27 unforgettable Pinoys I’ve met

The most awesome thing about my job as a host, writer and editor is that I get to meet so many amazing people. If only I had gotten everyone’s autographs and photos to collect all my memories! Here are the reasons why these 27 people are unforgettable:

Boy Abunda

He is always politically correct and real, never offensive nor condescending. He has helped so many new and even established personalities in the world of entertainment, as well as uplifted the lives of many especially in his hometown, Borongan, Samar. Best advice he’s given? “Stay true to your core.”

Karen Davila

Balancing broadcasting literally all day, an active social life, advocacy projects, and being a devoted mother and wife is extremely admirable. A major people person, she used to be hesitant to join social media, but now is addicted to it! She is the first to say, “Oh, picture! For Instagram!”

Kenneth Cobonpue

He may have been born to an affluent family but his massive success was brought about by a unique vision, 100-percent hard work and passion, and love for country. Who would have thought, he didn’t even pass the entrance exam for UP Fine Arts!

Ben Chan

He has brought the clothing industry to groundbreaking heights, and has also made almost every lifestyle product accessible to Pinoys. Insanely generous, the first time I actually met him was in 2006 when he spotted me in Bench Rockwell lining up, and he treated me to every item I was holding.

Jun De Leon

One of the most respected and admired fashion photographers known for his professionalism and talent. We once did a pictorial and he was so in the zone shooting that despite his very expensive lights falling in the water, he did not flinch and focused on taking the perfect shot.

Korina Sanchez

An institution in Philippine journalism, she is known for being a perfectionist, wanting to be on top of everything in front of and behind the camera. She may seem intimidating, but you will feel her gentleness through handwritten notes and letters she loves writing for friends and acquaintances.

Maria Ressa

She constantly finds new ways to present the news, now exploring the correlation of social media to the biggest news events and its effect on people’s behavior. Her “uniform” of choice is her suit or shirts-and-jeans combo, and she admits she doesn’t even remember the last time she wore a dress.

Liz Uy

One of the most in-demand celebrity stylists and endorsers, Liz has helped numerous photographers, designers and makeup artists break into and be successful in the industry. A believer in value for money, she admits that when she started, 80 percent of her closet was from ukay ukay.

Dado Banatao

This Silicon Valley visionary is uneasy when called a billionaire, and would rather humbly recall his journey from simple farmer’s son in Cagayan to making the computer and GPS what it is today. He is such a simple man that instead of being into all the latest smart phones, he prefers to use his “really old” Motorola Razr.

Atom Araullo

The boy every girl would love to bring home to mom — good looking and intelligent, socially aware and athletic, creative and a science whiz (the list goes on.) He bagged his hosting job with 5&Up when he shared the story of how he used to defend frogs on campus from bullies.

Ramon Bautista

To be a pop culture mover and write a best-selling book that Star Cinema turned into a movie is no common or easy feat. This writer, filmmaker and educator originally dreamed of being either an astronaut or a bus driver (because they got to go to Baguio all the time.)

Kenneth Yang

The man behind McDonald’s Philippines is admired for his vision and for his being down to earth. He is not afraid to poke fun at himself in front of his employees, having performed Psy’s Gentleman in full fashion (styled by wife Cindy) at their recent sales rally.

Manny Pacquiao

The Philippines is known the world over for having fine boxers thanks to Pacman’s achievements. There has been a lot of talk about his newfound spirituality, but Manny is so serious about it that he personally fixes tables, chairs and merienda for Bible studies in his Gen San home.

Pia Cayetano

Aside from being a senator, businesswoman, and super mom, she is a women’s rights advocate and certified Iron(wo)man. Would you believe she started training for triathlons in her late 30s? She turned grief into strength and proved it’s never too late to try new things.

Kris Aquino

From the pitch of her voice to her commanding presence, it is impossible to not notice when she walks into a room (or your TV.) Some may think she is all about herself, but Kris has the habit of checking up on friends randomly through SMS or sending little gifts.

Dr. Leo Garcia

He was that one college professor that changed my life. He taught philosophy and was one of the most well loved deans at Ateneo de Manila. His life changing advice: “Don’t ever let anyone underestimate what you are capable of, based on how you look physically.”

Ramon Ang

From his humble beginnings as a mechanic, to now heading one of the top corporations in the country, it’s refreshing to see how approachable RSA is. His eccentricities include wearing slippers at company dinners in hotels to inviting injured SMC team players for hilot sessions in his office.

Vilma Santos

Beyond being loved as the multi-awarded Star For All Seasons, she is the well-loved Governor of Batangas on her third term now. Going even beyond that, she is an ordinary proud mom who makes sure she gets to watch her son’s TV program, and on occasion will even text Luis, “Anak, straight body.”

Lea Salonga

She is the only Filipina to win both a Tony and Olivier award, the first Asian to play both Eponine and Fantine on Broadway, and the first Filipina Disney Legend. When she bagged the role of Kim, she hadn’t had a boyfriend yet, so she was terrified of the kissing scenes.

Bamboo Manalac

Dubbed by many as a “rock god,” how can he not feel like one when he hears thousands of people singing lyrics he wrote, Pinoy Ako or Hallelujah, in unison? This heartthrob only eats read meat once a month, and prefers really good steak since it’s only once a month.

Tony Oposa

An environmental lawyer whose case (“Oposa vs. Factoran,” 1993) is studied by every Filipino law student, as he fights for the right to a healthy environment. He was 25 when most of his body was burned in a fire, and he then vowed to make a significant impact with his life.

Carlos Celdran

This cultural activist and performance artist is most known for his amazing historical tours (and being sued for “offending religious feelings”). He first showcased his creative side as the artist of the comic strip “Bar Sins” in Business Mirror when he was 14.

Rio De La Cruz

A real rags-to-riches story of someone who pursued his passion for running, and turned it into a business and a movement. He couldn’t afford to go to a gym, and since water was scarce where he lived in Parañaque, he would fill drums and carry them as his weight training.

Tim Yap

He became an active multi-hyphenate before everyone else did, revolutionizing the local party scene. Some may think he had it easy, but this hardworking businessman worked his way to the top, starting off by sourcing props in Divisoria for theater plays when he was in high school.

Vice Ganda

Whether you love or hate his brand of humor, it is undeniable that he has changed the landscape of Philippine entertainment and how gays are portrayed. He did have a girlfriend back in 1993, and their first date was watching a Schwarzenegger movie where they also had their first kiss.

Gang Badoy

The founder of Rock Ed and an active supporter of the local art and music scene, Gang has the power to make different groups and sectors work together. Her open-mindedness may stem from her being the youngest child of two widowers and youngest among 15 siblings.

