Those constantly glued to video sharing website YouTube and Gambito’s own channel will know who Happy Slip is. A video blogging phenomenon, the first Happy Slip video was first posted in YouTube in August 2006. Because of the humor and the originality of her works, millions of viewers sought her out. Today, her YouTube channel ranks as the fifth most subscribed, with 4.4 million channel views.

Last year, she placed second in the YouTube Video Awards for Best Comedy for Mixed Nuts, a 3-minute clip portraying a typical family conversation. In fact, in happyslip.com, most of her videos parody her daily family life. She portrays various characters inspired by her family members namely Mom, Dad, Auntie and Minnie.

Wow Philippines, Hello Happy Slip

Christine arrived in the country last January 24 and her Philippine stint was made possible by the DOT who made her the official Ambassador for Philippine Tourism in North America in an effort to encourage more Pinoys to experience local travel spots and boost the tourism industry.

She visited Palawan, Bohol, Cebu, Boracay, Tagaytay and Manila. She even appeared briefly as a surprise guest in the noontime variety show Wowowee, also a favorite among Pinoy balikbayans. Videos of her trips will be posted on her official site www.happyslip.com.

In spite of her massive cyber success, and her wry and funny videos, Christine remained surprisingly humble during the Q&A of the Meet and Greet. She said, “When I look out at you guys, when I look at my camera lens or whatever, I know I’m looking at you. I know that I’m trying to either make you smile, laugh, maybe cry a little sometimes. But overall, it’s my heart to your heart and I think that’s the magic of the new media right now.”

Tracing her roots with her talents

Christine was born to Filipino parents who originally hailed from Nueva Ecija. She was only a year old when her family migrated to the United States. While she was raised in the States, her little skits expose enough Pinoy idiosyncrasies and values especially when it comes to how her extended family relate to each other.

Christine works fulltime on her Happy Slip productions, in part because it’s a one-woman operation. She does all the tasks from acting, filming and editing. She does sing well and she plays her own instruments which you see in some of her videos.

She had acting and theater experience when she was in school but a large part of what comes out of her videos are inspired by actual events happening inside her home. She said there are acting offers but she refused to disclose any details about them yet.

So what’s with the name Happy Slip?

Christine says that her mother used to remind her to “wear your half slip,” which she said sounded to her like “happy slip.” In fact, because she called it such for a long time, her friends asked her if she had a “sad slip” as well.

So where does she really get all the ideas and inspiration for her videos?

“Happy Slip really is a project of the heart. I really like people to feel inspired, to go out with their creativity. Life is too short, we have to enjoy life and we have to be filled with joy. I just want to share with you where I’m coming from with all my videos and where my heart is in all of these.”

Her advice to aspiring video bloggers: “Find that inner joy; find that unique thing in you. Don’t let the desire for external things to drive you but what’s coming from inside you, the treasures that’s inside of you. Because that’s what the world needs to witness.”

Christine Gambito, more popularly known as Happy Slip makes us proud to be Pinoys. Not only because she’s an unqualified Internet celebrity but also because she uses this fact to uplift the image of Filipinas online and inspire others to dig a little deeper.