Up Close & Personal: Christine Mendoza

Either the 2NR models are getting younger or I'm getting older. In an industry that relies on an age group made up of teenagers to mid-twenty-year-olds, editors start to find themselves aging inevitably while the industry stays young. Seeing how most of us have been there since the beginning of the import show scene, we figured that the cars and people in the import world would grow with us. Now we are finding that the age group is getting younger, which means we need to cater to the younger crowd. While cruising around one of the many Hot Import Nights in California, we found ourselves gazing upon one of the local L.A.-area import models. How do we know which import model to have grace our cover? Go find the biggest crowd. Everybody knows that dope-ass cars draw big crowds, but place a superfly hottie on the hood of a fine automobile and you have the answer to who and what cars go in Import Tuner. Not only did we find a 2NR-worthy cover car, we found the next model to appear on the cover of our August '01 issue. Fellas, meet Ms. Christine Mendoza.

2NR: So, are you a Filipina born and raised in Los Angeles?

CM: Born and raised in the L.A. area, but I had to finish my senior year in Hawaii.

2NR: Can you speak your native tongue?

CM: Yeah, I just picked up Tagalog (One of the many Filipino languages) from my parents when I was growing up. It's funny, 'cause people don't expect me to understand it so I always catch them talking about me.

2NR: You can have fun doing that though, right?

CM: Yeah, I caught these two old Filipino guys talking about me while I was in line at this fast food restaurant and they were talking about my boobs in my language, thinking I didn't understand them. I stayed quiet just to hear what they were talking about and when I got my food I just said in Tagalog, "Thank you very much, have a nice day." And walked away. It felt good cause they felt stupid that I understood every word they said.

2NR: So I take it you get a lot of Filipino guys talking about your boobs? I, for one, am about to talk about them.

CM: Actually, you should see my sister: She's only 8 and has big boobs! She already wears a bra. When my girlfriends come over they're like, "Damn!" I think we get it from my mom, 'cause her boobs are humongous. I think it runs in the family.

2NR: Can I come over for dinner? J/K

CM: (Laughs) I don't think so. My dad is pretty strict about boys coming over. When I was seeing this guy my freshman year he would come over and my dad would do the 20 Questions routine. He would ask were he's from, who his parents are and all kinds of weird questions about him. I remember this one time my boyfriend came over to watch TV with me and my dad was in the other room. The funny thing is the two rooms didn't have a wall to separate them, just a couch facing the opposite direction that we were facing. We were sitting at a table behind the couch and every 5 minutes we would catch my dad peeking his head over the couch to look at what we were doing. I know my dad is just looking out for me, but I thought it was funny how he kept checking up on me. There was another time when my dad caught a boy in my room. We weren't doing anything but he got mad at him and told him to get out of my room.

2NR: So I take it your dad is the one that got you into the boxing thing? Do you take real boxing or is it that cardio-kickboxing thing?

CM: Oh, I do real boxing. I've heard that cardio-kickboxing over-extends your tendons so that kinda scared me off. I started getting into real boxing 'cause I watched it on TV and have always admired it. During my senior year, when I lived in Hawaii, I lived with my uncle. He was in the military so I used to go to his military base gym for free boxing lessons. From there I just continued to go and fell in love with it. I still haven't gotten into a ring with another girl but I want to. Most of the time I'm in the ring with my trainer so it's not really the real thing.

2NR: I guess you're ready to fight off the drunken sailors then, huh? Have you ever been exposed to alcohol?

CM: I don't know why, but for some reason the first time I had alcohol I got really itchy like I had a rash. After that experience I haven't had any hard liquor or alcohol in general. I remember it was called 151 and I guess you're supposed to take it in a shot glass. Well, I didn't know that so I was drinking it out of a cup and I think I had about half a bottle, which, I was told, was a lot. Now I just drink virgin Pina Coladas 'cause they have no alcohol and they're really good.

2NR: Well, that's a good way to never drink again. Maybe I should ask you that question when you hit the college scene. Are you planning on attending college and if so, where?

CM: I think my parents want me to go to Cal Poly, which would be cool, but I was thinking of San Diego State. I don't really know anybody there but it would be cool to live somewhere different. Cal Poly is closer to where I live and my mom has friends that went there and said it was a good school, but I really want to explore a different area. It would be cool just to make new friends.

2NR: San Diego is my hometown! I think you would like it because it's really close to Mexico and Pacific Beach and both of those are good places to party.

CM: Oh, I've been to Mexico. Remember when Hot Import Nights was at Del Mar? Well Del Mar is only about 20 to 30 minutes away from Mexico, so a few other girls and I went down the day after HINs. One of the girls got stuck down at the border crossing 'cause when the border patrol asked her what's her nationality she said, "Filipino." They held her for three hours and then let her go. I didn't know what to say either 'cause it was my first time down there, so when they asked me that question I said California. The guy said, "I didn't ask what state you're from." Then I realized I was supposed to say, "United States."

2NR: Damn, you're only 18 and you've already experienced a lot of action. So are there any last words you want to say?

CM: I'd just like to tell my parents and sister I love them and I hope they don't get mad when they read this. They don't know a lot about what I just said in this interview and I don't want them to get mad about it. Oh yeah, wassup to all my friends and team Hybrid.

Even at such a young age, Christine Mendoza has experienced life to the fullest. Being exposed to the import industry has made her well aware of what a dope-ass body and a face to kill for can do. Just wait until Ms. Mendoza starts participating in the college scene. If hot chicks play a big role in which college you want to attend, then I would say your choices should be narrowed down to SDSU or Cal Poly, 'cause this 2NR cover model will soon be strolling the hallways of one of these fine campuses.