From the Founder of The Rake & Revolution - Wei Koh's Origin Story

Mark stopped into The Rake & Revolution offices in Singapore to have a chat with long-time friend in the industry, Wei Koh. Despite Wei's outsized influence on and coverage of the men's clothing and watch world, his own origin story is seldom discussed so we decided to tell it on video. Special thanks to the Revolution & The Rake video crew for helping with the video and audio!
See more of The Rake
therake.com/
See more of Revolution
revolutionwatch.com/
See Wei's latest project: Grail Watch
grailwatch.com/

[@eddiewang11]

Can you guys adjust the volume. It’s so low it’s almost inaudible

[@markchodotcom]

We'll keep an eye out for it next time, it is a little softer than our normal videos. Sorry!

[@eddiewang11]

@@markchodotcom I think there is a volume boost function built into KZbin so you should be able to correct for it fairly easily

[@markchodotcom]

@@eddiewang11 Sadly not, I checked. You can trim and add visual effects and backing music onto existing footage but you cannot adjust volume.

[@eddiewang11]

@@markchodotcom thanks for the effort!

[@markchodotcom]

@@eddiewang11 No problem, sorry, I really wish I could fix it in YT for you. I hope you find a way to hear it properly.

[@freakymalik]

Hi, I'm hoping you guys, and especially Wei get to read this: thank you for this awesome conversation, I really struggled my whole life with feeling lost at my age point; the Rake has been instrumental in showing me the beauty of getting older and more mature, with grace and style. In this day and age so much pressure is put on quick success, that we lose sight on long term plans and get discouraged by shortcomings created by our expectations. What you two do with the Armoury and The Rake/Revolution is aspirational enough to make us want to elevate our situation, without doing so for hype. Thanks again and I really hope we could get an Italian version of The Rake. Cheers!

[@johnnyguitar6697]

Great conversation, guys. Being an avid reader of The Rake, I regret not meeting Wei Koh when I was living in Singapore. The man is interesting, and certainly made a success of himself. Some of what he's describing really strikes a chord: when I arrived in Singapore in 2006, there wasn't even one decent shoes shop there. Same for tailoring. So I was really surprised when I cam across the first issues of The Rake. Now, obviously, things are much different, Singapore has become much more stylish, be it for men's fashion, restaurants or bars. World class city through and through.

[@stoneriverwatches]

I really appreciate the interview topic and relaxed style of shooting. As someone who’s just beginning their career in watches, it can be demoralizing to feel stuck at the bottom. This interview and series gives me hope to push on to “make it” one day. Looking forward to part 2!

[@benmoore7946]

I really like this! Please consider making it a running series: Conversations with Mark & Wei. A different topic each month, produce it a little bit; sometimes smoking cigars, sometimes drinking something cool... I'd watch it with great pleasure. You could meet once and film two or three episodes and release them over time.

[@DenzelSmashington]

Second!

[@watch_MrG]

Love to hear Wei’s original story. These two gentlemen are flagships in men’s fashion

[@RebirthBeyond]

Fantastic interview. It's a lot of fun listening to your stories and hope to see a part 2.

[@vr426]

Wei is hilarious. It's a treat to hear him speak! I wish this episode was longer!

[@SinnerAndSaint]

Thanks for this great and very interesting interview! Really love the authentic and outspoken stories of Wei. He's a very experienced and straight forward man. I appreciate that.

[@kabatake]

Love the conversation. We need more of this

[@kelvin.008]

Charming chap Wei Koh, his father, Prof Tommy Koh is well loved in Singapore and globally too!

[@Hoppetakeyama]

Fantastic interview. It’s super cool to learn the origin of Revolution. I recently discovered the Armoury. I’ll be sure to stop by your shop when I visit Hang Kong. Wei is a really cool dude. 💯👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@SKLLC]

Glad I found this channel. I have met many athletes and celebs over my time. I am not the "can I have a photo" kind of person. I did come close to asking Snoop once.... Only now after watching this video, that I am kicking myself for not taking a photo with Wei. What a cool guy. I had the surprise pleasure of meeting Wei outside a clothing store in NY last September. He even asked what watch I was wearing. He was wearing a beautiful black AP RO. I laughed my ass off listening to the way he told this story. And it did cross my mind on several occasions how Wei got into the watch industry. If the moons align, and we all happen to be in NY at the same time, I would love to take you guys out to dinner. Love picking brains of interesting people. Side note, I am interested in "refreshing" my clothing style to suit my age more. I might be quoting my wife. But next time I am visiting NY, I will stop by. Great video!!

