00:00A big part of my life is the performer in me.
00:06So everything clicked when you tried content creation.
00:09The stars now, you can fathom into a constellation.
00:11It's like, wow, they all aligned.
00:13And for me, it's like an accidental discovery of a...
00:17Hi, PEPsters!
00:28Welcome to PEP Spotlight.
00:30I'm Rachel.
00:31And I am Bernie.
00:32Actually, Pink, I'm very excited about our guest because she is a queen on social media.
00:39And the first ever Filipino to win the prestigious Webby's Awards.
00:44Wow!
00:45Let's all welcome the Lumpia Queen, Abby Marquez!
00:53Hello!
00:54Hi, hello po.
00:55Thanks for having me.
00:57We're full of energy here in the studio, guys.
01:00Of course, let's start with this.
01:02From the very first time you came out as a content creator,
01:07and now you have a lot of achievements,
01:10how did Abby Marquez's life change?
01:14Wow.
01:16From my day one to now,
01:20night and day difference.
01:22But I think I'm really proud of myself that I still have my core.
01:28The reason why I started before until now is still there,
01:32which is just doing videos that I would like to watch
01:37and sharing educational value to other people.
01:42But I'm saying that it's different because it's the scale.
01:46And also me as a person, I've grown through the years
01:51before I just started by myself doing everything
01:55from buying the ingredients, formulating the recipes,
01:59cooking and filming myself and then editing.
02:02Right now, it's more collaborative.
02:05And also now I have a management, which is super nice
02:11because now I don't have to do everything and wear all the hats.
02:17Right now, I'll just focus on the creative side of things.
02:21And I have the right partners with me to help me
02:25and they will monitor my career for the next years.
02:29Three years in, I'm really happy.
02:32I just want to add that before Abby became famous,
02:36she graduated in UP Diliman, magna cum laude.
02:40Stop.
02:41Yes.
02:42Bravo.
02:43Achiever.
02:44Her course is Hotel, Restaurant and Institute Management.
02:48Institution Management.
02:49Institution Management, right?
02:50Yes.
02:51So before you got famous, how would you picture yourself?
02:55Are you really a content creator?
02:58No.
02:59I didn't think of content creation as a career option.
03:03I was set on, I guess, becoming a manager-ish in a restaurant or in a hotel.
03:11At some point, I thought of becoming a chef or a cook.
03:16But I realized that's a very difficult job.
03:20It takes a lot of physical work.
03:24It's very different from cooking at home.
03:29But that's what I love, the therapeutic feeling of cooking for six people.
03:35But last semester in college, that's also when I discovered content creation.
03:43And for me, it's like an accidental discovery of a career.
03:48Because I never imagined that I would go there.
03:53But I felt like I was on the right track.
03:57Because I finally found something that will utilize all of the skills.
04:04Or I feel like I can give everything.
04:06Because growing up, I had a lot of hobbies.
04:09Music, making videos and cooking.
04:12I feel like if I worked in corporate or as a manager in a restaurant,
04:17I would have just used my soft skills and my knowledge in food.
04:25But a big part of my life is the performer.
04:31It's the performer in me and my love for entertainment.
04:36So everything clicked when you discovered content creation?
04:39Yes.
04:40It's like the saying, the fault is in our stars.
04:43The stars, now you can fathom into a constellation.
04:47It's like, wow, they all aligned.
04:49It's like Ikigai, right?
04:50Passion plus skills.
04:54But before that, I was also doing the diagram in Ikigai.
04:58What do I want to be?
05:00What will I bring to other people?
05:02What am I good at?
05:04I'm really lucky that I found it.
05:06What influenced you to have a love for cooking?
05:12Love for cooking?
05:14I remember myself spending a lot of time in the kitchen growing up.
05:19I think it was a mix of appreciating my mother's cooking growing up
05:26and at the same time, my father holding these activities at home
05:32like make your own pizza.
05:34I have an extraordinary curiosity towards food
05:39that I haven't seen with my other relatives or in my family.
05:44Like growing up watching Food Network instead of cartoons
05:49or my hobby being cooking.
05:53Nobody taught me to have that interest or curiosity
05:57but it's really there.
05:59I've always been interested with food.
06:02Can we say that your parents are good cooks?
06:04Yes, I would say.
06:06It's not like they raised me but I grew up eating my mother's cooking
06:11and I always say this that her biggest contribution to who I am today
06:19is the training of my palate
06:22because my definition of a good adobo is her cooking.
06:27My skills to be able to describe and decide if this is a good dish or not
06:34is up to her standards, up to my mother's cooking.
06:38I think it's inherent in us, Abby
06:40because that's what I feel also when it comes to my mom's cooking.
