Turkophagos
12-29-2012, 08:34 PM
The real Borat
http://rodolfogrimaldi.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/mahir_borat.jpg
Mahir Cagri's 'I Kiss You' website was one of the internet's first word-of-mouth phenomena and arguably a key influence on Borat. Johnny Dee celebrates an unlikely online hero
Several weeks go, as a feeble back-passed ball bobbled tantalisingly over the jelly like right limb of England's goalkeeper Paul Robinson, observant viewers may have noticed an advertising hoarding in the background featuring a familiar insanely grinning moustached man. It looked, rather surreally, as if this giant, cut-out head was mocking the hapless England football team much as he had once done to Lady Chelsea when he announced he had "a good shit" after returning from the toilet during a lesson on etiquette. Perhaps watching in some far away bar surrounded by several toothless women and a flatulent donkey was another man known for his insane grin, wild enthusiasm and stallion moustache. Perhaps he pondered as he watched Croatia win why the word that followed the head in the advert was "Borat" rather than his own - Mahir.
Borat Sagdiyev is of course the comic creation of Sacha Baron Cohen. Mahir Cagri meanwhile is a Turkish gentleman in his 40s who lives in the port of Izmir (population five million). Mahir became a word-of-mouth legend after putting up a homemade web page in 1999 featuring pictures of himself engaged in a game of ping pong and relaxing in some tight red Speedos alongside simple but effective pieces of information such as "I like sex".
Both men bear an uncanny resemblance. Indeed, in the opening titles of Borat's movie he is seen playing table tennis and wearing fetching tight red shorts just like Mahir. Both men are journalists and favour suits quite possibly stolen from the back of Frank Bough during Nationwide in 1975. Both men struggle with the English language and are wildly enthusiastic about the prospect of meeting women and sexing them. Despite claims that a Russian doctor Baron Cohen once met inspired Borat and that a Moldovan version of Borat existed as far back as 1996 the similarities are too strong to be coincidental. Yet, while Borat is set to become famous around the world - well, apart from Kazakhstan, where they are oddly offended by the possibly untrue information that wives are kept in cages there and throwing rocks at gypsies is a national sport - the man who helped inspire him has been largely forgotten. Time perhaps to remind us of the real Borat and his role as the internet's first famous non-famous person.
Back in the last century, when offi ce employees would huddle around their co-workerscomputer terminals and marvel in wonderment at an animation of some dancing hamsters, celebrity was a far rarer commodity than it is today. Then, it was unthoughtof that anyone could become famous without appearing on TV, just by being themselves, let alone someone from Turkey. But one look at Mahir's rudimentary exclamation mark packed page with its welcoming words "I kiss you!!!" caused internet users to do several things - laugh and pass the site on. He became a global in-joke.
Within weeks Mahir found himself an unlikely online hero. Where others may have been upset by parodies of his rudimentary grasp of web design and the English language, he welcomed the fun and embraced his fame. When people saw him and heard him speak they loved him all the more. He toured the US, appeared on chat shows, starred in TV commercials, recorded a pop single and listened to off ers of turning his life story into a movie.
Roseanne Barr, Bill Gates and Kenny G were among his fans and his original wish, that the web page attract available single women, allegedly came true. The Turkish media claimed that he had been besieged by marriage proposals. In a 2000 interview he explained that he was looking for a wife who would stay at home with the children and "keep the house nice for me." He continued that it was also important that "She must be very clean and always wash before and after sex."
Then fame dried up and people stopped responding to his page's plea: "Who is want to come TURKEY I can invitate ...... She can stay my home." As success faded he did what any sensible person would do. He wrote a new pop song with a simple message: "Unimportant is colour, race, religion, anything. We are all brothers and sisters. Yes, we must do fun, we must sex, we must dance, but we must teach other people, care of poor kids, animals, environment, we can be same."
Despite his noble goal the song, much like his unpublished biography and unfilmed biopic, was never recorded.
Today the websites Mahir funded after he became famous no longer exist; instead they will take you to strange search engines with adverts for Viagra and debt consolidation. When the Guide contacted him for his opinions on Borat and his movie we received the enigmatic text reply "I on holiday 35 days." A mirror of his original site is still there though, frozen in time so one can forever marvel at its poetry.
"My tall 1.84 cm (6.2 feet) My weight 78 kg. My eyes green .. I live alone !!!!!! I have car."
Unfortunately no mention of enjoying drinking fermented horse urine.
