WEBVTT

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I broke it off. I broke her off and her neck,

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you know, because there were bubbles and I got,

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God knows what was inside. So when I broke it

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off, there were actually eggs, insect eggs and

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everything. And I realised that her eyes wasn't

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depressed. It was actually a nest, like, inside

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her eyes. And the statue was filled with insects

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and stuff. Oh dear. This is where I'm going to

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tell you, you may not know this, but all this

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while, the cameras have been rolling. Oh, okay.

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So we actually... Wait, let me comb my hair.

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Did you wash your hair today? Yeah. Got shampoo

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though today. Conditioner also. Conditioner also.

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No wonder the hair do them soft, boy. Shidy is

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a more, boy. Better than my future. You know,

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I named this episode, I Love My Job. That one

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with the statue whisperer. Should you whisper

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to statues, man? Sometimes. Sometimes I do, actually.

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Jokes aside. Okay. Talk to some of the statues.

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Not pray to them or anything like that. But sometimes,

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just give me a bit of... you know, in the sense,

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how do you, how do you want me to do you? That

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kind of, this is not very right. Turn around,

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turn around, Chris. This is not a hantu show,

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bro. No, but in the sense, like jokes aside,

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in the sense, sometimes I, some clients can't

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choose their color scheme. Right. I can't choose

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the color scheme for them, certain projects,

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you know, and then they just say, leave it to

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the statue. Right. Sometimes I'm doing the statue

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halfway, I just like, follow my heart or like

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i feel there's a feeling i don't know how to

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describe this so it's just like okay this color

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goes on here yeah your creative sense comes into

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play which is something i want to ask you later

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on well before i do that welcome back to the

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show the chris hansen conversation on a 40 hour

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i love my job series i've got this guy with me

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you've heard part of our conversation and i call

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him the statue whisperer And here he goes. There's

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no statue he's whispering to unless he thinks

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I'm one. And he is Ryan O 'Hara. And Ryan is

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a guy that takes religious artifacts, anything

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that is of sentimental value to even individuals

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and has done stuff also in corporate levels,

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you know, to restore stuff, to restore things.

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value and of importance and of all kinds of minerals

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and elements and materials. And I think this

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is such an interesting trade to be in. Hardly

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can you find anyone that actually indulges in

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something like this. Now, before I go on and

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having my chat with Ryan, let me just show you

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some of his works. Kai, you ready for this, Kai?

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Yeah. Okay. Can we put up the picture with the

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Holy Family, the before picture? Now, take a

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look at this, everyone. If you take a look at

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this lovely statue of the Holy Family, it's Catholic,

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of course. And what Brian had done, what happened

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after it was given to him for restoration. Can

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we have the after picture, please? There you

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go. And then can we have the same Holy Family

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before? There you go. This is in an altar, I

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suppose, right? It's a client's house. In the

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client's house. This is a personal item. And

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what he did right after that, there you go. Marvelous

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stuff, man. Thank you. Marvelous stuff. So this

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is what Ryan does. There's just only one small

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facet of what he does. And I have, again, with

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me in studio, on the show, on the Chris Hansen

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Conversation, the statue whisperer, Ryan O 'Hara.

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Good morning, Singapore. Hello. You can tell

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time now. Brother, what time now? Good afternoon.

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Well, this is what I like about you, man. You

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know, you really would call a spade a spade,

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wouldn't you? Fucking hell. Okay. So, Ryan, your

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story is unique. Growing up. While you were growing

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up, I know you had probably, well, a lot of no

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good shit. Yeah, but did you ever imagine you'd

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be restoring statues and artwork? Honestly, no.

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Growing up, I was, I could say pretty naughty.

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You don't say. I mean, I'll be shocked. Growing

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up, I was quite naughty. Growing up, didn't have

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a care in the world in the sense like, when I

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do something, I just do it, you know? But then,

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over time, it was like, not the life I want to

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lead, you know? I don't want to go down that

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road, you know? So I took a back step. What road

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was that, man? Emphasize. Elaborate for me, please.

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Mixing around the wrong company. Okay. Doing

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nonsense, doing shit. But were you ever, what

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were your interests, that aside, as a child or

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as a young adult? Oh, I used to love guitar.

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Music? Yeah, music. Okay. Music and art, actually.

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Yeah. So you've always been into the, okay, performing

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art is one. Performing arts is playing the guitar.

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You play, still play? Yeah, once in a while.

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But I haven't touched the guitar for about a

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year or so. Okay. And then you were into art.

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Yeah. You loved it. Yeah. You always have. From

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young, you know, I started liking tattoos and

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stuff like that from a very young age. But you

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didn't end up being a tattoo artist. There were

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times I actually tried going into that light.

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Yeah, but that didn't work out, you know. The

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whole apprenticeship thing was a bit too heavy.

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Okay. Yeah, so. Okay, so, which means that your

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foray into restoring statues and stuff, you're

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self -taught. Yep, everything, head to toe. How'd

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that happen, man? Jokes aside, I used to work

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in oil and gas last time. Right. Then one day

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I came back, you know, from work, just at home,

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having a beer, having a cigarette and everything,

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and I looked at her. Had to add that one in.

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Having a beer, a cup of cigarettes, yeah, okay.

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Just relaxing and stuff like that. And then the

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next thing I know, I was looking at my own altar.

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And you're Catholic, right? Yeah, I'm Roman Catholic.

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I look at the altars, like, quite old, the statues.

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I bring them down, I clean them up. So my mom's

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like, I go into the shop and blah, blah, blah.

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So she left the shop, I clean them up, I started

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painting them and everything, I put it back up.

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About two hours later, she comes back and everything

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is like, hey, you want to buy new statues? I

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was like, no, I painted the statues. You bloody

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rascal, you're painting the statues. Even my

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dad came home from work that night. I'll never

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forget that. He comes home. He comes home, he

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say, hi, Fee. He calls my mum, Fee. Right. Goes,

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hey, right, how? He say, hi. I said, oh, man,

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okay. He say, okay. Then he look, you all want

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to buy someone new statues, ah? Then, then, then,

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my mum comes out of the kitchen, no, your son,

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this fella painting all these statues. But, but,

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but you did all that. Remember, you started painting

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it. Didn't you think for one second that I could

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maybe even mess this up? Not really, no, I just.

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felt like doing it you know just uh painted it

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according to color at the time and you knew what

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kind of paint to use nope But at that time, no,

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you know. And then, from there, I started, like,

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I'll go up to my mum, I'll go, hey, old lady.

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Then she's like, what's this with the old man,

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old lady, man? What? My pen name? Then, my son

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had better not call me old man, man. I'll fucking

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flip. It's quite old, right? Shut up, you. No,

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the thing is, she's like, what do you want, old

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lady, old lady? What do you want? I said, we

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got any old statues here you don't want? She

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said, oh, right. I said, have a look. you don't

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want like not religious ones like those old like

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women sitting on the chair okay okay so you show

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up take what you want to do put in your room

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or something let me go and try and restore okay

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go to the kitchen smash the thing and she go

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what the bloody hell are you doing you want to

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break the damn thing yeah I broke it what are

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you doing I said I want to try and restore it

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then she say you have to break the thing I said

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yeah so I can piece it back like a jigsaw puzzle

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see if I can can cover up what the fuck brah

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that's how I started you know and then I started

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reading online right going to the library last

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time trial and error a lot of trial and errors

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you know trying this trying that mixing my own

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concoctions to see the like What is it called?

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It adheres to the stuff. Right, right. Where

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they can glue together. Where they can glue together

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and stuff like that. But you've already broke

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them. Yeah. So how the fuck are you going to

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get it back to? That's not restoring. That's

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not restoring, man. That's repairing, man. But

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I had to do something in the sense like try out

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whether it works or don't work. Whether this

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pin suits or doesn't suit. Right. From there,

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it was just... That was nearly... I would say...

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Wait, let me push the condom up. I thought you'd

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take it off. I mean, for protection's sake, you

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know, I'm going to push the condom back up. Shit.

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No, the thing is, that was, I would say, close

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to Christmas, right? So like, in your Christmas

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period, people, the aunties and uncles come to

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the house, right? That's how it started, you

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know? They're like, anyway, you get this statue,

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it's quite nice. Then my mum and dad were like,

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oh, he painted. Then they're like, huh? You painted

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all these statues? I was like, yeah. The devil

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made these tattoos? I mean, hey, you're making

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it sound as if it, you know, I mean like, wow,

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like, you know, everyone thinks of you that way.

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My goodness. And from there, like, based on word

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of mouth, they were like, oh, can you do this

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for me? You know, can we put the picture of Ryan

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up? Ryan, pick two. That one. That's you. actually

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doing some work on restoring a statue, a statue

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of the Virgin Mary, right? Yes. Okay, okay. So,

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I have a question to ask you. When you broke

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that piece that your mom gave you for practice

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sake, Did it work, man? Did you get it back together?

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How long did it take you? Were there any challenges?

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Yeah, a lot of challenges because I didn't know

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how to, you know, and then it took a bit of time

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and I started like farting around all the different

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items. Farting around. So I managed to get it

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in place. Okay. But I could still see it wasn't

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seamless, you know, was still cracked, you know,

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certain areas you could see the, it wasn't level.

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You know, I started, I figured out how to send

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it down, how to file it down. How long did it

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take you to figure all that out? That piece only

00:10:55.320 --> 00:10:57.220
was about three and a half weeks, four weeks.

00:10:57.580 --> 00:10:59.899
Wow. And you actually had the patience to go

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through three and a half without even thinking

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that this could even become your trade. you were

00:11:07.370 --> 00:11:09.850
not thinking of it at that time it's just something

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I like to do you know okay like when growing

00:11:11.789 --> 00:11:14.009
up I used to like watching those restoration

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shows you know and the before and afters and

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then I just took a liking to it so like that

00:11:20.570 --> 00:11:22.970
particular piece took quite a while you know

00:11:22.970 --> 00:11:24.730
right from there I started doing it more and

00:11:24.730 --> 00:11:27.759
more what was it made of Matt? probably Probably

00:11:27.759 --> 00:11:30.159
fiberglass. Fiberglass. I'm thinking, you know,

00:11:30.159 --> 00:11:33.679
but it doesn't feel like fiberglass. I'm thinking,

00:11:33.779 --> 00:11:37.240
because it's quite a world statue. Okay, okay.

00:11:38.059 --> 00:11:40.539
How about other materials? That's fiberglass.

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This interesting picture of a brass cross. Oh,

00:11:45.700 --> 00:11:48.980
look at that before and after. My goodness. Bounces

00:11:48.980 --> 00:11:51.279
off, man. I mean, just look at the colors, man.

00:11:52.659 --> 00:11:56.889
You move from fiberglass. And then you work,

00:11:56.909 --> 00:11:59.370
what kind of materials? Oh, no, this one is brass.

00:11:59.490 --> 00:12:02.110
You told me fiberglass with a broken piece that

00:12:02.110 --> 00:12:05.610
you experimented on. What other kind of materials

00:12:05.610 --> 00:12:11.809
do you work on? I would say plaster, a bit of

00:12:11.809 --> 00:12:16.830
steel, brass, chrome. Wow. But rarely, very,

00:12:16.970 --> 00:12:20.690
very rarely. Even porcelain, I've done a couple,

00:12:20.809 --> 00:12:24.360
but... It's pretty hard to do. But I managed

00:12:24.360 --> 00:12:28.980
to do one proper one. It looks seamless and everything.

00:12:29.460 --> 00:12:33.570
And all these materials, no one... taught you.

00:12:33.870 --> 00:12:36.210
No, you didn't even go on YouTube to check it

00:12:36.210 --> 00:12:37.929
out. I did, I did. You did, okay. I checked online,

00:12:38.110 --> 00:12:40.129
I read online and everything, but no one physically

00:12:40.129 --> 00:12:42.850
taught me. Right. Like, sometimes I'm walking

00:12:42.850 --> 00:12:45.169
on the side of the road, I guess, for example,

00:12:45.350 --> 00:12:48.309
a shop house. Right. And then you see your uncle

00:12:48.309 --> 00:12:51.330
squatting down fixing something. I go, hey, uncle.

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Then he's like, what are you doing? Then he's

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like, oh, I'm fixing this thing. Then I'm like,

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can't see. So what's this? Then he said, oh,

00:12:58.450 --> 00:13:01.149
I'm using this epoxy mix with that. Okay, then

00:13:01.149 --> 00:13:03.549
that's how I got, like... So you basically watch

00:13:03.549 --> 00:13:05.909
people do stuff as well. Yeah. And it was all

00:13:05.909 --> 00:13:08.889
learning curves for you. Ah, right, right, right,

00:13:08.889 --> 00:13:11.870
right. Let's go back a little bit, okay? Let's

00:13:11.870 --> 00:13:19.509
go back to that part. Wait a second. Yeah, you're

00:13:19.509 --> 00:13:23.470
saying? Yeah. There's not a single ohara I know.

