July 8, 2004

Picture perfect

Almaden hair stylist takes on plum assignment on the beaches of Costa Rica

By Steve Dini
Staff Writer

When a friend asked Almaden hair stylist Giovanni if he would like to go to Costa Rica as the hair stylist for a photo shoot with 32 San Francisco 49er “Goldrush Girls,” he had to pinch himself to see if he was dreaming.

He wasn’t.

The next challenge was getting an assortment of sharp objects and several aerosol cans through the airport screeners without being arrested. Now, a few pairs of scissors, some combs, brushes, two dozen hair rollers and a razor blade shouldn’t cause any concern for airport security, should they?

“The airport folks were very nice when they X-rayed my luggage,” Giovanni said. “But, I was glad I warned them in advance.”

The 49er Goldrush girls head for an exotic location every year to shoot swimsuit photos for their annual calendar. While last year found the girls on the beaches of Hawaii, Costa Rica was the choice for the 2005 calendar and the spirited entourage invaded the little Central American country June 12 through 19. The finished calendar, featuring the Goldrush beauties in various poses in and around the Costa Rican coast and countryside will be unveiled in August and sold at all the 49er football games this coming season.

Soon, the single-monikered hair stylist was enjoying his dream gig in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. A chartered boat took Giovanni, his make-up artist friend Maria Padilla and six or seven of the Goldrush girls to private beaches for sun-splashed photo shoots every morning of their seven-day stay. And, every night they returned to the luxurious Occidental Allegro Papa Gayo hotel for wonderful meals, time by the pool and spacious rooms open to warm westerly winds blowing softly across the courtyard.

Now, the not so glamorous part. Every day, Giovanni and Maria were up at 3 a.m. to get the girls ready for the day’s suit. Then, it was to the dock to be picked up by the charter to head off to the beautiful beaches….before the sunrise. “The photographer wanted the best light possible,” Giovanni said. “And, that was at dawn…every day.”

“It was an amazing trip,” says Giovanni. “The girls were great fun and had wonderful attitudes, even when we woke them up in the middle of the night!”

Costa Rica was “beautiful” and the group even had a day off to enjoy a guided tour through the country’s amazing rain forest. But, most of the time it was all business for Giovanni as he played catch-up with the girls, photographer and crew as they scrambled for just the right poses in just the right settings. “The humidity was brutal,” Giovanni said. “Rollers were my most valuable tools. Hairstyles were falling out all over the place!”

A 25-year Bay Area resident and a graduate of the San Jose City College Cosmetology School, Giovanni regularly hangs his ceramic tools at Studio G, at Camden Avenue and Almaden Expressway. Giovanni is “building a nice clientele” at “Studio G,” owned by Greg Cancilla and open since last November.

Safely primping this wonderful clientele at Studio G after his “excellent adventure,” the young Almaden stylist readily admits to having the time of this life. “It was an amazing trip,” he said. “I’m already looking forward to another opportunity just like this one.”

And…he’s getting an agent.