We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Christine Yu. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Christine below.

Alright, Christine thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you have any thoughts about how to create a more inclusive workplace?

According to the Pew Research Center, 83% of journalists covering sports are men. As a woman, that makes me an anomaly in the field. As an Asian-American woman, I’m an even bigger outlier. But I don’t just feel out of place amongst other reporters. I tend to write about endurance sports, adventures sports, and the outdoors—all areas that skew predominantly male and predominantly white.

They say that if you can see it, you can be it. How journalists write about these sports—and the athletes and sources we include in our stories—contribute to the sport’s overall image and who the sport is perceived to be for. I believe that sports and the outdoors are for everyone and that’s why it’s critical that I include diverse sources whenever possible and to lift up stories of under-represented athletes and other members of the sport.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I wrote a memoir in high school. After reading it, my teacher urged me to keep writing. Of course, I didn’t. Instead, I planned to go to medical school but eventually found my way to the nonprofit sector where I worked for over 10 years. While I was developing innovative programs in workforce, economic and youth development, I realized something was missing. I missed writing and sharing stories.

I started writing a blog about learning to surf in my mid-30s and eventually morphed into essays about running, family, and life. That little blog introduced me to a whole new world of creative people and it made me realize that I could combine my love for writing into a career. Today, I’m an award-winning journalist. I write about sports, science, and health. There’s been a lot of luck and hard work to get me to where I am.

I especially love telling stories about the intersection of sports science and women athletes and I wrote a book about it. UP TO SPEED: The Groundbreaking Science of Women Athletes, will be published on May 16, 2023 by Riverhead Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House. It’s the culmination of over five years of research and reporting. I wrote this book to understand why we know so little about female physiology and sports performance, the implications of this gender data gap. My hope is that it sparks conversations about how we can build a better, more inclusive system of science and sport and make sports a better place for future generations.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

It sounds so simple—complete my assignment and file clean copy on time—but I believe it’s part of what’s helped me build my reputation as a trusted freelance journalist. It sounds too easy but the truth is that editors have deadlines to meet too and they need writers who they can depend on. I’ve heard from many editors how writers would ghost them or file stories that aren’t what they assigned.

I believe the key to building a good client relationship is for both parties to communicate their expectations so that we can then help make the other’s job easier. Since my editors know that they can rely on me, they offer me more assignments or turn to me when they have an urgent request.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

As humans, we’re driven by story. It’s how we process information. It’s how we make sense of the world and ourselves. It’s how we connect with each other. As a writer, not only do I get to share my own stories but I get to help others share theirs. From time to time, I’ll also receive emails or messages from readers saying that they felt seen when they read something I wrote or that it reflected their experience in a meaningful way. For me, that’s one of the more rewarding aspects of being a writer. It’s why I write.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.christinemyu.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cyu888/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christineyu1/
• Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/cyu888

Image Credits
Personal photo taken by Sylvie Rosokoff