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In the sea of endless TikTok scrolls, Instagram reels, and YouTube videos, Rei Germar and CK de Leon have managed to rise above the digital noise as two of the country’s most-watched and trusted content creators.
These Gen Z personalities are charisma and charm personified, as they’ve managed to win the hearts of their followers online by sharing their life’s journeys with them…as well as their summer-worthy budol purchases.
While Rei and CK have different online beginnings — Rei has been eight years in the game, while CK began creating content just 14 months ago — what they share in common is their authenticity and passion for staying true to their communities.
For Rei, the path to over a million followers each on YouTube and Instagram began in college. “I was a super watcher. I was a consumer of YouTube talaga. During this time, I was watching [YouTuber] Anna Akan, who was this very inspirational ate for me, so I wanted to be that kind of person also. I’m really passionate about sharing things. Like, I'm the type of person who has so many things to share when I see my friends. I have to share [my thoughts] out loud for me to process my thoughts and my emotions… I started [my channel] because I'm super madaldal and I love sharing things, stories, experiences to other people,” Rei tells Cosmopolitan Philippines.
Rei is wearing a bikini top from Beyond The Beach, a cover up and crocheted trousers from Stradivarius, and earrings from H&M
Meanwhile, CK was about to start her first corporate job out of college when she fell into content creation because of her boyfriend, content creator and sports analyst Mikee Reyes. “It took me about four months into doing it because I was doing my corporate job…I felt like it was that post-graduation crossroads that I had to go through. I had to decide. And so I was in my new job in early 2023, and whenever I went to the office, I felt like it wasn't for me. And so that's also when I started to weigh things out: Was it a practical choice to do content creation?” CK shares.
While they may be reaping the results of their hard-earned work now, jumping into content creation as an actual career instead of a hobby was a leap of faith on their ends. CK shares that she was conflicted for months over leaving her corporate job for content creation, as she was concerned about job and financial stability.
“As a content creator, you need to be ready for anything as a freelancer. I prayed so hard. ‘Lord, if content creation is really for me, can you please give me a sign?’ During that time, wala pa akong masyadong projects for the year. And so came my first short-term contract with a brand. And so when I got that, I resigned,” CK reveals.
CK is wearing a bikini top from Beyond The Beach, a crocheted button down from Milkwear, and a skirt and accessories from H&M
“I was a Communication Arts student, so I love production. I love storytelling. But I started [creating content] as a hobby. I never thought it was going to be something that I was gonna do as a living or, like, as a profession,” Rei shares.
“My first ever upload was in December 2016. And during that time, it would be so weird to tell my parents that. ‘What do you wanna do for a living? ‘Oh, I wanna be a YouTuber.’ It was something they couldn't grasp during that time. So I would say that from the very start, I always knew for sure that it's something that I liked. I'm passionate. I'm super passionate about it and it's something that I truly, truly enjoyed from the beginning,” she adds.
Part of owning that authenticity is accepting that content, like people, changes and evolves with the times in different aspects. For Rei, “I feel like what's different now is that I try to do different formats, trying to be more creative about it, trying different ways of sharing my stories. Before, I would just sit down and literally just talk to the camera. But now, even before filming, I have something in my mind already… and I guess I’ve changed. I am the content, I am what they consume. So it changed because I also grew as a person. There are some things that I did or said, that I don't resonate with anymore because we all grow, and I feel like not growing is a scary thing. But those parts of me that I don't resonate with anymore, I would never deny them because it was still me, and they made me the person that I am today.”
Although their content and format may change, some things remain constant—the secret ingredients that make their vlogs and reels so addictive to watch that you can’t help but keep your eyes glued and thumbs scrolling through their next videos.
For both Rei and CK, it’s about keeping it real to their journey and what matter most to them.
“[Content] has changed in a lot of ways. Something that stayed the same is that I really pour my heart into everything that I do. I shared it with my followers na parang, the way I look at my vlogs is I have to, like, see a certain clip na, ‘Okay, that's the heart of the video.’ And there are some times that we couldn't find a heart in a video, and we wouldn't publish it at all. So I look at it as a person. Every video is a person, and if I don't see the heart, then it's not alive,” Rei adds.
“I think this time, especially 2024, is when I think things are starting to make sense for me. [I started with] just doing fit checks. I was just figuring things out on my own, what my niche was, what community am I building, or if I ever had the community,” CK shares.
“With everything, with the brands that I've been working with, it just started making sense. And so I think andoon pa lang ako sa crossroads again into changing my content. Like, I'm thinking of upgrading, but not just for myself, but it's also for my followers. Minor changes pa lang siya, but it's still the same content that they consume. It's me about my life, how I am trying to go through this whole adult thing. Career and life choices, so parang, haven't changed in a year. I think it's just, yeah, it's still the same. It's still about me in my life. I feel like it will just change through time as I grow up because it's me. I've been more vocal about projects, my projects now because my wins aren't just my wins, it's also the win. My sizzies, like the community,” she adds.