Reese Fernandez-Ruiz

She was named a Young Global Leader because of her efforts in creating the social enterprise model of Rags2Riches that turns what would be rags into quality bags. This driven career woman wasn’t thinking about love when she met the man of her dreams and got married at 25.

http://www.philstar.com/sunday-life/2013/07/28/1019941/27-unforgettable-pinoys-ive-met 

10 Things You Should Know About Apl.de.Ap.

The big Apl talks about his humble beginnings

He was a young boy with an eye condition, born to a Filipino mother and an African-American father, who just liked dancing on the streets of Sapang Bato in Angeles, Pampanga. Now, he is a Grammy Award-winning, international best-selling artist who performs in sold-out shows around the globe as one fourth of the Black Eyed Peas. How did he do it? Here are 10 things you should know about Apl.de.Ap.

1 He was born with an eye condition called nystagmus, and is considered legally blind. “But I’d never let that stop me.”

“It’s the muscle in your eye, it’s not stationary, it just keeps moving. So it’s harder to focus. When I was young I didn’t know how to control it, but as I grew up I learned to focus,” he explains. “Back then, when I would look at things, I’m like…” He shakes his head. “People are like, ‘Man, he always got a beat in his head! Ano kayang pinapakinggan niya,’” Apl laughs, remembering. “That did not stop me. I still played basketball and people were like, ‘You’re lying to us!’ My friends, they can’t beat me in pool or bowling. It’s all about measurements. I’d memorize things, I’d memorize the stage, I just do a lot of mental pictures.” So what does he see? “It’s not blurry, it’s more like I am nearsighted.”

“I had an operation last year where they put the lenses inside my retina. They put the actual lens inside my eye, so I wouldn’t have to put contacts,” he shares. He is soon adding a new program in his foundation, Apl Of My Eye, to provide the same equipment used in the US to help kids here. “There’s this new technology that they will be teaching doctors here that prevents retinal damage and blindness. It actually occurs a lot with premature babies. There’s a way to detect that. Having this condition, I wanna be able to provide that.”

2 Apl first showed interest in music as a child when he started breakdancing on the street, and was popular in the community because he knew all the new dance moves.

“Growing up, I’ve always kinda been into academics. I wanted to be an engineer or a nurse,” he reveals. “Going through school I had a hard time because of my eye condition, it was hard to see the board. It got me a little confused. ‘Okay, how am I gonna be an engineer if I can’t see perfectly or a nurse to give shots to patients?’

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“I started seeing kids breakdancing on the sidewalk. It started to intrigue me. Like, ‘Oh, I love doing it.’ It didn’t require too much of my vision. Then it just evolved from there. From breakdancing, I wanted to know where this music was coming from. Then I started learning how they produced it in the studio. I wanted to learn about the music, how they made it. Then I switched to producing and writing,” he shares.

Did he ever join dance contests as a kid? “Oh, definitely! I was always joining in Sapang Bato. Merong parang dance event every Saturday, and I always tried to do a new dance move. I remember seeing the Running Man on a Pepsi commercial on the UHF channel. ‘Oh, my God, ano yun? I gotta copy that!’ So I’d practice that. I’d go to the basketball court and dance. I got popular because I got the new moves but I didn’t win too many contests,” he says with a smile.

On Pinoy food he loved growing up: “I used to eat rice, gatas ng kalabaw –– and with salt. That would be our breakfast. A great breakfast! I loved champorado, tocino. I used to love tuyo, bagoong, suka and rice. To me that was the best.”

On Pinoy street games he loved as a kid: “I played patintero, siato, tumbang preso, taguan. I even played with the salagubang. You just tie a string around it and you run with it. Wheeeee!” he laughs. “Then the little wheel with a little hook, and I rolled around with that. A lot of basketball, too. My mom would get so mad because I would break my glasses a lot of times, they were so expensive! Makulit? Yeah, at some point. Like sometimes I’d be at the court and my mom would yell my name across the neighborhood, ‘Allaaaaaaaaan!’”

3 He moved to the US when he was 14, and at some point experienced discrimination not by American kids but by fellow Pinoys.

Apl’s adoptive father, Ben Hudgens, was the reason he moved to the US through the Pearl S. Buck Foundation, and they lived in LA where there is a huge Filipino community. “I remember my first friend, he used to breakdance, too. He had this dancer attire so I would wear the same thing, like we’re in a crew together, because when you’re in a crew you tend to dress alike. I didn’t know that was gangster attire –– he was in a gang. And every day after school we would get chased by other Filipinos. Then I’m like, ‘Dude why are we running from other Filipinos?’ They would ask where we’re from, anong gang kami. What? That didn’t make sense to me,” he recalls.

“It’s weird, like the Fil-Ams, there was a little bit of segregation. The Fil-Ams that were born there didn’t like to speak to the FOB, what they call ‘fresh off the boat.’ I’m like, ‘What?’ I just didn’t get it. Me, I was just breakdancing. So I was able to relate to everyone. With the Fil-Ams, they always mess with each other. To me, we’re all Pinoys, I don’t see any difference.” He shares he was never bullied by Americans, never got into any gang, and he thanks music for that. “Dancing, breakdancing, rapping, it’s a neutral thing for everyone. Music gave me that neutral lane to relate with everyone.”

4 The toughest thing he had to do to get to where he is today: “Leave.”

He takes the longest time to answer this question. “To leave. To leave my family at a young age. Leaving the Philippines, going to another country tens of thousands of miles away. That was pretty scary,” he shares. “Actually me and my mom, we made a pact. ‘No crying, okay? No crying!’ We’ve always talked about it. Me being adopted, I’m old enough, I’ll be okay, I’ll be able to go back home. But of course as soon as she said, ‘Bye,’ we were like, ‘Ooooooh,’” he says, recalling how he cried as a teenager. “That was pretty hard. That was probably the hardest.” He speaks fondly of his mother Cristina (who raised him and his six siblings as a single mother), but also of his adoptive father, Ben. “I got homesick a month later. ‘Oh, Dad, can you send me back home now, I wanna go home.’ ‘Oh, son, the papers are final and you’re here to stay, you’ll be able to go back home later when you get older.’”

He also lists being signed to Black Eyed Peas as one of the toughest experiences of his life. “That did not come easy,” he declares. “We did a massive amount of shows. We had to prove ourselves. We had to create a following. Back then there was just mailing list, no e-mail, no social media. After the show, we would take the addresses of the people that came then we would mail them a flyer to the next show. We did that for four years. We had to create a following to show the record company that our music was tangible. Back then, in LA, it was all about gangster music. And we were all about hip-hop, all about positive, happy music.”

