Photographer BJ PASCUAL
Make Up Artist DON DE JESUS
Hairstylist ETHAN DAVID
Videographer DIX PEREZ
Special thanks to ARKETA CLOTHING
By Glory Sicam
Her first job out of college was at Google.
“We built a tool that was used to eradicate double profiles and help combat cyber bullying.”
Her next one was at Facebook.
“I was the 106th employee. I worked in the privacy portal, which means you deal with hacked accounts and are able to bug test, which I really enjoyed.”
After that, Apple.
“I was a product manager. I got to work on the development and deployment of iPhones and iPads.”
You don’t expect to hear things like this from someone so stunning it’s hard to look at anything else in the room.
“Yeah, I’m a bit of a nerd.”
After that, she decided to eat right and promptly fell in love with working out.
‘When I started working out, I couldn’t run more than 10 seconds. So being able now to run 3 miles feels good! I know I’m not the best runner in the world, I know I’m not the best boxer in the world, but being able to see how I improve is a really big part of why I love exercise.”
So she’s a gorgeous techie who loves eating healthy and working out… and is also incredibly REAL. She admits to guilty pleasures such as being addicted to websites like 9GAG, Vine, and Dubsmash. In terms of guilty food pleasures, lechon and sour cream fries from Potato Corner top her list.
You just can’t help but be charmed by Kat. Especially when she says her life peg is:
“I always try to remind myself at the end of the day, no matter how crappy your day is, being a good person is most important. Being courteous, kind and sensitive to people because you never know what people are going through. This came from people not being nice to me early in life. I just didn’t want to be like that. I knew I just wanted to make sure that kindness always came from me.”
Kat Ramnani. Techie. Exercise Junkie. Beautiful human being.
Uhm… nerds don’t usually look like this.
She is Kat Ramnani, Music Head at Globe Telecom. And we have her (and her team) to thank for bringing Spotify to the Philippines.
Well, technically, we can also thank a 54-year old construction worker Kat talked to during a focus group discussion. She learned that this man had a cellphone, but did not use it to call or text. He used it to side load love songs and would then play the songs for his wife on their Saturday dates. When Katheard that, “My heart broke. I knew I had to do something.” She worked on bringing Spotify to the Philippines, and at the lowest rate in the world. “It’s available to all Filipinos so that everybody can express themselves through song.” Kat says, eyes beaming with pride.
“I always try to remind myself at the end of the day, no matter how crappy your day is, being a good person is most important.”
On the personal side, her source of pride is her weight loss, and it’s taken her 6 years get do it.“It’s something I deal with everyday. I always have to make a choice – whether it’s going to be a double cheeseburger, French fries and a sundae, or if it’s going to be a salad. It’s a reminder for me that if you stick to something and want something bad enough, you push yourself to do it.”
So what exactly pushed her to take that first step to lose the weight?
Kat laughingly recounts: “In college, I had gone out for a late night snack with friends. I had a double cheeseburger, some potatoes with cheese and bacon, and curly fries. I ate it so fast! When I got home I realized I didn’t get to enjoy it. So I made macaroni and cheese. And I ate that. And I still wanted to eat some more! So I opened up a bag of Lay’s potato chips, started to eat them and fell asleep. I woke up the next morning with Lay’s potato chips all over me. Instead of moving the potato chips, I ate my way through! So, I was like, I have a problem! I need to fix it.”
When do you feel most beautiful?
I don’t know, I guess after a workout. I feel really good after and I feel really confident in my workout attire… you know, after I’m changed and not dripping in sweat, I feel that natural color on my face and the feeling I get just makes me look my best.
Do you find yourself beautiful?
Well some mornings I look in the mirror and I cringe. I’ll be like, what is that? Who are you? And then some mornings I’ll look in the mirror and I’ll be like, it’s not bad, it’s okay. But for me, I think that beauty is relative. So what I’m feeling can dictate what I think about myself and what I see. I really feel that, as cliché as it is, beauty is a feeling. And when you feel it, it exudes. It doesn’t necessarily have to do with what’s on the inside; it’s what you feel. And if you feel it that day, it’ll come out.
What’s your beauty regimen?
I drink a lot of water and I don’t drink any soda. I’m obsessive about my skincare.
I think that really great skin is the foundation of so many things and on a daily basis I don’t like wearing foundation, I just use some concealer because it saves me time in the morning.
I drink lots of water, work out, eat fish, take fish oil, and invest in my skin care.
What for you, is a Calyxta girl?
I think it’s someone who’s versatile. Elegant in her own way. Kind. Finds beauty in things that she loves. To me a Calyxta girl exudes confidence yet is not afraid to be vulnerable, and I think that’s a beautiful thing.
