25 Amazingly Talented Under 25s from Malta
Here at Lovin Malta we like to celebrate the stuff that make this island what it is, this unique little bubble in the middle of the Mediterranean. Nothing is worth celebrating more than our youth, the next generation that is putting Malta on the map. In no particular order, here are 25 under 25s whose talent and hard work have made them excel in their field.
Joe Roscoe, 22: Singer, Songwriter
This young crooner could easily be the fourth Jonas brother with his radio-friendly tunes and TV-friendly looks. Currently based in Manchester, Joe Roscoe is the whole package as he backs up his image with a skill for combining catchy tunes and meaningful lyrics, directly inspired by his own personal life. We’re not surprised that this boy next door is gathering quite a following on social media and while he isn’t actually standing outside his fans’ windows and serenading them, his stripped down videos are the next best thing.
Saz Mifsud, 24: Fashion Designer, Artist
At the young age of 24, this fashion designer’s distinctive style has already put her creations in high demand. Starting off as a line of silk scarves, Saz’s brand has now expanded to a full clothing line, including bespoke dresses guaranteed to steal the show during wedding season. Her ability to express herself through colour is also clearly demonstrated in her paintings, which often feature Maltese scenes or human figures, captivating their audiences with strong emotional undertones.
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Rafel Sammut, 24: Chef, Restaurateur
Rafel Sammut is a guy who is serious about his food. Coming from a family of foodies and restaurateurs, it was only natural that the lad would end up making it for a living. Having spent three years working and studying in various kitchens around Malta, Italy and Sicily, he also graduated top of his class at the Alma Scuola di Cucina in Parma.
Last Christmas, Rafel and his brother, Andrea, thought up the idea of setting up a temporary stall at the Point Shopping Mall in Sliema selling Rafel’s signature sandwiches stuffed with juicy slow-cooked meat. The Pulled Meat Company was born. Barely able to keep up with the demand, the brothers have recently opened a brick and mortar restaurant in South Street, Valletta. At the moment, this young chef is focused on creating new drool-worthy items for his menu but for all of us stuck in the office the only question is – when the hell are they going to start delivering?
Joanna Incorvaja, 20: Policy Maker
Most people her age barely know what the European Union is, let alone how this ridiculously complex international entity actually functions. Joanna Incorvaja works in the office of MEP Miriam Dalli – a job she snagged after completing a stellar internship at the European Parliament. She does this while studying for a bachelor’s degree in European Studies and holding the post of secretary general of AEGEE-Valletta (European Student’s Forum), as well as being the speaker of the Action Agenda Committee for AEGEE-Europe. Joanna is proof that young people can have an active role in the running of our country and the institutions that it forms part of.
Keith Camilleri, 23: Racecar Driver
How many youngsters dream of becoming race car drivers? Keith Camilleri is living that dream, getting an early start thanks to his motorsport obsessed family. At just 23, he’s already won the ICC National Hillclimb Championship – widely regarded as being the premier Maltese Motorsport championship of its class – twice. Having already participated in the FIA F4 Italian championship and the Porsche Cup Rookie Scholarship, this determined young driver is poised to put Malta on the motorsport map.
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Andrew Randon Sceberras, 21: Photographer, Filmmaker
This affable young man exudes a lust for life and a genuine appreciation for his surroundings. His personal work radiates a sense that there is true beauty in the world, even in your own backyard – you just have to take a moment to look for it. What makes this guy stand out is that there is also a suave side to his art which can clearly be seen in his work as full-time photographer with local fashion brand Gagliardi.
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Bettina and Phillippa Cassar, 23 and 20: Singers, Songwriters
You may recognise this musical pair from their guest performance during this year’s Malta Song for Europe with their band The New Victorians.Their show stopping performance, featuring two songs from their first album, ’Seeker, Seeker’, prompted calls for the girls to represent Malta in the actual contest. Even before this though, the two earned high praise after winning an international song-writing competition in the USA – not to mention being regulars on our local airwaves with their catchy singles. Something tells us we’re going to be hearing a lot more from these charismatic sisters in the future.