00:13:23.570 --> 00:13:30.070
This is not funny, you know? I just... Hey, Kevin,

00:13:30.210 --> 00:13:34.450
Julian, you guys are a few of those. Okay. Crazy

00:13:34.450 --> 00:13:39.830
O 'Hara's. Okay, bro. Let's go back to that broken

00:13:39.830 --> 00:13:43.009
piece, that piece of fiberglass, and you work

00:13:43.009 --> 00:13:46.419
on that. Then what happened next? From there,

00:13:46.480 --> 00:13:48.500
more or less, it was word of mouth. Like I said,

00:13:48.539 --> 00:13:50.000
they would come, they look at the altar, they're

00:13:50.000 --> 00:13:52.500
like, hey, this is nice. Then they're like, oh,

00:13:52.519 --> 00:13:55.059
you can paint statues? I said, yeah, I can try.

00:13:56.340 --> 00:14:00.139
From there, they're like, oh, next year, I'll

00:14:00.139 --> 00:14:02.299
bring you a couple. That's how it started. So

00:14:02.299 --> 00:14:06.620
whenever I was on my off day or after work, nothing

00:14:06.620 --> 00:14:09.639
to do, it was good. You were still oil and gas.

00:14:09.960 --> 00:14:11.659
What were you doing in the oil and gas area?

00:14:11.840 --> 00:14:17.159
I was doing mechanical line, those uh deburring

00:14:17.159 --> 00:14:20.340
making the lugs for the drill bits for the yeah

00:14:20.340 --> 00:14:23.309
yeah all that kind of stuff good money man Yeah.

00:14:23.470 --> 00:14:25.990
Well, wages could be quite good. It was, it was.

00:14:25.990 --> 00:14:28.990
It was, right? And then, okay. Yeah, and then

00:14:28.990 --> 00:14:31.090
I decided to take a jump from that to this. Okay,

00:14:31.129 --> 00:14:32.809
let's stop there for a while. We'll get to that

00:14:32.809 --> 00:14:36.950
soon. So you were in oil and gas and people started

00:14:36.950 --> 00:14:39.750
coming to you with this, well, at least relatives,

00:14:39.870 --> 00:14:41.389
right? Yeah, majority of them were. Yeah, it

00:14:41.389 --> 00:14:43.570
started that way. I'm trying to discover your

00:14:43.570 --> 00:14:46.950
journey. And then they gave you, it's trying

00:14:46.950 --> 00:14:48.629
to restore this piece of me, trying to restore

00:14:48.629 --> 00:14:51.409
that piece of me. So in your free time, you just,

00:14:51.759 --> 00:14:55.480
got into that, right? Okay. And then, what happened

00:14:55.480 --> 00:14:58.620
next? From there, I started getting the hang

00:14:58.620 --> 00:15:02.120
of it, you know, in the sense of how to paint

00:15:02.120 --> 00:15:04.320
them accordingly, you know, how to make them

00:15:04.320 --> 00:15:08.720
less, like the cracks and stuff like that, more

00:15:08.720 --> 00:15:11.940
level and less obvious. Right, right. But then

00:15:11.940 --> 00:15:14.980
the... the more I did it, the more I liked doing

00:15:14.980 --> 00:15:17.259
it, you know. Yeah, I started to actually fall

00:15:17.259 --> 00:15:20.200
in love doing that, you know. So I came home

00:15:20.200 --> 00:15:21.860
one day and I told my mum and then I'm going

00:15:21.860 --> 00:15:23.620
to leave the oil, I guess, you know. Yeah, what

00:15:23.620 --> 00:15:26.899
did they say? Then my mum looks at me like, you

00:15:26.899 --> 00:15:28.539
know how much you're getting paid, right? Yeah.

00:15:28.840 --> 00:15:30.500
Of course I know, I'm working like a dog out

00:15:30.500 --> 00:15:31.700
there, of course I know how much I'm getting

00:15:31.700 --> 00:15:34.100
paid. But it's not what I want to do, you know.

00:15:34.340 --> 00:15:36.200
And some oil, I guess, is quite dangerous also,

00:15:36.320 --> 00:15:39.429
you know, in the sense, you can go to work and

00:15:39.429 --> 00:15:41.450
not come back but then again life is like that

00:15:41.450 --> 00:15:43.509
also just go out and don't come back here today

00:15:43.509 --> 00:15:45.009
gone tomorrow kind of thing but the thing is

00:15:45.009 --> 00:15:49.470
like I'm the only child so I didn't want to have

00:15:49.470 --> 00:15:52.149
anything happen to me and I can't look after

00:15:52.149 --> 00:15:55.570
my mom and dad in future okay I started I enjoyed

00:15:55.570 --> 00:16:00.470
doing my work for the the restoration the painting

00:16:00.470 --> 00:16:03.889
the before and after so I just told them I want

00:16:03.889 --> 00:16:06.429
to do this after how long when you started when

00:16:06.429 --> 00:16:08.570
your relations gave you all those statues to

00:16:08.570 --> 00:16:12.830
make and then you started restoring them you're

00:16:12.830 --> 00:16:15.850
still working yeah after how long a period you

00:16:15.850 --> 00:16:17.909
started doing all this and until you made that

00:16:17.909 --> 00:16:21.769
decision that I am going to leave my well -paying

00:16:21.769 --> 00:16:25.970
full -time job The reason you gave was very valid,

00:16:26.009 --> 00:16:29.370
though it is a very nice reason. But most other

00:16:29.370 --> 00:16:32.149
people would go, if I lose my job now, I won't

00:16:32.149 --> 00:16:34.649
be able to take care of my mom and dad. But instead,

00:16:34.750 --> 00:16:37.250
you're looking at the dangers of the job. And

00:16:37.250 --> 00:16:40.309
I still must look after my mom and dad and make

00:16:40.309 --> 00:16:42.889
sure that I'm still alive to do that. So I'm

00:16:42.889 --> 00:16:46.970
no longer in dangerous work. But that period

00:16:46.970 --> 00:16:50.850
of time when you started doing this restoration

00:16:50.850 --> 00:16:54.179
work for relations. To the point where you made

00:16:54.179 --> 00:16:56.440
that decision that I'm, fuck it, I'm going to

00:16:56.440 --> 00:16:59.659
leave my job and I'm going to do this full time.

00:17:00.299 --> 00:17:03.519
And how long was that period, man? Seven minutes.

00:17:04.559 --> 00:17:11.440
Fuck off. It took about, I would guess, around

00:17:11.440 --> 00:17:14.039
four to five months. Okay. Because I started

00:17:14.039 --> 00:17:15.579
doing it more and more and more. And you got

00:17:15.579 --> 00:17:17.839
the confidence after just four or five months

00:17:17.839 --> 00:17:20.920
that I'm going to quit my freaking well -paying

00:17:20.920 --> 00:17:23.900
job? Four or five months? Seriously? Yeah, it

00:17:23.900 --> 00:17:27.960
just, it was just a, I want to go all in in this,

00:17:27.960 --> 00:17:29.559
you know. So I've been doing it for the past

00:17:29.559 --> 00:17:31.420
seven years full -time. It's been seven years?

00:17:31.579 --> 00:17:35.539
Yes. Full -time, you know. But like I say, it's

00:17:35.539 --> 00:17:40.920
being this, It's a small company and stuff like

00:17:40.920 --> 00:17:42.900
that. You know, you get clients, you send the

00:17:42.900 --> 00:17:46.480
statues, churches, schools and stuff like that.

00:17:46.500 --> 00:17:48.220
But some months are dry months, you know, you

00:17:48.220 --> 00:17:50.440
don't have anything to do, you know. It's just

00:17:50.440 --> 00:17:54.279
quiet. Sometimes I'm just busy and head to toe

00:17:54.279 --> 00:17:56.940
covered in dirt and all the rust and stuff like

00:17:56.940 --> 00:17:59.500
that. Okay, you're saying your clientele, churches,

00:17:59.619 --> 00:18:03.140
schools. Before we go there, right, when you

00:18:03.140 --> 00:18:06.779
made that decision to leave your job to do this

00:18:06.779 --> 00:18:10.440
because you love it, Did anything occur to you?

00:18:10.460 --> 00:18:12.980
Like, what occurred in your mind? Like, who can

00:18:12.980 --> 00:18:16.200
I go to to have business, to generate business?

00:18:17.160 --> 00:18:19.759
Did it occur to you then? It did not. And then

00:18:19.759 --> 00:18:22.180
it did not occur to you. Then you just went blindly,

00:18:22.319 --> 00:18:25.000
bulldozed your way in. Bulldozed. And then how,

00:18:25.099 --> 00:18:28.740
your first commercial paid job that came to you,

00:18:28.759 --> 00:18:32.940
what was it? First, it was Mother Mary, if I

00:18:32.940 --> 00:18:35.779
remember correctly. Wow. Yeah. That's nice. My

00:18:35.779 --> 00:18:39.039
first paid job was Mother Mary for me to take

00:18:39.039 --> 00:18:40.680
care of her. Wow, that's marvelous, man. If I

00:18:40.680 --> 00:18:43.839
remember correctly, it was Mother Mary. From

00:18:43.839 --> 00:18:47.079
there, also, started doing... And this client

00:18:47.079 --> 00:18:49.079
was a personal client? Personal client. Ah, okay.

00:18:49.359 --> 00:18:51.940
And it was a paid job? Yeah. Yeah, okay. They

00:18:51.940 --> 00:18:54.240
came up, they was like, is this Ryan? I was like,

00:18:54.319 --> 00:18:59.369
yeah. who's asking? Who's asking? They go so

00:18:59.369 --> 00:19:01.309
and so. I say, I got your number from this person

00:19:01.309 --> 00:19:05.430
and that person is like, okay, you actually restore

00:19:05.430 --> 00:19:07.730
statues. I say, yeah, but I'm not that good.

00:19:07.809 --> 00:19:10.910
I told them I'm not that good. He's like, can

00:19:10.910 --> 00:19:12.630
you help me to restore this and that? I was like,

00:19:12.990 --> 00:19:14.930
bring it down, I'll have a look. If I can do

00:19:14.930 --> 00:19:17.789
it, I'll do it. Okay. Then he goes, okay, give

00:19:17.789 --> 00:19:20.069
me a few days, I'll bring it back to your place.

00:19:20.170 --> 00:19:23.369
Then he brought it down. Had a look at it. We

00:19:23.369 --> 00:19:26.130
talked, decided on what to do. How bad was the

00:19:26.130 --> 00:19:30.049
condition of the statue? On a scale of 1 to 10,

00:19:30.089 --> 00:19:33.210
I would say maybe a 6, 5 or 6. Okay. Not that

00:19:33.210 --> 00:19:36.950
bad. Not that bad. There are some statues, actually,

00:19:37.130 --> 00:19:39.109
when you touch them, just very likely they fall

00:19:39.109 --> 00:19:42.960
off. pieces, chunks fall off. Yeah, because years

00:19:42.960 --> 00:19:46.099
of moisture and stuff, you know, but this one

00:19:46.099 --> 00:19:47.960
was not that bad. Majority of them were just

00:19:47.960 --> 00:19:52.480
scratches, broken chips. Right. Peeling paint.

00:19:52.680 --> 00:19:55.140
Right. That kind of stuff. But then, from there,

00:19:55.200 --> 00:20:01.680
I started like, you know, I started like, loving

00:20:01.680 --> 00:20:03.660
the job more and more and more and after that

00:20:03.660 --> 00:20:05.819
particular piece, it's like, okay, I need to

00:20:05.819 --> 00:20:09.849
go. pull on in this okay so it was after that

00:20:09.849 --> 00:20:12.430
piece yeah then more and more I just wanted to

00:20:12.430 --> 00:20:14.349
do it more and more and more and more and more

00:20:14.349 --> 00:20:17.470
and I had a friend of mine also started off with

00:20:17.470 --> 00:20:20.289
me like hey you should do this you know I was

00:20:20.289 --> 00:20:24.410
like ah I can't decide on whether I want to go

00:20:24.410 --> 00:20:27.309
full force or maybe just do it part -time. He

00:20:27.309 --> 00:20:29.990
said, no, you're good, just do it. But at that

00:20:29.990 --> 00:20:32.150
point, you've already left your full -time job.

