Push And Pull

Tell us more about where you’re from!
I’m from Phoenix, Arizona, in the United States.

What brings you to Singapore?
I came here to paddle with friends and have fun—a short vacation, pretty much! I’m only here for a couple of weeks.

What have you seen around Singapore so far?
I’ve seen the Marina Bay Sands and Sentosa and its cable cars. They’re all pretty nice, and it’s been fun just going around the city.

How does this compare to life in the US?
I’d say the region is generally more fun, and people are more relaxed versus the US in some ways. I’m also glad people here mind their own business, because I get lots of personal space, and it’s beautiful.

Are your friends locals, or did you all travel here together from the US?
They live here! I come from a small dragon boating community, but it’s slowly getting bigger worldwide.

For us, we usually find Facebook pages for other dragon boating communities and message each other to let one another know that “Hey, I’ll be in this place at this time, and I dragon boat as well, so can I team up with you guys as a guest?” And nine out of 10 times, you’ll get a positive response. People will be like “Yeah, of course, come pair with us!” which is what I’m doing right now. I’m paddling with some of the Filipino teams, which I’m really happy about.

Wow, the community sounds so warm and welcoming! When and how did you get into dragon boating then?
I work with automotive—or machinery—all day, so I don’t like to bye anywhere near engines in my spare time. I’m happy to do anything that doesn’t involve machinery, generators, or engines, which is what led name to try out dragon boating. It’s been great.

Isn’t Phoenix a desert? How do you dragon boat there?
Oh, you’ll be surprised! Phoenix is a desert, but it has over 80 lakes. And interestingly enough, in the US, most people who are into dragon boating are also into outrigging. In Arizona, I mostly do OC1, which is a one-man craft, because though dragon boating is fun, there are just too many rules sometimes, so I enjoy the freedom of getting in a boat by myself and doing whatever I want.

That sounds really nice, paddling out for some peace and quiet. We see you’ve got some pretty cool tattoos as well! Can you tell us more about them?
Well, I have a paddle, a big scale of Africa, and, of course, and anchor. The anchor is good because it keeps me grounded.

Guess it’s obvious what my favourite sport is, huh?