As the supermodel-turned-actor takes on another fitness challenge, Mid-day Online spoke to Soman about his fitness mantra, running barefoot and dealing with trolls
Apart from his workout, Milind Soman says he runs about three to four times a week whenever he can. Photo Courtesy: Mid-day file pic
Milind Soman is an epitome of fitness in India and that is something that we’ve all known for more than two decades now. Among many accolades including those for India in swimming, he is known for successfully completing the Ironman challenge in 15 hours and 19 minutes. It is no surprise then that he loves challenging himself with marathons around the world. Most recently, he completed a marathon in Singapore and before that the sixth edition of the Barefoot Marathon in Coorg and the 21k Vizag Navy Marathon before that – all in little over 30 days.
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One must wonder, what really is the secret to the supermodel’s fitness, and it is nothing special but just simple. He explains, “The secret to my fitness is good habits. There are five things that are important when it comes to fitness - making the right choices based on what you want in life, sleeping enough and at the right time, eating healthy, exercising and a positive mindset.”
Good habits and fitness
While he dwells on being mindful, he also stresses on the need to always eat well, and if one does eat everything, one must consume them in moderation and thus be aware of what we eat. At the same time, it is important to remain fit and last but not the least have a positive mindset. “Pay more attention to the good things and less attention to the bad things unless you can do something about the bad things if you can’t just focus on the good things. Be happy about the good things. Figure out where your weaknesses are and work on it,” he adds.
Soman says these are ideals that he has been following for the longest time and only grown to earnestly see them since his days of representing India before becoming a supermodel. Since then, he hasn’t looked back. Soman shares, “I don’t go to the gym. I workout for 15-20 minutes in the day at home and that too not at one time. Maybe two-three minutes in the morning and some later. Then I run whenever I can three-four times a week. Whatever time I have, I run – if it's for half an hour or two hours, I just do it.”
Since he has been running for over close to two decades now, the activity comes naturally, a thought that changed after he attempted his first marathon. Now, after getting back from Singapore, Soman has embarked on a cycling journey across five cities starting from Mumbai and stopping over at Pune, Bengaluru, Mysore and concluding it in Mangaluru as part of the ‘Green Ride 2.0’ initiative, in association with insurtech platform Turtlemint.
Running barefoot and courting controversy
The fitness enthusiast will be riding over 1,000 kilometres to raise awareness about air pollution and using eco-friendly modes of transport. Incidentally, Soman hopes there is more awareness about the subject so that people invest early on, as it was his mother who got him insurance early in his life and says he only started saving five years ago. “I used to earn my money from modelling and spend it. Only when I had little money left, I used to start working again,” reminisces Soman, who loves the work culture in Mumbai but detests the pollution here.
One may think that with the 57-year-old running so much, he may actually love running with shoes, but for him it is the complete opposite, and pictures from the recent marathons on Instagram are proof as he can be seen running barefoot and that is intriguing. However, he is firm in his approach to it. Soman explains, “Running barefoot is natural for human beings. Running shoes were developed only in the last 50 years. A lot of it is marketing that you need technology to run well, but you don’t. You need to learn the technique of running properly, then you don’t have to depend on anything.” Drawing parallels with how people who spend long hours at their desk have forgotten to sit the right way, he adds, “A lot of us are so disconnected from ourselves today about what is natural and good for the body and mind that we are doing many things the wrong way.” However, he reminds that India has a rich history with yoga and ayurveda and they can help go a long way in that respect.
With the advent of social media, it is hard to not talk about criticism, something that is not unknown to the model, who first experienced it in his bold advertisement for Tuffs shoes with Madhu Sapre. Soman ran nude on a beach in Goa in 2020 to celebrate his 55th birthday, and more recently trolls took to social media to criticise his advertisement for a dishwashing liquid brand that aims to break the norm in the kitchen. So, how does he deal with it? “It might be difficult for some people, but it is not for me. As a person, I have never been bothered by people whether it is one person telling me something or 100 people telling me something. I believe in what I do, otherwise I don’t do it,” says an unfazed Soman.
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