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"Polo has that aspect to it because of Princes Harry and William playing," he states. "But the professionals, like [myself] and Na- cho [Figueras, a recognizable star of the sport and a Polo Ralph Lauren model], are just normal guys trying to make a living like any other athlete." It is that athleticism that serves as another point of contention. "I don't think the public perceives it as a sport. Polo is a full-time job. It's seven days a week, every day for 12 hours. We're playing between nine and eleven months a year." The physical requirements are daunting, but Roldan wouldn't have it any other way. He can't remember a time when polo didn't occupy a space in his life. While he isn't of the royal lineage, he does have polo in his DNA. Thanks to his father, a professional who once played polo for the Sultan of Brunei, Roldan was bran- dishing a mallet at two years of age and riding by three. Many of his early childhood memories involve Ipswich, where his father's sponsor was from and where Roldan's family spent their sum- mers. He recalls the time fondly, calling the area "the ideal place for kids growing up." Roldan spent those formidable years playing everything from soccer to baseball to tennis and even went to the Junior Olympics for hockey. At 15, that all changed. He won the first "grown-up tour- nament" he ever participated in, the U.S. Open Polo Championship, and ended up earning the distinction of Young Player of the Year by the Polo Report. From then on, polo was his first priority. By 16, Roldan was living on his own, traveling around the world and playing professionally. With the sport's reputation for off-field revelry, it seems miraculous he emerged unscathed. Roldan laughs at the notion. "The whole partying and champagne drinking, that doesn't really happen. In your high season, you're not partying. You're not drinking. You're not doing anything." There is a social component to the sport, however, with the entertainment of sponsors and owners. According to Roldan, that's the nature of the job. It's more like extra work hours than a high-end frat party. Roldan, an eight-goal player, embraces the adrenaline-packed, speed-intensive nature of the sport while the clock is running. However, his general demeanor is much more Zen than zealot. "You'll meet most of the polo players and it's the same thing. They're very easy going and laid back. That's sort of what keeps us all in tact on the field." Roldan's off-hour activities (spending time at the beach and hanging out with his family, and at his Wellington, Florida, barn with his horses), read like an almost too-good-to-be-true personal ad. It is the value system instilled by his parents, who have been married for more than 30 years and "still walk hand in hand," that Roldan credits for his remaining grounded throughout growing success and celebrity. " I'm a very humble and down-to-earth person. I was brought up in a family where [that was emphasized]. That's what's gotten me to where I am today." "I hate being in that situation where it's all about me," Roldan says. "I'm a very humble and down-to-earth person. I was brought up in a family where [that was emphasized]. That's what's gotten me to where I am today." Humility is not the easiest path given Roldan's media exposure in recent years. In addition to his on-field skills (which recently earned him the MVP award at the Iglehart Cup), he fulfills what seems to be the genetic prerequisite for polo players—disarm- ingly good looks. Rather than feigning ignorance of the obvious, Roldan refreshingly owns the fact that his looks have value. He chooses to leverage them as he would any other tool in his arse- nal. In addition to a contract with Wilhelmina Models, Roldan serves as the polo ambassador for Piaget. He also appeared on E!'s "Kourtney & Khloe Take Miami" (making it the highest-rated episode ever), was named one of Vanity Fair's "10 Hottest Horse- men," and was featured in this year's ESPN The Magazine's Body Issue. Despite all this, Roldan displays an utter lack of arrogance and somehow manages to exude approachability, a combination that exponentially intensifies his allure. "What I'm doing with the promotion and the modeling and the television, it's all part of trying to boost this phenomenon, this sport that we all love so much," he says. However, Roldan's undertaking to personalize polo in the U.S., much like David Beckham did with soccer, does come with a price. He's recently found his way into the weekly tabloid maga- zines, with recent rumors swirling of a new relationship with Audrina Patridge, formerly of MTV's "The Hills." "I try to keep my private life as private as possible, but I also accept it as part of what I'm doing. If this is what I'm doing, then my life needs to become more public as the years go on." While his plans to play beach polo in Ibiza would dominate in most "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" contests, Roldan still con- siders himself a "normal guy." Maybe it's time to redefine "normal"— at least when it comes to polo players and the sport they love. 72 Myopia polo 2011