From TV host to sinseh: Pornsak will see you now at the TCM clinic
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From TV host to sinseh: Pornsak will see yous now at the TCM dispensary
From existence a newly-minted TCM medico to live-streaming products on Facebook, he'southward been keeping busy out of the limelight. CNA Lifestyle schedules an appointment with "Dr Porn".
(Photo: Kelvin Chia)
24 May 2022 06:30AM (Updated: 08 Aug 2022 xi:42AM)
There's no mistake that Pornsak Prajakwit, ameliorate known to many as simply Pornsak, is over the moon about the latest evolution in his life.
"Yes, finally! Oh my god, finally!" the 39-yr-old TV personality interjected, earlier we could even terminate our question during a phone interview from his car.
"I recollect I'll just stay in the motorcar. My laughter is too boisterous and I may scare the patients," he quipped.
And by patients, he meant that literally. In Apr, he finally got his traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) certification, announcing his newly minted sinseh condition on Instagram.
"Hashtag: Dr Porn! Hashtag: Licence to do!" he declared, while flashing his licence from the Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine.
'WHICH DAY IS PORNSAK GOING TO Be HERE?'
Yep, "Dr Porn" – which means "approval" in Thai, giddy – is now in the house. Or the Ever Spring Medical Group clinic, to be precise, where he's practising equally a full-time TCM physician, along with his long-time mentor Tan Bee Gawh.
"People come into the clinic and ask: Which mean solar day is Pornsak going to be here?" said the Thailand-born, Singapore-based artiste. (For the record, he tries to come in every day.)
"I do realise that they may be curious to see not Pornsak the host, merely Pornsak the sinseh. I estimate this excitement volition wear off after the first time they have a selfie with me."
I have to brand sure I tin can cure them. They are non going to come dorsum to me for future ailments if afterwards the first or second time, they're still non okay.
Sure, patients may be eager for the novel experience of having their pulse taken by a familiar face up on TV, but Pornsak emphasised that his glory condition actually makes him work even harder.
"I accept to brand sure I tin can cure them. They are not going to come back to me for future ailments if afterwards the first or second time, they're yet non okay. It's not going to work that way," he said matter-of-factly.
So has he swapped the microphone for acupuncture needles for good? Pornsak shared that he would want to be Tan's apprentice "for the next five to eight years because at that place are simply so many things to larn", if she allows it.
"Most of what I learned in schoolhouse is theory-based, so this is a chance for me to experience the life of a sinseh."
Inbound A NEW WORLD OF LIVE-STREAMING
Pornsak hasn't been on TV for a while (the Left Profile artiste'due south contract with Mediacorp concluded in January) only that doesn't mean you've seen the last of him outside the dispensary.
In fact, he is putting his hosting skills and multilingualism to good employ equally his mentor, Tan, has always advocated giving back to social club. "The infinitesimal I received my licence to practice, she asked me, why don't we exercise something online together?" he said.
So they decided to alive-stream gratuitous TCM consultations – no dubiousness calling on his experience equally a alive-streamer on MDADA, the platform started by Pornsak, fellow artiste Michelle Chia and celebrity hairstylist Addy Lee, to sell products on Facebook Live. In fact, the trio has been alive-streaming four times a week since the platform took off in September last year.
"Only last Lord's day, we live-streamed past midnight and there were still people asking us nearly certain products. I had to tell them, eh guys, it'due south 3am. I recall we should all go habitation to sleep," he quipped.
Y'all may too have caught his live-streams for clients such as Lazada and Behemothic. "It could exist 2 or three sessions of live-streaming a solar day. Information technology'due south a brand-new world of alive-streaming. It's very exciting."
TCM GOES Live
At the time of our interview, the doctor duo has done two alive-streaming sessions on tcmlivesg via Facebook Alive. Each hourly session kicks off with a topical discussion for the first 15 to 20 minutes, and is followed past a "free-for-all Q&A session" for forty minutes.
The questions from users run the whole gamut, from paediatric massages to menstrual cramps, migraine, ankle sprains and even lung cancer.
This is where Pornsak'due south hosting background helps to make esoteric topics such as "chi" relatable to the users. With him switching effortlessly and fluently between Mandarin and English, even non-Chinese audiences such as those from Indonesia and Korea have been able to tune in every Thursday at 9pm.
