NO DOUBT, SURVIVOR Philippines Marvin Kiefer (Fil-Swiss, 17 years old) good looks alone is enough to move his fans to the highest level. The boy-next door that a girl would like to bring home for dinner. Hindi man siya pinalad manalo, GMA Artist Center offered him 3 years contract, with brother Rafael Kiefer (international model and the owner of Phoenix Talent Management) as his co-manager. Agad napasama si Marvin sa top-rating sitcom na Show Me Da Manny bilang regular mainstays kasama sina Marian Rivera at Manny Pacquiao.
Nagtapos ng high school si Marvin sa Xavier University Ateneo De Cagayan (Cagayan de Oro). “Hindi na ako nag-college dahil nagpunta na ako rito sa Manila. Four kami in the family na puro lalaki, ‘yung isang brother ko, nasa Switzerland nagtratrabaho at ‘yung youngest namin, 9 years old.
Describe your personal style? “Very casual. Off-cam, I’d rather be wearing blue jeans, very casual clothes on-cam. I like having that certain sense of fashion because what you wear reflects your personality.”
Like his brother Rafael, mahilig din sa sports si Marvin. “I wake-up at 6 a.m., mountain bike ako, then tennis. After that, relax sa city center (Cagayan de Oro), lunch time. Afternoon, football game for two hours, sa gabi skateboard. Dito hindi ako gaanong active kasi mahirap, lahat may bayad. I’m still skateboarding, nag-shift ako sa skateboarding to longboarding sport. If I go to the beach, skimboarding… surfing, I’m trying palang bago palang ako sa surfing. Pinoy rafting, every week ginagawa ko, hindi ‘yung malaking salbabida. Kapag may tumatawag na kaibigan na mag-basketball or something like that, kapag maglalaro mostly out of town kung lumalabas ako for sport. Main sport ko ngayon mixed- martial arts. We part-own mixed-martial arts gym in Sta. Mesa so, nagti-train kami ng fighter.
“This year lang kami nag-start, medyo bago palang kami, pero mayroon na kaming veteran fighter na lumaban sa URCC na tini-train namin uli. I grow up in sports all my life, varsity sports, kung wala akong ginagawa, nagma-mountainbike so, it’s part of my life. Na-in love ako sa mixed-martial arts kasi it’s interesting and it’s a new sport basically in the world. Parang evolving pa rin siya hanggang ngayon, kasi lahat ng martial arts, na-mix, ‘di ba? So, it’s evolving and nanonood ka ng UFC, you watch UFC, parang every year, every few months, palaging may bagong style so interesting as a sport,” kuwento niya.
Bukod sa pagiging sports-minded ni Marvin, may talent din siya sa pagsasayaw. “I used to breakdance nu’ng time na nasa high school ako. Kasali ako sa dance group sa breakdancing sa Cagayan de Oro. Idol ko si Gab Valenciano, ang linis-linis niyang magsayaw. Ang galing niya sobra sa details. I’m not aiming to beat him, I mean to be like him, you know. Gusto ko rin si Billy Crawford, hiphop pero more on Gab. Mark Herras, magaling din siyang magsayaw.”
Siyempre, pinilit naming inalam kung sinu-sino ang crush ni Marvin sa showbiz? “Gusto ko ang beauty ni Rhian Ramos but I do like Empress Schuck. Iba ‘yung ganda niya, hindi nakakasawang pagmasdan. Sweet and charming parang ang sarap kausap. I wish makilala ko siya in the near future.”
Given a chance, pangarap ni Marvin maging action star someday. “Yeah, like Robin Padilla, idol ko siya. Pinapanood ko ang mga movies niya. One time sa acting workshop sabi nila, mag-act raw akong Robin Padilla na nagawa ko naman. Right now, kailangan subukin natin ang drama and comedy para mahasa tayo. To be an action star, alam naman natin sa movie industry i-try natin ang lahat. Actually idol ko si Robin Padilla.I’m still young pa naman, marami pa akong dapat matutuhan. Kailangan focus sa career at ini-enjoy mo ‘yung ginagawa mo,” pahayag ng binata.
Bago napasok sa Survivor si Marvin, naging ramp at print ad model na ito. Ngayon nga, signature model na siya ng Bum T-shirts. “Actually, that’s where I started nang pumunta ako ng Manila. Nandu’n ako sa Cagayan and they called me kung gusto kong maging model so, I try it out. Nagpunta ako rito para maging model. Right before ng pumasok ako sa Survivor, nakapasok ako sa Professional Model Association of the Philippines. Para siyang runaway modelling sa fashion, ‘yun na ‘yung elite na group of runway. Tapos, natanggal ako agad, hindi na raw ako model, artista na raw ako dahil nakapasok ako sa Survivor Philippines,” sabi pa niya.
AYAW Paawat!
by Eddie Littlefield
