My grandpa Winston was a hat-bearing fit gentleman who would ask me to drop him off in Butterworth just so that he could walk back to Penang Island! My cousin Richard walks an average of 20,000 steps a day – a phenomenal feat considering our minimum daily is 10,000 steps a day. Another cousin Madeleine and husband Hieu, owners of Taste Baguette share their secret. They walk an average of 15-hours a week and walk everywhere because she says, “We like to eat, so we need to walk!”.
“We walk to the shops, to the bank, to the post office, to visit our stores and walk with friends on the weekends to each other’s houses or to have brunch at the store”.
My retired uncle James is an early riser and starts his day with a daily walk of at least 45-minutes before heading back for breakfast. My father has begun a routine of jogging at least 30-minutes around the park in the mornings. I’ve found their stories immensely inspiring and have started on a walking spree myself! I walk to the train station to and from work, I walk to lunch, I walk whenever I find an opportunity to walk. I’ve been walking at least 30-minutes a day! And I love this way of ‘tricking’ my body into exercise.
Just a thought. If you’re reading this while seated, may I invite you to stand up? Go on, that’s the purpose of this article. Just stand and shake your legs, stretch and let the blood flow. Stretch your arms up high. Draw a deep breath and breathe out in two fast spurts. Think about walking. Just visualise it. Imagine it in your mind’s eye.
Here are SEVEN REASONS why you could consider walking at least 30-minutes a day. You won’t regret it once your waist starts to trim and find energy in your feet 😛
Reason 1
Walking is a simple yet great stress reliever. Walking increases your heart rate and helps you breath more efficiently and when you have a combination of these two, you’re bound to feel better already!
Reason 2
It improves your mood. Regular walking outdoors helps you enjoy natural sunlight, lovely scenery and fresh air which can help burn calories and build muscle—all while boosting your mood.
Reason 3
Time out walking gets your blood flowing through to your brains and soon you’ll be ticking with fresh ideas! Stuck on something? Go for a brisk walk and see if it helps.
Reason 4
It reduces your risks of chronic disease. Many university studies have proven that walking lowers your blood sugar levels and your overall risk for diabetes. Imagine… just walking alone can reduce the chances of cardiovascular disease by 30%.
Reason 5
Get rid of those unsightly varicose veins! Our venous system includes an area called ‘the second heart,’ which is formed by muscles, veins, and valves in our calf and feet. Here, blood is pushed back up to the heart and lungs so when you walk, you’re strengthening ‘the second heart’, boost blood flow and reduce varicose veins.
Reason 6
Get your digestive juices flowing and get more regular! As you walk and move, you tend to engage your core and your abdominal muscles, encouraging movement in your gastrointestinal system.
Reason 7
Lose weight! It’s a slow way but a sure way! It may take a month, or two but as you continue to walk, you will notice a tightening of your muscles, especially around your midsection, your legs and buttocks. Regular walking helps improve your body’s response to insulin, which can help reduce belly fat. Your metabolic rate increases too!
So these are the seven reasons but do you really need seven? Try adopt a walk a day now. Walk around the block, up and down the stairs, with a good friend or even with a client in the park. And do tell me about it if it works! Enjoy!!
Click image to join the MOVE8 campaign
Photo credit: Richard Cheah. Follow him on Instagram: @rich_c8. Article by Jasmine Low, co-founder GoInternationalGroup.com’s Innovation Labs, where it’s incubating www.AsiaFitnessToday.com, fitness media and training startup that promotes fitness and wellness programs at the workplace. Originally published on 26 June, 2017.
The visionary filmmaker joins Aaron Sorkin, Gretchen Carlson & Troye Sivan as headline talent for Vivid Ideas.
Vivid Sydney 2022 presents renowned filmmaker and global storyteller Baz Luhrmann at Vivid Ideas: The Business of Baz followed by the highly anticipated Red Carpet Gala premiere of ELVIS – fresh from its World Premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. Both events will take place at the iconic State Theatre in Sydney on 5 June 2022.
The Business of Baz is an intimate, one-of-a-kind conversation hosted by acclaimed journalist and podcaster Marc Fennell. Baz will discuss his remarkable career, the power of storytelling, creativity in chaos and his multi-faceted partnerships with Catherine Martin and Craig Pearce, enthralling audiences with behind-the-scenes tales from the filming of Elvis.
Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis will be released across most Asia Pacific cities on 23 June, 2022. More dates here.
I am delighted that Baz Luhrmann, one of our nation’s greatest cultural luminaries, will be part of Vivid Sydney 2022. His dynamic artistic talents traverse film, television, opera, theatre, music, and recording. His insights into the fashion and art worlds make him incredibly interesting and highly relevant for the Vivid Ideas program.
A seat at an audience with Baz will be one of the hottest tickets in town. This is a one-off opportunity to get first-hand insight into the genius behind his art, his career and of course, his latest movie Elvis. Culminating in the Sydney premiere of his highly-anticipated biopic about another cultural icon–the first time in the festival’s history we have included a film premiere.
Minister for Enterprise, Investment and Trade, Minister for Tourism and Sport and Minister for Western Sydney, Stuart Ayres
Baz Luhrmann joins a powerful, thought-provoking Vivid Ideas line-up for 2022, as a Global Storyteller alongside Aaron Sorkin, Gretchen Carlson & Troye Sivan. Baz is a creative visionary with a body of work that embodies everything Vivid Ideas is about–celebrating those who push creative boundaries, tell stories that challenge the status quo and drive change for good. Both he and Catherine Martin personify Sydney style and creativity.
Vivid Sydney 2022 Festival Director, Gil Minervini
Coming from a very small town about four hours north of Sydney, it’s not an exaggeration that David Williamson’s description of it as the Emerald City was spot on, for I always looked toward Sydney on my journey down the yellow brick road. From growing up on the northern beaches, opening The Bond Theatre Company and creating experimental opera, during my time at NIDA, and throughout the development and shooting of my first film, Strictly Ballroom, Sydney has been a haven for me and a place abuzz with energy”. “CM and I will never forget the romance of this majestic city, which is forever in our hearts. We created our first-ever Australian opera, La Bohème, at the Sydney Opera House back in 1993, so, it’s only fitting that we return to the Emerald City to share our latest work, Elvis, fulfilling the dream that we Australians can conceive of anything, bring it to life here, and deliver it to the world.
Baz Luhrmann
Baz Luhrmann is appearing as part of Vivid Idea’s Global Storytellers series, which include fearless women’s rights advocate and Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People, Gretchen Carlson, Oscar and Emmy Award-winning theatre and film director Aaron Sorkin and iconoclastic musician, fashion maverick and creative powerhouse Troye Sivan.
ELVIS is in cinemas in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Australia from 23 June. More dates here.
Event details:
Baz Luhrmann and Marc Fennell discussing the Business of Baz, Sunday 5 June, 3pm–4pm, State Theatre, Sydney: A household name synonymous with fantasy, romance and decadence, Baz Luhrmann is a creative visionary and has captured audiences around the world with his highly theatrical and flamboyant productions–he will chart his rise from small town NSW to the heights of Hollywood and the trials and tribulations along the way. Purchase a ticket to the Business of Baz Ideas talk now: https://www.vividsydney.com/event/ideas/the-business-of-baz.
Warner Bros. Pictures and Vivid Sydney present the Sydney Premiere of Elvis, Sunday 5 June, From 6pm, State Theatre, Sydney: Vivid Sydney is proud to present alongside Warner Bros. Pictures the Sydney premiere of Baz Luhrmann’s latest work, Elvis. Starring Austin Butler and Oscar winner Tom Hanks, the film explores the life and music of Elvis Presley (Butler), seen through the prism of his complicated relationship with his enigmatic manager, Colonel Tom Parker (Hanks). Australia native Olivia DeJonge also stars as Priscilla. Purchase an Elvis Premiere Package now, including a ticket to both the Business of Baz Ideas Talk and the Elvis premiere: https://www.vividsydney.com/event/ideas/the-business-of-baz
Vivid Sydney, the annual festival of creativity, innovation and technology, will transform Sydney’s CBD into a fusion of Light, Music and Ideas for 23 nights, from 27 May to 18 June 2022. Business of Baz joins more than more than 85 intriguing talks and workshops as part of the Vivid Ideas program, which explores the forces that shape not only Sydney’s unique community, but all great cities around the world.
Among some of the highlights at Vivid Sydney 2022, the Sydney Harbour Bridge and ‘Our Connected City’ will be illuminated.Photo credit: Mandy Lights/Destination NSW
To book tickets to Vivid Sydney events and performances, and for more information on the program go to www.vividsydney.com.
I’m thankful that so many of you are already exercising and improving your overall fitness, there are still so many of our friends and family that have the awareness of fitness instilled, yet not practiced.
My team and I are constantly professing the importance of ‘movement’ and exercise simply because it helps maintain a stronger more efficient heart, helps reduce the risk of heart disease and diabetes, gives us stronger muscles and bones, reduces cholesterol levels and improves mental health. This is what we set out to do when I co-founded Asia Fitness Today. If we could get people to just start being aware first, then naturally they will start to move and soon enough, they will have fitness instilled in their minds.
