The Agassi brothers Carlos & Michael: He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother!

They are two peas in a pod, very similar in many ways and yet different from each other in some ways.

Carlos Amir Agassi is 21 and 5’10" tall, member of Star Circle Batch 3 (with, among others, Piolo Pascual, Bojo Molina, Kaye Abad and Kristoffer Peralta); and Michael Yusef Agassi, 16 and 5’9" tall, of the recently-launched Star Circle Batch 9 (mirror, mirror on the wall, who’ll be the fairest of ’em all?).

The five-year age-gap between the brothers doesn’t bother them a bit; it doesn’t get in the way of their blissful brotherly togetherness. They sleep in the same room, Carlos with his ubiquitous bottle of mineral water beside him (he wakes up thirsty in the middle of the night, that’s why) and Michael ("Call me Mike") with his own bottle of lotion (he can’t sleep without rubbing his whole body with it).

They have a stepbrother, Ahmad, 12, who’s now in New York with some uncles, on the side trying out for roles in Broadway. Carlos and Michael’s biological father, Hussein Agassi, an Arab soldier, died during the Gulf War in the mid-’80s. Their mother, Rowena Damaso (from a rich clan in Batangas), remarried another Arab, Fahad Al-Hanaki, who has been like a real father to Carlos and Michael.

The three brothers’ names have meanings they are striving to live up to: The Amir in Carlos’ name means Prince and Carlos is being true to it with his current status as Amir (Prince) of Rap; Yousef in Michael’s name means "praise-worthy" and he hopes to be even more than that; and Ahmad is a "songbird" in Arab, something Ahmad is turning out to be.

Both endorsers of the Wacky Clothing Studio (for the hip and young crowd), Carlos and Michael treat each other more like barkada than brothers, sharing secrets and confidences (but not girlfriends), finances (with Carlos giving more, understandably because he’s the one earning more) and other things beside (including clothes they retrieve from each other’s closets).

Says Michael about Carlos: "He’s not only a good rapper, he’s also a good person and a good brother. Sobrang mabait. He’s a workaholic. Di ba, Idol?"

Says Carlos about Michael: "He’s more daring than I am, especially when it comes to sports. He’s confident and hardly shy, unlike when I was just starting in showbiz. I tell him to enjoy his work and his youth but to be responsible at the same time."

To find out more about the brothers Agassi, let’s make them play the Alphabet Game.

A

Carlos: Ahmad. I really miss my brother Ahmad.

Michael: Agassi, of course! Amir. Everytime I listen to rock music, I remember my kuya, the Amir of Rap. He’s my idol.

B

Carlos: Beautiful! Life is beautiful; women are beautiful. The most beautiful of them all is my Mom. She would teasingly remind us, "Don’t let showbiz go to your heads. Remember, if not for me, you wouldn’t be so handsome!" Seriously now, my Mom is beautiful not only physically but also deep inside her. She has a beautiful heart.

Michael: Beach. A career is like a beach. Sometimes it’s low tide, sometimes it’s high tide.

C

Carlos: Cool. Dapat cool ka lang palagi; huwag mainitin ang ulo. Otherwise, nothing good will happen to you. Mapapaaway ka lang.

Michael: Cute. I’m fond of cute girls. Church. I never fail to hear mass on Sunday. I used to be an altar boy.

D

Carlos: Dog. I have a pet dog named Princess, a Japanese spitz. I love pets. We used to have a pet iguana and a pet snake.

Michael: Dunk. When I was a member of our school’s basketball team, I played shooting guard kaya dunk ako nang dunk.

E

Carlos: Exciting. Everything that’s happening to me now, in both my private life and my career, is exciting. And I’m excited, especially now that Michael is also in showbiz. I hope he’ll learn more than just earning money.

Michael: Enjoy – as in enjoy kasama si Kuya sa trabaho, like we did on A.S.A.P. and now as endorsers of Wacky clothing.

F

Carlos: Father. (The biological one – RFL) He was a Gulf War hero; he died in 1986. He loved to box. He’d wake me up in the morning and we’d box, nag-i-sparring kami. Our new dad is also the best.

Michael: I was very young when my father died so I hardly knew him. I grew up with our stepfather who has been more than a real father to us.

G

Carlos: Girls. We have good taste in girls and it’s not confined to just one type. We like mestiza, kayumanggi... all types! Pareho kami ng taste.

Michael: Gorgeous. I have a weakness for gorgeous girls. Anne Curtis is one of them. I used to have a big crush on her.

H

Carlos: Happy. I’m happy right now, I’m always happy!

Michael: Humble. I’m a humble person.

I

Carlos: Interesting and intelligent. I’m attracted to interesting and intelligent people. Ibiza (Spain). It’s one of my favorite places on earth. It’s a bachelor’s paradise. Italy. Kamukha ko raw ang mga tao roon.

Michael: (The) Insider, one of my favorite movies (starring Al Pacino and Russell Crowe).

J

Carlos: Japanese food, especially salmon sashimi.

Michael: Jaypee. He was my best friend in school last year but I haven’t seen him since then. I miss him.

K

Carlos: King Kong, I was 8 when I saw the movie and I was so scared I couldn’t sleep.

Michael: Kangaroo and Kaye Abad. I’ve always been fascinated by kangaroos. Si Kaye naman, crush ng friend ko pero hindi ko siya type.

