A strapping success!

A fitness trainer since the last 25 years, K. Satyanarayana Raju recently won a Silver medal at the World Bodybuilding Championship held in South Korea. Prior to that, he won a Bronze medal at the Asian Championship in Indonesia. Raju reveals that he started off his career by initially working in a gym.

Hailing from Bheemavaram, Raju says that he got inspired by Hollywood actor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

“After watching Terminator, I became a big fan of Schwarzenegger. And since he is the father of bodybuilding, I decided to take it up too,” says Raju, whose hobby quickly turned into a passion.

However, Bheemavaram did not offer any proper equipment or training. “I participated in many District tournaments and won many prizes,” recalls the 50-year-old Raju, who reveals that he faced many difficulties at the time. “Thirty years back, you didn’t get proteins or nutritious food to build the body.

You needed a lot of money too, but luckily, my mother supported me right from the beginning,” he says, adding that he had no one to guide him.

Raju, who earned a B.A. at Bheemavaram, subsequently won many tournaments. “I won the Mr Andhra Championship many times,” he says, following which he shifted to Hyderabad and got a job in a private gym here. “While I started working as a fitness trainer, I continued my bodybuilding too,” says Raju, who went on to win many championships, including Mr Telangana.

Raju’s elite list of clients includes celebrities and actors like Manchu Manoj, Navdeep, Ajay and Raj Tarun. The fitness enthusiast believes in hard work and does not suggest shortcut methods to gain or lose muscles.

As for his next goal, Raju reveals that he is training hard for the World Bodybuilding Championship next year.