As the host of Power 98 Love Songs, Mister Young (@power98misteryoung) may be a familiar voice on your morning commute, when you’re getting ready for a night out or as you’re settling into bed. Upbeat and energetic, and with an offbeat sense of humour, he knows exactly what to say to put a smile on your face and make you feel relaxed, wherever you are and whatever you’re doing.
Mister Young – whose real name is Young Leong – is Assistant Programme Director at the Power 98 radio station. Over the years, he’s also hosted a variety of events, from roadshows and artiste press conferences to New Year countdowns, and lent his voice to a number of radio and television commercials.
Outside of work, you’ll find this veteran radio DJ with his nose buried in a comic book, messing around with the latest tech gadgets or playing one of his favourite video games.
You may be surprised to learn that Mister Young also enjoys doing “couple yoga”. In fact, this is just one way that he and his wife of six years, Sherie, love to spend time together.
Maintaining good health with exercise
Mister Young doesn’t consider himself a fitness freak. He exercises regularly to stay in shape and maintain a good quality of life. His activities of choice: Boxing, Muay Thai, Inside Flow (a type of flow yoga that incorporates music and dance elements), Vinyasa yoga, and Acroyoga (a practice that combines yoga and acrobatics and often includes a partner). He also runs long-distance, but as his knees are no longer as strong as they used to be, he says that he doesn’t exercise this way too much anymore.
His wife enjoys keeping fit, too – she cycles and does yoga and Inside Flow.
Like the rest of us, Mister Young has moments when he’d rather stay home or do anything other than exercise. But he says that the people around him keep him motivated to stay on track with his fitness goals.
“I do have my lazy days, so it helps to have friends and family who are into the same activities. We keep one another accountable.”
Getting connected with yoga
Mister Young first discovered yoga in 2016 but he didn’t attend classes regularly at first. The gym that he was a member at offered yoga instruction so he decided to try it. He only started doing yoga regularly in 2021, when he joined a yoga-focused gym.
“The practice has allowed me to feel more connected to my body, both mentally and physically. This mind-body awareness, especially as I get older, helps with strengthening and balancing my body,” he says.
At the end of 2021, when everything in the country started opening up post-pandemic, Mister Young and his wife enrolled in Acroyoga. He can still remember his first-ever Acroyoga pose.
“When my wife got home from her first yoga class, she was eager to teach me what she’d learned – and that was the first time I tried the ‘front bird’ pose,” he explains.
A “front bird”, also called “front plank” or “Birdie”, requires two people. It involves the “base” partner lifting the “flyer” and propping them up in the air using only their legs. In this position, the flyer’s hips have to rest steadily on the base partner’s feet.
There are three roles in Acroyoga. Mister Young is almost always the base (the one on ground, who carries and balances the flyer on top of him/her). The flyer, usually his wife, is the one on top, using one or more points of contact with the base to flow into poses. The third role is the spotter, whose main goal is to keep the flyer safe during practice.
After his first attempt at a challenging yoga pose, Mister Young decided to join his wife for her next Acroyoga class. The pair kept going back week after week, and before they knew it, Acroyoga had become a part of their routine.
“We like Acroyoga because it’s taught us to communicate better as well as increased our awareness of our own body and of each other’s,” he says.
Of course, learning the poses and trying to hold difficult positions wasn’t easy initially. Mister Young says that it was tricky working with his wife’s body and movements when doing different sequences. It took him many hours of practice to feel fully comfortable and confident in his role as the base.
“Having a spotter who knows what they’re doing really helps, too, especially when you’re just starting out,” he adds.
“When you know that someone is there to catch the flyer, it removes that element of fear, and both the base and the flyer can focus on what they’re doing.”
As with everything, practice makes perfect.
“The more aware you are of your centre of gravity in any given pose, the more stability you’ll have,” he offers.
Partners in life, partners in Acroyoga
Being Acroyoga partners has brought Mister Young and his wife closer together.
He says that when they’re doing sequences and moving from one pose to another, they have to communicate with each other. If a sequence is difficult and they’re struggling to get through it, they try to put their frustration and impatience aside and avoid using a harsh tone when communicating.
Their Acroyoga sessions are also sometimes filled with laughter, especially when they have “accidents”.
“Thankfully, so far, most of our accidents have involved my wife slipping off of me and landing on me in funny ways,” he shares.
“Every time I get ‘crotched’, for example, it’s always a hilarious moment.”
If you’re interested in trying Acroyoga with your partner or friend, Mister Young recommends doing it at a school that emphasises good spotting practices. He also suggests going in with an open mind and remembering to have fun.
Need more romance tips? Read POWER 98 LOVE SONGS DJ JK’s guide to a happy love life.
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