Rhian Ramos: A catwalk hit

Not so many people know that Rhian Ramos bagged two awards from the prestigious “Asian Supermodel" competition in Guangxi, China last May. She joined the Philippine Team composed of fellow Kapuso delegates Abby Cruz, Arci Muñoz, Rhea Nakpil, and Stephanie Henares. Their group was headed by GMA Artist Center’s Ida Henares as national leader, plus Jenny Donato as coordinator. Despite the dangerously short notice to prepare for the competition, our team wowed the judges and proved that height is only a technicality. Impressing the panel Seven countries participated in the event: Philippines, Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and the host country, China. Ida took the risk even if our delegates only had one day to prepare (some Asian participants trained for three months!) and our Pinays were shorter than their Asian counterparts. Stephanie, Abby, and former StarStruck 3 contestants Rhea and Arci stood at 5’7", while Rhian was the shortest at 5’6", which was the minimum height requirement. The age range for participants was 17-24, which was also one of the reasons why GMA Artist Center had a difficult time selecting delegates—most Kapuso artists were busy with shows or above the age limit. It was a good thing that Ida was a risk taker, and she had faith in our team. Rhian shares that the experience was so much fun, especially with the traveling involved. But it was also because she discovered that she was actually good at something new—ramp modeling. “I was excited ‘cos modeling [is in] my roots, e. But mostly, I was a model for print, and you know, I did a little bit of ramp, but I’m not a ‘certified ramp model!’" In his “Starbytes" column in the Philippine Star dated June 21, Butch Francisco wrote that the Pinay delegates encountered some problems along the way. He explained in his write-up, “For instance, they didn’t know that in Nanning, China, there was supposed to be a pre-pageant judging where the girls were to don bathing suits. To their relief, at least they were provided with swimwear. But that early they sensed that some of [the] Japanese girls were laughing at the Filipino delegates because our Pinays were short. The Japanese contestants only stopped laughing when the Philippine candidates started doing the catwalk and they became a hit with almost everyone." Rhian continues, “When I got there, I was super pleased, because my award was specifically for ramp. And there were prizes naman for other categories, tapos it made me think, ‘Wow, I’ve been doing the wrong thing pala all this time! Haha!’ Ramp is where I’m good at pala!" Give that Filipina smile! The Pinay delegates’ training incorporated beauty pageant and professional modeling tips. “It’s the same person who trains all the beauty queens for Bb. Pilipinas," shares Rhian. “So our training was like a mixture of may pagka-beauty queen, but model [pa] rin. It was a total hit in China because it was different." “Everyone else was doing model stuff, and us, we made it a trademark na ‘You know what, we’re Filipinas, we give the Filipina smile!’ I mean, we don’t have to be all ‘Rrraaarr’ on the catwalk! It was a really big standout point—even the director of the fashion show would tell the whole group, ‘You Filipinas, very good with the smile!’ [Syempre] the director [is frank] di ba, [so] sasabihin niya talaga sa harap nilang lahat na parang, ‘Kayo, bakit ang pilit niyong mag-smile, pa-smile-smile pa kayo!’ Tapos sasabihin niya, ‘You, Filipinas, very good!’" The Filipina girls may have been the shortest among the lot, but they had the best facial features and they were the most fluent in English. As a result, they charmed the photographers and media people. The Philippine Team was definitely underestimated, because despite the lack of time to prepare, our delegates won four awards: Miss Vitality for Rhian (plus a diamond necklace worth $1,000), Miss International Friendship for Arci, and two Top 10 Supermodel Awards for Rhian and Stephanie (in other words, they were part of the Final 10). The countries that won were Indonesia and Japan in third place, Korea in second, and China in first. Reaping benefits “The experience was all-around great, because una, traveling—how can you go wrong?" says Rhian. “Pangalawa, syempre, na-represent pa namin yung country, and it’s the first time that the Philippines has actually participated in this competition and we’re officially connected na to the fashion industry in Asia because of it. We’re getting offers, we’re getting calls because of our attending there—[those are] international deals! And also, my tita’s (Ida) officially part of the Board na. You know, so many stuff have happened because of that. It was such a big blessing!" Rhian here is referring to the Asia Model League summit attended by Ida Henares where the participating countries have formed a pact to help each other out. Aside from the obvious positive effect of her modeling awards on her career, Rhian imparts that there were other perks as well. “I freaking have girlfriends now!" she exclaims with a laugh. “No! Sincerely! What a great feeling! Like yesterday lang, Abby and I went out to the mall, just just to hang out! Parang, I’ve never really had that feeling before! So I’m really happy!" As you all know, Rhian has always been “one of the boys," and girl bonding is something she is totally new to. “I feel so female! [We even had our] toes done! So anyways, I’m pretty happy about it!" Will Rhian change her career path now that she has realized there are other doors that might open for her? “I think I’ll leave that to PMAP (Professional Models Association of the Philippines). Okay, yeah, modeling is in my roots, and it doesn’t leave me naman because all the time I’m hanging out with Jay (Tablante) doing some weird pictorials, so at least I still get to practice and everything. I think I wanna focus on acting and showbiz [right now] because for me it’s more challenging, I guess. Because modeling is something I’ve been doing since before pa, so now it’s kinda like second nature lang. I don’t know—it ‘semi’ comes naturally already. [Let’s just say that] to be able to work on something new and learn a new talent like this, it just kinda broadens what you’re good at."- iGMA.tv