On the shores of Hong Kong’s Pak Nai, Cheung Ka Long shed his fencing lamé and slipped into Dior Men for a fashion shoot with the Vogue Hong Kong team. Excitedly, he revealed that this was a new experience for him. Then, he showed everyone a new tattoo on his right forearm: the Greek goddess of victory, Nike, with an Olympic gold medal behind her head. The tattoo speaks for itself — the Olympic spirit is deeply rooted in Cheung’s heart.
Coat, pants, boots, ring and brooch, all Dior Men.
Affectionately dubbed “World Champion Ka Long” by the people of Hong Kong, Cheung has had his story told many times in the city. When he tells it himself, you can feel his fiery passion for fencing in its purest form. Growing up, he enjoyed playing basketball because of his parents, but he soon fell in love with fencing after his dad enrolled him in a fencing class.
“I started to love fencing when I was in the sixth grade in primary school. Being on the fencing piste is a battle of wits and courage, and I started to feel it back then. I didn’t realise you could become a full-time athlete, but I knew that being a part-time athlete was tough because you had to study and train at the same time. I’ve often heard people say that an athlete’s career is very short, and most people retire in their twenties. Fortunately, fencers are less subjected to age restrictions, and under my coach’s encouragement, I wanted to be a full-time athlete and achieve good results.”
Armed with great ambitions, young Cheung wrote in his sixth-grade yearbook that he wanted to become an Olympic champion. “After I won my Olympic gold medal, my primary school classmates took photos of the yearbook and sent them to me. Now, my dream has finally come true. It’s something I get emotional over.”
When Cheung won gold at the Olympics, he looked extremely calm to the public eye. However, he reveals that he was still processing his win when it happened. “After the game, I told my coach that I couldn’t believe what happened. Later, my emotions began to emerge slowly when I looked back at the competition clips. I felt that I was finally reaping the fruits of my hard work.” After years of training, Cheung shares that most enjoyable and challenging part about fencing is battling your opponent on the piste. “When you successfully decode your opponent’s strategy, you feel happy. But when you can’t find your breakthrough, you feel lost. I only started to mature and think out of the box to explore other possibilities after learning from my failures. However, there was a period of time where I was stubborn when I was young. It was a painful process, I didn’t know how to improve and it seemed like my opponent could see through me.”
The pair of Nike Dunk Lows that Cheung wore to the Olympics also became the talk of the town. There is a quote written on his “battle shoes”, a habit he developed out of his love for basketball. “When I watch NBA, I notice that a lot of basketball players will write different quotes and phrases on their shoes as a reminder to themselves or pay homage to certain people. There was a time when I was so concerned about the results of my competitions that I couldn’t live up to my full potential on the piste, so I constantly felt dissatisfied with my performance. I recalled why I started fencing, so I wrote these words on my shoe to remind myself of that.” As a sneakerhead, Cheung reveals that he owns around 140 to 150 pairs of sneakers at home. “The most memorable pair would be the green Nike Dunk Lows. They mean a lot to me because I brought them to the Tokyo Olympics. I love sneakers because of my dad. He is a basketball player, and the legendary Michael Jordan rose to fame during his time. My sister developed an early love for sneakers, so I naturally started collecting sneakers as a hobby. Up till now, I still remember the first time I felt the urge to buy a pair of sneakers. It was a pair of Nike LeBron James basketball shoes — I thought they looked cool and asked my dad to buy them.
But it was only recently that Cheung truly stepped into the world of fashion. After becoming Dior’s brand ambassador, he has gradually become accustomed to receiving everyone’s attention. Dior Men’s Artistic Director Kim Jones is also a sneakerhead, and he launched the Dior x Air Jordan 1 collaborative collection last year. “I’m delighted to see a luxury fashion brand collaborating with a sports brand, and I’ve also enjoyed the process of styling and trying on different outfits. Everyone only lives once, so I’m glad that I get to try different things. Compared to before, I pay more attention to fashion now. I’ve always liked Dior, so I’m looking forward to learning more about how the brand is developing in other areas.”
Cheung also hopes to open more doors in the realm of sports, “A lot of people question their abilities and not a lot of athletes have been given the opportunity to become the face of a luxury fashion brand. Therefore, I’d like everyone to know that you reap what you sow, so don’t give up that easily.” What does Cheung hope for the future? He shares, “A while ago, I learnt to not care too much about winning or losing, instead, I should enjoy the process as much as possible. Some may think that I need to achieve even better results after winning a gold medal to meet public expectations, but from my point of view, since I already won the prize of my dreams, why can’t I go into future competitions with a more relaxed mindset?”
Translated by Kaitlyn Lai
Photography: Ken Ngan
Styling: Katherine Ho
Makeup Artist: San Chan
Hair Stylist: Kolen But
Set Designer: Victor Wong
Gaffer: Bo Ku
Retoucher: Tung Ng
Photography Assistants: Cliff Chik & Chris Lam
Set Design Assistants: Don Mai & Tsun BoY
Fashion Assistants: Foxla Chiu, Pianca Ngan & Carina Fischer
Editor
Karma Cheung
