Discovering life’s ‘switches’ and how to flip them: The Jedro Magtoto Story

Jedro Magtoto (Supplied)

Each of us has our own default state in driving this force called life. Some prefer the hustle and bustle, not finding any second of the quiet, comfortable. Others seek solitude, away from the busyness and the routine flow to focus on themselves. Others react to whatever life throws at them. Others are two steps ahead of what life has in store for them.

Meanwhile, here is Jedro Magtoto, a Filipino-Canadian who has gone through different things in his life, changes included; and if there is one significant thing that his story has shown, it is that finding the right ‘switches’ in his mind and flipping them, affected many outcomes.

But what are these ‘switches’ exactly?

But most importantly… Who is Jedro?

“My name is Jedro Magtoto, I’m a Filipino-Canadian. I was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada but raised in Vancouver, B.C., Canada. As of now, I’m a single parent. I’m a cancer survivor and right now, I’m living the life that I choose as an entrepreneur.”

This is how Jedro would typically introduce himself to a stranger. And of course, there is so much more than what these mere 46 words can convey.

How it started

One of the most Filipino things you might encounter at least once in your lifetime is a matchmaking tita (or really, anyone), who comments that they know someone single after finding out that you are one too. Jedro, who was born in Edmonton, Alberta and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, is one of those Filipinos who came to life after love bloomed from this thing called “reto.”

Jedro’s family (Supplied)

His mom was born in a family of eight siblings in Bohol and is someone who wanted to be a nurse. Given this career goal tied with the thought of having better opportunities, back then, the work offers she sought were available either in Corpus Christi, Texas or Newfoundland, Canada. Canada accepted her first and welcomed her into its walls.

Through this chosen path, she was able to help her family back in the Philippines, build and upgrade a property on her mom’s land and make it more valuable. She was able to support her siblings’ education as well.

Now, with a lot of Filipinos around the world taking roles as overseas workers or immigrants, communities are bound to form intentionally or not. Jedro’s mom found herself in one. But what she did not know at that time was that she would find love too.

“So the Philippine-New Foundlanders have this building and it’s just full of Filipinos. And there’s this one, I guess ‘tita’, and that was my dad’s aunt. My dad’s aunt goes ‘I have a nephew in the Philippines and single’ to my Mom. That’s how they met.”

Enter, Jedro’s dad.

“My Dad grew up in Mandaluyong, a city boy, with ties to Laguna because that’s where my Grandma was from before she moved to city life.”

It is inevitable for life to bring changes and his dad is one of those who jumped on the opportunity to start something new.

“So, him coming to Canada, it was a really good start for him.”

Not to mention, the other opportunity came in the form of a marriage with Jedro’s mother.

With all these things set for a family life, Jedro was born, then came along a younger sister.

“When I was younger, obviously, your friends are your everything. When I grew up and matured, I realized that my family’s everything. They’re the ones who are there for me. I really love them. I appreciate every moment I see them in.”

He described his relationship with them to be of a very close kind; one that is forged not only through sticking together in times of hardships but also for the fun times.

“The best thing is laughter. We make fun of each other and laugh. It’s kinda a weird thing that our family has. Insults are common here.”

Jedro also said that the Filipino culture is very much embedded into their lives, even if he wasn’t born in the Philippines.

In fact, his mom is even one of the originating founders of the community, Santo Niño Association of B.C.

“I didn’t have a lot of blood relatives here in Vancouver, but my mom, being a Bisaya, the Santo Niño spirit was always in here.”

Not only did this make Jedro have closer ties to the culture, but it also created relationships as he has “godsiblings” from the same organization, which he said are also like his family.

Every year, he said that they celebrate their own Sinulog festival, where all kinds of Filipino events are not absent – such as singing and parades. Aside from this, knowing how Filipinos just love to celebrate, they also commemorate the Philippine Independence Day through their own event.

“I host multiple Local Filipino Canadian Community events like there’s a Filipino beauty pageant, a Filipino thing. The local beauty pageants here. Like a lot of charity events in the Filipino communities.”

