Mae Tan: Perfecting the great escape

MAE Tan always finds her zen on a long-haul flight, some 37,000 ft above ground, as the purring of the engine washes over her like waves of a gentle sea. 

“I feel peaceful and relaxed on the plane. I get lost in the white noise and I can reconnect with myself,” she says. “I eat, I watch movies, I sleep. I am uncontactable for 12 to 20 hours. Even before the flight, I would check into the airport a few hours earlier so that I can switch off from work. 

“Planes and airports are these in-between spaces that give me complete comfort and freedom.”

Once she disembarks from the plane – if she can resist the temptation of switching on her mobile phone immediately – the promise of escape holds. She can be completely anonymous, get lost in the crowd, soak in new sights and sounds, make strange discoveries in foreign places, and forget who she is for a day or two. 

“When I’m away from everything I know, I can just be myself.”

Don’t get her wrong: She loves her life as an influencer in Singapore. She appreciates everyone who follows her on social media. On Instagram (@marxmae), she has over 132,000 followers. Some of them have watched her bloom from a spunky teenager hosting the television travelogues Miss Korea (2013) and Wondernesia (2015), to a stylish young woman in the Netflix series, Singapore Social (2019) and in fashion magazines. 

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But even for this self-professed “adrenaline-junkie”, who is all of 27, it can become too much too suddenly. 

Travel has therefore become, for her, a much-needed escape to restore life’s balance and meaning. And when the borders reopened earlier this year, she hopped on a plane to Chamonix, Lisbon, Los Angeles, New York, London, Bali and Bangkok – all in a space of six months. 

ALWAYS SOUL-SEARCHING

Tan has long realised the value of leaving behind her daily existence and embracing the unknown. Two life-changing sojourns in Bhutan and Indonesia helped establish travelling as necessary time on her calendar. To her, the restorative and transformative powers of a foreign land cannot be understated. 

“In 2018, I was facing tremendous stress at work. I had a close friend and mentor who suggested I take a trip to Bhutan for a mindfulness course for business leaders. I remember hiking up to Tiger’s Nest (a sacred Buddhist site) and talking to the Bhutanese. I saw how modestly they lived. I discovered how different their perspectives on happiness were. It was a humbling experience. But it made me understand where I was in my own life.”

In Indonesia, she spent three-and-half months peregrinating across the sprawling archipelago as host of the TLC travelogue Wondernesia.

“I lived in villages, met wonderful people, listened to their stories and walked in their shoes. I realised that I was more of a people person than I thought I was. I loved talking to the people and understanding their perspectives. I saw beautiful natural landscapes, but I also saw instances of environmental pollution. Everything I experienced sparked a conversation within myself.

“So if you ask me now whether I’d prefer to stay in a hotel or a rural village, I’d pick the rural village. There are many things you can learn about life and culture in a village that you normally wouldn’t … And, to be honest, I’m also not the kind of person who needs a turn-down service. As long as my luggage is there, I’m good.”  

HER TWIN CITY CRUSHES

Tan is the only daughter of the chief executive of Richard Mille Asia, Dave Tan. Inspired by her father’s entrepreneurial spirit, the middle child of 3 children started a Blogspot online journal at 12 to build her personal brand. By her late teens, she had become an influencer, attracting sponsorships and partnerships. At 19, she was hosting her first travelogue Miss Korea. She lived in backpacker’s lodges, climbed South Korea’s tallest mountain and went to K-pop concerts – despite not understanding the language.

By 22, she was working at her family’s multi-label boutique, Surrender, first as a marketing executive and fashion buyer, and then as its creative manager. That position sent her to the fashion capitals of the world and rubbing shoulders with celebrity designers. 

It also sealed her reputation as a style maven and put her on the covers and centrespreads of magazines.

“I love Paris. It’s not just an amazing city filled with incredible style. Its people are also very chill and easy-going. I’ve made many friends there and I try to visit as often as I can.”

Paris isn’t her only city crush: “I love New York too, because it has so much subculture: I would Google ‘Weird cool unusual things to do in New York’ every time I go, to see what I can find. If you have a personality quirk, New York is that place that you go to, to find your people. 

“Apart from that, there’s always just so many things to do, from the art shows to the parties. It feels as if everyone there is always grinding and hustling. I feel inspired to connect with them and challenge myself. People who are ambitious and straightforward are my kind of people… I don’t know if I’d call myself a hustler, but I generally don’t like to stay still – and I never waste a good opportunity.”

THE FINAL DESTINATION

Tan has toyed with the idea of moving to New York many times. Unfortunately, work in Singapore has always held her back: She is currently one of the directors of the new omakase restaurant, Sushi Sakuta, headed by chef Yoshio Sakuta, who previously helmed the 2-Michelin-starred Shoukouwa. She has also partnered with Jack Wang (@jackwangg), the former group creative director of ELLE Singapore and the now defunct T: The New York Times Magazine, to start a new creative agency called Magic System, specialising in digital marketing and branding.

On top of that, she remains committed to her role as an influencer, which she considers to be “the most demanding” of all her jobs.

“I have the power to influence, and it’s a power not everybody has been given. I get to say a lot and I get to stand up for people and causes that are not necessarily being stood up for. That’s why I continue to take my role as an influencer seriously.” Over the years, she has advocated for circular fashion, mindfulness lessons for school-going children and other causes.

But now that she has seen life in different countries, which of them might be the place she’d hang her hat in? Which would she pick to build her final home in?

“I don’t know the place exactly, but I imagine a house on a mountain overlooking a paddy field somewhere in the tropics. I’d have a farm there with cats, dogs and horses. It wouldn’t be too far from town, so I can still get the things I need – but it’ll be far away enough for me to be by myself when I need to recharge.”

Photography: Darren Gabriel Leow Styling: CK Hair styling: Christvian Wu, using Goldwell.  Make up: Kenneth Chia using NARS  Location: One & Only Desaru Coast