PERSONAL | hypebeast hq

So here's some snapshots I took of Hypebeast HQ. I've been waiting to share these photos since July but had to wait for their publication on Spottly's new blog first. Before moving to Hong Kong I had no idea what Hypebeast was. It wasn't until I checked their facebook page did I realise what a huge international following they had - even some of my friends from Irvine were following them. And what was more surprising was finding out they were based in Hong Kong, of all cities!

I had a blast doing some behind-the-scenes shooting that day. It's such a treat to be able to visit people's creative spaces. Actually, one of my favourite daily reads is an online interview magazine that portrays people of diverse creative and cultural backgrounds in their homes and within their daily working environments. They've been one of my biggest inspirations this past year, so getting the opportunity to do something similar was just a great experience.

HONG KONG | cliff jumping

I'm really a city girl through and through. Therefore, when summer hits you'll probably find me at some coffee shop rather than tanning at the beach. It's actually a known fact that I despise the beach - my hair doesn't agree with the salty air, sand gets everywhere, and it's friggin' sunny out! But I dunno, maybe it's because I know summer's coming to an end so I thought that I should have one beach day while it's still warm out.

One of my friends and I have been talking about going cliff jumping in Sai Kung since June, but since she went off to study abroad in Berlin before we settled on a date we put the excursion on the back burner until she got back from her travels. I was actually pretty reserved about going at first because 1) I'm terrible at outdoor activities (it's a 30-40 min hike to Sai Wan) and 2) I know there's a 26 foot cliff waiting for me at the end of the hike.

But in the end this trip was one of the most rewarding experiences ever. I have to be honest and say I almost couldn't bring myself to jump off the cliff the first time when I finally made it to the top - got a bad case of jelly legs. I definitely underestimated the height but I had no choice but to jump because my friend had already gone before me, and to make matters worse there was an audience chanting "Jump! Jump! Jump!". So at that point I really couldn't climb down and still have my dignity intact (haha). So I did, and it was so fun, so scary, and so painful. Note: pinch nose before leaping. Here's a little { video }