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Catching Up with ... Mario Lopez
THE SAN DIEGO NATIVE has come a long way since his days playing high school jock A.C. Slater on the popular ’90s sitcom Saved by the Bell. Today, his credits include a recent starring role on Broadway in A Chorus Line (“Every actor dreams of being on Broadway — I hope to do more in the future”), host of the nationally syndicated entertainment TV show Extra!, producer, author and actor with a recurring role on Nip/Tuck. And then there was all that attention for being named the Hottest Bachelor of 2008 by People magazine.
“I like being busy, whether it’s acting, hosting, producing or writing,” says Lopez, a 1992 graduate of Chula Vista High. “But hosting is probably number one, because it’s the easiest and the most fun.” Lopez, 35, continues his hosting duties on the new season of America’s Best Dance Crew, MTV’s highest-rated program. And he’s no stranger to the dance floor: Lopez reached the finals of the third season of Dancing with the Stars competition.
“They had asked me [to be on the show] the first couple of seasons, but I didn’t want to wear those outfits,” he says. “My mom is a fan of the show, so I finally succumbed to her pressure. I’m glad I did — it was a good time.”
Lopez describes San Diego as “a world of difference” from the hustle of Los Angeles and makes frequent visits to spend time with family and friends. And to get his Mexican food fix. “They don’t do it [in Los Angeles] like they do in San Diego,” he says.
He also revisits San Diego for his various charitable interests, including the Boys and Girls Club in Chula Vista. “I’m really tied into the community,” he says.
Last year, Lopez published his first book, Mario Lopez’s Knockout Fitness, and he’s working on another book geared to a very different audience. “My sister and I are coming out with a children’s book called Mud Tacos,” he says. “We’re hoping to make it into a cartoon.” (As kids, Lopez and his sister pretended to make tacos in the backyard, using a leaf as the shell and mud as the meat.)
As for his other current projects, “I’m talking to [screenwriter/actor/producer] Tyler Perry about some stuff, so hopefully later this year that will come to fruition. I’m producing another show for ABC Family, and there are a couple of pilots on TV and a few projects in development,” says Lopez, careful to not reveal too much. “I don’t want to jinx it.”
But then there’s always Plan B. Asked what he’d be doing if he weren’t in showbiz, Lopez is quick to answer: “I’d be an anchorman in San Diego.”
By VANESSA PASCALE
Gym Blues?
For anyone who enjoys an outdoor workout, the thought of being trapped in the gym on a gorgeous day — and there are plenty of those in San Diego — can be torture.
Meet elliptiGO, a new glide bike that takes the low-impact stride of the elliptical machine out of the gym and onto the streets. Launching in September from Solana Beach entrepreneurs Bryan Pate and Brent Teal, the trendy transporter creates a cardiovascular workout that replicates running, without the stress on the joints or the monotony of the gym.
“After years of endurance running and contact sports, I couldn’t run for fitness anymore; I took up the elliptical and really liked it, but I hated being in the gym,” says Pate, who teamed up with fellow endurance athlete and mechanical engineer Teal to design equipment that could meet the needs of hard-core athletes who want to stop being so hard on their bodies.
Now in its fourth generation, the elliptiGO ($1,956, elliptigo.com) is ready for market, starting locally with
just 250 in production. Through word of mouth, almost half have already been purchased or reserved. “Most of the sales have been from people seeing Brent flying down the Coast Highway at 26 miles per hour and saying, ‘What is that thing?’” says Pate. “People can’t believe he’s going that fast. It really catches their attention.”
Pate has dropped 10 pounds using elliptiGO as his primary form of exercise, and Teal has taken the bike on 70-mile rides up to 7,000 feet in elevation — both without feeling the next-day joint pain they used to experience from running.
“With elliptiGO,” Pate says, “you can get the same level of workout as running and the same appreciation of the outdoors, while also being engaged in your environment.”
By CHRISTINA ORLOVSKY
The Insider
WHO DO THAT VOODOO LIKE NOBU? Singer Rob Thomas was spotted serenading an intimate group of fans in Hard Rock Hotel’s 207 bar as a part of a private concert sponsored by radio station Sophie 103.7. The former Matchbox 20 frontman performed three songs — “3 A.M.,” “Lonely No More” and his new single, “Her Diamonds” — then dropped into Nobu for an early dinner, tweeting his satisfaction to his fans: “No one understands me like you do, Nobu.” Thomas and friends ended the night at the hotel’s rooftop pool bar, Float.
BODY BY BARRY: Two-time All-American Utah Jazz center Jarron Collins was spotted breaking a sweat at Barry’s Bootcamp in Hillcrest, whose founder, Barry Jay, has toned the abs and sculpted the glutes of stars like Katie Holmes, Jake Gyllenhaal and Hugh Jackman. The 6-foot-11-inch Collins attended bootcamp with his wife several times in a single week. His fellow bootcampers reported that the B-baller was an “insane runner” during the interval-training portion of the workout.
ODD COUPLE: On his blog, WhatOSaw.com, the local musician and one-letter-wonder known simply as O posted a photo of an unlikely celebrity couple rubbing elbows in Del Mar: footballer-turned-restaurateur Junior Seau partying it up with rocker Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day. “All kinds of crazy last night at Jimmy O’s,” O reported. Green Day drummer “Tré Cool did a karaoke version of Buck Owens’ ‘Tiger by the Tail’ and Junior was rippin’ it up with the drinks. A fun night for sure.” Rumor has it the band was in town warming up for its next international tour, which hits San Diego’s Cox Arena August 20.
