Adrien Choux always has his eyes on the clock. As an adventure athlete, he races against time through challenges such as rock scrambling, kayaking, mountain biking and trail running. Professionally, the Frenchman creates luxury watches under The Chinese Timekeeper, a brand he founded in 2008.
Choux, 31, regularly features on the podium in adventure races in Hong Kong. Among his greatest athletic accomplishments was coming third with teammate Damien Levy in the 2008 City Chase World Championships in Marrakech, Morocco, a race that's part obstacle course, part scavenger hunt.
One of the challenges in the race involved eating cow's head, the Moroccan delicacy. 'We had to eat everything - the eyeballs, the tongue,' he says. 'I still want to puke every time I think about it.'
It's this bravery and willingness to venture in the unknown that has helped him in his career too. The Chinese Timekeeper was created at a time when the world's economy was in crisis and no one believed it could be done.
Choux came up with the idea after recognising an anomaly in the industry: although the world's luxury watches were developed by Swiss companies, their components were sourced from China and manufactured there. 'And 50 per cent of their customers were from Asia,' he adds. He was also inspired after spending several years living and working in China and Taiwan while studying Putonghua.
Further research revealed a rich history of Chinese timekeeping and an illustrious Chinese horologist from the 11th century, Su Song, whose awe-inspiring water driven astronomical clock tower became the brand's muse.
