Jack of all trades - Abhishek Pandya

An ambitious and aspirational culturally rooted Brahmin boy is what we would call Abhishek Pandya. But he likes to call himself a “struggler” who shall win hearts one day and achieve fame and success. He is a Surat-based fashion model who is now trying his chances at acting.

Coming from a very conservative and low-key background, Abhishek always noticed the discrimination between the upper class and middle class or lower. This ignited him to achieve big in his life and create an identity of his own.

"Slow and steady wins the race!"

Being in an all-boys school, Abhishek had always been low-key and shy and faced confidence issues in a co-educational college like K. P. Commerce College. Interestingly, he had no friends but one twin brother who has been a constant and a best friend for life. The twin brothers decided to perform on stage overcoming all the fears that they had and successfully bagged the second position in an intercollege fashion show competition held at Udhna Citizen College, Surat.

This venture opened the door for Abhishek for Mr South Gujarat title. Recommendations poured in, and he jumped into the pool of modelling. There he faced his opponents who looked far better than him, which lowered his confidence but not his determination. That determination led him to the grand finale. Abhishek reminisced about the day when he bagged the title of Mr South Gujarat. Abhishek was flooded with emotions as he carried the award home. He was on cloud nine as he could bag the title despite the strong opponents but sad as there was no one around him to share that happiness. His father outright disgraced and discouraged the fact that his son was pursuing a field he didn't expect. Mr South Gujarat further got nominated amongst the top ten candidates for Mr Gujarat.

Abhishek Pandya - Poster Boy of B>more

Abhishek worked little jobs to meet the expenses. He worked as a senior fashion consultant in B>More, Surat (Bhagwandas & co.) for Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein. Mr Vijay Chaliawala, the owner of the company, noticed Abhishek while he visited the store with the designers. Learning about the titles that he had, Abhishek was engaged to be the official face of B>More in the upcoming new launch. Since then Abhishek is called "The Poster Boy of B>more".

This was his first professional shoot as a fashion model for a brand and after that, he made up his mind to continue in the same field. While working for B>more, he took up more modeling assignments to improve his portfolio. Now there was no looking back for him. Later, he took up a job at MAC cosmetics, Surat. "Social media has made the world smaller!" exclaims Pandya. His work was appreciated by his regional trainer who asked him for a modelling assignment for MAC on men's grooming. This turned out to be a huge opportunity for Abhishek and without a second thought, he accepted the proposal.

Pandemic had hit every one of us and so did Abhishek. Mental breakdown, anxiety, depression, and self-doubt slowly crept in and made Abhishek insecure about his career. But Abhishek had always been strong-willed and hence he didn't let that fail him. He made sure to create a harness for himself that any day such a situation arose in his life when he would have to quit modelling for whatever reasons he needed to secure his future. He decided to pursue an MBA in Marketing from D.Y. Patil University and spent all of his earnings behind his studies rather than on trivial things.

Abhishek claims to have learnt a lot during his tenure of ups and downs. Being a culturally rooted Brahmin boy, Abhishek doesn’t want to leave his roots. As much spiritual, he is equally inquisitive and rational.

Abhishek & Fitness

Abhishek is obsessed about his fitness, be it physical or mental. Not only is he a fan of building up a good physique but also eating the right kind of things. The young twins started working out with basic homely weights, later realising that these were not sufficient. Deficit of money they searched out for the cheapest gym and thus they came across Veer Suryapur Vyayam Shala which is one of the oldest wrestling clubs in the city. Post the body building with this place, he even tried out certain fancy gyms but the discipline and the dedication that he had experienced at this place he could hardly find in those fancy gyms.

Abhishek is a man of integrity who knows how to treat his subordinates well. He is a man who respects the lowest of the subordinates. He has been through rough times and hence he knows the value of a man and not his position.

Take Away:- Focus only on your goals. It is important for you to know when and where you need to utilise your time and energy. The ultimate goal of Abhishek’s life is to be the Jack of all trades

“Nothing is permanent in this temporary world!”