If you love watching anime and are familiar with the cosplay community, then you have certainly heard of Alodia Almira Gosiengfiao, a Chinese-Filipino cosplayer/model who is also now the owner of Tier One Entertainment, a gaming and esports company that she co-founded with Tryke Gutierrez and Brian Lim in 2017.
Born in Quezon City to parents Ed Gosiengfiao (cousin of director Joey Gosiengfiao) and Mariglor Arraiza, Alodia tells Karen Davila on an interview how her mom pushed her to join the showbiz industry: “Yung mom ko yung medyo gusto mag-showbiz [ako]. Pero kasi ako, super duper shy talaga ako. Kunyari ilagay mo ako sa stage… sobrang maninigas ako.” (My mom was the one who kind of wanted me to join the showbiz industry. But for me, I am quite shy. If you put me on a stage… I will freeze.)
Even with her timidness, Alodia did not let that stop her from doing what she really wants— to cosplay her favorite video game characters. Soon enough, she went from participating in cosplay competitions to actually being invited to judge both local and international conventions. With cosplaying and acting being similar to each other, how was Alodia able to participate in cosplay conventions and strut with full confidence?
Photo of Alodia cosplaying as Baroness from G.I. Joe
“I think yung cosplay (…) acts like a mask for me. That [character] is not me— I’m just a different character, so being on stage… it kind of helped me with [my] self-confidence.”
One can say that her early participation in different cosplay conventions and competitions totally paid off— during the early years of the cable television network Animax Asia in the Philippines, you would always see Alodia starring in different shows and commercials as she charms everyone with her chinita features and cute cosplays. She even had her own segment on the channel called Ani-time with Alodia that aired weekdays at 7 pm.
Photo courtesy of Animax Asia
Alodia’s legacy as a cosplayer definitely paved the way for more Filipinos to become involved in the cosplay community. Her popularity as a cosplayer also opened more doors, as she had numerous endorsements from popular video game developers like SEGA and Level-Up Games. She was also featured in different fashion magazines such as Candy Magazine and Preview Magazine, and she also appeared as a guest on different GMA television shows.
Alodia’s influence in the cosplay community is definitely unparalleled. Even today, she continues to do photoshoots of her cosplaying different characters. However, she started to gravitate in a different direction in 2014— which is gaming. She started to stream her Dota 2 and League of Legends gameplay on Twitch, a live streaming service that is mainly focused on gaming. In 2017, Alodia co-founded Tier One Entertainment with Tryke Gutierrez and Brian Lim, which is the country’s first esports and gaming agency.
Photo Courtesy of Tier One Entertainment’s FB Page
Not too long after, Alodia stopped streaming on Twitch and switched over to Facebook (specifically Facebook Gaming), where she was officially partnered with. She streams to her 8.2 million followers almost daily, playing various games such as Diablo Immortal and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. By streaming, Alodia earns money when her viewers send her stars. These stars can then be cashed out as real money typically during the 21st day of a month.
Being a streamer requires being entertaining. But, does streaming really require talent? According to Alodia, streaming is a skill that can be learned by anyone. “Some people are naturally entertaining— yung iba mga comedians na, so they can just translate it online and nakikita yun ng mga audience. Pero kunyari for me, kasi introvert ako, I’m like super shy… I had to learn it.”
Photo courtesy of Karen Davila’s Youtube Channel / Alodia Gosiengfiao FB Page
Currently, Tier One Entertainment handles the professional esports team Blacklist International, who won the M3 World Championship held by Mobile Legends: Bang Bang developer Moonton last year with a whopping prize amount of $300,000. Aside from the esports team, Tier One handles over a thousand talents (streamers, cosplayers, and content creators) all over Asian countries like the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Myanmar, and Japan.
Photo courtesy of ONE Esports
Just a few months ago, Alodia became engaged to businessman Christopher Quimbo in Cavite. They first went public with their relationship in April, with Alodia posting an Instagram photo of them doing a heart symbol in El Nido, Palawan. In a proposal vlog that Alodia posted on Youtube, Alodia said that she can not imagine her life without him. In the same vlog, Christopher also revealed that he asked Alodia to be his girlfriend within the first month of them knowing each other.
Photo courtesy of Alodia’s Instagram Page
A lot of people may insist that spending a lot of time with someone else is the best way to get to know someone and gauge their true personality— however, Alodia and Christopher’s relationship is living proof of how time spent knowing each other does not matter when you know that they are truly the right person for you.
Congratulations, Alodia and Christopher!
