SPECIAL

CELEBRATING THE HEROES THAT MEN ARE!

By Angela Tresiya

There are countless occasions to honour women, but how frequently do we honour men? They should actually be honoured equally because they are synonymous with the words "provider, " "caretaker, " or "sacrificial. " The sacrifices of a man are never spoken of, and in this silence, a lot of feelings dissipate. It's time for the world to acknowledge them not only as courageous, strong, brave and masculine, but also as emotional beings. Barring all this, it is time that we embrace, celebrate and make them feel significant. As the month of November marks the International Men's Day, here's to celebrating the hero's that they are!

Celebrity Fashion Stylist

Being an ace celebrity fashion stylist, where does your inspiration come from?

My inspiration comes from not just one, but from many. It comes from surpassing all the odds, striving hard to achieve my goals and being able to make a name for myself on my own. I also inspire myself everyday to achieve untouched skies.

What is the one thing you wish people knew about being a celebrity fashion stylist and how would you describe your work life balance?

Hahahahah! People think this profession is all glam, easy and lots of parties, but the reality is far too different. It’s a profession where one requires a lot of patience and lots of creativity and a calm state of mind. I really wish people knew the tremendous hard work that goes behind it - to be called a celebrity fashion stylist. Speaking of work life balance, being a fashion stylist to so many top actors and actresses is not easy. The working hours are odd with barely any offs. There’s travelling ,shoots ,events and fittings and look tests. With such a schedule everyday, it becomes difficult to have a personal life mostly. But I make sure I switch off from work once I get home and sometimes take a weekend off to travel and refresh. Twice a year, a long holiday helps me balance my personal and professional life.

The one motto or mantra that you believe in that keeps you going now that you look back at your journey till this date?

Well, I’d like to give the entire credit to my partner Hassan who keeps me going, who takes half or sometimes more than half of the workload onto him so that we meet our deadlines on time. Coming to manta, I’d say - keep calm , focus and target your goals step by step. My journey of a decade in styling has been simply amazing, a thrilling experience. Couldn’t have asked for more, I am so thankful to have been in this profession, so thankful to all my actor friends who appreciate my work and encourage me to do more, which has got me to this position in my career and life.

What is celebrating “International Men’s Day” according to you?

A man is a true man when he gives equal respect, love and compassion to everyone in his life, starting from his mother, sister, friend’s wife and the elderly. He is a true man when he understands that this planet is not just his, he is not the supreme one. In Fact he shares this planet with other animals too and gives them all - Love. When each man understands this and implies, that’s the true international men's day according to me.

What makes your profession unique, a cut above the rest?

Well, being a fashion stylist itself is surely a unique profession unlike the other mainstream professions. The immense travelling, fashion weeks across the world, bringing in new looks for the actors surely makes it a cut above the rest!

Fitness Instructor / Coach

As a fitness instructor / coach, who do you look up to the most?

Right now the only name that comes to my mind is "Rock Dwayne Johnson" . His discipline towards fitness, work and life inspires me everyday and I look up to him.

How do you balance your work life and personal life?

Balancing is key, but I really don't know if I am “balancing it well” or “not”?. If I'm doing it, all the credit goes to my family and friends. They have been very supportive. But one thing I can say is, setting up meaningful priorities will balance everything.

What is the one thing you wish people knew about your profession as you are the guiding element in transforming lives which makes it unique?

"IT'S NOT EASY" , Yes! I wanted people to know that it's not easy, being a professional fitness coach or instructor is equally or even more challenging than any other profession in the world. We are under constant pressure of providing results, meeting up to client's expectations and the biggest challenge is people won't realise that the outcome of the effort (result) depends on their discipline, not on the trainer, we are the guiding tool. In Spite of providing the best knowledge and service we are often taken for granted. What makes it unique is its highest form of Discipline, Consistent Hard work, helping in transforming lives, Inspiring people to be fit and healthy. All these combined makes our profession unique and a cut above the rest. Always remember, being fit and healthy is the first step to prosperity!

The one motto or mantra that you believe in that keeps you going now that you look back at your journey till this date?

The mantra is "JUST KEEP GOING" . It's either going to be a good day or a bad day, but nothing's gonna stop for you. Time just ticks off, it won't wait. So you gotta gather all the courage and keep moving, because nothing is permanent and it applies to every phase/part of your life. My Journey has been Phenomenal, full of ups and downs, just how it is supposed to be. I'm very grateful for whatever I am now and going to be.

What is celebrating "International Men's Day" according to you?

Respecting Women. I personally feel we will be considered as complete gentlemen only when we respect women, love kids and take care of our Mother. This gesture shouldn't be limited to only one day, we must celebrate "International men's day" everyday.

DOCTOR

What does it mean to be a doctor and who inspires you?

Being a doctor is a very noble profession. People around have always had respect for doctors. But especially during the period of covid there was a fear among everyone and more than medical treatment, we doctors gave psychological awareness and strength on how to deal with this pandemic which helped a majority of people to fight with Covid. My biggest inspiration in my life is my mom as she is a very hard working lady, with lots of talent , intelligence and a multitasker. She has always been more like a friend to me since my growing years & balanced her love , care & affection for every child of hers which is a rare & unique quality.

How do you balance your work life and personal life?

As a doctor by profession, me, my brother and sister-in-law, who are doctors too, split our work and time accordingly as we have our own Clinic especially for the treatment of Skin & hair. I am more focused towards the management as they see lots of patients every day. As we are coming up with a super speciality for hair and skin I am focused and busy on that these days. Personally I make sure that I spend good quality time with my two lovely kids who are at their growing stage, along with my wife everyday. We often go out to places like the malls, movies, restaurants & farmhouses during the weekends. And I make sure we have a family international trip twice a year that excites my kids a lot and also balances my personal and professional life.

