Midspiration

Nike fan for life. This video is genius, but probably could've been better with less talk.

Songs could definitely perk you up the same way coffee does for people like myself who swear the world by it. Other times, when you slide straight to the middle of the week, you search for other things to keep you motivated--and not just cause you want to head straight to Friday night. Here are some cool videos I've gathered from around the web that'll give you that extra inspiration and also keep you looking forward to, well, more inspiring days.

The Spectacular Now is a book. And it's one those book-to-silver screen cases where you learn of the film first before the book (for me). Believe me when I say, I haven't, in the 23 years I've been alive, have felt this "melty" and fuzzy over these two pairing up. Kilig is the Tagalog term for it, that probably won't ever find its counterpart in the English language. Miles Teller (one of the cool kids on Project X) reminds me of Shia LaBeouf-spell check, and Shailene Woodley, I've loved since The Descendants. When Miles tells Shailene she's "absolutely beautiful" and she just erupts in this candid laughter, it feels like they're not in a movie at all. It's actually like watching classmates fall in love. And that's adorable. It's reminiscent of many t-shirt-wearing, simple-town America love stories that just stay with you until you're spent. It also helps that it's a coming-of-age tale that runs the whole spectrum of life experiences from falling in love to finding ones identity, to enjoying youth, the works. I bet my non-existent ass on it, that this soundtrack will be good. If not, that's a shame. Watch this and watch these two rocket to the skies faster than you'd expect. PAY ATTENTION!



I haven't seen anything as flawlessly edited a YouTube series as Jacks Gap's. Had they been Filipinos, I'll be rallying outside their doors to sign exclusive to W, then again...But yes. It helps that the two-twins Jack and Finn Harries look boy band-ready, but they also have substance. They're funny and they edit their videos the way YouTube videos should be edited. They've got their young girls screaming for them and their early 20s as a market and when you have a platform such as Jacks Gap-which is basically a video blog of their life and things they're interested in, you could start competing with celebrities. At least, that's how we do it here in Manila. I'm not yet sure if there are Filipino YouTubers out there who could produce something as clean, as consistent and as focused as these guys.

Magazine Moments

Sean on top of the world, literally and figuratively
for DSection

Coming clean here. Lately, I've been pretty dry on the magazine department. I still read and have the titles that I work for and they're good. But I'm not as excited over magazines and titles like before. I don't know what it is, but the some of titles I've been seeing lately haven't been as inspiring as they should be. For people like me, what gets printed ought to be magical, amazing, inspiring, relevant and should aim for an iconic, star-making moment for the people responsible in making an article, a photograph, a cover. And after growing up going through magazines and having invested myself in an appreciation for beauty, I've clung to the power of an image or a title and how, in a single issue, photograph, moment they successfully capture a feel, a mood, a piece of history. There are a few titles that are able to do this and I hope there were more.

I wish I could see more of these kinds of photos, people and magazines around. While the country already has its slew of great quality publications, I'll one day be sure that we could make more titles that are able to create, influence and hopefully change the landscape or add to the beauty that we already enjoy. Fingers crossed, I'd be able to contribute to this too. In the meantime, while we wait for this to come true, here are some of the greatest magazine moments I've seen this month.

Nathan Adrian

Olympian from Team America
Swimmer Nathan Adrian for AUGUST Man Malaysia
@ models.com

One of the more interesting covers I've come across this week. I never knew of Adrian until this cover. Seems like athletes/Olympians are having a ball this year, gliding by and through the fashion world like they own it. I must say, athletes do make great models too. Congratulations to both Nathan and AUGUST Man. This is a great pair-up. The candid black and white photo, medals round his neck, the glasses, the classic look and of course, Adrian's charm, this just does it for me. Well done.

P.S. AUGUST Man Malaysia, you have been churning out the best covers and cover stars. You are a smart magazine!

- Gerard

CHALKed

Shameless self-promotion right here.
Thank you to Toff for the space, trust and for the wonderful title. "Supernovas"
The very first page I've written with a layout this colorful!

To write for one of the magazines I grew up reading is a pleasure. But to see it on print, awesome layout and all is MAJOR! I finally got around to blogging after a while and I'm happy to share with you my very first article for CHALK. 

CHALK has been one of the titles I've turned to when I was younger. Kept a close eye on what they do and feature, who lands the cover and have seen some of today's brightest stars grow up along with the magazine. Doing an amazing job at keeping the young informed, entertained and in the know, CHALK is the poster kid for every Filipino youth and I'm honored to be part of this month's issue.

Credits go to my editors and friends over at CHALK, Elaine Carag and Toff De Venecia for trusting me with a page and of course, for always considering us (W) for their pages as well. Toff helped me a lot, putting this article on the right track and whipping it into smart, readable shape. I've been pretty used to writing for an older reader and have somehow lost the young touch, but thanks to Toff, I was able to pull it off.

