Dr. Elvis Vidal, 2026 winner of Mr. America Global, chatted with #Powerjournalist Markos Papadatos about his experience winning this year’s competition.
Mr. America Global
The Mr. America Global competition is more than just a showcase of style and presence—it is a transformative experience designed to empower participants with the skills, confidence, and knowledge to excel both personally and professionally.
How did it feel to win Mr. America Global?
Honestly, I was in shock. I couldn’t really wrap my mind around being the winner. In my mind I was happy for the journey, the experience, the brotherhood, and the growth. I told my fellow contestant, as we were holding hands for the result, “congratulations you won! You’re going to do great”. He said “You idiot you won”, and he was right I did win. I felt honored, in every way that so many people believed in me to represent America.
I just wasn’t sure If I had what it took to be that incredibly poised individual for others to look up to. The journey has been challenging. I’m not perfect, I know my flaws, I know I need to improve, but maybe that’s why I was chosen, because maybe being Mr. America Global isn’t about being perfect, it isn’t about being unattainable, maybe it’s about being fallible, that in spite of all my flaws and adversities in life, I still try to improve. I strive to be that hope for others to keep growing as I represent America.
What was your advocacy in this year’s competition?
My advocacy revolves around educating the public, autistic individuals, and their families about misconceptions and challenges that autistic and other neurodivergent individuals face in life. I share my own experiences in my personal life and those that I have seen having worked with so many neurodivergent people throughout my life, to help spread awareness about what it means to be autistic. I hope to encourage autistic and other neurodivergent individuals to live authentically as themselves and show them that anything is obtainable with hard work and growth mindset.
Why is that advocacy so important to you?
I was initially misdiagnosed with mental retardation at a young age (5), that caused me to have an incredible amount of shame and embarrassment around myself and my identity. As a result, I hid my autistic nature and tendencies from others as best I could, based on what I understood about myself at that age. I always knew I was different; I spent so many years hiding and embarrassed of who I was. Towards the end of medical school, I decided to embrace who I was.
I decided that I was tired of feeling ashamed and embarrassed of who I was. I didn’t have a role model to teach me how to adjust or adapt, I didn’t have someone to look up to, to follow in their footsteps. I was figuring it all out on my own. I decided that if I could do something, I would like to share my story and hopefully help other autistic and neurodivergent people feel comfortable in their own skin and while living their life authentically and without shame.
What was your favorite part of the Mr. America Global experience?
The incredible brotherhood that developed between all these incredible contestants. They are all talented, motivated, and dedicated to their pursuits in life. Getting to learn all of their stories, passions, and personal life has truly been an honor. Being able to connect with people is a beautiful part of the human experience that I feel we don’t take time to appreciate. I know that sometimes I don’t have the time to appreciate that, and I have to remind myself to enjoy the simplicities of life.
Take a breath, enjoy the beauty in the stillness, take a moment to listen to the story of someone in front of you, you’ll learn more about yourself and them.
What do your plans for the future include?
I am currently doing my general surgery residency training. I will continue my medical education. I also plan to continue spreading awareness and helping neurodivergent and autistic individuals, through videos, meetings, educational sessions, etc. I also plan to continue representing American as Mr. America Global 2027. I would love to mix these two parts of my world and help show others that anything is possible.
Were there any moments in your career that have helped define you?
I think the greatest advice I got was from someone I cherished. They told me “You are not a victim, patients, those are the real victims. A victim cannot treat a victim”. I have faced many adversities in my life, maybe I’ll be able to share more about them at a later point, but to progress in life I could never see myself as a victim. I am someone who has gone through a lot of adverse experiences in life my life, but I cannot let those moments define me, they must be the catalase in my life to encourage me to continue to grow.
Every bad experience, every interview where I was told how to improve, every punishment, these are all life lessons. There was one video I saw that I always think back to. It is a child and his mother, the mother says, “This is my son, he suffers from autism”, and the child says, “I don’t suffer. I just have it”, very happily and unbothered.
In his young and hopeful view of the world, he taught me something I always must tell myself. The hand you are dealt with in life does not define you, I am more than the accumulation of those tough times, I am also the beautiful outcomes that have resulted from them.
What did this Mr. America Global journey teach you about yourself?
It taught me that I am capable of more than I thought I could do. As an autistic individual, being out and center, social, posting, engaging. It is all very tiring and nerve racking. I felt scared and tired during many moments during this journey. I pushed myself to be part of something larger than myself and I am very grateful that I had the opportunity and chance to do so.
I will continue to push myself, continue to be center, to engage, to post, to do more. I will fall in love with the discomfort and tired feeling. I will continue to love myself during this journey of self-exploration.
What does the word success mean to you?
Happiness. Throughout my life, the word success has taken many different forms and has evolved. At one point, it was wealth, another, it was academic recognition, at some point, it meant work life balance, family, marriage, completion of my medical training. The one thing that the word success has taught me is that there will never be enough. You will never feel successful; it will always be just out of reach. After accomplishing that success in life, you will feel on top of the world for a moment, but then it will begin to fleet, and you will search for the next thing to give you that feeling once again.
This is when I came to learn that success to me is more about being happy in life. If I am happy with my life and wake up every day happy with my decision. I am successful, I have achieved the success that I have always been searching for. That being said, I will continue to growth, I can’t be happy being stagnant.
What would you like to say to your fans?
That fear, that uncomfortable sensation that you’re feeling, jump into it, take that leap of faith. The best thing about being human is that we are capable of growth. Growth cannot happen in an environment where you are stuck doing the same thing every day. The best moments of my life happened when I took a leap into the unknown. It has taken me so many places.
It has taken me to achieve my bachelors, my medical degree, to residency, to Mr. America Global, and to all that life has set in front of me to explore. Take a breath, give it a try, that nervousness and anxiety won’t leave you, use them to keep going. If you fail, that’s okay.
To learn more about Dr. Elvis Vidal, follow him on Instagram.
For more information on Mr. America Global, check out its official website, and follow their Instagram page.