And he shares a third toughest part of his life. “Of course, the loss of my brothers. My brother Joven and Arnel. Those were pretty dark times. That was painful. That was… you know, I wish they were here to see this. We miss them.” Apl was 30 when his older brother Arnel committed suicide, and was 35 when his younger brother Joven was shot dead. He wrote in The Apl Song: “I guess sometimes life’s stresses get you down on your knees; Oh brother, wish I could’ve helped you out.”

5 On choosing education as his main advocacy: “With an education, you can be anything.”

Apl revealed that he will be joining the Ironman event here in the Philippines this year, and has begun training for the race. “I’ve been doing a lot of 10ks here sa Pinas, I join, and they donate to my foundation, and we are able to build schools,” he shares. “That’s what they’re doing for Ironman. As a peace ambassador, I want to utilize that path to connect with people from Mindanao and give the proceeds to build schools over there.” Apl will do the 60-mile bike leg of the race, his trainer and colleague in his foundation Joe Santos will do the swim leg, and they will choose a kid from Mindanao to join them for the run leg of the race.

“Education helped me a lot. I knew I was being adopted. I was so worried. I asked my mom, ‘How am I gonna talk to people?’ I didn’t know how to speak English. She’s like, ‘Anak, don’t worry, read the dictionary!’ I was just learning, translating, and when I got to the US, she was right. It made sense later on in school. Even Will was like, ‘You have a deeper vocab!’ Things like that. That is why education is important. Opening up information to kids. I want to help provide that.”

6 Apl is very particular about his fashion choices, and laughs as he admits, “I’m kinda like… cheap.”

“I’m really bad with the names. Fergie’s always like, ‘Apl, you have to memorize all your stuff!’ But it’s just a lot of them,” he says.

He loves Maison Martin Margiela, G Star, Unconditional, Skingraft and Rick Owens, to name a few. “He is big on anything that has a collar,” his stylist Anna shares. “Now, I’m feeling a lot of Team Manila shirts,” Apl says of the local clothing brand. “I want to hook up with them and do stuff.”

For his trademark eyewear, he loves vintage pieces from Cazal and Alpina. “I like fun watches. I’m not so into bling. But someday I’ll get a Rolex, when I’m responsible. I’m very bad with jewelry! I always lose them,” he reveals. For shoes he likes Creative Recreation and (he actually removes his studded black shoe during the interview to check the label, saying, “What are my shoes?”) Giuseppe Zanotti.

The most sulit item in his closet: “This Margiela black leather jacket. It’s always ready.”

His style inspiration: “I kinda mix it up. If I like somebody I try to do it but a little different. Before, it’s weird because I was more like, ‘Girls got better clothing!’ If I could change that a little bit, I would turn that so that a guy could rock it. But now, guy fashion, they are trying to push the envelope. Prince is cool. But I can’t rock it like Prince.”

His shopping process: “My stylist Anna shops, brings it home, I do a fitting, then she brings it back when I don’t like it. I’m kinda like… I’m cheap,” he laughs. “Not that cheap! ‘I like this, how much is it? Is it cool enough for that price? Is it too expensive? Am I wasting money? What event am I gonna wear this to, is it worth it to spend that much?’ I evaluate things. It’s probably like my upbringing, I grew up poor. If it’s worth it, all right.”

7 On what it feels like to win a Grammy Award: “It is an amazing feeling. You almost feel numb. You can never get used to it.”

He stutters when asked to recall how it felt to win the first time. “It was, it was, it’s like… I had to pinch myself. Kinda like, ‘Damn!’ After we received the award, we were all backstage and we were like, ‘Dude!’ To us it was like, “Remember when we just used to be in a room, and we were so happy to have a tour bus? It was a broken-down bus but to us that was our biggest accomplishment! We got a tour bus! We’re opening up for our favorite crew!’ But having a Grammy. Wow.” He reveals he would rather perform all day than give an acceptance speech. “When you’re up there, it’s a moment of, like, every word’s got to mean so much. Every word you spit out, you always somehow blank out. You don’t want to forget anybody. You want to thank everybody but you don’t have much time… and there’s four of us that got to speak,” he laughs. “I could perform all day, but when it comes to that, you’re like, ‘Oh, smack.’ You’re in front of all your peers.”

On the most meaningful songs he has written: The Apl Song (“It tells a bit of my story, and I dedicated that song to my brothers”), Where’s the Love? (“Because it touches on social issues”), and Someday (“Me and Will, back in the day, we were just dreaming in our room, you know, someday.”)

On his songwriting process: “Certain songs just come to you. Party songs you kind of like paint a picture. Sometimes you want to tell a story so you put that together. Sometimes it’s just from a conversation. Sometimes you make a beat first, then you let the beat tell you what it makes you feel.”

On describing the Black Eyed Peas in one adjective: “Taboo, a showman. Fergie, strong. Will, a visionary.”

8 Apl.de.Ap in numbers:

12: Number of years before he was able to go home to the Philippines, after having moved to the US when he was 14.

200-plus: Estimated number of magnets and shot glasses in his collection. “A total of five continents! I get from every place I’ve been to.”

200: Number of jeepneys in his miniature jeepney collection.

500: Most number of shows the Black Eyed Peas did in one year, as in 365 days. “That was for ‘Elephunk.’ And three shows some days.”

6: Total number of Grammy Awards won, the first one being in 2005 for Let’s Get It Started. The Black Eyed Peas have garnered over a hundred nominations and won over 50 awards from bodies that include the American Music Awards and Billboard Music Awards.

9 He actually shipped a whole jeepney to LA and plans to turn it into the first battery-powered jeepney.

It was shipped in parts, and he has asked the help of Pinoy friends in GM to put it together and fix it up. “I also met with Tesla Motors, to see if they could turn the jeepney into a Tesla, if they can do that technology. Now it’s just parked at a garage. I have to take it to the DMV to put it in US standards,” he reveals. Will he actually drive the jeepney there? “Yeah. And I’m turning it into a limo. Anyone can just rent it,” he smiles.

On what Pinoys should be proudest of: “Our hospitality. It’s the best. I’ve been to a lot of countries and we have the most hospitable people. And we work hard, yeah.”

10  Apl The Coach: Three things aspiring artists should have/do to have a chance of making it big.

1. Personality: “Definitely personality. When you’re up there, you gotta be able to connect with the crowd. Don’t be shy.”

2. Originality: “Don’t be scared to try new things. New songs. Try writing.”

3. Have a great team behind you: “Do a lot of shows. Make sure you utilize your media. Media is a big help now in showcasing your talent. Have a great media team. Have a great manager. Show yourself.”

As a coach on The Voice of The Philippines, Apl admits he wasn’t sure he wanted to take on the role. “When they first approached me I was kind of hesitant. Am I going to be able to see the contestants onstage, or how’s my Tagalog? I was so worried about things like that,” he admits. “But I discovered, it’s not about that, it’s about relating to people. Sharing my story and the things I’ve gone through and what they’ve gone through. When I realized that, I had the greatest time. It’s about the big picture. I pay attention to that picture instead of focusing on the little things.”

