NEW YORK—Imagine only having to work four months out of the year by throwing wild parties for thousands, and spending the rest of your time traveling the world.
The party thrower and now novice hotel owner, Robert Chan—also known as Toshi—was not always so popular.
Chan is an only child; he grew up as a first generation Chinese-American in San Francisco. His father owned a grocery store in Chinatown. “My childhood was hard, but I don’t think it was different from any other immigrant family that came with not a lot of money,” he said.
Chan went to a Catholic high school, where most of the student population was Italian. “No one called me by my first name. All the other kids had real names, but I was only Chan,” he said.
Chan was good with numbers, good with words, but bad with people. He went to Columbia University to study mathematics; he was unrecognized at his high school reunion.
So why did he begin throwing parties?
Chan left for New York, unhappily and quietly, at age 17. He wanted to change himself, start over in a new city. Upon arrival, he started going by the nickname “Toshi,” the name of the most popular guy at his high school.
He didn’t adopt Toshi’s personality, but began throwing parties at Columbia with the new vibe that came with the name.
At first, all went well. Chan made friends, girls talked to him, he wasn’t alone anymore. His parties were the events to go to on campus. As time went by, however, the parties became larger, wilder, and more rampant.
They started raising safety concerns, and Chan was expelled in his senior year.
Luckily for Chan, his freshman year internship at Wall Street led to a job training offer.
Without finishing school, he was offered a part-time job at Citibank. Chan went directly to the bank’s training program and became a trader.
As a twenty-something, he suddenly controlled billions of dollars every day and received a promotion within five years.
“Trading is not so much [based] on raw intelligence, it’s about how quickly you make decisions that will limit your losses,” Chan said. “I was good at video games; it’s not so different from that.”
But Chan’s communication skills were still not ripe. “I used to think if you made money you’re the most important person in the world,” he said. He often disrespected his co-workers and seniors on Wall Street, considering his ideas more efficient than others’.
“I couldn’t see myself moving up because I didn’t have the people skills,” he said. “I didn’t have the maturity to be a team player.” Chan felt that he was still young and wanted to explore his interests. And just like that, he decided to pursue an acting career.
“Everyone thought I was crazy to leave Wall Street to become an actor,” he joked. “And they were right.”
Chan had never acted before, but for the ensuing years he put his heart on the line for just about every audition he could find, receiving little in return.
It was 10 years before he booked his first significant role in a short ABC series.
When he found out he got the part, Chan told every soul that he knew, from close friends and acquaintances to people he saw on the street.