00:20:32.970 --> 00:20:34.890
What do you mean doing it part -time? You don't

00:20:34.890 --> 00:20:37.470
have a choice anymore, right? In a sense, I'm

00:20:37.470 --> 00:20:41.769
just doing it on an as -a -man basis. But then

00:20:41.769 --> 00:20:44.630
I realised I love to do it. That's why I just

00:20:44.630 --> 00:20:48.150
stuck with it all the way. Okay, because what

00:20:48.150 --> 00:20:50.769
you were drawn to was the passion to just get

00:20:50.769 --> 00:20:54.390
it done, right? More or less. And how did you,

00:20:54.549 --> 00:20:58.289
how, okay, when a client brings you a piece,

00:20:58.490 --> 00:21:01.890
how do you begin the process? What's your initial

00:21:01.890 --> 00:21:04.430
assessment like? You take a look at the statue

00:21:04.430 --> 00:21:07.210
or the piece that they brought to you. It doesn't

00:21:07.210 --> 00:21:08.529
have to be a statue, right? It doesn't have to

00:21:08.529 --> 00:21:11.930
be a statue. Most of the time, like, up to date.

00:21:13.680 --> 00:21:16.640
I've lost an old phone, you know, just a sidetrack.

00:21:16.740 --> 00:21:18.720
One of my old phones screwed up and the whole

00:21:18.720 --> 00:21:21.380
backup was gone. I lost about, maybe about 150,

00:21:21.559 --> 00:21:25.559
150. Oh, crap. Plus... Contacts. No, not contacts.

00:21:25.920 --> 00:21:28.599
Projects done. Yeah, all the before and after.

00:21:28.940 --> 00:21:32.240
Wow, gosh. Oh, no. The backups and stuff like

00:21:32.240 --> 00:21:35.259
that. So right now, I just passed recently about,

00:21:35.359 --> 00:21:38.019
I would say about two weeks, three weeks ago,

00:21:38.099 --> 00:21:40.900
I just passed 600 plus statues restored and stuff

00:21:40.900 --> 00:21:45.230
restored. Yeah, in the seven years. Wow. So that's

00:21:45.230 --> 00:21:48.329
like, what, almost 100 statues a year. Yeah.

00:21:48.710 --> 00:21:53.250
Some years it's a lot lesser, but that kind of

00:21:53.250 --> 00:21:56.609
stuff. But the thing is, along the lines of,

00:21:56.710 --> 00:22:03.730
I'm, how do I put this in a nice way? Doesn't

00:22:03.730 --> 00:22:05.450
have to be nice, don't worry. It's like, I wake

00:22:05.450 --> 00:22:09.960
up looking forward to the next project. great

00:22:09.960 --> 00:22:12.960
yeah so I love in the sense I love to wake up

00:22:12.960 --> 00:22:14.880
and look you know for the job instead of like

00:22:14.880 --> 00:22:16.819
waking up like fuck I have to go to work right

00:22:16.819 --> 00:22:18.859
but nowadays I'm like I want to go and do this

00:22:18.859 --> 00:22:21.720
I got this incoming project you know don't feel

00:22:21.720 --> 00:22:26.640
so shitty going to I work half -dead. So when

00:22:26.640 --> 00:22:28.720
you get a piece like this, a piece that comes

00:22:28.720 --> 00:22:30.799
to you, you make an assessment. Yeah. And when

00:22:30.799 --> 00:22:33.140
you start working it, you're in the zone. Yeah.

00:22:33.240 --> 00:22:34.900
You're just zoning in on that. Most of the time,

00:22:34.920 --> 00:22:37.339
I just put on some music, listen to all my old

00:22:37.339 --> 00:22:40.220
stuff. Yeah. And then I just be in my small little

00:22:40.220 --> 00:22:42.319
workstation in the kitchen and I'll do my work.

00:22:42.640 --> 00:22:44.640
How do you assess these things that come into

00:22:44.640 --> 00:22:47.660
you? Most of the time, I have to assess what...

00:22:47.980 --> 00:22:51.819
material it's made of and how badly damaged is

00:22:51.819 --> 00:22:54.079
it right and then what the client wants what

00:22:54.079 --> 00:22:58.460
the client needs how much there is left to do

00:22:58.460 --> 00:23:01.200
or in the sense was it done before right because

00:23:01.200 --> 00:23:04.400
I do get clients bringing me statues that they

00:23:04.400 --> 00:23:07.460
have tried to restore themselves or they send

00:23:07.460 --> 00:23:09.740
it to someone else right that kind of thing so

00:23:09.740 --> 00:23:14.400
I see excess has there ever been any any pieces

00:23:14.400 --> 00:23:17.940
come to you where it's completely beyond redemption?

00:23:18.900 --> 00:23:24.819
Fucked over real bad. I would say a couple, one

00:23:24.819 --> 00:23:27.660
to four. Beyond redemption. I can't even help.

00:23:27.859 --> 00:23:30.980
So there were pieces that just cannot be done,

00:23:31.019 --> 00:23:32.880
cannot be restored. I do not know how to do it.

00:23:33.059 --> 00:23:38.559
Certain projects are like, I'm not going to bullshit

00:23:38.559 --> 00:23:40.519
a client. I'll do it, I'll do it, this amount,

00:23:40.599 --> 00:23:42.710
this amount, this amount. If I cannot do it,

00:23:42.710 --> 00:23:44.089
I'm going to tell you I cannot do it. Right,

00:23:44.130 --> 00:23:47.690
right. When you talk about that piece, you know,

00:23:47.690 --> 00:23:50.569
funny that you brought it up earlier on in this

00:23:50.569 --> 00:23:52.950
conversation. When you talked about, oh, I've

00:23:52.950 --> 00:23:54.990
asked my mom whether there's any piece for me

00:23:54.990 --> 00:23:56.710
to go work on and you broke the fucking thing.

00:23:57.930 --> 00:24:01.170
And then you mentioned somewhere online about

00:24:01.170 --> 00:24:06.430
the Kintsugi philosophy. And Kintsugi is a Japanese...

00:24:07.960 --> 00:24:12.140
It's the Japanese idea of fixing cracks in ceramics

00:24:12.140 --> 00:24:17.019
by using gold thread. Yes. Right? They think

00:24:17.019 --> 00:24:19.200
that all cracks should be shown instead of covered.

00:24:19.339 --> 00:24:23.720
So if a piece comes to you, it's beyond redemption

00:24:23.720 --> 00:24:28.579
and beyond repair. Wouldn't it be all right to

00:24:28.579 --> 00:24:32.680
just think of the Kintsugi method? I wouldn't

00:24:32.680 --> 00:24:35.539
recommend it for everything. The fact is I don't

00:24:35.539 --> 00:24:39.180
use gold as actual gold. The gold thread. I use

00:24:39.180 --> 00:24:40.859
paint and stuff like that. Right. Let's take

00:24:40.859 --> 00:24:42.859
a look at that piece. Kai, did you flash it earlier

00:24:42.859 --> 00:24:45.779
on? Yeah. You did? Let's flash it again. Please.

00:24:45.900 --> 00:24:49.859
Thank you. You didn't notice it was you. He's

00:24:49.859 --> 00:24:55.019
a flasher, Kai. So this piece came to you like

00:24:55.019 --> 00:24:58.400
that. Broke all in pieces. Yeah. This was actually

00:24:58.400 --> 00:25:04.019
a glass piece. Oh, wow. Yeah. Glass, huh? Yeah.

00:25:04.380 --> 00:25:08.500
Oh, boy. And then you put them back all together.

00:25:08.819 --> 00:25:12.480
Yes. Just glue? No, different compounds I made.

00:25:12.880 --> 00:25:15.359
Well, okay, now we're getting somewhere. Compounds.

00:25:15.440 --> 00:25:17.859
Give me an idea, man. What do you mean by compounds?

00:25:18.200 --> 00:25:21.839
I would say I... you know the line fuck around

00:25:21.839 --> 00:25:27.619
to find out right if that particular piece is

00:25:27.619 --> 00:25:29.259
like okay I'll try this if that doesn't work

00:25:29.259 --> 00:25:41.890
I'll try this So, okay, you're going to fuck

00:25:41.890 --> 00:25:45.269
around with different kinds of stuff. Yeah. And

00:25:45.269 --> 00:25:48.170
then you discover, hey, this works. Yeah. And

00:25:48.170 --> 00:25:51.150
then you use it. And then you actually take note

00:25:51.150 --> 00:25:53.190
of these compounds and in the future you could

00:25:53.190 --> 00:25:54.670
use it for this? I wrote it on the kitchen wall.

00:25:54.930 --> 00:25:57.210
What? I wrote it on my kitchen wall. Like, okay,

00:25:57.269 --> 00:25:59.910
this and this is very good, very sturdy. How

00:25:59.910 --> 00:26:04.349
can you believe this guy can't? I think I have

00:26:04.349 --> 00:26:06.789
a picture of your, I don't think I have a picture

00:26:06.789 --> 00:26:10.349
of your kitchen wall, you know? I noticed that

00:26:10.349 --> 00:26:13.029
there was writing on the wall. We'll come to

00:26:13.029 --> 00:26:15.430
that pic, I would think. I think we will come

00:26:15.430 --> 00:26:20.150
to that pic later on. And besides statues, one

00:26:20.150 --> 00:26:22.390
thing that surprised me, dude, is that I saw

00:26:22.390 --> 00:26:27.369
this, I found this particular piece, which is

00:26:27.369 --> 00:26:31.990
an oil painting. And I mean, when I saw this,

00:26:32.049 --> 00:26:34.769
I was a bit gobsmacked because, you know, I said,

00:26:34.809 --> 00:26:36.509
okay, Ryan does all the statue stuff, right?

00:26:36.670 --> 00:26:38.509
Okay, then I looked across and see he does all

00:26:38.509 --> 00:26:41.849
the brass stuff. Then for fuck's sake, it would

00:26:41.849 --> 00:26:43.970
have never occurred to me that you could actually

00:26:43.970 --> 00:26:47.970
restore an oil painting. This is quite hard.

00:26:49.190 --> 00:26:53.089
You don't say. I didn't have to repaint everything.

00:26:53.210 --> 00:26:54.809
This one, I just cleaned it up and everything.

00:26:55.029 --> 00:26:57.609
This was actually my mom's, if I remember. This

00:26:57.609 --> 00:27:02.000
is your mom's? Yeah. Ah, okay. Hi, ma 'am. Hey,

00:27:02.059 --> 00:27:07.460
Yan. Yeah, it was hers, you know, and it was

00:27:07.460 --> 00:27:09.900
just hanging in the house for years and years

00:27:09.900 --> 00:27:11.480
and years. Right. And then she's like, yeah,

00:27:11.539 --> 00:27:13.380
can you help to restore it? It's a nice painting,

00:27:13.480 --> 00:27:15.980
actually. Yeah, it is. Yeah. But I didn't paint

00:27:15.980 --> 00:27:21.440
it. Whoa. We would be having a different conversation

00:27:21.440 --> 00:27:26.519
if you really did paint that. Okay. I took it

00:27:26.519 --> 00:27:29.200
down and cleaned it up. How do you... Wait, wait,

00:27:29.240 --> 00:27:31.579
wait. You have to explain to me the process.

00:27:31.940 --> 00:27:34.839
How did you clean an oil painting up? Don't you

00:27:34.839 --> 00:27:36.400
think that you would... I hired some foreign

00:27:36.400 --> 00:27:38.559
workers and stuff like that. I'm really going

00:27:38.559 --> 00:27:43.400
to throw something at you, man. Fuck it up. Because

00:27:43.400 --> 00:27:47.839
in my puny little brain tells me, if you take

00:27:47.839 --> 00:27:52.200
an oil on canvas and you clean it up, wouldn't

00:27:52.200 --> 00:27:59.099
it run? Yeah, that's the thing. I told my mum

00:27:59.099 --> 00:28:01.299
like I did tell my mum I'm about to fucking give

00:28:01.299 --> 00:28:04.400
up man I told my mum I don't know how it's going

00:28:04.400 --> 00:28:06.079
to come out you know and she's like what do you

00:28:06.079 --> 00:28:08.519
mean you don't know you started cleaning it and

00:28:08.519 --> 00:28:12.480
she's like this one's sentimental to me how many

00:28:12.480 --> 00:28:15.180
years with me you know and you're already cleaning

00:28:15.180 --> 00:28:19.680
I started using what please the first time I

00:28:19.680 --> 00:28:23.609
used hand sanitizer with a bit of water diluted.

