Saturday March 7, 2009
By MARK LEAN
Patrick Ribbsaeter is something of an anomaly. The Bangkok-based model is an expert at tossing cheeky grins as well as affecting moody gazes.
It’s obvious the guy knows how to work a look.
With an impressive portfolio that includes assignments with the likes of Giorgio Armani, Calvin Klein and Gucci in Europe, and nearly nine years of experience in the business, Ribbsaeter, 28, has seen the ups and downs of the industry.
Patrick Ribbsaeter works the moody look with panache. “The fashion business teaches you so many different, and big lessons – all the time. You learn from people, travelling, languages, religions, and food. You learn how to look after yourself and how to live for a period of time in many countries, working and making money as a part of those societies.
“I’ve been able to do diverse modelling work because of my versatility. Most of the work has to do with the personality these brands are looking for.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re Asian, African or European – you need to project the personality these brands are trying to project.
“The best things about modelling are the people I get to meet, the parties I get to attend, the food, and the freedom of being able to travel,” says the 185cm tall hunk.
So I ask the inevitable question: Are male models as competitive and back-stabbing as their female counterparts?
“Male models don’t really bitch. They are all quite cool and they keep it together. They take the business with more ease,” Ribbsaeter laughs.
“Anyway, it’s always good having some people talk behind your back. It means you have something they don’t, and that makes you an interesting subject for others. But bitching never gets you to the top; only hard work will!”
Ribbsaeter and I are at the pool area of Bangkok’s uber-funky Dream Hotel for an event organised by his events company.
The deck area looks very much like the scene for a photo shoot. It also overlooks the impressive cityscape. The sun is shining, a DJ specially flown in for the occasion is spinning, and the laidback hipsters are out to have fun.
I have no idea how the topic of elephants arises. Perhaps it is because I mentioned how baby elephants were being exploited as tourist fodder right in the middle of Bangkok, on the streets of Silom.
As it turns out, elephant conservation is a subject close to Ribbsaeter’s heart.
“Elephants are not supposed to be on the streets of Bangkok or any street in the world,” he says with startling conviction.
This is not exactly typical pool party conversation. But he’s not exactly your typical model, either.
In 2007, the supermodel appeared in a series of statement-making print advertisements for Peta (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) Asia-Pacific highlighting the cruelty shown to elephants.
Arresting images of the model clad only in chains certainly made the Thai public take notice.
The tagline “Wild Animals Do Not Belong in Chains: Stop Thai Elephant Cruelty” drove the point home.
“It was actually my Filipina ex-wife Avi Siwa (a Filipina model and actress), who got me involved in the project. We got approached by her contacts in the Philippines on behalf of Peta. I think they had done some research about me and her, because during that time when we were approached, we were working in Thailand,” Ribbsaeter explains.
“Maybe they knew I was half-Thai and the campaign would have a better impact. So a year after the first campaign for Peta, I followed up with another campaign – The animal’s plight must end now.”
According to the Peta website, baby elephants are separated from their mothers, physically abused, and often gorged with nails. This is done as part of a training process to tame them.
Elephants in zoos don’t exactly have a rosy life, either. Kept in chains and beaten with bull hooks, the animals often suffer horrific physical and emotional ailments, and die prematurely.
Most recently, Ribbsaeter and 12 other model friends collaborated with Peta in a new campaign.
“I felt great because I had the chance to help especially since the cause was something I fully believed in and wanted to support,” he says.
Born to a Thai mother and a Swedish father, Ribbsaeter discovered modelling while growing up in Sweden.
At the age of 19, Ribbsaeter entered the Mr Sweden contest where he made it to the final round.
“In hindsight, I was probably too young to win the contest anyway,” he recalls.
In 2001, Ribbsaeter moved to Spain, where he met an agent Francina Dass who got him the modelling gigs. After working in Europe for Giorgio Armani, Gucci and Louis Vuitton, among others, he moved to Mumbai where he established his own modelling agency. But things didn’t work out and he moved back to Bangkok.
“The interest in fashion runs in my family. My father used to be a famous model, my older sister did some modelling, as did my mother.
“I’m the only member of my family who has been pursuing it as a profession,” says Ribbsaeter.
He doesn’t model all that much anymore.
These days, he is kept busy by his company, Universal Player, which does events, restaurant consultations and brand management.
“Working with many big brands from all over the world has given me a good insight into how these companies promote and put their brands forward in very competitive markets,” he says.
With that in mind, the business-minded young man recently launched a new product: Universal Player Orange Juice.
“It all started with my girlfriend, who is the most amazingly supportive person in my life. We decided to expand our business as she wasn’t doing that much at the time. She started the business, and I came in with my brand and ideas on how we could take orange juice to the next level,” he explains.
“The business is doing very well.
“We have 20 wagons selling orange juice around Bangkok. We just closed a deal with a big company, the equivalent of 7-Eleven here. This company has 200 outlets in Bangkok. So our objective now is to have our presence in 200 to 500 shops by the end of 2009,” he declares.
It been a productive year so far for Ribbsaeter, who last month celebrated the birth of a baby boy named “Universe”, no doubt a reference to his company.
“It’s definitely something new and challenging in my life. I’m so thrilled to be a father,” he says proudly.
Enterprising and engaging – Patrick Ribbsaeter is all that, and more.
o To know more about the plight of Thai elephants, visit www.getactive.peta.org and www.helpthaielephants.com
This article was taken from: The Star Online: Lifestyle: Focus 7 March 2009
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