Note to readers: Fit to lead is a series of interviews with business leaders on their approach to fitness, leadership and navigating the new normal.
The pandemic was a difficult time but also an exciting one for Vidur Gupta, co-founder of Third Eye Distillery, the makers of Stranger & Sons gin. It was during this time that he and his team came up with two special edition gins, including one which was a collaboration with Australian gin maker Four Pillars for which six people sitting in Australia and India tried explaining the complexities and nuances of each botanical using words and gestures over video calls.
Gupta, 30, grew up between Mumbai and Goa - he continues to spend time in both places because of his liquor business. He studied economics and management at the University of St Andrews in Edinburgh. Gupta’s first job was selling hotel rooms in the summer as a teenager and once he had graduated, he took on the challenge to grow his mother’s one-kitchen homegrown food business into a pan-India operation under the brand Gauri’s Goodies. As someone who lived overseas, Gupta had noticed that there was no Brand India in bars across the world and that was one gap he wanted to plug. Lately, there has been a proper craft gin revolution in India now and Indian gins, including Stranger & Sons, have won international awards. Stranger & Sons is now available in 14 countries across five continents.
Even though Gupta’s work involves a fair bit of travel, he has managed to adopt an active lifestyle and loves kickboxing and Crossfit-style HIIT workouts. His love for fitness started in his boarding school in Kodaikanal. “I was always involved in sports in school and simultaneously started going to the gym to lose some weight and gain some strength when I was 15. But it was rowing in high school that got me into fitness and opened my eyes to my body's potential,” he says. Edited excerpts from an interview:
Your fitness routine…
If I am in Mumbai or Goa, it is usually of a mix of kick boxing, HIIT and weight training in the mornings from Monday to Friday for about 60-90 minutes. I run 3-8km thrice a week in the evenings. I take the weekends off. While travelling, I have 15-30-minute workout routines that I can do in any hotel room.
Favourite fitness activity…
Over the lockdown I discovered and really took to kick boxing. I love the fact that it comprises so many skills: agility, reflex, strength and stamina.
The toughest?
Stamina-based activities are something I need to work on. I am good at exercises that require short bursts of energy, but I have been working on longer runs and swims when I get the chance.
The new normal for you…
For me things have pretty much gone back to pre-Covid times and work is starting to hamper my desired fitness routine as all things business have picked up at a great pace for us. But I try to schedule it in as much as possible.
Has your fitness routine helped you navigate the uncertainties of recent times?
It is definitely my go-to space to switch off and it helps me focus as the parts are constantly moving and one is always adapting. This is a great constant to have.
Also read: Stranger & Sons backed Johri & Sons and 22 more restaurants and bars to try in 2023
Leadership lessons in your fitness journey…
Consistency. How consistent you are with your workout will define your fitness levels and I feel the same consistency of work ethic must be brought into work to lead by example.
Has being fit helped you become a better leader and a better version of yourself?
I believe fitness is a personal journey and choice for everyone. I enjoy it and it definitely helps me centre myself and, in turn, just be a better person around other people, I guess.
Your leadership style…
We’re quite a dynamic team with varied thought and creative processes and to me it's imperative to provide a platform and direction for all to achieve their optimal potential. Thus, inclusivity and autonomy are definitely two values I hold at the core.
Also read: Best Of | Goa's craft liquor: 15 unique, new and limited edition spirits to bring back
How do you strike a work-life balance?
Working out is the only thing helping me strike a work-life balance at the moment. We are a young and ambitious company so the work hours can be sporadic and long. Exercise allows me to disconnect for a short while. I make it a point to not have my phone with me when I work out.
Goals and challenges for the next year…
Well, I have not had a great year when it comes to fitness so I am first trying pretty hard to get to my 2021 levels and would love to try my hand at an amateur kickboxing match one day.
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