Jason Lam: Time Lost Behind Bars Spurs Creative to Live a More Courageous, Purpose-Driven Life

We met Jason at the Somerset Skate Park and he opened up to us about wanting to move forward and live more bravely.

“I got caught for using drugs and spent nine months at the Drug Rehabilitation Centre. I am currently on probation.

Being inside and away from everything made me look back on what I’ve been missing out on, like the things that I wanted to do but was always too lazy and unmotivated to do. Being in jail was time wasted; yet, it lit a fire within me to do more with my time.   

A few friends and I we were just playing around and recently started this small brand. I needed a creative outlet, so the brand is an excuse for me to do something fun. I am not expecting it to succeed or anything. I put a bit of money in it, but it’s money that I am willing to lose.

My biggest fear is dying and not having tried, and I have a lot of visions that I want to make a reality. At the same time, I am afraid of putting myself out there because there’s always a fear of failure. But I’d rather fail now than not try at all.

I used to care so much about what people thought of me. But that went away after I realised that it doesn’t matter if I’m here or not. Life still goes on, with or without me, so I get to try to do what I want without worrying so much about what other people think. 

It can feel depressing knowing that you are insignificant, but it can also be very liberating because people don’t think about you as much as you think they do. The fact is, in 200 years, nobody will remember us, and that’s pretty fun.

Moving forward, I want to start travelling again and meet more people. I used to think that by the time I’m 25, I would have travelled to all seven continents, but I’m turning 26 and I still haven’t had the chance to do that yet. I would also like to get into the creative industry in some way.

Worrying about what you did wrong and what people think about you just stops you from ever getting better. With time, nobody’s going to care about whatever mistake you made. There’s always time to fail and learn.” – Jason Lam

Interview by: Cindy Abner