00:28:23.769 --> 00:28:26.230
You're not joking. I'm not joking. Wouldn't that

00:28:26.230 --> 00:28:29.769
smudge or rub? Very, very small test spot. Oh,

00:28:29.789 --> 00:28:34.210
test spot. See, very itchy. Sometimes rubbing

00:28:34.210 --> 00:28:43.369
too much gets very itchy. But I did a test spot

00:28:43.369 --> 00:28:46.069
and everything and then I was like, no, I can't.

00:28:46.089 --> 00:28:48.309
Then I tried something else and then the last

00:28:48.309 --> 00:28:52.500
I did was I mixed something and I was like, Mix

00:28:52.500 --> 00:28:55.579
something. All these trade secrets, I can't tell

00:28:55.579 --> 00:29:00.619
you. And I actually managed to clear off most

00:29:00.619 --> 00:29:03.180
of the varnish, the old varnish. Varnish? Yeah,

00:29:03.200 --> 00:29:06.309
on the picture. Is that varnish? Yeah. Surprisingly.

00:29:06.710 --> 00:29:08.750
You mean, after oil painting, they actually put

00:29:08.750 --> 00:29:11.009
varnish? I don't know, but this particular piece,

00:29:11.089 --> 00:29:12.549
there was a sheen to the oil and everything.

00:29:12.630 --> 00:29:15.309
And you actually knew it was varnish? I suspected.

00:29:16.650 --> 00:29:19.849
Okay, so you suspected. The thing is, that one,

00:29:19.849 --> 00:29:21.750
when it was clean and everything, I realised

00:29:21.750 --> 00:29:23.450
that the colours were all still very bright and

00:29:23.450 --> 00:29:27.809
vibrant. I just let it dry. And, what's the word?

00:29:30.869 --> 00:29:34.460
Yeah. I'm trying to think of the word. Describe

00:29:34.460 --> 00:29:37.420
it. Dry out the piece. Okay. Just let it dry

00:29:37.420 --> 00:29:40.019
out. Okay. Right, right. After that, I went to

00:29:40.019 --> 00:29:42.640
re -varnish the piece with gloss. With gloss.

00:29:43.079 --> 00:29:45.599
Okay, so, but you didn't do anything to the actual

00:29:45.599 --> 00:29:47.880
paint. No, I did not. So, it's basically the

00:29:47.880 --> 00:29:50.680
varnish that was probably losing its sheen. Yeah.

00:29:50.940 --> 00:29:53.559
Wow. So, you discovered that by experimenting,

00:29:53.640 --> 00:29:58.339
right? Using hand sanitizer. Right. But that

00:29:58.339 --> 00:30:01.240
was the first few months. This guy, I swear,

00:30:01.500 --> 00:30:03.200
I thought I was bad. This guy's worse than me.

00:30:07.539 --> 00:30:13.279
This is Jesus Granite Stone. How do you decide

00:30:13.279 --> 00:30:17.220
when to give a piece a new look? Like this granite

00:30:17.220 --> 00:30:19.759
finish you mentioned, you know? What's your creative

00:30:19.759 --> 00:30:21.559
process like in these moments? You know, like

00:30:21.559 --> 00:30:26.119
you decided to, the original piece looks like

00:30:26.119 --> 00:30:28.220
the one, you know, on the left, right? The picture

00:30:28.220 --> 00:30:31.519
on the left. But the one on the right looks completely

00:30:31.519 --> 00:30:34.920
different from the one on the left because you

00:30:34.920 --> 00:30:38.240
decided to give it a granite finish. Yeah. So

00:30:38.240 --> 00:30:40.000
what goes through your head? Do you tell, this

00:30:40.000 --> 00:30:42.359
is a customer zone, right? Yep. Do you tell the

00:30:42.359 --> 00:30:44.259
customer your creative process that I think it

00:30:44.259 --> 00:30:46.380
will look nice in granite? This particular client,

00:30:46.460 --> 00:30:49.019
if I remember correctly, I've done a couple of

00:30:49.019 --> 00:30:51.880
statues for him. If I remember correctly, I mean,

00:30:51.900 --> 00:30:53.980
I've done a lot of statues. But then the thing

00:30:53.980 --> 00:30:57.539
is, this particular statue was, I looked at it,

00:30:57.579 --> 00:31:00.700
it was dull, it was faded. I was like, you want

00:31:00.700 --> 00:31:02.519
me to try something for you? He's like, what

00:31:02.519 --> 00:31:04.799
do you plan? I said, granite look, make it look

00:31:04.799 --> 00:31:08.490
like stone. He's like, would it be matte or glossy?

00:31:08.849 --> 00:31:10.829
I said, if you give it a gloss look, it'll be

00:31:10.829 --> 00:31:14.210
looking like polished marble or like granite.

00:31:14.490 --> 00:31:17.309
He said, okay, go for it. Okay, so I sent him

00:31:17.309 --> 00:31:19.009
the picture and everything. Then I told him,

00:31:19.009 --> 00:31:20.190
this is how it's going to look like. He's like,

00:31:20.250 --> 00:31:22.390
okay, leave it. Don't do anything else. I like

00:31:22.390 --> 00:31:25.410
it like that. And how do you make something look

00:31:25.410 --> 00:31:32.869
like granite? Very slowly. Kai, I think I need

00:31:32.869 --> 00:31:40.930
a whiskey. You got a wine in here, right? Don't

00:31:40.930 --> 00:31:44.630
you start, Kai. Wait a minute. I can order whiskey

00:31:44.630 --> 00:31:51.049
here? Okay, okay. I know trade secret, but give

00:31:51.049 --> 00:31:53.450
me an idea. How do you turn something like that?

00:31:53.630 --> 00:31:57.130
What was the material of the statue? That felt

00:31:57.130 --> 00:32:00.640
like a very, very hard plastic. Hard plastic?

00:32:00.900 --> 00:32:03.440
Yeah, very, very hard plastic. Really? Yeah.

00:32:03.660 --> 00:32:05.880
So it was kind of polymer kind of material. Yeah,

00:32:05.880 --> 00:32:08.920
polymer more or less. Right, right. Or what is

00:32:08.920 --> 00:32:14.980
that called? Like those, you know, vehicles like...

00:32:14.980 --> 00:32:18.460
The chassis. Yeah, the plastic. It felt that...

00:32:18.460 --> 00:32:20.599
You mean the interior of the vehicles, you mean?

00:32:20.660 --> 00:32:25.009
Like, what is that? Turn for it. Like resin or

00:32:25.009 --> 00:32:29.049
something? Like resin, okay. I'm guessing. Okay.

00:32:29.589 --> 00:32:31.970
You also did the same kind of effect for this

00:32:31.970 --> 00:32:35.569
Last Supper granite stone look that you gave

00:32:35.569 --> 00:32:38.710
for this one. Yeah. I got to say, man, it's really

00:32:38.710 --> 00:32:41.390
nice, man. Thank you. Really nice. So what do

00:32:41.390 --> 00:32:46.109
you use to turn it into, give it this granite

00:32:46.109 --> 00:32:49.809
look? Don't be a... Don't be a bonnet, okay?

00:32:49.890 --> 00:32:52.369
You just can't see. What do you do? I'll be serious.

00:32:52.450 --> 00:32:55.869
Yeah, yeah. I use my paint and my paintbrushes.

00:33:04.930 --> 00:33:08.650
I actually, that particular method, I do for

00:33:08.650 --> 00:33:12.950
granites and brass effects. Right. I do a thing

00:33:12.950 --> 00:33:15.920
called dry brushing. Okay. So you layer a colour

00:33:15.920 --> 00:33:17.700
down and then you let it dry totally and then

00:33:17.700 --> 00:33:20.900
you brush on another layer very lightly. But

00:33:20.900 --> 00:33:23.440
to get that kind of toning. And where do you

00:33:23.440 --> 00:33:25.539
learn that from, man? This technique, trial and

00:33:25.539 --> 00:33:28.519
error. Oh, really? From my own statues at home.

00:33:28.839 --> 00:33:30.960
Like, mum, borrow a statue. Why are you going

00:33:30.960 --> 00:33:34.079
to do it with another statue? It seems to me

00:33:34.079 --> 00:33:37.460
your mum's house has loads of statues, man. Quite

00:33:37.460 --> 00:33:42.460
a lot, actually. Sometimes also. When I come

00:33:42.460 --> 00:33:45.299
home, I genuflect before I go in the house. Sometimes

00:33:45.299 --> 00:33:57.160
I think I'm walking to church. Have you ever

00:33:57.160 --> 00:33:59.680
seen me, like, you know, stunt forwards for a

00:33:59.680 --> 00:34:04.549
minute? It's about that, right? Oh, gosh. Kai,

00:34:05.789 --> 00:34:09.130
I saw you, you were reading a picture about Ryan,

00:34:09.269 --> 00:34:12.469
you know, writing on his kitchen wall. I think

00:34:12.469 --> 00:34:14.429
it's that picture. Yeah, just know that one.

00:34:14.489 --> 00:34:16.650
Yeah, that's the one. Is this the one? It's when

00:34:16.650 --> 00:34:19.900
you do your work at home in the kitchen. No one

00:34:19.900 --> 00:34:23.000
does any cooking. I love to cook. I love to cook.

00:34:23.000 --> 00:34:25.400
How do you cook when you turn your whole kitchen

00:34:25.400 --> 00:34:26.940
into a workshop, man? It's just a small little

00:34:26.940 --> 00:34:29.980
spot in the kitchen, you know, like closer to

00:34:29.980 --> 00:34:31.880
the entrance of the kitchen. And you write on

00:34:31.880 --> 00:34:34.239
the wall. Yeah. Using a whiteboard pen, marker.

00:34:34.780 --> 00:34:37.980
Most of the time, permanent marker. Yeah, fucking

00:34:37.980 --> 00:34:42.400
idiot. I know, right? Because I don't want to

00:34:42.400 --> 00:34:44.079
lose the critical information or stuff that I

00:34:44.079 --> 00:34:47.239
found out. And your mom gives you the free play

00:34:47.239 --> 00:34:49.670
of doing all that. She comes in. Sometimes she

00:34:49.670 --> 00:34:51.750
walks in the kitchen, you know. If I were her,

00:34:51.769 --> 00:34:53.469
I'd take a deep breath, man. I mean, I'm like...

00:34:53.469 --> 00:34:54.969
Be talking to myself, you know, at times. She'll

00:34:54.969 --> 00:34:56.630
be like, oh, shit, this one goes here, this one

00:34:56.630 --> 00:34:58.090
blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, this one colour,

00:34:58.230 --> 00:35:01.190
you know. Then she walks in the kitchen. Rai,

00:35:01.269 --> 00:35:03.809
what are you doing? Oh, having a staff meeting.

00:35:09.789 --> 00:35:11.510
She's like, I don't want to talk to you. She

00:35:11.510 --> 00:35:29.559
just falls off. Okay, I know that you leave a

00:35:29.559 --> 00:35:32.239
small part of each piece in its original state,

00:35:32.320 --> 00:35:36.699
right? Why do you do that? From day one, I was

00:35:36.699 --> 00:35:40.739
just inclined to do that because from the first

00:35:40.739 --> 00:35:43.639
few statues I started, if I'm going to restore

00:35:43.639 --> 00:35:47.599
a full statue, people will forget. How it was

00:35:47.599 --> 00:35:51.360
like prior. Well, that's clever. How much it's

00:35:51.360 --> 00:35:54.400
been through their life, their sentimental value.

00:35:54.800 --> 00:35:58.179
But it's not like, say for myself, I'm painting

00:35:58.179 --> 00:35:59.940
everything. I don't leave one whole big patch.

00:36:00.079 --> 00:36:05.619
I leave maybe the lower lip or the eyelids or

00:36:05.619 --> 00:36:08.920
a sacred heart, maybe the flame. Very, very small,

00:36:09.000 --> 00:36:11.320
minor details. But the thing is, I don't want

00:36:11.320 --> 00:36:13.539
people to forget the statue in the sense like...

00:36:13.710 --> 00:36:15.949
the past, how many years it's been with them.

00:36:16.230 --> 00:36:18.110
But it's become your trademark. Yeah. It's like

00:36:18.110 --> 00:36:21.750
an artisan's trademark. I would guess so. Okay.

00:36:22.010 --> 00:36:23.909
I mean, some people would just put a small little

00:36:23.909 --> 00:36:26.829
initial somewhere. But you have to leave an eyelid,

00:36:27.070 --> 00:36:29.690
leave a bit of the mouth. Sometimes leave a mole,

00:36:29.809 --> 00:36:32.889
sometimes I dye my hair. Okay, dye hair. Okay.