Jedro also said that his dad is a member of the Cavinti Club of B.C. and while he is not as heavily involved, he still knows that community. As a Filipino, he is in touch with several more who often invite him to their respective community events.

Aside from the Filipino spirit embracing him through these groups, Jedro has also been in the Philippines, especially in his younger years in the 80s.

“I’ve been blessed to. Since I was young. I’ve loved the fact how I watched the Philippines evolve.”

Jedro reminisced on how he was able to see how the Philippines was when hip-hop music touched the country and how the development of cars just happened right before his eyes. He loved how the country evolved from what he saw as a kid to what he sees now as an adult.

His travels to the Philippines were usually for six weeks at a time, mostly consisting of vacations or occasions that have the family gathered from all over, such as weddings, birthdays, and baptisms. Aside from Bohol, his feet have set on the likes of Boracay, Cebu, Dumaguete, Tagaytay, and of course, Manila.

“To me, it’s another home. I’m very comfortable going back there.”

Like many others, the pandemic left a noticeable dent on his travel plans but Jedro is sure to be in the Philippines once more when things get calmer and safer.

The first switch

They say that the world offers countless possibilities, and Jedro seemed to know this pretty well, considering the different fields and industries he had chosen to enter and all the people he had to encounter. From being into performing, hosting, trying out customer service, entering the hospitality industry, then sales, and really pursuing writing; it sure is an understatement to say that Jedro has done a lot of things. Especially now when he has no plans of stopping.

Like many others, Jedro started somewhere. And by saying ‘start,’ it was not just about his origins from birth, but also the person he was before becoming who he is today.

“During high school-college, I was very insecure. I was an introvert, so I hated talking with people.” This was how he described his past self – someone who did not seem to fit into a lot of the things that he ventured into years later.

But this starting point was exactly the major factor that pushed him to grow.

The first step was to learn to talk to people.

Several decisions were made. Jedro took a job opportunity when Best Buy electronics store opened in Vancouver, looking for Customer Service representatives, which he got. He also watched videos on YouTube to further practice and get some tips.

While these efforts placed him in the growth zone, Jedro really found the switch during a conversation with a couple of co-workers, fellow introverts working at the backend, when he was already in a different kind of job in the hospitality industry. They were tasked to help organize an “elaborate” Christmas party, which he remembered to be “crazy” with “screens everywhere.”

“A couple of my co-workers said, ‘Guys like us will never be invited into parties like this. And I kinda looked over him and I said in my mind, ‘Speak for yourself.’”

“When he said that, I dunno… something switched in me. My energy kinda switched. I used that as motivation to be ‘You know what, I gotta change my energy, even though it’s gonna be tiring,’ it’s just a little mindset switch that I can gain energy again. How other people are kinda talking for me, I said ‘No, I’m talking for myself. I’m in control.’”

For Jedro, he did have fun with these co-workers, but he also believes that growth means change and the conversations just become different.

“When I look back, yes, this is personal development, growth; learning how to talk to people. I actually learned a lot about myself too, knowing the fact that I am capable of being better than who I was before.”

True to his words, Jedro was able to continue growing and learning, opening different opportunities and more possibilities.

Jedro continued to spread his wings and fly high. Realizing how much he loves to be with people and to talk with people, the adventures definitely just took off from the starting line. But enriching and mastering this craft also entailed things he did not exactly sign up for.

What comes with growth

Growth is not all about exploring different things, but more importantly, it is also about discovering different parts of oneself; those that are hidden and those that were never there in the first place.

Filipinos are known for their love for music, and Jedro took this to another level beyond the karaoke microphone. One of the things that continued to impact him up to this day is hip-hop.

Jedro considered hip-hop as an outlet for the “smaller people.”

“There’s not so many Filipinos growing up here. I just couldn’t relate to a lot of things but when I came to hip-hop, I really resonated with it ‘cause it felt like I had an outlet, I had a voice, I had a community.”

Fusing this with mastering his craft of talking with people, Jedro eventually found himself in a group of performers as a rapper.

