R. RODRIGUEZ

I have always been honest whenever i’ve spoken about my experiences, and if i’m honest now I will admit the week leading up to Sunday 6th May was personally one of the toughest weeks of my life. All personal reasons, but that’s not what i’m here to talk about, lets just say the by the end of the week I learned how the world doesn’t revolve around my own problems, it’s only a sad day if you make it a sad day. So you work hard and chose to look past the sad stuff, not ignore it but help it motivate you. I chose not to let my sad events take over my everyday life, and I had a great week and weekend too because of it.

That week involved all the last minute work required. Me? The wristbands I ordered arrived late, all the roles for both staff and volunteers were being put into place and the fencing… Don’t get me started on the fencing!

I’m going to talk about the fencing anyway...I hired the fencing weeks ago and there was no problem, until we had to find out about what time the fencing company planned on delivering our order on Friday 4th May, this is where things go complicated. Unfortunately when asking for the ETC the response I got was they will not be able to tell us the ETA until the day before the arrival date at 4pm. This however turned out to be a big problem for us because we were asked to hire out a telehandler and operator for the day to take the fencing off the truck. How could we hire an operator for the day if we didn’t know how long we needed him for? This required me to make back and forth calls to the fencing company to try and get as much information as we can to make it easier for ourselves and the telehandler operator. Luckily, the employee from the fencing company was very patient with me and all of my questions, because I had a lot!

Because the fencing company used a separate depo, the only ETA they can give me was between 11am - 5pm on the day. However, Friday comes and the fencing happens to be the last arrival on the site arriving past the said ETA. I felt so bad because I was not able to be there on the day to support my colleagues but as i’ve mentioned before, I have the best team ever! Eventually all the fencing arrived on site and it was a little weight load off my chest.

RANT OVER. (for now...)

So as you may or may not know, I was appointed Staffing Manager, which seemed fitting seeing as I was the one in charge of assigning all day roles to both the staff and volunteers. As a personal reflection, I learned just because something sounds simple, doesn’t mean it is. Assigning people jobs is stressful work and I can honestly say it was a mistake to not ask for more help with it. With the help with super Jessie however, we finalised the roles and sent out everyone’s assigned jobs!

On the day of the event, a select few of us we’re chosen to arrive on site earlier than others. Earlier being 7 in the morning (and for people that know me, I am not an early bird so any start before midday is always a struggle for me!), actually wasn’t as bad as I thought. I think this was because I was so excited and ready for the day to begin! I arrived ready with my clipboard full of lists which included the day roles, volunteer schedules and breaks, site map and staff briefings. When arriving on the site my jobs were to give the early securities their health and safety briefings alongside Jess Collyer, the health and safety manager for SubWoofers. I also helped with little jobs such as putting the last minute sign posts together, printing off the last of the signage and directing early arriving traders and rides onto site.

Once the 10am coach arrived with the rest of the crew, another health and safety briefing was held and the work quickly began again. The last of the fencing was being placed, gazebos began to erect, more traders began to arrive, the stages and marquees were being built, hay bales and deck chairs were put into place and everything just seemed to fit together. Although, there were problems with the positioning of things on site, such as the dodgems, the team was incredible with being able to think quickly on their feet and solve every problem that came their way. The end result of the site was beautiful! It also helped that we were blessed with a sunny, hot day. However, the majority of the bucks live staff paid for that with burned skin and red noses, thank goodness I don’t burn!

Soon I was running around the site finding each steward while they were working to get the site ready and briefed them on their positions for the day. Some of which had to start earlier than others suck as Paulina who had to steward the Haw Lane Entrance where most vehicles planned on entering. At 12:30pm, another coach arrived with bucks talent such as the story tellers, bucks blades and acapella, alongside the volunteer stewards. On arrival I greeted them and showed them towards the site where the dressing rooms and production office was. There I had to hold another quick health and safety briefing with the stewards from both bucks and the hearing dogs. From this specific experience, I learned I would have done a few things differently if I had to do it again. Firstly, I would plan a meeting a day or two before the actual event to properly brief each steward on their specific positions, this was I didn’t have to walk up and down the site trying to find each person. It would have saved both time and my feet! Secondly, I would ask for the volunteers to arrive earlier on site to give the briefing earlier, this is because guests already started to arrive at 12:30 (a surprise to us all!). This then required stewards to be in their positions earlier than expected, however this was not possible because of the late briefing. And third, to again ask for more help. It’s not fun to do alone, luckily I was able to find help last minute.

