
The first time Ray Kayan stepped up to a fitness pole, he thought he had it covered.
“I can do this easily,” he remembers thinking.

The first time Ray Kayan stepped up to a fitness pole, he thought he had it covered.
“I can do this easily,” he remembers thinking.
He discovered a much more challenging reality.
“Gym strength does not translate into pole strength,” the 58-year-old says. “Not at all. You’re bruised all over your legs, your body aches and you can’t even spin around the pole properly. It was very humbling. A lot of people try it once and think, ‘I’m never coming back.’”
But Kayan – who was born in Hong Kong and emigrated to Los Angeles with his parents when he was one – did not give up. He was enchanted by the idea of using a pole for fitness.
“Just watching people do amazing things on the pole, how they spin, how graceful they look – it was something I really wanted to do.”
Recently, however, a number of his rarer titles were made widely available again. Below we look at a few of his lesser-known wuxia gems. Duel…
While clout and trendiness may be the currency of contemporary fashion, Hong Kong costume designer-turned-jewellery artist Vann Kwok chooses to prioritise artistic narrative over social…
We have selected seven Lifestyle stories from the past seven days that resonated with our readers. If you would like to see more of our…
3/5 starsShow More Korean superstar Jun Ji-hyun makes her long-awaited return to the big screen in Colony, an action-packed zombie thriller that sees director Yeon…
On a slow afternoon a few years ago, Dubai restaurateur Ahmet Oytun Cakir was in his office considering menu inspiration. The hospitality veteran, whose empire…