Underwear models,up close and personal

Wondering if underwear models really wear what they endorse, I bravely asked one of Penshoppe’s icons, Victor Basa, if he certainly uses one. He promptly answered, “Yes, yes . . . here” and, flashing the label of his underwear, aptly showed me that he is in fact, using the brand. Flushed, I shyly said, “no it’s alright, you don’t have to show me, just answer my question.”

Strutting onstage wearing nothing but bikini briefs and oil, Basa it isn’t hard to do at all, especially with so many other studs sharing the tight spot on the limelight, fellow models who have grown to be his friends.

“I highly regard the concept and layout of the advertisement, for this reason I was able to pose even with only brief on,” he says. The 23-year-old Basa admits that he was conscious prior to the shoot, a bit stiff, but was able pull it through with the help of her co-models. He admits that he’s a “brief guy” from Mondays to Saturdays and wears boxers on Sundays when he has nothing to do but rest at home.

Half-Japanese, half-Brazilian Akihiro Sato is the latest ambassador of Penshoppe. Making waves in the country, Sato was able to penetrate the scene with both TV and print ads in his first four months in the country—undeniably the turning point of his life.

“I’m proud and happy to be in the Philippines and tends to be here forever,” Sato enthusiastically shares, adding, “I’m learning the Filipino language at this moment and hopes to become a movie star in the Philippines.”

Revealing that he is extremely shy, Sato at 22 recently walked on the ramp as one of hottest guys for Cosmopolitan’s Bachelor Bash 2008, which allowed him to conquer the consciousness and awkwardness he felt when sauntering in nothing but underwear. He disclosed that he was paid in Euros for the Penshoppe project.

Now on his fourth year in the modeling industry, Sato was first discovered in Brazil by the seashore where he lives. He started at an early age of 16 and jumped into professional modeling when he was 18.

Aside from his well-structured body, he displays three Japanese tattoos engraved in his ribcage that reveal details in his life– love, sun and woman are the ideas that he can’t live without.

He girds for his stints at the runway by preparing his mind and body. Thrice weekly trips to the gym are a must. A special diet that includes vegetables, fruit, soymilk and intake of protein supplement is what he does to keep his body fit.

More than just baring all, underwear models reveal a discipline and fortitude that make the stand tall and proud.