Now for the crazy part...come 12:45 we already had a massive queue of people, family, couples and dogs, waiting for get into the site and experience the first ever SubWoofers! I must say, when people started pouring through that entrance the feeling was overwhelming. It started off with us worrying not many people will show up to the event and coming to terms with it, but then the customers began to flood in and honestly I could have cried! It was said that it got so busy that we couldn’t keep up with the numbers, but if we estimated...there is no doubt that there were over 3,000 people on site that day. The sun was shining, the music was playing, the rides were going and everyone was having fun, dogs included.

Although I wasn’t able to experience the whole festival and enjoy the rides and music as much as other people because I was constantly on my feet, pacing up and down the site making sure all the staff were happy and getting their breaks! I wouldn’t regret anything. I am able to say I worked incredibly hard that day and my feet and whole aching body was the proof at the end of the day. I did however manage to fit in a quick ten minute, well deserved break and I was able to quickly capture little experience of what the customers were getting. And I loved it.

As the day drew to a close and all the customers left, the breakdown of the site started immediately. And I must say, I have never before seen our team work so fast and so well together like I have that night getting the site cleared. I think it was because we all had such a rush from the amazing day, we had left over adrenaline and plus, we really wanted to get home and rest our feet!

It was also such an honour to work with an amazing charity and group of people like The Hearing Dogs for Deaf People. Not only did they give us this amazing opportunity, they trusted us with making their dream a reality. I look forward to going to the next SubWoofers.

It happened, the day finally happened. And I could never be more proud of what we accomplished. This may become one of my sappiest posts ever but who can blame me? What was once just a assignment turned into something more. It became a real festival, not just a university project, its a memory I will look back on for the rest of my life, and when i’m big and successful (girl’s gotta dream right?), or if I start to struggle with things in my life, i’ll look back on this day and it will remind me on why I wanted to be in this industry in the first place. It will remind me that all the hard work and struggles are always worth it when the ending is this sweet.

Now before I get into the details of the day, I would also like to point out how incredibly proud I am of the Music and Live Event Management and Music Business course for all the hard work and dedication that went into the making of this event. SubWoofers Music Festival will always be part of our lives and the beginning of our careers, we should all be proud.

To the Production Team, it has been an absolute honour to be part of the greatest team. We may have been the smallest group but damn we were a strong one! We had our work cut out for us since the beginning and there were many times where I know we wanted to give up and scream. But we never stopped working hard and through the leadership of Miss Jessie Hall, all our efforts shone through in the end. Not only that, we became great friends who learnt both each others strengths and weaknesses which helped us thrive. The Bucks Live Presents SubWoofers Music Festival 2018 Production Team will always be the best team in my eyes.

Also, a shout out to James, a lecturer who helped us with the planning of the event ever since Mr Neil Mackey (who will forever be missed) had to leave us. Not many people would be able to handle such a loud, energetic and crazy group of people but somehow he made it work. So thank you.

Lastly, and this is a sad but also happy shout out. Mr Alan McBlane, a lecturer who just recently announced his leaving at Bucks New Uni. It has been a pleasure working with Alan throughout my time on this course, especially because I know he’s always had my back whenever i’ve needed it. It’s upsetting to know he’s leaving but I hope his new chapter in his career is a great one, and that he enjoys every second of it. (Just maybe not as much as he has teaching us!) So Mr McBlane, if you’re reading this, please know you have helped me so much in the start of my career and I just wanted to say thank you for that, I will never forget it.

I will admit, I had a slight moment of joy rush through my body when the the easter holidays finally arrived. The thought of going back home to Swindon, a place which I despise but it’s where my parents, little brother and other half lives, actually gave me a spark of happiness. I also liked the thought of not having to buy myself weeks worth of groceries and I can eat someone else’s cooking for once!

But then real reality kicked in. I immediately had to start work in Swindon again which meant no real break for me. I still had to spend money on food to eat because of the long hours I had to work and on top of that, a whole shit load of uni work I still had to complete. But hey, at least I got to do it surrounded by family.

This is where positivity Remely rose from the ashes once again!

I must say, although this holiday has been non-stop and I haven’t really had much time to relax because of my busy work schedule and social like (I know right, who knew I actually had one!) I will admit, I think I did well with keeping up with my tasks. Especially since SubWoofers Music Festival is right around the corner. My tasks for this holiday involved a lot of emailing about wristbands and barriers, trying to compile a list of roles for the whole group and keeping my team leader Jessie up to speed. I know the production team has a lot of tasks and stress coming our way and I believe in us. It is going to be a hard one to pull off knowing how much is still needed to be completed before the festival can become a success but I am so excited for what is to come.