“We’d write rhymes together, make beats together. We were on stage; I was on stage a couple of times along with my crew. It’s an experience I’ll never forget. Even when I’m 60, I’d still be loving hip-hop, I’d still represent hip-hop.”

Hip-hop, being a big part of his life, transcended the concept of it being an interest and hobby because a part of him did want to further music as a career.

“I took a program to learn how to use audio recording equipment because I was making beats, writing rhymes… hopefully continuing making music. But of course, you have student loans and you know the pressure of society at the time. I had to do something with my life.”

With these new concerns along the way of attaining such a goal, Jedro still pushed on, then landed on a corporate audio-visual gig. Being an audio-visual technician was a kind of work where he set up audio-visual equipment for corporate events.

“I got to actually work for an anime convention, and it was their studio B. I was the head technician for that, and I got to mix like Japanese death metal. That was pretty interesting. I worked as a technician when the Vancouver Olympics happened here in 2010, I was the head technician for the Olympic broadcasting system. I had to make sure all the mics were on. I was behind there. I got to see all the Olympic events through all my screens. It was a really good experience.”

Aside from all the enjoyable aspects of the job, Jedro also gained knowledge from all his experiences. It was also hitting many birds with one stone, considering that his initial plan was to stay on the job for a few months, save money to settle things, and get back to making music or just continue walking a creative path.

Things didn’t turn out that way though.

“Later on in life, I saw the salespeople working there, driving a nice car, working less hours, making way more money…”

This realization, along with the better version of himself and the natural drive to continue his journey of growing; he ended up buying a couple of books about sales. He also took night school for a part-time sales course. He did everything he could to learn.

After the Olympics at the Vancouver Convention Center, an inside sales job position opened and Jedro did not waste time trying out something new once more.

In retrospect, Jedro got the things he wanted such as benefits, money, and a lot more things. But he grew comfortable, one of the signs that he was now beyond his growth zone. He called it a “honeymoon stage.”

Deep inside him was a voice telling him that he was not happy despite all these achievements and stability. For various reasons, he pushed this down.

But then, something changed his life and forced him to acknowledge it. It changed his perspective, his mindset, and slapped him – in the form of a “blessing in disguise.”

The next switch

Not everyone would call cancer a blessing in disguise and Jedro is one of the exceptions. In fact, in his interview with PCI, he admitted that he loved talking about this.

If one thing was quite evident from his experience, it was that Lady Luck was perhaps attached to him that day.

It was a regular day, he recalled. He was in his car driving on an empty road, with only a few people outside. He was going up a hill when he felt his cheek twitching, which he said he did not really think of that much back at that moment. He explained that when he’s tired, sometimes he got a little twitch, which was why he did not bother to care.

However, the twitching did not stop and it got “more vigorous” as he continued on.

“I just remembered something locked and my head turned and I blacked out. Next thing I remember, there’s a paramedic waking me up; he was rubbing my chest. And I just woke up with a pounding headache.”

Jedro was then carried onto a stretcher and put in an ambulance. While still confused, the paramedics asked him a bunch of questions which he answered as much as he could. It turned out that he suffered from a seizure and that he was informed that his head had to be scanned once he got to the emergency room.

“It was a good thing ‘cause if I was at home and just chilling and had that seizure, I would’ve just woken up and just – whatever, whatever. And I would’ve moved forward.”

He also remembered that no one else was harmed in his road accident as he only hit bushes. And while this spelled out good news, the bad news was that there was a tumor in his brain.

Within 10 days, Jedro was in the operating room, waiting for it to be removed.

“‘Cause, it was at a point where it grew and had to be removed, later on, I found out it was malignant stage 3. So, there’s a high possibility, [that] even if it was all gone, one or two cells could be lingering. And they advised chemotherapy and radiation therapy.”

Taking this news was not easy for Jedro. He cried after remembering bad stories about chemotherapy and taking in the weight of his situation. However, his will to be healthy again won over his other worries. It was another switch calling unto him to be flipped.

