Bogart The Explorer

Social media influencer Bogart the Explorer just reached one million followers on Facebook. Known for his witty jokes and funny sketches on Facebook and YouTube, I personally followed him because I was amused with his persona: a pure Davaoeño with an Australian accent. 

In my one-on-one interview with Bogart, the YouTuber recounts his humble beginnings. “I was born and raised in Davao. After going to college at UP Diliman, I took on jobs whose basic skill requirements I already had, such as being able to speak English fluently. As a result, I surmise, from spending my formative years glued in front of cable TV instead of outside playing with my peers. Because of that, I spent a lot of time in call centers, eventually climbing the corporate ladder at some. Did that for a couple of years, and then one day, I decided that I didn’t want to do that anymore. So I took on more odd jobs, whatever could pay the rent and get me fed. Nothing more. For almost two years I subsisted on an average of P20 a day, living as meager and as frugal but as free from responsibilities as I could. As fate would have it, however, one of those jobs was as a production assistant for a TV show on, back then, RPN-9. Block timers, produced by Jako de Leon, son of THE Joey de Leon. It was here that Jako and I met each other. He had a crazy idea, and I was the one he was waiting for who could do it. We named it Bogart the Explorer from Davao City because I am proud of my roots, which aired on TV for a couple of seasons on different networks but didn’t get as much traction until Jako uploaded the videos on YouTube after the final season had ended. The videos went viral and the rest was history.”

I really had to ask if his Aussie accent was for real or just for show,.“I spent a long time in Australia, a total of 20 days. Hahaha! The first time was when I was sent by my former company to train there for 10 days, and that was before Bogart. Then another 10 days some years later for a local airline’s Sydney route launch. I’ve always been an introvert, so entertaining myself is kind of a requirement since I didn’t hang around with other people a lot. I would use the accents I mimicked from the TV to narrate everything I saw around me. The British and Australian accents had always been favorites, and so I spend a lot of time practicing those.”

In terms of content creation, Bogart likes diverse topics. “We have never been consistent in the type or even the schedule of posting content. This is because everyone on the PaperbugTV team (The mother company that produces Bogart the Explorer vids) suffers from a condition wherein we can’t seem to maintain interest in certain things for too long and our attentions are always, eventually, diverted to some new interest and so the content we put out is more “instinctive” or in the local term “depende sa mood” hahaha! We started with being a parody of both the Aussie explorer Steve Irwin and the British adventurer Bear Grylls which worked out but then eventually, opportunities were presented to us outside what we had become 'known' for. But we took them all on including interviewing local and Hollywood celebs, travel, food, comedy, action, drama, and most recently, music. I had been a drummer for a lot of bands back in college and one of them was Giniling Festival which got signed by Terno Records, the same label then as Up Dharma Down and The Radioactive Sago Project. After spending a lot of time home in Mindanao and being exposed to the culture, I’ve been going back to my roots, being Bisaya and a musician.”

My eyes brightened up, primarily because my husband is a drummer. I know for a fact that musicians are deep, so I know I could juice out more from this artist, and I did! “Before the comedy. There was the music. The drumming. Very primal. No talking, just pure energy collaborating with some of the greatest musicians this country has ever produced. My idols. This is a childhood fantasy fulfilled. I was just a kid who grew up with the posters of these guys on my walls, and now I’m jamming with them on my online show called Bogart Drums produced by PaperbugTV and The Treehouse by Manu Gentoo and 8 Toleran," says the explorer. 

Some YouTubers would mount a huge event to announce that they have reached a million followers. But Bogart just had a simple cake bought from the local store to celebrate his one million followers. “Simple is better. The probinsya is simpler. That’s why I'm based here in Mindanao.  Marami parking at walang bayad. Simple. I live in a middle-class subdivision in a city that a lot of people have never heard of in the heart of Mindanao. I’m a drummer who doesn’t own his own drum set and also drumsticks. I borrow when I need to practice or shoot. That’s why I haven’t bought one. I don’t buy clothes for myself, either. ALL the clothes I have been given to me by family, friends, and fans. Mostly my wife. I believe I have everything I need. I have an adequate one-floor house for my family. My wife and I share 1 car and that’s it."

Despite his simplicity, being an “explorer” like Dora makes Bogart somewhat of a jet-setter. “I have been abroad and all over our own country, and I can definitely say that I was born in the right country. The Philippines is beautiful, man!” 

We closed the interview with Bogart giving advice to newbie content creators. “Don’t steal other people’s ideas. Create something new to add to the world instead of taking credit for somebody else’s genius. Lastly, Trust your gut. You’ll know what to do if you keep doing it long enough.” Well-said Bogart. Cheers to doing more amusing content for everybody’s entertainment! You can follow Bogart the Explorer on YouTube and Facebook.