Bretman Rock Sacayanan Laforga (born July 31, 1998) is a Filipino-American beauty

influencer A social media influencer, or simply influencer (also known as an online influencer), is a person who builds a grassroots online presence through engaging content such as photos, videos, and updates. This is done by using direct audience intera ...

and social media personality based in

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

. He rose to fame as a creator on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

and

Vine A vine is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas, or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themselves, for instance, when used in wicker work.Jackson; Benjamin; Da ...

after one of his

contouring Contouring is a makeup technique that uses cosmetics to define, enhance and sculpt the structure of the face or other body parts, such as breasts. Contouring is usually produced by placing a warm or cool toned color that is one or two shades d ...

videos went

viral The word ''Viral'' means "relating to viruses" (small infectious agents). It may also refer to: Viral behavior, or virality Memetic behavior likened that of a virus, for example: * Viral marketing, the use of existing social networks to spre ...

in 2015. Rock is known for making makeup tutorials and his humorous views on life. He has starred in his own

reality TV show Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

, ''MTV's Following: Bretman Rock'' (2021), has featured in several music videos, and in October 2021, was the first openly gay man to appear on the cover of ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...

''. Rock has received multiple awards and honors for his work on

social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...

including a People's Choice award for "Beauty Influencer" and an award for "Breakthrough Social Star" at the 2021 MTV Movie and TV Awards.

Early life

Bretman Rock Sacayanan Laforga was born on July 31, 1998, in

Sanchez-Mira Sanchez Mira, officially the Municipality of Sanchez Mira (; ; ), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Cagayan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 26,164 people. ...

Cagayan Cagayan ( ), officially the Province of Cagayan (; ; ; isnag language, Isnag: ''Provinsia nga Cagayan''; ivatan language, Ivatan: ''Provinsiya nu Cagayan''; ; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Cag ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

, in an Ilocano family. His mother is Mercedita Sacayanan. His father, Edmund Laforga, was a fan of professional wrestling and named him after

Bret Hart Bret Sergeant Hart (born July 2, 1957) is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. A member of the Hart wrestling family and a second-generation wrestler, he has an amateur wrestling background at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal U ...

and The Rock. Rock grew up

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. He said of his family, "they always knew I was gay" and "

ave is a Latin word, used by the Roman Empire, Romans as a salutation (greeting), salutation and greeting, meaning 'wikt:hail, hail'. It is the singular imperative mood, imperative form of the verb , which meant 'Well-being, to be well'; thus on ...

always supported me." Rock's fascination with makeup began in the Philippines watching his grandmother put on makeup. Rock's parents divorced when he was a child, after his father's affair with the housekeeper. Rock moved to

at the age of seven. His family faced financial hardship and he failed a class because he could not afford school supplies. Rock played sports while growing up including baseball, soccer, cross-country, and volleyball. At Campbell High School, he was on the track team.

Career

Rock started as a comedian and

meme A meme (; ) is an idea, behavior, or style that Mimesis, spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying c ...

creator on

and

before shifting to

vlog A vlog (), also known as a video blog or video log, is a form of blog for which the medium is video. Vlog entries often combine embedded video (or a video link) with supporting text, images, and other metadata. Entries can be recorded in one ta ...

s and beauty tutorials. He is also known for his humorous views on life. In 2016, one of Rock's

videos went

. He was inspired by vlogger Talia Joy and makeup artist

Patrick Starrr Patrick Sidney Libo Simondac (born November 11, 1989), known as Patrick Starrr, is an American make-up artist and social media influencer. He launched a collection in collaboration with MAC Cosmetics in 2017, and a clothing collection in 2021. ...

. Also in 2016, he signed a management contract under

ABS-CBN ABS-CBN is a leading Philippine media and content company. It serves as the flagship media brand of ABS-CBN Corporation, a subsidiary of Lopez Holdings Corporation. Once the country's largest free-to-air television network, ABS-CBN has since ...

's Adober Studios, a creator network on social media owned by the Philippines' largest media conglomerate

ABS-CBN Corporation ABS-CBN Corporation is a Mass media in the Philippines, Filipino Media conglomerate, media company based in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines. It is the largest entertainment television and film production, Broadcast syndication, progra ...

. His younger sister, Princess Mae, and her daughter, Cleo, and their cousin, Keiffer ("Miss K"), frequently appear in Rock's videos, such as for ''

mukbang A mukbang ( , ; ; ; ) is an online audiovisual broadcast in which a host consumes various quantities of food (generally from easily accessible and popular fast-food restaurant chains) while interacting with the audience or reviewing it. The ge ...

