By Hermes Joy Tunac / Photography by Mark Chester Ang / Art direction by Ramon Joseph Ruiz / Grooming by Eddie Mar Cabiltes / Styling by Vhee Co
This 28-year-old content creator, who started his blog as part of a class requirement in college, didn’t expect that there was a whole career ahead of him in an industry dominated by women. But with the push of a “publish” button,“DG Manila” soon evolved into one of the country’s top menswear blogs.
David Guison may look fierce in most of his Instagram posts, but behind his every smize and signature “DG” post is a bubbly personality, which makes him approachable to many. And as someone who has met quite a few digital creators from this generation, this writer notes that there is, indeed, something about David that makes him stand tall. For the most part, it is the amount of pride and diligence that he puts into his work.
David took up Multimedia Arts at De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde more than a decade ago. Back then, one of his projects was to produce a blog site. By the time his school term ended, David noticed he started gaining followers, and thought that maybe, blogging could lead to a potential career for him in the long run. “When I started blogging 10 years ago, it was all organic. At that time, I didn’t know that we could get opportunities for sponsorships and endorsements,” David tells PeopleAsia one afternoon in Makati.
Finding the right niche
DG Manila from 10 years ago was just full of pictures because David was into photography first. “I would risk bringing my phone to school just so I could take photos of anything,” he continues, “and also, I thought what if the photos get corrupted? Where would I find them? My blog. It was multipurpose.”
Also, David was not a fan of writing, given that he was an art student when he took a chance at blogging, so his blog then was just mainly photos. “I didn’t enjoy writing at first,” David says, bursting with laughter, “but in two years of blogging, I fell in love with it. It made me excited to open my laptop and write a blogpost.”
Soon, David found himself with quite a following. He started receiving comments such as ‘David, why don’t you post a photo of yourself?’ because they didn’t know how he looked. So, when David got the idea, he asked one of his friends to take his photo. “When I first posted my outfit of the day or ‘OOTD,’ that wasn’t the term yet at that time,” David shares with a chuckle, “it got the most likes and re-blogs on Tumblr.” After receiving positive feedback and greater engagements from his followers when he posted about fashion, it became David’s niche.
Edge to success
The digital landscape was very different a decade ago. Male bloggers were vastly outnumbered by the women. But it paid for David to start when he did. “Being in the industry for 10 years now has made me stand out, compared to other creators,” David shares proudly. He also pointed out that a lot of male bloggers fall for the trap of idleness. “That’s what I try to avoid,” he shares, “There are times I feel burnt out, but I keep in mind, if I remain consistent, my followers would also be consistent with me.”
For instance, David shot 12 looks for one day and distributed the content for a week to reach his quota of blogposts. “I think my readers, from way before, really felt like I’m passionate and committed to what I’m doing so that deserved a follow from them.”
Together with Camile Co, Laureen Uy, Kryz Uy and Tricia Gosingtian, they are considered the digital standards of the “influencer” generation. But given that, David still expresses his admiration for young creators of today. “They are talented in terms of the art direction of their content,” he continues, “When I started, we had a template—whole body and half body. But today, I’m impressed with the time creators spend in conceptualization.”
When David graduated from college, his mom, just like most parents, asked him at the time if he planned to find a job soon. Perhaps she saw that blogging took up too much of his time despite the fact that he was not earning from it. “So, I promised I would prove to her that I will earn from blogging. I started looking for a manager, and I reached out to small brands that could help me facilitate a giveaway on my blog,” David says, looking back on his humble beginnings.
True enough, David’s hard work paid off. Today, he has worked with over 200 local and international brands such as Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, Dolce & Gabanna, Lacoste, Topman, Fujifilm, Ford, Penshoppe, Cetaphil, Lazada, Canon and Belo.
All the way up
When asked what made him relevant despite the shifts in the digital world, David is confident that he’s not one to give up despite these changes. He started from using Tumblr to shifting to microblogging on Instagram and Twitter up to vlogging on YouTube. “I worked my way up. I started with outfits from ukay-ukay [thrift shops] to working with designer brands. I’ve grown, and so are my followers, my ‘Guisado’ fam,” he shares. (Guisado is David’s loyal legion of followers, a moniker inspired by his surname).
In sustaining all his platforms, David stresses the importance of having a quota and scheduling contents strategically. “Until now, I’m still excited in what I’m doing so I pretty much exhaust all the platforms I could use,” he adds.
With his success, David gradually changed the amount of time he spends in front of his laptop. “It’s a blessing and a curse when you’re a freelancer. When you wake up, that’s the start of it,” David continues, “before, I would spend six hours writing a blog post, then I’ll edit photos. I used to be a one-man team when I started.” But now that he is also vlogging, he has an editor who makes his work more comfortable. And since he is still relatively new in vlogging, David shares that he looks up to veteran vloggers such as Wil Dasovich, Erwann Heusaff and then bloggers Laureen and Camille.
Veering away from fashion, David has slowly shifted his interest and contents to traveling. “I earn money now, so I enjoy doing travel contents more,” David shares. “And my Guisado fam, they grow with me when I travel. Sometimes, I see them going to places I’ve been to.” He also shares that his followers are just a small community. “And I prefer it that way,” he adds. David makes sure that he interacts most of the time with his followers who have been there since he started DG Manila. The brands he works with are also happy because David has a solid record for insipiring sold-out success among his partners.
For those who want to become a content creator in today’s generation, David has a few words—make sure it’s something you can sustain. “It took me so long before I became confident as a content creator. You really have to find the right niche, something you enjoy that when you talk about it, you’re the authority or the only reliable person your audience should watch or read from,” ends David.
This story first appeared in PeopleAsia October-November 2019 issue. Did you like what you’ve just read? Let us know in the comments section below.
