Johnny Tieu – Raise the Bar

Johnny is scouting for a plot of land in Bali to build a villa and he has just opened a bar in Berawa. The Brooklyn-born is getting engaged to Indonesia. “Apparently, yes. It’s being a home base now. Don’t get me wrong, I love New York and my friends there, it’s my ‘home’ forever but when I went back to the city it just reminded me why I’m not there anymore,” he reasons. “For one I’m not sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic. We have bike traffic here, but it’s not nearly as bad.” After living in Asia for seven years, Johnny has transplanted part of himself close to his parents’ birthplace. They left during the Vietnam War. 

It is 2:00 in the afternoon and Johnny sits across my screen in a modern, well-lit hotel room, with a maroon and white wallpaper behind him that profiles the Hindu temples. “The cost of living in a hotel long-term is very affordable in Bali,” he says, “I don’t really need a kitchen because I like to eat out and explore. I love all my foods!” After stalking Johnny’s social media and seeing the Spartan Pro athlete’s physique, I feel silly yet compelled about asking him if he snacks at all. “I am open to eating anything! Honestly, I think there’s a misconception because of the way I showcase myself on my social media, which is partially my fault.” Right off the bat, Johnny’s introspectiveness is setting the tone. “I’m open to eating anything from bananas to granola bars to chocolate to ice cream and donut for a snack. There is really not a thing I hold back on too much,” he adds as he fixes his baseball cap backwards. “In the fitness world, sustainability is connected to something that can constantly be done over and over again, something that you can really live by, something that doesn’t bore you, and something that makes a dramatic impact that you cannot discontinue.” Sounds like a great infinity trap to me.

Once upon a time, Johnny was a suit-and-tie guy who made it in Corporate America, specifically, at a bank in New York City. For five years, everything seemed fine as the digits expanded on his passbook and then, a flight deal in 2015 changed his life forever. “Thanks for having me. I am curious to see what my answers are as we get into the conversation, or what my mind decides to dive into. Growing up in an Asian family, deep discussion hasn’t been that big of a thing,” says Johnny, “but as I grow older I think it becomes very important to self-reflect and take another step further from imposter syndrome. This is going to be great.”

We certainly hope that you will find this to be great, as well.

We are all evolving entities on earth. We wear many hats and the hats change through time. Who is Johnny Tieu, now?
Okay, the Johnny now is someone who has definitely opened up a lot more than when he was younger. Currently, what I do is fitness and business consulting work while I am also a professional hybrid endurance athlete doing Spartan racing and other competitions. My passion for physical training and my professional analytical background merged and became a career path that grew and gave me a lot of fulfilment. Johnny enjoys seeing people identify, evolve and develop their utmost potential. On top of all that I also coach. Currently coaching athletes around the globe, including the top podium Spartan Athletes in Asia.

And you’re ranked no. 1 in Asia for Spartan Race. What is Spartan?
According to the podium rankings prior to the pandemic. Spartan race is a competition brand that falls under obstacle course racing and also hybrid endurance racing. The sport challenges one’s ability to run, lift, swim, jump and push past their limits to overcome obstacles. Are you fast, durable, strong, and flexible all at the same time? Think of it as an extended military bootcamp race training you to adapt to your environment or a zombie apocalypse, haha!

Wow. And I like zombie movies too. So, before we started recording we were talking about the coexistence of snacks and healthy eating.
Yes, snacks are great! I’m very much a believer in the wholesome lifestyle where we love and enjoy things that makes us happy in a progressive manner. I honestly can eat sweets everyday, if I wanted to. I don’t ever consider having a “cheat day” because there is no such thing in my mind. If I want something, I’m going to have it. If I go out for a drink, I’m going to go out for a drink. But I do enjoy and LOVE healthy eating so whole grains, colorful veggies, and nutritious food are all part of my routine. And you’re not going to see me sitting there drinking protein powder and pounding down supplements, I’d rather get the nutrients from food naturally.

