looks at his old photos, Dwairi“laughs.”

His parents who specialised in microbiology influenced the entire family’s interest in medicine. His older brother, Hakam, studied intervention radiology and sister Nour studied pharmacology, though now she opened a bakery that makes the “ultimate cupcakes”he says. His brother Ahmad moved to Cairo to study medicine and shortly afterward, Dwairi came along. 

While studying medicine, his love for fashion and style never subsided. The many photos of Dwairi taken by his siblings and friends and posted on social media always caught the attention of internationally renowned modelling agencies. For one, Two Management agency in Beverly Hills, CA, which represents models and celebrities in the fashion and beauty worlds, contacted Dwairi. “But I ignored it,”he says. “My main focus,”he continues, “is studying medicine here.”Modelling, he explains, is a “hobby I am passionate about.”

And, his passion for modelling has been growing, ultimately landing him great opportunities to work with talented Egyptian designers like Mohanad Kojak. “I really enjoy working with Kojak. Unlike other designers, he really thinks outside of the box and always has a story to tell behind his designs.”

Similarly, Dwairi likes to tell stories too behind his Instagram photos. Browsing through his photos, you can see a handsome guy who looks like a million bucks through his sophisticated yet simple dressing style. He inspires you to look, eat, dress, shop, and chill out well in style. Some photos of him in a fitted black tuxedo even gives him a movie star quality with a hint of James Bond mystery. 

 Unlike other fashion bloggers in Egypt, though, Dwairi’s blog photos show few colours and they appear similar in their colour theme and style. This gives his blog a rather holistic chic look. “Not all my modelling photos are even featured in my blog if their colour or style doesn’t fit.”

Most of his photos are taken in daylight and feature his daily lifestyle seen from unusual camera perspectives, composition, and are usually in black, white, and nude colours. He can be seen eating breakfast in an open shirt on a private boat on the Nile or walking down the street in a tuxedo, or simply lying in his Calvin briefs in between his crispy white bedsheets. Other photos appear as high concept advertisement for something you don’t know what it is, yet, the photos themselves grab your attention simply because of art itself. A few photos feature a pop of green colour against a neutralbackground, such as that of tanned Dwairi wearing reflective green Ray Ban aviator glasses, showing off his eight packs in a bright green swimsuit.

He could spend hours working on his blog and perfecting it. “I do my blog for myself, showcasing my own artistic style in a unique way,”he explains. His blog is dedicated to men’s fashion, lifestyle, and fitness. His nearly 7000 followers are mostly from the fashion world. But his passion, creativity, and unique approach creating his blog quickly brought Dwairi modelling success in Cairo.

It is “easy”to make it in fashion modelling and blogging in Egypt, Dwairi says. Fashion blogging in Egypt only developed about two years ago, he explains. 

But the professional standards for fashion blogging and modelling unfortunately are still developing, he pauses. “Anybody can model in Egypt no matter how short or heavy he or she is as long as they look cute,”he says, “but that doesn’t cut it in Europe or Turkey, even though in some instances there are demands for models of certain other looks.

The key for success in this business, he emphasizes, is for one to be “unique and confident,”and to “work hard and set high standards”for oneself. He advises fashion bloggers and models to “work with the best photographers and stylists in the field.”

When asked about the fashion industry in Egypt, Dwairi’s face lights up. “Egypt is rich with fashion talents and designers who are young and new,”he says. Dwairi particularly admires talents such as Mohanad Kojak and Farida Temraza, whose gowns wowed many at the Oscars parties. But designs by such talents, he says, come with a high price tag not many Egyptian consumers can afford. 

That leaves the local fashion industry, which caters for the same old consumers who don’t care much about the latest and unique fashion trends, way behind the growing international chains in Egypt. It is similarly hard for such local industries to evolve, he adds, given that people with high fashion sense always flock to those international chains. It is a vicious cycle but it can be broken with affordable unique talents.

 Along his journey of learning and growing, Dwairi plans to specialise in orthopaedics, general surgery, or plastic surgery, in addition to specialising in nutrition. He also wants to pursue professional basketball playing. 

He still wants to polish his modelling skills in order to make it internationally. He plans to enrol at a reputable modelling school in Europe or Turkey, probably simultaneously during the year he does his medical specialisation in 2018. Meanwhile, Dwairi will continue to enjoy all of what Egypt has to offer and to grow his style blog which he sees as a “reflection of himself”as he evolves.