MANILA, Philippines — Model-turned-actress Megan Young made global headlines in 2013 when she became the first Filipina to win the Miss World title in the pageant’s 63-year history.
Capturing the world with her doe-eyed look and svelte frame, it then came to the surprise of many when the beauty queen made no qualms about letting her hair loose every once in a while to put in some serious gaming action.
Young serves as one of the newest endorsers of foodpanda. She relishes the opportunity to partner with the on-demand food delivery service, knowing full well how the convenience of having meals and essentials delivered in an instant is basically a godsend for gamers like her. The food delivery app lists over 20,000 restaurant partners nationwide and promises to deliver one’s favorite meals in just 25 minutes or less with as much as 40% discount.
But how exactly did Young find herself holding gaming consoles when she’s not busy being a beauty queen?
"I’d like to say that I was a gamer first, so, actually, the better question is ‘How did a gamer become a beauty queen?’” Young said, laughing. “I started gaming when I was pretty young. My parents introduced me to educational games, then, eventually, it developed into a love for recreational games."
Young has been playing a lot more video games since the lockdown with her husband and fellow gamer/foodpanda endorser, Mikael Daez. She knows that some people think she’s not into games that much, or the only reason she’s playing is because of her husband.
But Young actually began playing video games early on, starting with the classic titles such as Mario Party and Pokémon Snap on her Nintendo N64 in the late ’90s.
“It’s actually surprising because at some point in our relationship, we both realized that we’re both into video games and that we’ve actually played these games even before we met each other,” she said.
“I remember when we first heard about Ragnarok coming to mobile, I was like ‘I loved this game in high school!’ and Mikael could not believe it because it was also a game he played back then.”
Recently, Young has been spending more time playing Animal Crossing on her Nintendo Switch. As for her gaming food, a recent favorite order was steak burrito with cheese. “We’d always order it in the middle of a gaming session," she said.
“I think it’s always fun to have the food you love the most with you while gaming. It just makes the experience more exciting.”
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