In Tokyo’s ever-changing fitness scene, a new generation of athletes is redefining what it means to move — faster, but more importantly, together. Among them is Ralph Kai Baffo, a hybrid athlete, model and co-founder of Brick by Tokyo, a Tokyo-based run club that stands out due to its sleek visuals on social media and a focus on goal-oriented community-building.

“The phrase ‘brick by brick’ is about building a little bit every day,” he says, “so that those steps add up to a larger goal.” This is what his group is hoping to accomplish, focusing more on the process than the final result. Each brick, in and of itself, is a beautiful thing.

A Lifetime of Fitness

For Baffo, movement has been a constant throughout his life. Born and raised in Tokyo to a Japanese mother and Ghanaian father, he describes his childhood through the lens of sport. At 4 years old, he stepped onto the tatami for judo, a discipline he would pursue for over a decade. He started baseball in elementary school, which remained part of his life through high school, before American football became his focus during university.

“I’ve always been doing some kind of sport,” he says. “Training comes to me as naturally as brushing my teeth.”

But his path shifted during his final university years when COVID-19 halted team activities and shut down his prospects of training overseas. After graduating, he began his career as a model, yet the sudden absence of competition, camaraderie and routine left him unsettled.

“When I stopped training competitively, I didn’t feel like myself,” he says.

During this time, he began running as a personal reset. Soon after, he encountered Hyrox, a competition series combining endurance running with functional strength challenges. Though founded less than 10 years ago, the competition is widely considered the world’s leading mass-participation “fitness race.” The format resonated immediately with his multisport background.

“I saw Hyrox and thought, This is what I want to do,” he says. “It felt like everything I’d done before, coming together.”

Transitioning from team sports to individual competition also reshaped his mindset. Where he once worried about letting teammates down, racing alone allowed him to redirect pressure inward. “Now I’m competing with myself and trying to break my own record,” he explains. “That feels really motivating to me.”

Building Community, Brick by Brick

But still, Baffo found himself craving the community that comes from being on a team. That impulse led to the creation of Brick by Tokyo in 2025. The concept is intentionally simple: open to runners of all levels and backgrounds, with an emphasis on connection and inspiration.

“Anyone can join,” he says. “We run, drink coffee and talk about our run times and training challenges — things we can relate to and share.”

The gatherings blend structured movement with social ritual, including warmups at the designated meeting point, group runs through Tokyo, then casual conversations over post-run coffee. For Baffo, the goal extends beyond building a club for seasoned runners; he wants to invite people in as well. “Our aim isn’t just to create a community,” he says. “It’s to create an opportunity for people to start something.”

Despite his role as co-founder, Baffo resists positioning himself as a traditional leader. Instead, he sees Brick by Tokyo as a horizontal network where members influence one another. “We all practice together, do things together and inspire each other,” he says. “That influence goes both ways.”

The Tokyo Marathon

Every year in early spring, Tokyo’s running community converges around a single momentous occasion: the Tokyo Marathon. For Baffo, the race symbolizes the pride he has in his city, and the culmination of his life’s work on one grand stage.

He ran it for the first time last year, and more than his result, what stayed with him was the experience of “seeing Tokyo from a completely new perspective.” Running past neighborhoods he’s called home from the middle of the street, without traffic and among the drumming footsteps of thousands of participants, shifted his perspective on the city itself.

“It was a really moving experience, and the Tokyo Marathon is very special to us,” he says.

This year, his mission was to extend that connection beyond the course. Through Brick by Tokyo, Baffo organized a post-race gathering, bringing together hundreds of runners, spectators and creatives with music and shared race stories.

Corey Nickols takes photos for Tokyo Weekender

An Open Invitation

Despite his competitive achievements, including ranking among Japan’s top Hyrox athletes, Baffo’s message to aspiring runners remains grounded and inclusive.

He acknowledges that the marathon’s 42.195 kilometers can appear daunting, but emphasizes the emotional payoff waiting at the finish line. “When you finish, you feel such an incredible level of joy and achievement,” he says. “I want every runner to experience that.”

His advice always returns to the importance of starting, no matter how small the first step. Whether going for a group run or signing up for a half-marathon, the specific milestone matters less than the act of beginning.

Looking ahead, Baffo’s ambitions remain both competitive and communal. He aims to represent Japan internationally in Hyrox, while continuing to expand Brick by Tokyo as a platform for motivation.

As a multiracial athlete moving through Tokyo’s modern fitness landscape, Baffo views running as a bridge between identities and aspirations — a shared language that cuts across nationality and difference. With every stride, that language expands, amplified by each runner who chooses to begin.

More Info

Follow Brick by Tokyo on Instagram.

Related Posts

Updated On March 27, 2026