Bacolod lawyer is Nissan Sylphy’s model for personal transformation

MANILA, Philippines - A young Bacolod-based lawyer won a brand new Nissan Sylphy for his compelling story on personal transformation.

Launched on September 1, Nissan’s Sylphy transformation promo called for entries on Facebook for people to post two photos showing their ‘old self’ and their ‘new self’. In the second round of the competition, the finalists were asked to send a video describing their transformation.

Michael Hanz Villaster of Bacolod City won hands down with his awesome transformation journey from a 320-pound obese young man who couldn’t even buckle up his seat in an airplane and who always need to occupy two seats in a jeepney to a 175-pound extremely fit triathlete in four years time.

Now a lawyer working at the Bacolod City Regional Trial Court, Villaster has become a reluctant star and now Nissan’s ambassador for great personal transformation. As his compelling story is also one of the most successful attempts ever at weight loss, many are curious how he achieved the feat.

“I started eating healthy, I cut down on carbohydrates and sweets and generally engaged in a healthier lifestyle.  I started to learn to swim, to bike, to run and I started going to the gym. I think it’s more of a psychological thing because there has to be mental toughness to achieve this feat,” he said.

His motivation is probably very much like most people whose motivation for hitting the gym is to be more accepted as part of the social mainstream and not be the butt of jokes, except that his was an extreme case.

At 320-pounds, Villaster said he couldn’t buckle up his seat on a propeller plane on the way to Ilocos for a vacation with friends after they passed the Bar Exams, he couldn’t fit on a boat and the horse in a kalesa simply refused to budge because he was so big. 

“It shouldn’t happen again,” he said. “At the age of 22, my blood pressure was 190/110. I could hardly tie my shoe laces. I was like a walking time bomb. I could just easily go off.”

SJ Huh, general manager, marketing, Nissan Philippines Inc., said in launching the online promo, they sought to solicit stories like Villaster’s which could be so inspiring to people. The online promo received 654 entries showing personal journeys big and small from all walks of life.

He said these transformation stories are resonant of Nissan Sentra’s own transformation to Nissan Sylphy.  

“Sylphy is actually a grown up version of Sentra,” Huh said. “We are calling it a transformation journey because it’s not the same car that you used to know, it has been upgraded. Most Filipinos grew up with the Sentra badge and what we now want them to realize is that, like them, the Sentra also grew up.”

The Sylphy brings a fresher, more modern design to the Sentra, and it now offers more for its class  in terms of space, power, and driving pleasure. 

Villaster said that as soon as the new Sylphy rolls off his garage, he is committed to selling is the old car and part of the proceeds will finance the medical operations of a child he was very close to.

As a first-time Nissan car owner, he said would be looking for performance and functionality, style and comfort that the brand offers as he embarks on the continuation of the journey that he had embraced earlier when he  chose a healthier lifestyle.

Bacolod, he said, is very conducive to this lifestyle as it is more laid back, the air is cleaner, the food is great and people can really walk or jog around.

“It was more of a lifestyle change,” he said.