I love to prove naysayers wrong. There were heaps of people who ridiculed [the expedition] and said it would never happen.

Mountaineering is about the experience as much as the achievement—two distinct and sometimes mutually exclusive components. Sometimes for the sake of bragging rights, people sacrifice the quality of the experience.

One of the most perfect climbs I had was the Ojos de Salado. It started out with two of us planning. Then my friend got a knee injury. I’d done a solo climb, but never on a big peak. There’s no one to ask for a second opinion. If anything happens to you, it’s self-rescue.

When you’re alone in the desert, you imagine things. I was standing behind a rock in howling wind. I took out my energy bar to eat it. I passed it to my friend—and oops, no partner.

I’m very curious about what I’m capable of and what I’m incapable of doing. That’s been a lifelong journey, made more interesting after I became disabled. What can this body do? I can’t stand on my toes, for example.

The past 15 years, I’ve done all my climbs wearing this [leg brace]. I have to choose my climbs rather carefully.

Alpine style is the purest form of climbing [with no support teams or reconnoitering]. Very few people in this part of the world subscribe to it because the risk of failure is too high, and you know Singaporeans. They just hate failing or losing.

I like the mountains. You get to sleep more than ever. After six o’clock it gets dark, so you can sleep nine hours a day.

I was totally bummed [when I didn’t summit Everest]. But I did what we call a masterful reframe.

I asked myself, “David, what do you want now?” I said, “I want the team to succeed.” Then I became totally motivated once more. Halfway up the mountain, you don’t have the luxury of moping.

I’m fascinated by what makes teams tick, what makes people bounce back from setbacks, and in all the research that’s been done—guess what? We were already doing so much of it in the mountains in the 90s.

Getting to the top is only half the job done.

One of the problems in Singapore is that people become fixated with checkbox ticking. Instead of looking at outcomes, they’re very task-focused. The job is only done when you get the outcome that you want.

We hate losing something more than we like gaining something. That’s the reason people hold on to stocks that have plummeted, hoping one day they will recover. They should cut their losses and move on.

When it comes to travel equipment, buy the best you can possibly afford. I’ve got [a cabin bag] that’s 14 years old. It’s got a solid aluminum tubular welded frame— that’s bomb proof.

There’s a saying in my line of work: “You don’t have to make them laugh…unless you want to get paid.”

The hardest audience is about 15 senior CXOs, who are very hard-boiled. They’ve been to every single business program, and they might be a touch cynical. And you’ve got to engage them in a very Socratic style and make them leave feeling it was worthwhile.

The storytelling tradition has been around since the spoken word. When you have a chance to hear a live storyteller who has wisdom, that’s fascinating. It will never go out of fashion.

One of my childhood heroes is a guy named Nando Parrado from the [flight that] crashed high in the Andes in 1972. I’m fascinated to meet like-minded people who had some way to manage the emotional states through a horrific time and emerged stronger and better for it.

Everything that I do is something I enjoy doing. I have one life. I don’t compartmentalize it.

It’s very sobering when you get your ass kicked. Mountains have kicked my ass. Kebaya-clad ladies have kicked my ass. Early after I recovered, I was hiking up Bukit Timah. Normally it’s 15 minutes to hike up there. It took me 45 minutes. At one stage, this old granny in flip flops looked at me and began to walk faster. Pretty soon she was a tiny speck in the distance.

One should try very hard to have a very light ego. You can take what you do very seriously but you don’t take yourself very seriously.

What’s this double-fried method we hear so much about?

First, we fry the chicken at a low temperature, so the collagen in the chicken converts into gelatin, making the chicken softer and still maintaining moisture, cooking from inside out. Second, we fry the chicken at a high temperature which creates a sudden expansion of water vapor, which coupled with soft, malleable proteins will give you a very thin-skinned and blistered chicken wing. So the end product is crispy on the outside and moist on the inside.

What are the challenges to make glazed chicken wings?

The only challenge of making a good glaze is [ensuring] the right amount of sauce stays on the chicken wings. If glaze is too thick, you will get too much, and if it is too watery, the wings will not have enough flavor.

How do you know that a chicken wing is good?

When you pick it up the wing, the sauce won't be dripping all over you, yet still the entire wing is still covered with the sauce.

Try Jimmy's wings at Wings World on East Coast Road and check out our favorite places for glazed chicken wings.

