This Dude Stared at Manila Bay Sands 'Until My Mental Health Is Okay'

Cloud Yuri Mendiola, who goes by the stage name Chall, posted a live stream video on Facebook and captioned it, “Staring at white sand until my mental health is okay.”

Within minutes, the streaming video went viral while it lasted for five hours. 

But why did he do it? 

According to Cloud, it was his reaction to a statement by Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque.

“I did this to send some sort of message, a silent protest as many said, against the irresponsible statement by the President's Spokesperson Harry Roque,” Mendiola told Esquire Philippines. 

On September 6, Roque defended the controversial “Manila Bay Sands” by claiming the rehabilitation project will benefit Filipinos’ mental health. 

According to Mendiola, he had been planning about the stunt ever since he heard Roque’s statement. He admitted that the video is looped, which means he did not really sit down in front of a picture of Manila Bay Sands and stare at it for five hours. 

“I’ve had this idea as soon as Harry Roque said the statement but my phone camera broke that time,” said Mendiola. 

“However, after watching this video about a guy faking his presence in Zoom calls, I decided to give it a try and record myself using a digital camera, and with a little editing, I made a slightly convincing loop of myself.”

Below is his video in which he appears to stare at Manila Bay Sands for five hours. 

Staring at White Sand Until My Mental Health is Okay

Below, a music video of La’belles, a song Mendiola wrote and produced.