Pham Van Mach shares about the life of an athlete after his time is up.

Pham Van Mach sadly said that an athlete's peak time is very short, so if there is an opportunity to do many things to express his passion, he should take advantage of it.

“There are many seniors like Ly Duc, Cong Phu… when they are old and no longer able to compete, they retire to do business but always think about how to pass on their expertise to their juniors. Personally, I am lucky that the more I practice this sport, the more I can maintain my form, so I can last for many years, but other sports like athletics and swimming have a very short golden age.”

Explaining this, Vietnam's number 1 bodybuilder said that many athletes often only know how to train, not thinking about the future, so when they pass their peak, they don't know what to do to make a living. Many people even have to sell lottery tickets, drive taxis or carry heavy loads. "There are athletes who were very close to me before, but when they met again and were in a different position, they were shy and didn't dare to come close and shake my hand," he said sadly.

Sympathizing with Pham Van Mach’s story, director Le Hoang said he once took a taxi and was surprised to realize that the driver was a very famous player of the Customs team whose name he could not say. When talking to him, the former player and driver bitterly said that he was still lucky because many other athletes, when their “time is up”, have to stand selling goods at the stadium to make a living.

In particular, for many female athletes, their life after the podium is even more bitter. Because of their dedication to sports training, they get married late, have difficulty having children, or because after their peak, they have to work hard to make a living and have difficulty finding a happy place to settle down.

According to Le Hoang, when an artist passes away, many people still know about it because the press reports it, and musicians and singers even organize live shows and music nights to commemorate them. Actors who have passed their prime can still be judges, but athletes have nothing because "when they step down from the podium, no one remembers them."

“Actors have main and supporting roles, but in sports people only remember athletes who win gold medals; silver medals are sometimes considered a draw. And actors can watch back the movies they acted in, but athletes can’t find a place to replay the moments they received medals,” Le Hoang said sadly.

Finally, as a gymnast, Pham Van Mach, as if speaking for many other generations of athletes, expressed his wish that there would be more preferential policies for athletes. At the same time, he sent a message to his teammates who had retired from their sports careers: "We were once heroes on the stage, when we return to normal life, let's maintain that spirit, be strong, and stand up to build our own lives." And "There will come a day when the public's favor and honor will be increased so that you can have faith that your contributions will always be appreciated," as director Le Hoang said.

Pham Van Mach was born in 1976 in An Giang. He is the number 1 bodybuilder in Vietnam. He won the world bodybuilding championship 5 times in 2001, 2009, 2010, 2014 and 2017 in the 55 kg category, and won the Asian championship 7 times in a row (from 2004 to 2012, except for 2006 when the tournament was not held) and once in 2014.

Besides, in the contest “Perfect Couple” in 2011, Pham Van Mach also made a big impression on the audience with his sweet, technical voice, especially the performance of the song “Careless Whisper” with Van Mai Huong which helped him receive many invitations to perform in entertainment events and programs after the contest.