Tshomlee Go, two-time Olympian and Asian Games silver medalist, couldn’t have chosen a far more different path than the athletic career he once built his life around.
For almost 10 years now since leaving the Philippines to build a family in California, Go makes a living as a captain for the famed San Francisco Bay Ferry.
From in-your-face combat martial artist, Go now takes passengers via commuter and tourist boats that ply along the scenic bay.
“During the lockdown we reduced the number of runs, but we haven’t completely stopped,” Go told the Inquirer. “It’s a challenging job but also rewarding.”
But the 39-year-old Go has not completely ditched the sport that made him a national team standout. He works as a part-time instructor in Sparta Taekwondo gym near his place in Vallejo, which is owned by a friend.
“It feels good to teach young athletes, you share their victories and their defeats,” said Go, who is married to fellow former Philippine taekwondo jin Renee Ann Ortega. They have two sons; Rylee is 5 and Robee is 3.
Go said he brings along his sons to the gym to teach them the basics but leaves the decision to them if they want to take up the sport, too.
“I learned a lot in taekwondo and mostly it’s the hard work and training, but those things you get to use to overcome hardships in life, too,” Go said.
He just recently posted a video of him on Tiktok speed-kicking a dummy setup in his own garage.
“It’s in my system. Waking up early and working out,” said Go, who made the 2004 and 2008 Olympics and won silver in the 2006 Doha Asian Games and 2000 Asian Championships. He is a two-time Southeast Asian Games gold medalist.