A study in a Lancet Rheumatology journal revealed that in 2020 over 619 million people suffered from lower back pain and that by 2050 we can expect to see that number increase to 843 million. What's causing so many people around the world to experience it?

There are a lot of varying causes that can lead to lower back pain. Some of the extreme cases for it can come from an issue with an internal organ like a kidney infection, worse yet it could be a tumor, or cancer. Other issues from it may result from a natural irregularity such as scoliosis, or an injury like a herniated or ruptured disk. However, while more than 7.5% of the world's population can't all be suffering only from organ damage, or severe injury. What else is causing so many people to have it? Why is it so prevalent?

Is it psychosomatic? Are people just imagining that they have back pain? While it's possible that there are cases for people to have phantom pain it's likely going to be an outlier toward the extreme minority. The reason for this is due to how easy it is to actually have lower back pain. So let's look at some of the more common causes of it.

We're now living in an era where it's easier to encounter someone who is either overweight/obese, living a sedentary lifestyle, or is constantly in a seated position whether that be due to work or the aforementioned sedentary lifestyle. Many of these factors can lead to lower back pain because of the imbalances that they cause, such as having excess bulk putting too much weight on the spine, inactivity leading to muscle weakness, poor posture causing misalignment, etc.

Another issue is the lack of awareness of how these habits lead to lower back pain. For instance, someone who is living a sedentary lifestyle may not have the understanding that their underutilized muscles is causing their back pain. Worse yet, they may not have access to someone who is capable of diagnosing and dealing with these problems. Issues from all over the body can lead to lower back pain, hence the title of this post. Maybe the hip flexors are weak, maybe their range of motion is poor, perhaps the groin is tight? Even if you fix these issues, it isn't guaranteed that the problems end with them because the issues don't even need to be near your back for there to be pain. Maybe ankle mobility is poor leading to muscular compensation and imbalances that end up leading to lower back pain, or maybe it's somewhere in the upper body such as the scapula no longer being utilized, also causing imbalances that again end up leading to lower back pain.

Just by these examples you can see how there'd be a snowball effect of how problems can worsen over time making it harder and harder to deal with lower back pain. But why do these problems lead to that one specific area? The musculoskeletal system is all interconnected, with muscle groups working together in harmony to support or alleviate the workload of other parts of the body. When something has become unused, strained, weak, misaligned, etc., then it forces other groups to pick up the slack and work harder to compensate. Using the example that was given about the lack of ankle mobility, poor ankle flexion could lead to the calves becoming tight, which moves upward into the hamstrings, up through the glutes, and into the lower back. Someone who becomes aware of the tightness in the areas leading to the lower back may try to release tightness by stretching the muscles near it, but may fail to find the actual source of the problem, which in this case would be poor ankle mobility. The same applies to the upper body.

What about people that are performing physical labor for a living? There are still plenty of people around the world that aren't working desk jobs, why do they have back pain? The answer is also imbalances caused by the repetitive movements, along with the weighted loads that they have to move or carry. Being able to lift heavy doesn't necessarily mean you'll be able to avoid these problems, especially if lifting heavily reinforces a poor posture.

So if you're someone that's dealing with lower back pain that's coming from one of the more severe potential causes like a kidney infection, then of course seek medical assistance. If it's from an injury then again, seek medical assistance. However, if it's from one of the more common causes such as weight management, a sedentary lifestyle, poor posture, too much sitting, etc., then there are plenty of other ways to address the issue. Lifestyle changes are always the best start; it's also incredibly helpful to find a physio or trainer who specializes in mobility to help with stretching and strengthening weak and underused muscles. If that isn't available then all of this falls on you to do your homework, to read, watch, and listen to as much as you can, and start going through what the potential problems are. There's plenty of material available online for research, but never immediately believe what you find, and always test out what works for you. If it eases the pain in your lower back then you're moving in the right direction, but just remember that there are a million and one reasons why it's there and it's on you to go through each one to solve it.

Finally, there's one last solution and that's to just move. Global Fast Fit is an excellent avenue towards this. There's a misconception that Global Fast Fit is only some interval training routine but in reality it's meant to be much more than that. It's a full-body workout that can be done at your own pace without any equipment. By own pace that means that if you can't complete the full routine then it isn't necessary to do so. As mentioned in my previous blog posts, I only just realized that certain exercises like pushups weren't accomplishable by everyone and that's ok. There are ways of building yourself up so that you can correct weaknesses and imbalances before getting to a point of being pain-free. Take a look at this particular case study to see how Global Fast Fit can help people get the functional strength that they need: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvZAMziGCns

So I'd just recently written a post about the importance of gut health (which you can read here: https://www.globalfastfit.com/post/the-importance-of-gut-health-1 ) and wanted to follow up on some things you can do to keep your gut healthy as you age. 

