Bedroom talk with Matteo Guidicelli

Matteo Guidicelli is a busybody. The 28-year-old half-Italian is an actor, singer, triathlete, endorser and restaurateur. Currently appearing as Lakam on the ABS-CBN series “Bagani,” Matteo has been busier of late.

Adding to the Cebuano’s plate is his recent selection as the first ever celebrity endorser of 50-year-old foam brand Uratex. Prior to his grand introduction as endorser at SM City Cebu last July 22, Matteo – who will be headlining Uratex’s “The One” campaign – sat down with press from all over the country at his family-owned Italian restaurant Trattoria da Gianni at Crossroads, Banilad to talk about his sleeping habits and bedroom rituals.

Are you a big sleeper?

Yes I am. Sleep is very important for me. As an artista and athlete, recovery is very important.

Are you the type who has to get full eight hours?

I try. Usually it’s six to eight. Ideally, you have to get eight hours of sleep. But for me, six to eight hours is my window.

What’s the best dream you’ve ever had?

I’ll be honest, when I signed with Uratex, they gave me a special mattress. It has memory foam. When they delivered it, I didn’t want to go to work. Grabe, iba. It’s amazing. It absorbs you and gives you a different experience. I recommend it to everyone. All my beds are Uratex: my taping bed, home bed, car bed. I have a two-inch mattress in my car that I use when I’m taping. At home, when I have guests over, I have a four-inch foldable bed. And they’re affordable, the one in my car is about P2,000 and the four-inch is less than P5,000.

Uratex's campaign is called “The One.” Have you found the one?

Yeah I found the one. Aside from Uratex? I can confidently say that I have found the one also.

What’s on your bedside?

A lot of pillows. Believe it or not, on my bedside table I have a statue of Mama Mary and a cross. When people come to the house, they don’t expect it. Books? Not on my bedside. I have saints given by my grandma.

What do you wear in bed?

Shorts and a t-shirt.

Any sleeping habits? Are you a night owl?

When I’m in artista mode, yes. We’re taping for “Bagani” now and I would get home at three, four in the morning. So no choice. We tape in Bulacan and my house is in Alabang; it’s a one to two hour drive. We pack up at 2 a.m. I sleep in my Uratex bed in the car. I get home at three, and I sleep on my bed in the house. When I don’t have shows, usually I go to bed at 10, 11 in the evening. I wake up at six in the morning. But with teleserye, everything changes.

Any rituals before you sleep?

The AC, the room has to be cold. The pillows must be all organized because when I wake up wala na koy unlan. It’s all on the floor.

When you have a triathlon event, do you have a specific routine to prepare?

Yes. Sleep is very important. You have to develop a pattern because when the triathlon day comes you have to be up at 3:34 in the morning. Weeks before that, you have to practice proper sleeping. Halimbawa you have to be in bed at 10 in the evening to have enough energy to wake up at four. Let’s say I'm taping now, and I have a triathlon in a few days, I’ll just end up puyat.

How do you manage lack of sleep?

You don’t get your sleep back easily. Halimbawa, whole week you’re puyat and you say na I’ll make bawi on the weekend, I'll sleep the whole day. You don’t bawi like that. You need to be consistent and have a proper sleeping pattern. You have to practice getting six to eight hours of sleep for more than a week. That’s how you make bawi. You can’t bawi that in one day. I just have to have no schedule at night.

How do you avoid sleeping late?

Exercise. I have a lot of friends who sleep late and I advise them to have at least 30 minutes of activity time on the treadmill, in the gym or walking around. Sometimes you have so much unused energy in the day so you can’t sleep at night. I think exercise has to be part of everybody’s lifestyle. Now that I have a teleserye, I don’t have so much time to train for swim, bike and run. So I run on the treadmill for at least 30 minutes. But my workouts aren’t long. I have to fit them in my day. A long workout is one hour.

If you could be invisible, whose bedroom would you like to enter?

Probably Mrs. Natividad Cheng (Uratex founder). She’s the queen. Who else? Jessica Alba.

If ever something bad happens to your bedroom, what would you save first?

Fireproof ba ang Uratex? What's one thing that can be saved? Of course my dogs and passport, I guess?

Describe your bedroom.

There’s my Uratex bed. I have two tanday pillows (body pillows) and on the floor, there’s a small bed for my dog Ragu. He has a little mattress with a pillow and a blanket.

Do you live alone?

I live with my family.

Any plans of moving out?

When I have the space for my other “the one.” When they told me about it, I was very happy and I was in shock because this company is such a big part of every Filipino. When they sat me down and explained how Uratex started 50 years ago, you’d really fall in love even more and you’ll get to know what they really do. The whole aim is to give Filipinos the best sleep of their lives and it happens. Not just for Filipinos everybody around the world. I’m very happy to be part of this credible company. I’m also very happy that Uratex chose to launch in Cebu. Cebu is number one. I’m very proud to represent a company that’s changed and continues to change lives as we speak.