“Most of us don’t have to fight for anything, don’t have to hunt for our food, don’t have to fight other people. It’s great if we live in a safe society where we can do that. But humans, there’s a side of us that is primal. We need to be able to express that somehow and in an uncontrolled environment, with someone considered our equal, it sounds like a good idea, right?”

“It’s just tunnel vision; it’s just me being extremely present. My adrenaline is high because I’m in fight-or-flight mode and it feels like I have to beat this person. Otherwise, I’m going to die. That’s how my body feels. So I’m not paying attention to anything else. It’s just me making decisions.”

“Opportunities are around us all the time. It’s the level of your preparedness to take advantage of that opportunity that equates to your luck. Go where the opportunity is, even if it scares you because the cost of inaction would be greater than the cost of failure.”

Read more: From Pixels to Podiums: Tier One’s Tryke Gutierrez on the journey of esports to the Olympics

“Human beings always want to climb one more step of the ladder. It’s scary to want more because if you seek challenges, there’s a lot of uncertainty. You’re going to deal with self-doubt, insecurities and fear. But it’s important to have a positive relationship with fear, to allow it to be a part of you. If anything, leverage that and channel it into pushing yourself to achieve what you want, to get to where you want to be and be the person you want to be.”

“My priority is making sure that I am at peace with myself. Expectation has been passed on to me, whether it’s by society or culture. I feel like I should have achieved more. That’s a difficult place to be because I choose my own suffering. In my early 20s, it was like fight, fight, fight. Light a fire under my butt and I’m just going to get it done. That worked, but it was not sustainable to be fuelled by [thoughts of] not being good enough, hating myself and having negative emotions towards myself.”

Quotes are edited for clarity and brevity.

With the Paris 2024 Olympics underway, stay tuned for more episodes of our Crazy Smart Asia podcast, featuring interviews with professional athletes honoured as the Leaders of Tomorrow. 

See more Gen.T Leaders of Tomorrow from Sports.

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