The countdown has now begun:

Not long ago my course and I were blessed with the opportunity to visit the Royal Albert Hall and boy was it royal indeed.

Now I just admit, I almost didn't leave my bed of dreams and wonders that day because everyone that knows me can tell you I am not a morning person in the slightest. This trip required us to arrive at the meeting point at 09.45 and I must admit, on top of the freezing cold weather and snow, I was not about that life. However, I sucked it up, got myself out of bed and rolled up on time with my chicken bake from Greggs in hand and I was greatful I did.

From this trip we got to take a tour of the beautiful venue and have talks from experienced workers who were happy to answer any questions we had. We learnt about the history, current and previous shows that have taken place, the sustainability of the venue and how alot of the inside jobs run.

My only flaw of the trip was not being able to stand on the stage and look out to the imaginary audience I would have made up in my head. The reasoning was understandable though of course, seeing that the cirque du soleil were performing that night and the stage and lights had to be ready...a show I would love to see as it sounds incredible!

Don't you worry, of course I took a few pictures, enjoy.

It has been a long, hard road trying to make a final decision on what to call the one-day festival. What we thought would be the easiest task, turned out to be one of the most difficult. But it's happened, it's finally happened. So I am here today to announce...

So as I previously told you, I have been blessed with the honour of being in the Production team. It’s mixed up with 8 females, mainly music and live students and one music business student, all who are striving to make this event a success. We elected our team leader, Jessie Hall who since has had the most experience in the industry so far, fit the title very well. I honestly can’t express enough how much Jessie is a great team leader; she organises the meetings, makes notes, sets out tasks well and feedbacks thoroughly. All hail Queen Jessie!!!

Speaking of tasks, our team is responsible for many things within this event. And even though at the moment a lot of the quotes and ideas are just ‘what if’s and ‘waiting for replies’, we have come very far in the process. A site map has been drawn up in consideration with the stage and all things logistics, a traffic plan is well on it’s way, safety is key, wristbands, barriers, waste disposal, marquees, lights and toilets has been in all of our minds in the past few weeks! 

Want to know what my favourite album is? Well pay attention because i’m going to tell you anyways...

Daniel Caesar - Freudian.

Found out one of my lecturers are leaving today,

It’s about 10 weeks into my second year of university and things are just getting started! 2 deadlines before the Christmas holidays then suddenly 2017 will have ended, I would officially be 21 (scary, I know) and 2018 will have begun!

Now you all know in my first year as a student my course and I put on the event called ‘Winterland’, which turned out to be a great success, so great that the next year of freshers are just a couple weeks away from putting theirs on. Well as second year students we get to 1 up ourselves and the rest of the years before us as a great opportunity came our way for this years magical event!

The Hearing Dogs for The Deaf has asked us to partner up with them to help stage a one day festival event on their land. A first for us and a first for them. Exciting right? Well I think so.

Since finding that out we have been allocated into groups, mine being the production team, and are well on our way to organising this new, but hopefully ongoing, event. I can honestly say i’m proud on how far we have come this early on in the organising process.

Right guys. I know summer’s now ended and I have been of the grid for a while working and trying to catch what little sun we’ve received in this english weather. But now i’m back, 2nd year of university is just beginning and I now have wi-fi installed in my house so their are no excuses anymore! I’m ready to rumble, and let’s start with one of my favourite memories of this summer, Reading Festival.

It finally came the time of summer where I would pack up a bag loaded with clothes and supplies and head off to my first and saddened to say, only festival of this summer!

Tuesday 22nd August, the day I headed into town to buy last minute supplies for the next 6 days to come. Then a terrible nights sleep and finally Wednesday 23rd August came around. I wake up, have a shower and good breakfast, two o’clock came and I was ready to shoot out the door and jump on the train to Reading Station where I would meet my colleague Dan and taxi it to the festival. There we both met with two others, from the year above us at uni who have driven down, at the gates, hopped in their car and the led to a complicated start trying to find where to park the car. Long story short, it started off with a confusing bang.

We were greeted and given our wristbands, staff handbook, meal vouchers and escorted to our bunks where the others and I would be staying, settled in and then came the briefing. We were briefed on what we would be doing, told a little about the festival’s background and of course, health and safety as well as sorting out our shift patterns. I, along with three other students, got the night shifts. Which in this case meant grabbing our uniforms, having our first dinner and going straight to work. 12 long hours every night from Wednesday - Monday. How did I feel? Tired, excited and damn glad I was a night owl.