Exercise as an impetus for weight loss
Some individuals believe that just two to three workouts a week will magically shed unwanted kilos from their bodies. Unfortunately these same individuals then become frustrated when it does not happen. Although exercise is vital to our overall quality of life, it is important to understand how exercise impacts weight loss, especially for those just starting a weight loss program.
In a week, we need to burn 2,000 calories through physical activity in order to lose weight! So, unless your plan involves numerous high-intensity exercise sessions each week, it is unlikely that you’ll achieve your weight loss goals through exercise alone.
Does dieting actually help us lose weight?
When we start to reduce our normal daily caloric intake by more than 30% (for example cutting back from 2,200 daily calories to less than 1,540 calories), we start to consciously feel deprived of food and choices, which frequently results in failure to stick to diet programs for sustained periods of time. Reductions of approximately <20% however can usually be implemented without such deprived feelings. That said, I understand our society today is constantly fed with amazing gastronomic photography via social media and tempted by “How-to” cooking programmes on the numerous food channels! Dieting is quite difficult to achieve without proper nutrition guidance. So getting proper advice is a good start!
Dieting is NOT a good way to lose weight
As we age, we lose muscle tissue which reduces our ability to function independently. Research has shown that a woman between the ages of 30 and 70 may lose as much as 23% of her muscle tissue whereas a man may lose up to 21 – 22% of his muscle mass during that same time period. In turn, this loss generally compromises our quality of life, progressively preventing us from doing the things we enjoy or need to do as we get older. Choosing to follow a diet without any activity, movement or exercise plan can certainly lead to initial weight loss, but for every kilogramme lost, only 69% of that kilogramme will originate from fat tissue, whereas the remaining 31% will originate from the loss of muscle tissue, something we should all try to avoid. This skinny fat approach is certainly not a healthy solution.
Tips on the best way to lose the kilos
Cardio activity complements your dietary strategies and can help you lose weight, but again for every kilogram lost, only 78% of that weight will originate from fat tissue, whereas the remaining 22% will originate from muscle tissue.
However, including some form of resistance training (weights, machines, yoga, etc.) on the other hand is the most effective weight loss method as it can preserve almost all your existing muscle as 97 % of the weight loss originates from fat tissue (5), keeping you ‘fit, healthy and functional.’ Furthermore,by preserving or even adding a few kilograms of muscle tissue, you can maintain or even elevate your metabolism which helps you burn additional calories through the day. This number could amount to 100 calories each day, the equivalent to approximately 3 kilograms over the period of one year.
What is N.E.A.T and how does it help us lose weight?
The case presented above makes a strong argument for a comprehensive approach that includes both a dietary and activity plan to achieve weight loss effectively. However, as exercise alone is generally inadequate unless one finds more time in an already busy schedule, what other options are available? Over the past few years, researchers have begun investigating the remaining 110 – 115 hours of the week that we are awake as a weight loss solution, rather than the few hours a week spent trying to exercise. The results are impressive as they provide so many opportunities to achieve effective and sustained weight loss without complicating our lives, finding more time to exercise, doing things we may despise, or even exceeding our own comfort levels or abilities.
We call these expended calories N.E.A.T (non-exercise activity thermogenesis) and it is the energy expended for everything we do that does not include sleeping, eating, or exercise; and ranges from simple things like standing and fidgeting to moving about. For example, a 68 kg. person burns approximately 102 calories an hour while performing their office job in a seated position (1.7 kcal / minute), but burns 174 calories an hour if performing those same office duties while standing. This may not seem like much, but it translates to 18,000 calories or a little over 2.2 kg. over a 50-week work year (250 work days). By comparison, that same person would need to squeeze in 60, 30-minute runs at 8 km/hour to achieve that same caloric burn.
Changing the way we think about weight loss
The goal with this article is to help you rethink the approach to where and how one can burn calories by making the entire day a weight loss “battlefield”. This is the area we can exploit to complement the exercise we want to do, and not feel like we have to do. Sitting all day only welcomes weight gain. So how do we do it then?
Create a list of your general daily activities (e.g., 6:30–7:30 am – preparing for work; 7:30–8:00 am – commuting to work; 8:00–12:30 pm – working at desk, mostly seated activities, etc.).
Are you aware of how many hours you spend sitting each day?
Compile a list, the contents may just startle you.
Identify problematic areas where you notice time spent in seated positions and think creatively of ways to accomplish these same activities while standing (e.g., texting, talking on the phone).
Challenge yourself to try one to three ideas just once, starting with challenges you feel confident in accomplishing.
Evaluate your experiences, but don’t force things you don’t like. If you enjoyed the experience and feel confident you can do it again. Attempt that same challenge every day for the next week (finite challenge). If not, select new challenges to try.
Evaluate your weekly experience. Again, if you enjoyed the experience and feel confident you can do it for a longer period, attempt that same challenge for two weeks and so on, building towards an infinite or ongoing challenge.
Integrating N.E.A.T into our daily lives
Some simple, initial challenges you could try:
Stand more. Start by attempting to stand or move about for 5 to 10-minute increments while you complete various daily activities
Wash your car by hand
Pace the sidelines at your kids’ athletic games
Carry your groceries instead of pushing a cart
Walk briskly through the mall
Walk to work or use the LRT
Take the long way to the water cooler or bathroom at the office
Walk to a co-worker’s desk instead of emailing or calling them
Pace while talking on the phone
Find ways to integrate standing and moving activities – a little here and there. Remember, every little calorie counts throughout your day; every little victory moves you forward. As little as 100 calories each day translates to approximately 4.5 kgs. lost in a year; 200 calories equals the loss of 9 kgs, without even breaking a sweat. By comparison, 4.5 kgs for a 68 kg. person requires almost 120, 30-minute cardio sessions at 8 km/hour. So, add these N.E.A.T calories to an exercise plan you find manageable and enjoyable, and you’ll enjoy greater success in achieving your weight loss goals.
Article compiled by Nikki Yeo, FMS–certified practitioner and ACE-certified Fitness Trainer.
AFT Podcasts membentangkan Podkes Move 8, Move It, Move AID, memberi gambaran tentang hati dan minda orang biasa yang menggunakan irama dan kecergasan sebagai terapi untuk hidup dengan baik dan gembira. Hos podkes Jasmine Low & Nikki Yeo mencipta “Move8 Fitness Movement” pada tahun 2018 dan mereka berkongsi lapan kaedah Move8 untuk mencapai kesihatan dan kesejahteraan.
Hidupkan kapsyen pada video podcast ini untuk membaca transkrip: https://youtu.be/EGTMPNERjwE
Dalam episod ini, kami bertemu Ryan Hogan, Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif Les Mills Asia Pasifik yang mengejar misi untuk planet yang lebih sihat dan cergas! Berasal dari Kanada, Ryan telah menerajui industri kecergasan selama dua dekad yang lalu dan salah satu karyanya yang paling terkenal adalah di FILEX – Acara Pendidikan Kecergasan terkemuka terbesar. Beliau menyelia Les Mills di lebih 14 negara dari Canberra, Australia ke Malaysia, Filipina, Indonesia, Singapura, Brunei, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Kemboja, Laos, Maldives, Guam dan Papua New Guinea.
Seorang atlet Sukan Olimpik dan Komanwel dengan nama Les Mills menubuhkan sebuah gimnasium di Auckland, New Zealand 50 tahun yang lalu pada tahun 1968. Ia mengambil masa 30 tahun bangunan gimnasium, senaman barbell pra-choreographed inovatif yang dikenali sebagai BODYPUMP® dan visi seorang usahawan bernama Bill Robertson dari Canberra untuk merevolusikan industri kecergasan dengan BODYPUMP® menjadikannya kelas senaman kumpulan yang paling terkenal di dunia. Kemudian datang Les Mills Asia Pacific dan Les Mills International, dan hari ini, perniagaan yang melesenkan 20 program yang berbeza kepada lebih daripada 21,000 kelab di lebih 110 negara dengan lebih daripada 140,000 pengajar bertauliah menyampaikan latihan grup ataupun latihan kumpulan kepada lebih daripada tujuh juta orang setiap minggu.
1:40 (AFT-Jasmine): WOW! Bagaimanakah Les Mills dapat mendaftar 140,000 orang pengajar bertauliah?
(LMAP-Ryan): Perjalanannya panjang dan kami telah mengumpul banyak pengalaman untuk mencapai sukses. Konsep kecergasan gim pada pertengahan 1990-an meletup di seluruh dunia, jadi kami semua bekerja keras, ramai tim yang melambai bendera jenama Les Mills.
Ryan Hogan– Photo credit Les Mills Asia Pacific
2:15 (AFT-Jasmine): Sebahagian besar kerjaya anda adalah dalam perniagaan kecergasan. Bagaimana itu berlaku dan apa yang mendorong semangat anda dalam kecergasan?
