To help celebrate its 25th anniversary in the retail industry, Puregold has decided to shine a spotlight on feel-good “panalo” stories that will inspire its loyal customers. These episodes were shared in a series of uplifting videos on Puregold’s official social media channels.

Among the stories depicted was that of Justin De Dios, who recently came into prominence as a member of the uber-popular PPop group, SB19. Justin may be the youngest in the lot but he’s an integral part of SB19, and has his own set of adoring fans. In fact, according to an online poll, Justin de Dios was ranked 3rd among the top Asian Celebrities of the Year.

It wasn’t always that way for Justin, though. As all aspiring artists will tell you, the road to stardom has numerous speed bumps. It’s an exhausting journey where rejection may await at every turn, and where each step one takes may be the moment that makes them want to quit.

Few things illustrate this better than the fact that at a young age, Justin worked on achieving a balance between school obligations and chasing after his dream. He was studying for his multimedia arts degree at the College of Saint Benilde when he began the rigorous singing and dancing training required of a PPop star.

At one point, Justin nearly gave up his studies to focus on his aspirations. His brother even once tweeted about Justin crying over such a tough call. But the young man persevered and eventually graduated with honors before moving on to SB19.

Now, the multifaceted Justin is known for his artistic spirit and creativity. Not only is he a singer for SB19, but he’s also done the creative direction for several of their music videos. He even won the PPop Male Main Visual of the Year at the 7th PPop Awards, showing the great skill he has as a creative visionary.

This past year, Justin, alongside the rest of SB19, even took their talents overseas. In September, they announced their first ever world tour. Following a series of successful dates in the Philippines, they spent the end of the year performing all over the world in cities like Dubai, New York, Los Angeles, and Singapore.

It is with great pride that Puregold presents Justin’s “panalo” story, while reaffirming that going after our passion takes hard work but it is all worth it in the end.