How Fuego Gaming Lost 30 Kilos in 3 Months
It all began when John Arvin Tenoria—better known online as Fuego Gaming—suited up as Mobile Legends: Bang Bang’s brawny, sword-wielding hero Fredrinn and asked a fan to guess who he was cosplaying.
The fan’s answer: Akai.
Akai is a large, rotund panda with a playful yet formidable look.
That two-second exchange between Fuego Gaming and the fan snowballed into a meme—and before he knew it, he was the butt of jokes all over the internet.
It even reached a point where people would call Fuego Gaming “Akai” whenever they spotted him in malls—and the trolling became too much to bear.
“Nag-trending pa yung video… tapos lahat ng comments section ko, puro ‘Si Fuego, early pa lang mataba na.’”
It would have been funny—if it wasn’t relentless. Even in real life, fans would greet him, “Uy, si Akai!” like it was his government name.
That’s when the joke stopped being funny. And when the weights started getting heavier.
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From Meme to Machine
Fuego began at 96 kilos. His lungs wheezed when he slept. He got tired walking short distances. And he had mysterious dark patches around his joints—his body waving a white flag.
So he declared war.
He made a deal with his fans: Vote for me in the emote contest, and I’ll lose weight in 3 to 4 months.
They voted. He won. And at the time of our interview, he was one kilo away from his 65-kilo goal.
“Calorie deficit ako,” he explains. “Intermittent fasting… 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. window. No sweets, no high sugar. Gulay, isda, manok. Ako na rin mismo nagluluto. Walang preservatives.”
He worked out three times a week, building muscle like a blacksmith reforging steel. He overhauled his sleeping habits, forcing himself to rest seven to eight hours a day—arguably the hardest part of his regimen.
And he started wearing skin care. Because when you shed 28 kilos of self-doubt, you might as well exfoliate.
More Energy, More TikTok
If the old Fuego was camera-shy, the new one is a full-blown content machine.
“Dati nahihiya akong makipag-picture,” he laughs. “Ngayon ako na nagyayaya mag-TikTok.”
He glows—not just with sweat, but with serotonin. He no longer gasps for air. He no longer hides behind loose shirts or behind the camera. He dances now.
People think he had surgery. Or steroids. Or a secret noselift.
“Wala po akong ginawang medical treatments,” he grins. “Nagpatanggal lang ako ng pimples sa derma.”
“Hindi tama ang fat-shaming.”
The internet wanted a punchline. Instead, it got a plot twist.
“Hindi tama ang fat shaming,” he says firmly. “Hindi lahat ng tao tatamarin lang. Minsan may pinagdadaanan sila. Hindi lahat ng tao, mae-inspire sa pang-aalaska.”
He knows now that real transformation doesn’t come from shame—it comes from stubborn, sweaty love for yourself.
“Hindi pa huli ang lahat,” he says. “Kapag nag-decide ka na ngayon na mismo, kakayanin mo iyan.”
The man who was once a meme now walks into bakal gyms like he owns the place. He is stronger, lighter, and—most importantly—happier.
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