(LMAP-Ryan): Seluruh kerjaya saya memang dalam industri kecergasan. Saya adalah ahli gim sejak saya masih sangat muda. Saya menyertai grup kecergasan, pada masa itu pada tahun 80-an dan 90-an, dan memanggilnya Tarian Aerobik. Keluarga saya menggemari muzik, dan muzik adalah sebahagian daripada kehidupan kami. Sifat bersenam serta muzik dalam grup yang besar benar-benar digemari saya. Dari seorang peserta yang mencabari pelatih gim, saya telah dilulus sebagai seorang pengajar semasa saya berada di sekolah perniagaan. Saya sangat bertuah dan bersyukur bahawa saya masih berada dalam bidang kecergasan.
Saya dibesarkan di Mexico dan keahlian gimnasium agak berpatutan namun ia adalah sesuatu aktiviti bukan semua lapisan masyarakat akan dapat akses pada masa itu, tidak berbeza dengan negara-negara lain. Orang Mexico benar-benar meraihkan sukan bola sepak. Jadi kecergasan adalah perkara baru pada pertengahan 90-an, tetapi apabila masyarakat middle-class berkembang, apabila pendapatan mereka kian meningkat di Eropah, Amerika Syarikat ataupun di Asia Tenggara, begitu juga aktiviti seperti kecergasan di gimnasium.
Ryan Hogan – Photo credit Les Mills Asia Pacific
4:57 (AFT-Jasmine) Ibu anda adalah seorang ahli akademik dan anda berpindah dari Kanada ke Mexico. Bagaimana Mexico membentukmu?
Ibu mengajar bahasa Inggeris; English-as-a-second-language. Dia seorang profesor Inggeris. Kami berdua lahir dan dibesarkan di Toronto, Kanada dan ibu mengambil jawatan di Mexico 30 tahun yang lalu dan dia masih berada di sana! Mexico adalah tempat yang indah, penuh dengan orang yang baik, makanan sedap dan budaya mereka yang hebat juga!
5:25 (AFT-Jasmine) Adakah kamu tahu bahawa Datuk Bandar kota Oaxaca di Mexico mengumumkan bahawa anak-anak di bawah umur 18 tahun dilarang membeli minuman manis.
(LMAP-Ryan) Orang Mexico, selain daripada orang dari Amerika Syarikat, adalah konsumer minuman ringan tertinggi di dunia. Mereka meminumnya bergelen-gelen (berliter-liter), jadi larangan ini adalah inisiatif yang baik kerana minuman manis adalah tabiat yang tidak sihat dan penyumbang besar kepada obesiti.
6:00 (AFT-Jasmine) Di negara-negara berbahasa Sepanyol seperti Mexico, muzik adalah teras dalam budaya mereka. Ketika merancang Gerakan Kecergasan Move8, kami diilhamkan oleh video yang dipanggil FOLI, mengenai suku Malinke di Afrika. Seorang lelaki dalam video itu berkata, “tiada pergerakan tanpa irama”. Jadi, program-program Les Mills amat menarik sebab ianya membawa tarian, irama musik dan kegiatan sosial.. bukan hanya senaman. Bagaimana anda mengembangkan jenama ini dengan cara sisi ini?
(LMAP-Ryan) Walaupun saya telah bersama Les Mills hanya selama tiga tahun, saya telah terlibat sebagai instruktur sebelum ini, mengajar kelas kecergasan seperti BODYPUMP®.
Philip Mills, seorang amat penting dalam keluarga Les Mills, berpendapat bahawa muzik itu benar-benar penting dalam bisnis kita. Kami memang cukup bersemangattentang muzik. Pasukan pelesenan kami di New Zealand mula bergerak ke arah mencipta muzik kami sendiri dan bekerja dengan pemuzik dan artis-artis. Kami kini menjadi majikan terbesar artis rakaman di New Zealand, menghasilkan muzik yang dapat diedarkan ke seluruh dunia bersama program kecergasan kita. Semangat kami dengan kualiti dan penelitian di setiap bahagian bisnis kami ini adalah sebahagian besar daripada apa yang mendorong kejayaan kami.
Taktik penelitian itu mungkin berasal dari DNA Olimpiade.. Pengasas Les Mills adalah pemegang rekod diskus selama 40 tahun, betul?
(LMAP-Ryan) Ya, betul. Ya, harus! Sebagai seorang atlet tahap Olimpik, Les Mills memang meneliti dan berobsesi dengan kualiti yang tinggi.
8:20 (AFT-Nikki): Anda sudah lama meneroka bidang kecergasan, mendorong jualan keahlian, meningkatan kemahiran jurulatih kecergasan. Baru-baru ini, Les Mills telah memacu Virtual Fitness dengan aplikasi baru Les Mills PLUS. Apakah pendapat anda mengenai kecergasan secara grup di Metaverse?
(LMAP-Ryan) Kecergasan dalam dunia digital pada tahun 2021 selepas dua tahun menangani Covid-19 dan kita tahu bahawa dalam dunia pra-Covid-19, ramai orang mula bersenam di rumah dan corak aktiviti orang ramai pun berubah. Gimnasium itu bukan semata-mata tempat di mana anda akan bersenam. Orang di bandar besar mungkin kemiskinan masa, tetapi dunia digital mendemokrasikan segala-galanya dan digital juga mudah diakses oleh semua orang yang mempunyai akses ke Internet dan peranti digital. Kecergasan adalah sebahagian daripada dunia digital itu. Enam tujuh tahun lalu, kami telah meningkati program kecergasan di atas talian dunia digital. Ianya bukan fenomena baru. Sesiapa yang berada di sekitar tahun 80-an, akan mengingati ibu-bapa memasang video VHS di ruang tamu dan melakukan beberapa langkah aerobik (mengikuti Jack Lalaine ataupun Jane Fonda). Tetapi sudah tentu digital membawanya ke depan, dan kecergasan yang dimomokkan di rumah. Beberapa tahun yang lalu, kami di Les Mills telah berfikir tentang perniagaan kami, bagaimana mengedarkan produk kami iaitu konten kami dan bagaimana kami boleh berkembang untuk membantu rakan kelab kami melampaui empat dinding dan pergi lebih luas dan selaras dengan misi global kami untuk mengerakkan lebih ramai orang – ‘For a Fitter Planet ‘, mengisi gimnasium dan mendapatkan lebih ramai orang lebih aktif. Jadi kami mula melabur dalam Les Mills On Demand, yang kini dikenali sebagai Les Mills PLUS yang merupakan aplikasi yang menghadap pengguna dan Covid-19 baru sahaja meletup! Digital di sini untuk kekal.
Les Mills Group Fitness – Photo credit Les Mills Asia Pacific
Pada bulan Mei 2021, kami meninjau lebih daripada 12,000 konsumer kecergasan di seluruh dunia dan bertanya, “Apakah tabiat anda pos-pandemik?”.
Majoriti berkata, “Saya ingin dikelilingi rakan-rakan saya, berada di gimnasium, saya ingin menyertai grup kecergasan! Tapi aku sudah terbiasa, dan menikmati kenyamanan bekerja di luar rumah”. 60% berkata mereka ingin melatih di gimnasium dengan rakan-rakan dan instruktor. 40% berkata mereka akan latih bersendirian. Pada masa ini kami terlibat melalui aplikasi, atau TV. Langkah seterusnya adalah realiti maya, realiti tambahan antara tempat ketiga antara kerja dan rumah. Fikirkan jenama Apple, Amazon dan Google. Misi Apple mengelilingi kesihatan individu dan mereka ingin menjadikan dunia lebih sihat. Masa kita di ruang tradisional itu singkat, tetapi terdapat banyak peluang juga.
12:27 (AFT-Jasmine) Dengan ini meta alam semesta besar datang ke depan, apa yang Les Mills benar-benar semua tentang?
(LMAP-Ryan) “For a Fitter Planet”! Itulah risalah Les Mills. Kami ingin mengubah pengalaman kecergasan dalam dinamik grup. Kami bersemangat tentang kualiti kelas kami, kami bersemangat tentang kualiti instruktur kami dan kami benar-benar percaya pada sukses menjalankan aktiviti grup.
Les Mills Virtual Training – – Photo credit Les Mills Asia Pacific
Memandangkan latar belakang saya walaupun pra-Les Mills, bersenam dalam kumpulan adalah apa yang mengubah hidup saya. Di dunia Les Mills, kita memiliki istilah ini kita sebut groupness. Maksud saya ia bukan perkataan yang sebenar, tetapi kuasa kumpulan adalah keterangkuman berada dalam kumpulan, ia adalah akauntabiliti berada dalam kumpulan, muncul ke kelas dengan rakan-rakan anda, sambungan yang anda ada dengan pengajar di atas pentas yang sangat bersedia untuk menyampaikan pengalaman seolah rockstar, ia adalah peningkatan tenaga yang anda dapat dari berada di sekeliling orang lain.