“I changed my mindset. Okay, my immune system’s gonna get destroyed but it’s gonna give me an opportunity to rebuild it. So, I was like, I wanna reset everything.”

With the newfound resolve, he decided to undergo chemotherapy seven days a week and radiation therapy five days a week, choosing to fight this battle no matter how hard it got. He described those six weeks to be tough, but of course, one word was not enough to encompass the whole experience.

“After the six weeks, I took four weeks off, then another five days chemotherapy for the first week of the month for the next six months, and I was done with my Chemo treatment.”

Jedro made the story seem easier said than done with how he poured gratitude to the whole experience more than dread. And the main reason for this was that his battle with cancer was also a switch itself. It was another leap of faith for him.

‘Thank you, cancer’

Right out of his lips, in just three words, Jedro managed to summarize the way he viewed the experience and the lessons he took from the whole thing.

“After I’m done with my treatments, I just remember I went back to work at my 9-5 corporate job. I just remember sitting there, just looking around, and I was like, I went through something crazy. Why am I back here, bored as hell? And I just don’t feel alive.”

(Supplied)

As he looked back to his past, Jedro shared that the tiny voice inside him has been there all along but he always decided to deny it in exchange of the comfort. He made his family proud, he got a lot of benefits, he had stability, but deep down, he was pushing his real self away.

“I would have these gut feelings to do something else but in hindsight, I think that’s why I got cancer.”

“I can’t think of anything else; I have a son to raise. Whatever creativity, I can’t do it right now. And in hindsight, I should’ve listened to my gut. And it kept on happening. And the more it happened, I pushed it down. And I guess it made me into this negative energy. Because something at the back of my head, was saying, ‘You gotta do something, be creative, you used to write, you used to make beats, but you’re just doing this 9-5 now.’”

Whatever he had achieved was not happiness. And the next thing he knew, he had a brain tumor.

He did not feel like he was in the right place. He was not in his element. And there was an itch to do something. There was a need to do something.

“What I’ve been through, I have nothing to lose. I had a 30-45% survival rate and I changed that number.”

And so, after talking with his family, Jedro left his job and pursued something greater.

“I feel like some higher being up there made me survive to really help build the community. I just can’t explain it. I just feel that there’s something up there that have more purpose. That I just found a purpose after this experience.”

If you thought Jedro had done a lot of things in his life, brace yourself because there’s more.

He decided to write a book, an autobiography entitled “Thank you, cancer” in hopes of inspiring and motivating others who would be touched by his life experiences.

While Jedro wrote rhymes for his raps and hip-hop, he also liked writing as a craft; or storytelling to be more specific.

“I really got disciplined into my writing. I’ve been dedicating at least an hour a day to writing. I’ve been staying disciplined with it. It was more of a mindset switch during the pandemic where I got to be disciplined ‘cause without discipline, it’s not gonna happen.”

He also kept a blog and had considered writing for films. He planned to hire writing coaches in the future as well, really determined to master another craft.

In the spirit of his love for hip-hop, another thing that kept Jedro busy was being part of the TableTutors DJ Academy, where he partnered with fellow Filipino-Canadians as co-owners. While DJ-ing is an element of hip-hop, he said that the DJ school teaches all kinds of music.

He added that the community gets invited to a lot of events as a host, especially before the pandemic, and they set up a booth for the DJ school during those times too. As he mentioned earlier, Jedro also hosts different local Filipino Canadian events so this part of the DJ school marketing is on his long list of things he can do as he goes up on stage to promote it.

It started off in 2016 at Burnaby with his partners being the teachers and him at the backend because of his sales experience and taking up programs on entrepreneurship.

This 2022 though, Jedro had to part ways with this for another opportunity that he could not miss. But it did not mean that it was an easy decision to make.

“This one is really bittersweet. I really love the community I helped built alongside DJ Relik, DJ Wundrkut & WundrKutie, DJ Gnius, DJ Maiyah, DJ Ted-D, & DJ Slippee. They are my family.”

