Heinrich Picar risked everything to pursue a career in esports

Heinrich Picar put his clothes in a garbage bag and ran away from home. The rest is history
Jun 13, 2023
Heinrich Picar

It was midnight. Heinrich Picar secretly booked a car to take him away from home and toward his dream of working in esports. Broke and heartbroken with only a large garbage bag filled with clothes and personal items, he held back tears as he ran away from home and plunged into the unknown.

Ever since he was 10 years old, Heinrich Picar, aka Heins, had only one dream: to become a pro player and streamer.

That was a decade ago when esports was virtually unheard of in the Philippines. Ten years later, he would prove everyone wrong about esports: You don't need to be a pro player to have a successful career in this industry. Heins has worked in four esports teams in the Philippines. He has closely worked with famous players, liaised with brands, and grew the social media pages of talents and influencers.

Heinrich Picar worked as a digital marketing associate for ECHO, one of the top esports teams in the region. He also runs his eponymous Facebook page Heins, in which he live-streams his gameplays and other content. But before he got to where he is now, Heins survived a hell he told nobody about. This is his story.

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    Heinrich Picar proves there's more to pro esports than being an athlete

    Before running away from home, Heins was already working for someone in esports. He formed a friendship with a famous Singaporean streamer whom he always watched.

    "I was just an avid gamer of Mobile Legends and other types of games," Heinrich Picar tells Esquire Philippines. "I was not a very studious student but I'm also not a failure. It was really my dream to become a pro player but my parents did not really support my passion. Despite that, I did not let it stop me from what I wanted to do. Before I was able to enter the esports industry, I handled a few personalities.

    "There was this one personality from Singapore whom I helped. He had a really bad public reputation or image. He's famous in the Mobile Legends community because he's a world record holder, and I was a huge fan because he's the top 1 player in the world leaderboards in the game."

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    One day, the player looked for a moderator and Heins applied.

    "I grew his Facebook page from zero to 50,000 followers in two months," Heins told Esquire, as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

    That figure ⁠— 50,000 organic followers in two months — is something many brands would covet and not even achieve in a year. But Heins had no idea what this feat meant.

    "I also looped him with big esports personalities and streamers here in the Philippines," he adds.

    It was the start of his career working behind the scenes in esports. But it was also his first heartbreak in the industry.

    Heins eventually helped the player enter into partnerships and collaborations with sponsors and other streamers and gamers. "I was guided and coached about the esports industry and its workings by Carlo Giron, whom I followed on social media."

    But when the Singaporean player no longer needed Heins, he was cut off.

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    "I really got depressed after that because I worked very hard for him. For six months working with him 24/7, I was only getting paid P1,000 to P2,000 a month. I wasn't thinking so much about money at that time because that was my passion. That's also the time when I found what I really wanted to do in life."

    For half a year, Heins went through depression. But something brought back a little hope in his journey. He discovered Work Auster Force, a pro team that became a champion in the qualifiers for the Mobile Legends Professional League (MPL) Season 7 in the Philippines.

    It was Work Auster Force that opened the door to Heins' journey in the professional esports scene. And one particular pro player held that door open for him: 3MarTzy.

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      3MarTzy kickstarts Heinrich's career in local esports

      Heins applied for the post of page editor for Frediemar "3MarTzy" Serafico, who was then a pro player at Work Auster Force. Heins showed Serafico the work he's done for his previous client from Singapore.

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      "He replied! I was so surprised. He looped me in with the team manager, Merlyrose Bagting, and I was interviewed. They hired me as the page editor of 3MarTzy." Because of his portfolio and experience, Heins received an email two weeks later, promoting him as the team's social media manager.

      Heins did not know how to react. He was 19 years old, still studying in school, and was being offered a job many college graduates would kill for — he would be working for a top esports team whose players are some of the most talented in the country. There was a moment of disbelief coming from the fact that he hasn't graduated from college and that no one has taught him anything about social media management.

      Everything he knew, he learned on his own.

      Heinrich Picar

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      "The world stopped spinning for a second. The pressure was real, this was not a joke. I would be handling the entire social media presence of not just one player, but the whole team!" he recalled.

      Within three days, Heins formed and directed his own team of page editors, social media analysts, copywriters, and graphic artists. It would seem like a tough job for an undergraduate to handle.

      "Ang pinaka naging struggle ko sa esports was the lack of support from family but I completely understand them and could not blame them since they wanted me to prioritize my studies, and esports was still unheard of at that time."

      Months passed and Heins ran away from home because of arguments with his family about his chosen path.

      Leaving his family was Heins' most difficult decision

      Running away from home was a very huge risk Heins took. He had no connections, no money, and no support from anyone. All he had was a burning passion for esports and gaming.

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      For a lot of Filipino parents, working in esports is not considered a serious career, and Heins's family was opposed to their eldest son working in the industry. There was a time when they likened it to "playing games." But Heins does not blame his family for thinking that way.

      "It was past midnight and I had this big garbage bag filled with my stuff. Dumating yung Grab, tumakas ako habang nakatalikod si Papa. Sobrang heartbroken ako noon because I didn't want to leave lalong lalo na si Dad kasi he's been bedridden for two years at sinusuportahan naman niya ako kahit papaano."

