It’s our last episode of Season 3, and there’s only one word to describe it: Goosebumps. In this very special episode, we headed to Burgos for a beachside chat with Michelle Villarosa, founder of Kolekbibo, a vegetarian restaurant but also a social enterprise and registered NGO dedicated towards supporting the wellness needs of local communities north of Siargao. As a fellow Filipino-Canadian, we connected in so many ways in this conversation, as we both were raised in North America and decided to come back to the Philippines in our adult years to rediscover our own identities, reconnect with our culture and explore our own ancestral roots. We talk about what it’s like straddling between those two cultures and that “in-between” space we’ve been navigating throughout our whole lives — and still navigating through to this day. Michelle is also an energy healer. She shares a bit about her work, what she does, what she sees and feels — she’s truly so gifted.. We also talk about the magic and mysticism of Siargao and why it’s connected with so many people in the deepest way possible. Lastly, we talk about the power of community and how we as humans and as people living and thriving in Siargao have the responsibility to create the paradise we want through service, giving back and creating spaces for joy to be present. --- Follow Michelle on Instagram: @chellearosa Follow Kolekbibo on Instagram: @kolekbibo Tell us what you think! Comment on the Q&A below or DM us on Instagram: @siargaolovestories Support the podcast by hitting 'Follow' on our Spotify show page and giving us a star rating. New Siargao Love Stories merch available now! DM us on Instagram here to order.

Coming fresh off of the big fight night event at Harana the weekend prior, we chat with Kian Fantonial, main coach and trainer at the longest standing gym here in Siargao, SOS Gym. Fun fact about Kian for those of you who know him: he was actually training to become a policeman before he became a trainer at SOS. In this episode, we first talk about the fight night event at Harana that he organized along with his team — the logistics of it, how it all came together and how it brought the whole island community together. Then we get a glimpse into Kian’s life — his police training and his decision to leave the profession, his martial arts training as a kid and his motivation behind it, and the focus, discipline and camaraderie it taught him as an adult. We also hear about the experiences he had holding down the fort at SOS through some of the hardest times of the island — through the pandemic and then through the typhoon. It’s really such a huge testament to the resilience and strength of the island and the community of Siargao. --- Follow Kian on Instagram: @the.flow_mt Follow SOS Gym on Instagram: @sos.island   Tell us what you think! Comment on the Q&A below or DM us on Instagram: @siargaolovestories Support the podcast by hitting 'Follow' on our Spotify show page and giving us a star rating. New Siargao Love Stories merch available now! DM us on Instagram here to order.

Dating in Siargao. Where to even begin? As if dating in the modern age isn’t already tough enough as it is, Siargao makes it even trickier.  As a tourist town, people are always in and out of the island, visiting from all over the world and always on vacation mode. On top of that, it’s a surfer town, so of course you have all the cute surfers and equally cute girls ready to meet new people and experience new things. They all have that casual, “let’s just have fun” mentality, leaving a sea of broken hearts and disappointment, especially when there’s high hopes and expectations involved. In this episode, we chat with Sofia De Leon — a talented singer and performer here in Siargao, among other things including project manager of local NGO Project Paradise Community. We get right into it and talk about the dating scene on the island. Sofia describes dating in Siargao as the “dating Olympics” — but after 4 years of being single, and most recently after coming back from an eye-opening solo trip to Thailand, Sofia has a new mindset, a new formula for dating in Siargao, which she’d like to share. It’s the exact mindset that’s needed to date in a transient island like Siargao, while keeping your integrity — maybe even your sanity.  --- Follow Sofia De Leon on Instagram: @___spooky.moon Tell us what you think! Comment on the Q&A below or DM us on Instagram: @siargaolovestories Support the podcast by hitting 'Follow' on our Spotify show page and giving us a star rating. New Siargao Love Stories merch available now! DM us on Instagram here to order.

If you haven’t heard of these guys from Manila-based rock band, La Crema, you’re in for a treat. They’ve been coming back and forth to Siargao for the past 5 years to play their brand of psychedelic tropical surf rock for the hungry island crowd. We sat down with lead singer and guitarist Lucas Floyd, bassist Enrique “EK” Santamaria and drummer Alex Price during the week of their big Siargao tour to chat about the origins of La Crema, their music process on stage and in the studio, the power of creating art and music and, of course, the magic of Siargao. I love when bands and artists like these come to Siargao to spread their love and passion for music, their energy and their authentic weirdness to the island. Hope you get inspired from this chat to just be brave, be true to yourself and create whatever fuels your soul. --- Follow La Crema on Instagram: @lacremamnl Tell us what you think! Follow and DM us on Instagram: @siargaolovestories Support the podcast by hitting 'Follow' on our Spotify and giving us a star rating. New Siargao Love Stories merch available now! DM us on Instagram here to order.

There’s no better way to kick off this spring season of surf than having Mikhail ‘King’ Villanueva on the podcast. Those of you who’ve seen him around may recognize his big, beautiful smile on the waves, especially at his favourite spot, Pesangan. There’s grace to his style. A calmness. Humbleness. Just pure ease when he takes off, and then when he’s on the wave, gliding up and down the line, there’s nothing but pure joy beaming from him. In this episode, we talk about all things surf — how King started surfing in the first place, his very first wave in Siargao close to 8 years ago, his favourite surfboards to ride, the types of waves he loves and the other local surfers in Siargao he admires. But we also get into King’s surf mentality and his philosophy when it comes to surfing, the gratitude he feels every time he’s in the water and how it’s just all about sharing the stoke. --- Follow King on Instagram: @kingyoh Tell us what you think! Follow and DM us on Instagram: @siargaolovestories Support the podcast by hitting 'Follow' on our Spotify and giving us a star rating. New Siargao Love Stories merch available now! DM us on Instagram here to order.

