Kryz Uy on Slater Young: “It’s exciting to finally live together”

CEBU, Philippines —  Cebuana fashion blogger Kryz Uy stood effortlessly confident in front of the crowd, easygoing and graceful as usual. As the chinita stepped out in a comfy sweatshirt and shorts ensemble, the celebrity beauty and fashion guru was at her element as she picked out the perfect outfit for the perfect workout.

Radiating the glow of an inspired bride-to-be, the lifestyle blogger –engaged to Pinoy Big Brother Unlimited Big Winner Slater Young, also of Cebu – says she’s under no pressure to lose weight or look a certain way for the upcoming wedding.

On the sidelines of the Forever 21 Active launch held recently at SM City Cebu, Kryz says she’s looking more into what she eats these days. After taking a food intolerance test, the pescatarian now has to go vegan and gluten-free.

As someone who not only lives a very chic but also very active lifestyle, Kryz, who studied luxury brand management in Mod’Art Intenational Paris, shares how what she wears to a sweat session also matters. In every occasion, a good outfit equates to good energy, she says.

“I think that what you wear in a workout really inspires you. It makes you feel good and confident about your body. Because if you just wear a ratty t-shirt, and then you see yourself in the mirror – you might, ‘Oh I really don’t feel like it.’ As opposed to when you’re dressed up, you really feel what you’re doing,” says Kryz, who also studied fashion design at the School of Fashion and the Arts in Manila, adding how beyond looking good, picking the right outfit can also lead to a more effective workout.

During the Forever 21 Active launch, Kryz styled outfits for spinning, dancing, yoga, and boxing. Playing with the many layers and colors available in the Forever 21 Active collection that featured all sorts of coverage and material in easy neutral and pastel tones, she shared hacks on looking sexy and chic with the various cuts and sillhouettes provided by the collection in a live styling session. She also pointed out clever ways to show just enough or as much skin as you would like while making sure that you’re not too hot with the right material.

“It [styling] was very easy, because Forever 21 had so many choices. And most of the workouts they did segments for are ones that I’ve already done,” she says.

Kryz – who runs Thirstythought, a life, style and travel blog that started as a school project in 2009 – is about to start a new chapter in her life. Apart from being a writer who has contributed to publications like Candy, Preview, Mega, Lifestyle Asia, and Chalk among many others, Kryz is also the author of the book “Behind the Blog.” The dancer and avid traveller is set to jump into married life as she soon becomes Mrs. Young.

But just because she’s not too pressed to look a certain way for her and Slater’s wedding, that doesn’t mean that the couple are leaving everything to the last minute. In fact, despite saying that the big day isn’t going to happen any time soon, Kryz and Slater have already looked into a few wedding dress and ring options.

While many of us swooned over the recent Royal Wedding of American actress Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, Kryz admits she doesn’t plan to take inspiration from the event that trended worldwide.

“I want to steer away from the traditional, princess bride, with crystals, and all the lighting. Slater’s personality and my personality, we’re very simple, chill people. We don’t really like so much attention, you know?” Kryz muses about the wedding which is most likely happening in Cebu.

As evidenced by their activities, Kryz enjoys keeping to her Thirstythought niche, while Slater has focused his sights on his profession as an engineer, coming up with eco-friendly concrete blocks among other business ventures.

Slater proposed to Kryz February this year while strolling around wintry Japan. The YouTube vlogger laughs as she recalls how she had no idea what was going on because they’ve never talked about the future. Her boyfriend, who had a whole speech prepared, had to start from the top because Kryz had not caught on immediately.

Having met each other from common friends in the Cebu social circle, Kryz says she’s most excited about how they’re finally moving in together.

“It’s exciting to finally live together. Slater and I have been travelling together for a while now. And you know how they say that when you travel together, that’s where you find out how you really are with each other. But we’re always travelling and we’ve never fought so I think that’s a really good sign. I’m really excited to see how it is,” the Ateneo de Manila alumna quips.

Kryz reveals Slater hasn’t been a hands-on groom-to-be. As far as the wedding is concerned, she has assumed the role of being in charge of the whole thing, while Slater, with his engineering background, is keeping busy with building the home that he and Kryz will soon share.

With a long ways until they say “I do,” Kryz thankfully hasn’t found herself falling into a wedding-themed rabbit hole, and nothing like a scene straight out of “Crazy Rich Asians” has happened. As much as they would like to keep the affair small and intimate, there are a number of things to consider since both of them come from Filipino-Chinese families.

“We both come from large families, and we’re both Chinese so the guest list could be bigger. Nothing too crazy. Being Chinese, things could get complicated but fortunately, our families aren’t too uptight. We’re the third wedding in the family on both sides. We just want to keep the whole thing very relaxed, and very us. The people who are coming know us and they might get confused when they come in and see that everything is so grand, knowing us and our personalities,” Kryz says.

Ever since the engagement, Kryz shares they’ve received marriage advice, solicited or otherwise.

“The usual…Communication is key,” Kryz shrugs. “That marriage is supposed to be thinking about what you can put on the table instead of what you can get out of the relationship. To get your expectations straight – things that I find really useful.”