MS News meets Jay Park two hours before he competes in the AIA HYROX Singapore race. And the Korean-American multi-hyphenate is not pretending to be unfazed.
If anything, he is refreshingly honest about the nerves that come with taking on the notoriously gruelling fitness competition for the very first time.
Image courtesy of AIA Singapore
“I’m excited to get it over with,” the 38-year-old quips with a chuckle when MS News asks which part of the event he’s looking forward to most. This is during our interview at the National Stadium’s Bank of Singapore lounge on Sunday (5 April).
Still, Park is quick to clarify that he isn’t “scared” of the challenge. If anything, he’s very much game for it.
Image courtesy of AIA Singapore
“I’ve heard about HYROX a lot and was always curious, but never had the time to try it,” he says. “Then AIA called and asked if I wanted to compete, and I thought, why not?”
He gets a confidence boost from having been active for most of his life. This is evident from the ripped physique he often shows off. And he describes himself as someone who’s “always moving”.
Image courtesy of AIA Singapore
Even so, he’s keeping his expectations in check.
“I’ve seen people much fitter and younger than me struggle, so we’ll see how I do,” he shrugs. We assure him he’ll do just fine.
As it turns out, Park did more than just fine.
Together with his trainer, Eddy Park, they ran, pushed, pulled, rowed, pumped, and jumped their way to an impressive time of 1:08:52 in the men’s doubles category.
Image courtesy of AIA Singapore
Not bad at all, considering their “ambitious” goal was one hour and five minutes, and that the average elite time for this category, according to RoxHype, falls between 55 and 65 minutes.
So what’s his secret? How does he find the time to train with everything else on his plate as a rapper, singer-songwriter, producer, dancer, and entrepreneur? Does he somehow have more hours in a day than the rest of us?
Well, the answer is simple: discipline and consistency.
Image courtesy of AIA Singapore
“I did have a lot of schedules. I was performing, I had [reality rap competition] Show Me The Money, I have my own YouTube, I’m running companies. So I had to really squeeze in the workouts.”
I don’t like to do things half-assed, right? So even though I didn’t have a lot of time and was pretty exhausted, I still made sure to get the workouts in.
He reiterated this during a press conference after our chat: “You just have to squeeze it in, to be honest. No excuses. After a 12- or 13-hour day, I’ll still work out at 11pm.”
Image courtesy of AIA Singapore
It’s easy to see why AIA Singapore, the Official Title Partner of HYROX since 2025, chose to work with him.
As the brand puts it, “Park’s ability to balance peak physical performance with mental resilience is a powerful inspiration that perfectly embodies the holistic wellbeing” it advocates.
As if all that was not remarkable enough, we were reminded that Park suffered a leg injury in October last year and had to rely on crutches for a month.
Source: @moresojuplease on Instagram
He explained that he was attempting a side flip, a dance move he had always been able to execute without issue, when he injured himself.
Park tore around 80% of a ligament and sustained a slight fracture in his left leg, and was only able to start running again in February this year.
Amid all this, he took away a painful but important lesson: “Before, I could just do it. Now, I have to make sure that I stretch, that my body’s warmed up, and that I’ve taken the proper steps to execute the side flip.”
“So as I approach my 40s, it’s about preparing yourself and focusing on recovery, so you don’t get injured.”
Image courtesy of AIA Singapore
Speaking of discipline and prep, Park shared that while his team headed to Marquee to party the night before the race, he “ate, stretched, and went straight to sleep”.
“I want to perform well, so I’ve actually been eating more than I usually do. But obviously, drinking isn’t going to help my performance, so I haven’t been drinking,” he said. “After this, though, I just want to have a cold beer on the patio.”
Image courtesy of AIA Singapore
As for whether fans can expect to see him at future HYROX races, Park admitted that, while he’d love to maintain consistent training, his schedule remains a major constraint.
“I can’t just take time out of my day to go compete in a bunch of HYROX competitions. I would love to one day, once I have more time on my hands. But right now, the schedule is very brutal.”
If and when he does return, there’s one celebrity he already has in mind as a potential partner: SHINee’s Minho, who clinched first place in the men’s doubles open division alongside Physical: 100 star Hong Beom-seok on Friday (3 April).
Source: @moresojuplease on Instagram
“Maybe he could piggyback me,” Park joked, miming the action and inciting laughter from the floor. Now that’s something we’d love to see.
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Featured image courtesy of AIA Singapore.