Preparations for the Mr. BNTU 2026 finals are in full swing. While the finalists are perfecting their routines, we continue to introduce you to this year's participants. Our new interviewee is first-year architecture student Dmitry Ignatyev.
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If you ask Dmitry to describe himself in three words, he'll confidently name punctuality, hard work, and responsibility. However, behind this serious demeanor lies a very philosophical outlook on life. For example, his ideal morning is extremely succinct:
"I woke up—and that's already great news. And if, on top of that, I don't have to rush anywhere, then such a morning can be considered perfect."
The student's sources of inspiration are quite unconventional. It turns out his passion for collecting began at a very early age, albeit with a pragmatic approach:
"As a child, I collected baby teeth. From an early age, I didn't believe in the tooth fairy, so I didn't want to put them under my pillow, only to have them disappear and be replaced by money. Now I spend my savings on Funko Pop figures and other collectibles that inspire me when I look at them."
By the way, to lift his spirits on a bad day, the finalist needs very little:
"A ray of sunshine and the realization that we are lucky to live in a time when it simply shines,
and isn't about to swallow the Earth."
"Tell me about an action or decision in your life that you are most proud of, outside of school and competitions."
"I saved my friend's life. He choked badly during a snack, and I had to deliver several precise blows to his torso to clear his airway." He thanked me and simply continued eating. We laugh about it now, but at the time, we were clearly in no mood for jokes.
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On the project, the student also faces unusual situations that force him to step outside his comfort zone. The biggest challenge for him was the catwalk rehearsal:
"Dancing is my weak point. I've avoided it since childhood, and during the catwalk rehearsals, I
was once again convinced that my efforts were absolutely worthwhile."
"How did this experience influence you?"
"Now I've become much more tolerant of choreography.
Sometimes it's stepping outside the box and overcoming challenges that shapes character." For Dmitry, entering university was such a turning point:
"I only became a student on my second try. My first unsuccessful attempt forced me to completely rethink my approach to life and start working ten times harder than before." And now here I am, giving an interview as a finalist for "Mr. BNTU," and for me, that's already a real success.
The student approached his presentation preparation with a touch of irony, developing a unique time management strategy.
- What engineering solution did you use in preparing for the competition to fit everything in between classes and labs?
- I made a seious decision: I reviewed my schedule and became more flexible about attending classes, prioritizing preparation. Given my current pace, this has proven to be the most effective way to get everything done.
The finalist compares the process of creating a creative number to a traditional exam session, noting that the levels of difficulty in both are similar:
- For me, preparing a performance and taking exams are about the same level of difficulty. However, while for an exam session you simply need to memorize the material provided, on stage it's different: here you create your own rules and are free to implement any creative ideas you deem necessary.
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Dmitry speaks intriguingly about his performance, promising that the audience will have something to see.
— What do you consider the special feature of your performance that will surprise everyone in the audience?
— The greatest strength of my act is the references that each audience member will find relevant to their own involvement in popular culture. The performance itself is conceived as a cohesive whole, where each element is something new and interesting, something that will be remembered later either with delight or a pleasant smile. When creating the act, I was inspired by the rap battle format, and only after seeing its interpretation on stage will it be possible to understand how this was reflected in the production.
The young man himself feels quite confident, as the beginning of this journey was unexpectedly easy for him:
— I already feel like a winner, if only because I passed the casting. To be honest, I didn't expect such a result at all, as I came up with my act from scratch literally an hour before the audition and hadn't even rehearsed it once.
We thank Dmitry for his sincere responses. We wish him success in realizing all his creative dreams on stage and achieving his most ambitious goal – one day directing his own film!
