Celebrity Watch Hunting is a series of columns that takes a snapshot of what kind of watches celebrities around the world are wearing. This time, we will be looking at the Audemars Piguet watch worn by Masato, one of the key figures in making K-1 popular in Japan.
Text by Yukaco Numamoto
Article published on June 2021, 10
His achievements go beyond the title of former fighter
Masato, a former fighter, has always believed in innovation and has steadily built his career as one of Japan's leading fighters. He started boxing at the age of 15, joined K-1 in 1996 at the age of 17, and became the first Japanese to become a world champion in 2003. He also won his second world championship in 2008 in the K-1 WORLD MAX series middleweight tournament, and even now at the age of 42, he continues to take on new challenges. Now that he's retired, he's popular for his off-duty looks, which he shares on video streaming and Instagram.
Masato, however, launched his official YouTube channel in March 2021. He generously shares footage of not only his martial arts training but also his luxury shopping sprees and drive dates with his wife, Yazawa Kokoro, making his videos feel even more familiar to fans. In particular, his plan to take on the Spartan Race, said to be the world's toughest obstacle race, held in Yokosuka on July 10th, was met with enthusiastic support not only from martial arts fans but also from runners. The videos cover everything from the stoic training that only a martial artist can undergo to his final adjustments.
Despite it being his first time competing, he set a goal of "Aiming for No. 1 among men in their 40s!" and ended up placing 56th out of 106 participants in the "ELITE Men" category, and 22nd out of 342 men aged 40-44 overall. Although he didn't reach his goal, he shared the process and results of his efforts, saying, "It wasn't the rank or result I wanted, but it made me want to do it again," and anyone who saw him would say he looked cool.
And when he was making his final preparations the day before the Spartan Race, he chose to wear a Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph from his extensive watch collection. It seems to be a watch that helps him to further enhance his strength.
Audemars Piguet "Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph"
Automatic (Cal. 3126/3840). 59 jewels. 21,600 vph. Power reserve approximately 50 hours. 18KPG (diameter 42mm). Water resistant to 100m. Discontinued.
The original Royal Oak was released in 1972. The Royal Oak Offshore, developed to celebrate its 20th anniversary (and actually released in 93), created an image of a tougher sports watch for a younger generation.
The Royal Oak Offshore made its debut at the Basel Fair, but there is a famous story that during the fair, Royal Oak designer Gerald Genta was so upset by the sight of the watch that he stormed into the booth.
