10 Things You Wouldn’t Have Guessed About Bryanboy

Bryanboy isn't just another one of those vanguards of ultra-chic, in-demand, powerhouse style bloggers (/models/entrepreneurs) who are front-row regulars; the difference is the air of mystery that surrounds him. His real age? Full name? How does he end up sitting front row at Marc Jacobs year after year? The New York Observer did a little research and turned up some interesting tidbits to clue us in on the rise of BB.

The notoriously private blogger rarely gives any details about his life, but a little digging recently turned up some possible insight into Bryanboy’s path to style-star status: Around the same time that Bryanboy.com was born, a certain "Bryanboy" registered as bboy777 on a web community devoted to building consumer credit lines with American companies. Thousands of posts and many credit cards later, "Bryanboy" had expanded his credit limit to match his oversize personality and was well on his way to living the life of his dreams. When scandal at home in Manila pushed him out of traditional media, BB upped the ante on his blogging — eventually Marc Jacobs saw a fan video posted by a nearly rabid Bryanboy, wild with lust for a green ostrich bag from Jacobs’ latest collection, and promptly responded by inviting him to Fashion Week.

Was it destined that this young, attractive, flamboyantly ambitious young man with a passion for the finer things would end up at New York Fashion Week? Maybe. But, the road from the Philippines was not paved with gold for this young dreamer; it was paved with plastic. Here are the 10 takeaway tidbits from the Observer article that piqued our interest the most — remember to take these with a grain of salt, though — after all, the deets are all a part of the mystery. (The New York Observer)

-Bryanboy live-tweeted a threesome in 2010, with partners wearing Lanvin Homme and Damir Doma.

-He started blogging in 2004 — before Garance, Scott, Susie, or Rumi.

-His first means of flaunting acquisition was Creditboards.com, a self-help credit management community of members dedicated to accumulating American consumer credit. There, he posted incessantly (2,400 posts in 18 months) about his credit score, multiple credit cards (over 20), and combined credit limit, which, by 2005, was close to $200K. He thoughtfully included a scan of his Louis Vuitton wallet; all of the credit card slots are packed with plastic.

-Goes by: Bryan Grey-Yambao, Francis Bryan Yambao.

-In 2010, BryanBoy brought home over $100K.

-WWD reported in November that Bryanboy.com averages 1.4 million page views each month.

-Bryan got himself an agent at CAA in May 2011. CAA is a big deal.

-He discovered he was gay at age 12.

-He scanned and posted to his blog the results of an HIV test (for which his results were negative).

-Bryanboy started blogging at age 22, not 16 or 17, as he has claimed.

-He guest-judged the Philippines edition of Project Runway, as well as writing a short-lived fashion column for the Philippines Star.

-In 2007, a tell-all blog called Chikatime appeared; the site ridiculed Manila society figures and many suspected their new acquaintance Bryanboy to be the writer. They shut him out of traditional media, and as a result Bryanboy became even more focused on becoming a global brand.

-2008 was a good year for BB: He attended his first international Fashion Week events as an invited guest in Australia, New Zealand, and New York. Marc Jacobs named a bag BB after Bryan, gifted it to him, and put him in the front row at his spring ‘09 show. Bryan has sat in Marc’s front row every season since then.