Who was Sukwan Chae?

My brother from another mother, united by the love of the game

China gave me many things, and I will always be grateful for that chapter of my life.

Besides having the great fortune of witnessing the incredible pace of growth across so many industries in China’s meteoric rise, I also got the chance to work with some incredible talents I never imaged I would have the chance to. There were colleagues from Oxford, Harvard, Yale, MIT, Carnegie Mello and not to mention also the top universities in China, just to name those I could remember - I was so blessed to be able to jam with them and forever grateful for the opportunity.

I guess it was due to the sheer scale of the work that attracted these talents to work in China, and I am proud to say that those individuals have gone on to forge remarkable paths, and I was lucky enough to witness it all as a young professional finding my way.

Among all the people I worked with, was my greatest mentor and friend Sukwan Chae. He was my client at NIKE, but more than that he was like my big brother in many ways. We worked together for five years before I left for Singapore, and he sadly passed away in 2015.

I decided to write this post about him after watching a video that reminded me not to forget him too quickly.

We were great partners at work. He was my main partner in crime at Nike while I was at Wieden+Kennedy and later at AKQA, and I learned so much from him.

Sukwan had a lot of shoes—always more than he needed—and he generously shared them with me. The only downside was that his feet were half a size smaller than mine, so I often had to squeeze into them. But I didn’t mind. He loved his tennis classics, his Dunks, and, of course, his Jordans. The rarest one which I loved the most was this":

and this:

Our relationship was truly special. I believe it was divine intervention that allowed me to see him one last time before he passed away.

I received the call on a Sunday morning that he had died. At first, I thought it was a bad joke because I had just seen him the day before in Shanghai while I was on a business trip.

It was our first proper catch-up since I had moved back to Singapore for good. Sukwan had either just moved into his new apartment or was about to leave it, and we decided to meet for breakfast. He ordered pancakes and sausages, while I, the glutton (and still am), ordered a full American breakfast with extra everything. He gave me a look of disgust and said he didn’t eat whipped cream on his pancakes anymore because he was watching his diet. Maybe I could enjoy his whipped cream on my sirloin fat. I laughed and gave him the finger.

He looked tired, but I sensed there was something more beneath the surface. He had recently taken on the lead role for Jordan Brand and it was the 30th anniversary of the brand and felt a tremendous responsibility to make the campaign epic, a duty to the man, MJ himself. I later learned he wasn’t doing too well at work, which probably added to his stress.

During our meal, he took a few calls, as he always did. He was constantly encouraging and sharing bits of inspiration with his colleagues, trying to guide their creative process to achieve what he envisioned. Some people found it overbearing, but I admired his passion for the brand. He was a walking archive, constantly referencing campaigns like “City Attack,” “Art of the Trench,” and “Humans of New York.” He wanted every campaign to be a piece of history.

Hearing his voice again here is so unreal.

We made some kick-ass campaigns together:

2010 ASIAN GAMES NIKE GUANGZHOU CITY ATTACK - Let Your Game Speak

NIKE Sportswear AW77 HOODIE ICON CAMPAIGN

NIKE FOOTBALL - THE CHANCE

2010 WORLD CUP - WRITE THE FUTURE

By the time we finished our breakfast, he seemed more relaxed, smiling more easily. We talked about our families, gossiped (as he loved to do), and reminisced about past projects. I could tell he missed me and cherished our conversation.

I asked him about his ACG jacket, and he said it was his only one, so he couldn’t give it to me. But he did give me two more pairs of shoes before I left because he was running out of space in his apartment.

We hugged and promised to catch up again.

As I landed back home, he sent me a few texts. Sukwan was always very emotional, which I think comes with being a creative person. We exchanged some bromantic banter while I was in the cab on the way home from the airport.

I never knew the impact I left on him until he left those messages to me, but that left a deep impression with me captured in this quote:

Then, the next day, Jason called me to tell me that Sukwan had passed away. He had woken up that morning, complained of chest pains, and then just collapsed. I was confused, in denial, and completely heartbroken.

I didn’t return for his funeral because I wanted to preserve my last memory of him as that Saturday morning at breakfast. I think I was the last of his friends to see him. I’m so glad I was the one.

I feel grateful that I had the chance to meet him that one last time which triggered the precious exchange we had that night.

As I ventured further working on all the other sports brands, I always wish he was still around so I could make him proud of all the work that I was making. He was always by my side, guiding me during my five years on the Nike business. I learned so much from him, and he was always kind enough to teach me. He said it was because I was humble, willing to listen, and easy to work with. Maybe it was the free shoes, but I also enjoyed working with him.

We spent a lot of time together. He idolized Steve Jobs and was inspired by his idea of long walks and talks, so we often took long walks ourselves. It felt like we grew up together, bonded by the shared culture of the ‘90s—Arsenal, Ian Wright, Cantona, Bergkamp, Iverson, Ewing. We knew all the same pop culture references. I can’t remember all the topics we discussed anymore, which is why I’m afraid of losing my memory of him.

But I won’t forget the impact he had on my life.