With more than half a million followers across various social media platforms and several popular clothes, fitness, skin and even jewelry brands as active endorsements, Timothy Lance Tuppil is living the life and can very well claim the titles celebrity, brand ambassador and influencer all at the same time. At 25, his handsome face is known to and adored by millions, who have regularly viewed and shared videos of him showing off some killer dance moves.
“I started to be in the social media platforms since I was 14 years old. I started by posting dance videos. From there, companies started to invite me to endorse their products,” he shares. “Nung bata pa po kasi ako mostly ang napapanood ko puro dance videos. Nung bata pa po ako nilalaban na po talaga ako ng school ko sa mga dance competitions until I entered high school and college. Tapos sumasali din po ako sa mga groups para mag-compete sa other places po. Kaya lalo pong na-enhance yung dancing skills ko,” narrates Lance.
More than getting his feet wet on the amateur dance stage, perhaps a better measure of his terpsichorean skills would be his experiences as a part of one of the country’s most popular dance crews: “I’ve been part of G-Force. Nag-quit lang din po ako kasi medyo malayo po yung location ko dun sa studio nila. Bale naging back-up dancer po ako doon, hanggang na-try ko ping magsayaw sa ASAP,” he reveals.
While starting to do more mature and daring photo shoots of late, Tuppil is ever conscious about the profile of his social media followers.
He says, “Most are teenagers. Kasi kalimitan dito sa atin sa ‘Pinas, K-Pop based din po sila at napagkakamalan din po nila akong K-Pop or what.”
While that explains why he focuses on the hippest dance moves, what about the sexy shoots? Don’t these get him into compromising situations that actually test his values?
“Pinipili ko lang po yung mga decent proposals kasi may mga somehow di natin maiiwasan, may mga makikipag-usap, makikipag-set ng private message na below the belt na po,” he admits. He adds: “For example, gusto daw bang makipag-date or one night stand sa hotel or what kapalit ng pera, kung mga ganun po kasing mga indecent proposal, ini-ignore ko na lang po.”
The TikTokerist with the author
So why does he think, such awkward offers exist in this kind of a trade? Lance says: “Yung mga ganyang proposal, sobrang normal po yan… lalo pa ngayong pandemic. Meron talagang mga taong tumatanggap, may mga taong hindi tumatanggap.”
Is any offer ever acceptable for him? His quick answer: “Lahat po ng endorsements na may talent fees!”
While still trying to inch closer each day to his goal of penetrating into mainstream show business, Timothy is dead set on realizing another one of his biggest dreams: “Ipagpapatuloy ko po yung pagiging physical therapist ko. I’ll study abroad po para maging doctor of physical therapy.” Oh yes, he can be your physical therapist, too!