Hot Wheels lead designer raves about Filipino community

MANILA, Philippines – Hot Wheels lead designer Brendon Vetuskey was delighted to see the Filipino community grow as the Philippines hosts its first-ever collectors convention at Okada Manila over the weekend.

During an exclusive dinner with the collector community at The Cove Friday night, Vetuskey said that the Philippines has come a long way since he first came to the country back in 2019 for a similar event.

“It’s been an amazing observation of growth for the collectors,” said Vetuskey, who has been designing cars for Mattel since 2007.

“When I was here for the first event, it was focused on moms and kids, parents and kids competing. So there was very little focus on the collector portion of it and then when I came back last year, the main purpose of my trip was for the Hot Wheels Legends… The passion for [Hot Wheels], everyone there was just really excited and [it] went over very well.”

Year on year, Vetuskey has seen tremendous growth among the Philippine diecast community, especially when it came to Hot Wheels and this year, with the collectors convention set to span weeks at Okada, it’s at the largest it’s ever been. 

“I mean, that clearly shows there’s a passion and interest for the vehicles in the Philippines, as well as the collectors. Now they have the chance to properly organize [a dinner and event] for this year… It’s amazing,” he said.

The designer’s dinner event was attended by 100 guests and featured some of the elite members of the diecast community in the Philippines — including members of the Diecast Car Collectors of the Philippines and other similar organizations.

Not only was it made up of Filipino collectors and enthusiasts, but fans of Vetuskey also flew in from other parts of the world like Malaysia, Singapore and Australia, to name a few.

Being a witness to the global impact of Hot Wheels, Vetuskey calls it a “family” as it welcomes people from different walks of life and backgrounds.

“I would say, and this is an observation I first noticed from conventions in the US, it’s a family. It’s a family of collectors. Like, they would attend these conventions in the US and they would bring their spouse, their children, and they would go for a week, not just the days of the convention but they would extend it out, visit local areas, and they make a family vacation out of it,” he said. 

“People are hanging out together afterwards whether they’re getting dinner or they’re trading, there’s custom contests, there’s trading contests where they’ll all create a custom car and then they would trade it with each other. It’s so much camaraderie, and family that it’s really what it’s about. And the vehicle, so to speak, is Hot Wheels, collecting diecast vehicles.”

For the Philippines in particular, Vetuskey encouraged more passion for the community as he and his team of designers come from a place of love and passion when they come out with the products that the Filipino collectors consume.

More than a transactional relationship with the consumers and Filipino collectors, the designer feels honored to be able to share a piece of his own heart and creativity with the rest of the world.

“Hot Wheels has been one great way to pursue [my] passion and share it with people. I love cars, I’m able to create them and I’m able to share them with the collector community. Kids, and collectors alike. The kids will play with the toys, the collectors will consume them,” he said. 

“And it’s so great to see. It’s so energizing when I come to a convention, I see these people who are passionate about the products that we make, and we’re putting our personal heart into this, and they appreciate it. And it’s very flattering, and honored to see that and to be able to have a convention in the Philippines is another area where the people can appreciate and enjoy and come together as a family.”

Vetuskey is expected to join the Filipino diecast collectors community in the convention happening until mid-September at Okada. There, he will be able to interact with collectors and aspiring designers alike.

For Hot Wheels, he is currently the lead designer for the Red Line Club vehicles. Previously, he was also lead designer for Monster Jam.