· Mahir Cagri's original site www.istanbul.tc/mahir/mahir/
· Additional research by Matt Weiner
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2006/oct/28/comedy1
http://rodolfogrimaldi.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/mahir_borat.jpg
Mahir Cagri's 'I Kiss You' website was one of the internet's first word-of-mouth phenomena and arguably a key influence on Borat. Johnny Dee celebrates an unlikely online hero
Several weeks go, as a feeble back-passed ball bobbled tantalisingly over the jelly like right limb of England's goalkeeper Paul Robinson, observant viewers may have noticed an advertising hoarding in the background featuring a familiar insanely grinning moustached man. It looked, rather surreally, as if this giant, cut-out head was mocking the hapless England football team much as he had once done to Lady Chelsea when he announced he had "a good shit" after returning from the toilet during a lesson on etiquette. Perhaps watching in some far away bar surrounded by several toothless women and a flatulent donkey was another man known for his insane grin, wild enthusiasm and stallion moustache. Perhaps he pondered as he watched Croatia win why the word that followed the head in the advert was "Borat" rather than his own - Mahir.
Borat Sagdiyev is of course the comic creation of Sacha Baron Cohen. Mahir Cagri meanwhile is a Turkish gentleman in his 40s who lives in the port of Izmir (population five million). Mahir became a word-of-mouth legend after putting up a homemade web page in 1999 featuring pictures of himself engaged in a game of ping pong and relaxing in some tight red Speedos alongside simple but effective pieces of information such as "I like sex".
Both men bear an uncanny resemblance. Indeed, in the opening titles of Borat's movie he is seen playing table tennis and wearing fetching tight red shorts just like Mahir. Both men are journalists and favour suits quite possibly stolen from the back of Frank Bough during Nationwide in 1975. Both men struggle with the English language and are wildly enthusiastic about the prospect of meeting women and sexing them. Despite claims that a Russian doctor Baron Cohen once met inspired Borat and that a Moldovan version of Borat existed as far back as 1996 the similarities are too strong to be coincidental. Yet, while Borat is set to become famous around the world - well, apart from Kazakhstan, where they are oddly offended by the possibly untrue information that wives are kept in cages there and throwing rocks at gypsies is a national sport - the man who helped inspire him has been largely forgotten. Time perhaps to remind us of the real Borat and his role as the internet's first famous non-famous person.
Back in the last century, when offi ce employees would huddle around their co-workerscomputer terminals and marvel in wonderment at an animation of some dancing hamsters, celebrity was a far rarer commodity than it is today. Then, it was unthoughtof that anyone could become famous without appearing on TV, just by being themselves, let alone someone from Turkey. But one look at Mahir's rudimentary exclamation mark packed page with its welcoming words "I kiss you!!!" caused internet users to do several things - laugh and pass the site on. He became a global in-joke.
Within weeks Mahir found himself an unlikely online hero. Where others may have been upset by parodies of his rudimentary grasp of web design and the English language, he welcomed the fun and embraced his fame. When people saw him and heard him speak they loved him all the more. He toured the US, appeared on chat shows, starred in TV commercials, recorded a pop single and listened to off ers of turning his life story into a movie.
Roseanne Barr, Bill Gates and Kenny G were among his fans and his original wish, that the web page attract available single women, allegedly came true. The Turkish media claimed that he had been besieged by marriage proposals. In a 2000 interview he explained that he was looking for a wife who would stay at home with the children and "keep the house nice for me." He continued that it was also important that "She must be very clean and always wash before and after sex."
Then fame dried up and people stopped responding to his page's plea: "Who is want to come TURKEY I can invitate ...... She can stay my home." As success faded he did what any sensible person would do. He wrote a new pop song with a simple message: "Unimportant is colour, race, religion, anything. We are all brothers and sisters. Yes, we must do fun, we must sex, we must dance, but we must teach other people, care of poor kids, animals, environment, we can be same."
Despite his noble goal the song, much like his unpublished biography and unfilmed biopic, was never recorded.
Today the websites Mahir funded after he became famous no longer exist; instead they will take you to strange search engines with adverts for Viagra and debt consolidation. When the Guide contacted him for his opinions on Borat and his movie we received the enigmatic text reply "I on holiday 35 days." A mirror of his original site is still there though, frozen in time so one can forever marvel at its poetry.
"My tall 1.84 cm (6.2 feet) My weight 78 kg. My eyes green .. I live alone !!!!!! I have car."
Unfortunately no mention of enjoying drinking fermented horse urine.
· Mahir Cagri's original site www.istanbul.tc/mahir/mahir/
· Additional research by Matt Weiner
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2006/oct/28/comedy1