Yet, that proves how having passion for what you do can change one’s perspective. The only exception is on Mondays, when he gives himself time off to “forget about his t-shirts” and do other stuff.Ī little ironic then, considering that Richie had complained about the long, unforgiving hours in the aircraft industry. Richie starts working from the time he wakes up until he goes to bed, even on weekends. Running the business alone means work hours are quite erratic too.

So I started hanging out here a bit more, rented from the landlord for six months, and ended up staying here for way longer than that,” said Richie. I thought to myself, ‘there’s a real vintage vibe with the nice light’. “When I came here, I saw the store was empty. It was at one of the events held in the same warehouse at 50 Geylang Lorong 17 that the idea of renting a space to set up a permanent store came to mind. He had started selling out of his own bedroom, initially, before joining events such as the Geylang Bazaar after a customer suggested it. It also took him a while before he found a physical space at a Geylang warehouse to set up shop. He named his business 55 Vintage, because 55 in the Thai language is ‘ha ha’ – the nickname given to him by his friends in Thailand for his jovial personality. Easy job,” said the owner of 55 Vintage, a business that curates and sells vintage clothing, and upcycles unwanted t-shirts. I started collecting and selling, and made some money. “I moved to Phuket, Thailand, and that’s where I started learning about vintage T-shirts. I moved on to the aircraft industry, which was what I studied while in Polytechnic actually, but quit the job because I was unhappy as it was stressful and I felt I didn’t have enough time for myself.

“I was initially doing parkour, and started teaching parkour, but broke my leg in a freak accident. How he eventually ended up running a vintage t-shirt business is an interesting tale that he enjoys telling. The 27-year-old with floppy hair and a seemingly happy-go-lucky personality proudly told Youth.SG barely two minutes into the interview: “When I was young, I wanted to be a pirate, man.” At first impression, Richie Lee does not come across as your average entrepreneur.

Vintage scene t shirt