This month, I've tapped into my very first job (out of college) as a talent agent and took from it what I could as I gave my opinion on what makes or breaks a young, soon-to-be superstar. With the help of some of W's very own, Patti Grandidge, Cheska Garcia-Kramer and Andie Manzano. And yes, it made me grin to see that intro: "There's one that emerges in every constellation of aspirants and wannabes-talent agent Gerard Gotladera finds out what it takes to be a true star". For the year and some months I've been in the industry I've picked out some outstanding traits and qualities from the people I work with and will give them credit for showing me what makes them relevant for long in an industry that's obsessed with the new.

Please grab your copies of this month's issue. They've made such an amazing revamp of the magazine, it's insane. Pages are so coolly designed, the people they feature now are more interesting and the topics they cover are still standard but have more humor and depth to them. 

Baby girl Jasmine Curtis-Smith is still a columnist for the title and it makes me smile that our pages are right next to each other! Again, thank you to Toff and Elaine for this, I pray this wouldn't be the last I work with you as a contributor. 

CHALK is the third title I've worked with and I'm hoping this opens up doors for more titles in the future.

-Gerard

Envy

Years and years of fanning...I'll probably never stop. My all-time number one.

Imagine Saskia de Brauw and Garrett Neff on a cover? That's art! Someone make it happen please

I'm supposed to be working now, on something important, but since my brain does not permit that to happen, I'll relax and ogle at these faces that are inspiring the evil, jealous devil in me. One day I tell you, I'll be on the cover of a magazine...when what is handsome/beautiful has nothing to do with these species (which'll never happen). And when that day comes, I'll be happy, at peace, knowing that I too have a face deserving of a magazine cover. I kid. Appreciation folks, for the beautiful and the handsome on some of this month's finest glossies. Enjoy!

Gray Areas

YES!
ROGUE Magazine September 2012
Facebook

September issues are all looking good and it seems the strongest hue of the moment is gray. From ROGUE's taut and glistening cover, VOGUE's historic Gaga to Skarsgard's GQ Style coolness and Michael Fassbender's Russian Esquire cover (pretty interesting), everyone's having it good in the gray areas and it's possibly, one of this year's best magazine color choices ever. Clean, simple, straight-forward and very smart, gray's never looked this good. Enjoy!

Eat!

This, any day. Everyday.
From Pinterest

I remember seeing a photo of Marlon Brando (post-accident Brando), on set, eating a slice of watermelon with a cigarette in hand and immediately craving a cool slice of my own. Then there's the constant dilemma between buying Bon Apetite magazine or saving up those extra hundreds for something more "useful" and "necessary". Then there's that memory of how at Draft, their burger takes me away everytime to some happy place, something that possibly narcotics could bring you. And then also how that pinch of salt  makes miles of a difference on anything. That's how food is. Even mere photos of it elicit drive or a want to do something, to eat, to enjoy with friends and to remember how things have looked, smelled, sounded and tasted while we were at it. 

The Look

Anja Rubik, what does Mark Ronson smell like?
Fan di Fendi @ DesignScene

What're we looking at? Well, only the coolest campaigns, editorials and covers happening this month. Here's a hump day treat for all of you beauty, art, fashion appreciators. Enjoy!

P.S. If you see how this post is arranged, another hint at my state of mind... hahaha

Glossy Times

Mr. Gandy for AUGUST Man. One of the best British tributes on a cover

You will need to keep your head beaming with inspiration as we all inch away to the weekend, so for people who love the arts, design, fashion, models and culture, I present you all the coolest magazines and their equally inspiring covers fresh from NASCAPAS (one of my favorite blogs ever!). Keep the glossy times going guys...

Salt Bites: Six For The Weekend

Mr. Neff and Mr. Bond at the background. Loving the bracelets on the stylist by the way.
amfAR 2012

How was the weekend everybody? Hope you all enjoyed the hot two days off. 

As for myself, I'm pretty drained this weekend, like I always am. Since I got a job, I reserve my nights out for Saturdays. So the drill will be something like, go out around 7 in the evening, get home at the latest at 5 in the morning, wake up at around 7 something in the morning for mass and then just get on with the day. So it's pretty normal for me to be all grumpy and unproductive on a Sunday. 

But anyway, I've been blessed with enough time this weekend so I've given myself a breather to discover some new things, things that I love occupying myself with. I'm making Salt Bites a permanent section and post for my blog so we're all updated on things that are inspiring, exciting and worth knowing. So click and read on to see what I'm happily sinking my teeth, time and thought in for this weekend.

Danny Boy

What you drinking?
Daniel Radcliffe for British Esquire for March 2012

There came a time I felt so tired of seeing Daniel Radcliffe on a magazine cover. I think it was GQ and/or DETAILS which had the Radcliffe cover fever years back and I just wanted to tell them that somehow, Radcliffe didn't seem like a fitting cover boy for a magazine. 

