Being smaller than his peers, Allan Espina was the object of bullying growing up in the Philippines. He got heckled, called "limp-wristed", & vividly remembers seeing the word “F****t” scribbled by his cousin on a wall. At 7y.o, this was torture. He excelled intellectually to make up for what he lacked physically. At 38, he immigrated to the US having just completed his 2nd Master's degree & working a great job. After a spark from a co-worker, Allan completed his first Sprint after 4 months of prep, not having competed in any sport before. The high from the event gave him a new goal - he wanted to hold a doctorate degree & be an Ironman before 50. He chose to pursue the IM goal first and achieved it before turning 43. He says that he wanted to show that he may have been “limp-wristed” growing up, but now, he's done something his bullies have only dreamt of. That maybe this was a way for him to prove that he was a man after all & an Ironman at that. Although he knows that sounds kinda shallow if he could travel back in time to tell his 7y.o. self that it gets better - he would in a heartbeat. - ALLAN'S SOCIAL MEDIA: Instagram | Facebook - SUBSCRIBE, RATE & REVIEW: if you've enjoyed the show, it would mean a lot to us if you could leave the show a positive review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes. It would help us out a ton! - H.O.T SOCIAL MEDIA: Instagram | Facebook | Strava | Website - HOSTS: Swapneel Chouhan, Sheila Treleaven, & Carlos (Charles) Galan - INTRO/OUTRO MUSIC: produced by Vasil Zguri at SoundPulse