For Kris Gethin life is not normal when it is “cushioned and softened with drinks.” It goes without saying that we meet the fitness expert and celebrity trainer in an abnormal environment. “We have become products of our environment. I like to control my environment,” says Gethin, mighty pleased about the motivational levels he sees around in India. “Here from an auto driver to a celebrity everybody comes to me and asks how can he get biceps like these,” says Gethin pointing to his chiselled ones decorated with tattoos. “I find Indians pretty motivated, which as a trainer, is a big plus. We miss it in other parts of the world. But they are uneducated about what they need to do. They still feel that one has to spend two hours in the gym daily. It is quality over quantity, folks,” he declares. Gethin knows he stands out in the crowd. “At times people look at me as if I am abnormal. To me what they are doing is abnormal. They judge me for my tattoos but I don’t allow them. From me they are my jewellery. I am doing the opposite of what I did as a teenager.”
Gethin has come a long way from the farms of Wales where he grew up in a harsh environment. “Coming from an uneducated background, at 20, I was depressed, alcoholic and had back pain. At that time I got into fitness and it provided structure to my life. It was an addiction, but a good one. Not just pain got alleviated, my relationships got better. I felt level-headed.” It is this transformation that Gethin has captured in his latest book “Transformer”, published by Om Books International recently. “If it worked for me, it can work for others as well.” From a body builder and a trainer to a writer, Gethin says he did it simultaneously. “The blood flow to my brain increased by 20 per cent. It made me smarter. I started a gym in Sydney and moved on to learn writing skills. I could take good photographs. So I combined the write ups with photos and started selling them to media groups.” One thing led to another, Gethin launched his magazine and then went on to become the editor of bodybuilding.com in the US. “But all along I was competing as a body builder as well and finished second in the World Championship.”
Gethin’s association with the two best bodies in Bollywood – Hrithik Roshan and John Abraham is well documented but what often irks is his propensity to offer deadlines to reach a certain figure – Lose this many kilos in these many months. “It is just a carrot to prepare you for the rest of your life,” counters Gethin. “Hrithik offered to employ me for a year. I accepted just a three month contract. I always do this. It gives the client a sense of urgency. They don’t want to miss a meal or a workout. It is painful in the beginning but ultimately it brings the body and the brain in structure. It becomes a habit.”
Despite proliferation of gyms, India is still considered a country of yoga where health is less about abs and more about arriving at peace with body. “The two should be put in collation. I have learnt something crucial from India. When I used to train I used to carry a lot of aggression. I used to go to gym as if I am going to wage a war. Now I don’t think that way as I realised that it used to increase my stress level. I have taken a more meditative approach and it has brought clarity.” But the same time, he adds it depends on individual personality. “I don’t mind if somebody plays loud music while running on a tread mill. You can do that in that moment but you need a clear and conscious mind. You don’t need to be angry.” Gethin says one can be active while following a meditative approach. “I can’t sit on the beach. I want to do active meditation like painting or writing an article on computer.”
Supplements have become a common feature of modern day fitness regimes but there is always a question mark over their long term effect. “In India people often put steroids and supplements in the same sentence. That is absurd. One is unhealthy and the other is natural and benefits your health. I have been taking them for 16 years. It again depends on the person and his environment. I don’t always get to eat organic food so I know my food is lacking in minerals and vitamins. In some areas the soil no longer has the micronutrients that it once had. So the roots that grow from it don’t have them. The animals who feed on them don’t have them. So in those cases supplements can help. If you spend lot of time in air-conditioned atmosphere, you need anti-oxidants. People often say that they can make it up by having fruit juices. But juices come with fair share of sugar, which can be fattening. In India I discovered coconut water and now it an important ingredient in my list of supplements.”
Another misconception that he finds ridiculous is that carbohydrates are enemies. “How can they be? They are a source of energy. Protein should be there in every meal but don’t get obsessed with them. The only thing is avoid carbs after 6 p.m. and switch to fibres. For me it is health, health, health; therapy, therapy, therapy. Vanity comes last.”
Talking about his Bollywood clientele, which is growing every day with Ranveer Singh and Arjun Kapoor joining the list, Gethin, who shifted base to India three years back, says every client is different. “Hrithik is easy to train. He is very intuitive about his body. If there are 300 people on the set and it is time to have a meal he will put everybody on hold. I can train him for five days a week. But with somebody like John Abraham it is different because being an actor is just one of the hats that he wears. Even getting him to sleep becomes very hard. At times he is up till 3 a.m. I can train him only three times because his body will not recover otherwise.”
Gethin finds fitness has become more fashionable in the Hindi film industry. “I could see the same fascination to churn out action heroes as Hollywood had in the 80s when Schwarzenegger, Stallone and Van Damme emerged on the scene.” As for somebody like Anil Kapoor, who has written the foreword, Gethin says if somebody can express everything through his face, he doesn’t need me.
Often, body builders are taken to be dumb but Gethin feels otherwise. “If you are talking about big professional body builders, then they are little more self-obsessed and live in their own world because they do it for a living. Otherwise we are pretty normal.” A word on female clientele? “Oh! I don’t train women. They hate me,” Gethin, finally, bursts into laughter and moves on to a plateful of chicken tikka. Therapy!