* * *

“Apl.de.Ap” is actually an acronym for Allan Pineda Lindo (his real name), from (in Spanish) Angeles, Pampanga, which tells of how proud he is to look back at where he came from. Apl goes home to the Philippines regularly not just to perform but to share whatever opportunities were given to him with others. His is a life that proves it is not how your story begins but how your story goes — and ends — that matters most. Just as he says in The Apl Song:

Everyone help each other whenever they can

We makin’ it happen, nothing to something

We be surviving back in the homeland

Been away half my life and it felt like a dream

To be next to my mom with her home-cooked meal

Man, I felt complete.

http://www.philstar.com/sunday-life/2013/07/21/992751/big-apl-talks-about-his-humble-beginnings 

10 Things You Should Know About Kiefer Ravena

Kiefer Ravena: The King Eagle soars

It’s tough to paint what can possibly be going on in Kiefer’s mind. ‘I just want to prove to everyone that we are still capable of winning,’ Kiefer Ravena says

Oh, to be 19, in your junior year of college, trying your best to pass all your subjects while making time for a social life, and figuring out where your place is in the world, is tough. But to be all that plus to be your university’s star basketball player, experiencing tens of thousands of supporters chanting your name, with everyone watching every move you make, is not for the weak.

Here are 10 things you should know about “The Phenom,” “Blue Mamba,” “King Eagle,” Kiefer Ravena.

1. Kiefer was only 13 years old when he first heard the monicker “The Phenom.” The first thing his coach told him was “humility.”

“I was 13 years old, playing with 15, 16-year-old American players in Las Vegas, and I would somewhat dominate the game, I would score a lot,” he said about his stint with the Philippine Youth team when he was in first year high school. “Gumawa ng video sa YouTube yung tito ko and he labeled it ‘Kiefer Ravena Pinoy Phenom.’ Then I proudly told coach Jamike (Jarin) about the video. I remember this exact moment, I was in the weights room and he asked me, ‘Alam mo ba ibig sabihin ng humility?’ (Do you know what humility means?) And that was the start of my era with coach Jamike.”

He adds, “I was very lucky that I was under him in high school. He was that strict a coach that he would make sure to push me harder. He would constantly remind me of things, pag sumosobra, pag kulang. He really made sure I was grounded despite everything I achieved in high school pa lang. He taught me lessons that I will bring with me throughout my life.”

The impact of his monicker actually hit Kiefer during his rookie year in college. “Naramdaman ko talaga yung  (I really felt like a) ‘phenom’ during the game versus La Salle. That’s when I first saw the shirt, ‘The Phenom Is Here’. Sa high school  there was nothing like that! It was a surreal moment for me when they gave me a shirt. I asked what it was, they said, ‘Pang-warmer mo.’ When I read what was written, wow, astig. It’s very overwhelming that a lot of people would consider buying the shirt, which was around P300, P350. It wasn’t cheap!”

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2. He first learned basketball at the Milo Best program. The minimum age was 6, he was only 4.

“I was the youngest that was allowed to join Milo Best,” Kiefer reveals. “My mom asked them, kung pwede bang i-salingkit lang ako. So I just did drills. Then eventually, the coaches were like, ‘Uy, pwede ‘to ah!’ They decided to enroll me as a normal student, a camper. (He actually attended Milo Best in Ateneo). It was there where I learned to play basketball. Basics, shooting, defense, dribbling. So now I’m with Milo as their endorser, it’s very nice. It’s very surreal that now I’m giving back, when sila ang tumulong sa akin dati.” (when they used to be the one helping me).

On whether he ever recalls sucking at basketball: “Ha ha! I just knew that I had a feel for the game.”

3. He first played for La Salle Greenhills, until his fifth grade when he was recruited by Ateneo to be the first scholar of basketball for grade school.

“Ateneo started talking to my parents about the possibility of me transferring to Ateneo. They said they would give me a lot of opportunities. We talked about it as a family, and for me, being that eager kid who just wanted to play basketball, I really wanted to try it out. I didn’t know that eventually it would be this big for me. I just wanted what was best for me, and my parents thought the same. So for grade six, I transferred,” he recalls. Kiefer shares that though his dad, basketball star Bong Ravena, went to UE and his mom, star volleyball player Mozzy Crisologo Ravena, went to UST, neither parent pressured him to follow in their footsteps and be a Warrior or Tiger.

Going into college, DLSU did try to get him back, and other schools tried, too. “Yes. They sought to interest me,” he says shyly. “I chose Ateneo because I owe probably, if not all, most of my achievements to them. It’s just right for me na piliin ko yung (that I chose the school that gave me the biggest opportunity.” When asked if he can imagine himself playing for La Salle, had he not made the choices he did: “Now, that I’m grown up hindi ko maisip. (I wouldn’t think of it).  But maybe the thought, what if I studied in La Salle, makakasabay ko sina ganito, ganyan ( I would play with). But di ko rin masasabi (I can’t really say for sure) who would end up in what team.”

“I’m so happy here in Ateneo, with my teammates. I feel most at home here.”

4. Kiefer Ravena in numbers:

250: number of sneakers in his collection

39: highest number of points scored in one game. “Third year high school, versus FEU, and we lost.”

11: current number of endorsements he has.

184,800: current number of followers he has on Twitter with his account @kieferravena, making him the most followed UAAP player on the site

15: his jersey number. “Because when I was in La Salle walang ibang natira. No connection to anything. I was born Oct. 27, 1993, nothing would add up to 15, we don’t live in #15. I just decided to stick to it.”

5. On growing up and being compared to his dad Bong: “Imagine sobrang bata ka pa lang, sobrang (I was so young, yet I was so) pressured to perform. But my dad is actually my biggest advantage.”

“When I was young I was really compared to him, and my dad was the first one to tell me, ‘Just be yourself, just play your game, don’t be pressured with who I am.’ Then eventually I diverted into my own image and style of playing,” he recalls. “My dad was my biggest advantage when I was growing up. Other players were bigger than me, could shoot better than me, were stronger than me. But my knowledge of the game with the help of my dad at a young age was very high. That was really my advantage.”

Now, Thirdy, his younger brother who is playing for the Ateneo Juniors Basketball Team in his senior year, is constantly being compared by the public to Kiefer. “Actually I am my brother’s number one critic. I don’t know if it’s good or bad, but hindi ko siya pinupuri (I don’t praise him). It’s not that minamaliit ko siya ( don’t belittle him), it’s because I know what he can do. He is physically the most athletic of us boys in the family so he is perfect for basketball. We are here to guide him,” Kiefer explains. In his family, it’s all about mentoring and sportsmanship with his mom also guiding his younger sister Dani, who plays volleyball for the Miriam HS team. “Sometimes you can be pressured to do everything, score, rebound. But it’s a team sport and you have your other teammates to be there.”