00:36:35.409 --> 00:36:38.650
But that's my trademark. Oh, gosh. Okay, that's

00:36:38.650 --> 00:36:40.329
your trademark. But do clients appreciate the

00:36:40.329 --> 00:36:42.469
fact that you do leave something that's undone?

00:36:42.630 --> 00:36:45.210
Yes. They do. They do. They don't complain. I

00:36:45.210 --> 00:36:48.130
would say 97, 98 % of them, they are okay with

00:36:48.130 --> 00:36:50.650
it. But the difference of those are a bunch of

00:36:50.650 --> 00:36:53.070
assholes. Not really. All my clients are nice.

00:36:53.170 --> 00:37:03.090
Okay. So you say. So the small percentage just

00:37:03.090 --> 00:37:06.289
says, no, Ryan. Do they say that? No, Ryan. Please

00:37:06.289 --> 00:37:08.989
restore that too. Do they do that? That's what

00:37:08.989 --> 00:37:21.179
she said. Oh, boy. There are some clients that

00:37:21.179 --> 00:37:23.500
actually want it totally restored. I said, but

00:37:23.500 --> 00:37:26.639
this is my trademark. Then they said, but we

00:37:26.639 --> 00:37:28.780
don't want it like that. I said, I'll try and

00:37:28.780 --> 00:37:31.280
see what I can work around. But the thing, I

00:37:31.280 --> 00:37:35.400
give them a full restoration and then I do maybe

00:37:35.400 --> 00:37:40.239
like... So far, I've only encountered like two

00:37:40.239 --> 00:37:43.300
or three of these kind of things. Even get some

00:37:43.300 --> 00:37:45.960
clients also, I do a completed job for them and

00:37:45.960 --> 00:37:48.320
say, oh, this one, don't post it online. It's

00:37:48.320 --> 00:37:50.920
like, why? Oh, the family don't know it broke.

00:37:51.079 --> 00:37:53.500
It just broke and come to you for repairs. Oh,

00:37:53.860 --> 00:37:58.769
so they don't want to pecah lubang. Okay, okay,

00:37:58.829 --> 00:38:01.289
okay. Want to keep it as kosher as possible,

00:38:01.369 --> 00:38:05.150
I suppose. Of all the materials you work with,

00:38:05.230 --> 00:38:07.190
man, I mean, I heard a lot now. I mean, the resin

00:38:07.190 --> 00:38:10.309
stuff that you turn into, granite stone look,

00:38:10.510 --> 00:38:12.789
you know, you got the brass, then you've got

00:38:12.789 --> 00:38:17.510
the fiber, fiberglass, you've got glass, and

00:38:17.510 --> 00:38:22.250
you got stone as well, right? So what's the most,

00:38:22.369 --> 00:38:25.210
of all these, of all the materials you work with,

00:38:25.289 --> 00:38:28.650
which is the most challenging? I would say ceramic

00:38:28.650 --> 00:38:31.849
porcelain. Why? Because they're fragile? Very

00:38:31.849 --> 00:38:34.190
fragile, yeah. Okay. Too fragile, you know, and

00:38:34.190 --> 00:38:37.130
I'm not, say, the most gentle person. I'm quite

00:38:37.130 --> 00:38:39.389
rough, actually. What the fuck, bro? You're doing

00:38:39.389 --> 00:38:40.909
restoration, you're telling me you're not the

00:38:40.909 --> 00:38:43.190
most gentle person. Honestly, you know, like,

00:38:43.269 --> 00:38:46.210
I do tend to have heavier grip and stuff like

00:38:46.210 --> 00:38:47.750
that. Right. Even your skin. Check out my phone.

00:38:47.849 --> 00:38:49.369
I'm using this kind of phone. What the fuck is

00:38:49.369 --> 00:38:52.619
that, bro? It's a brick. It's not a freaking

00:38:52.619 --> 00:38:54.900
phone. What the hell is this? Shockproof, waterproof

00:38:54.900 --> 00:38:56.579
and stuff like that. Yeah, but what is this?

00:38:56.639 --> 00:38:59.960
Oh, wow. Is this a case or is this a phone? It's

00:38:59.960 --> 00:39:02.219
a phone, yeah. What? It's a satellite phone.

00:39:02.480 --> 00:39:06.420
Yeah. What phone is this, bro? Oh, sorry, Ulephone.

00:39:06.719 --> 00:39:08.699
Is it what? Ulephone or Ulephone. Ulephone is...

00:39:08.699 --> 00:39:13.840
Really? Yeah. It's this. What the hell? Because,

00:39:13.920 --> 00:39:16.500
like, I tend to be very rough. Even, like...

00:39:18.289 --> 00:39:21.570
Yeah, I like it, man. Thanks, man. I like big

00:39:21.570 --> 00:39:25.530
stuff, man. Shut the fuck up. I know where you're

00:39:25.530 --> 00:39:28.360
going. I shouldn't have said that. I just opened

00:39:28.360 --> 00:39:33.340
the door. Yep. I'm okay. I asked for that one.

00:39:34.719 --> 00:39:37.179
So, like, I get this kind of phone, so it's more

00:39:37.179 --> 00:39:42.340
sturdy. Okay. Can we wait for the phone so we

00:39:42.340 --> 00:39:45.380
can get back to the ceramics, please? I've broken

00:39:45.380 --> 00:39:47.260
phones just by opening them, you know. Okay.

00:39:47.559 --> 00:39:50.900
So, it's heavy. Yeah, okay. The ceramics, bro.

00:39:51.480 --> 00:39:53.920
But you do still work on ceramics, right? Regardless.

00:39:54.000 --> 00:39:58.579
I do, but if... I can. And you probably charge

00:39:58.579 --> 00:40:01.079
more for that. Not really. It depends on my work.

00:40:01.300 --> 00:40:04.059
Right. I charge based on not the size. You charge

00:40:04.059 --> 00:40:06.300
on the labor. On the labor. What I need to do,

00:40:06.360 --> 00:40:08.320
what the client wants done. And your materials.

00:40:08.579 --> 00:40:11.360
Of course, yeah. And the workmanship. Right.

00:40:11.800 --> 00:40:13.960
How much time it takes. Everything I have to

00:40:13.960 --> 00:40:16.559
take into consideration. Okay. Yeah, but sometimes

00:40:16.559 --> 00:40:19.780
a small statue. It can cost more than a big statue.

00:40:19.980 --> 00:40:22.000
Because it's a lot of detail, small due to intricate.

00:40:22.900 --> 00:40:25.840
So it really depends. That doesn't mean it's

00:40:25.840 --> 00:40:27.760
a big statue is going to cost more, a small statue

00:40:27.760 --> 00:40:30.139
is going to cost less. There was a crown. There

00:40:30.139 --> 00:40:32.500
was a crown you done. I think it was for the

00:40:32.500 --> 00:40:35.599
infant Jesus. The crown of the infant Jesus,

00:40:35.659 --> 00:40:38.239
if I'm not mistaken. And you said that you had

00:40:38.239 --> 00:40:40.579
to go through ultrasonic, you had to go through

00:40:40.579 --> 00:40:45.239
ultrasonic cleaning. Yeah. This one. Yep. What's

00:40:45.239 --> 00:40:47.400
ultrasonic cleaning? You know, the kind of...

00:40:47.400 --> 00:40:50.300
Ultrasonic, yeah. They use for cleaning jewellery,

00:40:50.320 --> 00:40:52.719
cleaning specs and stuff like that. I have a

00:40:52.719 --> 00:40:54.920
proper industrial one that will not do PKS. What

00:40:54.920 --> 00:40:59.119
does it do? It generates a certain wave... Frequency.

00:40:59.360 --> 00:41:01.099
Frequency and stuff like that and it vibrates

00:41:01.099 --> 00:41:04.639
and the dirt comes off. Really? Yeah. But that

00:41:04.639 --> 00:41:08.599
particular piece... Particular piece, yeah. I...

00:41:10.280 --> 00:41:13.019
I went on to shine it up after the cleaning.

00:41:13.480 --> 00:41:16.420
I hand polished everything up. But it's really

00:41:16.420 --> 00:41:18.579
nice, man. Thank you. I mean, I went through

00:41:18.579 --> 00:41:21.059
a lot of stuff. I had to research you and I looked

00:41:21.059 --> 00:41:22.679
at your work, right? I mean, the stuff I put

00:41:22.679 --> 00:41:25.320
up on the show today are things that I'm impressed

00:41:25.320 --> 00:41:28.960
with. Thank you. Yeah? And that's why I want

00:41:28.960 --> 00:41:34.119
to make sure that I talk about them. Sentimental

00:41:34.119 --> 00:41:38.489
value of these pieces. Can you share a specific

00:41:38.489 --> 00:41:48.210
story that really touched you? Because you have

00:41:48.210 --> 00:41:51.309
to handle all of that emotional weight, right,

00:41:51.349 --> 00:41:54.090
of restoring items that are precious to people.

00:41:55.630 --> 00:41:59.110
It's quite a weight of responsibility on your

00:41:59.110 --> 00:42:02.010
shoulders, right? No, I wouldn't call it a weight.

00:42:03.980 --> 00:42:06.179
privilege it's a privilege privilege I wouldn't

00:42:06.179 --> 00:42:08.199
say a curse or a blessing but it's just part

00:42:08.199 --> 00:42:09.820
and parcel you know but the thing is okay there's

00:42:09.820 --> 00:42:12.460
one that actually caught my attention okay for

00:42:12.460 --> 00:42:15.719
sentimental valueless and this client and I she

00:42:15.719 --> 00:42:17.679
came up to me with a statue and everything it's

00:42:17.679 --> 00:42:24.139
on my Facebook the company page I actually wrote

00:42:24.139 --> 00:42:26.059
out everything about this particular statue right

00:42:26.059 --> 00:42:29.599
so this particular piece came into me Mother

00:42:29.599 --> 00:42:32.780
Mary. The eyes is quite a long story but I'll

00:42:32.780 --> 00:42:34.440
try and summarise it. Yeah, sure, sure. Go ahead.

00:42:34.519 --> 00:42:40.440
The eyes were deflated. You know, and then it's

00:42:40.440 --> 00:42:42.440
just old and falling apart and everything like

00:42:42.440 --> 00:42:44.699
that. So this particular statue was with the

00:42:44.699 --> 00:42:48.099
client for very, very, very long. From her first

00:42:48.099 --> 00:42:50.239
house and from her parents and stuff like that,

00:42:50.300 --> 00:42:52.480
this Mother Mary. So it's a passed down heirloom.

00:42:52.639 --> 00:42:54.800
Yeah, but the thing is when I got it, it's like

00:42:54.800 --> 00:42:58.269
both of us couldn't decide the colour. Okay.

00:42:58.269 --> 00:42:59.869
I couldn't decide the color. I didn't know what

00:42:59.869 --> 00:43:03.869
to do with it. And then she also didn't decide

00:43:03.869 --> 00:43:05.750
the color because it was so faded, no more color

00:43:05.750 --> 00:43:08.230
and everything. And then there were holes on

00:43:08.230 --> 00:43:10.889
the back of the statue and stuff. How big was

00:43:10.889 --> 00:43:12.829
the statue, man? Just around this size. Okay,

00:43:12.909 --> 00:43:15.369
okay. About maybe six, seven inches. Right. Then

00:43:15.369 --> 00:43:19.849
that particular piece was quite meaningful to

00:43:19.849 --> 00:43:22.280
me in the sense when I restored it. I broke it

00:43:22.280 --> 00:43:23.960
off. I broke her off and her neck, you know,

00:43:23.980 --> 00:43:26.099
because there were bubbles and I got, God knows

00:43:26.099 --> 00:43:27.880
what was inside. So when I broke it off, there

00:43:27.880 --> 00:43:31.460
were actually eggs, insect eggs and everything.

00:43:31.599 --> 00:43:33.079
And I realised that her eyes wasn't depressed.

00:43:33.280 --> 00:43:37.300
It was actually a nest, like, inside her eyes.

00:43:37.780 --> 00:43:40.000
And the statue was filled with insects and stuff.

00:43:40.079 --> 00:43:42.699
Oh dear. Broke her off, cleaned her up and everything.

00:43:43.400 --> 00:43:46.039
Put her there and everything. And then left her

00:43:46.039 --> 00:43:49.119
to dry and stuff. I think the second day before

00:43:49.119 --> 00:43:50.659
I could even start, it was just on the table.