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Hillary Briffa, 23: Youth Advocate
Hillary’s passion is working to educate and empower of youths across the world, and she’s already made a big impact through her participation in international organisations and programmes. She beat stiff competition to be elected as the Youth Ambassador for Malta to the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe and also co-founded the Malta Model United Nations Society (MaltMUN). Now, aged 23, Hillary has been shortlisted for the US Department of State’s Emerging Young leader’s award, and is also reading a PhD in War Studies at King’s College, London. There is no stopping this woman and we have absolutely no doubt that Hillary is going places and making real a difference to the world while she’s at it.
David Zammit, 24: Photographer, Adventurer
David Zammit has made it his mission to live outside his comfort zone and explore the world first-hand, constantly pushing himself to his limits and capturing these incredible moments on camera. This is a guy who’s cycled across Australia, sailed across the seas and climbed mountains all over the world in order to truly experience life at its fullest. A gifted photographer, he has a knack for drawing in his audience and leaving them breathless by mastering colour and movement to tell these stories. For most of us, it’s the closest we’ll ever get to actually doing these things ourselves but looking at his pictures, you could almost swear you were there with him at the time.
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Shyli Cassar, 25: Singer, Rapper
Diska li ktibt mil qsim li kelli fqalbi :)Rose Cassar Jasmar Cassar
Posted by Shyli Cassar on Thursday, 11 February 2016
February 11th 2016 was the day the island stopped and took notice of this young woman. The three minute clip of her song ‘il-Patt’, filmed inside her bedroom, was three minutes of raw talent and emotion which quickly went viral, racking up over 70,000 views in one day. In it, Shyli sang about the terrible loss of her father at age two and the subsequent rollercoaster of emotions and tribulations that she experienced in her life. The sheer honesty and skill with which she expresses herself gives this girl a realness that lends a voice to many others in similar situations.
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Sarah Naudi, 25: Actress
It’s every actor’s dream to perform on London’s West End and Sarah Naudi is doing just that. She plays the role of Carla while also understudying two lead roles in the musical ‘In The Heights’, which just won three Olivier Awards. Showing promise at an early age, she was part of the team that represented Malta in the Junior Eurovision over ten years ago, after which she left Malta to study drama in the UK. Her parts in local productions of ‘Spring Awakening’ and ‘Porn: The Musical’ showed only too well this starlet’s flair for musical theatre which has brought her well-deserved success.
Zach Muscat, 22: Footballer
Zach Muscat is the new golden boy of Maltese football, with an exciting career ahead having just signed with Sicilian club SS Akragas. He first made waves as a young player with Pieta Hotspurs and was soon snapped up by Malta Premier team Birkirkara aged just 18. There, the young right-back showed determination and commitment, developing his skills and even scoring goals. This quickly made him one of the most promising young players in the local game, also turning out strong performances as a regular for the national team.
The Fuzzhoneys: Rock Band
The Fuzzhoneys are a girl band bil-bajd (ballsy) who take their inspiration from hard rock bands of the 70s. The duo is made up of Caroline Spiteri, who is the band’s beat machine, and Francesca Mercieca – responsible for the intense, husky vocals and dirty guitar riffs that give the band its signature sound. Together they produce original tracks dripping with attitude, backed up by a musical sensibility that brings a refreshing change to our local music scene.
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Rebecca Bonaci, 24: Artist, Tattooist
This artist has truly owned the art of line-work in which she uses countless short lines to create neat and intricate Victorian-inspired designs. Also an established tattoo artist with a strong base of loyal customers, it’s hard to believe that Rebecca Bonaci has only been doing this for a year. For something a bit less permanent, just check out her custom artwork on helmets, which she does for Custom Lids. Each piece is a work of art in its own right and the whole range demonstrates her artistic versatility both in style and stunning use of colour.