When I serve someone something, I can see them have a food orgasm right in front of me. The reactions I see, like “Oh my God!” or “Oh sh*t, oh sh*t, oh sh*t”— it’s so funny.

I was inspired to set up Preparazzi when a friend of mine was thinking of holding a dinner party, but didn’t have time to fully prepare everything. Plus she didn’t want to go through the hassle of cooking. She did know how to operate an oven, though, so I designed a menu for her and helped marinate meats, packed food in foil and so on. everything was labeled with numbers so all she had to do was follow instructions and the sequence of throwing things in the oven. 

I don’t really like the restaurant business. You’d love to come up with a menu full of as many different creations as possible, but you can’t. You have to stick to a standard menu because people are gonna come in and say, “eh! I liked this dish. Why’d you take it out?”

I can tell you how much people will eat based on the timing of an event; based on the profile of guests, I can also tell you how much they’ll drink and whether or not you should do a sit-down dinner.

My experience at Diner en Blanc was amazing. To anyone who can get a ticket: go for it, it’s totally worth the hassle. everyone dresses in white, there’s this whole sense of camaraderie, you share food with others, giant kites are flying everywhere, there are performers on stilts—the feeling is surreal. It made me look at Singapore differently, kinda like seeing your dowdy girl-next-door with make-up for the first time.

I hate writing menus. I just want to write words like fish and chicken. This is a lasagna, but there are two different types of sauces in it: one is a ragu with béchamel, and the other is made differently with another sauce and tomato reduction. All these are slow-roasted tomatoes, this is pesto, and the cheese mixture is a combination of four different types of cheese…who gives a sh*t? Come on! It’s lasagna!

I’m intimidated by all these hipster cafes that are everywhere. I go in and I’m like “Oh sh*t, I’m wearing the wrong watch! I’m in Sperrys…crap! I should’ve worn another T-shirt. Ahhh! My shirt has a collar!”

Fine dining with the Monte Carlo feel and fine silverware doesn't exist in Singapore anymore—which is great. Now we have more places doing cutting-edge cuisine in a smart-casual environment, like [new Mod Sin places] Labyrinth and Ujong.

Mod Sin cuisine is very important. It can’t be that Singapore’s already 50 years old and the dishes that still define us are chicken rice and chili crab. Yes, those are important, but you and I were brought up eating burgers and pizza. There are so many cupcake shops here, and you say that cupcakes aren’t part of our national culinary identity? I’ll tell you that’s bullsh*t. There are as many cupcake shops as there are soya bean places. Mod Sin is necessary to help us expand the definition of Singapore’s culinary identity.

I love buying art and I love antiques. It’s important to support people who make life beautiful. I love the romance of finding something that had a past life, like a 1,000 year old teacup that an emperor used.

I am a functional extrovert. I think I’m still an introvert at heart. In my own time, I’d rather stay at home with a bucket of fried chicken, a tub of ice cream, a bag of popcorn and watch cartoons the whole day.

When I’m done with my business, I want to work part-time at McDonald’s, I want to be a retail assistant at Louis Vuitton and I want to be a yoga instructor.

What annoys me is people not taking the time to appreciate the beauty of things, especially if it’s out of the norm. The moth invasion we have now, for example. People are so scared of it. All you see on Facebook are posts like “Moth in lift C. Do not go into Lift C.” We don’t get experiences like that often, where nature comes that much closer, you know?

Many people think I’m metrosexual or gay, but I’m actually very, very straight.

Describe Manila in ten words or less.

Manila is a Rorschach test and a state of mind. 

Your favorite place in Manila that isn’t on your tour?

The San Sebastian Church. An eccentric all metal gothic church located in the Quiapo district. It's awe inspiring and it's in the middle of nowhere. 

Your favorite local dish?

Sinuglaw. Philippine ceviche made with fresh fish, vinegar, chillies, and topped with grilled pork. It is taken best with a freezing San Miguel Beer. 

The question you get asked most frequently on your walking tours?

Where is there a good place to see the sunset?

And the answer?

Harbour View Restaurant at the Quirino Grandstand. [The] second most asked [is] why is Manila such a mess. My answer: We never got over the destruction of the entire city at the end of World War 2. 

How would you describe the fashion sense of Manila’s thirty-somethings?

Practical. 

How has the city changed in the past ten years?

It's become more hospitable. Believe it or not, smoke-belching levels from automobiles have gone down and traffic is not as much of a nightmare as it was. The creative scene has also exploded and hotels have improved. But we still have a long way to go. There's always room for more improvement. 

