GBA Lifestyle News
Co-founder, Strokes
Edwin Chan spent eight years in the insurance and finance industries and became a qualified actuary before deciding to “hit a hard reset” on his life.
Having grown up between the UK and Hong Kong, he moved back to the city in 2017 to be closer with his ageing grandparents. “I have always thought of Hong Kong as a city full of things to do — and is yet a place with nothing fun to do,” he explains. “So I set out to create a place with something to do for all.”
In 2018, he co-founded Strokes, Hong Kong’s first first miniature golf club, bar and restaurant. Taking up a sprawling site in Causeway Bay’s Fashion Walk, it is a whimsically designed space where the mini-golf courses take center stage. Guests can drink while playing, or sit down to a meal. The menu offers everything from cocktails, craft beers and classic comfort foods (fried chicken, mac and cheese) to creative, health-focused options, like cauliflower pizza.
“Life in Hong Kong is always so rushed and high-pressured, so this place really is a place for people to kick back and chill out together,” he explains.
Taking a “leap of faith” and committing to the concept wasn’t easy — yet proved to be fulfilling.
“The most memorable experience in my whole career was the realization that I didn’t want to do what I was doing at the time for the rest of my life, and that I had so much more to offer,” he says of his past work. “And the best feeling I have had so far was the joy in being able to pay myself for the first time ever.”
His first job? Chan skipped class in high school to work as a cleaner at a local music festival.
What inspires him? “Those who can take all these challenges they face in life in their stride and conquer them all.”
See the full list of The Loop HK’s 30 Under 30 Class of 2019.
Check out the highlights from the awards ceremony held on Feb 19, 2019.
