Photos: Agenda Long Beach Recap

Recap of the Agenda Long Beach Show! Probably one of the best trips I’ve taken in my life… Sometimes you can only make sense of your path in reverse. In hindsight, there were so many things leading up to that week.

Here’s my story (heads up: I wrote a long story after the jump!)

MANILA

Being born in this specific family, I had siblings who were passionate about street culture/youth culture and dove head first into the scene by starting up Greyone Social and Status Magazine at a time where this didn’t exist in Manila.

The desire to help them run a business had me unofficially interning for the store and magazine at the same time when I was in college and a few years after (before I left to do radio and TV). (PS. I learned so much at 21/22 years old that exposed me to so much by watching people hustle firsthand.)

Making our contacts through the store/magazine (+ our travels to Vegas, LA, or NYC), and hosting these guests when they arrived in our city really allowed me to learn from these amazing “influencers” who became influential by simply doing what they love.

It was an exciting time to watch, because everyone moving the culture was doing their own thing and fulfilling their own vision. I think back at how I grew up in it and looked up to so many people- people that I am blessed to now call my friends.

SINGAPORE

When I moved to Singapore, I ended up linking with Le Messie and Amanda S who were doing the brands FALSE/ Anti-Anti/ Better Off Dead. I am so grateful took me underneath their roof for a weekly mentorship session that was supposed to be focused on PR and Sales, yet exposed me to mindset and the importance of remaining an individual.

One of the most important things Le Messie told me early on that just stuck in my mind, “I never want people to be like me. I want them to be themselves.”

That was a powerful statement considering everyone just google stuff online to define themselves nowadays. #lifelessons

Eventually, I left Singapore to go to HK, and a few months later, Amanda reached out to ask if I wanted to go to Agenda with them. It was going to be the first time they would join a trade show, despite being in the business for over 10 years.

But this time it was different, it wasn’t to launch any of their fashion brands. It was to launch their new business- an app of digital stickers called Emo Emoji.

Staying true to their roots of pop culture satire, they take the same disruptive energy they once put into their fashion brands and mounted it onto a tech platform. Clever. And yes, of course I wanted to be a part of this adventure.

LONG BEACH

I got to run into a lot of my old friends at Agenda… A lot the people I’ve met over the last 8 years of working in media, fashion and TV. All the people who were there at different points at my journey, who have watched me grow and evolve as well. It’s like everything came full circle.

And instead of walking the floors, I found myself in booth K-21 launching an idea into the world. Then I thought, “I’m here on this side now. Not outside looking in, but inside looking forward.” All the energy I felt when I was in my early 20s came back to me, and I felt completely inspired and passionate about creating and pushing new ideas again.

The takeaway:

Everything comes full circle- Literally. I was born in Long Beach and was back in Long Beach. Also, all the people I met on my journey who affected the course of my life popped up that same week.

Connect the dots in reverse, and you’ll understand how your highs and lows got you to this place. Everything was perfectly orchestrated all along.

Keep the energy, passion and excitement you had as a beginner alive and let that fuel you.

Individuality x Doing what you love x Passion.

Here’s a photo recap of our journey…