31 GOOD MEN
The ones who take care of freelancers. The one who reports on climate change. The one who creates humanist furniture. The ones who keep our bicycles safe. We feature 31 men who are making our lives better, and our world much, much nicer.
They’re out there doing good things: improving our lot, changing our habits, saving our environment, championing our causes, and altering our mindsets.
Tron Young, 35, co-founder, The Bar Awards
If you're discovering better service at bars these days, and finding more awesome cocktails and concepts out there, you might have Tron to thank.
For five years now, he (and biz partner Emily Seow) have produced The Bar Awards to recognise creativity and talent in Asia's bar industry. These are the awards the players in the booze industry want to win, and that means having
to raise their game.
The Bar Awards has expanded from Singapore to Hong Kong, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur. Singapore recently handed out 14 awards, including Best Specialist Concept, Most Creative Cocktail Programme, and Bartender of The Year. One more city will be added in 2019. (Psst… it's either Manila or Taipei.)
With its expansion,
Tron has been able to create opportunities for regional bartenders to do guest shifts at various top bars – sort of like a summer exchange programme, but with only one night of madness.
It started innocently enough in 2014, when Tron (formerly a head bartender) sent out casual surveys to find Singapore's best bars and bartenders. “I then teamed up with Howard
Lo and Tyler Hendrie of Liberty Spirits Asia to throw the inaugural awards party, and it rocked!” he says.
He knew he was on to something bigger than just slinging cocktails.
There were teething problems, of course, mostly with sponsorship and funding. The Bar Awards is still in its nascent stage, and it's not fully profitable yet. “As we get more
financial sponsorship, we improve our awards experience for the community. There are so many amazing women bartenders in Singapore and across Asia, but they don't get the recognition they should. We are brainstorming ways to recognise them as well as encourage more women to join the hospitality industry,” he adds.
You can help. Just order another round.
Aun Koh, 46, co-founder, Straits Clan
O
ld-school country clubs are so over; our current go-getters (whether Gen X, Y or Z) need cool digs and new hangs, and Straits Clan is about as zeitgeisty as it comes. This new members’ club – which opened in May this year – prides itself on bringing together a community of driven individuals with an entrepreneurial, creative or socialchange mindset. It’s modelled after London’s Soho House & Co, among others.
“Old-school country clubs were built for a specific generation or class, but today, people are looking for diversity and ways to connect with those who are different from them,” points out co-founder Aun, who curated the events for the club’s 900-plus members before chairing the board. The Straits Clan (https:// straitsclan.com) is a home (away from home) to its members, most of whom are from the finance, consulting, creative, and food and beverage fields.
Aun’s unique background makes him the ideal networker: He was deputy director of visual and literary arts at the National Arts Council; director of the expanded marketing, advocacy and development department at the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre; as well as co-founder of culinary blog Chubby Hubby and strategic brand communications agency The Ate Group.
So he’s always looking at ways to connect people from
different backgrounds who share similar passions. Straits Clan’s offbeat programming and events set it apart from other members’ clubs. Recent highlights include Pam Oei performing part sketch comedy, part musical Faghag, while Crazy
Rich Asians director Jon Chu and actor Henry Golding were on a panel discussing the significance of an all-Asian cast in Hollywood. This month, members can look forward to a cookbook launch by Chalk Farm
co-founder Bryan Koh; and management consultancy Bain & Company’s Boston partner, Chris Zook, will be talking about his latest book, The Founder’s Mentality.
Aun’s co-founders are managing director of The Lo & Behold Group, Wee Teng Wen, and Sally Sim, who has more than 15 years of experience in the hospitality industry and a background in private members’ clubs. They now have their sights set on regional expansion.
Bjorn Shen, 36, judge on Masterchef Singapore
The buoyant Bjorn, chef-owner of modern Middle Eastern restaurant Artichoke, previously appeared as a guest judge in the Masterchef Asia finale, but stepped up to become a full-time judge in the recent inaugural Singapore edition of the competitive cooking show (you can catch replays on Toggle).
