S’pore stunt driver, 48, traded 5-figure salary for dream job, chose not to settle down as it'd be 'unfair' to family

In 2006, The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift entered cinemas in Singapore.

29-year-old Jason Tan was running his own marketing business, which he'd started eight years ago.

But the movie threw his life off course.

Tan recalled watching the movie 10 to 12 times over the span of two years, up until one night, when he finally sat down and told himself, "This can't go on, I think I want to learn drifting."

"It's very cliche, but that's literally what happened," Tan, now 48, said with a laugh.

Not wanting to waste any time, he went to a car dealer the next day and bought himself a second-hand drift car.

What followed was a blur: travelling to Malaysia solely to learn drifting, joining Formula DRIFT (a drifting competition) in 2009, and becoming Singapore's only professional stunt driver.

No experience

Tan didn't learn his craft from formal lessons.

Instead, he learnt what he could from shows like The Fast and The Furious. As he could not practise in Singapore, he would drive to a carpark in Malaysia to do so. He did this two to three times a week.

"My mother was so worried when I would leave home in the middle of the night. She thought I got involved with a gang," Tan joked.

Soon, Tan started to toy with the idea of making a career out of his hobby.

He started with holding stunt driving clinics at the Singapore Turf Club, and giving tactical driving lessons to officers from the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB).

One and a half years later, a Singtel TV commercial opportunity presented itself to Tan.

This kicked off his career in stunt driving proper. In 2016, he decided to leave his stable role in marketing to pursue stunt-driving full-time.

Tan admitted that it "didn't make sense at the time".

He'd walked away from a five-figure salary, trading it for “freelancing” gigs that barely brought in a few hundred dollars a month.

Tan told me that he knew it was a big risk, but he felt that he was still young enough to bounce back if things didn’t work out.

As he was single at the time, it gave him all the more reason to take the chance to explore and give himself the permission to do something bold.

Reality hits

But not long after, the weight of his decision set in and Tan was hit with the reality of his dream job.

He was not earning as much as before, and he had to be frugal and learn to "skimp and save" as a result.

Today, he's able to pay the bills. But unlike his friends, he is unable to commit to things like loans and investments, which he sees as a "huge sacrifice".

His job is also a major reason why he hasn't settled down.

The income he earns from stunt driving is not enough for him to support a family, he explained. "I feel like if I settle down and have children at this point, it's unfair to them," he told me candidly.

He added that settling down would mean having someone who is willing to support him in his unconventional career.

Thankfully, his girlfriend has been a reliable pillar of support for him.

But there are times when he feels guilty, as she earns far more than he does.

Action scenes in dramas have been scarce lately, and as a result, he hasn’t had work for the past two months.

"During times when work starts to get quiet, I do start to get scared and worried," he confessed.

"It is painful to not be able to bring in money, but still believe in your passion."

Tough times

To give me a glimpse of what a day on set looks like for him, Tan pulled out his phone to show me a clip from Mediacorp drama When Duty Calls 2.

It was an accident scene which required Tan to flip the car over to make it look like the car had been shot.

Just as I was commenting about how cool it looked, Tan admitted something unexpected: he had actually miscalculated the ramp height that day.

"I was too focused on trying to make the car flip nicely, to make the scene look good. There was no need for the ramp to be that high,” he admitted.

As a result, the landing was rough and was much harder than intended.

Though the shot made it to the final cut, Tan admitted that he felt unwell due to the impact. “I almost got knocked out, and it took me a while to get over the shock.”

“I did achieve what the director wanted, but it was at the expense of my safety.”

That particular stunt, which appeared on screen for just about one and a half seconds, took him one to two months of preparation.

“It may look simple, but many small things come into play to create that perfect shot,” Tan said.

The job also comes with a mental toll that Tan finds hard to shrug off.

Before performing a stunt, accident scenes in particular, his only thoughts are of everything that could possibly go wrong.

Unlike most people, he can’t afford to be optimistic. His job requires him to anticipate failure at every turn so that he can prepare for them and reduce the chances of things going wrong.

Comes with sacrifices

In some ways, Tan also feels as if he sacrificed his youth for this dream job.

Reflecting on his career path, Tan laughed wryly and said, "Actually, I could have just looked for a corporate job, knowing that I would have a guaranteed amount of money going into my bank when I go into work each day."

But he said he had already set the expectations for himself after making the career switch to stunt driving. "I already knew that this wasn't going to make me money, it wasn't going to make me rich," he said.

He admits that he feels pressured, in a sense, to make it big in the industry, as he feels that he needs to justify his choice to leave stability behind.

During times when work is quiet, he has had moments where he thought, "I can't keep doing this”, and was close to giving up several times.

“Sometimes, when you compare yourself to your friends who are earning lots more than you, you start to ask yourself, why am I doing this?”

Taking into account the safety risks and the financial instability,  Tan tells me he does not think a career in stunt driving is worth it.

Though people may romanticise pursuing their dreams, Tan stressed that the decision is not one to be made lightly.

Beyond the thrill and dopamine rush of making such a big change, he feels there are several practical and personal considerations one has to weigh before taking the leap.

"You have to be prepared for sacrifices"

15 years into his career, Tan remains Singapore's only pro stunt driver.

Beyond cars, he has expanded his skillset and learnt how to do stunts on a motorcycle as well.

But with the recent scarcity of gigs, he fears that he is at a standstill in his career, and has been looking into side hustles as a safety net.

Despite it all, he has no regrets and would make the same decision all over again.

He added that even when he was earning five figures, he did not feel as fulfilled as when he started his career in stunt driving.

"I love it," he said simply.

"I love the life on set, where I am able to coordinate stunts, and then eventually being able to watch the final product come to life on the big screen," Tan gushed, his voice flushed with pride.

I could tell he had a genuine love and passion for his work.

His eyes lit up, and excitement shone through as he scrolled through clips of his past work and explained the various stunts to me.

I asked him how he felt after he saw his very first commercial on-screen, the one that jump-started his career. He smiled with a hint of pride and said:

“Solid.”

It was the first time he did a stunt professionally, and he felt "so nervous" then. But it gave him a sense of fulfilment that, despite everything, he still hasn't given up on.

Top photos via Jason Tan