MANILA, Philippines – Before the Philippines reaped a historic men’s curling gold in the Asian Winter Games, Alan Frei weighed 224 pounds, or about 102 kilograms — far from the ideal shape of a world-class athlete.
But Frei, a Filipino-Swiss known in Switzerland for his business ventures, had a radical lifestyle shift in 2022. Following doctors’ orders, Frei dived into the world of sports with the hopes of turning his health around.
“I was very overweight. The doctor told me that I was very unhealthy and that my blood was very bad. And I was like, ‘I need to change that now,’” Frei said.
The change started with having a strict diet. After a few months, he tried his luck with different sports, such as cross-country skiing, a winter sport popular in the highlands of Switzerland.
When that did not work out, Frei tried curling, an activity he knew nothing about.
The now 42-year-old Frei, whose mother hails from Cebu, got the help of fellow Fil-Swiss players and now teammates Marc Pfister, Enrico Pfister, and Christian Haller following an exchange of emails to embark on his curling journey.
The rest, as they say, is history.
“I got emails from the guys and they were looking for a fourth person, and I was like ‘you know what, let’s try curling,’” he said of the sport that features players sliding heavy polished granite stones on ice.
“I never curled in my life. I never wanted to be a sports champion or something. But now I’m here,” Frei added.
Once he got his groove in the sport, Frei set up one audacious goal alongside his Filipino teammates: get to the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.
“My idea was born. I wanted to be fit, and I wanted to go to the Olympics,” said Frei, who then turned to his Filipino roots en route to his Olympic dream.
“My mother is a Filipina (Cebuana), I know that I have a small chance of making it to the Winter Olympics for the Philippines,” he said.
People around Frei, though, had their doubts. Besides, he was a well-known businessman with little to no background in any sport.
But when he sold his e-commerce business, Frei’s life revolved around being the best curler he could be.
“My view on life is to set a big goal, make a plan, and just move forward,” Frei said. “Everybody said that this was not a good idea or you would not do that…Everybody was skeptical in the beginning. That is just how people are.”
Frei has also coined this his “Project Journey,” which he said would end in March 2026, right around the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Frei, alongside the Pfister brothers, Haller, and Curling Pilipinas president Benjo Delarmente — all of whom have been curling players for over a decade — took down China and South Korea in the Asian Winter Games last February 14 to bring the Philippines, a country with no winter season, its first gold medal.
As he chases his Olympic dream, Frei hopes he not only changed his life but also impacted the country’s global standing in the sport.
“I think everyone can curl, especially Filipinos,” he said. “I know there will come a time Filipinos will be known in the curling world.” – Rappler.com