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Journalism of Courage
From going to the IIT to becoming a national level bodybuilder, a pilot and now one of India’s most-followed YouTubers, Gaurav Taneja aka Flying Beast may have achieved a lot but he believes that he has many boxes to tick yet. After cracking the IIT entrance exam in 2004 and going to study civil engineering at IIT Kharagpur, he went on to become a pilot.
Being an avid bodybuilder, he started his first YouTube channel in 2017, called Fit Muscle TV. He now has two other channels, Flying Beast and Rasbhari Ke Papa. Married to Ritu Rathee, who is also a pilot and social media influencer now, Taneja is a father to two daughters.
In conversation with The Indian Express, Taneja, 36, talks about his recent “Aasman Mein Bharat” campaign that he undertook on Republic Day and also addresses controversies like the Noida metro station fiasco that occurred last year on his birthday.
Started journey in 2017 by giving bodybuilding and fitness tips
Talking about his journey as a content creator, Taneja said, “My journey started in 2017 with out and out bodybuilding tips. I used to sit in front of the camera and just talk. I used to share my knowledge with people. That path gave way to vlogging. Initially I didn’t know that just sharing your lifestyle is called vlogging. People loved what I talked about and I started talking about how I manage my life around fitness. If I have to travel, how do I manage my meals, or what is my relationship with my wife.”
On what keeps him motivated on trying new things in life, Taneja shared his humble beginnings when he grew up in Kanpur. “I come from a family where both of my parents worked hard. My dad used to teach in school and then take tuitions in the evening, and also sold newspapers. It is ingrained in my sister and me as we grew up in an environment where we have to hustle for everything,” he said.
He said he has always done what his heart says and with passion. “If you do what you are passionate about, you won’t feel you are tired or don’t feel like giving your best. If you feel good in the morning before going to your job or working then you are in the right field,” Taneja quipped.
Piece of advice for youngsters
On a piece of advice for his young followers who wish to follow his path or if he considers vlogging a viable career option, Taneja said, “There is no set path defined for a vlogger as in certain conventional careers. But if you are a storyteller with a zeal to tell stories and you are the life of a party, then this career may be right for you.”
On the question if vlogging can become addictive as one feels like sharing every aspect of their life with their followers, Taneja said, “I don’t share my family’s life, I share my life. In my life, I have my parents, my wife and two daughters. While telling my life’s story, they become a part of it but they have a life outside this as well.”
Any aspects to his personality that viewers are not familiar with
On being asked if there are still aspects to his personality that viewers are not familiar with, he said, “If you are making videos of your life every day it is very hard to keep your personality hidden. You can’t be fake as people will get to know the real you.”
On calling out Air Asia in 2020
He called out Air Asia where he was working as a pilot in 2020 when he raised the issue of pilots being told to do landings in a particular way to save fuel. Taneja said it was the first time in civil aviation history that aviation regulatory body DGCA has suspended someone in the management of an airline in August 2020.
Calls Noida metro station fiasco last year “unfortunate incident”
Addressing the Noida metro station controversy of last year when he was arrested by the police after a large crowd gathered outside the Sector 51 metro station on the occasion of his birthday, he said it was an “unfortunate incident”.
“We had the permissions and I made that document public. It was not my intention to create chaos. I went there at 2 pm but the crowd gathered eventually. We did what we could have done but it was an unfortunate the way events took place.”
Shares more about ‘Aasmaan Mein Bharat’ campaign that he undertook on Republic Day
On 26 January, when India celebrated its 74th Republic Day, Taneja and his wife undertook a campaign of flying around 200 nautical miles, approximately covering a distance of 350 km in the sky, with the mission of drawing India’s map on the US skies. They named the initiative ‘Aasmaan Mein Bharat’ and completed the journey in almost three hours.
Talking about the initiative, Taneja said, “The idea came to us almost three months back. The most challenging part of it was that everything has to go right on the day. When pilots are told to hold on before being cleared for landing, we draw circles in the air. So, it clicked in my mind that if we can draw anything, why not draw our country’s map.
“From choosing which aircraft to fly and how much fuel it would need, wind conditions and what instruments we would need. There was a lot of technical planning and logistics planning in the mission. Everything was in our control except the winds. It is hard to predict the forecast and if it isn’t accurate, we face challenges. While making the Gujarat portion, wind suddenly threw us out but we managed to complete it. We felt very proud after completing the mission.”
Regrets in life
Asked if there is still any regret in his life after achieving all these things, Taneja pensively said, “I think no one should have regrets in life. If you have regrets, then it was meant to happen that way.”
“When I lost my job, I was so tense about how I would tell my family. But it turned out to be a good thing as I applied to some other job and got a better offer,” he said. “One should just work hard and leave the rest to God and things will fall into place eventually,” Taneja concluded.
