For this 75-year-old man from Pampanga, age will never be a hindrance to finding a new hobby.
Antolin Huerto Juego, a retired agricultural engineer, said that it took him months to mourn the death of his wife, Teodora, who passed away a day before their 48th wedding anniversary in 2021 due to complications from her diabetes.
According to their granddaughter, Thea Anne Juego, Lolo Antolin mourned the passing of his wife for a long time.
Months later, after watching several YouTube videos, he decided that it’s finally time to learn how to cope with the pain, prompting him to try something new — vlogging.
With the help of his grandchildren, they set up a YouTube channel for Lolo Antolin.
Thea admitted that her family initially hesitated to put up the channel, but later supported Lolo Antolin after seeing positive effects.
“At first, we’re a bit hesitant kasi paano niya ibi-build ‘yung platform and ano ba ‘yung mga topics na gusto niyang i-cover? Nakita ko kasi minsan nabo-bore siya dito sa bahay. And we don’t want him to wallow do’n sa lost ng lola namin, especially that his children are away. Wala sila rito sa Pilipinas so we want him to have a hobby. So ayun, eventually, si-nu-pport namin,”
Antolin said that he really enjoys sharing his knowledge on the platform.
“Spontaneous lang. My first vlog actually is an intro vlog, it’s a 30-second vlog na napakarami ang nag-respond. Ginagaya ko lang diyan ‘yung mga millennial. As a retired agricultural engineer, marami akong binubutinting dito sa palibot ng bahay. So, naisipan ko, i-vlog ko kaya ito?” he said.
In November, Antolin launched his YouTube channel. He uses the platform to share his knowledge in agriculture as well as their family recipes, and his quick travel getaways.
Thea and her brother worked hand in hand to help Lolo Antolin on his YouTube channel.
In fact, Thea played a vital role in growing the audience of Lolo Antolin after she gave him a shoutout on her personal TikTok account.
“My cousin told me na, “What if you made a video about daddy?” And I was hesitant at first because I’m not that good in editing or I don’t know how to pitch the video. So ayun, triny ko lang naman. Masaya naman kasi talagang ‘yung mga tao naa-appreciate nila ‘yung ano, ‘yung video for dad,” Thea recalled.
The post surprisingly went viral, with netizens expressing their support to her lolo. From 127 subscribers, it grew to 1,890 overnight after she posted on TikTok.
“Sinu-support namin ‘yang mag-invest siya ng cellphone, bumili siya ng vlogger’s camera. Nakakatuwa kasi people his age, they’re really—not in general—but some or majority are having a hard time in navigating through device na kagaya ng phone or ng tablet or smart TV, camera, ganiyan,” she said.
“Wala siyang schedule, actually, unlike other vloggers na supposedly ganitong oras or ganitong araw may ia-upload siya. Whenever something interesting is happening, mostly live ‘yung mga recent videos niya,” she added.
