Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:00:00) – The views, thoughts and opinions expressed by host and guests on this podcast are their own and do not represent the views, thoughts and opinions of UCLA Athletics or UCLA gymnastics. The content of this podcast is strictly for informational purposes only and should not be considered professional advice.

Emma Malabuyo (00:00:18) – So you have this stream that you want to reach that’s way over here. And think of a plan of how can I slowly make steps towards that goa? Like you want to get a, you know, a job promotion or you want to get fit or anything like that. I think first, starting with the school that’s over here and you’re making little baby steps, but along the way acknowledging those.

Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:00:47) – Welcome to the Bruins on Deck edition of the Resilience to Brilliance podcast, where you’ll be inspired by riveting behind the scenes stories from current members of UCLA gymnastics. I’m your host, Kim Hamilton Anthony. Here we go. Emma Malabuyo is a junior at UCLA. Before joining the Bruins, she spent five years on the U.S. national team and was an alternate for the 2020 U.S. Olympic team.

Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:01:17) – At UCLA she is making a strong impression with her drive to conquer challenges as a student and as an athlete, not to mention providing the world with some beautiful gymnastics. Emma took time out of her busy schedule to share her thoughts on resilience with me, and she even made an announcement that at the time of the interview, had not been yet made public. Let’s listen. Emma, how are you? So great to see you.

Emma Malabuyo (00:01:51) – You too. I’m doing great. Hope you’re doing well, but I’m so excited to be here.

Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:01:57) – Oh, I’m excited to have you. I really am. Beautiful room you’re in, I must say.

Emma Malabuyo (00:02:02) -Thank you.

Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:02:04) – I love it, I love it. Do you have a little bit of interior decorating going on in the blood?

Emma Malabuyo (00:02:09) – I’m not very creative, but the only thing that I contributed to my own room is, um, my music taste. So I really love music. So I got my favorite albums, and I put them in frames over here.

Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:02:21) – Nice. I like that.

Emma Malabuyo (00:02:23) – That’s some little decorations. And I don’t know if you could see my ukulele in the back, but there’s that too.

Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:02:28) – Yes.

Emma Malabuyo (00:02:29) – So.

Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:02:30) – So you play the ukulele.

Emma Malabuyo (00:02:32) – I do, mhm, it’s like my outlet outside of gymnastics in my crazy life.

Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:02:38) – Well, Emma, you were a five time US national team member and an alternate for the 2020 Olympic team. Then you stepped into the college ranks and became a Bruin, which I’m so grateful for. What was it about UCLA that took you to Westwood?

Emma Malabuyo (00:02:54) – Oh, there are so many things that drew me in into UCLA. But I would say that when I think of UCLA, I think about all of the challenges that you face at this, um, prestigious university. And I think I am really drawn to obstacles and just working through any challenges in my life. So it’s very cool to be challenged academically, um, socially and gymnastically. So I feel like I learned and I growing so much here, and that’s kind of what drew me in.

Emma Malabuyo (00:03:24) – But also the pizazz that the UCLA gymnastics team carries watching their floor routines and, um, having that really creative side. I think that is kind of what brought me in to coming to UCLA.

Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:03:39) – Yeah, that is great. I thought it was very interesting to read about you saying that you don’t really like it when things are too easy in life. Where do you think that comes from? And then you mentioned, okay, the strenuous, uh, regimen at UCLA as an athlete and a student, it’s not easy. So that challenge is really good for you, huh?

Emma Malabuyo (00:04:03) – Mhm. I I feel like challenges kind of fuel me, and it pushes me. And I feel like I just learn a lot if I, you know, make mistakes or I’m put into uncomfortable situations. I think I’m really good at, um, adapting and kind of learning and using, you know, my skill sets to work through any obstacles. So. Yeah.

Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:04:22) – Do you have a major yet. Is there something that you are thinking about doing after you graduate UCLA?

