Eric Nam, the K-Pop star behind hits like “Ooh Ooh” and “Can’t Help Myself,” understands the ways in which the mind and body are connected.
“Every time I have a big spiral or panic attack, it’s because my body is exhausted,” he says. A few weeks into a world tour to promote his latest album House on a Hill, Nam is feeling that connection more than ever—especially since he’s also an entrepreneur on top of being a pop star. He counts a podcast and media company, DIVE Studios, and a mental health app, Mindset, in his business portfolio.
Nam developed the self-care app he co-founded which features celebrities like Summer Walker, Tori Kelly, and members of Seventeen talking about mental heath, is especially dear to Nam. “It’s always weird for me to be like, ‘I’m a mental health advocate,’” he says. “it was more of a gradual, very organic thing more than it was like ‘We need to be advocates.’”
At 34, the eternally boyish Eric Nam has already lived a few lives. An Atlanta native who was supposed to become a business analyst at Deloitte, he left finance to enter a talent competition in South Korea and become a star. Nam now deftly toggles between the worlds of entertainment and business. GQ recently caught up with Nam to discuss life on the road, working out with Jeremy Lin’s trainer and the best cheat meal in Nashville.
GQ: You’re in the middle of a tour, doing multiple shows a week. How’s it going so far? How is it feeling in your body?
Eric Nam: I’m adjusting, I’ll say that. In my body, it feels a little crazy. To be frank, I have had a sinus infection since the tour started. It’s been a cocktail of antibiotics and all these crazy things that I’m trying to fight it with. And so it wasn’t the most ideal start, but I think I’m finally getting over it. So I’m very excited to start to feel better.
Otherwise, it feels good to be on stage. I think there’s a part of me that can’t deny that getting up and dancing for a hundred minutes in heels can be tough. But it’s always an adjustment to get back into it. We’re at the top [of the tour] and I’m feeling good.
Sorry to hear that you’re battling all of that. I’m sure it affects your singing too.
I think for me, singing and performing is not just a physical thing. It’s so much about energy. It has to be coming from a good place emotionally and energetically. And so being sick has just been the hardest thing. To kind of get ready to go on stage and really kill it? I think for me anxiety comes from being like, ‘Okay, I don’t feel great. I wonder if I can perform at least 90%? If I can’t give a hundred, can we do 90?’ That’s always where I’m trying to push myself.
There is one aspect of being on tour that I feel like is so much a part of your off-tour life anyway—you’re always flying all over the place, from Korea to America and back. I know that in the past, you’ve said that you spend more time on an airplane than anywhere else. How do you take care of yourself with all that travel?
It’s so mundane and boring, but it’s really about sleep and drinking as much water and vitamins as possible. I’ve been traveling non-stop since pretty much April or May of this year. I’ve spent probably a maximum of a week in LA for rehearsals. That’s the longest time I’ve spent in a single place I think—which is insane. Staying hydrated, taking my vitamins, trying to eat right and then sleeping whenever I can—that’s the biggest thing. It’s like, if you’re tired, go to bed. Be okay with missing out on certain things. Get rid of FOMO.
