Chapter one · 2009 to 2010
From a napping intern to 10,000 shoppers: how I started Flea Titan
Five flea markets from April 2009 to June 2010, a brand built from a desk at an internship, and the first time I learned that distribution is the whole job.
Ownership · the original Flea Titan (2009 to 2010)
I founded Flea Titan in February 2009 and ran it through my company Freemansland, with Don’t Panic Singapore as co-organiser. I sold my personal stake in February 2010. That June the Flea Titan brand itself was sold to a buyer, and I ran one last edition, Flea Titan V, the last under Freemansland.
- 01
The official 2009 About page
The founding story on the brand's own site: Kai Sheng on internship at Don't Panic (Singapore), the kicked chair, the name. Brand ownership as published: Freemansland and Don't Panic (Singapore).
Wayback Machine, fleatitan.com, 11 Feb 2010 captureOpen the archived page - 02
The Fever Avenue interview, 2010
Titled “Interview with Flea Titan Co-Founder: Kai Sheng”. Six minutes of me on camera, answering how Flea Titan started.
YouTube, Fever Avenue, published 30 Jun 2010See it below - 03
The Flea Titans II event page
Event by Nicholas Kaisheng Tung, sole host. 3,400 people responded, shown by Facebook as 3.4K.
Facebook event page, 27 to 28 Jun 2009See it below
A different organiser registered the Flea Titan name in December 2013 and ran markets under it in 2014. Those are not mine.
Who came after
Flea Titan’s first market: April 2009. Invade’s flea brand, For Flea Sake, started in 2010. Its founder later told Vulcan Post: ‘We collaborated with Flea Titan and leveraged on them.’
Kent Teo, founder of Invade, in Vulcan Post, 27 February 2018, section “Organising Flea Markets Since 2010”.
Dated from both sides’ own records. Nothing added5
editions, April 2009 to June 2010
Event listings, 2009 to 2010. Flea Titan V: X posts, June 2010270
vendors at Flea Titan II, Revenge of the Titans
Facebook event listing, June 200910,000
visitors over the Flea Titan III weekend at Dempsey
Organiser-reported: 8,000 plus 2,0003.4K
people responded to the Flea Titan II event
Facebook event page, 2009February 2009 · the founding story
“Let’s do a FLEA MARKET!”
Trinity, 7 Mount Sophia, 2009.
Own photo, Freemansland watermarkAn intern, a nap, and a kicked chair.
In February 2009 I was an intern at Don’t Panic Singapore, a lifestyle brand. One afternoon I fell asleep at my desk. A colleague kicked my chair to wake me, and the idea arrived whole: let’s do a flea market.
We called it Flea Titan. Titan, meaning gigantic, because the plan was never a small one. With a small team at Don’t Panic Singapore and Freemansland, the sole proprietorship I had registered the year before, the first edition was booked for April at 7 Mount Sophia. Freemansland was not new to crowds: registered in February 2008, it had run band and club events for a year before the first flea market, including a Band Privilege Card launch at Zouk in September 2008.
Eight months later the official site was claiming the number one crowd turnout of any single flea event in Singapore, 10,000 attendees, and the highest number of vendors participating. That is the organiser’s own claim, and I was the organiser, so read it as such. What the Facebook event pages, the flyers and the videos below show without my help is that the thing was real, dated, and busy.
The editions · April 2009 to June 2010
Mount Sophia, Dempsey, the Singapore Flyer.
I
Flea Titan I
11 to 12 April 2009
7 Mount Sophia, the Trinity building
- 150+ stalls from Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, a Vespa showcase, shuttle buses from Plaza Singapura. Billed in the organiser's own 2009 copy as “the largest flea market, EVER”Event listing and Facebook event description, April 2009
- 2,000 visitors on Saturday, 1,200 on SundayOrganiser-reported, official site 2009
- 2.8K people respondedFacebook event page, 2009
A visitor's Facebook comment, 13 April 2009: “AWESOME PAWSOME FLEA. If there’s more, I WANT TO BE PART OF IT!”