That was during his Harry Potter days. Now at 22 and starring in the unnerving and haunting The Woman in Black  British Esquire puts the superstar on their cover and I approve (as if my opinion matters)...But seriously, I think he now fits a men's magazine. He looks great, he's got the best facial lines you'd starve for and the cover's just exciting, especially the one available on the newsstands.

I have question though, what's that white shirt with the bug on it?! I love, love, love it! Go grab your copies guys! Worth every penny.

Newsstand cover
It's the bugged shirt....Which designer is this? I think DSquared2 had something like this before.
Sorry, incredibly clueless.

The look and the photo is typical Esquire 

the HAIR everybody.

- Gerard

Spinspiration

Menswear's new look courtesy of Sportswear International 

Very few men's magazines spark interest these days in terms of face value or cover design. They usually feature beautiful women in tasteful states of undress or the plain smiley celebrity we've grown accustomed to.  These formulas don't always invite you to go, buy and read their issues...

And I've applauded publications that nail the outside as well as the inside, among them is Sportswear International. Fallen in love I've been, with this publication and to this very day, I still love the cover and issue they sent me over, all the way from Germany (much love to team Sportswear International). For me, it was one of the most memorable, iconic magazine covers I've seen.

Now, they've done it again. Sportswear International takes publications and men's fashion for a spin. On the cover is a well-styled, almost period-looking Aiden Andrews & Charlie France. Though spare on the font and color department, the clean slate does justice to this simple yet brilliantly styled cover. The awesome colors on the clothes, the pieces, I mean, it's just a breath of fresh air. Loving it is an understatement. Check out the rest of the photos they've got inside, and I tell you, they're spectacular. The bike is genius. It's as much of a star as the clothes and the models are. Great photography too. I just love, love, love it. Thank you Sportswear International for taking us all on major fashion spinspiration. Still wishing you'd sell here in Manila. 

Art Issues

Sting Caused by the Flight of a bee by Salvador Dali

The Kiss by Pablo Picasso, 1969

(Really) Excited to get my hands on the latest issue of ROGUE magazine November 2011. I was glad that LA gave me an assignment for this issue cause I'm still deeply in love with the magazine as I have always been. It's ROGUE's annual Art Issue, featuring a short-haired, Louis Vuitton-clad Vanessa Matsunaga on a gray and yellow cover. Stunning, I tell you.

For this issue, my pieces were about two legendary artists, Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso. My art training came in handy. Suddenly I could smell my classroom back in college, the scent of newly copied readings that eat up so much of my room space and my lunch money, and all those sorta-rushed papers for all my Wednesday Art classes (Art Theory and Visual Arts). During these times, I feel incredibly thankful for great education. Cause honestly, great education affords you a say on something...And it's not just mindless gab or making a sound just for the sake of it. With great education, you could say something worth everyone's time.  And while personal style (how people dress up) may not have been offered as a major subject back in college, with education I've learned to write about this topic with (great difficulty still) a little more science to it.

YES!

This is love. Justin Timberlake & Amanda Seyfrie for W

I'm a Timberlake fan.
I loved Amanda Seyfried in Mean Girls.
And there is just something about the American flag that's so glorious.
So this is a YES, YES, YES!
Thank you W magazine.

- Gerard

The Anniversary

Photographed by Mark Nicdao
Styled by LA Consing Lopez

ROGUE's Style & Design issue marks my first year as a writer. And that's sealed with an official seal. Whenever a cover of ROGUE comes out, I usually get too excited just because ROGUE has given me a start at my dreams. Had I not been approached to do a piece for September 2010, I wouldn't know if I'd be able to really write for anyone in this country. After that break, I got lots of other writing gigs and I always, always credit ROGUE for it.

So imagine just how happy I am, that even when I basically butchered my piece for this one (cause it was a hard piece and at the same time, I was finding it a little hard to adjust with the work load and all, etc.) LA just whipped it into great shape and I had a glimpse of the page and it's beautiful. Despite detractors, you know that when ROGUE does it, it's a perfect job. I am really happy to have my name under the masthead along with other amazing and talented people and I do hope that I get to write better stuff for them soon. Besides, I believe so much in ROGUE, it's turned into something beyond a bias actually. But yeah...

Thanks ROGUE for the initiation. It's done me incredibly well and I'd love to do incredibly well for you too.

Grab your copy and check out our (with my editor, LA) ROGUE Clothing Care Guide. Also, figure out who Janet Emmrich looks like..The babe on the cover. She's so beautiful and this cover is just so decadent but at the same time, stripped down to a feel of something basic and bare. And for some reason, it's like you could smell something old from the cover, like an old mansion or how patchouli smells or a rose too... Wonderful job as always...

