HOW TO BE YOU—ONLY BETTER
Food, fashion and hosting experts reveal how they did it
Best-selling water brand Aquafina recently collaborated with a number of Filipino talents to promote its #BestBeginsNow campaign at the Glorietta Activity Center in Makati City.
Hosted by Sam YG and Suzy Gamboa, the event saw Aquafina brand ambassadors share their inspiring stories of hope, survival and success before a packed audience.
Albert Kurniawan, the Indonesian makeup artist sought after by celebrities and socialites, admitted that his greatest challenge when he first arrived in the Philippines was not knowing how to speak the native tongue. The challenge only magnified when he decided to move here permanently.
“But it never stopped me,” he says. “Instead it motivated me to work harder because I believed my work would speak for me someday.”
Michelle Gumabao, famously known as co-captain of the De La Salle University Lady Spikers volleyball team, has sports to thank for preparing her for her next challenge: representing the country in Miss Globe 2018.
“People often think that it’s two separate things, but it’s actually the same world,” she says.
Best version
“Volleyball and pageantry have mentors and teammates, and in both cases you’re training, performing and susceptible to criticism.” Still, she knows it’s all to make her the best version of herself.
Fashion designer Francis Libiran, best known for dressing celebrities in his red-carpetready gowns, credits discipline for keeping him updated with the latest trends. “Fashion changes every day,” he says, “so you need to reinvent yourself and know what’s out there.”
The rise of young, talented and driven designers also reminds him not to sit on his laurels.
Relevant and authentic
Aspiring chefs and food stylists learned a lot from chef Nicco Santos of Hey Handsome and Your Local fame, and food stylist Chichi Tullao, who reminded the audience to go for “visual food storytelling” when creating that perfect Instagramworthy shot.
Meanwhile, businesswoman Martine Cajucom, who grew her eyewear brand Sunnies from one store to over a hundred outlets nationwide, also had this piece of advice for social media-savvy kids. Make sure your content is “relevant and authentic to one’s self,” she said.
Even the event’s hosts had something to share about how to be a better speaker. Sam YG believes in practicing constant- ly and using the skill whenever you can. “Once you get there, you don’t stop. I think that’s part of being the best,” he says. Gamboa agrees, saying her cohost’s tip “doesn’t just apply to our industry.”
Your best version of yourself is waiting to burst onto the scene and the only person stopping you from reaching your peak is you. Take Aquafina’s challenge to start your #BestBeginsNow journey today.