Over the next week, I spend a lot of time with BJ as we plan our shoot and he shows me around his city and introduces me to his friends. There are countless times he manages to share our moments together without my knowledge. It was almost like are were two BJs – the one in the room, and the digital persona, who is managed by the one in the room – the easy-going, easily-distracted boy next door and the Warholesque celebrity whose life is filled with glamour and the trappings of fame. It’s that combination of talents that make him the success story that he is; neither would work on their own. I know people in the creative industries in London, Milan, New York – the world’s fashion capitals – many with decades of experience and proven talent who are still touting for work. Yet, here is a young man barely six years into his career, who has the head of one of the world’s biggest talent agencies, Jed Root, flying out to Manila from NYC to attend the opening of his inaugural gallery show.
Add to that, a best-selling book, Push (now on its second print run); an address book crammed with the great and the good, including international supermodels and film stars; and bookings until the end of the year. He’s a busy guy, but despite his celebrity status and gridlock schedule, he retains an easy-going, genuinely likeable personality and a real generosity. The reason he wrote his book was to help other young people get started in a career in the creative industries – it’s a ‘how-to’ guide based on the things he learnt in starting his own career. It’s popular because of the celebrities featured, but also because in the minds of many, particularly those from less advantaged backgrounds, BJ is truly living the dream.
BJ is openly gay – and a role model at that. He feels that it is important for young, gay Filipino people to know that it is OK to be out and proud. It seems fine to be gay here in the Philippines (well, Manila at least) but yet there are only a handful of openly gay public figures, particularly older ones. The media has tended to portray gay people as either figures of derision or as Trans*. So it’s no accident that the general impression of gay people is one that is effeminate. When you tell people here that you are gay, particularly the older generations, they will ask you when you will start to dress in women’s clothing. So it is important for people like BJ, for those stereotypes to be broken. I learnt that there is actually quite a big population of LGBTQ people in Manila – and for the most part, they are pretty integrated into society. Working-class gays tend to work in beauty parlours or hair salons, so most people do come in contact with gay people regularly – so much so that the ‘gay vernacular’ spoken in Manila, once used as a secret code in the community, is now understood by the mainstream.
Through BJ’s introductions, I feel like I’m meeting all of Manila’s talented and interesting young creatives, from journalists to actresses, designers, fashion editors and makeup artists in just a few short days. One random night I even end up at a rave with a Queen and a Princess – but that’s another story. So what is it that is breeding this new generation of switched-on people? Let’s get real for a second – there is a huge divide between the rich and the poor in Manila. So the people I’m talking about here come from the top quartile of affluence. They talk about the Filipino love for travel, and art school, and living abroad. But this is naturally because they are relatively well-off. It’s obviously much harder to be part of this new wave if you’re from the shantytowns or a small village in the archipelago. BJ and his friends are aware of this – creating hope is extremely important – and allowing access and connectivity to a world outside of the bubble you’re used to is crucial as well.
For Manileños rich or poor, the internet has in some way become a leveller. In the past, people were far more introspective, but because of technology and the web, Filipinos are much more exposed to the outside world and even more importantly, vice versa. Now the world doesn’t see the Philippines as some backward, undeveloped nation – they hear their lilting accents from call-centres across the country that serve the American and Canadian public, they spot Filipino talent on YouTube from their sofas and in less than 48 hours, they watch them again dancing on Ellen. Pinoy after Pinoy appear on The X Factor across the globe and blow the local talent out of the water. An impoverished boy from the slums became the best boxer in the world (albeit a homophobic one), a young woman from Quezon City became Miss Universe and a transgender politician can thrive in the Filipino Congress. BJ has had personal experience of this phenomenon. He’d been working with a young, local girl who he would promote on his Instagram, and one day the director of Wilhelmina Models signed her up just because he followed BJ on the picture-sharing network. It’s today’s greatest paradox – a much smaller world but with much bigger opportunities.
I ask BJ why he felt Manila’s star is shining. He agrees with the fact that the internet is a good source of inspiration and a motivator to make something of yourself. He also feels that a much greater sense of national pride is making the Pinoy nomad come home and be part of the movement. He tells me that there are so many people doing interesting things in the city, bringing home all the best bits from various cultures. They won’t just duplicate it, but inject it with lashings of Filipino flavour. And that, I feel is the secret ingredient – that made my time here with BJ and his friends so enjoyable and keeps making Manila such an exciting place to be. Despite the contemporary landscape in which they live, they embody the enduring characteristics of being Filipino – they’re inquisitive and resourceful, adaptable and resilient, hospitable and polite, brave and dignified. They also find humour and hilarity in everything, you can’t phase them. And if these bright, young things from Manila represent the future of the Philippines, it won’t be long before I’m packing my bags and moving here.
Photography by BJ Pascual and Martin Perry
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