Rei Germar Is a Cut Above the Rest

It took all of Rei Germar’s five feet and two inches to fill the studio with her sunny and cheerful demeanor. She stood before us clad in a matching tweed jacket and mini skirt, her typically straight hair curled and styled in tendrils, with volume to match her feathered sandals.

Moments later, as our photographer Shaira Luna pushed against the shutter release button of her camera, our subject shone against an eye-catching green backdrop. With every tiny movement, she gave her audience a glimpse of who she really is, painting a portrait of a woman who truly knows every inch of herself. She sat upright on a teal armchair and behind her, a lone cream door stood positioned to look ajar. It was almost symbolic for the scene unfolding before us: Rei Germar has arrived, ladies and gentleman. 

Her name was propelled to the cultural lexicon in 2017 after a video on a Divisoria haul attracted an audience. Prior to that, she had a following of 700 subscribers. Suddenly, that number shot up to 1,000. Then 4,000. Then 7,000. Her phone was pinging non-stop, and not necessarily for the best. 

“I wasn’t mentally prepared,” she admitted of that brush with her newfound online fame. Those alerts came with disheartening and cruel comments from complete strangers making unwelcome remarks about her.

Before that fateful day, she only counted her family and friends as her audience. Sharing came naturally to her—she cared for talking, she never shied away from the camera, so the then-college student entered the world of YouTube. She had never dreamed of reaching viewers outside her circle and when the multitude of subscribers came, she adjusted as quickly as she could and reaped a quick and steady increase in popularity. Now 23, Rei has done a lot of growing up since then. Both off- and on-camera, she has learned to protect her peace and has become unapologetic about what people think of her.

PHOTO: Shaira Luna

Rei Germar for Preview.ph April 2020

Now You See Her

Rei’s world is nearly deafening with all the voices that claim to have something to say. But she had always been rooted in her clarity and in what she hoped to achieve with her vlogs. Like many girls in her generation, she devoured content on YouTube, and found a virtual big sister in Bethany Mota while still in high school. That admiration later shifted to Anna Akana during her college days. “[Anna] taught me a lot of things, like embracing my individuality and how not to be insecure about other girls.” That type of messaging imprinted itself to a young Rei, who now fulfills the role of guiding figure to the 1.29 million subscribers that her eponymous channel caters to.

The magic of Rei Germar lies in her lack of “image,” both when she faces the camera and when she’s away from it. What you see is what you get. There are no glam teams, Photoshop hacks, and substantial video cuts when it comes to how Rei presents herself. The word “curated” has become synonymous with being an online celebrity, but it was one that never plagued Rei, who has managed to stay authentic since the beginning.

PHOTO: Shaira Luna

Ruffled top, P1995; tweed skort, P2295; and tweed jacket, P4295; all ZARA, Greenbelt 5. Chain belt, P399, THE SM STORE, SM Megamall

“I would see these perfect girls [on social media] and I knew for a fact na probably hindi naman perfect lahat niyan and I hated how it made me feel,” she said. “I don’t want to give that message to my viewers because it’s not like that. I feel like that’s the reason why people appreciate my vlogs because it’s super raw. I rarely cut my vlogs; everything is there.”

In the course of three years, Rei and her followers have built a relationship. Her engagement with her followers on YouTube is a certified guide to the viewing habits of millennials and members of Gen Z. No matter how long her videos run, Rei has her viewers hooked from start to end.

"That’s why I want my videos to be happy and inspiring because I know I have these younger girls watching me when things get overwhelming for them."

PHOTO: Shaira Luna

“I really invest time in thinking of things na feeling ko beneficial to my audience,” she says. At most times, this would be based on the season and which events typically fall on a certain month. While hundreds of thousands tune in to her weekly Saturday video releases, Rei keeps the conversation flowing. She listens to what her viewers have to say and always looks for ways to improve her content, tweaking it to fit what they need and want.

Yet, simultaneously, she manages to swing from audience-driven content to her own interests and personal endeavors. “I know that [my viewers] use my videos as an escape when they’re tired. That’s why I want my videos to be happy and inspiring because I know I have these younger girls watching me when things get overwhelming for them. It’s the balance of what I want to share and what they want to see.”

PHOTO: Shaira Luna

In Her Terms

While Rei’s content is the more obvious side of her story, her thought process is another. When she started her channel three years ago, she was a one-woman team. She juggled jobs as the talent, the cameraman, the editor, the writer, and the producer up until recently. Being able to execute all these roles have challenged her and helped her evolve as a stronger decision-maker. It has also guided her in creating her own set of principles.

