40 Under Forty 2019: Rex Macapinlac

Photo | Erika Sidor From the 20th anniversary of WBJ's 40 Under Forty are (from left) 2019 winner Rex Macapinlac, 2000 alumni Polly A. Tatum and 2019 winner Stephanie Ramey at ArtsWorcester.

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Click here to read about the other 40 Under Forty winners from 2019 and featured alumni in our 20th anniversary edition
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Rex Macapinlac, 28

Marketing officer

Bay State Savings Bank, Worcester

Residence: Bellingham

Birthplace: Daly City, Calif.

College: Stonehill College

By day, Macapinlac runs marketing for Bay State, where he’s remade the bank’s social media sites; created ideas for its print, radio, television and billboard ads; and is working on redesigning the bank’s website for a September launch. In 2018, he was Bay State’s employee of the year. His alter ego, though, is Rex Mac, the young rapper who operated as an artist under the three-time Boston Music Award winner booking agency Lysten Boston and this year is nominated for #617Sesssions Artist of the Year. Macapinlac’s two roles often will combine themselves, as they did when he remade Sugar Hill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight” to be a song about the bank and sang it to raise money for local pancreatic cancer research. He tours and has performed at events like the 2018 Boston Arts and Music Festival, as well as written for other artists. Even when he’s not rapping to raise money, he volunteers at social services organizations like Mustard Seed in Worcester and coordinates the bank’s collection of holiday gifts for the services center LUK, Inc. You’ll never see Macapinlac sweat; he’s unflappable, always willing to help anyone out, unfailingly professional and pleasant to work with. – Profile written by Grant Welker

What TV character is most like you? Arnold from Nickelodeon’s “Hey Arnold!” He’s stylish, unapologetically altruistic, and a reliable friend.

What are the hidden gems of Central Mass.? Buck’s Whiskey & Burger Bar makes an amazing burger and hot sauce, and The Muse Bar & Kitchen has a delicious negroni.

What would you tell a new marketing intern? Be wary of shortening attention span among online audiences, but never underestimate intelligence.