The singing ‘Boy Wonder’

YOU WOULDN’T know it looking at him, but Christian Alvear, former Pinoy Dream Academy scholar, is 25 years old.

Christian, who was expelled from the Academy two weeks ago, suffers from a condition called Growth Hormone Deficiency Syndrome. In layman’s terms, it simply means that Christian’s pituitary gland is not producing enough growth hormones. That explains why, at 25, Christian still looks like he’s a little boy.

Despite his condition, Christian bravely went on to audition for Pinoy Dream Academy. He made it into the Final 14, and stood tall even when the odds were stacked against him. When he was finally expelled after failing to garner enough text votes from viewers, Christian admits he felt sad, but at the same time, is looking forward to the career opportunities that await him outside the Academy.

At a recent Press conference-where he shared the spotlight with two other ex-scholars-Christian recalled the trials that he faced inside the Academy.

One of the scariest, he says, was the day that his good friends Ross and Jet voluntarily gave up their slots and left for personal reasons.

According to Christian, he was really scared when it happened, because the departure of Ross and Jet left him without a support group or an anchor. “I was really scared at first, because everybody had a group inside the Academy. I instantly clicked with Ross and Jet because we’re the oldest scholars, so when they decided to drop out, I found myself alone. I was hesitant to hang out with the other scholars, because I was afraid they’d find it intrusive, but they welcomed me with open arms. I was sad that my two closest friends left the Academy, but fortunately, the other scholars made it easier for me,” he says.

Another trial he faced was the quarrel he got into with another scholar, Laarni. The two had a misunderstanding while preparing for an assignment under Direk Joey. How did Christian settle the problem with Laarni? “I’m never the type to keep grudges.

After our misunderstanding, I reached out to Laarni and we actually became really close. She became one of my best friends inside the Academy, and while I was still there, I confided in her,” he says.

Christian has a lot of plans now that he’s out.

Aside from going back to work as a dubber, or voice talent (he used to do voice-overs for shows on Hero TV, ABS-CBN’s anime channel, and for the network’s mainstream entertainment programmes), and pursuing his singing career, one of the things he intends to do is to continue to seek medical treatment for his condition, so he can hopefully grow a little taller. Christian requires two injections on a regular basis. The first is an injection of growth hormones, which costs P800 per shot and has to be administered daily.

The other is a shot of testosterone, administered once a month, and which costs P1,000 per shot.

• City Times