MANILA, Philippines ? The Internet can be the perfect place to get discovered, and Mark Gosingtian, a fresh BFA Information Design graduate from the Ateneo de Manila University, can surely attest to this.

His iconic graphic design with the catchphrase, ?Where I?m from, everyone?s a hero,? spread like wildfire at the height of tropical storm ?Ondoy? relief operations and volunteer work last week. It was reblogged by 1,600 people on Tumblr, was shown on the newspaper and on TV, and was also used as profile pictures in various websites such as Twitter and Facebook, among others.

?I never realized how strong Ondoy was when it was happening. I only realized how bad the situation was when people suddenly sent me messages about friends? houses being already submerged by the flood,? says the 22-year-old. Mark and his friends decided to help out in Ateneo for a few days. ?There were a lot of volunteers who were already helping out when I got there, to the point that some areas were overmanned,? he says. ?When I had to go home, people were still willing to stay behind and go to the affected areas even with the threat of ?Pepeng.??

Eventually, he was able to learn about several heroic stories about volunteerism, how the relief operations received an awesome number of responses, and how people who couldn?t go out of their houses found a way to contribute.

These stories, paired with his own experience, led him to believe that everyone was helping out in one way or another, that everyone was a hero. He then decided to put his own creative twist to this idea, and posted the graphic in his blog. ?I never expected it to get as much attention as it did (I even deleted the original files!)? he says, clearly overwhelmed.

His design has become so popular that many have demanded on his website that he make shirts with the design printed on them. ?They e-mailed me if they could also use it for events as campaigns, which brought me to realize that it would be a good way to raise funds and help areas affected by ?Ondoy,?? he says.

Not only has his graphic design evolved into a shirt business, it has also become a fashionable way for people to help the victims of ?Ondoy,? since a substantial amount from the profits would go to them.

Mark believes that Filipinos underestimate what they can do as a nation. ?Even if it has been a very dark time for us, we really shined in terms of response,? he says. ?It proved that if everyone contributed something small [i.e. something as simple as repacking goods or sorting clothes], we could achieve something great. The recent events have shown me, and a number of others, that everyone can be a hero in their own way.?

Shirts will be available on October 17, Saturday, at the Doortech System showrooms in the Ortigas, Alabang and Pampanga home depots, and at the Fort MC Home Depot. For bulk orders (10 or more), you can e-mail Mark at heroshirtorders@yahoo.com, or you can visit his blog at http://markgosingtian.tumblr.com/ for updates.