WHO would have thought that a person who worked for the military outside the country during the time of war could create things meant for children?
Believe it or not, Demver Morales, a man who used to work on gadgets and car bullet proofing for the military for 14 years, has found joy in creating and collecting life-size statues of cartoon characters and superheroes.
Morales started working in Abu Dhabi back in 2005 where he does car repairs and bullet proofing for the army. Two years after, he was sent to Dubai and in 2010 to Afghanistan. He was the contract administrator for the International Security Assistance Force, Australian Defence Force, Danish Military, and the British Armed Forces.
During the war in Afghanistan, Morales said that aside from his usual job of bullet proofing and repairs, he also helped the army with the construction supplies, stationary, training, and manpower supply vehicles.
They also supplied the soldiers with the gadgets they needed during the war.
And like any person in the middle of the warfare, Morales had his own share of life-threatening experiences.
“Almost everyday merong atake na nagyayari. In fact, yung asawa ko nung time na yun sabi nya 'uwi ka na.' Sabi ko naman 'kung araw ko na, eh araw ko na.' Nung time na yun nasa war zone ako,” Morales said.
He recalled that the area where he was staying then had been the receiving end of three to five rocket attacks a day.
“Ang daming namatay way back 2010,” Morales said.
It was in 2014, three years after Osama bin Laden was killed in Pakistan, that Morales stopped working in Afghanistan and went back home here in the Philippines.
He tried putting up various businesses, one of which was a restobar, however, some of them were not successful.
It was not until he started his car modification business, the South Side Kustomz Car Paints and Fiberglass that Morales found himself sticking to this kind of business for two to three years.
With his experience in car repairs while abroad, Morales levelled up his skills through modifications and paint jobs for cars which left his clients satisfied.
“So far okay naman then parang nagustuhan din nila ang ginawa ko,” Morales said as he showed the cars he repaired and customized while I was visiting his shop and at the same time his house in Tagoloan, Cagayan de Oro City.
Interestingly, he also worked as a part time teacher in Mindanao Polytechnic State College (MPSC), now known as University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines or USTP, before going to Abu Dhabi.
This was after he graduated college in MPSC with a Bachelor's Degree on Industrial Technology, took up professional education and graduated in the same school two years after, passed his Licensure Exam for Teachers (LET) and became a licensed teacher.
During his time after Afghanistan, Morales, apart from his trial and error of putting up businesses, he also worked at the Department of Education for a bit before he finally accepted a job opportunity in Somalia in 2016.
Still doing the same work as he did before, Morales spent a year with the military in Somalia and came back in the Philippines on July 2018.
With his exceptional working experiences, Morales found out that the skills he gained can be used in creating life-size statues of cartoon characters and superheroes.
With the same materials he used for car modifications, Demver started making the statues and found it to be something worth marketing.
Visiting his house in Tagoloan, not only could you see his shop for the South Side Kustomz Car Paints and Fiberglass, you couldn't help but also notice the lined up mini and life-size statues of Hello Kitty, Elsa, Anna, Olaf, Minnie Mouse, and Marvel and DC superheroes.
According to Demver, the life-size statues weigh 15 to 30 kilos, with the Hulk as the heaviest of all statues.
The paint used for them will last for three years and the materials used in creating the statues will last for 10 years.
His creation was well met and loved by his two children, a boy and a girl, friends and the clients who visited his shop. In fact, the life-size statues of Hulk, Spiderman, Deadpool, and others will be put on display for the public to see during the CDO Toy Show this November 10 and 11.
Even before the event, he has already received several inquiries for his creations.
At present, Demver is managing the Hobby Shack Plus-Lifesize Statue wherein he plans to rent and sell the mini and life-size statues.
“This is only a dream when I was young, when I was still in high school, that when I grow up, I want to have my own house, I want to have my own car, I want to have my own family, at least children, one boy and girl, and have my own business,” Morales said.
Demver’s dream finally came true. He now has his own house built and paid for when he was still working abroad, a family with his wife and two children and a business of his own.