Ninong Ry’s journey

Ryan Morales Reyes, or Ninong Ry as we all know him, became a restaurant head chef at age 24. While the job was good for experience, it didn’t pay well. His P500/day salary wasn’t enough to pay off his debts and he was always in the red. It came to the point that he couldn’t even afford to buy water because he only had the money for gas. He would even drop by gas stations to drink from the public restroom’s tap water. Meanwhile, everyone around him was getting married, having kids, and buying houses and cars.

The 32-year-old might not have been stuck in a rut with his career (although he did have his own share of burnout episodes when he was younger, which led to him quitting the professional chef scene to focus on cooking homemade meals) but he did feel like he was falling behind in other aspects of his life. What are the lessons Ninong Ry wants everyone to take to heart?

 

Lesson #1: Fight the bitterness

Was he ever jealous of everyone else living seemingly perfect lives? Sure, Ninong Ry admits that he did bond with the green-eyed monster for a while, that’s only natural. But he didn’t let the jealousy get the better of him. He refused to let it grow into bitterness, and instead, focused on improving himself.

Besides, what’s the standard of a “successful” life anyway? That’s different for every person, which leads us to…

 

Lesson #2: Everyone has their own path

Aren’t we glad we run at different paces, in our own time, and on our own paths? Some people find fortune — wealth, career, love, family — on their path early on, while others have to wait until the middle of their lives (or even later) to enjoy the same things. Don’t compare yourself to your college classmate who is now a hotshot manager at a hotshot company while you struggle from paycheck to paycheck.

Ninong Ry was a culinary graduate at the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde but even before he reached his peak as a professional chef, he had to battle with burnout and then eventually was let go at his job. It might seem like a pity when all his classmates are probably chefs in prestigious restaurants but Ninong Ry understands his path is different.

 

Lesson #3: Never lose hope

Another lesson to pick up here is that we should never lose hope for ourselves. You might down in the dumps right now with zero motivation to even lift a finger, but you aren’t truly defeated if you still have hope. Do you know what the future has in store for you? Nope. But you do get a chance to move towards your dreams.

When Ninong Ry’s chicken business plummeted, no thanks to the pandemic, he made himself busy by creating content online. There was a sliver of a chance that people would watch and now look at him — 1.11-M subscribers on YouTube and 4.5-M followers on Facebook. From I’m-so-broke-I-can’t-afford-water to everyone’s favorite ninong real quick. You can actually change your future as early as when you close this article and put your phone down.

 

Comments flood with similar stories

If you found comfort from Ninong Ry’s stories, the comments section under his post is also filled with similar life lessons from Pinoys. Many opened up about their years-long hardships before achieving their dreams and living their best lives. One Filipino recounted that he used to work at a junk shop but jumped on the chance to go back to school on a vocational course even if he was “overage”. Now he works at a modest company and even has a small business on the side. Another also shared how they used to eat other people’s fast food leftovers but now have enough money to never be hungry again.

The stories serve as inspiration for Filipinos that it’s never too late to achieve your dreams. Just because you hit a rut in your 20s doesn’t mean life is always going to be that way. What’s that they say again? If you hit rock bottom, there’s nowhere to go but up.

 

Getting internet famous

Ninong Ry rose to social media fame almost overnight. It was in the mid-2020 when he started posting ASMR videos of him cooking his take on well-loved Filipino dishes like his famous Sizzling Crispy Pata Kare Kare recipe. For Filipinos stuck at home in the middle of a pandemic, his easy tutorials gave us dishes to crave and learn. The views and engagements only increased from there. Coupled with Ninong Ry’s easy-going character and humor, Filipinos collectively fell in love which just proves that the way to a Pinoy’s heart (or social media feed) is through humor and good food.

 

Brushing shoulders with the bigwig content creators

It has only been a year for Ninong Ry in the spotlight but what a year it has been! From a business lost to the pandemic, he is now one of the biggest food content creators on social media. Ninong Ry has projects with Erwan Heussaff over at his revamped channel, FEATR. He’s good friends with Cong TV and his crew too. A quick swipe on Ninong Ry’s feed and you’ll see dozens of brands he endorses. All this happened because he took a chance to venture into something new.

 

Want to get inspired? Check out Ninong Ry on social media

If you’re looking for a new muse, Ninong Ry and his tenacity is your next bet. Not only will you learn to sharpen your cooking skills by following him but you’ll also be inspired by his outlook and takes on life. Follow him on Facebook and Instagram and subscribe to his YouTube channel.

 

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