Stephen Kirwan’s muscular frame is a proud showcase to his life’s devotion to Ironman endurance triathlons – he’s competed himself and trained first class competitors – but beneath the exterior is a more surprising dedication to spiritual practice that some of the world’s most prestigious retreats hire him to teach. To put it straight, he says, real healing is a balance of sports science and ancient wisdom that he wishes more paid attention to. 

In a world where wellness trends come and go faster than you can say “kale smoothie,” we were keen to sit down with Stephen to find out how to keep in good shape for the long-term. His answers were, as you might expect, enlightening. 

You trained in Neuromuscular and Orthopedic Massage, have trained leading Ironmen and cyclists, and have held clinics in Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia before basing out of Hong Kong. What do people call you? Are you a guru?

A guru? No. I’m not a guru. When I go to wellness retreats, they call me a visiting master but I say I’m an integrated bodywork expert. 

So you address the physical, emotional, and energetic aspects of health and well-being. What sparked that? 

Earlier on, I was very much doing just sport therapy. Then, as I met different gurus along the path and they deepened my awareness of body work and exposed me to different methods, I kinda got bored of the sports thing because healing is never just a clinical approach. I wanted the more spiritual side of wellness as well, so it just sort of just morphed. 

I’ve always used my big athletic background and brought that into what I do. Even when the work turned more spiritual, it was still based heavily on Ironman. That’s always been my foundation.

How have you seen this approach to healing change since you began?

I’ve seen it become way more popular. In the early days when I was basing myself in Thailand, there were a few eclectic retreats and then it just boomed! Three star places became four star. The place I was mostly based at, Kamalaya Wellness Sanctuary, bought up all the land around the retreat. When I first went there, it was a small little place and then it just took off.

What key aspects of health should men focus on as they age?

I think paying attention to brain health and our spiritual well being is super important. Finding something that you resonate with, whether it’s Buddhism or Hinduism, or any sort of way to keep your brain and your spirit in good shape. And then modify your training. As you get older, why not find the training you want to do?

All the stuff I used to do from Ironman, all the endurance stuff and trail running and all of that, I had to fade out a bit because it just was wearing me down. 

So sometimes moving fitness to the next level actually means slowing down?

I actually felt better when I went to the gym for an hour, as opposed to going for a five and a half hour bike ride up to a thousand feet and then getting off the bike and running 17 miles. My chi was depleted. Your chi is not infinite so you need to budget it throughout your life. When you go too hard in your earlier days, it does come back to haunt you.

Not to mention the larger man is already carrying around more weight?

That’s right. Just try and do a burpee! When I transferred out of endurance and started lifting, my weight went up like that. I knew it would. Which is why I never lifted weights when I was in Ironman because I was already big. Pound wise I used to race about 189 pounds and I’m at probably 220 now but I feel so much healthier now than I used to.

Is it bad to have that higher fat rate?

I don’t think so. It really depends on how active you are and if you have good cardiopulmonary health. I mean, I’ve been passed numerous times in Ironman by much bigger people. A lot of it comes down to that strength and inner mindset.

And how important is leg day?

Hugely important. I never thought much about it because I always got enough work running and hiking and all that, but that’s the one workout I don’t miss. As we get older the propensity to fall is what kills us, so I think the stronger your core is, the stronger your legs are, the better. You’re rooted to the ground, and that is essential. 

What’s the biggest issue you see among men in Hong Kong?

Selling your soul to your job and losing your health. You can do that for 10, 15 years, and then suddenly you’re a 40- or 50-year-old mess with no muscle mass, no chi, and no testosterone. You made a ton of money, but you aren’t going to live much longer. That’s classic. 

What’s most underrated in the health industry. What could more people benefit from?

The lighter therapy. The cranial work, the energetic therapy, the soulful healing. A lot of times it’s just adjusting people’s energy, bringing their cortisol levels down, bringing their nervous system down. I always incorporate it. At the end of the session I give five minute’s shamanic healing time, but I’d probably do 20 minutes of that if I knew people didn’t really want the 50 minutes of intense stuff. It’s definitely the most underrated area. 

What is cranial work? 

Cranial work is working with the body’s inherent ability to heal itself. It’s really light therapy work. 

Finally, what’s your go-to brunch order?

Huevos rancheros. I love it, man. Back when I was doing Ironman, I would have a big old stack of pancakes and a couple of eggs on it, then go out and ride 140 miles. When you’re burning like that you’re ready for a deli sandwich two hours later. 

Stephen Kirwan is a bodywork specialist who works in deep tissue, myofascial release, and sports massage with Eastern healing modalities such as Guasha, dry cupping, Reiki and cranial sacral therapy. He is based in Hong Kong at Joint Dynamics, Central.