How Tianyo Mayao does it all

Fame found Tianyo Mayao (who prefers to be known simply as Mayao) rather suddenly. Go through reams of archival society pages and he didn’t feature till a year or two ago. Then, he appeared from the ether, glistening in designer duds, intricate accessories and a mop of hair that, in all probability, will look entirely different by the time you see the portrait on this page. “Change is good. I get bored and restless easily,” he says. It’s hard to pin down this impossibly fashionable young man: stylist to the stars (pop singers such as Aaron Kwok, Eason Chan, Jay Chou and actress Fan Bingbing); singer with a few music videos out already (Leon Lai has signed him to his label and an album is in the works); head of Fame Glory Production, an art directing agency; cake designer (sold exclusively at Vive Cake Boutique); and social media star-cum-influential blogger with 146,000 followers – at last count – on Instagram. While some believe success derives from preparation meeting opportunity, Mayao says his is down to pure luck. “I used to style myself only, then I styled my friend [singer] Kary Ng for an event. Soon others wanted me to style them. I was at the right place at the right time.”