Tommy Esguerra was just a normal 21-year-old guy trying to find his place in the world when he entered Pinoy Big Brother (PBB) 737.
Tommy is Filipino-German but didn’t grow up in either Germany or the Philippines. His formative years were spent in Long Beach, California. He says his childhood was a normal one, in the sense that he was into sports like most of his peers. His athletic interests ran the gamut from basketball, biking, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, gymnastics, skateboarding, surfing and wrestling. Tommy also did his best in school and helped out in the family business.
?Although he had no shortage of things to do, Tommy still felt like something major was missing from his life until he got into modeling. He found that working as a male model in the US was rewarding in more ways than one. Not only did modeling enable him to make a living and start saving, but it got him started on the road to finding himself.
?“Before Pinoy Big Brother, I was working. Not just as a model, but on myself as well,” he recalls. “I was modeling because I wanted to be able to leave the US someday. I wanted to find out where I could fit in and I thought maybe seeing the world would help me with that. I also wanted to try something different, and modeling presented itself as an option, so I went with it.”
?Luckily, his parents were very supportive of his decision and even urged him to check out the modeling scene in the Philippines. He took their advice, which proved to be a wise decision.
Tommy went to Manila, signed with a modeling agency and started booking jobs. Eventually, his burgeoning career led him to the PBB house. His stint as a housemate taught him many things.
According to Tommy, the time he spent living in the most famous house in the Philippines really helped figure himself out.
?“When I became a housemate, I became a little more mature,” he shares. “I came out with a firmer grip on what I wanted out of life, as well as who I am as a person. Through the show, I was able to identify what aspects of my life I should start working on in order to become a better man.”
?As far as Tommy is concerned, his renewed sense of purpose was one of the best things PBB 737 gave him. His runner-up finish on the Big Night felt more like a bonus.
He has also joined the cast of Funny Ka, Pare Ko, a sitcom that airs on Cine Mo, a channel available only to ABS-CBN TV Plus subscribers. He was joined by his season’s big winner Miho Nishida, whom he met and fell in love with while they were still inside the PBB house.
He loves the fact that spending time with her is technically part of his job, but he realizes the industry could take them in separate directions eventually.
“I hope my tandem with Miho will win people over so we’ll be given more projects together, because I really want to continue working with her. That’s a big part of why I want to do this — so we can be together. But even if we’re given separate projects, that’s still work, so we’ll just do what we have to do,” he says.
“Actually, Miho and I are more nervous than excited, because we keep asking ourselves if we can really handle this,” Tommy says of their new lives as performers. “We can’t help being anxious about it, but we’ll try our best.” —With reports from Almed Garcia and Julian Mauricio