For a chef, Bjorn’s quite a familiar face in the entertainment biz, and if you can’t tell which one he is on Masterchef
Singapore, well, he’s the judge who’s not the tall serious one, and he’s the judge who’s not the woman. Bjorn brings the bombast when he likes a dish – and not simply by relying on words. He pulls exaggerated facial expressions or bangs the table because a contestant’s culinary chops are that deserving. He’s animated. But not quite Gordon Ramsay.
From the start, he tells viewers that he wants to help kick-start someone’s culinary career. So it only makes sense that he wants his criticisms to be constructive (like calling out a sambal for being too salty), but not savage. And he advises: “You can make calculated decisions, but you can never be 100 per cent sure. So don’t be too fixated on an idea that isn’t working.”
Zenos Schmickrath, 37 (near right) Yoan Kamalski, 29, co-founders, Hmlet
French CEO Yoan and his American co-founder Zenos built Hmlet based on their own millennial needs: flexible leases (commit for three months minimum); a desire to connect with like-minded individuals; and a desire for great living spaces. Rates start at $1,300 for a room and include utilities, weekly cleaning and quarterly servicing.
Hmlet works with landlords to transform rooms and update the furniture for locals and expats. It introduces comfy cribs, provides convenience and creates a community for its residents in Asia (it acquired direct competitor We R Urban in July). It’s also active in Hong Kong. The Singapore Hmlet is fully managing co-living buildings in Joo Chiat and Newton; the latter has more common spaces like a rooftop area and a pool.
Co-living is unlike living in a serviced apartment. There’s an emphasis on meeting great people – Yoan and Zenos are confident in their roommate-matching capabilities, and they organise regular social events. Does your landlord organise bar takeovers at watering holes like Claypots Full Circle and Artemis? Didn’t think so.
The duo recognise that it’s important to build a network and friendships outside of work. But living well isn’t just about living in good company; it’s also about convenience. Since launching in 2016, Hmlet has introduced ondemand services such as hiring cleaners to do your laundry, iron your clothes and tidy your room. It is working on partnerships with F&B outlets, and wants residents to be able to order groceries easily too. Like online stores rolling out new apps, Hmlet will add new services in the future.
THE GUYS HELPING US LOUNGE BETTER:
Alaric Choo, 30 (above left) Ian Ang, 26, co-founders, Secretlab
Few take chair comfort more seriously than competitive hardcore gamers, who are known to spend up to 20 hours straight sitting in front of their consoles, blasting and building away. (Food, we’re told, is optional.)
So it should come as no surprise that Secretlab, maker of some of the bestreviewed armchairs in
recent years, was founded in 2014 by competitive gamers Ian and Alaric (Starcraft II, since you asked).
These days, the chairs are equally embraced (and appreciated) by office workers, celebrity Youtubers and pro gamers alike. The fandom is greatly due to the chairs’ ergonomic designs and highquality materials.
The pair decided to get into the chairmaking business when their own hunt for the ideal gaming seat turned up zilch. “I couldn’t find one that ticked all the boxes – quality materials, beautiful design, local warranty – and not sold at an absurd price. So I decided to rope Alaric in to make one,” said Ian. They immediately set about creating their “perfect” chair, taking inspiration from racing car seats that were custom-designed for
the human shape in order to give it optimal lateral support and weight distribution. Their flagship chair, the award-winning Omega, which you can order from www.secretlab.sg, starts at $469, a fair price for optimal lumbar support.
Using economics lessons they gleaned from gaming, they also bootstrapped their company, starting small and staying consistently cash flow-positive. Their success didn’t go unnoticed. In 2017, the company nabbed the Emerging Enterprise Award, an annual award co-presented by The
Business Times and OCBC Bank that celebrates young and outstanding businesses.
And like any good gamer constantly looking for ways to, erm, up their game, Secretlab doesn’t rest on its comfortable laurels but continues to
evolve its products with better materials and advanced manufacturing techniques. This year, it has already upgraded construction with cold cure foam for more even support, and added a new velour memory-foam lumbar pillow. “Our chairs are made with one goal in mind – to provide incredible comfort for long hours of use.”
