I was desperately searching for a subject for NextGen, the under 30 Q&A section in our newspaper, when I saw a post on Bob Yusof’s Instagram. He was promoting a popcorn snack distributed by Nabil, who is an agent for the product.

But a quick search shows that Nabil has a story to tell.

Here are two questions and answers that sets up Nabil’s history that was taken out from the published story.

How did you end up becoming an ambassador of tourism in 2018?

“Well, I started to travel when I was 18. As I explored interesting places, I brought along my interest in photography. To share my experience and my story, I put them up on social media. From there I started gaining followers.

Not only that I also began to gain followers, people starting to ask me for advice. 

I was so captivated by travelling that I enrolled at the Merlimau Polytechnic, Melaka where I got my diploma in Tourism Management. For three out of the four years I was there, I was chosen as the class representative.

In 2019, at 22, I was awarded as the ambassador of tourism. Opportunities opened up for me. I was invited to give talks to other students and I organise activities for the polytechnic to enable more students who studied tourism as I did”.

When did you get into photography?

“Oh! When I was in high school, I joined the photography club because I was interested in photography. I was made the club chairman, so together with the other members of the club, we organised events and joined competitions. That’s where I learned my photography skills”.