Hong Kong Dads Who Rock Hong Kong 2022

Gustav Szabo

About Gustav Szabo

Gustav is a British street, contemporary and NFT artist who relocated to Hong Kong for six months. Eight years later, he is still here and inspired by the city. He started Szabotage and created digital NFT art in 2020. He is recognized for his signature koi and stencil language style. He has an obsession with spray paint and creates artwork on walls and canvas. The most important things to him are his two little ones.

Favorite Things To Do With The Kids

Gustav and his wife enjoy being outdoors with the kids, whether trampolining, walking, setting up tents, and camping. His son can write his name in water-based aerosol paint, making him a proud dad! They live close to the beach, so exploring the ever-changing coastline, looking for crabs, building tree houses, and digging are their favorite pastimes with the kids. They also thoroughly enjoy cycling together, especially if a tunnel is involved, to have a good shout and hear their own echoes! The little ’ns love it.

Best And Most Challenging Bits About Being A Dad

He loves when his kids see him; anything they are doing gets thrown to one side, their eyes light up, and they run towards him with hugs, excitement, and enthusiasm. They are his golden moments. The most challenging part has to be routine, such as eating dinner before the ‘hanger’ (hunger anger) sets in and the meltdowns happen. You need the patience of a saint.

Favorite Dad Hack 

Gustav’s favorite dad hack is “I’ve got something to whisper.” It creates excitement and grabs the kid’s attention. The classic game, hide and seek, is also a winner. He gets to have a break when the kids hide or count for a long time.

Matthew Gregory

About Matthew Gregory

Matthew arrived in Hong Kong for a year, 25 years ago! He founded Faust International Youth Theatre in 1999, ABA Productions in 2006, and KidsFest in 2012. He’s had an impressive rollercoaster journey over the past 15 years, particularly with his children in tow. His life mottos are 'expect the unexpected' and 'make hay while the sun shines.

Favorite Things To Do With The Kids

The family loves adventures. They really enjoy hiking together and enjoy Dragon’s Back ending up at one of their favorite beaches Big Wave Bay or Shek O. They also love to travel to different places which has been challenging over the past two years but their previous family adventures have included Fiji, Bali, Cambodia, New Zealand, and Barbados, as well as the Trans Siberian railway from Beijing to London when their two oldest kids were six and four – they took a lot of lego, and learned how to say 'beer' in Russian!

Best And Most Challenging Bits About Being A Dad

Matthew loves the fact that the children will carve their own paths in life. He and his wife strive to empower them with enough freedom to make their own choices. He loves to see them achieve, whether it’s on the football pitch, on stage, or in the pool. The kids have found the past couple of years challenging with online schooling and homework. He thinks that his children are made for the world rather than the classroom!

Favorite Dad Hack

Recording premiership games and watching them the following morning – the challenge lies in not checking the scores! Getting them involved with cooking; if they cook it themselves they are more likely to eat it (persevere with mushrooms and courgettes!). His favorite hack is surprising them with an occasional ‘yes’ when they are expecting a ‘no’!

Alex Malouf

About Alex Malouf

Alex was born and raised in Melbourne, Australia. He worked in his parent's restaurant since he was a kid. Alex moved to Hong Kong over a decade ago to manage a restaurant, and in 2013, he opened Catch. He and his wife, Danielle, take the company from strength to strength.

Favorite Things To Do With The Kids

Clowning around! As long as Alex's kids are happy and laughing, he's a happy dad.

Best And Most Challenging Bits About Being A Dad

Alex is excited by his kids, and he loves the surprises they give him. He's always amazed at how quickly they develop, learn and grow; they learn new things every day! The hardest thing about being a dad is not to laugh when they have done something naughty because it's usually always funny.

Favorite Dad Hack 

Diverting a tantrum with a distraction, he has impressive pot-wearing skills and monkey impersonations. His inimitable talents work every time.

