[3] In an interview that appeared in South China Morning Post, Flores stated that he was inspired with beauty pageants at seven years old during the 1974 staging of Miss Universe in the Philippines that was broadcast on live television.
[4] As a student, he pursued chemical engineering instead of becoming a make-up artist out of concern that his family would disapprove.
[3] A candidate for a pageant in a local TV variety show was referred by a friend to be mentored by him in 1995.
[6] He received backlash for training women from other countries, an act deemed contradictory to the Filipino-first goal of the camp.
In an interview, he stated that local candidates were a priority and said, “I’ll train other nationalities as long as our girls are not compromised.”[3] He was also criticized for the transfer of Mary Jean Lastimosa from Aces & Queens, another beauty camp, which he admitted caused conflict between mentors of both camps.