“Swimming is the healthiest cardiovascular activity, hobby and sport you could ever do”, he says. Started swimming when entering school, Yves Najm’s childhood was like no other. Before even discovering his musical talent, Mrad was already into sports. He started learning every sport with a coach. “The point of practicing different sports is to wake up everyday with the goal of surpassing whom I was yesterday”, he explaines 
 
Although Mrad was involved in sports at a young age, hr  he was not planninh to become a champion, but “it all happened suddenly”. Despite the fact that he managed to win many competitions in many sports, his main passion was in swimming. That explained why he correlated his rapid progresses with the diversity of his activities. “My strength in swimming comes from all other sports at a young age”.
 
How did you get into championships and competitions?
 
“I remember my first race, 50 meters freestyle. I remember every second of that race. I remember it not just because it was my first, but because it was where I first won and broke a record”. Mrad mentions that he didn’t see himself fast enough to win; that's when his perception changed.
 
Yves Najm won his “fair share of races and championships” during National and International events representing Lebanon and LAU. Winning hundreds of trophies and medals and many titles as MVP and MIP, he considers that the most important factor in winning is the morale. Although swimming is considered an individualistic sport, Mrad insists on the importance of teamwork. “In swimming teamwork is demonstrated during every practice. You should encourage your swim mate to do this extra lap. You should push him to break his own personal record. That’s what a team is about”.
 
In his opinion, a lot of people think that teamwork is involved during the game, but in reality it is demonstrated always before and after each race.

How did you manage to train with all your packed schedule?
 
Since childhood, Yves Najm was more like a joker player who can represents his school in any sports competition. “I used to skip some classes to train, but it was always for a good reason”. Although time was packed, Mrad sees swimming and sports in general as one of the few activities that could improve one’s mental reasoning. “I think we can all relate to some students who study way less than their peers due to their training schedule, yet they get way higher than anyone in class”.
 

The advantages of being physically active is way beyond being healthy and fit. It’s more about functioning under stress, understanding what is a good competition, getting up after every fall or loss, and never giving up until the goal is reached. 
“If I can point the most important benefit of sports and arts, it would be patience. To become stronger, skillful and faster, there are no shortcuts. It’s not a screen that you can handle with a click. It’s personal developmental path that requires sweat, hard work, resilience, and determination. Therefore, all of these values are based on patience”.