Versatile DJ develops his full potential through his passion for music and media projects

WONG CHI-CHUNG does not drink coffee, smoke or eat spicy food.

The 36-year-old DJ is not a health fanatic, he is just looking after his biggest asset - his voice.

Wong has relied on his voice to make a living since the mid-1980s. While he was a film studies student at Baptist University, he was keen to try his hand at being a DJ. He plucked up the courage, went to a radio station and won his first job with his enthusiasm.

'I told them I knew music; I grew up on the Beatles,' he says. The bold gesture worked.

He was given a part-time job as a researcher and two months later, he had his own show: a two-hour slot from midnight on Sunday evenings.

Sixteen years later, Wong still has the same midnight slot - although with a different radio station. But in between, he has done a lot more besides hosting radio shows.

He worked as a station manager at cable channel YMC until last year, when he decided to give up the corporate life and go it alone. As a freelancer, he has greater flexibility to travel and work on his own projects. His recent ventures include launching his own Web site (www. chichungschoice.com) and setting up the Sound and Vision Festival in August.

He also has regular columns in magazines and newspapers. But the real bread-and-butter money comes from his part-time job as a voice-over artist. The money is good and the work does not take long, freeing him up for other more creative projects.

Wong has also regularly returned to academic life as either a student or a teacher.

He did his thesis for his master's degree on local pop music, and has taught music appreciation and culture all over Hong Kong, from the Arts Centre to Broadway Cinematheque.

His constant switching between academia, the media and music led Wong to coin a new title for himself: AcademMediaArtist.

Wong published a book of postcards featuring places he and his new bride visited on their honeymoon last year. Wong being no superstar, the book comes across as the work of someone who is full of himself.

Wong talks enthusiastically about his hopes for Hong Kong's music scene. He has refused to let commercialism wear down the idealism of his youth and truly believes that the world can become a better place - with music.