The one thing you wish tourists would stop doing?

Stop skipping Manila. 

First things first. Are these things legal?

There are currently no restrictions or regulations on the usage of electric stand-up scooters on walkways, pedestrian paths and park connectors. You’re not allowed on the roads, though, and of course, you should slow down when there’s a crowd and step off to push the scooter at traffic junctions. Helmets are recommended too.

How did you come to start importing scooters?

Coming back to Singapore after studying in Holland I found it frustrating that I have to take 25 minutes on a bus just to get to the nearest MRT station which is a mere 2.5km away. Unfortunately, our local climate does make it a little impractical to cycle, especially when you have to meet clients and don't want to end up sweating a lot. So I began to look for alternative transport solutions that could help solve the first and last mile of my journey

So you think Singapore could be doing more to make it easier to get around?

Singapore is perfect for sustainable transport because of its flat and even roads. More bicycle lanes should be designated and pedestrian pathways can be widened so that both cyclists and pedestrians can share the same path safely.

Go on then—sell the Zoom to us in 100 words or less.

ZoomAir is a revolutionary electric scooter that is designed to make your urban commuting easier and enjoyable. It is lightweight (only 9.8kg), portable, compact and can be easily brought onto public transport or stored in the boot of your car. Not only that, it is 100% zero-emission and green-friendly. Such alternative sustainable transport isn’t new, but the existing products in the market are either very expensive or not easy to bring around—think Segway and YikeBike). ZoomAir combines affordability, convenience and style in one scooter. Plus it can go up to 20km with a speed of 23km/hour.

The ZoomAir is available for $1,099 (with a choice of black or white). Go to www.zoom.sg for more info.

Why do you think loaded movement training is getting so popular these days?

Loaded movement training isn’t a new phenomenon—it’s an old way of training that has once again become fashionable as people rediscover its benefits.

What are the physical benefits?

Traditional resistance training focuses on isolating one muscle group. However, this can lead to muscle overuse and, very commonly, muscle imbalance, which is one of the leading causes for injuries. [With] loaded movement training, various muscles have to work together. This makes the body more adaptable to movement, plus you burn a lot more calories by engaging more muscles.

Any tips for beginners who want to practice at home?

I would definitely recommend doing a few sessions with a certified trainer at a gym first. Training with these instruments in the wrong way can lead to both short term acute injuries, but also chronic problems if the faulty movement is repeated over and over again.

How often should one engage in loaded movement training?

Anyone who exercises regularly should integrate at least one session a week into their schedules. This is especially important for those who practice sports involving a single plane of motion (like running), as they are a lot more susceptible to muscle imbalances.

Find out where you can try loaded movement training in Singapore here.

Fresh off his hard-hitting and crazy debut at Ultra Music Festival 2014, MAKJ graced the decks of Zouk for his first time in Singapore last month. The crazy one-night only DJ gig was packed with his signature blend of anthem EDM remixes. We managed to catch up with him to chat about LA, his sources of inspiration and his essential DJing wisdom.

So tell us a little bit more about yourself and your background.

I’m 23, originally from San Luis Obispo, California, and now live in Los Angeles.

How did you start DJing?

I saw DJ Q*Bert in a club while I was living in China, fell in love with the art-form, and taught myself how to do it shortly thereafter.

How would you describe your signature sound?

I come from a hip-hop/scratch background, so I mix very fast and use lots of samples.

What is the most important thing you want to achieve when playing to a crowd?

Constant energy and no lulls in my set, I want the crowd going crazy the whole time.

How does it feel after your huge set at Ultra Music Festival?

It looked and sounded absolutely crazy. Best set of my life! I had so much fun that day!

How does LA impact your work?

A lot of DJs are moving to LA these days, and there are lots of great studio spaces everywhere and tons of nightclubs, so it definitely allows me to collaborate and immerse myself in the music.

What are you most inspired by?

I’m inspired by how I DJ live. I always produce originals and remixes so that they fit well in my sets and have lots of changes and different elements. 

According to you, what is the most important thing about DJing?

Work hard and never give up. No one else is going to do it for you.

What do you think about EDM in general these days?

It’s bigger than it’s ever been which is great for everyone involved, but it also means that it’s very important for everyone to stay creative and continue to push boundaries so that the sounds don’t get stale or played out. 

Some of my hobbies include traveling, listening to music and driving auto rickshaws—not necessarily with a licence. I drove a tuk tuk around India once, and it was fun.

