Chuando Tan has to avoid showing his passport in public. Not because of anything suspicious. Because nobody believes the date of birth on it.
The Singaporean model and former pop star turned 60 last Tuesday and looks, by most reasonable estimates, about half that.
Thick hair, clear skin, a physique that suggests the gym is not optional.
His Instagram following of more than two million people exists largely because the internet cannot get over the gap between his face and his birth certificate.
“If the situation allows, I will find ways not to reveal my age,” Tan said.
“It’s not that I’m ashamed of my age, but I just want to avoid all the explanations.”
Hotel check-ins and duty-free counters are, apparently, where things get awkward.
“I always try to quickly change the subject or pretend I didn’t hear what they said.”
From 1980s pop ballads to 2020s thirst traps
Tan started modelling in Singapore in the 1980s before moving into music and performing pop ballads. The pivot to Instagram-era fame came later, built on gym selfies, beach photos and restaurant visits that collectively make the case that ageing is, for some people, entirely optional.
To mark his 60th, he posted photos of himself perched on the bonnet of his Jeep Wrangler holding balloons, alongside a reflection that read more like philosophy than a birthday caption.
“Today, on my 60th birthday, I am reminded that time is the only real wealth,” he wrote. “Each sunrise arrives as an inheritance, not a guarantee. The wiser path now is simple: return daily to nature and sunlight, and align myself with what endures.”
He also wished for world peace. Sixty will do that to you.
The routine behind the results
Tan works out three times a week, one and a half hours per session. He’s previously said compound exercises are essential as you age, to protect against muscle and testosterone loss. Both, he claims, are responsible for anti-ageing.
His diet is disciplined but not rigid. The regular rotation is sliced fish and vegetables in clear soup with white rice, steamed or grilled chicken with rice and vegetables, and sliced beef with noodles. At weekends, he eats whatever his friends are eating.
“I don’t feel under pressure to stick to the diet,” he said.
Beyond the physical, Tan believes mindset matters as much as macros.
“Genes play a big part for sure,” he told Creatorzine. “And apart from the usual advice to eat healthily and exercise regularly, I think the last factor is just as important. You are what you think. How you feel on the inside will eventually become you, literally.”
Why it matters
Tan’s story plays well on social media for obvious reasons, but it also reflects a growing category of creator content built around age-defying fitness and lifestyle.
Accounts that centre on looking younger than you are generate enormous engagement, particularly among male audiences over 35 who are increasingly targeted by wellness and anti-ageing brands.
At 60, with two million followers and the kind of engagement most creators half his age would envy, Tan sits comfortably in a space where fitness content meets curiosity content.
The question isn’t really how he does it. It’s how long the internet stays fascinated by the answer.
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