Finding Tom: Embracing PH through vlogging
Published Mar 5, 2019 04:29 pm
By Jan Carlo Anolin
With the rise of social media also comes the popularity of vlogging or video blogging, or the act of storytelling or producing content through short videos.
With that, more vloggers have been recognized for producing different kinds of content, ranging topics from travel, food, tips and tricks, various tutorials, and even daily vlogs, whether local or foreign.
Tom Kuegler (PHOTO COURTESY OF TOM KUEGLER / MANILA BULLETIN)
Tom Kuegler, or better known as Tom or Finding Tom, is a rookie American travel vlogger, who is currently enjoying his stay in the country as he reintroduces the Philippines through vlogging.
For Tom, there are a lot of things that make the Philippines different from the countries he had been -- from the way Filipinos eat, to the street food, not to mention the public wet markets.
But those are just the smallest details.
In a much deeper sense, Tom said the people themselves make the Philippines different.
“s a whole, it seems to me that people here are like much more laid back, much more relaxed, they take more time, they seem to be happier, they seem to be reanimated on something fun that happens,” the Baltimore-based vlogger told Manila Bulletin in an online interview.
“I love that about the people here,” he added.
He has been staying in the country for four months now since arriving in November last year. In that span, Tom has managed to produce different kinds of contents featuring different places and the cultural aspect of the Philippines.
Last month, he went to Binondo in Manila to shoot scenes, and create content on how Filipinos or Chinese-Filipinos celebrate Chinese New Year.
He is often accompanied by Pinoy travel vlogger Sandy Jones Pilarca, or widely-known as Lost Juan. Pilarca was “the man behind Nas Daily’s videos” when Nas was in the Philippines.
“Manila is just a wonderful place because there is so much that’s undiscovered here,” Tom said.
Featuring the Philippines
In October last year, Tom’s video titled “Filipinos: The Best People in the World?” went viral in Facebook. The video was his most viewed and, as of posting, already has 9.6 million views and 231,000 shares.
In the video, Tom explained why he considered the Filipinos as the best people in the world. He said his father once told him about this, but only confirmed this once he started travelling the country.
“t’s this weird combination of happiness, values, fun, food, and family that makes these people the best in the world as far as I’m concerned,” he said in the video.
He also dropped another video after Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray won the pageant last December.
In the video titled “Miss Universe Did Nothing Wrong,” he defended the Miss Universe for her answer about poverty when she got into top three. Catriona’s answer drew flak from netizens for “romanticizing” poverty in the Philippines.
“I really felt it like I was speaking for a lot of Filipino people here. I feel like I was really in line with my sort of like main goal with content creation to be just a loud speaker for the people... in a way that I can amplify their voice when they necessarily can’t,” Tom said.
The said video has garnered 8.8 million views as of writing.
Tom also visited provinces in Visayas such as Cebu and Bohol, saying the latter as his most favorite place in the country for its countryside vibe and comparing it to Bali, Indonesia.
Roots
Just like any other vlogger, Tom’s roots can be traced back to his passion for producing videos.
Tom recalled that he has been into making videos when he was around 12 to 13 years old but stopped for different reasons.
What prompted him to finally pursue and settle with vlogging was because of fellow American vlogger named Casey Neistat. After binge-watching some of Neistat’s videos, Tom’s passion was rekindled that had him starting vlogging again in March 2018.
“I used to be very good at that I used to know my way around editing software and all sort of things,” the 25-year-old vlogger said.
He will be leaving the Philippines late March, but will be back again in July to stay for another six months.
For his future projects, Tom said he was looking forward to creating more videos that will highlight different parts of Metro Manila.
Tom Kuegler (PHOTO COURTESY OF TOM KUEGLER / MANILA BULLETIN)
Tom Kuegler, or better known as Tom or Finding Tom, is a rookie American travel vlogger, who is currently enjoying his stay in the country as he reintroduces the Philippines through vlogging.
For Tom, there are a lot of things that make the Philippines different from the countries he had been -- from the way Filipinos eat, to the street food, not to mention the public wet markets.
But those are just the smallest details.
In a much deeper sense, Tom said the people themselves make the Philippines different.
“s a whole, it seems to me that people here are like much more laid back, much more relaxed, they take more time, they seem to be happier, they seem to be reanimated on something fun that happens,” the Baltimore-based vlogger told Manila Bulletin in an online interview.
“I love that about the people here,” he added.
He has been staying in the country for four months now since arriving in November last year. In that span, Tom has managed to produce different kinds of contents featuring different places and the cultural aspect of the Philippines.
Last month, he went to Binondo in Manila to shoot scenes, and create content on how Filipinos or Chinese-Filipinos celebrate Chinese New Year.
He is often accompanied by Pinoy travel vlogger Sandy Jones Pilarca, or widely-known as Lost Juan. Pilarca was “the man behind Nas Daily’s videos” when Nas was in the Philippines.
“Manila is just a wonderful place because there is so much that’s undiscovered here,” Tom said.
Featuring the Philippines
In October last year, Tom’s video titled “Filipinos: The Best People in the World?” went viral in Facebook. The video was his most viewed and, as of posting, already has 9.6 million views and 231,000 shares.
In the video, Tom explained why he considered the Filipinos as the best people in the world. He said his father once told him about this, but only confirmed this once he started travelling the country.
“t’s this weird combination of happiness, values, fun, food, and family that makes these people the best in the world as far as I’m concerned,” he said in the video.
He also dropped another video after Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray won the pageant last December.
In the video titled “Miss Universe Did Nothing Wrong,” he defended the Miss Universe for her answer about poverty when she got into top three. Catriona’s answer drew flak from netizens for “romanticizing” poverty in the Philippines.
“I really felt it like I was speaking for a lot of Filipino people here. I feel like I was really in line with my sort of like main goal with content creation to be just a loud speaker for the people... in a way that I can amplify their voice when they necessarily can’t,” Tom said.
The said video has garnered 8.8 million views as of writing.
Tom also visited provinces in Visayas such as Cebu and Bohol, saying the latter as his most favorite place in the country for its countryside vibe and comparing it to Bali, Indonesia.
Roots
Just like any other vlogger, Tom’s roots can be traced back to his passion for producing videos.
Tom recalled that he has been into making videos when he was around 12 to 13 years old but stopped for different reasons.
What prompted him to finally pursue and settle with vlogging was because of fellow American vlogger named Casey Neistat. After binge-watching some of Neistat’s videos, Tom’s passion was rekindled that had him starting vlogging again in March 2018.
“I used to be very good at that I used to know my way around editing software and all sort of things,” the 25-year-old vlogger said.
He will be leaving the Philippines late March, but will be back again in July to stay for another six months.
For his future projects, Tom said he was looking forward to creating more videos that will highlight different parts of Metro Manila.