What’s hotter than an Australian pro rugby player turned model? Easy. An Australian pro rugby player turned model who smells good.
Nick Youngquest is the face (and abs) behind INVICTUS, Paco Rabanne’s latest scent, a sweet-and-sexy fall cologne dominated by fragrant notes of bay leaf, fresh grapefruit, oud and ambergris. The bottle’s design also replicates a trophy – which, I thought from the moment I met him, is exactly what Nick Youngquest would look like on my arm.
Nick gave me 10 minutes to ask him all the questions I could muster about INVICTUS, his modelling career and his fitness routine (which is key, considering the state of his six-pack). Here’s everything you need to know about Paco Rabanne’s newest hunk from down under:
1. What is your favourite thing about INVICTUS?
A lot of fragrances evolve through the stages and then fade away, but INVICTUS lasts, which is really important for men who don’t carry bags around and can’t keep the fragrance on hand to reapply. The scent still lingers well into the evening. It’s also a great scent for a range of different occasions, whether you’re headed somewhere casual or you’re meeting clients for business.
2. How on earth do you keep so fit?
I come from a sports background, so I have a good idea of what to do in the gym – but my regime has changed a lot since my professional rugby days. I do a lot of yoga now, practicing four to five times week, and I mix it up with some weight training and cardio. Yoga is really my go-to right now. I’ve grown to love it since stepping away from sport. The physical and mental aspects of hot yoga really help to keep me balanced.
3. We also love yoga! How has daily practice helped in other aspects of your life?
Spending so many years in a high-pressure athletics environment took away some of my love for training toward the back end of my career. Yoga has given me a completely different outlook on life. It makes me feel more grounded and, I guess you could say, at one with myself. I often encourage people who are stressed out in their daily lives to try yoga and see the benefits for themselves. I’m actually training to become a yoga teacher, and I will be certified to teach come December.
4. So, rumour has it you love to cook. What are you just dying to make for me?
I have always loved Japanese food, so I bought a knife and learned to cut the fish properly. There is a great Japanese market that I go to in New York City with the freshest fish, so I make sushi at home all the time. It’s so simple and refined, yet so tasty. I wouldn’t call myself a sushi chef, but I’m not half-bad, either.
5. We hear you are completing a degree in business. Are you more brain or braun?
I would hopefully say more brain! I always did quite well in school, but I went straight to professional sports as soon as I finished high school. At least I am much more mature now, so I have more enjoyment to learn. Some people might say otherwise, but I would say brains.
6. Be honest: Have you ever forgone a shower post-workout and opted for a spritz of INVICTUS instead?
No, I really don’t understand people who go to the gym and work out and sweat and then get in their car and leave straight away. I’m always showering so, no, a spritz of cologne won’t cut it – but I apply INVICTUS straight out of the shower to my neck and my wrists.
7. Describe your transition from professional sports to modelling in one word.
Unconventional. It’s not often that guys finish sports and go into modelling.
8. What’s your take on women who wear men’s fragrances? It’s trending huge.
I would think they are very courageous. I don’t think I could wear a woman’s fragrance. INVICTUS is not overbearingly masculine. It has a sensuality and a freshness about it, so I think it’s something a woman could wear. If I smelled INVICTUS on a woman, I would think, “Good work. Good for her.”
