One is a seasoned beauty doctor with an artistic bent while the other is a marketing whiz who is adept at getting their message across in a saturated market. Together, they are the dynamic duo behind the Lift Aesthetic Clinic chain, which is well known for enhancing patients’ looks, especially its male clientele, through non-surgical procedures, including thread lifts.
By FRANCINE Y. MEDINA
For Dr. Cyril Mitchel Agan and Jan Raymond Conadera, the quest for the beautiful life took a lot of hard work, a driven mindset, and passion for what they love to do best. Co-owners and life partners, Agan and Conadera have been making a name for themselves for the high-caliber services their Lift Aesthetic Clinic chain offers.
If there’s any obvious formula to their success, it’s pure hard work and the commitment to do better in each step of their professional journey. It’s also what makes their story inspiring and interesting.
Born to a middle-class family, Agan finished his education at the University of the Philippines College of Medicine. As a student, Agan also dabbled in the arts by painting and staying active in his college’s singing group, joining theater, and his school paper.
Rather than practicing in the country, he chose to become an OFW earlier in his career to help support his family. With serendipity, as he puts it, he landed a job in a Miami-based aesthetic clinic that served clients from luxury cruise liners. In this job, he learned and upskilled himself in the art and science of non-surgical facial enhancements such as applying facial injectables like Botox, dermal fillers, and thread lifts.
His workmanship, light-handedness, creative eye, and amiable demeanor soon earned him a good reputation on board, to the point that cruise ship guests would return to him.
In Manila, he met Conadera, who was earning a name for himself as an IT specialist, marketing whiz, and events organizer. They share a lot of things in common, as they found out, including an insatiable drive and quest to excel in their respective fields. They discovered that they are both passionate about making their country proud — something that they would bring with them as they built a name for themselves abroad.
“I thought it was just going to be a temporary job. But now it has become a lifelong career,” Agan says. “Of course, I have always dreamt to eventually have my own clinic and build my own beauty empire. And then somewhere along the way, I met Jan.”
Conadera, at that time, was being trained by the likes of the late photographer Raymond Isaac. He was exposed to the world of glossy magazines, fashion, and the beauty industry. He appreciated the services of professional skin specialists and didn’t have qualms about having them as part of his self-care routine.
“But the question was, where can you find a really good clinic for men?” Agan surmises. “Where can I get professional treatments where I can be comfortable as well? And that pushed me to act on my dream of putting up my own clinic.”
“Those were trying times for us, but we had this ambition,” recalls Conadera. “We’re going to put up our dream project by borrowing money and, if we have to, even join a contest in a noontime show to raise funds.”
And that they did! Agan joined a contest in a noontime TV show and with the P50,000 prize money, plus some loans from his college fraternity brothers, the couple finally opened their first Lift Aesthetic Clinic in Kapitolyo, Pasig, in 2017.
They soon noticed that on top of professionals in the Ortigas business district, members of high society from the south also started flocking to their clinic. In just three months, they broke even.
The blessing here was that Agan specialized in injectable dermal fillers, Botox, and thread lifts and didn’t need to invest in multi-million peso machines used by other clinics for non-invasive lunchtime procedures. In just a year and a half, they were able to open their second clinic in upscale BGC in Taguig.
“I think clients really appreciated that the procedures weren’t templated. Instead, they were customized depending on their needs,” says Conadera. “It’s really skill-based and relies greatly on the eye of the doctor. Dr. Cyril is an artist and he knows what needs to be done and how to apply it properly. And our business really revolved around his skills.”
When the pandemic hit, the clinic’s operation halted for a brief period and then it was back to business as usual.
Even during that trying period, Agan yearned to go back to giving brand-sponsored trainings for fellow doctors. But due to the financial shock brought by the pandemic, many of these brands suffered and had to put their training conferences on hold.
“There was this brand called Aptos that I’ve been following through their international conferences since 2017,” says the doctor. “The first time I attended their lecture, I was in awe and was very impressed with their technique.”
His admiration was, to use a pun, skin deep. To get their attention, he attended conferences from Bangkok to Paris, had his photos taken with the principals, and mentioned them in his social media posts.
“Bold and random move“
“In a bold and random move,” Agan messaged its developer and Aptos general director, Dr. George Sulamanidze, a native of Georgia (in Europe), who became his Facebook friend, asking him if he could bring Aptos to the Philippines and be its distributor. Agan eventually got it!
