I didn’t have the best of childhood. Once, my neighbour called the police because I was being beaten THAT badly by my dad. Naturally, I had low self-esteem, performed poorly academically, which made for lower self esteem and fueled a perpetual cycle of sadness.
The first catalyst for change came when I took up taekwondo in Junior College, and met my Shifu (martial arts master). He had a special charm about him. At the core of it – was his belief in people. I’ll always remember what he used to say: “一胆二力三功夫”. Which means, first comes courage, second, strength, and third, skill. He would also shout random motivational during class like “You’re the best!” “Take action!”. His spirit was highly infectious. we lapped it all up. We will train before training, we will train after training and even train after the after training training! All these trainings so that we can become the best. And indeed we were one of the best clubs in Singapore.
He was an example to me. I wanted a taste of it, to model myself after his success and character. I was willing to go to any lengths to earn his respect.
Why did he leave such an impact on me? Because he taught through example. And what he taught me was a solid mindset, and an undying passion for whatever you do.
I have always been volunteering with various charities. It gave me joy and somehow gave a reprieve from the negatives of my life. In 2012, I decided to something more- run a marathon and raise funds for the Bone Marrow Donor Programme (BMDP). I thought: ‘I needed to do something different, to draw attention, if not who will care to donate?’ That’s where I thought of it: ‘I’ll run with a tire tied to me’. I’ll also play a persona called ‘Ah Siao’ – an ex loan shark turned good who runs for charity.
There was only 8 weeks left to the race. I was never a runner. Martial arts was what I always knew. The next day after I decided to do this, I tied a tire to myself and dragged it. After 2km, I was done. I squatted down and couldn’t continue. A truck driver stopped and looked at me like I was indeed ‘Ah Siao’ (crazy). But I had a naïve thought: ‘if I could do 2km, I could do 21x2km’.
On race day, I completed the marathon in 6+ hours. There was overwhelming interest from the public and media. I got “Stomped” and went viral. People were inspired by ‘Ah Siao’ – they related to the persona. Everyone would know of a ruffian in their life, with the best of heart despite what life throws at him. You could say they rooted for this perennial underdog. Eventually, $100,000 was raised – 100 times more than my target of 1k. Of course, it was with the help of the team at BMDP. The story - the sight of a crazy man suffering under the drag of a 14kg tyre bought home the point that what he faced is nothing compared to a patient awaiting a transplant.
This started my journey with ‘Ah Siao’, a common man who does crazy feats for charity
I started intense training and ultramarathon running. It became an obsession and passion. My growth didn’t occur in a vacuum, I have many people to thank- elite athletes, sport scientists, inspiring running friends who trade advice and encouragement.
To raise funds, you need eyeballs, so ‘Ah Siao’ had to live up to his name. He has done a marathon a day for 31 days, 50km x 50 days, ran from Singapore to Thailand, and once dragged a tire on crutches for 10km because he promised to run despite an injury. The most pain I’ve been in is a run from Perth to Albany, doing 1000km in 20 days. On the last 300km, my leg got very injured. The forest trails and bitumen tracks took a toll on the shin. It was swollen from edema – when blood vessels leak fluid into the tissues. It’s the kind of pain that shoots out from your eye with every step. A little of my soul died every time I took a step.
But people had already donated, and I had to complete it. I believe in being intensely solution oriented. If there’s a problem, what are the options? Then, can I execute the options? I wrapped masking tape around my shin and took painkillers, and eventually completed it. I realised: ‘If your mind wants to do it, it will do it. It will find a way within a set of parameters of reality’
I am grateful when people come up to me and say: “Hey, I remember you from 5 years back, dragging the tire on crutches. Thanks for inspiring me”. To me, that’s one of the most valuable things in my journey. I just want people to look at ‘Ah Siao’ and say: ‘If someone like him can do it, then maybe I can do it too’.
“Never be limited” was my mantra. I was seeking a breakthrough in volunteerism. With a simple dream in mind, fiddling with an ambitious idea of challenging myself to run 100km a day x 20 days for a total of 2000km. Physically I knew it was way beyond my capacity so I toyed with similar ideas, scaling it up to a higher level because it had to be impactful. I wanted to do something for the Mental Health sector because President Halimah said it was her focus this year.
Aimless me was seeking opinion on the ground and speaking to anyone who would listen on how to conceptualise this initiative. Casually, I suggested this to a fellow ultramarathon runner - Ong Tze Boon, former President Ong Teng Cheong’s son. Over a typical SG style la-kopi brainstorming session, we both knew deep down that this needs to be a team effort rather than singular person journey. This Ah Siao thing was getting too stale.
“Okay ON. Let me help you, let’s do this together” He assembled a crack team of volunteers. He made available his network and resources. That was the genesis of Relay Majulah.
Who should we raise funds for? How about one of the biggest and well known in the country? How much? 1 million dollars. Network effect. Let’s gather 200 people to run. A relay! People with stories. Of passion. With a singular belief. Strong sense of purpose. To be the change we want.
A Eureka moment rose. It wasn’t just a relay. It was a message. And we intended that to be a loud one. We wanted to tell everyone that:
Relay Majulah is a ground-up initiative by a group of like-minded and passionate friends to form a 200-runners team to conquer 2,000km over 8 days (2-10 Nov 2019) to raise funds for President's Challenge and to unite the community, for the community. The movement seeks to also create awareness of the social causes in our society and how that we stand in solidarity with our friends as they overcome and conquer all odds.
