Lester Pimentel Ong | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Other names | Direk Lester | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Known for | Wushu, Entrepreneurship, Film Directing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sports career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National team | Philippines | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Wushu | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | Changquan, Jianshu, Gunshu | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Lester Pimentel Ong is a Filipino-Chinese businessman, filmmaker, stuntman, and retired competitive wushu taolu athlete.
Pimentel started his studies in Chiang Kai Shek College then transferred to Philippine Cultural High School for elementary and high school. In college, he pursued A.B. Philosophy at De La Salle University and graduated in 1995. [1]
Pimentel made his international debut at the 1991 SEA Games where he won bronze medals in changquan and gunshu. [2] Years later, he became the world champion in jianshu at the 1995 World Wushu Championships. [3] The following year he also became the Asian champion in jianshu at the 1996 Asian Wushu Championships. [4] He decided to take a break from practicing wushu and focus on school graduation. [5]
Several years later, Pimentel returned to wushu competition for the 2005 SEA Games where he won the gold medal in duilian. [6] He also took part at the 2006 World Traditional Wushu Championships in Zhengzhou winning another gold. [7]
After graduating school in 1997, Pimentel decided to work as a stockbroker before going broke due to the 1997 Asian financial crisis. [5] In 2000, he founded Rice in a Box, a fastfood place which serves fried rice with toppings. [5] The first location was in Pasay and has grown to over 100 franchises across the Philippines, thus Ong's company grew to become the Binondo Food Group. [5] [8]
The success of RBX then gave birth to a goal to create a positive impact in the community, and that is, to provide world class quality food that is affordable to every Filipino.
Following the impact of RBX, he then established Wangfu Chinese Café, a Singaporean-Chinese restaurant in 2012. He introduced the rich flavors of Singapore to the Filipinos at prices that are within their budget. [9]
Seeing that there weren’t many options for Japanese food in the Philippines, he first thought of franchising a ramen restaurant from Japan. But after considering all the costs, this would deviate from his goal to provide affordable food. So, instead of franchising, he created his own brand of affordable yet authentic Japanese food. He searched for the best sources of quality ingredients in Japan and sent his staff there to learn the proper techniques to create an authentic ramen. In 2018, he opened his first Kyu Kyu Ramen 99.
Aside from opening affordable local brands to the Philippines, he also ventured into bringing foreign brands in the country.
During one of his frequent flights in Singapore, he got to taste Udders Ice Cream, the official ice cream of Singapore Airlines. He was delighted with the flavors and decided to bring the brand to his country. In 2023, he opened his first branch of Udders Ice Cream in SM North EDSA.
He also franchised Dean and Deluca, a high-end gourmet food retailer that originally started as a specialty food store in New York City in 1977. It's known for offering a variety of premium products, including artisanal cheeses, meats, fresh produce, baked goods, and fine wines, among other delicacies. The brand became synonymous with upscale, high-quality ingredients and often catered to food lovers, chefs, and anyone who appreciated fine food. [10]
While working in the corporate world, he sidelined as a stunt actor, which did not only provide him an extra source of income but also an avenue for him to continue practicing martial arts. His first project was the 2000 film Ex-Con which was directed by Toto Natividad and starred Victor Neri. As a fight director he was involved in Panday , Lastikman, Imortal and Indio. [11]
He was involved in La Luna Sangre and Bagani . He is the director of the Amazon Prime Video original Filipino series One Good Day [11]
From his love for martial arts and the film industry, he established, Action 360, a talent management firm specializing in action actors and action directors. [12]
Following his passion for filmmaking, he built his own production company, Studio Three Sixty in 2021. He has already produced 2 projects: a romantic movie, entitled, ‘Love You Long Time’ and ‘One Good Day’, a TV mini series exclusively shown in Amazon Prime Video.
In 2022, Pimentel directed The Iron Heart which became known for its stunts work. [13]
Pimentel is a third-generation Filipino-Chinese. [9] He is married to Rossettee, [1] and has five sons. [14]
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