Christina Aquilina, 23: Dancer
They say good things come in small packages and that’s definitely the case with Christina Aquilina. This petite dancer started out as a gymnast, before finding her calling in ballet and contemporary dancing. After refining her art at the London Contemporary Dance School, she spent a year at Malta’s national dance company, Zfin Malta. Since then, her talents have been in high demand among other local companies, where she has worked freelance and collaborated on various projects. When she’s not doing that, she’s teaching, sharing her love of dance and passing on her experience to the next generation.
Daniel Abdilla, 20: Singer, Guitarist
With his slight frame, curly blond hair and impish grin, you wouldn’t immediately guess that Daniel Abdilla is the lead singer and guitarist of a loud, punk-inspired indie-pop band called Clandestines. Watch the guy on stage however and you will be blown away by his energy as he belts out lyrics and slams on his guitar with every fibre of his being. The band burst onto the alternative music scene as teenagers four years ago, gaining a following with their electric performances, and have already released a full length album of original tracks.
Aged 20, Daniel is now a well-known face on the scene not least because he has also joined the line-up of Brikkuni, a folk-rock band whose unique blend of satire and social commentary performed in the Maltese language has earned them quasi-cult status locally.
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Bruce Micallef Eynaud: Cartoonist, Filmmaker
Bruce Micallef Eynaud is a bright young film student with a knack for creating cheeky cartoon strips and short films, combining witty insight with artistic talent. Check out his 60-second remake of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, which he re-cast with Wind in the Willows characters, and you’ll see what we mean. His stop-motion music video for ‘Oliver Twist’, by Maltese folk band Stalko, is also a thing of beauty. Bruce is definitely one to watch.
Michael Camilleri, 20: Computer Scientist
So where does a head for computer science, hard work and heaps of ambition get you? In Michael Camilleri’s case, it gets you a job at Dropbox, the cloud storage giant, working on the development of new projects. Did we mention that he’s also worked at Squarespace? Or that he’s in his second year of the Harvard Computer Science online course, also winning a scholarship to complete his final project? Currently based in Dublin, we think it’s just a matter of time before this bright spark finds himself a gig in Silicon Valley.
Nicola Muscat, 21: Swimmer
Since the age of five, Nicola Muscat has shown remarkable dedication to swimming and currently holds five individual national records – more than any other Maltese athlete. She’s represented her country in several international competitions including the Swimming World Championships and the London Olympics, also coming just 0.02 of a second away from qualifying for this year’s Olympic Games in Rio. Not one to be discouraged, this tenacious young athlete is currently training in Dublin, with her eyes set firmly on making the final cut for the Olympics.
Brooke Borg, 23: Singer, Songwriter
Brooke Borg was born to perform and has been singing and dancing since the age of five. So much was her ambition to make it as a singer that she left everything at home in Malta to try her luck in London at the age of 17. There she honed her craft and made her way onto the music scene, playing gigs at prestigious London venues and supporting big names such as Laura Pausini, Loreen and Taio Cruz. Most recently she participated in the Malta Song for Europe with her powerful track, Golden, which was well received by many. Remember her name because mark our words, you’ll be hearing it again.
Alan Borg Cole, 25: Waterpolo Player
Alan Borg Cole is goalkeeper for the waterpolo team that made Maltese sporting history this year, being the first national side to make it to the European Championships. This feat involved stopping shots from some of the world’s best players – the highlight of a national career that began when he was 19 and has included time training in France. This strapping lad can also count among his achievements a silver medal in the Commonwealth Games and two Malta Premier league trophies with Neptunes waterpolo club.
Kelsey May Conor and Andrei Scerri, 23: Artists, Models
If this list was making you feel bad about yourself, things are about to get a hell of a lot worse. How is it even fair that these two students – Andrei studying accounts and marketing at University and Kelsey studying fine arts at MCAST – are blessed with model looks AND incredible artistic talent? While both are lovers of realism, their portfolio is diverse, featuring surreal, abstract and portraiture styles in various media such as pencil, acrylic and even stone and wood sculpture. The future is bright for this young couple.
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