My Old Friend, Fear

You can’t keep a good man down, as Kathlyn D’Souza realises during a chat with start-up genius and ex-CEO of AirAsia X and iflix, Azran Osman-Rani, as he shares how he became an Ironman triathlete

I’ll never get to a situation where it’s no longer fearful, but I just have to say ‘Oh, hi there Fear, nice to meet you my old friend,’” Azran told me during our interview. He was discussing his career and work culture (which deserves an entire article on its own, to be frank—perhaps in a future issue), and a very animated tale of how he eventually became an Ironman athlete. How did that happen? Did he ever see himself in that situation? I asked. His eyes lit up and his mood shifted to that of an excitable child. “Absolutely not!” he answered, shifting in his seat to get comfortable, before launching into a passion-filled discourse.

He played ultimate Frisbee when he was in the US, for Standford University, which was one of the national championship contenders. He was actually very competitive as an athlete, in tip-top shape, until he joined a management consultant firm. For 10 years he threw himself into the job by giving it his 100 per cent, as with anything he puts his mind on, and totally neglected his health.