Prime Minister Narendra Modi was joined by prominent fitness icon and former wrestler Ankit Baiyanpuria from Bayanpur, Sonipat in Haryana in the ‘Shramdaan for cleanliness‘ as part of the ‘Swachhata Hi Seva’ campaign on 1st October. The prime minister also shared the video on social media and wrote, “Beyond just cleanliness, we blended fitness and well-being also into the mix.” They are shown using brooms to sweep up garbage, clean and talk about their daily routines in the clip.
He can be heard asking the social media star how will the cleanliness drive help his fitness to which he replied, “It’s our responsibility to keep our nature clean. If it remains clean, we will stay fit.” He added that the people of Sonipat have started to prioritise cleanliness. He also responded to the post with his famous greeting and thanked the leader.
राम राम भाई सारा ने🙏
— Ankit Baiyanpuria (@baiyanpuria) October 1, 2023
देश के यशस्वी प्रधानमंत्री श्री नरेंद्र मोदी जी को धन्यवाद। ❤️ https://t.co/R8LvrPEDZ3
The 30-year-old expressed his joy at meeting the prime minister. “I felt great after meeting him. I wanted to meet him for a long time. A few days back I messaged the PMO (Prime Minister’s Office) that I wanted to meet PM Modi. They called me back. At first, I wasn’t able to believe it. This morning I met him and for 30 to 40 minutes we performed ‘Shramdaan’ together. He asked me about my workout and diet.”
#WATCH | Indian Fitness Influencer Ankit Baiyanpuria says, "PM Modi asked me about that (75 days) challenge. There are 5 rules, the first one is to drink 6 litres of water a day then take a selfie… 2 workout sessions for 45 minutes each… following a specific diet… And… https://t.co/K53WvXEAQP pic.twitter.com/Dd3Vdc7tg7
— ANI (@ANI) October 1, 2023
Besides PM Narendra Modi, a number of other Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, including Union ministers launched cleaning campaigns around the country. The significant drive was adopted at more than 9.20 lakh sites nationwide, according to the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry.
Ankit Baiyanpuria: From ordinary jobs to fitness influencer
Ankit Baiyanpuria gained eminence by reinventing personal development with his ’75 Day Hard Challenge’ along with the promotion of traditional and indigenous workout methods. He catapulted to the limelight on social media a few months ago owing to his exceptional training habits and distinctive routines that not only promote physical health but also encompass mental well-being through sacred Hindu texts like the ‘Shrimad Bhagavad Gita.’ His exercise comprises desi wrestling burpees, rope climbing and running and trains in his village with his coach, Krishan Pahalwan.
He was born to labourers and worked multiple odd jobs such as labourer and Zomato delivery boy, among others to make ends meet. He began wrestling as a result of the local tradition and performed as a professional wrestler for a few years. He had to change course in 2022 due to a dislocated shoulder sustained during mud wrestling.
The social media celebrity started to chronicle his fitness progress on Instagram and first heard about the ’75 Day Hard Challenge’ while he was researching fitness. American entrepreneur and author Andy Frisella came up with it in the year 2020. was one of a handful of people who were able to accomplish the challenge after dedicating himself to the task for a complete 75 days and attracted massive traction online. The challenge requires regular readings, a strict diet, progress selfies, no junk food and outdoor exercise.
Interestingly, he continued the same routine even after 75 days and is already nearing 100 days. His rapid rise to fame was evidenced by the fact that he amassed more than 2.5 million followers in just 28 days and presently the number is at 5 million on his Instagram account.
He exclaimed, “Even I am shocked at gaining 2.7 million followers in less than a month. I’m so grateful. The only message I would like to give to my followers is to not only look for physical strength because mental strength is much more and it only comes through spirituality. So read ‘Bhagwad Gita’ and try to perform meditation.” He has established a strong bond with his followers through his distinctive greeting “Ram Ram Bhai Sarya Ne” which also became very popular among netizens.
Just like Instagram, his YouTube career commenced by posting humorous Haryanvi videos on his channel named Haryanvi Khagad. However, he shifted the primary focus of his content to fitness during the COVID-19 shutdown and began creating videos on diets and exercises after renaming the channel to Ankit Baiyanpuria. Today, his channel has reached almost 2 million subscribers which earned him a silver play button from YouTube.
Ankit Baiyanpuria’s take on his impressive journey
While reacting to the tremendous accomplishment in a recent interview with The Tribune Ankit remarked, “My entire journey has been amazing. There are no particular moments as such because the routine was the same every single day for 75 days. However, I have truly enjoyed this process because of the kind of results it has given me. It wasn’t easy at all initially to complete the challenge daily but after a few days it got easier and I found myself pushing my boundaries to do better each day.”
He voiced, “Some days I would feel like giving up but then I kept my determination and tried to do better each day. One of the experiences that I would like to share is when I cramped my thigh during a workout, I was in immense pain and couldn’t do any work. However, I continued with my other daily challenge work and recovered well.”
He expressed his admiration for his supporters and conveyed, “I have a great love for my followers and consider all of them as my friends. They all are like me coming from a rural background and wanting to achieve big in life, that’s why they are with me.”
He emphasised that he wanted to continue to wrestle but was unable to do so because of his injury and that he planned to make a comeback. “I am in my recovery period right now, but do hope to make a comeback and also to play for India in the future, and yes, I do miss the ring a lot. It has been an integral part of my growing-up years.”
He referred to the physical and mental aspects of the challenge as the “most important part of his life.” He credited ‘Shrimad Bhagavad Gita’ for acting as a guiding light and pointed out, “‘The Bhagwad Gita’ showed me the way towards spirituality and it helped me a lot in mental calmness. Physical strength is something that can be achieved but mental strength comes from spirituality only, so that’s why it is the most important factor in my challenge.”
The social media influencer is currently focused on entering the ring once more and competing for India.
