Sports Stars Making a Social Impact: Why And How Para-Athlete Naomi Yokoyama Is Helping To Change Our World
An Interview With Edward Sylvan
As the Malala Fund and Cochlear Foundation partnership suggest, sharing real-world experiences and challenges is key to raising awareness for hearing loss and promoting equal rights to education and early access to hearing healthcare and support.
When we all come together, our collective voice can be extremely powerful. Technology and social media have made the world very small and accessible to almost everyone. The word “barriers” is only in the mind.
As a part of our series about sports stars who are making a social impact, I had the pleasure of interviewing Naomi Yokoyama.
Naomi Yokoyama is a para-athlete who represents Singapore in bowling. Naomi was deprived of a chance to hear the world when she was born with profound hearing loss. Fortunately, being born deaf never fazed the bowler, who would go on to clinch a historic gold in bowling during the 2017 Deaflympics.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you share with us the “backstory” that led you to your career path in professional sports?
I was born with profound hearing loss in both ears and underwent surgery to have cochlear implants when I was 26 months old (for my right ear) and 11 years old (for my left ear).
Growing up, my family was very sporty, and when I was younger, I took up ballet to help train myself to listen to the tempos correctly. I later started bowling and realised that I loved it and that this was what I really wanted to focus on. In 2015, I became part of Deaf Sports Association (DSA) and I represented Singapore in the Deaflympics for the first time in 2017, winning a gold medal.
Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that occurred to you in the course of your career? What were the lessons or takeaways that you took out of that story?
When I first joined the Deaf Sports Association of Singapore, I wasn’t familiar with sign language as I grew up listening and speaking with people. I learned the simplest things like alphabets, numbers and commonly used words to communicate with my teammates. I slowly learned more sign words so that I could also communicate with people around the world. As the Deaflympics drew nearer, I was excited and pretty confident to at least be able to communicate and make many new friends from around the world. When we were all in Istanbul, where we met most athletes as we waited for our transit flight to Samsun, I panicked because I forgot that I had been learning Singaporean sign language all this while, and not international! I ended up having to depend on my teammate to help translate for me as he is very experienced. Fortunately, many of them were very friendly and patient with me, including my teammates. This trip was an eye-opening experience for me, and I learned so much about deaf people and their own deaf culture in their own country. It was funny when I panicked, yet refreshing and interesting because this is something I don’t learn in education.
What would you advise a young person who wants to emulate your success?
It’s all about having the strength and power to believe in yourself and that you are better than you think. If there are people out there who can achieve their dreams at any time, so can you.
Have the patience to go through the process because at the end of it, you will get the result you want. Obstacles or challenges will lose to you if you keep fighting for your dreams, they are there to help you become stronger and achieve your dreams!
Is there a person that made a profound impact on your life? Can you share a story?
I would say it would be my sisters Yukie and Natasha, who have represented Singapore in various sailing competitions. As a youngster, I could not go sailing with my sisters (for my own safety since I would not be able to wear my cochlear implants out at the sea), but I wanted to follow their path and pursue a different sport. They were inspirations to me and taught me what it means to be a better person and athlete who trains hard and has great sportsmanship. Their example eventually led me to represent Singapore.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about what it is like being a professional sports player?
People have this assumption that people with disabilities cannot do things, including sports. This is indeed a myth!! Anything is POSSIBLE, with or without a disability. What is important is the innate drive, determination and belief in oneself. Like everyone, success is not some magical power or just luck.
As the saying goes, there is no lotus flower without the mud. Life as an athlete is tough and the journey is filled with many chapters of perspiration at the gym, hours of stretching one’s limits and sharpening of techniques during hours of training, plus lots of perseverance and courage during competitions. Often, it is about staring FEAR in the eye and staying present with whatever feelings appear.
Athletes, like me, choose to walk this journey. We choose to nurture ourselves with the “feeling good” feel. With dedication and the right attitude, I believe any one of us has the power to achieve!