00:43:51.019 --> 00:43:53.340
Mother Mary statue and it just fell back. No

00:43:53.340 --> 00:43:55.559
one was around the table. And all of us were

00:43:55.559 --> 00:43:56.739
looking at the table and we all look at each

00:43:56.739 --> 00:44:01.059
other, you know. No one touched the table. The

00:44:01.059 --> 00:44:03.659
table, everything was perfect. It just dropped

00:44:03.659 --> 00:44:07.039
and broke. Broke at the bottom. I broke the top

00:44:07.039 --> 00:44:09.679
but the bottom broke off. Okay. Because of the

00:44:09.679 --> 00:44:13.000
fall. Yeah. Yeah, I looked at the statue. I looked

00:44:13.000 --> 00:44:14.639
at my dad like, how does the statue break at

00:44:14.639 --> 00:44:16.719
the bottom? And he felt like on his head, on

00:44:16.719 --> 00:44:19.980
her head. He's like, have a look, right? I found

00:44:19.980 --> 00:44:24.260
out that the whole base. It was infested with

00:44:24.260 --> 00:44:27.559
eggs and more dead insects and stuff. What kind

00:44:27.559 --> 00:44:29.519
of insects were these, man? God knows, man. I

00:44:29.519 --> 00:44:33.679
didn't want to do research on it. I cleared up

00:44:33.679 --> 00:44:36.239
the eggs and everything. Cleared up the eggs

00:44:36.239 --> 00:44:40.039
and whatnot. The bubbles, like a nest and everything.

00:44:40.159 --> 00:44:42.679
I cleared everything. So in my head, I was thinking,

00:44:42.820 --> 00:44:46.780
I just had a feeling that Mother Mary was like,

00:44:46.880 --> 00:44:49.260
you help me to clean this also while you're at

00:44:49.260 --> 00:44:52.380
it. do me a favour, make me nice again. Very

00:44:52.380 --> 00:44:58.320
strong feeling. The thing is, I fixed her back

00:44:58.320 --> 00:45:00.639
and restored her back as per normal. Right. And

00:45:00.639 --> 00:45:03.440
I still couldn't decide on what I was going to

00:45:03.440 --> 00:45:08.719
do and what not. Then, during, just about, if

00:45:08.719 --> 00:45:11.659
I remember correctly, it was 7 plus 8, there

00:45:11.659 --> 00:45:15.079
was a, I heard humming in my ear. I'm not joking.

00:45:15.320 --> 00:45:17.619
I shit you not. What kind of humming? Something

00:45:17.619 --> 00:45:21.860
like, It was a tune. Yeah, it was a tune. And

00:45:21.860 --> 00:45:25.440
then I was like, I asked my mom and dad, y 'all

00:45:25.440 --> 00:45:27.039
can hear that? And my dad looks at me, he's been

00:45:27.039 --> 00:45:30.019
drinking. Then I said, no, joke aside, then I

00:45:30.019 --> 00:45:31.320
said, I don't drink during work. Then he said,

00:45:31.340 --> 00:45:33.480
I know lah. I said, I don't drink during work,

00:45:33.519 --> 00:45:35.119
but y 'all can hear that? Then he's like, uh,

00:45:35.300 --> 00:45:38.579
no. Then he meets the TV, he switches off the

00:45:38.579 --> 00:45:40.619
fan. Then I was like, mom, y 'all cannot hear

00:45:40.619 --> 00:45:42.559
that? Then he's like, no. Then I heard the humming

00:45:42.559 --> 00:45:46.610
of one person and became two people. Then three

00:45:46.610 --> 00:45:48.590
or four. Then after that, it became a choir.

00:45:48.789 --> 00:45:51.389
Yeah, I shit you not. Really? And the song they

00:45:51.389 --> 00:45:54.389
were humming too was A Purist of Creatures. Okay.

00:45:54.469 --> 00:45:56.369
And then from the humming, it actually changed

00:45:56.369 --> 00:45:58.130
the words in my head. I could hear the whole

00:45:58.130 --> 00:46:01.650
song perfectly. The A Purist of Creatures. Yeah,

00:46:01.690 --> 00:46:07.670
yeah. Ave, ave. Yeah. Ave Maria. Yeah. And you

00:46:07.670 --> 00:46:09.250
were hearing in your head or you were hearing

00:46:09.250 --> 00:46:12.349
in your ears? It's just here. I could hear it.

00:46:12.469 --> 00:46:15.199
And then like... Oh, wow. I broke down like a

00:46:15.199 --> 00:46:19.320
little girl. Like a little girl. I broke down.

00:46:19.380 --> 00:46:21.260
I couldn't even do my work. I was like, Mother

00:46:21.260 --> 00:46:23.260
Mary, tomorrow I carry on. I cannot do anything.

00:46:24.420 --> 00:46:27.739
I just left it. It's just like that. I couldn't

00:46:27.739 --> 00:46:29.400
do anything more. I couldn't even paint. I couldn't

00:46:29.400 --> 00:46:33.280
do anything. And then the thing is like, brain

00:46:33.280 --> 00:46:36.699
wasn't there. Brain wasn't breathing. The next

00:46:36.699 --> 00:46:39.039
day, I was watching TV. I left the statue there

00:46:39.039 --> 00:46:41.699
because the biggest fan was in the hall. So I

00:46:41.699 --> 00:46:43.559
was just there, it's like taking all my pain,

00:46:43.599 --> 00:46:45.139
getting ready to start work. And my dad puts

00:46:45.139 --> 00:46:47.940
on a show on TV. And this is the statue I mentioned

00:46:47.940 --> 00:46:50.059
earlier that both of the client, the client myself

00:46:50.059 --> 00:46:51.480
cannot decide on the color scheme, you know?

00:46:51.500 --> 00:46:53.360
Right. So I was like, just left it there, I was

00:46:53.360 --> 00:46:55.179
like watching TV, you know? But after a while,

00:46:55.219 --> 00:46:56.679
I was like, I said, okay, I'm going to start

00:46:56.679 --> 00:47:00.239
work. Then, no, I'm, sounds stupid, it sounds

00:47:00.239 --> 00:47:03.679
very stupid, but I painted a statue. The whole

00:47:03.679 --> 00:47:06.469
statue. Okay. I didn't even realize I painted

00:47:06.469 --> 00:47:08.849
the statue. I'm not joking at all. What do you

00:47:08.849 --> 00:47:09.750
mean you didn't realize? I don't understand.

00:47:09.889 --> 00:47:11.429
I didn't even realize I was painting the statue.

00:47:11.510 --> 00:47:13.590
I was watching TV. So you were painting while

00:47:13.590 --> 00:47:14.909
you were watching and not even looking at the

00:47:14.909 --> 00:47:17.190
statue? Not even looking. And you were just instinctively

00:47:17.190 --> 00:47:20.269
going on? Yeah. That's the one that touched me

00:47:20.269 --> 00:47:22.769
the most. Right. And then when I was completed,

00:47:22.889 --> 00:47:26.849
I was like, oh, shit. I never even told the client.

00:47:26.989 --> 00:47:29.329
Divine guidance. No, I didn't tell the client

00:47:29.329 --> 00:47:30.989
what colors and everything. I was like, oh, I

00:47:30.989 --> 00:47:33.429
never even chose the colors. And then I was like,

00:47:34.699 --> 00:47:37.980
well, how do I go about this, you know? And I

00:47:37.980 --> 00:47:40.360
looked at my mom and dad, my dad's like, Mother

00:47:40.360 --> 00:47:43.820
Mary chose the colors, don't worry. Yeah, I think

00:47:43.820 --> 00:47:46.219
so too. If you say so, I don't know what to do.

00:47:46.340 --> 00:47:48.420
I called my client up, I said, yeah, I sent you

00:47:48.420 --> 00:47:50.500
a picture, your statue is done. Huh? You chose

00:47:50.500 --> 00:47:53.199
the color already? I said, I didn't choose, Mother

00:47:53.199 --> 00:47:56.019
Mary chose the colors, you know? Send me a picture.

00:47:56.159 --> 00:47:58.019
I sent her the picture, she said, don't change

00:47:58.019 --> 00:48:00.739
anything at all, I want it back like that. She's

00:48:00.739 --> 00:48:04.179
very happy with it and everything. So she, Two,

00:48:04.179 --> 00:48:05.860
three days later, she came and collected the

00:48:05.860 --> 00:48:08.219
statue. She broke down. She was so nice, so happy.

00:48:08.780 --> 00:48:10.460
Cannot recognize the statue. Then I told her

00:48:10.460 --> 00:48:13.800
what happened. Then she's like, oh. Then she

00:48:13.800 --> 00:48:15.719
started tearing up a little bit. Then she took

00:48:15.719 --> 00:48:17.440
the statue home and everything like that. About

00:48:17.440 --> 00:48:20.260
three, four hours later, she called me, you know,

00:48:20.260 --> 00:48:22.360
crying on the phone. I'm like, alamak, the statue

00:48:22.360 --> 00:48:26.250
broke. Shit, what happened? thing broke up. She

00:48:26.250 --> 00:48:30.250
said, no, her father for about 20 years hasn't

00:48:30.250 --> 00:48:31.929
been to church, hasn't prayed and everything.

00:48:32.010 --> 00:48:34.050
When he came home that day after work, he looked

00:48:34.050 --> 00:48:36.849
at the statue, he knelt down and prayed. Wow.

00:48:37.230 --> 00:48:39.750
After years. Kai, we got to get that picture,

00:48:39.809 --> 00:48:43.329
Kai, in post and put it up, yeah? Picture of

00:48:43.329 --> 00:48:47.809
the... Of the... Yeah, of the statue. Alright,

00:48:47.869 --> 00:48:49.969
sure. We got to take note of that, put it in

00:48:49.969 --> 00:48:53.289
post. I need to find that picture. That particular

00:48:53.289 --> 00:48:56.679
piece, Until today, it was a soft spot for me.

00:48:56.940 --> 00:48:59.800
Ah, what a hell of a story, man. Thanks for sharing

00:48:59.800 --> 00:49:01.800
that. No worries, no worries. Really. Let's talk

00:49:01.800 --> 00:49:04.420
about the business. Running a business like this,

00:49:04.460 --> 00:49:09.659
in this very niche field, must have challenges,

00:49:09.800 --> 00:49:12.579
definitely. Yeah, there is. Quite a number, actually.

00:49:13.019 --> 00:49:17.460
Can you name a few? Most of your clients are

00:49:17.460 --> 00:49:19.659
churches and schools. Churches, schools, temples.

00:49:20.099 --> 00:49:23.019
Temples. Majority of my clients are all of the

00:49:23.019 --> 00:49:26.389
older, older, older segment in the age group

00:49:26.389 --> 00:49:32.710
yeah okay but uh most of them were brought up

00:49:32.710 --> 00:49:34.949
or like knowing not to throw stuff you know like

00:49:34.949 --> 00:49:37.570
oh it's all we keep it We use it until it can't

00:49:37.570 --> 00:49:40.550
be used. And nowadays, more or less, the newer

00:49:40.550 --> 00:49:42.989
generations are like, all broken. Murry condo.

00:49:43.030 --> 00:49:45.090
All doing the murry condo. Yeah, yeah. Throw

00:49:45.090 --> 00:49:47.530
away. All that kind of stuff. Little bit of chip,

00:49:47.570 --> 00:49:49.869
they throw it away. There's no more sentimental

00:49:49.869 --> 00:49:53.769
value. But the thing is like, I would say, I

00:49:53.769 --> 00:49:59.139
guess, the problems I face, you know, is... people

00:49:59.139 --> 00:50:02.340
do know what I do, but not a lot of people. You

00:50:02.340 --> 00:50:03.820
know, sometimes I tell people what I'm doing,

00:50:03.860 --> 00:50:06.380
there's a job that does this. It's like, yeah,

00:50:06.519 --> 00:50:11.639
I wouldn't say people not knowing, you know,

00:50:11.699 --> 00:50:17.239
I would say they don't know much. There's actually

00:50:17.239 --> 00:50:20.239
an occupation or a job. Right. There's a trade

00:50:20.239 --> 00:50:21.519
like this. There's a trade like that, yeah. Right.

00:50:22.239 --> 00:50:24.559
I would say that, I wouldn't, I would even say

00:50:24.559 --> 00:50:29.739
some, some, some problems would be like, If I

00:50:29.739 --> 00:50:32.079
can do it, I'll do it up for you. But the thing

00:50:32.079 --> 00:50:35.079
is, you cannot get it back to 100%. Some things

00:50:35.079 --> 00:50:37.719
are just... Cannot be 100 % brand new for sure.

