Singapore #Fitspo of the Week: Maxi Lim

Life goes beyond the digits on the scale and your body is capable of so much more! Yahoo’s #Fitspo of the Week series is dedicated to inspirational men and women in Singapore leading healthy and active lifestyles. Have someone to recommend? Hit Cheryl up on Instagram or Facebook!

Name: Maxi Lim (@originalmaxi)

Age: 36

Height: 1.69m

Weight: 60kg

Occupation: Actor

Status: Married

Food: Ketogenic diet or calorie-deficit diet when preparing for a fight.

Exercise: In a week, I do two sessions of boxing sparring, two boxing technique clinics, three strength and conditioning sessions, and two to four runs.

Q: Were you active as a child?

A: No, haha... I was totally inactive when I was younger. I wasn’t engaged in any sports or any physical hobbies until I reached 15 when I discovered martial arts.

How did you get into martial arts?

I was often bullied when I was younger. I had to fight every week when I was picked on by bullies which were often older and physically larger. I knew I had to learn how to protect myself.

On my daily journey to school, I saw one of these roadside banners promoting this class at a neighbourhood community centre. It was a form of traditional martial arts combining many different martial arts styles. Eventually I joined and the bullying also ceased when they knew I could protect myself.

What are some of the highlights of your martial arts journey?

I can say I am one of the pioneers of mixed martial arts (MMA) in Singapore. My very first fight was a professional MMA match in King of the Cage, where the referee for my fight was Herb Dean, a legendary reference from Ultimate Fighting Championship.

You've also competed in Muay Thai before.

Yes! A series of successful weight loss attempts back in 2017 fuelled me to start competing again. I have competed twice at two Evolve MMA Muay Thai events. The results were a draw and a win.

There was supposed to be a third fight where I was to represent Evolve against another gym but I had to pull out due to injury.

What's next?

I guess everything happens for a reason. During the lockdown, training in the gym or anywhere indoors was hard. During that time, I wanted to try something new and challenging, so I picked up skipping and tried to imitate how Floyd Mayweather or Mike Tyson would skip.

Eventually, skipping led me to start boxing and I picked it back up in December 2022. Boxing has been really fun and challenging for the past five months.

Initially it was really tough and I couldn't hit anyone with my prior Muay Thai hand striking skills. But I have grown and improved a lot since and will be fighting in the co-main event of The Ring’s White Collar Boxing Show 6 to be held at Marquee on 27 April. Evolve MMA is handling my boxing training and Star Fitness is helping me with my strength and conditioning.

How do you balance your entertainment career, being a dad and preparing for a major fight?

During this preparation for the fight, I mostly concentrate on smaller jobs such as advertisements, so as to make time for training. I am also running a new Thai restaurant in Bukit Timah.

Believe it or not, I am actually doing this fight for my son Reign. Perhaps he will understand when he is older. Many of us are given stories and photos of our father's glory days when younger, and I want to do the same. I hope that Reign would get to see me competing one day – I strongly feel that is possible so long as I am still willing and able.

Being in the entertainment industry, do you face any pressure to look a certain way or be of a certain size?

I think the entertainment industry has been kind to me. However, it is always far better if you could look the part first in order to be cast.

Has becoming a father changed the way you looked at life?

Being a father is definitely one of the milestones in a man's life. Similar to how National Service help boys grow into men, fatherhood opens up new lessons and opportunities for me to grow.

Being a dad is really all about being a steward of another person for life.

Did you ever struggle with your body?

Always! My weight has been on a yo-yo my entire life. The best way to stay in shape is to really live a disciplined life, where I work out as much as possible and be mindful of what I consume.

Are you satisfied with your body now?

I am definitely feeling much better now that I have lost 10kg since last December. I am working on a full-body transformation now, with new body goals I’ve never achieved and I can't wait for what is to come.

From there, I'll be sharing the training, lifestyle changes and struggles to achieve my dream body type.

If you could change anything about yourself, would you?

I believe a strong body is a reflection of a strong mind. I am on my way to change to become the best version of myself.

It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable.