If you mention hong Kong's trend icons, you will definitely be the first to think of Chen Guanxi or Yu Wenle.
But in fact, the Representatives of Hong Kong-style Streets are not only Chen and Yu, especially in South China, another authentic Hong Kong actor Li Cansen has successfully broken through with his distinctive personality and occupied a valuable place in the field of street trends.
Hong Kong actor Lee Chan Sen
Speaking of Li Cansen, many people's first thought is naturally his actor identity, from Director Chen Guo's "Made in Hong Kong", Li Cansen stepped into the show business circle and opened his screen career of more than 20 years.
I still remember that at this year's Hong Kong Film Awards, Li Cansen also stepped onto the award stage with Wu Yanzu, Nicholas Tse and Feng Delun to talk about past memories.
Stills from "Made in Hong Kong"
The 38th Academy Awards Tse Ting-feng, Wu Yanzu, Feng Delun and Li Cansen presented the awards in the same frame
However, if you put aside the identity restrictions at the actor level, in fact, Li Cansen outside the play is the real protagonist of his life, whether it is a skateboarding teenager, or a nightclub DJ, or even the street brand Subcrew founded by him, which may be a different label for us to understand his multi-faceted life.
Li Cansen was born in Lantian, Hong Kong, and although he was the oldest in his family when he was young, he was often taught by his parents and siblings in turn with hangers because of his naughtiness and naughtiness.
Li Cansen in his youth
His rebellious personality led to a lack of memory even when he was beaten, learning to smoke at the age of 12, and his first tattoo was said to have been done while drunk, freeing himself from a "bad boy".
After getting a little older, Li Cansen first understood personnel, not only helped his father sell fruit, but also went to the hydropower company as a plumber apprentice.
However, in addition to accepting the socialization of the adult world, Li Chansen's favorite leisure activity as a young man was skateboarding. It can be said that it is the sport of skateboarding that gives Li Cansen the opportunity to contact movies and open up his deep excavation of street culture.
Li Cansen talks about skateboarding culture
In 1996, Chen Guo, who had been in the Hong Kong film and television circle for many years, planned to shoot an independent film of his own, but at that time, the Hong Kong film industry was in a cold winter period, Chen Guo could not organize a huge production team, nor could he afford to hire professional film actors, in order to find cheap and suitable candidates, he could only personally go to the street to find actors. At this time, Li Cansen appeared in a timely manner.
Directed by Chen Guo
When Chen Guo met Li Cansen on the street, he was skateboarding with a group of friends, and Li Cansen's dress, styling, dressing and even words and deeds all revealed a unique trend temperament, and these characteristics were also in line with Chen Guo's consistent imagination of his protagonist "Tu Mid-Autumn Festival", there is no doubt that Li Cansen is the kind of person he is looking for.
It was in such a state of serendipity that Li Cansen "went astray" in the film industry and became a professional actor.
Li Cansen in Beast Cop (right)
Later, after the careful tuning of Chen Guo and other filmmakers, he not only starred in many popular films such as "Made in Hong Kong", "Beast Police", "Fireworks Last Year", "SWAT New Human", "Dog Bites Dog" and so on, but also was nominated for the Hong Kong Academy Awards for Best New Actor, Best Supporting Actor and other awards.
But in 2003, Hong Kong films once again entered the Great Depression period because of the impact of SARS, many professional actors were in the unemployment stage, Li Cansen was not spared, that year, he did not work once for nearly ten months, and the shrinking industry made him also have some doubts about his choice.
Yu Wenle and Li Cansen
In a public interview, Li Cansen admitted that during that time, he even thought about returning to the hydropower industry, opening a shop, installing toilets for people, and repairing toilets, but he thought about whether when he took the electric drill to work in other people's homes, whether it would be regarded as a prank, it seemed that he was also "stuck in that position, and could not lower this baggage."