I have a Battlestar Galactica tattoo. It’s my second tattoo. I don’t usually fangirl over anything, but I’m a complete fangirl over BSG.

India resonates deeply with me. I’ve been visiting it over and over again for the past ten years. I was born in Little India, my parents got married on Deepavali and I grew up convinced that I was Indian.

The craziest thing I’ve ever done was probably visiting Yemen alone in 2009. I narrowly escaped three different suicide bombs there. I had to wear a burkha, and I went around pretending to be a local as foreigners were banned from land transport. I also stayed with a local family—my host told everyone in the building that I was a descendent of the Prophet in order to stave off questions. It’s a good thing no one asked me to come around and pray with them.

I’m quite game for anything. I don’t think that there’s anything that I would never, ever do, except maybe visit a super-risky country like Somalia.

My favorite countries are Lebanon, India and Yemen—I’ve had the good luck to visit these countries before the s*** hit the fan. I also lived briefly in the UAE for about a year, and that was right before the Arab Spring took place.

Many people think I’m an extrovert, but it’s actually the other way round—I’m very introverted.

I started Culture Kitchen because I was convinced that we needed more dialogue and understanding between different ethnic groups here in Singapore, especially with Singaporeans’ strong xenophobic sentiments at that time. Food and art are great ways to get conversations started.

I wish I could be less disorganized. I’m a bit of a scatterbrain. My team members at Culture Kitchen even say that they want me to make a shirt with the slogan “The Disorganizer”.

I get annoyed when people settle for less, just because it’s easier to. People often don’t make enough decisions for themselves, or are too afraid or inert to change their lot in life.

Mediocrity scares me.

If I could be granted a superpower, I would want a special chip in my head that would let me speak every single language in the world. I’m fluent in English and Mandarin, and I get by in Thai and Hindi. I’m also learning Bahasa Indonesia now.

Biryani—I love eating it and cooking it. Someday, I want to go on a biryani tour of the world.

Alcohol is my greatest vice. I love whisky and gin, and it also doesn’t help that I’m dating a bartender.

Love is being in a healthy relationship, with room for both people to grow and inspire each other. It’s about jumping out of bed excited to do things together with the person you’ve chosen to spend the rest of your life with. And to me, it’s also one of the hardest things to find in life.

We as Singaporeans don’t give ourselves enough credit. We can actually be quite collaborative and open to change, but we don’t notice that because we’ve been immersed in our own society all our lives.

Richard Branson was right—entrepreneurs should start something even before they feel completely ready for it. Don’t overthink things too much, and trust your gut instinct.

Steve Jobs is my idol. He once said, “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.” This is something that is very important to me, and it gives me faith in the things I do.

In 10 years time, I hope to be writing novels on my yacht, or in my own hotel. I really want to open a hotel someday, perhaps in a place like Thailand. I also hope that I’ll still be working on projects I care about.

Life is like coffee. You can take it whatever way you like—sometime it’s terrible, commercial, watery and tasteless, but you can also go out of your way to make it really amazing.

Nikki Muller

Prince Estanislao

A teacher at Chiltern House, Prince (Charming!) daydreamed about going to med school but moved to Singapore in 2008 to teach children with special needs.

What’s your work like?
Every day is a proud moment because I see my students progress and improve in their ability to speak, socialize, work on numbers, read and write. The attachment for each of them inevitably grows. But we know they have progressed, and it is just time [for them] to move on.

What do you do to unwind?
I put my soul into volleyball and I play in an all-Filipino club (though everyone’s welcome) every Sunday. I’m also a huge fan of Broadway musicals, and there’s always a show happening in town.

What do you love most about Singapore?
The Singapore currency is strong and earning in SGD equates to higher spending power, and it’s more affordable for me to travel around the world. Public transport here is also top-notch—no one needs a car to get around.

What do you miss most about home?
The beautiful beaches! I make sure I plan a trip back every year with friends.

 

Belle Baldoza

If there’s one person we go to for music recs, it’s Belle, Spotify’s Southeast Asia’s public relations manager, who obviously knows what’s sounding hot in the region.

Why did you move to Singapore?
I had been working in Thailand. My fiancé and I wanted a new career challenge, so we decided to come here with just our tourist visas, a couple of pieces of luggage and the will to make it. Now we can say that the move to Singapore is probably one of the best decisions we’ve made in recent years.

