Body Talk with Akihiro Sato (re-post)

FUNFARE By Ricardo F. Lo
Updated April 20, 2009 12:00 AM

The day before this interview, Akihiro Sato said that he started having formal lessons in Filipino under a personal coach. (He’s also taking lessons in acting and the English language.)
“Gusto ko talaga matuto mag-Tagalog,” he smiled.

It’s a good start for an “imported” star-in-the-making serious about pursuing a showbiz career here.

Half-Brazilian and half-Japanese, Akihiro came with the wave of Brazilian models who have helped lit up the entertainment scene. He has appeared in a few commercials (for, among others, Greenwich, Ayala Land and Penshoppe, and soon for a spa to replace Piolo Pascual as Marian Rivera’s partner) and TV shows (TV5’s Shall We Dance?, etc.) He has just wrapped his scenes in the indie film Handumanan in which he plays a Brazilian model searching for his long-lost mother, with Chin-Chin Gutierrez and Jason Abalos as co-stars, directed by Seymour Sanchez.
After this interview, Akihiro was scheduled to meet with the executives of a TV network possibly for a regular show or, why not, a movie.

“That’s why I’m learning to speak Tagalog,” he repeated. “I like it here because the people are like Brazilians. They are warm and friendly.”

His mother is Brazilian-Italian and his father is pure Japanese. He and his four siblings grew up in Brazil where he finished a course in Physical Therapy while working at his father’s seafood restaurant.

Akihiro came to the Philippines last year for a month-long vacation — and decided to stay.
“I started working as a model in Brazil,” said Akihiro, speaking in English with a Japanese accent. “And then I stayed in Bangkok for three years while I traveled around Asia (Hong Kong, Singapore, etc.) working as a model.”

He’s 24 (a Virgo, born on Sept. 12, 1984). He stands 6-foot flat, weighs 175 lbs., and wears large-size shirts, size-34 briefs and 11-inch shoes.

Are you vain like most good-looking guys?
“As a model, I always look at the mirror to make sure that I look good. Is that being vain?”

How do you take care of your body?
“I like to work out a lot. I go to the gym and do boxing, jujitsu and cardio exercises. I also play football; I play every Sunday at the Colegio de San Agustin. Also, basketball and surfing. In Brazil, our house is near the beach, so I surf a lot.”

What part of your body do you think needs some improvement?
“My chest.”

What part is most vulnerable?
“My stomach. I eat too much vegetables and salads, and too much chocolates, so sometimes I get a stomach ache.”

And what part is your favorite?
“My smile. Is it part of the body? Yes, my face where my smile is. They say that I have a happy smile...that I’m always smiling.”

Can you win a girl’s heart just by smiling at her?
“Yes, I can.”

What part of a girl’s body do you look at first?
“The eyes.”

What part of a girl’s body do you like most?
“The boobs. Just kidding. Hehehehe! I like girls who are serious with what they are doing.”

And what kind of girls don’t you like?
“Those who wear too much make-up and who talk too much.”

How do you cope with stress?
“Usually, I go to a spa and get a full-body massage. Or I work out at the gym. Or I listen to music.”

What kind of music do you listen to?
“The songs of Coldplay, Bob Marley and U2. I also read books.”

What kind of books do you read?
“The Alchemist and other books by Paulo Coelho, a popular Brazilian writer.”

You’ve been to a lot of places. What’s your favorite city?
“One place that I like very much is Hong Kong. But I don’t want to stay there, just for vacation. I stay for three days and come back to Manila. I also love Bangkok; I can stay there longer.”

Favorite hideaway?
“The beach where I can go surfing, like Baler in Quezon which is perfect for surfing. I want to go to Siargao which is very famous in Brazil because a world surfing competition is held there.”

How’s your diet?
“I eat three or four times a day. I eat one kind of food only once in a day. If I eat chocolate in the morning, I don’t eat it in the afternoon or in the evening. Same with other food. Every week, I change my diet. For dinner, I take only salads.”

Favorite food?
“Mexican food; spicy food. I love Bicol Express; it’s so good! Hot and spicy.”

Snacks?
“French Fries. Peanuts.”

How much water do you take per day?
“Three liters.”

Vitamins?
“Vitamin C and Ginseng.”

How much sleep do you get per night?
“A minimum of six hours.”

Favorite sleepwear?
“Underwear, nothing more. I sleep alone.”

Never in the nude?
“Only when I am with a girl. Hahahaha!”

Do you snore?
“Sometimes.”

Do you talk in your sleep?
“I do.”

Do you sleepwalk?
“Yes. One time, I walked in my sleep and I broke my leg.”