I’m aware that you’re a cultural chameleon. Can you share with us a little bit about your family and linguistic heritage?
My family is ethnically Vietnamese and they left during the war. Because of certain situations, my family and other families we hung out with decided not to teach us. I was born and bred in Brooklyn, New York. English is the main language we speak at home but growing up I learned Cantonese because of the neighborhood I lived in so people often confuse me as Chinese-Vietnamese but the reality is I am just Vietnamese! [laughs] I know all dishes’ names in Vietnamese because as I said I love food. My Spanish and Indonesian are okay. 

Languages are invisible keys to the world, aren’t they! If you could take a pill and speak a language fluently forever, which one would it be?
Oh, interesting! I think Indonesian given the region I’m in, but generally I would love to have full control of Mandarin.

How long have you lived in Bali and how did it happen?
I’ve been traveling in and out of Bali for the past five years and I’ve lived here officially since 2020 November. It started off as a project in Jakarta to Bali in the middle of the pandemic, working with previous clients in Hong Kong. Two weeks turned into three months, and I really enjoyed my longer term stay in Bali this time around so I thought, “Yeah, why not just explore what I can do here?” It was a blessing in disguise during the pandemic for sure.

Take us through your journey: academics, career, turning points and creating a path of your own.
I come from a low-income family and grew up in a part of New York City which at the time was pretty dangerous. You’d hustle and bustle, always cautious. I went to public schools in the neighborhood with no issues. First turning point came in high school when all my friends went to one school and I had to attend another due to the zoning process. Looking back, as a teenager, this was a critical point when I had to redefine myself, to find new friends and myself all over again. When I was alone in this new environment I thought, “What else can I do other than doing my homework well and paying more attention to everything?” Then I started seeing A’s and top-end scores when I just paid more attention. My friends were shocked. 

The first person who helped me with my career path was my uncle who was in finance and computer science. When we spoke about a career in major banks, I was like, “You know, yeah, why not? Sounds like that’s where the money’s at!” My parents never told me what to do, so this was my choice, but of course, being lower-income, I was limited to which schools I could study at. I ended up going to a city university called Baruch College, receiving assistance from the government. The first year was quite easy for me and my then-girlfriend encouraged me to transfer to another school so I became a sophomore at NYU’s Stern School of Business with enough scholarship money to study Investment Banking and Finance.

As I got deeper into finance, I already knew I didn’t like it but at that time I wasn’t focusing on what I liked, rather what would make me the most money. Then, I took on a Marketing second-major, which I loved a lot more. Eventually, Bank of America came back earlier than all the marketing firms I had applied to with a two-year risk management offer, which later turned out to be a five-year path. I think that was me not pushing myself enough to quit early because after a year and a half I knew I wasn’t passionate about the industry, but the money was good and I stayed.

The next turning point was when a flight deal showed up on my phone in the middle of one night in 2015. It was a US$200 roundtrip from New York to the Philippines, so I went ahead and booked that for myself and my friends. This was when I finally quit banking, something I wanted to do for a long, long time, to close this chapter. Bank of America came back with a better offer but, no, I knew there wasn’t going to be anything tangible or close to the things that I was craving for. . What started as a catalyst flight to the Philippines, ended up spending eight months backpacking and exploring off the tourist path around Asia.

The next turning point happened at my last stop on this trip, in Hong Kong, when a friendly gathering became an invitation to help build a gym business. I didn’t say yes at the dinner. I flew home, thought about it and went, Yeah, nothing is holding me back,” and decided to move to Hong Kong in 2016 to do that for one year, which again turned into a much longer ride and stayed five years there. This opportunity allowed me to consult, manage, and grow a fitness gym business while also focusing on myself as an athlete, racing, reaching out to brands and building partnerships. 

What part of the banking career didn’t work for you?
I didn’t want to be a cog in the corporate machine. There are goals and things I want to achieve, to have a human impact. Making the bank or other people money  is great and it feeds my bank account, but what impact am i really making? There was this feeling that you’re no one special, you’re easily replaceable. Seriously, now, all my peers are having mid-career crises, where they question what they are doing. They’ve asked me about why I’m so happy when they’re making hundreds of thousands a year.

