Kalpesh Bedsa decided to work on his body in the most trying of circumstances. His love for gymming and body building started in quite unfortunate circumstances, after he was bullied and made fun of for his physical appearance by his friends in school. Something he started to overcome the trauma of his childhood, has brought him accolades in the later stage of his life.
Bedsa, who has worked with companies like India Today, Mid Day, ZEEL and DNA, is now Regional Manager – Business Development at Bharat Media Group. Alongside, he has represented Maharashtra twice and Mumbai district thrice in bodybuilding competitions.
Bedsa has been a Muscleblaze-sponsored athlete in 2019, 2020 and 2022. He was among the top five finalists in Mr. Mumbai Men’s Physique Athlete in 2019. In the same year, he was among the top six Mr. Maharashtra finalists in Men’s Physique. In the Mr. Mumbai competition in 2020, he was among the top 10 contestants in the same category.
Recalling his early days, Bedsa says, “I was someone who has undergone a lot of bullying as a kid, mainly because of my physique. It has created a lot of mental trauma to me as a child. I decided to work on it and started my fitness journey when I was 16 years old. I didn’t have much idea about bodybuilding and fitness, but as the days progressed my passion for fitness grew. While I was pursuing my graduation, parallely I did courses on fitness, nutrition, sports nutrition from various accredited institution.”
Bedsa tried his hands at modeling during this period. He even walked the ramp for a few fashion shows at that time.
“My college days were much better when compared to the school days because the fitness journey has helped me stay mentally and physically fit. But I never had intentions to participate in any competitions until 2018,” says Bedsa.
Pro Push…
It was his coach Viraj Sarmalkar who encouraged him to be a part of the competitions and helped him attain the confidence to do so.
“Participating in bodybuilding competitions is a different game altogether with a corporate job. But, I decided to take a plunge. Today I am a Muscleblaze-sponsored athlete and currently preparing for district, State and Asia level competitions this year starting December 2022,” says Bedsa.
On the challenges, he says, “I wanted to balance my job and the fitness journey to challenge myself. Having a full-time job especially in sales and marketing and following a passion where you have restrictions in the intake of food is challenging. You will be in the field meeting clients and in the evening you have to hit the gym. While competing you are on the stage with people who have dedicated their entire day and night for it, whereas it’s not the same with me. I push myself to be successful in both and that’s an amazing feeling.”
Bedsa takes inspiration from coach Sarmalkar who is his ‘constant cheerleader’. His support system are his parents Badrinarayan and Parvati, and his wife Pooja, kids Krishiv and Ravya.
“Initially my family had a problem because of the less food intake, but as days passed by they understood my passion and supported me through. Also, you won’t be able to spend much time with the family with the job and training sessions even during the weekends. What I normally do is once I am done with the competitions, I make sure to take my family for a vacation, so I will be able to compensate for the time I was away from them,” he says.
Apart from pursuing his passion for fitness, Bedsa also helps people transform and achieve their fitness goals. How does he manage the time? He trains people online and through his Instagram account.
Where there is passion, there is always a way.
