Those who were already living or avid Kapamilya fans in the early 2000s would certainly remember how ultimate heartthrobs Jericho Rosales, Piolo Pascual, Diether Ocampo, Bernard Palanca, and Carlos Agassi made a lot of ladies kilig with their stints in various television shows and movies during that time.
And they further made our hearts flutter when they joined forces to become ABS-CBN’s iconic male group “The Hunks” in 2001, as they’re able to prove that they are definitely more than just pretty faces and well-chiseled bodies because they are multi-talented as well through their much-awaited performances in ASAP every Sunday then.
As they marked the 20th anniversary of their formation last year, Piolo, Bernard, and Carlos looked back on how The Hunks was born two decades ago, as well as some of their most unforgettable moments together, during their guesting in Metro.Style’s online talk show “Good Vibes with Edu”.
“I think, it just started one ASAP in Calatagan, Batangas. We were performing all five of us and then Bernard just took off his shirt and threw it to the crowd. I don’t recall why he did it, is it the lyrics or he just felt hot, but everyone started taking off their top [or] sando and ‘yon na ang ‘Hunks’,” Carlos imparted.
He added that even though he had already taken on a lot of terrifying adventures in the past, Carlos found his singing lines in their every production number more dreading. Thus, he always sought the help of his fellow members.
That time, it could be recalled that Diether and Jericho had already been making waves as two of the most bankable leading men of their generation, Piolo and Bernard were impressively juggling their acting and singing impressively, while Carlos was doing good as a rapper and host.
As host Edu Manzano commented how he was seemingly a “non-conformist” then, Bernard said that he actually didn’t care so much about everything that’s happening around him and he just chose to enjoy what was in front of him.
With regards to what made him say “yes” to be part of the group, Bernard disclosed that it was initially because he was close with Piolo and Jericho during those times. He used to doubt if he really was qualified to be one of “The Hunks,” but the management was able to convince him pretty well, so he gave it a shot.
“Up to today, I would never regret that decision of joining the group because it gave me so many experiences that I wouldn’t be able to replace anymore. So, I have nothing but ‘thank yous’ and gratitude for what happened to us, with this group The Hunks. I still cringe when they say it, to be honest, but that’s life,” Bernard stated.
Piolo echoed this by saying, “But that time, the five years, even though it was short-lived, all the places that we went to, all the things that we did together, and the experience. We were doing acting on the side, we were doing music on the side, we were doing our own thing on the side, but whenever we get together as a group, it was for us a vacation and it was really the time for us to be ourselves, seize the moment.”
Although they had fun in every moment and every show they were together, there’s just one thing they really disliked in being part of “The Hunks” – the colorful and quirky costumes they were forced to wear in their numbers and photoshoots. Piolo described it as the “worst part,” as they found it “really bad”, “cringey”, and “nakakahiya”. He revealed that it could be the reason why no one kept their photos and Bernard was the one to take his shirt off first. Nonetheless, it was a fun experience.
Watch their fun kuwentuhan by clicking on this video!