Geoff Taylor - The Next Big Star

While on-board, I get my daily dose of Pinoy Showbiz through the e-mails I get of Abante Online. When I read the one dated 24 August 2009, I was really happy with what I saw. A friend of mine, Geoff Taylor, had just won GMA Network’s “Are You the Next Big Star?”.

I first met Geoff in the now deceased bar in Olongapo called Level 3 (because it was on the 3rd floor of a 5-story building ... creative name right?). He was tall, good-looking and was built like an Olympian carved by a gay version of Hephaestus. We were introduced but never had the chance to talk much because they were having a post-production party and there were so many old friends there I had to prattle with. From what I know, that was the first of his multitude of ramp modeling stints. Even during that time that he was still a greenhorn, I knew that he’s destined to become something big.

The next time we met was in Kiara’s mini-fashion show. Kiara is one of the most prominent designers in Olongapo. He was opening a new studio at that time and he opted to do a small show to serve as his publicity stunt rather than throwing the usual cocktail party. He called on some of his ramp model friends and Mulch directed the small event for him. Again, I wasn’t able to really talk to Geoff during that time as I didn’t think I had anything to tell him and if I just went up to him and blabber off to kingdom come, he might end-up thinking: a) I was hitting on him, b) I’m a stalker, c) I was off my rockets and d) all of the above.

The third time we met was when Geoff’s manager, Victor, asked me to PA for a fashion show they were doing in SBMA. Well, not really PA, as what I did was do some graphics and video editing work. It was during that event - Ever After (A Bridal Fashion Show), that I found out he was a real person and not just a breathing mannequin.

Ramp models are usually egotistic. If you have enough guts to walk down a ramp and know that everybody is looking at you, it follows then that you should be confident enough to know that you deserve to be looked at. Most of the models I know don’t just have big egos, they also have a thing with keeping a certain character in public appearances. It always surprises me when I see how a model acts inside a hotel room and how it instantly changes right after passing through the hotel room’s door. I think having schizophrenia is a prerequisite to being a good and well-known ramp model.

Geoff though was different. He was who he was on and off the stage. He was humble and very eager to learn things. You can talk 3 hours straight and he would listen to you intently and would even ask questions to know more details.

After that, he joined Mossimo’s model search. A few months later, he joined ABS-CBN’s 1st Season of Pinoy Dream Academy. Though he didn’t win both competitions, I still believed that it wasn’t the peak of his career - that there were more things destined for him.

After his show with ABS-CBN as a vampire of some sort in Kapitan Inggo and a couple of features about his life in the same network, his showbiz stints became less each passing month.

While trying to enter showbiz from the fashion world, he and his mom were staying at his manager’s house in an exclusive subdivision. Whenever I was in Manila, I usually crashed in on his manager’s pad as staying there was free, and I was always surrounded by gorgeous people (so I feel like I’m gorgeous myself). Though the boy I met a couple of years before has already been replaced by a young man, he was still the same Geoff Taylor I met. He was still level-headed and enthusiastic about life in general. He still asked a lot of questions. He still laughs at the comic video clips I had on my phone. And most important of all - he still knew my name and called me “Kuya” (at least not Manong).

Though I’m not in it, I know people in showbiz change as soon as they make a name for themselves. Heck, I even know of one guy who used to teach me how to do a side-split while properly belting “Through the Fire” in falsetto. He became really famous as a vocalist for a band and was even linked to a sexy female starlet. I always thought he was a homosexual male, I guess after 2 albums and a couple of sold-out stadium concerts, he has metamorphosed into a Butch Lesbian. We’ve bumped into each other at several functions and he won’t even look me in the eyes. There’s another former friend who I used to eat fishballs and tuknenengs with, but suddenly had amnesia as to who I am as soon as he became a “socialite”. This fishball-addicted-pseudo-socialite won’t even add me in Facebook.

That is why I really was proud of Geoff when I saw him again after all the media exposure he got. He was still the same person. I guess the limelight doesn’t really cause cerebral damage as proven by his resilience over showbiz’ mind-affecting glitziness.

During my last vacation, I saw that Regine Velasquez had a new talent search called “Are You the Next Big Star?”. When I watched the pilot, I was shocked to see that Geoff Taylor auditioned. I texted Mulch right away as he was Geoff’s manager’s 2nd degree nephew. Then I messaged Geoff and his manager, Victor, over Friendster as I wasn’t sure if they still had the same numbers. I didn’t really want to text or call them directly as I haven’t been in-touch with them for a long time.

After Mulch moved to Manila, I have crashed in on his place instead of Victor’s because Mulch’s pad was more accessible. It has been a year since I’ve last talked to either Victor or Geoff. I wasn’t even expecting him to reply from my Friendster message but Geoff answered a couple of minutes after I sent the message, thanking me for my well wishes and asking me to vote for him if/when he reaches that stage of the competition.

After that, I never had the chance to actually see the show progress as I was busy with my social and love life. I was only able to watch the show again a couple of days before I left. I saw that Geoff was still in the competition with only a handful left from the original set of competitors. My gut told me Geoff had this in the bag.

Now that I know he won, I can say that he really deserves it. Not just because he has both the looks and the voice, but because he has the attitude. He has also worked for this for a very long time and winning this competition is a just reward for all his patience, effort and loyalty to his manager.

I know that when he does become the next big star in the Philippines, he would still call me Kuya and listen to my stupid stories. He’d still be the same person, but a bigger and brighter star.