Junaid Ahmed

Junaid Ahmed
Born	Junaid Ahmed (1994-12-18) December 18, 1994 Peterborough, England
Nationality	British
Occupation	Model, Journalist & Television personality
Years active	2011-present day
Known for	Social media, Obsessed with My Body
Height	6'1

Junaid Ahmed (born c. 18 December 1994) is a model, journalist and Television personality. Starting out as a commercial model at the age of 15, he's since moved into television. In 2016, he appeared in Channel 4 programme Obsessed with My Body and Channel 5 programme Mascara Boys: Sex Me Up.

Career

Junaid's career in modelling all came about when he was attending The Clothes Show, where he was approached by a model scout at leading agency Models Connect. Starting out as an Asian fashion model, modelling for Asian clothing brands, he transitioned into a mainstream commercial model. He's appeared in advertising campaigns and television adverts for renowned brands such as Marks & Spencer, Nintendo, Clearasil, Lucozade, Transport for London and Pizza Hut to name a few. Two years on, the statuesque model began a career in catwalk modelling, where he walked at London Fashion Week and Pakistan Fashion Week.

Junaid has been renowned for being the first Asian model, to feature in leading advertising campaigns and to be openly gay. As a result, it has divided opinion in the Asian community. In an interview with BBC Asian Network, he revealed he's been subjected to attacks and racial slurs. Despite this, he has been widely acclaimed in the Asian press, having graced the covers of Asiana and Eastern Eye.

In late 2013, he went into retirement from modelling to study for a degree in fashion journalism at the University of the Arts London and to pursue a career in television.

He is known for being a regular on the London showbiz scene, often seen at the glitziest parties with the likes of Amy Childs, Bianca Gascoigne, Luisa Zissman and Lizzie Cundy.

The self-proclaimed "Selfie King",^[1] Junaid is a popular social media celebrity, which led him to his break into television in 2016. He appeared in the Channel 4 series Obsessed with My Body. With ratings of over 3 million, Junaid spoke candidly about sexuality, the homophobic attacks he endured during secondary school and the death of his older brother.

Junaid is also known for being in a number of Twitter spats over the years, with various celebrities such as Marnie Simpson,^[2] Jasmin Walia and Selina Waterman-Smith.

Personal life

Junaid was born in Peterborough and has spoken openly about the death of his brother Shoaib, which caused tension between himself and his parents. Shoaib, affectionately known as "Shebby", died on a lads holiday on the day before he was due to return to the UK. He tragically drowned in the sea, during a high tide.^[3] Such was the tragedy, Junaid revealed on Obsessed with My Body that he hadn't spoken to his parents for two years. They have since overcome the setback and has moved back in with them.

Junaid has also spoken publicly about enduring Homophobic attacks, he revealed on Obsessed with My Body that in school he was beaten and his nose got broken, causing his nose to be crooked - he said "Not once. Twice.".^[3] He recently appeared on Lizzie Cundy's Access All Areas show on Fubar Radio, where he stated he considered undergoing a rhinoplasty, to rectify the damage caused at the hand of bullies.^[4]

In August 2016, Junaid appeared on the Channel 5 show Mascara Boys: Sex Me Up, where he was filmed having an appointment with leading aesthetics doctor Dr. Vincent Wong, to undergo some non-surgical treatment using injectable filler to fix his damaged nose. After a lot of thought, he decided against it.^[5]

References