I got into a car accident when I was 14 and suffered multiple injuries – I suffered a slipped disc in my neck and lower back, a right knee injury and the right side of my jaw actually dropped. I had to delay my GCE ‘O’ levels by a year, as I was in and out of the hospital for the entire year.

Even though my injuries improved, I developed an extremely bad posture and the right side of my lip is lower, causing me to have a crooked smile. I was traumatised by what happened to me and at times, I would ask, “Why me???!!!”

Because of this trauma, I became very afraid to leave home and I would get panic attacks when I took the bus or train alone. I was scared of crossing roads by myself. I became a very introverted person, and my bad posture and crooked smile always made me feel that I’m ugly.

I didn’t have the courage to interact with my schoolmates or anyone that I would meet. The poor self image of myself caused me to go into deeper depression, and my university studies suffered, causing me to lose my scholarship.

All of these caused me to have a very negative view towards life and it was a very dreadful feeling. Because of the depression, I lost A LOT of weight, to the extent where my ribs were jutting out. My frail frame caused a lot of concern amongst the doctors who were treating me at that time, and they advised me to go to the gym to put on some muscles to improve my posture and backache.

It was love at first sight when I first stepped into the gym. The atmosphere, the pump my muscles got from lifting weights and the adrenaline rush I got was simply amazing. I never felt so happy in my life. That was when I realised that I should never stop training.

The lean physique that I’ve developed boosted my confidence, improved my interactions with people and hence I managed to overcome my poor self image issue thereafter. Furthermore, my love for the gym eventually made me a bodybuilding champion.