Keeping It Real

His social circle includes royalty and celebrities, but glamour is not the name of his game. Upfront Models founder and director WATSON TAN shares with Grace Ma what keeps him grounded in his 22-year career

- Grace Ma

Watson Tan is, understandably, a busy man. After all, he owns and runs a talent management agency with more than 500 models and an art gallery that represents 77 artists from 15 countries. But instead of hurrying me through this interview, the director of Upfront Models and Art Front Collective asks if I need a drink and if the room temperature is comfortable for me as we start our chat.

Mid-interview, he pulls a face when he asks if he really has to answer my questions on management books that have influenced him or the apps that he uses to organise his daily routine. “I want to tell you I read management books, but I don’t. And I have a personal assistant who does everything for me!” he exclaims candidly, laughing.

Tan is exactly wysiwyg – what you see is what you get. “My branding is reflected in my company name: upfront. There’s all this glamour, and misconceptions of me being who and who, and knowing who and who, but that’s just the surface,” he says. “I still enjoy being around ‘normal’ people such as the girls and guys next door, not just around socialites and royalty. That grounds me so that I don’t get carried away.”