Young man in a hurry

Since making his debut in the immensely popular Sunsilk TV ad, Andrew Arellano has been making heads turn all over town. Andrew, or Drew as he is fondly called by pals, accepts his newfound celebrity with characteristic level-headedness.

The lady server in the juice bar of the gym he frequents even asked for his autograph once. "She gave her notebook for me to sign," Drew relates. "It was my first time so I didn’t know how to handle it. So I just joked ‘Wait till I win my first Best Actor Award. Only then will I give you an autograph’."

Truth be told, he was just as surprised the first time he caught his Sunsilk commercial on television – the one where he played the clueless guy who calls his girlfriend Pare. He also appears in the Tropang GSM Blue commercial, taking on the role of Lito the Chick Boy. "It was awkward," he says of the first time he watched his ads on TV. "It was a funny experience. But it was very exciting at the same time. A lot of friends texted me ‘Was that you in the commercial’?"

His own family constantly teases Drew about his new job. "They keep calling me Pare!" Feedback on the Sunsilk ad was so positive that a prequel is now being shown and a series of ads might come out of it.

Again, Drew embraces the possibility with open arms. "I am aware that it’s money in the bank and could mean more exposure for me," Drew explains. "But there’s more to money and exposure!"

Work is what is important to Drew. "The chance to work with these great creative people," Drew elaborates. "I am having a lot of fun. Advertising is really my passion."

In fact, before he became an on-cam talent, he worked in an advertising agency (J. Romero), as an account manager for a year. As such, he didn’t feel like a neophyte on the set. "I was familiar with the industry already," he confirms. "But then the work of a talent was different. Still, when it came to the level of professionalism and hard work, I still put in the same effort."

Prior to joining the advertising firm, he had a short-lived stint as a budding banker in Wells Fargo. "Life in San Francisco was much too quiet for me," he remembers. "It was totally different. It was a very simple life. I missed my family and friends."

Although brief, his US stay taught him priceless lessons on independence and initiative. "Before going to the States, I was fresh out of college, so I still didn’t know what I wanted to do in life," he looks back. "But when I got there, I had a lot of time to reflect on things. On what I really wanted to do. It also allowed me to appreciate my family more since they were so far away from me. That’s why when I got back here, my life got straightened out. I became more responsible."

Upon his return, the De La Salle graduate (with a degree in Marketing Management) jumped into the advertising world with renewed enthusiasm. He averts that his stint in the corporate world has also taught him a lot. "In terms of professionalism, work ethic, and time management," he expounds. "I was exposed to a very good system, the corporate set-up. That teaches you discipline."

He was so disciplined that he was able to squeeze his rigorous work-out sessions in his very hectic work schedule. "When I was still doing office work, I used to wake up at 6 a.m., so I could go to the gym, exercise and leave for work at 8:45," he attests. "It’s because I‘d be too tired to workout if I would go to the gym after office hours."

Drew, who is seriously into physical fitness and sports, considers going to the gym as his therapy, his breather. "Almost every day, I go to the gym," he pipes up. "I always make it a point to go to the steam room. That really makes my day. Even after a hard day’s work, even I lack sleep, I feel totally recharged after going to the steam room."

Let’s just say that his gym regimen is not for the faint-hearted. His cardio-vascular workout of choice is running. "I run; I’m like Forest Gump," he jests. "I usually spend two to three hours daily in the gym."

To break the monotony, he sometimes joins his friends and cross-trains. "I do aerobics, body pumping, and tae-bo with them. But most of the time, I only do running and weightlifting." He also engages in other sports activities, like badminton ("I play as much as I can"), basketball ("I play at least twice a week"), swimming ("Just a few laps"), table tennis ("The entire family plays Ping-Pong"), and billiards.

In fact, one of his two businesses involves the importation of cue sticks, Cue Masters International. His other business endeavor, which he shares with his siblings, is a salon-spa called Cocoon, located at the Alexandria Condominium.

He also acts as his dad’s PA (production assistant) whenever they go to Hong Kong to give free legal advice to OFWs. (His father is popular radio commentator, Antonio Arellano, also known as Atty. Aga.)

Seems Drew is a young man in a hurry, unstoppable in his quest to realize dreams. "My biggest goal is to own an advertising agency," he chimes in. "As first step, we are trying to put up a small graphic design studio."

In the meantime, however, Drew has chosen to go full-time in print and TV modeling and has already crossed over to acting. He is hosting Retro TV on Channel 13, a daily show for Studio 23 and he appears once in a while on GMA 7’s Click.

"I just want to work," Drew declares.