What do you think is the key feature that elevates how unique it is to be a doctor?

I feel proud of myself for being called a doctor which makes my profession unique as no matter what there is a common saying “Health is wealth” . I have seen the wealthiest of people fearing and panicking during the pandemic. I used to get so many calls out of fear. But now along with respect, they also value them a lot that keeps the profession unique.

The one motto or mantra that you believe in that keeps you going now that you look back at your journey till this date?

The one motto and mantra that I believe that keeps me going smoothly is that I strongly believe in living each day with lots of positivity. My children give me joy and happiness and I try to spend as much time as I can with them. Looking back at my journey, I feel blessed to have had everything in my life which I had wished and desired for. Beginning from my school days to college days, I have had & still have loads of friends with whom I really had the time of my life. I enjoyed my youth, became a little sober after being married to my lovely and caring wife. Now I am enjoying parenthood with my cute kids.

What is celebrating "International Men's Day" according to you?

Celebrating international men's day is a special day for all the men because I believe that being a good gentleman makes your life complete with giving lots of love and care to your family. Taking all the responsibilities with dignity, helping others around you when in need for which you can be proud of and others love you for your qualities and personality which a man should have.

Entrepreneur

Who is your biggest inspiration or the person you look up to the most?

My grandfather is. He was instrumental in helping us all understand the nuances of not only business but life as well in general.

How do you balance your work life and personal life?

I can't complain as I have a very good team that manages work very effectively.

What is the one thing you wish people knew about being an entrepreneur and what makes it unique?

I wish people knew that the margins involved aren't as high as people think. And what makes it unique is the opportunity to network and meet people from all walks of life. It has helped me forge great connections and even friendships.

The one motto or mantra that you believe in that keeps you going now that you look back at your journey till this date?

I believe in ‘Live and let live’ . My journey has been a memorable and exciting one so far. Hope the best is yet to come though.

What is celebrating "International Men's Day" according to you?

For me being a man is about responsibility and honor. Being there for your loved ones through thick and thin.

Celebrity Photographer

Where do you draw inspiration from?

As creative professionals, our inspiration is drawn from several aspects. Passion for the art, light falling on an object or someone, beauty that nature holds around us which enables us to capture and share with the world. Talking of inspiration my teacher who taught me the basics of photography, the technical aspects and basically to capture has also been my inspiration in the initial stages of my career, however, as I progressed, where I had the chance and privilege of working, collaborating with various brands and people, associating with creative minds is always inspiring which also allows you to learn a lot along the journey.

How challenging is it for you to balance your work life and personal life?

Achieving the right balance between work and personal life is a constant challenge but when you have an understanding and supportive family that clearly gets the intent and what the field demands of you, it helps to create that balance. However, as I ventured into interior designing now it has become all the more challenging yet to prevent burnout, it becomes imperative to take those periodic vacations, leisure and time with family keeps you up and going.

What is the one thing you wish people knew about your profession and what according to you makes it unique ?

When people hire a creative professional, they tend to take the liberty of owning them for the time. One needs to understand that we are artists and we need some freedom, time and space to evolve a design and curate the project. And what makes it unique is that if you're in a creative field, where you're in charge of everything from ideation to direction to planning to execution, it is kind of liberating since there is artistic freedom. It's a blend of art and technical skill.

The one motto or mantra that you believe in that keeps you going now that you look back at your journey till this date?

The motto has always been to be honest with my work and with people around. I'm a firm believer of, what goes around comes around. It has worked for me and will continue to integrate honesty with dignity. To characterize my journey so far, I would only say that there have been many unexpected twists and turns that have led to where I am today. Looking back to my simple beginnings and my earliest memories, I never thought I would be where I am today. I'm incredibly grateful for my experiences, learnings, and achievements.

What is celebrating "International Men's Day" according to you?

Well, according to me, raising awareness on the mental health issues men face. The challenging and harmful stereotypes about toxic masculinity and generally supporting the well being of men would be a way to celebrate International Men's Day.

Business Entrepreneur

Who is your biggest inspiration?

My Dad has been my biggest inspiration in terms of work, life and family values.

How important is it for you to balance your work life and personal life?

It's very important to have a good balance between the two, or else life wouldn't have much of a meaning without each other. At the end of the day we work our best to live a good life. I make sure to work hard during the day and take time off in the night to unwind and catch up with friends.

What is the one thing you wish people knew about your profession and what according to you makes it unique ?

I wish people knew that there is work 24x7, being in the retail industry there aren't any weekend offs or public holidays. Everyday is a working day, but it has its benefits! What makes it unique is that the retail market is an ever-growing market even with the presence of an online market these days. People still want that personal touch, to see and feel the product.

The one motto or mantra that you believe in that keeps you going now that you look back at your journey till this date?

I believe in working smart and using the resources around you to do things efficiently. It beats over-working anyday! Looking back at my journey, I’ve completed my studies in Australia and after coming back, I applied for jobs and finally got an internship, from there on to becoming a permanent employee in the marketing department of PUMA. I stuck to the industry I wanted to end up in, so as to gain knowledge on how the industry works. Now, I take care of 20 retail stores in my family business. I've worked for 4 years outside before getting into the family business.. The corporate world is a great place to learn a lot of things if someone wants to ever start their own business.

What is celebrating "International Men's Day" according to you?

It's about celebrating all the great achievements that men all over the world have accomplished in their own various fields!