MANILA, Philippines - “Robi? Can I please take a picture with you?” the young woman asks shyly in Filipino. Robi Domingo, the heartthrob runner-up on ABS-CBN’s hit reality show “Pinoy Big Brother (PBB): Teen Edition” and a winner of the 2008 MYX VJ Search, responds with a smile and a nod. With a squeal of delight, the young woman takes as many shots with her camera phone as she dares, thanks Robi and makes way for the rest of the crowd gathered around him. Another girl then steps up and asks the 18-year-old for an autograph. Again, Robi agrees graciously, something he has done for the last 20 people who have approached him and something he will do for the next 20 waiting in line.
How many teens would kill to be in Robi’s shoes? How many would jump through hoops of fire and post the video on YouTube for just 15 minutes of fame? And yet, how many of these teens actually bother to think about what it means to be famous? How many of them, placed in the same situation, would have Robi’s patience, smiling and signing autographs despite being exhausted from school and TV taping all day?
Even Robi, who says he loves what he’s doing, readily admits that “life as a celebrity is not all good.” Unlike a nine-to-fiver who answers only to the boss, celebrities live in a fishbowl, their flaws magnified by the public glare. As 22-year-old Aaron Atayde puts it, “[Knowing that everyone is watching your every move] is the worst thing that could run through your mind.”
Known to late-night listeners of FM radio’s Magic 89.9 as DJ Josh Strike, Aaron started his career in 2007 as courtside reporter for the Adamson University Falcons during the 70th UAAP Men’s Basketball season. He stayed with the team for another year before moving on to his current job as host of ABS-CBN’s newest sports program, “Wildcard.”
Being on-air exposes one to judgments that the listening public indiscriminately hurl, notes Aaron. “There are people who dedicate their lives to criticizing us for whatever we do,” he says, recalling how UAAP fans slammed him in online fora, particularly on PinoyExchange.com, for being the only male courtside reporter in the country’s college basketball circuit. “Someone even said that no matter how good I was, they couldn’t care less because I’m a guy,” Aaron says. “That sucks because I really tried my hardest to make my reports as in-depth as possible.”
It’s impossible to please everybody, agrees Robi, who notes that this is particularly true in the entertainment industry. “It’s like, out of a sea of a thousand people, 999 would be okay because you’ve signed their notebooks and taken pictures with them. Now that one person you didn’t approach will complain.”
Aside from criticism, there’s also gossip to contend with, says 21-year-old Andi Manzano, also known as DJ Andi-9 on Magic 89.9 and winner of last year’s MTV VJ Hunt. The worst rumor she’s heard about herself was one that reported her as being pregnant. “I wasn’t really affected by it though,” she says, laughing. However, she adds on a more serious tone, the rumors sometimes get too personal, “like when they involve your family or your personal life.”
Aaron recalls rumors that romantically linked him to several women when he was still a courtside reporter. He denies ever having dated any of them, and adds that rumors don’t really bother him. “I was totally aware that thing like that would come up, so I just didn’t mind them.”
Privacy is definitely a casualty of life in the limelight, says Robi, whose fan base is composed mainly of PBB viewers. He recalls being mobbed every time he appears in public. During a campus tour with other MYX VJ Search finalists last September at the University of Santo Tomas, the three bodyguards hired to watch over all 12 finalists had their hands full with Robi alone. With a look that is both wistful and amused, Robi says, “No more malls for me, except for mall shows.”
Time is another commodity that’s in short supply for young celebrities, especially those who are unwilling to quit school for their careers. Andi, a fifth year Communication Arts student in Miriam College, admits that her work has affected her academic life. “The disadvantages include being unable to graduate on time, having less sleep than everyone else and having problems finding group mates because your work schedule gets in the way.”
Robi, a freshman taking up BS Health Science, a pre-med course, at the Ateneo de Manila University, knows this only too well. Life since PBB, he says, has been “pure work, pure study. There was this whole week when I didn’t get to talk to my parents at all, because I had no time to.” He recounts how he sometimes has to be in school from 7 a.m. until 3 p.m., rush over for a shoot from 4 p.m. to 4 a.m., and be back in school three hours later.
