Paolo Araneta, on and off the wakeboard

He’s no model, at least that’s what he says, but Paolo Araneta has definitely been getting a lot of attention on and off the ramp. For one, he has caught the eye of eyewear and sports wear pioneer Oakley. Having been endorsing Oakley for only four months now, the idea of modeling has not really sunk in to Paolo yet. Seeing him, however, you might say that his looks and incredible physique seem to be prepared to take on the modeling world.

Unlike his famous sister Bianca who is very much in the limelight, Paolo prefers to stay in the shadows, live a rather private life, and, yes, immerse himself in one of his passions – wakeboarding.

I met up with Paolo one afternoon. Dressed in a gray shirt, jeans and a white cap, he really looked downright simple. He was actually just chilling out with his buddy Geoff Briz, munching on some fries and playing pool. It wasn’t long before another close pal, Marc Nelson, joined in. While Geoff and Marc nibbled and played away, I had delightful conversation with a very private guy. Excerpts:

YS: How did your modeling career begin?

PAOLO ARANETA: Well, I’m N-O-T a model.

Do you plan to be?

No, not at all.

How did Oakley discover you?

Oakley approached me a few months ago, needing someone to endorse their water sports apparel, namely things like sandals and board shorts, lighter shirts ... a lot of outdoor stuff but more ... you know, closely related to surfing. So, I’m kinda like a surfer; in a nutshell, a surfer.

What is it about Oakley that appeals to you?

I’ve always owned Oakley ever since I was a young teenager. Obviously really good products, they’ve been around for a really long time and I’ve seen a lot of progression in their products. I mean, compared to the first pairs of Oakley’s I’ve ever owned ... to now, they’re really good now.

So, how many pairs of Oakley eyewear do you have now?

Well, now, I have two. But when I was young, I’ve always had a pair of Oakley. It may have been once a year, once every couple of years ... with anything I did, sports. What’s makes Oakley appeal to me is umm ... all their products appeal to me especially now, I’m actually quite intrigued by the amount of products they have now. They’re not just a sunglass company anymore, you know, they have a lot of ... they have a golf line! How shocking and their golf line seems like a third of their ... you know...

It’s pretty developed right now.

Exactly, so yeah ...

What’s your favorite Oakley eyewear?

I like the Valve and ... ’coz I got a small face, I like a lot of their small frames. I’m not really quite sure what the names of the other ones I like are.

What’s your most expensive pair of Oakley? Right now, I have two. The Valve would be because it’s fairly new and it’s polarized. I only usually use polarized ’coz I get headaches. I have a pair of Oakley’s that the Oakley rep from San Diego gave me. He was here about two months ago and he gave me this pair that he told me they only had a handful of in the States and they weren’t gonna be available till September or October. And he knew I like it and he left a pair. I don’t even know what it’s called yet and I don’t think it’s available on the market so I have it in my car.

What’s the best thing about being an Oakley endorser?

Well, you’re given pretty cool swag. I think the Oakley family so far has been ... they’ve been very kind. From Julie to the bosses, to the people I’ve met ... the other Oakley endorsers are friends of mine, my cousin BJ endorses Oakley, I’ve got friends who endorse Oakley so I think the best part about being an Oakley endorser is the family value.

Describe your personal clothing style.

I’m pretty casual, I wear a lot of sneakers, I can wear sneakers to anything. I own one pair of jeans, which I wear all the time. I do, however, like getting really dressed. I like going to events pretty dressed up but yeah, in general, I’m pretty casual.

How about when you’re wakeboarding, what do you like to wear?

Shorts, that’s it. I got my wakeboard, I wear my board shorts and then I always wear a lifejacket when I wakeboard.

What’s your idea of comfort wear?

Marc Nelson: What is your idea of comfort wear? (Walks in.)

Paolo: Shut up! (In jest.)

Marc Nelson: A leather G-string!

Paolo: Don’t tell anyone that!

Marc: Sorry.

Paolo: What is my idea of comfort wear? ... sandals, jeans, T-shirt ... just like any other guy.

What are your five must-have accessories?

Must-have accessories ... well, these days, just like anybody, a cell phone, I think. If you don’t have your cell phone, you feel kinda lost. Jewelry, I like jewelry.

Any faves?

Sentimental jewelry ... the rings, the necklaces, usually the pieces I wear the most are things that mean a lot to me, not things that I bought. Things that were given to me by people I care about. Now that I’m growing my hair, probably my lids, my hats really ... things like that. What else ... again sneakers and accessories, I’m not really that much of an accessory kind of person.

How about other stuff?

Oh, like when I go out, I don’t really need to bring a bag with me. I’m such a day-to-day kind of person, very laid-back. I usually plan my days a day ahead ... (laughs) ... I am that kind of person.

What do you like seeing women wear?