What makes you smile when you look back on the backpacking trip in Asia?
Myanmar was where I got the truest sense of happiness in a country that didn’t have much. It was the main destination on that whole itinerary, and I visited during the window when they opened up as a country. The people were happy and genuine, they had little idea about taking advantage of tourists. 

My family used to go to this Burmese restaurant in Brooklyn on every single holiday and one day they shut down. For years I missed their food and finally, I was like, “Why not just travel there and eat?”

Travel is always a big thing for me because growing up, my family didn’t have the expense for us to travel much and I wanted to experience the culture, sights, people, and especially the food. Some people said I was probably out here doing the “Eat, Pray, Love” type of thing but nope, I was just eating and sweating a lot!

What have you learned from your journey so far? 
The more open and prepared I am, the more things and opportunities would pour my way. I am not afraid to build everything from the ground up again anymore, rather I am excited by the unknown of what I can provide to the communities I am entering and the joy that comes with it. 

Preparation and belief. That’s great advice as many of us may have been reinventing ourselves during the pandemic, we certainly need to work and believe hard in the psychological wilderness. Which 3 people who believed in you or otherwise, have impacted you most on your life story?
I think my core group of friends, them as a collective really pushed me to take on the next level. Because before I decided to leave New York, they saw that glimmer in my eyes and said, “Why not just go for it? You’re young, nothing is holding you back.” Then, my dad, who has never said no to things I wanted to do. He has his hard exterior but deep down, he’s a softy. What he says has a whole lot to it. And the third person would be my previous partner for her inquisitive perspectives and the high EQ. I’m definitely grateful for those three categories of people in my life.

We love to discuss “passion” on this platform. What do you think is the difference between hobby and passion?
I think hobby is something you like and enjoy doing, and passion is something you urge yourself to do, like answering an urgent call that you always think about it and want to do something more for it. I think one supersedes the other.

It sounds like passion doesn’t give us a choice. What is your passion? Is there a message that comes with it?
What makes me jump out of my seat is thinking about what I can do for the community beyond doing something for myself. I think fitness as a whole is essential to our generation and to every society right now. My passion is to help create crucial healthier paths in our society by helping businesses and individuals focus internally on ourselves. These days, we focus so much externally. We’re bombarded by notifications on our phones, sales, visual stuff, etc. but in reality people are not focusing on the main vessel of life, which is their crucial being and body that can do so much else than the distracting things. 

Fitness is an encompassing entity and looking good is not the be-all-end-all factor. I stress very heavily on saying that I do not train people to look a certain way. The definition of fit changes from person to person and the notion of perfect sometimes creates a lot of problems. My belief is balance in the realm of fitness, because we live here and we want to enjoy life.

My calling is to create wellness impact on individual levels and help evolve the market environment for the fitness industry. What really drives me is not just fitness but the sense of community. It has been a major factor of all the things I’ve done since I’ve left the US. I have been very good at bringing people together since my childhood because of the mindset I have to spend time efficiently. I always brought my social groups together to have one gathering instead of three.

The bigger dream I have is to help represent and elevate the Asian ethnicity beyond the mindsets of sports. Self-improvement, career, relationships, family, who you are what you do, or even just  your physical body. I stepped into the professional racing realm kind of early and I was the first Asian by blood to step on the court. It’s a humbling experience and a calling I want to continue, to inspire and support people who see part of themselves in me.

How did you get into the fitness, wellness industry?
It’s actually quite funny because growing up I was a scrawny kid but I loved running around and playing sports. Friends and I made up games to play in the street corner, in the backyard or whatever space that we had so at that point doing fun physical activities was my first touchpoint with fitness. Then in school I was playing all these sports and joining competitions and my mindset was, “I’m just gonna train harder. I know I can do this. There’s no reason I can’t do it.” I never thought about body shape or genetics.