We can’t go through another season of Siargao Love Stories without talking about breakups. After all, Siargao is the place you run to after you get your heart broken. In this episode, we chat with Mariz Rovira, manager of the newest and busiest bar in Siargao right now, Barbosa. In this conversation, Mariz shares one of those breakup stories that lingers with you. The type of breakup you’ll need to listen to Adele’s "Someone Like You" on repeat in bed, sobbing with a bottle of wine. The kind of stuff you hear from R&B love songs and Filipino movies. No spoilers — just follow the story and see for yourself. Although this episode is about grief and healing from heartbreak — one of the heaviest topics we’ve had on this podcast — it was actually one of the funniest and most fun episodes, just because Mariz’s personality is unlike any other. There were times I had to contain myself from laughing at her jokes, the facial expressions she would make and her mannerisms. Other times, I just wanted to cry, talking about the pain of grief, the internal struggles of love, the tough decisions, the what-ifs and the heartache. But I guess it’s true what they say — that joy and sorrow really do go hand in hand. --- Follow Mariz Rovira on Instagram: @bbgrlmarmar  Follow Barbosa on Instagram: @barbosa_siargao  Tell us what you think! Follow and DM us on Instagram: @siargaolovestories Support the podcast by hitting 'Follow' on our Spotify and giving us a star rating. New Siargao Love Stories merch available now! DM us on Instagram here to order.

Those who visit or live in Siargao all know Andi Eigenmann, the actress turned island girl and now co-owner, along with her local pro-surfer husband Philmar Alipayo, of the Happy Islanders Surf Club right by Cloud 9. Like many people, we knew her name and her story from the media — before we actually really knew who she was as a person. Born into the spotlight, Andi came from a family of famous Filipino actors and actresses — so it was only natural that she became one herself. From the time she was 15, she already gained celebrity status appearing in a number of television shows and films. Everything she did became a news headline — to this day, even a family beach day would make it to the national news network.  In this episode, we go deep, asking the tough questions and getting to the heart of Andi as Andi — not the version we perceive or read from the papers or online. We get to know who she truly is, how she’s evolved, what she thinks and dreams about, and even the qualities she likes about herself. As Andi reflects on her acting days in the past, you could almost see that younger version of Andi navigating through life, finding her own identity, trying to understand what was missing or what she wanted at the time. At the root of it, each and every one of us, no matter what our status is, how we grew up or even how much money we make — we’re all just trying to figure it out and find what gives us purpose and contentment. --- Follow Andi Eigenmann on Instagram: @andieigengirl  Follow Happy Islanders Surf Club on Instagram: @happyislanders.surfclub Tell us what you think! Follow and DM us on Instagram: @siargaolovestories Support the podcast by hitting 'Follow' on our Spotify and giving us a star rating. New Siargao Love Stories merch available now! DM us on Instagram here to order.

We are halfway through the season, and I wanted to take a step back and share some of the insights and learnings from the past few weeks since we launched Season 3. After 8 conversations, 8 episodes, from a range of different people here on the island about a range of topics, here are 7 things I’ve learned or been thinking about this season so far. You can call it realizations, revelations, learnings, insights. For me personally, I think it’s always good to reflect on the themes and thoughts from our past guests and conversations. Let us know if any of these points resonate with you by commenting on our Spotify Q&A below or DMing us on Instagram at @siargaolovestories — we'd love to hear from you!

In this episode, we talk about something that many women have experienced and perhaps are still experiencing — we’re talking about toxic relationships with a narcissist.  Megara “Megs” McIntyre is the owner of plant-powered cafe and cacao bar, Soul Shack, and co-founder of Untamed, the ecstatic dance experience here in Siargao. We get right into the topic, as Megs describes being in a relationship with a textbook narcissistic person as being in a spell. She takes us deep into the relationship from the beginning, from the lovebombing to the devaluing and gaslighting, to the constant cycle of leaving him and coming back, and finally to self-realization and healing, eventually breaking from this toxic pattern. We also break down some of these terms and dive into some research and insights from Dr. Ramani Durvasula, clinical psychologist and renowned expert on narcissism. So many lessons to learn from this — it’s really such an inspiring story of a woman losing herself and then finding herself again through the power of self-love and women’s intuition. --- Follow Megs on Instagram: @megara.medicina  Follow Soul Shack on Instagram: @soulshack.siargao Tell us what you think! Follow and DM us on Instagram: @siargaolovestories Support the podcast by hitting 'Follow' on our Spotify and giving us a star rating. Be in the know! Join the Siargao Love Stories Newsletter here.

You may know Tim Paddon as the owner of the longest standing surf shop in Siargao, Fat Lips. You may have heard him commentate at one of the surf competitions or just seen him around. But if you don’t know him, you’ll recognize his voice — he is definitely a big personality on this island. We go in deep in this episode, as we talk about men in relationships, learning to love properly, the willingness to change and the willingness to learn about yourself to evolve into the person you want to be. A bulk of the conversation, we go through the book 8 Rules of Love: How to Find It, Keep It, and Let It Go by Jay Shetty, and we talk about the rules that resonated with each of us and how we can apply it to our relationships and daily lives in general.  Tim has such a newfound awareness and a new glow to him, physically and mentally, after making these personal changes in his life. But the essence of him — his hilarity, his unfiltered answers, his honesty, his big personality — it’s all still there. It’s a must-listen for men especially who want to make some sort of change, but just don’t know where to start. --- Follow Tim on Instagram: @timinsiargao Follow Fat Lips on Instagram: @fatlips_surfshop  Tell us what you think! Follow and DM us on Instagram: @siargaolovestories Support the podcast by hitting 'Follow' on our Spotify and giving us a star rating. Be in the know! Join the Siargao Love Stories Newsletter here.