You're a what? Jobs we wish we had

A Lego Certified Professional, a poker player, a clinical sexologist and a sneaker customizer walk into a bar. This isn’t a set-up for a rude joke, mind you. We’re just introducing our latest interviewees. These are four people who do the jobs the rest of us wish we had the balls to do. After all, on an island like Singapore, everyone is a civil servant, engineer or banker, right?  

Nicholas Foo, Lego Certified Professional

The only Singaporean out of 11 Lego Certified Professionals in the world, he has been creating artwork from Lego bricks since 2006. Actually -- make that since he was an eight-year-old kid.

CNNGo: What exactly is a Lego Certified Professional (LCP)?

Nicholas Foo: LCPs are a group of creative talents who have turned their passion for building with Lego bricks into their profession. LCPs are not Lego employees though, they are more like trusted business partners.

CNNGo: The biggest model you’ve built to date is an 8m x 5m replica of Singapore island. You must have a huge workshop.

Foo: I usually build from my home studio, but sometimes clients engage me to do live building at their venues or events. I can pretty much design or build anywhere. That project I did has since made its way into the Singapore Book of Records for the largest Singapore map made of Lego bricks!

CNNGo: Have you ever received a commission you couldn’t execute?

Foo: I believe I can build almost anything the imagination can conceive. But I avoid those that may infringe intellectual property rights, or could be politically or religiously sensitive or war-related.

CNNGo: You also use Lego to create personal works of art. What inspires you?

Foo: I get new ideas from just about anything. It could be a line from a book I’m reading or a song, or just from my interactions with people and nature.

To see more of Nicholas' Lego works, visit blackbulbcreations.blogspot.com.

Bryan Huang, professional poker player

Currently based in Macau and at just 25 years of age, this humble young man tells us how he passed up an offer from a 'Big Four' accounting firm to focus on poker, and how the gamble has paid off.

CNNGo: You only discovered poker at the age of 20. How did you pick it up?

Bryan Huang: I learned online. My conservative parents were initially against me gambling, but as the months passed I began raking in decent sums of money. I started paying for my own college fees, and before I knew it, I won an online freeroll to the Caribbean, where I competed with the best players from the UK and won a tournament. Once I graduated with my accountancy degree, I had an offer to join a 'Big Four' accountancy firm. But after careful consideration, my parents agreed that since I was good at poker, I should take up a sponsorship from Pokerstars.net to turn professional.

CNNGo: You’re currently a mentor on the online poker challenge series, Asian Poker Showdown. What does your role entail?

Huang: I mentor eight amateur contestants, imparting my knowledge and showing them what it takes to go pro. Every episode, their skills in specific areas of poker are tested, and they are awarded points. The contestant with the most points at the end of the season is declared champion.

CNNGo: Have you visited our casino at Resorts World Sentosa yet?

Huang: I haven’t, and I don’t have the urge to! I hate table games of chance; I only took up poker as it was a game of skill that allowed me to decide the outcome of my future. Staying away from gambling -- even though I work in casinos -- is what has enabled me to stay in the black for the last five years.

CNNGo: You’re apparently one of the higher-earning Singapore players. You must pay a lot of income tax.

Huang: The term highest-earning is usually associated with tournament winnings, but the real income is in cash games. I’m quite a thrifty person because being around all the excess has shown me just how quickly money can disappear. Right now, I’m saving to buy a nice house for my family.

For more info, visit www.asianpokershowdown.com.

Martha Lee, clinical sexologist

The only local trained expert in human sexuality that we know of, Martha has been helping people with their sex problems since 2009. And get your mind out of the gutter -- there is no nudity in her workshops!

CNNGo: You were working in corporate communications and career guidance before this. Why did you choose to go down this path? 

Martha Lee: I was personally curious about sex, because I didn’t receive any sex education while growing up in Singapore. I also saw that there was a lack of trained sex educators here, so I decided to go to San Francisco to pursue a doctorate in human sexuality.

CNNGo: Do you blush and change the subject when people ask you what you do?

Lee: I tell them the truth. It’s a great opportunity to share and educate people about the importance of taking ownership of their sexual health, which is part of their well-being. I also encourage them to seek support where necessary.

CNNGo: What are your personal beliefs about sex?

Lee: I believe that sex is beautiful, wonderful and fun. I’m all for being positive and non-judgmental about sex and sexuality, and I never impose my personal values on my clients.

CNNGo: What do you love most about your job?

Lee: It's seeing the glimmer of hope on the faces of clients. It’s a great thing to help them overcome their sexual difficulties so they can go on to lead more fulfilling lives.

For more info, visit www.eroscoaching.com.

Mark Ong, aka SBTG, sneaker customizer

Singapore’s first-ever sneaker customizer may be earning a pretty penny now, but he started out in 2003 working out of a small utility room in his parent’s home.

CNNGo: Besides a diploma in visual communications, you don’t have any real formal training in art, do you?

Mark Ong: I started drawing when I was four. I remember sitting in front of the TV with my drawing block, observing and drawing cartoons as they flashed on the screen. But no, I never vandalized the walls at home!

CNNGo: You’ve recently collaborated with DC Shoes to create an entire shoe collection. How did you get the gig?

Ong: I went skating one day with Lucas Ng, owner of Gallery [a sneaker store at Pacific Plaza], and we talked about this skateboard crew he was in back in the 1980s, which I felt inspired by. So we made a pitch to DC, and after two years, one meeting and several e-mail exchanges, the project came to life. We’ve now got a travelling promotional tour in Asia, a huge billboard on LA’s Melrose Avenue, and a list of Hollywood celebs including Brad Pitt and Justin Timberlake who are hungry for the shoes. 

CNNGo: What do you like best about your job? We hear you pocket close to a grand each time you customize a pair of shoes.

Ong: Yes it is lucrative if you look at per shoe sales -- the profit margin is high compared to most retail items. But what I love most is that I have managed to merge work with my hobby, so it’s not a job to me. There is nothing else I would rather do!

CNNGo: How can someone recognize a SBTG creation just by looking at it?

Ong: My aesthetic would be a mix of punk rock, Americana, and a color I call ‘regalia militia’, which is a combination of olive drab, scarlet red, gold and black. People will know it’s my work when they find the shoes obnoxiously designed and over the top.

To see more SBTG works, visit www.royalefam.com.

Know of other unusual occupations? Drop us a line with who and what.