(Praying that this'd be real thick and packed)

- Gerard

Doppelganger

Two of my favorite models in the world (Garrett being my number one and Ryan somewhere in my top ten) Garrett Neff & Ryan Kennedy are cast for DETAILS magazine's September 2011, both of them looking handsome and really rugged and cool in a Fall color story.

It helps that they look kinda alike. This made my day. So yeah I'm really happy.
Well, great job to Edward Kim who does all these great castings for DETAILS. I'd love to know him and have an interview with him cause most of the stories he does for DETAILS are with well-chosen models, models that I myself would book for jobs.

I'm excited to get this issue. Thank you DETAILS for always giving Garrett and Ryan space.

- Gerard

Harry Kitty

CUTE indeed.
This is what I call color control. Great job to the fan who designed this.
This is how it's done!

TJ and I have always talked about how magazines here in the Philippines will rarely do something with humor on their covers. It's probably cause others won't get it, or people here aren't in for funny magazine covers, we don't know. But I've always dreamed of doing humorous covers, people with big real smiles on the cover, it's happy and it's energetic but it's not annoying. 

Then I stumbled on a FANMADE Numbero Homme Tokyo Cover for last month. Featuring the handsome Harry Goodwins (who, by the way has been doing the heavy rounds this year) dressed in a fresh, wrinkly pink jacket and multi-colored scuba suit and the ultimate icon of cute and Japanese culture, Hello Kitty. I know, I know. People think it's so gay or that it's weird, but for me, it works. There is something so cool, clean and sporty about the whole look. I actually love it so much, I'm planning to have it printed and framed for my desk here at the office...

Whoever did this, please show yourself. This is pure genius. It's witty, it's cool, it's easy and it's memorable. Great job.

This, is something humorous but at the same time, could pass as a serious cover. Don't you agree? I so fucking love it...It's crazy. Philippines, are we ready for something like this? Hmmm... I am for sure.

- Gerard

Liebe Indeed

Sasha Knezevic & Anja Rubik
both effortless and beautiful for German VOGUE

German VOGUE celebrates three of this world's most captivating women on their cover and to make things even more beautiful (or more schön, as they say) these super female models brought with them their equally handsome boyfriends. The orange, white and sky blue colors are amazing...Now I want to learn German and read every single page. Liebe is really in the air, all the time. 

Karolina Kurkova being instructed by her boyfriend Archie Drury

Alessandra Ambrosio and Jamie Mazur, shaking things up

- Gerard

Dear GQ

Alexander Skarsgard looking amazing for GQ

The awesome, simple cover

To GQ,

I was this close to telling myself "You know what Gerard, why don't you just aim for another title in the future? Instead of GQ." I have no mean intentions whatsoever against your last cover boy and in fact find him incredibly funny and quite a character, but if it's all basing on cover value, I was slowly losing interest.

But since this is GQ, which is, as I've always mentioned, my big stylish brother, losing hope in you felt like losing your love for an older brother---someone who taught you that certain kinds of socks will only work with certain kinds of shoes and that being funny, witty, smart and down-to-earth about all of that was top priority. I just couldn't stomach life putting a blind fold over my eyes just cause your covers aren't always pleasing to my senses. And shame on me for putting that much value on the cover alone, when there's so much more to love inside.

Thank God though that you're hitting me back with one of your most stylish, handsome and really refreshing covers to date. Putting the blonde vampire Alexander Skarsgard on your June cover is a wake up call for me. This is what I love about GQ...It's the rugged, always American appeal and comeliness you put on the glossy and beyond it. I told myself, well, sweet Jesus answered my prayers.

It's beautiful, really. People might be reading this and they'd go "what's the fuss about it, it's just another cover?" and I'll tell them that they'll never understand how magazines are to me, just like how I would never understand other people's interests and loves. It is simple, I know, but it looks new to me and Skarsgard is just too right for the magazine.

Cheers to never letting me down, big stylish brother. Someday soon, I'll be part of your masthead...

- Gerard

Coloring with Cam Gigandet

Cam Gigandet "the Priest" in Mexico

Well I'll be damned.

Hot property and Priest star, Cam Gigandet stars in a GQ story of (brace yourselves) Color Blocking and I must say it looks great. It also helps that the streets of Mexico are bursting with hues. But yeah, even if it looks amazing and all, I'm still not this trend's number one fan, especial. I guess it's cause of that encounter with Jil Sander's Menswear collection for this Spring months ago that got me, a little, you know...tipsy.

Sure it's spring and bright and happy and easy chic, but I guess it's having to see it all the time on magazines that sorta wore my eyes out. 

Anyway, it's not bad though, especially when GQ does it, it's brilliant. I especially love the almost-unrecognizable dual blues look he wore in a photo. Great styling, as a trend, it's starting to get tiring, but it's a damn good story.

- Gerard