Businessman Allan Zeman
Canadian businessman Allan Zeman has made quite a name for himself in Hong Kong: Mr. Lan Kwai Fong. Famous for his lack of socks and his business savvy, he tells Dominique Rowe what makes him tick.
I exercise for an hour a day and have done so for 25 years. It's the best cure for stress. All the stress goes into the machine. Leave it there.
My childhood was very enterprising. I started working when my father died, and when I was nine years old. Before school, I delivered newspapers, and in the evenings, I would work as a busboy. I earned more in a day than my friends got as pocket money in a month.
Losing my father made me mature at a very young age. I was suddenly the only man in the family. I looked at things in a worldly way, rather than being protected by my family.
I bought my first car at 16 with money I made on my own. It was nicer than most of the teachers' cars.
Making money is fun. It's a sense of accomplishment.
In high school, I was always in the top class, but I didn't study very hard. I didn't feel like one of the other students. I just couldn't take it seriously. I suppose I have always felt like a bit of a maverick.