How celebrity ‘prepper’ Christian Vazquez prepared for the lockdown

Christian (left) and Aubrielle in quarantine

Actor Christian Vazquez, who is the designated person to buy supplies for his family during the pandemic, said his greatest fear was that he might “infect my loved ones in the process.”Several times during our interview, he emphasized the importance of wearing complete protective gear before stepping out of the house. “We should all think of ourselves as vessels for COVID-19 to spread,” he pointed out. “I’m scared of what I might bring home with me, so I’m very careful when I go out. Also, I now do things that I didn’t normally do before, like wash bags of chips when I bring them home.”He recalled: “I once bought stuff at a nearby gas station. I was wearing all the necessary protection then. The people there know me, so the girl at the counter greeted me and said, ‘Sir, we’re not sick, OK?’ I answered her, ‘Yes you’re not, but what if I’m the one who’s sick and we just don’t know it yet? You should consider that, too.’”

Considering that daddies leave the house every day to earn a living, Christian said being stuck at home for two months now because of the enhanced community quarantine wasn’t so difficult for him. Christian has a daughter, Christien Aubrielle, with wife Ara Hipolito, as well as two sons, Matthew and Jason, from a previous marriage. Ara, meanwhile, has a daughter, Ysabelle.

“My family has been ready, even before the lockdown. I’m sort of a prepper,” Christian pointed out. “For me, a person gets worried about calamities, disasters and emergencies because he is not prepared—that’s the only reason one gets sleepless nights.”

Christian Vazquez (right) with wife Ara and daughter Aubrielle

By “prepper,” Christian likens himself to a person who thinks that a disaster is likely to happen in the near future and makes active preparations for it, like stockpiling food and other supplies.Christian said he doesn’t mind staying at home to do chores. “I even do the laundry, sometimes. It’s funny because since I don’t have anything else to do, I stare at our laundry and wait for them to dry,” he quipped. He’s also into designing and collecting knives. “It used to be a dying art, but we’re trying to revive it here,” the actor said. “I help local blacksmiths by collaborating with them. When I post our work [on the Facebook page called XV Blades], people get interested. They contact us, even those from abroad.”

Being a celebrity entails extra responsibility, Christian pointed out, especially now that we’re dealing with a pandemic. “These days, I’m very careful with what I post on my social media accounts. I don’t want to be the cause of panic from among my followers,” he said. “I also don’t want people to react negatively about certain things I do. I discuss my fears and frustrations, as well as my opinions on certain issues, only among friends. I believe that now is not the time to spread hate and anger. We all have to be united in battling this problem.”Christian said he also helped fellow Filipinos displaced by the pandemic, “although I do it quietly … I’m not against celebrities who post about what they do for others, because these things can inspire more people to help.”

The actor is also grateful to the front-liners, “who are fighting this war against the virus for us,” he pointed out.