It’s Chico time! And what a fantastically exciting time it promises to be. With a history that includes goat-herding and stripping, a present filled with flamboyant stage shows and sizzling dance moves, and a future committed to Sufism, prophetic missions and philanthropy, there is much more than light-hearted entertainment to the X-Factor catchphrase on every fan’s lips.

But entertainment is what marked Yousseph ‘Chico’ Slimani out from thousands of hopeful X-Factor applicants; it is what got the 34-year-old Moroccan down to the show’s final six; and it is the means by which he plans to fulfil his aim to “put a smile on people’s faces.”

 

With performances which saw him frequently replace songs’ lyrics, jump off stage to sing directly to the judges, and regularly expose his rippling six-pack, it is pretty clear how he grabbed the nation’s attention, and why he was seen as the show’s fun-factor throughout.

 

After his move back to the UK at 15, Chico was lucky enough to meet his lifelong best friend and professional partner John ‘Mac’ Campbell, who introduced him to the ways of the colourful profession.

 

“I needed a lot of money quickly,” is how Chico justifies his professional choice. “Not that I didn’t enjoy it, but my father was already supporting his brothers and family in England, and I had three uncles and sick grandparents to support in Morocco, so the intentions are what shaped my decision.”

 

Indeed, the sincerity of his intentions is what really marks Chico out from his contemporaries, both personally and professionally. Somewhat reflecting the well-known ‘ends justify the means’ phrase, Chico’s actions have always been for sincere and benevolent reasons. If that means getting your kit off, prancing about on stage or herding goats, it is - as he proudly asserts - what he will do.

 

Destiny would have Mac and Chico lead parallel lives - the former also earning as a stripper to support his own grandparents - and have kept them inseparable to this day.

 

The no-show of the pre-stripper drag artist, and the singer line-up where Chico worked (really, this is not the opening line of a joke), gave them their first singing break when, in customary ‘I can do it’ Chico style, he offered up their services as replacements, to be known as the ‘singing strippers’ thereafter.

 

A series of lucky breaks and contacts got them a recorded demo with Michael Jackson’s producer, to be later signed up by Des Res’s manager. Chico’s own concentrated desire to fulfil a singing career only really came into fruition after the death of his grandparents four years ago, at which point he quit stripping, and after a serious cliff-fall threatened paralysis.

 

His miraculous recovery boded well for his singing career, which saw him collaborating with Grammy-winner Lady Saw on his single She Drives Me Crazy in Jamaica, where he also shot the music video for his song In Your Eyes Featuring Capital T.

 

He also sang on Stuntmaster’s Lady/The Boy is Mine with Brandy and Monica, touring the UK and Ibiza, and had already completed an album on the brink of a record deal when he entered the X-Factor competition.

 

Testament to the young men’s imbued drive, the duo (for the ‘I’ always includes Mac, as Chico is quick to point out) have also set up a film company - Machico Bros - writing, producing and starring in the 2004 BAFTA-nominated film Winner Takes All.

 

Their next movie project Lunchbox, about the life of a stripper, promises to be as rewarding, with Justin Timberlake tipped to star in it. Chico himself does not plan to act in the movie, partly to concentrate on his budding music career, and partly out of religious and spiritual concerns.

 

Considering the stripping, the body and the on-stage antics, a moment of pause and bemused head-scratching is expected and quite understandable, until Chico elaborates, exclusively to Sharq, on his religious Sufi spirituality which is ultimately the crux of his naked ambition.

 

Helping others, serving God and having a non-prejudiced and positive outlook to life has always shaped Chico’s actions, and is what he ultimately wants to dedicate his life to. Although he loves and enjoys the music, Chico sees it as a stepping stone to greater ambitions of setting up world-wide orphanages to help children, and of breaking down fear to spread spiritually cleansing beliefs.

 

“Charity starts at home,” he says, “so of course I’ll focus on the Arab world when the foundations are set up,” which he plans to call Fi Sabil Allah [In the Path of God]. “But in God’s eyes everyone is equal, every child is important, and the unbiased benevolence of our culture and religion is what I want to promote.”

 

Forwarding Arab virtues and successes is not the only thing Sharq and Chico have in common. The unconventional commercial manner in which we do it is another. Being un-phased by the criticisms of hard-line traditionalists is one more.

 

“I don’t listen to negativity, but they need to understand that their way is ineffective and harmful,” he says. “They really are victims of their own environment. You can’t get people to listen to you by wearing a turban and preaching. Grow love first before you grow a beard. Learn the true meaning of the word Allah before you come preach to me.”

 

That was his reaction to preachers he met as a boy on the streets of London, impassioning him to find another way to spread the word and raise our profile to offset the detrimental image they projected to the West.

 

He has travelled around the world visiting temples, mosques, churches and synagogues, finding that God does not live in any of those places, citing the Koran: “Neither the Heavens, nor the Earth can take me; only the heart of the believer can house me.”

 

It is also reflective of his call to break down traditional literal religious rigidity, which he believes has largely wiped out the true mercy and compassion of Islam. “Love all, accept all, hate not,” is another of Chico’s life-motos which characterise his attitude, and which is why he thinks he has never encountered prejudice or racism in the UK, even going to mosque in his ‘Ali Baba’ slippers and robe.

 

His endearing, fun-loving and relaxed attitude is what marks him out from traditional ‘preachers’, but as he puts it, “we must be the change we want to see.” It is with his two-pronged, popular-enthusiasm approach coupled with spiritual virtue that he plans to realise this change.

 

“I’m working to serve others and to serve God, not myself. I have big plans for the future, projects that will change the world.” Having recently discovered a direct-descendant link from him and the Prophet Mohammed, the belief in his life mission is ever-more ardent.

 

But alas, just as it is getting all prophetic and mystic, time runs out and Chico is ushered away. “We need to meet up soon and finish the conversation,” he promises. Sharq tries to swiftly squeeze in one more question, asking where the name Chico come from. “Ah,” he replies with a cheeky giggle, “it’s a long story, one to save for our next meeting.”