Darren Soh, 42, photographer
Surely Golden Mile Complex, Pearl Bank Apartments and People’s Park Complex deserve to be conserved; Darren definitely thinks so, and he is doing his bit through photography. His September exhibition at Objectifs,
Before it all Goes: Architecture from Singapore’s Early Independence Years, featured nostalgic buildings and estates, many of which have been lost to larger development projects.
Built postindependence and in a
modernist style in the 1970s, Golden Mile Complex, Pearl Bank Apartments and People’s Park Complex represented Singapore’s progressiveness then. These buildings have melded into the landscape of Singapore, rendering them iconic.
Although Golden Mile Complex, for example, has had its detractors, Darren considers the building an essential part of Singapore’s urban landscape.
He switched to architectural photography in 2008 when foreign magazines hired him to shoot architecture. Since then, he’s been photographing buildings. When asked what sparked his interest in conservation,
the avid photographer solemnly explains: “Singapore’s landscape is always changing. We are always tearing down old buildings and building new ones.”
Darren recognises the ever-evolving nature of our architectural landscape. And he knows that buildings are more than just concrete structures – they hold historical value and are sentimental spaces to many.
Capturing snapshots of iconic buildings before they are gone is the only way he can preserve them. With Queenstown Cinema, Buona Vista Swimming Complex and Tanglin Halt Estate no longer standing, he hopes that the multi-use facilities replacing these old structures will form their own histories and stories in time.
Ernesto M. Torres, 30 (near right) Bruno Navarro, 31, Securemybike
The Securemybike project (launched in January) is an underground parking system managed by these two Singaporebased Spaniards. Bruno and Ernesto are in charge of implementing, operating and maintaining three Automatic Mechanised Bicycle Parking Systems (AMBPS) in Kampung Admiralty, the country’s first integrated public development.
These AMBPS, which can host 501 bicycles, are the biggest installations of their kind in the world. (They won the contract against Japanese and Korean competitors; their Spanish-manufactured systems were the only ones that allowed parking with additional gear such as baskets or child seats.)
You simply rock up to the kiosk, pay your deposit, get a pin code,
park your bike, helmet and gear into a storage cell, and the system will store the cell 3m underground. It’s secure, inaccessible to anyone without the pin, bike retrieval takes less than 25 seconds, and all this for only 45 cents an hour – isn’t technology great? The service has more than 1,100 registered users to date. By 2020, Bruno predicts, it will have 400 regular monthly users.
Truth be told, Singaporeans don’t have the best relationship with bicycles (we’ve seen the damage done to bikes with no ownership), so this Securemybike initiative by the Land Transport Authority to tackle bicycle parking issues, such as theft and vandalism, is the next natural step after bike sharing.
Bruno believes that many bicycle users have
started riding in Singapore by using the sharing schemes. He wants the system to “facilitate the safety of the user by protecting their bicycle, promote the usage of safety gear, increase the lifespan of the bicycles, reduce bicycle theft, as well as reduce the number of improperly parked bicycles in the streets”.
The duo, who run Smartcity Projects, a company founded on the principles of social entrepreneurship, see the introduction of bike sharing as a smart solution to ease traffic congestion and increase mobility in an environmentally conscious way.
We have a long way to go to reduce our carbon footprint, but hopefully, we can get there on foot or on safe and secure bikes.
Jeremmy Chiam, 32, chef-owner, Le Binchotan
At this cosy, tunnel-like, 35-seater restaurant, Chef Jeremmy marries French techniques with the centuries-old practice of grilling using Japanese binchotan charcoal – which gives the dishes a smoky sangfroid.
But in August, he rolled out the restaurant’s first limited-edition National Day Supper Series menu – an elevated late-night supper take on familiar Singapore hawker favourites such as Hokkien mee and satay, which ended on Aug 31. It was quite popular.
His Hokkien mee broth was based on the stock for French seafood bisque, while the skewers of springy Iberico pork collar were served satay-style – marinated in a medley of sauces, herbs and spices like gula melaka, garlic, lime, nutmeg and turmeric.
