Stray Kids' Bang Chan Reveals The Pressures Of Being A Trainee For 8 Years

Long before Stray Kids officially debuted in 2018 with “District 9” from I Am Not and starred in their self-titled survival show the year before in 2017, Bang Chan had been patiently waiting for his chance to debut.

He’d been waiting so long that he was known as one of the JYP Entertainment trainees who’d trained the longest. Since that can take a toll on someone, especially at a young age, he addressed the pressures that came along with it during their recent appearance on the Zach Sang Show.

When Zach Sang asked if there was any pressure concerning the process of becoming an idol and delivering music, Bang Chan explained that it depended on the person and focused on his time as a trainee. Thinking back, he remembered that it took him eight years of training, with Felix agreeing what a long time that had been.

In those eight long years, Bang Chan could still remember the pressures he was feeling at the time. The biggest worry he’d had was the idea of, “If I can make it or not.” He wasn’t alone in his feelings, Seungmin nodded along to the statement. Although that was his main worry, it wasn’t his only one.

On top of not knowing, Bang Chan wasn’t confident “if this is gonna go where I want it to go. I don’t know if I’m gonna debut or not.” Even though he was feeling pressure to succeed and worrying about not doing so, he tried to keep a positive mindset about the whole situation.

To keep his spirits up, Bang Chan said to himself, “But, I’m still here. There probably is a reason why I’m still here. I gotta keep trying.” He received the ultimate reward for his determination and positive thinking.

After pushing through and overcoming those pressures, Bang Chan became the leader of Stray Kids, not only achieving his dream but helping STAYs with his music.

Like their song “My Pace” says, everyone goes at their own pace. It may have taken Bang Chan eight years of overcoming pressure, but it ended up being beneficial in the end. He probably wouldn’t have met the members otherwise. Watch him talk about what he faced during his long trainee period here.