Pharmacist’s TikTok videos serve as ‘happy pill’ amid quarantine

Amid the stress brought about by the pandemic and lockdowns, this pharmacist’s hilarious and relatable videos serve as happy pill to his millions of followers.

Marvin Ramirez or @marvsfojas has over 40.7 million likes and 2.3 million followers on TikTok.

On an episode of #BetterNormalPH, Marvin said he initially got curious about the content sharing app when he saw a lot of people using it.

“Ni-try ko, iyan mga dubbing-dubbing. So hanggang nakahiligan ko na siya, naging past time ko na siya, kasi natutuwa ako roon sa app. Kasi madaling gumawa ng video eh, parang cell phone lang, tapos ano mo lang shoot mo lang sarili mo, may video ka na,” Marvin narrated.

“Hanggang iyon, nagtuloy-tuloy na tapos maraming natuwa sa mga ginagawa kong kalokohan, iyon,” he continued.

Initially starting with dubbing, Marvin went on to creating original content on TikTok.

He said he made time to create videos and content after work hours and on weekends.

“So doon ako gumagawa ng mga content ko. Siguro kapag may gusto (kang) gawin, magagawa mo naman nang tight. Kapag gusto mo naman talaga iyong ginagawa mo.”

Marvin popularized the viral series “Luh?,” “Hello, Bhie,” and “School Eksena” on Tiktok which had become a source of entertainment for his followers.

“Iyong ‘Luh’ (laughs) ‘loh’ ano iyon eh, parang usual na expression na iyon ng mga ano eh, ng mga normal na Pilipino,” Marvin explained.

“Tapos iyong ‘Bhie,’ ano siya eh, nakikita ko lang din siya. Parang tawagan ng mga tipikal na high school students, iyong mga babae,” he said. “‘Bhie, sorry bhie,’ gano’n. Tapos parang nagpaplastikan, gano’n,” he added.

“Ay ang daming natuwa roon sa video ko,” Marvin noted.

He said he got his ideas from his own personal experience.

“Kasi laking public school ako eh. So iba, parang may iba kasing experience kapag sa public school ka nag-aral.”

Marvin noted that the number of views he had on TikTok increased during the quarantine.

“Nitong quarantine lang din ako naging consistent talaga sa paggawa ng content. Siguro nakita ko rin na opportunity rin iyon, na iyong mga tao na nasa bahay lang, and naisip ko na, ito iyong perfect time din na gumawa ng mga content,” he said.

Marvin said other ideas came from the comments of his followers and viewers.

“Nagko-comment sila, ‘kuya, gawa ka naman ng ganitong video.’” So binibigyan din nila ko ng, nagi-input din sila. So iyon iyong nakakatuwa sa kanila.”

The pharmacist said he would get comments of gratitude from his viewers and followers telling him that his videos served as their “stress reliever.”

“Iyong iba, may anxiety issues, depression, so in a way, nakakatulong pala ko roon sa pinagdadaanan nila. So parang hindi ko ine-expect na ganoon pala kabigat iyong impact ko,” he said.

“Iyong tuwa and iyong joy na ibinibigay at naibibigay ko sa kanila ay I guess malaking ambag na iyon.”

Marvin advised aspiring TikTok stars to start creating content now since most people were still glued on social media for entertainment.

“Kasi nasa new normal tayo, wala na iyong mga events. Walang mga concerts. so kumbaga limited iyong option ng mga tao pagdating sa entertainment and mostly naka-focus lang sila sa social media as source of entertainment nila,” he said.

“Magandang opportunity iyon, so kung nagbabalak kayo gumawa ng content, gawa na kayo ngayon, samantalahin niyo na nasa bahay ang mga tao.”

He said content creators should also maintain their consistency in creating and uploading videos.

“Tapos, dapat maging consistent din sila sa paggawa ng content, kung well, kung gusto talaga nilang seryosohin iyong content creation, dapat maging consistent sa pag-uupload, sa paggawa ng videos.”

Apart from enjoying making videos, Marvin said his creations had a “bigger purpose.”

“Hindi lang naman ako basta nagpapatawa lang, ganyan. So, syempre, gusto ko rin na mas marami pang tao iyong mapasaya sa mga ginagawa ko.” – RC, GMA News