Scent of a Pitcher
WHEN BEGOGGLEDlefty Gustavo Chacin debuted for the Blue Jays in 2004, baseball announcerskept mangling the pronunciation of his last name. After a clarification fromthe Jays (it's shah-SEEN), Toronto's FAN 590 host Don Landry declared that thename sounded "like a high-brow men's fragrance." That led Landry andhis morning show partner, Gord Stellick, to begin a running gag aboutconcocting a Chacin cologne. That led the promotions company Tri-Star tocontact the Blue Jays to see if it could make the fragrance a reality. And thatwill lead to Chacin Cologne Night on June 27 in Toronto. The first 10,000 fanswill receive a small vial of a scent that the southpaw helped design. "It'snot better than a Cy Young," says Chacin of having his own fragrance,"but it's big time."
In April, Chacinvisited Ontario's Leslie Cosmetics, where president Mark Rival had beakers ofessential base oils for him to smell. Chacin picked three, a "citrus,"a "woodsy" and an "amber" scent, and Rival mixed them togetherto create the official Chacin Cologne for Men. "It started as a joke, butit actually smells quite good. I wear it myself," says Rival.
Chacin'steammates--"They tease me about it a lot," says the 25-year-oldVenezuelan native-- like to spritz one another with bottles they find lyingaround the locker room, and several wear black promotional T-shirts reading AREYOU A CHACIN MAN? under their uniforms. "I think it smells great," saysJays manager John Gibbons. "This couldn't have happened to a better guythan Gus." Rival says he's just glad Chacin is having a good year."Thank God, he's 6-2. I could see the headline: CHACIN STINKS LIKE HISCOLOGNE."
Smell Check
Diego Gallego, a fragrance expert with Men's Chanel,likes Chacin's cologne.
"It's warm and fresh with some sweet notes. It'san easy grab-and-go fragrance. You can keep it in your gym bag and wear it tothe coffee shop or away for the weekend."
THREE PHOTOS
GINA HOUSEMAN (BOTTLE); MIKE EHRMANN/WIREIMAGE.COM (CHACIN PLAYING); WALT DISNEY PICTURES/PHOTOFEST (NOSES)
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