SINGAPORE – Mr Martin John went from serving coffee to celebrities in his youth to treating their aches and pains as an osteopath.
The Briton said that his clients in the UK included top athletes, dancers, gymnasts and celebrities – a far cry from his humble beginnings as a child growing up in government-subsidised housing in North London with two siblings.
To earn an extra buck, he had worked in gyms and cafes, and “ended up serving some very bad coffee or giving gym tours to a few famous faces like Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Chris Evans and Kate Moss”, he said.
He is now based in Singapore, practising at Orchard Health Clinic in Palais Renaissance.
He had arrived in the Republic in 2003 on a one-way ticket with just $2,000 and no safety net. After working at various jobs for six years, he set up the clinic in 2009.
The clinic now serves more than 10,000 clients a year.
“I’d hit a ceiling back home, with high taxes, student loans, and this weird culture that looks down on ambition,” said the 53-year-old, who holds an osteopathy degree from the British School of Osteopathy, and a master’s in business administration from Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge.
“I wanted to see more of the world, meet people who think differently. What struck me was how Singapore actually celebrates people who build something. That drive and optimism made me want to stay and be part of this perspective-changing culture.”
Early on in his practice, a patient offered $100,000 to invest in the clinic.
“After talking it through with my wife, we turned it down. She believed in me more than I believed in myself, and she was certain we could build it on our own.
“We did it, slowly, step by step, from a rented room and a second-hand car, to a clinic in Orchard Road, a team, a family, and eventually a home,” said Mr John, a Singapore permanent resident.
