WHEN Bruneian Steve Lai went to Singapore in 2009, he had no direction and no idea of what he's going to do.

However, one thing Lai knew was that to get the ball rolling, he had to get out of his comfort zone.

That strategy paved the way for him to do so many things he's never imagined.

He become a presenter of Sportscenter on ESPN, involved in the Rugby World Cup 2011 for Astro, featured in a play at the Singapore Repertory Theatre, starred as the voiceover for a cartoon character, and acted in a Chinese drama.

"It's funny where life can lead you," the Singapore-based Lai told The Brunei Times in an e-mail.

When asked how he got to where he is now, Lai said: "Thanks to an incredibly supportive family, I had the opportunity to start with a clean slate, reinvent myself and pretty much try anything."

When he went to Singapore, Lai thought about what he enjoyed doing, what he was good at, and also what might make some money.

"Thankfully, whilst I was in Brunei, I did some presenting for RTB (Radio Televisyen Brunei) which I quite enjoyed. So I thought I would start with that," he said.

Lai began enrolling for voice classes to improve his presenting skills and had decided to try an acting class for fun.

"It turned out, the acting class was equally valuable. Once I'd spent 10 minutes crawling around the flood with strangers pretending to be a monkey, an elephant, and a baby, I became a lot more confident when it came to just being me," he said.

From there, Lai started auditioning for hosting jobs, corporate videos, TV commercials and indy films.

"Pretty much anything that would get me out of my comfort zone and making myself more used to being in front of a camera and people," he explained.

Lai also approached audio houses to lay down demos of his voice to do some voiceover work.

"It's a tough industry though. I've been rejected and turned down more times than I'd like to admit. But you miss 100 per cent of the shots you don't take. So I stuck at it, and have had some modest success," he said.

Lai said that the work he's doing with ESPN and for Astro during the Rugby World Cup 2011 was a "dream come true".

So far, the biggest event he's done was hosting the live broadcast of the Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2011 in December, where 65,000 runners across various distances took part and it went out on eight networks across Asia and Africa.

"It was a fantastic event to be a part of and I'm excited to hear that a half marathon version is coming to Brunei," he said.

Despite his accomplishments, Lai claimed that he is still "a million miles away" from the success of other Bruneians like Paula Malai Ali and Wu Chun.

"I don't know if I'll ever get where they are, but I know I'm going to have to get out of my comfort zone to find out," he said.

Whilst on his day-to-day routine in Singapore, Lai said that it's surprising how little people there know about Brunei, given how close the two countries are, with a pegged currency, share history, and just two hours away by plane.

"But having been here for two years, it's now easier to understand. There's just not a lot of coverage of Brunei in the news and media. So I usually tell people Brunei is Asia's best kept secret and has to be experienced to be appreciated and understood," he added.

Lai is hoping that football club, DPMM FC, will have some success in the upcoming S-League to help "raise the Sultanate's profile and fly the Bruneian flag".

Although he currently is away from Brunei, Lai still has a clear memory of National Day in the country.

"Honestly, my memories of National Day are incredibly hot and sweaty at the National Stadium or along a road somewhere. It was the waiting that was the hardest part, but made easier with having friends around. Of course, the added fun and friction of interacting with other schools," he recalled.

Lai said that once the action started on National Day he was always happy, and would watch the news later in the day to see how it all turned out.

"It amazed me how many people were involved. So many colours and smiling faces. It was great to see how all the small parts we played made the event a whole, and so spectacular," he said.

"Brunei can really do anything it puts its mind to," he concluded.

You can follow Steve on twitter @st_evel_ai.

The Brunei Times