Today is the 27th birthday of Pawn Benik Angeles, or Benik Monterola, as he goes in the nightlife industry. Benik makes a living by organizing and conceptualizing huge parties, events and music festivals; but while it may sound like a lot of fun, that wasn’t always the case.
Benik actually dropped out of school when he was 18 and his dad pressured him into looking for a job. One night, his DJ friend asked him to bring some friends to his gig in a newly-opened club in Quezon Avenue; and although the management refused to pay him, he was able to bring in more than 100 guests. “The night turned out to be like my birthday party since it was filled with my friends and acquaintances,” Benik fondly recalls. “I wasn’t aware then that I was already doing club promotion.”
Benik found the job idea interesting and – after doing a lot of research and getting to know the pioneers and people in the field – went to one of the clubs in the Fort Strip with his resume. His goal? To apply as a club promoter. Sadly, his first trial was a failure – so much so that he didn’t even have money to pay for a cab home. He walked from BGC to their house near Cash and Carry and while walking, he told himself, “There will be a time that I will be able to put up a rooftop party on one of those buildings.” One year later, he was asked to organize a roof deck pool party for New Year’s Eve at St. Giles Hotel. It was a success. And the rest is history.
Photo by: Seven Barretto / Suit by: Leo Almodal / Stylist: Macky Arabez / MUA: Jessica Bonoan
Benik also recalls his friends inviting him to music festivals like BIGFISH, but him always refusing because of his insecurities. He told himself that he wouldn’t go because he would create his own. In 2015, he got hired as a Director for Marketing by STRIX INC and produced the first and biggest Color Music Festival in Manila: Chroma Music Festival. It got 26,000 of attendees and a record-breaking waiting line for having thousands of people outside the venue as early as 10AM.
Benik hopes to transform events into fantastic worlds of exquisite taste where people can be themselves and just have fun. A lot of the time, you will find Benik hanging out with other guests and friends at these events. And naturally, that’s part of his success, as well, despite it being tiring. “Mentality, physically and emotionally, you mostly end your day exhausted,” Benik shares. “But the thing is, if you love what do and you believe you are in the right path. All the stress pays off. Just take time to rest and recover and comeback stronger.”
Photo by: Seven Barretto / Suit by: Leo Almodal / Stylist: Macky Arabez / MUA: Jessica Bonoan
Benik currently has a lot of projects in the pipeline, including the continuation of their very own Nuevo Mundo Music Festival, and the IKON Urban Music Festival which will be headed by Ravuth Ty Lamar, the owner of one of the biggest hiphop music festivals in Europe. Time to look forward to more big international artists later this year!
Benik has one message to his fellow promoters, either the newcomers or the pioneers: “Let’s keep doing what we are doing. We wouldn’t be here if the universe is against it. It only means one thing: WE ARE ALL PREPARED FOR GREATNESS. We may fail a lot of times and I tell you to be prepared to fail more. But never give up and continue to strive harder. Hold on to that goal and trust the process. Let’s work together in making our country a world class entertainment destination.”
We, of course, are very grateful for what he does and look forward to more of his greatness in the future. Happy birthday, Benik! 🙂
