Just shoot me

I discovered you could delay the onset of age, both internally and externally. 

In this finicky and competitive world that is show business, it is said that longevity in itself is already an achievement.

At this point, I humbly admit that it was only through God’s grace that I’ve managed to stay in the profession this long. I can’t give you the exact figures because there were years when I lived and studied abroad and was away from television.

But no matter what kind of mathematical computation you do, I can no longer be considered young. You can do a manual count or you can go PCOS, but the numbers will nowhere be near 18. It’s more like 18 years in the business.

It didn’t come as a surprise to me therefore that I got a barrage of text messages last Saturday when a Flawless print ad came out in this paper  with this writer wearing only an undershirt.

Friends who thought I was conservative (not anymore!) wondered why a member of the country’s oldest critics’ group, the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino that counts among its founders National Artist for Literature Bienvenido Lumbera, would agree to do a layout as daring as that one in the advertisement.

But basically the question in the minds of a lot of people was  how I was able to get away with it. Unfortunately, you can’t do much when it comes to chronological age. The years just add up.

I discovered, however, that you could delay the onset of age, both internally and externally. About half a decade ago, I tried to fight weight gain  seriously this time (there had been vain attempts before). I did this by exercising regularly because that can delay the aging process.

Although I should also be dieting, the writing profession gets in the way since I am the type to consume whole cakes while working on an article because that’s fuel to my brain. As I type this, I am munching on chips and squid balls. A whole apple pie will be rolled in after a few more paragraphs.

I will not deprive myself of food if only to look good. I know I am no Sam Milby who makes a living out of his body and looks. What’s the sacrifice for? There ought to be an alternative to dieting.

 Flawless provided me with the solution. This whole new process of yet another discovery began in 2009  when I started to regularly avail of this body and skin clinic’s services. When Flawless opened nine years ago, I was already visiting its various branches, but only to have a pimple injected (they can make that disappear overnight). But starting last year, I did the works. I finally began to take care of my skin. Prior to that, I was one to remove studio makeup with rubbing alcohol. Even way after Rosanna Roces left Startalk, I still didn’t understand what she meant whenever she would nag me to moisturize. The doctors at Flawless had to patiently explain everything to me.

One day last summer, I was told I was going to do a Flawless billboard. The problem was, I only had about two weeks to prepare because we had to time the shoot while Flawless brand consultant Jacqueline Thng (a Singapore national) was here.

I decided I finally had to diet. Instead of a whole cake per article, I’d only finish half and store the rest for the next column. I also changed my address to Gold’s Gym since I practically lived there during the preparation.

Although I lost weight, there was still loose skin around the tummy area. Flawless Nano RF treatment to the rescue! In the past, I had tried one of their radio frequency treatments (these are safe and non-invasive procedures) and went back to doing it just for the shoot. (I was supposed to do it regularly, but I had to work on a book and totally missed my sessions.) The RF treatment that had always worked for me is called photo-gen, which can sculpt both face and body.

I just got back from my Holy Week break then and my cheeks were chubby from too much sugar (oh, those sinful Baguio sweets!). In the body area, Drs. Mary Joy Tarun and Margaux Cu only had to work on the abs. Flawless lady boss Rubby Sy also regularly checked my progress to see if I was being a good patient (I can get to be lazy).

Two days before the shoot, we figured that instead of resorting to photo-shop, why not do a photo-gen uni-polar transfer? It’s a special procedure that uses a gel-like substance that would give the patient a glow for about two weeks.

The day before the pictorial with photographer Jason Quibilan and stylists Ken Pagaspas and Roman Gravador, I went easy on salt and minimized my liquid intake so that I wouldn’t get bloated. I also skipped crunches at the gym to avoid abdominal swelling.

When I reported to the set, the first thing I was asked was: Could I take off my shirt? I thought you’d never ask  I shot back confidently. Just shoot me. For about an hour, I stood under the hot lights shirtless and basically wore only a smile. They gave me the Nano RF treatment  and so I had to deliver. Even I was surprised that I managed to muster that much courage and confidence (there’s nothing like preparation to build that up). But in the end, we opted to play it safe (for the sake of the career) and used a photo with me in an undershirt for the billboard and the print ad.

Of course, while doing those poses I also mentally prepped my self up and expected violent reactions from family and friends, who had always thought I was shy (seriously, I’ve always been  ask them). But it was a now or never decision. If I was going to do something as daring as that shoot (that already is for somebody who had been packaged as a serious reviewer), I figured I may as well do it now and not when I got even any older.

But who knows, maybe I’ll do it again next year or even the year after. This much I discovered: With Flawless around, there’s no age limit to getting wild.