Take a trip with Sam YG

Sorely missed on Eat, Bulaga! where he spiced up the show for one year with his own brand of Indian humor, Sam YG resurfaces on GMA News TV in the weekly show Vintage Trip (produced by Olmenak) which premieres tomorrow from 11:30 a.m. to 12 noon. It has nothing to do with the kind of trip enhanced by something illegal but an honest-to-goodness trip down Memory Lane as Sam travels across the country in search of the most interesting vintage finds plus the unique story behind them explained in an animated style Sam is known for.

But first, have you ever wondered what the YG in Sam’s name stands for?

“I was 19 when I started on radio in 2003, I was in college at Ateneo then,” explained Sam. “I was the youngest among the radio guys and I was just there, listening and waiting for my turn. When my bosses called me, they would say, ‘O, si young guy susunod na!’ On radio, you don’t use your real name; you must have a radio name. They called me young guy simply because I was the youngest guy in the group. The description stuck…YG. I like it!”

Born and raised in the Philippines, Sam (real name: Sam Gogna, naturalized in 2010; the family origin is traced to Jaipur, India), a Catholic, easily shifted to television, thanks to his unique sense of humor which is, unlike those of some comedians (yes, Sam is a natural funnyman), never offensive and ever witty. His first TV gig was with the ABS-CBN’s Hero Channel. “I was already out of college then.” Then, he joined Wazzup, Wazzup on Studio 23, moved to QTV and, to cut his long journey short, landed on CNN Philippines with another show, Boys Off The Record.

“My TV career is like my love life,” Sam summed it up in jest, “paikut-ikot lang around my exes. Tinatapon ako pagkatapos binabalikan din ako.”

How many exes have you had so far?

“’Yung totoong girlfriends, ‘yung serious na may ‘I love you-han’? Mga five. But I go on dates. When I date someone, I don’t care if it lasts for eight months or longer because gusto ko lumabas ‘yung tunay niyang ugali. Ayoko ‘yung after three months, kayo na.”

The one-shot deals?

“I don’t want to give the number,” he begged off.

He’s now romantically linked to Joyce Pring, daughter of the late bemedalled policeman, with whom he’s reported to be engaged.

“Napag-trip-an lang ako ng radio partner ko,” clarified Sam. “My friend posted on his Facebook, ‘Congratulations to Sam and Joyce; looking forward to your wedding.’ I was in Palawan at that time.”

What does he like about Joyce?

“She is down-to-earth. Very simple. Talented.”

Have his “wild oats” produced any, uhm, offspring?

“Wala, wala!” adding what he called his “rules of the (love) game”…1). If you can’t be good, be responsible; 2). No rubber, no lover; and 3). No glove, no love.

That’s the kind of humor that endears Sam to his fans.

Is it true that Indians are more “excitable” than men of other nationalities because of their hot/spicy diet?

“I don’t think so,” Sam denied. “Maybe some people think that way because of Kama Sutra. Actually, that book is not about sex, it’s about a way of life, living your life in a sensual way. I’ve read it.”

Seriously now, has Sam experienced being bullied because he looks, well, “different?”

“Oh yes, I was heavily bullied in high school,” admitted Sam who finished college with a degree in Legal Management (from an exclusive school; he really wanted to be a lawyer since he was a teenager). “Wala akong kalaban-laban. There were days when I would go home and cry, asking my mom, ‘Why is that, Mom? They teased me that I am Bombay, 5-6 at mabaho daw ako. What’s wrong with that?’ You know how I won the bullies over? I used my Bombay accent in dealing with them, ‘Tell me what you want from me? I will do it for you.’ I tried to reverse the situation and it worked.”

Between his TV work and hosting events, Sam now co-owns and manages (with Ranvil Rufino, son of Viva executive June Torrejon Rufino) a restaurant called Backyard with outlets on Katipunan Road (near Ateneo), Rockwell, BGC (Bonifacio Global City) and in Makati City. Among the restaurant’s habitués were the campus bullies who have become his friends, some of them would hire him to host their weddings.

“Water under the bridge,” said Sam. “If you can’t make peace with the past, you cannot move on to the future.” 

The same “Bombay accent” has beautifully helped tide Sam over the course of his career, and he harnesses it to the hilt in Vintage Trip.

“It’s not just an entertaining show,” Sam promised, “it’s educational and informative. Watch it and find out for yourself.”

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Will there be ‘triple back-to-back’ win in 2016 Miss Earth pageant?

Reigning Miss Earth Angelia Ong (also former Miss Manila) won the crown in Vienna, Austria, in a back-to-back win with Jamie Herrell. Is there a possibility of a “triple back-to-back” in tomorrow’s 2016 Miss Earth pageant (at MOA, aired Sunday morning, Oct. 30, on ABS-CBN) where the Philippine bet Imelda Schweighart is among the 84 aspirants?

“Mukhang mahirap,” said Angelia, “but who knows? I have seen the girls and they are so beautiful and talented. But then, Miss Earth is not just about beauty and brains, you must be a true Ambassador of Earth. I would say that it’s anybody’s ballgame.

“When I was in Vienna for the pageant,” added Angelia who described the candidates as Earth Warriors, “they were saying that a back-to-back win was impossible but I was able to pull it off.”

As she gives up her crown tomorrow, Angelia is winning a new one.

“In the evening,” she happily said, “I will turn over my title to the winner. And in the morning, I will be graduating (with a Marketing Management degree from La Salle St. Benilde).”

If there’s a will, there’s a way.

“After I won,” recalled Angelia, “the media asked me what I planned to do. I said that I wanted to resume my studies. What I did was return to school while doing my duties as Miss Earth. I was able to pull that one, too.”

Incidentally, Angelia is thankful to Manila Mayor Erap Estrada and the City of Manila for their continued support.

“They have been standing by me all the way,” she said.

(E-mail reactions at [email protected].)