Quachee

contributor: quachee, 28

occupation: media entrepreneur & aspiring actor

base: in the bustling city of kay-el

I.M....working my way into Hollywood – to be a successful action movie star!

Almost everyone of us will have at some point of time (perhaps when we were still kids!), fantasized about being a famous movie star. This Malacca boy, however, refused to stop at dreaming. Now at 28, he’s already published two books, produced an online TV series (with another series in the works), launched an online Asian entertainment portal AND a book distribution company... all in the hopes of eventually making his way into Hollywood.

The growing up years and my first taste of the media industry

I grew up with a mix of rural and kampong background in historical Malacca. I studied in Malacca High School till Form 6 before going to Singapore to further my studies in Business Accountancy.

I have always admired the media industry, but never knew who, what & how… till I was in Singapore, when I was selected as one of my university’s Man Hunt finalists. That was my first step in being exposed to the media world. Since then I’ve been a model for several advertisements and also won the Best Skin Care award for the Are You Men’s Health Challenge.

My journey into publishing

Since young, I have always had this ambition and dream of creating something big in life. This became very apparent while I was in university. However, I didn’t really know what it would be – though like I said, I really desired to be part of the media industry.

Anyway, I attended a short motivational course after graduation, in which the speaker talked about going for one’s dreams in life and just jumping in. Back then, I was already aware of my fondness for beautiful sceneries and also to be in front of the camera, and so armed with this knowledge I took my first bold step to live my dreams. I published my first book, Batik Inspirations, without knowing how to publish a book or even having any prior knowledge about batik or fashion.

My goal was to create a beautiful coffee-table book with stunning backdrops. The idea of featuring batik as the central theme came after I wore a contemporary batik shirt and began to see just how unique and attractive batik could be. And so I formed a team, worked on that dream idea… and the book was eventually published in less than three months. Till today, I always call that a dream book, because the birth of the book really was inspired simply by one person’s dreams.

...all the things that I’ve done & am doing now are because of my past goals & dreams.

Ex-Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi signing on my book at the International Batik Convention 2005

Batik Inspirations’ book launch At Vivo City, Singapore

The transition to production and acting

I still do enjoy being in publishing, but then my long-time passion is really to be in front of the camera. And so although I’ve published another book (50+1 Malaysia) since Batik Inspirations, I knew it was time to move forward to my other dream. I will still publish books if the right idea comes along, but I have since moved into production as well. This is hopefully one of my stepping stones to break into Hollywood.

To achieve this, I’ve created a web portal (Bookmarqc.com), so that we have an avenue to air the shows my company produces. Bookmarqc also serves as a showcase to highlight what’s going on in the Asian entertainment scene. Many people might wonder why I have to take the long route by going from publishing to running an online portal/website in order to break into acting, but I believe that Bookmarqc will be able to assist not just myself but many other aspiring actors across Asia to make it big internationally.

A scene from Bibik & Nyonya

Bibik & Nyonya cast and journalist Kee Hua Chee (top right)

Living the dream

I believe that every person has the opportunity to live his or her dreams. Awhile back, I read a quote somewhere: “We are who we are today because of our past.” I totally agree because all the things that I’ve done and am doing now are because of my past goals and dreams.

To venture down the path less taken, one needs a clear vision - a vision that he/ she truly believes in achieving. One also needs to be passionate about one’s dreams, because there are lots of obstacles along the way. Hard work and working with the right teammates are the other essentials. But whatever it is, just don’t give up.

I am a dreamer. But when I say dreamer, I don’t mean I have my head in the clouds. I mean that I’m someone who believes in his/her dreams, acts on them, and achieves them (ie. living one’s life to the fullest). Anyone can do this – especially those practical and rational. Let’s say I don’t have a certain skill to achieve my dream. But I want my dream badly. Well, the practical part of me acknowledges this lack of skill. However, if this skill can be learned, I’d go and learn it so that I can achieve my dream.

I truly believe with the saying by Cory Aquino (Philippines former President): “I’d rather die a meaningful death than live a meaningless life”. I want to look back in life and be able to say the same thing. It brings me joy to live life to the fullest.

Dealing with challenges
Like most projects, the hardest challenge is to get the project started. But I must say, with ‘just believing’, miracles do happen… Once the project is actually off the ground, the other challenges are easier to overcome.

Making the Big Bibik show a success

Finding the right teammates was the most important thing. I have the full team to thank – namely the writer/ director for writing a good script and the actor and actresses for playing their roles well. The rest of the crew members also played an important role though it may not be noticeable onscreen.

The keys to success

Believe in yourself. Work hard and smart for your dream. In a more general sense, I think the most important thing is happiness. So, we should just work towards that – in whatever we do.

I always say that we should be the best we can be. It doesn’t matter what job we hold. We should enjoy what we do and make the best of it. For example, I used to be a waiter and I had a good time being one, even though most people would not see it as a ‘glamorous’ job.

Left: My siblings and I Right: With my business partner

A day in the life of…

There is no fixed schedule for me, but what I aim to do is to achieve my daily and weekly goals (which must be in tune with the overall goals). I usually have a lot of meetings – either internally with staff or with publishers, bookstores, production crews (eg directors, actors, etc), marketers and also potential clients.

My other interests

Movies, music, books and travel are my main interests. I love to be inspired and all these really allow me to think big. There are times when they are related to what I do – eg. While watching a movie, I’d get the idea to work with a certain movie style. Or while traveling, I see scenery that I’d like to feature in an upcoming book/ movie.

The local production scene

There are many great shows out there, and many talents behind it. The issue is that we don’t support shows from neighboring Asean countries as much as we support Hollywood shows. Similarly, in Malaysia it is not that we’ve got no talents or that our shows are bad, but simply that there is a lack of demand.

However, if we can pool our resources together, Asia will be one big platform for us all. This is mainly the reason I created Bookmarqc.com – to bring Asia closer together through media.

The local online publishing scene

Similar to our local production scene, I feel that we don’t read books from our neighboring Asian countries as much as we read international titles. Again, this is the reason why I created my other business, the book distribution business (Booqc.com), to bring Asian books under one roof.

Won an award for Best Skin in a Men’s Health contest

Before I die, I’d like to…

…be the main lead in a successful Hollywood movie – either a science fiction or action movie.

I’d like to be remembered as…

the one who unites Asia through his media works.