[@richienewyen908]

What a sess. Really enjoyed this. A convo between the two experts in what they’re doing

[@rahulramanathan5737]

Fantastic interview! Now we need Mark's back story. Also loved the shout out of Phil 😂

[@StanfordChiou]

I'm digging the shoulders on Wei's jacket.

[@Lassehansen3]

The only bad thing about this video is that it isn't longer 😄 Can't wait for (a hopefully) part two!

[@ericmal5055]

I really enjoyed the conversation. I would love to hear Mark’s origin story.

[@dimitriostsiganis]

That was very enjoyable conversation! Wei is way larger than life character.

[@about_timepieces]

Fantastic chat guys!

[@christianellopm]

Great, genuine video. Awesome.

[@RoosReviews]

Classic fitted clothing always! 🙌🏼🙌🏼

[@DGA-808]

Awesome interview!

[@umq5147]

Awesome awesome awesome Love Wei And wish Marc talked more about his start More please 🤞🏼

[@petersmith5832]

Wei has a strong command of the English language. Great interview.

[@monkeypawism]

Loved it. Let's get Mark's story now!!! Link to Mark's only fans page, please.

[@jongoodman7563]

I bought my first grown up watch from a sea of watches in Singapore in the early 90’s, a two tone submariner knock off. Oh, that I could return again, if nothing else to view things with new eyes. Love everything about Revolution, but remain curious as to when/how Wei learned French plus how he landed on his distinctive vibe/ascetic.

[@real_achimedes]

Great video. Wish Marc went into his origin story tho.

[@Ensorcle]

Part 2!

[@clintonshiells3095]

Just came across this-really interesting interview. Wei-tell me about the bicycles. Which ones are they? What do you do with them? Guess you need to get up really early to ride in Singapore.

[@TheHagestol]

You know you age like fine wine.

[@TheMrverdes]

Legend!

[@Jim58223]

Reupload? Also hope to see part 2.

[@markchodotcom]

Yes, I reuploaded because there was a snafu with the footage that resulted in a video-less section for about a minute, three quarters of the way through the whole interview. I wish I fixed the levels of the audio though, someone pointed out they are a bit soft.

[@CC-mq9iw]

I am all for fuller silhouettes--something reminiscent of the 1930s. Interestingly, I actually have to persuade my tailor to make my garments less fitted. Lol.

[@certainstrength]

Volume is on the lower side. Can this be fixed?

[@markchodotcom]

Sadly not without redoing the video and re-uploading it, sorry :(

[@randlyce]

is the sound this quite that i have to turn the volume of my headphone to 80%?

[@ajaysingh-ls7yp]

Can someone let me know who is sergio and sabastian they are talking about?

[@markchodotcom]

Yes, it's the Barbanera brothers, they run this brand: www.barbanerastyle.com/

[@jackyong815]

Love how Koh slapped Cho in the face at 0:47 SIN vs HKG 1-0

[@ObligatoryPun]

This guy is absolutely hilarious!

[@ffcc7655]

Gotta love Wei 😂

[@TheSunilSom]

The Cigar was Absolutely UNNECESSARY.

[@syahzankudus1904]

2 wrists and 2 watches. That's the way to go.

[@channgaishun]

The video....can't hear

[@markchodotcom]

Sorry, we messed up during editing on audio levels.

[@channgaishun]

@@markchodotcom No worries! Thanks for the effort!

[@starkid20]

Mark + Team - I love Wei, Revolution, Mark and The Armoury but the sound on this is really horrible. And the choppy transition edits on this is ....well, to put it simple is, bad. I am sure that many of us wouldn't mind waiting for this but can you perhaps load this video after it's been corrected?

[@davide8641]

top g

[@100kmp]

Where is the coffee..? only you smoking a cigar? What's going on...

[@ItsNeverTooHot4Leather]

Mark: "You can't really thrift a watch." OHHHHHHH, you sure as heck can! There are boatloads of vintage stores, thrift stores, charity shops, swap meets (swap n' shops), outdoor markets, etc all around the world that sell new/vintage watches. Open your mind, Mark! You'd be surprised what is really out there at affordable prices.

[@markchodotcom]

I think you're right, there are definitely a lot of deals out there at the various spots you mentioned. Eric Ku famously thrifted a JLC Deep Sea for less than 20 bucks. However, I think the days of really good deals are almost over. When I first started collecting, to find great things for even less than a hundred Dollars was absolutely possible but I think now with the much increased awareness of how valuable watches are, it's a lot, lot harder. Anyway, you gave a good reminder to give vintage stores, thrift stores, charity stores, outdoor markets, etc, another try!

[@nl2935]

please dont promote smoking mark.

[@stoicroman9423]

Very stiff and awkward throughout the whole interview