BY REBECCA SCHAEPER
a trailblazer
BRANDONVAZQUEZ Styled by Philippe Haas Thriving as FC Cincinnati’s center forward, Brandon Vazquez is an expeditionist seeking new heights. Whether leading his team to victory or scouting his next adventure, Brandon plays rugged trailblazer on and off the pitch.
When did you realize soccer was your thing? So, I didn’t know any of this until a couple of years ago, but I started playing around 6. I was bigger than all the other kids my age, scoring 6 or 7 goals. And the parents from other teams went up to my dad and said, “Your son cannot play here anymore!” - they were mad that I was better than everybody. They had to raise me up a year to play with older kids. I was still doing the same thing. They had to raise me up a year again. I ended up on my brother’s team, he was three years older than me.
How do you come down from a day of training? I play video games with my brothers. That’s the way I talk to my brothers, we play video games and hop on a group chat. I’ve been picking up a couple hobbies - I started playing piano a couple months ago. I also have dinner with my fiancée and we watch a movie. Speaking of dinner - Go-to Cincinnati takeout spot? There’s this hole-in-the-wall in Oakley called Shaan Indian. Really, really good. Whenever I have a day off and I’m relaxing and recovering, my fiancée and I will order Shaan. What do you love to do best with your fiancée? Spending time in national parks, hiking. She put me on to that when we were in Georgia. I hadn’t traveled or been to national parks, camping, any of that kind of stuff. When she showed me, I was just like, “Wow - this is something that I’ve been missing. I want to see more of this.” What is your bucket list destination? I want to go to Thailand. Really bad. I like tropical environments, so Hawaii and Thailand are on my bucket list. If you weren’t a professional athlete, what would you be doing? No sports? That is a really hard question. I’ve wanted to play soccer my whole life. I’ve never wanted to do anything else. Soccer has been the love of my life. It’s something that has been so fun for me and I don’t see it as a job, I see it as a blessing. I get to play my favorite game every day of my life and I get paid for it. But I don’t take these blessings for granted. I really work hard to be where I’m at.
HAMILTON Khaki Field Mechanical
Why the Khaki Field? I chose this watch because it is an adventure watch. Something that you take on a road trip or hiking. Olive green is one of my favorite colors, so it instantly caught my eye. It’s a rugged look, with the khaki and stainless steel, 42mm, which fits perfect on my wrist. It makes me want to get my Defender and go. Go out and explore...
The new Khaki Field Mechanical is a faithful recreation of its original 1960s forebear and is true to Hamilton’s military heritage. Inspired by the military, built to last, this is the original soldier’s watch featuring a 42mm matt stainless steel case, three hand display, dark dial with light, luminescent numerals, indexes showing hours and minutes, and durable NATO strap.
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