My life was never easy from the start. I grew up in Manila, and my father died of cancer when I was only 5 years old. My tender years were all about battling hardships and struggling with the basic needs of daily life along with a sibling.

As I grew up, I was extremely focused on studies with the hope that education could improve our lives. With my time largely spent on books instead of sports, I would always avoid other activities such as basketball games with my classmates. As the eldest child, I shouldered the responsibility with my mother and fought for survival with the limited finances we had. Hard work paid off slowly, as I scored scholarships and graduated successfully. That was when I moved to Singapore, found a job and got married with two kids.

I was beaten to my knees again when I got retrenched in 2016, and in an instant my job was gone. I felt my spirit, self-confidence and self-esteem slowly seeping away during this challenging period of my life. It was depressing to look at myself in the mirror, as well as the faces of my children. My wife was deeply worried as I started to lose myself, breaking out in rashes all over my body due to the mounting stress. She constantly cheered me up and encouraged me to discover something new that I have never done before.

My resilience kicked up again there and then, and I knew I had to be strong mentally and physically for my wife and children. I was never fit, but I need to now. The next morning, I found myself signing up for a membership at Fitness First Westgate.