VMIX Blog

Wayne Kao is VP of Product at VMIX. In addition to always pressing the leading edge of online and mobile video technology, Wayne recently pushed himself to complete his first triathlon to raise funds for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, helping those with blood cancers live better, longer lives. His motto? Whatever your 100 percent looks like, give it!

1/ Wayne, you’re a guy who used to cycle, run, surf occasionally. What prompted you to do a Triathlon?

When a couple of friends posted photos of their triathlon races on Facebook, I thought to myself, “That’s nuts!” Swim, bike and run? In one day?” I couldn’t imagine myself doing that. And almost as soon as that thought crossed my mind, it was replaced with “Wouldn’t it be cool to do that?” Which started the journey.

I’m not exactly a world-class athlete but I do have a marathon and a few century rides under my belt. Still, the idea of swimming in the ocean scared the *@$*! out of me. I’m okay taking a surfboard out and letting mother nature bring me back to the beach. But the idea of being out there, exposed in the open ocean, where it’s just me and what I can’t see below me—that was terrifying.

2/ How did you get over your fear of open water?

The first thing I did after signing up for the Superseal Triathlon was to join Team in Training, the world’s largest endurance sports training program. Their mission isn’t just to get couch potatoes like me across the finish line. In exchange for the training they provide, participants raise money benefiting the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), with proceeds going towards finding cures for blood cancer.

We had a detailed training schedule set for us by our triathlon coach. He, along with coaches in each discipline, worked with us on a weekly basis on our swimming, biking and running. I was good with the run and bike but the swim definitely meant learning something new. And I was not alone—there were a couple dozen of us in the shallow end of the pool each week, trying to stay afloat.

We eventually took our swimming skills to the open water. For most of us, it was our first time in a wetsuit and swimming out past the breaks. It was still scary but it was also huge confidence booster!

3/ You mentioned fundraising. How much did you have to raise and how did you do it?

My minimum requirement was $1,750 and I’ve raised over $3,000 with Team in Training to date. I’d done a few fundraising events before and always enjoyed doing it. There’s something very rewarding about convincing someone to give you money towards a cause. There’s an exchange of value and belief that draws people closer together. Some of my proudest achievements over time have involved fundraising: I’ve raised over $12,000 for the Lance Armstrong Foundation, $5,400 for AIDSride, and helped my wife raise over $4,000 for her Komen 3-day Breast Cancer Walk. So I was confident I could reach my minimum.

My oldest son was one of the reasons I went above and beyond. He was with me at the orientation session and heard that we would get a pin for going $1,000 over our minimum. When he overheard me tell my wife that I’d hit my minimum, he said, “Cool! now you have to get that pin!” You can’t disappoint a seven-year-old.

And it was a pretty cool pin! Since it was getting close to the race, I had to kick up the fundraising a notch and offered to shave my head if VMIXers pitched in dollars. I didn’t go with a complete shave though. As much as I love my co-workers, I don’t trust anyone with sharp clippers near my dome.

4/ So tell us about the event!

Leading up to the event, we weren’t sure if we were going to be able to swim. The weather had not been very cooperative. Thankfully, it broke just enough to make the swim a go. A lot of our the teammates who were not racing that day showed up to cheer us on. That was very humbling to know that people would get up way early in the morning to lend their support.

We were definitely prepared and well trained. The swim was amazing! All the fears I’d had six months prior disappeared and I had a ton of fun doing it. The bike was fast and the run was a bit of a struggle but the weather cooled down enough to make it bearable. I just had so much fun. As one teammate said, “Every time I saw you, you had a smile on your face!” I think I smiled for about three days straight.

4/ And you’ll do this again?

Absolutely—I’m now totally addicted to triathlons. What gets me excited is the idea of training with the team again. The camaraderie was what made this experience extra special. I did my best to balance out family and training, which meant that I had to skip a lot of the social aspects of being part of the team, but I am happy to have made friends who I look forward to training and racing with for many years to come.

Also, the money raised goes to fight cancer, which is something I’m passionate about. Fundraising does not stop until we have a cure. I’ve met survivors in this process who showed me how brave and strong a person can be. What’s a blister or a pair of tired legs when compared to five rounds of chemotherapy?

We had “mission moments” during our training sessions to remind us why we were doing what we were doing. But honestly, we all have reminders every day. One day, I won’t be able to do a triathlon. My hope is that when that day comes, we won’t need any more fundraising.