CREDIT: COURTESY OF MINA GERGES
Third-year Western student has made a buzz in social media with his uncanny recreations of famous celebrities on his Instagram account.

LONDON — Mina Gerges may not be a celebrity, but he can certainly pose like one.

The third-year media and the public interest student has become an Internet sensation by recreating iconic images of stars like Beyonce and Kim Kardashian and sharing them on social media. In the last few weeks his Instagram account, @ keepingupwithmina, has been featured on Buzzfeed, Elle, Cosmopolitian, Smosh and Style List Canada.

“Ever since I was four years old I can remember sneaking into my mom’s closet and stealing her clothes and shoes – I would just dress up and try to be Posh Spice,” Gerges says.

Gerges has been posting these images on his Instagram account for months. He started the account by Photoshopping himself into red-carpet events or pictures with pop culture celebrities over a year and a half ago.

With 36,000 followers currently, the number continues to increase as Gerges gets more and more online attention. Though not the first Instagram account to recreate celebrity photos, he’s quickly becoming the most prominent.

He also says that creating these images has allowed him to realize how unrealistic the body proportions are in media. Further, Gerges says that these images have helped him become more comfortable with his own body.

“I lost 100 pounds before, so body image is a huge thing for me – posting these pictures has helped me be more comfortable in my skin. I’m willing to do this in front of a camera and not worry about people pointing out my flaws,” Gerges explains.

While his story has been some time in the making, he thanks Western for his growth as a person.

“When I came to Western I was still in the closet, I was terrified of expressing myself. Pride Western helped me a lot. I remember going to the first Pride Western meeting during my first year, and I remember thinking, there’s more people like me … I realized that it’s okay to be gay,” Gerges says.

Though fun and inspiring, taking the photos aren’t exactly easy for Gerges. The process, which takes roughly two hours, includes putting on fake nails, choosing a wig and painting different aspects of his costume. Once the photo is taken, Gerges works his magic on Photoshop and it’s ready for the masses.

“I’m very aware that this is a 15 seconds of fame type thing, so I’m not letting it get to my head. All the support has been great, but I’m using it as an outlet to show future employees how creative I am and the kind of barriers I’m trying to break — the kind of positive body image that I’m hoping to spread,” he says.

Although Gerges has been receiving a lot of attention for his photos, he says he would be doing it regardless, simply because of how happy it makes him.

This success, however, comes at a price.

“People were telling me to go kill myself, just to stop and that I’m fat. I really had to realize that I’m not going to allow myself to be affected by cyber bullying and I don’t do this for anyone else – I do this for myself and I’m not going to stop,” Gerges says.

Because the photos are exclusively of female celebrities, the third-year student has also been criticized by those in the gay community – accusing him of promoting feminine stereotypes.

“I have people saying that I give gay people a bad name, or I’m ‘too gay’ and things like that. I think that’s part of the problem — it’s okay to break these hetero-normative expectations. That’s the barrier I want to overcome,” Gerges tells.

Ultimately, he says he’s able to push these boundaries thanks to the campus culture here.

“A lot of the person I am today has come from my experience at Western — we’re really lucky to go to a school that’s accepting and does its best to offer services that really help you discover who you are. My school has done so much for me and I wouldn’t be this creative outrageous person if I wasn’t in an environment that welcomes you regardless of your differences.”