Lissome Lia

The most remarkable thing about Bb. Pilipinas-Universe 2006 Lia Ramos is not her reed-thin figure, dusky skin and lovely face. What stands out is this UP grad’s down-to-earth attitude about everything that has come her way. Discovered by Jonas Gaffud (present head of Mercatel Modeling Agency) during her college days, Lia was asked to join the university pageant. Although she did not win this contest, Gaffud would call Lia every year and encourage her to participate in more pageants.

“Jonas convinced me to enter the Bb. Pilipinas contest and I was fortunate enough to win,” Lia shares. “Life changed dramatically after that. Because of the title, I have gotten exposed to several national events, my modeling career has blossomed and I have learned so much about life as a whole.” Asked what she has learned during her stint, the Davao-born beauty recounts, “I learned how important it was to be disciplined and focused in order to achieve much in life. When I participated in the Miss Universe competition in Los Angeles, I had to interact with several of the contestants. I learned that for many of them, the pageant was a ticket out of poverty. Many of them wanted to be actresses and models. Oftentimes, the contestants’ families would rely on them for a better future for all.”

“I made many friends during my LA stay. Misses Colombia, Uruguay and Puerto Rico were wonderful. Right now, I have a two-month commercial and print modeling gig in Cape Town, South Africa, thanks to Miss Nigeria who sent my photos to her agency,” Lia adds.

Right after winning Bb. Pilipinas, Lia was flown to Colombia where she entered a beauty pageant boot camp where she trained for three weeks. Before this, she had undergone strict training and diet under Pilates instructor John Cuay.

For two months, Lia shares, she worked out for up to three hours a day and went on a low carb-high protein diet. She did cardio exercises like dancing and cycling and toned her body through weight-training. Now that she’s no longer competing, her workouts are less hectic.

Asked about her plans for the future, Lia shares, “I would like to continue modeling for as long as I can and do a lot of traveling. I also would like to be involved with advocacies that support child welfare and the environment. Being known as a beauty queen, one is subject to being stereotyped. But I realized that how I deal with this is entirely up to me.”

Spoken like a truly “un-stereotypical” beauty!