Meet Simon Shi | Professional Triathlete & Content Creator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Simon Shi and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Simon, what do you attribute your success to?
I started making YouTube videos in 2009 starting at the age of 12 years old. I was fascinated with the Rubik’s cubes and posted my hobbies on the internet. I had a lot of fun doing it and I was not in it for the money. People didn’t even make money on YouTube back then. Now, I found that I still have the same passion to post entertainment and tutorial videos about the Rubik’s cubes and showing my other hobbies in life.

I have learned that doing your research is critical to social media marketing. Speaking in terms of business, if you want to grow your following, you need to find trends and post consistently. Post things that you absolutely love to do!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I just turned a professional athlete this year, completing my 1st elite triathlon in March 2022. I also have a social media following of over 1 million followers across my platforms. I perform Rubik’s cube solves and teach people how to solve them.

I’m excited to fully work full-time being a pro athlete and content creator.

I’ve been on YouTube for almost 13 years and it took lots of hours some days to post videos. I stayed consistent for a period of time and that was key to have a following and income. There are some days where I see a trend, and I took some time to post my video as soon as possible.

I learned that the key to social media is consistency. The key to becoming a professional athlete is doing the workouts that will get people to say that you’re crazy. It’s what you do in the dark that puts you in the light (that’s a quote) is one of my favorite quote.

I want people to know that if you put your mind to a specific goal, anything is possible. You’ll need to put in the work and time to reach that goal. I became a professional athlete in only 1 year of competing in triathlons. I solved big Rubik’s cubes all underwater, taking 4+ hours.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Let’s say that best friend is in triathlon. We would be working out together… a lot! I work out 30+ hours a week right now on top of my full-time job.

All the bike rides I would take my friend to: Sonoran at Apache Wash Trailhead, 7 Springs and Bartlett Lake ride, climb South Mountain, ride the Rio Solado Bike Path, and ride around Canyon Lake and Usery, bike paths in the city

Do some open water swims at Lake Saguoro, Lake Pleasant
Run around the typical routes I do

In my opinion, biking in a new city:
1. Gets in a good workout
2. Can explore the city without a car

In terms of non-sporting activities:
OHSO restuarant, visit ASU, get some hikes in

I think the nature part of Arizona is the best part, especially at sunrise or sunset. Arizona is very unique and that’s why I love biking here.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to recognize my coach Natasha van der Merwe from NVDM coaching. She has helped me get to the professional level in triathlon and have been a huge part of my journey. Also, I want to shout out to all my friends and family for helping me get to where I am today!

Website: https://thesimonshi.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_simonshi/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-shi/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/thesimonshi

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheSimonShi

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@thesimonshi?