SOCIAL media personalities are no exception to controversies or scandals that could sabotage their career. Many of them may result in public apology or brace their ego for exposure. Recently, a Filipino motivational speaker and life coach was under fire for overpricing and creating “motivation” from his plain rice: Rendon Labador. 

Before this entire ordeal, Labador was initially criticized for bashing Batang Quiapo director Coco Martin because their shooting “disrupted” the tinderas and tinderos there. It gained a lot of protests from Coco Martin fans and even netizens. Following this incident came the grand opening of Labador’s business, “Episode Bar + Kitchen,” last Mar. 25, in which he invested P1.2 million on but reportedly didn’t sell a single ticket. He blamed this disaster on Coco Martin’s fans, claiming that they took everything personally and did it as a way of revenge.

The main problem did not lie there—an image of the sports bar’s menu circulated online that revealed the meals along with the price. A cup of steamed pandan rice that cost P100 created such a buzz when Labador justified the price in a comment: “The Motivational Rice: Status symbol ng mga taong lumalaban at hindi sumusuko sa buhay!” Adding fuel to the fire, he condescendingly captioned in a reshared article: “Gusto ninyo isinusubo nalang lahat sa inyo ang tagumpay. LUMABAN KA at pilitin mong umangat sa buhay para yung MAHAL sayo ngayon ay maging MURA balang araw.” 

Netizens were quick to lash out at this. Many claimed that as a motivational speaker, he was losing credibility. There were those who commented about being able to afford the motivational rice but practically wouldn’t get it as there were cheaper ones served with side dishes or came with unli-rice set. Another one argued that P100 for a cup of rice was already equivalent to 2kg of rice. However, a few people tried to understand the businessman’s perspective, mentioning that he was running a business to gain profit, not give free meals. Yet, even with the dissent of the majority, the fiasco did bring in great exposure to Labador and his “motivational” rice. There were local vloggers who came to the restaurant to check out this rice and shared their feedback.

As someone who knows a few entrepreneurs starting up a business and some already thriving in the long run, investing may be a risk or opportunity without any certainty of a return. But it is for sure that one must not promote their products or services at the expense of arrogance or condescending to one’s social class. Many people suspected that Labador’s online fuss might’ve been a marketing strategy to direct attention to his sports bar, but it only backfired when sales weren’t made at the grand opening. May this serve as a lesson of humility and practicality to anyone who would like to use social media as a way to promote or market their business.