We recently had the chance to connect with Michael Kuang and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Michael , thank you so much for joining us today. We’re thrilled to learn more about your journey, values and what you are currently working on. Let’s start with an ice breaker: What makes you lose track of time—and find yourself again?
I’ve found that being out in nature really helps me reset, especially if exercise is involved. I’ve taken hiking trips up to the mountains and felt a sense of peace. It is a reminder that I can slow down and look at everything around me without judgment. I notice smaller details about things that I may have just walked by without a thought. I can see the layers of life and death within nature, and that gives me a moment to reflect on my own journey and how I can be grateful to be here and now.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Syphon Fitness was started in 2008 as a means for me to get out of the corporate world. At the time, I was in my late 20s. I was still trying to find myself and my identity. I didn’t resonate with being a company man, and I didn’t see myself going with the flow of what society says I needed to be. So I found myself looking at things I enjoyed doing at the time. I’ve always been athletic and very in tune with my body. Moving my body was always a go-to activity. So instead of sitting behind a desk, I found myself wanting to get into the world of fitness. I wasn’t a bodybuilder or a high-performance athlete, but I had an interest in learning anatomy and how the body moves. At first, it was really learning things to help myself get better and stronger. I started to see changes and shifts within myself and felt a pull to help others do the same.
I was working a 40-hour week at a job I didn’t care for, and in the evenings and weekends, I would work at a local gym. I think the first 2 years were more about seeing if this was something I would want to do. Switching careers can be nerve-racking, but I really enjoyed working with different people and building a rapport with them.
I started to feel more comfortable with it, and in 2010, I decided to move to South Florida and pursue it full-time. By then, I had found an interest in working with injuries. There was a saying I heard, “Every “body” has issues”. And I had seen it first-hand. I knew that it was the direction I wanted to take my focus. I started to study corrective exercise and ways to help address different issues that people were dealing with.
Around that same time, I discovered Yoga and started to practice it. Pretty quickly, a few teachers would tell me that I was a natural and that I could do well if I learned to teach it as well. Within a year, I had registered at a Yoga teacher training course. It allowed me to feel like I was on the right path, and things started to click. I started teaching at some Yoga studios, and was really enjoying it. I started hearing about Yoga Therapy, which is a practice of working with different health issues involving the different practices of Yoga. The physical postures, the breathwork, and the mental aspects you can achieve from meditation.
I found a school that offered a program to get certified as a Yoga Therapist, and it opened up a lot of opportunities for me to explore. I learned a lot from Physical Therapists, Yoga teachers, Psychologists, and also people who came to the school’s clinic to get help.
Since finishing the program, I have found myself working with a lot of Spinal Health issues, Chronic pain, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s Disease, as well as other Orthopedic injuries, which were things people started coming to see me for. I found the work to be engaging and have really connected with the people I work with.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
I was a very creative kid with a lot of imagination. I remember trying to make short films when I was young. Or have stories I’d make up with my action figures. As an only child, I had to find ways to keep myself entertained, and using my imagination was a big part of that.
I also really enjoyed playing sports, basketball, and football, mostly because that’s what all the kids in the neighborhood played. I didn’t really pursue playing them in an organized team. I was told that school was more important. I look back now and wish that I had at least tried out for a team.
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
I’ve actually done some inner-child work before. Right now, I would say I love you.
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What’s a cultural value you protect at all costs?
I believe you must be happy in life. Why do something that doesn’t make you happy? I get that sometimes we fall into different things that we have to work through. But ultimately, being or feeling stuck can really bring anyone down. I’ve gone through it a few times, and it gives me an opportunity to look at what I can do to shift. Trust yourself, no one else will.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. Could you give everything your best, even if no one ever praised you for it?
This is a great question that I find fitting with my distancing from social media. I found that I used to post for likes and felt like I needed people to tell me I’m doing great or I’m special. About 6 years ago, I felt that social media just gave me a false sense of community and made me feel like I needed to be a certain way or chase a certain thing. Since then, I’ve stopped posting frequently and focused on being myself. That’s really what matters.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.syphonfitness.com