In a perfect world, nothing. Right? No, I like seeing women that look good in jeans. When you’re at a formal event, I like seeing women wear backless, I think that’s really sexy. I think women that wear ... I’m not into a lot of makeup, I’m not even into a lot of jewelry and I think the simpler, the better.

How about on the beach?

On the beach ... two-piece, no doubt.

Forget the one-piece?

Not necessarily ... depends, there are so many things you can mix and match on the beach that make your appearance appealing to a lot of people. Even if they’re covered, nice tops, sarongs, the way they do their hair, there are a lot of things that women wear to the beach that I find sexy.

Where do you usually like to wakeboard?

I wakeboard in Calatagan a lot. There’s a cable park there called Lagao de Oro, that’s in Calatagan, Batangas. I’m there maybe twice a week. I go to Nasugbu, Batangas again. I go there maybe, if I can, say, I mean ... my friends have beach houses there so when I’m there over the weekend, we try wakeboarding. When I have the opportunity, my favorite place to go wakeboarding is Lake Taliraya, but that’s maybe once every month now. My friend that owns a boat hasn’t been going to the lake mainly because his boat’s not working so ... but that’s probably my favorite place in the Philippines. It’s beautiful, it’s on top of the mountain, the water’s always flat, it’s such a tranquil, beautiful, peaceful place.

How do you keep fit?

Aside from wakeboarding, I go to the gym about three, four times a week, not necessarily to get big. I do it for fitness, I do it for strengthening, I like being strong, especially for wakeboarding. Since I started going to the gym about two years ago, I’ve been less accident prone when I wakeboard. I play a lot of football. I play football maybe once a week. I’m not with any teams right now, I play on my own. Football is probably my favorite sport, football meaning soccer. I was five years old ... four years old when I started and I’ve been playing ever since. It’s probably my favorite sport.

You prefer it over wakeboarding?

Well, I like wakeboarding because I’ve always been a beach bum. I go to the beach all the time. Naturally, I got involved in jet skiing, water skiing, a lot of water sports but wakeboarding to me has been the best thing I’ve tried ever on the beach. I like doing tricks, I like, you know, getting air. I like flipping, I like things like that ... it’s very challenging for me and being the fastest growing water sport in the planet, naturally, it caught my attention and I’ve been doing it for about six years.

But what about the hazards of that sport?

Well, with any sport, there’s always a danger involved. You can get injured doing anything. I always tell friends and people that I teach wakeboarding to make sure they wear their lifejackets because you never know when they’re gonna get hurt, you never know what might happen. It’s a fun sport and so are a lot of sports. I mean, as long as you love what you’re doing, it’s all fun but it’s always fun until you get hurt, right? So sometimes, when I teach people wakeboarding, I try and tell them not to exceed their limitations. You know, sometimes, people come up to me and ask me "How do you do this flip or that trick?" What I do is I watch the way they ride and I determine whether or not they’re ready to learn that particular trick. I’m very careful with what I teach. I will recommend that someone not try a particular trick if I feel they’re not ready for it.

So, you like teaching wakeboarding?

Oh yeah, I used to teach. When I owned a boat, I used to teach wakeboarding and then I sold my boat. And now, I don’t teach professionally, I just ... let’s say, if I’m in Calatagan and there are beginners there and they’re learning and I can see they’re having a hard time with something, I’ll approach them and introduce myself and I’d tell them what I think they can do better, how they can improve ... you know, what they’re doing wrong that’s probably keeping them from progressing, things like that. Yes, I enjoy teaching. I like giving back what I’ve learned. That’s the way I am.

Who do you find harder to teach, the adults or the children?

Adults or children ... I’ll tell you, I find it harder to teach men over women.

Really?

Yes ...

Can men be more stubborn?

You give women advice, you pretty much tell them what they have to do and they’ll listen. They’ll listen ... they’ve got an open mind, they’ll listen to what you have to say. This is what I used to do ... I used to ... when couples come in for my lessons, I always teach the girlfriend first. Reason being is ’coz I know, in about three to four attempts, I can get them up on the wakeboard because they listen. Then, in comes the boyfriend ... you know their mentality ... if my girlfriend can do it, no problem. And then they try three to four times, they’re still having a hard time and before you know it, the male ego starts to come in and they start thinking they have a better way to do it than what I taught them so before you know it, they spent an hour, two hours trying to get up but they can’t get up. And you know, they get frustrated and you really have to ... I mean, I try and teach it in the simplest way possible and the male ego, sometimes, is a male obstacle that can be quite hard for boys to overcome especially when it’s in that situation where "she can do it, then I can do it," you know. Children are very easy to teach, adults, easy to teach but it’s men ... I find women easier to teach. Or maybe, I ‘m just better with women, I don’t know (laughs)!

How is your relationship with food?

