‘The Hunks’ was a popular male group seen on the Sunday noontime musical-variety show, ASAP, in the early 2000s.
Anyone who identify themselves as Batang ’90s and grew up watching local television in the early 2000s, remains to have a vivid memory of the Kapamilya male group, ‘The Hunks’, who heated up noontime television with their “hot” physiques. Composed of then Kapamilya leading men, Piolo Pascual, Jericho Rosales, Diether Ocampo, Bernard Palanca, and Carlos Agassi, the group was a staple in ASAP, earning them avid followers who idolize them for their sexy and “hunky” appeal. The group, like many, proceeded to getting disbanded, and each went on to making their individual careers in showbiz.
Pascual and Rosales have ultimately become Kapamilya superstars, while Palanca hopped back-and-forth among television channels, earning himself a spot in the world of character actors. Ocampo, though continued to be seen in various leading man roles, ultimately took a pause, and is now rarely seen on television.
Agassi similarly made his temporary exit from showbiz, as he set up his own business ventures, including a music studio. From time to time, he drew spotlight into himself, but not all for good reasons. In fact, just a few years back, he received flak over his new music video, ‘Milktea’, which many deemed to be ‘transphobic’.
Agassi, nevertheless, continued making music and maintaining his business ventures, while also growing his following on social media. His Tiktok, along his other accounts, turned out to be a great platform for him to share his daily slice-of-life as well as his thoughts about different stuff, including his showbiz past.
It is through his TikTok account that we learned his thoughts over the disbandment of his previous group, The Hunk. Asked whether he remains in touch, with his fellow members, Agassi tried to act lightly but without exposing some bitterness. Does he hold grudges on his The Hunk brothers?
“Kaya nga nabuwag eh, ” he said, responding to a query made by one of his followers.
“Gusto ng kanya-kanyang career ‘nung iba. Kasi kung group, pantay-pantay kami sa lahat eh, sa exposure, sa TF (talent fee), sa career. So, para makaangat ‘yung iba, parang nabuwag, ganon na nga ang nangyari, and then, wala na, wala na talaga, ” he shared, alluding to some members of the group wanting to part ways to build their own career. It seems Agassi wanted to remain as a group, which didn’t happen, of course.
It looks, however, that it wasn’t just the breakup that Agassi has resentment on, as he revealed he eventually lost communication with the rest of the group. “Kahit noong napilayan ako, walang nag-check, pero okay lang, “ he revealed.
He shared that he agreed to guest in some of his brothers’ overseas gigs, even without pay, arguing, “Hindi, brother kita, kuya ko kayong lahat ako ang pinakabata eh. Tara, walang bayad. I’ll do it for you, my bro!”.
“Tapos eto na, noong gumawa ako ng Milktea, marami akong minessage para lumabas sa music video, (puro seen), ” he further shared, revealing none of his The Hunks brothers agreed to appear in the music video he made.
Watch on TikTok
He also mentioned how he got reunited with the boys during Johnny Manahan’s birthday celebration: “Siyempre showbiz, ‘hi guys!’ binati pa nila ako lahat, sila unang bumati, ”.
“Ibang-iba talaga in showbiz at in real life. Ganito talaga ang buhay, pero hindi masama ‘yun. That’s life! Magkaka-kompetensya pa rin kami, ayaw nilang makabalik ako!” he added.
Regardless of what he shared, Agassi maintained he doesn’t have anything to be bitter about, although one would think otherwise.
