Tonga's oiled-up Olympic flag bearer is once again showing us how to be our best selves.

Yes, he's hot — but it's his spirit that's lit.

 Eric Pfeiffer
02.10.18

Tonga's oiled-up, shirtless flag bearer once again captured the world's adoring gaze during the Olympics opening ceremonies — this time, in frigid winter weather.

"I won't freeze. I am from Tonga. We sailed across the Pacific. This is nothing," Pita Taufatofua told the Olympics' news service. "It's a little bit warmer being in Rio than in here ... but anytime you get to represent your country is a good time."

Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images.

Taufatofua, 34, became a viral sensation during the 2016 Summer Olympics, and he's doing it all over again. This time, audiences are in awe of his commitment to bearing the 32-degree weather in Pyeongchang — without the benefit of a shirt or pants.

Fans from all over the world took to Twitter to root for Taufatofua and the country he represents.

Taufatofua is, in fact, the ONLY representative for Tonga — and he had to learn a completely new sport just to compete.

Since Tonga is an island country, its Winter Olympic representation has been understandably sparse. But Taufatofua, who competed in taekwondo during the Rio Olympics, had his heart set on competing in 2018. To qualify for the Pyeongchang Games, he learned cross-country skiing in just a year, all while living in a nation where it actually doesn't snow. He said he'd never even seen snow until two years ago.

"It's the hardest thing I've ever done," he said about the sport.

But, inspiringly, all his training paid off — Taufatofua has become just the second athlete from Tonga to ever qualify for the Winter Olympics.

While U.S. athletes debate who should have carried their country's flag, Taufatofua is just happy to be here.

Tonga's inspiring story contrasts with a controversy surrounding the U.S. flag bearer. Gold-winning speed skater Shani Davis skipped the ceremony after saying he was unfairly passed over in favor of luge competitor Erin Hamlin during a tie-breaking coin toss.

Meanwhile, Taufatofua is continuing to promote the message of life-changing inspiration that has made him more than just a pretty face to millions of fans around the globe.

The Olympics are about global unity. And nothing fosters harmony like an inspiring story of overcoming adversity ... and perfectly shined pecs.  

In the rush to collect gold medals, it's easy to forget the games were created to foster peace and unity amongst the world's nations. Even as we marvel at his impressive physique, it's good to be reminded of Taufatofua's bigger message: "It's just an honour. I mean, how many countries in the Pacific get to go to a Winter Games?"

olympics 2018 olympics winter olympics tonga flag bearer pyeongchang olympics pita taufatofua
More

Husband plants thousands of flowers for his blind wife to smell.

Youtube

Flowers are a great way to express your feelings for someone. Red roses say, "I love you," but a whole garden of pink flowers screams it. One husband took the romantic gesture of getting your wife flowers to the next level.

Mr. and Mrs. Kuroki got married in 1956, and Mrs. Kuroki joined her husband on his dairy farm in Shintomi, Japan, The Telegraph reports. The couple lived a full life and had two kids. After 30 years of marriage, the couple planned on retiring and traveling around Japan, but those plans were soon dashed.

When she was 52, Mrs. Kuroki lost her vision due to complications from diabetes. Her blindness hit her hard, and she began staying inside all day. Mr. Kuroki knew his wife was depressed and wanted to do something to cheer her up.

Mr. Kuroki noticed some people stopping to admire his small garden of pink shibazakura flowers (also known as moss phlox) and got an idea. He couldn't take his wife to see the world, so he had to make the world come to his wife.

Keep Reading Show less
love story flowers japan husband and wife
Family

Men share times when they've stood up to misogynistic behavior.

Men are sharing examples of how they step up and step in when they see problematic behaviors in their peers, and people are here for it.

Twitter user "feminist next door" posed an inquiry to her followers, asking "good guys" to share times they saw misogyny or predatory behavior and did something about it. "What did you say," she asked. "What are your suggestions for the other other men in this situation?" She added a perfectly fitting hashtag: #NotCoolMan.

Not only did the good guys show up for the thread, but their stories show how men can interrupt situations when they see women being mistreated and help put a stop to it.

Keep Reading Show less
lop
Culture

Using the 'dictionary definition of racism' defense is a sure sign you don't understand racism.

Whenever someone's words or behavior are called out as racist, a few predictable responses always follow. One is to see the word "racist" as a vicious personal attack. Two is to vehemently deny that whatever was said or done was racist. And three is to pull out the dictionary definition of racism to prove that the words or behavior weren't racist.

Honestly, as soon as someone refers to the dictionary when discussing racism, it's clear that person has never delved deeply into trying to understand racism. It's a big old red flag, every time.

I'm not an expert on race relations, but I've spent many years learning from people who are. And I've learned that the reality of racism is nuanced and complex, and resorting to a short dictionary definition completely ignores that fact. The dictionary can't include all of the ways racism manifests in individuals and society, and the limitations of dictionary definitions make it a poor tool for discussing the topic.

Since "racism" is such a loaded term for many people, let's look at such limitations through a different complex word. Let's take "anxiety." According to Merriam-Webster, "anxiety" is defined as "apprehensive uneasiness or nervousness, usually over an impending or anticipated ill."

Keep Reading Show less
Democracy

Someone named ‘Jeffrey’ or ‘Michael’ is more likely to be a CEO than a woman.

Photo by Hunters Race on Unsplash

If you're a woman and you want to be a CEO, you should probably think about changing your name to "Jeffrey" or "Michael." Or possibly even "Michael Jeffreys" or "Jeffrey Michaels."

According to Fortune, last year, more men named Jeffrey and Michael became CEOs of America's top companies than women. A whopping total of one woman became a CEO, while two men named Jeffrey took the title, and two men named Michael moved into the C-suite as well.

The "New CEO Report" for 2018, which looks at new CEOS for the 250 largest S&P 500 companies, found that 23 people were appointed to the position of CEO. Only one of those 23 people was a woman. Michelle Gass, the new CEO of Kohl's, was the lone female on the list.

Keep Reading Show less
popular