| Lester Pimentel | |
| Other Names: | Lester Pimentel Ong |
| Known For: | Wushu athlete, founder of Rice in a Box |
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Lester Pimentel Ong is a Filipino businessman, filmmaker, stuntman, and retired competitive wushu taolu athlete.
Pimentel studied at the De La Salle University in Manila where he obtained a degree in philosophy.[1]
Pimentel made his international debut at the 1991 SEA Games where he won bronze medals in changquan and gunshu.[2] Years later, he became the world champion in jianshu at the 1995 World Wushu Championships.[3] The following year he also became the Asian champion in jianshu at the 1996 Asian Wushu Championships.[4] He decided to take a break from practicing wushu and focus on school graduation.[5]
Several years later, Pimentel returned to wushu competition for the 2005 SEA Games where he won the gold medal in duilian.[6] He also took part at the 2006 World Traditional Wushu Championships in Zhengzhou winning another gold.[7]
After graduating school in 1997, Pimentel decided to work as a stockbroker before going broke due to the 1997 Asian financial crisis.[5] In 1999, he founded Rice in a Box, a fast-food place which serves fried rice with toppings. The first location was in Pasay and has grown to over 100 franchises across the Philippines, thus Ong's company grew to become the Binondo Food Group.[8] He is also the founder of the Singaporean-Cantonese restaurant Wang Fu.[9]
Sometime around 1999, Pimentel banking on his knowledge in wushu became a stuntman. His first project was the 2000 film Ex-Con which was directed by Toto Natividad and starred Victor Neri. As a fight director he was involved in Panday, Lastikman, Imortal and Indio.[10]
He was involved in La Luna Sangre and Bagani. He is the director of the Amazon Prime Video original Filipino series One Good Day[10]
He formed Studio 360, a production company from Action 360 a troupe of stuntmen form during Pimentel's work with La Luna Sangre. Action 360 became a subdivision under Studio 360.[11]
In 2022, Pimentel directed The Iron Heart which became known for its stunts work.[12]
Pimentel is a third-generation Chinese.[9] He is married to Rosette[1], and has five sons.[13]