Ok super. Let’s now move to the main part of our discussion. How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world? Can you share with us the meaningful or exciting causes you are working on right now?
For me, one of the most exciting things about having won a gold medal for Singapore in the Deaflympics is the opportunity it has afforded me to inspire others. Growing up, I often felt out of place, self-conscious or worried as a result of my profound hearing loss. Channeling my energy into bowling really helped me to focus and recognise that I can achieve anything I put my mind to.
At the moment, I am very inspired by the partnership between the Malala Fund and Cochlear Foundation, which I am delighted to be involved in. The partnership is all about encouraging young people with hearing loss to share their stories through the ‘Achieve Anything program,’ which will in turn raise awareness about the barriers keeping millions of young people with hearing loss from accessing quality education.
What methods are you using to most effectively share your cause with the world?
I think having open and honest conversations is a solid first step in overcoming the obstacles associated with hearing loss or any challenge we face as we experience life.
As the Malala Fund and Cochlear Foundation partnership suggest, sharing real-world experiences and challenges is key to raising awareness for hearing loss and promoting equal rights to education and early access to hearing healthcare and support.
When we all come together, our collective voice can be extremely powerful. Technology and social media have made the world very small and accessible to almost everyone. The word “barriers” is only in the mind.
Can you share with us the story behind why you chose to take up this particular cause?
Having grown up with profound hearing loss, the Malala Fund and Cochlear Foundation is extremely close to my heart, and I strongly believe in the power of young people bringing optimism, sharing their experiences, as I am doing with you today!
“Sparkle, your way” is the tagline I’ve chosen. It is true that we sparkle just by being alive. Indeed, the unique spirit with which we came into this world is our glittering life force: our own inner glow by believing in ourselves and doing our part to bring optimism and sharing joy.
My message is that rather than lose ourselves in comparison with others, we need to sharpen our gifts and polish our unique sparkle. By nurturing respect and appreciation for ourselves and each other, we can move forward together in true creativity and peace.
Can you share with us a story about a person who was impacted by your cause?
Me!
I was fortunate enough to have early access to healthcare and underwent surgery to have cochlear implants when I was 26 months old (for my right ear) and 11 years old (for my left ear).
According to the World Health Organization, 34 million children around the world live with hearing loss. Without equal rights to an education and early access to hearing healthcare and support these children may not realise their full potential. It is my hope that the Malala Fund and Cochlear Foundation partnership will further collective knowledge of these issues and thus help more young people access the support they need as early as possible.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.
I guess I have three key things to share, and they would be:
- The pace of learning/result doesn’t define who you are — I often feel insecure and slow when I can’t catch up with my peers, which makes me feel unconfident when it comes to studies & learning bowling. In my experience, it’s very common to see people comparing with one another, which this often could affect self-confidence.
- The plan to success — Most of us often think too much about the result that we want, that we always try and skip ahead but instead end up having to step back and forth to eventually achieve the goal. It’s important to know what my goals are and how I can achieve it by planning several steps to get closer to my goals.
- It’s okay to fail because failures are our paths to success — We are often afraid to lose or fail while everyone else succeeds. But I’ve come to realise that they play an important part in our journey because we learn how to make it better, learn to experience with more options to get our success. It helps me to be open-minded to more options and solutions to success and achieve my goals!
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
A kindness movement. When we are kind, we respect one another. Persons with disabilities and abilities can come together and bond by playing games, participating in social events etc. It could be hosted on days such as World Autism day, International Sign Language Day, or maybe on a World Disability day where people could come together to make this event more meaningful and inclusive, bonding together and understanding each other’s disabilities and uniqueness. I believe this would allow everyone to be kind to respect and understand our individual differences.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you explain how that was relevant in your life?