Your songs of the moment?
I just came back from The Philippines’ biggest indie festival, Wanderland. I’m dancing to “D-D-Dance” by The Royal Concept, “I Might Survive” by Architecture in Helsinki, “Zoom” by Last Dinosaurs and “Let’s Go Surfing” by The Drums.

Thoughts on the local music scene?
There’s a wealth of talent here like The Sam Willows, Monster Cat, Vandetta, These Brittle Bones, The Observatory. It’s great to see [Singapore] providing a platform for local artists through festivals like Baybeats and Mosaic.

What do you do when you miss home?
Luckily I have a bunch of friends here so I hardly feel homesick. But when I do, I just swing by Lucky Plaza for my Pinoy food fix!

Ria Silbernick

The graphic designer has been living in Singapore for over ten years, and worked for publications like Catalog before starting Lush Designs, specializing in home decoration.

What was it like moving to Singapore?
It was my first time traveling and being away from my family and friends. But eventually I adapted well to the new environment, thanks to my Singaporean friends. They made me feel [like] I am part of their family.

How is working here different?
It’s challenging because most people here are career-driven and determined. Filipinos, on the other hand, are easy-going and relaxed by nature. We take life as it is. But life cannot course through fate alone. We have to continuously push ourselves to go further.

Anything recent in Singapore that you as a Filipino thought was noteworthy?
I was back in Manila when Typhoon Haiyan happened. My Singaporean friends not only checked in to see if I was ok, but also helped raise funds and gather relief goods. Strangers offered to help us pack and local companies came forward. This made me see Singaporeans’ kindness towards my fellow Filipinos.

What do you love most about living here?
Cost of living is high, but nothing beats feeling safe to go anywhere at any time of the day, and not worrying if my house would be robbed when I travel. Because of Singapore’s multi-cultural landscape, Singaporeans accept me regardless of my background, heritage or financial status.

Here are five ways to celebrate the upcoming Philippine Independence Day on June 12.

Esther Goh 25, illustrator & designer

What inspired your piece? Singapore, as a young and successful metropolitan city, thrives on progress and advancement in all aspects, which also means the scenery is constantly changing. Focusing on old-school trades and businesses, this piece brings to mind an admirable generation of makers and entrepreneurs who took things into their own hands, from the ground up, with only a fraction of what we have now; who also honed their skills for decades and stayed true to their trades. And they are dying out because society and the economy have evolved. What's your daily routine? You could say I sleep at unearthly hours, as I'm most productive working during the uninterrupted stretch after midnight. I also have a habit of checking my emails on the go, all the time. My inspiration usually comes from daily encounters with people, dreams and a variety of media, so really there's no particular go-to place. www.esthergoh.co

Ann Gee 27, freelance illustrator

What does your piece represent? The helplessness I feel at seeing old places and forests mowed down to make way for "progress", the increasing lack of space and never-ending crowds everywhere.    What do you hate most about Singapore? The high cost of living (especially while the elderly have to do menial work just to struggle to get by), fat greedy landlords jacking up the rent, taxpayer's money wasted on useless endeavors while the government trumpets every single cent given to those who need help, the lack of enforcement of rights for those who truly need them and the political and general apathy of people here, although that is changing.    What do you love most about Singapore? The pockets of spaces where time is still suspended, the growing vibrancy of the creative scene and increasing political awareness—people are no longer afraid to voice out and critique government policies. www.anngee.sg

Carmen Chen 22, freelance illustrator

What does your piece mean? In our tiny, multi-cultural nation, we tend to have many negative (or not) opinions, which we take to the internet every so often. These are represented by the colorful and chaotic shapes in the background. But in real life we are still rather hush-hush about our problems. I portray this through the contrasting black outline.    You took art as a subject in secondary school. What was your experience like? Instead of guiding us to develop a personal style after fundamental studies, my teachers taught us how to paint the same elements and the same obvious meanings. Trying something new was deemed wrong. After graduating, I made it point to do the total opposite of what I was taught.   www.turdsieroll.tumblr.com

Teo Chong Wah 23, NSF

Tell us about your piece. This work is part of “Why Must We Serve”, a personal series I started after entering the army. It's a documentation of my mundane—or sad, or plain ridiculous— life in the service.   What keeps you going every day? An ice cold cup of coffee.   What do you hate most about Singapore? Peak hours! www.seedoubleyouuu.tumblr.com

Want more art? Check out these upcoming shows and our favorite places to buy affordable pieces.