If you're expecting me to give dietary advice on what exactly you should and shouldn't be eating then look elsewhere for it. I don't believe in giving out that kind of advice, nor do I believe in giving advice on how to lose weight, build muscle, etc. Everyone's tolerances, and everyone's issues are all very individual. We're all also very different in how our body processes and metabolizes food. I've had people try to convince me to go vegan to deal with my gut problems and I already know that won't lead to anything but even more issues. That's not to say that being vegan is bad, but it is to say that being vegan isn't for everyone. That leads me to my first point:

1. Know yourself. Your body is incredibly vocal on what it likes and what it doesn't like. If you're consuming something and you're getting bloated, constipated, gassy afterward then you're probably doing your gut a disservice. It has to work extra hard because it's being forced to digest something that isn't normally easy for it to do so. Going back to the vegan point, if it works for you great, but I already know it doesn't work for me. My body naturally digests meat easily, but that won't be the case for everyone. Go with what's easy on your gut so it won't get overworked and keep working optimally well into old age.

2. Variety is the spice of life. Even if my gut digests meat easily that doesn't mean that's the only thing I consume. I try to keep everything as balanced as possible with what's available around me. I won't get into specifics as I don't want this to get too long, but when it comes to my own personal diet, I don't consume much fruit as I've never had a taste for it, but I do take in a lot of vegetables. One of the easiest ways that I know I'm getting the right kind of variety is that I don't eat vegetables of just one particular family. For instance if all I ever had was broccoli and cauliflower, then I'd only be consuming crucifers which would likely lead to deficiencies. I always eat from as many different families as I can, and then to make sure I get the right amount of vitamins and nutrients I'll try to eat vegetables of different color. Nature has been kind enough to color code our meals, so if all you're having is green, then you're probably not getting enough of what you need.

3. Moderation is key. I'd highly caution an excess of anything, especially if it's in the form of a vice. I'm not referring to just alcohol. When I stopped drinking I needed something to replace it so I turned to coffee. Even if coffee isn't as destructive as an overindulgence of alcohol can be, it'll lead to its own issues such as antagonizing stomach acids. So some people might find their answers at the end of a bottle, others from a bowl of ice cream, either way have anything and everything within reason to keep your gut from overworking itself to death.

4. Food quality matters. This is a tougher one because of accessibility, and it isn't just a matter of discipline. Still, if you're cooking yourself, or if you're eating out, then make sure however your food is sourced that it's properly stored, not covered in preservatives/pesticides, not expired, etc. Again, your body will tell you if something you've consumed isn't up to par in the quality department, so if you're sick, or if you're tired after eating something then you need to switch sources. 

So just to recap, that's understanding what individually you can and can't handle, keeping your diet varied so you don't have any deficiencies, not consuming anything to excess whether it be caffeine, alcohol, sugar, etc., and make sure what you're eating is of the right quality. All of these things keep your gut from overworking and lead to an easier transmission of food to energy. There are still plenty of other things to cover, but these alone are enough to avoid a lot of some of the bigger gut related problems. 

Anyone who's been acquainted with me for the past 6+ years is very familiar with my struggles with my gut health and how it's affected me in some incredibly debilitating ways. I wrote a blog earlier about returning to consuming steamed food as a way to avoid aggravating the gut further which you can read here: https://www.globalfastfit.com/post/hello-old-friend-i-never-thought-i-d-miss-you

I do have a backlog of things I need to post, including more of my thoughts on Thai society, Kenya vs. Uganda, etc., but I've always wanted to return to this topic on why it's incredibly important to maintain a healthy gut, and some of the very dire consequences of what happens when you don't.

When I use the term gut I refer to the digestive system as a whole, and all of its working parts which include and is not limited to your stomach, small and large intestine, liver, pancreas, gallbladder, and so on. I also refer to all of its working parts such as the bile produced by the liver, the acids produced by the stomach, the bacteria that reside in the stomach and intestines and so forth. All parts are equally important in their own way, and dysfunction to any of these lead to some severe problems to not just the gut itself but other parts of the body that may not even immediately come to mind.