''. His friend, Larry, and his former editor, Agatha Danglapin, also made several brief appearances in his videos. Though he rarely features other influencers on his channel, Rock has collaborated with

James Charles James Charles Dickinson (born May 23, 1999) is an American beauty YouTuber and makeup artist. While working as a local makeup artist in his hometown of Bethlehem, New York, Charles started a YouTube channel, where he began uploading makeup tu ...

Bella Poarch Denarie Bautista Taylor (born Belinda Marie Macadengdeng Batumbakal; February 9, 1997), known professionally as Bella Poarch ( ), is an American social media influencer and singer. On August 17, 2020, she created the most liked video on TikTok ...

Nikita Dragun Nikita Nguyen (born January 31, 1996), known professionally as Nikita Dragun, is an American internet personality, YouTuber, make-up artist, and model. Early life and education Nguyen was born on January 31, 1996 in Belgium and raised in Sprin ...

, and

Chelsea Handler Chelsea Joy Handler (born February 25, 1975) is an American stand-up comedian, actress, writer, television host, and producer. She hosted the late-night talk show '' Chelsea Lately'' on the E! network from 2007 to 2014 and released a documenta ...

. In 2017, ''Time'' magazine recognized him among the 30 Most Influential Teens. He was also included in ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' "30 Under 30 Asia – Media, Marketing, & Advertising" list in 2018. In June 2019, Rock was featured on the

Pride Month Pride Month, sometimes specified as LGBTQ Pride Month, is a List of month-long observances, month-long observance dedicated to the celebration of LGBTQ pride, commemorating the contributions of lesbian, gay, Bisexuality, bisexual, transgender a ...

cover of ''

Gay Times ''Gay Times'' (stylized in all caps), also known as ''GAY TIMES Magazine'' and as ''GT'', is a UK-based LGBTQ+ magazine established in 1984. Originally a magazine for gay and bisexual men, the company began including content for the LGBTQ+ comm ...

''. In September 2019, Rock attended his first

New York Fashion Week New York Fashion Week (NYFW), held in February and September of each year, is a semi-annual series of events in Manhattan typically spanning seven to nine days when international Fashion design, fashion collections are shown to buyers, the pres ...

where he collaborated with stylist Andrew Gelwicks. Rock played the role of "The Playboy" in the ten-episode fourth season of the

YouTube Premium YouTube Premium (formerly Music Key and YouTube Red) is a subscription service offered by the American video platform YouTube. The service provides ad-free access to content across the service, as well as access to premium YouTube Originals ...

web series ''

Escape the Night ''Escape the Night'' is an American reality television web series that documents vlogger Joey Graceffa inviting his friends for dinner, who are then trapped in dark fantasy plots based on horror and murder mystery aesthetics. Graceffa serves ...

'', released in July 2019. In December 2019,

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

announced that Rock would be the star of the next season of the YouTube show, ''No Filter''. In Early 2020, Rock launched his makeup collection in collaboration with wet n wild cosmetics. He had a February 2020 press tour in Los Angeles with brands like Buzzfeed, Condé Nast, Hearst, and more, to promote the line. On May 9, 2020, Rock appeared as a guest star on the third episode of

' YouTube Originals series, "Instant Influencer". In November 2020, Rock launched his eyewear collection, specifically sunglasses, in collaboration with Dime Optics, a Los Angeles-based brand. He released six frames, four of which were launched at Dime Optics, while two were launched exclusively at Revolve. On May 14, 2021, Rock had a cameo in Bella Poarch's music video for her debut single, "

Build a Bitch "Build a Bitch" is the debut single by American internet celebrity Bella Poarch from her debut extended play, ''Dolls'' (2022). She wrote the song with Salem Ilese and its producers David Arkwright, Justin Gammella, Elie Rizk, and Sub Urban, wi ...

", alongside other internet personalities. In June 2021, Rock was nominated for an MTV Movie and TV Award for the Breakthrough Social Star category. He was announced as the winner on the day of the ceremony. In August 2021, Rock made a cameo appearance in the music video for

Sub Urban A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

and Bella Poarch's song, "

INFERNO Inferno may refer to: * Hell, an afterlife place of suffering * Conflagration, a large uncontrolled fire Film * ''L'Inferno'', a 1911 Italian film * ''Inferno'' (1953 film), a film noir by Roy Ward Baker * ''Inferno'' (1980 film), an Italian ...

". He also participated in a stream promoting the video. In October 2021, Rock became the first openly gay man to feature on the cover of ''

'' magazine. He collaborated with Wanderlust Creamery in 2023 to create an ice cream flavor, "Da Fruity Salad", in celebration of

Filipino American History Month Filipino American History Month (FAHM) is celebrated in the United States during the month of October. In 1991, Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS) board of trustees proposed the first annual Filipino American History Month to ...

