Jonas Gaffud facts for kids

Jonas Antonio Gaffud, born on May 26, 1978, is a famous Filipino expert who helps people become successful. He is an author, a talent manager, and a special coach for beauty pageant contestants. He also works in marketing. Jonas Gaffud helped start a well-known training group called Aces and Queens. He also owns a modeling agency called Mercator Artist and Model Management.

Helping People Shine

Aces and Queens: Training Future Queens

Jonas Gaffud co-founded Aces and Queens in 2001. This group helps young women prepare for beauty pageants. They held their training sessions at the University of the Philippines Diliman.

Jonas Gaffud has coached many successful beauty queens. He helped Pia Wurtzbach win Miss Universe 2015. He also trained Megan Young, who became Miss World 2013. Another one of his students, Kylie Verzosa, won Miss International 2016.

He has mentored more than 30 beauty queens in total. Some of the queens he discovered include Janine Tugonon (Miss Universe 2012 1st runner-up). He also found Shamcey Supsup-Lee (Miss Universe 2011 3rd runner-up). Venus Raj (Miss Universe 2010 4th runner-up) was also discovered by him. Venus Raj shared that her famous "pilapil" walk was taught to her by Jonas Gaffud. She learned this special walk during her time at the training camp.

In 2017, Jonas Gaffud released a book called "The Crown: Your Essential to Becoming a Beauty Queen." This book shares the history of Aces and Queens. It also includes information about the winners he trained. The book offers helpful guides for pageant contestants.

On April 1, 2019, Jonas Gaffud decided to leave Aces and Queens after 18 years. He explained on his Facebook page that he wanted to try new things. Just three days later, he announced his new role. He became the creative and events director for the Miss Universe Philippines brand. This new role was the reason he left the group he helped create.

Jonas Gaffud also coached Miss Universe Indonesia Kezia Warouw. Some people thought this was not fair. He explained that it was just a "pep talk." He also said it was a way to thank his co-mentor, Albert Kurniawan, who is Indonesian.

Mercator Artist and Model Management: Discovering Models

Jonas Gaffud is also a co-founder of Mercator Artist and Model Management. This company is a modeling agency. It was started in 2004. Mercator Artist and Model Management is known for bringing many talented models from Brazil to the Philippines.