Come On Board

If you were to describe yourself as an object, what would you be?
A Swiss army knife—a generalist and conductor of many things; I’m an architect, entrepreneur, dad to three kids, and an avid skateboarder.

Tell us more about your collaborative venture, Open Fields.
Open Fields is a creative co-working space that I founded in partnership with my friends, Mark and Steve, in our entrepreneurial pursuits. Our aim is to create a community for young entrepreneurs to embed themselves in and grow with.

Bring us through your skateboarding journey.
I’ve been skating on and off since I was eight, and I find that the lessons I learn from the sport are very much applicable in other aspects of my life.

As a businessman, I’ve learned to take risks. As an older person, the stakes are higher when I skate, but it’s more about putting myself out there and getting up after each fall. As an architect, I view the world differently because when I skate, the city becomes a playground. For others, a bunch of stairs may be just that, but I see it as something I can jump off of, and I appreciate the nuances of its details and design. It’s a bit nerdy, but I think that’s how I got into architecture in the first place.

My friends (who are also a bunch of oldies) and I run a skateboarding account, @planktoy, where we document our progression as older skateboarders. We used to skate together 20 years ago and now we’re all dads with different priorities—it’s quite beautiful lah.

What are some things your children have taught you?
A lot! I have three children under 10, and it really does take a village! I’ve realised that the years are short and the days are long; before I know it they’ll be teenagers, which comes with different challenges. My oldest daughter, who is nine, has already told me that she has a crush on someone… WHAT!

Kids are work, but they’re also a blessing. They’ve made my life richer and I can’t wait to see what kind of conversations we’ll have when they get older.