INTERVIEW WITH MR WORLD SINGAPORE 2022 (SENIOR)(RUNNER UP): S1 ALFIE TJEN

 

1) During your entire time of Mr World Singapore 2022 from the time you auditioned till you won the title, tell us - what was the most overwhelming moment for you?

The most overwhelming moment was getting up on the stage for the first time that evening. With the blinding lights shining and hearing your friends shouting your name and cheering you on! It is comforting but at the same time unnerving because a lot of things is running through my mind. i.e the steps to the main dance, walk choreography, the lines to my acting challenge, all these and more and also constantly reminding myself to smile to the judges and audience.  

2) What was the prep process like?

During the initial phase (after the reveal of the 24 contestants), I was just trying to get myself familiar with the new life setting. At that time, I workout about 4-5 times a week focusing on hypertrophy training but at 80% effort. I’d also just include at least 1 cardio session per week. Diet wise, my food intake mainly consist of lean meat and complex carbs. With 2 main meals and 2 light meals - breakfast + lunch and pre-workout snack + dinner.

However I realised my fat percentage was hovering around 15% and dosen’t seem to budge. After searching up online for inspirations on how to reduce my body fat, I tweaked my work out routing as well as diet to achieve calories deficit. 

My new regime runs like clockwork and consists of eating just oats and salmon salad bowl for the last 2 months leading to Coronation Night. I would prepared overnight oats with fruits such as banana, blueberries and strawberries and 2 scoops of whey protein. And have this for breakfast around 9am on my office desk. For lunch (around 12 to 1pm), I had Salmon Daily Bowl from Stuff’d which has about 230kcal. And for afternoon (around 4pm), I would have Kopi ‘O’ Kosong. 

After work, I would head to the gym at 6pm and do strength training which covers 2-3 body parts with 4-5 exercises each. Typically my gym sesh will last about 2.5hrs as I burn about 400-500kcal on the treadmill for an hour before heading to the sauna/steam room for about 10mins to release toxins as well as burn additional calories. My post workout meal is back to oats and whey protein.

I had to also reject social gatherings after work/weekends and even lunches with colleagues so as not to impede my routine and diet. Which also means, no cheat days/meals! Also, my social life was non-existent as I would work out at least 5-6 times a week. 

3) Are there any nervous moments and stress factors during the competition and how did you deal with it?

I’m not a dancer and was worried whether I’m able to pull it off. But what I did to navigate around this is to make it a point to record each dance class so that I can review it later. Similarly with the acting challenge, I would highlight my lines and put in side notes on the coach’s comments on how to deliver the correct tone/action. 

For other parts of the competition in general, I would manage it by taking “quiet moments” at the corner of the room and tell myself to keep calm and channel positive energy. In fact, this is what happened on Coronation Night and I had a couple of this exercises with the eventual winner - Umar!

4) What's the one thing you wish someone had prepared you for before you won the title?

Honestly, I wished someone had prepared home snacks for me which Kelvin’s mum did. Haha.. That’s so comforting and delish too! Oh yeah, we thank her as a group when she took a picture with us. 

On a serious note, I wished I had my answers prepared before hand during the Top 10 Q&A. Heh!

5) When you look back, is there something you wish you did differently?

Yes, I think I was more nervous compared to pre-judging and I wished I had brought the same psyche/energy on Coronation Night. And I had the stage jitters (coupled with gastric, which I am unprepared for), I wished I had packed some protein snacks to fuel the day as we had little time to consume our meals due to the packed rehearsal schedule.  

6) For the guys who want join Mr World Singapore in the future, what are some tips you can suggest?

It can be truly a life changing journey or not, which is entirely up to you! It can be a daunting experience for some but do some soul-searching on what impact you want to bring and manifest this during the competition. 

Also, be mindful that the judging starts the moment you auditioned and always be tactful and how you carry yourself from step 1. 

7) What has been the best piece of advice given to you so far and by whom?

This has to be for Asri, whom I knew from before pre-judging but we talked mainly online. There are many things he said that I feel is important especially on how to carry myself and different ways to engage with the judges. Coming from someone who has zero pageant experience (me), and getting advises from someone who had many years of observing contestants from various pageants (Asri), his advises are truly insightful gives me more confidence not just on stage presence but the entire competition.

8) Any words you like to say to your supporter?

I am really thankful beyond words for their constant encouragement and believe in me! I might not be able to personally thank them but I want them to know that I am really appreciative to get their support throughout the competition no matter how small they think it is. And to the few who manage to watch me on that night, I am really thankful for their presence and constant cheering throughout the night. 

To my partner of 11 years, you are not a person of many words but your actions speaks louder than words. I am grateful to have your constant support, be it sending virtual gifts whenever I go on HyperLive without fail, cooking me meals when I am busy, driving me to classes and events, doing without date nights for 2 months - basically just being there without uttering a word of complain. 

I love you from the moon and back a million times!

10) Tell us a little bit about your upcoming plans?

First up is to catch up with friends and the declined invitations for meals the past few months! Haha.. In fact I already had my first one last night over HDL. 

Second is to cut some slack and scale down my routine by 20% which means I don’t have to do cardio every single gym sesh and perhaps indulge in the occasional burgers/pizza once in awhile and just live a little! 

Third, to continue inspire people in any way possible. For one, to start with my first committed Personal Training client which I hope to help him get into a better shape! 

Last but not least, to embrace this next chapter of my life and pretty open to new opportunities when it comes my way. :)

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