CUSTOM by PURPOSE – Kenneth Tan: “A brand that understands the harsh conditions of tropical weather”

September 27, 2020
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Kenneth Tan used to be extremely active and fit back in high school, competing in canoeing at the national level. Now 30, he actually completed his first Ironman 70.3 at the age of 18.

⁠However, once he entered the corporate world, he gave his health and fitness a backseat due to the extreme work hours that came with working in his previous job in the audit industry. “I kid you not,” he said, “I was working close to 100 hours per week at times.”⁠

“The design of my PURPOSE custom trisuit is actually the logo of my current company. As a global company, we have been extremely supportive of our employees’ pursuit of both their professional and personal growths. For me, this included the support that I got from my colleagues when it came to training for my first Ironman 70.3 after a decade,” he shared.⁠

Loving the fact that this brand was born out of Southeast Asia, where our tropical climate is extremely harsh for endurance racing, Kenneth loved how PURPOSE was a brand that understood these elements.⁠

“It’s a kit that is really designed for tropical endurance racing. None of the overheating that you might get with a poorly designed kit, as it does wick body heat effectively.

And one of the most underrated parts of the suit is that I LOVE how roomy the storage pockets are at the back (I did a race once with 15 energy gels) with none of the bounce and tug that you might get from a poorly designed kit.

“I can’t think of any other better suit to wear for my races as it has served me well both in terms of comfort and functionality. When I am toeing the start line, and I pull up my suit over my shoulders and zip them up, I feel like a superhero,” he added.⁠

You can now design your own kit with Custom by PURPOSE, which will take your design from virtual to reality in an instant.

Here is the full Q&A with Kenneth:

When and why did you start doing triathlons?

Kenneth: I used to be extremely active and fit back in high school, where I was competing in competitive sports like canoeing at the national level. I even completed my first Ironman 70.3 when I was 18, back when Singapore still hosted one.

However, when I entered the corporate world, I gave my health and fitness a backseat due to the extreme work hours that came with the audit industry I was in back then. I kid you not, I was working close to 100 hours per week at times.

Obviously, this affected my health, physically and mentally, and in a bid to regain control of my health and fitness, I decided to pick up triathlon after a break of more than a decade.

Why did you choose this particular design for your Custom by PURPOSE trisuit?

The design of the trisuit is actually the logo of my current company. As a global company, we have been extremely supportive of our employees’ pursuit of both their professional and personal growth.

For me, this included the support that I got from my colleagues when it came to training for my first Ironman 70.3 in a decade. (Crazy right? My first race in a decade is a 70.3!) And within our office, someone mentioned that I should just put our company logo on my race kit, and henceforth the idea for this kit was born.

How and when did you find out about PURPOSE?

I came to know about PURPOSE through social media, to be honest, back in 2018.

Why did you choose to make your custom trisuit with PURPOSE?

One of the main factors was the fact that this brand was born out of South East Asia, where our tropical climate is extremely harsh for endurance racing, and I loved how PURPOSE was a brand that understood these elements.

What do you like about the PURPOSE trisuit?

First of all, it’s a trisuit that is really designed for tropical endurance racing. None of the overheating that you might get with a poorly designed kit, as it does wick body heat effectively.

And one of the most underrated part of the suit is that I LOVE how roomy the storage sleeves are at the back (I did a race once with 15 energy gels) with none of the bounce and tug that you might get from a poorly designed kit.