Bernard Chong

Bernard Lu Chong was born in the Philippines in December 1980, the same year when his family founded the World Balance footwear and apparel company also based in the Philippines. Throughout his youth, Bren worked at World Balance alongside his family helping build the business from humble beginnings. As early as grade school, he was already selling their family shoe business products. World Balance rapidly grew as it achieved high growth and expansion to become one of the most prominent footwear and sports apparel brands in the Philippines.

Being a child of the '80s, Bren exposed to video games. From a young age, he showed interest in gaming, comics, and animation. He eventually left his family's shoe business and followed his passion for esports competition. His decision lead him on a unique journey as he established himself as a gamer, an entrepreneur, and an esports influencer.

He finished with a degree in Electronics Communication Engineering[1] at the De La Salle University - Manila. During his stint at the university, he ventured into several businesses, most notably in the recycling industry. His experiences shaped Bren's future as an investor and business owner.

In 2013, Bren co-founded Synergy88 Studios based in Manila. It started as an anime animation studio that evolved into a full-service animation studio supplying 2D and 3D assets and animations at the highest level. Synergy 88 has worked with franchises like Gears of War. It has also worked with companies such as Netflix[2] and DreamWorks.[3]

In 2016, Bren Chong founded the PH Alliance, a Philippines-based esports community comprised entirely of Filipino gamers. With both Synergy88 and the PH Alliance, Bren was ready to execute his vision to harness the competitive nature of Filipinos and create a professional environment where Filipino-based gamers can perfect their skills and compete on the world stage of esports.

He founded Bren Esports in 2017. The team made history by becoming the first Philippine squad to win the $300,000 Mobile Legends: Bang Bang World Championship M2 title[4] in 2021. Bren Esports is the biggest and most successful team in the Philippines and the only locally-grown squad with a full-service training facility.

Bren Chong produced and wrote the animation series Barangay 143, a Japanese-Filipino Singaporean anime television series from ASI Animation Studio, Sunrise Studio and Shin-Ei Animation.

Barangay 143 was later released in Netflix on October 1, 2020, where it later entered the top ten "most watched titles"[5] on Netflix Asia. The series was also released on the Filipino streaming service POPTV in November 2020. A second season was announced on November, and was subsequently released in December 2020, on POPTV.

Bren Chong is also the executive producer of Dino Girl Gauko, a children's animated streaming television series created by Akira Shigino for Netflix. The show revolves around the teenage girl Naoko, who transforms into a dinosaur when she gets angry. The series premiered in November 2019 on Netflix.[6]

• Shady Grove (Movie) on 2022
• Love is Love (Movie) on 2019