What’s the last thing that you do before you go to sleep?
“I pray. I’m a good Catholic. I ask God to give me strength to help others.”

And the first thing that you do when you wake up?
“I listen to music.”

How’s your nightlife?
“I don’t like going to parties. I’d rather go to a bar, drink a little and go home.”

Your love life?
“I broke up with my girlfriend three months ago. She’s Brazilian.”

And your sex life?
“I avoid it because I’m studying. Otherwise, I wake up late and cannot concentrate on my studies.”

What’s your favorite fantasy?
“Doing it with three girls at the same time. Hahahaha!”

Name three girls you think have nice bodies.
“Angelina Jolie. Mariah Carey. Jennifer Lopez.”

And three men...
“Marc Nelson. Keanu Reeves. Robert Pattinson.”

Using only body language, how would you make a girl know that you admire her?
“I just keep on looking at her straight in the eyes.”

Akihiro Sato Rising

Akihiro Sato rising
By Alwin M. Ignacio, Contributor
06/20/2009

Even with sweat pouring from his temples and beading his face, Akihiro Sato looks like a tall, cool drink of water on a hot day. Clad in a navy blue suit that enhances his half-Brazilian, half-Japanese male supermodel features, he manfully handles the intense attention directed his way, giving hearty chuckles and candidly sharing his thoughts.

From his black, somewhat wavy hair, bushy eyebrows, smiling eyes, full lips and pearly whites, Akihiro Sato looks very much like a Filipino mestizo. Only 23 years old, he is currently the toast of Manila’s fashion and advertising industry, and it looks like he is inching his way into show business, having just wrapped up an independent movie with Chin-chin Gutierrez.

Sato sat with the media together with chanteuse Karylle Tatlonghari to talk about endorsing the Blue Water Day Spa. As a model he says he needs to take care of his look and well-being. The spa offers therapeutic massages, revitalizing body scrubs and facials, plus the latest natural face and body treatments.

Aki (Sato’s nickname) personally recommends the hilot, the Filipino traditional massage that relieves body pain and restore body movements, as well as the Brazilian Crystal massage, which uses crystals from his home country and is known to absorb negative energies.

Although he is considered by fashion watchers as the leader of the Brazilian Wave that presently lords over the Philippine catwalks and magazines, Aki begs to differ. “I am not sure if I am the leader of the Brazilian Wave. I am supposed to live in Thailand (sic). I just came here to get a vacation with the hope to get work (sic). When I started to work here, nagustuhan ko na sa Pilipinas, sobra!”

He adds, “I am really happy to be here in Manila. You guys are so friendly. You guys really like me. A lot of people say that I look like Filipino (sic), and with that fact, I want to stay here for good.”

His sudden rise to fame has made him feel a bit imbalanced, but Aki is keeping it real. “All the attention I am getting now, I am just starting to be familiar about it. It’s all new for me. I will have to say that it’s not easy for me. But I try my best,” he admits.

He is also trying to learn the language. He took Filipino classes at the UP Diliman for two months, but because of his busy schedule, he has been taking private tutorial sessions instead, which normally last for two to four hours. “The progress, well, I think is okay. Pero, kaunti pa lang ang naintindihan ko,” he chuckles. “Gusto ko nandito sa Philippines kahit mahirap ang Tagalog for me pero I want to learn it well. Saka kaya gusto ko dito kasi masaya lagi ang mga tao.”

He shares, “Right now, I’m studying a lot. I want to prepare myself. It takes time, of course. Here you all of you guys, speak a lot of English and that’s fine. I want to learn Tagalog. It is my dream to learn to speak the language very well and then, maybe, become an actor here.”
He had his first taste of acting via an independent film, Handumanan, shot in Dumaguete. Sato is very pleased with his film foray. “I am very happy about Handumanan,” he declares. “It’s a drama about remembrances. I am the leading man of Chin-chin. It was amazing! I play here the role of a Brazilian model that lived in America then I come to Dumaguete to look for my mom. And as I look for my mother, I get to meet Chin-Chin’s character. I almost fall in love with her in the movie though I am younger than her. Her role is that of a famous writer.”

Akihiro reveals, “Crying in front of the camera is a big challenge for me, mahirap gawin. Mabuti na lang lahat sila mabait sa akin. I thank them, the cast and the crew, and the people of Dumaguete, for their patience and understanding.”

