MANILA, Philippines - So, did the billboards distract you? Did you feel the heat on EDSA from the muscular athletes stripped down to their briefs? Whew. If there is any lesson learned from the whole Volcanoes billboard issue, it’s probably that it pays to be fit — very, very fit.
Those killer abs sure made traffic more bearable.
Nicknamed “The Volcanoes,” the Philippines national rugby union team has been playing in the Asian 5 Nations tournaments since 2008. At the moment, they are in Division I along with Malaysia, Korea and Singapore in a full-contact sport that differentiates itself vastly from the currently popular sport of football. In this case, players run with the ball in hand, rather than kick it through the length of a field. The ball itself is oval-shaped, and the goal posts are H-shaped rather than netted.
These differences aside, the heart that marks traditional football — as it does, every sport — is the same one that pumps up the players of our very own Volcanoes.
Among them are Patrice Olivier, Ned Stephenson, Michael de Guzman, Ken Stern, Chris Everingham, Jake Letts, Nick Perry, Oliver Saunders, Terry Carroll, Kit Guerra, Arnold Aninion, and Darran Seeto. Clad in their Bench uniforms, as supported by the Philippines’ very own global lifestyle brand, the boys look every inch the formidable heroes they are on the field. What’s more, these same athletes are set to model for Bench Body, showing how the undergarment brand is a perfect fit for an active lifestyle.
Recently, the boys went in front of the lens for their very own campaign shoot with Bench. The experience had them playing models for a day, just being themselves and sharing laughs on the stadium-inspired set, in a shoot with photographer Lope Navo.
Indeed, it is these boys’ good nature off field, as well as their intensity on it, that inspired Bench to work with the team. In the same way that Bench promotes a multi-faceted lifestyle, the boys’ passion for playing rugby, as well as their tight relationships with each other, reflect the kind of balanced and well-lived lifestyle that the brand is based upon. Of course, the boys are also endowed with great skills, which makes them a promising qualifier for the international leagues that they aspire to.
At present, the team has a few titles to its name: 2007 silver medalist and 2005 gold medalist in the Southeast Asian Games for the Men’s 7s division; 2010, 2009, and 2008 champions in different divisions of the Asian 5 Nations Men’s 15s games; and finally, 2010 and 2009 champions in Division 2 of the Asian Junior Rugby Under 20s.