The fitness optimist
> With the power of positivity, Alex Chee wants to show you that fitness isn’t all that negative of a process
WHILE most people don’t start going to a gym on their own initiative until they are a little older, Alex Chee has actually been hitting the gyms ever since he was 14 years old. And while most people are introduced to the gym by friends, it was Chee’s mother who asked if he wanted to try joining the gym. Eight years on, the 22-year-old is still going strong at the gym and also has his own YouTube channel dispensing fitness tips as well as snippets of his life. Together with his brother Will Chee, they were also former contestants of The Amazing Race Asia’s fifth season, known as the Muscle Brothers. We talk to Chee about his eight years in fitness.
What went through your mind when your mother asked if you wanted to join a gym? I have four older brothers and all of them were at the gym. So when my mother asked if I wanted to join, I immediately agreed – no second thoughts. I wanted to see what results would happen. The very first time I went to the gym, I was so excited that I trained for three and a half hours straight. I was doing chest, biceps, everything I could. It was pure excitement for me. Somehow, time just passed.
Before you joined the gym, were you athletic? I was pretty sporty. I was very active. I played and ran around a lot with my friends back in high school. Basically, I had a lot of energy. Going to the gym helped me channel that energy. It really did help increase not just my energy, but also confidence and look. In a way, it also gave me unlimited energy, if that makes sense!
You’ve been working on your YouTube channel. How did that come about? I started the YouTube channel two years ago. I was just posting videos and putting it out there to see how people would respond to it. So far, it’s not bad. But it was purely just me wanting to share tips – I wasn’t so business-minded about it. I saw how people in the United States did vlogs and it inspired me to do the same because there aren’t many people doing that here in Malaysia. I always use fitness as a core of my videos. I will share fitness tips and exercises. While doing that, I also vlog about my lifestyle, where I go, where I like to eat, and who I hang out with.
Has going to the gym from a young age help shape your lifestyle throughout the years? Growing up, I’ve always had the mindset of leading a healthy lifestyle thanks to my mother. She incorporated that into me from a young age – she’d tell me not to smoke, not to eat chicken skin, and so on. It’s really basic information, but it gave me the mindset of wanting to be healthy. I wouldn’t say the gym helped me improve that, but it did help me learn more about nutrition because I’d put in more time to learn about what to eat to build more muscle, size, or strength. The gym has taught me to put more research into training, nutrition, and more.
Do you go to the gym daily? Back in the day, I used to go seven times a week. But now, I focus on four to five times a week because I’m trying to prioritise my work. I spend 45 minutes to an hour and a half for each session. I don’t like to train beyond that, because I feel it’s too long. I keep it short and intense, because if I don’t achieve that intensity during my training, my body will feel off for the entire day.
For most people, working out takes mental strength and initiative. How do you manage to do it consistently? The most important thing that people lack is having the right attitude. They don’t see how working out consistently will lead to a lot of benefits, instead they focus on the negative aspects such as how it’s tiring, difficult, and takes up a lot of time. I was born optimistic. I’ve always been positive about things – I never look at why things are difficult, but why it can be achieved by other people. If they could do it, so could I. That sort of mind-set has really helped put me in situations where I would just do it and push myself to see how far I can go. I think it’s important to be positive, encourage yourself, and hang out with people who can encourage you because it will define who you are. If you mingle with people who are likeminded, optimistic, energetic, and want to create something amazing every day, you will become like that. I strive to be that positive person who will encourage my friends to follow suit.
What’s the future like for your fitness career? My game plan to take off this new journey is to really step up my YouTube channel. I know that social media and YouTube is a powerful platform to reach out to people and get my name out there. The value that I see in my career is always to help people, provide hope and positivity, information, and to help others achieve what they thought they couldn’t. Honestly speaking, it’s all in the mind and mentality. That’s the sort of message I want to give to people. I want to show them that a guy who is merely 22 years old can have this positive energy and mentality, and is always filled with good vibes.