Joseph Schooling: Five Things About Singapore's Boy Wonder

The TAG Heuer ambassador talks watches, swimming and chye tow kueh.

TAG Heuer Friends of the Brand (L-R): Joseph Schooling, Rozz, Daniel Ricciardo

We recently caught up with Olympic gold medallist, Joseph Schooling, when he was in town for TAG Heuer’s Formula 1 event on 12 September. Here are some insights offered by Singapore’s charming golden boy:

My favourite TAG Heuer watch is a toss-up between the Carrera and the Aquaracer. If I had to pick one, it’d probably be the Carrera that I’m wearing now. Blue is my favourite colour, so when they showed me this watch, I really liked it. I also love that it has a skeleton dial.

My ideal watch for training would be one that’s waterproof, of course. I’d want a clear timing system, probably something digital on the bottom so I can see the time clearly. I also love rubber straps, so that’d be a really important feature for me. Kinda shallow, I know, but I love it!

There are many TAG Heuer values which resonate with me. One of the things I like about them is they are super sporty, very bold, and they want to be disruptive. That last value is probably the one that sticks with me the most because, coming from Singapore, no one would expect you to excel and do well in sports. And so to be able to go on to the world stage and be disruptive kind of changed the status quo, and that means a lot to me.

I’m still very young. You hit your peak physically in your mid- to late-twenties. I think there’s still a lot more to go in the future. Right now, obviously, I’m transitioning to a professional career and it’s different from just doing at in school. It’s a challenge and a new part of my life that I’m very excited to be taking on.

If I had 24 hours all to myself, I’d sit on a couch, watch some TV, devour some chye tow kueh or have some McDonald’s and just chill. The hustle and bustle every day is so crazy, I’ve almost forgotten what it’s like to just sit down.

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