Rangeet Raheel Fitness Journey to Self-Discovery

In Kolkata’s narrow lanes and crowded school corridors, childhood can be unkind to those who look different. For Rangeet Raheel, those early years were marked not by applause or encouragement, but by laughter that lingered longer than it should have. He was the overweight boy in class, the one seniors casually mocked, the one who carried the name “Potato Boy” long after the bell rang. What no one saw then was that those words were quietly shaping a resilience that would define his future.

Raheel grew up wrestling with his reflection. Like many teenagers, he struggled with self-image, but unlike most, his battle was public. Yet somewhere between school taunts and silent self-doubt, he found refuge on the cricket field. At just nine years old, cricket became his first lesson in discipline and movement. Running between wickets, sweating under the sun, he felt something rare – a sense of belonging inside his own body. Sport did not erase the ridicule, but it gave him a reason to keep going.

At fourteen, that reason turned into action. A local gym became his new classroom, not for vanity but for performance. He wanted to be stronger for cricket, faster on the field, more capable of carrying his own weight. But the moment that truly changed his relationship with fitness arrived during a summer camp at Sourav Ganguly’s School of Cricket. Watching a coach perform effortless pull-ups, Raheel stepped forward with confidence, only to realise he could barely lift himself. The shock was humbling. In that instant, strength stopped being an idea and became a goal.

Around the same time, a poster of bodybuilding legend Ronnie Coleman caught his eye in a gym corner. It wasn’t about becoming massive or famous; it was about understanding what the human body could become with discipline. With little formal guidance, Raheel began learning the hard way – through mistakes. Long gym sessions blended with daily cricket practice, while nutrition remained an afterthought. The result was extreme fluctuation. He dropped to an unhealthy 66 kilograms, chasing leanness without knowledge, then swung sharply in the opposite direction with a rapid, uncontrolled bulk.

Those years were uncomfortable, both physically and mentally, but they were also formative. Raheel began keeping training logs, reading obsessively about nutrition, and questioning everything he did. Balance, he realised, was not optional. It was essential. Fitness was no longer about punishment for being overweight; it became an education in patience and self-respect.

What sets Raheel apart from countless transformation stories is not a dramatic before-and-after photograph, but time. Over the last eleven years, training has never stopped for more than two weeks. Not during injuries, not during academic pressures, not even during the COVID-19 lockdowns. The gym became his sanctuary – a place where consistency mattered more than motivation, and progress was measured in years, not weeks.

Today, his routine reflects that maturity. Strength training four to five times a week, structured cardio, outdoor movement, and mobility work are all parts of a lifestyle rather than a checklist. Food, too, is no longer an enemy or a shortcut, but a long-term commitment to health. It is this sustainable mindset that quietly separates him from fleeting fitness trends.

Ironically, modeling entered Raheel’s life by accident. In 2018, while cutting body fat, he decided to document his progress with professional photographs. The photographer noticed his height, structure, and presence, suggesting he consider fashion modeling. What began as documentation turned into opportunity. At just seventeen, still in school, Raheel earned his first ₹8,000 from a photoshoot – a moment that redefined what was possible.

Since then, his journey has crossed into national platforms. He has worked with designers, appeared in campaigns, and stood as a top-six finalist at the FDCI National Male Model Hunt 2021, representing Eastern India. Yet glamour never replaced grounding. Fitness remained the core.

Coaching came naturally. Long before certifications, classmates and friends sought his advice. By seventeen, he earned his first fitness qualification, and over the years, he has trained hundreds of clients across the world. His approach is shaped by empathy rather than extremism. Having once been a smoker himself, Raheel understands that fitness is inseparable from lifestyle, habits, and mental health.

His message is refreshingly simple. Fitness does not demand overnight transformation. It asks only for a beginning. Even a fifteen-minute walk, he believes, can shift the direction of a life. On social media, he avoids theatrics, choosing instead to share practical insights grounded in lived experience.

Coming from a family rooted in academics, Raheel is the first to carve a path through fitness and fashion. He wears that difference with pride. While national modeling campaigns remain a goal, his deeper ambition lies elsewhere – in impact, in changing how young people view their bodies, their failures, and their potential.

Some journeys begin with applause. Others begin with laughter meant to hurt. Raheel’s story reminds us that sometimes, the words meant to break us become the quiet fuel that keeps us moving forward. One decision, taken in a gym corner or on a cricket field, can indeed rewrite an entire life.