Is he comfortable being a hunk? “It feels great. Sometimes, of course, shy (sic). I just want to work. I don’t even think of me being famous. I just want to be a good actor and model,” he answers. “I like to do more work on TV, especially commercials because you are given the chance to act and that’s exciting to do. Right now, my top priority is learning the language. Magbasa, kaya ko na, kaunti pero mahirap pa rin for me. The moment I master the language, maybe by the end of the year, I will try again acting for TV or another film. I’d like to do more dramas and romantic comedies.”

Despite his Japanese lineage, it comes as a surprise that Sato does not know how to speak Nippongo. He speaks fluent Portuguese, a little Spanish and his cutesy broken English.
He regularly goes to the gym and enjoys watching movies with friends. His favorite Filipino dishes are tapa and adobo. Some of the actresses he finds pretty are Rhian Ramos and Karylle, who is his co-image model for the Blue Water Day Spa.

Blue Water Day Spa locations are at Greenhills Platinum 1000 #16 Annapolis St., Greenhills, San Juan, (723-4932/723-5534); head office unit 1502 Atlanta Center, Annapolis St., Greenhills, San Juan, (554-0205/584-0061); and Makati G/F Tropical Palmas Condiminuim, 103 Dela Rosa St. cor. Perea St., Legaspi Village, Makati (817-3126/817-5455).

Dare Duo: Underwater Hockey

Aki's Story

Aki Penshoppe Videos

He’s as Pinoy as ‘adobo’

He’s as Pinoy as ‘adobo’
By Bayani San Diego Jr.Philippine Daily InquirerFirst Posted 00:03:00 06/09/2009Filed

MANILA, Philippines—The way Japanese-Brazilian model Akihiro Sato put it, he’s as Pinoy as adobo.

“I look more Filipino than Japanese or Brazilian,” he said of his affinity to the Philippines, adding that he felt instantly at home here.

“I was supposed to live in Thailand, but after spending my vacation here, I decided to stay,” he recalled.

Although he doesn’t speak Japanese (he’s fluent in Portuguese and speaks a little Spanish), he’s taking Filipino lessons with a teacher from UP Diliman.

“My tutor comes to my home. I’ve been studying for two months — two hours, every day. Minsan (sometimes), I have work and I can’t… But I try to study at least four hours a week.”
He’s trying his best to learn the language and attempted to answer in Tagalog in this interview held at his launch as the new image model of Blue Water Day Spa with singer-actress Karylle.
Asked how much he’s enjoying his stay, he quipped: “Sobra. Maraming kaibigan dito. Magaganda mga babae dito. (Yes. A lot. I have lots of friends here. Filipino women are beautiful.)”

So does he have a girlfriend now?

“Wala. Kailangan kong magtrabaho. (None. I need to work.)”

And his favorite Filipino food?
“Tapa. Adobo.”

He admitted that he’s struggling with the language.

Still, it didn’t prevent him from doing an indie movie, Seymour Barros Sanchez’s “Handumanan (Remembrance),” co-starring Chin Chin Gutierrez and Jason Abalos.

“From the start, I apologized to my director, because of the language problem, but Seymour was patient with me,” Sato said. “He gave me a good opportunity. I’ve always wanted to act in a movie.”

For his film debut, he plays a Filipino-Brazilian-American model who’s searching for his mother and his roots in Dumaguete. Along the way, he meets and falls for a Filipina romance novelist (Gutierrez).

“Chin Chin is amazing. It’s almost as if I fell in love with her. She’s a good actress. Very professional. She gave me lots of tips about acting and camera angles,” he related.
Gutierrez returned the compliment: “He is truly gifted and giving… He was able to work with any situation, any scene, any challenge on the set and still effortlessly create ‘magic’ even at 4 a.m. Even after having worked from dawn the day before, he’d still remember to find a present to bring home to his parents!”

He admitted that the role isn’t much of a stretch for him because he’s playing an international model, but it still proved emotionally draining.

Biggest challenge, he said, was “crying.”

Speaking of drama, he offered his sympathy to the female Brazilian models who were caught in the Hayden Kho sex video scandal.

“I don’t personally know anyone who was part of that, but I’m so sorry for them,” he said. “It’s really bad. Not just for the models, but for everyone. It’s not good for the country, either.”
Suffice it to say, he’s certain that he has no sex videos out there.

“No way! Hopefully, the scandal would teach people to take care of themselves and protect themselves from exploitation. Ninety percent of our lives are public. We only have very little left for our private selves.”

Case in point: There are at least three fan sites on the Net dedicated to Sato, which chronicle every facet of his life — including his tattoos (he has five: on his nape, left torso, right pelvis, right ankle, left foot).

So much for privacy.

E-mail: bayanisandiego@hotmail.com