One-man nation milks the moment; it's what he does

WHISTLER, BRITISH COLUMBIA - Hubertus Von Hohenlohe skidded to a stop at the bottom of the giant slalom run on Whistler Mountain, raised his arms, kissed his fingertips and waved to the crowd -- even the hundreds of people who had headed to the ski lift before he started his race.

The oldest competitor in Alpine events at the 2010 Winter Olympics then shook his rear end, which was encased in an Aztec-themed ski suit that bore the image of a bandolier replete with bullets and pistols.

"It's called, 'Mexican desperado who cannot kill the hill so he kills everybody else with his gun,'" Von Hohenlohe said. "And with his dynamite."

Technically, Von Hohenlohe, who lives in Vienna but is the lone member of the Mexican Winter Olympics team, slew American star Bode Miller in the giant slalom on Tuesday. Miller didn't finish the first of two required runs and was disqualified, while Von Hohenlohe finished 78th, ahead of skiers from Pakistan, San Marino and India.

For a 51-year-old self-described "Renaissance man" who sings in a rock band, photographs naked ski instructors and says he once worked with Andy Warhol, where he finished was not so important as how he finished.

"The main part was looking good," he said. "Having style. Don't look at the time but have style and look good in the suit.

"I think I won, for artistic impression. It's a pity we get no marks for that, like in figure skating."

Tuesday, Hohenlohe tied a Mexican record for most Olympic appearances, with five. Will he make it to a sixth, in Sochi, Russia, in 2014?

"I will maybe do curling," he said. "Take a little thing and clean the ice instead of racing on the ice. That will be easier, I think.

"Mexican curling would be good, no?"

Hohenlohe was born in Mexico City. His father ran a Volkswagen factory there. He founded the Mexican Ski Federation in 1981.

He qualified for the 2006 Olympics in Turin but was not allowed to compete.

Maybe they didn't realize who they were messing with. Hohenlohe knew Warhol long before he exceeded Warhol's prediction of 15 minutes of fame.

"I was there in New York one or two years and he always invited me over," Hohenlohe said. "But actually he took pictures of me. He wanted me to model for him, because he was into creating these people who are kind of glamorous, and he loved that sort of feeling, so it was like there's a prince in town and he said, 'Oh, you have to come over; you look so cool and look so young.'

"Then we talked about art and it was one of the reasons I became a photographer and an artist. If I had never seen Franz Klammer do the downhill, I would have maybe been an artist."

The Most Interesting Man in The World was asked for a synopsis of his interests.

"Ski racing," he said. "Then being a pop musician. I photographed Luke and Owen Wilson for Puma Golf. I just did a 'Playboy' calendar with naked ski teachers, which is very cool.

He said the name of his band is Polaroid P, or Hubertus and the Royals Disasters, depending on the day.

After his conflict with Mexico in 2006, he feels his birth country supports his career.

"Now they like me because I'm kind of a legend, because I'm the one who has the most Olympic starts, with five," he said. "It could have been seven or eight. That's the way it is.

"I think I'm a role model."

Who dares argue with The Most Interesting Man in The World?