Posted on September 28 2023
We were thrilled to team up with old mate & long time Sure supporter; Ronny Chieng on a T-shirt to commemorate his phenomenal achievement of selling out the MCA on his lightning fast stand up tour of Singapore and Australia.
One of the best things about stand up, similarly to skateboarding, you get brought together with a lot of vastly different people that share a common unifying interest. I met Ronny at one of his very first few gigs, when he was "the real life" Ronny Chieng International Student. Even from the start he had "something" that made him shine out. His delivery and cadence was so good. It was like he was cheating. Plus the fascinating angle he viewed the world was just so entertaining.
Best of all, he was very polite.
He quickly eclipsed everyone on the very competitive Melbourne open mic scene and it was pretty clear he was going "to make it". But to see what he has achieved with that "something", to become one of the very best in the world, it's been awe inspiring to watch.
Best of all, he's still very polite!
(except on social media)
We shared countless gigs in the grimiest of Melbourne pubs and giggled like idiots making podcasts in my apartment. They were some pretty fun times in my memory with a lot of excitement and energy.
However our friend Jonathon Schuster reminded me the other day, after an "all time" gig whilst all the other comics patted each other on the back for the great night, reassuring each other we were "killing it". Ronny gazed over the venue, which admittedly was not shy of cockroaches and lamented "If I'm here doing this in a year, kill me". I'm laughing again just typing it. This dude.
However, in looking for old photos, I found this clip... it all made sense.
We were mucking about in the playground while Ronny was eying the Olympics.
In retrospect, it shouldn't be a surprise he returned to Melbourne and performing here. But either way, it's pretty sick.
Ronny has always loved the various Sure t-shirts of Melbourne landmarks that Callum Preston has done for us over the years. After some heated WhatsApp sessions we nailed down what Ronny would like.
(Unfun fact : Ronny HATES grey t-shirts).
A few emails later, Callum comes through in record time with this beautiful rendition of the arena.
"It's what I was envisioning, but better" - Ronny
"Exceeded Ronny Chieng's expectations" should be Callum's entire bio. It's all you need to know.
Fixed it.
It's a bit of a badge of honour for a Melbourne Comedian to have their show advertised on a tram... having extra trams to get to your show is hilarious.
(I'm almost certain no Spencer St tram, as pictured above, goes anywhere near Ronny's gig though)
My main concern for the project was just making sure Ronny thought the t-shirt was cool. So he would be proud of it. An added bonus was that at the show the T's were a hit.
One long term employee of the arena was kind enough to let me know it was her favourite t-shirt anyone had done for a show there, "No one has done anything like this before, I can't believe it".
Even had some previous customers in the line up! Sorry for the creeping photo mate. Cheers for the support.
Started at the bottom, now Ronny is here. So rad!
To cosign our project together so hard literally brought a tear to my eye.
Another Sure regular, Nick Cody killed it opening for Ronny.
Thanks being so generous with your incredible success Hannah & Ronny. It's very appreciated.
