Singapore — You can call him Dr Porn. In Thai, “porn” means “blessing. Since April, TV host Pornsak Prajakwit has been applying his new licence to practise as a traditional Chinese medicine or TCM physician.
The Thai born celeb-turned-sinseh told Lianhe Zaobao about his new profession, in an interview published on Wednesday (Oct 13). Pornsak, 39, had been a TV host with Mediacorp since 2007 until he quit earlier this year.
He is licensed by Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine and practises at the Ever Spring Medical Group clinic apprenticed to his long-time mentor, Tan Bee Gawh.
In an interview with ChannelNewsAsia, he revealed that people come into the clinic and ask when he will be there. He is fully aware that many will be more curious to see Pornsak the TV guy than Pornsak the sinseh.
“I guess this excitement will wear off after the first tiem they have a selfie with me,” he told CNA. He emphasised that he has a lot to learn about the practice of TCM as what he had learnt so far in school was mostly theory.
He sounds completely realistic about this choice of a second career. Fame is fleeting and no one can hold back the passage of time, he reckoned. When you say “old” in reference to a doctor, that is positive and can add value, he said, as reported by Straits Times.
“However, an entertainer who is described as ‘old’ has negative connotations,” he said.
Pornsak, who spent a decade studying to be a TCM physician while juggling filming commitments, said: “Having a life skill is better than having wealth.”
He drew a comparison between his path and that taken by many locals in the entertainment industry. “Local artistes are very passive. Their decision to retire is based on whether the television station still wants you,” he said.
“The best thing in life is to have options. I’m grateful that I will be able to survive even if one day I am no longer an artiste,” he said.
Working in his favour is his talent for languages. He is fluent in Mandarin, Teochew, Cantonese, Malay and English, as well as Thai. His unusual choice of TCM as a second career is definitely not for want of success in the entertainment field.
Pornsak has garnered multiple wins in the Star Awards, the most prominent entertainment awards in Singapore. Named Best Variety Show Host in 2015, he’s won the Top 10 Most Popular Male Artiste Award nine times. He was voted Reader’s Digest Most Trusted Entertainer in Asia from 2015 to 2017.
Born in Bangkok, in 1982, to Thai-Chinese mother and a father from mainland China, Pornsak lost his mum when he was five, and his father sent him to Singapore, where he’s had a thoroughly Singaporean education at Northlight School, Clementi Town Secondary and Jurong Junior College.
But now, just look for Dr Porn. He’s just found a different way of making you feel better. /TISG