After heating up the nightspots of Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing for 11 years, party figure Vinnie Quek is back home as the director of marketing and entertainment at Zouk.

It was a riot growing up. You name it, I’ve done it. I loved playing with fire. I had this letter of complaint from the community saying “Your son is like the devil,” I remember because I had it framed. I’m a lot calmer now; it’s out of my system.

I was a pilot for two years before realizing that I had a fear of dying. Dying alone is fine, but the weight of being responsible for 150 passengers? I’d rather be responsible for them partying.

I got my start at the original That CD Shop at Tanglin Mall: We were the go-to people for anything cool and funky in ‘96. I use music as a marketing tool to target specific groups of people. I have a knack for it—if I feel it, I can sell it. Not many people listen to jazz, but if they do, you know they have a different level of understanding.

I deejay as well. To sell the music, you’ve got to know the music. I had these nights, Darkroom Boogie nights in Hong Kong that we built from scratch. We pushed deep, minimal tech house; not bleepy stuff, but deep, organic and sexy grooves.

I’m still rediscovering Singapore. When I left, Kitaro couldn’t come in because he had long hair, having more than three people congregating outside was considered an illegal gathering, it was totally taboo for a homosexual to be out, but now they celebrate it. It’s more lax, Singapore’s moved forward.

With the IRs and the money that’s coming in, the scene will flourish. The boys and their toys aren’t even here yet like the super yachts, the private planes. When they come in, it’s going to be a carnival. I can see how it’s going to go in the next five years if we get this right.

The perfect nightspot have a crowd of like-minded people partying in the same room. There’s energy, there’s fun and no one judges. You can think of me as a shaman or a witch doctor. The feeling of being able to move a thousand people with your music is incredible.

Music shapes us, it defines who we are. When you like a certain type of music, it means you have a certain lifestyle. Music, fashion and lifestyle; it’s a whole package. When money comes first and passion later, it changes the whole perspective. If you believe in what you do, push for it, and it’ll go through.

I indulge in everything. Food, partying, I even have a shoe fetish, I think it’s a serious problem. When I moved back, I had six suitcases with 50 pairs of shoes.

Once you have a taste for the finer things, it’ll never be the same. “In life, you have to try everything once. If you don’t like it, don’t do it again. If you like it, pursue it,” my dad used to say.