06:44I know there are many who are good at cooking
06:47but for me, the standard is her tinola or her adobo.
06:51And those are really Pinoy classics, adobo and tinola.
06:55That's my favorite.
06:57You know, Abby, another distinct quality of yours when it comes to the camera
07:03is you're very confident.
07:05Is being confident in front of the camera really inherent in you?
07:09I have footage from when I was 4 years old
07:14where I was asked,
07:16what's the English of your horse?
07:22What's the name of your mom and dad?
07:25And what's your name?
07:27And I said, Abby!
07:30And she said, no.
07:32And I said, that's Abby!
07:34And then I went in front of the camera.
07:36So I had that 2-year-old Abby attitude.
07:41I've always been an extra person
07:44but I think what helped me out through the years is
07:47I took voice lessons.
07:49So since grade 6 until grade 11 or 12,
07:55I would perform every summer and train,
07:59like singing, singing training.
08:01And that would force me to perform in front of 100 people.
08:07It really helped in kind of setting that confidence.
08:15Setting me up for that confidence.
08:17I wasn't comfortable in front of the camera starting out.
08:21I actually started my videos no face.
08:25Because when I was in high school,
08:27when I learned how to hold a camera or just making films,
08:34I was really a person behind the camera.
08:37But when I did content,
08:40I think I thought about if I should show it on camera.
08:45And then I just realized that
08:48I think it's the fastest and best way
08:50to show your personality in the camera.
08:54If you do that.
08:55For me, one of the best ways to differentiate your content from other people
08:59is your personality.
09:01And we learn here, Bernie,
09:03because listening to her,
09:05confidence, it's not easy to just have that.
09:08But what you described earlier,
09:10the training, even in the voice lessons,
09:12it's all about competency.
09:14So you develop that competency first
09:16before you get that confidence.
09:19It really helps.
09:20It was a process before she became confident.
09:23Even until now,
09:25even until now when people talk about me,
09:27I'm still like that.
09:29But yeah, it is something that you don't develop overnight.
09:33So that's what I want other people to know.
09:37It's years of training and developing those skills.
09:42You still remember the first time that you made a video?
09:45Because I'm trying to imagine how was that like?
09:48That you're the one who's going to work,
09:50you're the one who's going to talk,
09:52you're the one who's going to prepare.
09:54Oh my gosh.
09:55It was difficult, but I was having fun.
09:57I didn't ask anything in return.
09:59I think all creators would relate to this.
10:01You don't get money or you don't get paid doing content
10:06because you only get paid when your page is big
10:09and you can monetize or you have a big following
10:13so brands would sponsor you.
10:15But at first, really, you can't get anything from it.
10:17You just invest a lot of time and effort into it.
10:21I remember my camera had an Android phone.
10:26I would use the main camera.
10:28So it was on my back.
10:30I would put it on the tupperware
10:32and I would put a mirror in front of it
10:35so I could see what was happening.
10:37That's how it was.
10:39I would finish shooting early in the morning.
10:42I would wash the dishes for like 2-3 hours.
10:45My mom would pick me up if I was washing the dishes at 7am.
10:49And that's just shooting one video.
10:52Crazy.
10:53But now, there's a huge difference.
10:56I have someone to help me with the cameras.
10:59I have a legit camera with a flip screen.
11:02And also someone to help me out clean the set.
11:06That's crazy.
11:07That's hard.
11:08I can only imagine.
11:10And there's no aircon.
11:12There's no aircon.
11:14And the kitchen is a mess.
11:16And you're in front of these big lights.
11:18It's hot.
11:19And you still need to be fresh
11:21when you finally take the consumption shot.
11:23Wow.
11:24How did your set change?
11:25My set...
11:27In terms of gear,
11:29lighting, still the same.
11:31I try to maintain that kind of raw
11:34I'm trying to do this myself vibe.
11:36Even when we do have all the appropriate equipment
11:40to make it super high production,
11:43I try to keep that rawness into the video.
11:46People also associate me with my background.
11:50The wooden kitchen, cupboards.
11:53Because it gives a vibe of
11:55like a Filipino dish that's delicious,
11:59homey, approachable, friendly.
12:01I also started branding my wooden kitchen.
12:05Even when I switched my studio
12:08from my parents' house,
12:10and then I got my own studio right now,
12:12I replicated my kitchen
12:15from my parents' house.
12:17So it's the same.
12:19Because I don't want to change it.
12:21It's a trademark.
12:24I just want to tell you that
12:25you really brought honor to the country.
12:27For those who don't know,
12:28the Webby Awards is the Oscars of the internet.
12:32You're also a singer.
12:35I really like the songs...
12:38I think there's a sample too.
12:40I don't want to!
12:45I don't want to!
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