How a Fil-Am TV producer beat alcoholism to become Emmy winner | ABS-CBN

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How a Fil-Am TV producer beat alcoholism to become Emmy winner

How a Fil-Am TV producer beat alcoholism to become Emmy winner

Steve Angeles,

TFC News

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From reality shows like “The Biggest Loser,” Philippine-born Joel Relampagos is now a real-life big winner.

The Filipino-American television producer who works for Lebron James’ production company Spring Hill recently nabbed his first Daytime Emmy award in the Daytime Special Category for the YouTube series “Recipe for Change.”

Relampagos takes pride in putting up a show that champions the marginalized through food.

“During these marvelous dinners, conversations that are so profound, so meaningful, happen and so this first episode about Stop Asian Hate got highly recognized,” he said.

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Relampagos’ journey began when he migrated to Southern California from the Philippines on his 6th birthday.

He said he wanted to become a doctor but soon discovered that life had other plans for him.

In his college years, Relampagos discovered reality television, and came out as gay on the MTV reality series “True Life.”

He described opening up about his sexuality as both the craziest and the best thing he’s ever done.

“Not only was I able to inspire other Filipinos who were in my shoes,” he said, “but I also got a career out of it. I asked MTV for a job and they literally gave me a job the next day working the Grammys as a production assistant. I never left entertainment since.”

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Relampagos climbed his way to becoming the executive producer for shows such as “The Biggest Loser,” which he said are “meaningful, purposeful, and transformative.”

But life was not always as sweet as he hoped it would be. The fast-paced life of the entertainment industry eventually pushed Relampagos into alcoholism.

“The irony was while I was moving up in my career working on a show about health and wellness and specifically weight loss,” he said, “I was not just a workaholic but I [also] had a giant drinking problem. I really knew how to work hard, come home, and party hard.”

Relampagos shared that he took a break from work in entertainment in 2019 to focus on getting better.

Now four years sober, and 40 pounds lighter, the TV producer is making some changes in the lives of others.

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He founded “Change Your Algorithm” a non-profit that provides mental health services throughout the world.

“[It]s sort of my way of paying it forward,” Relampagos shared, “letting people know that there’s nothing wrong with therapy. There’s nothing wrong with how you feel, it's all about how you react and how you heal.”

Earlier this year, he even helped show off his transformed body with his evolving mindset, as Men’s Health Magazine followed him around for some of his workouts.

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