Up Close & Personal: Lisa Arroyo

There isn't a day that goes by without a friend, shop or one of the many known racers calling us up and saying, "Hey, I got a model for the cover of Tuner." In most cases we tell whomever it is to e-mail us photos and we'll pass them around the office. Sometimes these people are right, and the girl meets the standards required of a 2NR model. In this case, well-known import racer Roger Scalise approached Jason Mulroney and me with news of a model he knew of. The story goes like this: Roger has had this young lady model some clothing on his website, and since he is a good friend of ours we decided to check out his site and see what's making him nut in his pants. After searching the site we clicked on the clothing link and there she was, our January 2002 cover model, Lisa Arroyo.

On the day of the photo shoot we decided to let Jason work his magic with the car in the morning while I handled this interview at a local coffee shop by the studio. As I was waiting for Ms. Arroyo to arrive I glanced at the wall clock, which signified she was 30 minutes late. When I followed up with a phone call she claimed that I was late and she was sitting outside Starbucks that very minute. Then I learned that two blocks down there was another Starbucks and the whole time she was patiently sitting outside of that one, awaiting my arrival. I made the trip two blocks down to find Lisa dying from laughter. Before, during, and after the interview I came to the conclusion that she's the perfect example of a Tickle-Me-Elmo, 'cause a minute wouldn't go by that she didn't laugh at the words coming out of my mouth. My best description of her is a Puerto Rican princess whose stomach is hard as a rock and whose personality as soft as a puppy.

2NR: You're Puerto Rican right?

LA: 100 percent!

2NR: If there is one thing I have learned about Puerto Ricans it's that they are proud of their country.

LA: Yeah it's true. I have these two small Puerto Rican flags on my car, and just this morning I was driving here and this guy pulls up to me honking his horn and waving at me. I didn't know who he was, but later I saw some Puerto Rican flags on his car too. It was like he was saying, "Hey, we're family."

2NR: Man, you should go to the Pan Am race in New Jersey every year, that would be like a family reunion for you. Since you're a boxing fan and proud to be from Puerto Rico, what did you think of the Trinidad vs. Torres fight?

LA: Unfortunately I missed that one, but I think that sucks that Trinidad lost cause Trinidad and Tyson are my favorite boxers. What really sucks is how Torres threw the Puerto Rican flag on the ground! I understand that there is always shit talking during the interview between the two fighters, but that's between them, so when Torres threw the flag on the ground he didn't just disrespect Trinidad. He disrespected his whole country, and that is the wrong country to do it to. My guy lost that fight, so I'm kinda glad I didn't see it. Mike Tyson is my other fighter. The only thing that sucks about his career is that his personal life got in the way of his boxing, and on top of that the media was always trying to expose his personal life to the public. I think that's what really made him the way he is.

2NR: I saw the Trinidad fight and I feel the same way about the situation. You're also a fan of basketball, so who are your favorite players?

LA: I have a couple, but I would say it has to be Kobe Bryant, 'cause I'm a big L.A. Lakers fan. When it comes to other teams I would have to say Allen Iverson, and now that Jordan is back he's on my list again. A lot of people think that Jordan can't hang with the new generation of ball players, but I think he can. He's not that old and he knows what he is getting into, and he knows how hard he has to work. He's a fighter and you can tell he hates to lose, so I'm sure he is well prepared.

2NR: What about your favorite baseball player?

LA: I would have to say Mike Piazza, and of course my favorite Puerto Rican, A Rod (Alex Rodriguez).

2NR: It seems that you know a few things about sports. That should help you in your ambition of being in sports broadcasting. You've done Playboy, right?

LA: Yeah.

2NR: Which Playboys did you do?

LA: They were awhile back, but I did Book of Lingerie, Sexy Latin ladies, College Girls and Blondes, Brunettes & Redheads.

2NR: I heard you've done a lot of hip-hop videos too. What was the last one you did?

LA: The last one I did was Shaq's, and before that it was Jay Z and Q Tip's video.

2NR: Where can we see you in Shaq's video?

LA: Well, in all the videos I dance, so every once in a while I'll just pop up. The last one was cool cause we did it at a pretty cool club in L.A. I guess I've been lucky to do the videos I do 'cause I've gotten to know all the top video directors pretty well. There's a thing about video directors. If you know one of the good ones then later they start recommending you to some of the other top directors. That's how I was able to get in with some of the good ones.

2NR: So how did you get started in your first one?

LA: I got my first one through my modeling agency, and I got to know the director and a few of the other people behind the scenes. Later I started getting recommended by those people for other videos. It's pretty fun to do.

2NR: So is there a boyfriend that gets mad at you because you hang out with all these stars?

LA: I knew the boyfriend question was coming soon, I've read some of your interviews. Yes, I have a boyfriend, and yes, my boobs are 100-percent real. Ha ha ha.

2NR: Damn, I guess somebody did their homework!

LA: Yeah, I read your magazine, I like it a lot. Your interviews are funny 'cause they're real conversations--at least I know that now.

2NR: Well, I don't mean to toot my own horn but, "Toot toot!" Just kidding. On your guy turn offs you included guys with tight jeans. Do you mean jeans so tight you can see their balls or what?

LA: (Laughing) Yeah, I guess it's something like that. The rule is they can't wear jeans tighter then mine.

2NR: (Pointing at my jeans) These aren't too tight are they?

LA: (laughing) No, I can't see you're balls. You're fine.

2NR: Any last words for our readers?

LA: Don't wear tight jeans!!