Who would have thought that former TV heartthrob Robin Leong is now a children’s author? That’s how being a father can change a man.
As Robin tells Young Parents in a video interview (scroll down to watch!) from his home in Seattle, “Everything I do now is for my children and it feels great. I just love it.”
Featuring animal characters who use kung fu to save the world, The Kung Fu Force And The Tower of Doom is his debut book.
“I hope to have at least six books in the series,” Robin says. Two of the main characters were named after his sons, Lucas, nine and Brady, five.
“I actually had the idea when my first son was born. I wanted to do a children’s book series for him,” the 48-year-old shares. “It would be something that could inspire and entertain him.”
It isn’t just fatherhood which has changed him. By his own confession, “marriage has definitely made me a better man, more focused, more mellowed,” Robin says.
He met his wife Kris Ruan, a 36-year-old marketing executive, in 2008 through mutual friends. “It was quite refreshing because she wasn’t from the entertainment industry,” he shares.
The couple tied the knot in 2008 and gave birth to their two sons in Singapore. He is still running his martial arts school, Ch’i Life Studio, which he set up in 2002, and also working on a martial arts documentary about his father.
“My younger son Brady has absolutely no clue, whatsoever. But my elder son Lucas, I think he has a pretty good idea because his teachers used to tell him that they’re really big fans of Triple Nine,” he says with a chuckle, referring to the Channel 5 crime series, where he played one of the leading roles.
Robin shares more about his family in this video interview:
He also reads us an excerpt from his debut book – what a treat!
Get a copy of The Kung Fu Force And The Tower of Doom at $14.90 from the Epigram Books website.
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Text and video: Young Parents