The weights that anchor me

I’ve been thinking about the literal weights that anchor my life in Madras.

I’ve been outside Madras for 100 days out of the 4200 days since the gym started. 60 of which are in rural Kerala and 40 in the Andamans, Lakshwadeep, Bangalore, Singapore, Thailand, and Kochi. I can literally tell you how many days in each place. That’s how few it is.

Owning a gym is a stupidly maximalist existence that literally weighs you down with literal tonnage :D Like literally 3-4 tonnes. And then there’s the daily grind of coaching every morning. You really can’t leave for too long. The gym winds up owning you and your time.

And I realised Seaward road is the only place in India that I could survive in other than rural Kerala, so i plonked down cash for a nice house close to the beach.

And the gym is 100 meters away from home.

And I find great joy in making equipment and seeing folks use it and get stronger. So i keep adding to my maximalist existence. Every bit of equipment is like a milestone in this stationary terrace-top journey. It reflects what I’ve learnt and my experience coaching people. There’s memories, failures and the people I collaborate with to make this stuff. It’s really defined my life and my existence.

But my personal effects are 16 march tees and 14 decathlon hiking shorts and some inner wear. If I want to look pretty there’s 2 Patagonia shorts and 3 Goruck shorts to spruce things up. There’s 4 pocket knives, my Japanese shaving kit and an electric razor. And 2 Goruck backpacks. There’s some random stuff like my Sori Yanagi plate and bowl, a small red weighing scale, Luna sandals and my Casio watches. My mom and wife maintain a stash of clothes that I need to wear to look presentable to broader society too. My entire existence outside the gym fits in a 100 liter duffle and an R3 bike.

But the gym stuff accounts for 99 percent of the stuff I own by weight. And even more by volume.