EXCLUSIVE: Get To Know Daniel Miranda, As He Talks About His Dreams And The Joys Of Fatherhood
The professional racer and new father on his career goals and his life with Sofia Andres and daughter Zoe
In June, actress Sofia Andres announced the most joyous news of her life: She’s the mother of a beautiful and healthy girl, Zoe Natalia, with her loving beau, racer Daniel Miranda. Sofia's announcement coincided with Father's Day, because she wanted to pay tribute to Daniel who's been a very hands-on dad and incredible partner in parenthood. The exclusive story about her pregnancy and motherhood journey, Sofia shared exclusively with Metro.Style.
Since then, the young couple has been enjoying life in quarantine with their sweet one. Sofia and Daniel have been carving their own individual paths in life, with Sofia in the spotlight as a celebrity and social media influencer and Daniel for his racing accomplishments. Recently, they've started vlogging as a couple, too; their "Get to Know More About Us" vlog already has 1.1 million views, as of this writing.
Here, in this exclusive interview, get to know the racer and new father—from his childhood, hobbies, to how he’s managing parenthood with Sofia.
Check out the gallery below:
10 Things About Daniel Miranda
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He grew up in Cebu.
The son of Martin Miranda and Angelique Lhuillier, Daniel was born in Manila, but grew up in Cebu because that’s where his dad’s family is based. “From kindergarten until grade 9, I was in Cebu with my family. In 2015, I moved to Manila for school and my racing,” he says. Growing up, the most important thing his parents instilled in him is the value of working hard for something you want. “Nothing comes easy so you have to work for what you want,” Daniel says.
He's always been interested in racing.
Because his family has always been into cars, he grew up with a love and fondness for them—especially for racing, since his dad also a racer. Daniel asked his dad to bring him to the race tracks and to teach him the basics of racing. “I became hooked,” he says. “Then my parents supported me to get a professional go-kart a year after, and I started doing local races in Cebu.” He was 12 when he started racing. Daniel loves the adrenaline one gets from it the most, he says. He also loves that there’s so much to find out about it—proof that he has an unquenchable thirst for learning.
He's a multi-awarded racer.
Daniel is a really good racer, as proven by the awards he’s received—yearly. In 2013, he won Philippine Karter of the Year. In 2014 and 2015, he was the runner-up at the Rotax Max Challenge Asia. In 2017, he was the Philippine Vios Cup Champion. The next year, 2018, he was the runner-up at the Formula Renault, and in 2019 was the Overall Champion for Asian Driver Tour Car Racing.
He's taking up Business Administration.
Aside from racing, Daniel is also a full-fledged student. He's on his last semester with his course, Business Administration, at a university based in Sydney, Australia. He's been studying there for four years, and is now doing online classes in Manila because of the pandemic. “My family is in the business industry and I personally want to pursue a business career in the future,” Daniel says. “Though racing is a passion of mine, we don’t know how far I can go with it. But I’ll try my very best and will keep chasing my dreams.”
Even as he wants to pursue racing as a career, he's still very practical about it.
Daniel admits that he wants to pursue racing, “but of course, everyone is limited,” he says. He knows that racing is not the cheapest or most affordable sport out there, but he’s taking it year-by-year. “I’m seeing how things go,” he says. “Every year I’m still improving and getting faster, so that’s what keeps letting me continue.”
He describes himself to be "pretty sporty."
Beyond racing, Daniel also enjoys other sports, particularly soccer—but he’s not very picky. “Anything, really,” he says, as long as it gives him that rush of adrenaline. “What I like most is anything with tires,” he also adds. “So anything with tires keeps me busy.”
He and Sofia met in 2017—and their first meeting is adorable!
Daniel considers himself to be a very shy person, but when he first saw Sofia, he immediately thought that she was very pretty. “I went up to her and got her number,” he says. And the rest is history: “After that, we were just talking all the time, mostly through phone. I didn’t really get to visit her when she has work,” Daniel admits. But he looks at the bright side: “I guess it was good in a way because every time I saw her, it felt more special.” Nowadays, of course, he gets to see Sofia every day as they raise their daughter together.
He feels more mature after becoming a father.
When Daniel first found out he was going to become a father, it wasn’t easy. “It’s very pressuring,” he says. He got scared, because it meant he would have to take care of not just Sofia, but of a baby, too. But he grew for the better. “I matured so much with Zoe,” he says. “I had to step up my game. I can say I’ve matured as a person and it’s a good thing. I’m very happy about it.”
Fatherhood made him selfless.
Zoe and Sofia are his priorities now. "Right now, I don't think about myself. Before, I'd go anywhere and just do whatever," he says. He added that a lot has changed in his life because his goal now is to become the best father, so Zoe can look up to him in the future. When it comes to first-time fatherhood, Daniel has this to say to first-time dads: “You have to be prepared. We have to take care of our [children] the best way we can. Just be yourself, and just do the best of your capability.”
He and Sofia are a team, but they have their differences in parenting, too.
“We’re a team,” Daniel says. “We’re both doing the very best we can. You know, we're still young, so our parents still guide us throughout the way but we're doing great.” They have differences, too, but nothing bad: Daniel is just a lot more particular about Zoe. “I’m very conscious about Zoe. I'm a very OC person,” he quips, adding that Sofia is "very understanding" and "a great mother" to Zoe.
Lead photos by Bon Jheo Exconde and additional gallery photos from @danielmirandaa_
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