His first toy was a Stormtrooper, according to Jian Yang, also the guy with the world’s second-largest Barbie doll collection. During our play day with this “responsible working adult”—he’s managing partner at strategic communications consultancy Distilleri—we meet dinosaurs, ponies, and robots.
YOU HAVE MORE THAN 12,000 BARBIE DOLLS, SOME OF WHICH ARE BEING EXHIBITED AT THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. SO WE ARE HERE TO SEE YOUR OTHER TOYS TODAY.
People forget that I also own a tonne [dramatically] of boy toys. I’ve always had dinosaurs, even way back when I stayed with my parents. As a child, I loved this animation series called Dino-Riders, where superhumans battled aliens on prehistoric Earth. I didn’t like the weapons or the armour; I just liked their dinosaurs. That was when I bought one, then another, and another.
SO YOUR EARLIEST TOY WAS A BOY TOY?
Eh, I had a Glo Worm [larva in pyjamas with a light-up head popular with babies and toddlers] plushie for a long time. As I grew older, I discovered figurines and vehicles. It was the 1970s and everyone was a Star Wars fan. My grandfather got me a Darth Vader and 20 Stormtroopers. Oh, my Millennium Falcon is parked behind my chair in the office.
HOW MANY OF THESE BOY TOYS DO YOU OWN?
I have never counted. I’ve been buying toys for more than 40 years, and they are never “a collection” to me. Whenever someone asks, how many do you have? I’m like, oh crap!
YOUR APPROACH IS TO “BUY ONE, BUY THE NEXT ONE, THEN BUY ANOTHER ONE”. HOW DO YOU ENSURE YOU SPEND WISELY ON YOUR TOYS?
Not to sound like a snob, but money can be earned back. When are we ever going to start enjoying our lives—in our 60s, when we’ve paid off our housing loans, but can no longer walk? I’m responsible with my money. I have savings plans, I pay my bills, I bought a company three years ago. So I think it’s fine for me to spend $49.90 on a dinosaur toy. I don’t set a budget for spending on toys. For whatever reason I don’t get to buy it this month, I can buy it next month. Who knows, there could be something else to buy or it might go on sale and I can buy two [Laughs].
YOU KEEP THESE TOYS IN THE CONFERENCE IN THE CONFERENCE ROOM AT DISTILLERI. ARE STAFF AND CLIENTS ALLOWED TO PLAY WITH THEM?
Go on, anyone can touch, move, and play with any toy here. Many have been broken here. Some have lost their shoes, some of their arms have fallen off, some have scratches. I keep them because of the stories and memories each holds. Several have gone missing but who cares? I don’t let my heart break over a broken toy because I don’t want it to become about monetary value.
WAS IT HARD TO EXPLAIN TO EVERYONE AT WORK WHY YOU HAVE TO KEEP THE TOYS HERE?
No. At Distilleri, we have built a culture that revolves around play—toys are mere manifestations of our way of play. When I was first approached to start Distilleri by our co-founder Jin Ooi, I went, “Don’t be ridiculous”. So he said, “Why don’t we have a storeroom just for the toys?” Okay, that sounded like fun to me.
FINALLY, WHICH OF YOUR TOYS DO YOU MOST IDENTIFY WITH?
The Ewoks from Star Wars. Like them, my friends and I run our own village; we have gathered many different personalities here. When I was younger, I thought I’d grow up to be Han Solo, but no, I’ve become an Ewok. However, I’m sure that two years down the road, I’ll have a Han Solo moment. Wait for it!
Remember we said something about some of his Barbie dolls being displayed at National Museum? “Play:Date – Unlocking Cabinets of Play” runs till 5 Jan 2025. Details here.
