Starting to build a public brand

A "might as well" situation

Published: 2026-02-17

What am I trying to achieve with my social media?

I don’t particularly hate the limelight, but I also tend to stay away from people’s attention unless I deem there are tangible upsides to it. I prefer to make things happen in the background rather than take center stage. However, recently I started a public profile on Instagram for my high jump activities and intend to ramp up some activities on YouTube soon. While I am still not going knee-deep into making myself a brand, I figured there could be a few benefits down the road, so I might as well start building up some presence here and there. I may be getting ahead of myself a little bit, but I think it would be fun for me to write a little about what I am trying to achieve with my social media in the future.

Show people “It’s not too late”

As I have mentioned on my YouTube channel and in my previous posts here: I once ditched high jump and came back to finish what I started. People often applaud my bravery and determination, but they have no idea I second-guess myself almost every single day. I hope I will be successful on my journey and that I can be an example of “It’s never too late.” To show people this message, letting people see how I grow over time could be useful in establishing the narrative.

Promote scientific thinking in sport

My whole high jump journey itself is a giant experiment: managing the specimen (myself), dosing the specimen with independent variables (training, supplements, recovery routines, etc. — I don’t dope, just in case you are asking), collecting data and crafting theories, then repeating. As mentioned above, I need to manage huge stress in my journey. Thinking like a scientist lets me escape the subjective emotions when making decisions and puts me in a third-person perspective when approaching my training.

Training is sometimes like a religion more so than a science — “because coach said so.” I am lucky that my coach now encourages questions, and he never tells me to do something without providing a justification. The training methods he gives us closely mirror what I have done in science, so part of this is about leveraging this social media platform to promote scientific thinking in track and field and healthy living in general.

A template for an actionable active lifestyle

Becoming a pro athlete is not just about training, but also eating well and recovering well. From what I have seen, there is a chasm between athletes and “normal people” to some extent, where people think athletes are just built different, so whatever methods we use to maintain good health and high performance seem unreachable and not actionable.

I don’t believe this is true. It might be true that it took special willpower to get started in the first place. However, bringing us to the top of our performance is not about willpower, but a series of well-thought-out and well-executed habits. I want to show people the steps we take are indeed actionable, so more people can stay active and healthy.

Scope of content

A part of me still feels not worthy of making a profile because I have not achieved much on the high jump side yet, which is factually true, so the only high jump content I will post on my social media now will be goofy clips and practice footage.

If you are curious about my journey, make sure you follow me on social media!