BLEEPING GOOD TIMES: The popular Discovery Channel reality show Deadliest Catch, which follows the adventures of a fleet of crab fishermen, shot its season wrap-up show at RT’s Longboard Grill in Pacific Beach. Deputy Film Commissioner Rob Dunson, who hung out with the rough-around-the-edges, frequently bleeped sea captains on the set, said they were all “nice guys.” (Theepisode’s titled “After the Catch,” for all you TiVo hounds.)
WEST COAST CHOPPERS: Look for San Diego on the silver screen in Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen. Y’know the scene where the helicopter’s flyin’ over the ocean with a car dangling off it? That was shot here, on the Big Bay. To make sure the car would float when it was dropped, it was drained of all fluids and filled with foam. The film also features a shoot-out sequence that was filmed near a bunker on the Coronado Naval Base by the Navy Radio Installation bordering Imperial Beach. Other scenes were filmed aboard the submarine USS Topeka stationed at Point Loma. A few real-life Navy sailors even got a chance to work as extras.
AS SEEN ON TV: Though San Diego restaurateur Julien Hug was booted off ABC’s The Bachelorette in just the second episode, another hometown boy fared a bit better. Encinitas’ Kiptyn Locke made it to the final two on the strength of his dimpled smile. When he’s not romancing Jillian, Locke codirects Switchfoot’s annual Bro-Am surfing event... Interior- and fashion-design junkies should also look out for local Jen Guerin on HGTV’s Design Star and Gordana Gehlhausen, who owns Gaslamp boutique Goga, on Lifetime’s Project Runway.
By RACHEL ZENN SACHS
Just don’t call him a Meter Maid
They’re the ones we love to hate. Meter maids — parking enforcement officers, if we’re going to be politically correct — zip around San Diego delivering hefty fines to delinquent drivers. But it’s not all bad news. Ten-year officer Albert Mohoney shares some of the highlights — and lowlights — of the oft-reviled occupation.
It’s a fun job. You get outside in the fresh air, and you get to meet a lot of interesting people. I’m also providing a service. A lot of us look at it as being ambassadors to the city, so we do the best job we can.
Downtown you might work three streets, whereas when you work the beach areas you might get 20 streets, which makes things more interesting. When an officer is in the scooter, they might write around 70 tickets a day.
Women were the first to do this job; it was the only job women could hold at the police department at that time. I’d rather be called a meter maid than, well, another word. But we are parking enforcement officers.
No one is happy about getting a parking ticket, and no one wants to agree that they’ve done something wrong. There are some days when I meet some really nice people, but there are other days where every single person is really upset about getting a ticket. Do they curse me out? Yes. Do they agree about why they got the ticket? No. The most common argument is “That’s not what the sign says” or “The meter isn’t expired.” People see what they want to see.
I had been on the job for about a year, and I wrote a guy a citation. After I wrote it, I left the area, but he got into his car and followed me. He swerved right in front of me and tried to hit me. I pulled over, called the police, and they ended up catching him. It was all because he got a ticket for parking facing the wrong way on the street.
A lot of people are angry, and they tell me to just mail them their ticket. But you have to remember that it takes about 30 days to receive a ticket in the mail, and by that time the ticket is past due and the fine is double.
By RACHEL HURN
By The Numbers
$440 Most expensive parking ticket (for illegally parking in a handicapped space)
$30 Average cost of a parking ticket
5,150 Number of parking meters in the city of San Diego
65 Number of parking enforcement officers
For the record
Jerrilyn Malana thinks lawyers get a bad rap. So she created a way to prove the stereotype wrong: Lawyers Giving Back is a year-long campaign (through 2009) encouraging San Diego County Bar Association’s 10,000 members to volunteer their time to pro bono work or community service.
“We want to improve the public’s perception of lawyers,” says Malana, SDCBA president. “They should know that lawyers are out there in the community, with their sleeves rolled up, ready to help.”
The campaign encourages members to meet the American Bar Association’s recommended 50 hours of pro bono work and diversify their public aid during the economic crisis. Volunteer opportunities include Ask-a-Lawyer clinics, at which members set up public booths and offer legal advice on topics like real estate, foreclosures, bankruptcy and family law. SDCBA has also partnered with several community service programs, such as
Habitat for Humanity and Home Owners Mobile Education.
Overall, Lawyers Giving Back has been successful in mobilizing members and creating stronger ties between lawyers and the public, says Malana, a San Diego native. “These lawyers are giving back quietly, tirelessly and selflessly. I want to tip my hat to them.”
By ALYSSA BEREZNAK
The Fashion Show
SAN DIEGO'S BEST-DRESSED DENIZENS gather September 17 at Balboa Park’s Organ Pavilion for “Fabulous Fashion: San Diego Style,” a fund-raiser for the Costume Council of the San Diego Historical Society. Some 200 local fashion-forward women will display their favorite ensembles in a one-night-only exhibition.
Like the Elizabethan haute couture gown LaVonnya Fisher inherited from her grandmother. “It was one of my grandmother’s favorite gowns to wear when she attended Italian operas,” says Fisher. Hers is just one of the 200 fashions culled from the closets of San Diego style-makers.
The evening also commemorates the Costume Council’s 20th anniversary and builds anticipation for the fall opening of “San Diego Style,” an exhibition of fashions worn by San Diego women. Tickets are $69.95 and can be purchased by calling 619-232-6203 or online at sandiegohistory.org.
By JULIA POLLORENO
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