From pedals to pixels

Taking a breather: (from left) Datuk Azizulhasni Awang, Mohd Shah Firdaus Sahrom and Mohd Fadhil Zonis relaxing after training.

PETALING JAYA: On the track, Mohd Fadhil Zonis has more than blistering speed. The 2023 Asian champion also possesses the stamina to excel in longer-distance events.

Away from the track, however, Fadhil has a deep passion for cameras.

To him, athletes today no longer take photos merely as keepsakes at competitions. He believes the platform can be used to market themselves, especially when their performances are backed by major achievements.

“I have always liked cameras because I enjoy taking photos. Sometimes I take pictures of the team during training or when we are travelling overseas, just for fun.

“I used to have a vlog, but I stopped updating it because I became too busy with training and competitions. Maybe I will try to revive my vlog on YouTube to earn some side income,” said Fadhil.

What makes his interest even more intriguing is that he looks up to Malaysian track cycling legend Datuk Azizulhasni Awang as a role model for managing social media and building a personal brand.

“As we all know, Datuk Azizulhasni Awang has his own team to handle video editing and other work. I used to do everything on my own, so my editing skills are quite basic.

“Datuk Azizul once told me that this can also be a source of income and it does not require much physical effort.

“Who knows, maybe one day I could be his personal videographer. Or if Datuk retires and decides to start a podcast, I could be part of it because there are already many football shows, but none yet for cycling,” he added.

Fadhil and his teammates arrived in Chiang Mai several weeks earlier for their centralised training camp ahead of the cycling track events at the Thailand SEA Games, which begin on Dec 18.

It has been a long wait for the national track cycling squad as the discipline has been excluded for three consecutive editions since it was last contested in 2017 in Kuala Lumpur.

That 2017 outing remains a highlight for Fadhil as he introduced himself on the SEA Games stage with a gold medal in the 1km time trial, followed by a silver in the team sprint.