Name：Monsan Hsieh

Birthday：1995.08.02

Nationality：Taiwan

Where do you live now?

In the best place of Kaohsiung, right in Siziwan Area!

Describe yourself in 3 sentences.
True to myself and everyone around. Very diligent when it comes to work. I love to be silly and make fun to make my friends laugh and forward positive energy.

Lifestyle

My life is spent half in the city and half outdoors, I need both of them to be balanced.
I try to live to the fullest while expecting myself to stay humble, to not become proud or arrogant, I try to make fun of myself often, let go, and give.

Introduce yourself. What’s your background?

I grew up in Kaohsiung and have never lived anywhere else. Since childhood I admired beautiful and pretty things, that’s why I went to Shi-Jian University to learn fashion design and branding. I wasn’t the best student, but I worked during the day and attended school at night, and I always enjoyed life just as it was. After graduating destiny brought me to join the SurfAce family!

You are an important part of the SurfAce Team,

how did you join SurfAce? How did you meet Eileen?

It's an amazing story! We met skateboarding back in 2015. During that time I was in third grade of my bachelor and was thinking about designing men’s wear and becoming an entrepreneur. At that time I also loved to go skateboarding after school at night.

Someone introduced me to Eileen in the skatepark and I heard that Eileen was in the middle of starting up her own brand. I chatted to her and asked her about her experience, and I ended up buying a SurfAce bikini later on. In 2017 I was about to graduate, and I had a break-up and just wanted to buy another bikini and go to the beach in Kenting.
I met her in her private studio. At that time, my only thought was to escape to China and make money there. But somehow I took the initiative to ask Eileen whether she needed a helping hand! I never expected anything, but right after, within two weeks she employed me as her first full-time employee haha!
We created our first office in a join-space office area and I started to learn everything from customer service, shipping, website and marketing etc… I can only say thank you for this opportunity, I am so lucky. And I also thank my younger self, that I was brave enough to ask! 

 What do you like most about SurfAce? 

The first most important thing is the intent and attitude of the brand to treat people sincerely and spread positivity! Plus the company itself pays a lot of attention to ethics such as moral production and environmental protection!

What is your personal favorite design until now?

I love and want them all haha! But if I could only chose one set of bikini, I think I’d go for the merlot solid color, it’s the one that makes me feel most feminine!

You like to skate and free dive, how did you start these activities and what do you love so much about them?

I think I am like most girls, I love these activities because they are cool!
I had a skateboard of a friend at home, we started sliding around the block and it soon turned into a daily ritual.
I got into free-diving because of SurfAce! I actually didn’t even know how to swim, and I was afraid of the water. But the environment affects a persons mentality, so in order to understand our customers and our brand better, I gave it a shot! The reason why I like these kind of activities is actually because you share the experience with friends, and there is a lot of joy in adventuring together. You can fall together, laugh together, and take care of each other. 

Sometimes you also go to surf with your friends, but you can’t swim! How do you overcome your fear? 

How? By believing in your coaches and your friends haha! Actually the fear when you fall into water isn’t even that bad, it is the fear before where you always worry about dying that is the worst!
I remember once being in XiaoLiuQiu at the fishing port. I was learning how to kick water and I was so nervous of drowning. But then I decided to trust my friend. Once he gave me a swimming ring, I relaxed and started laughing about myself. Fear can be a stupid thing. You just gotta continue to practice and relax.
Now when I go surf or dive I’ll always make sure I am surrounded by people that can look out for me, and I do the same for them!
 

What other activities do you like to do during your free-time? 

I love to go to the beach and tan, or do park picnics in summer. These are essentials in my life. I also like to go window-shopping though! I like to research what’s going on in the market, what the trend or marketing techniques are. As for exercise, I really like anything outdoor, but before my favorite was always long-boarding. 

What was the hardest thing you encountered in the process of working in the Start-up with Eileen?

The biggest challenge is to persuade Eileen to let me do what I plan hahaha…
In fact, there’s always been a solution to any challenge we have encountered, and it’s all about gaining experience. In the past 3 years that we have worked together, there has always been at least 2-3 bigger discussions between us, but we always managed to communicate and find balance and solutions. That’s what I love about it the most!

What is the thing most people don't know about you?

I am a really girly girl . The kind that like to look at sweet boys with lots of pink bubbles in my imagination you know haha. 

You have such a nice tan all year around, how do you get so tanned and how do you take care of your skin?

Maintenance is very important! Moisturizing is the key!

1- Before sun bathing, exfoliate your skin well.
2- Expose yourself to the sun in small amounts of time. Never stay too long until your totally burned!
3- Apply sun protection oil before and after-sun oil when you’re done tanning. 

4- Move! If you’re lying on the beach, make sure you turn often!

The most important thing is to moisturize when you get home. I always use Aloe Vera to cool down right after, and once I finished showering at home, I use EIR oil to maintain the moisture in my skin. That’s what makes my skin even and glowy! (PS, we sell it in the Kaohsiung SurfAce Boutique!) 

 You always seem to be in shape, especially your butt, whats your secret? 

I sincerely thank my mother that she gave me a good pair of legs and buttocks, all in proportion to my tiny boobs 
I do really recommend to try yoga though, it strengthens and tightens the body elegantly, and another secret might be eating little but often. For me that works great!

Which quote do you like the most?

Be kind always. Keep a good hearted attitude and never become anything like the person that you would hate while growing up as a child.

What do you do when you feel down? 

When I encounter a low tide, I’ll try to find the root of my feelings. I try to solve it. If it’s because of people, I try to gather my thoughts and communicate, if it’s because of a thing, I write it down and try to find an action plan. I think it’s really important to organize your emotions and make a plan, act upon it, and also to take proper “rest”!
But of course before I start thinking about everything, I usually go through a phase where I don’t want to do anything, just relax and let myself be. But once I feel settled, I get up!

 What exciting things are coming up in 2021? Do you have any goals that you really want to reach?

In 2020 I was lucky to take over SurfAce Apparel’s flagship-store in Kaohsiung and become the person in charge. I hope I can cultivate a good team with flow and understanding, and steadily develop a good base for the SurfAce boutique to expand in future! I also have the goal to provide opportunities to people who want to develop! 

 Any last thing that you would like to share with our SurfAce Babes?

A letter to those who feel lost..:

No matter if you feel like you have no direction or you don’t know if youre advancing. 

Remember that every step you do is always a progress! 

When you feel uncertain, you have a lot of concerns, just chose one thing and do it, then do another, and another. The more you try, the more opportunities will open up!

In life - Don’t just “exist” day by day, “live life” every day! 

At work - Do your best at the simplest things, you will automatically exude at it! Keep a positive attitude and stay humble. Even if you lose balance here and there, remember why you chose to sacrifice!

In love - Even if you lost a relationship and feel like the entire world ended, I want to remind you to love yourself. When you do that, people will start truly loving you to. “We shall always believe in love, no matter how much we were hurt before, because there will be a kind of love that fits you most!”

In friendship  - Cherish those that are willing to communicate with you even when you had an argument, those are the good friends. 

I hope that everyone can keep up their energy for the coming year. The world needs more positivity and it’s up to individuals like us to create and share it!

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