Mohammed El-leissy

Mohammed El-leissy (born 1985) is an Australian Green Party politician, comedian, and community worker of Egyptian descent. He is best known for being a contestant on the first series of The Amazing Race Australia in 2011.

Early life El-leissy's parents came to Australia in the 1960s. He was born in Brunswick, Melbourne, Australia to parents of Egyptian descent, and he grew up in Canberra. He also hosts Kalam TV.

In May 2011, El-leissy appeared as a contest and on the first series of The Amazing Race Australia, Seven's local adaptation of the long-running US series on Channel Seven with his friend Mostafa Haroun (Mos), who works part-time in the gift shop at Melbourne Zoo. They were eliminated after five weeks.

From June to August 2010, El-leissy's television show, Kalam TV, was launched on Channel 31, a 13-episode series challenging Australian perceptions of the Arab world through an entertaining mixture of variety and comedy. In 2008, he performed in Who is Abdul Smith at Melbourne Fringe Festival.

In April 2009, he performed Greens fundraising comedy act Mo the Plumber with Rucker Ward's Greens Councillor at the time Trent McCarthy. In 2011, he performed his comedy show World Mix Tape. He performed both shows at the Melbourne Fringe Festival and Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

In April 2011, 12 months after his pre-selection and only one month before the election, he withdrew from contesting the 27 November State Election.

Other work Since 2006, El-leissy has been a multicultural youth worker. He previously worked as a community worker with the Islamic Council Victoria.

Personal life In 2010, El-leissy visited Egypt, the country of his descent, for the first time.