WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?
To the best of my recollection, the first person to ask me about my reasons for building RCPhilippines.com was Alex Vergara. He’d called me over the cellphone to introduce himself & volunteered to help moderate specific topics covered in RCPhilippines.com.
My reply to him was far from short. I told him that I spend roughly nine (9) hours a day in front of the computer. In the last three years, I didn’t find a place on the internet which I could call “Home for the Filipino RC Enthusiast”. While there are many websites which allow Filipinos to join-in & post, the bottomline was that its still foreign-owned. Several websites have been gracious, and has allowed threads & topics to proliferate in their space… but its not about the Filipino. Neither are the norms, culture & language of the Filipino prioritized. Not to mention that finding a RC Flight thread in a website primarily dedicated to RC Cars never sat well with me. I disliked this situation and decided that I’d do something about it.
That, was all that I had told Alex. He asked me if I was sure I wasn’t doing it for “the money” or for “fame”. My reply was simply “Do you see me earning any money from it? Do I look famous to you?”. Since the obvious answer to Alex’s questions was and still remains - NO… we moved on and talked about his moderatorship next.
But the truth is that my answer to Alex was incomplete. You’re always on the rush when you know that your boss can hear every word you say (being only five feet away from me). So, I gave a simple & curt answer.
But, exactly what is the complete truth?
The main inspiration to finally go out and act on RCPhilippines came from a fellow whom I hardly knew. In fact, it was only a few months ago when I first met him. But I had heard of his name beforehand. I first heard it at Duck RC. Several flyers were at the shop, and talk about FAI was ongoing. The news was that the Philippines was now registered again with this organization. Someone… some generous benefactor(s) had in fact, shouldered the bill. The name I kept hearing was JP Reyes.
The circumstances of my first meeting with JP were totally unplanned for. A fellow by the name of Inigo Bilboa wanted to meet with me as he had heard I was selling one of my ehelis. He asked me to come to JP Raceway. Not knowing much about RC Cars & existing racing tracks, he had to direct me via cellphone to find it. Upon arrival, I was shocked to see the massive & beautiful racetrack that was there. While in awe, Inigo introduced me to the racetrack’s owner - JP. We had a brief conversation, trying to get to know each other a bit. I mentioned that I had heard about FAI & his involvement.
It was then that I asked the question “Why are you doing this?”. JP’s reply came as a surprise. He spoke of how he dreamed to see Filipino RC Enthusiasts competing and winning in International Tournaments. You could visibly see the spark in his eyes… definitely a dreamer, and yet… clearly a go-getter.
For me, that meeting was an epiphany. There was someone else out there who wanted to make a significant contribution - to our Country, our Hobby and to the Filipino RC Community.
Clearly, I do not have the same financial backing as JP. Nonetheless, I decided… In my own little way, I was going to make my own contribution.
It may never be as grand and it may never even take off… but, I decided I would build a place on the internet where all Filipino RC Enthusiasts could find… a HOME.
Thus… www.RCPhilippines.com was born.
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