Not clowning around: S'pore uni graduate turns professional clown, clinches 3 golds at global competition

Upon graduating from the National University of Singapore (NUS), 36-year-old Singaporean Edmund Khong chose to head to America to pursue a unique route: To become a professional clown.

He’s been working full-time as a clown for the past 10 years, and recently clinched three gold medals at a global clown competition featuring more than 200 clowns from America, England, Japan and Taiwan, reports Lianhe Zaobao

Edmund was awarded the medals for the categories, makeup and costume, performance and overall talent. 

In his repertoires, Edmund performs as either Captain Dazzle or Captain Bubbles. 

He told reporters that he loved practising magic tricks ever since he was a boy, and started busking on the streets. 

To him, the street performances were a important turning point in his life, and when he saw the smiling faces of the audience, he felt a satisfaction that he could not obtain anywhere else. 

He said:

“Eventually, I became more popular, and some would invite me to their child’s birthday party to perform.”

While he was still in university, Edmund learnt balloon sculpting, and joined the juggling club.

It was there he picked up how to juggle, amongst various other tricks. 

He recounted that in 2004, a group of professional clowns from America, England and Japan were in Singapore for a performance.

After he had seen their performances, he immediately decided that he would join the clown training institute in America. 

He added:

“The following year, in 2005, I headed over to America for two weeks.

“During these two weeks, I learnt many professional clown trick and also joined the World Clown Association (WCA).

“To date, Edmund has been a clown for more than 10 years, and he said that it was his first job. 

"To prepare for the competition, he trained for six months:

“To me, preparation and the competition itself is more important than winning.

“However, the medals are a form of recognition for your efforts.”