Ben Yeo has had a career like no other.

The 43-year-old star, who once dreamed of being a policeman, chef and air steward at different points of his life, would never have imagined himself in showbiz before he was scouted on now defunct TV station SPH MediaWorks' talent search Snap in 2001.

According to Ben, who was the guest on this week's episode of Hear U Out, his career as a celebrity was going well until he announced that he was getting married in 2004.

His popularity then apparently took a nosedive because, according to Ben, “all [his] young fans suddenly disappeared”.

Ben, who now has two sons, Javier, 12, and Jarius, nine, with his wife Claudia, persevered and went on to forged his own path.

Not only has he done well for himself in showbiz, he has also found success as an entrepreneur. Ben is the boss of the popular Singapore Chee Cheong Fun brand as well as two F&B stalls. And who can forget his National Day collab with McDonald's?

Ben putting his SHATEC training to good use

Looking back on his journey, Ben joked that there’s a very curious similarity between all the organisations he’s been a part of.

“All of them have either shut down or moved,” he quipped. “Those that moved are safe and still exist today. The first primary school that I went to closed, as did my secondary school. I attended SHATEC, which moved. I was at the police academy when I was in the army. It used to be at Thomson, but now it’s moved too. I worked at a French bakery… All the shops that I’ve worked at are no longer around.”

Ben continued, “Later on, I joined showbiz. I thought that MediaWorks… I truly thought that it wouldn’t shut down, but it did. It merged with Mediacorp [in 2004], which was located at Caldecott for over 40 years, but we’ve moved too. Isn’t it amazing?”

Life lessons with Ben

The two stores — one selling footwear, and the other, fashion — he started years ago have also shuttered.

Ben was only 21 when he started his first business selling streetwear.

“I didn’t know better when I was younger," he said. "I borrowed $20K from my mum and my partner also invested $20K, which is how we started our business. It was the happiest point in my life, but it also the most difficult. On one hand, I was doing something that I liked, but it was tough because some months, I wouldn’t even bring home $400. We had to use the money to buy more stocks.”

“I had to support myself by finding a part-time job. I was a pest control technician… You know the guys who [fumigate places to get rid of mosquitoes]? That’s what I did.”

Ben and his two sons Jarius (in red) and Javier

These setbacks have actually been a source of motivation for Ben.

In 2017, he wasn’t doing well financially and that spurred him to do culinary live streams as he wanted to cement his image as a celeb with a passion for cooking.

“It was tough,” said Ben. “I had some financial problems and I’m very thankful to the good friends around me, my mother-in-law and my mum. I borrowed money from them to make ends meet.”

“I started the channel in hope that I can turn it into a business idea (…) I persevered and saw the fruits of my labour three years later."

Click here to watch the rest of Ben's interview on Hear U Out on meWATCH.

Photos: Ben Yeo/Facebook, Mediacorp