6. On being a big fan himself: “I would tweet NBA players just for fun.” Just recently, his ultimate idol Kobe Bryant even followed him on Twitter.

“Every single time he was here in Manila, I was able to see him,” says the fanboy. They were able to have a proper “two-minute conversation” one time.

Kiefer: “I said, hey man,”

Me: “You said, ‘hey.. man?’”

Kiefer: “Yes,” he laughs in slight embarrassment. “Sobrang idol ko kasi (He’s my real idol). I just told him I really idolize him and he just told me to keep working hard, and that I will do great things. I really would watch his clips, study his skills, study his arsenal.”

One morning, Kiefer woke up to the pleasant surprise of being followed by Kobe on Twitter.

Me: “So you’ve sent him a direct message?” (A private messaging feature that can only be used if a person follows you on Twitter.)

Kiefer: “Yes, I did! I said thanks for following me and I hope you tweet me back. He didn’t reply. But, of course, it’s okay,” he laughs.

7. Kiefer’s take on the controversies of the basketball world:

1. On controversies of players cheating on their wives: “I don’t really follow chismis (rumors), I’m not into that. I idolize Kobe for what he is on the court, I don’t know if he’s the same beast outside the court.” Hypothetically asked what he would do when he joins the PBA and discovers that a teammate is cheating on his wife: “I’m the type of friend who won’t deprive you of what you like, but I would warn you. If he doesn’t stop it’s not my fault anymore, but I would try my best to tell him he is doing something wrong.”

2. On NBA player Jason Collins coming “out”: “I’m impressed with how the NBA handled it, they handled it with such class. If it were here it would have to start out small, it can’t be big right away. Jason Collins wasn’t the first one to come out, and all of them had overwhelming support. Eventually we will reach a point we will be that open.”

3. On issues of game fixing and college player salaries: “The game fixing and ‘hulog ng laro,’ I’m not a fan of it and I don’t believe in it. It ruins the game. I’m aware it goes around and it’s happening, but I am not a fan and I’m never going to be one. On salaries, here in the Philippines, basketball is such a way of life. You can’t blame college players for getting income from basketball at a young age. In fact, I admire kids who work hard to play basketball because they know how big it is, they know how it can help their families and themselves.”

4. On rumors of star players being “protected” by referees: “Protected? No, I really get beat up in games. Punched, everything, it’s part of the game. The referees are my best friends. They can really control the game.”

8. More trivia on Kiefer:

Most meaningful championship? “My fifth straight. I won three straight in high school, two in college. That was the five-peat last year. Kasi yun ang pinakamahirap.” ( That was the most difficult).

Most painful loss? “First year high school, the championship against Zobel.”

Most important lesson learned from coach Norman Black? “Give it your best at all times. He was known as Mr. 100 percent, even in practice, even when horsing around, he would be so competitive. He is my godfather in baptism. He was my dad’s first coach. Year 1992 for San Miguel, Coach Norman drafted my dad. After 10 years, I was under coach Norman.”

One thing your new coach Bo Perasol always tells you? “He would always tell me to accept my role. You can’t shy away from that. You’re a good player, and the only thing that will make you a great player is if you accept and play your role well. Ganito pala niya ako pinagkakatiwalaan.” (This is how much he trusts me.)

First thing you do after losing a game? “Eat a lot.”

Any favorites? “Sambokojin.”

Favorite thing to do after a win? “Go out with my family, celebrate. Eat. Wherever near the venue, whether Araneta or MOA.”

Sport you love watching? “Volleyball, the local league. My mom works as an analyst for ABS-CBN Volleyball coverage.”

Best subject in school? “Law 11, Obligations and Contracts. I’m not taking up law but I like learning it.

Worst subject? “Science, anything with science.”

Relationship status: “Currently nanliligaw (courting).”  She’s his schoolmate in Ateneo.

9. With his savings and income from endorsements, Kiefer had a beach house built in his hometown Iloilo.

“It’s the first big reward I gave myself. It’s not too far, it’s like going to Boracay. A three-day weekend would do,” he shares. “I was hands-on building it. I designed the room, how the porch was made, the interiors, where everything would be placed, the gate. It’s just somewhere to relax. It’s nice, it’s so serene.”

10. On taking his love for basketball a step further: “I will become a coach no matter what. I know that I am one.”

“Nung bata ako (when I was younger), I would watch VHS tapes of my dad in the room. The door would be slightly open and they would look at what I was doing. They would hear me talking by myself. ‘Dapat kasi pinasa mo dun, dapat dito ka, dapat ganito,’ (You should have passed the ball, you should have been here, this is what you should have done), as if instructing my dad. I would analyze the game. Natuwa sila hearing those things,” he revealed. He was around seven years old at that time.

On his training regimen: “First, diet. I eat everything. As long it’s in moderation, we burn everything. When it comes to practice, that’s the beauty of basketball, its a set of different skills so you figure out what you need to improve. My shooting is what I am trying to improve, seeing what other shots I can make. Watching your videos. You take note of the things you need to improve. Extra shots. Weights room. Just to keep everything in check.” He also occasionally swims, runs, (“I use other sports to be better at basketball”) and goes to the driving range (“It’s also a game of focus”).

So what does he do so differently from other players? “Perhaps, my knowledge of the game? My ‘Basketball IQ’, I’ve heard it a lot of times. Skill wise there are many better players than me. But the thing that makes basketball look so easy, that is my advantage. Kunyari ito, he had to do this and this and this, for me, you can just do this, and you get the same result.”

* * *

Yes, he feels the pressure. With five key teammates graduated, a 0-2 standing, and an ankle injury, it’s tough to paint what can possibly be going on in Kiefer’s mind. “I just want to prove to everyone that we are still capable of winning. A lot of people are already counting us out, especially our opponents. But I have to recover 100 percent and be ready for all the games that I will play in,” he says. Determination and passion, he obviously has. Having his feet planted firmly on the ground despite his overwhelming fame and success is what makes Kiefer a cut above the rest. After our interview I bumped into Fr. Nemy Que of Ateneo and mentioned how disarming Kiefer’s humility is. He answers, “I think from the very start he knew, he knew he had it, he knew he wanted it to be like this.”

http://www.philstar.com/sunday-life/2013/07/07/962355/kiefer-ravena-king-eagle-soars 

10 Things You Should Know About Marian Rivera

Marian Rivera talks back

She is the Primetime Queen of GMA7, yet day in, day out, she deals with haters, bashers, and naysayers. With her angelic face, she always plays the star on TV and in movies, yet in real life, people paint her as the kontrabida. What goes on in her head and who is she, really, behind the camera?