. In a 2023 interview with ''

Them Them or THEM, a third-person singular or plural accusative personal pronoun, may refer to: Books * ''Them'' (novel), 3rd volume (1969) in American Joyce Carol Oates' ''Wonderland Quartet'' * '' Them: Adventures with Extremists'', 2003 non-fict ...

'' magazine, Rock said he left the beauty community in 2021 because "white people ruined" it, as it became a "money industry" with widespread drama and apologies among its members.

''MTV Following: Bretman Rock''

On January 28, 2021,

announced that Bretman Rock would be starring on his own

titled ''MTV Following: Bretman Rock''. On February 9, 2021, the first episode of his show premiered on MTV's official

channel. Episodes of the show were released every Monday with six episodes in total. The show was filmed in

, where Rock is also based, and includes "a glimpse into isfamily life". The cast of the show is made up of Rock and his family alongside his close friends.

''30 Days With: Bretman Rock''

On June 15, 2021,

YouTube Originals YouTube Premium (formerly Music Key and YouTube Red) is a subscription service that provides advertising-free streaming of all videos hosted by YouTube, offline play and background playback of videos on mobile devices, access to advertising-fr ...

announced that Rock would be the next subject of their ''30 Days With''

documentary series Television documentaries are televised media productions that screen documentaries. Television documentaries exist either as a television documentary series or as a television documentary film. * Television documentary series, sometimes called d ...

franchise, as he tries to survive a week in the

Hawaiian jungle Hawaiian may refer to: * Native Hawaiians, the current term for the indigenous people of the Hawaiian Islands or their descendants * Hawaii state residents, regardless of ancestry (only used outside of Hawaii) * Hawaiian language, a Polynesian lan ...

while on his own. Four episodes were released on Wednesday nights on YouTube, from June 30 to July 21, 2021.

Personal life

Rock is Catholic. He is gay and non-binary (using he/she/they pronouns). In a September 2019 interview with ''Elle'', Rock shared that he was in his first relationship. In 2024, Rock revealed he was in a new relationship with a boyfriend, whom he met in a club. He has numerous pets: five dogs, four cats, two guinea pigs, three turtles, forty-five chickens, and one rooster. His dogs include four pit bulls named Kala, Ajax, Tora, and Ele, as well as a

French bulldog The French Bulldog () is a French breed of companion dog or toy dog. It appeared in Paris in the mid-nineteenth century, apparently the result of cross-breeding of Toy Bulldogs imported from England and local Parisian ratters.coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to Nociception, respond normally to Pain, painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal Circadian rhythm, sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate ...

. His mother, Mercedita, and niece, Cleo, appear in his videos occasionally. Rock is Ilocano. In April 2020, Rock requested on social media that fans not visit his home uninvited, especially during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, after two people knocked on his door and left a note on his car. In February 2023,

Harper Harper may refer to: Names * Harper (name), a surname and given name and place names, for example: Harper Islands, Nunavut. Places ;in Canada * Harper Islands, Nunavut * Harper, Prince Edward Island ;In the United States *Harper, former name ...

published Rock's memoir titled ''You're That Bitch''.

Filmography

Awards and honors

Rock was a finalist for the Shorty Award for Breakout YouTuber in 2017. ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' recognized him as one of the "30 Most Influential Teens" in 2017, and he was included in the ''

'' "30 Under 30 Asia – Media, Marketing, & Advertising" list in 2018. In 2019, Rock won the Beauty Influencer award at the

45th People's Choice Awards The 45th ceremony of the People's Choice Awards was held on November 10, 2019, to honor the best in popular culture for 2019. Performers * Alessia Cara - " Rooting for You" * Kelsea Ballerini Kelsea Nicole Ballerini (born September 12, 1993) ...

. In 2020, he was a finalist in comedy video at the Shorty Awards. In 2020, Rock was included on ''Varietys 2020 Power of Young Hollywood list.

Notes

References

External links

* *
Bretman Rock
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rock, Bretman American Catholics American gay entertainers American male bloggers American bloggers American non-binary entertainers American people of Ilocano descent Beauty and makeup YouTubers American comedy YouTubers Filipino emigrants to the United States Filipino YouTubers Hawaii people of Filipino descent American LGBTQ people of Asian descent LGBTQ people from Hawaii LGBTQ Roman Catholics Filipino LGBTQ entertainers Filipino gay men LGBTQ YouTubers LGBTQ bloggers Living people People from Oahu American YouTube vloggers 1998 births YouTubers from Hawaii Non-binary gay people