More Than a Partner: The Spartan Race Legacy we built together with Quek

In our history, we have been fortunate to build alliances with many of the world's leading brands, but few have been as profound or as personal as the one we shared with the late Quek Gim Soon, the beloved leader of Spartan Race in Malaysia. It was him who enabled us to forge this partnership that has spanned nearly a decade, an alliance defined by shared victories, forged in mud, and proven on finish lines across the globe. He was more than a client; he was a cherished mentor and a dear friend. To truly understand the remarkable legacy he built, we recently sat down with Ethan Tan, a former marketing colleague who worked closely with him. In his memories, we see the story of a powerful vision and a partnership built on a foundation of unshakeable trust.

Lessons from a Legend

Tentspace: Ethan, thank you for sharing your memories. We all knew Quek as a force of nature. Can you take us back to the beginning? What was the world like for him and the team before our partnership?

Ethan Tan: (A warm, sad smile) "Quek had this fatherly way of explaining things. He always said his job back then was like ‘juggling chainsaws.’ I remember him saying, ‘Ethan, picture it. Five races, three continents. A container is stuck in the Alps. A batch of flags in Dubai is the wrong red.’ He made it sound funny, but you could see the immense strain. It was a state of constant, exhausting friction. We were winning on the course, but the battle for brand consistency was taking a heavy toll."

Tentspace: In the face of all that chaos, what was the turning point? What made him decide to place his trust in a single partner?

Ethan Tan: "It was the mud test. I'll never forget it. We had an incredibly demanding requirement for fabric durability. Most suppliers gave a generic ‘no problem.’ Tentspace did something else. You sent us a sample of a custom printed tent canopy that had been subjected to a simulated mud-soak and high-pressure wash, complete with a lab report. Quek gathered us, put that sample on the table, and said something that changed everything: ‘This company is not trying to sell us a tent. They are helping us solve our mud problem.’ He saw a partner, not a supplier. That was the beginning of it all."

Tentspace: How did that trust change the team’s day-to-day reality?

Ethan Tan: "It changed the very nature of our jobs. Quek often said that your partnership transformed our entire team from ‘firefighters’ into ‘architects.’ For the first time, we were liberated from the daily chaos. With a single, reliable source for everything from the race start/finish Line to the smallest branded detail, we could finally focus our energy on what truly mattered: realizing Quek’s vision for creating the most challenging races on the planet."

Tentspace: So what was his unique philosophy on partnership?

Ethan Tan: "He saw partnership as a two-way street. He would call your team not with an order, but with a crazy idea. He pushed you, he challenged you, but he always trusted you. He made you feel like you were part of the Spartan family, not just a vendor. That was his magic."

Tentspace: A decade on, how does his legacy live on?

Ethan Tan: "Look at any Spartan Race in Asia today. That seamless, professional, 'we've got this' feeling? That's his legacy. The fact that our team can now focus on creating life-changing experiences, instead of worrying about a tent collapsing? That's his legacy. He built a system, a standard of excellence. And we live it every day."

 

A Legacy Without a Finish Line

Ethan’s memories paint the picture we knew so well: a leader of immense warmth and unwavering standards. The efficient, one-stop operational system he pioneered with us remains one of his most powerful legacies, a system still serving tens of thousands of racers globally. His passing has left an irreplaceable void; in him, we lost not just a visionary partner, but a friend. But his true legacy transcends logistics. It is the spirit of relentless commitment that is carried forward by every Spartan racer who pushes past their limits. The greatest tribute we can pay is to honor the standard of excellence he set. We will continue to innovate and support the global Spartan community, as a testament to the unforgettable journey we shared.