The official flyer, front and back, from Nick's album. Flyer illustration and design: Sheryo, illustromaniac.com
P
Titans Party
Scheduled 23 June 2009
The Butter Factory, One Fullerton
- A launch party for the second edition, jointly presented by Freemansland and Don't Panic SingaporeFacebook event page, 2009
- Postponed on 23 June 2009 because H1N1 had reached the venue. My own public post, written at 20, put party-goers' health firstFacebook post, 23 June 2009
- 1.4K people respondedFacebook event page, 2009
II
Revenge of the Titans
27 to 28 June 2009
7 Mount Sophia
- 270 vendors, Ben Sherman goodie bags for early birds, shuttles from Plaza Singapura and BugisFacebook event listing, June 2009. Reposted on a blog, 18 Jun 2009
- 3,000 visitors on Saturday, 1,500 on SundayOrganiser-reported, official site 2009
- 3.4K people responded. The one event page where I am the named hostFacebook event page, 2009
III
Flea Titan III
20 to 21 September 2009
House at Dempsey, 8D Dempsey Road
- Free entry, four shuttle buses from beside Lido, goodie bags for the first 200Vendor call, August 2009
- 8,000 visitors on Sunday, 2,000 on Monday: 10,000 over the weekendOrganiser-reported, official site 2009
Nick's official event photos, posted 4 October 2009. Watermark: House, Freemansland, Don't Panic
IV
Flea Titan IV
2 to 3 January 2010
Singapore Flyer, Sky Deck
- 3pm to 9pm, free admission, three shuttle buses from City HallOfficial site, February 2010 capture
- Billed by the organisers at the time as the last Flea Titan. A fifth followed in June 2010Official site, February 2010 capture
Feb
The exit
February 2010
Twelve months after the idea
- February 2010: I sold my personal stake in Flea Titan. One more edition followed, in June.Nick's Facebook post, 11 Feb 2010
V
Flea Titan V
26 June 2010
5 Mount Sophia
- One date only: “its confirmed. flea titan v only on the 26th june at 5 mount sophia!” A second date, in July, was cancelled over the venueX posts, 16 Jun 2010
- My last Flea Titan, four months after I sold my sharesX post, 6 Jun 2010
- Held: the account thanked everyone, and the sponsors, for coming downX post, 2 Jul 2010
Jun
The brand is sold
June 2010
To a buyer, the same month as Flea Titan V
- June 2010: the Flea Titan brand is sold to a buyer. Flea Titan V, on 26 June, was the last edition under Freemansland.Nick's own statement, 17 Oct 2026. X post, 14 Jun 2010: “Congrats to the buyer of FT.”
- Later, fleatitan.com was parkedWayback Machine, by July 2012
A different organiser registered the Flea Titan name in December 2013 and ran markets under it in 2014. Those are not mine.
Sponsors and partners
Wing Tai Asia and Vespa, as listed on the official sponsors page. Ben Sherman, as printed on the Flea Titan II flyer and named in the event video.
Official site, February 2010 capture. Flea Titan II flyer and video description, 2009The follow-on series
Hooked On Flea, 2009 to 2011.
Two months after Flea Titan III, I launched a smaller series: Hooked On Flea, first at Youth Park, with registration through a freemansland.com address. In mid-2010 I ran #3 at the New Scape Building and #4 at The Arena, then brought it back that December, billed as the Revival of Hooked On Flea, and ran it through club venues into 2011.
Dated from Nick’s own Facebook posts unless marked otherwiseIn between, in 2010, I ran markets under ShoutSG: Homeclub in July and September, and Market Mayhem at The Supperclub in August.
ShoutSG dates: Nick’s Facebook posts of 27 Jul, 30 Jul, 18 Aug and 31 Aug 2010- 26 Nov 2009Youth Park. Launch, with FreshARTproject. Booths at S$65Vendor call, October 2009
- 5 Jun 2010New Scape Building. Hooked On Flea #3Hooked On Flea's X posts, 22 and 24 May 2010. Nick's own statement, 18 Oct 2026
- 17 and 24 Jul 2010The Arena, Clarke Quay. Hooked On Flea #4Hooked On Flea's X posts, 25 and 28 Jun 2010. Nick's own statement, 18 Oct 2026
- 11 and 18 Dec 2010Alcova, Market Street. Revival of Hooked On Flea, Special Edition #1. 946 attending on the Facebook eventNick's Facebook post, 9 Dec 2010. Flock to Shop blog, 2 Dec 2010. Series call reposted on a vendor's blog, Nov 2010
- 22 and 29 Jan 2011Club Titanium, Esplanade. The poster prints Organized by FreemanslandPoster on Flickr, uploaded by sommernatch 15 Dec 2010. Nick's Facebook post, 2011. The 3211 Times, 29 Mar 2011
- 12, 19 and 26 Mar 2011TAB, OrchardNick's Facebook post, 2011. A vendor's blog, 6 Feb 2011, reposting the official call
- Jul to Aug 2011Editions 14 to 16freemansland.com archive, 2011. hookedonflea.wordpress.com, 29 Jul 2011: We have moved
The footage · 2009 and 2010
Three videos that are still online.
The first two were the official event videos, listed on the 2009 gallery page. The player itself does not load until you press play.
The interview
Me, on camera, in June 2010.
Fever Avenue asked how Flea Titan started, what people get wrong about running a flea, how to pick an organiser, and how vendors do well. Six minutes, and the only asset online that puts my face and name on the brand.