L

Carlos: Love. Make love, not war. Ligo. I’m fond of taking a bath. Three to four times ako maligo everyday. I take time in the bathroom. Nilalasap ko talaga.

Michael: Loyal. I’m loyal to my girlfriend – my future girlfriend – and even to my ex-girlfriends. And also to my friends. Me? I take a bath only once a day.

M

Carlos: Money. I handle money wisely. I’ve known how hard it is to earn money since I was small, especially when we came back from the Middle East, to stay for good.

I made it a point to help my parents by not asking for my allowance; I would ask money from them only when I badly needed it, like when I had to buy something that I needed in school.

Marvel comics. I used to collect them. Later, I combined my Superman (D.C. comics) and my Spider Man (Marvel comics) and I sold them to my classmate for P5,000. Kumita ako doon. I bought each comics for only P50 each.

Michael: Mike, of course. That’s my nickname. Mom. She’s the best mom in the world. I love you, Mom!

N

Carlos: Neneth. She’s my handler at ABS-CBN. Am I hard to handle? Not at all. You ask around at ABS-CBN and they’ll tell you that I’m a handler’s dream. Magaan daw akong i-handle. I’m career-conscious kasi, e. That’s why they call me Career Agassi.

Michael: Nike. I’m fond of Nike shoes; I have several pairs.

O

Carlos: Occasionally. That’s how often, or how rarely, I now go out with my brothers because I’m busy with work. We eat out and watch movies. You know what, parang nararamdaman ko na ’yung age gap between us because their tastes are entirely different from mine. Sila pam-bagets; ako, pang-adult.

Michael: Observe. Now that I’m in showbiz, I observe people and actors, especially actors. I learn from them. I also observe my fellow Star Circle members at the workshop. I also learn from them.

P

Carlos: Practice makes perfect. Yes, I’m a perfectionist. Sakit ko na ’yon, e. I tape my TV guestings, and Michael’s too, and we review the tapes so we can learn from our mistakes and so we’ll know where we need improvements.

Michael: Professional. They keep reminding me to be professional if I want to make it in showbiz or to succeed in anything that I venture into. Pray. That’s one thing our Mom has taught us – always pray.

Q

Carlos: Queen. You should treat ladies like queens, especially your loved one, the queen of them all.

Michael: Quezon City. My friends and I love to hang around in Quezon City. Our favorite hangout is Warehouse, a newly-opened bar along Timog Avenue. A lot of showbiz people go there. It’s a nice place, very safe.

R

Carlos: Rap, of course. And Rowena, my Mom. Respect. You have to respect yourself before you can expect others to respect you. You have to respect other people, too. Going back to rapping... I became interested in rapping when I was in Grade 4. I’ve been influenced by Francis M., Marky Mark, Andrew E. and Will Smith.

Michael: Rap din. You know what Kuya Carlos does when he’s courting a girl, even on the phone, nagra-rap ’yan. He hates it when I eavesdrop on him when he’s making ligaw on the phone.

S

Carlos: Superhero. I’ve always thought when I was young that I was a superhero and not a human being. I even thought that I was a vampire or an alien, but never a human. Superman is one of my idols. I wish I could fly or swim to the bottom of the sea and discover the mysteries of the deep.

Michael: Sports. After basketball, my interest is now in wall-climbing.

T

Carlos: Television. At home, I watch a lot of television. During my free time, I stay in my room. My room is my refuge. I watch ESPN, ABS-CBN, HBO, MTV, CNN – a lot of TV.

Michael: Tagal. Si Kuya kasi, ang tagal-tagal sa CR, ang tagal-tagal magbihis at ang tagal-tagal magtelebabad.

U

Carlos: Unique. What is unique about me? I guess ’yung pagka-extreme ko. Pag mabait, sobrang mabait. Pag nagalit, sobrang magalit, kaya ayokong nagagalit ako.

Michael: Understanding. That’s Kuya, understanding. He understands when I have to get a shirt from his closet or when I drive his car without his permission. He’s understanding talaga.

V

Carlos: Victory. I always think victory, victorious. Positive thinking, di ba? I’m that optimistic.

Michael: Vampire. It must be exciting to be a vampire, no? ’Yung mabait na vampire.

W

Carlos: Wrestling. We love to wrestle at home, in our room or in the sala. We’ve been doing it since we were small. We often wondered: How come those big guys on TV don’t get hurt when they’re wrestling and throwing each other around? In real life, it hurts! Women. Sometimes, women are hard to understand, aren’t they? I’ve always wanted to find out what women really want.

Michael: Your body. That’s what women want.

X

Carlos: I don’t ever want to be an "X", I want to be the "current."

Michael: X-treme sports. Mahilig ako diyan. I used to jetski at nagtri-360 ako. The harder the sport and the more challenging and more exciting, the more I am drawn to it.

Y

Carlos: Yacht. That’s my dream – to own a yacht.

Michael: Yusef. I like my name. It’s rare. I always strive to be highly-praised.

Z

Carlos: Zoo. Since I love pets, one of these days I might put up a small zoo at home. Zorro. He’s one of my favorite heroes. As a kid, I used to play with a plastic sword, like Zorro, but instead of making the "Z" sign, "A" sign ang ginagawa ko – "A" for Agassi.

Michael: Zebra. Once Kuya puts up a zoo, I’ll donate a zebra to his collection. That’s a promise. But where will I get a zebra?