He helped King Khan get those six pack abs

Prashant Sawant, a college drop-out, rose from being a part-time trainer, to the owner of a state-of-the-art gym called Body Sculptor in Juhu. C Sujit Chandra Kumar narrates the success story of a determined fitness trainer.

No one expected Prashant Sawant to do well in life, leave alone make a name for himself. Growing up in a 10 feet-by-10 feet room in a Dahisar chawl along with nine others career planning or was an alien to Prashant. After class 10, he joined college only to drop out.

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His father Subhash enrolled him in an Industrial Training Institute (ITI) in Borivali. Even as he was pursuing the technical course, he took the vital step of joining a local gymnasium in Dahisar. “As a child, I was very fat and desperately wanted to look good,” he said.

What started as fashion became a passion, which explains why he accepted the offer to be a part-time trainer in another local gym although the salary was measly.

Soon, the 20-year-old got a Rs 3,000-a-month offer from ‘10, The Health Spa’, a Bandra-based gymnasium. “Dad was not at all happy as he believed trainers had a short career,” said Prashant.

The Bandra job put him in touch with the elite lot. He started his ‘Body Sculptor’ gym in Juhu in 2004. Today, the state-of-the-art gym with more than 100 members, functions from two floors, and Prashant has a dozen people to assist him, including his wife Maya Pereira Sawant. “She is also a trainer and I met her at a gym,” he said. “We got married three months ago. She trains several female celebrities including Shah Rukh’s wife Gauri Khan.”

A framed photo of King Khan has this signed message: “To Prashant, may my body be like yours. God bless you and all the happiness to you.”