00:50:38.320 --> 00:50:41.179
Some of them also have to play along the parts

00:50:41.179 --> 00:50:45.519
of... what they want you know what the client

00:50:45.519 --> 00:50:48.219
wants I find that I wouldn't say a problem but

00:50:48.219 --> 00:50:50.760
sometimes it's like what I can do I can do you

00:50:50.760 --> 00:50:52.199
know sometimes you ask for the sky and the moon

00:50:52.199 --> 00:50:54.480
I can't do that you know right but they understand

00:50:54.480 --> 00:50:56.840
when I explain to them this then the other I

00:50:56.840 --> 00:50:59.019
can't do this you know I don't take on the project

00:50:59.019 --> 00:51:00.820
if I cannot do it you know I wouldn't say oh

00:51:00.820 --> 00:51:02.980
yeah I can do it like I mentioned earlier I wouldn't

00:51:02.980 --> 00:51:04.860
yeah I do for you I do for you but I cannot do

00:51:04.860 --> 00:51:09.570
it that kind of stuff or like even space is also

00:51:09.570 --> 00:51:11.590
a bit of an issue. Because like I said, I work

00:51:11.590 --> 00:51:13.329
from the kitchen. Unless it's a big project or

00:51:13.329 --> 00:51:15.110
a side project, I go down to the school, I go

00:51:15.110 --> 00:51:16.690
down to the church and do that stuff. On site?

00:51:16.929 --> 00:51:19.590
Yeah, on site. Okay. So you do your work on site

00:51:19.590 --> 00:51:22.530
as well? Yes, I do. Okay. Like I said, churches,

00:51:22.929 --> 00:51:25.230
temples, schools, all that kind of stuff. Then

00:51:25.230 --> 00:51:28.489
I, or if a statue is too big to bring home, then

00:51:28.489 --> 00:51:30.909
yeah, but the thing is, problem, I would say

00:51:30.909 --> 00:51:34.409
space. In the sense, some statues are too big

00:51:34.409 --> 00:51:40.059
to even come into the house. Right. Then, space

00:51:40.059 --> 00:51:45.039
some sometimes will be time like those very urgent

00:51:45.039 --> 00:51:47.699
projects you know like I get I do get clients

00:51:47.699 --> 00:51:50.300
who they want to do their prayers on Thursday

00:51:50.300 --> 00:51:53.300
and they're moving stuff from one temple or one

00:51:53.300 --> 00:51:55.059
church to another church or something on the

00:51:55.059 --> 00:51:57.000
way it breaks and then I got two days to do the

00:51:57.000 --> 00:51:59.760
thing that kind of oh yeah I do it I do it oh

00:51:59.760 --> 00:52:02.260
okay yeah but the thing is like that kind of

00:52:02.260 --> 00:52:07.179
thing is stressful but I love my job. I'm used

00:52:07.179 --> 00:52:10.420
to it and this kind of thing. But I wouldn't

00:52:10.420 --> 00:52:14.380
say it's a problem. But problem -wise, I would

00:52:14.380 --> 00:52:17.659
say... It's an occupational hazard. Yeah. But

00:52:17.659 --> 00:52:22.699
being Catholic, and you mentioned temples, of

00:52:22.699 --> 00:52:25.800
course, you don't limit yourself to just doing

00:52:25.800 --> 00:52:28.719
work for the Catholic Church. I don't. Because

00:52:28.719 --> 00:52:31.360
I've had customers come up to me like, hey, what

00:52:31.360 --> 00:52:33.940
are you doing for another religion? Then I say,

00:52:33.940 --> 00:52:35.739
what are you going to do? Then I say, it's my

00:52:35.739 --> 00:52:38.179
job, one. And two, why are you going to pay me?

00:52:38.219 --> 00:52:40.500
You pay me lah. Then I don't do for anyone. And

00:52:40.500 --> 00:52:44.760
the husband say, I have people's job. Let them

00:52:44.760 --> 00:52:47.420
do lah. The thing is for me, Roman Catholic,

00:52:47.639 --> 00:52:49.840
blah, blah, blah. Too much judgments. Too much

00:52:49.840 --> 00:52:53.880
judgments. I do for Hindu statues, Buddhist statues.

00:52:54.139 --> 00:52:59.710
I'm done. But for me, we all bleed red. I feel

00:52:59.710 --> 00:53:01.409
you can pray to so -and -so, you can pray to

00:53:01.409 --> 00:53:04.309
so -and -so. You're doing a job. You're not worshipping

00:53:04.309 --> 00:53:06.690
these things anyway, right? The thing is, if

00:53:06.690 --> 00:53:09.590
I can make someone happy for their religion.

00:53:09.869 --> 00:53:12.590
Yeah, yeah, why not? Why not? Yeah, yeah. I'm

00:53:12.590 --> 00:53:16.530
glad that you're looking at it that way, man,

00:53:16.610 --> 00:53:21.139
because it's for someone else to be. to be happy.

00:53:21.260 --> 00:53:23.179
Yeah, true. Right? You know, for other people,

00:53:23.199 --> 00:53:25.559
other faiths, I mean, why the heck not? But other

00:53:25.559 --> 00:53:29.980
than religious artifacts and are there any other

00:53:29.980 --> 00:53:33.699
things outside of faith and religion that you

00:53:33.699 --> 00:53:37.639
restore? Statues that are men embracing a woman,

00:53:38.079 --> 00:53:42.400
singers sewing machines once in a while. Yeah,

00:53:42.519 --> 00:53:45.739
a charcoal iron. huh charcoal iron why do you

00:53:45.739 --> 00:53:47.639
put charcoal it's like restore that kind of stuff

00:53:47.639 --> 00:53:51.159
right the brass one the brass iron and the old

00:53:51.159 --> 00:53:52.960
singer washing machine washing machine sewing

00:53:52.960 --> 00:53:56.559
machines okay those are the types that they say

00:53:56.559 --> 00:53:58.679
please don't post this online or blah blah blah

00:53:58.679 --> 00:54:00.420
oh you want to talk about it but don't mention

00:54:00.420 --> 00:54:02.380
so and so is that okay right right thing yeah

00:54:02.380 --> 00:54:08.440
right brass polishing tarnish sewer that kind

00:54:08.440 --> 00:54:14.190
of stuff hmm Unique stuff. I did one at Muscat

00:54:14.190 --> 00:54:18.110
Street. Okay. For the Consulate of Oman. Yes.

00:54:18.250 --> 00:54:20.670
That was a total out -of -the -box thing. It

00:54:20.670 --> 00:54:23.929
was a tile. But it was... A tile of what? A tile

00:54:23.929 --> 00:54:27.630
on the wall? On the road. It's next to Masjid

00:54:27.630 --> 00:54:30.269
Sultan. Okay. So this particular, from what I

00:54:30.269 --> 00:54:32.530
know, from what I remember, this particular project,

00:54:32.610 --> 00:54:34.409
no one wanted to take for very, very long because

00:54:34.409 --> 00:54:37.130
it was that fragile. And then they contacted

00:54:37.130 --> 00:54:38.809
me through their middleman and everything. I

00:54:38.809 --> 00:54:41.679
was doing my work. Call comes in. Hey, bro, how

00:54:41.679 --> 00:54:43.260
are you? I was like, yeah, fine, thank you. This,

00:54:43.300 --> 00:54:44.559
that, and the other. Talking to him, long story.

00:54:44.760 --> 00:54:48.639
Then he says, oh, so and so, I'm talking. I was

00:54:48.639 --> 00:54:51.300
like, okay. I was thinking it was my old friend

00:54:51.300 --> 00:54:53.400
from God knows when. Okay. Talking to him like

00:54:53.400 --> 00:54:54.960
my best friend. But you actually don't know the

00:54:54.960 --> 00:54:59.960
guy. I tell you. He's a middleman for the embassy.

00:55:00.219 --> 00:55:04.000
Right. Shit. Like, okay. What are you doing?

00:55:04.099 --> 00:55:06.840
I say, relaxing because that particular time

00:55:06.840 --> 00:55:10.260
I went for surgery, I was resting at home, you

00:55:10.260 --> 00:55:11.860
know, then he's like, one of these days you come

00:55:11.860 --> 00:55:14.280
down and swing by. I say, okay, I'll come down

00:55:14.280 --> 00:55:16.059
and check it out. So when I went to meet him,

00:55:16.099 --> 00:55:18.239
I was actually with crutches and the whole case

00:55:18.239 --> 00:55:21.840
and everything, the cast. I was like, eh, not

00:55:21.840 --> 00:55:24.139
even recovered, you come out. I say, work is

00:55:24.139 --> 00:55:26.460
work. That kind of thing. So I took that project

00:55:26.460 --> 00:55:29.250
but it was very unique in the sense. Like I said,

00:55:29.269 --> 00:55:31.949
from what I remember, what I know, no one wanted

00:55:31.949 --> 00:55:33.829
to take that. Too fragile. I look around and

00:55:33.829 --> 00:55:36.590
like... What material is it? Ceramic? Yeah, ceramic.

00:55:36.769 --> 00:55:42.809
Okay. So, the country was... The location was

00:55:42.809 --> 00:55:46.030
in the wrong spot for years, you know. The location

00:55:46.030 --> 00:55:48.130
was... Can we flash that picture up, please?

00:55:48.829 --> 00:55:51.309
The Consulate of Oman. That one, that picture,

00:55:51.369 --> 00:55:53.820
right? It's this, yeah. Yeah, okay. Is that the

00:55:53.820 --> 00:55:55.739
one? Yep. Okay. What do you mean the country's

00:55:55.739 --> 00:55:58.099
in the wrong place? There's a place, I don't

00:55:58.099 --> 00:56:00.059
know if you can see to the left, the left of

00:56:00.059 --> 00:56:05.539
the picture, there's a small little patch that's

00:56:05.539 --> 00:56:08.760
whiter than the others. Yep, yep. Yeah, that

00:56:08.760 --> 00:56:12.579
particular spot there. Okay. Yeah, it was in

00:56:12.579 --> 00:56:15.619
the wrong, like, just a matter of north and south

00:56:15.619 --> 00:56:18.079
kind of thing, like the particular pin of the

00:56:18.079 --> 00:56:21.590
country was in the wrong spot. Right. Yeah. Okay.

00:56:21.769 --> 00:56:24.329
The red dot, they said, the little red dot. Little

00:56:24.329 --> 00:56:29.849
red dot, okay. Below Muscat. Muscat, yeah. The

00:56:29.849 --> 00:56:32.690
one on the left side of the screen. Okay. So

00:56:32.690 --> 00:56:35.190
that was quite interesting because I've never

00:56:35.190 --> 00:56:38.210
done something like that. But you got it done.

00:56:38.789 --> 00:56:42.050
And that's how the consulate of Oman gave you

00:56:42.050 --> 00:56:46.969
a letter of appreciation. Right? Yeah. Wow. Yeah.

00:56:47.949 --> 00:56:50.969
It was very fun, you know. The people over there,

00:56:51.070 --> 00:56:53.889
like, not just the people from the consulate

00:56:53.889 --> 00:56:55.550
and the people on the streets, you know, in the

00:56:55.550 --> 00:56:58.409
area, they were all very nice, you know. Yeah,

00:56:58.510 --> 00:57:01.090
I'm pretty sure, man. It's almost a vibrant area.

00:57:01.230 --> 00:57:03.690
Yes. Hey, how are you? It's fucking wet in the

00:57:03.690 --> 00:57:06.429
sun. Hey, I'll offer you a drink of water. Yeah,

00:57:06.429 --> 00:57:08.730
wow. That's nice. That's why it's very meaningful.

00:57:08.909 --> 00:57:13.739
It's like, it was fun doing that piece. You know,

00:57:13.760 --> 00:57:17.239
all the work that you do, the artistic side of

00:57:17.239 --> 00:57:20.159
the work that you do, and let's say it now, your

00:57:20.159 --> 00:57:22.440
company that you've established is called Oracle

00:57:22.440 --> 00:57:27.199
Restorations, right? There you go. Oracle Repair

00:57:27.199 --> 00:57:29.539
and Restoration. People, any one of you who need

00:57:29.539 --> 00:57:33.699
any work or any help on your sentimental items

00:57:33.699 --> 00:57:36.719
or even religious artifacts, this is the company

00:57:36.719 --> 00:57:41.869
to go to. Look for Ryan O 'Hara, okay? The artistic

00:57:41.869 --> 00:57:46.070
side we've heard so far, how do you balance the

00:57:46.070 --> 00:57:48.110
business side of this, man? I mean, do you do

00:57:48.110 --> 00:57:51.769
any marketing at all? Do you? To be honest, most

00:57:51.769 --> 00:57:54.829
of it, most of my revenue and work coming in,

00:57:54.869 --> 00:57:57.690
right? All right. Word of mouth. Okay. Facebook,

00:57:57.730 --> 00:58:00.650
Instagram. And I came out in the straights times.

