“Whenever I used to stand on the weigh-in machine, all the students would convene around me to see how much I weigh this time. ‘Ab toh tu 110 kilo ka hogaya hai!’! And it just used to take that one kid among the flock to mock me and the others used to join the race automatically.”
When Satvik was in class 11th, he weighed around 110 - 112 kgs. He faced a lot of insecurities and had to deal with body image issues. And this insecurity of his was not natural but as he used to be the centre of bullying among his class mates, just like the ritual of any other Indian school. He always used to take a leave on the days of his school medical health check-up purposely just to avoid even a single day of added embarrassment. Nevertheless, Satvik always managed to see the light at the end of the dark tunnel, and used to channelize his optimism. He was amongst the scholars and was a topper in class 10th.
He was forced by the people around him to work on his weight and join the gym, but he never took it seriously. Though he had a habit of balancing both the positive and negative aspects of life. One day a person with whom he was in contact with for quite a long time said something. Though her intentions were never to hurt him but whatever happened was in the spur of moment. Yet, her words affected Satvik deeply. “I have a long line of good-looking guys”, she had stated. Though she was the one who supported Satvik always like a good friend and motivated him towards many thing, they parted away due to personal reasons. And it wasn’t only her but an entire expanse of people sharing the same mindset who never failed to judge a person on their appearance or outer appeal. Satvik shared a moment when he was at a party with his elder brother and caught a person saying that he looks older than his brother, “Tu pure Ghar ka khana kha jata hai kya?”.
These moments made him feel inferior and Satvik thought that he has no respect among the people of his world he lives in. All he wanted was to receive a gesture from someone who treated him with certain degree of politeness and showed some respect. But he very well new that respect is one asset which cannot be bought or thought of and can only be achieved by working for it. He made his goal not to lose weight, BUT TO GAIN RESPECT. Respect is still the ultimate treasure that keeps Satvik going even though today he is a person living the best of fit lifestyle and inspiring many others as well.
“I always wanted to be an actor, but never was supported for the same.”
In that industry, no one wants a fat, ugly guy to play the role of the protagonist of the film. There are certain requirements which include the aspects of fitness and grooming, other than the capability of rendering justice to the role by the art of acting. This was another imperative factor which gave him the push start to work on himself.
All this time he was pushed into the gym, but now he took it seriously. Initially, he craved for sudden changes and when he didn't see them, he resorted to shortcuts. Today he says that searching for shortcuts and adapting to it was his biggest mistake. He used to run on a treadmill for hours and followed an aggressive diet. Even though he lost 10-12 kgs of weight, Satvik ended up disrupting the balance of his hormones and degenerating his metabolism.
Even after shedding a considerable amount of weight, the journey still wasn’t that easy. At the end of his 12th boards, he was back to square one, with regaining on his lost weight due to his focus directed only towards studies by sitting on a chair. He was around 102kgs when he arrived to Pune to join his college.
Satvik states that his main part of the journey started while he was in 1st year of college. He started educating himself about fitness. He read articles and followed fitness influencers on social sites. During that period, Guru Mann was trending on YouTube which made Satvik follow him and his bits of advice. He was getting inspired by hundreds of people working so hard every day to transform themselves. After all he wanted his dream to come true, to be an actor was his ardent desire. After a while when he understood how he has to tailor himself, he started making a plan for himself. At the end of the day, he knew he had to make things work.
“I read it somewhere that dreams are not which we see while asleep. Dreams are those which do not let you sleep”
“Being an introvert, a person who does not have a good appeal and isn’t involved in any other co-curricular activities but just was studious.” People never noticed Satvik for the person he was. Today he is working on a page on Instagram known as ‘Satwikpedia’ with a following of 7k above. He has made few short films and is working currently in a few of them.
He always had a plan but it was never fixed. He evolved himself in to a new person, with time. He is running a page on Instagram wherein he trains people into fitness and diet and aims to help all those people out there who can do it but just need a push to start it over, as he knows how it feels to not being able to fit in.
The profit he earns, he invests it in conducting workshops, for training himself or to pay for his tuition fees. He says, “Investing in self is a habit. You are the only investment you have when you aim to be an actor.”
If there are ups in his journey, there were and are downs too. He still doesn’t feel delighted by what all he has achieved till now, but content and knows that still there’s a long way to go. Yes, he has indeed made his mark somewhere above the normal people. He gets motivated when he receives messages of appreciation from his clients. He has changed many lives by transforming the people in to their best versions.
Among the downs, there was demotivation too. There was a handful of barriers in personal life. And also, a period when Satvik was fighting against depression for 7-8 months. Yet, sooner or later that 21 years old self- made man found his way out of the darkness.
Satvik never had the privilege of being served anything on a silver plate. He did it all by himself. He earned what some of us get easily. But the true worth of receiving things lies with the one who earns it. He says though he was never supported for the dream of being an actor, his family supported his journey of adapting to a healthier lifestyle, and he has no complaints but gratitude for them. He mentioned that he never called his parents for extra money while he was in Delhi. He did all the struggle by himself towards the aspect of being an actor. Because he knew he won’t receive any support from his family when it came to achieving his dream of becoming an actor.
Satvik visualises that after 5-6 year when he will be on the verge of achieving his dreams, everything will be worth it. He says he will cherish the struggle and the pain which made him resistant to all the barricades of his life. It is a source of motivation for him.
“Pressure takes out the best of me”
Today, Satvik lives a simple quarantine life. He starts his day by walking barefoot in his garden under the warmth of sun (he loves the process of earthing), cooks all his meals by himself, works out the plans for his clients. He ends his day by adding workout routines to keep himself fit and healthy.
The power to live, fight, battle, survive and conquer lies withing and no one can let that down. You just need to trust yourself and the process. Do a prior rough draft research to back up your own plan. And most importantly- “Love, Live, Smile & Never Lose HOPE!”
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- Team Satyavachan