Here are 10 things you should know about Marian Rivera.

1 On being labeled as mataray, suplada, or maldita: “Pagod na pagod na ako marinig yan. Transparent akong tao eh. Sa showbiz pala hindi pwedeng masyadong transparent.” (I’m tired of hearing that. I’m a transparent person, but in showbiz you can’t be too transparent.)

“Sa totoo lang nagsasawa na talaga ako (I’m really getting tired of it). I used to ask myself why? What am I doing wrong?  I guess you can’t blame other people for the perception they have of me because of the issues I have been involved in,” Marian says very matter of factly. “I am tired of being labeled as maldita, “ she says in Filipino, as most of her answers were.

“I can’t please every one. As long as hindi naman kita binabastos, hindi kita tinatarayan, hindi ako nagpo-power trip sa yo, kung ayaw mo sakin, anong magagawa ko? Luluhod pa ba ako sa yo? (As long as I am not rude to you,  I’m not power tripping, if you don’t like me what can I do? Should I beg?) No. This is me. What is important is that the people I work with I am able to get along with them.”

2 She never got into any fight as a child, was a homebody growing up, and was an honor student in high school.

“I grew up as a homebody. If other kids wanted to play with me they had to go to our house. Even when I was in college my barkada had to come to the house. My lola would let us do what we wanted to do,” the actress recalls. “I don’t know where the impression that I am a rebel came from. I speak harshly because I am from Cavite. All my cousins in Cavite are boys so I guess that is why I am a bit boyish.  My lola told me that she would allow me to become an actress. But no one will ever take advantage of you.’”

She recalls being a pretty good student in school, attending St. Francis of Assisi for grade school and high school and De La Salle University Dasmariñas for college. “There was a point in high school when I was an honor student. Not in college. I had a hard time.”  On a more casual note after the interview, she poses an observation (or even frustration) on who gets admired and who gets mocked: “Yung magaling mag-English pero hindi tapos ng high school, o yung nakatapos ng college pero hindi magaling sa English? (Those who spoke good English but didn’t finish high school or those who finished college but didn’t speak good English?)”

3 On one lesson her family taught her when it comes to being involved in controversies: “No matter what is said against you, never destroy another person.”

“Hindi ganun ang pamilya ko. Lalaban kami, pero hindi to the point na maninira, (my family will flight but to the point of defaming another person),” she explains.

Marian was born in Spain, but after her parents’ separation when she was two years old, she and her mom came back to live in Cavite. “My parents got married and got divorced later on. But they never made me choose between them. I stayed with my mom but my dad came home regularly to visit me,” she shares.

Marian reveals that her parents Francisco and Amalia prefer to not read any write-up about her. “My father never wanted to know how I was doing in showbiz.” She adds that when a negative issue is thrown at her, it is her mom she turns to first. “When I get into controversies in showbiz, I talk to my mom until I feel better.”

4 Had she not been discovered to become an artista, Marian is convinced that she would still be working her first job — at the Mandaluyong Mental Hospital.

Having finished a degree in AB Psychology, Marian took her OJT in Mandaluyong Mental Hospital and worked there for four months. Her career in medicine was cut short when she was discovered by producer Tony Tuviera in a commercial.

“Oo, gusto ko dun (yes, I want that),” she says when asked if she wanted to pursue that career. “I was allowed to deal with patients, we would evaluate them, give them their medications. There are many patients I remember because once tumuntong ka dun, sasabihin mo talaga na napakaswerte mong tao (you see them there, you will realize how lucky you are).”

Marian admits to having cried many times because of overwhelming emotions in the ward. “ I was often told that when I am at the hospital I have to be strong. But I can be very emotional when I see that the patients are having a hard time sometimes I find it hard to take,” she says in a soft voice.

5 She has an obsession with butterflies and actually used to have them as pets at home.

“Anything with a butterfly makes me happy,” she says as her face lights up, and goes on to show me a butterfly chart she has saved on her phone. “It came to a point that I became obsessed with butterflies. I would cry when they died, so I asked my lola to make a cage where we could keep them. I was so obsessed that I thought of spending all my earnings on butterflies!”

She started collecting when she was still a student, and stopped just a couple of years ago. “I would prepare their food, the fruits and I would put sugar in their water.  I used to get my butterflies in Greenhills. Some were P25, other P500. They live for about a month,” she adds. At one point, she was taking care of 40 butterflies.

6 Marian Rivera in numbers:

177,000: number of followers she has on her Instagram account, “therealmarian,” her only social media account. “ I really wanted to be on Instagram. I spoke to Ate Reg (Velasquez), but she has a lot of bashers. She told me, ‘It is easy to be on Instagram! If there is something you don’t like you can block it.”

198,100: number of followers of Marian’s parody twitter account, @superstarmarian. “ I have heard a lot about her. She tweets a lot of funny things. If she uses it in a good way, why not? But on the Internet, things can sometimes be foul. Kahit si Kuya Mike (Enriquez) tinanong ako, ‘Gusto mo may gawin tayong paraan?’ Sabi ko hindi na. (Even Mike Enriquez was asking me if I wanted to find a way, I said, no, never mind.)”

15: number of movies done within her seven-year career. To be released this year are My Lady Boss and Kung Fu Divas.

45,000: total number of units sold of her two dance albums, winning a Platinum award for the first and a Gold for the second.

2: number of days she goes on a diet if needed for a pictorial or project. “After that I go back to what I used to do!” Her choice workouts include boxing, running (3k or 5k), and Muay Thai

7 Three artists she admires most in the industry: Dawn Zulueta, Vilma Santos, and Aga Muhlach.

Dawn: “She is beautiful and her personality even makes her more beautiful. She told me, ‘Pinaglihi ko sayo anak ko, gusting-gusto kita,’” she gushes.

Vilma: “I admire her and want to be like her. When we worked together I never thought she would go to my room and talk to me. She talked to me and we exchanged numbers. We text each other even until now.”

Aga: “I want to work with him. I have met him a couple of times and I find him really nice.  I once saw him in New York and he said, ‘Hoy Marian, magkakamovie ba tayo?’ (Are we going to have a movie together?)”

She says she has the deepest respect for big stars who remain grounded and who are unselfish to newer artists like her. “I like working with people like that.”

8 Marian shares her five favorite destinations in the world:

1. Madrid, Spain: “ I was born there, but I did not grow up there. But it is like home. I am happy there because my dad and siblings are there.”

2. Paris, France: “One of the most romantic places in the whole world.”

3. Amanpulo, Philippines: “Just like paradise.” Despite her extremely fair complexion, she reveals she loves the sun but her skin doesn’t darken easily.

