June Mar Fajardo. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—Gaming used to just be June Mar Fajardo’s past time, but it turned into something more for the six-time PBA MVP when he faced tough times.
When San Miguel’s superstar entered a bout with depression early last year while he was recovering from gruesome leg injury, he turned to video games and his streaming platform AHOS Gaming helped him cope with his mental struggles.
Fajardo has since recovered from his fractured tibia but he’s still taking steps into maintaining his mental health.
“It was really hard for me because I don’t really share my pain and stress, I tend to keep them to myself. I’m not a person who shares his problems and pains. I don’t know if the person I talk to already has his own struggles then when I talk to him or her it’d just result in them carrying my problems,” said Fajardo in Filipino during an interview with Inquirer.
“I’m thankful to my followers at AHOS Gaming because they supported me and because of online games I recovered. I found so many friends online. Right now I’m talking to someone regularly just to help me focus on my mental health.”
Fajardo said that even though he’s fully recovered from his injury, which left him sidelined during the 2020 PBA Philippine Cup, he’s still afraid that he could get hurt again.
This fear has been lingering in his mind that’s why he’s taking steps in improving his mental health as well as further praying to God to calm himself.
“I’m still thinking that what if I come back then I injure myself again, there are so many scenarios running in my head,” said Fajardo, who can finally play in the coming 2021-22 season more than a year after he got hurt.
“I just have to put my trust in God because only God has control on all things. I just have to take on the things that I can control.”
Kraken does art
While Fajardo keeps his YouTube channel AHOS Gaming, which already has upwards of 100,000 subscribers, as active as possible, he’s also taken his creativity through other forms of media.
Fajardo not only streams his sessions of Dota 2 or Call of Duty, but he’s also taken to collecting basketball cards while keeping his clothing line Kraken Apparel PH up to date.
The jovial giant said he’s partnered with Threads and Needles in Cebu to create his designs after he requested owner Pormz Porminal to make him custom shirts.
This request led to Porminal telling Fajardo that he could make his own clothing line, thus creating Kraken Apparel PH.
“It’s a good thing for me because even though I’m busy I can divert my ideas into it,” said Fajardo whose products can be bought through K15apparel.com. “I just tell Pormz what design idea I have then he’ll create it for me to approve.”
Fajardo added that Franco Cipriano, his college teammate at University of Cebu, was the one who created and curated the website. But despite the digital platform, he still keeps a physical record of his orders.
The 6-foot-10 center shared that he writes every order on a log book as he still prefers to keep an old school approach to the important matters.
“It’s very fulfilling because there are a lot of people who order t-shirts, caps, hoodies, and then I brought a printer so now I’m the one doing the printing. I’m also the one who folds everything, before I don’t know how to fold a t-shirt now I’m an expert in it,” said Fajardo. “I’m happy with it because it relieves me of my stress and I can divert my attention on other things.”