‘Atheist’ John Abraham hasn’t missed gym in 35 years, calls fitness his religion: ‘While doing Pathaan…’

Calling himself "practically an atheist", John Abraham recently described self-care as his religion, emphasising that the body is a temple that must be nurtured and maintained.

By: Entertainment Desk

Kochi | Updated: February 25, 2025 10:05 AM IST

3 min read

Calling himself "practically an atheist", John Abraham recently described self-care as his religion, emphasising that the body is a temple that must be nurtured and maintained.

Bollywood actor John Abraham has been going to the gym every day for the past 35 years. (Credit: Facebook/@TheRealJohnAbraham)

In a country where religious fanaticism runs deep, John Abraham has positioned himself as an atheist, viewing fitness as his religion. Renowned for his well-maintained physique and striking looks, John recently opened up about his dedication to staying in shape, revealing that he has been going to the gym every day for the past 35 years. Calling himself “practically an atheist,” he described self-care as his religion, emphasising that the body is a temple that must be nurtured and maintained.

“I don’t do it for narcissistic reasons. While doing Pathaan, as soon as I landed in Spain, director Siddharth Anand said, ‘John, you’ve got a scene now, in the pool.’ I didn’t know that. I said, ‘Sid, I need time; I’ve just come off from a flight. Actors need to do transformations.’ He replied, ‘No no, in the pool.’ And the next day, I was in the pool. So, I’m always in a transformed state most of the time, with maybe about a 10-20 per cent deviation. I genuinely like taking care of myself,” he shared during a chat with The Hollywood Reporter India.

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“Dostana and Pathaan are byproducts. I don’t do it for narcissistic reasons as if I need to have a six-pack for a particular film. I have it, great! I’m fit, great! I have got a migraine issue. So, on those days, I’ll do lighter weights. But I won’t not go to the gym. There’s a special ecosystem of people that really get what I’m doing and that’s who I cater to,” he added.

Interestingly, British-Pakistani actor Alyy Khan and his wife Chandni Saigol once praised John’s discipline, stating, “The reason he can take off his shirt at this age is because he hasn’t tasted sugar in 25 years.” Alyy also revealed that John has never smoked or consumed alcohol and is a vegetarian.

When John Abraham told SCREEN he hasn’t had a cheat meal in 22 years:

John’s Mumbai Saga co-star Rohit Roy also shared a similar anecdote about his unwavering commitment once. “We were shooting for Mumbai Saga. Gupts (Sanjay Gupta) also loves food. There was this another actor, Shaad Randhawa, who owns the restaurant Bayroute. Outstanding food. At this point in time, we were shooting in South Mumbai. So he would say, ‘I have brought food from Bayroute ya, let’s eat.’ Shaad would put a spread, obviously, if John Abraham is called for lunch then… it was all kebabs, hummus, excellent food,” he shared during an appearance on Cyrus’ podcast.

Rohit continued, “John wouldn’t eat a single thing and he would make us eat the whole thing. The first day, I noticed he didn’t eat anything… he did the same on second day. Then I realised, he is calling us for food, feeding us but not eating anything himself. Then he would say, ‘Don’t worry yaar, don’t feel guilty, you have eaten all this food, tomorrow don’t eat carbs. That was a serious advise.”

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