READ: How quondam actress Jacelyn Tay found her true calling in life as a health double-decker
Pornsak admitted that it hasn't been piece of cake prepping for the online consultations. "That is the function that really tests the physician on his or her cognition considering you don't know what's going to exist asked next. I have to practise a lot of grooming, whereas Dr Tan has been preparing for this for the past four decades," he said.
But he has been relishing the experience. "Beingness online has made everything borderless. I'm literally a doctor without borders now!" he laughed.
He is also cracking to right the misconception that TCM remedies ofttimes involve spending "hundreds and thousands of dollars" on cordyceps and ginseng. "But if yous watch our alive sessions, you lot'll realise that the exercises and massages that we teach are free of charge. What we're doing is providing pre-emptive measures. We are helping people who may be troubled by minor ailments to treat themselves at habitation."
THE SINSEH JOURNEY
Pornsak met his mentor when he began his career equally a radio DJ dorsum in the early 2000s. "She would go on air every Th for half an hr," he recalled. "My slot was right after her evidence and we would chat."
When Pornsak'due south father adult a swollen left paw that specialists in Thailand and Singapore could non treat, he took him to Tan as the last resort. The incident was a game-changer for the twenty-something host as afterwards only i session with a few needles, his father'south hand "reverted to normal".
"2 days afterwards, he could play the erhu. What is this magic? Teach me!"
That was 15 years agone. Armed with a quest for cognition – and likewise as an option for a back-upwards career – Pornsak decided to explore the TCM path.
"From her, I found out well-nigh the TCM degree from Guangzhou Academy. And then I signed up for it and, surprise, surprise, I really lasted the course," said Pornsak, hinting at the gruelling journey he undertook to earn his certification via distance learning.
The first 3 "very dry out and irksome" years of the form were trying. And early starts and belatedly ends to his working days didn't assist either.
READ: 'I hated how I was': How Andie Chen fought a medical condition to become an activeness star
"It'due south a seven-year course but it took me about nine years to graduate considering during the fifth twelvemonth, I got a call from a Channel 8 executive producer. She told me at that place was a travelogue that she would really like me to host," said Pornsak. That would be the laurels-winning TV testify Food Source, which required him to put off his studies for a yr.
In fact, he ended upward disrupting his TCM course twice – the 2d time to shoot 2 more seasons of Nutrient Source.
It all worked out in the end. The TV bear witness won him an award and several nominations – and he fifty-fifty managed to obtain a master's degree in early on childhood teaching from Monash Academy.
"I am constantly reminding myself that I have to keep learning, especially in this solar day and age, where everything is evolving and then fast," he said.
PRACTISING ACUPUNCTURE ON COLLEAGUES
But he hadn't forgotten about his TCM studies, of course, and went back to finish the final two years.
So, did friends and colleagues flock to him for TCM tips and remedies while he was studying? Well, non quite.
In fact, he would attempt to persuade boyfriend artistes to permit him practise acupuncture on them. "You don't have to come to me only when you're sick. I can help to boost your chi and immunity then you won't fall sick!" he remembered telling them, only to be jokingly told they might do so once he received his licence.
"The measure of the friendship, right?" he laughed.
He did succeed on a few occasions – Pornsak convinced one glory colleague dealing with hair loss (who shall forever remain unnamed, he quipped) to let him stick eight needles on his scalp.
READ: 'I feared losing myself': How Priscelia Chan constitute promise after 'torturous' two-twelvemonth health ordeal
"I wasn't very skilful then and then the get-go few times, he could feel pain," said Pornsak. "After doing information technology continuously, he told me, eh there'southward baby hair! It took three to 4 months, one or two sessions a calendar week. But the first few times were honestly simply trial and fault!"
Despite this promising new detour into the world of TCM, Pornsak isn't completely shutting the doors on his showbiz career.
"It's not good day forever," he said. "My main focus at present is to do my part every bit a TCM dr.. Also, I desire to work harder to increase my online presence. I'm not sure what the hereafter plans of Mediacorp lie. Just I know what my own future plans are. I can work towards my own plans outset."
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Source: https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/entertainment/pornsak-tcm-doctor-tv-host-mediacorp-240411
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