Stan and Ro

Q: What’s your favorite SGP podcast episode/s so far?

Ro: Bryan Leo’s first appearance on the show. I’m trying to get the podcast as funny as possible so people love listening to it, so anything that’s laugh-out-loud is my favorite. Bryan is one of the most hilarious characters I’ve ever met!

Stan: Hands down my favorite episode yet is one of our most recent episodes with Red Ollero of Comedy Manila! Red’s probably our first guest who religiously follows WWE and the backstage news as much as we do, so it was great to have that added voice in the episode. It was also cool getting to know him and the art of stand-up comedy more. I mean, who would have thought we could find a way to connect stand-up comedy and professional wrestling? Oh, it’s true. It’s true. I also particularly enjoyed the Eddie Guerrero tribute episode that we did on the ninth anniversary of his passing. All three of us are huge Eddie Guerrero fans, and it was a very emotional episode, so it was cathartic to have gone through that exercise with Raf and Ro.

Camus: I’ve got to say the Eddie Guerrero episode was the most fun to record, because of the subject matter… but I do have to say that I am happiest with our two-episode awards shows. Incredibly fun to edit, and ridiculous topics make those two some of my favorites.

Q: What other podcasts do you three like listening to in your spare time?

Ro: My top wrestling podcasts are the Steve Austin Show, Talk is Jericho, and Cheap Heat. I also listen to The Combat Jack Show and Juan Epstein, both hip-hop podcasts. Besides enjoying and learning, I’m also trying to learn as much as I can from how these people operate and do their shows. Whatever it is that works for them, I’m trying to absorb.

Stan: I listen to Talk is Jericho (TIJ) and Cheap Heat, too. If you listen to my radio show (The Factory on Mellow 94.7, Mondays to Fridays, 4-8 PM! Cheap plug number two!), then you’ll probably hear some influences of Chris Jericho in the way I deliver some of my spiels. I try to bring that to the podcast, too, but not too much since TIJ is a wrestling podcast, too. I don’t really listen to other podcasts at the moment, but I do listen to Bill Simmons and Jalen Rose’s banter on the Grantland Channel pretty often. I guess that counts, right? I’m a huge Bill Simmons fan and his basketball articles come very few and far between, so his videos with Jalen Rose sort of compensate for that.

Camus: I’ve gotten around to listening to Talk is Jericho, and Cheap Heat on a subscription basis. Then there’s the occasional episode of Art of Wrestling (Colt Cabana’s more storytelling kind of podcast), occasional NBA podcast (The Starters, Hang Time with Sekou Smith) every now and again. There are times that I listen to the obscure music podcast when they have a good show, or debut a song from a band I like.

Stan inside the PWR ring

Q: We also heard you three have also been part of PWR. Can you guys share us your personal thoughts about the organization and how it has revived professional wrestling in the Philippines?

Ro: They’re all a bunch of hard-working guys who love pro wrestling. The fact that a bunch of kids–who are still trying to figure out their way with this–put out two huge wrestling shows on their own from literally nothing, no local foundation at all? That’s crazy effort and dedication, man. And even if it should fail tomorrow (knock on wood), you have to give it up to them for making it come true. But that’s the beauty of it–now that you’ve seen what a few people are capable of, imagine how much more they can do when they grow further. I think you’re all gonna see bigger, better things from PWR this year, as well as more of us in the company, haha!

Stan: I think more than anything, what PWR is doing is aligned with what I personally envision for SGP and the SGP Podcast — to bring the Filipino wrestling community together. And that’s why I ultimately got behind PWR. Without sounding too radical, we’re starting a movement here and the community is small, but it’s growing, and I want to be there when it reaches critical mass to say that I was there when it all began.

Camus: What’s there left to say? HAHA. I think I’ve had the least interaction with the PWR fellas amongst the three of us, but with the time that we’ve had, they have nothing but my respect. The best thing about it is that they’ve made so much noise with so little, it’s frikin awesome.

Ro: When Philippine pro wrestling reaches its full potential, they’ll talk about us–PWR and the podcast–as the people who first made it happen.

Camus: We’re pioneers, brother.

Q: What can your audience expect for the year 2015?

Stan: …without revealing too much? I’ll let Ro do it. Mic’s yours, bud.

Ro: We’re trying to line up bigger guests, that’s for sure!

