SHENTONISTA

“One reason why I’m in the CBD a lot is because of the running routes here. I find that they’re the best. There’s just something about the vibe here that’s not the same with anywhere else in the country. The Marina Bay area is actually my favourite. I like to run and people-watch there. It’s the one area in Singapore where you can really see a mix of people—interesting folks of different strokes.”

“To me, photographs capture a specific, fleeting moment in time, but with videography, I feel like I’m able to capture an entire memory in a single video. Both forms of art are nice, and each of them have their pros and cons, but filming is more for me.”

“I’ve been pole dancing on and off since 2010. Earlier on when I first started, I really loved doing all the tricks and getting strong, but now, I’m old already lah. I focus more on lighter dancing now, and looking pretty. Don’t need to be strong anymore, my bones cannot take it.”

“Back in 2016, my husband had a near-death experience, so needless to say, it was a very challenging and emotionally draining period for the family. However, I had to remain strong for the sake of my children, who were only 10 and six years old at the time. Thankfully, we pulled through and are happy and healthy now, but I really learnt the value of togetherness and unity through this experience.”

“I’m 61 years old and grandmother of a pair of three-year-old twins, but I’m still currently working as a civil servant, and I love to exercise and keep fit. In fact, I picked up weightlifting exactly a year ago, and now, I can deadlift 95kg, which surprised me.”

“I have a lot of close friends around the world because I travelled for a bit pre-COVID and made quite a few good friends from those trips. When I’m overseas, I usually make friends through other friends, because normally when I travel, I have friends there that I’ll visit. Just be a nice person, and you’ll make lots of friends easily.”

“I like to journal, and I sit down every week to pen down reflections. I reflect on many things, like my dreams, my goals, my achievements both big and small, and especially the mistakes that I make in my daily life. I write them down so that I’ll remember them for the rest of my life, and not make the same mistakes twice.”

“I want to live as many different lives as possible, and because that's not physically possible as humans, I love to meet different types of people to understand their lived experiences, and imagine myself experiencing what they’ve experienced, whether it's good or bad.”

“I’m from New Caledonia, which is a little island next to Australia in the South Pacific. There are a lot of beaches there, and it's very hot all the time, like Singapore, but much smaller. It's very beautiful, but also very different from Singapore. For example, I went to the Night Safari and saw so many animals like tigers, which is very cool because in New Caledonia, there aren’t a lot of animals.”

“I’m currently working in the ramen business, as an Executive Director of a Japanese ramen company. I’m on a business trip here in Singapore to promote our ramen, because we hope to open a store selling our products. Of course, I love ramen—my favourite is Hokkaido miso.”

“My self-care habit is spending time with my five children and hubby! I’m a working mom from Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm, so as it is, I feel like I do not have enough time with my family. As a treat, my husband and I will bring the kids for a short vacation in Malaysia every once in a while.”

“As a street style photographer, I’ve shot lots of memorable people, but the top of my list would have to be JJ, Lin Jun Jie. It was in Paris at the Louis Vuitton show, and I shouted out to him from the crowd “Hey JJ, I'm shooting for a Singapore magazine, can I shoot you?”. He nodded, glanced at my camera, and I got the shot.”