Obstacles are meant to be surmounted, hardships are meant to be overcome, and with a little effort, you can change your personality and become a different person altogether—all you have to do is look within.
That’s what happened to Hyderabad-based Zumba trainer Vijaya Tupurani, the founder and director of FIVA Revolution, a fitness company based in Hyderabad and Pune. After taking up Zumba when this dance form of fitness was almost unheard of, Tupurani has earned the tag of ‘Zumba queen of Hyderabad’. “In 2011, I got to know about Zumba through the Internet. I did a flash mob in Hyderabad. The concept was new in India, so a few of my friends got together to spread the message ‘Dance your heart out’. Around 10-15 of us gathered to start it, and soon the public joined in. It went viral with more than 10 lakh views,” says 38-year-old Tupurani.
While organising the flash mob, she learnt about the aerobic fitness. “A lot of people asked me if we were doing Zumba. Since I had no idea, I went home and researched it and got drawn towards it. I also learned that there was a Zumba class in Hyderabad,” she explains.
Thus began her journey in the world of fitness and since then there was no looking back. “In February 2012, I got my certification in Zumba. My instructor was an Australian. After two months, I got a call from a studio to take Zumba classes. Though I was unprepared, I thought of giving it a try. Since then, I have been taking classes every day. I started my career with three students and today, I have more than 1,500,” Tupurani says.
She admits that starting Zumba when no one knew about it was a challenge. “It was tough, I worked a lot on creating awareness, but I never marketed myself. My students increased through word of mouth. Soon, I started taking regular classes at Google and Bank of America,” she says.
However, the journey wasn’t an easy one for Tupurani. Five years ago, she was suffering from post-pregnancy depression after giving birth to twins. That was before taking up fitness, which changed her life completely. “I lived on anti-depressants for 18 months. I had panic attacks, I was paralysed for two days. I even tried to commit suicide twice. That was the extent of depression I was living with,” she recollects .
Fast forward to 2016. “I have eight instructors in Hyderabad and seven in Pune. I keep travelling across the country for fitness classes. Since my best friend and manager is from Pune, I had opened a branch there,” adds Tupurani, who was awarded the Women Achiever for 2014-15 for fitness and wellness.
One of the biggest factors for her rise as a fitness instructor is her YouTube channel, which has over 41,000 subscribers and garners more than two million views. “Because of YouTube, people started recognising me globally. I upload three songs every week. A lot of people have lost weight after watching and exercising to my videos. That is a big encouragement. The ability to change the lives of people I don’t know, even those residing outside India, is a big thing,” she adds.
After mastering all forms of Zumba, learning doesn’t stop for Tupurani. “I have done nine specialty trainings in Zumba. Now, I will start practicing for Piloxing, a combination of boxing, pilates and dance. I’m going to train hard and it doesn’t matter if I’m the first Piloxing instructor in Hyderabad or not, but I want to be the best,” she says.
For her nine-year-old twins’ summer vacation from school, the Tupurani family will head towards the cooler climate of Jammu & Kahmir. “Aarti Mahajan, an instructor in Jammu follows me on YouTube. When I mentioned my plans to visit, she requested me to take a class at the Jammu club. My vacation will start after that,” she says.