Both Rei and CK’s online and offline personas remain the same, and it’s their genuine character that their fans love the most about them. Yet staying real and raw 24/7, even on-camera can get exhausting for even the most seasoned content creators — a lesson that Rei and CK had to learn along the way.
“I never thought that content creation would be a full-time thing for me. So when I started, I was literally sharing, most of my everyday life, my thoughts, my heart, out in the open. I had no filter. I guess I wasn't emotionally prepared for the growth and everything that would happen afterwards because it's hard when you live your life in front of the camera… Some people assume that they know everything about me, so that's why it's so easy for them to put me in a box and say that ‘You're just this.’ And we have to admit that sometimes the online world is harsh. So, again, I wasn't emotionally prepared for the first two or three years, but along the way, I was able to toughen up myself, and tell myself, ‘This is what you want. It's part of your life now.’” Rei reflects with Cosmo.
While it can be hard, Rei says she would do it all over again “because the connections I made and the people I got to talk to on a daily basis, the people I grew with my online family, that outweighs [anything else].”
“At the end of the day, when you read something, even if it doesn't resonate with you, it still makes you think. So I still get affected by it. There are days [when that happens], but honestly, I just go back to, this is the reason why I go back to Instagram, I go back to my safe space. I go back in time, actually, to my old videos, and then I look at that girl who's just starting. And so I am reminded at the end of the day, I don't have to prove anything to anyone, but I have to prove to her that she's doing okay, [prove to] my past self — who did that leap of faith of getting into content creation,” CK shares.
CK is wearing a dress from By Carll and accessories from H&M
For CK, setting boundaries between what to share online and what to keep to herself helps guard her inner peace.
“It's something that honestly yung contrast na ‘yan nakikita ko [with Mikee, my boyfriend]. He's the type that he feels like he wants to show everyone everything. With me, there are things I'd rather keep to myself. And the way I know when to keep it to myself is when I know if a lot of people have a lot to say about it. So if I know that it will just disrupt my inner peace and the peace that I have within myself and my work, then that's when I keep it to myself,” CK explains.
These online stars’ strategies for keeping calm have been working out for them so far — allowing them to dish out their best finds, inspiring #budolbuys because of their refreshing authenticity.
One of these products is the Primer Foundation by Sola.
“I started testing out Sola, I think quarter two of 2023, because that's how I work. I have to test it out. I love Thai brands, because we have the same weather, so the products that works there will most likely work for us Filipinos as well. So, yeah, that's how I work with brands. I have to make sure I get to try it months and if it works. So, yeah, so I started trying, like, last year until we all agreed that it's a good product. Let's bring it to the Philippines,” Rei states.
Rei is wearing a top from Zara, a skirt from By Carll, and earrings from H&M
“Sola changed basically the way I think about my base makeup. That's why I'm super excited to be working with Sola, also because I resonate with the product so much. Number one, because we need SPF. I grew up, my mom's always telling me, always wear sunscreen because we have freckles. So to have a product that is both, that both takes care of my skin and also gives me that glowing look. So it's just that it's a two-in-one product that I have been enjoying, and I love how it just feels on my skin and how it doesn't make me break out,” CK shares.
Despite the need to have as much content across various social media platforms, what also matters for these content creators is that they have that one network that makes them feel at home.
“Instagram, just because I think the start in the heart of my content creation journey was with Instagram. So doon ko na-feel na meron akong community. That's why I love creating content. Honestly, for different platforms, it's sometimes different content, and you have to produce different types of content for different platforms. I just feel like every time I go to Instagram, it acts as my safe space because I know that most of the people who are genuinely interested in my content and who are genuinely supporting me are there,” CK explains.
“My favorite will always be YouTube. It feels like home. Admittedly, engagement is really different now, especially since TikTok is out there. I would say even my watching pattern has changed, mas maikli na rin yung attention span nating lahat, aminin natin yan. But it will always feel like home. My diary, it's where I pour my heart and it's where I feel like I'm most connected to with my followers kasi full-length yan diba. And it's where I started. So it’s like going back to my roots,” Rei shares.
PRODUCED BY: Ira Nopuente, Andie Estella
ASSISTED BY: Marie Bilgera, Cheska Santiago, Cass Lazaro
PHOTOGRAPHY: Dennis Sulit
ART DIRECTION: Pau Moyano
SITTINGS EDITORS: Thea Alberto-Masakayan
STYLING: Eldzs Mejia, assisted by Carl Alberto and Miggs Leguerra of Eldzstyles
MAKEUP: Jason Delos Reyes for Rei, Pam Carreon for CK
HAIRSTYLING: Justine Ocampo
WORDS BY: Sam Beltran
SOCIAL MEDIA: Aina Lizarondo
Special thanks to SOLA Beauty Philippines.