Change your lifestyle with Hitesh Dhawan's online community.

No matter who we are, our peers have a strong influence on our decisions. Be it studying, starting something new, or living a healthier lifestyle. Perhaps it is because of human nature to conform with the norm or our need to feel accepted. Hence, it becomes important that we find the right crowd to steer us in the right direction. This is the mantra behind Hitesh Dhawan's success as a fitness coach & influencer.

We at SocialBoat recently had the opportunity to talk to Hitesh about his journey and struggles. Read on to know how he pushed himself and hundred others to live a healthier lifestyle.

Who is Hitesh Dhawan?

Hitesh Dhawan is the founder of ‘Dhawan Nutrition Center’ in Hoshiarpur, Punjab. He has built a global online community of people who inspire each other towards a healthier lifestyle. He can also be found on his YouTube channel and Instagram page where he provides health-related advice to his followers.  

Hitesh’s Journey with Fitness

Hitesh’s journey began in college. He was 20kgs underweight and often felt slightly under confident because of that. However, He always looked up to his father who had lost 20 kgs in weight and had a life transformation. One day he decided he wants the same transformation and started his fitness journey.

“I started running, my father was my coach. I followed a diet plan and I made up my mind to gain 20kgs of muscle,” he says. He had a good start, but, like any other person venturing into fitness, he also faced the two most common challenges.

“The first challenge I faced was maintaining my diet. While in college, we had to eat from the mess, we had no choice,” he tells us.

The second challenge came to define Hitesh’s journey of personal fitness and community fitness projects.

“When I started my fitness training, there was a lack of support. When I woke up at five in the morning to run, everyone would call me mad,” he says.

But Hitesh stayed strong on his path and continued under his father’s wing. After a while, he started getting results; people started noticing what he was doing, asking him for advice on fitness, and mostly started showing appreciation. This was his first fitness community and he could see the drive in him increase as the community started growing. Very soon he achieved his fitness goal and started chasing the next one!

What is your secret mantra?

“People often take gym memberships and after some time, forget about them. When I used to go to the gym, I saw many people working out alone; some days they showed up, on others they didn’t. The secret is to create a space of like-minded people, all interested in fitness who encourage, motivate, and push each other forward. Everybody has their own challenges, we never know who can inspire whom.”

It is because of this community support that Hitesh can see positive results in his clients.

How did you launch the Nutrition Center?

“When people saw what I was doing, some of them joined me, we became a group. I realized that I can make a profession out of my passion” On 1st March 2020, he launched the Dhawan Nutrition Center in Hoshiarpur, Punjab to reach more people. Things were looking good, but the nationwide pandemic lockdown began on 22nd March.

Surprisingly, the lockdown proved to be a boon. Hitesh shifted his nutrition center to the virtual mode and started taking sessions on Zoom. The clients multiplied exponentially. “Today, 1.5 years later, we are connected to people in 95 countries across the world,” Hitesh tells us.

How do you get your clients?

Hitesh’s initial clients came from Instagram. Now, he also gets his new clients through references.

“When our clients get positive results and see their lives transform, they recommend us to other people. This has been a huge growth boost for us, especially during the lockdown.”  

How do you manage an online community?

With clients in different time zones, Hitesh is connected to all of them through purpose-specific WhatsApp groups. He keeps his clients on their toes by organizing competitions, conducting daily Zoom calls, and providing benefits for referrals. The clients have a monthly membership, for which a monthly schedule is drafted to avoid missing out on anything. The focus is on community-oriented learning but clients can reach out anytime for one-to-one interactions as well.    

What has been the highest point so far?

“I feel the most elated when people heartily thank me for helping them in getting healthier.” The lockdown limited all physical interactions and most people became lonely and unhappy. While at home, they were taking the wrong kind of diet and developing other unhealthy habits. This virtual community of people, aiming to get healthier, helped each one a lot.

“When some clients joined us, they were taking anti-depression pills. Both their physical and mental health has significantly improved since then.”

How do you keep the clients motivated?

Hitesh’s nutrition center is focusing on providing a community space that keeps clients motivated.

Plus, for people not getting the desired results, they regularly follow up to understand what is lacking. “We focus on improving the lifestyle of people by monitoring daily habits, sleep schedule, etc. We work on their mental, physical, spiritual and financial health. It is a holistic approach.”  

The Next Step

Hitesh understands the role that community support plays; he wants to make his fitness approach reach more people, build a community as large as possible. The aim is towards better collective health- physical and mental.  

Our Two Cents

Hitesh Dhawan converted his passion into his profession. Because of his personal fitness journey, he has the insights that help achieve better results. Hitesh is a smart learner and a good observer who understood that to reach fitness goals, one must push oneself by looking up to others. Besides, Hitesh is determined towards a healthier lifestyle for himself, and for others. His story is an inspiration for those who wish to get healthier, and his company is a means for that.

To know more about launching your online community, visit https://socialboat.live

To reach out to Hitesh, DM here

@Rahul Jain: For editing