Camus: Speaking of mics…we might be having a better audio mix once my mics come in the mail! Then maybe remote episodes?! LIVE EPISODES?!?!

Q: LIVE?! Now that’s what I’m talking about! Speaking of appearances…I heard that Boyce Avenue will be making an appearance to the SGP podcast this February. Are the rumors true?

Ro: HAHAHA I’d love to have them sing a wrestler’s theme or two!

Stan: Of course you do, Ro…

Camus: Backstage interview? G.

The hosts doing a little mic test

Q: Jokes aside, do you guys have any tips for aspiring podcasters in the country?

Ro: You gotta find a way to get your product heard. That means a lot of hustle. Then when you finally have the ears, you gotta make sure they stay entertained and engaged. It’s one thing if you don’t like something after the first listen, but if you like something that doesn’t always mean you’re going to like it forever. I think our dynamic improved greatly when Raf came aboard, because now there’s an extra personality to bounce off of and through which we could further be ourselves.

Stan: Building off what Ro said, keep looking for things to talk about. What I mean is, it’s one thing to know your subject matter. Any wrestling fan can talk about wrestling. But how do you manage to stay relevant? Whether it’s a wrestling podcast, a basketball podcast or a music podcast, or whatever it is, you have to find a way to remain relevant to your listener — whether they’re your actual listeners or your target listeners. Sometimes, that involves talking about ideas or perspectives that aren’t beaten to the ground. If everybody’s already talking about Topic A, why not find a Topic B? Or find a spinoff from Topic A that you can turn into a conversation of your own without sounding like everyone else who’s already talked about it.

Camus: The boys already talked about how topics and dynamics are a big deal, but you also need to be technically sound. Study your audio capture and editing software so you can balance out your sound, and establish a tone for yourselves. Making yourself sound good can really help with making things more interesting. Another thing I recommend is for everyone to do some kind of pre-production planning. Before you even hit record, have some kind of idea of what you want to do for the episode, write it down, and stick to it (for the most part). It helps so much to help you establish a starting point for your train of thought, making it easier to organically talk about everything you want.

Raf Camus

Q: Do you have any shout-outs to your listeners who might be reading this?

Camus: You guys, you’re the real MVPs! Much love. Hope you stay tuned through the year because we have so much to give you this year!

Ro: Thanks for listening to us, guys! It always warms my heart whenever someone talks to me about Spots and Botches or anything from the show–it means someone’s listening, and more importantly, someone likes what they hear. If you’ve got friends who are wrestling fans, please do tell them to check us out! We’ll be better for you this year!

Stan: Thank you for keeping us going! You’re proof that there is a Filipino wrestling community and that it is by no means dormant. Please tell your fellow marks/smarks about us, because if there’s one thing the Filipino wrestling community needs, it’s that we need to get together! And that’s what we hope to achieve through the SGP Podcast!

And that wraps up the exclusive wheninmanila.com interview with the hosts of the SGP Podcast. If you’re a pro wrestling fan like me, do yourselves a favor and tune in every week. Take it from me, you’d love it. I’m not “sucking kneecaps” (Shane Powers, 2012) here, but when I listen to the show, I get the sense that there are passionate pro wrestling fans out here in the Philippines. Not only that, but through this podcast and PWR, the Filipino Pro Wrestling community is slowly getting stronger. You can catch thelatest episodes on their buzzsprout or itunes page. A little warning, however, the SGP Podcast may contain some strong language that may not be suitable for younger audiences. Parental guidance is advised.

To end this article, I’d like to thank the SGP Podcast crew for giving us the chance for this interview. Furthermore, thank you SGP Podcast for putting the Filipino Pro Wrestling Community over, through your podcasts online. I am proud to say that I support your podcasting endeavor. Wishing you guys more shows and congratulations on nearing the 1-year mark!

The SGP Podcast Hosts with PWR’s Scarlett (L to R: Stan Sy, Ralph Camus, Scarlett and Romeo Moran)

Do you know any local podcasts that are up and running? Are you part of a local podcast show in the Philippines? If so, please hit us up at wheninmanila.com or at martinv88@hotmail.com.

WIM Photos by: Hub Pacheco and Martin Vicencio

Smark-Gilas Pilipinas Podcast

Buzzsprout page: https://www.buzzsprout.com/25341