Aptos is a global award-winning brand used for the face and body for lifting, contouring, and rejuvenation. It’s used by aesthetics doctors in more than 90 countries and is sold through direct sellers only.
“Before Aptos, the products we used in the Philippines back then weren’t good enough,” observes Agan. “I felt that we were just inserting threads, causing inflammation and an illusion of lift but not an actual lift. And the effect doesn’t last very long.”
In the perpetual search for that fountain of youth, Aptos threads are the next best thing in addressing mild sagging. According to Agan, the threads are also biostimulators of hyaluronic acid that provides more tissue hydration and stimulates collagen production. So, the effect, especially after a few months of application on the client, will show a defined jawline, smoother neck, tighter facial skin, and a general facial glow-up.
To make a long story short, the pair got what they wished for. Today, Agan has been traveling abroad as well as an official representative of Aptos, giving training seminars to medical professionals across the world.
“Every time I’m on stage, I want to show that I’m a Filipino and I’m doing well,” says Agan. “They can see the quality of the work that I do, the way I behave on stage, the way I present my work, the before and after of the work that I show through videos—a Filipino is doing all these. I’m proud to be a Filipino.”
Conadera is also getting his share of the spotlight through invitations to speak on the creative and marketing directions of the brand. Together with Agan, he has also presented in countries like Georgia, Thailand, Malaysia, and France.
“I think Jan brings a new perspective when he gives his own presentation to these international gatherings. Doctors are not really in the business of marketing, so he brings something new to them,” adds Agan.
“Sexy Jawline”
Their clinics are also gaining an increased share of the male market—a unique value they bring to the table.
“Globally, the aesthetic market is dominated by the female market,” informs Agan. “About 85 to 95 percent of patients who go to aesthetic centers are females. But in our clinics, we receive about 50 to 60 percent male clients.”
“We are actually the brand that we carry,” explains Conadera. “We flex on our social media and show how we are on a daily basis. We love to work out, we’re healthy, and we lead an active lifestyle. And that reflects on our social media and the services that we offer, including the Aptos brand.”
Capturing the male market naturally became full circle for Conadera whose original intention was to have an aesthetic clinic for men. Wasting no time, Conadera used his marketing expertise and came out with a very successful “Sexy Jaw” ad campaign using fillers and threads.
After the campaign went viral—garnering 70,000 likes on Instagram when their very first male model came out—Agan also thought of translating the “Sexy Jawline” campaign to other genders.
“We’re in the age of gender fluidity,” says Agan, “So we thought of coming up with versions of what a sexy jawline would also be like for women, transgenders, and so on.”
That campaign resulted in celebrity clients like actor Paolo Ballesteros and drag performer Marina Summers. In due time, Agan was invited to present his “drag queen transformations” to international audiences here and abroad.
Agan and Conadera’s formidable partnership will be in for another bold move in 2025. The north star would be to go back to their vision of focusing on masculine aesthetics and what men want.
“We’re expanding in the sense that we’ll be offering more services for men such as the newest procedures, anti-aging, sculpting, and catering to their wellness needs,” articulates Conadera.
“We have a lot of plans,” reveals Agan. And with a hint of excitement, he shares this for the first time, “Just to give you a teaser, there will be a new brand of filler for penile enlargement to be launched in the Philippines next year.”
Conadera adds, “It sounds taboo for now but if you bring in a good doctor with good experience, I think it will be greatly accepted.”
That Thing Down There
Agan has been undergoing rigorous training under a urologist specializing in penile enlargement and has made a call for males who would be interested in having the non-surgical procedure done as a trial. The social media call went viral, which made the couple realize that they’re again on to something. As of this writing, Agan says that the two trial patients are healthy and doing well.
That’s some fulfilling news for many men, so to speak. But if anything, it’s also proof that in this age of aesthetic medical advancements, every Tom, Dick, Harry, and Jane has the power to look better and feel better for themselves.
Agan concludes, “Some people will say it’s just vanity or a way of enhancing one’s libido. No! A lot of these procedures are rooted in how we are inside. Even though the enhancement is just on the outside, it will also reflect what’s inside of you.”
“When you speak from the heart and you share your story, and you hear about good experiences about your product or service—testimonials are the best form of marketing. And you feel that moment,” concludes Conadera.
