At 48, Van Ness Wu is proving that his famously chiselled physique is not just for show.
The Taiwanese-American singer-actor completed his first Hyrox race in Beijing on Sept 13. According to his post on Instagram on Sept 14, he finished the gruelling fitness challenge with doubles partner Han Chao in 1hr 11min 53sec.
Hyrox combines eight 1km runs with eight functional workout stations, including the SkiErg, sled push and pull, rowing, farmer’s carry, sandbag lunges and wall balls. The challenge in the Chinese capital ran from Sept 10 to 13.
Wu, who shot to fame as a member of Taiwanese boy band F4 after starring in hit idol drama Meteor Garden (2001), had spent close to three months preparing for the race.
He reportedly became curious about Hyrox in October 2025 after hearing friends like Taiwanese-American singer Nicky Lee and Taiwanese rapper E.SO talk about it.
Training was complicated by an old knee injury that requires ongoing rehabilitation, as well as the scheduled for F*Forever 1st World Tour, the reunion project featuring Wu, fellow F4 members Jerry Yan and Vic Chou, and Mayday frontman Ashin.
Wu is no stranger to putting in the hours when it comes to keeping fit.
In an interview with a Japanese publication in March, he said he typically spends up to 1½ hours working out and about another hour dancing. On some days, his exercise and dance sessions can stretch to four or five hours.
Wu’s Hyrox debut came a day after the Beijing event made headlines for a different reason.
Australian elite athlete Joanna Wietrzyk made headlines when she suffered faecal incontinence while competing in the Women’s Pro race on Sept 12, but was allowed to continue and went on to win.
Videos and images of the incident circulated online, sparking criticism over hygiene and why race officials had not intervened.
Hyrox co-founder Moritz Furste subsequently apologised, saying organisers should have acted immediately. Organisers in China also said affected areas at the Beijing venue were isolated, cleaned and disinfected, with contaminated equipment removed or replaced.
Meanwhile, another familiar face testing his fitness in Beijing was South Korean athlete and television personality Hong Beom-seok.
The 40-year-old, best known internationally as the runner-up of Netflix reality competition Physical: 100 Season 2 – Underground (2024), competed in the Pro Men’s Doubles on Sept 13.
A former South Korean special forces soldier and firefighter, Hong has become a regular on the Hyrox circuit. He was also in Singapore in April, when he teamed up with K-pop idol Minho from boy band Shinee in the Men’s Doubles at Hyrox Singapore.
Hong’s Beijing outing was less successful. He and his partner were listed as disqualified after reportedly completing 99 instead of the required 100 wall balls.
Chinese actor Ryan Zheng, 40, also participated in Hyrox Beijing, competing as part of a four-man team in the Men’s Relay on Sept 11. The event was Zheng’s first fitness competition.
Zheng is best known as a long-time cast member of Chinese variety show Keep Running (2014 to present), the Chinese adaptation of South Korea’s Running Man, where his speed and athleticism earned him the nickname “Little Cheetah”.
After completing the race with a timing of 1hr 22min 29sec, Zheng went live on his social media from a car and proudly showed viewers his finisher medal. In a celebratory mood, he said he was heading for hotpot after the competition. - The Straits Times/ANN
