Dad To The Bone

Former Singapore Idol bad boy SYLVESTER SIM is now a dad who likes “changing diapers and waking up for night feedings”.

- Yip Jieying

Sylvester Sim, 34, is a changed man. And it’s all thanks to fatherhood. Who would have thought the tattooed Singapore Idol 2004 runner-up, now dad to 10-month-old daughter Naomi, would profess to like changing diapers? But more on that later. In some ways, Sly is still the same brash Ah Beng. “When I was young, I liked to fight for the sake of fighting. I’ve always wanted to be a professional wrestler, but I was too skinny!” he tells us. Which explains why he is fulfilling his childhood dream, sorta, by squaring off against self-proclaimed “Singapore’s Superstar” Steven Lim in a Muay

Thai “celebrity match” for the inaugural Asia Fighting Championship (AFC). The championship is co-organised by Muse Fitness gym and Sly’s company Sgee Ventures. “Initially I was concerned ’cos Steven Lim has legs like tree trunks, and I was afraid he’d break my ribs. But I like challenging myself. I think I have a 90 per cent chance of winning,” Sly tells us proudly. So no dad bod for this guy, who has been hitting the gym and going on 4km runs. “I went through a ‘dad bod’ phase a few years ago,” shares Sly. “I weighed almost 80kg, but lost 11kg in a month by dieting. I almost starved myself to death. It was just very depressing to be fat. People would say, “Eh, why are you so fat now?” So I decided to turn my life around. I want to be like Zheng Geping!”

8 DAYS: Other than training for the fight, what else have you been busy with?