From across the globe, Filipina racing driver Bianca Bustamante feels a lot of empathy for the late Emman Atienza.
Conversations surrounding mental health have been pushed into the spotlight in the Philippines recently following the passing of social media celebrity Emman Atienza, the daughter of TV personality Kim Atienza.
The topic has opened the discussion about struggles faced by today’s young Filipinos.
Even across the globe in London, Filipina racing driver Bianca Bustamante caught wind of the news – which has prompted her to reflect on her own experiences.
As she deals with a public image on social media to market herself and keep her racing sustainable, the 20-year-old is also exposed to opportunities of criticism and outright hate from some people online.
With Emman suffering the same type of situation, it was easy for Bustamante to feel some empathy.
“I think now is a very important moment in time to really speak about mental health as [I am] obviously up to date with everything that's happened in the Philippines. And I give my warm wishes to the Atienza family and Kuya Kim and to Emman and everything,” Bustamante said.
“I know the struggles of getting that absurd amount of hate that is sometimes just very, very, very undeserved because all you're trying to do is show yourself to the world and show who you are and show what you like and show what you do.”
In pursuit of her dream to eventually race in Formula 1, Bustamante understands just how hard it is to put herself out there. And with her social media part and parcel of her life, she said that there are times where it is difficult to get through it all.
“At the same time, people can, and still will dislike you. And it's hard to take that sometimes, especially when it is so overboard,” she said.
‘Silent battles’
One of the things Bustamante is known for is that she does share her journey in her racing career extensively on social media.
From race weekends to her offseason training grind, the public does get a glimpse into the life of the Laguna native as she wades through motorsport. But of course, not everything is shown on the screen.
Among those happening behind the smiles and screens is Bustamante’s mental challenges, many of which she faces daily.
Especially after an up-and-down season at the GB3 Championship where she raced for Elite Motorsport, the 20-year-old said that it was crucial to steady herself and lean on her support system even from far away.
“It is a silent battle, but one of my proudest moments this year is definitely learning when to take a step back, learning when not to give people power to inflict pain on myself, to not give people power to make me sad or make me cry… That control will only ever be up to me,” said the Formula E Development Driver.
“It gets easier maybe as you get older, because you find yourself and you find who you are as a person.. And I think having the amazing support system that I do, my team, you know, even though I'm so far away from home, it makes it very tough. But at the same time, I don't really feel so far away because my team makes me feel so at home,” she added.
At the end of the day, Bustamante is spurred on by her dream. And when times are too hard to handle, she gives it her all on the track to not only distract herself from the noise, but also continue to work on herself.
“I think one of the main things that I do is that I focus so much on sports… I always say this to myself, you know, depression can't hit a moving target. As long as I keep going, and I keep moving, and I keep focusing and prioritizing, and I show up for my team, for my sport, I will always keep going,” she said.
Bustamante finished her first year in the GB3 Championship at P22 in the driver’s championship. She scored a total of 75 points across the 24 rounds of the championship.
She also recently finished P3 in the women’s test of Formula E where she drove for CUPRA KIRO.
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Luisa Morales is a sports writer with a special interest in promoting women’s sports.
Her coverage highlights include the UAAP, PVL, Southeast Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup. She also follows Alex Eala, the Philippine women’s national football team, and mixed martial arts.