Asia’s industry trailblazers include Arshie Larga, Abi Marquez, Ez Mil, and more artists, creators, and entrepreneurs in Forbes 30 Under 30 Class Of 2024 Asia.
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We riff a lot on “Pinoy pride,” but it’s always amazing to see Filipinos get acknowledged for how much they’ve made an impact on people on a wider scale. This year, 7 Filipinos join the ever-increasing group of influential Asians that make it to the annual list of Forbes 30 Under 30 – Asia.
Forbes 30 Under 30 boasts a list of 300 young people across a variety of industry categories, chosen by meticulously researching the submitted individuals and evaluating them on “a variety of factors,” such as scale, social impact, inventiveness, potential, and more. This year, Filipino content creators Arshie Larga and Abi Marquez join the likes of IVE and Vachirawit Bright Chivaaree, among other industry personalities and leaders in the Class of 2024 30 Under 30 – Asia.
From content creation to entrepreneurship, these young individuals have made marked impact with their craft and their ventures, changing lives and industry landscapes, and contributing to the larger discourse of things. Check them out below.
ARSHIE LARGA – Media, Marketing, & Advertising
As “that pharmacist on TikTok,” content creator, licensed pharmacist, and TikTok Philippines’ Creator of The Year 2023, Ramon Christian “Arshie” Larga informs the public about different aspects and functions of medicine in a grounded, understandable, and entertaining way. He also provides free medicine to those in need and raises funds to pay the medicine bills of people struggling to afford them. With over four million TikTok followers, Arshie is a perfect example of using your skills and platform for good.
ABI MARQUEZ – Media, Marketing, & Advertising
Lumpia Queen, chef, content creator, the first Filipino from the Philippines to win a Webby award, and James Beard Award nominee Abigail “Abi” Marquez brings high quality food content to screens nationwide and beyond. Her TikTok is chock-full of recipes, how-tos and tips and tricks, food reviews, and more. She highlights Filipino food and culinary talent while being educational and entertaining. Abi’s skill, passion, and love for Filipino food and culinary culture shines through in her content, making it hard to tear your eyes away despite getting hungrier and hungrier with every scroll.
CHIA AMISOLA – Media, Marketing, & Advertising
Chia Amisola is a young Yale University graduate, multimedia and internet artist, designer, founder, and activist that has been honored as one of Forbes 30 Under 30 finalists due to the movements she incites with her art and initiatives. Chia founded Developh, a community that seeks to reclaim technology as a tool for liberation rather than oppression. Developh oversees the Philippine Internet Archive, which aims to preserve digital work, movements, culture, and art, to combat rising revisionism, disinformation, and repression.
Based in San Francisco, Chia brings together coding, computing, politics, art, and advocacy together to construct spaces and systems that seek to resist oppression and injustice. Their work also includes Ang Bantayog, an internet experience, archive, and platform that commemorates and preserves martial law experiences and atrocities so we may never forget.
AMANDA CUA – Media, Marketing, & Advertising
The founder of Backscoop, a free daily newsletter delivering the hottest, most relevant information about tech and startups in Southeast Asia, didn’t go to college. Instead, at 19, Amanda Cua put her all into harnessing the power of media and the rising popularity of startups and entrepreneurship to connect people and businesses, and she doesn’t regret her decision. Now 22 and a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, Amanda has helped turn Backscoop into the go-to source for its tens of thousands of subscribers on SEA startup news and content, and this is only the beginning for the young founder.
JOSHUA SERAFIN – The Arts
Joshua Serafin is a Brussels-based multidisciplinary contemporary artist that combines dance, performance, theatre, visual arts, and choreography in their work—which explores identity, transmigration, queerness, and Otherness, as well as Filipino culture and history. Joshua was recently invited to perform at the 60th International Art Exhibition of La Benniale di Venezia, a prestigious international cultural exhibition that highlights movements in contemporary art.
EZEKIEL MILLER (EZ MIL) – Entertainment & Sports
Filipino-American rapper Ez Mil, or Ezekiel Miller, is a rap talent that went viral with his Cariñosa music-infused track Panalo (wherein controversy arose due to his inaccurate portrayal of Philippine history and evocation of problematic toxic positivity). He earns this honor, according to Forbes, due to his talents catching the attention of “legends Dr. Dre and Eminem,” whom he now works with.
MIKAELA HELENE REYES – Finance & Venture Capital
Born and raised in Manila, Mikaela Reyes is co-founder and CEO of payment startup Parallax, which makes payments move faster across the globe with cryptocurrency and blockchain. Created out of Mika and her fellow freelancer friends’ struggles with getting paid for their work from abroad, such as extra fees and speed, Parallax has now grown to raise millions to help freelancers get paid properly and with expediency.
Continue Reading: These Young Pinoys Made It On The Forbes 30 Under 30 2022 List
