Hong Kong lawyer turned boxing coach reaches out to city’s underprivileged
Mother of two gave up high pressure career and found solace in sport – now she says her students have taught her to see a different side of city
When Hongkonger Anne Chen Wai-yui gave up her stressful legal job in a big company in 2013, she found a new passion that could not have been much further from her past profession – Muay Thai boxing.
Now, two years after opening her own gym, Elite Thai Boxing and Fitness, she is giving back to the community through the city’s Youth Outreach programme, helping disenfranchised young people find their path in life.
As it turns out, the project has also been a learning experience for Chen, who says she now enjoys the city more, and has been taught to enjoy the grittier side of Hong Kong.
“I was always hanging around in Central district. I rarely went to Mong Kok. Maybe one to two times in my life before I was connected to this group of young people,” she said.
“These young people are coming from an entirely different world from my ... peers,” she said.
“I am more into Hong Kong because of them. They helped me explore the different side of the city, such as the most fun and cheapest area,” she said. “Now, I now love going to Mong Kok, Tsim Sha Tsui and Jordan for food and shopping. Things are much cheaper there than in Central.