And though Aaron graduated this year from De La Salle University, the memory of juggling two jobs and his thesis is still fresh in his mind: “There was a time when I had classes, then games after class, then study and research, my radio program from 12 midnight to 3 a.m., then classes at 8 a.m. the next day. Man, I still can’t believe I was able to do that.”
One thing fame does bring is a lot of is fair-weather friends who, like planets to a sun, tend to gravitate towards the brightest star in the system. “Sorry to be honest, but there are people who want to befriend you for what they can get from you,” says Andi. Aaron adds, “People I hardly know suddenly think they’re my best friends.” Robi agrees: “They’re all after some fame and the free stuff.” The true friend, these young celebrities muse, is a rare find in their line of work.
But if celebrity sucks, why do the three of them-as well as countless others-strive to stay in the limelight?
Despite all the pitfalls of their job, Aaron, Robi, and Andi admit to loving what they do. The perks they get from being in the public eye don’t hurt, either. Aaron says of courtside reporting: “It wasn’t about the money, although the money is fine too. But it’s really just for the love of it. The thought of getting paid to do something that I really like is always a good thought.”
Then there’s the equally humbling and ego-boosting experience of having one’s work publicly appreciated. Having a lot of fans is a bonus unique to celebrities. Andi says, “When people visit the Magic 89.9 booth, I’d understand if they wanted DJ Mo Twister’s autograph, but when they ask for mine too, I’m like, are you sure about this? Are you sure you want my autograph? It was such an uplifting experience.”
Robi recounts having received presents from fans during his birthday. “It was weird,” he says of the experience, as well as enjoyable. After all, not everyone can say they receive gifts even from strangers.
Meeting all sorts of people and getting free stuff are fun as well, the three admit. Their clothing sponsors make sure they never run out of outfits: Bench for Robi, Nike for Aaron, and Adidas for Andi. Then there are the free concert and movie tickets, backstage passes, the interviews with both local and international celebrities, gift checks for restaurants, and the occasional all-expense-paid trips abroad. Endorsements also make fame a celebrity’s cash cow. Robi has done ads for Skechers sneakers and mobile phone Nokia Philippines, while Andi has come out in commercials for Cream Silk shampoo, Vaseline Lotion, and Ellips Cologne.
Nothing beats on-the-job experience as well. “You learn to take the good things and forget the bad,” says Robi says, while Aaron reveals that he’s learned to keep smiling no matter how tired, hungry or annoyed he gets. “Mo Twister has taught me that being plastic is the biggest thing you need to know in this business,” he adds.
In the end, being in the entertainment industry is like going into a business venture: it’s all about risk. “Showbiz is like a reaper,” Robi says. “It chooses who it wants.” Audiences, he adds, will always look for someone new so it’s unwise for a young celebrity to bank on being famous for longer than two years. Finishing a college degree is still important, he says, adding that once he’s done with show business, he hopes to become a surgeon like his father.
Aaron shares a similar lesson from his mentor Boom Gonzales, a bigwig in both sports television and FM radio: they can take away the money, they can take away the shows, but they can’t take away your college degree. As long as a person has his degree, he will never run out of opportunities, Aaron quotes his mentor as saying.
Andi meanwhile cautions would-be celebrities to practice prudence. “Be sure you know what you’re getting into, because fame can give you a lot of things, [but] it can just as easily break you.”
All things considered, is fame worth the price? For these three young celebrities, the answer is unquestionably yes. Says Aaron: “I think it’s a small price to pay for doing what I love.” He adds, “Every job has a trade-off, no matter what you do.” Robi says as much: “It’s an outlet for me to enjoy life.” What he loves most about his job, he adds, is “making people smile.” Andi, however, says it best: “I love my life now, I love what I do, I love the people I work with. I don’t think I could ever trade this for anything else.”
Copyright 2009 Philippine Daily Inquirer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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