4. New York, USA: “I enjoy window shopping!

5. Tokyo, Japan: “The food is great. I eat a lot when I am there.

9 Despite Marian and boyfriend Dingdong Dantes being on countless “sexiest” lists, she reveals that their absolute favorite pastime as a couple is eating out.

“We love restaurants. We love eating five-course meals, we like taking our time. It is then that we share stories with each other,” she reveals. “Dong is not a very vocal person. But you will get to know him because of the way he acts.” She names Goose Station, Las Flores, Shangri-La hotels, and Tsukiji as some of their favorite places to eat.

On the sweetest thing she has done for Dingdong: “ I gathered all his relatives and friends to celebrate his 30th birthday.  He thought that it would be a date, just the two of us. But there was even a production number from his mommy, tita and cousins.”

On the sweetest thing Dingdong has done for her: “He has done a lot. There was a time he gave me a bouquet of flowers made of art paper. He had a wish for me written on each flower! It was not wrapped well though because it was wrapped by him.”

10 If she were to describe herself in three words, Marian says: malambing, kalog, and totoong tao (sweet, crazy in a fun way,  and real).

Marian says the biggest misconception about her is that she picks fights. “ Pero hindi ako lumalaban ng walang dahilan, (I don’t fight without reason)” she explains. “Actually I don’t really want to talk about it. I am always at the short end when it comes to people’s perception of me. ‘Ay ganyan si Marian.’” She adds, “Ang pagiging mataray o maldita…I can’t be demure all the time.

“At the end of the day ‘pag natulog ako, sino ba ako? Bakit ko kailangan magpanggap na hindi naman ako. (I don’t need to pretend who I’m not) This is who I am. This is what I can do. Unless gusto ko mag improve at ibahin sarili ko sa mas mabuting paraan, gagawin ko. Pero yung parang magpanggap ng hindi ako, hindi ko kaya. Mas pinipili ko na eto ako. (If I want to improve or change myself for the better,  I will do it, but I will not pretend. I can’t handle that. I would rather choose to be me.)”

* * *

“Actually, I am really like a child,” Marian says. (And she actually prefers to be called Yanyan.) The 28-year-old is now unfazed by accusations thrown at her, learning how to accept things more in a forgiving, childlike way than someone who just doesn’t give a damn. “Okay ang family ko, relationship okay, career okay, kailangan yata talaga may ganyan para naman balanced. Kasi pag wala, para namang ang perfect na ng lahat!”  (My family, relationship and career are okay, so maybe you need controversies for a balanced life. You can’t be perfect in everything.)

She goes on to joke that she wishes there was a phone app wherein when she reads a basher’s comment, she can push a button then she’d literally pop out of that person’s phone and say: “Hiyang hiya naman ako sayo! Ikaw na ang maganda, ikaw na ang matalino, ikaw na lahat lahat.” Everyone in the room bursts into laughter.

http://www.philstar.com/sunday-life/2013/06/23/956952/marian-rivera-talks-back 

10 Things You Should Know About the hosts of The Morning Rush

Your wake-up call x 3

Three’s company: “In terms of destiny, it’s interesting how we sort of just gravitated towards each other. We are similar, and different,” Delamar says of Chico and Gino

It is not easy to keep a partnership for 17 years, but radio royalties Chico and Delamar have gone that distance and are still at the top of their game. Add to that new generation DJ Gino and you have countless Twitter trending topics, two best-selling books, and arguably the most popular morning show on FM radio. What is it about them? Here are 10 things you should know about The Morning Rush DJs.

1 Chico and Delamar were the first ones to do an FM radio talk show in 1996. Delamar is actually the first Philippine female DJ host.

“Girls were not allowed to talk for more than two minutes then,” Del recalls when she started as a newsreader on radio. “The shows had no personality before, it was just to introduce a song then play the commercials.” Chico was the main DJ in the morning, but there came a time that he and Del would overlap on-air and get into arguments about different topics. Chico recalls, “Initially ang claim to fame namin was, we were known as yung away nang away sa umaga. Why would anyone want to listen to people fighting? But apparently they found the fights entertaining.” Though they were not allowed to banter, they got away with it for around 11 months. “Had the bosses heard us before the advertisers gave feedback, they probably would’ve asked us to stop. But by the time they heard that we sort of broke the rules by making daldal, they already heard it as praise,” Chico explains. “And the bulk of our content was coming from the listeners, it was unheard of at that time.” That was the birth of The Morning Rush on RX 93.1.

2 Gino, Chico, and Del’s craziest fan stories:

Gino and the Mystery Girl

“I was doing the graveyard shift, and at around 3 a.m. this girl comes in. We’re the only two people there. ‘Hi, what’s your name?’ But she just sat there staring. ‘Can I play you anything?’ She just smiled. At the end of my shift I walked out of the booth. She followed me down the elevator going to the lobby. I was walking down the basement to my car, she was still following me! I just made a run for it. I felt like a fish inside an aquarium and she was in the aquarium with me.”

Chico and the Secret Caller

“I was still a solo jock doing the 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. slot. There was always this kid who would call up and request the same song all the time. I found it odd kasi palagi siyang hush hush. Often he’d say, ‘I have to go, my lola is here.’ At times I would get concerned, thinking, is this an abused child? Why is he so afraid of adults like he’s not supposed to use the phone? After some months I didn’t hear from him, then I got a visitor with a letter. ‘Hi, I’m the uncle.’ I asked if the boy was with him and the uncle said, ‘Actually, he passed away.’ Apparently he had been seriously ill for most of his life, and when he died they saw a letter addressed to me. He explains in the letter, he’s about 12, he is really sick and not allowed to be on the phone. He was sort of asking for permission if he could be my guardian angel when he goes to heaven. I was freaked out. To be honest I don’t know if I believed in that but the few times I escaped (death) with a close call, I couldn’t help but think, ‘What if it’s him?’”

Del and the Ex-Nun

“She was a regular listener who had taken time to write a letter saying she was an ex-nun, and she would visit us in the studio. One day, I was with a friend in a mall, and going upstairs I saw her. ‘Oh, hi! How are you?’ After the conversation we walked along and went up another floor. As we were coming up, ‘Oh, hi. It’s you again!’ And this kept happening every floor. Aside from that, one time I guested on some show with a friend. I guess she watched it, she was so angry asking, ‘Who is that? You should just be with Chico! Who does he think he is?’ I told her you can pester me but you can’t threaten my friends or I’m gonna hurt you.”

3 Gino on getting haters as the newest addition to the then 15-year partnership of Chico and Del: “I could just sit there and shut up but I wouldn’t be doing my job.”