Simon Wilson

About Simon Wilson

Simon works in the events and entertainment industry for GBME and produces large-scale events such as The Grounds, The Lawn Club, and Winter at the Wheel, amongst others. Originally from Dublin, Simon has lived in Hong Kong for seven years via Sydney, Australia. He's married to Claire, and they happily welcomed their daughter Penelope into the world 14 months ago. He's a passionate foodie and loves to eat. He also recognizes that he has to do plenty of exercise to offset those calories.

Favorite Things To Do With The Kids

They love to potter around their neighborhood, Kennedy Town, grab a deliciously fresh bread snack and a coffee, and hit the playpark and the swings on the way home. They've just started swimming lessons with Penelope in KTown Pool which is lots of fun.

Best And Most Challenging Bits About Being A Dad

Simon enjoys watching Penelope's personality develop and seeing her learn and become a mini-person with her own preferences, sense of humor, and fun. The hardest part is managing his schedule to get enough quality time with her and ensuring he's home for bedtime or playtime before work each morning. He's lucky that his office is close to home so he can see his daughter when she's on walks with their nanny. He uses his free moments to Facetime her throughout the day.

Favorite Dad Hack

Simon is an eternal boy scout! Being prepared is the most important dad hack! He makes sure that Penelope's bag is packed with everything they could need. Always bring wipes - he learned the hard way! He also tries to clear up after her when they are out and about in a café or restaurant by wiping sticky surfaces and the highchair. The staff always appreciate it and never mind when they return.

Arturo Sims

About Arturo Sims

Arturo is originally from Chile, but Hong Kong has been home for over a decade. He loves the city! He’s an entrepreneur by nature and started his first company when he was just 20. He has seemingly endless energy levels that he uses to do positive things. Arturo founded Vantage Hospitality Consultants in 2016; he designs restaurants and hotels. A dream come true, he opened Musubi Hiro, an Izakaya style restaurant, in 2021.

Favorite Things To Do With The Kids

He takes his kids wherever he goes! He loves to take them on adventures. Riding their bikes and roller skating are their favorite activities.

Best And Most Challenging Bits About Being A Dad

Hugs and unconditional love are the best things about being a parent. His biggest challenge is to keep up with them! Boyan, the oldest, is Diabetic Type I, and they need to be on top of his medications day and night to make sure he is doing well. Thankfully they get a lot of support in Hong Kong. Stoyan, the youngest, is simply a jewel; he is an early riser just like his dad. Arturo occasionally wishes he’d sleep later than 6.30 am at the weekend!

Favorite Dad Hack 

The kids love cooking with their dad! Being the kids of a restauranteur, they are familiar with the culinary scene and are already foodies. Cook with your kids and share your passions!

Jomari Capistrano

About Jomari Capistrano

Jomari is from the Philippines and is a passionate hotelier who manages Ovolo Central and Ovolo Southside restaurants. He's hugely passionate about hospitality and ensures that he offers unforgettable experiences for his guests. He enjoys playing basketball or working out at the gym when he's not working in restaurants.

Favorite Things To Do With The Kids

Jomari loves to see his daughter happy; they love to go to the playground, swimming pool, or the beach together. He also enjoys playing at home and being her 'teacher daddy'!

Best And Most Challenging Bits About Being A Dad

The most challenging part of being a parent is ensuring that his daughter doesn't grow up into a spoiled brat! Jomari appreciates being a dad and counts it as a blessing. He loves to be welcomed home with a cuddle and a kiss after a long day working.

Favorite Dad Hack 

If his daughter is naughty-grumpy, Jomari will tell her he'll call the police, and she stops!

Nicholas Ho

About Nicholas Ho

Nicholas dreams of being a full-time dad one day soon. He’s the busy chairman of HPA engineers and development consultants and manages the company’s design projects. Nicholas tries to be more involved in the community through public services and dialogue. He one day hopes to be an architect for humanity.

