PURVEYR—Radio: Prologue

In this episode of Prologue, we’re joined by Jorge Juan B. Wieneke V, more commonly known in the scene as similarobjects. He shared with us how music ebbed him through phases of self-discovery and reinventions, and how it eventually led him to his vision of fostering an art free from the rigidity of rules and structures. It’s a free world for Jorge, and everyone is allowed to create anything, from emo music to dungeon synth. 

From a very young age, his parents have already noticed his gravitation towards music through his solo performances of Smokey Mountain’s Da Coconut Nut or Aladdin’s Original Soundtrack. He also got into a lot of music lessons, with his keyboard being bought through the most unlikely source. But his musical awakening would come from an old iPod that contained songs from one of the most influential bands in history. Since then, Jorge wanted to perform music — writing songs and joining cover bands during high school, and jumping into new musical frontiers when he got into college. 

Soon, performing was not enough. Jorge wanted to create. And in order to create the kind of music that resonated with him, he knew he had to break the rules. Throughout his journey, Jorge shared about the people he met and worked with along the way. These people would join his vision for a more democratized music world and it would eventually lead to the creation of a collective. This served as an intersection for like-minded individuals who create unusual music at a time where the world was just beginning to appreciate their perspective. Art galleries would become music stages, and their stage would eventually find its way to the dance floor that existed physically and virtually.

Jorge’s journey resembled a spiritual awakening, much like how he created the name for his brand. And in this journey, it is all about turning to music in order to bridge out self-identity. What started as a hobby became so much more as he traveled through different genres and into different worlds, and eventually coming into terms with the most unromanticized version of himself.

Cecile Zamora, perhaps more commonly known as Chuvaness, joins us in this episode of Prologue to share with us her perspectives as she journeys through her self-confessed phase of evolution. As a multi-faceted woman, she gives us a glimpse of her life as a mom, businesswoman, blogger, columnist, fashion enthusiast, and DJ. And while these different lives converge on herself, she admits that she’s trying to reclaim back her identity by moving on from things that were not resonating with her soul any longer.

Being one of the first stores to propagate streetwear through her store Grocery, Cecile shared her first business venture of selling dead stocks from various brands and clothing brands from New York. After moving out of the fashion scene, she became one of the first bloggers in an age of dial-up internet. From a mere audience of around sixty people, Cecile shared how her blog was not as irrelevant as she first thought it was. From being a space for her thoughts, it also became a venture that she had to move away from eventually. As she moved from one point of her journey to another, she told the story of how she brought a novel restaurant from Singapore to the Philippines, and how she craftily propelled it into one of the most recognizable stores in the country. 

For Cecile, it is all about staying true to one’s self even if life will bring you to different places and phases. Now a DJ on top of everything that she has been doing thus far, Cecile was generous in sharing the lessons that she left and kept, and how her experiences became reference points to what she is building herself to be. 

Listen up, and you might just find out the story of how the name “Chuvaness” came to be. 

In this episode of Prologue, Rik Rasos, creative director of Proudrace and Proudrace Studios, shared with us how they managed to grow a fashion label that started out as a mere hobby. At a time when clothes were sold in Multiply, Rik Rasos mustered his experience as a stylist and as a retail manager to push their brand outside the country’s borders.

From the get-go, Rik Rasos knew where his life would lead him, especially when he shared with us that his childhood was spent around creating clothes, buying materials, and selling them to clients. Pointing out his source for contemporary pop culture, he admitted how the ’90s and 00’s eras of MTV influenced his fashion identity — and if not MTV, skater magazines that he got from his cousins in the States. We also discussed his experiences with interning for one of the big names in fashion, and how he used his skills in styling and retail management to turn Proudrace into a brand that is sold in over seventeen cities outside the Philippines. 

In his personal experience in handling a business, Rik Rasos was honest but, more importantly, idealistic. He did not sugar coat on the challenges they encountered when they were starting out, like creating an entire batch of orders by himself, determining the identity of a brand that they never thought would sell, and how they navigated through the different fashion scenes and culture both here and abroad. But throughout the challenges they had to go through, he still highlighted why people need to believe and invest in the talent of the Filipino people. 

