When a flamboyant, colorful kid learns to hide himself because the world tells him he’s “too much,” you don’t just get a story about fashion — you get a story about survival. In this episode of Clean Your Toilet, Leonard Cheong, founder of Singapore’s first gender-fluid athleisure label, joins Barbara Latimer for a raw conversation about suppression, bullying, and the long road back to authenticity.
Most people think the hardest part of building a business is the grind: raising funds, managing operations, keeping up with trends. But what if the real battle isn’t in the market — it’s in the mirror?
Leonard grew up loving drama, color, and flair. But teachers told him boys shouldn’t move that way. Classmates mocked him for being “too gaudy.” Even adults piled on, until he learned to shrink himself into something more acceptable. The result? A silence that lasted years. Only through the process of designing — first for himself, then for others — did he begin to reclaim the pieces of identity he’d buried.
His brand isn’t just a clothing line. It’s a declaration that life doesn’t have to fit into rigid categories. Athflo, his “athletic + flow” aesthetic, emerged from his own need for clothes that could carry him from workouts to travel to work. But behind every seam and stitch lies a deeper truth: this is about creating space for people who, like him, were told they didn’t belong.
And that’s the tension at the heart of this conversation.
On one side: a culture that still polices gender, expression, and identity. On the other: the liberating act of designing for who you really are. Between them lies a messy middle every creative eventually confronts:
Do I keep conforming to expectations, or do I risk being seen?
How do I create work that reflects who I am without apology?
What does it take to turn personal liberation into public leadership?
Leonard shares openly about the cost of hiding, the liberation of expression, and the ongoing struggle to balance authenticity with acceptance. His journey is not just about fashion — it’s about reclaiming identity after years of erasure.
If you’ve ever:
Been told you were “too much” or “not enough”
Felt the sting of bullying that made you question your worth
Wondered if there’s room in the world for your full, authentic self
…this episode is your reminder that sometimes the most trailblazing thing you can do is to show up exactly as you are.
🧼 Authenticity is the clean water.
🚽 Suppression is the clogged pipe.
💩 Shame is the sludge that blocks the flow.
When you clear the pipes of judgment, you create space for color, movement, and life to stream through without apology.
#CleanYourToiletPodcast #GetReal #InnerWork #PersonalMastery #WhatTrulyMatters
#LivingAuthentically #Trailblazing #DiscoverIdentity #Transformation #Personal Growth #GenderFluid #GenderFluidFashion
