Paolo Abrera: Gameplan. Harder, faster, stronger

Rappler.com

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Paolo Abrera: Gameplan. Harder, faster, stronger
I’ve never run out of people who come up to me and say, “I wish you guys would do it again.”

MANILA, Philippines – This cult classic among Filipino sports, active lifestyle and wellness trailblazers is back. Watch this interview with one of the original hosts.

My name is Paolo Abrera, I was a Gameplan host from 1994 to 2001 with a short break in between. I was part of the pioneering group of hosts for Gameplan. At the time it was one of a kind.  

Sports back then was covered in a very straightforward, somewhat dry, sort of format. I like to think that Gameplan revolutionized the way we covered sports and the active lifestyle here in the country.  

Gameplan came at a time when sports and the active lifestyle weren’t as accessible as they are today. It really gave people a peak into what the active lifestyle was all about; it gave people a glimpse into what athlete’s lives were about; what sports meant. It inspired people to go out there and experience it for themselves. I think it blazed the path to where sports and health and wellness are today.

A great part of Gameplan for me was the travel, the excitement of going out there and seeing places that I never had the opportunity to see. There was local travel, there was beach destinations, there were exotic islands, diving, there was mountainbiking, there was trail running, there was adventure racing. Back then everything seemed to be new and everything seemed to be exciting and unusual. 

Trying out a new sports was always exciting, it was a little daunting at times. Like I keep saying, people are much more into it now. People are much more attuned to what sports and challenging yourself is about. 

In the early days of Gameplan, it was a little bit daunting, it was always very exciting to experience something new, at the same time trying to be conscious so that you brought some kind of insight into what the experience was like and you’re able to relay that to people who watch. 

The show has been away for quite a while but I’ve never run out of people who come up to me and say, “You know what, that show you used to do was great, I wish you guys would do it again.” The idea of Gameplan coming back and coming back in a way that is relevant to the times, coming back in a way that embraces what sports, the active lifestyle, and wellness is all about now. And really harnessing the power of the web. That’s what the spirit of the times is about and Gameplan is changing with those times. 

And it’s really exciting that Gameplan is coming back, harder, faster, stronger than it ever was before. – Rappler.com

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