I knew that my first shift pretty much determined the rest of my festival experience. It was the shift where I would meet everyone and give my first impression. Luckily, I was blessed with a great supervisor and zone manager, as well as the other staff who surrounded me. I couldn’t have asked for a better team. I set myself up in the cabin with a pen, radio, folder and was ready for action. My job as an admin assistant was to listen to the radio, which were connected to staff members in the purple campsite such as the zone manager, supervisors, security and CATS, and write down all the incidents that occurred during the night so that it could be kept as a log. Long story short, I basically knew all the shit that was going down.

Being a first timer working at a festival, I underestimated how much happens at the campsite. Even knowing I was stationed at the biggest campsite of the festival, I could have never guessed how many incidents would have taken place. From fires to intoxicated people, individuals that couldn’t find their tent and even people dropping their phones into the toilet. It was crazy.

Working at this festival gave me the inside look at how important health and safety is and made me appreciate the work and effort all the staff members put into festivals. Although the shifts were tough, stressful and cold, I also loved the time I had there. I gained not only experience and friends, but also memories I will never forget. It challenged me in ways I could have never imagined and made me realise the love I have for festivals as well as reminded me why I chose to go to university in the first place.

Until next year Reading Fest!

‘You are the spokesperson for an event organisation or venue and a TV journalist has discovered something precarious about your event or venue which you will have to answer to.’

 Out of all the assignments we have been set so far, this is probably the one I worried about the most. I know how I work and I know that when it comes to someone asking me about a subject I am not confident about, worries me. I can do research, I can prepare a speech, but when it comes to it I can go as blank as a white piece of paper. The assignment consist of previously receiving four different scenarios, all of which included two questions each that would definitely be asked. These scenarios were timing, sponsorship, drugs and crisis management.

Before the Christmas holidays, these scenarios were given and explained to us briefly, during this I marked out which scenarios I felt like I needed to look into more. This because I didn’t have much knowledge in the subject matter compared to the others. I began researching into all the scenarios in order, it seemed like an obvious thing to do since I wasn’t sure how to start. Along the way I made notes on important information I believed could be of use as well as trying to focus on the already received questions. Once I had enough information for each scenario, I began writing exactly what I could say to these questions, almost like a script. This I know now probably wasn’t the best idea I could have thought of. Because I wrote exactly what I wanted to say, I concentrated to much on knowing it word for word, which in a way helped me, but whenever rehearsal came to play and I forgot just one of those words, I would panic and forget my point. To improve on this, I will not write exactly what I want to say, but just write out the main points in bullet points so that I get used to knowing the important information by heart and let the rest of the words in between these points flow itself.

 I had a little advantage, my flat mates. Three of which happens to study musical theatre, performing arts and dance. I decided to ask them for help by role-playing each of the scenarios. This really helped me because I’ve never been used to pretending to be someone else. I’ve never been comfortable just sitting in front of someone and am interviewed. Using this method gave me a little practice before the actual day arrived. The night before came quicker than I thought and if I’m honest, I didn’t receive as much sleep, as I would have liked. It didn’t help that university itself messed up my sleeping pattern anyway, however this night was different. I was incredibly tired and I worried myself awake, something I know was all in my mind.

 The day began; I woke up, got ready and made breakfast, all while trying to recite my answers for each of the questions. I arrived 15 minutes before my interview time, enough time to compose myself and breathe. I remember saying to myself over and over; breathe Remely. Smile, don’t rush, and give yourself time to think. My name got called and my whole body shot up then slowly made my way in with the biggest grin on my face. See, when people gets nervous, some go silent, some choke up, others talk very fast. Then there I am, the ‘smiler’.

 Finally in the room where it began, my interviewer told me I was being questioned on Scenario 3 - Drugs. I immediately mentally prepared myself for the questions I knew would be asked in what little time I had. Panic. Something I didn’t need to do. I can admit that the interview as a whole wasn’t perfect. There were a few times where I wasn’t able to answer follow up questions, which I feel let me down. However, I kept composure and answered everything I could to my best ability. Throughout the interview I talked about The Secret Garden Party, an independent arts and musical festival since 2004. In addition to that, I mentioned other precautionary measures, which were put in place. For example, bag searches and sniffer dogs upon arrival, personal searching specialists, undercover drug detector teams, CCTV in potential blind spots and police officers who will be dealing with drug offences in accordance with national guidelines.

