About Me — Aldwin Pimentel
Publicist-turned-founder building the future of news
Family Roots
As all stories go, we start in the beginning.
I grew up in a family of entrepreneurs and athletes. I saw my grandfather’s lead business churn out rolls of metal, my uncle’s food empire expand from one to hundreds of branches, and my close family friends’ companies transition from tight fundamentals to flourishing. I also witnessed my dad’s lighting business evolve from its inception to an innovative powerhouse.
My grandfather was one of the people who brought Wushu to the Philippines. The martial art was the passion he passed down; everyone in my family has had some form of training in it. Some of us represented the country in competitions, became world champions, and held high-ranking positions in the sport’s association.
When someone says ‘super athlete,’ the first thing that comes to mind is my dad. He told me stories as if he were a superhero, and it blew my mind. In his younger days, he was the team captain of his soccer group. During his university years, he woke up early to train for dragon boat. After that, he went to the college grounds for track and field (he was a team leader there as well), and before heading home, he trained in Wushu. He stacked medals throughout his athletic career.
So, you can imagine that growing up was filled with academics and sports (or, as I saw it, the more enjoyable aspects). From the most Asian experience of doing Kumon and tutoring after school, to training in Wushu and various sports growing up — life was fun.
The Real ‘About Me’ Portion
Hi! I’m Aldwin. I’m a Filipino-Chinese raised in the Philippines. I’m a Gen-Z cusp, meaning we grew up at a time when growing up meant playing with toys and having great times outside, yet we’ve been immersed in the rise of technology.
As much as I loved playing tag, make-believe, and with toys that sparked my imagination, I was also fond of playing with my PS2 and Gameboy. I relished watching shows. Back then, that meant collecting CDs or DVDs. Finding new websites around the nascent internet was exciting. Transferring files to a CD or USB was fascinating. Downloading songs to an MP3 player and games for the Nintendo DS was cool (this is piracy, I don’t do it anymore, nor should you 😬). Social media and online games allowed for greater connection with friends and classmates. Looking back, it was exhilarating, maybe even the start of my love for tech and geekery.
I did okay in school. I wasn’t the best, just all right. From everything mentioned earlier, you can presume where I excelled: P.E. and Math (thank you, Kumon); I even had the opportunity to compete in an interschool math tournament once in high school.
After-school hours and weekends were the times for sports. Like my family, I was thrust into trying all sorts of them. The earliest I remember being involved in were swimming, ping pong, and the rite of passage for Filipinos — basketball. Name one, and I’ve probably tried — maybe even trained in it.
A huge one before was triathlons. I started with swimming. Then, running and fun runs became a trend (yes, this was before Strava and when everybody entered their ‘running’ era). Subsequently, we just added cycling, and voila, my cousins and I were competing in Iron Kids. Wushu was, of course, a massive part of our lives as well. Later, in the last few years of high school, I began training more seriously in it. Unfortunately, I got injured, overextending my hamstring right before I was supposed to compete. I bounced back after a while and found new appreciation for mixed martial arts (MMA).
All these factors have turned me into who I am now. It was an experience I wouldn’t change for anything. I saw the stability that life needed early on — work, health, and fun; it’s all part of living that has to be observed, and I appreciated it. I undervalued it, though. I wish I could go back to such a balance.
From Following a Path to Getting Lost
I wasn’t really sure what I wanted in life. Previously, schooling in the Philippines had a shorter timeframe. I entered university at age seventeen. You had to be sure what you wanted and pick a course before entering. That’s what it felt like, at least to me, and I just went with the obvious and chose a business course. Why? Because I thought I had to follow the path laid out for me.
College was like a four-year vacation. Again, my grades were average, and I finished without the most exemplary marks. I was more interested in joining student organizations, where I organized the most significant and most amusing events. I’ve made more friends for life in those ‘orgs’ as well.
