Samir Gogna, known professionally as Sam YG (short for Samir Young Guy), and also known as his character Shivaker (born August 18, 1984), is a Filipino

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transm ...

and

television personality Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in sports ...

. He is the one of the three '' Boys Night Out'' hosts on

Magic 89.9 Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...

along with Tony Toni and Slick Rick. He was also a co-host for ''

Eat Bulaga! ''Eat Bulaga!'' (), formerly ''Eat... Bulaga!'', is a noontime Philippine television variety show broadcast by GMA Network. Produced by TAPE Inc., it is the longest running variety show in the Philippines with over 13,000 episodes. Origina ...

''.

Early and personal life

Gogna was born and raised in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

; he is a fourth-generation Indian Filipino: his family are

Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

originating from

Jaipur Jaipur (; Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had a population of 3.1 million, making it the tenth most populous city in the country. Jaipur is also known as ...

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

. He has an older brother and a younger sister. Gogna attended

Ateneo de Manila University , mottoeng = Light in the Lord , type = Private, research, non-profit, coeducational basic and higher education institution , established = December 10, 1859 , religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic (Jesuits) , academic_aff ...

from grade school to college. Gogna aspired to become a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solici ...

when he was a teenager, which led him to pursue a degree in

legal management Enterprise legal management (ELM) is a practice management strategy of corporate legal departments, insurance claims departments, and government legal and contract management departments. ELM developed during the 1990s in response to increased ...

. Gogna became a target of bullying during his youth because he was

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

. His peers called him ''Bumbay'' (

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

ethnic slur for Indians), ''5-6'' (Indian

loan shark A loan shark is a person who offers loans at extremely high interest rates, has strict terms of collection upon failure, and generally operates outside the law. Description Because loan sharks operate mostly illegally, they cannot reasonably ...

) and ''mabaho'' (

Tagalog Tagalog may refer to: Language * Tagalog language, a language spoken in the Philippines ** Old Tagalog, an archaic form of the language ** Batangas Tagalog, a dialect of the language * Tagalog script, the writing system historically used for Tagal ...

for "smelly") based on Filipino stereotypes about Indians. In April 2010, Gogna gave up his Indian nationality and became a

Filipino citizen Philippine nationality law details the conditions by which a person is a national of the Philippines. The two primary pieces of legislation governing these requirements are the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines and the 1939 Revised Naturaliz ...

Career

In 2003, 19-year-old Samir Gogna successfully auditioned for the Junior

Jock Jock may refer to: Common meanings * Jock (stereotype), a North American term for a stereotypical male athlete * Jock, a derogatory term for Scottish people mostly used by the English * Short for jockstrap, an item of male protective undergarmen ...

program of

. Being the youngest among the Junior Jocks, his bosses nicknamed him "Young Guy", which he adopted into his radio name, Sam YG (Samir Young Guy). After graduating from Ateneo de Manila University, Gogna worked with several television networks including

Hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ''actor''), ''hero ...

Studio 23 Studio 23 (officially Studio 23, Inc. and previously AMCARA Broadcasting Network) was a Filipino television network owned by ABS-CBN Corporation. The network was named for its flagship station in Metro Manila, DWAC-TV and carried on UHF ch ...

's ''

Wazzup Wazzup {{Infobox television , image = , caption = , genre = News satire , creator = ABS-CBN , developer = , executive_producer = , presenter = Toni GonzagaVhong Navarro Archie Al ...

'', QTV, and

CNN Philippines CNN Philippines (abbreviated as CNN PH) is a commercial broadcast, cable and satellite television network in the Philippines. It is owned and operated by Nine Media Corporation, together with Radio Philippines Network (RPN) as the main cont ...

. In 2006, he became a DJ for

. He joined Tony Toni and Slick Rick in '' Boys' Night Out'', taking the place of King DJ Logan. Shivaker, Sam YG's alter ego, first appeared in ''Boys' Night Out''. Shivaker was an Indian love

guru Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverentia ...

who wore a

turban A turban (from Persian language, Persian دولبند‌, ''dulband''; via Middle French ''turbant'') is a type of headwear based on cloth winding. Featuring many variations, it is worn as customary headwear by people of various cultures. Commun ...

and spoke with a thick Indian accent. In 2009, Shivaker had his first television appearance in ''

Cool Center ''Cool Center'' is a Philippine television comedy talk show broadcast by GMA Network. Hosted by Eugene Domingo and Anjo Yllana, it premiered on March 14, 2009 replacing ''Nuts Entertainment''. The show concluded on April 17, 2010 with a total o ...

'' as a relationship expert. In August 2009, Shivaker and Tony Toni appeared as contestants in the ''

'' segment, "''Pinoy Henyo''". The studio audience were so fascinated with Shivaker that he was invited to be a host of ''

''; he also became a host of ''

Diz Iz It! ''Diz Iz It!'' is a 2010 Philippine television variety show broadcast by GMA Network. Originally named as ''Todo Bigay'', it premiered on February 8, 2010 replacing ''Kapuso Movie Festival''. The show concluded on July 24, 2010 with a total of 1 ...

''. In July 2015, he was featured on the cover of ''Men's Health Philippines''. In January 2016, after the last segment ''Dancing in Tandem'' replacing ''ATM with the Baes'', Sam YG departed ''

'' to focus on his career as a DJ.

Filmography

Television

Radio

* ''Sam vs. Sam'' (

99.5 RT DWRT (99.5 FM), on-air as 99.5 Play FM (stylized as ''PL>Y''), is a 24-hour radio station owned and operated by Real Radio Network Inc. It is one of the partner stations of Tiger 22 Media. Its studio is located at Unit 906-B, Paragon Plaza ...

, 2005–06, with

Sam Oh Oh Sang-mi, better known as Sam Oh is a television host, radio broadcaster and a Korean expatriate who has been living in the Philippines for 20 years. She can speak Tagalog and English in addition to her native Korean. She has been the main hos ...

) * '' Boys Night Out'' (

, 2006–present)

Notes and references

Notes References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sam YG 1984 births Living people People from Quezon City Filipino radio personalities Filipino people of Indian descent Filipino television variety show hosts VJs (media personalities) Radio Philippines Network personalities GMA Network personalities Ateneo de Manila University alumni