The Comfort Rooms

Rocky Salumbides and Lesley Mobo: Male Cinderella Stories

I was watching TV Patrol World earlier this week when a really catchy story glued on my attention. A former balut vendor and construction worker was currently making waves as a model.
I was like "hey, who could that lucky balut vendor be?" In all due fairness to my beloved balut vendors (I used to eat this [dish?!] almost daily, until I found myself having rashes and asthma attacks), I never saw anyone that was tall and bulked up or even one possessing a fair complexion. I was like "hey, there are moreno models as well."

The name of that balut vendor/construction worker-turned-male model was Rocky Salumbides (image on the right side). According to the blogosphere (especially those that fall into the GLBT tag), Rocky is a native of Cavite City and, as mentioned earlier, has engaged himself in manual labor before being discovered as a model. He competed in the MTV Fashionista competition in 2004 and was chosen to represent the country in the Best Model of the World competition in Istanbul, Turkey.

After being a popular sight in the Manila Fashion Scene, he tried his luck in the international scene by submitting his portfolio to Elite, an international model management agency, which gave him ramp assignments in Singapore. Since then, he has modelled for Versace, John Galliano and Jean Paul Gaultier.

Pretty much like Lesley Mobo who came from humble beginnings on his native Visayas, both guys have actually made it big after experiencing some circumstances that almost prevented them from dreaming big. Lesley is now one of the up-and-coming designers in London, which is one of the fashion capitals of the world. He went home to Manila a few months back and had his own fashion show. Just how would a kid from the Visayas make it big in London?

I know it all starts with a dream. I once joked to a friend, who is now enjoying a scholarship in Hawaii, that "some people dream while others can only do halfway." To dream is cheap. But the execution of it is a whole new different story.

Meanwhile, let me accomplish my dream while I let you listen to this track by Eurythmics called Sweet Dreams (are made of these). Thanks!

This post was written by: Jerick Baluyot

Jerick Baluyot is a professional blogger, writer and digital marketing specialist. Follow him on Twitter