Man Had 19 Surgeries To Resemble Superman

Herbert Chavez, 35, has spent £4,400 on his obsession.
Has had nose jobs, lip liposuction, jaw realignment and
pec implants
The Phillipino takes to the streets and promotes good
morals to children
When Clark Kent wanted to transform into Superman, it
was a fairly simple task.He would step into a phone
box, spin around and the switch would be complete.But
Herbert Chavez's change into the comic book hero has
taken a bit longer - through 16 years of plastic surgery.
Herbert Chavez underwent 19 surgeries over 16 years to
look like Clark Kent. Here is how he changed between
1995 and 2012. The 35-year-old, from Calamba City,
Philippines, has had nose jobs, skin whitening, lip
liposuction, jaw realignment, pec implants and even
abdominal implants to become a real-life Clarke
Kentafter falling in love with the TV programme aged
five.He has splashed around 300,000 Pesos (£4,400) on
his obsession - a fortune compared to the average 90p
hourly wage in the Philippines.
Mr Chavez regularly takes to the streets around his
home dressed in full Superman regalia, with his hair
gelled in distinctive curly fashion. He aims to teach kids
good morals while also brightening their days. Mr
Chavez goes out in the streets wearing his full costume
and signature gel-covered hair to promote good morals
to local children He said: 'I feel like a Superhero
whenever I pull on the costume, but my mission is not
to save the world but to help in my own small way and
bring a smile to the faces of local children. I don't have
any regrets at all. People come up to me in the street all
the time and want their picture taken with me. They are
all really excited to see a real-life Superman in the
Philippines. In June 2013 Guinness recognised Herbert
for having the largest collection of Superman
memorabilia with 1,253 items.
But his distinctive look has not come easily, with
Herbert going under the knife repeatedly to copy every
last feature of the super hero he worships - right down
to his chiselled chin.And Mr Chavez admits it is tasking
trying to keep up with such a 'perfect' person.He added:
'If you talk about super heroes, the expectation of
people is that they are flawless, they do not get hurt,
they do not die. But as human beings, we can only copy
their looks. Especially as a Filipino, I have very Asian
features and did not look like the caucasian
Superman. 'So when I was able to save enough money
to alter my features, I chose to copy those of Superman.
It is hard living up to people's expectations as a living
superhero. That is the reason I have had so many
surgeries because I undergo maintenance procedures
that need performing.'For example, my cleft chin is
formed of hydrogel, but it does not always appear
balanced. The more dehydrated you get the smaller it
gets, so you have to keep adding to it.'I am such a
good customer of my surgeon, Tito Garcia, he does all
the work for free as part of a part-exchange deal. 'I
help publicise his practice in return.Herbert now plans
to keep improving his look with more operations to
make him taller and surgery to beef up his abdomen
and bum.
But he acknowledges that there may be a day when he
has to halt the extensive surgeries.Mr Chavez said: 'I
totally don't have any regrets. What is there for me to
regret? Everything that has happened in my life has
been positive and because of Superman.'When my body
says it can not endure it anymore or when my doctor
says that my body can not handle it because of age,
then I will stop.'Single Mr Chavez creates his own
Superman costumes, T-shirts and clothing from scratch
at his dress making shop.And the 35-year-old, who has
featured on Billboards in his native country, says he
hopes to one day meet a partner who can share his love
of Superman. I am single but also inspired to find
another person to share my passion with.'But they will
have to put up with his huge collection of Superman
memorabilia - built up over decades worth of
obsession.In June 2013 Guinness recognised Mr Chavez
for having the largest collection of Superman
memorabilia with 1,253 items - ranging from life-size
dolls, to posters and rings worth thousands of
pounds.But he says his collection is actually closer to
5,000 items and plans to increase it to around 10,000
pieces - and has even moved home in order to
accommodate the influx of comic book clutter.
Now famous across his native country thanks to
numerous TV appearances, Mr Chavez's friends and
family are supportive of his unusual hobby.Him mum
Linda said: 'I remember when he was a kid, he was
already fond of Superman figures. He would be very
happy when I bought him shirts with Superman pictures
on them.'At school they held drawing competitions, and
he would always draw Superman pictures.'As parents
we are happy because though he is small, he has
become the Filipino Superman. He has become well
known in our community - he has become people's idol.