Dated artefacts · 2009 to 2010
The paper trail, as it survived.
Flyers reposted by visitors, my own Facebook event pages dated by Facebook, and Wayback Machine captures of the 2009 and 2010 sites, shot on 16 October 2026. Scroll sideways.
Flea Titan I flyer, front
Own artwork, April 2009. Illustration and design: Sheryo, illustromaniac.comFlea Titan I flyer, back
Own artwork, April 2009. Illustration and design: Sheryo, illustromaniac.com
Flea Titan I on Facebook
Own event page, dated by Facebook. 2.8K people responded
Flea Titan II flyer
Own artwork, June 2009. Illustration and design: Sheryo, illustromaniac.com. On Flickr since 16 June 2009
Flea Titan II on Facebook
Own event page, dated by Facebook. 3.4K people responded
Titans Party flyer
Own artwork, June 2009. Illustration: Sheryo, illustromaniac.com. Posted on Sheryo's Flickr in 2012
The H1N1 call, 23 June 2009
Own event page and post, dated by Facebook. 1.4K people responded
Flea Titan III flyer
Own artwork, 2009. Illustrated by Sheryo, illustromaniac.com. Reposted on a stallholder's blog, September 2009
The turnout table, as published
Wayback Machine, 24 Oct 2009 capture. Organiser-reported figures
The 2009 microsite
Wayback Machine, 24 Dec 2009 capture. Nav images not served by the archive todayCapture not served
fleatitan.com splash, 24 Oct 2009
Wayback Machine returned the page but not its banner image today. Slot left open rather than faked
Flea Titan IV announced
Wayback Machine, 12 Feb 2010 captureThe short version · Flea Titan, 2009 to 2010
Who, when, and how it ended.
Who founded Flea Titan?
Nick Tung founded Flea Titan in February 2009, while he was an intern at Don't Panic Singapore. He ran it through his company Freemansland, with Don't Panic Singapore as co-organiser.
Founding story as published on the official site, 2009 to 2010 archive. Wayback Machine, fleatitan.com, 11 Feb 2010 captureWhen and where did Flea Titan run?
Five editions, from April 2009 to June 2010: Flea Titan I at 7 Mount Sophia (11 to 12 April 2009), Revenge of the Titans at 7 Mount Sophia (27 to 28 June 2009), Flea Titan III at House at Dempsey (20 to 21 September 2009), Flea Titan IV on the Singapore Flyer Sky Deck (2 to 3 January 2010) and Flea Titan V at 5 Mount Sophia (26 June 2010).
Event listings, 2009 to 2010. Flea Titan V: X posts, June 2010When did Nick Tung leave Flea Titan?
He sold his personal stake in February 2010. The Flea Titan brand was sold to a buyer in June 2010, and Flea Titan V, on 26 June 2010, was his last edition and the last under Freemansland.
Nick's Facebook post, 11 Feb 2010. X post, 6 Jun 2010. Brand sale: Nick's own statement, 17 Oct 2026Are the 2014 Flea Titan markets connected to Nick Tung?
No. A different organiser registered the Flea Titan name in December 2013 and ran markets under it in 2014. Those are not his.
Stated on this page, in the ownership sectionHow many people came to Flea Titan?
Flea Titan II listed 270 vendors, and 3,400 people responded to its Facebook event. For the Flea Titan III weekend at Dempsey, the figure is 10,000 visitors, organiser-reported: 8,000 on Sunday and 2,000 on Monday.
Facebook event listing and event page, June 2009. Organiser-reported, official site 2009What came after Flea Titan?
Hooked On Flea, a smaller series Nick launched at Youth Park on 26 November 2009 and ran through club venues into 2011. In 2010 he also ran markets under ShoutSG.
Dated from Nick's own Facebook posts. ShoutSG: Nick's Facebook posts of 27 Jul, 30 Jul, 18 Aug and 31 Aug 2010What it taught me
Getting 10,000 people to a thing that did not exist eight months earlier is the same job as getting a business found in AI search.
Nobody was searching for Flea Titan in February 2009. The work was to exist in every place the right people already were: a vendor forum, a lifestyle pack, a shuttle from the mall, a Facebook event, a blogger’s stall. Seventeen years on, the places are ChatGPT and Google’s AI answers, and the work is the same. I was 20 when I sold my stake. Flea Titan V, that June, was my last.
10,000: organiser-reported, Flea Titan III weekend, September 2009. Exit: Nick’s Facebook post, 11 Feb 2010. Flea Titan V: X post, 6 Jun 2010“why is everyone emailing me to ask them to teach them how to organize a flea?”
My own words at the time. Nick’s Facebook post, 24 Feb 2010