      It was the most heartbreaking day for Heinrich Picar. He can even remember the exact date: June 10th, 2019.

      Leaving his family for esports was such a huge risk and a turning point for Heins not knowing the future of the path he took.

      "What if tama pala yung parents ko at mag-fail ako sa esports? That's what was running through my mind. Should I stay or should I go? That was the turning point of my life."

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      Not long after running away from home, Heins received a salary raise. He was managing a team of eight people. "I am really grateful to Gen Vincent Fabro and Lilac Tayaban who recommended me to TNC, and Eric Redulfin for trusting our team to run TNC's social media during their debut season, and for providing me with sidelines even after I left.

      "I will not forget Merlyrose Bagting, who saw something in me I never saw for myself, took a chance on me, and promoted me."

      But because of schoolwork and the pandemic, Heins could not pursue a full-time career at TNC and had to leave. He was supporting his own schooling taking online classes while doing part-time jobs for other streamers. He was living off an income of P6,000 a month. Every day, he would eat lugaw sold for P30 just to make ends meet and save enough to pay his own tuition fee at school.

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      Heinrich Picar

      It was a difficult time for esports.

      "I was really heartbroken at that time: I lost my job, my ex broke up with me, and I wasn't in good terms with my family. I was alone supporting myself through school and trying to survive," Heins tells Esquire.

      Despite the odds, he used all the negativity and toxicity he received as fuel to drive his growth in the esports industry. "Every time you feel down, just turn that feeling into fuel to drive you to do something good to achieve your goals." This resilience helped him to keep pursuing his dreams.

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      How the pandemic grew the esports industry

      The prepandemic period was a time when esports had not yet become what it is now: an industry courted by household brands and big corporations.

      "Two seasons ago, esports was not like what it is today, but I felt something big was going to happen. I told myself that I will continue on this path. Bahala na kung ano sabihin nila."

      Heins was right. Something big did happen — the esports industry exploded.

      It was actually during the pandemic when the esports scene's following skyrocketed. With more time on their hands, Gen Z and Millennials started playing more mobile games, with Mobile Legends leading the pack of popular titles. Tournament viewership grew from mere tens of thousands in previous years to millions in 2020. People started paying more attention to streamers, gamers, and pro players in the esports scene.

      It was during this time when Heins got accepted into Onic Philippines as their social media manager and unofficial content strategist. Under his watch, Onic was able to improve its social media standing from last place among eight teams in MPL-PH Season 8, to fourth place in MPL-PH Season 9 — a feat he did with a lean team of four.

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      "Akala ng mga tao, ang esports industry, hanggang laro lang."

      Heins was one of those people who thought that way too.

      "I thought it was going to be easy, that I would just play games most of the time and that the workload would be light, but I was wrong. Akala ng mga tao, ang esports industry, hanggang laro lang. To people who want to enter the esports industry, remove that kind of mindset. Treat the esports industry as if you were working in the corporate world."

      According to Heins, people don't see a career in esports as something serious.

      "If I were not someone from this industry, I would think that this is not a sustainable career and that the only people who can be successful in this industry are the famous pro players at the top of the game. Well, that's partly true-don't expect the same salary in a pro team and in an amateur team. Although there are some amateur teams that have decent payouts for their players."

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      Heins is right: Esports is not just about games, it's so much more than that. A single esports event provides real jobs to hundreds of people. Even the government has thrown its support behind the industry. "I am happy to see that the government has started supporting esports organizations in the Philippines. Even the Philippine Esports Organization or PESO is pushing for the Philippines to host the Mobile Legends: BangBang M4 World Championship," says Heins.

      Heins admits when people think about working in the esports industry, they only think about becoming a pro player, a streamer, or a team manager. But the reality is that for every 5-versus-5 match in an MPL tournament, at least 50 people have worked behind the scenes to make that match happen. Heins is one of those people.

      "Many people are wondering how much someone in the esports industry earns. I have to be honest, there is no shortcut," he said.

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      Some amateur teams pay their talents a measly sum of P2,000 a month, according to a highly placed source in the industry. Some are lucky to get a little more. Even Heins experienced earning below minimum wage in the esports industry.

      Heins used to earn P13,000 a month doing social media management, community management, and liaising with clients-a job typically assigned to several people-before he landed a job as a digital marketing associate at ECHO, which comes with a significantly better salary and better working environment. It was ECHO's country manager Mitch Liwanag who fought for Heins to be hired by the company when he resigned from Onic.

      "If you really don't have experience or if you're new to the industry, you really need to climb your way up. Once you establish yourself, it pays well. On top of that, if you're in a good esports organization, you will get a really good work-life balance, which is very important to me."

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      Heins believes all organizations should prioritize having a healthy work-life balance.

      "The esports industry, just like any industry, can be very draining. You need to find that balance between work and life for your mental health. Otherwise, you'll be burned out."

      For aspiring teenagers who are considering a career in esports, Heins has some pieces of advice: "You have to be passionate about esports. If you're going to do something, you might as well go all out. Always look for challenges. Be loyal to yourself. There is continuous growth in esports."


      In this story: Creative direction and interview by Mario Alvaro Limos • Photographs by Tammy David • Shot on location at Summit Media.

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