He has been dubbed as the Brad Pitt of the world of polo. Dividing his time between New York, Palm Beach and Argentina, Ignacio 'Nacho' Figueras, is a winner on and off the field. The world class professional polo champion developed a love for the sport at the tender age of nine and turned professional when he was 17. Today, he straddles its exciting world with seamless ease. A Ford model, his natural charisma in front of the camera has seen him being featured in many an international publication.
Chosen the face of Polo Double Black, Ralph Lauren's latest men's fragrance that will debut this month, in India with an ad campaign starring 'Nacho', photographed by Bruce Weber, the stylish figure remains in the news no matter what he does. "Polo is my life," he says. "To love polo, you have to love horses because when you're on the field with the horse, you are one. That is polo for me - loving the horse and knowing the game."

What drew you to this royal sport?
Definitely the best thing about polo and what I am most passionate about are the horses. The game of polo is, of course, also very appealing and attractive; it is a sport that requires a great deal of strategy and team work which makes it a lot of fun too. But I do not think polo is a royal sport; on the contrary I think polo is a sport for everybody. The beauty of it is that it can put players from every part of the world, every culture and every social status on the same level. I think of polo as the sport that opened many doors for me in the world, hailing as I do from a middle class family in Argentina.

An accident put you in the hospital for four days around 1995, in Paris. What exactly happened?
I was playing my first season as a professional in Paris at the age of 17. I went for a ball and an opponent hit a backhander shot right in front of me. The ball came out really fast and hit me right between the eye and my nose.
I had a concussion and a broken nose and 30 stitches in my eyebrow. I do not think that affected me at all. Polo is a dangerous sport and we learn to live with it; you can't play polo if you think about what can happen.

Is it as hot-blooded and 'tempered' as it appears to be? Do tempers run high on the field?
Polo is a very hot-blooded sport. It is played very fast; it can be very dangerous. You are playing with your life in almost every game. It is like racing an F-1 car; a mistake can be very expensive, but that is what makes it exciting. Controlling your emotions and controlling the horse are a key part of the game, experience becomes a big factor in critical moments. I used to get very nervous before games in the past. I have learned to control that a lot in the recent past.