KOCHI: With a gold medal in the master’s division of the 14th World Body Building and Physique Sports Championship held in South Korea last year, Peter Joseph Gnalian, the 63-year-old bodybuilder from Angamaly near Kochi, has illustrated once again that age is just a number. Earlier that year, he also bagged the coveted title of Mr Asia (master’s division) at the regional championship held in Kathmandu, Nepal. The two wins made him the only person to hold the Mr World and Mr Asia titles in his division.
It was in 1976 that Peter, then 16, began his training. The result of his hard work and dedication was instant and proved to fuel his growing interest in the sport. He won his first title — the Kerala University Champion (weight lifting) — while still a student at Sree Sankara College in Kalady. He continued this form and earned the title of All India University Champion a few years later, thus making him a name to reckon with in the sport.
However, life’s knocks saw him take up an accountant role with the Indian Railways. Even there, he longed to train and compete. And he did, clinching the Mr Indian Railway title twice during his tenure — in 2010 and 2012.
Peter’s formal return to the competitive world of bodybuilding was in the early 2000s. Though his prime years were behind him, Peter exemplified his mettle for glory when he clinched the first prize in the Masters National Bodybuilding Championship hosted by the Indian Body Building Federation (IBBF) in 2002.
Thus began a streak that would continue for over a decade, all this whilst still juggling his work. Peter worked for the Railways until his voluntary retirement in 2017. The years that followed were perhaps his most successful.
In 2019, he won the world weightlifting championship at the Master World Cup organised by the International Weightlifting Federation in the USA. In 2021, Peter won the gold medal in weightlifting at the Australian & Oceanic Commonwealth Masters Championships held in Australia. In 2022, he was conferred an honorary doctorate in Physical training from the United Nations University for Global Peace based on his achievements.
If overcoming the trappings of his age is indeed an accomplishment, Peter also stands out for his invention — Magic Gym, a training device that helps women and middle-aged individuals train at home.“Lack of body workout is the prime reason for lifestyle diseases. Therefore, it is essential that we maintain a healthy diet and physical activity,” says Peter. The sexagenarian also runs a YouTube channel that promotes a healthy lifestyle.