Favorite Things To Do With The Kids

Nicholas loves to travel with his kids, sometimes as a family and sometimes with individual children; he gets to experience them on a whole new and fascinating level. Pre-pandemic, he traveled each quarter with one of the children creating great bonding memories. He’s looking forward to being able to travel with the kids again.

Best And Most Challenging Bits About Being A Dad

The most rewarding part of being a father is the privilege of watching them grow; each child is so unique, and he finds it an honor to be part of that evolution, to be able to grow with them, laugh and cry with them. The most challenging aspect he finds is balance. He always wonders if he’s too strict, too free, too protective, or too adventurous. He is always trying to instill the correct values and morals in them, so it’s never-ending.

Favorite Dad Hack 

He likes to motivate his troops! One of his most valuable tricks is finding common interests and making it a family tradition to get them excited, gather momentum, and encourage them to play together. Nicholas hopes that they will all grow up and remain close to each other.

Shane Osborn

About Shane Osborn

Shane is the chief patron and director of the independently minded restaurants, The Arcane Collective. Within his portfolio are Arcane, Cornerstone, and Moxie. He's dad to his wonderful teens, Rose and Oscar.

Favorite Things To Do With The Kids

It seems that both kids will walk in their father's footsteps; they love baking together when they have the opportunity.

Best And Most Challenging Bits About Being A Dad

Shane says there are too many things to mention about parenthood; his unconditional love for them is unrivaled. As the kids get older, they are less dependent; it's hard to let them go. The grumpy teenage syndrome is real!

Matt Rosslee

About Matt Rosslee

Matt is husband to supermom Kim and dad to two-year-old Sawyer and three-month-old Summer. He's a retired sportsperson and two-time Hong Kong international rugby player of the year. He opened the successful Chiefs Blend café-come-deli in Wan Chai in 2021 and is the co-founder of Biltong Chief, an online butchery and grocery store.

Favorite Things To Do With The Kids

Matt and Kim had both babies during the pandemic. They are currently in South Africa for the first time since they were born. As a family, they count their days by the changes in the moon. They’ve just seen their third full moon in their home country.

Best And Most Challenging Bits About Being A Dad

Matt loves having a second shot at being a kid! He loves sharing new and exciting things together and seeing the look of wonderment on their faces. In reality, he juggles the challenges of adulthood and parenthood.

Favorite Dad Hack

Being an ex-sportsman, Matt continues his exercise routine, whether a run to the beach or a powerful workout while the kids are asleep. Exercise helps him detach from his busy work schedule so that he is present for the kids. He recommends droewors (dry sausage) for two-year-olds!

Amit Raheja

About Amit Raheja

Amit is an ex-pat who heads up the healthcare multinational Johnson & Johnson. He's lived in eight other cities and now calls Hong Kong home. Amit loves living in Hong Kong and experimenting with different food, wine, and cultures. He's an avid badminton player; he wakes at 5.00 each weekend and on public holiday mornings to play for a couple of hours before the rest of the house wakes up. His favorite time is with family and friends.

Favorite Things To Do With The Kids

Amit and his son Arjun love to play games and enjoy watching movies together with bags of popcorn and burgers. As a family, they often go to junk parties; they are great fun and get them outside in nature. He and his son have recently taken to cooking barbeques together. Despite Arjun being Amit's biggest critic, he'll often help his dad flip burgers!

Best And Most Challenging Bits About Being A Dad

He loves that he learns so much from being a dad; it never ceases to amaze him how his son mirrors him. Amit sometimes finds it challenging to keep up with Arjun's insatiable energy; his son bounds around all day and never gets tired!

Favorite Dad Hack

Stories! He thinks that kids listen more to stories than they do instructions. He likes to tell stories in a fun and memorable way.

Justin Faulkner

About Justin Faulkner

Justin was born in Australia, grew up in Hong Kong, graduated from a UK university, and returned to Hong Kong in the late nineties. He founded PhysioCentral in 2003, having seen a gap in the market for the quality delivery of physiotherapy in Hong Kong. He’s also the co-founder of Eego Flip Flops. He met his wife playing mixed netball; they have two children, Emily, 12, and Luke, 11.