Thursday 29th September - That’s when it all began. A two hour session where myself and 25 others, basically strangers, all sat around in a room listening to a small brief into an event we were having to help plan for one Saturday in December, of what we now know as ‘Winterland’. A project and great opportunity requiring us to work together, as well as trying to stand out as an individual when necessary. Although we were assured we would all be provided with as much support as we need, considering we were so say ‘newbies’ within this industry, I could feel the excitement between every individual in the room. And as every naive student would typically do, the majority of us looked around the room and echoes of “we have ages until then! It will be a breeze” flew around the room but wow, were we wrong!

Winterland, a family based event that required every single one of us to have a 5am start, carrying around sandbags, signage and various other equipment, took place on Saturday 3rd December between 11:00 - 17:00 at Buckinghamshire New University Campus. A fun-packed day full of many activities to keep the whole family entertained including a skating rink, fairground rides, Ferris wheel, two performance stages, hot food and drink and an inflatable zone.

To prepare for this day, we were all broken down into smaller groups to help us allocate tasks easier and help us focus more on that section instead of everyone trying to handle all preparations themselves. These were four main groups: Marketing, Logistics, Production and Talent & Entertainment (the group I was assigned too). Once this was complete, we all gathered together on a regular basis to discuss ideas, for my group and I this was thinking of different performances that would not only entertain but also fit the genre of the event if possible. From this brainstorm, we came up with more than enough suggestions. These included panto characters, magician, and circus society, holding auditions for university students, finding local artists, steel band and many, many more. A lot of which did not end up happening of course; we were all very excited and constantly blurted out suggestions that were way out of our reach. Nonetheless, we voted for our team leader and allocated individual tasks to get started with. From there, Winterland was well and truly on the way.

Over a month in the planning process passed and we had the host and the circus society confirmed and awaited replies from the panto, and various bands and artists from Amersham College as well as a couple from rock school. These all eventually got confirmed, all except from the panto. In addition to that, other performances such as the steel band, Tamil group, student performer (who in the end had to back out unfortunately) and BBC Introducing acts were all ticked off our list and we could start breathing just that little bit more. A whole lot of emails, a slight bit of miscommunication and panic, around 7 re-written programs for the day and many, many more screenshots and messages sent to the talent & entertainment group chat later and we were just about ready to conquer Winterland!

From this point I would have to say I was proud. Stressed? Very. But still proud of the work my group and I put into each of our individual tasks. Seeing how what once was just ideas on a piece of paper turned into reality. In addition to the work and progress the rest of my colleagues within the other groups have achieved within their allocated teams as well as everyone coming together as one and putting hours into the workshop. Of course however, you could pick out the obvious individuals throughout the process leading up towards the actual event who did not put in as much work or effort as many of us would have liked. These people would then just be given fewer tasks and not a lot was expected from them in the end. Frustrating? Very. However, at the end of the day it was an event that counted towards the course and it was their decision to not participate when needed. There was only so much pushing one could do.

As an individual, my performance in the last 3 months has risen. I feel like I began enthusiastically but did not physically portray that feeling through my actions, as I kept quite refrained from the first few tasks at hand. This because I foolishly thought I had plenty of time to carry out these jobs where I was then proven wrong in one lecture where we were required to feedback the progress of each group. From this it really encouraged the majority of members in the talent and entertainment group and I to really pick ourselves up and prove how much we could really do in a short amount of time. I learnt that if certain members did not carry out their tasks quick enough then it reflects badly on the group as a whole as it was seen as a group effort. This led me to volunteer and relieve them of their tasks so that I could carry them out myself, which I was happy to do. By this point the group as a whole felt very comfortable keeping everyone up to date through our group chat on Facebook messenger. However, if I had anything more to improve on it would have to be communicating more with lecturers or so say ‘bosses’ too. I realised that only relying on our once a week sessions with each other does not help put their minds at ease enough for the whole week. Especially because they definitely could have helped us a lot more if we just asked instead of trying to handle every situation ourselves until the edge of a breakdown.

The day finally arrived and the cold, dark 5am start began. Then after all the fencing, signage, rides, stalls, sandbags and everything else was in place; as well as a Mc. Donald’s breakfast, 2 hour group panic to get everything done in time and a very big sigh of relief, Winterland was ready to be opened to the public.  Each member on the day was given specific roles to carry out, mine being in charge of the performance area. This I felt went incredibly well for the most part. The day started out with the steel pans music group who we helped carry their equipment into and out of the event. I was very pleased with this performance, as it was definitely a great way to open the event as well as get everybody’s energy up from such an early start. I must say I did have a little dance of my own in the middle of the concourse.

