SINCE SEASON 1, Mark Adrian “Butters” Jison has always been one of the most entertaining figures in the MPL scene.
The energy (and the numerous puns) he brings alongside Manjean Faldas, Chantelle Hernandez, and Santie Magcalas has produced a lot of laughs from the community.
And long before RSG PH became renowned for their memes, it was Butters and Manjean who would have the audacity to poke fun on the most iconic moments in the esports scene.
But long before Butters' time in the spotlight, he initially didn’t make it as one of the mainstream commentators.
A Dota beginning for Butters
“Noong 2014, actually nagpasa ako ng casting clip kay Mineski Events Team," he recounted. "Noong nag-audition ako for them, ang sabi nila, ‘Ok! Ok! Pwede! Sige balikan ka namin kapag nandito na yung mga casters namin para alam mo kung sino gusto mong makasama.’"
After that, radio silence. "Hindi na sila nag-PM ulit. Wala nang paramdam! Sinabi ko na noon, ‘Baka hindi na para sa akin.’”
But even after the initial setback, Butters was given a chance to dip his toes again into esports.
Back in the early days, Dan “Leo” Cubangay was a radio DJ still clueless about the esports industry and he had to interview two talents, Rikki “Riku” Quiapon and Darwell “Asurai” Llerena.
Leo called on Butters to help him out.
"Wala kase akong alam sa esports so samahan mo ako," his future co-MPL panelist told him.
"Kailangan niya ng resource person," said Butters. That guesting on the radio show turned into a breakthrough.
“After that naging friend ko sina Riku at Asurai. The, isang araw noong 2016, that was TI6, nag-PM si Asurai kase sina Lon at Dunoo lumipad papuntang TI," Butters recalled.
"Free ka ba mag-cast ng Dota?" asked Asurai. The caster, Denki, needed a wingman, though he wasn't sure that Butters was cut out for mic work just yet.
“Ang ginawa ni Denki, ayaw niya akong isalang kaagad. After noon, pinasalang ako ni Denki, tabi niya. After that ang sabi sa akin ni Denki, ‘Men kaya mo! If ever may iba pa tayong tournament baka pwede pa!'”
That was also Butters' first meeting with Manjean.
And everything started to spiral upward as Butters slowly rose up the ranks. But not everything was smooth sailing.
Parental pressure
Like most aspiring casters during that time, he had to figure out the answer to one important question: Should he proceed with his passion or pursue a different career?
“So I had two courses. I was in BS Biology first. Then, the funny thing is, my parents were telling me that they would go to the US because they were nursing graduates,” said Jison.
That move ultimately never pushed through. “So what happened was, I was forced to take an IT course. I wanted to go to medical school, but the thing is we didn’t have the money for it, so I was like, ‘Okay, I don’t want to be stuck with BS Biology if I didn’t have that opportunity to go to med school.' So I just shifted to IT."
Butters the programmer? Butters the computer whiz? Perhaps somewhere in the multiverse. But in this one, being a shoutcaster was something he valued more.
His parents, though, had mixed feelings about his career.
“Minsan gusto nila, minsan hindi. Pero minsan, yung gusto nila, okay naman, pero kung umayaw sila, medyo radical yung dating e. Ang nangyayari kasi kapag gusto nila, sila mismo yung bibili ng coat ko kasi proud sila. May mga times na proud yung nanay at tatay ko at may times na hindi."
Thinking for a bit, Jison said, “I would say that most of the time, doubtful sila.”
Butters recounted one instance where his passion for esports had led to a massive misunderstanding with his parents. He found himself kicked out of the house.
“I remember that day na parang nag-cast ako noon ng isang Dota major. Parang ang nangyari was, umaga siya, like midnight to morning, e ang gusto ng nanay ko umuwi ako kaagad. So sabi ko hindi pwede kasi trabaho. Hindi ko pwedeng iwanan yung mga co-casters ko,” he said.
They weren't convinced.
"Sige, huwag ka nang umuwi! Diyan ka na lang!" they said.
Good thing that Butters was also a team manager at the time.
"Ang ginawa ko lang noon, pumunta akong bootcamp. Doon ako nag-stay," he said. "Tapos after a day, pinabalik ako ng magulang ko. Syempre pagbalik ko panay sermon. Hindi nila gets na yung Dota, nasa ibang timezone. Ang alam nila maglalaro lang sila and magsasalita ka lang.”
In that long sermon, his parents told him, “You have a degree! Why aren’t you using it? Why are you sticking with that? It doesn’t give you much money in the first place!"
Back in 2017, as you remember, esports wasn't the big moneymaker and sponsorship bonanza it is today. "I couldn’t really tell them, ‘Trust the process, it’s going to be big someday,'" said Jison.
But his stubbornness with esports eventually convinced his parents to let him be.
“Ang naging problema naman noong 2015 to 2017. Noong 2018-onwards okay na e, parang sumuko na sila. Parang alam ng magulang ko na kahit anong gawin namin hindi na siya titigil. Hayaan na lang siyang pumagod, para bumalik siya sa path na gusto namin.
“Fortunately, hindi ako dumating sa panahon na ako’y sumuko. Nandito pa rin ako.”
Trust the process
The Nationals, and the opportunity to be on TV, became the turning point for his parents.
“Diba nagkaroon ng ESPN 5 talents? Noong nakita nila yun, nag-react na sila, ‘Ay! Pati na rin ESPN 5, nag-esports na sila! Tapos nakuha ako as commentator. Wala na yung tipong sasabihan ka na: ‘Mag-aral ka! Magtrabaho ka!”
Besides The Nationals, the MPL was also growing... and with it, Butters' fame.
Seeing his overall growth, Butters’ parents have now expressed their fullest support.
“I’m happy that they have my back 100 percent and they just let me be who I am. It’s just now I’m happy that whenever there’s an event like M3, MSC, or SEA Games, they would message me and tell me, ‘Demonkite is good!'
“I was like, ‘How do you know Demonkite? Are you watching?”
As of now, Butters is balancing his casting career while managing an up-and-coming esports org, Cerebrum.
Looking back at all the tribulations he encountered, Jison understands why his parents were once against his plans. Back in the early days, shoutcasting and even esports wasn’t considered a sustainable career.
“Naintindihan ko na ngayon kase nagbabayad ako ng bills. Nage-gets ko na yung side nila. Kaya pala sila disapproving of the position na iniisip ko sa esports because some people hindi nila naintindihan yung ginagawa natin.”
He has come to realize that their opposition has contributed to his growth in the industry.
“Actually, may nakuha ako sa kanila na trait na kapag mag nag-o-offer sa akin ng kliyente, pinag-iisipan ko ng madaming beses kung kukunin ko or hindi. Akala ko dati, mababa yung confidence ko to take it. Pero looking back, there are some contracts na hindi ko dapat nakuha, and tama yung naging desisyon ko kase mas naging discerning ako noong panahon na iyon.”
In the end, he gave an important food for thought to people who experienced the same thing as he did.
“Sa mga taong hanggang ngayon na tineterrorize pa rin or pinagsasabihan ng magulang nila na ganyan-ganyan? Intindihan niyo na lang.
"Maintindihan niyo din kung bakit sila ganyan kapag nagbabayad kayo ng sarili niyong bills, kasi hindi talaga biro na itawid ang isang buwan. “
Parental love and love for career should go hand in hand.
Butters said, “Mahalin niyo yung magulang niyo. Ako mahal na mahal ko magulang ko e.”
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