Not his brother's keeper

Christian Estrada Lui Pio — T-shirt designer, businessman and TV personality — is coming into his own and is ready to take Manila by storm.

The day is moving to a natural eclipse. In an area not so remote from Greenbelt 5, shadows from a thundering Makati high-rise are shifting along circadian rhythms. Faint laughter arises among friends fraternizing outside Commune, a hip urban apparel store along Perea Street in Legaspi Village. The surroundings are almost quiet, but MYX VJ and Commune proprietor Chino Lui Pio is larger than life. And that’s not even mentioning his fashion sense and whimsical demeanor.

At 22, Christian Estrada Lui Pio, known to friends as Jap and to his family as Chino, has a life people his age usually only dream of. Fresh from college at the De La Salle University, he is now a T-shirt designer, businessman, TV personality and a proud younger brother to Hale frontman Lui Pio. “Other than him being famous, he’s like a normal kuya. We’re like best friends now. We have more stuff to talk about,” says Chino of his senior.

In an industry that fuels and feeds on rivalries of all shapes and sizes, you would expect that Chino and Champ, like most siblings, would have their share of brotherly spats. But no, it was actually through Champ that Chino got his break as one of the four newest VJs for MYX, an exclusive coterie whose ranks include Robi Domingo, Monica Yncierto and Bianca Roque. Chino shares: “My audition was actually a spur-of-the-moment decision. Aside from Unschooled Clothing (his own T-shirt line), I wasn’t doing anything for almost half a year. Then someone informed Champ that there was a VJ search for MYX. He told me to go for it.”

It was 6 p.m. on the last day of auditions, and there had been no conceivable reason for heading over to ABS-CBN. But with the help of Champ, Chino sent over an online audition to try and impress the jurors. “I pretended to be a VJ, introduced a show and a music video, and sort of used my brother to my advantage,” relates the NBA and TV series enthusiast. While playing basketball with friends the next day, he received a text. And, well, you know the rest.

Months into his life as a VJ, Chino has drawn his share of double takes, hardwired stares and outlandish experiences. “I was weirded out the other day,” recalls Chino of a taping he did at Star City. “We were doing a few episodes there and then this dude asked if he could have his picture taken with me. Then he said out loud, ‘Oh my god! You’re so friggin’ hot!’ As in he screamed. I didn’t know how to react. But in the end, it was actually quite flattering.”

Chino reveals that his identity and newfound success are not entirely disconnected from that of his kuya. “You can’t take that away from people that they’ll see you as the younger brother of Champ,” says the business management graduate. “For me, it’s fine ‘cause he’s my brother. There’s nothing wrong with that. But if they compare me to someone I don’t know, I think that’s bad.” Other than that, what Chino hopes to achieve with his MYX stint is to create his own name in the business. “Champ’s singing, I’m introducing the videos!” jests Chino. It’s all quite relative and surprisingly complementary.

For a MYX Mo! Event in 2008, which puts the spotlight on Filipino musical talent, the VJ was tasked to introduce Hale to thousands of eager fans. There was an artistic synergy and boyish humor behind it all, in the style of most rock royalty sharing, if not passing the torch. Chino’s father, I learn, is actually a known composer and record producer in the industry. He produced musical legends Marco Sison and Janet Basco, two of OPM’s brightest stars back in the day. “Meron siyang mga famous songs na kinakanta sa karaoke before. My Love Will See You Through, He was the one who composed it for Marco Sison,” recalls Chino.

Aside from music, the host of Rock MYX, MYX Daily Top 10 and Pop MYX, among other shows, is also a T-shirt designer for clothing lines Demeanor and Unschooled Clothing. Over a year ago, he and three other friends from Zobel (Kian del Mundo, Pox Juban and Ian Halaguena) stumbled upon a common interest for streetwear. “I wanted clothes that were unique. The type that not a lot of people wore. So we created a clothing line that sells limited-edition shirts that you won’t see other people wearing.”

Although the group initially sold their stuff in Multiply, a popular outlet for independent entrepreneurs, and were the first to sell Kanye West’s “shutter shades” in the Philippines, they now own a place along Perea Street, a two-minute walk from Greenbelt 5. Combining Unschooled Clothing and another urban contemporary, Doubletake Kicks, Commune was born. “For now, I just want the streetwear community to appreciate and really get to know the store. It’s an important thing with street culture that people accept what we do,” relates Chino.

What Chino and his group are trying to achieve is a distinct mash-up of local streetwear and international brands. Chino quips, “We help other local brands, not just our own. It’s a community. That’s why we called our store Commune.”

Ten years into the future, he sees his store taking off and scaling monumental heights. Ever since he was little, Chino always dreamed of designing his own clothes and selling them. “Now kahit papaano, nag-come true na! Hopefully, it won’t be some shattered dream.”

Chino is primarily focused on his work, alternating between Commune and MYX. While he doesn’t consider himself the public speaker type, he views his stint with the music channel as a growth opportunity. He also dreams of someday interviewing Ben Gibbard, vocalist of Death Cab for Cutie, The Killers’ Brandon Flowers and Chris Martin from Coldplay.

The day is almost done and Chino shuffles back to Commune while a passerby does yet another double take — an occurrence that is becoming more regular for this guy. Friends and friends of friends congregate and collaborate outside the “fly establishment,” a communiqué said to be Commune’s radical battle cry. Young, focused and ready to take Manila by storm, Chino is definitely no brother’s keeper. The guy is finally coming into his own.

* * *

Catch your breath and let me know what you think at imcalledtoffee@mac.com. Or swing by chasingtoff.multiply.com for column archives.