Velocity
Phoemela Baranda is all revved up to rekindle first love
Phoemela Baranda is all revved up to rekindle first love
Phoemela Baranda is a famous model, TV host and actress. Only a few know, though, that beyond the beautiful face and bod is an adventurous woman who loves fast cars. She, in fact, loves to race.
It started when she learned to drive at 14.
“I’m a little bit tomboyish to begin with,” she said. “Growing up with guy cousins, I sort of got into what they were into. It so happens they love cars so, it started from there.”
Phoemela bought her first car at 17. Back then she would often sneak out and join drag races.
“It was a passion. Natigil lang siya when I entered showbiz and got so busy. Pero all these time I was wishing talaga to find time for it again.”
Here now
Phoemela readily said yes when invited to join History Channel’s “Celebrity Car Wars” as contestant.
“It’s once in a lifetime experience for me, and I’m very very very happy that I got the opportunity,” she said. “It’s something I really wanted. This is also my first international show and I’m really happy because I think ‘Celebrity Car Wars’ is such a good platform.” Phoemela hopes that through “Celebrity Car Wars,” she will be able to show fans “something different.” “Dito makikita nila talaga ’yung driving skills ko as well as my true character,” she said. “Parang reality show din kasi ito eh.”
More competitive
On the show, Phoemela is competing with Malaysian actor and comedian Harith Iskander; Hong Kong – based model and TV personality Dominic Lau; Thai actor, model and singer Ratchanont Guy Suprakob; Thai actress Aerin Yuktadatta; and “Storage Wars” star Jarrod Schulz. “I must say the celebrity contestants this season are more competitive,” Phoemela said. But it’s not as if there’s bad blood among them. Phoemela related having hung out with all the contestants and that, “they’re all fun.”
The whole season is shot around the Philippines including places like Tarlac, Pampanga and Subic.
Phoemela admitted there is pressure on her part given that the Philippines, through representative host-model-actor KC Montero, won the competition last season.
“Walang home court advantage dito,” Phoemela said. “We don’t know naman exactly what the challenges are eh.”
Other Filipino contestants who joined last year, Gabrielle “Gaby” dela Merced and Michele Bumgarner, have returned this season as mentors.
“I like it that Gaby is back as mentor because I know her personally, I could talk to her and ask her questions with ease,” said Phoemela. She prepared for the competition. “I knew its gonna be physically taxing so I just prepared physically, work out. But driving I didn’t practice na because I don’t know naman exactly what we are going to do,” she said.
The show is not all about the need for speed.
“The message here actually is for people to face their fears and be more adventurous,” Phoemela noted. “And I agree because this (show) helped me push myself to the limit.”
Season 2 of “Celebrity Car Wars” currently airs on History Channel.