‘Ruru-ing’ his career in the right direction
If you watch I Can See You tonight on GMA (after First Yaya), you will be impressed how Ruru Madrid has managed to look so fit and fabulous.
It’s Ruru’s first project since the start of the pandemic. In the episode On My Way To You of the series’ second season, Ruru plays a guy jilted by his bride on their wedding day and his co-star Shaira Diaz plays a bride who runs away from her groom on her wedding day. The two characters from opposite ends find their ever-after when they cross paths.
“I am happy and proud of the new version of myself,” Ruru told Funfare in a Zoom interview, “I would say a much better version of myself.”
Like most everybody, Ruru struggled through the onset of the pandemic.
“To be honest,” he confessed, “it was very hard, especially during the first few months. Before the pandemic, I was used to sleeping early because I was working the next day. But during the pandemic, since I wasn’t working, I would stay home and do nothing but watch TV series (presumably on Netflix) endlessly until the wee hours of the morning. Ang tulog ko hindi normal. I was eating junk food. From 165, my weight dropped to 150 (pounds). Bumagsak talaga ang katawan ko. Mukha akong may sakit. My body type is ectomorph and if I don’t get enough nutrients and don’t work out regularly, babagsak ang katawan ko.” (According to research, an ectomorph is a typically skinny guy. Ectos have a light build with small joints and lean muscles. Usually, ectomorphs have long thin limbs with stingy muscles.)
For his height, 5’11”, the ideal weight is 165 and if he weighs even a little more than that, he will look big on TV.
“I looked at myself in the mirror and I was shocked, bakit ko pinabayaan ang katawan ko? I had to get back to shape kasi baka anytime I would be called to work. So I started working out at home. At first, I thought it wouldn’t be effective so I called my trainer. Kelangan ko ng maraming bakal (dumbbells, etc.). I wanted my trainer to push me into working out. He assured me that it could be done right at home via video call and I didn’t need so many gadgets. I stopped eating junk food and started eating healthy food. I continue to do that.”
He has also learned to get enough sleep, initially by forcing himself.
“No more watching too much TV series. I have become a morning person. I would sleep at around 7 or 8 p.m. and wake up at 6 a.m., and then I start working out. Or I work out at night before I go to sleep.”
The pandemic has made Ruru realize so many things, including the joy of reading books.
“To be honest, I am the type who is more into visuals...movies and whatever. Ayoko ng maraming letrang makikita, so at first, I thought I wouldn’t enjoy reading books until I began reading The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. Medyo malalim so I reread it. Now I am into self-help books that help me overcome anxiety.”
His biggest learning could be how to “row” his career (“Ruru-ing”) in the right direction.
“Para akong napre-pressure,” said Ruru who turned 23 on Dec. 4 last year. “I don’t know why. I am the type of person who sets a goal and a deadline to achieve it. Like, when I turn 25, I should be like this, like that. That’s why I am pressured...what if hindi ko ma-achieve? I feel somewhat anxious, may konting anxiety na nararamdaman, but not to a point that I will be depressed.”
As an INC (Iglesia Ni Cristo) member, Ruru doesn’t smoke, doesn’t drink and has practically no vice. He’s clean-living.
Asked about his current state of being, Ruru said, “To be honest, when I started doing showbiz, what I had in mind was just to have fun, to enjoy every single moment. But now that I have learned to love my craft, I’m serious about reaching the goal I have set for myself. I think I am in the right direction.”
(E-mail reactions at [email protected]. For more updates, photos and videos, visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on Instagram @therealrickylo.)
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