'Honestly, I like it': Hunky fishball noodle hawker on getting attention for his looks

With his coiffed hair and ripped bod, William Lin fits the gym bro archetype to a tee. On most days, though, you'd have better luck finding him at his family's fishball noodle stall in Bukit Merah.

The 29-year-old wears several hats — between his 12-hour days tending the stall, the aspiring media personality finds the time to take part in pageants like Mr World Singapore and also teaches tuition on the side.

He's gained a small following thanks to Mr World Singapore — and his looks — but the Fujian native says he'll never leave Hong Xing Handmade Fishball and Meatball, even if he does make it big.

"The reason why people pay attention to me is because I am a hawker," says William.

And even though he did not end up placing in the pageant last December, he's already achieved what he set out to do.

"Through my effort, I hope to gain more recognition for hawkers. Even if you are a hawker, you can do flashy things."

Putting family first

William, who is signed to Beam Artistes, tells us that he grew up in a poor village in Fujian, with his parents eking out a living by farming.

"The sea is right outside the back door of my primary school. During recess time, we'd go play by the sea," he recalls fondly.

For all its simple charms, though, rural life wasn't easy, and some 15 years ago, the family uprooted to Singapore in search of more opportunities.

Despite a cushy stint at a tuition centre teaching Chinese, William says that the sight of his parents tending their fishball noodle stall every day was too much to bear. So three years ago, he decided to help them run the stall full-time, relegating his tuition job to side-hustle status.

His parents objected at first, he admits. But William, who describes himself as a "very traditional guy", says that his biggest concern was their health and to do the heavy lifting for them.

"If I want to earn more money, there will be opportunities in the future. But if I miss the time spent with my parents, there is no chance to do it again."

With big dreams come sacrifices

Even as William dedicates most of his time to the fishball noodle stall, he also harbours hopes of making it in the entertainment industry and becoming a positive influence to others.

"I'm someone with a lot of positive energy. I want to spread my positive energy to give hope to those who are working hard in life," he explains.

For William, a typical day running the stall starts at 10am. He stays at the stall all the way until closing, heading home at around 11pm.

On days where he takes on fishball-making duty — the family makes theirs from scratch — he has to get up at 1am.

And then there's the work he puts in to maintain his impressively-defined abs — he slots in a gym sesh whenever possible during the day, and keeps a pair of running shoes in his bag at all times.

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If things at the stall get too busy for him to slip away for a workout, he tells us that he simply makes up for it by running home instead.

He also makes sure to style his hair and groom his facial hair before he starts work, in keeping with the 'hunky hawker' brand.

Thanks to his efforts, there have been regulars who take special notice of his looks — something he admits shyly.

"Honestly, I like it. When people say you look good, of course you'll be happy," he says self-effacingly.

But if you're wondering if he's single, we're sorry to disappoint — he's married and has a five-year-old son. Apparently, the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree either — the little tyke can run up to 2km and do ten pull-ups, William tells us proudly.

How does William do it all? Not one to sugarcoat things, he states plainly that he sacrifices his sleep.

"It's not easy to succeed. There must be sacrifices. I don't regret it even if I fall sick sometimes from the lack of sleep."

With his time split between parenting, his multiple jobs and his media personality dreams, William's also willingly given up on his leisure time, and frivolous pursuits like clubbing and drinking have no place in his life — he's never drunk a drop, he says.

"I like to spend my time on useful things," he adds.

"Whatever I achieve now, I'm thankful to Singapore. So I feel that I need to do something to give back to society."

Address: Hong Xing Handmade Fishball and Meatball, 115 Bukit Merah View Hawker Centre, #01-07

kimberlylim@asiaone.com