RJ Manalo shares his journey as a Filipino-American musician, producer, and audio engineer who finds fulfillment in creating opportunities for others through Project: AKOOL.

• Born on the East Coast but raised in Rancho Cucamonga, RJ was influenced heavily by his musical family
• Navigated the typical Filipino-American pressure to pursue nursing while following his passion for audio and music
• Started dancing in high school through b-boying before transitioning to K-pop dance
• Won first place at KCON's Coverstar K vocal competition in 2019 with his friend Ed
• Discovered his passion for audio engineering accidentally
• Created Project: AKOOL as a collaborative platform for K-pop vocal and dance covers
• Defines success as making meaningful connections with others through shared creative work
• Credits the video game Kingdom Hearts and its composer, Yoko Shimomura, as a major influence on his musical development

Guest bio:
RJ is a musician, producer, freelance sound editor and (recently) dance videographer. He is the director of "Project: AKOOL", a project created for but not limited to, KPOP vocal & dance covers. He also works as a music minister for his local church singing and playing piano for Sunday services, as well as the drummer for a 70's/80's cover band in Rancho Cucamonga. He along with his rapper partner Ed won 1st place in KCON's CoverStar K (Vocal) in 2019. In his free time he plays games such as Apex Legends or League of Legends with his friends and has a hobby of prop making and carpentry. He kind of dances also.  

• Instagram: @jaymanalo13 / https://www.instagram.com/jaymanalo13/
• Instagram: @akooltheworld / https://www.instagram.com/akooltheworld/
• YouTube: @RJManaloMusic / https://www.youtube.com/@RJManaloMusic

Links/resources:

• SVT - Rock With You w/ Untitled (dance cover - YouTube)
• SVT - Super w/ Untitled (dance cover - YouTube)
• SVT - Crush w/ Untitled (dance cover - YouTube)
• K-Factor 2022 w/ Untitled (dance performance - YouTube)
• “Ah Yeah” cover w/ Ed (vocal cover - YouTube)
• “Palagi” cover w/ Blessie (vocal cover - YouTube)
• Yoko Shimomura (music composer - Wikipedia)
• The Content Trap by Barat Anand (book - Amazon affiliate link) 

One Thousand Gurus Podcast:
Everyone has a compelling story to tell with insights we can all be inspired by. J.R. Yonocruz is a self-improvement blogger, relationship coach, and serial hobbyist with a passion for learning. He interviews unique guests from various fields to distill the strategies, habits, and mindsets we can use in our own lives. Each “guru” has a chance to give the audience a peek into a new world.

www.onethousandgurus.com
Instagram: @OneThousandGurus
TikTok: @onethousandgurus
YouTube: One Thousand Gurus Podcast
Email: [email protected]