Happy Slip in the Philippines

Christine Gambito

Christine Gambito is a YouTube sensation. The Filipina-American is famously known for her one-woman videos at www.happyslip.com.

Her YouTube channel has 106,000 subscribers, is ranked as the fifth most subscribed channel and has 4.4 million channel views, making her a world-class celebrity in her own right.

“My dream is that people recognize ‘Happy slip' as a destination on the Web where, every time you'd visit you'd feel lighter, brighter, happy,” Gambito explains.

“Mixed nuts,” a video spoof of a typical conversation in her family, was voted 1st runner up in the 2006 YouTube awards for best comedy.

She came up with the name “Happy slip” as her mother would incessantly tell her to wear a half-slip, the undergarment worn by an earlier generation of women, when she was young.

“It was a funny phrase from the past, and this is my aim for the site—for people to ‘slip into happiness,'” explains Gambito.

The Internet was “a great opportunity to channel my creativity, and since I've always wanted to mentor kids, I want to raise the bar of what's on the Internet, since most kids tune in to the net more than TV, so everything you see on my site is very child-friendly,” she adds.

Her adventures during her recent 20-day visit in the Philippines, where she explored parts of Manila, Cebu, Tagaytay, Bohol and Palawan, among others, as a Department of Tourism (DOT) ambassador, was “not enough because there is so much to explore and see! I feel like a kid again, I already feel so connected with the people here! How would I leave?”

Gambito juggles her “Happy Slip” work as writer, editor, star and producer of her videos, while also acting as mother, aunt, father and herself. She's also a musician, songwriter and singer. “I am my own production team!,” she exclaims. “I use my cousin Josh Verdes' music for some of my videos.”

During her Philippine trip, she visited the Loboc river in Bohol, rode a horse in Tagaytay, frolicked in the clear waters of Cebu. “I looked like a total dork,” she says, laughing. “It's my first time to see clear blue waters!”

Born and raised in the United States, Gambito feels it's very important for Filipino-Americans to come and experience what is in the Philippines because “there is so much to discover and appreciate. I didn't know much about Filipino culture, so this trip is a wonderful way to feel that—the kindness and generosity, the unique Filipino attitude.”

As for those who'd like to follow in her footsteps, she gives this advice: “Never stop dreaming and see your potentials because there's something unique in each and everyone. You are robbing yourself and the rest of the world if you don't show it!”

Visit Christine at www.happyslip.com