My Interview in The Sun

I feel blessed to have the Sun, a free local newspaper in Malaysia, do an interview and feature me on their front page. This came out on Thursday, July 7th. Thank you!

FAY who? You would be asking the same question if someone were to briefly mention about Fay Hokulani. To some it maybe tongue-twisting but for Fay, Hokulani simply means “‘star of the sky” in Hawaiian. At a glance, she could look Latino, Filipino or the infl uence of her name may even cause you to think that she is Hawaiian. Born in Singapore, the 23-year-old tanned beauty is actually of mixed parentage (Chinese, Indonesian and Peranakan).

You would have previously admired her toned body on the covers of Maxim, STUFF and FHM Singapore, and had thoughts about how some girls are just born with a slim figure without having to worry about what they eat and drink, what more the thought of whether they are into workouts. The fact that she was once a model did not mean that she went through a drastic dieting system of starving herself skinny to achieve an ideal body to maintain her shapely fi gure. Ironically, it was during her modeling days that she was once at an unhealthy weight due to her late nights out and irregular meal times.

However, Fay did not stay long in that unhealthy state and decided to turn her life around to achieve a healthy body and lifestyle. In November 2008, inspired to also influence other girls out there who are struggling to lead a healthy lifestyle, she started her own website called withlovefay.com where she shares personal fitness advice, healthy living and beauty reviews.

Fay’s determination to achieve a better lifestyle earned her a television gig on the Singaporean arts entertainment programme called ‘SCORE’ on OKTO channel in 2009 and she was the host for season one and two. As we only ever hear Fay talking about the latest international celebrity gossips on hitz.fm’s Gettin Down & Dirty with Fay Hokulani segment, for a change this time, the radio presenter tells us more about her regular routines and how she feels like she’s just a girl next door.

Why did you leave Singapore?
Partly because I want to explore the  entertainment industry in another country while I’m still young. I wanted to experience how things worked in another country and at the same time gain some knowledge from it. But a big chunk of why I decided to leave was because of love. It’s quite a sudden move but I think it’s the right move to follow my boyfriend to Malaysia. Since I wanted to work in another country, now I can do it with a loved one by my side – what more could I ask for?

How does it feel to leave your career in Singapore?
It was not an easy decision to make, I have to admit. My career in the entertainment industry is established and most people wouldn’t want to just drop everything and leave. I could have stayed back in Singapore and stay in that comfort zone, but I think it’s time to pick up some challenges. We all need some challenges in our lives at some point in time to enhance our lives, otherwise it will be a monotonous lifestyle and eventually it will become dull and boring.

How has it been so far?
Things are going great! Better than I expected it to be. I actually gave myself a time frame and if I didn’t fi nd a job by that time, I was supposed to pack up and go back to Singapore. I auditioned for the slot with hitz.fm sometime last October, but I didn’t get a call until December. Initially I thought I didn’t
make it and was preparing myself to go home. It felt surreal when they called to tell me that I got the spot! I am also blogging fulltime, but my slot with hitz.fm blends in well with my schedule. What’s best is, I can work from wherever I am as long as I have a phone with me. My slot of Getting Down & Dirty with Fay Hokulani only takes up five to 10 minutes, so it’s no sweat at all.

What inspired you to start withlovefay.com?
I started it purely because I wanted to share with all the girls out there that they too can achieve a healthy lifestyle. I was double my weight when I was in the States and it was a hard lesson to learn. I was modelling and when I got caught up with the lifestyle of spending too many late nights out and didn’t watch what I was eating, I ballooned and that affected not only my weight but the whole modelling industry looked down on me. I had photographers complaining about how I should not even be on-set because of my ‘overweight’ looks and fashion clients didn’t want me to model their products. I was really depressed then and I knew I had to do something about it and that led me to start a workout regimen. I lost all the weight and am determined to maintain it. This is part of the reason why I started the blog, so that I could connect with all the health, fitness, fashion and beauty junkies all over the world to share tips on how to lose weight, workout, eat healthy, live a healthy lifestyle and look good.

How did you lose the extra weight you gained?
I changed my diet where I cut out a lot of the unhealthy food that I used to eat and ate more regularly instead of skipping meals. Apart from keeping a healthy diet, I started running. Not jogging, but running for a solid 20 minutes a day, about three times a week. I was amazed at the results when I lost weight as I wasn’t very into sports although my family is athletic. I never took interest in sports, so running regularly is an achievement for me.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to lose weight healthily?
Don’t skip your meals as it would only disrupt your metabolic rate. Skipping meals may give fast results, but the faster your lose, the faster you gain them back. Dieting may sound negative, but there are a lot of healthy ways to do it. It does not mean ‘not eating’ but cutting down on bad food. Exercise is also important to balance your diet. However, both have to coexist. Without a good diet, exercising is put to waste because you are eating everything back after you workout while a good diet can only do that much to our bodies while exercise encourages blood circulation and keeps you fresh at all times.

If you weren’t hosting and DJing, what would you have done?
I graduated in visual communication which allows me to take up freelance graphic designing projects. I am still taking projects now, but at the moment, I can’t see myself doing it full-time. I’m a person who loves the outdoors and I enjoy being on-the-go. I can’t stand a graphic designer’s life where I have to face the computer for the rest of my life. But if I have to do it for a living, yes, I would learn to accept it.

TECH SAVVY GAL
ON her day off, Fay is mostly seen in a baggy t-shirt which she feels most comfortable wearing, pairing it with jeans and boots. She loves boots over heels simply because of her on-the-go lifestyle which requires her to be on her feet at all times which is not so suitable for high heels. Her favourite boots are those with hidden wedges as they are the most comfortable and allow her to run in them. At a glance, no one would guess that Fay is technology savvy. Among her friends, she is a gadget person where she owns a MacBook, an iPhone and one of her favourite pastimes, play Xbox 360 games.

Even as a celebrity blogger, model, host and now a radio presenter, Fay never felt the need to apply too much make-up. She believes in maintaining good skin with a simple beauty regimen of cleansing and moisturising. At the same time, her ultimate belief is to eat healthily as it not only helps cultivate a healthy lifestyle, but also shows on her skin.