Time well spent in golf and a Volvo

Before the interview started, Derek Ramsay pulled back my chair, seated me at the table before taking his place beside me.

“See? I taught him well,” said Derek Ramsay Sr., the actor’s English father.

“I got that from mom,” the younger Derek retorted.

Such light-hearted bantering is common between father and son, who consider each other best friends and make the most out of the time they spend together.

“I don’t think we have a typical father-son relationship. My dad is my best friend so we’re more like friends. I can say whatever I want in whatever form of language and manner,” said Derek, who officially became the face of Volvo Active after a contract signing at the luxury vehicle’s posh Makati office.

Volvo Active is the latest program by the Swedish automobile giant that hopes to shatter the myth that Volvo is a “mellow” car and push units out there to those who enjoy the rough and tumble of an active lifestyle.

“Derek is the best person to embody that because he’s very active, he’s an actor, an athlete, a sports enthusiast and a businessman also,” said Loi Concepcion-de Guzman, Volvo-Philippines’ assistant vice president for marketing services division.

Beyond that, the partnership is made even more fitting by the fact that Ramsay, the skipper of the Philippine ultimate Frisbee team that finished second recently in a prestigious tournament in Shanghai, China, is a Volvo lifer.

In fact, the family’s “ancestral” car is a Volvo.

“I grew up with Volvo,” said Ramsay. “I wasn’t that spoiled kid that was given a car so I used the cars that we had at home. And I grew up driving a Volvo. My favorite is their 850 Wagon, the old one.

“It’s ‘The Tank.’ And we still have it. It’s got 200,000 kilometers on it. It’s still running. It’s still alive. We’re not getting rid of it. My brother Derek uses it to go to school. He’s using it just like I was.”

Derek recounted a story that’s become a favorite of both father and son—and Volvo officials who literally stumbled into the discovery of the Ramsays’ love for their automobile—when recounting their loyalty to the vehicle.

“My dad has had 3 Volvos. My dad has been in two major car accidents in a Volvo where he wasn’t even moving, he just got hit. And both times, the car saved his life,” said Derek. The first was in a highway, my dad was caught in traffic and they got hit by a bus from behind. The other time, head on naman. They were parked with my brother.”

The family had a third Volvo stolen by car thieves. Still, they remained loyal to the brand. It was just a matter of time when fate would make brand and brand lover meet and shake hands over an endorsement deal that should create more bonding moments between father and son.

“My dad and I have been close ever since,” said Derek. “When I was growing up, he was my football coach. He was the coach of our football team. He was always there when I was competing in all my sports. All the sports, except probably basketball. I learned golf from him.”

It is golf that brings out a lot of good-natured exchange between father and son.

“The only sad thing about my golfing life was that I started playing golf with a pink golf bag. He’d bring me around the golf course in Calatagan and force me to play with the pink golf bag. My mom’s golf bag. And it was so embarrassing,” said Derek. Beside him, his father could not suppress a snicker.

“We’re usually on good terms unless we’re playing golf. He knows how to piss me off. He just gets into my head. If I start winning and he knows that I’m playing well, he’ll just say a few things and he gets straight into my head and my play will be from here,” said Derek, motioning upward, “to here (down). He knows how to get to me.”

The two Dereks are so into the sport that even the younger Ramsay’s education was decided by golf.

“There are stakes when we play,” said Derek. “The biggest one probably would be my whole college life. We had a bet that if I’d beat him at golf, I’d get to go to any school I want in the world. I lost and he sent me to England.

“I did a year in England then when I came back I said ‘I don’t want to do this anymore. I can’t stand England. I miss the family too much. I miss the Philippines.’ So he offered another bet to me. ‘If I beat you, you go back and graduate, if you win, you can go to any school you want.’ I lost so I went back and graduated in England.

“I played at the golf team there and I came back and beat him so I went to the US to study some more,” he said.

“Tell her what happened there,” Dad Derek butted in.

“What do you mean?” the actor replied.

“Tell her what happened when you got to the States,” Derek Sr. said.

“Oh. When I got to the States,” Derek said, “he sent me to the most English part of America. When I arrived at Logan Airport in Boston and went to New Hampshire, I saw Manchester. I was like ‘Oh my God, I’m back in England.’”

Father and son looked at each other and shared a chuckle at the recollection.

“That’s a funny story now, that golf bet. Back then, it was like the whole world just ended for me because I had to fly back to England. But I don’t regret it. It was fun. It was a learning experience. That day, there was a lot of pressure because my mom was there, my girlfriend was there and all of them are watching us. It ended on the last hole. He beat me on the last hole. Sad.”

Nowadays, golf time spent with dad is time that Derek gets the chance to stop squinting at the bright glare of the show biz spotlight. But they still run friendly competitions on the course.

“We always have a little wager, whether it’s for the caddie fee or who plays for the round of golf. We had one big wager: Who would pay for the Christmas holiday. I won. We went to Bellaroca (in Marinduque). It was pretty pricey because we’re a big family. When we travel, we’re about close to 20. I have three sisters and a brother. All three sisters are married. My little sister just got married last week. My two sisters have children so we’re a pretty big family.”

Derek Sr. footed the bill for that trip. And the younger Ramsay savored every moment of it. It wasn’t just because it was the prize he earned for beating his dad. But it was one moment that he got to share with the family that he loves so much.

“I love spending time with my dad and my family. Ever since I entered show biz, it’s takes a lot of sacrifice to spend time with him and with the family. So if I missed on other things throughout the year, Christmas, I never missed out. I miss those times when every Sunday was a family day. Every Sunday, my dad would take us out whether we would go to the beach or we would go to Tagaytay.

“He’s not a movie guy. He never took us to the movies. But he’s the type of guy that, before, back in the days, if we had brown out, he’d get all of us in the car. He would drive to the South Superhighway, up and down until the lights were back on. When I’m with them, that’s when I’m happiest. That’s when I feel I don’t have to feel stressed. Walang stress talaga.”

“When I was growing up, every weekend we’d wake up at 5:30 in the morning and drive all the way from Ayala Alabang to Calatagan, play golf and be back before lunch to eat with the rest of the family. It’s just the two of us. Dad was driving before but now, I drive because he’s a crazy driver. He’s an ex-policeman so he can do whatever he wants to the car. He taught me how to drive and I’ve never been into any accident.”

Mostly, those drives were in a Volvo, where Derek said the conversation can go anywhere. “Sports, the World Cup, everything. After the World Cup, all we talked about is how we weren’t proud to be English because the English really sucked in the World Cup.

“I talk to him about everything. He talks about how good he is at golf, how he beats me even now, when he doesn’t. We talk about mom.” Father and son laughed again.

“When we’re together, there’s always something funny that happens. Never a dull moment,” said Derek.

Volvo plans to play a bigger part of those bonding moments between Derek Sr. and Derek. In fact, the car company hopes to be more involved also in the actor’s sporting life to further promote Volvo Active.

And Derek? He’s looking forward to taking his new Volvo for a spin with his dad for more crazy conversations. Along the way, there’ll be stops in some golf course where father and son will tee off over another silly—or expensive—wager where, during recollections over family dinners, no one will be able to tell who exactly won.

Not that the hunk of a show biz star minds. When it comes to time spent with dad, that’s just how Derek Ramsay wants it.