MANILA - Jonas Gaffud and his merry group of beauty pageant mavens, Aces and Queens, celebrated a night of glamour with the launch of his anticipated tell-all book, "The Crown: Your Essential Guide To Becoming A Beauty Queen."

Gaffud, better known as "Mama J," has trained over 30 beauty queens during his 16 years of leading the Aces and Queens program, producing winners in Miss International, Miss World, and Miss Universe.

Although "The Crown" has been labeled as an "essential guide," within its pages is a variety of information and stories targeted to inspire anyone interested in pageantry.

The book itself documents the journey of Aces and Queens and how they emerged as the leading boot camp for beauty queens. It also has a short biography of titleholders they took under their wing, including pageant stars like Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach, Miss World 2013 Megan Young, and Miss International 2016 Kylie Versoza.

Lastly, it has a crash course on proper makeup, hair, shoes, and fitness routine.

Creating "The Crown" was a labor of love for Gaffud and his Aces and Queens team, as they juggled through busy schedules and deadlines for a year to produce a book that defines the spirit of Philippine beauty pageantry.

Now that they are finally launching the book, Gaffud describes the night as one of those moments that are "surreal but so real."

A post shared by Jonas Antonio Gaffud (@jonasofmercator) on Aug 17, 2017 at 3:49am PDT

For Gaffud, the long journey that began in his childhood as an avid fan of beauty queens has culminated into a dream come true. "I was so fascinated about women, [and] their journeys—especially powerful women," he said.

Growing up, Gaffud read through magazines and books about women, following the stories of icons like Princess Diana and Queen Elizabeth. There was always a new, influential woman in the covers and headlines, and he never got tired of listening to their stories.

"Siyempre, I wanted to be them," he said jokingly, admitting that it wasn't meant to be, but that only fueled his resolution. "If you cannot be the queen, be the queen-maker."