I would strongly advocate care for your gut due to a plethora of reasons but here are three that should help sway you into doing so: 

First, when any of the working parts of the digestive system begin to break down, your ability to process and synthesize what you eat is reduced and your body has a tougher time finding what it needs to work optimally. If you're someone who values their youth (or at least someone who values how they felt when they were young), then this is more than enough reason to keep things in order. It's amazing how quickly you age when your body doesn't get what it needs on a daily basis because you have a bile issue, acid reflux, or intestinal erosion. If you're inclined to look and feel old, then look no further than letting your body not get any of the nutrients it needs just because your body can't process them anymore. 

Second, if you've seen and read the post I've referenced in the first paragraph then you'll really understand this. Do you enjoy being able to eat whatever you want? If you're a foodie and you live to eat then I promise you that gut issues are the last thing you want to have. Our guts (for the most part) are extremely durable, with some more than others depending on genetics. It's easy to overlook any problems because they generally start small. There are a few telltale signs that something is wrong early on to look for. If your stomach sounds like a Category 1 hurricane on a consistent basis, then you're probably going down a bad path. It usually starts with gas (on both ends), so if there's a good amount of it then you need to start taking better care of what you eat and drink. What does it lead to if you don't? All sorts of fun and nasty stuff; you might discover that you're becoming sensitive to certain foods you never were before; the selection of things you can eat and drink without getting sick becomes smaller and smaller. Can't live without coffee? You're going to have to when it gets the stomach acids going. What about the occasional drink here and there? Also gone. Blueberry cheesecake? Too rich, too tasty, and unfortunately too difficult for the stomach to process; gone. The list continues.

The third reason is probably the one reason I'd go back and change my diet and lifestyle habits. How much do you value your ability to observe/comprehend/reason/remember the world around you? When there's enough dysfunction in the digestive system, the central nervous system is directly impacted. The reason that this happens can vary, whether it be stomach acids irritating the vagus nerve, malabsorption of digested foods not allowing for the nervous system to get the right sustenance, gut bacteria not being able to communicate with your brain, the liver not being able to cleanse impurities, etc. One or two of these can make it hard for you to remember what you had for dinner yesterday, several of them can make you forget who your parents are. If there's any reason to take care of your gut, it's this one that gives you the sense of self, and to lose oneself is truly not a reality worth living.

There are many more reasons, but I think the three above should suffice. I may blog about my own personal experiences with these issues in the future if there's any interest in me doing so. The human digestive system is complex, but caring for it doesn't have to be. Just not aggravating the gut and keeping watch for signs that it's getting into poor shape should already give it plenty of longevity. If something you're eating or drinking is causing you to get sick then avoid it; if you need to have a vice like sugar or alcohol then consume it moderately if you can't live without it.

I must admit, I'm beginning to grow fond of the nicknames that I'm seeing arise from some of our competitors.

I'm currently living in a country where absolutely everyone has a nickname. Most Thai first names can be up to four syllables long, so a nickname simplifies matters a great deal. There are a variety of reasons why a Thai person has their nickname. Some of are given based on how someone has looked as an infant, like lek (small), ouan (fat). There are nicknames based on animal sounds like oud (the sound pigs make) or miew (the sound of a cat). Then you get the really silly ones based off of what the current fad is, or what the parent really enjoys. I've met two siblings named Aston, and Benz, so you can assume the mother or father is really into cars. Some get even more silly like when the ASEAN Games were held in Thailand so some kid was unfortunately given the nickname of ASEAN Games. Then there's the totally random ones like Mafia or God.

I'm very pleased with the nicknames of two of the more prominent members of the Global Fast Fit community. That would be Sutinee "Nee" Rasp, and Simon Njuguna Mucheru.

While Sutinee already has a shortened version of her first name (Nee), she has been affectionately, and correctly dubbed, "The Mountain Goat" by her husband Greg. It's incredibly fitting, considering how well she tackles the steep elevations of the ultratrails that would typically cause the untimely end of the uninitiated, unfit, and unqualified.

I'm only just learning of Simon's nickname, "The Pope". Hearing it immediately makes you wonder where he got it from, but judging by Simon's recent GFF Lite score for the #KenyavsUganda Fitness Faceoff, you can see that His Holiness has the authority to win this entire series on his own.

I was very much inspired by Kelvin's rabbit post that I needed to do a food post of my own, just for a very different reason.

Up until recently, I've dealt with crippling gut issues (among many other health problems, but we'll get to those). These were problems that affected my ability to intake and digest food, which led to an ulcer in my esophagus (from GERD), severe erosion in my intestines (also from GERD), prediabetes, diverticulosis, an enlarged liver, and CKD Stage 2 among many other issues.