I’m not really the gym rat type of guy. Once I took an abs class with primarily ladies in the room and that kicked my butt in 45 minutes way more than what I had been doing spending two hours with the boys in the gym! So I started attending classes…then I ran a local race without much expectation and won for my age group.

I was very analytical about saying yes to different sports, competitions and achieving the most efficient outcome. Isn’t there a quote, “Hard work beats talent, when talent doesn’t work hard.”

If we want to engineer the best environment to identify, grow, and sustain a passion, would you say that money is important?
Because I came from a lower-income family, the sense of money and the importance of it has always been there. Money is, unfortunately, an important factor if you want to break free because sometimes your passion may not feed you at all. But if you have a skill, someone will value it. It comes down to what you’re willing to do to get yourself there or if you would think that you’re above some jobs, such as working in a restaurant. Another vital element is with passion you want to ask yourself if you’re professionally developing yourself because professional knowledge can gravitate us. 

One of the objectives of this miniseries is to re-introduce and display sustainability in light of your story. There’s something similar between sustainable living and a healthy lifestyle that you advocate. Both will start to show a long-term result after a while. How do you interpret “Sustainability”?
The biggest sustainable thing you can do is start and every small step matters because the sum of small steps will get you where you want to be long-term. Progression is key in achieving sustainability.

In the fitness world, sustainability is connected to something that can constantly be done over and over again, something that you can really live by, something that doesn’t bore you, and something that makes a dramatic impact that you cannot discontinue. To achieve this, it comes down to every little action. Introduce something new to your meal, remove one sugary drink from your diet, remove sugar slowly, etc. to reprogramme your brain’s addiction to something that is actually healthy for you. You’d start feeling better as a being and you won’t ever stop maintaining this happy, healthy, nutritious mind, body and mindset.
Also, sustainability to me means giving back and working with the local communities. It is to think of ways to provide as much value as possible, when resources are being taken away by me, you, us.

Any health hacks that lead to sustainable wellness you can share with us?
Recovery is the most important factor for the things we do because we’re constantly damaging our bodies. Just as much as you train, you need to recover even more because that recovery aspect is crucial. Most people value the workout part, beating their bodies, breaking them down, but they don’t think about how much more they should recover to gain the benefits of it. I recommend things like foam rolling, myofascial release, stretching your muscles out, and giving them fresh blood flow.

Other things can be information that you’re given to really understand your body and give you more insight into longevity. So whether it’s a heart rate, HRV, or glucose monitor, these are things that’s considered biohacking because you are providing yourself with more information that you would ever had before and they’re not commonly available to. Of course they are generally used for patients but they can be used for performance sports and regular well-being upkeeping too.

And with sugar comes inflammation in the body. And if you want to make changes, you really have to understand what your body does with sugar. Just because I eat sugar doesn’t mean they impact my body the same way someone else eats sugar. So I learned for myself when I go out to Italian restaurant and the first bread baskets always there, I’ve noticed that if I eat just a piece of cheese, or some sort of a dairy that’s on the plate, just with a bit of protein, and then I eat any sort of carbs after that, my blood sugar stays pretty, fairly flat, and doesn’t work the same way with someone else. So each individual person’s body digests things a little differently.  By having this information, you’re completely providing a sense of biological hacking, or even more information that you didn’t have before to provide a sustainable long-term change for your lifestyle.

Among your many projects you’ve also become the Head of Fitness for Potato Head, an iconic landmark, a creative, mindful village by the ocean. Can you comment on the sense of sustainability in the fitness community in Bali?
Yeah, Bali is very much embracing sustainability in all aspects in the fitness world, whether it is sustainably providing a value, giving back to the community or working out with the patient, progression mindset.

I work with people who’ve been here long-term and they want to create a wellness community with not just the expats but also with the locals within the ecosystem of local business and partnerships in Indonesia.

