Arthur Nory Mariano coming to Hong Kong Fashion Walk as Rio Olympics gymnastics hunk promotes World Cup

Ever since the 24-year-old won bronze in the floor exercise at the Rio Olympics, his popularity has soared worldwide with more than 1.5 million followers on his Instagram account.
Mariano, who has Japanese blood, will arrive in Hong Kong on June 12 and appear at Fashion Walk the following day to help promote the trendy area as well as the World Cup.

Rio two years ago, Mariano became an overnight star with his charm, boyish good looks and million-dollar smile – complete with his athleticism – winning millions of fans at the Games.
He is looking forward to his first trip to Hong Kong with Fashion Walk, a street shopping complex in the heart of Causeway Bay, expecting a good turnout from fans hoping to catch a glimpse of him.
His many fans include American four-time Olympic champion gymnast Simone Biles who called Mariano “my Brazilian boyfriend” during the Rio Games.
“I am very excited to be coming to Hong Kong for the first time and although I have never been to the city, I have seen photos of Hong Kong from social media and I can feel the city’s prosperity and energy,” said the Brazilian.

“I have heard of Causeway Bay and its trendy area! I will buy some sports clothes. If anybody sees me buying clothes, please say hi to me.”
While in Hong Kong, Mariano will also help promote the Asian Games with fun activities lined up at the complex.
He said although he’s a gymnast, he follows soccer closely and will be supporting Brazil and Japan at the World Cup in Russia, which gets underway next week.
“Because Brazil is a huge soccer-loving country, I played soccer when I was young,” Mariano said.
“Being a Brazilian athlete, of course I will support my compatriots at the World Cup. I hope Brazil will become kings again. Japan is also my other home and I hope Japan will do well in the tournament.”

Although popular for his good looks and athletic prowess, Mariano has not been far away from controversy.
In 2015, he and his Brazilian teammates Felipe Arakawa and Henrique Flores were suspended from the Brazilian national team for a month, after publishing a Snapchat video in which they appeared to make racist jokes to a black teammate, Angelo Assunção.
Mariano published another video apologising for the incident. Assunção later forgave him, saying he hoped Mariano “behaves like a medal winner outside the arena, too”.

courtesy : scmp.com
photo : South China Morning Post

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