After my story about his mentor was published, Arayn Malek followed me on Instagram. There he regularly posts videos of himself playing the guitar and singing cover songs. In his profile, he mentioned that he was the protégé of Hazama.

A simple search tells the story of how Arayn was once a reality show contestant. He left Johor for Kuala Lumpur in search for a place in the entertainment industry. Despite his talent, he didn’t win and despite the loss, he never gave up.

That’s when I knew I had to do this story.

I emailed him late one night requesting an interview, not expecting a response until I send him a message through the social network. I was getting into bed when my phone rang. It was Arayn asking me if I was serious. I asked him if I was resinous about what? He said if I was serious about interviewing him.

Writing about how someone won a reality show is easy. They won, usually by popular vote, there is nothing much to it. They will ride the wave of success, hopefully to the top and not just to the shore where they will have to wade out again.

Now back in Johor, Arayn, now 23, spent the last three years after the reality show to build himself up as a musician. At the same time, he became more than just a musician. He became a husband, an owner of a business (something he learned from Hazama), a writer, and a performer.

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