The face of Ralph Lauren on happiness and polo
The 'David Beckham of polo' talks to Friday about his love for the sport and his grooming regime
Some guys have all the luck. Not only is Ignacio ‘Nacho’ Figueras blessed with sporting talent that’s seen him playing professional polo across the world since the age of 17, he also boasts the sort of rugged good looks that have made him the face of Ralph Lauren and got him voted the world’s second most handsome man in 2009 by Vanity Fair (he was pipped to the post by Robert Pattinson – so perhaps he hasn’t quite got all the luck). It’s an accolade Nacho takes with a pinch of salt.
“Those things are subjective. It doesn’t mean anything to me because I’m married [to former model Delfina Blaquier], have three children and the fourth is on the way. My life hasn’t changed except that I use the recognition to promote the sport I love and horses.”
Born in 1977 in Buenos Aires, Nacho’s life story reads like the premise for a heartwarming American movie. Raised on an Argentinian farm, he grew up riding horses, and would hit a ball about with his friends for fun on weekends. One of these childhood friends was Lucas Monteverde, who had serious polo aspirations (he’s now known as one of the game’s finest defensive players), and with his friends’ and family’s encouragement, Nacho stumbled into the big leagues – “I guess their enthusiasm rubbed off on me,” he says.
His natural sporting talent saw him moving to New York to play for the White Birch polo team, and then a chance meeting in 2000 with Calvin Klein’s wife, Kelly, at a Hamptons party set him on the path to a modelling career. A few good contacts and successful campaigns later and Nacho has become the very embodiment of the Ralph Lauren brand – athletic and stylish, he also cuts a dashing figure on the polo horse, resembling the designer label’s values all the way down to its iconic logo.
Yet with all that luck, wealth and glamour behind him, Nacho’s still a simple country boy at heart. Where male models are known for their painstaking grooming regimes, he’s just all about the horses. “I shave only when I have to. Otherwise I’m an athlete first and don’t care much about grooming – unless you’re referring to horses. I only care about my family, my horses and my team,” he says. Keeping fit is only about the animals too. “I ride at least two hours a day to improve my technique, but more importantly, I ride so I can keep my relationship with the horse tight. As a rider I have to know how the horse is feeling, and if it is fit enough for the game.”
This attitude has kept him grounded in fields that have a reputation for big egos. Quite apart from the modelling industry, the world of polo – dubbed ‘the sport of kings’ – is known for its blue-bloods and billionaires – something Nacho acknowledges, but says is a distorted image. “Polo can be expensive and logistically challenging because you need a horse and a reasonably large place to play. But in Argentina there are lots of horses and playing grounds, so it’s easy for kids to get together and play the game for fun.
“Like horse racing, polo can take different shapes – it can be a simple game played between friends for fun or it can be accompanied by the glitz and glamour of expensive hats and suits and end with receiving a trophy from the Queen. For me the thrill is what happens on the playing field, all the other things are secondary.”
Nacho also keeps himself grounded by using his public profile to help others. “Sport is my platform to raise funds for good causes.” One such cause is a charity in Philadelphia called Work to Ride, a programme aimed at underprivileged African-American children that rewards those who get good grades with polo lessons. Launched in 1999, the Work to Ride team won the National Interscholastic Polo Championship in 2011. “It was the first African-American team ever to win. The programme helps to keep the kids occupied and out of trouble and gives them an opportunity to make a living.”
On top of this, Nacho hosts a charity polo match in New York every year, in which his team plays against the side captained by the UK’s Prince Harry to raise money for orphans in Lesotho. He also works with the Robin Hood Foundation, which fights poverty in New York, is raising funds for Autism Speak at a gala in California this year, and at the end of 2012 he was in the UAE to play in the Pink Polo competition in Abu Dhabi, raising money for breast cancer research. It’s all work that he finds extremely satisfying: “Charity work is important and I’ve been lucky enough to get an opportunity to give back to society.”
But for Nacho, the luckiest thing of all is having the time to spend with his family and his horses. “Being with my family, passing on my values and the love of horses to my children is what’s important to me,” he says. “Horses teach us to be responsible and down to earth.”