“I would get comments like, ‘What is he doing there?’ Ang ingay niya. Well, aren’t we supposed to talk on radio? For every one hater, you get a hundred people saying you’re doing a good job,” he shares. Gino came in as the substitute DJ when Del went on maternity leave. “They had the harshest critics. You had to be smart, funny, and even if you did a good job, they would still want them back. But I dunno, it felt natural with Chico.” They all burst into laughter. Chico and Gino developed a unique chemistry, with fans calling them Chichi and Gigi, and when Del came back to work, the three of them became “The Kikay Barkada.”

4 Del (unexpectedly) became a mom despite doctors telling her that her chances were slim. At 27, she had surgery to have an ovarian cyst removed. At 37, she got pregnant.

“Five years after my surgery, I went through another surgery and the doctor said every year my chances to have kids were just going down,” Del shares. “One day, I opened a bag of Cheetos and I tasted it and it felt like heaven opened. This was the most wonderful Cheetos I’d ever tasted! And then I remember a friend who got pregnant said everything tasted better. I had no reason to suspect that I was pregnant, aside from the sex I had had. Yes, it was with a boyfriend, but we were on a break!

“There was a lot of fear. I wasn’t married, I come from a religious family — I’m a pastor’s kid. What would people say? But I knew underneath I was happy. Scared but happy.” Today, Del fully enjoys her role as mother to Cooper, and is expecting baby number two this October. She dodges the question on marriage, to which Chico quips, “Ayan ang gusto kong tanong! Sana on-air tayo!”

5 Chico on being the most popular DJs, to being tagged as laos, to again rising to be the top DJ today: “We’ve gotten to the point of ‘Let’s stop trying to please everyone, let’s just do what we do.’ Being number one, that’s one game we don’t play.”

“We’ve always just hung in there, and we have found it to be a source of pride. Through the years, nag-iba na our chief rivals, and we’re kinda still here. We don’t know exactly how it happened. There was a time na nag-iba yung direction ng Philippine radio. Our way was passé. ‘Luma na yung style niyo,’ they’d say. Ang uso was edgy, very aggressive radio. And we weren’t part of that so we became yesterday’s news. Why do something we are not good at, or we are uncomfortable with? Why don’t we do what we do, what we know how to do well, just stick to that and bahala na how the public will judge us.” Just last year, they won Best Radio Show at the Yahoo OMG awards and the #trendingradio award at the Tatt Awards, plus numerous KBP Golden Dove Awards to boot.

“As long as we enjoy what we do, I feel that there will be a place for us. The moment we don’t enjoy it or people don’t enjoy it then, it would be time to go,” Del shares.

Chico adds, “We don’t think about, ano five more years, 10 more years. We leave things very open. We never thought we’d be where life took us, we never thought we would last this long.”

6 The Kikay Barkada in numbers:

370: Total number in pesos it would cost to buy their best-selling books The Best Of The Morning Rush Top 10 (Book 1 and Book 2).

8: Total number of alarm clocks combined it takes to wake them up. Chico has two (“both advanced”), Del has one, and Gino has five (“two phones, an alarm clock, our maid, and a laptop”).

68,800: Number of followers on The Morning Rush Twitter account @rxtmr.

70: Estimated percentage of time they spend talking (advertisements included) on the show. (That’s from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m.)

3: Number of pots of coffee they usually finish within the show. “I bring the coffeemaker,” Del shares. Both Chico and Gino just started drinking coffee recently.

7 What it is like in the booth of The Morning Rush:

Most common issue of callers?

Del: “Love talaga.”

Chico: “Usually unrequited.”

Their advice?

Chico: “Deal with it. You can gloss over it but that’s really what it is.”

Longest fight without talking off-air?

Del: “Two weeks.”

Chico: “I don’t remember what it was about. Kahit gano pa kami nag-aaway, when it’s work, we work.”

Longest period of time their topic was trending on Twitter?

Gino: “Over 24 hours. Until next morning pumasok na kami, it was still trending. There was one whole month almost every day may trending topic.”

Topic you get most heated arguments in?

Del: “Kung sino yung pinaka-bitchy.”

Chico: “Anything that involves weight.”

Gino: “Or age.”

Del: “Or dating preference.”

They all burst into laughter for the nth time.

Who is the most multi-talented?

Chico: “Wala.”

Del: “Gino is a gamer, he sings.”

Chico: “I rap.”

8 What to do when you wake up not feeling happy? “You make fun of your misery,” Del says.

“There’s that stereotype of a clown who makes everybody laugh… it’s a little ironic. You make so many people happy and you come home and you’re miserable and you feel like, wow, that’s weird,” Chico shares with a more serious tone. Gino adds, “We make you happy but who makes us happy?” They all burst into laughter again.

“Although we’re so different in age, in background, the difference is that we all have a dash of existential angst. And if you pair that with a very inquisitive mind, there’s no way to go but sadder and sadder! Which is actually what you need to entertain people! Because you can see life for what it is, it’s easy to make fun of things that are trivial or fleeting. When we start doing the show, it’s like a pause to all that questioning in your head. It’s like a jousting match trying to outwit each other or tag team and push one to the corner. It becomes a mental activity,” Del explains. Chico adds, “Some of our best shows ever, lahat kami walang tulog, puyat, malungkot, masungit!”

9 Fun facts Chico, Delamar, and Gino reveal for the first time:

Chico: “I was voted Disco King 1990 in my college organization in UP.”

Del: “For someone who doesn’t really know how to swim and is deathly afraid of the water, I have more than 110 dives under my belt.”

Gino: “I played a singing, dancing rose bush in a musical adaptation of Beauty and The Beast. Not the Disney version. I wore green tights and put on my own makeup for about two to three shows a day. I had a bushy, floral head piece.”

10 Chico, Del, and Gino admit that they don’t think they will ever leave radio.

“At the heart of it we are broadcasters. Once the radio bug bites you there really is no turning back. You may want to leave it every now and then because you want to know if you can hack it in some other field. But the truth is you will miss it,” Del shares. “Other than radio, we also like trying new things. We’ve released two books. Even if let’s say we had a chance to do TV, we would still do radio,” Chico says.

“I don’t know if we would ever want to leave radio because for us, it’s our anchor. I think what we did for radio, we would like to do somewhere else but we don’t know what that is exactly yet,” Del reveals.

* * *

The “Rushers,” as their fans call themselves, are addicted to this trio. The magic they have is tough to explain, but Del says it is because they are all very sensitive towards each other. “We know where each one is coming from, because we all see the truth of what life is… which is a barren rock of misery,” Chico says as we all burst into laughter again. Listeners love them because they remind us every morning that we should never, ever take ourselves too seriously and that it is perfectly okay to laugh at ourselves. They are proof times three that nothing beats being true to who you are.

http://www.philstar.com/sunday-life/2013/06/09/951654/your-wake-call-x-3