Seperti kita semua, saya telah melalui beberapa lockdown semasa covid-19 ini. Saya mempunyai persediaan rumah yang cukup baik jadi saya dilatih melaluinya kerana senaman adalah sebahagian daripada hidup saya tetapi lockdown tidak akan menghentikan itu. Saya melakukan senaman yang sama di rumah tetapi saya mendapati bahawa monitor kadar jantung saya menunjukkan saya bekerja 30% lebih keras apabila bekerja dalam kumpulan dengan rakan-rakan di studio daripada ketika berada di rumah. Dan itulah kekuatan dari sebuah kelompok! Ini adalah angkat kolektif berada di sekitar orang-orang yang bekerja dengan Anda dengan instruktur. Kuasa pasang surut.
Satu lagi analogi yang boleh saya buat adalah perbezaan antara mendengar muzik di Spotify dan apabila mendengar lagu yang sama yang dipersembahkan secara langsung dalam konsert, yang dipersembahkan di hadapan penonton secara langsung, ia adalah kuasa pasang surut yang semakin meningkat, itulah kekuatan kumpulan.
15:00 (AFT-Jasmine): Nombor lapan, Move8 adalah idea di mana anda memerlukan lapan orang dalam grup untuk menggalakkan satu sama lain untuk beraktif. Keluarga saya mempunyai Penyakit Ginjal (Type 2 Diabetes). Bermulanya, saya pra-diabetik tetapi sejak memulakan podcast ini, saya telah berjaya membalikkan pra-diabetes saya. Jadi kami ingin berkongsi melalui podkes ini.
Apa yang Les Mills cuba lakukan di seluruh Asia Tenggara, termasuk di Guam, Maldives.. Jadi jika saya seorang instruktur kecergasan dan saya berminat untuk menyertai Les Mills, bagaimana saya melakukannya?
(LMAP-Ryan) Kami telah melatih lebih dari 140,000 instruktur aktif di seluruh dunia, dan ratusan ribu instruktur tiday aktif selama 25 tahun, kami sudah cukup baik pada sistem yang telah kami ciptakan. Jika anda berada di Asia Tenggara atau Australia, itu adalah proses tiga hari yang rusak selama beberapa bulan. Anda akan mendapat latihan kemahiran program BODYPUMP® atau apa sahaja yang anda mahu belajar, kemudian dua hari di mana anda diajar asas-asas apa yang diperlukan dalam menyampaikan pengalaman bertaraf dunia. Selepas dua hari itu, anda keluar dan bekerja dengan mentor pengajar di kelab kesihatan tempatan anda, dan anda mula membayangi di mana anda berada di atas pentas berdiri di belakang pengajar, meniru pergerakan tanpa pengajaran, maka akhirnya anda memulakan pengajaran pasukan, di mana anda berkongsi kelas, di mana mentor anda akan memberi anda maklum balas. Lapan minggu kemudian, anda muncul pada hari ketiga, di mana anda kemudian membentangkan (mengajar) beberapa lagu kepada rakan-rakan anda beberapa kali dan selepas hari ketiga jika anda telah memenuhi kriteria dan lulus penilaian, anda mula mengajar. Ini tidak mudah! Kami dikenal untuk pelatihan tidak mudah sama sekali. Ini adalah latihan yang menuntut secara fizikal, kerana anda perlu menjadi model peranan fizikal jika anda akan menjadi pengajar dengan jenama. Kami mempunyai kriteria yang sangat ketat dan ia juga mungkin gagal. Tetapi kami bangga dengan kriteria yang anda perlukan untuk memenuhi dan di luar latihan, ada peningkatan kemahiran yang berterusan. Program kami dikemas kini setiap suku tahun dan pengajar kami perlu meningkatkan kemahiran setiap suku tahun dengan mempelajari siaran baru.
Ini adalah bagaimana kita mengekalkan obsesi kita dengan kualiti. Kami telah melakukan 120-130 siaran setiap tiga bulan dan kami tidak berhenti walaupun semasa Covid. Kita perlu mengemas kini setiap suku tahun dan kita perlu memastikan bahawa kita mempunyai pergerakan terkini dan muzik terkini, dan kita tidak berhenti walaupun semasa Covid. Kami memastikan kami menemukan cara untuk membuatnya bekerja bahkan selama penguncian ketat. Kandungan kami secara global dihasilkan di Auckland, New Zealand di mana studio rakaman kami terletak. Obsesi ini dengan kualiti benar-benar sebahagian daripada siapa kita.
19:50 (AFT-Jasmine) Bagaimanakah pemilik gimnasium mendaftar masuk ke perkongsian Les Mills?
Apabila anda bekerjasama dengan Les Mills, kami akan datang dan melesenkan produk dan kelas, dan kami menambah nilai dengan menyokong anda dengan menguruskan jadual waktu kecergasan kumpulan anda. Selalunya kelab kesihatan adalah perniagaan kecil-sederhana dan mempunyai beberapa cabaran yang berbeza dan kecergasan kumpulan adalah salah satu daripada mereka. Kami benar-benar bekerjasama dengan kelab dan membawa nilai positif. Kelab hartanah dan kesihatan kecergasan kumpulan harus menjadi bahagian hartanah yang paling menguntungkan dalam kelab kesihatan kerana bilangan orang yang anda boleh berpaling ganda.
21:00 (AFT-Nikki): Beritahu kami lebih lanjut tentang misi Les Mills, “For a Fitter Planet”.
(LMAP-Ryan) Ada buku ini oleh Simon Sinek, “Mulakan dengan Mengapa”, perniagaan hebat bermula dengan mengapa dan apa yang lebih hebat mengapa daripada Untuk Planet Fitter. Ini benar-benar tentang segala sesuatu yang kita lakukan. Kami percaya pada kekuatan kecergasan untuk benar-benar mengubah planet ini, untuk mengubah cara kita hidup dan kesihatan kita. Kecergasan adalah salah satu elemen kesihatan, ia adalah apa yang anda makan, tidur anda, ia adalah tentang mewujudkan Planet Fitter. Kami percaya melalui kualiti kelas kecergasan kumpulan kami, sama ada di kelab atau di rumah melalui aplikasi Les Mills PLUS, kami benar-benar boleh menyumbang kepada planet yang lebih sihat dan cergas. Ini obsesi yang kita miliki tentang terus bergerak maju.
22:20 (AFT-Jasmine) Di Singapura dan Malaysia, kami sudah biasa dengan jenama seperti Class Pass, K-Fit, Guava Pass dan lain-lain. Apa pendapat anda tentang peluang seperti ini untuk pengguna, dan di sisi lain, untuk perniagaan?
(LMAP-Ryan) Mereka adalah “aggregator”, dan bagi konsumer, ianya bagus sebab ramai. Ia memberi pengguna lebih banyak peluang untuk mencuba senaman yang berbeza. Ia hebat di sisi lain untuk kemudahan, studio dan kelab kerana ia adalah hebat untuk mengakses lebih ramai orang dan mendapatkan lebih ramai orang melalui pintu mereka. Ia bagus untuk studio yang lebih kecil yang berjuang untuk mendapatkan lebih ramai orang ke gim mereka. Akhirnya ia adalah tentang mendemokrasikan akses kepada kecergasan. Sekiranya jenama ini mendapat lebih banyak orang yang lebih aktif, itu adalah perkara yang baik.
27:50 (AFT-Jasmine): Adakah anda fikir model perniagaan gim akan berubah pada masa akan datang?
(LMAP-Ryan) Penyelidikan baru-baru ini yang kami lakukan pada bulan Mei 2021 menunjukkan sambutan yang luar biasa kepada, “Saya mahu bersenam dengan orang lain, saya mahu berada dalam kumpulan, saya mahu berada di sekeliling orang lain”. Itu adalah alasan no. 1 mengapa aku ingin keluar. Saya tidak percaya gim akan berubah secara drastik, selain daripada mereka perlu memeluk digital. Ia secara tradisinya sejenis perniagaan batu bata dan mortar, anda mendapat keahlian, kami mahu anda datang ke gim sekerap yang anda boleh kerana itu meningkatkan kepenatan dan anda akan tinggal lebih lama, tetapi kami tahu bahawa selepas dua tahun belajar bagaimana untuk bersenam di rumah, sebahagian daripada kita telah menjadi agak baik pada itu, jadi gimnasium, kelab kesihatan perlu belajar tentang bagaimana untuk menjadi saluran pengedaran untuk itu, dan bersaing dengan orang-orang seperti Apple, Google dan lain-lain. Apple tidak ingin membawamu ke gym. Apple mahu membuat anda sihat dan menjual jam tangan dan telefon anda.
Kelab kesihatan atau gimnasium benar-benar boleh menjadi pusat itu. Ia boleh menjadi tempat ketiga. Anda telah mendapat rumah, kerja dan tempat ketiga, di mana di banyak negara tempat ketiga akan menjadi pub. Gim bisa menjadi tempat ketiga. Jika pengguna memakan kecergasan secara digital, maka gimnasium perlu melihat bagaimana mereka boleh menjadi sebahagian daripada itu dan bagaimana mereka boleh memberikan pengalaman yang luar biasa di gimnasium dan juga di rumah, maka ahli mereka tidak perlu pergi ke tempat lain.
