State Of Mind

Tell us about yourself.
My name is Shaun and I’m in a creative agency called Plus, doing social media and copywriting. Before this, I was in tech sales recruitment.

You’d never have guessed, but I actually studied psychology in school. I wanted to pursue my Masters in the field, but before that, you have to have at least two years of relevant work experience, so I did an internship for a private clinic called Cornerstone that provides educational psychology for people who are on the spectrum. I did that on the weekends while I was still working in sales, but eventually, I decided to leave both jobs to pursue a more creative career.

Can you tell us more about your decision to become a creative?
I like music—I’ve been playing in bands since I was young, so it’s a big part of my life. I used to play guitar and keyboard in hardcore bands, but nowadays I only play at sessions when I can. Besides, all my friends are in the creative industry, even my girlfriend—she’s an artist—so I feel like I just gravitated towards that.

The decision took me quite a while to come to. I asked myself, “Is this what I really want?” I feel that a lot of people, especially in Singapore, don’t really consider what it is they actually want to do. It’s always about the chase for money. But I think it’s very important to be self-aware and to know what you want.

How do you like to unwind after a long day?
I like going out in nature a lot—reservoirs and the like—but in Singapore, it can be very hard. Last weekend, I went to Labrador Park with a group of friends to just hang out.

I really try spending time in nature as much as I can because I feel that everything is very fast-paced. Even in my job doing social media, sometimes it feels that you’re subconsciously making choices and you’re not really present. Let’s say I go to a café, but it wasn’t really me that made that choice, it was presented to me through a prompt or something like that. That’s why I feel the need to go out in nature and reset to really just have a sense of myself.

After going through several jobs in different fields, do you think you’re on the right career path now? 
I feel that I’m happier doing what I do. It’s more meaningful ideating, thinking of strategies, and writing. I think that’s more fulfilling than trying to close the next sale or getting someone to buy something. But the realistic part of me is worried about paying the bills because it’s paying less than my previous role, but that’s the reality of creative work.

That being said, I’m also thinking of revisiting my career in clinical psychology one day.

Tell us more about your chrysanthemum tattoo, it’s really nice!
I got that because I just like the aesthetic of it. Initially, I wanted to go all black but my friend—he was the tattoo artist—psychoed me into doing it with colour. I was like, “Dude, that’s damn ah beng !” But he responded, “No, ah beng is a state of mind.” So I was sort of forced into it (laughs).

I believe that’s the only one I got locally, I got the rest from places such as Melbourne, UK, and Thailand. Most of my tattoos are really quite random, with no special meaning behind them.