Emma Malabuyo (00:04:30) – Yeah, so I’m majoring in communications and my goal is to be hopefully a sports broadcaster commentator or maybe be on the production side of media.

Emma Malabuyo (00:04:39) – So I’m very interested in a lot of things, but I kind of want to get more experience and see where life takes me.

Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:04:46) – Wonderful. I know you’ll have plenty of opportunities for sure. Now, you had a brilliant freshman year, including scoring a perfect ten on the balance beam. Yay! And you’ve been a force to the Bruins putting up solid routines. And when I watch you, I think of precision. I think of amazing execution. And I can’t help but smile when you’re out there because you’re just so fun to watch. Emma, you really are.

Emma Malabuyo (00:05:13) – Thank you.

Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:05:15) – How would you describe your collegiate career in gymnastics so far? Is that something that you’ve enjoyed when you consider the transition from elite to college?

Emma Malabuyo (00:05:27) – Yeah, I’ve enjoyed my entire experience here at UCLA, and it’s very different than elite just because, um, when you’re an elite, you do everything individually and you are striving for perfection, but in college you’re doing the same thing. But it’s different in a way where every single skill that you do, you are trying to be perfect.

Emma Malabuyo (00:05:48) – You’re not, there’s no really room for error, but you’re doing it for your teammates. you’re doing it for your coaches, you’re doing it for the fans. So I think that’s something special that, um, really brings that joy out of me and makes me want to perform and really have fun out there, it’s because I want to do it and share this moment with everybody else.

Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:06:05) – Oh, I love it. And when you share, it is such a beautiful thing to watch.

Speaker 3 (00:06:10) – Well thank you.

Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:06:11) – Yes. You’re welcome. It’s my understanding that it wasn’t necessarily. And you of course, can correct me if I’m wrong, that it wasn’t necessarily in your plan, but after being away from elite gymnastics for two years, you decided to step back into that space. So what happened that took you there?

Emma Malabuyo (00:06:31) – Yeah. So it was towards the end of my season and Janelle was like, oh, play with some skills because you need to get out of your head a little bit. And I was like, okay, yeah, let me play with some upgrades.

Emma Malabuyo (00:06:43) – And so I was playing with more difficult skills that I used to compete. And I had so much fun and I’m like, oh, I can train these skills and still really enjoy gymnastics and like, oh, like, what if I can do this? What if I could add something else? So I had like a little bit a, like a taste of my old elite gymnastics skills and I wanted to progress and do more. And then I actually, one of the coaches who works with the US and the Filipino national team contacted me and was like, I’ve been watching your gymnastics journey throughout your whole entire career. Would you want to compete for the Philippines? So he brought up this opportunity. And there’s I was just thinking, there’s I can’t pass this up like I cannot.

Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:07:25) – Wow.

Emma Malabuyo (00:07:26) – Yeah. So it all came together. I was so excited. I’m like, wow. I’m finding my joy. I’m really excited. And you know, I didn’t want to have any regrets. So I was like, let’s just make the most out of this and see what I can do.

Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:07:38) – I love it, I love it. That’s so exciting that. What did it make you feel like to get that call and to know that someone’s been watching you and that they feel that you can make the Filipino national team?

Emma Malabuyo (00:07:51) – Yeah. I was just so grateful to receive that call. Just because knowing that someone has understood or just watched my story and, um, understand my just me pushing through everything just to, um, go through my whole entire elite career and having that support and that belief in me that gave me the confidence to. Yeah, just just try. So.

Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:08:14) – Yeah. So you stepped into that space. You won a silver medal on floor exercise at the 2023 Asian Championships. Congratulations, that’s a big deal. And I’m not sure if this is true or not, but are you planning on making a run for the 24 Olympics?

Emma Malabuyo (00:08:32) – Yes, I am, I actually, um, I don’t think I’ve told anybody yet, but I’m excited to tell you guys now. But, um, yeah.

Emma Malabuyo (00:08:41) – So I’m actually going to be trying to do both compete for UCLA, um, do school and also go to the World Cups in February. So I’m going to try to qualify to the Olympics through all the World Cups. But I’m getting so much support from my team and coaches, so I’m just very grateful for all of them.

Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:09:00) – Um, it’s wonderful that you have the opportunity to do that. Back in my day, you kind of made a choice. Either you were elite or you went to college, but it wasn’t common for you to do both. So I’m so glad you have this opportunity. And what makes me even happier is the joy. Like as you describe what you’re feeling and the excitement about what you’re doing, it’s just, it’s beautiful. I’m excited for you. I really am, I really am.

Emma Malabuyo (00:09:31) – It just means a lot just because, you know, um, I actually brought it up to the coaches because I wasn’t sure, like, do I need to take a year off? Because I do want to compete for UCLA and, um, help the team in any way possible.

Emma Malabuyo (00:09:44) – And so Janelle is very open to it. Like, yeah, I want to support you. And I know you don’t want to have any regrets. So we can train both and I’ll help you in any other way.

Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:09:53) – Awesome wonderful wonderful. So let’s jump to your resilience story. Can you describe a significant time in your life when basically resilience had to be your best friend?

Emma Malabuyo (00:10:05) – Where I’ve shown resilience is towards this Olympic dream. So I’ve had this dream of competing in the Olympics since I was eight years old, and I would train 36 hours a week. I pushed through mental blocks and injuries and surgery, and my family’s sacrificing so much for me to accomplish this dream. So in 2021, when I made the Olympic team as an alternate, you know, I was so happy and overwhelmed and very excited about that whole entire journey. But I think just showing resilience in that I still want to accomplish this dream, even though it’s taking 13 years. I want to do anything in my ability that I can work towards this dream, even though that life is very unpredictable at times and there’s so many obstacles.

Emma Malabuyo (00:10:51) – But you know, even though it’s going to take many, many years to get there, I want to do everything in my power just to get closer to this dream. So I’m still staying on this path.

Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:11:03) – Did you ever feel like that window for you to be in the Olympics had come and gone? Because it’s almost like you’re getting a second chance.

Emma Malabuyo (00:11:13) – It did. The first time I was trying for the Olympics, I felt like, oh, I’m at my peak, I’m doing so well and then Covid happened. So I was like, oh, I’m gonna have to wait an entire year. My body was healthy at this point, but we’re also going to get more competition from the younger juniors turning into seniors. So there was just so much involved. Um, but I feel like after I made the Tokyo Olympic team, I was kind of like, okay, that was awesome. And that that was my one chance because I don’t think that my body could handle going for the Olympics again, or I didn’t even know there was a possibility to compete for the Filipino national team.

Emma Malabuyo (00:11:52) – And so, um, having this second chance, it kind of was assigned to me like, oh, this is another shot at my dream, and I want to make the most out of it. So, um, but yeah, it does feel like a second, second chance.

Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:12:05) – Exciting. So what advice can you give to the person who may have had a dream, and they think that the window for that dream has come and gone like you thought, but then they still have this fire in them. They still want to accomplish that dream. What would you tell them?

Emma Malabuyo (00:12:27) – I would say that, you know, you have this goal, you have this dream. But the best thing to do, in my opinion, is to break it up into small building blocks. So you have this dream that you want to reach that’s way over here. And think of a plan of how can I slowly make steps towards that goal? So for instance, let me, um, think so. Like you want to get an, you know, a job promotion or you want to get fit or anything like that.

Emma Malabuyo (00:12:56) – I think first starting with the school that’s over here and you’re making little baby steps. But along the way, acknowledging those, um, small wins, acknowledging, you know, those small successes that you make along the way of like, okay, so throughout my Olympic journey, um, I’m sleeping, I’m feeling my body, I’m recovering, I’m being diligent with treatments and getting on top of everything. So just making small baby steps while also being consistent. I think that’s my advice.

Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:13:27) – I think that’s really good advice.

Emma Malabuyo (00:13:29) – There was one other story that oh, I didn’t share yet, but I was struggling with a mental block, uh, a double twist on vault. And I actually had surgery on my tibia. And so before I was just so nervous to land any vault to twist into the ground or anything that would happen. And so in the middle of this vault, it’s like Olympic year, and I’m already gearing up for Olympic trials. And I had this mental block and I’m like, there’s no way I’m going to be able to complete this or compete this double twist ever again.

Emma Malabuyo (00:14:03) – And so my coach, like, we just had to work on my confidence, visualizing and kind of breaking these steps back down into like, okay, let’s go into the foam pit first. Let’s go add a mat into the foam pit okay. Let’s do it under pressure. Let’s do this. So we kept kind of making those baby steps. But I remember standing at the back of the vault runway I’m crying and I’m like, I’m just so scared. I’m just so nervous. I don’t know if I can do this. And crazy thing is, at Olympic trials, we get a 32nd touch before you’re about to show your vault or any routine. And so during that 32nd touch, I have two turns and I blocked on every single one. Oh no. I just did a layout and I was like, okay, I need to get myself together. I need to get back into like, okay, what what can I do at this point? Let me visualize. Let me think of all the good vaults that I’ve done before and previously leading up and kind of finding my inner confidence.

Emma Malabuyo (00:14:57) – And so that’s kind of what I had to tap into when it was time to raise my arms and salute that I knew that right there, I got this, I can do it. So that is when I showed, um, resilience.

Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:15:09) – Yes. And then how did the vault go?

Emma Malabuyo (00:15:12) – Oh, it was one of my best vaults. Yeah, I I saluted I’m like. Yep, I do this every time.

Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:15:18) – I did it. Yes, yes. You’re like, yeah, this is what I do. This is what I do.

Emma Malabuyo (00:15:23) – Exactly. And I think it was more fulfilling that when something is challenging, I find that more fulfilling. Like, oh, I put in the work and I did all this and I was able to accomplish my goal. I think that’s where I get very, you know, happy and find that inner joy rather than it just being so perfect and so easy.

Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:15:41) – That’s interesting. I love that your coach worked with you. You kind of took a step backwards.

Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:15:47) – It kind of started over with the progression and there was some patience there. And when I think about your advice to someone out there who may have this dream and have another, you know, they want to go for that again and continue to go for that promotion. Or, you know, maybe they’re an athlete and they have a dream of winning a national title or something else to take those steps, to break it down. I really like that. That’s such good advice.

Emma Malabuyo (00:16:15) – Thank you.

Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:16:17) – Final question. What does living in BrillianceMode look like for you?

Emma Malabuyo (00:16:22) – I think living in BrillianceMode is just kind of being my happiest self and being the best Emma, and I think that’s when I tap into BrillianceMode. I think of all the love and support that is that I’m surrounded by, like my friends, my family, all the relationships that I have that sort of fills my cup and makes me who I am. And I feel so fulfilled from all the little things in life. Like I enjoy hanging out with my family, or reading, or making music and doing all of these things that sort of fill my cup.

Emma Malabuyo (00:16:55) – And when I do feel, um, fulfilled, I have this joy, this happiness that I carry around. But I also, um, just want to spread positivity to anybody and want to make them feel loved and supported in any way. But yeah, that’s kind of what I think when I think of BrillianceMode.

Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:17:16) – Emma, thank you so much for being willing to be on the podcast. It has been fun chatting with you. Thanks for sharing your gift with me. Thanks for sharing your story as well.

Emma Malabuyo (00:17:26) – Thank you and thank you so much for having me. I loved being on here and you also have an amazing story too. So thank you.

Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:17:33) – Thank you.

Kim Hamilton Anthony (00:17:40) – Thanks for listening. If you want to learn more about Emma Malabuyo, go check out our show notes on InBrillianceMode.com/Podcast and to connect with UCLA Gymnastics on Instagram. Follow them @UCLAgymnastics.

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