Hazel Calawod holds multiple lives at once — Sports OT, actress, startup founder. She's building digital health technology for persons with disabilities in the Philippines. And she does all of it at full intensity.

This episode isn't about the resume. It's about the cost — the loneliness, the sleepless mind, the social gatherings she skips to keep building, and what it actually feels like to carry this much on purpose.

AFAAM is a podcast about building a life in Manila, hosted by a Filipino American figuring it out one episode at a time.

Email: [email protected]

AFAAM — A Filipino American Around Manila. Season 1: Building, Not Escaping.

A few weeks ago, I wrapped up my ninth season of MPL Philippines.

When I first started casting, I wasn't thinking about season nine. I was thinking about getting my foot in the door. Getting an opportunity. Proving I belonged.

Now, after multiple world championships, international tournaments, and years of doing what I once considered a dream job, I find myself asking a different question:

What happens after the dream comes true?

In this episode, I reflect on ambition, longevity, and the strange reality of achieving something you once thought would solve everything. We talk about momentum, uncertainty, staying relevant, and why the questions don't disappear when you reach the goal.

Sometimes they get bigger.

Email: [email protected]

Socials: https://linktr.ee/naisou?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=2ab6d6f9-1e9f-401a-b00e-0641b77a1b03

What makes someone walk away from the safe life?In this episode of AFAAM, We continue Andrew Fletcher's talk about leaving behind a stable banking career in Canada to build a completely different life farming chickens in the Philippines.We talk about identity, risk, starting over, the realities of building a life abroad, and what happens when the path everyone expects from you no longer feels right.This isn’t really an episode about chickens.It’s about choosing purpose over comfort.

email: [email protected]

Andrew Fletcher left a stable banking career in Canada to farm chickens in the Philippines.

In this episode, we talk about risk, identity, starting over, and what it means to build a life that actually feels meaningful.

A conversation about purpose, sacrifice, and choosing a different path — even when it makes no sense to everyone else.

AFAAM — A Filipino American Around Manila. Season 1: Building, Not Escaping.

What does success actually look like when you're the one writing the definition?

Not the version your parents can explain to their friends. Not the version that fits a clean narrative. The one you're actually building — in real time, with no template that fits.

In this episode, I sit with a question I've been avoiding: Is what I'm building success? Or is it the part that comes before success? And what's the difference?

If you've ever felt the gap between what success is supposed to look like and what you're actually living — this one's for you.

AFAAM — A Filipino American Around Manila
Season 1: Building, Not Escaping

Some people spend years chasing success.
For others, it arrives before they even know what to do with it.

Brigida Ramos is one of the most recognizable hosts in esports — but her story isn’t just about making it. It’s about what happens when success comes faster than you expected… and before you’ve had the chance to define it for yourself.

In this conversation, we talk about growth, identity, and the feeling of still being a fan — even while standing on the stage.

Because sometimes, success doesn’t feel like achievement.
It feels like something you’re still catching up to.

New episode every Wednesday.
AFAAM is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and wherever you listen.

AFAAM — A Filipino American Around Manila. Season 1: Building, Not Escaping.

There’s a phase that nobody really talks about — when your life starts moving forward faster than you can catch up to it.

On the outside, things look like they’re working. Opportunities start showing up. People start paying attention. But internally, you don’t always feel ready for any of it.

In this episode, I talk about what it actually feels like to grow in real time — especially in spaces like esports and content, where everything happens publicly and fast. The pressure, the doubt, the comparison, and the reality that confidence doesn’t always come before the opportunity.

Sometimes, it’s built because of it.

New episode every Wednesday .

AFAAM — A Filipino American Around Manila. Season 1: Building, Not Escaping.

There’s a pattern I’ve seen over and over again when it comes to men who fail here. Different backgrounds. Different opportunities. Different stories. But when things fall apart, it’s almost never random.

They all fail the same way.

This episode is about that pattern. What it looks like in the beginning when it doesn’t feel like failure at all. Why it often gets mistaken for freedom, for time, for “figuring things out.” And how slowly, without realizing it, it turns into something harder to escape.

It’s not about calling people out. It’s about recognizing something early enough to actually do something about it.

Because once you see the pattern, you can’t unsee it. And if you ignore it, it doesn’t go away—it just plays out.

New episode every Wednesday. AFAAM is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and wherever you listen.

Email: [email protected]

AFAAM — A Filipino American Around Manila
Season 1: Building, Not Escaping

Ingan is successful, building a career in media, and doing well in the Philippines — yet he's still thinking about leaving.

This episode explores the tension between building and leaving.
Career growth, privilege, financial literacy, and whether hard work is enough to build the life you want in the Philippines.

Sometimes building means staying.
Sometimes building means leaving.

New episode every Wednesday.

AFAAM — A Filipino American Around Manila. Season 1: Building, Not Escaping.

There are two assumptions people make when they find out I'm Filipino American living in Manila. One — that being American gave me some kind of head start here. Two — that I'm not really Filipino enough to belong here either.

Neither one is right.

This episode is about the identity gap that sits in the middle of both of those assumptions. What it actually feels like to be not Filipino enough for Filipinos and not American enough to feel like you fully left. The sting of people assuming you had money when you were saving modeling income to pay your own tuition. What it meant to look Filipino but not speak Tagalog. And what fifteen years of navigating that gap has actually produced.

Being Filipino American here is not a cheat code. It's a starting point. What you do with it is entirely on you.

New episode every Wednesday. AFAAM is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and wherever you listen.