AMOS KOTOMORI PHOTO
Honolulu firefighter Doug Hu's humble, family-oriented, single, and now one of Cosmopolitan mag's 50 hunkiest guys.
Hu are you?
Cosmopolitan magazine
names Doug Hu as the
islands' hunkiest guy
The guy sounds too good to be true.
He's training to be a firefighter (big, brave and strong type) because "I want to serve God ... and make the world a safer place." (Upstanding citizen, selfless.)
He's a faithful Christian who takes his grandmother to church on Sundays. (Family values; beyond good.)
He has a body well defined by all the sports, martial arts and working out he enjoys. (Get outta here.)
He's also been selected as one of the 50 hunkiest guys in the country in the November issue of Cosmopolitan magazine -- the non-nude female version of Playboy -- that hits newsstands today.
But Doug Hu, 26, says, "I'm just your average local guy." (Modest, too!)
And he's quoted in Cosmo as advising women: "Be confident with your bodies; don't be shy. Guys NEVER SEE the IMPERFECTIONS women focus on." (My capitals.)
The Punahou and University of Hawaii graduate was entered into the Cosmo contest without his knowledge by his only sibling, Alison, several months ago. She did it on the "spur of the moment" while surfing the Web because "he's a great guy and I wanted him to find a quality woman," she said.
The brother and older sister are extremely close and hang out together. Although she doesn't think of him as a hunk, her girlfriends have been bugging her to set them up with him since high school.
Alison Hu totally forgot about the contest until she got a call from Cosmo one day.
"I started freaking out because I thought, 'Now I have to tell him!'" she said. "At first he was not too thrilled. In fact, he was very shocked."
Her brother didn't get angry -- "he doesn't get mad" -- but he went along with it reluctantly because she told him it was a done deal.
"She knew I never would have agreed to it (in advance) because I'm the shy type," he said. But, he said, "I am honored to represent Hawaii in this national magazine."
Their parents were amused and are looking for the issue to appear on the magazine racks, she said.
Susan Portnoy, a publicist for the magazine, said the finalists from each state were chosen because they were great looking, interesting, well rounded and "would make great dates."
Hu, whose tattooed torso is on display under the "Southwest Bachelors" category, has already received e-mails from subscribers, who receive the issue in advance of rack sales, from across the country. He's taken the time to answer them "because if someone took time out of their day to write to me, I'll gladly reply with aloha," he said. "It's always nice to meet a new friend."
But he hasn't yet encountered anyone that sparks his interest. (And he doesn't have a steady girlfriend.)
Hu, now undergoing four months of firefighter training, said he has wanted to become a firefighter since "I was a kid at Waialae Elementary School watching the guys in the big firetruck come to school for a visit."
(One of the tattoos on his body is a gray dragon, which represents protection from fire in Japanese mythology, he said.)
The terrorist attacks on Sept. 11 two years ago touched him, he said, but his decision to become a firefighter was more than an impulsive move. "The truth is, my heart and soul tell me I was meant to be a firefighter," he said, as a way of serving the community.
Hu was quoted in Cosmo as saying: "Hawaii ... is really special. I love the beautiful island scenery, surfing, free diving and listening to good native music."
But, bottom line: What should a potential date know about having a great time with Hu?
He offered this tip in the magazine: "I don't enjoy going out with women who are deceptive and materialistic. Give me an honest, down-to-earth girl, and I'll be happy."
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