Saya tidak fikir model perniagaan akan berubah sebanyak itu tetapi bagaimana anda menunaikan janji yang akan berubah.
Dalam penyelidikan, negara mana yang paling aktif ketika datang ke kecergasan?
(LMAP-Ryan) Australia, New Zealand, Amerika Syarikat, United Kingdom dan Eropah Barat, dan ia tidak ada kaitan dengan budaya tetapi kematangan industri kecergasan. Jika anda melihat peratusan penduduk di negara-negara Asia yang merupakan ahli gimnasium, ia sangat rendah. Walau bagaimanapun, jika anda melihat penyertaan bandar di bandar-bandar besar seperti Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok atau Jakarta, ia jauh lebih tinggi. Potensi untuk berkembang adalah untuk berpindah dari pusat bandar ke negara ini.
27:50 (AFT-Jasmine) Apakah ada konvensi tahunan yang les Mills jalankan?
(LMAP-Ryan) Pra-Covid, ya, kita telah melakukannya. Kami mempunyai komuniti besar, besar, besar pengajar dan jurulatih di Eropah dan komuniti besar di Amerika Utara – pasaran kecergasan terbesar di dunia. Kami digunakan untuk berkumpul di suatu tempat di Eropa di mana kita bisa membuat banyak kebisingan! Yang terakhir kami lakukan adalah di sebuah resor di Eropa Selatan. Ia hebat!
Kami juga telah pergi digital dengan persidangan dan acara dalam talian tetapi kami benar-benar melihat untuk menghasilkan Les Mills Live, di mana kami membawa jenama hidup-hidup kepada masyarakat. Ia berjalan beberapa hari, dengan program yang dicipta oleh pengajar di New Zealand. Les Mills Live terakhir adalah di Marina Bay Sands di Singapura dengan lebih dari 2000 instruktur. Kami menjalankan pertempuran badan dengan lebih daripada 1200 orang di kelas di dalam bilik BIG dengan banyak skrin dan pentas BIG. Ini mengenai kelompokan, dan bagaimana bersenam dengan hanya beberapa rakan sekerja di dalam bilik, kini bayangkan dengan 1200 orang. Ini pengalaman yang hebat! Perhimpunan besar itu adalah sebahagian daripada keteguhan jenama kami, dan kami benar-benar berharap untuk melakukannya lagi.
32:00 (AFT-Jasmine): Mengapa anda fikir orang Australia dan New Zealand hanya begitu baik pada program kecergasan?
(LMAP-Ryan) Antipodeans, iaitu Australia dan New Zealand mempunyai budaya sukan BIG yang tertanam dari ketika anda masih kecil, anda membuang bola atau menendang bola, anda berlari atau berenang, anda berada di kolam renang atau menyelam. Sukan di TV, anda pergi ke footie dengan bapa anda, pasangan anda, lelaki atau perempuan, ia adalah sebahagian daripada budaya yang berurat berakar dan konsep menjadi sihat dan sihat tertanam dalam budaya. Yang saya pikir berbeda dari seluruh dunia.
Try this 30-minute at-home Strength Training Workout | BODYPUMP | LES MILLS x REEBOK: https://youtu.be/kPl66RocFDo
Terima kasih kerana menyertai kami pada satu lagi episod Move it, Move 8, Move AID Podcast. Langgan pada platform podcast pilihan anda.
Show Credits:
Thanks to Analee at Les Mills Asia Pacific for making this interview happen.
Some photographs maybe be inappropriate for younger viewers. Discretion is advised. For viewers of age, this is art. Please do not proceed if nudity offends you.
Twice Gold Award-winner for ‘Fairy Tales’ (2017), Special Photographer of the Year and ‘The Circus of Extinction’ (2020) 1st Place / Special/Digitally Enhanced at the prestigious International Photography Awards (IPA) in New York, Cristian Townsend is a West Australian, living and working in Osaka, Japan.
Through dreamlike photomontages, he questions and push boundaries beyond cultural conventions… in order to seek truth. Inspired by Surrealism’s provocation and Buddhist philosophy, Townsend was one of 124 participants from 52 different countries who exhibited their works at the 14th edition of The International Surrealism Now Exhibition held in May 2021 at the Center of Arts and Spectacle (CAE) in the city of Figueira da Foz in Portugal, a project created by Santiago Ribeiro, Portuguese surrealist artist. The exhibition is the largest exhibition of surrealism of the 21st century in the world, consisting of works of painting, drawing, digital art, sculpture, and photography.
In an email interview, team AFT asks Townsend about his artistic direction and inspirations. His photomontages use motifs from Classical to Modernist Art, from War-time Propaganda to Modern Advertising, the Cinema, the Mass Media and Science Fiction.
AFT: Which pieces of works did exhibit at the International Surrealism NOW exhibition, and why did you choose those pieces?
Townsend: Santiago Ribeiro has been a driving force in the visionary art scene. The International Surrealism NOW exhibition is an amazing effort and I’m very happy to be included in it. I have two photos in this exhibition. Both are older works.
One is called Gondola in the Desert. It was inspired by a trip to Venice and is about the power of creativity.
The other image is called Body Politik: Monarchy. This is part of a series that expresses some political ideologies as human bodies fighting against themselves. Most political Art is propaganda and usually depicts the desired ideology as an Utopian ideal. I wanted to depict ideology as something that is in flux and that is in constant conflict. With the rise of ideology in recent times I think that is an important point.
Gondola in the Desert, one of the pieces exhibited at the International Surrealism NOW exhibition. Model: Clement Denquin | All rights reserved – Cristian Townsend.
“Everything should be questioned and everything should be explored. Art is the exploration of what is possible.”
Cristian Townsend
Body Politik: Monarchy Model: Lucy Chi Chi | All rights reserved – Cristian Townsend
AFT: Tell us about your environment, while growing up.
Townsend: I grew up in Perth, Western Australia. My family were English and they moved to Australia when I was two. My father worked in TV, first at the BBC, working on TV shows like Dr Who, and then at the ABC in Australia. He was also a photographer who took photos of local and international celebrities. He gave me a basic camera when I was a kid, and I used to take photos of my toys putting them in dioramas. Also, there were many art and photo books around the house, which fired my imagination. I was always interested in fantasy and Surrealism from a young age. There were photo books on Bill Brandt, Man Ray, Helmut Newton, Horst, Beaton, Uelsmann and many others. These photographers still inspire me today.
I used to draw and paint a lot as a child. Eventually I got into a Special Art program at High School. It taught me different painting and photography techniques as well as Art History. The well known children’s book artist Shaun Tan also went to the same high school.
AFT: What or who were your influences?
Townsend: My dad had a traditional darkroom and, inspired by Surrealist painters and particularly Jerry Uelsmann’s and Man Ray’s pre Photoshop photomontages, I started to experiment with my own style. First I used lith film masks to create photomontages. I had some promising early success; I got published in some local magazines and started winning some local awards. After I finished studying communications at university I started working for one of the first digital photo labs in Perth. I used to do all the retouching and photo manipulation for local photographers.
I love Surrealism, but I don’t really believe in Art categories. The artists that I have always admired are the Visionary artists like Bosch, DaVinci Goya, Dali, Magritte, Moreau, Redon and many others. The world we live in is full of cliches. The best artists in my view, open up the world of imagination and the possibilities of what can be achieved. This is even more important these days of political divisiveness and misinformation.
AFT: What is the one thing you strive to do with your art? Have you been successful?
Townsend: Art, primarily, should be about expressing truth through personal symbolism. For me, it is all about trying to understand the complexity of the world in a deeper, symbolic way, even if that may be disturbing or controversial to some.
I hope to have symbolic consistency and a unique worldview in my photographs. I think I’m getting closer to achieving that. I have also won many international awards recently. From the Px3 in France to the International Photography Awards in New York, where I won photographer of the year in my category and attended the awards ceremony at Carnegie Hall. Definitely a highlight in my career.
Artists need to be flexible. Photographers especially rely on others; models, dancers, and makeup artists for example. Although it is important to have vision, it is essential to use the creativity of others in your work. I have been lucky to know many creative people who have wanted to collaborate with me. Some have even made their own prop and costumes for the shoots!
‘The Circus of Extinction’ series, which won a Gold Award at the IPA New York (2020) view all
The Book of Life, a part of the ‘Fairy Tales’ series – view all
AFT: Did you produce any work during Covid-19?
When COVID 19 became an international incident I was working on my latest series ‘The Circus of Extinction’. This series is about the ‘Circus’ of life and how our darker impulses are leading us to disaster. I was lucky that the series was mostly complete. I had one more photo to finish, which involved ‘a Tattooed Lady’. I had many of the elements photographed already, but I started to have many scheduling problems. However, I managed to finish the image before Osaka went into shut down.
