Feeling Psyched

Clinical psychologist “Grandpa Maoyu” uses Instagram to share mental health advice alongside his enviable streetwear wardrobe

- Lauren James

Catch him lighting up his 10,000 followers’ feeds with jazzy bucket hats, Stüssy T-shirts and A Bathing Ape sneakers while repping his favourite independent brands. Since joining Instagram in 2019, Grandpa Maoyu (@grandpamaoyu) has emerged as one of Hong Kong’s hottest style influencers—with a twist. Alongside #OOTD mirror selfies, the psychologist’s posts include education and advice aimed at young people, who are as likely to ask for the ID on his new threads as they are for advice on where to turn to when struggling to process events in the news.

Turning 67 this month, the grandfather of five, who prefers to be known only by his first name to protect his relationship with clients, was born in Amsterdam and lived all over Europe growing up. He has been based in Hong Kong since 2014, but was out of town with his family when he spoke to Tatler. He explains how he balances being both a cool grandfather and a psychologist who wants to ease the burdens of young people.

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