{"id":130,"date":"2022-09-28T01:07:52","date_gmt":"2022-09-28T01:07:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iriswrites.com\/portfolio\/?p=130"},"modified":"2023-02-17T17:10:21","modified_gmt":"2023-02-17T17:10:21","slug":"in-the-business-of-danger-and-the-danger-of-doing-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iriswrites.com\/portfolio\/writing\/features\/personality\/in-the-business-of-danger-and-the-danger-of-doing-business\/","title":{"rendered":"In the business of danger (and the danger of doing business)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Kristine Manreza sits astride her favourite ride, the 1200-cc Triumph Bobber, in Cebu City. (Photo used with permission from Kristine Manreza\/Peligro.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The road lays quiet in the pre-dawn fog, but not for long. As the rising sun burns away the previous night\u2019s mist, the motorcycles come, and they come by the dozens\u2014too fast, too loud, and too dangerously oblivious in their mad, adrenaline-fueled rush.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the Transcentral Highway (TCH) on any given day. It cuts through the heart of Cebu Province, taking travellers from city to summit to sea in less than two hours\u2014mere minutes for the more reckless. It is two lanes of sharp turns, blind curves, and sudden dips, bordered by deep ravines on both sides. Speed limits are unenforced and, in some stretches, non-existent\u2014a road so dangerous that locals are unlikely to bat an eyelash at the latest fatalities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Kristine Manreza, the TCH is, quite literally, the road to freedom. Every weekend, she goes on 100-kilometre rides, unfazed by the danger of the TCH and many of Cebu\u2019s lawless streets. \u201cRiding clears my mind. Doing long rides provides me the opportunity to enjoy the scenery, go places, and meet new people,\u201d she explained. \u201cIt relaxes me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Most days, Manreza can be found clad in black denim and leather, ready for the next long ride. (Photo used with permission from Kristine Manreza\/Peligro.)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Racing through the winding highway on her pride and joy, a 1200-cc Triumph Bobber, she stands out among the ubiquitous scooters and more modest dual-sport bikes of the island. She cuts an impressive figure: clad in black denim and leather, full-sleeve tattoos (almost her entire upper body is inked), and Dr. Martens boots. She has a pretty face and an easy smile, but she is far from the average \u2018manic pixie dream girl\u2019 yet also not quite a \u2018hell-raising biker chick.\u2019 Some may even say she is unusual, which Manreza shrugs off as a fact. She is, undoubtedly, her own person: no-nonsense and unapologetic, a devoted mom to three daughters, and an accomplished businesswoman many times over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People deal with danger in two ways: run from it or meet it head-on. Few choose the latter, but they almost always come out all the better for it when they do. With a contentious marriage and, later, a volatile relationship in her rear-view, Manreza is certainly no stranger to danger. Instead, she has found a way to thrive in it. Better yet, she built something glorious and profitable out of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Peligro,\u2019 a Spanish word that\u2019s well-absorbed in the post-colonial Cebuano vernacular, rolls off the tongue beautifully. It literally means \u2018danger,\u2019 apt for a brand conceived for the fast-paced, risk-taking, and road-loving lifestyle that Manreza herself manifests. The telltale smiling skull leaves little doubt of what Peligro, as a brand, represents: memento mori<\/em>, a reminder of the reality of death, expectedly resonant in the age of COVID-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ibz Dedel poses in Peligro in Calgary on Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. The Philippine-based brand only uses high-quality and sustainable materials. (Photo by Iris Young\/SAIT)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor a local brand, Peligro\u2019s quality is very good. You really get what you pay for,\u201d said Ibz Dedel, a motorcycle enthusiast and one of the brand\u2019s earliest patrons. \u201cI moved to Canada last year, and I still wear Peligro with pride.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Manreza personally curates every item in the shop\u2014at present, running the gamut from apparel to leather goods to personal care products. Indeed, when one wears and uses Peligro, one acknowledges one\u2019s mortality and commits to living a life filled with beauty, adventure, and not-at-all-cheap thrills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peligro is not Manreza\u2019s first foray into entrepreneurship. She spent many years in the banking industry before retiring at 35 to start her own business. Now 39, she runs several successful businesses in the financial services sphere, all of which she founded herself. She also has other, more diverse ventures in the pipeline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite her business expertise and experience, launching the brand was not without its challenges. \u201cI\u2019ve had people attacking my capabilities of running and owning Peligro because of how I cater to such a male-dominated market. They think I\u2019m just a girl, that I\u2019m just playing around.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In less than a year, however, she had turned that perception around. \u201cMore people have been complimenting me on how I\u2019ve managed it,\u201d she said, laughing. \u201cI\u2019d like to think that there\u2019s a charm to the contrast of where I\u2019m at now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, the challenge of running more than one successful business is not for the faint of heart, yet Manreza, with her unflagging energy and infectious laughter, makes it look so easy. \u201cTo keep my life balanced, I ride every weekend. I spend time with my kids, and I pamper myself by gifting myself with things I want,\u201d she shared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Manreza, life is meant to be lived, leaps of faith are supposed to be taken, and roads should be travelled\u2014preferably on a fast bike. The real danger lies in fear and being overcome by it. Whether it\u2019s a long and exhilarating rip up the TCH or a guilt-free shopping session, Manreza believes that she deserves all the best things that life has to offer. \u201cAfter all, we will all die,\u201d she declared.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2018Peligro\u2019 means \u2018danger,\u2019 apt for a brand conceived by risk-taking Kristine Manreza.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":132,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-130","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-personality"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iriswrites.com\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iriswrites.com\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iriswrites.com\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iriswrites.com\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iriswrites.com\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=130"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/iriswrites.com\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":516,"href":"https:\/\/iriswrites.com\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130\/revisions\/516"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iriswrites.com\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/132"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iriswrites.com\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=130"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iriswrites.com\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=130"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iriswrites.com\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=130"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}