Meet the Limerick model turned National Lottery presenter charting a new course
“I actually secured my pilot’s licence before my driver’s licence. I could fly before I could drive,” Kamal Ibrahim said.
From the catwalk to the runway, and all while having a lotto success as National Lottery presenter, the sky's now the limit for Limerick native Kamal Ibrahim.
The Highflier, who used the covid pandemic to qualify as a commercial pilot, has just earned his wings and is now preparing for his maiden flight as a first officer with Emerald Airlines. The Limerick man, who “always wanted to be a pilot”, says he has been interested in aviation since he was a child.
“I was 11 years old when I first started to think about it, watching Top Gun was one of my triggers, and back then, my dream was to fly fast jets,” he said. By the time he was 18, Kamal had saved up enough money to go to America to obtain his private pilot’s licence.
“I actually secured my pilot’s licence before my driver’s licence. I could fly before I could drive,” he says.
On returning from the States, Kamal had to decide whether he wanted to pursue a career in the military, or take the commercial airline route. He ultimately decided that commercial was the way to go. However, he wasn’t prepared for the costs involved.
“The commercial route was very expensive, and at 18 years old, I didn’t have the money to complete the training, and that’s what steered me into modelling. “The whole reason I started modelling was to get extra money together for flying,” he said.
Modelling then led him to Mr Ireland success in 2009, which was followed closely by him being crowned Mr World in 2010. Shortly after that, TV presenting came knocking, and when the launch of his own production company took over, flying took a back seat.
Until lockdown struck. “I started to consider flying again during the covid pandemic. I was stuck at home, and I remember thinking to myself: ‘What am I going to do?’
“At this stage, I had enough money saved up, and I was in a good position to be able to do it.” Kamal found his way to a small airfield in Navan where his passion for flying took off once again.
He renewed his licence, and after years of tough training, endless exams, and several simulations, he is now a first officer with “one of the fastest growing airlines in Europe.” In April, Kamal will complete his first flight with passengers on board.
Emerald Airlines is a relatively new airline. It became the operator of the Aer Lingus regional franchise, in August 2021. It flies to Cork, Donegal and Dublin, as well as connecting the island of Ireland to the UK, the Channel Islands, and northern France.
According to Kamal, a person putting themselves through flight school is likely to spend between €100,000 to €120,000. “There is a lot of risk and it’s a huge commitment, not just for me, but for my family, and my partner Lisa too.
“We are trying to build a life together, yet I’m committing so many resources to this dream. I was faced with the choice of putting a down payment on a house, or training to become a pilot.
“But Lisa has been a massive support and has turned it into a very special experience. She just took away all of the stress,” he said.
Despite embarking on his new journey with Emerald Airlines, Kamal fully intends to continue presenting the National Lottery on RTÉ.
“This is my 11th year doing the Lotto, and I feel very proud to be associated with it. It’s part of Irish history, part of Irish tradition,” he said.
However, he did admit that “sometimes, things don’t go according to plan.”
“In October, we had a malfunction live on air, and we had to stop the draw. People actually messaged me on Instagram and Facebook and questioned me as to whether it was a fix,” he said.
Despite this, Kamal maintains that 99.9% of the interactions he has with people about the Lotto are positive. He also says there aren’t many downsides to the job — except for the fact that he can’t play himself.
“There is a rule that employees of the National Lottery cannot play the game. Could you imagine if I was to play and win? It would be very hard to convince the public that it was not a fix, even though it’s impossible to fix.
“So, for that reason, they don’t allow us to play. There was also a rule, up until recently, that even my family weren’t allowed to play,” he said.
When asked how he can keep so many balls in the air, juggling his flying, presenting and production company all at once, Kamal said he “loves being busy, and loves a challenge.” He also said he wants to “set a good example” for his nine-year-old son, Nico.
“Nico came home from school one day and said that his teacher asked them what they wanted to be when they grow up, but they were only allowed to pick one thing. And the idea that you can only be one thing, didn’t sit right with me.
“So, I told him you can do anything that you want in life, and not only that, you also don’t have to be just one thing. And I am an example of that,” he said.
While Kamal’s passage to becoming a pilot has been a turbulent one, he wanted to show Nico that “nothing is impossible”.
“I would never have described myself as academic. I was an average student, but in hindsight, I just wasn’t doing something that ignited me,” he said.
Over the last few years, Kamal has sat 13 aviation exams, the pass mark for each was 75%. “My average mark across the board was 92%, and I didn’t fail any,” he said.
Kamal was committed to the cause but claims that there have been consequences. “I’ve missed out on some amazing opportunities.
“In November 2022, I was asked to take part in Dancing with the Stars, but the call came three or four weeks before I had an exam, and I knew I couldn’t do it.
“I made the decision to focus on my studies, but turning it down broke my heart,” he said.
However, Kamal hopes that the opportunity might come round again. “I can dance, I can move, and I am very competitive, so if I was to take part, I would be in it to win it,” he said.
Kamal was “born and bred” in Limerick city and says that growing up there made him the man that he is today.
In 2009, while competing in Mr Ireland, Kamal had the opportunity to “promote Limerick” and talk about where he was from.
Just a year later, he was crowned Mr World, which he said, “really put me, and Limerick on the map”.
“I travelled the world, and the whole time, I was speaking about being Irish, and being from Limerick, and that was a real source of pride for me. It felt like winning a gold medal at the Olympics because I was there representing my country.
"It might not have been, but it sure as hell felt like it to me,” he concluded.
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