SINGAPORE: At 21, Joseph Schooling is one of the youngest to make it to this year’s Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia, a set of lists issued annually to recognise the most influential people of the moment across 10 industries.
Others include 20-year-old Chinese swimming and Internet sensation Fu Yuanhui, as well as singers Lorde and Troye Sivan.
All four were selected under the Entertainment and Sports category, which also comprises Eastern Sports Club coach Chan Yuenting, former K-pop group members Jay Park, Jessica Jung and Kris Wu, as well as Suboi, Vietnam’s “Queen of Hip Hop”.
One of China’s star swimmers Fu Yuanhui, whose onscreen manner took social media by storm during the Rio Olympics. (Photo: AFP/Philippe Lopez)
Schooling won Singapore’s first-ever Olympic gold in Rio in 2016. In a landmark year for Asia in sports, the University of Texas student outswam Michael Phelps in the 100-metre butterfly, denying the American great his 23rd gold.
Back in Singapore, Schooling received a hero’s welcome that included a victory parade plus “free flights for life” on AirAsia.
Earlier that year, Vietnamese entertainer Suboi famously rapped for then-US president Barack Obama as he beatboxed.
The 27-year-old told Forbes: “That was a life-changing moment … The most powerful man in the world comes to Vietnam and then asks you to rap for him… in Vietnamese.”
In 2015, Suboi became the first Vietnamese artist to be invited to the SXSW Music Festival in Austin, Texas.
A total of 300 individuals across 10 industries were named in the Forbes list.
Australian Kayla Itsines, who has gone on world tours to teach her brand of personal training. (Photo: Kayla Itsines’ Facebook page)
Fitness sensation Kayla Itsines, Malaysian businesswomen Neelofa and Vivy Yusof, as well as Lazada’s Martell Graf von Hardenberg were among the most influential in the Retail and Commerce category, while Chinese model Liu Wen and Korean celebrity makeup artist Pony Park represented the arts.
Assistant professor John Ho from the National University of Singapore, whose “research focuses on wireless technologies for bioelectronics” was also recognised.
