Bypassing college to become a YouTube influencer: Inside Satvic Movement's roots & ambition

Harshvardhan and Subah Saraf of Satvic Movement.

The Internet is full of health tips. Some of the health advice online is grounded in research or traditional wisdom, but much of it is unfounded or copycat material with little attention to accuracy or even safety. Be that as it may, it is a difficult space to crack for wannabe influencers. Yet it was this space that Subah Saraf, now 25, bet on seven years ago when she started posting her YouTube videos, about a lifestyle that she says she found helpful to overcome her PCOD (polycystic ovaries disorder) and hypothyroidism: Satvik.

Aged 17 then, Subah Saraf had elected to forgo a formal college education to study with health gurus committed to the Satvik way - in India and abroad. It's hard to overstate the courage of conviction it would have taken for her to skip college in search of virality. Her YouTube channel, Satvic Movement, started garnering some attention online. Subah started to offer some offline workshops around the National Capital Region. She met Harshvardhan in 2019, while looking for a place to host an event in Mumbai. In 2021, they tied the knot and began working on Satvic Movement together. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Satvic Movement's YouTube following soared to almost 7 million. Cut to 2024, Subah and Harshvardhan Saraf, 33, her husband and co-lead in the Satvic Movement - the venture they run together now - have co-authored a book, 'The Satvic Revolution: 7 Life-Changing Habits to Discover Peak Health and Joy'. The last leg of their book tour is in Bengaluru on August 31.

Hear them speak and you get the sense that the book is the foundation of a new chapter for Satvic Movement: one which has a Satvik ecosystem for "community members" in all major cities. The duo have compiled an animated video that envisages a Satvic kitchen service, store, wellness centres in the metros and beyond. It can all feel a bit cultish in the big picture, but for now there're just the videos and the book: a culmination of what they've learnt so far and potentially a bible for what they want to accomplish next.

Satvic Movement's 7 Habits for Peak Health and Book Tour

Bharat Mandapam in central Delhi is a massive venue for hosting events of varying sizes, from conclaves to fests. Its two auditoriums have seating capacity of 600 and 900, respectively. On August 18, a Sunday, over 800 people streamed into the larger auditorium. From kids aged 5 or 6 to septuagenarians, people streamed in knowing that they were going to be there for over 3 hours. Some had attended Satvic Movement's online workshops and health challenges before. Subah and Harshvardhan started the evening with a shoutout to them.

Satvic Movement may have started - and grown, especially during the pandemic - by engaging with people from the other end of a camera lens, but Harshvardhan and Subah have ambitions that extend much beyond. On their book tour, they share videos, take turns talking to their audience, call volunteers on stage to test Satvic recipes as well as elements of their recipe for good health and get Satvic Movement employee/members also come up to illustrate their idea of healthy living spelt out in the book.

Basically, they have a seven-point programme for peak health. Watch this video for a crash course in it:

Inside Satvic Movement

With 6.97 million subscribers, Satvic Movement is far from being the most-followed channel on YouTube in India. Having said that, its most watched videos have an enviable count of up to 35 million views.

Some of the practices they preach, like being active through the day or getting adequate sleep or cutting sugar and ultra-processed foods from your diet, are supported by science. Some of the content they have posted, however, has also raised questions over whether there is enough protein in a Satvik diet or if the overreliance on coconut and coconut milk is harmful for the heart. (Satvik food is like vegan food with more restrictions. For example, strict practitioners do not use cooking oil because it is not something that exists in nature in this form.)

Whichever side of the divide you stand on, they offer a place to start thinking about living healthier in this day and age - with a quiz. Take it here: