367. More Than Enough: Sunny Choi On Her Path to Breaking At The Olympics, The Power of Self-Belief & Embracing Second Chances
Hurdle
Emily Abbate
5 • 1.4K Ratings
🗓️ 11 August 2025
⏱️ 61 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
From the age of three, Sunny Choi dreamt of going to the Olympics. She thought that it would be for gymnastics, but she made the difficult decision to forgo that in favor of more stability. At business school at Penn, she first tried break dancing, and ultimately fell in love. In 2022, after making a name for herself on the world stage, Choi made the big decision to walk away from her six-figure salary as the director of global creative operations at Estée Lauder to pursue her lifetime dream of becoming an Olympian. The rest? Well, now it's part of the history books.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
(8:38) How Sunny uses deep breathing to relax and survey what's going on in her body.
(12:50) What it was like succeeding at gymnastics from a young age
(17:50) Sunny learns what breaking is in high school from her younger brother, then tries it for the first time at Penn
(20:18) Sunny talks about the self confidence that she garnered from dancing
(33:20) Sunny talk about sharing her love for breaking with her family, and what it was like to expose them to the sport.
(36:48) What it was like to tell her employer about her break dancing, and how she was able to work full-time while traveling internationally to compete
(40:32) Sunny shares why breaking is diverse and accessible to so many people, and why it was worthy of an Olympic spot
(45:48) Why it's important for Sunny to write about her Olympic experience to process how the moment made her feel
(49:15) Sunny talks about the Olympics comedown and how she managed to pull herself out of a funk
(52:30) Sunny talks about what her life looks like these days, and why she doesn't think she'd be able to go back into corporate America
(57:12) What Sunny sees in the mirror
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | failure is only failure if you see it that way. |
| 0:03.0 | It can also just be a lesson that you learned. |
| 0:19.0 | Hey everybody, Emily Abadi here. You are listening to episode 367 of hurdle, a wellness |
| 0:26.5 | focus podcast where I talk to inspirational people about everything from their highest, |
| 0:30.3 | highs, and toughest moments to essential tips to live a healthier, happier, more motivated |
| 0:35.7 | life. We all go through our fair share of hurdles. |
| 0:39.7 | My goal through these discussions is to empower you to better navigate yours and move with |
| 0:44.4 | intention so that you can stride toward your own big potential. And of course, have some fun |
| 0:50.5 | along the way. I won't even front. I've wanted to have this conversation on the show |
| 0:55.5 | forever now, ever since I first heard about Sunny Choi. Sunny Choi is an Olympian and a breaker. |
| 1:03.1 | And in this week's episode, she talks to me about growing up a gymnast and from the age of three, |
| 1:07.6 | having dreams to one day make it to the games. |
| 1:11.7 | She shares the difficult decision to forego, going all in on gymnastics as a teenager, |
| 1:15.9 | to eventually pursue a business degree at Penn, where she also first tried breakdancing herself. |
| 1:23.7 | In 2022, after making a name for herself on the world stage, Choi made the big decision |
| 1:28.9 | to walk away from her six-figure salary as the director of global creative operations at |
| 1:34.5 | Estee Lauder to pursue her lifetime dream of becoming an Olympian. |
| 1:39.4 | Of course, we talk about her trip to the games and what it meant for her, as well as |
| 1:43.2 | her thoughts on the criticisms of breaking's inclusion there |
| 1:47.0 | and the athleticism that the sport demands. |
| 1:49.9 | She talks to me about the pivot she's made away from corporate life, |
| 1:52.9 | currently working with clients as a certified strength and conditioning coach, |
... |
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