Rembrandt Flores

Early life and career

Flores was born in Metro Manila, Philippines. Flores and his family immigrated to the United States when he was one year old. He was raised in Almaden Valley, San Jose, California, where he attended Leland Stanford High School. He enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley where he initially majored in economics but switched majors to communications during his junior year, graduating with a bachelor's degree. Growing up, his parents wanted him to become a doctor, but he reported that he always knew that his calling was in the entertainment industry, so instead of getting a job in New York City, he went to Los Angeles instead.

He started his career by becoming a part of the agent-in-training program of the Abrams Artist Agency. A few months later, he moved on to E! Entertainment as the executive assistant to the executive producer of E! True Hollywood Story. In 2000, he became a part of the production team of the show FYE, a entertainment news series from the same network, as well as ECU and Wild On.

Although he grew up in the United States, Flores strongly identifies himself as Filipino. In an interview he said, "I feel that being Filipino sets me apart because, honestly, there aren’t a lot of Filipinos that I see in that world around me. I always feel like I have to represent our culture in a way and so whenever I can, when appropriate, I try to bring it up, in whatever shape or form that Filipinos are doing great things in this industry." Despite the proliferation of Filipinos in the American entertainment industry, he admitted that there are not many getting into public relations and related that "you have to have 'super thick skin,' a lot of tenacity and patience... and [a lot of] relationships in order to succeed."

He is also part of the Filipino Hollywood Mafia (FHM), a group composed primarily of Filipino actors, writers, producers, directors, publicists, lawyers, editors, journalists and hosts. The group aims to serve as an avenue for the "coming together as Filipinos, working together, socializing and sharing that common bond of being Filipino."

In August 2012, Flores announced that he will write for the Fashion Police section of Us Weekly.

Business

In 2002, Flores co-founded Entertainment Fusion Group - a firm engaged in public relations, entertainment marketing and events planning, located in Los Angeles, California which has satellite offices in New York City, as well as in Hong Kong, and Manila. He also co-founded ad.ly, a company for online social media celebrity micro-endorsements.

Flores explained that as a public relations executive, he works as "the direct liaison between the client, either an actor or product, and the press." As a publicist he also "books [clients], arranges red carpet appearances for them, such as getting them into movie premieres or events, and [ensures] that the story of is client will always be positive."

Flores has produced parties for celebrities including Justin Bieber, Usher, Lauren Conrad, Kim Kardashian, Chace Crawford and Matthew Morrison. He has coordinated events for The Coachella Music Festival, The Grammys, The Sundance Film Festival and The Oscars. According to Forbes Magazine, Flores is "responsible for some of the biggest events in gaming and entertainment" with clients including Maxim, Capcom, Ubisoft, IGN, Electronic Arts, and Playboy. He has also handled events for Fox Television, EMI, Oakley, Inc., Hard Rock Hotel and Casino and LG Mobile.

Advocacy and philanthropy

Flores is a proponent for My Hope For Children, a non-profit organization geared towards providing relief and assistance to Filipino children who cannot afford them, and an interview he elaborated that "it provides health care for children who can't afford it. And we partnered with clinics, and... the doctors are not getting paid and they are... just donating their time... To me, it is all about finding a charity and finding a cause that you actually believe in." Since 2013 he has helped with Generosity.org, a charity that helps provide clean water to those who would normally not have access to it. He also supports Unlikely Heroes, which provides safe homes and restoration for child victims of sex slavery.

Awards

On September 30, 2016, the Los Angeles City Council proclaimed October 2016 as Filipino-American History Month, and honored five Filipino-Americans, including Flores, "who are excelling in various fields from food to political advocacy," "for their achievements and contributions to the betterment of the community." Flores was honored for excellence in the entertainment industry.