For several years I was forced to live a very spartan lifestyle in what I ate. As you can see from the title picture, the food that I was forced to have was as bland as you could possibly imagine.

In order to avoid the endless amount of problems that came with severe gut issues, anything I ate had to be steamed, and the only seasoning I could add was salt. This awful diet has been on and off for almost half a decade.

It certainly hasn't been easy, especially when living in a culture where the local food is a source of pride and at such a high emphasis for socialization. When you're a foreigner and you tell Thais that you can't have something because of whatever issue you might have, then it's fine, they'll accept it. When you look like one of them, they take it as pure blasphemy, they call you weak and tell you that your parents didn't raise you correctly, so on and so forth.

To make this short, I've recently managed to begin healing from a lot of the aforementioned issues. All of the problems that I used to deal with are slowly beginning to fade after finally getting the correct treatment. Recently I've splurged on a lot of foods that I've missed out on over the past four or five years. Being able to eat out again has been a luxury, but strangely one that has gotten very old very quickly.

Is all of this really necessary?

As awful as that bland food is, it's pretty much the best thing you could be putting into your body. Vegetables of different colors so you know you're getting the right variety of nutrients, chicken breast for protein, and kabocha squash to add a small amount of carbs for energy. Everything is steamed so all of it is easy for the gut to process and digest.

It's been an epiphany of sorts. As nice as all of the tom yum, butter chicken, borscht, hummus, tom saap, chicken rice, tom kha gai, blueberry cheesecake have been, I find myself back to just steaming my food, and eating bland.

This isn't a holier than thou post, this is one of acceptance. Even with the right treatment, I'm very much aware that these issues can come back if I'm not careful. If you've never had these problems, and can eat and drink whatever you want, then don't take it for granted. I consider myself blessed that I wasn't born with something out of my control like Type I Diabetes. But the weak gut is something well within my control and I no longer choose to make myself sick, as tempting as it is, 

When not toiling on my usual duties with Global Fast Fit, I do enjoy frequenting the occasional art gallery.

I was invited to attend an exhibition opening called, "Who's Cutting Onions?" by famed Thai cartoonist Tum Ulit. I wasn't exactly familiar with his work at the time, and my initial thought was, "An exhibition by a cartoonist? It's probably not for me. I probably won't bother going."

I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have changed my mind. The experience was nothing short of phenomenal. It was also the most packed I've ever seen an art gallery.

Tum Ulit's exhibition is nothing short of a masterclass in an appeal to the raw human psyche. He has perfected the ability to reach deep into your very being and illicit some form of emotional response, usually sorrow or remorse based on his subject matter (hence the name of the exhibit).

What does this have to do with Global Fast Fit?

The way we've been making social media posts over Global Fast Fit has changed for one month now. Global Fast Fit is being performed and utilized in several different countries around the world, there is no shortage of activity going on in each of those countries. Letting everyone immediately know about what's going on in each nation realtime just isn't realistic. It doesn't allow us to convey any form of coherent message, and it doesn't give us any real identity.

I came up in film production and storytelling by proxy, and this has been someting I've wanted to engage in for quite some time now. There are a plethora of interesting stories that need to be told on Global Fast Fit's end. It's one of the reasons why I pushed hard for the revival of Kenya vs. Uganda.

For those that haven't been following, Kenya vs. Uganda had already happened once in May. A single Ugandan challenger named Julius Sekitoleko was capable of capturing the Global Fast Fit Men's World Record Championship from neighboring Kenya, and was more than capable of defending his title. This led to an outpour of effort from the Kenyan side, both in Global Fast Fit contenders, and also in their media production, In recent posts I've named Julius as arguably one of the greatest champions we've ever had simply because of how unrelenting he was in defending his title and being outspoken about it. This all came to an end when Kenyan Clinton Kavai tied him for first. An internal decision led to us leaving things as they were and the rivalry fizzled out from there. 

For months now, I knew this rivalry absolutely needed to be brought back. But why? What makes this rivalry so special? The rivalry is special because it carries with it that familiar appeal to the raw human psyche. This isn't the same solicitation of remorse and sorrow as Tum Ulit's "Who's Cutting Onions" exhibition (not yet, anyway), but an appeal to pride.

Pride in one's self, pride in one's nation has always been effective in garnering not only participants, but also an audience. It's one of the reasons why people are so invested in the Olympics. They aren't there competing, but they're living through their country's competitiors. It doesn't hurt that Kenyans and Ugandans have a bit of history going back and forth with each other.

