Hi,
My name is Karan Dharamsi and I’m a Fitness Entrepreneur/Writer, Personal Trainer and a Nutrition Coach. I help people transform their body and in the process transform their life and I absolutely love what I do.
My Story – Who Cares?
I believe – there is a back-story to everything that drives people to do what they do. Some love what they do, some hate what they do and then there are some like me who are obsessed with what they do. Yes, I’m obsessed with Fitness, improving people’s lives and helping them achieve their weight loss, muscle building or in general any other fitness goals!
Here’s My Back-Story – Disappointment + Frustration = Answers!
Please feel free to skip this section if you are looking for my Professional Bio. All my credentials are mentioned under the Bragging Bio sub-head below.
If you are interested in knowing my Back-Story and what drives me, let me take you back down the memory lane in chronological order. It all started with me looking for a solution and answer to my problems and without me realizing it soon became my obsession.
I had been a pretty good student academically and given my other skills, any one who knows me would vouch to you that I can easily find my way around things. A lot of people then ask me why after completing my graduation in Information Science and Engineering and scoring 95 percentile in CAT did I decide to switch my career and join the fitness industry.
Honestly – I had never even thought about it!
The following 3 reasons got me started on this path and played a pivotal role in why I do What I do today:
1. I wasn’t happy! I wasn’t happy with my tiny frame. I wasn’t happy being the 44 kg skinny guy I was back then. I was a mere 44 kg when I was doing my engineering. And more often than not, you don’t get taken seriously when you are scrawny. People form a certain image about you even without talking to you with that frame. And I was desperate to change that. And oh yes, I have had my fair share of being bullied in school from the Big guys. So you know, this was the starting point, it was just about me. I was trying to grow big, put on some muscle. And this was the first time, I stepped into a gym during my Engineering Years!
2. I was NEVER interested in doing Engineering. Deep inside, I always wanted to be an Actor. I completed my Engineering from Bangalore. I wanted to go to Mumbai but never had to balls to tell my family or anyone else for that matter that I want to be an actor. I guess, my burning desire to go to Mumbai was brutal and so out of no-where, I was invited to work and with my uncle in Mumbai post Engineering. I happily agreed to go and while I was working part-time I was simultaneously preparing for CAT. Honestly, I wasn’t a least bit interested in doing MBA but I still feared telling my family and everyone that I wanted to become an Actor. So I continued to prepare for CAT and eventually score 95 percentile. All this while, I was on and off working out in the gym.
3) After the CAT results were out, I knew that I did not want to do MBA. I would waste another 2 years and may eventually end up giving up on my dream. I finally mustered out the courage to go my own way. I quit my uncle’s office, disappointed a lot of people including my family and relatives – to all of them it was an absurd decision (I don’t blame them, they were concerned). But by then one thing was really clear in my mind – It’s my life, I’ll not blame anyone for anything. I’m responsible for it, if I need/want something, I’ll go get it. I’m not going to wait for things to happen for me – THEY DON’T and NEVER WILL, un till you make it happen.
I went independent, started my own company with a friend in a sort of home cum office with 2 computers and simultaneously enrolled for an acting workshop to get some professional training. I continued to workout in the gym and by this time, I was addicted to being in the gym.
2 months down the line, out of the Blue, I had severe pain in most of my joints. Walking, sleeping and sitting were luxury back then. When I went to the doc, I got diagnosed with Arthritis (it’s a family thing). Most of my maternal relatives are arthritic. I was just 23 and was bedridden for 3 months. This is when the first switch happened.
After another 3 months of popping pain killers and anti-inflammatories, when I was able to walk and do things normally, I spoke to my trainer at the acting academy. He said, the most important thing an actor possesses is his face and his body. You need to fix your body if you want to be successful as an actor. And before Arthritis hit me, I had worked with multiple Personal Trainers and in multiple gyms. But I never really got the results nor the answers that I was happy with. So I decided to find the answers myself – I joined a part time personal training certification course. This might seem impulsive to some but it was important to me.
There were 2 reasons behind my decision to formally educate myself as a Certified Personal Trainer :
1) I was tired of not getting results and answers that I was looking for. So I thought, why not find the answers for myself and do an evening course.
2) I could not afford a personal trainer after I went Independent. So if I knew the science of Gaining Muscle and Losing fat, I would not have to pay others for NO Results!
A Thought Incepted:
The first day of the fitness course was an intro lecture by Kaizzad Capadia the director of the Fitness Academy where I had enrolled. I was blown away by what it meant to be a Fitness Professional and how a Personal Trainer had the power to transform lives at a very macroscopic level. While I was in the classroom, I remember saying to myself, if I dint love acting, I would def become a Fitness Professional. But this was all sub-consious and at this point, I was still chasing my dream of becoming an actor and did not think of making Fitness my career. It was still just about my fitness and my body. And I even completed my certification in Nutrition since I realized Nutrition is such a key in any body transformation.
