School of cool

MANILA, Philippines - Swimming star Johansen Aguilar, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu fighter Eros Baluyot, top longboarder Gerard Cancio, and badminton champ Toby Gadi school us on what it takes to be top athletes.

Ever since ancient Greece — yes, I just used that clause — athletes have owned up to an air of superiority,outrunning the average man, out-swinging the average discus thrower, and what have you. Said superiority has been exploited by some over time and here we are, a thousand chariot racing games later, with the label jock and other mildly debasing stereotypes.

As you’ll soon find out, the local likes of record-breaking swimmer Johansen Aguilar (DLSU), Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) fighter Eros Baluyot (Treston), speed-happy longboarder Gerard Cancio (ADMU), and badminton champ Toby Gadi (ADMU) are an exception to the rule — not that they ever needed a writer or resbak to defend themselves against the label jock. Their records do speak volumes for themselves and that should suffice any given day.

We’re eschewing the part where athletes are overly humanized for the sake of fandom. Instead, we’ll tell you straight up what they’ve gone through and where they plan on going no matter how striking or simple the case may sound. They are making great strides after all.

Johansen Aguilar, 19, swimmer

Affiliations: Member of the Philippine National Team, DLSU Green Tankers, and Makati Skipjacks Swim Club

Achievements: Philippine record for 50 meters backstroke; gold medalist and record holder for ASEAN University Games; Arafura Games in Australia; South East Asian Age Group Swimming Championship medalist; UAAP MVP, rookie of the year, gold medalist, record holder; Palarong Pambansa Most Outstanding Swimmer and record holder

What you should know: Johansen first learned how to swim in Cebu. “Then I was attracted to the idea of winning and being part of something bigger,” he says. Soon he trained for hours on end, representing the country in various international competitions. “Every swim meet is filled with pressure,” the lanky swimmer admits. But during the Arafura Games in Australia and the ASEAN University Games in Thailand, Johansen still managed to win the gold by virtue of rigid training routine. But when he’s not wearing his lucky swim goggles, Johansen puts on his eyeglasses and goes to De La Salle University, where he’s currently taking up applied economics and applied corporate management (AE-APC). “I hope to graduate with honors and qualify for the Olympics someday,” he says, before inserting more dreams, “Then I hope to work as a stock trader and financial analyst in an international bank, and hopefully be an ambassador for sports development and training. I want to be able to give back to society and share my experiences in life.”

His swimming routine: He trains for a grueling three hours almost every day from Monday to Saturday, then does land workouts during Saturday mornings and Monday afternoon. This leaves him just enough time past 9 p.m. to study for tests, if any.

How he’ll keep fit this Christmas: “Aside from swimming, I’ll be going to the gym. But I’ll also spend my holiday reunion vacation in Vancouver to relax and feel the snow out there.”

When he’s not swimming: “I like to watch movies, shop and play other sports like bowling, billiards, basketball and table tennis.”

His thoughts on romance: “There are so many other common things I can share with my special someone; not necessarily sports. Liking someone is a feeling that one cannot control so whatever happens, happens for a reason.”

What the future holds: Johansen plans to compete in the 26th SEA Games, finish his thesis for his first degree, and hopefully graduate with magna cum laude honors. Sounds heavy, but that’s standard Johansen for you.

Oh my Gadi: Toby Gadi helped Ateneo win this year’s UAAP badminton championship. Nikki Ruiz

Toby Gadi, 22, badminton player

Achievements: Winning all four legs of the Philippine Badminton Ranking System (PBaRs) and winning this season’s UAAP badminton championship for Ateneo

What you should know: Toby actually started in basketball, before discovering badminton upon tagging along his aunt during her badminton training with his cousins. “From then on, I fell in love with badminton,” says the Ateneo AB Interdisciplinary Studies student. “I really like that it’s a fast-paced sport and that you have to learn how to make your shots powerful and accurate with jump smashes.” This week, Toby’s at the SEA games, where he’s already won against Myanmar. As the number one ranking badminton player in the country, Toby aims to be a badminton coach and manage his own training camp someday. “I want to train and hone good players, those who can compete and be successful internationally. I want to put up a business also.” As for an affair with the closely linked sport of tennis, Toby says he isn’t worried it’ll happen. “I just think it’s too slow-paced compared to badminton.”

His routine: “We usually train twice a day. During morning trainings, we do drills and techniques. During afternoon training, we focus more on conditioning and physical training.”

How he’ll keep fit this Christmas: “We train even during the holidays except for Christmas day itself and the New Year, so I don’t think I’ll have a problem with keeping myself conditioned,” says Toby, who knows he’ll still get to have his favorite lamb chops if and when he gets the chance.

What he does when he’s not playing: “I usually hang out with my girlfriend, friends and family. I like watching UFC, too.”

