If we mention Coach Justin's name, what is the first image that forms in your mind? For most people, he is a loud-voiced figure on screen, a football commentator who never hesitates to deliver sharp criticism, and an analytical personality who often sparks heated debates on social media. In the public eye, he represents uncompromising assertiveness.
However, humans always hold unseen layers beneath the surface. Behind the tough and explosive persona he often displays, lies a book of life rich with meaning. As he sat across from dr. Tirta in a podcast titled Tirta PengPengPeng, the commentator's mask was momentarily shed. The conversation that unfolded was no longer just about tactics on the green field, but shifted to a deep discussion about reality, the clashes of fate, and a philosophy of survival he rarely shows to the world.
This article is not about football. This article is a long reflection on how a person faces storms in their life, and how we—including readers at Kartunet—can glean wisdom from this far-from-smooth journey.
The Courage to Step into Uncertainty
This story began with a crazy decision in 1999. For many, living in a developed country like the Netherlands offers invaluable stability. Everything is orderly, systems run smoothly, and old age is secure. However, the human spirit sometimes cannot be imprisoned by order. Amidst Indonesia's struggles to recover from a severe crisis at the time, Coach Justin chose to return home.
He didn't return with the guarantee of a brilliant career. He flew across continents with only two suitcases and a thousand dollars in pocket money. He made a pact with himself that sounded like a life-or-death gamble: if he didn't find a job in his homeland within two months, he was finished.
Those times were far from luxurious. He lived in a cramped 3x3 meter boarding room in the Pengadegan Selatan area. Every night, before lying down, he had to cool himself first because there was no fan to accompany his sleep. But that's where the art lay. He was well aware that it was a phase of struggle, a crucible that had to be endured. His courage to embrace hardship in search of opportunity amidst chaos is proof that growth often hides behind the very uncertainties we try to avoid.
Crushed by 4 Billion in Debt and the Art of Embracing Responsibility
Life is like a wheel that turns, indifferent to who it crushes. In 2016, the big storm arrived. Business failure dragged him into a very deep abyss of debt, reaching 4 billion rupiah. For most people, such a large sum would be enough to kill sanity, trigger despair, or even become a reason to escape reality.
However, Coach Justin's way of facing this crisis was truly unexpected. While many chose to avoid the pursuit of debt collectors, he confronted them with a puffed-out chest, not with arrogance, but with empathy and responsibility. He understood a simple reality: these debt collectors are also people trying to make a living; they need commissions to survive.
Instead of clashing, he invited them to dialogue. He provided certainty about when he could make installment payments. The relationship, usually fraught with terror, slowly transformed into a human one. For six to seven years, he slowly untangled the mess. He was once at rock bottom, eating only twice a day with fifty thousand rupiah. Yet, he never ran. He embraced his problems until finally, the entire colossal debt was paid off without a trace. A costly lesson that running from problems will never be a solution, and responsibility is the most potent antidote.
The Irony of Luxury, Ego, and the Billionaire's Frugal Living
Now, that wheel has carried him to the top. Through a highly successful YouTube channel with thousands of paid members, and various collaboration offers with major brands, financial stability is no longer an issue for him. Logically, he could easily buy a luxury car worth billions or employ many household assistants to serve him.
However, his reality is quite different. He strongly rejects the idea of buying a two-billion-rupiah luxury car just for prestige. For him, a luxury vehicle is nothing more than a pile of metal whose value will continuously depreciate over time. He chooses to save his money, convert it into foreign currency, or invest in things with longer durability.
Even for daily matters, he doesn't hesitate to shed his social status. Returning from an exhausting broadcast, he doesn't shy away from washing and soaking his own jersey to wear again the next day. He disregards ego and people's perceptions of the "image" of a successful public figure. Why? Because he possesses a keen biological awareness: as one ages, the body and muscles must constantly be forced to move to prevent weakening. Entrusting all tasks to assistants would only make his body pampered and ultimately fragile.
However, he is not stingy with himself. The money he saves from his daily lifestyle, he allocates to something invaluable: time and experience. When traveling abroad, he is willing to pay a premium to fly business class and stay in five-star hotels in city centers like Central Park, New York. His reason is very rational: staying in the city center saves him travel time. For him, time and inner comfort are true luxuries, not expensive branded items worn merely for validation from others' eyes.
Becoming a Beacon for a Lost Generation
There's an interesting phenomenon revealed in the conversation. Coach Justin's YouTube channel has a paid membership feature costing thirty thousand rupiah, consistently maintained by thousands of people from various parts of the world. The question is: what makes Gen Z and millennials willing to set aside their money every month?
The answer, it turns out, is not just football tactical reviews. Beyond the hustle and bustle of sports, Coach Justin regularly presents content titled Just Life—sessions where he speaks honestly about the bitter-sweetness of life. There's a heart-wrenching irony when it's revealed that many of his followers ask him never to stop creating such life content. They find a father figure in Coach Justin. Amidst the clamor of the modern world, many young souls grow physically but are emotionally orphaned. They have fathers but lack attachment. Through the screen, Coach Justin's tough yet honest advice fills those empty spaces, becoming a beacon for those searching for direction.
Refusing to Bow to the Concept of Retirement
When dr. Tirta expressed his dream of retiring, running marathons, and living peacefully abroad, Coach Justin presented a paradigm that overturns conventional logic. For him, retirement is a trapping concept. He argued, if someone retires abroad and spends their days tending a farm and waking up early every day, isn't that also a job?
He chooses to continue working and creating as long as his body is able, and he chooses to do so in Indonesia. He reflects on great figures like Sofjan Wanandi, who at 84 years old is still actively tending an orchid garden to keep his brain sharp and avoid dementia. For Coach Justin, work is no longer about accumulating wealth, but a way to nurture the flame of life, keep the mind sharp, and maintain existence as a useful human being.
An Epilogue: According to Ability, Not Desire
Ultimately, this entire winding journey culminates in one simple yet profoundly deep mantra: "Life is according to ability, not desire".
We often get trapped in the illusion that life is a series of definite formulas. As if at 20 we must be graduates, at 30 we must be settled and married, and so on. In reality, life is an infinitely unfolding stage of mystery. Coach Justin reminds us that there's nothing wrong with trying and then failing. Failure is not the end of everything, but rather a part of life's long prose that we must accept.
If we can make peace with the reality that bad things can (and will) happen in our lives, then we hold the key to true peace. Walk tall, face suffering if it comes, and find your own happiness in simplicity, without needing to loudly seek validation from the world.