AFT: Is there any work that you have not finished or can’t complete?
With photography many things can go wrong: Talent gets sick, bad weather, you name it and it can go wrong. I usually have contingency plans. Of course some things come together easily, and others are a real struggle. Sometimes the struggle can make the work stronger. It’s like bad weather. Sometimes you get storm clouds or rain, but the unexpected weather can sometimes produce better results. More beautiful clouds or dramatic lighting. Etcetera. Sometimes you have to abandon plans for different reasons. I did attempt to do a series based on Tarot imagery, but that was not completed. I think I was not ready at the time for such an undertaking. I often return to images and ideas. Artists are obsessive people. So I might end up finishing it someday. Who knows. My main goal is to remain open to new possibilities and not become obsessed with unfinished projects.
AFT: Is health and fitness important to you? Do share some of your daily routines.
As far as my health is concerned, I do try and eat healthy food. Particularly green vegetables and whole grain or rye bread. I also try to restrict carbs in my diet. My wife sometimes bakes bread though. Fresh rye bread is my favourite. We live in Japan, so fish is an important part of my diet. I love Salmon and often cook baked Salmon and fresh herbs. We have a small herb garden. We often use dill, basil and coriander in our cooking. There is a gym near our house. I used to exercise regularly, but after the gyms have shut, I often take my 3 kids out walking at a big park near our house. Spending time with my kids and exercising is a great way to keep mentally and physically healthy and grounded.
AFT: What is your ultimate favourite thing to do?
Life can be tough, but being open to it’s beauty and rich complexity is essential. It is my ultimate goal to create work that reflects the lightness and darkness of the world, and for that work to reach people in a deep way, beyond financial gain. I also want to lead a full life, and travel to many wonderful places with my family and show them the incredible diversity of life and world cultures.
Surrealism was an artistic, intellectual, and literary movement led by poet André Breton from 1924 through World War II. The Surrealists sought to overthrow the oppressive rules of modern society by demolishing its backbone of rational thought. To do so, they attempted to tap into the “superior reality” of the subconscious mind. “Completely against the tide,” said Breton, “in a violent reaction against the impoverishment and sterility of thought processes that resulted from centuries of rationalism, we turned toward the marvelous and advocated it unconditionally.”
AFT speaks to Malaysian-Australian artist Kenneth W.H. Lee about his third solo art show, “Introspection III”.
AFT: Tell us about your environment while growing up.
Kenneth WH Lee: I come from a family of six with “por-por” my mother’s mom. I’m the eldest of three and have two other siblings. We grew up in a small sleepy town of Banting in Selangor (I was born in the famous Klang town, known for its culinary delights). My parents were both secondary teachers; Mom taught English and Art and Dad taught PE and Art, so the artistic lineage was unavoidable and pre-determined. Mom tells me she noticed my bold strokes at age two with an Artliner pen. I had a happy, care-free childhood playing in the dirt (catching fish in drains and climbing guava trees) after school till dusk and I remember being yelled at to get home for dinner!
AFT: What do you think influenced your artistic eye?
Kenneth WH Lee: My parents clearly gave me that early exposure in appreciating the finer points in art and understanding the basics of drawing and painting – with that early knowledge I loved experimenting in my own way, breaking the rules along the way as much as I dared, whilst paying homage to the greats. I soaked up (art) like a sponge going through drawing and sketching teaching books and journals, learning as much I could myself. My parents took to me art galleries, and we would walk through museums of art. I first experienced the body of work by professionals like the late (Malaysian artist), Ibrahim Hussein. His art show is stuck in my mind – I was probably 10 then. The great French artists in the Impressionist (and Fauvism) movement really caught my imagination and left an everlasting mark. We migrated to Sydney when I was 18, and I studied art in high school, learning European art literature and was really drawn to the late Brett Whiteley’s work.
AFT: Which piece of work have you recently submitted for a competition or auction and why?
Kenneth WH Lee: I submitted artworks for both for the Archibald (a prestigious Australian portrait art prize administered by the Art Gallery of NSW) and a landscape piece for the Wynne prize (one of Australia’s longest-running art prizes for landscape painting or figure sculpture).
For the Archibald, I submitted a portrait in oils of an amazing gentleman and aboriginal leader, Uncle Charles “Chicka” Madden of Alexandria, NSW and a large abstract piece for the Wynne prize titled “Sydney Spring – Gratitude Series II” measuring 1200 x 1200 x 35 mm in oils/acrylics/charcoal/pastels/ on canvas. They unfortunately didn’t make the finals. It’s the second consecutive year of submissions in both the above Prizes after 25 years of shying away from any art competition.
For one, I gave up painting for those number of years to focus on my finance/asset/funds management career in Australia and South East Asia and I didn’t find the need to receive external validation for my art. Now, staying relevant and visible by putting out content is part of being a professional artist.
I recently donated a portrait piece of St. Charbel, the patron saint of Lebanon for a fundraising event held in conjunction with Steps of Hope and Madison Marcus law firm. I’m pleased that raised A$26,000 in a blacktie function to help with relief work for the victims of the Lebanon port blast in August 2020.
AFT: Did you paint during COVID19? What did you do to pass time?
Kenneth WH Lee: Yes, I painted during Covid-19 lockdowns. I completed art works for the Archibald and Wynne Prizes submissions in 2020. I continued to work at frenzied pace to build a new body of work as I planned towards my third solo exhibition titled “Introspection III” – an aptly named show in current times of needing to be more reflective taking stock of where we are as a human race and more importantly individually in our own personal journeys and awakening – our passions, dreams and who we stand for, next to our loved ones. During this time I was also actively creating works for charity fundraising for the likes of the CMRI Children’s Medical Research Institute for research into cures for all sorts of serious illnesses children suffer early in their lives. I also supported the Jeans4Genes cause by painting a portrait of singer Guy Sebastian utilising his donated signed jeans as part of the collage-portraiture. That item went on an online auction. A painting of St Charbel, patron Saint of Lebanon, was also donated toward fundraising for the good people recovering from the unfortunate disaster and with the onset of winter then. I’m about to start on portraits of the three Abdallah children and their cousin to be gifted to the family to help ease the pain and to remember their young lives taken away at such young age in that freak Oatlands accident by a drunken driver with his passenger both intoxicated while the kids were walking for ice creams around corner from their home. I don’t get to spend time with my kids during their school holidays but at least I get to do something for someone else.
AFT: What is the one thing you strive to do with your art? Have you been successful?
Kenneth WH Lee: I love combining impressionist style with abstract designs – whether it be a large landscape or a portrait. I love both forms of art on its own but combining them is challenging and satisfying – and I think I have been successful with the outcomes. I love to constantly challenge myself to paint something new, something I hadn’t done before. I’m excited that my art designs are now being sold and licensed as lifestyle products in Australia. Also American and New Zealand online wall art companies are selling and promoting my images/copies reprinted on canvas and shipped around the world.
AFT: Is there any work that you have not finished or can’t complete? What happens then?
Kenneth WH Lee: I have had pieces of work that had taken years (up to five years) to complete as the initial stages did not show potential and I lost interest in it and moved on to other newer pieces. Whilst the earlier pieces sat unloved, I hadn’t forgotten about it – still constantly pondering its future and design input. Or a complete design change and direction to revamp the entire piece. Sometimes midway I find no inspiration to sit or stand in front of a piece and continue painting. I would walk past it without a thought lacking the need to touch it. Then an idea would pop in my head (or sometimes a memory from a relationship whether in a happy mood or post-breakup in complete despair) and I will dive into that piece non-stop for hours to complete it. It’s all about the flow and feel at that point in time – sometimes it comes to me and sometimes its empty. So I have to be patient and tune in to what I am really creating. At times when I paint, its akin to having a conversation with a person or persons. The deeper the feeling and intensity of the conversation in my head the more interesting the piece becomes. I somehow can translate raw emotion at a particular time and pour it onto the canvas – its like a life diary of emotions coloured by paint.
AFT: Is health and fitness important to you as an artist? Tell us about your daily routine…
Kenneth WH Lee: Yes, health and fitness is key to me as an artist. Though I love to work late at nights when it is really quiet and paint for hours till the wee hours of dawn sometimes….I know to catch up on my sleep and rest which is key to wellbeing. I am a diehard foodie too and love to cook my favourite foods – usually traditional Malaysian hawker dishes and spicy dishes. I then balance this with great bowls of greens making wonderful salads, blended fruit juices and hydrate well. I do some iron work in the backyard with some weights and a punching bag and then go for a walk around the neighbourhood. Though I’ve given up badminton for over 20 years, I’ve recently joined a badminton club to get my heart rate going and burn off some calories. Its been fun getting back to the game that I used to love and was great at, having been a state representative for the Federal Territory as a school boy in Malaysia and later as an All-Australian Universities rep.
AFT: What’s your ultimate favourite thing to do?