Potato Head’s true pillar is sustainability. Anytime you walk through the door, they’ll take away your plastic bottle to give you a recycled bottle and you use that throughout your stay there. Everything that’s in their facility is recycled. They work with local purveyors who create sustainable products that belong to their respective true ethos. They hire locally and collaborate with local artists to create new areas, to build out architecture bricks to mortars to everything and anything you see, paying a lot of respect to the local cultures. So they’re reinvesting to be sustainable, but also providing a recycling value of cleaning up. So even like some of their walls are used with plastic that they recycled in the ocean in Bali, they melted to create all different types of build outs with it. Currently I’m working with them to build sporting and weight equipment from recycled trash to provide added value for our clientele in the workout space.

After living there for a year and a half, do you see a disjoint between the community you live in and the other groups in terms of their view on sustainability?
I definitely do feel that there’s a sense of disconnect even among the foreigners you see here. Some of them are very into recycling and treasuring the beauty of Bali and you also have tourists and expats who don’t care and they treat this island as their playground. They throw trash everywhere.

The Balinese people are very smart about recycling certain things. They reuse all the types of leaves and plants as decorations, they reuse a lot of wood but they also put a candy with plastic wrapping in their daily offering to the gods. Overall there’s certainly a lack of information and lack of income to purchase a certain way and it’s not a priority as a society I don’t think. This is their land and they inhabit their lifestyle. I don’t think anybody has fully provided a solution for sustainability across all industries, groups, functions etc. on this island. 

Let’s say our readers can do like 20 to 2000 push-ups and they have access to different foods, work schedules and perceptions of what fitness is. Can you share three tiers of sustainable advice for novice, intermediate and advanced people out there?
Yeah, for beginners, every little thing matters. You must have that energy to take the first step, then the second step. You should never feel like missing a workout one day is going to completely derail you as long as you have the will to slowly build that in your routine. The sense of motivation and longevity should not be lost in the beginner’s mindset.

And in the intermediate mindset, I’m assuming they’re reaching for the next step. I’d say don’t overdo it. Don’t push yourself way beyond your comfort zone because again, it’s day by day, week by week and it takes time to get to where you want it to be. Be present and ask yourself: are you finding that balance with your lifestyle and is what you’re doing adding value to your life? I think that is the most important factor. 

And then with advanced users, in my mind, they are the athletes, the top guns who are striving to be the best of the best and to them my advice is slow it down just a little bit. You should be more well-versed about your body, think more wholesome and more diversified versus honing in and just pigeonholing yourself because the injuries will come on when you only focus on specific areas too much. So, slow it down, diversify, focus on body recovery more than the pushing part.

Advice for people out there who feel stuck in the hamster wheel, and they read your story and go, “Wow, I want that but where do I start?”
Safety can be good but it can bring you to stagnation, and you’ll never know what you’re capable of. For me I wouldn’t be who I am today without taking that massive leap to move from New York to Asia. We as Americans are told, “You better know what your career is, better make lots of money or you’re a complete failure!” but I think what real failure is when you’re not happy doing all that and having all that money! Obviously, if you have a family and have many obligations then it can be harder but if you’re in your 20s and 30s, take the risk, don’t say no easily.

What’s next for Johnny Tieu?
I’m looking forward to so many exciting projects this year. I’m thrilled to be doing more with Potato Head, training and racing. Oh, I just opened a bar in Berawa, it’s called Bar Goose.

We’re coming close to the end of this interview and here’re a few fill in the blank questions for you!
Success is achieving what you want but also making you happy at the same time.

My favorite spot in the world is wherever I snowboard above the clouds (previously) and (now) walking on the beach in sunset.

What we all can do to be a bit more sustainable is take one step at a time, every little bit counts.

One trivial thing about Johnny is I’m a walking Google?

Thank you for reading! Here’s how you can connect with Johnny, Lens of Passion and Patémar to jump on this ride, raise the bar, and support sustainable business:

@quacktieu  @lensofpassion @patemarshorts

Give us a follow, tell us about yourself and what you want to read next. Let’s connect!