‘I wanted to change my life’: How Dubai gave this Filipino expat a fresh start

Dubai: When Romuel Perey arrived in Dubai in 2011, he had no clear vision of what his future would look like. What he knew was that he needed a change.

“I didn’t plan a big move. I didn’t have a dream or a vision. I had a salary I was wasting and a life I wasn’t proud of,” Perey told Gulf News.

Before moving to Dubai, Perey has taken technical courses in the Philippines and completed a two-year diploma in electromechanics. He has started working at 16 and took jobs as a technician after his training.

But he has struggled to stay interested in his work. After a few months, each job has begun to feel repetitive. On payday, he would cover his bills, give his parents their share, and spend the rest on drinking. He was often late to work because he was drunk or hungover.

He has known that he needed to change direction before those habits cost him more opportunities.

His father, who has already been living in Dubai, helped him secure a job in furniture sales on a two-year contract. As the eldest son, Perey has felt a responsibility to support his parents back home.

Still, his decision to move has been more than about earning money.

“I wanted to change my life. Dubai changed how I saw things and it started changing me.”

Perey's career did not follow a straight path. In 2013, he has returned to the Philippines and accepted a call centre job because the salary was good. Around six months later, he has started feeling restless again, but he stayed in the role for two years.

It was not until 2015 that he discovered videography as a possible career. With his father's help once again, he has returned to Dubai and found work behind a camera. He has moved through three companies, learning about lighting, directing, and audio on real productions.

Rather than following a carefully mapped-out career plan, Perey has discovered his interests through experience. His technical background has given him a starting point, but he taught himself videography by working on projects and learning from his mistakes.

“I never had one calling. I got bored, kept changing direction, and ended up in the one job that never repeats,” shared Perey.

That variety has become an advantage. Instead of focusing on a single specialisation, he has developed skills across video production, photography, live streaming, and events.

His work has since taken him to Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. He has also worked on productions involving international names such as Chris Hemsworth, the Black Eyed Peas, Anggun, John Cena, and Christina Aguilera.

For someone who has once struggled with punctuality and motivation at work, the progress still surprises him.

In 2019, Perey took the leap into freelancing. He has been working independently for four months when the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted events and productions around the world.

“I had been freelancing for only four months, with no salary and no idea how long the lockdown would last,” recalled Perey.

The year 2020 has become one of the most challenging periods of his career. With work drying up and no certainty about when restrictions would ease, he had to find another way to earn an income.

He has decided to invest his last backpay in a video switcher, equipment that allows video sources to be managed and switched during a live production. He has then started offering live-streaming services to clients.

His first client has been a coaching company that needed to run sessions on Zoom. The opportunity has helped him keep working at a time when traditional events and face-to-face gatherings was difficult or impossible. 

The experience has also reinforced a lesson that when one route stops working, it may be necessary to find another.

Perey's progress did not come with a large salary or immediate financial security. Throughout his full-time jobs, he has continued sending money to his family in the Philippines. 

At one point, he has lived in a two-bedroom apartment shared by 17 people, with even the hall used as living space. He has made plenty of beginner mistakes as he learned videography, particularly when it came to lighting. Rather than mastering every skill immediately, he has improved through experiences, taking on one job at a time.

Over the years, his circumstances have changed. He went from sharing cramped accommodation with numerous others to having his own apartment, car, and professional equipment.

“I’m grateful for that,” exclaimed Perey.

Those changes have represented more than material progress. They have reflected the years of work, learning, and difficult decisions that helped him move away from a lifestyle he no longer wanted.

Perey has credited the people he met in the UAE with helping him develop a different attitude towards work and life.

“Everyone I met here had their own reason for coming, which was to build a better life. When the people around you think like that, you start thinking like that too,” stated Perey.

Professionally, Dubai has given him opportunities to learn from real productions and develop his skills in directing, lighting, and audio. He has found a community of freelancers who share work and help one another find opportunities.

That support has shaped his own approach to the industry. He has recognised that building a freelance career involves more than technical ability because relationships, collaboration, and a willingness to learn also matter.

“The people around you matter more than you think, so choose them well. Share what you know with the people coming up behind you. Nobody here builds anything alone.”

Perey now makes time to teach others the skills he has developed throughout his career. He created a photography training programme designed around using a mobile phone to take pictures. He first taught it to around 20 hotel staff.

He also teaches camera history and basic digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) photography at schools, and runs free sessions for groups who come together to learn.

His involvement extends to Dubai's Filipino community, where he remains active. For Perey, teaching is a way to return the support he has received when he was starting out. Other freelancers have helped him learn and find his footing, and he wants to offer similar encouragement to people coming into the industry.

He believes people should have the opportunity to develop their skills even if they do not have expensive equipment or formal training in photography.

Looking back, Perey does not describe his journey as a search for one perfect career. Instead, it has been a series of decisions, changes in direction, and lessons learned along the way.

His advice to people who feel uncertain about their future is not to wait until they have everything figured out.

“You don’t have to know what you want right away. I didn’t. Try things, change direction when something stops working, and keep learning,” said Perey.

He has been candid about his own past and does not present himself as someone who always knew what he wanted.

“I’m not special. I was a young man who almost wasted his chances. If you’re in that spot, you can still change. It starts with deciding to stop.”

Perey did not arrive in Dubai with a grand plan. He found his direction by making changes, learning from experience, and accepting help along the way.