“ Challenges are what makes life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life beautiful. “- Joshua J. Marine
I’ve been through many challenges growing up. I’ve had insecurities, coming out to the open world, and showing myself who I truly am. In my younger days, because of my experiences being bullied, I was afraid to tell my peers and friends that I may not be able to hear very well compared to them and that I’m using a cochlear implant. Learning to overcome this was quite an experience because along the way I got to know more people who were very accepting of who I am and supportive in every experience I went through. Because of them, I was able to go through many challenges that was ahead of me. Overcoming them makes me feel a great sense of achievement as I wouldn’t be who I am now if I wasn’t brave enough.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Politics, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
Maddie Lymburner is my inspiration, she creates many interesting workouts that attract more people to stay fit and healthy in a fun way. I admire her for being so creative in her workouts; she includes dancing workouts, ballet workout (I used to do ballet so I would sometimes use that to reminisce the old times), etc. She makes me want to learn more about her and how she came up with these super creative ideas!
I’ve always admired Daria Pajak for her sportsmanship. She always shares her good and bad days about bowling, which clearly shows the reality of being a professional athlete, which is truly raw. She makes me want to learn so much from her and gain more knowledge in bowling physically and mentally.
Louis Tomlinson, I’m quite a fan of One Direction but mainly him. He has written so many inspirational songs and songs that show that he’s the same as everyone. I listen to his songs before I compete, because it makes me feel ready to compete, especially “Walls” and “Just Like You”. It portrays that everyone has their own challenges and we can always get through them and succeed. We all have hardships, and it’s a matter of pushing through it all, which is very empowering.
How can our readers follow you online?
I’m considering creating a public account on Instagram. Stay tuned!
Thank you so much for these amazing insights. This was so inspiring
About The Interviewer: Growing up in Canada, Edward Sylvan was an unlikely candidate to make a mark on the high-powered film industry based in Hollywood. But as CEO of Sycamore Entertainment Group Inc, (SEGI) Sylvan is among a select group of less than ten Black executives who have founded, own and control a publicly traded company. Now, deeply involved in the movie business, he is providing opportunities for people of color.
In 2020, he was appointed president of the Monaco International Film Festival, and was encouraged to take the festival in a new digital direction.
Raised in Toronto, he attended York University where he studied Economics and Political Science, then went to work in finance on Bay Street, (the city’s equivalent of Wall Street). After years of handling equities trading, film tax credits, options trading and mergers and acquisitions for the film, mining and technology industries, in 2008 he decided to reorient his career fully towards the entertainment business.
With the aim of helping Los Angeles filmmakers of color who were struggling to understand how to raise capital, Sylvan wanted to provide them with ways to finance their creative endeavors.
At Sycamore Entertainment he specializes in print and advertising financing, marketing, acquisition and worldwide distribution of quality feature-length motion pictures, and is concerned with acquiring, producing and promoting films about equality, diversity and other thought provoking subject matter which will also include nonviolent storytelling.
Also in 2020, Sylvan launched SEGI TV, a free OTT streaming network built on the pillars of equality, sustainability and community which is scheduled to reach 100 million U.S household televisions and 200 million mobile devices across Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Samsung Smart TV and others.
As Executive Producer he currently has several projects in production including The Trials of Eroy Brown, a story about the prison system and how it operated in Texas, based on the best-selling book, as well as a documentary called The Making of Roll Bounce, about the 2005 coming of age film which starred rapper Bow Wow and portrays roller skating culture in 1970’s Chicago.
He sits on the Board of Directors of Uplay Canada, (United Public Leadership Academy for Youth), which prepares youth to be citizen leaders and provides opportunities for Canadian high school basketball players to advance to Division 1 schools as well as the NBA.
A former competitive go kart racer with Checkered Flag Racing Ltd, he also enjoys traveling to exotic locales. Sylvan resides in Vancouver and has two adult daughters.
Sylvan has been featured in Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and has been seen on Fox Business News, CBS and NBC. Sycamore Entertainment Group Inc is headquartered in Seattle, with offices in Los Angeles and Vancouver.
Sports Stars Making a Social Impact: Why And How Para-Athlete Naomi Yokoyama Is Helping To Change… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.