We have many amazing people with interesting stories that walk into all our gyms! The member spotlight turns to Young Nghiem aka CCB, long term member and official cheerleader of Absolute MMA.
Occupation: Office & Accounts Manager
Martial Arts/Sports: All of them. MMA, Wrestling, BJJ, Muay Thai/Kickboxing
What are your immediate training goals?
“Always have fun and learn some s***.”
Why do you love training at Absolute MMA?
“What isn’t there to love?! Coaches, training partner, facilities, attitudes/environment are all top f***ing notch.”
What do you like to do to relax besides training?
“Be incredibly annoying (especially to my partner), plenty of swearing, eating and cooking. And massages. I f***ing love getting them.”
Can you tell us about where you’re from and any interesting stories growing up? If you’re not originally from Melbourne, how’d you end up living in Melbourne, Australia?
“My parents were “boat people” from (Viet)Nam. They were in mortal danger escaping Nam and I was named after the bloke who saved their lives (his surname was Young). Quite good, no?”
Who are the kind of people that you look up to and why?
“People that are good humans. People like my Dad. He has been through some s***. Vietnam war, concentration camp, escaping to a new country with LITERALLY nothing, raising kids on his own as a single parent and putting himself through university whilst working 3 jobs… And after all that hardship, he isn’t messed up in the head/mentally, he is an asset to our community/society and keeping s*** real.”
What’s your favourite place to eat in Melbourne and your #1 dish recommendation?
“F*** me. Don’t be like that. No way can I pick just 1 place. Lots of excellent places in Melbourne to eat and each has their “jam”. Having said that, check out “Eis Japanese restaurant” in Albert for excellent contemporary Jap food, “Komeyui” in Port Melbourne for Sushi/sashimi & sake pairings, “France Soir” in Toorak for French, “38 Chairs” in South Yarra for Italian, Pacific House on Victoria street for Roast duck/Crispy skin roast pork, My House for brownies or braised pork belly and egg.”
If you could go back in time to your first martial art class, what would be the advice you give to your past self?
“Hey there youngin’ Young, do not dishonor the family.”
“Young is one of the coolest people I know – even though she’s a midget, she literally takes down people twice her size like a boss. If you don’t keep your hands up, she’ll punch you in the face and your contact lens will most likely fall out; if you don’t invert fast enough to recover guard, she’ll oil check you; if you don’t sprawl fast enough, she’ll double leg the shit out of you.
Not only is she an amazing grappler and a striker, she’s just an awesome human being. She organises all the social gatherings for all three Absolute gyms. She will be there to cheer you on if you’re fighting or competing – doesn’t matter if it’s MMA, Muay Thai, Boxing or Jiu Jitsu, Young is on everyone’s team. Although we see her sucking up to Lachie and Liv by bringing food exclusively for them, she makes it up to the rest of us by baking brownies and cookies, bringing vegan cakes for the vegans, and cutting up fruits for the ones that are cutting weight so that no one feels left out. Young is full of love and just an awesome person to have around the gym ❤” – Chisaki Akiyama
“To train with Young is to train with a gentlelady. She is very appreciative of everyone she trains with, always making it a mutual learning experience and leaving her ego out of it. She’s always humorous, an angel with the mouth of a sailor.” – Alyra Bartasek