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That Papa: Joel Sadler

Family LifePost Category - Family LifeFamily Life - Post Category - That PapaThat Papa

This month’s That Papa is Joel Sadler, co-founder of MADE, a marketing and design company based in Hong Kong. When Joel is not busy art directing or photographing clients, he is busy spending time with the ladies in his life, his wife Sarah and his five-month old daughter, Beatrix. When Beatrix was only a month old, Joel went to Africa to photograph for a Hong Kong fashion brand and charity called Wildbond, an organization that works on the conservation of elephants, rhinos and big cats.  On his journey back to Hong Kong, he was involved in a car accident in Kenya and was hospitalised for six weeks, three of which were spent in a hospital in Africa. He has recently recovered is all about getting in quality time with his wife, but especially bonding with his little Beatrix. He’s also kindly taken the time to do an interview with us where he tells us how he and his wife decided on his daughter’s name, his favorite things about being a dad, and how his daughter made it very clear that he should never leave her side again.

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Can you tell us a bit about your background? What brought you to Hong Kong?

I was born in the UK, in Lewisham, raised in Devon and Cornwall and then returned to London for five years before moving East. I knew at a very young age that I wanted to live outside of the UK and spent much of my time either travelling or working overseas trying to work out where I wanted to be. Hong Kong seemed to offer the right blend of everything I was looking for, and the last six years have proved that to be true.

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Can you tell us about your company and what you do?

MADE stands for Marketing & Design. While we offer the services of a traditional creative agency, we also offer marketing strategy and consultation, as well as brand management. We brought the services together because we saw a lot of start ups and overseas businesses coming to Hong Kong, and knowing how expensive it is to setup here, we felt we could offer a cost effective solution for those fledgling businesses.

We saw the business model working in Europe and US, but no one was really offering that in Hong Kong. Three years on, and we work with a great mix of brands, big and small, from Johnnie Walker, L’Oreal, Kiehl’s, and Swarovski to the home grown Blackfish, Pacsafe, Wildbond, Neo Health and restaurants such as Sumac and the Phoenix. They all use our services differently, and that keeps the work fun and engaging.

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How did you find out your wife was pregnant?

I had my suspicions from quite early on, but we didn’t actually confirm until about six weeks. We were at home in our very small apartment in Sai Ying Pun and immediately started looking for new places to live.

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What was your reaction to the news?

Apprehension, if I am brutally honest. I was two years in to running my own company, and the first years of any business are tough. The idea of having the added responsibility of a baby filled me with a lot of fear. But then that turned to resolve and kick started me into a crazy period of work and preparation, house hunting, moving, decorating and home making.

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How did you choose your daughter’s name? (Beatrix Madeleine McKenzie)

Some might call it arguing, others debate. My grandmother was incredibly important to me so I have always been resolute that my daughter would be called Madeleine. Sarah didn’t quite feel the same, and she made a good point–her abbreviated name would simply be Mad and Sad. Sarah painted pictures in my mind of our future baby, weeping over missed phone calls from boyfriends in years to come and being likened to her namesake. McKenzie is an important family name for Sarah, so we agreed to include both family names as middle and third names.

The first name, however, took a long time to come. We both arrived at it of our own accord, and then it just felt right. We had also waited to get to know her before giving her a first name, and from day one, she showed herself to be a curious cat. Beatrix is originally from the Latin Viatrix, meaning voyager, and I have a suspicion she will want to see a lot of the world.

 

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How was your experience of changing the first diaper?

I think I managed to wrap more of the new nappy around my own arm and less around the baby.

How hands-on were you during the birth process?

I was there for almost the entire thirty-two hours preceding the birth, and was then goose-stepped out the operating theatre as the midwife realised I was trying to follow her in. That was hugely disappointing, as I didn’t get to be there for the final moment.

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What do you hope your daughter gets from you and what do you hope she doesn’t get?

I hope she finds contentedness and appreciation of the world around her because that’s what keeps me happy. As for the negative side of me, I can be very stubborn and strong-willed which needs to be delicately managed. 

What’s your favourite part of your parenting routine?

Simply entertaining her. If I could, I would do it all the time. And I must confess, I’ve even woken her from a nap to get some more smile time.

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Who plays good cop and bad cop between you and your wife?

She’s only three months old so we haven’t had a chance to define that one yet. I think I’ll be the bad cop, but I have been unequivocally told that Beatrix will have me wrapped round her little finger, and I’ll be letting her get away with murder.

Favourite baby-friendly places / activities in Hong Kong?

We now live in Shek O purely so we can be by the beach, which is an endless source of entertainment for us all.

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Do you plan to have more kids?

I haven’t so far but I think somebody else has some pretty strong ideas on the matter.

How do you keep the romance alive after having a kid?

Tough one to answer. In the three months since Beatrix was born, so far I have spent six weeks in hospital following a car crash in Kenya, three of which were in Africa. I only came home from hospital very recently, and although romance might have been lacking in the last few months there is plenty of love in the house now that we’re all reunited.

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What’s the hardest part of being a dad in Hong Kong?

The distance from Bea’s cousins. 

What’s the best part of being a dad in Hong Kong?

Being a Dad just rocks no matter where you are. It helps that I love this city though.

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Who does your daughter look like, you or your wife?

My eyes. Sarah’s nose.

What’s your favourite characteristic of your baby?

Everything is new and amazing to her, and that’s just wonderful to witness and be a part of. She loves mornings and is so happy to see us when she wakes up,

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How old does your daughter have to be before she can date?

Come again?

What do you know now that you wish you knew before becoming a dad? Biggest lesson learned?

I don’t think there has been anything utterly profound, but I have come to realise that I over-worry about the most ridiculous things. Bea has given me a lot of perspective, and that has sharpened my focus.

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What’s the funniest parenting story you can share?

My first week after the accident had seen me holed up in a small cottage hospital in the Northern Kenya. There, they had been afraid to remedy my dislocated leg for fear that it would make the fracture in my hip worse, so decided to leave it until I reached a better hospital. Getting me relocated to Nairobi took six days to organise, and eventually the task was given to the flying doctors to transport me. Spending an hour strapped to a stretcher in a very small plane that took off from a grass runway with a dislocated femur is quite simply the most painful thing I will ever experience.

Despite the heady mix of drugs they were using on me, the pain was incredible. The only thought continuously running through my mind to soothe myself was a promise to my daughter that I would return safe and sound to her. Another week and a half later and two days after the operation I required on my return, I was finally getting to hold Beatrix in my hospital bed. My beautiful wonderful angel of a daughter who I had been longing to see so much, gave me one of the biggest and most adorable wide-mouthed grins imaginable, and then grabbed hold of my IV where it met the skin and proceeded to bend it 180 degrees backwards. As my face contorted in sheer agony, Beatrix began to giggle in hysterics. Sarah is adamant that’s it was her way of telling me I am to never leave her side again.

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How has having kids changed the way you define work?

I genuinely love my work and have always put it first before anything else, but that has changed now and the priorities shift. You just have to find the right balance.

Do you have any tips for soon-to-be dads in Hong Kong?

Don’t get stuck in a hospital in another country, and don’t miss out on any opportunity to spend with your child. 

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Favourite date night spots with just your wife?

Our balcony. And I think I can speak for Sarah as well on this one. Our view, our music, our food, our rules, our home, it’s us and we don’t need anything more. Failing that, Trattoria Monte Verde on high street. Their duck ragout and home made Gnocchi is incredible.

All the photos of Joel taken above are courtesy of the extremely talented Elizabeth Surtees-Roberts of Lumo Photography get in touch with her at [email protected].

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