Kenneth WH Lee: It would be hard to go past having an Italian coffee in hand and having the morning free to start on a large empty wooden panel or canvas, in beginning a new piece of abstract or an impressionist landscape work. It could also be the excitement and anticipation of continuing on a large piece, progressing with developing textures, depth and tonal values – it’s always a mindful challenge in solving the piece’s balance in design and colour and its imbalance… the statement that one is trying to convey. Usually I work very fast when an idea is born, my hands move the brushes and palette knives at a frantic pace across the white spaces then I’d spend more hours pondering and analysing the piece midway, tweaking it as I go – I find at different natural lighting the look and feel changes and my mood flows with it and I paint accordingly. I get inspired again when that look and feel hits me, and I will be hitting the canvas hard and fast frantically until I am exhausted.
“Introspection III” solo art exhibition is on display at Sydney Haymarket’s Bendigo Community Bank’s branch at Darling Square 11 Little Pier St Shop NE12 until 30 August 2021.
Team AFT thanks the artist Kenneth WH Lee, his management at ArtSHINE and exhibition venue sponsor Bendigo Community Bank for this interview.
Who is Kenneth WH Lee?
Malaysian-born Kenneth has exhibited twice in his Sydney Solo Shows “Interiority Of My Introspection I & II” in late 2019. On the commercial front, he works on private client commissions, consults on client fine art needs pre- and post-renovation, paints for charity art auctions and family portraits like the St Charbel portrait painted for Lebanon’s Blast victims/families and Guy Sebastian portrait utilising his custom signed jeans in fundraising for the CMRI Children’s Medical Research Institute – Westmead Children’s Hospital / Jeans4Genes. KWHLEE art designs are also available via its e-commerce shop for consumer retail and B2B wholesale.
Kenneth W H Lee is a represented artist managed by ArtSHINE.
Follow his Instagram account to view current artworks: @kennethwhlee.
Type 2 Diabetes could be put into remission, says opthalmologist Dr. James Muecke AM. Almost as soon as he was named Australian of the Year 2020, Dr. Muecke started advocating for the implementation of a tax on sugary drinks in an effort to save more eyes. Dr. Muecke speaks to AsiaFitnessToday.com about his proposed change to Australia’s dietary guidelines, he expresses why there’s a need for government to impose a sugar tax and talks about his work in raising awareness about diabetes – a lifestyle disease that could lead to the loss of sight.
Dr. James Muecke with his team in Vietnam. Photo credit: Sight For All foundation
He began his career in Kenya, then returned to South Australia to become an eye surgeon and blindness prevention pioneer, starting both Vision Myanmar at the South Australian Institute of Ophthalmology in 2000, and Sight For All, an organisation which uses Australian and New Zealand eye specialists to train overseas doctors, a social impact organisation “aiming to create a world where everyone can see”.
Has sugar blinded our reasoning?
A few months ago, we featured a story about a patient of Dr. Muecke’s who woke up one morning Blinded by Sugar. Neil Hansel is sadly a victim of the debilitating disease which has not only taken his eyesight, but also his limbs.
In his address at the National Press Club in Canberra last year, Dr. James Muecke gave an immensely moving account about having had to remove a patient’s eye. He wanted to be an eye surgeon to give the gift of sight and not to take it away from someone, especially when someone has been needlessly blinded by an avoidable, man-made Type 2 Diabetes he said.
Sugar toxicity can be solved
Humans were for the first time in history “overfed and undernourished” with sugar and refined carbohydrates, he affirmed. We met with Dr. Muecke in person at a studio in Sydney this March 2021, one square year after the Australian border closures and he summed up our conversation to this, “When the mother is pregnant with the baby and if she’s consuming a diet high in sugar, that sugar crosses the placental barrier to the foetus but insulin doesn’t cross, so you’re already metabolically priming the child for health problems in the future. So gestational diabetes is a big big problem so people should be aware of that, that it be picked up early in pregnancy and wind right back on your consumption of sugar and refined carbohydrates,”.
Dr. Muecke spoke to us at length about a strategy he came up with, which he calls the 5As of sugar toxicity.
Addiction
Alleviation
Accessibility
Addition
Advertising
It’s so hard to kick the habit. If you’ve ever tried to detox from sugar, it’s quite an unpleasant process. And even if you’re able to succesfully do it, everywhere you go, all the foods you eat, you’re just bombarded with sugar, so it makes it very difficult. So having a tax on sugary drinks, we know that it’s been shown to reduce purchase and consumption in 17 countries with Mexico being one of them.
Let’s say in Australia, we put a 20% levy on sugary drinks, that would raise about A$600million which could then be used to fund health awareness initiatives and about 77% of Australians agree with this in principle,” added Muecke, giving light into his call for a sugar tax.
Back home in Adelaide, Dr. Muecke continues his advocacy work in awareness building and has called for a crackdown on sugar in drinks and processed foods, also a change in Australia’s dietary guidelines.
He spoke about how diabetes, one of leading causes of blindness among Australian adults could be sent into remission. Diabetes is a metabolic disease, caused by the over-consumption of sugar, refined carbohydrates and ultra-processed foods which are cheap and accessible. He mentioned the dangers of seed oils, and that we should be aware of the types of oils we’re consuming daily.
Australia’s dietary guidelines was last updated in 2013 and in a Facebook post, Muecke suggests a certain biasness that 80% of the recommended foods were plant-based. He came up with this proposed diamond (see diagram below), shifting sugar and heavily processed & grain fed meats to the opposite tips of the healthy eating diamond.
A 7News report quoted Dr. Muecke saying, there were three successful ways to place type-two diabetes in remission – low calorie diets, low carbohydrate diets or bariatric surgery. Of these, he said the low-carbohydrate diet was the easiest solution.
AsiaFitnessToday.com also attended a webinar in November 2020, organised by the Australian Society of Opthalmologists. In that webinar, Dr. Muecke shared an imagery about glucose metabolism likening it to a packed train at peak hour. When too much glucose is ingested, insulin level rises and tries to push glucose into the blood stream, but it’s rejected. It’s then stored as glycogen instead in the liver, giving rise to fatty liver. Fructose – when taken up by the liver, almost a third of it is converted to fat so fructose is far more toxic than glucose!
Dynamic duo
Dr. James Muecke was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia in 2012, then in 2015 he was EY’s Social Entrepreneur of the Year for Australia, and in 2019 received a Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Adelaide. It was the year of the Covid-19 pandemic, that Dr. Muecke was named Australian of the Year for 2020 and appropriately so, considering he is not going to be silent anymore and will be carrying the torch to highlight the fact that non-communicable lifestyle diseases like diabetes can be put into remission, and one of the ways to achieve that is to intervene with awareness first, followed by a change in lifestyle and importantly, diet. Partnering Dr. Muecke in advocacy and stewardship of the non-profit work is spouse Mena Muecke OAM, who also plays a vital role in the marketing and publicity of Sight For All and is a co-founder of the Vision 1000 social investment initiative. She was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in 2018. The Mueckes run private consultancy, www.Medthink.com.au.
In this 7th episode of Season 1 of The Kurang Manis (Sugar, Less) Podcast, we also speak with Dr YokeLi Ling, based in Kuala Lumpur who is passionately advocating Sleep and Airway Centric Dentistry and Oral Myofunctional Therapy. Dr. Ling shares more details in the 8th episode of the podcast (click here) with co-hosts Nikki Yeo and Jasmine Low.
Mia Palencia
Our tradition continues where we introduce music from this region and we’ve chosen a song titled SUPERMAN by Tassie-based Mia Palencia who launched her career in Malaysia at the age of 14 as the other half of Sabahan jazz duo Double Take. The song reflects the advocacy work that’s being undertaken by Dr. James Muecke AM – Australia’s SUPERMAN. Mia composed, produced and performed the opening night theme song for the Southeast Asian Games 2017, and continues her PhD research in Songwriting at the Conservatorium of Music, University of Tasmania and released her 7th album with her Australian jazz quartet, In Good Company. Visit www.miapalencia.com.
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Now streaming – Dr. James Muecke AM, Australian of the Year 2020 wants to put diabetes in remission. Listen to the podcast on AsiaFitnessToday.com or wherever you get your podcast: “The Kurang Manis (Sugar, Less) Podcast”
Now streaming – Dr. James Muecke AM, Australian of the Year 2020 wants to put diabetes in remission. Listen to the podcast on AsiaFitnessToday.com or wherever you get your podcast: “The Kurang Manis (Sugar, Less) Podcast”
Now streaming – Dr. James Muecke AM, Australian of the Year 2020 wants to put diabetes in remission. Listen to the podcast on AsiaFitnessToday.com or wherever you get your podcast: “The Kurang Manis (Sugar, Less) Podcast”
“Blinded By Sugar” tells the story of Neil Hansell, a man who woke one morning blind in both eyes due to neglect of his diabetes. In this confronting 20-minute keynote presentation, Dr Muecke discusses why type 2 diabetes is a growing worldwide epidemic and explores a number of strategies to curb the toxic impact of sugar on our health.
