Guavapass’ Antonia Da Cruz on Fitness and Travel

Antonia da Cruz

​One thing Guavapass’ Antonia Da Cruz loves more than fitness is travel

What’s your social media profile like?

I was never big on posting on social media. I like to keep to myself. I’m a very private person. If I see something pretty, I post about it. I love travel and photography, and I love going to beautiful places and taking pictures and sharing.

What’s the coolest fashion item you own?

I’d probably say my rose-gold Rolex, which I absolutely love. I wear it with everything. The only issue is that it’s a bit heavy, but it looks awesome. It’s a gift. My parents gave it to me on my 30th.

What do you do at Guavapass?

I do pretty much everything, since we’re only a team of two in Hong Kong. I do customer service, back end. I do business development, corporate partnerships. I do our public relations. I market myself and Guavapass, and I also handle social media and fundraising.

What are your top three websites?

Guavapass. I’d probably say Facebook and either SCMP or CNN – no, actually Bloomberg, because I check my stocks daily. I was in stockbroking, so I used to trade.

What was the last music you downloaded?

I use Sound Cloud, so I stream. I love Sound Cloud. I have several playlists on it. Alex Cruz is my favourite at the moment.

What are your favourite sports brands?

I love Nike and Lululemon. Adidas is also starting to grow on me again. There’s also a lot of local brands like Omberry, Hulu, Rumi Yoga.

Borobudur Temple, taken by Antonia da Cruz during her travels

Where would you most like to live?

I’d love to live in four different countries at different times of the year, if that was possible. Definitely Asia – Hong Kong is home. I lived in Singapore for two years so I’d love to spend some time between both, although I definitely feel Hong Kong is more vibrant. I love Britain as well. I spent a couple of years in school there. I’d love to spend some time in the United States as well. I’ve never lived there.

What’s your most unappealing habit?

I have a lot. I don’t know if I have a real habit per se, but I do get mood swings. I get really grumpy and angry quite a lot, but it could also be because I’m hungry. If I don’t eat, I get “hangry”.

What did you want to be when you were younger?

When I was 18, I read a book called Liar’s Poker by Michael Lewis. And I thought, great, I’ll be a stockbroker. I went into equity sales but prior to that I had no idea. My dad used to ride horses, and as a kid, we would travel and live in Britain and France. I used to think I’d go down that route and do something related to horses. 

What inspires you?

It’s kind of hard to pinpoint just one thing. I guess my dad. I see him waking up at 4.15 every morning, even if he’s had a late night. He’s very disciplined and works hard. The whole disciplined regimen that he’s instilled is important to me.

If you could time travel, where would you like to go?

Back and forth in time? I would love a machine that would travel into outer space or something, way into the future. I’m curious to see how things will pan out. My dad’s always talking about aliens. He watches all these shows on conspiracy theories, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens when they take over the world.

Swimming with whale sharks is on her bucket list. Photo by Getty Images

Favourite destination?

I love travelling. I love going to remote places that few people have been to. I’ve been to Nepal, Tibet, Burma a few times, Mongolia. I went to Madagascar and Iceland last year.

Any travel plans this year?

I’m going to Cebu in May. I’ve been before but this visit I’m going diving with whale sharks, so I’m really looking forward to that. I’ve always wanted to swim with sharks. 

Describe your personal style.

Simple, casual. I don’t really enjoy wearing dresses. Singapore totally changed my mindset. I was in flip-flops going to the office, T-shirts, and going out clubbing in sneakers. In Hong Kong, I do try to make a bit more of an effort, but I wear whatever is comfortable.

Do you have a fitness routine?

It varies every week; it really depends on where I’m going to be. I also play tennis. I love hiking and running.

Who is your legend?

Apart from dad? I’d have to say I admire Elon Musk and Richard Branson.

In this Story: #culture