NAMES IN THE NEWS : Volleyball King Cited by People

Beach volleyball king Sinjin Smith is the quintessential Californian--tall, blond, tan and toothsome--and People magazine just tagged him one of the world’s most beautiful people.

“Looks are really a subjective thing. Among my peers it’s a joke,” Smith said of the honor. “They don’t know how to react. I mean, I’m one of the guys, and then all of a sudden there I am with other people like Paul Newman and Tom Cruise.”

Smith is part of People’s “photo spectacular extra” issue, now on the stands, which lists 50 people picked as the world’s most beautiful. The 33-year-old spiker joins the likes of Newman, Cruise, Michelle Pfeiffer and Isabella Rossellini.

Smith credits the flourishing popularity of professional beach volleyball for his sudden rise to fame.

“What other sport can you see guys without shirts running around diving, doing all this stuff, showing their rippling muscles and the fans can sit five feet away?” he asked.

Smith, dubbed the “King of Beach Volleyball,” is the most successful player in the sport’s history with more than 100 tournament wins. He has appeared on TV in “Magnum, P.I.” and the recent “Sideout” beach movie.

“Some people may see me as the male equivalent of a bimbo, a beach bum, you know, sitting around the beach all week waiting for the tournaments to come around so I can make some dough,” Smith said. “They don’t realize there’s so much more involved than just what they see.”