DRIVEN in his belief of using sports and athleticism to overcome obstacles, 24-year-old Adam Nizam founded the Brand New Waves Running Club (BNWRC) last year in March, quickly establishing, and growing a following that involved like-minded individuals.
“(I was) part of a running crew before – We Be Thirsty. That was my first experience with community/group runs, and I will forever be grateful to them for that introduction.
“However, I felt it was time for me to carry on the torch and inspire more people, with my own twist,” said Adam, who also founded the Heaven Boys Football Club and Gyalchester United Football Club.
In the interview with theSun, the Football Association of Malaysia-certified coach explained that BNWRC was founded out of his desire to cultivate a community of like-minded individuals, and bridge active lifestyles, music, fashion, art and networking together.
Like most things, BNWRC was affected by the initial MCO. How did the runners and yourself cope with not being able to meet and run?
We had to find alternative ways to keep our community connected and motivated. So in response to the MCO, we came up with two online series: #VIRTUALWAVES and #KELINIKWAVY.
#VIRTUALWAVES is where people tag us in their workouts on their Instastories using our Instagram filter, and together with WeAreKix and LightBeamProject, we create a weekly roundup video of those submissions.
#KELINIKWAVY on the other hand, was running tutorial videos by the BNWRC captains. Each video covers different topics such as warm-ups, speed and agility, strength and cool-down.
Did you change or evolve BNWRC in any way to better adapt to the pandemic, the SOP etc.?
During the MCO itself, we actually pivoted into E-sports; hosting our own online FIFA tournament, in partnership with KITAMEN and BALRZ TV. It was a huge success seeing as it was our first time venturing into this field.
We sold out our 64 slots, and hosted guest matches with national football player, Steffi Sidhu, comedian Harvinth Skin, and I personally went up against Tan Sri Tony Fernandes. All of which were live streamed across our platforms and garnered lots of viewership, including from abroad.
Currently, we are running in small groups of 10 as per SOP. But we continue to encourage the larger community to run on their own, specifically on Tuesdays and Sundays as those are our ‘running days’; #RunTuesdayRun and #BNWRCSundayService.
You personally started running for a very specific reason. Can you elaborate on that, and on the overall effect BNWRC has had on both your wellbeing and the runners in the community?
I started running when I was coming out of a dark place, and also to replace my smoking habit. Running was therapeutic for me because I had that carved-out alone time to work through my thoughts.
Additionally, you’re putting yourself in a position where you have to motivate yourself to keep going. And eventually when you notice improvements and set goals for yourself, that attitude transcends into all the other parts of your life.
At the start of every run, I always remind the runners that they are halfway through, because the hardest part was showing up. And I think they carry that with them even outside of BNWRC.
What separates the women division of BNWRC from the “main collective”?
How WMNS DVSN is different from the main community group is that the whole experience of the run is curated and crafted by the women captains of BNWRC, in every sense.
From the location, to the warm-ups, circuit workouts and cool down stretches, the pace, the music, the theme of the poster, etc. The WMNS DVSN is by women, for women only.
The Covid-19 virus is proven to largely affect those at-risk, and those with underlying health problems. As a sportsman, a runner and athlete, do you think the pandemic will push Malaysians towards having a better awareness on living a healthier lifestyle?
Yes, I think the pandemic has taught us many things. Aside from survival and adapting to new norms, it has shown us just how important it is to be healthy.
A healthy lifestyle is not just for the body, but for the mind as well, especially when we are spending so much more time indoors.
While we cannot invite more people to join us physically or in-person at this time, our objective remains the same – to inspire people to be the best version of themselves, through running and sports.
