ryan, glorious ryan wants to shine

July 16, 2014

there's a new boy in the band. young, fresh, fabulously gorgeous and the current title holder of mr. olive-c, a sort of nationwide and campus-wide search for the young man and woman that will represent the product. nice, well-mannered, gentle, always smiling, ryan paul artienda has a very bright future in the entertainment industry if he plays his cards right.

ryan recently joined men of manila -- the newest boy band to rock the country -- to replace one member who decided it was not in his destiny to be a total entertainer. his loss, ryan's gain. what can we say? luck indeed smiles to those who are humble, and ryan, even at first meeting, emanates the humility that is so lacking in today's generation, especially those who think, rightfully or wrongly, that they're blessed with good looks. ugh!

but seventeen year-old ryan, born september twenty seven nineteen ninety six, is still ambivalent about fame. while he says he wants to be in the entertainment business, he is afraid that becoming famous might cause him to lose his privacy. or worse, fame might wreck havoc on the quiet lives of his family and the love of his life, a classmate at the university of the east where he is currently enrolled as a junior tourism student.

"i don't want to become famous," ryan says honestly, one scorching afternoon at the apartment somewhere in quezon city where the boy band is practicing its latest song, a cover of the police's every breath you take. "i cherish my privacy so much. i just want a little exposure as a model, and maybe as a singer. but not like a big movie star. that will be very, very scary"

we can totally relate to his concerns. after all, we were all famous once!

just like his band mates, ryan also juggles his studies, commitments to the olive-c as its ambassador, and practices, photo shoots, and video shoots for men of manila. in fact, just days after becoming an official men of manila member, ryan was plunged into a fashion shoot with the rest of the band for a major newspaper just last sunday, and then the shoot of the group's latest music video the next day.

ryan was spotted by a talent manager when was he was just fifteen. the manager asked if the five feet and ten inches young man was interested to become a model. but he was not that keen at that time since he was in his last year in high school and he wanted to concentrate on his studies, as well as to enjoy his last days as a care-free young man with his friends.

too, his parents felt that at fifteen, he was too young to be part of the very cruel world of modeling, where rejections are part of a daily life, and where predators looking for innocent preys lurk at every corner, regardless if it is dark or bright, crowded or isolated. monsters, you know, don't choose where to devour their victims.

but a few years after, when he was already in college at one of the country's top universities, ryan decided to give modeling a try. he was a hit. he joined various fashion shows, and even won the coveted mr. olive-c title, which made him a hundred thousand peso richer, with prizes in kind to boot, as well as a modeling contract.

he has since been to different parts of the country to help promote the brand and to attend its various events and activities.

quite adventurous, ryan has other dreams outside of the entertainment and modeling universe. he wants to become a flight attendant and to travel the world. his dream destinations include london, athens and other exotic places in greece, singapore and hong kong.

as for songs, he prefers ballads and, typical of his age, love songs. he likes listening and occasionally singing along to one direction (that's why he likes being in the boy band), as well as the songs of boyce avenue. his favourite song at the moment? you guess it right, boyce avenue's you and me, a cover of the light house's hit song.

oh well. what can we say except, the time has indeed come for ryan to shine!

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more ryan if you please...