Sahil Shroff: The brains behind the brawns

Published in Mega Modelz magazine – June-July 2009 Issue – © Manali

As those lats spread wide and the abs glisten as if they have been carved in stone, he walks down the aisle. It feels as if a Greek God has briefly condescended to stride among the mortals… You can almost hear the hearts beating faster. That’s the kind of spark, magic and aura this dangerously handsome super model Sahil Shroff carries on him! It’s not everyday that this hottest thing reveals his health and fitness secrets… Mesmerized Manali H. Shah is all ears, as she meticulously records every word he tales…

With his drop dead chiseled looks and playful grin, Sahil Shroff holds a pledge of sinful things and much more as he effortlessly continues to impress young girls and women alike with his famous stints in commercials like Tata Indica’s ‘Dumb, Dumb, Dumb’ and Lux ad with the gorgeous Aishwarya Rai, Cadbury Éclairs, HCL, Snickers amongst several others. No wonder, this 6 foot clothed horse is convincingly hot favourite of all the B town designers. Be it scorching the ramp for the IPL show with Shahrukh Khan or My Mumbai with Naomi Campbell, he has possibly walked the ramp for all of them in most of the fashion weeks. He has been there, done that, literally. And once again, he is all set to sputter the small screen with his two new commercials coming up on air soon! Clearly Sahil Shroff is the number 1 male model in the country today.

Amid such a busy schedule, how does he manage to maintain an incredible body like his? And the answer comes straight, “I love fitness. I have been training since a very long time now. Infact, I am pretty much evolved in my fitness,” he says. Unlike many, Sahil has a long history of training and today he is not only involved in grueling workouts, but he is equally indulging himself in running, strength training, jumping, swimming, Taekwondo and several other sports. “I never miss on my workouts, be it in any form. It allows me to easily stay in shape and moreover it’s a part of my profession now.” He continues, “I do Taekwondo 3 times a week, go to gym twice a week, go for a long run at Mahalaxmi race course during the weekends and I also like to swim, at least once a week. I thoroughly enjoy and love all of it,” he says.

I ask him to throw more light on Taekwondo and he says, “I go to Javed Khan’s Taekwondo School where I have a personal trainer. In my opinion, this form of Martial Arts is not something you get up one morning and head for. One needs to have a proper mindset to start this as it involves a lot of stretching, kicking, punching and the like. Besides, I completely enjoy the flexibility aspect and every nuance of this art.” Another nugget, “I personally adore action and I am eventually getting into films too. It is surely very hard, but at the end of the day, it’s a lot of fun too.” He feels everybody should try this kind of art at some point in their life.

So like most of the models in this tinsel town, is he neurotic about having that 6 or 8 pack abs as well? He answers with the same vigor, “Oh totally! I have always had 6 pack abs and that’s a part of me now. But its not my only pride and joy, as at the same time I also maintain my body weight proportionally and this matters a lot. I have a very good upper body, nice muscular and strong leg and that’s only because I focus on balancing everything.” Sahil has practically been working out all his life. Apart from being a very active sportsperson in his school days, he also used to workout dedicatedly in Australia, where he pursued his masters in IT. “Oh, Australians are very serious about their workouts and fitness,” he muses aloud.

Isn’t it difficult to manage this kind of workout schedule while on shoot? “Not at all. Its simple infact. When I am traveling or shooting at work, I always have a skipping rope… and my running shoes are my savior. Like when I was shooting two days ago, an hour prior to the scheduled shoot timing, I went running for about 45 minutes. You feel a million dollars and you feel fresh,” he validates. So what about the food? He shrugs his shoulders and says, “Finding my kind of food becomes tough but I am figuring out how to find my way. I believe in cleansing off the system, so I try and make sure to have a lot of fruit and salads around me and continuously eat these all the time. The energy stays and it makes me feel up.”

Talking of food, Sahil is equally particular about it and follows a strict diet on most of the days. “My diet is very good, well balanced and high on nutritional value. In the morning, for breakfast I have 3 vegetable juice that could be a mixture of Carrot, Cucumber and  Indian gooseberry (amla) and that is later followed by 3 or 4 fruits, bowl of oatmeal with dry fruits and a cup of coffee. For brunch, I like to have a banana or snack on muesli bar.” He continues in same saga, “Whereas, my lunch includes 2 rotis, a little bit of rice with mutton and fish and 2 vegetables, everything cooked in very less olive oil. Yoghurt is very important for me everyday. Then again around 4pm or so I have a fruit or 1 or 2 cereal biscuits which is followed by evening work out. Later, the dinner is healthy again, but very light. Here its compete no no to chapatti and rice. I only have vegetables and dal, accompanied with a very nice vegetable soup and a big salad. All in all it’s a good 5-6 meal course a day and that’s enough for me I think,” he smiles nonchalantly.

With his kind of workout, he feels, it is very important to eat every two hours. “I am always eating. In Taekwondo you need to have a lot of energy and you just can ‘not’ eat.” Nevertheless, there are times when Sahil does enjoy going easy with his diet. “I do like to binge on sweets and chocolates sometimes but I am generally in control of what I eat. Like if I am not shooting, I do enjoy my food with a little more liberty, however, the next day I do put in that extra hard work and cut down on my diet too.” He continues, “I don’t spoil myself much nowadays and I have substantially cut down on sweets too, as it takes too much stress on body to burn it off again. Hence, it’s not a priority anymore.” According to him, his metabolic rate is very good and this leaves him feeling gleefully good and strong most of the times.

This hot model is also involved in a lot of other activities when he is not working out or shooting. “I participate in a lot of creative workshops. I like working on my diction, speech and voice modulation. Other then this, I like to backpack and travel around the world,” he says. Predictably, his next step is to storm into bollywood too… but, with a big bang! So, when does this happen? “By God’s grace, hopefully soon. Though I feel it’s a slow and steady process… which I am enjoying. Everything good that happens doesn’t happen quickly. At the end of the day, you need to have luck on your side too. And you exactly know when is the right time for you…” he philosophies.

With this, I swiftly graduate towards his personal life and ask the obvious. And there is a moment of silence before he finally decides to be asked for next question! But I insist on him to share some bit of the heat… and he comes with his tongue firmly placed in cheek. “Oh, I have a very good personal life. Beyond that I am not allowed to talk. Ha ha ha,” he laughs, almost enjoying the sadistic pleasure. I sustain nonetheless. A little more push… and he finally gives up! “Well, okay. I used to be a naughty boy but I am a good and sweet boy now! Everything is very good and rosy though I continue to be one fun loving guy who is always up for adventure,” he cackles incessantly. Ahem, what can we say… More energy to you boy!

Sahil lists down ‘5 must have tips’ for great heath and good body

(i) If you are a vegetarian, eat anything that is natural. But make sure you have a lot of dal.

(ii)And if you are a non vegetarian, make sure you have ‘good quality’ of fish and meat.

(iii) Drink a lot of water, its indispensable.

(iv) Go hard or go home! Unfortunately, everyone in this space trains very softly. If you work hark, work your brain hard and do not work your body hard, what’s the point! One needs to train very hard to get good results. It’s quintessential.

(v) If you workout at gym, give your 100 percent and take your training seriously. It will help you stay strong, both mentally and physically without any injuries, illness or back problem. The feel good factor is fantastic and simply worth it!