Meet Apprentice 2019 candidate Souleyman Bah, para-athlete and Undateables star
The partially-blind candidate once featured – and was stood up – on the C4 dating show
With candidates set to face up to 12 tasks before being crowned Lord Sugar’s next business partner, The Apprentice is very much a marathon, not a sprint. And that could could be very bad news for Souleyman Bah, a para-athlete specialising in the 100m, and one of the 16 competitors in this year’s BBC business competition.
Here’s all you need to know about the budding businessman and self-described “TV personality”…
Souleyman Bah: key facts
Age: 20
Occupation: Para Athlete and Motivational Speaker
Lives: South West London
More like this
Instagram: @kingsoulgb (yes, really)
Twitter: @KingSoulGB
What is Souleyman Bah's business?
Describing himself as a “para-athlete and “motivational speaker”, Souleyman is a member of the Great Britain Paralympic Team. Specialising in sprinting, he’s hoping to represent his country in the 100 and 200 metres events at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
Souleyman has a rare eye condition called RP (Retinitis pigmentosa), which affects the retinas at the back of his eyes. People with RP generally have difficulty seeing in poor light and have limited peripheral vision – Souleyman can’t see out of his right eye and has tunnel vision in his left.
His biggest achievement on the track came in 2015 when he won the 100 meters at the Paralympic School Games in Brazil, an event that saw him speaking on BBC News.
Souleyman is a motivational speaker for schools and posts plenty of pep talks on YouTube, often appearing wearing a dressing gown.
Has Souleyman Bah been on TV before?
Oh yes he has. As well as his BBC News appearance, Souleyman was also on Channel 4’s The Undateables, where he was brutally stood up on screen.
He also appeared on This Morning, speaking to hosts Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford to promote his episode.
What are Souleyman Bah’s skills?
Souleyman says he plans to be brutally honest, bold and fight for his place by trying to keep Lord Sugar’s attention on him.
He also cites his limited eyesight as a strength: “The less sight I have, the more imagination I gain, because what you see is what you see and what you don’t see is when the magic begins.”
Souleyman also says he’s inspired by Ray Charles because “he made blindness cool and achieved immense success despite his disability”.
How well is Souleyman Bah doing in The Apprentice so far?
We'll keep this page up-to-date with Souleyman's progress in the competition as the weeks go on.
The Apprentice is on 9pm Wednesday 2nd October, BBC One
