OH! Magazine - Australian Version February 2014 (Australian Version) | Page 7
that nothing will get in her way or that of
the Misschu chain. And given her journey
to where she is today, it’s little wonder.
Chu, her mother, father and four
siblings immigrated to Australia when
she was nine years of age and, after stints
at Box Hill and the Hunter Valley, settled
in Melbourne. Having spent the previous
four years in Thai refugee camps after
fleeing her homeland of communist Laos,
where she was born in 1970, Chu grew to
become a hard working opportunist.
‘Most people haven’t come from a
background where if you don’t eat today
or tomorrow then you might die but I’ve
been so hungry and suffered disease on
such a third world level that I see
opportunities here [in Australia] that
most people don’t. I’ve had a great life
because I’ve embraced all the bad things
that have happened to me and I’ve turned
them into good points. I think people
should do that more; instead of dwelling
on the negatives, try turning them into a
power tool.’
Chu is aware that, were it not for her
refugee beginnings, being where she is in
life today would be very unlikely. ‘It’s
highly likely that I would have gotten
married really young, at the age of 18 or
19, and had a lot of children, and they’re
the two things that haven’t happened to
me. I’ve been able to be an independent
woman without children, without being
scorned upon, and that’s a really dramatic
thing.’
As accepting as society has been
towards this independent woman, she’s
still been subjected to the traditional
family wishes. ‘My mother is surprised at
how well it [Misschu] is doing. I don’t
think she realised the gravity of what I
was trying to execute. In 2006 I made an
animation that made it into the Sydney
Film Festival as a test film and I said,
‘Look, Mum, this beautiful film has made
it to a really important film festival,’ and
she sort of said, ‘yeah, care factor [of
zero]. Are you married yet? Have you
bought a house yet?’ And I said ‘Mum,
you don’t understand. I’m having a
conversation with mainstream Australia
about our heritage and history. And that’s
far more profound and important to me
than buying a stupid house in the
suburbs.’’
While neither has happened yet, are
marriage and kids on the Chu radar? ‘It’s
not in me,’ she says earnestly. ‘There are
people who feel that their lives are not
complete until they are married and have
children. I’m not that person. My thing
was ‘I’m not a complete person until I’ve
invented something’ and I’ve been like
that ever since I was a teenager. I’ve
always wanted to be the person that
invented an idea that changed people’s
lives and that’s kind of happening on a
small scale. For me, that’s enough.’
And change lives, she does.
Philanthropy is a way of life that runs
deep for Chu with five per cent of all
Misschu profits going to charitable
projects such as anti-human trafficking
organisation
HAGAR
(http://
hagarinternational.org), and by working
closely with artist Tracey Moffatt to help
educate
and
employ
Aboriginal
Australians.
While her passion for philanthropy is
no laughing matter, Chu’s humorous take
on the stereotypical white Australian
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schoolyard taunts to which she was
subjected as a child, shows a selfdeprecating aspect to the brand. But not
everyone has seen the humourous side.
In early 2013, the Advertising Standards
Bureau received a complaint regarding
the use of the slogan ‘You ling, we bling!’
in relation to Misschu’s home delivery
service. The Bureau dismissed the
complaint with the Misschu camp
explaining that the slogan ‘is a call to
arms, a humourous mechanism to remind
people that Misschu take away is fast and
efficient’ and, ultimately is about ‘…
taking ownership of conventional
stereotypes.’
With her days full to bursting point as
Chu continues to build an empire, take
on competitors and detractors, and make
a difference in the lives of those less
fortunate than herself, it’d be hard to
imagine that there’s much time for
exercise. Not so, she says. ‘I’m really
busy these days so I have a trainer who I
see four times a week. He makes me work
hard and I eat well naturally,’ she insists.
Together, they hone her svelte body using
a mixture of cardio and resistance
exercise but while she’s prepared to work
as hard on her physique as she is on her
business, she remains judicious. ‘I’d love
to have a sexy body, don’t get me wrong,
but I’m not going to have an eating
disorder over it.’
It’s this refreshing pragmatism that
makes it hard not to root for Chu’s
continued success. ‘I think I’m one of the
luckiest girls in the world. I also know
that I’m one of the hardest working girls
in the world and b