Favorite Things To Do With The Kids

Justin, his family, and his friends are all very sporty. He thoroughly enjoys being on the same sports field as the kids, although not too keen when they beat him! He believes that sport is a valuable part of life; not only is it a healthy pastime, but it teaches the importance of competition.

Best And Most Challenging Bits About Being A Dad

For years, Justin loved that little word 'dad.' Although the kids are not so little anymore, he still takes pride in being able to help them and answer their questions, though he admits to not always being right and to being challenged. He enjoys their curious minds and learning to slow down. He's learned that he has to be more patient and understands that things that are obvious to him might not be to them.

Favorite Dad Hack

Justin believes in speaking to his kids as if they are an adult. Emily and Luke know when to have fun, but they can also hold a proper conversation with other people.

Justin Chung

About Justin Chung

Justin Chung moved from Sydney to Hong Kong just over a decade ago. His two sons were born in the city and looked after while he and his wife excel in their careers with Gift Something.

Favorite Things To Do With The Kids

Justin and his family love to go off the beaten track for big adventures. You'll find them in a theme park when they are not exploring the world! Justin teaches his kids to live life every day.

Best And Most Challenging Bits About Being A Dad

Justin enjoys showing his boys the world and proving that television is not always right. The most challenging lesson is teaching the kids that money doesn't grow on trees.

Favorite Dad Hack

Justin swears by Alexa! The smart device keeps track of time, tells you when to get going, and serves as a fun source of entertainment.

Matthew Paterson

About Matthew Paterson

Matthew moved to Hong Kong when he was seven and has been in the city ever since. He’s a keen sportsman and launched Minisport in 2012, intending to expose children to four sports (tennis, football, basketball, rugby) through one programme.

Favorite Things To Do With The Kids

Matthew’s son is just about to have his first birthday. He took him swimming for the first time in 2021, he cried, settled and slept in the water for a full 40 minutes! As such an active family, they can’t wait for him to grow up so that they can play sports together. Through the pandemic, they’ve been limited to walks and hikes; he’s started taking his first few steps, so it won’t be long before he joins mom and dad on his adventures.

Best And Most Challenging Bits About Being A Dad

The positives outweigh the challenges. Matthew loves having a companion for his early morning starts and doing simple things together like watching the cars go past or feeding the birds. He really enjoys introducing his son to new children; he’s had so little social interaction because of COVID-19. The biggest challenge so far has been sleep regression. Matthew warns all new dads that the stages at four and 10-months can catch you out!

Favorite Dad Hack

Learn how to swaddle your baby. He also listens to audiobooks and podcasts when he rocks his baby to sleep. He says it's always a pleasure to help his wife.

Stefano Passarello

About Stefano Passarello

Three words! Workaholic. Runnaholic. Familyholic!

Favorite Things To Do With The Kids

Stefano loves to see them suffer on a long, exhausting hike, get to the end destination, and have a gigantic ice cream to celebrate!

Best And Most Challenging Bits About Being A Dad

Being a dad reminds you not to lose direction because they depend on you. The kids are his north star. His challenges are being present. Stefano understands that there are no bad kids, just bad parents; they are a reflection of adults and failure to be present may cause big trouble!

Favorite Dad Hack

Wake up and do the drills!

Sunfill Li

About Sunfill Li

Sunfill Li is the assistant director of sales for Ovolo Hotels. He is determined to spend more time with his son; he understands the importance of him being a role model in his growth. Sometimes, Sunfill and his wife give their son ‘bored time’ so that he can use the time as he wishes; it teaches him to be imaginative.

Favorite Things To Do With The Kids

They love outdoor activities like camping, hiking, and cycling.

Best And Most Challenging Bits About Being A Dad

Sunfill wants to be a role model and allow his son to be a real man. He tries to embody ‘example is better than precept.’

Favorite Dad Hack 

Setting up a campfire in the wilds!