She navigates through the business of content creation with certainty through introspection, especially when it comes to dealing with brands and potential advertisers. When she was new to vlogging, a number of brands had approached her to plug in their products, and this opened a new reasoning method in Rei. She would ask herself, “Do I want to work with this brand? Or itong brand na ito, same kaya ‘yong set of values namin?”

PHOTO: Shaira Luna

Tweed vest, P2495; and plaid pencil skirt, P3295; both ZARA, Greenbelt 5. Faux pearl earrings, P249, THE SM STORE, SM Megamall. Velvet beret, P695, FOREVER 21, SM Makati

Rei possesses a maturity beyond her age, and has it set in stone that her viewers are her top priority. This is the non-negotiable she uses to compromise with businesses—that she does things her own way. 

“Give me the things you want me to communicate to my viewers, but let me do it my way,” she says resolutely. “Because more than anyone, I know my viewers.” 

PHOTO: Shaira Luna

The word “curated” has become synonymous with being an online celebrity, but it was one that never plagued Rei, who has managed to stay authentic since the beginning.

She makes it clear that she is no brand’s mouthpiece. All the messages she conveys in her content are in her own terms and told in her voice. 

It’s not all work and no play for Rei, however. She takes time to revisit her first love every once in a while, and that is makeup. Rei admits that her beauty videos don’t always perform as well as her fashion, travel, or lifestyle offerings, but she doesn’t lose sleep over it. To her, makeup videos feel like home.

“I’m not the best when it comes to makeup videos,” she says humbly, “but it’s very therapeutic for me.” Even if they don’t boost her views, she continues to film them because they fulfill her and give her joy. “At the end of the day, it’s not just about the numbers.”

PHOTO: Shaira Luna

Travel is also an integral part of Rei’s vlogs, and while her jet-set content may appear indulgent and luxurious, it’s all in a day’s work for Rei. There was a time that having to vlog took the fun out of traveling, especially during her packed December schedules, but she has learned to regulate work and occasionally sets a vlog-free day in her itinerary for her to spend with her boyfriend, Migy Romulo, who frequents her Instagram feed and her weekly YouTube videos. 

In her downtime, she and Migy like to watch war movies. Their love story is a match made in social networking. When they got together almost six years ago, they were bound together by a love of sneakers. He was a sneakerhead, and so was she. She followed him on Instagram, and when Rei had gotten out of a previous relationship, friends had persuaded her to join Tinder. Her swiping right on an acquaintance and their bond over shoes had led to their first meeting at a music festival. The rest is history.

PHOTO: Shaira Luna

Keeping Up with Rei Germar

Unbeknownst to those who don’t follow her every move, Rei has always fostered a love for event-planning. She threw a themed party every year since she turned 14 years old. If she wasn’t a vlogger, she would probably be producing events. 

“There was one year I threw a crime scene party, then I thought hindi uuwi parents ko that night pero umuwi sila so they both panicked when they saw all the [police line] tape na parang, shoot, anong mayroon sa bahay,” she recalls. 

PHOTO: Shaira Luna

Houndstooth denim jacket, P1999; houndstooth denim mini skirt, P1599; both FACTORIE, zalora.ph. Ankle boots, P5995, ZARA, Greenbelt 5. Crystal-studded beret, P795, STRADIVARIUS, Glorietta 2

While she continues to produce content, she has a few other passion projects lined up this year that she’s ready to bring to light. One of them is the launch of a sunscreen line called Sunglow, which she conceptualized with fellow content creator Mae Layug.

But YouTube and social media platforms would noticeably be different with a Rei Germar-shaped hole in Philippine cyberspace. In 10 years, Rei still hopes to be sharing her stories and entertaining millions on her chosen platform, if it’s still around. By then she would have an established business, or family, but she still hopes at the possibility of being able to share her life with the subscribers that she’s grown up with, while communicating a message of empowerment of the younger generation. 

PHOTO: Shaira Luna

“We’re all here. We should be uplifting each other. We should be here for each other. It’s hard to be a woman in this world. There are a lot of struggles and challenges existing. With everything going on, the least we can do is be there for each other as women,” she says. We hope Rei Germar inspires the next generation of content creators, who hold the same uplifting sensibilities she does.

PHOTO: Shaira Luna

Produced by Jam Nitura

Photographed by Shaira Luna

Art Directed by Bacs Arcebal

Co-produced by Nicole Cruz

Fashion Direction and Styling by Yanna Lopez

Beauty Direction by Nicole Arcano

Makeup by Emman Magpantay

Hair by Mycke Arcano

Nails by Nailandia

Words by Hannah Lazatin

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