Ram Gill is a living breathing example of the long time saying, “behind every man’s success there is a woman.” Although body building had always been a sport that intrigued Ram, his wife, Kuldip is the true lady luck behind his success. Fed up with Ram’s lifestyle, which consisted of mostly drinking, hanging out with friends and a little more drinking, she took a different approach to the problem. Many men are visual learners; she chose to show how Ram’s actions were affecting their family. Instead of criticizing she encouraged Ram to pursue his lifelong dream of body building. Shortly after, Ram was introduced to his present trainer, Jimmy Miskinis, who through his diet plan moulded Ram into a bodybuilder, “I walked in as a weight lifter and walked out as a body builder.”
Ram’s path came to a sudden halt December of 2009, changing Ram’s life and shattering his dreams. Ram was diagnosed with testicular cancer. With a three year old daughter and a wife, who was seven months pregnant – this was the biggest setback of Ram’s life. He was told he would have to undergo mandatory surgery, as well as radiation treatment. The timing could not prove to be more wrong – all of this happened three to four months into his training. Ram was forced to put his dream of competing as a body builder on the back burner, since six months of training is a mandatory requirement. Ram was fortunate enough to have a great support system. With the love and dedication from his family and trainer, Ram was able to quickly put the pieces back together. Filled with relief as his wife told him, “don’t worry about anything, concentrate on what you want to do, I will always support you,” Ram began his trek towards the competition, with a new born on his lap. This is where Ram’s true journey began as a body builder.
As Ram said, “No dream was ever realized without some type of an action.” With Ram’s recent climb up the ladder of success in body building, he has nonetheless become an inspiration for others. I couldn’t help but wonder who has been Ram’s inspiration? Ram explained that he does not have just one body building role model, since he is impressed by the dedication and desire displayed by all those in this sport. He explains “they are all truly inspirational,” because every action invoked by each of these athletes adds to the foundation of success for present and future body builders. Just to get their body in such intense physical shape, takes more than throwing a bunch of weights around in the gym. The first step towards being a body builder is serious commitment and a strong desire, because if you crave that Big Mac in the middle of the night, you can’t have it. Instead, you eat a dozen carrot sticks and wash it down with a protein shake opposed to a milk shake. The other steps involving building a solid foundation in body building are taking the initiative, proper planning, smart training, strict dieting and continuous learning. Ram also looks up to his trainer Jeremy Miskinis, who has been a body builder since 2002. Jeremy outlined a strict diet plan and a solid training regiment for Ram. “His insight gave me invaluable knowledge about dieting, nutrition, how muscles work, and how to train like a bodybuilder.”
Our world is formed on the concept of beauty. Adolescents deal with negative body image on a daily basis. That being said, young adolescent males have usually been ignored when it comes to discussing negative body image, while the limelight stays on young females. I was curious as to Ram’s view on body enhancers, as a body builder. Ram, being a skinny kid himself throughout high school, thinks it’s really important for children to be educated about the long term effects of body enhancers, such as steroids. “Schools educate children on the effects of other drugs, but the biggest cause of steroids usage is negative body image in young adolescent males. They should have a platform for young adolescent males, which can open the floor for honest discussions about using body enhancers.
Due to the strict diet and exercise plan, Ram’s advice to those wanting to pursue body building is to do it recreationally, “don’t let it overtake your life, keep your priorities straight.” Being a bodybuilder, you have to be a on a strict diet most of the year. Some protein consumed by Ram include, chicken, lean ground beef, bison, salmon and his carbohydrates come from yams, oatmeal, and brown rice. And don’t forget those veggies, as well as drinking a minimum of six to eight liters of water per day, which is all balanced out by hours at the gym. Closer to a contest date, bodybuilders tend to stay away from supplements, such as protein shakes, pre and post workout drinks, because everything that goes into the body is natural.
Lance Armstrong, an American professional road racing cyclist set the record when he won Tour de France seven times in a row. More importantly, he did this after surviving his battle with testicular cancer. Ram Gill, a ten year veteran of the Richmond Fire department started with a dream of becoming a body builder and now holds the title of Mr. BC after surviving his battle with testicular cancer. What these two men have in common is they both dared to dream. A dream has a beginning and when turned to reality it holds no bounds.
