"Every challenge is tested:" Physical: Asia athlete Ray Querubin opened up on the mental and physical challenges

"Every challenge is tested:" Physical: Asia athlete Ray Querubin opened up on his below-average performance, losing the competition and the mental challenges that came with it.

Physical: Asia athlete Ray Querubin, who is a three-time national strongman champion of the Philippines, represented his country in the Netflix show alongside boxing champion Manny Pacquiao, rugby player Justin Coveney, Olympic-level hurdler Robyn Lauren Brown, and CrossFit athletes Lara Liwanag and Justin Hernandez.

Ray Jefferson Querubin is a strongman, powerlifter, and weightlifter known as the Pride of Bohol. He used his size and weight as an advantage in various challenges, giving Team Philippines an edge in the competition.

Unfortunately, the team lost eventually and got eliminated mid-way through Physical: Asia. Now, Strongman Ray Querubin opened up in an interview with One Sports about the challenges that were not just physical but also tested his mental strength and willpower, as he says:

Every challenge is tested, not only my body but also my focus and willpower.

The Philippines’ Strongest Man from 2016 to 2019 further spoke about the uncertainty in the challenges that required different sets of skills in each challenge, due to which the athletes and players cannot perform excellently all the time, as he noted:

As a strongman athlete, we train specific movements. If you're competing strongman or in any sport, you prepare your body for what you're going to fight. In strongman, the training is specific, what we do. We know what the training is, and we know what we're going to compete in.

Here's what the Team Philippines champion said about Physical: Asia challenges in the exclusive

Ray Querubin has built a reputation as one of the Philippines’ toughest athletes, but even he admits that Physical: Asia pushed him in ways he did not even expect.

The multi-titled strongman reflected on his journey with Team Philippines in an exclusive interview with One Sports, saying the show tested not only his body but also his determination.

Querubin went on to share that he rarely feels intimidated by challenges, yet Physical: Asia, as he said, was “a different beast.”He has trained for specific lifts and movements while the show demanded versatility, unlike the strongman contests he has earlier competed in.

He explained that strongman athletes typically know exactly what events to prepare for, but in this competition, he was caught off guard by “how much endurance and stamina” it required, as it was not just about strength anymore.

He further added that mental strength was also needed in Physical: Asia challenges without any doubt, apart from endurance, teamwork, and staying composed under pressure.

This became clearly evident during the Shipwreck challenge when Querubin, exhausted, struggled to maximize his strength while pulling 50-kilogram crates, especially as Mongolia outperformed them with teamwork and pacing.

He admitted that the criticism he received had affected him negatively both physically and mentally.

Team Philippines finished last in that challenge but were able to survive the Death Match, which Querubin recalled talking about how their unity kept them surviving, even as Manny Pacquiao, one of their strongest player and leader, had to leave the show early due to prior commitments.

He didn’t hide the emotional toll of nearly being knocked out, saying that it definitely hurt them, especially as they were in their arena; however, they needed to accept the loss.

He said moments like those “really broke our hearts,” but also stressed that their shared pride held them together, noting:

For Team Philippines, we have a label and a heart. That seems to have built us. We supported each other through every challenge, big or small. And we think that [what] united us was our shared pride. The same goal, the same pride.

Eventually, Team Philippines lost to South Korea in the sack throw challenge, ending their competition in Physical: Asia. But instead of seeing it as a failure, Querubin took it as a lesson. The experience humbled him, especially when he compared his performance to that of other strongmen on the show.

He did not hold back from taking accountability, and even apologized to fans, saying he had not expected things to evolve the way they did, as he expressed:

As an athlete, our mind and goal is really to win and present the full courage of the Philippines. There are definitely stronger, faster people. So again, that's not a reason to stop, let's continue our fight

Querubin plans to compete further in the strongman competitions by 2026. As he was asked about his next plans, he ended with a simple but determined:

Let's wait and see.

Stay tuned for more updates.