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By : Profectus Magazine / 30 Dec 2021 / Pride of the nation / Pride of India
Life gives everyone a second chance, but it's all about how you grind your way to the top. This story isn’t about someone born with a silver spoon, it's about life-changing second chances, breaking small-town stereotypes, and living the dream.
Meet Yatinder Singh, a silver medalist in the 7th World Body Building Championship, a writer, a YouTuber, a Gym Trainer as well as a Business entrepreneur. Born and brought up in a joint family of Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, Yatinder Singh has come a long way in the fitness industry with over 22 years of bodybuilding experience. Today he owns India’s number one fitness YouTube channel, but it all started when a little boy had an inferiority complex.
Back in 1997 when our world champion was a dark skinny school-going boy, he developed an inferiority complex about his height, physique, and complexion. Today the world promotes body positivity and is aware of body complexes but back in the 90s the societal mentality regarding skin complexion was worst. It was considered that a fair-skinned person is good, while dark or wheat-ish isn’t, due to which he faced an inferiority complex about how he looked. One day Yatinder asked his friend about his good physique, he replied that he used to go to the gym, confused Yatinder asked what is a gym? His friend introduced him to the gym, about the exercise regime and now we all know what it resulted in.
Even after 22 years in the gym, Yatinder believes that he didn’t choose bodybuilding, instead, bodybuilding chose him. The reason behind him joining the gym wasn’t being an athlete or be a bodybuilder, the primary motive behind it was to overcome his inferiority complex. Back then he didn’t even know what was bodybuilding as a sport. When he went to the gym the first time and worked out, he felt good yet didn’t quite understand the feeling. This kept him excited about the gym as the next day after tuition hours, he has to go do the weights. The motivation being overcoming his inferiority complex kept him going.
But the complex turned into love! Over time, Yatinder fell in love with the plates, weight, and iron, and within a year his physique developed double in terms of strength and structure in comparison to his friend who introduced him to gym. Later his gym coach suggested he participate in a contest, and he won his first competition. Yatinder says it was like the first love to him, he remembers the time where he used to talk to himself worrying about the future, his first love helped him through it. He was an introvert kinda guy, he used to spend most of his time within himself but while at the gym he could hear his thoughts and process them. It made him happy and it was pretty clear what career would make him happy.
At a very early age he understood that if he wanted to pursue bodybuilding as a career, he’ll be needing lots of money be it for gym fees and diet. Moreover, if you come from a joint family, where your other cousins are wannabe doctors and engineers, while you are lifting weights at the gym, family interprets that you’re doing something wrong. To make your family believe in the late 90s that there’s nothing wrong with bodybuilding and can be a sensible career option was next to impossible. Rather than convincing the 22 family members how the gym was the ideal for him to find himself, he left his house for his dreams.
Yatinder says after leaving your hometown when you seek shelter in a new city, it doesn’t always welcome you with open arms. Every new city tests you first based on how hardworking, compassionate, and dedicated you are towards your dreams. He had an only dream that when he returns home, he has established what he dreamt of. To sustain while working on his dreams Yatinder joined a gym as a trainer in Meerut. He believes that those who are the fittest can survive anything. As people saw the honest hard-working spirit in him, they helped him in everything. For one to be successful a struggling survival story is important, it reminds you of how you overcame your difficulties and where you are going next.
Yatinder Singh is a living inspiration to anyone who believes in second chances. While preparing for Asia Championship back in 2005, he suffered from a spine injury because of which he had to go through surgery where the doctors had to diffuse his 5 spinal discs. Being on the bed for 18 months, he didn’t let his dream die of being a world champion. Back then the biggest hurdle was that one couldn’t choose bodybuilding as a full-time career option as there wasn’t much money in it to support your family but for Yatinder giving up wasn’t an option even after being bedridden for 18 months. However, he made a comeback in 2009, many of the major titles he won were after the injury.
