Filipino Hmong American Powerlifter Says He’s Fueled by Lumpia

Jordan Mica, who is of Filipino and Hmong descent, has been lifting weights for five years now, according to ABS-CBN’s Balitang America TFC.

 

His father, Jason, simply left bars around for the child to play with, which eventually progressed into lifting years later.

“One thing that I always did was just leave a bar out here for him to play around with. And we have videos on his Instagram where he literally just picks it up and starts playing with it. And I think it’s natural for youngsters to want to do what they see their parents doing and things like that,” Jason Mica told Balitang America TFC. “So it just progressed into lifting.”

The 7-year-old boy, who is obsessed with the Filipino delicacy lumpia for its combination of meats and veggies, says he finds it fun to attend competitions.

However, Mica said he’s never afraid lifting heavier weights.

“I don’t think I’ve ever actually been scared that it was too heavy,” he said, adding, “Because there’s always someone to, like, hold the bar. And if I do feel, I know they can bring it back up.”

Meanwhile, Jason cleared the air in regards to the safety of lifting heavier weights particularly for children around Jordan’s age.

“I have two older kids that have grown up just fine, who have both started lifting when they were younger. I started lifting when I was younger. And you know, when you look at a lot of the strength athletes today, a lot of them did start when they were younger, maybe not quite as young,” he said.

Jordan, who now has over 3,000 followers on Instagram, hopes that more kids will join his “Lumpia and Deadlifts Team.” He also dreams of being able to compete at the Olympics one day.

Images via Instagram / jordan_mica