What would Fahrenheit be if they weren't stars?

One of them's a number cruncher
We ask Taiwanese boyband Fahrenheit: What would you be doing if you weren't stars?
By Charlene Chua / New Paper

THEY are one of the hottest boybands from Taiwan, but if the members of pop group Fahrenheit never got together, things might have turned out quite differently.

The New Paper had posed this 'what if' question to the group when it was in town on Monday to promote its Fantasy World Tour. Fahrenheit will perform here next month. Wu Chun would be a budding entrepreneur, Aaron Yan would be in the US studying American history, and Calvin Chen would be crunching numbers in a financial institution in Canada.

Jiro Wang was not here, as he was resting in Taiwan with a leg injury.

While we wonder if these pretty boys can live up to such lofty ambitions, they did the entire interview in English just to prove their point.

Wu Chun, 29

When it comes to making money, this Brunei-born singer started early. He opened a pool cafe with his friend when he was just 15. And if that was not enough, he followed that up by selling car parts.

Wouldn't a teenager be less preoccupied with work at that age? 'I was probably influenced by friends who were all into running businesses,' Wu Chun said.

By the time he joined Fahrenheit in 2005, he was already into his third business- managing his family's fitness centre in Brunei. It was not easy.

'I would manage the fitness centre with my staff members from 1pm to 8pm and go for a workout at around 10pm. After that, it's back home to work till 4am. 'At night, when I'm alone, I have time to focus on what I want to do. I'm too busy managing manpower in the day to do this.'

He even won a Young Entrepreneur Award in Brunei.

Wu Chun said: 'When my mum was sick, I did a lot of research on the Internet to see how I could help. 'I learnt the importance of research and realised how it could really help businesses. Even though she has passed away, she inspired me to win the award.'

The self-confessed workaholic credits his work ethic to his idol, basketball player Michael Jordan. 'He taught me that when you want to do something, you give it your all. Focus on it and be very serious about it.'

This Jordan fanatic also has a tattoo of his idol on his leg.

So what would he say to the NBA star if he met him? 'I'll say, let's be friends. And can we do business together?'

Calvin Chen, 28

He might not look it, but Calvin used to be quite the studious geek. When he was a teaching assistant at a graduate school in Vancouver, Canada, Calvin said he would stay back till very late with his nose in his books. He said he would sometimes be pottering around in his office 'till 3am', so much so the school security guards kept a close watch on him. 'The guards would always ask me for my ID and key. But when they got used to me, it was okay.'

Calvin, who has a masters in economics, believes his ability to crunch numbers has actually helped him with his relationships. 'The concepts in business and economics have given me heightened reasoning skills when dealing with people,' he said.

So what financial advice does he have for his fans? 'Save more. Only invest in something that you are familiar or interested in.'

Aaron Yan, 22

If Aaron was not touring the world as part of a boyband, he would be back in the country he grew up in - the US. The Taiwan-born singer spent his primary-school years in Connecticut for five years.

Aaron, who studied journalism in a university in Taiwan, is now doing a major in English, with a special interest in American history.

Asked to weigh in on the recent US presidential elections, he said: 'It was a meaningful election... because racial issues have always been a problem for them (Americans). 'By electing a black man, it shows that they have progressed.'

Aaron recalled how, when he was a child in the US, he would eat the same thing every day for breakfast - milk and bread. And he continues to do so till now. He also professed his adoration for Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie. 'She's just so sexy. She's perfect.'