An Interview with Corum�s Brand Ambassador, Melvin Choo

An Interview with Corum�s Brand Ambassador, Melvin

by Katrina Too

Jul 05 2011

Having grown up in San Francisco, lived in Los Angeles and resided in Kuala Lumpur, Melvin Choo juggles the ‘true citizen of the world’ reputation while representing his hometown Singapore as a Motorsports icon. Registered under the local Thunder Racing Asia Team, Melvin attracted, throughout the years of his professional racing career, not only the eyes of big names from the sporting industry but also sponsors from luxury product brands such as Swiss timepiece maker, Corum. The 41-year-old’s passion for fast cars originated from his karting hobby that developed during his childhood years in San Francisco. He ‘raced with the Americans in the circuit’ for a period of five years in his early teens. Melvin admitted that racing then was not an easy passion to upkeep as he had come ‘from a relatively conservative Chinese family’ and was often encouraged to pursue primarily in his studies. It was the move to Malaysia that sparked off his professional career as being an ‘inexpensive place for racing’, it allowed him to get back onto the tracks more regularly. It was also in Malaysia that Melvin had participated and won a number of amateur races. That turning point became a motivation for Melvin to build his career professionally and as time went by, he realized that it was his improved results that fuelled and motivated him further. Having raced professionally for nearly six years now, Melvin finds the need to constantly prove himself as his career requires more dedication and strength than other professions. Being behind the wheels at such high speeds does not at one bit affect Melvin as he admitted to not even sensing the intensity. Melvin stated that speed awareness on the track would ultimately be a momentum spoiler. He also described racing as a sport which boils down having the ability to ‘anticipate rather than being cautious of your speed’, thus relying heavily ‘reflex action. The challenge he is faced