The 18STRONG Podcast 167: Michael Chu | Can you really reprogram a better golf swing?
Twenty-nine-year-old CEO Michael Chu is changing how athletes get better faster. As head of K-MOTION, the pioneer of innovative human motion training solutions, Michael is overseeing K-MOTION product development and figuring out how to impact the greater sports community.
For the last fifteen years, K-MOTION has focused its attention on the golf industry, specifically golf instruction. Today, Michael has encouraged his team to bring in new non-golf partnerships that have pushed the company into broad athletic training, where K-MOTION has become the go-to motion-learning product for coaches and athletes. Michael joins us today to talk about K-MOTION, its benefits to athletes and coaches, as well as some insight into “bio-feedback” and the acute perception needed to elevate your golf game to the next level.
Michael Chu’s Background
- Michael Chu graduated from Stanford with a BS in Electrical Engineering and Computer Software.
- Prior to joining K-MOTION, Michael was one of the highest performing engineers at LinkedIn from 2010-2015. During that time, he ran initiatives across consumer-facing properties, growth, infrastructure, monetization, and internationalization. He also helped scale the New York City engineering office to bridge the gap between it and the Mountain View, California office
- In January 2017, Michael led the introduction of NEXT, the world’s first dynamic motion training application for motion.
- K-MOTION was recognized as one of Top 10 golf training aids to watch by Swing by Swing
Highlights from this Episode
- Before diving into K-MOTION and the many benefits they bring to their players, Michael defines “Bio-feedback,” how it relates to golfers as a tool to better analyze our swing and movements, and where sports technology is headed in the next 3-5 years.
- How his background in volleyball and subsequent injury led to the development and success of the K-VEST and his immersion into sports technology and fitness and his role as CEO of K-MOTION.
- He explains how the technology works, what makes it so revolutionary in the realm of golf, and how to get started in utilizing this for your golf game. He also makes the important distinction that this technology is meant to be supplemental to training with a coach, not as a surrogate.
- Michael delves into the other athletic applications that their technologies have been used for and are currently pioneering their way into but brings it back to core techniques that their tech trains and helps monitor so as to be advantageous to the amateur as well as the PGA pro.
- He talks about the practicality of the use of their technologies and the education programs for coaches and coaching programs.
Caddy Shack or Happy Gilmore?
Happy Gilmore
What is your “walk-up” song?
Eye of the Tiger by Survivor
Who would you want to spend a day on the course with and what course would you play?
I would play Elon Musk at the Olympic Club
What’s the last piece of advice do you have for the golfers out there?
Make sure what you think you are doing is what you are actually doing and understand how your body moves throughout the day and during your stroke.
Get into contact with Michael and K-MOTION at:
Twitter: @KVEST3D
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