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Season 2, Episode 9 Recap: Kryz Uy, Slater Young, and Pursuing Unconventional Passions

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CHiNOY TV’s latest episode of Chinese by Blood, Filipino by Heart transfers the spotlight on one of Cebu’s most well-loved couples: the Uy-Young power pair! Visiting the tropical paradise that is the Queen City of the South, the documentary series aims to explore the modern Chinoy identity through personal dialogues with pioneer fashion blogger Kryz Uy and celebrity-turned-entrepreneur Slater Young, as they share what it means to pursue what was once considered to be unconventional careers in show business, fashion, and content creation. 

Check out what viewers have taken away from their story here:

 

Passion means learning how to create opportunities. 

Back when Kryz Uy started posting pictures of her OOTDs online, Instagram wasn’t even a thing yet. Content creation wasn’t even a term, never mind a career! As a fresh graduate of the Ateneo de Manila University, Kryz was actually conflicted about choosing between the corporate world and her family business in fashion retail. It wasn’t until much later on that Kryz decided to pursue what she really loved.

“I remember my mom asking me, “What is it that you want to do? What is it that you enjoy?’” Kryz recalled. “And I remember telling her, ‘You know what, Mom? I love it when I’m in front of the camera, wearing my nice outfits and taking photos of myself.’ And she was like, ‘That’s ridiculous! What is that, even?’ And I didn’t have an answer.”

But Kryz could not let go of what she loved, continuing to balance her blogging hobby with her day job until she realized that she could no longer do both. 

“I’m one of the first people who did [fashion blogging] in the Philippines. I remember I had two friends that I met also while we were on this journey together, and that was Camille [Co] and Laureen [Uy]. We’re all Chinoy. We had this meeting of sorts, and we were like, ‘You know what? We should charge for our posts because we work hard and we deserve to make a living out of this,’” shared Kryz. 

“And so my dad was like, ‘What are you doing? Stop taking photos of yourself. We’re a private family. But the black sheep in me, the rebel child in me, and the youngest child in me said, ‘Bahala ka na, Dad. I’m going to prove you wrong.’ So I kept doing it. I kept at it. And it was a blessing in disguise because, now, it’s what I’ve been doing full time for the past 12 to 13 years,” she continued.  

 

 

Agreeing with Kryz’s choices, Facebook user Richmonn Lao posted, “One of the best feelings in the world is being able to pursue what you want to do, and getting paid at the same time. So, find that thing you want, love it with all your heart, let your passion burn, and continue to grow [while] creating amazing things in life.”

 

Be independent, and choose your own path. 

Like his wife Kryz, Slater Young has also had his fair share of pursuing careers that his parents did not initially approve of. Once dubbed as the “Hotshot Engineer of Cebu,” Slater entered and won Pinoy Big Brother: Unlimited without his mother’s consent after being scouted by talent manager Erickson Raymundo.

Slater revealed, “I told my mom and dad, ‘Okay, ito na ‘yung mangyayari.’ [But] my mom was very, very angry. Ayaw talaga niya. And she wouldn’t talk to me. She wouldn’t talk to me for a while, and I actually talked to my dad. Sabi niya, ‘Okay, just remember nalang na you always have a home here. If ever it doesn’t work out, we’ll always welcome you with open arms.’”

After winning the popular reality TV show, Slater dipped his toes into Philippine entertainment for three years before ultimately deciding that the career was not for him. He then returned to his roots as an entrepreneur, taking over a side project that his father had started and growing it into a business of his own. Now, he manages his construction firm Liteblock and real estate company Sky Estates while producing online content with his wife. 

Looking back at both his and Kryz’s career paths, Slater realized that the most valuable lesson that he had learned was to believe in his own capabilities, a feat he credited to the independence that he had gained from stepping outside of his father’s shadow. 

“[It was in PBB] na nakikita ko na I actually have leadership skills that I didn’t know I had before. Akala ko because anak lang ako ng tatay ko and anak ng boss. That’s why I had leadership skills. Nakikita ko na I had things to contribute not only sa PBB but also into the real world. I learned my own value, and it was because I stepped out of my comfort zone,” said Slater. 

Slater continued, “So moving forward, me and Kryz [sic] talked about this na. Dapat  ‘yung baby namin si Scott should have the same sense of independence. Yung hindi natin ibinigay sa kanila ‘yung path. Make sure they’re paving their own way, and [that] we give them the opportunity to do that.” 

 

 

Commenting on the episode, Facebook user Rosalllie Alcantara also wrote: “I learned that as parents, we must give our children the independence to choose their path. We just have to guide them in every step of the way, but the freedom to make wise decisions would still be with our children.” 

 

Catch the next episode of Chinese by Blood, Filipino by Heart on Sunday at 8 PM, airing on CNN Philippines. 

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