Hairdresser steps up to make the most out of life

A 46-year-old hairdresser is enjoying the thrill of living different identities in his day-to-day life by being a marathon runner, fitness fanatic and volunteer.

"Just live a happy and bold life. This has always been my motto," said Fan Guozhi who gets fun from workouts besides his ordinary role as a hairdresser.

Fan recently shared his attitude toward life via WeChat Moments on April 21, after finishing a 111.11-kilometer race.

But it wasn't always this way. Fan, who has been working in the hairdressing industry for almost three decades in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang province, knew nothing about fitness or workouts six years ago.

"As a hairdresser, I used to work very late at night and usually had midnight meals after work," he recalled. "In 2014, my weight was only 55 kilograms, but I had a pot belly.

"At that time, I felt tired from time to time, but couldn't find any diseases when I went to the hospital."

His poor state of health made him decide to make some changes and he started to go to the gym.

"Today, no one can imagine that I had no interest in any exercise in the first 40 years of my life," Fan said. "But I always believe that people should do something we don't like to strengthen our wills."

Driven by a thirst for change and purpose, Fan kept exercising through self-study. Now, he has reached the weight of 61 kilograms and a body fat ratio of less than 10 percent. In October 2018, Fan joined a running event by accident which led to him keeping fit by running.