Richard and Raymond Gutierrez: Two
much
They were born into, grew up in, and breathe a life of
controversy and glamour. They are extremely different from each other, yet so
alike. What is life like as one half of the most intriguing twins in the
country? Here are 10 things you should know about Richard and Raymond
Gutierrez.
1. Richard may be the
movie star now, but it was Raymond who was really the performer, growing up.
“Raymond loved the camera more than I did,” Richard reveals.
“Yeah, I was such a camera hog, and Chard was more snooty,” Raymond says, and
they both burst into laughter. We’re talking about Kambal Tuko, a movie they
did when they were five years old. “That was the most successful one that
people remember until now. How can you not remember twins attached to each
other?!” Mond says.
“I remember we would be so excited to go on set, kasi Tita
Susan Roces would always have a gift for us. Coloring books, toys, food, basta
every taping meron siyang baon for us. We love her,” Mond shares. “But you know
what, when we were kids it was super just playing around. The movie set was our
playground. We didn’t see it as work.”
2. Raymond may be the
party scene staple now, but it was Richard who loved the nightlife first.
“I started partying young. I was always the adventurous
kid,” Chard says. “Pakawala,” Mond butts in, and they both laugh. “I was always
looking for new adventures, curious about seeing the world, seeing different
things. And our parents trusted us. Even when we were in the States, at the age
of 14 and 15 I was already going out. Before I was 18 I was already trying to
get in and sneak into clubs. It was the crazy time of my life. It was fun. I
have no regrets. I’m glad I went through that in my life,” Chard reveals.
“Now he’s boring,” Mond teases Chard.
“Now he’s the night person,” Chard says about Mond. “I’m the
morning person. I wake up at 6:30 or 7 a.m.”
“I’m going home at that time,” Mond quips and they both
laugh.
3. Richard was all set
to compete in Florida for National Championships for martial arts, but while
vacationing in the Philippines, he ended up staying. Raymond was all set for
college in LA, but while vacationing in the Philippines, he also ended up
staying.
“Not a lot of people know that Chard competed in martial
arts in L.A.,”
Mond reveals. “Martial arts was my passion. I started competing all around California and became
State Champion a few times,” Chard shares. “I wanted to compete in the
Nationals. For you to compete you would need a certain number of medals, and I
achieved that already so I signed up. But then I went back to the Philippines for
summer break, and didn’t come back to the States.” “Nag-enjoy, may barkada,”
Mond comments.
“I’m a brown belter,” Chard says. “I’m a yellow belter,”
Mond says. They laugh.
“I was on vacation for Christmas and was only supposed to be
here for three weeks. Then my first-ever TV appearance was on MYX as a VJ,”
Mond shares. “That’s where Tita Wilma Galvante saw me and she asked if I wanted
to try out hosting. I did a variety show, then pageants, then tuluy-tuloy na
until she offered me a contract. I had already signed up for my classes in L.A. and I was calling my
best friend saying I’ll catch up when I arrive. But I ended up enjoying hosting
and told myself I’d go back to school when I’m not enjoying it anymore. Wala,
now I’m still enjoying it.”
Both Chard and Mond say that they do have plans of going
back to school someday. “I’ve always wanted to take short courses in NYC or London, but plans are
always put on hold,” Mond shares. “I want to take filmmaking in L.A., but the courses
laging hindi tama yung timing,” Chard says.
4. Richard and Raymond
are extremely protective of each other, but they also have misunderstandings
and end up not talking to each other.
“May time na hindi kami nag-usap,” Mond says. “I didn’t like
his girlfriend then, ano magagawa niya eh girlfriend niya? So
hindi talaga kami nag-usap para mas madali ang life.”
“I got into a lot of fistfights in the States because of him,”
Chard says referring to Mond. “Whenever I would get into fights, I would send
Chard,” Mond says laughing. “Siya yung marunong sa karate eh, para useful ang
training niya.” “Maraming bullies sa States,” Chard explains. “And because
we’re twins, we always get picked on. We transferred schools a lot, so every
time nasa bagong school, there would be new bullies.” Mond adds: “But because
of the early times that we defended ourselves, people respected us more so we
ended up having so many friends at the end of the school year.”
Mond is active on social media platforms, while Chard
maintains a private Instagram account. “I eat haters for breakfast,” Mond says.
“You have to be open to criticism and the hate because it’s part of it. Di ka
dapat maging sensitive, di ka dapat pumapatol. But sometimes you can’t help it,
they catch you in a bad mood and you can’t help but answer back.”
“It’s just not my thing, I think it’s high maintenance,”
Chard says of social media. “He doesn’t even ‘like’ photos,” Mond quips. “I’m
like, Chard can you like my photos, I have to force him to like my photos.”
5. Richard and Raymond
Gutierrez in numbers:
5: Number of minutes older Chard is than Mond
11: Number of movies they made together as kids
10: Age when they moved to L.A. to study. “It was my sister (Ruffa)’s
decision, she wanted us to experience what she experienced growing up, away
from the limelight, to have a normal childhood experience,” Mond shares.
5: Number of bikes Richard currently owns. “I have both road
and mountain, then one motorcycle. I used to have three. I used to have jet
skis also. I don’t hold on to them for long.”
100-plus: Approximate number of action figures in Raymond’s
collection. “I used to collect hard-to-find action figures, I would even attend
the toy conventions in the States. Marvel, X-Men. I used to be a nerd.”
6. Richard admits that
girlfriend Sarah Lahbati is a big factor in his being more “mellow” now.
“I’ve been under contract for over a decade. So I grew up
practically with a contract. I wanted to be able to live life a little better,
without living from one call time to another. I’m so happy I made that
decision,” Chard reveals.
