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On the “By Chance” Philosophy

Among the evolving close circle of Mental Athletic team members, Aaron Brandon Robinson represents a different kind of runner within today’s sports landscape. For him, running has never been about performance, results, or data. It is about attitude, presence, and the way people move through a city and through life. In a culture often driven by metrics and comparison, his approach reflects a thoughtful, progressive idea of sport grounded in connection.

We met Aaron by chance early one morning in Yoyogi Park while running. What started as a simple encounter soon became part of something bigger: a community of people who meet not to chase performance, but to share time, attitude, and movement. In a city like Tokyo, where rhythm, discipline, and solitude often coexist, running becomes more than a sport. It becomes a way of connecting with others. It feels fitting, then, to begin from that idea of chance.

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Mental Athletic:

Aaron, how do you look back on our first encounter, and on the role that chance has played in your life and your journey to Tokyo?

Aaron Brandon Robinson:

It’s funny you first mentioned how we met—emphasis on “by chance.” It seems my life really could kind of be embodied by that very thing: “by chance.” I’m not sure when it first happened, but at some point along the way, I really started to embrace it. That “by chance” phenomenon is pretty much what brought me to Tokyo as well.After going back to school to get my certification in education, I met a history teacher who had once taught in Japan and married a Japanese woman. That Japanese woman is now my sister-in-law. He planted the seed at that time that Japan might be something worth looking into. Without thinking too much about it, I shelved the idea since I already had what I thought was a plan in place. Fast forward a few years, and I’m here—“by chance.”

Mental Athletic:

Moving to a new country always means learning a new rhythm—not only the rhythm of the city, but also the rhythm of everyday life, relationships, language, and culture. Coming from Arizona and from a very different cultural background, you arrived in a place that can be fascinating, intense, and sometimes difficult to access from the outside. I’d love to understand how you shaped your life in Japan, and what Tokyo has taught you along the way.

Aaron Brandon Robinson:

Japan—specifically Tokyo—has really been a game of trial and error for me. If I could rewind time, I would definitely switch things up a bit. But I guess that kind of goes against my whole “by chance” philosophy. Sometimes it’s easy to lose focus of what success really means—to you personally versus the outside world. If Tokyo has taught me one thing, it’s patience. If you stay true to yourself and support others the best you can, good things will happen.

Mental Athletic:

Before talking about running, it would be interesting to understand more about the person behind it: where you come from, what you have lived through, and what kinds of experiences have influenced your way of seeing the world. Can you tell us a little bit about your background?

Aaron Brandon Robinson:

I spent most of my adolescent years in Arizona, raised by my grandparents. That would have to be the number one influence on the way I see the world. Sometimes I’m accused of being a little old-fashioned—well, that’s why. I try not to overcomplicate things, and over the years I’ve grown to find the simpler things in life more enjoyable. It wasn’t always that way, of course. When you are younger and raised by older people, you sometimes find yourself envious of others raised by their younger biological parents. Looking back, though, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Mental Athletic:

Running can mean many different things depending on the person. For some, it is discipline. For others, it is escape, therapy, meditation, competition, or a way to feel part of something. I’m curious to know what running represents for you.

Aaron Brandon Robinson:

Running really does mean all of those things—it just depends on the day and the context. I really just try to listen to my body and go off feel, whether that’s the direction I choose to run in, the particular destination, or the pace. It really is “by chance.” Sometimes the destination just calls you. That happened to me today, actually. I had this urge early in the day to run west to a very serene park, so that’s what I did. I also enjoy the group runs on the weekends, but I’m completely okay with solo runs as well and just being alone in my own head. Competition, on the other hand, is a great way to measure progress, so I really value that too.

Mental Athletic:

Tokyo is a megacity with a very specific energy. It is dense, fast, organized, sometimes silent, sometimes overwhelming. At the same time, it has parks, rivers, hidden routes, and small communities that create their own rhythm within the city. From your point of view, how have you seen the running scene evolve here over the years?

Aaron Brandon Robinson:

To be honest, running and I have a very strange relationship, and I let it go for quite a while. I ran in high school and college, but distance running was never really my focus. It wasn’t until around 2020, when all the gyms closed, that I decided to give running another shot. I can’t even remember what my initial goals were at the time—maybe a half marathon or something. Back then, I was pretty much running around Tokyo solo. At some point, after my family and I relocated across town, my running routes changed a bit. That’s when I started noticing run clubs, so I reached out to a friend asking about some of the runners I had seen, and he put me in contact with them. Shortly after that, I ran into you—“by chance.” Since then, running has exploded, as we’ve all seen, particularly around the Shibuya area. Still, there are a lot of people running solo in my old neighborhood, so I still enjoy heading out there as well.

Mental Athletic:

Sometimes the most memorable moments in running are not the fastest ones, but the strangest, most unexpected, or most human ones. A wrong turn, a surreal route, a strange encounter, a race that didn’t go as planned. Is there one bizarre, unexpected, or unforgettable running experience that still stays with you?

Aaron Brandon Robinson:

Yeah, meeting you in Yoyogi that day really stands out. When you do the math, it’s like—what are the chances? Earlier you mentioned the rhythm of the city, the rhythm of relationships, and how Tokyo, being a megacity, can sometimes feel overwhelming. I would say that if you stay true to yourself, the city really does shrink in size. If you find something you genuinely enjoy doing—for me, it’s running—it will connect you with other people, and you’ll be surprised by just how small this big city really is.

Mental Athletic:

Mental Athletic was born around running, but it has always tried to speak about something wider: movement, attitude, friendship, curiosity, and the way people show up for each other. From your perspective, what do you find in Mental Athletic, and what kind of energy do you feel within the group?

Aaron Brandon Robinson:

Yeah, I can tell Mental Athletic was born out of something real—friendships and showing up for each other, like you mentioned. I find that energy very authentic, and I think many groups are aiming for that, but it’s not easy. Timing is key. I’ve been wanting to create something that merges all the art connections I’ve made over the years with all the athletic connections. That’s easier said than done. I think groups like Mental Athletic are exactly what’s needed to accomplish that. Running is just one of many ways we can bring people together, and I’m looking forward to exploring that further.

Mental Athletic:

Running often opens the door to dreams—places we want to reach, journeys we want to experience, people we want to share the road with. It can be a race, a destination, a project, or simply a moment that feels meaningful. If you could imagine one running-related experience you would love to live one day, what would it be?

Aaron Brandon Robinson:

Man, that’s a hard one. I guess it’s not so much about my running experience, but the running experience of future generations. Running is at an all-time high right now, but like all fads, it will eventually slow down—and I’m okay with that. I just want to make sure it remains easily accessible when that time comes, and that the creativity and energy we’ve seen fostered around it don’t disappear. But to bring it full circle, I wouldn’t mind running Boston with my brother-in-law, since he’s the reason I’m here in the first place. Oh—and he’s a runner too.