ACES GO PLACES

To quote a Chinese proverb, "gold cannot be pure, and people cannot be perfect" (金无赤足，人无完人). However, that does not mean we could not strive for excellence in pursuit of perfection. Coined in the 1950s by cardiologists Dr. Meyer Friedman and Dr. Ray Rosenman, the term "perfectionism" is defined as a personal standard, attitude, or philosophy that demands flawlessness or the highest degree of proficiency, skill, or excellence and rejects anything less.
 
Notable perfectionists include recent Video Music Awards 2013’s “Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award” winner Justin Timberlake, renowned celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, and the iconic “Muscles from Brussels” Jean Claude Van Damme.

Former boy-band pop sensation turned award-winning music soloist Timberlake admits, "I'm a perfectionist. I can't help it. I get really upset with myself if I fail in the least."

As for the habitually cussing chef-presenter of popular culinary shows “Hell's Kitchen”, “Kitchen Nightmares” and “MasterChef”, Ramsay once opined that like him, every chef across the world is bound to have a side that is driven, a self-confessed perfectionist, thoroughbred and hates incompetence.

Then there is JCVD, the action superstar who hails from Belgium, who revealed in a personal interview, “I studied from age 12 under European karate pioneer Claude Goetz, who is a perfectionist, and that in turn caused me to be a perfectionist. I am very fussy about movements, position, and the realism of action moves, sometimes to the chagrin or I hope appreciation of a director.”

Overtly demanding and self-critical they might be, but perhaps that was exactly how they perfected their craft, conquered their competition and rose to the top in their respective music, culinary and cinematic empires. And now, joining this elite group of super-achievers is 21 year old Manhunt Singapore 2013 finalist Huang Zhong Xi.

If you ever presumed this strapping hunk to be all brawns and no brains, you could not be more wrong. Not only did he achieve an outstanding score of 239 for his PSLE, he also went on to attain a 4 point aggregate for his GCE `O' Levels L1R5 inclusive of CCA bonus, as well as aced the GCE `A' Levels with straight As for his four H2 and Chinese, guaranteeing him a place in Nanyang Technological University (NTU)'s Bachelor of Accountancy degree program.

Not limited to academics alone, Zhong Xi's quest for excellence further extends to his physical and sporty side as well. His passion for the sport of table-tennis shone through as he proudly represented his schools in tournaments from primary to tertiary level. His efforts and dedication did not go unrewarded. As an individual player in primary school, he had the honour of placing Top 8 at National levels, while his later years of playing for his secondary and junior college school teams had him consistently placed within Top 4 at inter-school levels.

Staying true to his personal mantra that "perfectionism is doing the best in everything you do, never settling for anything less than perfect and keep at it until achieving perfection, regardless of the sacrifices needed", the 1.78m freelance model believes joining the prestigious Manhunt Singapore competition would enrich him with the necessary experience and exposure to help propel his progress in the modelling industry.

Perfectionists might not always perform extraordinary feats, but they do always excel in setting exceptionally high goals for themselves, and often meet or even surpass these goals extraordinarily well. Such is the mindset of Zhong Xi, who truly believes that nothing is impossible, as long as you have the determination, drive and are willing to do whatever it takes to make the impossible possible.

Whether be it hitting the books hard for his university accountacy studies, going all out to scale greater heights in his modeling ambitions, or pumping hard at the gym to maintain his 70kg muscular physique and impressive six pack abs, Zhong Xi is a fighter in life who settles for nothing but the best in all areas. Of course, this would include his current endeavours to secure a win in Manhunt Singapore 2013. If he succeeds in doing so, now that would truly be perfection.