It’s usually a good indication that the show is about to get good when you see Luis Manzano either on stage or in front of a camera.
You’d usually see him hosting a game show on TV or entertaining a crowd as an event host, guaranteed to leave people smiling as he gives his all to make everyone laugh.
But there’s a side to the veteran host that rarely gets the spotlight, a quieter one that comes out away from the cameras and in the company of the people closest to him, where he gets to step away from his high-energy persona and simply recharge with his loved ones.
“I’m very quiet. In fact, when I come home, I do have my quiet moments that Jessy [Mendiola] understands,” Manzano told ArenaPlus, #1 PAGCOR-licensed online sportsbook in the Philippines. “Especially if it’s a long day of hosting kasi when you host, when you try to be funny, when you try to be makulit, it’s always energy out.”
“It does literally drain you. So when I get home, I have my very, very quiet moments. And when it comes to the family, I think it’s a very perfect mix of being makulit and also, at the same time, being very serious,” he said.
Manzano became part of the ArenaPlus family in March this year, bringing with him the same humor and easygoing personality that have made him a familiar presence on television. The partnership also gives him another space to enjoy two things he has always loved: sports and gaming.
He doesn’t have to force the funny. His playfulness simply comes naturally, and making people feel lighter adds something meaningful to his own life. It has become part of the energy he brings to his work, but after spending hours entertaining an audience, he also needs time to recharge before doing it all over again.
“I think everyone has a purpose to make life easier for someone else. Whether it be doing acts of charity or magpapasaya ka lang to make someone smile, to make someone laugh. I think we always have that obligation. Nagkataon kasi na makulit ako. I’m not saying I’m funny but makulit ako. So if it helps people smile, then that’s what I intend to do,” he said.
No grand formula
That same playfulness spills onto Manzano’s social media, where memes, funny videos, viral trends, and the occasional seemingly serious post that turns out to be a joke give his followers another glimpse of his personality. There is no grand formula behind it — he simply shares what makes him laugh and brings everyone else along for the joke.
“Maraming mga memes or videos that I post of myself, may skits na akala ko mag-hit, pero hindi pala… sometimes yung akala ko na ipo-post ko lang dahil wala lang, pero yun pa yung pinakamaraming hit na after less than 24 hours, millions of views,” Manzano said. “But I think kaniya-kaniya tayo yung sense of humor.”
And while humor changes with the times, Manzano believes one thing never gets old: being able to laugh at yourself.
He points to Conan O’Brien, his original talk show idol, as an influence on his love for self-deprecating humor. Rather than taking shots at other people, Manzano prefers to make himself the joke.
“You have to have a certain level of security if kaya mong asar-asarin ang sarili mo… If there’s one person you’re allowed to make fun of and you’re guaranteed na hindi mapipikon, it’s yourself,” he said. “So that’s my favorite type of humor.”
It’s the same sense of fun that Manzano brings to ArenaPlus, where his love for sports and gaming comes with the shared experience of watching, playing, and laughing with friends.
“It’s the moments… it’s the laughter that you enjoy when you’re watching with friends. Mag-aasaran kayo if their favorite team is losing… I think when it comes to sports and gaming and ArenaPlus, that’s the factor that makes it stand out, is the laughter, the smiles na every single time you work with them,” he said.
“Whatever life throws at you, yes you will have the curveballs, you will go through the lowest of lows and the highest of highs but you know, after going through all that, sometimes you can just take a break, even for five seconds, and smile about something in life,” Manzano said.
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