FACES OF CEBU: Rjay Bula, content creator

Rjay Bula, notably known as ‘Rjaybuls,’ is an aspiring content creator from Mandaue City, Cebu. | File photo from Rjaybuls/Facebook

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Sometimes, people who give laughter hide a heartwarming story.

Among them is rising Cebuano content creator Rjay Buls.

Rjay Buls, whose real name is Rjay Bula, is a 23-year-old hardworking lad from Mandaue City, Cebu. He used to be a Political Science student at the Cebu Normal University.

However, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, he had to stop in his second year of studying to find a way to sustain his family’s needs.

As if the odds were in his favor, it was also when he started his stint as a content creator.

One day, he saw a vendor selling brooms, specifically, the famous ‘walis tingting’ in Barangay Paknaan, Mandaue City.

“Diha ko nagkuha’g idea nga ‘what if buhatan nako’g video ang walis tingting?’ Which is the first video nako nga nag viral and karon gitawag nako’g ‘Rjay Buls’ sa mga taw ug diha ko na ila,” he told CDN Digital.

(That’s where I got the idea ‘what if I’ll make a video about these brooms?’ Which is the first video that went viral and that’s when I was called ‘Rjay Buls’ by people.)

And the reason behind the name ‘Rjay Buls’ is because when he was typing the name for his page, he mistakenly tapped the letter ‘S’ for his surname, hence instead of ‘Bula,’ he typed ‘Buls.’

That video was the first video he created that contained his firsts: editing, writing, and facing the camera.

A shy person, fun facts

Bula shared that he is actually a shy person, however, there is something that pushes him to conquer it.

“Tomorrow is not a promise. Do it. So, bahala’g uwaw, bahala’g dagha’g taw mutan-aw, bahala’g pangag ko sauna, lagom akong panit, dako ko’g ilong, di ko gwapo. Akong giatubang akong nawng sa camera kay naa ko’y rason which is ganahan sad kong mag edukar sa mga taw,” he said.

Moreover, did you know that Bula did not own a smart phone nor a cell phone until he started vlogging?

Rjaybuls shared with CDN Digital that he uses his phone camera in his contents.

Back when he was still a student, he only asked his classmates about the tasks they should do and put them in his mind.

Also, he used to borrow phones from his friends or classmates at times when he needed one.

It was in 2020 when he finally got his new phone, a reward for himself from his hard work of being a motorcycle for hire driver.

His purpose in content-making

The young lad said that besides giving entertainment to the people in social media, his purpose in creating his contents is to educate them.

“Ganahan gyud ko mag edukar sa mga taw,” he said. (I really want to educate people.)

When asked why he chose to have an entertainment approach in his contents, Bula said that he used to learn fast when he laughed when he was still a kid.

“Kabantay ko sa una, pagkabata nako nga mas makat-on ko kung mukatawa ko. Which is very effective kung magtudlo ka…Pakataw-on nako ang taw kay dali masud ang impormasyon sa ilahang utok, which is very important,” he said.

(I noticed that when I was a kid, I learned fast when I laughed. Which is very effective if I used this to teach. I let people laugh so it would be easier for them to remember the information, which is very important.)

He believes that people quickly get the information when they are happy.

“Di ko magtudlo nga kana bitawng murag boring kaayo. Ug usa pa buangon gyud ko gamay, kiat gyud kayko mao nang akong personality akong ge add sa akong pagtudlo,” he told CDN.

Content inspiration

Bula shared that his inspiration in making his content is Nas Daily, a notable Arab-Israeli vlogger who is known for his minute-long videos.

However, he clarified that he is not copying him but only having him as an inspiration.

“Ang akong [idol] gyud si Kuya Kim. Klaro kaayo sa akong lihok, sa akong sinina, Kuya Kim gyud ko [nga fan] sa bata pa[ko],” he said.

He added that he watched all the episodes of ‘Matanglawin’ a program hosted by Kuya Kim Atienza, a Filipino television and weather host.

Breadwinner

Bula said that he is not planning to go back to school anytime soon since he still has responsibilities for his family.

His mother is suffering from an illness, where he was the one who provides for her needs, especially for her regular checkups.

With regards to his mother’s illness, he said that cases like his mother’s are not that common in the Philippines, hence, he did his research.

And according to his research, he said that his mother might have “Hypokalemia,” which equates to having potassium deficiency.

He is also the one who supports his two younger siblings since he is the eldest among the three as well.

And since content creation has been giving him windows of opportunities for his monetary needs, he decided to focus on it.

However, he said that he will surely go back to school when things get smoother.

Onto the serious side

Bula took up Political Science as a degree in college because he said he wanted to be the president of the Philippines to serve the country.

“Also, ganahan kos pulitika kay diha man nagpadagan ang taw. Nagpadagan man ang kalibutan sa pulitika. [Kinahanglan nga] maayong instrumento para mahapsay ang tanan,” he said.

He added that he also wanted to get a doctoral degree in Political Science someday.

Besides that, he admitted that he is actually a consistent dean’s lister back when he was still in college.

“Tan-aw nako sa una kung mo graduate ko, pareha ko sa akong mga classmate karon nga mga naay latin honor which is ko raman ang naundang so ako ray wala. Pero okay ra na,” he said.

Humble beginning

Bula shared that most of his videos were shot using a phone camera, most especially in his first video.

The videos are also edited using his phone, but now he has a personal computer which he uses for heavier bytes of videos.

Rjaybuls talks with CDN Digital about his life as a content creator and his humble beginnings.

Lesson

“Wala’y lumba ang panahon.”

This is what Bula shared with CDN.

In his journey, he learned that life is not a race.

“Wala ta nag lumba diri. Una sa tanan, nganong nangandoy ka? Para sa imong ginikanan. Kung nabuhat man gani nimo ang imong pangandoy para sa imong ginikanan nga wa nahuman imong grado, nganong di man nimo buhaton? Para man gihapon na sa imong ginikanan,” he said.

He added that he believes that the school will not go away.

“

Future plans

His current team is composed of him, two video editors, and two script writers.

And he is planning to expand his team in the future as he also wants to build his own company someday in the media industry.

/bmjo

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