NEWS THAT LEAVES A MARK.
From Having Body Goals To Being A Fitspo
Jesminpal Kaur
3rd February 2022
Reporter
.
.
JESMINPAL KAUR finds out how Mr Benedict Chia helps others achieve their body goals.
Mr Chia first started his personal training journey at B-Fit, slowly making a difference to the lives of many. Photo: Benedict Chia.
“When they struggle to meet their fitness goals, I empathise because I, like anyone else, struggle at times too,” says Mr Benedict Chia, 31, a personal trainer whose struggle with body image at the age of 16 encouraged his professional journey of helping others achieve their body goals.
On the website of the gym he coaches, it is written that Mr Chia developed a passion for football in 2004 and played for his school team at a semi-pro level. However, his physique held him back, and he was only able to play a few positions. He recalls his coach asking him to “hit the gym to pack on some muscle”. This pushed him to start working on his body and it was a struggle, as his lack of technical knowledge inflicted injuries.
“When I was younger, at that point there was no … YouTube right? Even social media. You don’t get that kind of exposure [to how-to workout videos] you get now,” says Mr Chia.
After all his struggles in reaching his body goals and learning through experience, he realised that physical training helped him get better in sports. He acknowledged that his chances of getting far as a soccer player in Singapore were slim, so his football dream took a back seat. So he thought: Why not help others train and get better at their physique too? He is now trained as a Personal Trainer and works at Gold’s Gym.
All those injuries incurred while working on his body were not in vain, however.
Due to these injuries, he saw many physiologists who “helped [him] understand those injuries better”. He now incorporates that knowledge when training his clients.
Mr Chia took some time to get to his ideal body type. Photo: Benedict Chia (left), Riz Photography SG (right).
A big inspiration for his career path came from the passing of his father due to health complications from an unhealthy diet and a lack of physical activity.
“If he had access to someone who could teach him about exercise and educate him on the importance of it, then maybe he would have managed himself better at that time,” Mr Chia said about his father’s passing.
His passing motivated Mr Chia to aid others with their fitness goals through healthy and safe programmes.
Miss Universe 2017 Top 10 contestant, Ms Mandi Cheung, 25, met Mr Chia during the competition at his former gym, B-Fit, which had been a sponsor for the competition. Since 2020, she has been working alongside Mr Chia at Gold’s Gym as a personal trainer, and they have forged a close friendship.
She recalls asking Mr Chia to train together, wanting to lose weight as she was an air stewardess back then.
"He helped me to understand my body better and how to work towards my goals," says Ms Cheung, "he was very patient."
Subsequently, he introduced her to work at Gold’s Gym, even giving her some clients and assisting her with attaining her certification.
Mr Chia then started a side venture called Macros, a hawker business, alongside Mr Jamey Merkel, owner of Gold’s Gym, selling healthier food options because their “clients never have any healthy options to eat around this area”. Both the gym and the food stall are within walking distance of each other in Kembangan.
Macros, located in East Coast, was founded in 2020 by Mr Chia (left) and Mr Merkel (right) as a joint business venture. Photo: Benedict Chia.
One such person he impacted is the chef at Macros, Mr Muhammad Nassir, 36. Mr Nassir started working at Macros a year ago when it first opened. He described himself as gemok (chubby) when he first started the job. The months that followed his journey at Macros involved peer pressure from Mr Chia and Mr Merkel to start working out with them.
“He helped me build my body until I [had] a confidence boost,” Mr Nassir explained. In the span of six months, he had lost approximately 10kg but gained “lots of muscle” and saw a decrease in body fat.
The past 15 years of Mr Chia’s life has proven to be a testament to this statement and he continues to carry this with him through his programme.
He says: “I guess the challenge is that you got to try to hold yourself back, not to think that I’m trying to fix everyone [else’s insecurity], because at the end of the day, the priority is still fitness goals.”
