- Please tell me a brief introduction about you – what do you do?
I’m Casie. I”m on a social experiment to find love by dating people only in Virtual Reality.
—– please include all website links, Facebook and IG pages that you wish to promote.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/casie-millhouse-singh/
- How long have you done this for?
It’s rolling on week 7 now. I started this experiment when the Circuit Breaker began. I was recently single after a 9 year marriage and found myself lost in the world of dating apps. It wasn’t around when I was single.
- What made you get into this occupation?
I wouldn’t consider this an occupation but one thing is for sure, dating is a fucking job.
- Has this been your dream occupation since you were a little girl? If not, what was your original career goals and dreams?
I grew up as a gymnast with one clear goal…to be on the 1996 USA Gymnastics Olympic team. I never looked passed that so when a elite level career-ending injury hit me in 1995, I didn’t plan for much. I was a high performer, that’s all I knew. So, instead of going to University and going into debt, I enlisted in the US Air Force out of high school. There I was in my zone. The drill Sergeants had nothing on my gymnastics coaches. I thrived in the environment and ended up being promoted to positions that were typically held by 5 or 6 ranks higher than me organising Air Force wide athletic events, biathlons, triathlons and started a fitness program for the retiree community. Being stuck on base, too young to drink I picked up spinning records.
After my time in the military, I went back to school and ended up coaching at a gymnastics centre across from my part-time advertising role. Eventually, a death in the family brought me back to help out with a family business and luckily a school needed a gymnastics coach. So, I coached for a couple of years and ended up with an opportunity to coach in Bermuda, then China and eventually here in Singapore in 2010.
Here I coached multiple National Champions, while I DJed, made babies and picked up freelancing in digital marketing. I fell in love with technology. The ability to bring masses of people together for one simple idea. In 2017, I helped build a global celebration for International Handstand Day that drew in over 2.1 million hashtag uses in 24 hours in partnership with BBC Sport, Cirque du Soleil and multiple governing bodies of sport. The year after, I was nominated with an innovation award for the Augmented Reality campaign I put together using Facebook’s Spark AR platform.
From there I’ve been invited by Facebook to speak at their conferences and technology/startup conferences around Asia for other projects that usually started off with “what if I try this?” This put me in a meeting with Gary Vaynerchuk after a friend hacked me in SEO on Youtube and I was trending my own gifs. I still have my gifs seen by millions a week which to me, is mind blowing!
Today, you’ll see me as the President of the VRAR Association in Singapore where I’m focusing on building a community of finding solutions mixing digital realities with the physical that were never possible before. I am the Business Manager of an Augmented Reality (AR) studio called DUDE & we have a sister company called Mind Palace where we help dementia patients and the elderly revisit their past with immersive experiences.
- Did you have to go through education to get to where you are, or did you work your way up?
Education is different from knowledge, experience and getting your hands dirty. Sometimes I look back and think “I should have finished my degree” but that would have put me in a different path of life. Every single day, I’m learning and applying something new. I think that is the key. Learn, do, repeat.
- What kind of obstacles have you met along the way to reach where you are today?
My personal health took a toll. That is something that we forget to prioritise when we are in this journey. Now, I’ve got two amazing daughters who I put at the forefront of my decisions.
- Were your friends / family supportive of your career choices?
This is an interesting question. Some were, some were not. Especially, when it came to the decision to a leave gymnastics coaching career. It’s pretty hard to explain to my family what I do with AR & VR. Until I share with them funny filters on a Messenger call. Then, they still don’t understand but they laugh.
- What’s your favourite part of your job?
My team. I really admire the DUDEs I work with. They are all incredible creative technologists. I look up to them in many ways.
- What’s your least favourite part of your job?
Not being able to work next to them for now. Can’t wait to see them all in the office.
- What is your best life lesson you’ve learnt on your journey?
There are so many, I can’t really choose one!
- Have you ever had any doubts or considered giving up?
Of course, I’ve had failed ambitions. But you pivot, adapt and go down a new route.
- How do you juggle work life and home life – any tips on ensuring both are a positive space?
Right now, home is my workplace. The online communities I’m in have been a big part to keep me sane.
- Do you ever struggle to get through the working week, if so how do you power on?
I’ve never had that experience. I’m always wishing there were more hours!
- If you could go back to your 18 year old self and give one piece of life advice, what would it be and why?
Don’t be such a bitch to your mother. She has made me who I am. I had a great childhood, grew up with everything I needed and always had her love.
- What does the next 5 years look like for you?
Hopefully helping build DUDE & Mind Palace to be great companies that have great team cultures, results and joy to the people who use our technologies. I would love to see VR become more welcoming in content, design and experiences for women and maybe, just maybe be apart of that.
