Up Close with Richard
Richard developed his passion for writing when he was a senior high school student.
Through sheer hardwork–reading newspapers (major news dailies in the Philippines), magazines (sports-related and TIME), and his desire and passion for excellence, Richard was able to develop his God-given skill.
His favorite Bible verse pertaining to excellence is found in Colossians 3:23-24, which states: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as if serving the Lord, not men, (24) since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”
After earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism at the University of Santo Tomas, Richard entered the journalism world officially in 1997.
He started writing for the Manila Times, the Philippines’ oldest existing newspaper. From being a humble contributor in the sports section, Richard was able to earn a regular slot in the sports department–writing sports articles related to basketball, volleyball, baseball, table tennis, taekwondo, karate, tennis, boxing, among others.
Before the Manila Times changed management, he wrote a regular sports full-length article with the Sports Times Magazine.
From 2001-2005, he worked as sports contributor for newspaper dailies like the Daily Tribune & The Manila Bulletin–covering sports issues that hogged the major sports headlines.
He was also a regular contributor for the Atlas Sports Magazine from 1998 till it closed down in 2004, writing feature articles on local and international sports personalities.
For a brief moment in 2001, he served as segment producer for The Basketball Show, a TV sports program aired durting that time at RPN-9 (major local channel in the Philippines).
He has been a Christian since 1992, practicing his faith by reaching the young people in the universities and college at the University Belt in Manila.
He believes that writing can shape culture, and will continue to do so especially with the world shrinking into a global village through the world wide web.
In 2003, sensing the call of God to serve Him in full-time capacity, he became one of the pastors of Victory Christian Fellowship while serving as one of the campus missionaries of Every Nation Campus Ministries (ENCM).
You can reach him through his electronic mail: richava@gmail.com or richard.dy@victoryubelt.org