Being able to experiment needs some technical chops. Before becoming the chef and owner of Le Binchotan in December last year, Jeremmy spent almost four years as an air steward flying to Paris to hone his kitchen skills by helping Hiroki Yoshitake, the Japanese chef of one-Michelin-starred restaurant Sola.
So in case you missed the first supper series, we’re told the next will be a Christmas special, featuring an off-menu cocktail inspired by fruitcake and an elevated bak kut teh inspired by the original. It will be available from Dec 17-29 (lunch and dinner for the cocktail; after 9.30pm for the bak kut teh). While you wait for that, Le Binchotan’s regular menu is available from Monday to Saturday, until midnight.
Leslie Kwok, 45 (left) Joel Tan, 30 (right), co-founders, Bbounce Studio and Beatx Studio
The two former national swimmers opened Beatx Studio in the central business district in September, a more calibrated version of their original Bbounce Studio in the Orchard area, which focuses primarily on hybrid rebounding (you bounce on trampolines while doing highintensity circuit and boxing training). It’s basically playtime for grown-ups set to upbeat tracks. “It opened our eyes to the fact that although rebounding as a concept remains strong, maybe we could open a fitness studio that would introduce a wider variety of classes,” says co-founder Joel.
The new space takes it to the next level and houses four fitness concepts. These are the trademark rebounding,
circuit training, boxing, and ride. Each of the three thematic studios is designed and lit like a cool club. As elite athletes, Leslie and Joel experienced a whole range of workouts, but wanted to create a simple one to help everyday folks achieve the body they’ve always wanted.
“There are many ways to train speed, strength and flexibility, but the average office worker isn’t going to want to think about the combination of classes to tackle different segments. So instead of figuring out for yourself how much time you should be dedicating to the treadmill and yoga mat, hybrid rebounding covers the bases,” says Leslie.
They both speak from experience: Leslie represented Singapore in the 2000 Olympic Games, while Joel ranked first in Singapore in 2008 in the 100m breaststroke.
Their fitness concept incorporates vertical moves to increase lymph flow. It also combines jumping and resistance bands, weights and strength training. Reportedly twice as effective as running (saves time!), the low-impact workouts have proven popular among women, who outnumber men here four to one.
The classes sound intimidating, but Leslie and Joel explain that they are devised so that newbies can work out at their own pace. Plus, they’re fun.
Try a one-for-one class with a buddy for $18, or 10 classes for $220. www. bbouncestudio.com/ beatx-studio
A s freelancers themselves, long-time friends turned business partners Cheng Xun and Amerson knew that the independence and freedom of being self-employed also comes with risks and challenges. Although they never personally encountered the downsides, they had heard the laments of several friends who worked in the privatehire vehicle industry: Not only would they lose income whenever they were ill, but would also incur debt from the ongoing car rental. The Tripartite Workgroup report, released by the Ministry of Manpower earlier this year, highlighted a lack of income protection insurance for selfemployed persons.
Enter Gigacover, an insurance policy launched in May that is specially tailored to freelancers and independent contractors – to protect them from loss of income as a result of prolonged illness or injury. Named Freelancer Income Protection or FLIP, the policy is uniquely flexible, allowing its holders to opt for shorter-term policies – weekly or monthly – unlike standard annual policies. It also makes it possible for policyholders to halt or change their cover at any time, without incurring penalties or cancellation fees. The process is fully digital.
Cheng Xun explains: “Income protection insurance for freelancers didn’t exist before we came onto the scene, and Gigacover’s insurance remains the first and only such product we know of in Singapore.”
The founders share the fervent belief that insurance is a social good, and that technology and data analytics can help make insurance fairer, cheaper, more flexible and more accessible. Feedback from early adopters has been positive, and even though the company is still in its relative infancy, Gigacover continues to develop new ideas in anticipation of an expanding market. “We hope to be able to support freelancers in more ways beyond just providing income protection, and are working closely with several partners on this,” they add.