As an Asian growing up in a large, respected, cultured family, taking up a career in the fitness and bodybuilding industry has not been smooth sailing by any means. However, four years on, the decision to go against the academic norm and follow my passion, has turned out to be the best struggle I have ever faced! So where did it all begin?
As a child I was extremely shy, quiet and didn’t really socialise much. No matter how hard I tried, exams were never my forte and results were average at best in comparison to my extremely clever cousins! One subject I did seem to always excel in, however, was physical education. I took part in every sport my school had to offer, and competed in trampolining to a National level until the age of 19, which I was unable to continue due to university commitments. I just about managed to scrape through a year of Physiotherapy at Brunel University, and with my second year not having gone to plan, I realised that I could never see myself waking up excited to work as a Physiotherapist for the rest of my life! From then on, I took a gap year to gain some work experience, and had the honor of working as a volunteer during the 2012 London Olympic Games. This is where I felt my drive and ambition grow to new heights and set out to follow a career path I knew I held so much passion for. I ended up completing my degree in Sports Science – a course I absolutely loved and ended up excelling in – surprise surprise!
I am now doing things that once felt a distant dream. I own my own private personal training studio in London and I am a Reflex Nutrition sponsored athlete with two other ambassadorships. I have competed in multiple fitness and physique shows, and have been working as a personal trainer, online coach, sports massage therapist and fitness model ever since! I now wake up excited, happy and grateful to be doing what I do every single day! As I said before, following what may be considered as an abnormal passion to many Asians was a huge risk and a lonely one during the physique competing stages especially. However, I decided to stick to my guns and put the work in to make what I was doing a success, because I knew my intentions were sincere and how many people I could help by sharing my knowledge and passion in health and fitness!
If it wasn’t for things not going the way I originally planned, and trying to follow a career path for the sake of ‘fitting in’ to please others, I probably wouldn’t be in this position positively influencing family friends, and people all over the world through social media today… and it feels like it’s only the beginning!
My advice to anyone struggling with a decision to follow their passion, doing what they think will make others happy, or if things just aren’t going to plan… Never. Give. Up! As cliché as it sounds, I speak entirely from experience and truly believe that everything happens for a reason. If things are not going as you hoped, it just means that there is something better waiting around the corner for you to take advantage of. Don’t be afraid to take risks, stay true to yourself, and so long as you respect others – do what you truly believe in! If you love what you do, you’ll be more likely to put the work in to excel and make a success of it!
– Author: Gauri Chopra
Personal Trainer & Owner of The Fit Life Rooftop Training Studio
Website: www.gcthefitlife.com