00:58:01.730 --> 00:58:04.690
Like a year or two ago. Wow. That's the only

00:58:04.690 --> 00:58:08.590
forms of advertising I have. No running of advertisements,

00:58:08.809 --> 00:58:10.949
no nothing. But you're still getting a steady

00:58:10.949 --> 00:58:13.070
stream of business coming into you? Here and

00:58:13.070 --> 00:58:15.210
there. Honestly, here and there. Okay. Some days

00:58:15.210 --> 00:58:18.269
I go, some days it's just quiet. I wouldn't say,

00:58:18.309 --> 00:58:20.929
oh yeah, there's a lot of business. But I would.

00:58:21.320 --> 00:58:23.280
Would say sometimes it's quiet, sometimes it's

00:58:23.280 --> 00:58:25.559
not quiet. What happens if there are people from,

00:58:25.599 --> 00:58:27.960
say, for example, from the region, from Malaysia,

00:58:28.059 --> 00:58:31.519
from Indonesia, if they got artifacts or items

00:58:31.519 --> 00:58:34.199
they want restored, can they send it over to

00:58:34.199 --> 00:58:38.079
you to get it done? I should guess so. Okay.

00:58:38.099 --> 00:58:41.760
So all my viewers and listeners from Indonesia,

00:58:42.059 --> 00:58:44.539
from the Philippines and Malaysia, if you've

00:58:44.539 --> 00:58:47.500
got anything that you need restored, just give

00:58:47.500 --> 00:58:50.840
a buzz. to ryan okay and you can send your stuff

00:58:50.840 --> 00:58:53.179
over and you can get it done for you uh because

00:58:53.179 --> 00:58:56.340
we've got i mean we've got 72 000 plus subscribers

00:58:56.340 --> 00:58:59.360
now and uh i know for a fact that we got loads

00:58:59.360 --> 00:59:01.880
of them for out of indonesia and philippines

00:59:01.880 --> 00:59:05.119
and malaysia so yeah so if you could do that

00:59:05.119 --> 00:59:07.019
it'd be great you know so please do give him

00:59:07.019 --> 00:59:09.539
a buzz yeah if you've got anything that you need

00:59:09.539 --> 00:59:12.579
restored what advice would you give ryan to someone

00:59:12.579 --> 00:59:17.119
who wants to learn restoration skills Or are

00:59:17.119 --> 00:59:18.699
you going to keep your cards too fucking close

00:59:18.699 --> 00:59:20.239
to your chest and go, I'm not going to tell you

00:59:20.239 --> 00:59:25.500
how to do Grand Night Look and all that. Trade

00:59:25.500 --> 00:59:29.900
secrets. I would honestly say, don't do it for

00:59:29.900 --> 00:59:33.670
the money. Do it from your heart. going to look

00:59:33.670 --> 00:59:36.070
at it in the sense like, money is money. It's

00:59:36.070 --> 00:59:37.869
a need. Everybody needs money and shit like that.

00:59:37.989 --> 00:59:39.690
But is it feeding you and your family, man, the

00:59:39.690 --> 00:59:41.329
business? Yes. I've been doing this, like I said,

00:59:41.369 --> 00:59:44.889
seven years. Some months, I'm tight. I won't

00:59:44.889 --> 00:59:46.730
lie. Some months, I'm just tight. Some months,

00:59:46.789 --> 00:59:50.010
I'm okay. Some months, I'm not. But the thing

00:59:50.010 --> 00:59:52.730
is like, if someone wants to go into this line,

00:59:52.889 --> 00:59:56.010
I say, go ahead. Don't even have to take it from

00:59:56.010 --> 00:59:57.730
me, but you have my full support. If you can

00:59:57.730 --> 00:59:59.469
do, go ahead. Wouldn't you want to take on an

00:59:59.469 --> 01:00:03.000
apprentice or open up a larger space? workspace.

01:00:03.119 --> 01:00:06.360
I would love to, but capital. Mainly it's capital.

01:00:06.599 --> 01:00:12.420
Other than that, it's still on the... I wouldn't

01:00:12.420 --> 01:00:16.699
say scared, but still just monitoring the situation.

01:00:16.880 --> 01:00:20.400
Don't want to take another huge leap. I don't

01:00:20.400 --> 01:00:24.820
want to over -expand and screw up. There's wisdom

01:00:24.820 --> 01:00:27.300
there, man. There's wisdom there. We were talking

01:00:27.300 --> 01:00:30.179
about earlier that outside of being Catholic,

01:00:31.289 --> 01:00:34.230
I mean, you're being Catholic and outside of

01:00:34.230 --> 01:00:38.369
that, as a trade and as a profession, you also

01:00:38.369 --> 01:00:41.190
take on works of other religions and all that.

01:00:41.309 --> 01:00:43.829
I just want to spend a moment to just flash some

01:00:43.829 --> 01:00:46.030
of the work that you've done, say for the Hindu

01:00:46.030 --> 01:00:48.010
temple, right? Oh, this one was for my house.

01:00:48.190 --> 01:00:50.889
Ah, okay. It's for a home. A home. So this is

01:00:50.889 --> 01:00:54.550
a personal sentimental or personal sentimental

01:00:54.550 --> 01:00:57.590
value. Yes. Okay, that's Baby Murugan, right?

01:00:57.710 --> 01:01:01.280
Yes. I changed the color. of the lotus according

01:01:01.280 --> 01:01:03.380
to the family because they had four of them.

01:01:03.599 --> 01:01:05.539
Two of the family members, the mother and the

01:01:05.539 --> 01:01:09.179
sister, they liked the light purple. The other

01:01:09.179 --> 01:01:10.980
two of them liked dark purple. So I changed the

01:01:10.980 --> 01:01:13.860
entire lotus. Oh, so to please everyone. Oh,

01:01:13.860 --> 01:01:16.659
that's nice. You've also done baby elephants

01:01:16.659 --> 01:01:20.760
as well. Yes, Ganesha. No, this wasn't Ganesha.

01:01:20.760 --> 01:01:23.579
This was next to the statue of Baby Murugan.

01:01:23.760 --> 01:01:25.719
So it's like Baby Murugan and then there's two

01:01:25.719 --> 01:01:29.929
of these. Right. Okay. Now, I've only got two

01:01:29.929 --> 01:01:33.650
more questions left for you, man. Anything that's

01:01:33.650 --> 01:01:37.769
forward -moving. You mentioned in your, I think,

01:01:37.769 --> 01:01:40.530
your Straits Times interview that your dreams

01:01:40.530 --> 01:01:43.090
are doing overseas projects and helping rebuild

01:01:43.090 --> 01:01:48.309
places of worship after disasters. Why? What

01:01:48.309 --> 01:01:53.590
is driving that desire? I would love to help

01:01:53.590 --> 01:01:58.860
people more in the sense like... where they define

01:01:58.860 --> 01:02:01.699
comfort and solace in their places of religion

01:02:01.699 --> 01:02:04.739
or like run down temples I would love to like

01:02:04.739 --> 01:02:06.739
so the next generation when I'm gone at least

01:02:06.739 --> 01:02:08.280
they got something to see you know and as in

01:02:08.280 --> 01:02:12.000
if it's all old and deteriorated you know under

01:02:12.000 --> 01:02:18.000
this under this rough exterior all the freaking

01:02:18.000 --> 01:02:22.500
you know all the freaking the comedian the comedian

01:02:22.500 --> 01:02:25.579
exterior of you there is someone who actually

01:02:25.579 --> 01:02:29.570
cares for people So come on, don't be shy about

01:02:29.570 --> 01:02:32.030
that shit, okay? I mean, you've got a heart,

01:02:32.110 --> 01:02:34.750
right? I mean, you've got a heart, man. You know,

01:02:34.769 --> 01:02:36.409
and that's the reason why I like you, man. Because

01:02:36.409 --> 01:02:39.730
you are who you are, you know, and you're real.

01:02:40.650 --> 01:02:43.269
And you've got a heart, right? And I appreciate

01:02:43.269 --> 01:02:51.630
that. Really, I do. I appreciate that also. What's

01:02:51.630 --> 01:02:53.929
the most fulfilling part of what you do to say,

01:02:54.130 --> 01:03:02.099
I love my job? To be very frank, I would actually

01:03:02.099 --> 01:03:04.420
say it was when I give back a completed statue

01:03:04.420 --> 01:03:09.400
and the expression on someone's face. They get

01:03:09.400 --> 01:03:12.599
stunned. They think it's a new statue. Oh, you

01:03:12.599 --> 01:03:15.639
did this for me? Wow. That's the fulfillment.

01:03:15.860 --> 01:03:18.900
Yeah. Surprisingly. And you do love your job.

01:03:18.940 --> 01:03:22.699
I love my job. I mean, I love my job, but...

01:03:22.809 --> 01:03:24.750
that is one of the things that drives me more

01:03:24.750 --> 01:03:26.650
and more you know I try to be better try to practice

01:03:26.650 --> 01:03:29.809
more so I can give people better products out

01:03:29.809 --> 01:03:31.349
and stuff like that so they can I can actually

01:03:31.349 --> 01:03:34.010
see them go like oh you know or like some of

01:03:34.010 --> 01:03:35.329
them actually cry you know when you get their

01:03:35.329 --> 01:03:38.389
shoes back and stuff like that's the thing that

01:03:38.389 --> 01:03:41.050
makes me very happy when I see they are very

01:03:41.050 --> 01:03:43.949
grateful and they appreciate what I do and do

01:03:43.949 --> 01:03:46.849
you want to continue doing this for as long as

01:03:46.849 --> 01:03:50.000
you can I would love to Will you see yourself

01:03:50.000 --> 01:03:52.179
doing that? Yeah. I see myself becoming an old

01:03:52.179 --> 01:03:53.900
man like you and still doing the same thing.

01:03:53.980 --> 01:03:56.699
Shut the fuck up, bro. I'm not old. Shut the

01:03:56.699 --> 01:04:02.400
fuck up. One thing you can't do is to restore

01:04:02.400 --> 01:04:04.699
this face. Some things are better left untouched.

01:04:14.069 --> 01:04:17.829
Oh, man. Really. Anyway, I got to say, man, it's

01:04:17.829 --> 01:04:20.170
been fun talking to you. It's really been fun,

01:04:20.250 --> 01:04:23.670
man. I really wish you the best. I wish you all

01:04:23.670 --> 01:04:25.789
the best, all the very best, mate. I really,

01:04:25.909 --> 01:04:27.849
really appreciate it. No, no, no worries at all,

01:04:27.889 --> 01:04:29.730
man. I mean, I think it's a very interesting

01:04:29.730 --> 01:04:31.769
trade you're doing. I think you're doing this

01:04:31.769 --> 01:04:35.090
with all heart. Yeah. You really, you really

01:04:35.090 --> 01:04:36.730
wear your heart on your sleeve, man. You put

01:04:36.730 --> 01:04:39.170
it all out there, man. I mean, really appreciate

01:04:39.170 --> 01:04:41.250
that. And I like people who was, who is just

01:04:41.250 --> 01:04:48.269
damn direct. Fuck off you, man. Old man, my ass.

01:04:50.190 --> 01:04:52.880
But thanks for being on the show. Um, Once again,

01:04:53.000 --> 01:04:57.019
everyone, it's my pleasure, really. Can I have

01:04:57.019 --> 01:05:01.880
a mic? Thank you. Okay, you've heard lots of

01:05:01.880 --> 01:05:05.840
things that we talked about between Ryan and

01:05:05.840 --> 01:05:11.900
myself. Ryan's from Oracle, and he does restoration

01:05:11.900 --> 01:05:15.340
of stuff that you love, okay? And if you really

01:05:15.340 --> 01:05:17.480
need something restored... All you have to do

01:05:17.480 --> 01:05:21.079
is just go to find Oracle and get to Ryan, okay,

01:05:21.119 --> 01:05:25.179
and send your precious mementos over, statues

01:05:25.179 --> 01:05:28.079
over, and he will help you restore them. You've

01:05:28.079 --> 01:05:29.539
been watching The Chris Hansen Conversation,

01:05:29.539 --> 01:05:33.840
and we are almost, almost coming towards the

01:05:33.840 --> 01:05:38.460
last quarter of this Season 5. Until the next

01:05:38.460 --> 01:05:40.579
episode, stay safe, everybody. Bye -bye. The

01:05:40.579 --> 01:05:44.260
Chris Hansen Conversation. No scripts. No filters.

01:05:44.659 --> 01:05:47.650
Just real talk. The most authentic conversations

01:05:47.650 --> 01:05:48.710
in Singapore.