My Perfect Weekend: Bar visits, long runs, pole dance classes for gin ambassador Charmaine Thio

Hendrick’s Gin Southeast Asia regional brand ambassador Charmaine Thio. PHOTO: HENDERICK'S GIN

WHO: Charmaine Thio, 29, spreads the gospel of gin as the regional brand ambassador for Hendrick's Gin South-east Asia. Before taking on the role in 2018, she was at pioneering cocktail bar 28 Hongkong Street, where she worked her way up from bar back to bar captain over 3½ years.

"Travelling is a big part of my job, but now that I'm not flying around the region for training sessions or doing guest shifts at bars, I try to keep a regular exercise schedule from Monday to Thursday.

Friday is my rest and recovery day. It's a day when most people wind down, but it's still a workday for me when I go out and visit bars to stay on top of things and see what they have been up to.

In the next couple of weeks, with the newest Hendrick's Gin expression Midsummer Solstice being launched, there are over 50 bars coming up with their own cocktails using the floral spirit.

I'm very much looking forward to trying the different cocktail creations but personally, I think the new gin would be amazing in a Cosmopolitan.

Over the past decade, between university and working in nightlife, I've not been much of a morning person, so Saturdays are my one day to sleep in and indulge a bit.

But it has also become my "long run" day, where I do runs ranging from 10 to 18km. It's something I got into during the circuit breaker, when runs were the only chance to get out of the house for fresh air.

In the past, the thought of doing a half marathon was unimaginable, but I'm going to try that when those start again.

Sundays are a bit of a wild card. Sometimes I do brunch with my mum and sister, and we have dim sum quite often.

When times were normal, we would also go to the theatre because my family had season tickets, or we would go for one of the big-name musicals at Marina Bay Sands and make a night of it by getting dressed up and having pre-show cocktails.

Now in the afternoons, I usually go for pole dance classes. I used to be a cheerleader and really enjoy pushing my body to do stunts, so I suppose pole dancing is the closest thing to that. It's scratching an old cheerleading itch.

Because the studio is super close to Keong Saik Road, I usually pop in to No Sleep Club for a coffee before or after class.

Sundays are also typically industry nights when most people are off. So that's when I meet up with my industry friends and we visit the people who are still working on the day at the likes of MO Bar and Heart of Darkness."

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.