Plume’s head mixologist, Akmal Haqim, trains five days a week, no matter how late his shift ends

After late-night shifts, Akmal Haqim used to fall into the same routine: an indulgent supper, then hours of doom-scrolling before bed. The 30-year-old would glance at Instagram posts, comparing himself to strangers online in a way that fed his insecurities. 

That habit — not the physical toll of bartending — was what forced him to start his fitness journey. The harder part wasn’t hitting the gym; it was navigating his fitness aspirations while working in the drinks industry.

Drinking is currency in this trade, and stepping back from it meant justifying himself to his peers more than once. He simply refused to let the demands of the job dictate his physical and emotional bandwidth.

While it is tempting to attribute his fitness journey to a simple desire to shed kilos or escape the trappings of excessive screen time, the reality is more structural: Akmal’s true impetus was a need for absolute control to attain a healthier lifestyle.

So he rebuilt his whole day around that control, beyond his diet. Training now happens before every shift rather than after, as a non-negotiable ritual that keeps him focused and sharp at the start of his shift. 

“If I work five days a week, I train five days a week,” he says. Adding to the mix are regular football sessions and two 5km runs a week. He also completed a half marathon at the Garmin Run last October. He also tracks macronutrient intake at every meal, protects his sleep, and has cut the doom-scrolling after shifts; off days are reserved for family, not backfilled with extra training. 

At first, change wasn’t reflected in the mirror, but in how he felt. “I had more energy, a steadier mood, and more capacity to absorb a busy service without it wearing me down.” The physical results came later. The bigger shift, he says, was a more energised presence he brought to work. “I became more decisive, and more assured in my own judgement.”

He now weighs 73kg (down from 98kg) and boasts a body fat percentage of 17.7 (down from 37.9). This was the result of regular workouts, including weightlifting and strict dieting, over the 1 ½ years. 

During Diageo World Class Singapore 2026, Akmal balanced physical training with the pressure-cooker preparation for the globally recognised cocktail competition, and that nearly broke his resolve. “That period pushed me the hardest with research and development, rehearsals, relationships, and gym training all competing for the same hours, with no guaranteed payoff,” he recalls. What kept him showing up was a mantra that’s stuck with him: patience is a virtue.

That patience was tested again at the Diageo World Class Singapore finals when he missed the cut for the Global Finals in Scotland. But instead of wallowing in self-defeat, he channelled that disappointment into motivation by comparing notes with fellow competitors to figure out where he could sharpen up for the next competition.

Competition or not, there’s always the next service to sharpen for. Right now, that means The Great Migration, Plume’s new menu of 15 cocktails and three non-alcoholic pours built around the flight patterns of migratory birds — apt for a bartender who’s spent the year charting his own route back to form. 

The fierce accountability that gets him into the gym five mornings a week, he says, drives his bartending career. The gym stopped being about how he looks. These days it’s simpler than that: it’s the one thing he controls completely, so that everything he pours is the best he’s got to give.