Nerves Of Steel

What’s changed in your life since the last time we spoke?
Previously, I was working at Omm Home, selling macramé and jewelry with the brand. Now I only help with deliveries since the brand’s founder, Linda, has relocated to Ko Pha Ngan, Thailand.

I now hold monthly workshops for the shoe company, Vans, and also freelance at a PR and Marketing company called Bless Inc. Asia where I do marketing for the international bag brand, Kipling.

Tell us more about the work you do for Vans.
The monthly workshops I hold help to spread brand awareness and allow everyone to have fun with customising their own shoes.

I feel that in Singapore, many people are scared to be creative—during these workshops, people often ask me to design their shoes for them, which defeats the purpose. With these workshops, we want to encourage Singaporeans to be creative and more open-minded.

We also collaborate with creatives such as spray paint artists, illustrators, and even tooth gem artists. I especially love working with small local artists because it creates a lot of awareness for them not just locally but around Southeast Asia.

You were recently involved in a motorcycle accident. How has recovery been?
Well, I ended up with a broken arm and knee, and a punctured lung. I’ve only started riding for about a year but I’ve already fallen a few times—this was my worst one yet.

It’s been seven months since the crash and I’m finally done with physiotherapy; I can now focus on strength training to keep my muscles active. My knee has it the worst because joints will never heal fully. I’ll probably get arthritis really early in life (laughs) but that’s why I have to keep training.

Are you deterred from getting back onto the road?
My bike is still under repair, but I’ll still ride it once it’s fixed. I’m not afraid as I think it just comes with being on a bike. Plus, I find that riding comes easy for me because I’ve always loved cycling and stuff, so I’m a lot more comfortable on two wheels than four. My dad, boyfriend, and quite a lot of my friends are also riders, so I think I also got pretty influenced by them.

That said, Singapore is small so it’s quite hard to ride here lah; I’ll probably only use my bike for short trips like grocery runs near my house but not as a mode of everyday transport.

Melia was last seen here.