AFTER suffering from a mild stroke a few years ago, Kuya Kim Atienza is back on track and full of life.

As proof of his renewed strength and wellness, he proudly shares that he completed a 42K race exactly a year after his stroke. “And I have conquered numerous more after,  including the IronMan triathlon (3.8-kilometer swim, 180.25-km bike, 42.195-km run).”

Indeed, Kim has never felt better, and celebrates each moment as a grand blessing. Everything about him has changed, from his priorities to his perspective.

“The only thing that hasn’t changed perhaps is my love for retro clothes!” he laughs,  sharing that his typical everyday “uniform” still consists of his signature “Kuya Kim” hat and Original Penguin separates.

“I was born in 1967, so nagbibinata ako noong ’70s.  Original Penguin was not called Original Penguin then, rather Munsingwear. The grownups—my grownup cousins, titos and titas—always had Munsingwear. I knew of the brand, and always wanted to wear it, but I couldn’t afford it!” he laughs. “So I had to wait for hand-me-downs.”

To own a shirt from Original Penguin was like wearing a badge of prestige.

When Kuya Kim entered show biz, Original Penguin became his go-to brand. It gave him comfort and confidence to “compete” in the very cutthroat industry of show biz.

“In show biz, you had to look the   best. I remember when I wanted to be in TV in the ’80s, we were up against the Aga Muhlachs and Richard Gomezes of the industry. They were so handsome. I felt then, how could there be a place for someone like me? How could I be different?”

He then realized that he didn’t have to compete with the hunks and the heartthrobs, he just had to be himself. There was value in being an original, in simply being him.

“It goes beyond how I look, and it goes to what I really say. There has to be substance. Whenever they watch me, they learn something new. That’s what I give—information,” he beams.

Original Penguin by Munsingwear is sold in premier retail shopping destinations around the country.