Stanley Chi, a celebrated humorist, is the man behind that notorious idea. Suplado Tips, Chi’s fourth book, is a compilation of smart-alecky tips on how to assert oneself with an air of cockiness. One suplado tip advises, “Kung may nagtampo sayo dahil na-sampolan mo ng supladong hirit, hiritan mo ng, ‘Hindi ko na problema yan!’ (If someone resents you for your snide retort, just say, ‘That’s no longer my problem!’)”
The book, just like any monumental discovery, started as a completely random and impromptu post on Facebook. “That online post turned out to be my very first suplado tip,” Chi said. “I toyed with the idea that being cocky can be a means of getting what you want – or at least a way to delude yourself that you already have everything in the first place.” Soon after he shared several of his suplado tips on Facebook, they spread like wildfire.
“Many people dream of sticking it to their bosses or giving someone they hate a nasty remark or two, but they often resort to doing none of the above. Filipinos tend to be non-confrontational, avoiding conflicts as much as they can. Suplado Tips is the funny respite that people with a grudge have been looking for,” Chi said.
“Reading a suplado tip is like acting out a fantasy. The book gives you many scenarios where being standoffish gives you the upper hand, something which otherwise would not happen in real life,” Chi added.
Having been released nationwide in National Bookstore and Fully Booked outlets just last March, some stores have already reported a shortage of the book. Suplado Tips has reaped a cult following even before the book’s release, with readers already scouring bookstores months before the book made it to the shelves.
Suplado Tips has spurred on a series of video testimonials, all of which hailed the book in comical embroidery. Ramon Bautista, a TV celebrity and a host of the former radio show, The Brewrats, gave the first testimonial. “Simula nung tinuruan ako ni Stanley Chi na maging suplado, nawala ang ubo ko (Ever since Stanley Chi taught me how to be stuck-up, my cough disappeared),” Bautista said in the video with pokerfaced wit. Obviously meant as a comical testament, Bautista went on to describe how being suplado has gained him more fans and stalkers, and how it eventually cured his skin problems. (Bautista also stepped up later on to write the book’s foreword.) Since then, many other celebrities have given their own hilarious accounts of how Suplado Tips has helped them, some of which were not entirely fictional.
With the book selling like pancakes way before the book launch to be held on the last week of May, PSICOM Publishing Inc.’s Tom Aquitania was more than happy that he asked Chi to write the book. After the undeniable popularity of Stanley Chi’s suplado tips on Facebook and on television’s Front Act (of which Chi was a host), Aquitania asked Chi to compile them into a book. “Stanley’s suplado tips on Facebook has even led to the creation of the Suplado Society of the Philippines, complete with its own suplado oath. All of this, despite being clearly just a pseudo-serious joke, is also an unmistakable sign that Stanley Chi’s suplado tips is something the public will want more of,” Aquitania said.
Stanley Chi, already popular for his quick wit and dry humor, brings candor to a new level through the contemporary Suplado Tips. Chi started showing his knack for comedy when he created the comic strip Chopsticks for Manila Bulletin eight years ago, still being published every Sunday. He went on to become a standup comic and a TV host for the comedy show Front Act.
Suplado Tips, Chi’s newest venture into humor, is now available online through http://www.psicompublishing.com/ and may also be purchased from all National Bookstore and Fully Booked outlets nationwide (unless it has already sold out).
*For more information on Stanley Chi’s Suplado Tips and to embark on your own journey towards “supladoness”, visit http://www.stanleychi.net/
*Text by: Stefanie Dela Cruz
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