Jedro said that the brand was doing well and that the business was definitely moving up but if there was one thing that life taught him, it was that listening to his gut feeling was always the best thing to do. And so he did. Life had another plan for him.

“At the end of the day, I’m not a DJ at heart. When I started out in hip-hop, I was a rapper first because I’ve always loved telling a story. I’ve always admired the DJ world and learned so much during the journey of building the TableTutors Brand.”

Jedro said that this is not entirely the end as he will always find other ways to support them.

With the brand having a special place in his heart, he turned his eyes on a different direction: the sports industry, more specifically, wrestling.

This did not particularly mean that Jedro chose to be a wrestler. It was basically the promotion and marketing of wrestling, which was a sport that he really liked as well.

“While I was writing my book, my memory led back to sporting events and triggered really joyful emotions. One in particular was professional wrestling, the physical attributes, the drama, the stage presence of each athlete or character.”

He was always fond of sports growing up and one of the highlights was always the energy of the crowd when they cheer.

“On TV, seeing how crazy everyone was going, how happy I was to see my parents and other family members cheering; it was awesome. From that point on, I just loved watching sports or anything athletic,” he shared, recalling the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League being the best team back in the ‘80s.

Because of this interest, Jedro also got curious about different aspects of sports. He remembered watching hockey games before and not focusing on the game but peeking at the box suites or behind the benches, thinking what it was like to be in there.

“But I put it away ‘cause I’d never thought I would be capable of being in the industry that way.”

But with this recent reminder, with the way he viewed his life right now, he did not let this pass.

Jedro then found himself in a rabbit hole of watching videos and also interviewing a friend in the wrestling industry. Being the driven person that he is especially after reliving the joy of the sport, when he saw an open position in sales and marketing on their website, he did not hesitate to apply for this chance of a lifetime.

As expected, Jedro got the job.

“The main similarity this has with my past jobs is the way to connect with people. What makes this one different is now I have more creative control on ways to connect with people.”

On another page of his story, he also started Fil-Can Clothing – a brand that is very close to his heart as it is a representation of two cultures.

The idea started when he and his best friend watched a boxing match between Manny Pacquiao and Oscar De La Hoya in Las Vegas years ago. Seeing Filipinos flock to the place, the atmosphere was really nice and it was a huge invitation for him to talk to everyone as an outgoing person.

Majority of the crowd were Filipino-Americans and he and his best friend were only some of the few Filipino-Canadians in that heap.

“And then that idea was just… man when I was there, I wished I had some sort of like emblem on a shirt representing my Canadian culture and my Filipino culture ‘cause everyone who went there was wearing something Filipino ‘cause of Manny Pacquiao.”

For Jedro, the concept of wearing your culture with pride was amusing and empowering. It was a definite conversation starter for the different members of the community.

It was also a big idea for an aspiring entrepreneur.

True to his brand and the love of talking with people, Jedro found happiness in bridging connections among fellow Filipinos. He also wishes to pursue being a motivational influencer.

“I wanna go on stage. You know, have a crowd of Filipinos who wanna be motivated, tell them my story with hopes to inspire them to face their fears and take their leaps too. And knowing the fact that I can hold their hand while they’re falling and making sure that if you do fall, I’m gonna help you back up. I’m gonna pull you back up and make sure you’re not gonna drown and I will help you get to your goals.”

While juggling all these dreams and wanting all these things seem overwhelming and ambitious, for Jedro, the key is balance and listening to himself.

Before cancer, he always went in for the grind. But now, despite the long list of things he wants to achieve, he makes sure to prioritize proper balance in life.

Jedro’s experiences truly fit being on printed pages with the ups, downs, zigzags, bumps, and leaps he has gone through. If there is one thing that is constant even after all the switches he has flipped, it’s his willingness to grow.

“It’s never too late to learn. At first in high school, I thought I was too old to learn something new. But I started learning again in my 20s. Then I started learning again in my 30s. And I’m here in my 40s and still learning. And it gave me that attitude to just keep on learning.”