Perhaps the heavens are taking care of people like him, and in the unemployment, he did not expect that the seemingly unprofessional entertainment activity of skateboarding once again saved Li Cansen.
Zhang Zhanpeng
One day in 2003, while playing skateboarding at sha tin Town Hall, Lee Chan-sen met another playmate, Zhang Zhanpeng, who, almost like himself, was wearing a trendy T-shirt and pants, and he also lamented the confusing social atmosphere in Hong Kong at that time.
After the two of them talked about the current situation, Zhang Zhanpeng asked Li Cansen how to look at his clothes. Li Cansen made a fuss. Zhang Zhanpeng noticed Li Cansen's keen and intuitive perception of collocation and asked him, is there any interest in doing branding together?
Lee recalls the advent of Subcrew
Li Cansen likes to wear, and he needs to find another way for himself in a depressed situation. The two hit it off, the brand named Subcrew, this name comes from the words submarine (submarine) and crew (group member), meaning a group of people from submarines, can freely travel in the depths of the infinite ocean without any geographical restrictions, bringing out a different attitude of free life. At this point, Li Cansen's tide card of being the chief of the people was officially formed.
Lee Chan Sen's role for Subcrew is more like a spiritual leader, because he is a trend artist himself, coupled with his good popularity, Lee CanSen can often find domestic and foreign street brands such as CLOT, G-SHOCK, The Hundreds and other big names to cooperate.
Multi-faceted Li Cansen: From the screen to the tide card, 15 years of playing with friends to play the trend
From just making hats (hats have always been Subcrew's star products) to now including clothing, glasses, watches and many other Life style products, Subcrew has long developed into one of the most promising street brands in Hong Kong.
Despite being likened to a submarine that sinks into the deep sea without a problem, Subcrew is by no means obscure. In recent years, under the leadership of Li Cansen, Subcrew has become more and more mature, focusing on the international market and at the same time being very concerned about the anti-war in the domestic market.
In Guangzhou, Changsha, Shanghai and other places have opened Subcrew's direct-operated stores Unity, each time a total of Subcrew staff came to celebrate the opening of the new store, which shows its importance to the mainland market.
Subcrew direct store Unity
In 2019, Subcrew turned 15. Li Cansen's drama is still filming, and the tide card continues to do it. But he also joined the tide of going north from Hong Kong, and his figure appeared in co-productions or films produced in the mainland, including him in "When is the Bright Moon", "Ferryman", and "Hong Kong 囧". Subcrew, too, has established a team in the mainland.
"Work is one of our interests, and while it may seem like an overstatement to say so, if you don't like it, it's hard to put in your time, your spirit, your mind." Li Cansen said.
Li Cansen and Zhang Zhanpeng
Lee Chan Sen and Zhang Zhanpeng hold a party for Subcrew every 5 years. In the past, parties were held in Taiwan. This time, the party was in Shanghai. Li Cansen and Zhang Zhanpeng attended the YOHOOD trend exhibition together, and when they met Space Plus, a nightclub by the Shanghai riverside, they praised it as beautiful, "if you have the opportunity, you must make a party here."
On the night of the party, Li Cansen personally went on stage to be a DJ, raised his hands and feet, it seems that the time changes of more than twenty years have not left a superfluous mark on him, he is still the tide and youth of the "board boy".
Dj identity of Lee Chan Sen
When he encountered difficulties in his life, Li Cansen also insisted on jumping over the dolphin jumping like stepping on the board. As in the "Spirit of the Plate Boy, One More Try." ”
From talented and hard-working actors to DJs and singers, Lee Chan-sen goes out to sea, climbs mountains, and finds fun in his constant attempts. With the "skateboard boy spirit" of one more try at the age of 15, he achieved a 15-year-old fashion card that did not live up to his original intention.
If you want to know more about Li Cansen's story, please lock in the seventh episode of China's first youth trend documentary series "Qingchao Soul Movement" produced by Tencent News, "Fifteen", and enjoy the tide culture together