Constance GohHe turned his life around thanks to his grandma’s love and a passion for bodybuilding.
One night in July 2015, the police came knocking on Luke Yeo’s door at Toa Payoh. He was wanted for illegal betting.
The then 22-year-old tried to put up a fight. He refused to admit to his crime.
The commotion soon woke his grandmother up. In a desperate bid to save her grandson, the 86-year-old went down on her knees and pleaded with the police.
“When I saw that, my heart really crumbled,” Luke told The UrbanWire as he recounted the episode. “All my life, she’s the only one that stood up and took care of me … she’s the most important person in my life and I didn’t want her to do this for me.”
The grandmother’s heartbreaking pleas didn’t stop the arrest. Luke was detained for 1.5 days before he was bailed out, and is now waiting for his sentence in February.
“That’s when I realized I really have to earn money the legitimate way,” said Luke, who’s now a personal trainer. He used to rely on illegal online soccer betting as a source of income prior to the arrest.
Luke’s parents are separated. He was raised by his grandmother since he was 5.
Deprived of parental care and yearning for a sense of belonging, the troubled child turned to a gang when he was just 13 years old.
“Because we were all in similar family situations, it was so easy to relate to them. They were more like family than friends to me,” he said.
With no money to buy food and school uniforms, Luke started working illegally at a fast-food chain for $2.60 per hour when he was 14. “I hated that others looked down on me because I didn’t have money,” he said. “Other people had all the money to buy the things they wanted and I was very jealous.”
Driven by desperation and temptation, Luke turned to “easy money” 2 years ago. He became a bookie and claimed he’s made a few thousand dollars from charging transaction fees on his customers’ illegal bets on soccer.
With the added income, he could splurge more on drinks and fancy dinners. But that didn’t make him a happier person.
“People gave me condescending looks and made me feel like I shouldn’t be dining at a high-class restaurant,” Luke said as he pointed at the tattoos which covered 60 per cent of his body. “I felt like a monster, a hooligan.”
It wasn’t long before the law caught up with him. After his initial defiance, he decided to come clean. He also told himself never to put his grandmother through another harrowing encounter with the police.
That episode also gave him determination to turn away from vices. Instead, he channeled all his energy into bodybuilding, a sport that he picked up since 2010. Not only that, he’s also bent on winning in physique contests.
“Training is the only thing I’m good at and I’m passionate about.” Said Luke, who used to weigh only 42kg as a teen. “It gave me a direction and a goal to work towards.”
Luke started putting himself through a strict training regime. For 6 days a week, he would adhere to a demanding set of resistance exercises and a strict diet of sweet potatoes, chicken breasts and rolled oats.
His efforts certainly pay off. The head-turner now sports a 6-pack abdomen and has a muscle mass percentage of 48 – way higher than the normal range of 34 to 39 for men in his age group.
He’s also unlocked a new achievement last November. At the National Amateur Body-Builders’ Association World Fitness Federation (NABBA WFF), he was among the Top 5 in the under 24 years old, under 1.72m category.
“This is my best achievement for physique competitions but I will continue working hard till I am crowned champion.”
Training for such competitions has not only helped him grow in physique but also in character. Admitting that he has been grappling with anger management issues, he said training has made him less irritable as he vents his anger on weights. He said with a laugh: “It slowly became a win-win situation for me – I get to build my body and release all my feelings while training.”
His mentor Jerold Lum agreed that Luke’s physique and character have improved.
“Despite having a bad past, Luke does not portray the person he claims that he used to be and has slowly but surely worked his way to get back on the right path,” said Jerold, who met Luke at a gym early this year.
To earn his keep, Luke now conducts personal training sessions for his clients. “To me, teaching is my entry ticket to hard-earned money and the perfect way to turn away from bad money,” he added. He charges $70 per hour and is able to sustain his lifestyle with this income.
He has helped one of his clients, Jay Poh, win second place under the NABBA WFF Mr Physique Junior Short Under 19 Years Old Under 1.72m category.
As a first-time competitor, the 17-year-old Jay said: “Luke was very patient with me throughout the journey leading up to the competition. (He went) from a stranger to a coach and from a coach to my buddy.”
“His win is pure motivation for me to continue training and earning money the proper way,” Luke said. “It was a clear sign that this could actually work and I can be different from what I used to be.”