Aside from discussing the story of Proudrace, Rik Rasos shared his perspectives on the general landscape of the Filipino fashion industry — from a comparative discussion of RTW’s and made-to-order clothes, to why one should be faithful to the purpose and the vision of their brand.

In this episode of Prologue, we sat down with Jason Magbanua, one of the most recognizable names in the wedding videography industry. At a time when wedding videos were done by anyone who can shoot and hold up lights, Jason shared how he turned the industry from a mere profit margin filler to a lucrative and competitive playground for creatives. And while his name has also been associated to other reasons, Jason Magbanua also shared how to muster the grit to press on from challenges.

Unlike other artists, Jason Magbanua’s creative calling wasn’t as innate. He grew up sculpting elephants from mud but it wasn’t until he got into Ateneo where he had to make his first “conscious and mature” decision of changing the trajectory of his education to meet his passion. The journey wasn’t as linear as he had hoped. He shared how he spent his college days editing students’ projects in Ateneo, his brushes with activism in Mendiola, and how he ended up teaching English in Lucena City. These things might be unrelated, but Jason also explained how all of these things helped him build his character and his mindset as a creator.

While he confessed that he is not a “business person” Jason knew the stakes of the venturing into the business arena. He shared how he consumed self-help books, how the feeling of rejection helped his mindset, how he had to turn off his Nokia 3210 just to escape from anxiety, and how he had to learn the reality of juggling family life and growing a business. 

For most, faking ‘til you make it seems like a scam but for Jason, it’s an anthem that he had to master as he voyaged into the uncharted industry of wedding videography. Now with 19 years of experience under his belt, we dove into an insightful conversation filled with honest advice both for start up entrepreneurs and couples, and the contemplations of a man whose name became synonymous to the same industry that he pioneered.

In this episode of Prologue, Dan Matutina, designer, illustrator, and founder of the design studio, Plus63 Design Co., shared how he found his way into the cutthroat industry of visual design. Armed only with his knowledge of math, sciences, and cartoon characters, Dan Matutina explained that growing as an artist should not be just about the skill, but rather, an interdisciplinary journey for inspiration.

Dan Matutina’s journey started in Tacloban where he learned, growing up in a middle-class family, that education is the best way to succeed although Dan already knew from a young age that his artistic tendency was something that he cannot ignore. It came from renting comic books on the sidewalk, watching Betamax cartoons through the neighbor’s window, and a local provincial channel that shows a different cartoon series everyday from five to six in the afternoon. And like the cartoon roulette that he grew up with, he did not know what was going to happen when he reached the shores of Manila.

Dan Matutina’s journey might be quirky, but it’s filled with the wisdom collected from years of moving through uncertainties, the constant drive to be better, and mustering one’s confidence in an industry where everyone seems to be better than you.

In this episode of Prologue, Kiko Escora, art world maverick and DJ, sat with PURVEYR to share how he jumped head first into the world of visual and audio arts. In a world beset by conceited critics, pretentious opinions, and appalling uncertainties, Kiko Escora explained the importance of standing by your brand and independence as an artist.  

The journey was not as straightforward as other people may assume. He knew from a very young age that art was not something that he would consciously pursue. He shared, however, how he still consistently gravitated towards visual and audio arts in the days when he waited tables in fast food restaurants just to survive and how he discovered new frontiers through rave party scenes.

Kiko Escora’s journey in art is almost trans-generational in its scope. This episode will take you into a timeline spanning the influences of the first Japanese cartoons in the country, rave parties and their outlandish cyberpunk fashion sense, the culture of art galleries, and the era where artists recovered their independence through access to new tools and platforms for art. He was not one to mince words when he went deep into the nitty gritty details of the art scene’s underbelly. He also explained his stance on being consistent with your style, the importance of paying attention to other artists and the energy of the era, the opinions that truly mattered, and why it is more rewarding to focus on a vision rather than a style.

For Kiko Escora and his sagely wisdom, it is all about jumping into the unknown and finding success by mastering the philosophy of being confident with yourself and what you have to offer. A word of caution, though. This episode is filled with strong language. Not that you would mind, of course.