Everything being done by Global Fast Fit, whether it be supporting schools, empowering women, building communities has meaning. But if you're here for the sheer competitional aspect of Global Fast Fit, then this will be a story to follow. Especially when so much pride is on the line.

This is the first in a series of blog posts about the Kenya vs Uganda rivalry.

Two weeks ago I was asked to attend a wedding. My usual concern for this is if I have the time to attend it, as my work schedule with Global Fast Fit does keep me very occupied, but another case for concern would be if I can dress the part depending on their requirements. I do have a wide selection of fitted suits to choose from, many purchased pre-lockdowns when business with my production company was booming, and also several more recent choices as John insists on outfitting me as he considers my casual wear atrocious.

I was surprised to learn that none of my wardrobe would be suitable, not due to the color scheme, but due to the theme. The groom stated in his invitation that morning ceremony required "traditional Thai" clothing only. The evening ceremony along the beach would be much more conventional as suits would be the standard choice for dress.

"Traditional Thai" can be interpreted in many ways, but in a formal setting, the groom most likely meant the formal dress in the era of Rama V, King Chulalongkorn. King Chulalongkorn's reign was one of modernizing Thailand (or Siam at the time) and it was common for nobility to adopt more Victorian-era (1860's onward) clothing to show a more sophisticated style of dress. This upper part of this dress featured the phraratchathan (พระราชทาน) for men, a stylish yet no-nonsense button-up jacket with standing collar adopted from British India. The lower part of this dress would be the chongkraben (โจงกระเบน), a unisex wrap around cloth which still holds more of what would be considered the traditional style of dress, as it was worn by ancient Khmers who adopted their style of dress from Indian influences.

It isn't uncommon to see Thais wanting to depict national pride to wear clothing from this period. It was certainly one where Siam made great strides as a country in building a nation that could show European powers that we were capable of the same elegance and poise along with the diplomatic acuity that allowed us to remain uncolonized throughout history.

I went a different route based off of the requirements of "Traditional Thai" considering there was a traditional morning and modern evening segment for the wedding. I had a phraratchathan (พระราชทาน) custom made for myself, but also went with dark black fitted trousers instead of the ancient chongkraben (โจงกระเบน). This style of dress was the vision of Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram who in 1941 banned elements of the Victorian era dress in favor of something even more modern. Such style of dress is what you would see now among Thailand's nobility and military elite for ceremonial purposes. You could call it the perfect marriage of traditional and modern.

I'd like to take this opportunity to share an unfortunate incident that happened to me while I was on a job in Pattaya.

I have (well had as of recent treatment) an extremely sensitive gut. It tends to have difficulties adapting to the various ingredients, along with culinary practices that come with food in Thailand. This is not condemnation of Thai food or international food prepared in Thailand, mind you, just my stomach's inability to process it due to the differences in preparation, and ingredients used.

Long story short, during that job I had some food that didn't sit well with me. It was rather unfortunate as it came from what seemed to be a reputable restaurant but it really can be a bit of a gamble with some of these places. It was different this time though. It was different than the usual pain from eating something that I couldn't properly handle. Still, I went to work; my hours for this project were from around 19.00 (7pm) to around midnight. I remember a terrible sharp pain in my lower right quadrant that just refused to go away. After going back to my hotel it persisted long enough that I had to put a stop to everything and immediately go to a hospital.

I called a taxi to the nearest international hospital (one I won't name due to the defamation laws here). It was already past midnight and the staff available were minimal. They ran a few tests and correctly deduced that my appendix was about to burst. I handed them my insurance card and let them call my insurance company to let them sort things out.

I want to put out there that I am insured by a very reputable insurance company. Thailand has many small local health insurance companies that have a tendency to go bankrupt before paying anything out. The one I'm with is an international company that's partnered with a Thai bank. They've always fully covered any claims that I've had without issue, but they always wait to confirm coverage until knowing the full costs for treatment. That apparently wasn't enough for the hospital that was dealing with my time bomb of an appendix. I was told that the insurance company said they'd like to take everything into consideration first, which the hospital took as a "no" to coverage, and recommended that they call me a cab to either a public hospital or a different private hospital.