What the future holds: It’s been a wild ride for Toby this year, topped off with one more international competition coming up in next month in Korea. “Right after the SEA games, I will also be joining the Yonex tournament which will be held in Mandaluyong. Next year, there will be PBaRs and UAAP again, and other international tournaments that I can hopefully join.”

The man child: 19-year-old Eros Baluyot bagged the gold medal in the 2010 World Brazilian Jiu-jitsu Championship held in Long Beach, California. Nikki Ruiz

Eros Baluyot, 19,Brazilian Jiu-jitsu practitioner

Affiliations: Atos Brazilian Jiu-jutsu Club; freshman at Treston

Achievements: Gold medalist at the prestigious 2010 World Brazilian Jiu-jitsu (BJJ) Championship held in Long Beach, California

What you should know: When blue-belter Eros Baluyot dominated the world’s most prestigious BJJ bout last year, he wasn’t even of legal age yet. “I was very happy when I won the world championship last year because we really trained hard for it,” he says. By forcing undefeated Gracie Barra Jiu-jitsu team member Alexander Alvarez into submission in a little over four minutes via a triangle choke, Eros clinched the gold medal in his weight class much to everyone’s surprise, including himself. A combat sport derived from the Japanese martial art of Kodokan judo, BJJ was popularized by the Gracie family in Brazil close to a century ago. As to how it all began for Eros, he has his dad to point his finger at. “I started wrestling when I was 13 years old because my dad was a wrestler when he was in high school,” says the Parañaqueño. Two years later, he decided to up his game by moving to BJJ, a more sophisticated, defense-driven martial art with regards to takedowns, ground control, and the overall physicality. Who knew he’d be going to the US and Japan a mere two years down the line, competing against the BJJ founder’s students themselves?

His routine: It depends. “When it’s off-season, it’s the time to learn some new techniques. But if it’s tournament season, we concentrate in mastering of skills and conditioning.”

How he’ll keep fit this Christmas: He says he loves American food like burgers but that won’t stop them from training a lot. “Even if it’s a holiday,” he points out.

What he does when he’s not training: “If there’s no tournament, we party a lot,” he says with a laugh.

His thoughts on romance: “It doesn’t matter if she’s interested in sports or not as long I’m happy with her.”

What the future holds: He’s thinking of moving to Ateneo, where he can undergo more training.

The Cancio show: “Every race is intense and being at the starting line is quite unnerving,” admits Gerard Cancio. “Especially with international races, ‘cause you’re side-by-side with the guys you watch on YouTube. After a while you get used to it, but it never fully goes away.” Nikki Ruiz

Gerard Cancio, 24, longboarder

Affiliation: Former member of the 3-peat Ateneo Men’s Football Team

Achievements: Qualifying 10th in the International Gravity Sports Association World Championships in Australia two years ago and consistent first place finishes in local races since he started.

What you should know: Gerard played Ateneo football for over 17 years, even going as far as to represent the country a couple of times in grade school and college. But even back in fifth grade, he had already set his sights on skateboarding, having been a fan of the X-Games. “I stopped by third year high school when I became even more serious with football,” details Gerard. “Then before graduating, my barkada decided to buy longboards so I joined them. One by one they got busy with other things, but I just kept at it.” For Gerard, who now balances a day job at Adora, his love of longboarding used to be just about the cross-step tricks before realizing the science of his speed. “There’s something surreal about going 100 kilometers per hour standing on top of a wooden board, urethane wheels, and no engine,” describes Gerard. Speed is about aerodynamics, which, as Gerard would put it, revolves around “adjusting your stance on the board to find the optimum position that produces the least amount of wind resistance.” The excitement of racing is also hard to resist. “It’s hard enough to get down a mountain road the fastest that you can, what more when pitted against three to five other guys? There’re a lot of tactics involved, from drafting, protecting your racing line, and drifting your board sideways before a turn to burn off enough speed to be able to survive it.”

His routine: He doesn’t have a specific training regimen but now that the weather’s been a bit unpredictable, he makes it a point to skate when it’s dry. “But sometimes, if I really can’t help it, I make do with the wet conditions.”

How he’ll keep fit this Christmas: “No idea. Just hoping for the best and expecting the worst,” he says with a laugh. “As much as possible, I don’t want to sacrifice sushi, ramen, and stuffed crust pizza with extra cheese so I guess I’ll just skate more.”

What he does when he’s not skating: “Dream up different business ventures, plan my next adventures, and eat.”

His thoughts on romance: “It’s nice to have something in common with someone, but sometimes it’s also great to have your own thing. It’s all about balance.”

What the future holds: He says the local race season kicks off this Dec. 10 with the 3rd Gravity Games Highlands Chase (www.gravitygamesasia.com) in Tagaytay Highlands. “The season lasts up until the weather stays dry in May. I’m also considering joining another international race this coming 2012, but it all depends on sponsors and funds.”