In this episode, we sat down with Shaira Luna, who some of us (those of a certain ‘age’) would recognize as one of the gifted children from a popular milk brand. For Shaira, there was more to life than trying to satisfy everyone’s expectations. And while her journey was filled with whispers of regret on what she should have been, Shaira thrived on independence as she shared with us the rewards following your own path.

Shaira shared how rigid and well-planned her life was. Her formative years were strictly defined by getting to school at a young age, studying with older peers, doing talks for DepEd, spending summers on extra curricular work than playing, and living the life expected from a gifted child. Discovering her passion was an elusive quest, and she shared how she meandered through her heavily-packed academic schedules that never really gave her the chance to pursue any hobby that interested her. 

But her life took a sharp turn when she got into her first music gig and her first flirtation with photography. She shared how her photographer life started in the dimly lit bars where her friends played and how she advertised herself in Friendster and Multiply. She also shared with us the challenges that she had to face when she began dedicating herself to her passion — how she faced the disappointment of the people who were expecting so much from her, how she had to sell things just to survive, and how she taught herself the technicalities of photography in order to thrive in a discipline that she was not entirely sure of.

More than just discussing the inspiration behind her visual style, Shaira Luna’s journey into photography will make you look deep into what it means to freely express yourself and how rewarding it can be when you break the molds that were set for you.

In this episode of Prologue, we sat down with Quiccs (Juanito Maiquez) and talked about his journey from being a five-year-old artist joining art contests, to a graphic design titan in Burnwater Design Studios, and how he realized his vision for his own line of designer toys. 

Quiccs talked us through how his exposure to hip hop and child-like imagination translated into tangible pieces of art that could sell within minutes. We also discussed how he was able to find his art inspirations in an era without the comfort and ease of Google, how he went about college taking a non-art major, and why Evangelion, Gundam, and Japanese Mecha became the focus of his craft. You'll also hear about how Michael Lau inspired him to pursue designing toys, and likewise how he got into graffiti art — with 123 Klan and Egg Fiasco's works being part of his influences.

Lastly, also included in this episode is his Bulletpunk collection and its post-apocalyptic origin stories — the Ghost of Kurosawa, Mariko, Zeta, Sharko and Remi, Ukami and Hitsuji, and the “calling card” designer toy that started it all — TEQ63. 

It is an insightful discussion that plunges you deep into the rabbit hole of the lucrative industry of designer toys and how his success with his Japanese-mecha inspired craft and concept landed him a collaboration and partnership with global lifestyle brand, Adidas.

In this episode of Prologue, we sat down with Raoul Reinoso, co-founder of the local basketball specialty brand, Titan. We chatted about his journey from working in publishing to the mobile industry, and from Nike to co-founding Titan in 2010.

Raoul shared how going out of your comfort zone and connecting with different people can help one in his pursuits, and ultimately, in life. In addition, we talked about his experience working with a brand like Nike, and how it became pivotal to his position as a co-owner and Director of Special Projects at Titan. Also, expect to hear his transforming story of how it felt like to work with his dream company but eventually leaving it and gambling on someone else's idea — 100% believing on his colleague and partner, Dennis Tan's brainchild, Titan. We also went deep with what they do at Titan, from their brick-and-mortar to e-commerce, and from acquiring Slam Magazine Philippines to building their sports and events management arm, Titan Management Group. Lastly, we also discussed their experience on collaborating with Nike for the exclusive Titan design of the Nike LeBron 16 Low — an incredible full circle, from working for the brand to working with them representing Titan.

We are very excited to announce our first ever podcast show for PURVEYR—Radio, “Prologue,” a show where we will interview different individuals from the diverse fields of Philippine creative culture. Expect to hear personal stories of growth, success, failures, and more. For the debut episode, we start with co-founder of WYD Productions, UNSCHLD, and Perea Street, Julo de Guzman.

From his childhood days watching Nike advertisements to running a retail store at night and working for a bank during the day, and from hosting community-driven Saturday hangouts to pioneering IG Story shows, Julo De Guzman shares it all in this 60-minute conversation. Get to listen to his story of pursuing a creative career from fashion, retail, production, advertising, and entertainment — a good start to this 10-episode series.