How Nike trainer Utah Lee went from fashion to fitness and became an influencer along the way
- The Nike Master Trainer and fashion, jewellery and furniture designer talks about her upbringing
- She worked for Hong Kong’s first fitness chain, TLC, which is where she met her husband
Crowded house: I was born in Hong Kong in 1975 and grew up in Kwai Fong. It was super local. I’m the youngest of four and have two older sisters and a brother, but there were five of us kids in the small flat with my parents because my cousin lived with us until she was three.
My dad worked seven days a week, doing three jobs to take care of us all. He worked in the supply department at the police station across the road from us. He also worked in a methadone clinic and at weekends as a lifeguard. Sometimes my mum would take us to the beach to see him, he’d be in the lifeguard hut or on a speedboat. On the rare days he wasn’t working, he’d take us hiking.
Coming into fashion: As a child I loved to dance and took ballet and folk-dance lessons. I also loved drawing. Every year I entered drawing and painting competitions and often won. I didn’t enjoy studying, so I didn’t go to university after secondary school.
I went to the VTC (Vocational Training Council) and studied pattern making and fashion design for a year. There were 44 students in the class and I was the only one who ended up getting hired as a designer; the rest went into construction or became accountants or the like.
I started in the garment industry, working in a factory in San Po Kong and learning the ropes, and then became an assistant designer for three years before I left and went to another design firm. My job involved going to China twice a week, taking the bus back and forth and sometimes having to stay overnight. It was hard work, so I quit.