“Yeah, definitely,” Chard says on his serious relationship
contributing to his new perspective on life. “It was also perfect timing when
Sarah and I met. We were doing a soap and we got to know each other on set.
During that time I was trying to become more mellow, more relaxed, trying to
change my ways. Then meeting her and being with her really solidified that
character of mine. Nanligaw talaga ako. Effort talaga to bring food to the set
or flowers to her house. I met her mom, and her dad when he flew in from Switzerland.
Old school ligaw talaga.”
“For me the biggest change is he used to be so private,” Mond
says about the “new” Chard. “But now, sharing photos of him and Sarah, being
more verbal about her, he’s in a happy relationship and hindi niya kailangan
itago.”
7. Raymond admits that
his name made it harder for him to get into the business.
“There are so many anak ng celebrities who are not doing
anything, who tried and failed. For me, I was the last person to come into the
limelight, having my family’s shadow hanging over me. Not only my parents and
my sister, but now even my twin brother. I actually had the hardest time to
create a name for myself,” Mond shares.
“I got so many offers to act and I really declined all of
them. My mom and I would have screaming fights because sayang the offer, the
opportunity, the money. But for me, if I don’t feel comfortable doing it, I’m
sorry, I’m not gonna do it. I stuck it out and I said I wanna become a TV host.
Through the few years that I have been hosting, thank you, Lord at medyo
napansin din naman ako,” Mond says, laughing.
Aside from hosting, Mond is also a contributing editor for
Preview and Esquire. “Dumaan talaga ako sa butas ng karayom to get the Esquire
job. I applied, I took a test, I did all the meetings. I met with Jo-Ann
Maglipon, Myrza Sison, Liza Gokongwei, Erwin Romulo, isa-isa. Question and answer
portion. I really had to prove myself, hindi siya binigay lang sa akin.
“Actually it’s harder if medyo kilala ka kasi right away
people will be like, ‘Ay, you will get him, he’s not gonna work hard naman.’ I
think it’s about knowing what you want and working hard towards a goal.”
8. Chard and Mond
would...
Spend on?
Chard: “Gadgets and machines.”
Mond: “Clothes and travel.”
Scrimp on?
Chard: “Wala, he’s magastos,” Mond quips. “Going out. I used
to spend a lot on bottles,” Chard says.
Mond: “Gifts. I used to be really generous but now that I
started investing, naiintindihan na ng friends ko na iba na ang priorities.”
Stress about?
Chard: “Delays and unprofessional people at work.”
Mond: “Everything. I just go crazy with my schedule.”
De-stress by?
Chard: “I have days I stay home and relax with Sarah or with
my family. But I also like going out of the city. I ride my motorcycle or I go
diving.”
Mond: “Travel. Or when I’m going crazy I just wanna have a
quiet night at home.”
Obsess about?
Chard: “With my projects, I get obsessed with every detail.
Sometimes I get frustrated when I know things can go smoother or be better, and
I would suggest to the director.”
Mond: “Whenever I throw events, I get obsessed with every
detail. I make sure everything is going smoothly.”
Ask advice about?
Chard: “Every major life decision, I ask my family’s
opinion. Or even the simplest things like what to wear to an event, I would ask
Mond.”
Mond: “Finance. I ask Chard and my sister about money and
investing.”
9. On their weight
issues: “It’s the bane of my existence. It’s the only life struggle I’ve had,”
Mond says. They both burst into laughter.
“I’m freaking out about this reality show,” Mond says of
their upcoming E! Special, It Takes Gutz To Be A Gutierrez. “In shows and
shoots, I know my best angles and I know how to move my body in a certain way
that I won’t look as obese as I really am,” he laughs. “But this reality show,
walang anggulo. You won’t be at your best angle all the time,” he laughs again.
“I do have weeks where I don’t get to work out as much because I’m busy, and I
do have weeks where every day I’m in the gym. My weight does fluctuate.”
“When I was traveling for months, I really didn’t care,”
Chard reveals. I wanted to enjoy the food and the drinks, I was really enjoying
life and gaining weight comes with it. But I know myself, when I put my mind to
it, I can do it. Working out for me is the fun and exciting part, it’s the
eating right and healthy that is the most difficult. Everywhere I go, ‘Chard,
tumaba ka.’ Is it really that bad? I was in denial. When I lost weight, it was
gratifying. But people said, ‘o, nagpa-lipo.’ It’s just strange for me.”
“My life would be so much better if I didn’t have weight
issues. But I guess life is fair, so di pwede. So, taba is my struggle,” Mond
says and they both laugh. “I just have to work a little bit harder.”
10. On how much of
their private life they really owe the public:
“You don’t have to divulge everything. You want to keep some
things to yourself and you don’t want to overshare,” Mond says.
“When you become more comfortable in your own skin, you
become less apologetic of who you are,” Mond says of his realization when they
turned 30. “For me, in this reality show, I’m gonna be myself. I’m gonna be how
I am and I’m gonna talk the same way. It might not sit well with some people
but some people might enjoy it. This is an experiment for us, a great
opportunity.”
“Yes, it’s part of my career, my job, but I like keeping
some privacy, I like keeping the mystery,” Chard says of people who say they
owe him an answer. “For me as an actor, doing my job well, that’s what’s
important to me. With this reality show, I think I was the last in the family
to say yes. But taking this time off to think about things, I felt, why not
share our lives to our audience in this kind of way? Once people get to know us
better, I think they’re gonna love us more. We’re not hiding anything in the
family, so why not give it a try?”
* * *
With Chard and Mond, what you see is what you get. They may
seem like they live the lifestyle of the rich, famous and unreachable, but deep
down they are like any other sibling pair who love each other, at times hate
each other, deal with issues, insecurities, and family drama, but are
ultimately there for each other. (Trivia: their “laugh” count throughout the
50-minute interview was at 40.)
