Chef Phillip Esteban, Open Gym Hospitality
Public Relations & Chef Profiles

GOAL: The San Diego-based non-profit Open Gym approached Katalyst PR in August 2020 at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic to develop a local and national PR campaign highlighting the organization’s community outreach, the underlying culinary concepts which fund its operations, and its founder, award-winning Filipino chef Phillip Esteban. Recognizing the disruptive impact the pandemic was having upon BIPOC and underserved communities, Chef Esteban and his team created Open Gym to provide meals, community programs and resources to underprivileged communities across San Diego. Specific goals for Open Gym included positioning Chef Phillip as a change-maker in his community who is raising Filipino cuisine to the forefront of San Diego's culinary scene and doing good for his community, and a hyper focus on Open Gym as a brand. 

STRATEGY: Working closely with Chef Phillip and the rest of the Open Gym team, Katalyst crafted creative pitches highlighting his background, the organization’s mission, and the underlying culinary concepts. Katalyst then leveraged the agency’s deep relationships with members of the media and social media influencers to arrange hostings to create significant brand awareness. 

RESULT: Locally, Phillip Esteban and Open Gym have been featured in outlets including San Diego Magazine, Eater San Diego, Pacific Magazine, Edible San Diego, The San Diego Union Tribune, and repeated broadcast TV segments on Fox 5. National coverage includes HuffPost, Thrillist, The Manual, Fodor’s Travel, Uproxx and more.