Volume Up: Uncovering Asia by St. James's Place

Ross Bendix collapsed on New Year’s Day 2022, at the time he weighed in at 127kg.  He has since lost almost 60kg and transformed his life as a result.  This is a remarkable story as Ross takes us through life before and after that life defining moment.

Ollie Roberts was born in London in 1992 and moved to Hong Kong at the age of 2. The son of professional golfer, Ollie chose to follow his Father’s path and turned pro in 2016. 

Iain Roberts has devoted his entire career to the world of golf.  He turned professional in the 1970’s and competed on the European Tour with the likes of Seve Ballesteros, however, he really made his name behind the scenes.  He is one of a rare breed of PGA Master Professionals, has been tournament director of A-list tournaments, counts Gary Player as a personal friend and even taught Yao Ming how to play golf.  Join me as we journey through some amazing stories of Iain’s 40+ years in the world of professional golf.

Abigail Carr is an expert in the field of early learning and has been in Hong Kong since 2005. In 2019 at the age of just 36 she was diagnosed with type-3C breast cancer. This is her inspiring story.

Helen McGuire is the CEO and Co-Founder of Diversely an end-to-end hiring platform that uses tech to reduce bias in the hiring process for businesses. She is an award-winning entrepreneur in the diversity space, she founded the first women’s careers platform in the Middle East in 2016 expanded into Singapore in 2018.

Colin Cohen has lived in Hong Kong for 40 years and was co-founder of Boase Cohen & Collins in 1985. Over the course of his career, he has coordinated defence teams on some of the territory’s most high-profile court cases. Recognised for his pro bono work, community outreach and commitment to various charitable causes, Colin was awarded the Hong Kong Medal of Honour in 2012 for his long-standing contribution to the Inland Revenue’s Board of Review. Listen in as we uncover Colin's story, his time in HK and capture some stories along the way.

Roshan Melwani and his father Manu are no ordinary tailors.Sam’s Tailor was opened in 1957 and has since made suits for royalty, US Presidents, Hollywood actors, pop stars and world acclaimed sporting icons. Hear from Roshan as he recounts their humble beginnings dating back to more than half a century ago, where the late Naraindas Melwani embarked to Hong Kong for a better chance at life and how they managed to establish an iconic family business.

David Hughes was born in 1950 in Plymouth, England and came to Hong Kong in 1972 to work for the Royal Hong Kong Police. Over time, with the help of his wife and family, they set up the largest independent international school network in Asia. David has since continued his entrepreneurial journey, forming many successful businesses and is also an astute investor.

Peter Olsen was born in Kentish Town, London and has lived in Hong Kong since 1972, Over the next 30 years he became one of the world’s leading manufacturer of toys including Matchbox cars and many others that will have found a place in your childhood toy box.Since then his life has encountered many challenges that we will hear about in this podcast and ultimately how almost 50 years on in Hong Kong he now gives back to the communities he has lived and grown up in.

Alain Ngalani is one of the biggest names in the fight game in Asia.But he’s more than a fighter, he’s a champion of positivity and enjoys a social media following most can only dream of. Born in Cameroon, Africa in 1975, he arrived in Asia in 2001 and owns the Impakt fight gyms in Hong Kong & Singapore and has trained and prepared hundreds of amateur fighters for White Collar Boxing. He’s 4 times World MMA champion and a staple of the One FC brand and his social media posts have been shared by the New York Mayor. In his 46th year he’s still fighting at the top level with a physique of a man half his age.In a worldwide exclusive and Alain's first ever podcast, we learn a little more about him in our series "Volume Up: Uncovering Asia".

Mollie Jean De Dieu is the General Manager of the French fashion and accessory company, Longchamp, in Singapore & Malaysia, a keynote speaker and an avid promoter for wellness in the workforce. A self-proclaimed citizen of the world, Mollie grew up between Africa, France, the United States and has made Asia her home for the past fourteen years. She spent 9 years in Hong Kong and 5 years in Singapore where she currently resides today.

Mary Barrett is based in Singapore and after a 22 year Corporate career with Barclays and BMW started her own business in 2004 now named Mary Barrett Global. Mary is a Mindset Coach and Podcaster - 'A Cup of Tea with Mary B' where she has conversations with ‘ordinary’ people achieving extraordinary things. Mary is also a proud mother to two lovely young children. Today we have invited Mary to our podcast as a mother, business owner and expat in Asia to tell her story…

Cheryl Tan is based in Singapore and came from the advertising world where she was driven by educating the masses on brand stories. Now she has switched her focus to share raw human stories to inspire courage and love with people around her. Cheryl is the Executive Director for the Singapore Mental Health Film Festival a non-profit organization that uses film as a catalyst to advocate and promote conversations about mental health. She is also the founder of The Breathe Movement and a 2019 Obama leader for the Asia pacific.

Tony Sealy was born in London in 1959 with an English mother and father from Barbados. He moved to Wallsend in the North East of England aged 8 and attended the iconic Wallsend Boys Club. In 1977 he embarked on a professional football career that would see him make over 300 professional appearances scoring over 100 goals in his career and ending up in Hong Kong.

Tony Sealy was born in London in 1959 with an English mother and father from Barbados. He moved to Wallsend in the North East of England aged 8 and attended the iconic Wallsend Boys Club. In 1977 he embarked on a professional football career that would see him make over 300 professional appearances scoring over 100 goals in his career and ending up in Hong Kong.