With almost immediate success, 6cyclemind rose to prominence in the Philippines in the early 2000s. With almost a decade of recording and touring behind them, the band underwent a few changes in the lineup, including the addition of Herbert Hernandez, a well-established lead guitarist. Moonstar88, where he plays lead guitar and writes, is the band he founded previously. Even though Herbert Hernandez plays with two mainstream bands regularly, he takes responsibility with great grace; even so, he doesn’t consider himself a full-time musician.
With his partner Badong Abesamis, Hernandez co-founded the internationally renowned independent advertising agency GIGIL in addition to his duties with both of his bands. Although Herbert Hernandez spends most of his nights traveling and performing music, most of his days are filled with meetings, alignments, and presentations with local and international advertising clients. Having such a variety of natural abilities, his days are filled as he pursues all of the ventures he finds exciting and inspiring, regardless of whether they are musical or visual. He starts every day with a prayer, followed by a lot of coffee.
He works for GIGIL from 9-6 hours, either on the phone or with clients, and then breaks for lunch with his family. Having been married for 15 years and having three children together, Hernandez prioritizes spending quality time with his wife and children daily. His children can see what their father does at the office when work permits. Dinner with his family follows his day job, followed by a gig with either 6cyclemind or Moonstar88. At the end of every day, Hernandez and his wife play Mobile Legends.
In addition to one date night per week, one family day per week, and one international vacation each year, he emphasizes the importance of keeping the family healthy by taking many bike rides. He also travels quite a bit. There are many nights when Hernandez does not get more than four hours of sleep, so if you wonder what he has to sacrifice, it is usually his sleep. However, Hernandez is willing to sacrifice both careers for one of his favorite careers.
He relies on the positive feedback he receives from fans and clients to keep going. The multifaceted career Hernandez has enjoyed in advertising, and music has led him to create solutions and opportunities for colleagues within his field. In 2018, he founded The Indierectory, which allows independent advertising professionals and freelancers to sell their services directly to hiring agencies and companies as a third venture. Hernandez hopes to provide paid gigs to Filipino independent talents worldwide eventually.
