From a skinny lad in Tirunelveli to an international weightlifting champion, Walter Arun Kumar has come a long way. Today, the gym owner and personal trainer has over 30 medals to his name.
The 37-year-old's journey began in 1997 when he came to Chennai during the summer vacations and happened to visit a gym along with his friends.
Most champions have a decisive turning point in their careers, which drives them to success. In hindsight, for Walter, his introduction to the gym was the moment that changed his life.
"I accompanied them to the gym but wasn’t able to lift weights, unlike my other friends. This was a bummer for me and it kept lingering in my mind during that holiday," says Walter.
He might be all muscle but Walter had a frail figure in his teens. Strong of will, he started making his own weights using bricks and sticks once he got back to his home in Tirunelveli.
“After I started working out at home with makeshift equipment, I improved. It was a slow, step by step process, one push-up at a time,” he explains.
"When I was in Class 11, I joined a gym and started to learn from my seniors. I bought fitness-related books and read them. I used to go to the gym before and after school,” he says.
In the 90s, fitness was not given the same importance and value it gets now. Walter was a regular at the gym but no one saw a career for him in it.
In Tirunelveli, his options were limited and he was told to drop his obsession. “I kept visiting the gym often while in college and that led me to hear a lot of advice. People asked me to change track and take up running or some other sport which they said offered better chances to build a career,” says Walter.
But he stuck to bodybuilding even as his friends who joined the gym with him quit after a few months. Asked how he stayed committed to it for so long, he says, “When I first saw a gym, I couldn’t work out in it because of my physique. That was when I started working on my body. Despite hearing discouraging words, I just continued doing my thing.”
Not everyone was a naysayer. There were also people who recognised the spark in him. “One day, a fellow gym-goer motivated me to enter competitions and I decided to give it a shot,” he says.
In 2010, in his first district-level weightlifting championship in Vikramasingapuram, Walter came out on top, winning the event. “The judge asked me why I had not tried entering the state-level championship, saying such talented bodybuilders should be encouraged,” said a beaming Walter.
From then on, he hopped from one competition to another, winning everything that came his way.
After over 10 district meets, Walter entered the state championship. “I won gold in my first attempt and went on to win seven state championships,” he says.
Walter took up many odd jobs to sustain himself but destiny made him a gym trainer. “I tried my hand at running a travel agency and other ventures but finally settled in as a trainer. Although it was very difficult, it tied me to the one thing I wanted to do and also kept me fit,” he explains.
"So in the morning at 5:15, I opened the gym, trained members till 8:30 and in the evening I went back to the gym at 5 and called it a day by 10."
Once Walter moved to Chennai in 2015, the routine got even tougher as he needed to be a trainer, take care of his physique, maintain his diet and get adequate rest as well.
“Bodybuilding is very demanding. Further, it is an expensive pursuit as you have to follow a diet besides spending on supplements and other needs,” adds Walter.
Walter started with 140 kg at the district level and went on to bench press 180 kg on the international stage in 2018. Today, he can do well beyond 200 kg.
His tryst with international glory came after he won a gold medal in the national weightlifting championship in 2017.
In 2018, Walter qualified for an international meet in Bali. But he suffered a major setback just before the competition. “I had the international event in April but my father passed away in March,” he says.
Walter was unable to train to his full capacity and was back to square one. He had a mind game to conquer before the actual contest.
"Eventually I pushed myself because I knew this was my only chance. Even when my dad was in the hospital, I used to tell him that I wanted to be an international champion but unfortunately, he didn't live to see that," says Walter.
Walter's journey hasn't been easy and even now, he feels a lot more can be done for the sport. "Weightlifters don't even have a grievance redressal body. There is not much happening to increase the scope of the sport, whether it is coaching or identifying talent," he says.
Even with an international championship under his belt and his own gym, Walter is not content. "I have set my eyes on the Commonwealth Games now and it is still my dream to go to the Olympics," he says with a gleam in his eye.