Tropicana May-Jun 2017 #113 A Matter of Interpretation

STEPHEN TEW
“I have always aspired to own a hotel and heritage
building in Europe,” he shares. “But the thought of having
to manage it and not forgetting the amount I have to
spend, it makes more sense to look closer to home.
“The heritage sites in Penang are mesmerising. The
restoration work done on the Unesco World Heritage
sites here is amazing. The architects are doing fantastic
work on it. The state of Penang is easily accessible, and I
have since bought a property there and I am looking to
buy one more. I travel to Penang to check on the progress
of my property often. It’s just a beautiful experience
commuting to the island state.”
Travel has also inspired changes in Stephen’s lifestyle –
not the conventional type of change you’d expect.
“I have started to keep fit again,” he explains. “I used to
be very athletic and fit in my early years, running 4 km
a day. Since getting married, I have slowed down and
eventually my momentum fizzled out. Ever since, it has
been almost impossible to get back into that regime.
On a Mediterranean cruise with some time to spare
onboard, and friends who were invested in keeping fit,
Stephen found himself following them to the gym. Trying
out all the machines on a five-minute rotation, Stephen
managed to put in at least half an hour of exercise. He
realised that every time the music played, his legs would
be willed to move and the moment the music stopped,
they’d stop too.
A few months later, on an Alaskan cruise, the same
thing happened as he headed to the gym. “Every time they
played music, my legs were motivated to move. As we
left the ship, we were encouraged to leave suggestions. I
wrote a long complaint saying that the guy who manages
the music in the gym had no passion and commitment
because he didn’t keep the music playing.
“When I came back and shared this with my colleagues,
they laughed and told me I was out of touch. People
listened to music on their electronic devices!” he laughs.
Cue Madonna. “She is my inspiration,” he says with
a smile. “Her music has the right beat and listening to it
keeps me motivated to workout in my home gym. I can
work out every day now. I watch her MTV videos, which
I have recorded and played on a loop while I exercise.
The way she has reinvented herself over the years and
stayed relevant. She enjoys what she does and engages her
audience with her art form. As I watch the same videos
every day, I focus on different things on the screen and
discover new elements each time.”
Stephen finds that this change has allowed him the
stamina to explore more on his travels and sustain better
energy levels to venture into areas and places he would
not have imagined he would do so.
“Having said that, I am afraid to die,” he laughs at what
he calls ‘a very Chinese thing’. “Only because I still have
my family to live for. So, diving, bungee jumping and
extreme sports are not in the books yet!”
23 MAY/JUNE 2017 | TM