AFAAM — A Filipino American Around Manila.

On March 21st I stood on a TED stage and tried to fit fifteen years of life in the Philippines into eighteen minutes. The theme was the Human Mosaic — and the talk covered every major chapter: modelling, wanting to go pro in gaming, college, teaching special education, losing that job, streaming full time, esports, voice over work, and eventually this podcast.

I left a lot on the floor.

This episode is everything I couldn't say in eighteen minutes. The full context behind each chapter, what the detours actually felt like from the inside, what preparing for that talk made me realize about my own story, and why none of those pivots were mistakes — even the ones that broke things.

If you watched the talk, this is the unfiltered version. If you didn't, this is where the full picture lives.

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

AFAAM — A Filipino American Around Manila. This is episode three.

My first guest has been in the Philippines for the same amount of time I have — fifteen years. She didn't grow up here. She came from Toronto on a gut feeling, stayed for love and opportunity, and built a broadcasting career in a city that was never supposed to be permanent.

Mara Aquino and I sit down to talk about what it actually costs to build a life somewhere you weren't born — the things you give up, the relationships that almost break everything, and what it means to belong somewhere when you look the part but don't quite fit the mold.

We also get into why she thinks the Philippines is a land of opportunities — and why most people push back on that.

Same city. Same fifteen years. Completely different story.

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

AFAAM — A Filipino American Around Manila. Fifteen years of building a real life in the Philippines.

I bought the ticket with $3,000 saved from two jobs. Told my parents after. And the moment I landed in Manila, I realized exactly how crazy of a decision I had just made.

This episode is the part I skimmed in episode one — the real first years. What I actually gave up leaving the US, what it felt like sitting alone in a hotel room in a city I barely knew, how modeling versus pro gaming became the first real fork in the road, and what it actually took to go from surviving here to building something worth staying for.

If you've ever made a decision you couldn't take back and had to figure it out from there — this one's for you.

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

AFAAM — A Filipino American Around Manila. This is episode one.

I moved to the Philippines at 21 with $3,000, no Tagalog, and a ticket I bought before I told my parents. Fifteen years later I'm still here — not because it's easy, but because it's been clarifying.

This episode is about what AFAAM actually means, why this show exists, and what separates it from every other Philippines-related podcast out there. No expat fantasy. No hot takes. Just an honest conversation about what building a real life here actually looks like.

Season 1 is called Building, Not Escaping. This is where it starts.

AFAAM is a podcast about building a real life in the Philippines — hosted by a Filipino American who's been doing exactly that for fifteen years.

Before Season 1 starts, here's the story behind the room it's being recorded in. Three years ago, me and Wolf had a plan to build Manila Podcast Studio. Life got in the way — and for a while, we let the dream sit. This is the conversation about what it actually took to stop waiting for the right time and just build the thing. A studio origin story, and an honest look at what happens when you keep a long-term vision alive even when nothing is moving.

Season 1 — Building, Not Escaping — starts next week.

AFAAM (A Filipino American Around Manila) is a podcast about building a real life in the Philippines — not escaping, not fantasizing, and not flexing. Season 1 follows the theme Building, Not Escaping, with a grounded lens on identity, discipline, standards, and what it takes to create a life worth staying for.

Contact: [email protected]