From then the day seemed to go smoothly until our last group, which was the Tamil Group. An hour of the day that I can honestly say was probably the biggest learning opportunity throughout the whole day. The problems that occurred was first a member of the performance area team misdirecting members of the Tamil group, not having enough communication leading up to the event and the timing within the event. I’m sad to say that only 2/3 of these problems were sorted. We were able to find the misdirected members and direct them to the correct dressing room where they could relax before their performance. The second problem with miscommunication occurred when one of the main members of the Tamil group informed my team leader and I that to perform they were required to sit on the floor. This proved to be a problem because they did not want their violinists to sit on the floor outside where it would be cold and hard, an observation that was completely understandable. Unfortunate for us however as there was no pre-warning or request for any equipment in advance for us to be able to provide them with what was needed. Because of this, we could only offer an alternative route by suggesting the violinists to use chairs from which they agreed. From this arose another problem by not being able to set up and perform on time. Sadly their performance was cut short by another performance whose music overpowered theirs. A learning experience that both myself and my colleagues will hopefully take on board and avoid in future events by gaining stronger communication from the performer and talent & entertainment team.

For this post, I thought i’d shy a little away from the music side and let you enter into a different live event. On October 16th 2016, I had the privilege to be a part of an exciting event which took part in my favourite city of London. It was an event which was completely out of my comfort zone and not my usual choice, nevertheless, I was asked to do a favour and I can never disappoint.

The event I wonderfully took part in was a fashion show which showcased a variety of different clothing designed by 5 contemporary fashion designers from the Philippines (my original nationality) as well as a variety of musical performances in between. Jared Servando, Pipoy Bernardo, Chris Jasler, Isabelle Landicho and jewellery designer Ann Ong wonderfully showed off their work using nearly 20 models(including myself) in the Millennium Hotel. Now i’ll be honest, I was a last minute addition to the team which means I did not attend the fitting and was given very minimal information which was turn up on the day at 11am wearing no make-up and bring black/nude heels. From this information, I assumed I was invited to model in a small, amateur fashion event but wow was I wrong!

Turning up at the Millennium Hotel was my first clue to how extreme this fashion event was. It was a beautiful, elegant hotel where I definitely could not afford one nights stay in. Backstage was my second clue. My cousin and I walked into the dressing room and I saw my first glimpse of the designer’s clothing that us ‘models’ were going to showcase down the runway, and they were gorgeous! This is the moment where I then realised this was not an occasion to take lightly. Throughout the day I was surrounded by beauty pageant winners, makeup artists and fashion designers. A place where I would never have thought to be in a million years. All day the only thing I could think to myself was how I felt so out of place because I am not a model, I’m just an 19 year old girl who’s trying to survive her first term in university. But in the end, I had to suck it up.

The day as a whole was very chaotic. For the first time I witnessed the antics backstage of a fashion show and the only way I could sum it up is half naked models constantly jumping in and out of outfits, little mini snacks to help keep us alive and rushed, last minute adjustments from the designers.

 It was amazing to see so many things happening all at once in such a confined space. The next step was to practice our walks (It sounds crazy, I know…But this was the the main thing I was worried about!). It’s surprising how much concentration walking takes when on a runway; it made realise how important body language can be. What did I learn from being a model this fashion show? Shoulders back, head looking forward at all costs, no smiling and walk to the beat of the music. Not too fast, not too slow. The clothes is what’s most important, not you, so sell the clothes through you!

Make-up, hair and first outfit on at the ready and the show was ready to get started. You could feel the atmosphere change in the room as the time drew closer, everyone feeling anxious and nervous but also very excited.

 I had four different outfits to model, some of which were a lot scarier than others. And here’s why:

The first and second outfit was designed by Jared Servano, a participant and 1st runner up in the forth season of Project Runaway Philippines. His inspiration for these designs came from the traditions of his hometown, South Mindanao.

The third outfit was designed by Pipoy Bernado, who’s inspiration came from nature and the environment.

My forth outfit was made by designer Chris Jasler, founder of the brand “Jail Jeans”. A man who first began in the fashion world as a runaway and print model in the Philippines.

The first walk was always going to be the scariest because you’d never knew what to expect. I remember walking out with my heart racing to see so many faces and hundreds of flashing lights blinding me. It doesn’t sound like it, but it was amazing. Once the first walk was completed, the rest of the show felt a lot more relaxed and enjoyable to say the least. An experience I am proud to be a part of and will never forget.