Philippe Dupuis, 24
Hockey player, Lake Erie Monsters
Hockey player, Lake Erie Monsters
The perfect date: Probably go to a nice restaurant then go to the bar after for a few drinks. Maybe drink a little, take my French accent out of the way, try to get more comfortable. A movie is always nice, too.
Something most people don't know about me: I'm not from France. People always think French people are from France, but I'm actually French-Canadian, so I'm not that far away from here, and it's pretty much the same lifestyle.
My cell phone: BlackBerry
Biggest turn-on: A girl that's a little wild. You know, I don't like boring girls and stuff, so a girl that knows how to have fun and be wild on the side a little bit. I like that for sure. And their eyes.
Biggest turn-off: Bad breath
I own too many: CDs. If I really like a band, I'm going to buy a CD first and put it on my iPod after. But I'll always buy a CD if I really like a band. Especially if they're French. They don't make a lot of money, so I'd rather encourage them and buy their CD.
My favorite place in Cleveland: I like Crocker Park. I like going on West Sixth with the boys, where all the bars are. sports team: The Montreal Canadians book: It's called Playing with Fire. It's a Theo Fleury book. He used to be a hockey player, but he had a lot of problems off the ice with drugs and gambling, and it's fun to see how he got out of it. It's a really good book. vacation destination: Cancun. Parties — not just for the partying, though. Nice weather, the beach. I gotta be honest. I would say Vegas, but I've never been there before. I'm going there this summer for the first time. So next year that'll be my answer. dessert: Coldstone Creamery. The caramel chocolate one. Unbelievable. We don't have that one in Montreal. In the summer I have a hard time finding good ice cream. blog: I don't really have one.
Facebook: yes or no? Yes, for me it's more to stay in touch with my friends back home and my family. Like even my mom's got it, so it's kind of funny sometimes. She comments on all my stuff.
My usual hangout: A little bit everywhere. Downtown for sure. I like a lot of restaurants down there. Crocker Park, I like to go there, too. And we all live around the mall in Strongsville, so we all hang out, all the boys together at our apartment. But other than that, a bit everywhere.
In high school I was I don't want to be cocky or nothing. But because I was playing a sport, and I was good at it, people were looking up to me a little bit. But actually my last year I was president of the school, which is kind of weird because I never did anything for the school. Just people voted for me, but I did nothing. No activities or anything, but I just wanted to be president because it sounded cool. And I actually won.
My passion: The first one would be hockey for sure. It's my job, but at the same time, it's my passion. I would say music. I listen to music all the time, like everywhere. In the room before games I'm the one setting up music. After the game, too. On the bus, on the plane.
My best feature: Well, I'd say my eyes, and uh, my butt.
My bad habit: I don't want to say it, but I don't really care about anything. Like any problem that is going to happen to me, I don't really take it seriously. I'm always too light about everything. Especially when you have a girlfriend, it might be a bad habit.
My first kiss: I don't remember my first one. I remember some of my firsts. I know one of them was in the school backyard. It was lunchtime, and I kissed a girl. She was playing hockey. I think she was bigger than me actually. She was really strong, and I liked her because she was playing hockey. And that was one of my firsts. I was probably 10, 11.
My guilty pleasure: It would be about food. On Sundays when we have a day off, I would eat McDonald's, but that'd be the only time I eat something bad really. McDonald's on Sunday. That's key.
How my ex would describe me: We're still in good terms, so I don't think she'd say anything bad about me, but she'd probably say I'm funny. She'd probably say I'm a good listener.
Blondes or brunettes: Brunette for sure.
Going out or staying in: A little bit of both. I like to go out to have fun and party, but I like to stay home and watch a movie and relax a little.
Early, late or right on time: Early.
Dogs or cats: Dogs. I used to have one. I just gave it away to someone because I couldn't take care of him anymore. Every time I was on the road, all the boys' girlfriends were taking care of my dog. I felt like it was just too much, so I had to give him away. It was a Boston terrier. His name was Biggie, just like the rapper.
My longest relationship: Four years. It was the last one. We broke up in January [2009].
Beer, wine or martinis: Beer. I'm not really picky. I like Corona in the summer.
Roses or chocolates: Chocolates
My No. 1 dating rule: I wouldn't want to talk about my ex. I would try to avoid that conversation unless she's asking me about it.
My deal-breaker: If she's like, not in love, but you can tell she is way too into you. Especially on a first or second date, she's got to slow down a bit. You have to take your time.
I hate when a date orders I would say something with garlic or onions. Obviously that would be a turnoff because she'd have bad breath.
Worst pickup line: One that I used to give — it was just for fun, though, I didn't really use it — it was, "I lost my phone number, can I borrow yours?" It actually worked! It was just for fun. I didn't do it to a girl I really liked. On a dare I would do that. It worked before. American girls, you know.
If I could marry anyone: It'd probably be Jessica Alba. She's exactly my type physically, and she looks really fun, too. I need a girl I can have fun with. My type is brunette for sure, dark skin. I like really tiny girls. I don't like if a girl is taller than me. And a great smile.
On a first date I never use the "L" word. Never.
Best place to meet someone: At the bar or grocery store. When me and my roommate go for grocery store, I don't know, it seems you go at the right time of day, you meet a lot of people. I don't go there for that, but yeah, it's happened to me before. I'm not the kind of guy who's going to meet someone, but a lot of time it happens to me.
Most unusual place I've met someone: During a game
My take on Cleveland's single scene: So far I'm impressed. Seriously, I met some nice people, and I really like Cleveland. I like to go out and meet people. It's different than where I'm from. I feel like where I'm from people are really superficial. I feel like if you don't look good, you don't have any chance. I feel that people in Cleveland are more open. You can talk to anyone.