Singapore #Fitspo of the Week: John Yeong

Life goes beyond the digits on the scale and your body is capable of so much more. Yahoo’s #Fitspo of the Week series is dedicated to inspirational men and women in Singapore leading healthy and active lifestyles. Have someone to recommend? Hit Cheryl up on Instagram or Facebook.

Name: John Yeong (@thejohnyeong)
Age: 35
Height: 1.82m
Weight: 73kg
Occupation: Sports presenter, producer, digital marketer
Status: Others
Diet: I eat balanced meals – a heavy breakfast, a decent lunch, and a light dinner except for rare celebratory occasions. I snack quite a lot though, mainly on healthy stuff like walnuts, almonds and fruits. I am pretty watchful of my carbo intake now, as I’ve retired from competitive sports about five
years ago and there isn’t a real need for me to carbo-load based on my current fitness regime.
Training: I run from my office to Marina Barrage and back a few times a week, and I do some bodyweight workouts at home.

Q: What sports did you compete in as a kid?

A: I represented my primary school in table tennis and athletics. In secondary school, I represented my school in football (B and C Divisions), athletics (400m, 800m, 4x400m; B and C Divisions), and cross-country (C Division). After moving to Canada, I also represented and captained my high school soccer team, and was fortunate enough to be scouted and drafted to represent the Canadian National Soccer League club side Windsor Wheels SC, which I represented for the U-17s, U-19s and U-21s and won the League Cup playoffs with.

Did you continue playing soccer competitively after that?

Since returning to Singapore, my primary sport was still football. I played in the FAS National Football League from 2008 to 2015 for Singapore Cricket Club (NFL Division 1) and Singapore Vipers Football Club (NFL Division 2 and NFL Division 3), and also in various social football leagues.

Wow, that’s intense. What about now?

Life after football has been simple bodyweight workouts at home and weekly maintenance runs, which I usually do on my own and not really in groups except for running events.

What are your fitness goals now?

To continue being active and healthy, and to be an embodiment and personification of the core values and message I believe in.

When did you feel the least confident about yourself?

Despite being active all my life I put on quite a bit of weight when I hit 30 – not obese per se but I was quite chunky. I wouldn’t say it affected my confidence that much but I did receive the odd comments from my relatives.

How did you overcome that?

I guess I’ve always been pretty self-disciplined, so looking at flashbacks of my past, it made me realise I have let myself go quite a bit. And while I didn’t want to obsess over my body image, the extra weight I was carrying around on the football pitch meant I wasn’t as quick as I used to be. Confidence was never really an issue though.

Are you satisfied with your body now?

Yes I am satisfied with my body and I count myself fortunate enough that I do not need that much extra training in order to maintain my current shape. I suppose having a sports background since childhood has laid the foundation for this.

You work in the local sports industry – What are your thoughts on the scene now and how would you like to see it evolve in the next few years?

There is vast untapped potential in Singapore sports, be it in the high-performance arena or in the community. There are so many people I’ve met who are passionate about sports and fitness, and are pursuing them in their own ways.

Unfortunately not enough people know about these stories, and to be fair even my own parents (who are academics) weren’t supportive of me having a career in sports back when I was in my teens. Hopefully this mindset can gradually shift with better pathways made available, and also with more
opportunities and platforms to profile the amazing people who make up the real sporting Singapore.

How are you contributing to the sporting scene here?

In my current role, I am heading an online initiative that is actively reaching out to the Singapore sporting community. We are also actively looking for sports media partners and content creators to help make Singapore sport and fitness more visible to the wider community who may not even be interested in sports.

What are some misconceptions of fitness in today’s society?

Probably the most common myth is that you need to have the right genes in order to look fit and be healthy. While there are different body types, being healthy is really down to daily habits and self discipline, and also a change in your self talk. Taking good care of your body is an integral part of learning to love yourself.