Instagram Influencer Spotlight On: Carl Zeno Manalo @carlzeno

1) Tell us a little about yourself. What are you doing now and where do you come from?

I really think our passions tell more about ourselves than our jobs, 90% of the time a job title is associated with an introduction.
I think it is practical but do our jobs really define us? I work in marketing and design for a truck company in Singapore for almost five years now, my background was in advertising and Fine Arts though. I worked for a game company before too as an illustrator and UI designer in the Philippines. Now I simply drift between my day job and my passion for photography and style which have led me to my travels.

2) What are your topics of interest? What do you post on Instagram the most?

It took time for me to discover what I was really passionate about, I thought it was art, because I was good at it. But life happens and reveals itself to you eventually. What excites me now are experiences and places, the world is too big to simply go through life without seeing most of it. I also like food, hiking, diving, fitness and I have mastered Self-Photography too as you will notice in the photos I post. People always ask me who takes my photos when I travel alone, that I explained in my blog.

3) How did your Instagram name come about?

I like simplicity and I do not want to be contained by descriptive words, so I simply use my two first names. Carl – because my mom is Carol, and Zeno – which was difficult to grow up with as kids always call me ZERO, but Zeno is actually of Greek origin from the god Zeus and was also the name of a Roman emperor, I love history so I like my name a lot now.

4) What are some apps you use to edit your photos? Share with us your photo-editing routine!

Photoshop Fix is a superb editing tool for cleaning up photos, and Instagram for me is the best colour editing tool, even better than Lightroom I think.

5) Any Instagrammers whom you really like? Which Instagrammer inspires you the most?

I follow a lot of travel and lifestyle blogs but If you ask me who has it all in one package? @iamgalla has such aesthetic quality with his photos, he’s quite a big influence to my travel and photography style.

6) If there’s one thing your fellow Instagrammers just gotta try now, what’s it gonna be?

I believe in this a lot so I’ll share it, we all have style and it is what sets us apart as individuals, style in the way we dress ourselves, style in the way we take photos and style in the way we manage our thoughts. But this is not something that we are born with, it is something we discover, we learn and adapt into ourselves as we go through life. So don’t go through life without ever finding what your style is, own it because you are who you want to be.

7) What’s your favorite part about being an influencer?

I have been learning a lot from other people. So sharing what I learn now is my way of returning the favour, I love to inspire people as I have once been inspired by others.

8) What are some of your top tips to brands for running campaigns? How do you maintain authenticity?

A brand nowadays needs to be more than just a fancy label, a brand has to be someone relatable and dependable. A true brand will always have something it stands for to help and enrich the lives of its consumers. A brand needs to believe and commit to something and be consistent about it.

9) What would your advice be on the importance of quality and original content?

I always pursue quality even in my own lifestyle because good quality is like a good personality, it is what people will say when they talk about you. If you don’t put in much effort in quality and originality then people will notice that.

10) What do you like best about partnering with brands?

I like the feeling of being inspired by what the brand stands for, it’s an exciting experience to be able to learn and share something about a brand and tell people about it. It’s like meeting a new friend and introducing that friend to your peers, its fun!

Topics:

• Design
• Health & Fitness
• Photography
• Travel

Country:

Singapore