Last Education: University of California, Berkeley
Allan Wu is the globetrotting fitness guru that you see hosting Asia’s Amazing Race. He has said on multiple occasions that he’s never not had abs, although he professes only 7 are visible.
And although traversing around the world is hard work, he manages to keep grounded whenever he’s back home in Singapore, where he’s absolutely devoted to his two children.
Though he’s a natural at hosting, Wu’s first career wasn’t in the entertainment industry. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley as a pre-med major, and worked for several years in the biotechnology industry. An accident - he’ll elaborate in the interview - made him reassess his life and career path.
Eventually, he found himself in Asia, and his new career took off. He started off as a VJ for MTV Taiwan, and soon he was acting in Asian TV shows and action movies. He was the host of all four seasons of The Amazing Race Asia and is currently hosting the Celebrity Version of China’s Amazing Race, where he gets to work on his Chinese language skills.
And of course, he still models frequently.
1.
You went from working in the biotechnology industry to being the host of numerous Asian Amazing Races. Would you mind expounding upon that accident that, essentially, changed your life?
A few years after I had graduated from university, I worked at a small healthcare consulting company. I had taken the GMAT and was prepared to apply for MBA school. However, I also knew in the back of my mind that going back to graduate school was delaying the inevitable, which was returning to the work force. My passion during this time was snowboarding, and I would drive up to Lake Tahoe with my friends throughout the winter months to "shred it up." On this fateful trip to Northstar, I had been snowboarding the entire day, and we were all ready to head back to the lodge. The clouds had rolled in and visibility was severely compromised. Still, there loomed one last giant "tabletop" in the snowboard park, and I decided to take one last big jump before the long drive home. As I ascended into the air, I soon realised that I had entered the jump too fast and would miss the landing. In an instant, I panicked and flailed in the air. The next thing I knew, I had used my hands to brace the impact and ultimately completely shattered my left wrist. It was at that specific moment that I was suspended briefly in the air that I realised that I really need to think long and hard about what I want to do with my life because anything (and everything) can change at the drop of a hat...or a plunge to earth.
2.
Your career as a host of The Amazing Race has lead you to romp around the world. What were some of your favorite destinations? What are destinations you’d like to go in the future?
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