PURPOSE Ambassador: Lucky Bagus Waskito

One morning in 2017, Lucky Bagus Waskito could not get out of bed because of severe pain in his lower back. After consulting five doctors, one of them finally found the cause – this was a subsequent effect of his knee injury eight years ago.

“I competed in the Indonesian Collegiate Basketball League in 2009 and during one of the games, I got hit by a player from the other team. My right knee got twisted badly and I tore my meniscus.

I did physiotherapy for nine months after, but I guess the old injury came back to haunt me,” the 31-year-old reservoir engineer explained.

This knee injury had caused an imbalance in his body and because he tends to use one side more dominantly than the other in basketball, he aggravated the imbalance and as a result, hurt his back.

The doctor then suggested Lucky try an alternative sport, one that is not dominantly one-sided, such as swimming, cycling or running. “It was a very hard decision to make as I’ve played basketball for 20 years, but I chose to quit the sport and pursue triathlon instead. I signed up for my first race in 2018 and I’ve been going at it since,” he said.

His first race was the Sungailiat Triathlon (Olympic Distance) in Bangka Island and he suffered leg cramps on the run, so he came back to the same race this year for redemption.

He unfortunately got involved in an accident during the bike leg, but managed to get up and push himself to the limit to clinch second in his age group.

But his most memorable race had to be the TriFactor Triathlon in Belitung where he not only won his age group, but was also introduced to PURPOSE.

“I was first introduced to PURPOSE’s products because of the TriFactor trisuit that is made by PURPOSE. I like the bold designs and striking colours – they look fresh and are easily recognised from afar. I want to stand out on race day!” Lucky added.

“I also like the story behind PURPOSE and how they managed to cater to different segments of the market. I know a lot of people who used to struggle to find the appropriate trisuit or cycling kits for themselves, especially Muslim men and women.

Now they don’t have to worry about it anymore, because PURPOSE is able to provide them with products specifically tailored for them.”

Working shift hours (7am to 4pm) in the oil and gas industry makes training a challenge for Lucky. “Balancing work and training is really tricky, because I found that training for triathlon is really demanding and requires a lot of time and dedication. I usually train during lunch time or after work, with the weekends for longer sessions,” he shared.

Lucky recently finished the Ironman Malaysia – his first full Ironman race!