Max Changmin has been reaping in great success in both entertainment and sports through ‘Our Neighborhood’s Master of Variety and Sports’.
TVXQ’s Max Changmin recently scored his second victory on KBS 2TV’s ‘Our Neighborhood’s Master of Variety and Sports’. Though he has been made fun of as the ‘Fool of Bowling’ and the ‘Fool of Table Tennis’ in the past, he seems to have hit his stride with badminton and has already scored two wins.
When we met with him after the filming of ‘Our Neighborhood’s Master’, Max Changmin said, “I’ve started to feel more greedy about my achievements now that I’ve won twice.”
Max Changmin continued to say, “I’ve said this over and over again, but I’m not completely unathletic. Our PD once asked me, ‘Changmin, is there a single sport you’re good at?’ and I found that totally unfair. I’m actually pretty good at sports. Even when I was recruited for SM, I was playing badminton. When we were playing table tennis and bowling, I felt very stressed out because of all the pressure on me. But my mind and body have now warmed up, and I’m ready to take on our third mission of badminton.”
The singer is completely immersed in the variety show. He said, “Everyone on the show loves sports and is having so much fun. I’m able to enjoy it more because it feels more like an after-school club rather than a promotional show.”
He also added, “In the past, U-Know Yunho would ask me to go bowling with him. I would either say ‘Ah, I can’t be bothered,’ and say no, or I would go along and not play well. I feel happy because I’ve found another hobby for us to share.”
With two victories under his belt, he has now set a new goal for himself other than winning. It’s ‘looking cool’. Though his tall stature and handsome facial features are enough accomplish this goal, he wants to look cooler when participating in sports matches to better appeal to his viewers.
Max Changmin explained, “Nickhun looked really great when he was playing badminton. His smashing techniques were like that of a professional player, and his body seemed to bend like a bow and fly like a bird… I was really surprised. I want to win my matches, but also look great at the same time. So I’d like to work really hard, even though I’m only given a short amount of time, and show the viewers, ‘Look, we’re enjoying the sport but looking great at the same time’. Hopefully, this will encourage our viewers to participate in sports as well.”
The singer added that he has rediscovered his hidden competitiveness through the show. Since making his debut in 2004 as a member of TVXQ, he has released many albums, and has branched out into variety shows and dramas. He has solidified his position at the top of the idol hierarchy and become the best Hallyu star of Korea, but he does not burn with a competitive streak. After making his debut in his teens, he has been knocked down here and there, and gotten hurt in the process. Having to heal those scars by himself didn’t give him any time to cultivate any form of competitiveness.
Regarding this, Max Changmin said, “I was pretty competitive when I was in school, but it changed once I made my debut as a singer at a young age. I was placed in the big, bad world of the entertainment industry but I wasn’t ready to deal with it all and I was so busy that I had no time for any form of ‘competitiveness’. I didn’t want to get stuck worrying about it so I started thinking, ‘Someone will probably do it, even if I don’t.’ I wasn’t trying to pass the responsibility onto someone else, I really just thought, ‘I’m not needed to do that.’”
He continued to confess, “But when I started appearing in ‘Our Neighborhood’s Master of Variety and Sports’, I found myself beginning to change. To be honest, when I was first told that I’d be on this show, I had no thoughts about wanting to win, and I didn’t even fully understand what the format of the show would be. I just went with the flow of things at first, but I found myself beginning to sweat and really get into sports. During this process, I realized that sweat never lies, and my mindset began to change once I formed a sense of camaraderie with my teammates. I want to show the viewers that a kid like me can improve over time, and I’ve gotten more confident that, ‘If I work a little harder, I will do well.’ I guess people are right when they say that a human’s greed… is endless. It makes me do my best and makes me feel more greedy about winning.”
Max Changmin is currently balancing his overseas concerts with participating in the variety show. He asked for the support and love of his fans as he ended with, “Although I’m a regular on only one variety show, I never knew it could make me feel this busy and responsible.”
Source: [newsen]
Translated & Shared by: dongbangdata.net