I had considered going to the public hospital to avoid any further issue, but decided (and most fortunately so) to go to the private hospital. This hospital then called me a "cab" if you could even call it that. It was a shady truck driver who saw that I was dying on his front seat and decided to gouge me for double rate. He took me to the larger private hospital that had the same issues when calling my insurance. It was around 1.40am when this all happened and I remember at that time the constant sharp nagging pain in my lower right quadrant suddenly stopped for a brief moment. What followed was excruciating pain that just wouldn't go away no matter what position I put myself in on the bed I was on. My appendix had burst. Despite the insurance company still stating that they'd like to take everything into consideration first, the hospital staff decided that they'd have to operate, insurance confirmation be damned.

I won't get into further details. Care at this private hospital was superb. There were very few things I took issue with there. My private insurance covered everything as they always do. I had a full recovery, and it also led to further treatment that helped me with my gut issues.

I don't want to get into Thai healthcare rankings worlwide. Healthcare here is amazing, and is one of the best in the region, if not the world, but it does have its faults. Had I gone to the public hospital I may not be writing this to you as there may have been too many people being serviced that I wouldn't have gotten care in time for my burst appendix. My story could also have easily ended in a similar fashion as this one: https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2704071/hospital-faces-questions-over-tourist-death

All in all, I consider myself extremely fortunate, despite or due to the circumstances.

John's blog post about bench pressing and why we utilize pushups for the Global Fast Fit routine has made me consider a few things about how our participants have done so far.

The Global Fast Fit routine has had a few adjustments made to it. The original routine of 30x pushups, 30x leg lifts, 30x squats, and 500m run was understandably difficult for women due to the pushup requirement, thus allowing for the GFF Modified routine where pushups can be done with knees to the floor. The difficulties women have with pushups was to be expected, and the modification was a fair compromise towards those difficulties.

The suprise (perhaps it shouldn't be) was the difficulty that some men were having doing the pushups. The issues with the young men I've had try the GFF routine was rather telling of how lackadaisical they had been with improving their upper body strength. This is compounded by the fact that most of these young men that I had do the routine were from a Muay Thai gym.

You could say that I've only come across a small sample size of people doing the routine, Thailand doesn't have nearly as many candidates who have tried GFF compared to other countries. That's fair. However, we've had over a thousand submitted videos, and I've watched a good amount of them. To achieve a certified score, we aren't asking for perfect form. If we were then we might be lucky to have a hundred certified videos at this point; but once you learn a bit about more about the human body and the way it's meant to work, then there are certain things you just can't unsee.

Just to throw one thing out there and keep this from being an angry rant (hence the blog picture) is this. Sometimes it's impossible for someone to achieve good form for an exercise because of how weak and unused certain muscles are due to complete lack of use. This is expected based on how much of our work requires for us to sit over long periods of time. It's also expected because recreation also tends to have us sitting over long periods of time as well. Something telling about someone's pushups is where they keep their pelvis when they're performing them. It's extremely telling when hardly anyone can get into neutral position with their torso when doing pushups (I can't either). This isn't due to lack of effort, it's due to an inability to get into position because of how lifestyle has now warped the human body away from the way it was meant to be utilized.

This was one of the bigger draws that really made me more interested with Global Fast Fit. While the routine itself won't correct a lot of issues that people may have, at least it gets people moving and that already is a move in the right direction.

Penetrating the Thai fitness market has been an enduring process.

Thais happen to be extremely particular when it comes to the adoption of products and services, which already places us in an interesting position when encouraging them to engage in physical activity. The general consensus from an industry leader that's spent nearly two decades in the fitness industry is that the typical mindset tends to lean more toward a nonchalant attitude when it comes to their usual lifestyle habits. One of the main staff of this organization was quoted as saying, "If you wanted to see a contest where you'd have mass adoption/participation then challenge them to eat whatever they want, shop wherever they'd like, and vacation for however long they please".

It's a generalization, but the nonchalant mindset is key toward mass adoption. If you ever want something to be accepted by the Thai general public then it can't be too serious. It needs to have that sense of สนุก (sanook) or fun, otherwise, why should anyone here bother? Even if we claim it's for health, there are plenty of other health-related activities that people can partake in, ie. running, group classes, yoga/pilates, Muay Thai, etc.

An example of mass adoption in Thailand was the skateboard craze somewhere in the early to mid 2000's (I can't remember the exact year), the hula-hoop craze in 2013, and the return of skateboards as well as introduction to surf skates in 2021. All of these activities while strenuous, have a lot of qualities where the sense of สนุก (among other things like certain social elements to those activities) allows for people to easily pick up and even spend money on that particular activity.

We'll be exploring ways to make Global Fast Fit more สนุก in different ways.