I don’t eat pork, I don’t eat veal, I don’t eat lamb ... there are a lot of meats I don’t eat but I do eat beef, only because I just can’t seem to find a way to ever quit cheeseburgers and a good steak. But no, I love to eat. I can eat Japanese food everyday. I love Thai food. In general, I like Asian food. I’m not big on pastas, I love pizza. My relationship with food is good but in order to stay fit, I don’t eat beyond what I need to.

By the way, where were you born?

Philippines.

Oh ...

Makati Med. Yes.

But it seems you grew up elsewhere.

Well, I went to San Agustin pretty much my whole ... well, until maybe sophomore year then I moved to Atlanta, I moved to San Francisco for several years and then I finished my university in Australia so I’ve lived abroad for a long time.

How do you find Aussie food?

Aussie food? I’m not into meat pies. If you love seafood then Australia is the place for seafood and I’m a big seafood person. If there’s one thing in the world I probably can never quit, it is seafood. If you like seafood, Australia is the place to be. I’m a big fish and chips person.

What’s the one dish you don’t mind having over and over again?

I like Japanese food, I can have Japanese all the time ... spicy tuna makis, I can have that every day ... sashimi, hamachi ... a lot of sashimis and sushis.

What words do you live by?

I would have to say ... I don’t know, I’m a day-by-day kind of person, right? So, pretty much, try to be the best person I can be every day, never do anything to anyone that I wouldn’t want done to me. That’s pretty much how I’ve lived my whole life. I would always put myself in someone else’s shoes before I do anything. Just try and be as pleasant as possible, I try and keep myself surrounded by good people. I try and be happy with what I do. I won’t take on jobs that I know won’t make me happy only because I really believe in self happiness ... to be fulfilled every day, I have to know that I’m doing things I like to do. I try not to worry about too many things. I remember, I read this Buddhist saying, "If you have a problem and can be fixed, don’t worry about it. If you have a problem and it can’t be fixed, worrying is not gonna help you." So, things like that ... you know, these are little things I’ve read and I try to remember.

How has modeling changed your life?

Well, it’s been a very, very short stint, it’s only been a few months. The only thing I feel now that is different is when people talk to me about gear, I recommend Oakley products. Or when people ask me ... when I see people wearing an Oakley product then, I’ll talk to them. You know what I mean? I’m more aware now of the Oakley products out there. If I see someone wearing it, I’ll talk to them about it ... where they got it, are they happy ... or if people ask me, "Hey, where can I get board shorts?" I’ll tell them you can go to ... you know. Things like that. It’s the only change in my life but it’s been a very, very young, short time.

If you weren’t a model, what would rather be doing?

(Laughs) So, I guess the question is what I would like to be. Ideally, I would have loved to become a professional footballer. That would have been my dream.

What stopped you from going for it?

Well, you live in the Philippines, you play football for so long. I went to the States, I played football there. But at the time I was there for high school, there really weren’t any soccer programs available after high school, not yet. So pretty much that career that I wanted to pursue really took a dive unless I wanted to go Europe and play, which I don’t think I would have been qualified for anyway unless you really devote your time to it. But I don’t think I would have been good enough at that time; now, America’s football program has sky-rocked. If I had known that they were gonna have a professional league in the next four-five years after I graduated high school, I would have really, maybe, continued it but unfortunately, things happen for a reason – yeah, that would have been my dream ... to be a professional athlete. It would have been nice to be a professional at a sport that you love to do. I mean, if there’s anyone I envy, I envy professional athletes that are paid to do things they love doing. And these are things they love to do since they were five years old-six years old, this has been their whole life.

How about wakeboarding, what do you think would happen to it here in the Philippines?

Well, right now, I have an event ... an extreme sports events company. I have an event in November and an event in December. I’m trying to push wakeboarding and other extreme sports in the country. I want to nurture a lot of the younger kids we have because I feel they have a lot of potential and they are at the right age. I’m teaching a kid now, he’s maybe, 13-14, he’s really good and he has a lot of potential and now, there is the support. You know, there are people like myself that can try and just guide them in the right direction. We have the facilities now for wakeboarding unlike several years ago. So, I see a bright future for wakeboarding. Wakeboarding is a very young sport, it’s been around for maybe, 12-13 years so it’s a very young sport. Filipinos have great amounts of potential in the sport but it does require guidance. It does require directing.

Describe your ideal woman?

Marc, what would my idea of a perfect woman be?

Marc: Sporty, athletic, intelligent ... more on the mestiza, Caucasian side

Paolo: Wow, this guy knows me well!

Marc: Good sense of humor, brunettes usually.

Paolo: Good sense of humor, brunettes, definitely, intellectually stimulating ... conveniently, not taller than me, between 20 and 30.

Have you found her yet?

Yes.

Describe yourself in one word.

Youthful.

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E-mail me at ice_wave_42@yahoo.com.