This month’s MEGA cover star Alodia Gosiengfiao dares to take a leap and disrupt the industry. Read an excerpt of her cover story on how she’s putting esports to the fore.
Related: How Christine Samson Is Shifting The Tides Of Gaming For Women
A quick Google check—on verified sources—will make it clear that the gaming industry and the spawned streaming and esports scenes are big, big business. Yes, mom, you can support yourself playing video games, either as a professional or as a streamer. In fact, during the pandemic, it is one of the businesses that boomed as people were mostly stuck indoors. This is also why, Gosiengfiao found herself still mightily—and gratefully—busy. As co-founder of Tier One Entertainment, alongside CEO and esports veteran Tryke Gutierrez and managing director Brian Lim, Alodia Gosiengfiao, who is COO, is now running the show and helping other gamers and esports professionals reach their full success.
“Right now, a lot of people are doing gaming so that they can actually earn from making a career out of this. So, I’m helping transition some people with that,” says Gosiengfiao. “Like some artistas come to us like [asking], ‘How do you start this?’ ‘cuz it’s a lot of technical things. And when I started, I did most of the technical things with that so it’s easy for me naman to help others get started with that.”
Tier One describes itself as “Asia’s premiere esports and entertainment brand” and Gosiengfiao describes her role there as the visionary. “I’m the one who strategizes the direction and everything, I always think of how to innovate or to elevate,” she says. “Ever since high school, I always like analyzing, trying to break the algorithm, and adjusting something so that you can beat—not really beat the algorithm but just do something different from everyone else.”
Tier One is one of the things that Gosiengfiao describes as a major disruptor in her life. Disruptors, which in modern parlance is used to describe a company or technology that radicalizes the norm; think how your smartphone has basically taken over your life, or how companies like AirBnb and Uber have changed tourism and commuting. Disruptions can cause confusion, anger, frustrations—but also relief, convenience and a sense of freedom. She lists cosplaying and gaming as her natural first two life disruptors.
Both passions have enabled her to live out her dreams. In hindsight, it’s easy to cheer on Gosiengfiao’s dedication to both even when it wasn’t earning her money or clout. “I’m always the guinea pig; guinea pig in cosplay, guinea pig in gaming and streaming and stuff like that,” she says with a laugh.
“I’ve always been the girl who thought of Plan A, Plan B, Plan C. Hindi naman OC (obsessive compulsive), but I’m just always thinking that something might happen so we have to be “I’ve always been the girl who thought of Plan A, Plan B, Plan C. Hindi naman OC (obsessive compulsive), but I’m just always thinking that something might happen so we have to be prepared. I always think five years from now, three years from now; always future-thinking na when I do something, it’s long-term. I don’t like to see the short-term games lang.”
Read about how the world of fashion and Esports is colliding with Alodia Gosiengfiao in MEGA’s October 2021 issue now available on Readly, Magzter, Press Reader and Zinio
Photography MARJ GUTIERREZ
Creative direction JANN PASCUA assisted by BRIE VENTURA
Fashion direction JEB FRONDA assisted by MIKA REYES
Makeup JAPETH MIKE PUROG
Hair MONG AMADO
Shoot coordination ERICA LUNA and MAE TALAID
Shot on location at TIER ONE STUDIO, BELLAGIO SQUARE, QUEZON CITY