Source: James Muecke’s YouTube Channel
An in-depth interview
We’ve been researching the work by ophthalmologist Dr. James Muecke earlier this year, having come across an article about his Australian of the Year 2020 award presented by the PM Scott Morrison. Dr. Muecke made headlines recently following his speech at the National Press Club on 1st December 2020. In that memorable speech, he speaks about a possible sugar tax as a solution to reducing the alarming rate of millions Australians presenting type 2 diabetes or are pre-diabetic. Rachel Clun of the Sydney Morning Herald summarises it well here.
AFTNN will be conducting a special interview with Dr. Muecke in the coming months and we really look forward to bringing his message to more people in the Asia Pacific region – home to two-thirds of the world’s population, sharing his ideas and proposed solutions on curbing the disease.
AFT speaks to Hanoi-based artist Vu Huyen Thuong, who shares her feelings about people and life through her paintings and installation work.
“My art works focus on the connection between the past and the present. In that context, human is the centre”
Vu Huyen Thuong
AFT: Tell us about your environment, while growing up.
Vu: I live a very peaceful life in Hanoi. I was born and raised in a happy family, full of love and responsibility. Since young, I’ve been encouraged to pursue my education and practise good self-discipline to achieve success so I can be someone my family especially my parents can be proud of.
2) What influenced you artistically?
Vu: When I entered the art world, my constant inspiration was around the theme of people, us humans. I observed my peaceful world and interacted with gentle people, pleasant, kind people, I learned how to love, to share, sympathise and understand humanity. How humans show compassion for one another, how they sympathise and show mercy to those who may be less fortunate, how they refrain from cruelty. It is through human eyes that I’m inspired to create more works that depict human kindness, aspiring for a better life!
AFT: Which art piece did you submit to the International Surrealism NOW exhibition and why?
Vu: The first piece of art I sent to the International Surrealism Now Exhibition in 2010 was the “Eye” (oil on canvas). In this work, I used the eyes to evoke the humanity in it. Eyes like people gathered in a certain miniature world, flying, free-falling, many eyes are lonely, many others are protected by human hands. Some eyes are protected until they fall down; and the eyes removed (or leave) from protection of hands. In my view, our life is the same. The work is only conceptual about a certain aspect of life with a primitive view of human fate.
the eye – Vu Huyen Thuong (oil on canvas)
Surreal works that promote ideas, contemplations, strange things, near and far from the real world, make you soar in creativity whether reasonable or unreasonable, real or unreal, ideas.
Surreal style is always very unique, interesting, strange and new.
The eye and detail – Vu Huyen Thuong (oil on canvas/ 120x85cm)
AFT: Did you paint during the Covid-19 pandemic? What did you do to pass time?
Vu: I made two paintings. One named “Open the door” and another one in progress entitled “When the love dies …”
I observed many countries undergoing a very difficult period especially when high number of deaths were recorded. In my country, we were always on high alert but many of us complied with the state regulations and stayed indoors, not going out on the streets, avoiding crowded places to protect ourselves and the community.
Open the door – Vu Huyen Thuong Oil on canvas/ 80x110cm
When the love dies… Vu Huyen Thuong Oil on canvas/ 80x110cm
AFT: What is the one thing you strive to do with your art? Do you think you’ve been successful?
Vu: The only thing I do with my art is to be creative and remain constantly creative. I have had certain success on the path of art from the beginning until now, winning awards while still in school. I participated in many events accompanied by famous international artists, participated in many significant exhibition activities in the country and internationally. For me, success takes time and is a form of ‘gathering moments’, even experienced people must try until they want to stop. To achieve success, there is no way but to try to assert myself in my career and I always set goals to accomplish and to succeed.
AFT: Is there any work that you have not finished or can’t complete? What happens then?
Vu: I have many plans and goals to accomplish, this takes time to implement it. I have things to be done and I do not allow myself to leave any work unfinished, so all the things that I do have to be done by a timeline. My character is such that I must finish what I have set out to do.
AFT: Is health and fitness important to you as an artist? Care to share about your daily routine?
Vu: For me, health is very important, almost the first indispensable factor in life in general and career in particular, and similarly, I believe it is an important factor for an artist. If you have good health and you maintain it by living a healthy lifestyle, it will help you to complete the work you want in good spirit, good intellect. All of that would then contribute to promoting and inspiring even more creative ideas.
Habit? I exercise when I can, I jog every day (morning and afternoon), “eat clean”, minimise fat, increase resistance. Diets makes an important contribution to staying healthy. I work a lot on the computer and sometimes it’s an overload of work where I sit for many hours to complete the work. During those times, I tend to gain weight. I like a slim and healthy body, so I know I must arrange my time so that it’s balanced and I stay healthy.
AFT: Finally, what’s your ultimate favourite thing to do?
Creating art is the most important thing for me. This career is a great passion for me, so creating art is not just a hobby but my life.
Team AFT thanks Santiago Ribeiro & Vu Huyen Thuong for participating in this interview.
Artist: Chih Hui Chuang (Taiwan) Title: Number Games Size: 72X34cm Type: Acrylic Painting-2016 莊志輝-金錢遊戲-72X34cm-Acrylic Painting-2016
“My paintings are inspired from the world, an ode to the heart, a reflection of the disorder of our sad world, but I believe there’s still hope and it lies in the goodness of grateful hearts,” says Chuang.
AFT: Tell us about your environment, what was it like where you grew up?
你長大的環境是怎樣的？
The ocean was my childhood companion, and the blue sky held my soul. I grew up in the Penghu Islands in Taiwan. The people here are simple and kind. They live by the sea and live a simple life. In the summer, the sun is so warm. In the winter, there’s a vicissitude of wind gusts. I like to run and jump and let my body take flight against the wind.
AFT: What do you think influenced your artistic eye?
你的藝術眼光是受了什麼影響而來的？
It is in my nature to be attracted to things new, to novelty. In our country, art education is our cultural heritage, we take pride in learning the skills of creators of the past. When I was exposed to the Western Renaissance in high school, I realised then that art has no boundaries, that we are no longer painting for the Gods and the rich, and that I was able to invoke my own emotions, express my inner feelings and create art.
AFT: Which pieces of works did you submitted to the International Surrealism NOW exhibition and why?
請問你向這次國際SurrealismNOW展覽提交了你的那一幅作品？為何會選擇提交它？
These three pieces of work were exhibited in a world tour exhibition a few years ago. I stayed near a Hong Kong train station and for 60 days, I observed and created works on site. People seem to live their lives in a hurry, I watched a large number of passengers who entered and exited the subway station every day, they were coming and going just like innumerable cans being canned on an assembly line in a factory. I meditated and realised how precious it was to be able to think independently and live our lives the way we design; not copying success models of others or constantly pursuing material satisfaction. As an artist, it is my hope for people to find the purest versions of themselves instead of living like others, explore infinite possibilities of oneself, and explore and understand this world and this universe.
AFT: Did you paint during COVID19? What did you do to pass time?
在這個covid19 疫症期間你有沒有畫畫？在這段時間你是怎樣渡過的？
Creation is a daily routine of my life. So I didn’t stop creating at all even during the pandemic. All the things that happen in the world, add up to enriching my creations and reflect my thoughts at the time.
AFT: What is the one thing you strive to do with your art? Have you been successful?
你為藝術最努力做的一件事是什麼？成功了沒有？
Art to me is a concept and a responsibility that I work very hard and honestly to create. Art helps me understand myself. It helps me understand how the world operates. I can only pray that those who view my work will be able to appreciate my work, understand me and value me as a person beyond my possessions. Whether or not I’ve been successful at achieving this, what’s more important is that I continue to be in the process of creating art and I am still alive.
AFT: Is there any work that you have not finished or can’t complete? What happens then?
你還有什麼作品還未完成或不能完成的？如果不，你會怎樣了？
I think that life in itself is an unfinished creation, so my work is not yet finished but one day it will be complete.
我認為生命的存在就是未完成的創作，所以我的作品還未完成，有一天，我一定會完成。
AFT: Is health and fitness important to you as an artist? Would you care to share about your daily routine?
你認為作為一個藝術者，健康和運動很重要嗎？你能分享你每日一定做的事情嗎？
Having the right mood is very important for me. I try to remain in a calm state as far as possible – it is easier to understand when doing things. When I get up in the morning, I tend to flowers and trees, irrigate the garden, wash and feed my chicken, collect eggs, enjoy my my daily Buddhist ritual, have breakfast, and start my day of creation.
AFT: Finally, what’s your ultimate favourite thing to do?
最後，你能分享你最喜歡做的事情嗎？
Be with my family, be able to talk about what I know, and share my creation with everyone.
跟家人在一起丶聊聊我知道的事情，把創作分享給大家。
Team AFT thanks Santiago Ribeiro, Chih Hui Chuang and Yami Su-Min Yang for making this interview a reality. We also thank Eve Wong for her assistance in preparing the English – Chinese translations.
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