I am Benjamin Matchap. I am a Photographer and Social Media Strategist. I worked in production while schooling in Secondary school and after I became a Parkour coach.
I worked for one of the most infamous production companies in Singapore that was known for not paying their employees. I thought I had a head-start by entering the industry so early but soon found that I was wrong. Almost everyone around me eventually quit production because the pay was irregular and the hours were long. I saw talented people older than myself unable to continue the profession despite working hard at it.
Later on, after I had moved on to Parkour, I had to stop pursuing it because I just lacked the resources to train alongside doing art school. I found that I had to earn money and photography was a much more practical skill than being a Parkour coach. Furthermore, it is tough to train in a physically demanding sport when you can barely afford to eat.
There should be better support for athletes chasing their passion and better protection for artists to ensure they get paid. I have seen too many talented people give up because they lacked a safety net.