Fast Forward One Year:
Mediocre anything does not inspire me. I knew I was a mediocre actor. Although, in the one year, I did manage to do a few plays and a Television Series for UTV. I wanted to get better as an actor, as a performer and I had read about this 1 year full time intensive drama course starting in Mumbai. I applied for this course, cleared the 2-3 rounds they had and got started on a path which I thought was the first step towards a great acting career.
The Nail in the coffin – The Big Switch:
Before I tell you about what made me finally switch – Here is something You should know about Arthritis. In my case it was genetical. And there is no way I can alter my genes with any exercise or diet. All I can do is to eat clean and exercise regularly and create an environment in my body for the arthritic inflammation to not relapse. I have been able to take pretty good care of myself with the kind of lifestyle I lead.
Back to the story:
After I joined the 1 year full time Drama course, things changed. The schedule was hectic, I was up at 5 in the morning and I reached home at about 7pm. I then had to complete a lot of assignments or do a lot of reading, so I could not find the time to go to the gym. And I could not eat frequently, we just got a 15 min break for Breakfast and an hour for lunch. So I could not get 4-5 servings of veggies nor some solid protein sources with each meal.
This took a toll on my body. My Arthritic pain started to relapse. Once in a while, I could not participate in the group physical activities that were a part of the course. When the pain was really severe and I could hardly walk, I had to miss the entire day. The school had a clear no more than 8 days of leave in the entire year policy. I had taken about 9 by then with permission, so I was doing fine. The first 6 months was pure training and the next 6 months were performances all over India. We were almost at the end of the 5th month and I was doing well and my performances were getting better with each passing week and I was getting great comments from the faculty when a life shattering event happened.
My Grandpa Passed Away!
I really loved him and I was completely heart-broken. He lived at the outskirts of Bangalore (Bellary). I went to Bellary and was away for a week. I had still not come to terms with what had happened, life gave me another big blow. The school thought that I had missed way too many classes and they could not longer let me continue because they thought I would not be able to catch up with the other students after missing out for a week.
Seriously, I thought, was this happening to me – I was under a lot of pain, both physical (Arthritic) and mental and then this happens. I pleaded my case but the school had made up its mind. I didn’t really fight my case. I was just a month away from actually performing all over the country.
It was the most devastating time in my life. Everything that happened taught me one thing – I cannot control the outcome, but what I can is my reaction and my action. I know I did my best, I gave it all I had and if things didn’t work out for me, I’ve no regrets.
I took about a month to think clearly and when I did, I knew that the most important thing for was to live pain-free. Nothing would really matter, if I could not walk, sleep or sit on my own. Since then, I have been hooked to finding answers. I’ve spent countless hours reading latest researches to figure out the best ways to stay fit and healthy and live pain free. The more I read, the more I fell in love with it.
Since then, I’ve done dozens of certifications and spoken to various experts/coaches in the field of Exercise and Nutrition Science to find out the answers to my questions.
You know – Maybe, if I had somehow figured out a way to Exercise and Eat Clean while studying at the Drama school, I might not have created an environment in my body for the Arthritic Inflammation to relapse. And then I would not have needed any leaves and I would have performed. But my granda passing away and then being thrown out of the school was a painful process, a process that not many people would come out of and a lot of people might stick to that and use it as an excuse to give up on life.
I don’t want this to happen to others. I don’t want people to give up on what they love because they are over-weight, unfit and unhealthy. I paid a BIG price for not taking care of my body. And a second is all life needs to take it all away from you.
Since that day, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what’s more important to me and every time I think about it, all I hear is – I don’t want someone, somewhere to give up on things they love. It’s painful!
My life now revolves around helping people Lose Weight and Move Towards Living a Pain Free Live with Scientifically Designed Exercise and Nutrition Protocols.
Like I said earlier, you cannot control the outcome. But you can be prepared for it. I absolutely have no regrets about anything in life and I take complete responsibility for my life.
I hope my story inspires you to start looking after your body, health and fitness seriously! And I’m working day in and day out to make sure that I bring to you the best possible information from the world of Exercise and Nutrition Science to Lose weight and Stay fit!
Help me in my mission, share this story with your loved ones – you think will benefit from this and will be inspired.
My Bragging Bio
I’ve done dozens of Certifications, but I firmly believe that Certifications only give us (Fitness Professionals) a frame-work to build up on. And the serious students of the profession, like me, would not stop here and continue to educate themselves above and beyond any certifications.