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Fresh from her historic debut at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Filipina gymnast Levi Jung-Ruivivar made a visit to the Viva office to speak to the press about one of her newest ventures—being one of the newest members of Viva Artists Agency (VAA).
According to the Olympian, she is filled with excitement for what Viva has in store for her as an artist, especially when it comes to modeling, having brand deals, and acting. She has high hopes for these plans to come into fruition after learning a lot about the entertainment company through her father’s close friend, the Concert King Martin Nievera.
“He really encouraged me to work with Viva. So, when I was in the Philippines, I had a meeting with Viva and the way that they were just talking about their whole agency and their goals for me and how they can help me get brand deals and motivate me to do acting, TV, modeling, all those things really felt curated to me about what my goals are and that’s what led me to sign with Viva,” she looked back during an exclusive interview with pikapika.ph.
AN EARLY CALLING
Levi started gymnastics at the very young age of 18 months old. Having such an abundant amount of energy during those times, her parents, actors Anthony and Yvonne Ruivivar, enrolled her in gymnastics classes for fun. Little did they know that this would bring her to new heights in the future.
“Throughout the years, my coaches found that I had a lot of talent in it and I had a lot of drive so that really motivated me to continue with the sport,” she said. “Throughout the years, I just kept progressing and I guess the initial thing that made me fall in love with the sport is the feeling of moving my body through space and just flipping through the air and kind of feeling like I could defy gravity.”
However, Levi also faced challenges in her well-loved sport. She admitted that there were a lot of times that she felt like giving up. Yet, she is always reminded to never give up when her family gave her a shirt that read “Aren’t you glad you didn’t quit on Monday?” which has been one of her motivations in gymnastics ever since.
“There was a Monday right before I left for the World Cup series, which is what qualified me to the Olympics, that I genuinely just sat down when I was [on] the phone with my dad because he was in LA and I just don’t know if I can do this anymore,” she recalled.
“It was so hard and I was really struggling to find the motivation to keep going but I just kind of said that I owe it younger self to just keep going and give it my best effort and I’m really happy that I did because it was those four competitions [in the World Cup series] that qualified me in the Olympics and gave me the extra drive and motivation to continue the sport, even when it’s difficult.”
Mentally and physically, gymnastics will always have its challenges, according to Levi. She has faced injuries and surgeries because of it but she remains moved to continue on with the sport because she found her passion in it.
“I’ve had a lot of ups and downs—surgeries and injuries—it’s really difficult mentally and physically for this sport. It’s a lot of hours and a lot of sacrifices but, overall, I think the reward of being able to compete and show my performances is definitely worth it,” she said.
REPRESENTING HOME
After representing the United States since the beginning of her gymnastics career, Levi made the decision to compete for the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines (GAP) last September 2023.
“I’ve always wanted to represent the Philippines. I just didn’t have a way of connecting with someone like GAP who could help me compete and transition from the US to the Philippines so I was really hoping to pursue and compete [for] the Philippines in 2028. However, when I moved to Dallas, I was able to connect with a family who had a connection with someone at GAP so once I was able to make the connection, I started pursuing the Philippines right away.” she said.
One reason why Levi decided to represent the Philippines in the 2024 Paris Olympics is because of how she felt connected to the Filipino community in the United States.
“It felt like home, it felt like something I really wanted to pursue because my heart was in it,” she said.
Entering the 2024 Olympics as a member of the Philippine Centennial Team, Levi felt a sense of elation, especially when she saw and heard a lot of Filipinos giving their utmost support.
“It’s something that I’ve been working towards quite literally my whole life so I think what it boils down to is that two-week period when I was in the Olympic Village, training for the competition, and then finally able to walk out there to compete, it was really amazing,” she said.
Levi also felt honored that she was able to compete with her fellow Filipina gymnasts Aleah Finnigan and Emma Malabuyo who were also part of the Philippine Centennial Team, which was historic for the Olympics and their homeland, as well..
“I think that something else that meant a lot to me was that they haven’t brought a female gymnast in the Olympics in over 60 years, the Philippines hasn’t and because we made history, I think that just also added to the monumental feeling of competing in a world stage, representing your country, and getting to showcase all the years of hard work,” she said.
Levi made an impressive Olympic debut by securing 29th place in the Women’s Individual All-Around Qualification, achieving a total score of 51.099. Her initial thought after her run in the Olympics was she wanted to do it all over again come the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
“The second I finished, I just knew that it was amazing but I wanted to do it again because I wanted to grow as a gymnast so that I can place even better at the next Olympics and continue to be able to compete for the Philippines at the SEA Games, Asian Championships, Asian Games,” she said.
“There’s so much potential in the next few years to continue to grow and mettle at some of the higher international competitions so that was my initial thought. I want to keep doing this,” she added.
However, more than gymnastics, Levi is beyond excited for more opportunities to further improve her skills and talents, especially as she enters college at the Stanford University in Palo Alto, California and being a member of VAA.
“I am still young as a gymnast and I’m really excited to progress in the next few years and who knows? Maybe I’ll still do [the] 2032 [Olympics],” she said.
A HOPEFUL FUTURE AHEAD
Levi is hopeful that, as one of the newest members of VAA, she can do more things apart from gymnastics, namely grow her own social media programs and be more involved modeling and brand deals while training.
She is also hopeful that she can also transition in the realm of acting in films and television, following in the footsteps of her mother and father, who have appeared in American movies and shows such as Criminal Minds, Third Watch, NCIS: Hawai’i, White Fang 2: Myth of the Wolf, and Law and Order.
“Getting to star in a film would be amazing,” she said. “And then getting to work with high fashion model brands would be very incredible.”
Moreover, Levi wants to use her platform to inspire the future generation of local gymnasts and other athletes to bring pride to their own country through their own sports.
“I’m really planning to come back to the Philippines as much as I possibly can with my schedule because I’m really motivated to support the grassroots of Filipino gymnasts,” she said. “I believe there is a lot of potential for the future of Filipino gymnastics [with] me coming back to the Philippines, doing little camps with them where I can give them information about technique and skill selection.”
“Also, hopefully, I’ll be able to do some fundraising programs for those girls so they can have more access to equipment and materials and the coaching that they need in order to get to that high level so I really hope that I can help facilitate that, as much as possible be a very active participant and setting them up for the future and giving them as much possibility to be at the Olympic level and the elite level,” she added.
Levi remains grateful for the support the fans have been giving her since her run in the 2024 Paris Olympics, giving her the drive and motivation to continue on with the competition and gymnastics as a whole.
“Thank you for all the times you sent me love and support, even if it’s just through social media and messages. It is those messages and that warmth and love that really gave me motivation and drive when I’m feeling down and upset and that love doesn’t go unnoticed. I really appreciate it and I’m really hopeful that I can continue to make the Philippines proud going into the next few years,” she expressed.
Indeed, Levi still wants to make Filipinos proud with the many aspirations she has in life. We cannot wait to see what’s next for the Filipina gymnast as she enters this brand new chapter in life. Good luck, Levi!
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