Yatinder believes that there are many things important in your life, but if your life story inspires someone then that is a life goal. He is thankful to anyone who takes him as an inspiration. He says that athletes are prone to more physical injuries as one exerts more pressure than the physic can handle. Some of the injuries are normal but some may be life-threatening. He believes that one can even overcome life-threatening injuries if one is mentally strong, willpower is everything. Someone once told him, ‘If you are physically handicapped it's ok, but if you are mentally then you won't be able to anything in life,’ which is a life mantra to him.
When I talk about things Yatinder does in daily life, I suddenly remember Tony Stark saying he’s a Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist. While our champion only loves two things: Gym and Family. We asked him how he manages time for family after owning so many businesses along with an extensive workout. He smirked, that fitness is his first love, his family always complaints that he doesn’t spend much time with them but he can't leave his first love ever. Despite all this, he spends his time with his kids and wife.
Time management is quite important, Yatinder says that we all have the same 24 hours in a day, while he sees some people doing more than he does at the same time so why can't he do the same? Due to a properly managed timetable he today owns India’s top fitness YouTube channel along with gyms and other companies which have a major role in fitness brand endorsements and much more. He and his hardworking team works round the clock in making India more fit. He doesn’t just do this as an athlete but he loves ‘Yatinder Singh’ and he wants to get better every second as an entrepreneur, fitness coach, and as inspiration where he makes his country proud at every level.
In his 22 years of the fitness journey, Yatinder has bagged many medals for India. Some of which are:
Summing up a journey means nearing the end and it is the biggest fear of any athlete or anyone in general. Talking about his 22-year-old journey Yatinder feels like he started yesterday as his work is so satisfying for him. He just loves to hear stories of those he helped transform. He’s always looking for more work, sometimes even working for 18 hours (we should learn from him). His team is always astonished seeing him work for hours so passionately and filled with energy.
When you love doing something, it never exhausts you. Yatinder Singh’s journey tells us that if you do what you love passionately, it bears good results. He loves fitness and he’s glad to be where he is today. Secondly, when you see your parent's eyes filled with pride that their child is doing so well in their life, that’s a milestone for every child. Thirdly, when young people look up to Yatinder as an inspiration to get fit or choose fitness as a career it just gives them utter satisfaction. He says that all of the struggles come to worth as people often say that if Yatinder bhaiya can do it while coming from a small town without any higher education then why can't they do it? If asked to sum up his 22 years of journey, he’s quite happy with it.
Nothing compares to the feel of representing India at the international level. Singh says the proudest moment of his life was when he represented India on an international level. Imagine ‘Jana Gana Mana’ playing in a country where no one even speaks Hindi and you are on the podium receiving the medal, it's a moment that can't be expressed in words. A soldier comes home he’s honored by the tricolor but an athlete feels it being alive.
In the near future, Yatinder wants to spread awareness about fitness as a lifestyle, as it changes your life. Fitness boosts your confidence, builds up patience as well as increases your willpower, and keeps you focused. He wants to make everyone understand that love yourself first and indulge in fitness so that your life has some discipline. Once you have discipline in life you can achieve all your goals. And secondly, focus on your diet as you think about what you eat. Along with it, a properly well-balanced diet is a must.
Talking about the Indian sports world, he says that the first and most important change any athlete seeks in the Indian sports world is that every sport should be given importance as compared to Cricket. Amid the ongoing pandemic, IPL was conducted, even if one keeps that aside from that Indian media doesn’t focus on any sport other than cricket. The hype of cricket in India is so much that people have forgotten about any other sport. Yatinder says everyone wants to be Virat Kohli but no one wants to be Dara Singh, this should change.
The past year has been all about surviving, all the businesses are suffering along with the fitness industry. Just before the pandemic, Yatinder started his gym chain which suffered pretty bad and still is in the surviving mode. He believes that we as a country together will pretty soon recover from this pandemic. He expresses his gratitude towards all the doctors, nurses, and front-line workers for giving their best and is also helping out Hemkunt foundation for COVID relief.
This pandemic isn’t just affecting our economy and physical immunity but also mental health. You don't need to follow a rigorous exercise regime but keep doing whatever you like it can be yoga, exercise, or even dancing.
Tags
Yatinder Singh, Body Builder, World Champion , Entrepreneur , Youtuber, India, Motivational, Home