Afterward, I went to Beijing to study Chinese at Tsinghua University — another expected step for the eldest son in a Filipino-Chinese family with a business to inherit. I made friends from all over the world, and honestly, it wasn’t a bad experience at all.
I came back to the Philippines for a vacation, and then the world stopped. The COVID-19 pandemic hit, and we were all in lockdown. I couldn’t go back, I couldn’t find work. What happens to the life plan now? I wasn’t really sure myself. For the first time, I was genuinely lost.
There are Blessings in Everything — even in Wandering
What do you do in a pandemic? Thankfully, my family is in a comfortable state in our lives. You breathe. You slow down. Amidst all the fear happening in the world, I was blessed to find clarity and explore.
I’m big on reading young adult (YA) novels, especially the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series by Rick Riordan. I learned to shift and get back into a reading habit by replacing some of my YA books with business, finance, and self-help titles.
I’ve had the chance to touch base with my former self. I’ve gained a more in-depth understanding of fitness and started lifting weights. I had the opportunity to play online with my friends again.
Online courses were the fad, and I went with it. I was reintroduced to several key business topics, including management, operations, and marketing. I had an inkling that I might appreciate digital marketing, so I studied it more deeply than most. I earned certificates in social media marketing and search engine optimization (SEO). Somewhere along the way, I discovered Public Relations (PR), and something resonated with me.
I aligned with it, and a burst of excitement came over me as I learned more about PR. There’s a joy that you feel when you find something so interesting that it turns into passion. You could call it a calling, perhaps? Who knows. But, surely, you want to pursue it no matter what.
And, I went for it. I was even scared to tell my family that it’s what I wanted to do as a job, because it’s not exactly the conventional path to CEO training. Sooner or later, I got around to letting them know, and there was no reason to be scared. I’m lucky my family will support me no matter what.
I secured a position at one of the Philippines’ most established Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) agencies. I have worked with various high-caliber tech clients in the Philippines, managing events, digital marketing, and public relations. It was hard mentally and physically, but I relished every single bit of doing it.
Life is both short and long
After my stint as a publicist, I eventually returned to the family business to lend a hand. I had no qualms; I realized just how lucky I am to have experienced it. Being part of the company is my responsibility as well, and we all have duties that we have to fulfill — c’est la vie.
I don’t feel particularly strong about my job and role right now. Especially after doing something I felt so passionate about. That led me to search for that feeling, for that fervor again. When you call, something will eventually answer.
The response that I received was entrepreneurship. My mind began to drift to ideas and solutions that I felt eager to go after. These lightbulb moments were usually a mix of my interests and something I was positive I would enjoy chasing.
One of these projects used blockchain technology for fitness. The plan was to utilize NFTs as a form of gym membership. Availers would then have lifetime access to the gym, and when they find that they’re no longer benefiting as much from it as they used to, they can sell it like an asset, transferring their rights, making a profit rather than wasting what they’ve already paid. There’s a whole lot more detail in the mechanisms. I even caught the attention of the PhiliFintech Innovation Office of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Philippines. Ultimately, it was not allowed to proceed, as the framework that the business would use does not yet exist to be provisioned under Philippine laws.
Life is both short and long: short enough not to be doing what makes you happy, and long enough to always have the time to find what you love.
Now, I’m still figuring out a lot of things. I’m part of the family business because I’m grateful for the life it has given me. All the while, I delight in spending time with my family, girlfriend, and friends. I’m trying to get back into working out. I’m writing because I realized, after creating dozens of press releases, that I liked the creative outlet. I’m establishing a new startup that I think suits me well — it’s a combination of media (closely tied to PR), tech, and entrepreneurship.
We all have the freedom to keep on trying and unraveling what exactly we are supposed to do in this world. It may not even be just one, but many things. Follow me, an ex-publicist turned Founder of the app that’s going to build the future of news. I write about startup life, tech thoughts, and maybe gaming and fitness. Who knows? Your world is an oyster as much as mine.
