Spotlight
Erik Cua, GP Reyes, and Kevin Tan: Transitioning From Night Life to Family Life
Nightclub moguls Erik Cua, GP Reyes, and Kevin Tan proudly share how fatherhood changed their priorities as former party boys.
Clubbing isn’t what it used to be, according to multi-nightclub moguls Erik Cua, GP Reyes, and Kevin Tan—who fondly recall their “Embassy days” over glasses of water during the interview. Their days as “swashbuckling bachelors” among society’s A-listers were filled with work, pleasure, and thrill, which eventually buoyed the friendship that built Manila’s most popular nightclubs like The Palace, Opus, and Republiq, to name a few.
This helped them navigate a different kind of party: fatherhood.
But their party days aren’t completely behind them—the scene is just different, now that they’re the party hosts and that clubbing is no longer exclusive to the echelons of the metro. And while it’s certainly good for business, Erik Cua chuckles, “The biggest difference I feel is during the rare occasions that I do go out, I don’t know anyone. Though, I think it’s because I’m old.”
“Everyone’s revenge clubbing!” declares GP, while pointing out that many of the partygoers were the former 18-year-olds. “These guys were trapped during the pandemic! Now that the pandemic’s over, they’re all going out!”
Brothers at the bar
A nightclub overflowing with guests is a welcome sign—one that often reminds these dads of how they started. It was back in 1999 when Erik Cua first entered the clubbing scene as a nightclub mogul with The Basement and Jack’s Loft, renting spaces in Eastwood with Kevin Tan as his landlord. GP Reyes back then was a promoter and handled some of Erik’s events before eventually becoming a co-owner of some of the big club names like Tides, Republiq, Opus, and The Palace.
“Most of the clubs we [GP and I] own together are on Kevin’s lands,” Erik says, then realizes. “Gosh, I’ve been in this industry for over 25 years now…”
“[And] to think this all started because of a city ordinance,” GP chimes in. “We needed to move because a new rule prevented the club from catering to our usual customers. Kevin offered some spaces in Pasay and Erik just said, ‘I’ll take all of them.’”
While their clubs grew in size and popularity, so did their families. It was relieving, Erik admits, when GP also had a daughter around the same time he did. “When GP first brought over his newborn daughter [Amelia], it felt nice to see that I wasn’t going through this journey of fatherhood alone.”
Since then, Erik’s daughter Odette and GP’s daughter Amelia have been quite the bosom buddies.
Slowing down on the shots to savor fatherhood
Despite not fully closing the door on the party scene, fatherhood—they all admit—flipped their priorities.
GP enjoys what he feels is “karmic retribution,” now that he’s a girl-dad of three to 9-year-old Olivia, 5-year-old Amelia, and 11-month-old Lucia. “It was no secret women were one of the reasons why I partied hard back then,” GP snickers. “But that’s why it’s now my job to show my daughters how a man should treat them properly. I know every trick there is in that playbook!”
Even Erik, who is the visionary behind the OG, Embassy Superclub, ironically considers himself a “late bloomer” among the nightlife’s regulars. He further drew the line between leisure and business as a girl-dad to 4-year-old Odette and 2-year-old Amina. “I enjoyed partying, but when I did, it was mostly to work—building connections and all. But I do have to admit that these days, I stopped driving fast and my sleeping habits are way better.”
Meanwhile, Kevin is a dad to a daughter named Katy and a son named Drew. He also discovered fatherhood’s ability to draw the line between nightlife and family life. “Your priorities change especially since all our firstborns”—he nods towards GP and Erik—”are daughters.”
Kevin adds, “I know it’s cheesy, but there really is a truth to ‘love at first sight.’ When you hold your daughter for the first time, it’s truly a wonderful experience. But nothing prepares you for parenthood. You kind of have to learn as you go along.”
It takes a conscious effort to maintain that balance but Kevin and GP reveal that travel has been one of the best ways to further cement the line between business and family. Sometimes, they even take those vacations without a helper or a yaya accompanying them. It’s to ensure that they will be hands-on with the kids, GP points out.
“For my family, travel helps build those memories in their formative years. It’s what they’ll take with them as they grow up and these will form their values as well,” Kevin chimes in.
“But we’re family too anyway!” GP laughs as Erik and Kevin chuckle in agreement. “So, if not travel, we just spend time together—usually on the weekends!”
The Dreaded Dadventure
Fatherhood didn’t just change their priorities but how do they, as some of the prominent figures of the clubbing scene, feel about their kids going to the clubs in the next several years?
For one thing, security and clearance have always been a priority at their clubs. As club owners, they require attendees to show their IDs to gain entrance. But as dads, the openness to talk about it—as counterintuitive as it sounds—helps ease their minds.
“The right answer about these kinds of things is usually to balance things out,” Erik shares. “Kids these days are different and they know so much, so talking things out really helps. Being strict and refusing to have discussions, in my experience, is usually how a lot of kids end up in trouble. Be patient—that’s a lesson I learned from both the business and my own parents.”
“We want them to open up to us and feel that they can talk to us about these kinds of things,” GP Reyes adds. “Especially while we’re still in the clubbing scene.”
Eventually, their kids will take an interest in experiencing Manila nightlife and finding their way into clubs and parties, and it’s something that Erik, GP, and Kevin feel they’ll need to face soon. “But of course, we’d prefer that they go to our clubs. I’d like to think we have the safest places,” Erik says.
“They’ll have perks, but they’ll also have eyes watching them to make sure they’re safe,” GP chimes in.
Meanwhile, Kevin’s plan seems to already be in motion on how to safeguard his kids: making friends with all sorts of good people. “So that when the time comes, I could say, Kayo na bahala.” He shoots an all-knowing look at GP and Erik as they chuckle in response.
He then jokes, “Maybe as the owners of the club, you [GP and Erik] could ban our kids too!”
The scene today
Although bass-heavy sounds and the multi-colored bartender’s signatures are no longer these dads’ cup of tea, they still know how to party and have a good time—at home. The deafening music is replaced with their kids’ screaming and laughter as they play, and the food is homecooked or ordered from their favorite restaurants.
“It comes with age, I guess,” Erik admits. “When you become a dad, you just want something more mellow. Something relaxing that you do with the family.”
Both Erik and GP even tease that they have a new place opening up in the first quarter of 2025 to reflect their newfound party preferences. It will cater to Gen X, most of whom are parents of this generation’s party enthusiasts. Although they’ve hinted all throughout that they’re planning a pivot from the clubbing scene to something more relaxed like a lounge or a supper club, they’re still watching over the new generation of partygoers.
“Looking at the kids who go to our places like Xylo, Yes Please, and Clubhouse, as a dad, we see everyone as someone’s daughter or son.” GP points out. “So many of them are our friends’ kids. A lot of these young ones are also our employees so we look after them too.”
For now, the nightlife kings turned doting dads have their hands full with raising their own kids. From watching them take their first steps to celebrating their birthdays, bringing them to and from school, and eventually, seeing them blossom into adulthood, Erik Cua, GP Reyes, and Kevin Tan want to witness every milestone in their family’s lives.
Eventually, when the day comes that their kids finally engage in the allure of Manila’s nightlife, these cool dads will be two steps ahead, as they are all too familiar with its anthem.
And they will make sure their kids know it, too!
Words KEVYN GOHU-CATINGUB
Photography EXCEL PANLAQUE of KLIQ, Inc.
Hair SHARMAINE MANALO
Grooming MARY ANN PARBA
Shoot Coordination ANTHONY MENDOZA
Art Director MARC YELLOW
Sittings Editor MARGA MEDRANO-TUPAZ
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