Extremely happy to kick off ReleasingNow’s interview series with our very own Aarush Bhola. A big thank you to him for readily agreeing to do this interview and sharing things/perspectives/wisdom, etc. Before we head over to the interview though, some background about him.
Aarush is an amazing personality. His YouTube channel ‘Aarush Bhola Fit – Mess’ has over 24,000 subscribers (I asked him the story behind this channel name; answer in the interview below). On Instagram, he has a following of 48,000+. He is the brand ambassador of MuscleXP. As of 1st May 2022, he is just 22 years old!
His talks are full of wisdom and life lessons. Never give up. No comparisons in life. Keep helping others. Always be happy. Keep enjoying. These are some of the mantras he follows in life and this is precisely the reason why he gets so much love from his brothers (he doesn’t like the word ‘fans’).
He obviously wants to grow his YouTube channel. In addition, he wants to open a gym and launch a clothing brand. The gym is his life. Sunday is his cheat day. On Sundays, he follows the mantra ‘Eating junk, still looking handsome hunk!’.
If you have been following him, you probably know all of this. However, if you don’t know him yet and just want to understand what kind of a personality he is, watch this below video of his with his dad. His journey from 10K subscribers to 20K subscribers moved swiftly on the back of this video.
Fortunately, Aarush swiftly agreed to do this interview and it was a dream come true for me. Additionally, Aarush is the first social media personality who we are interviewing. Hence, it is a special occasion for us.
In this interview, we discuss his journey so far, the mystery behind his channel name, he narrates an interesting story of how his interest in photography started when he was just 6, he shares important tips for those who want to get into any form of content creation, the bond with his father, why doesn’t he drink or smoke, a few things we don’t know about him. In addition, he makes some promises for us of things he will do when his YT channel hits 100K, 500K and 1M subscribers.
We had a Zoom call. I am currently figuring out a way to upload an audio or an audio-video version of the interview. Till then, read the excerpts from the interview. Here we go.
Interview with Aarush Bhola of ‘Aarush Bhola Fit – Mess’
Q1 – Thank you for taking out time, Aarush bhai, for this interview. Been watching your videos for a long time. It is a different feeling altogether. I have become a big fan of… your father (Vinod Uncle) after watching the video ‘Peg pe Charcha’. He is so open with you. Not many fathers are like that. Definitely not in Mumbai because I know the culture here. Is this normal in Delhi though?
No need to say thank you and all, bro. Let me tell you that I have got lots of messages from people saying they cannot talk straight with their father. We stay with our father, we have just one father – I find it strange that people can’t have a direct conversation.
I can’t talk about Delhi but I know for a fact that the culture is similar in almost all Punjabi families.
Q2 – Why is there a ‘Mess’ in your YouTube channel name ‘Aarush Bhola Fit – Mess’? Was it supposed to be ‘Fit – Ness’?
A lot of people have asked me if this is due to a typing mistake or what. But let me tell you how I arrived at this name. Earlier, the channel was just named ‘Aarush Bhola’. It didn’t represent anything. I did not want to add Fitness because there are several other channels with this combination. Then I realised that considering our own lives are so entangled in multiple things, it is sort of a big ‘mess’. It struck me suddenly and I thought this is an amazing, different name so I immediately went ahead with it.
Q3 – Most Punjabis I know drink alcohol to a certain extent, either at weddings or elsewhere. But what kind of Punjabi are you? You don’t drink at all. Additionally, you don’t smoke, nor do you have a tattoo. Please explain.
Talking first about tattoos, I have a couple of tattoos (Jai Shri Ram and Jai Shri Krishna) whose stories I shared in one of my videos. (Some background about this for the readers – Aarush made these tattoos during and sometime after his family trip to Haridwar when he was in the second grade). See, I feel tattoo is a lifelong thing and I don’t want to have such a tattoo that goes out of fashion. Secondly, putting up a tattoo will require me to take a week’s break from the gym, to ensure blood circulation happens to that portion of the body where the tattoo is so that it becomes darker. I am not ready to sacrifice my gym time for this!
Now, talking about drinking and smoking, I think people look up to me for certain things now. Hence, I don’t want to show or promote things that are wrong. And god forbid, if I even try these things once and they become a habit, it will deviate me from my focus which is YouTube at this moment. And anyway I am always pumped up, even without drinking, so what is the need?
Q4 – Do you think you will ever try drinking in life?
We have got just one life, so why not? But only when I achieve something small in life, or when there is a really big occasion.
Q5 – Your grandfather was a professional wrestler and had won many tournaments. Given this background in the family, you never thought of taking up wrestling?
What he did was really great and it is tough for me to achieve what he did. My interest actually lies in staying lean, posting content on Instagram and YouTube and growing the reach. The gym is where my interest lies so that’s what I want to do.
People think content making is easy. But as soon as your one video is done you have to start thinking of the other. Recording videos, editing for hours, thumbnails – there are so many things that go into this.
Q6 – If not a YouTuber or gym freak, what would you have done?
I would have been an artist. I would have been writing songs or singing. Or else, I would have been in the family business. I wouldn’t have done a job for sure – 100%.
Q7 – When did you get this clarity in life that this is what you want to do?
I like attention. So this one thing was already there that whatever I did, people should know me. I have been doing photoshoots since the age of 6. My friend’s mamaji (maternal uncle) had bought a DSLR camera from abroad. We used to take that DSLR in scorching heat and shoot photos. The goal then was to certain number of likes on Facebook and I used to really like that.
I bought my own camera so that there comes a seriousness with it because of the invested money. I started posting on Instagram and got about 20K followers. I started posting videos on YouTube hoping someone would watch them. I also got some brand deals along the way which was a decent enough validation.
Also, I keep getting greeted by fans every now and then, which makes my family really happy. Then I meet some at my gym. All of this makes me happy as well. Even if I don’t end up making a lot of money, at least there is some level of satisfaction that I get from doing this work.
Q8 – What advice would you give to those who already have a stable job, or have a family to look after but want to begin their YouTube/Instagram journey?
Firstly, let me tell you one thing about content making. People keep telling me that I get protein powder for free plus some additional money. But they often overlook the fact that I have been working really hard for the past 4 years. One thing to bear in mind is that – content making is not easy. It is not difficult either though. Here’s how you would proceed:
Content making requires seriousness. You cannot just start something randomly and then disappear suddenly. Have a proper plan in place. Start uploading 5-6 reels a week on Instagram, for example. People will start noticing you. If you have the capacity, invest in a good camera. When you feel that people have started noticing you and your following is growing, then you can think about monetization. But if you are entering this journey with quick money-making in mind, then you will not succeed.
It may take you some months or even years to get that initial growth. But once you do, your journey ahead will be faster. For example, it took me a lot of time to reach 1,000 subscribers. But my next 1,000 subscribers happened relatively faster. Similarly, my first 10K subscribers were a little slow but the next 10K happened rather quickly.
When I upload a video but it doesn’t get the views, I push myself to make another video. If the other video too doesn’t get the views, I push for another one. I am hopeful that someday some video will definitely amass a lot of views and will take the channel to a greater height. This is the kind of attitude which is necessary.
Q9 – What advice would you give to 18-year-olds who want to begin their YouTube/Instagram journey?
This is a golden opportunity for them. During college, to be honest, there is not much to study. People study 10 days prior to the exams. So you have all the time in the world to be a creator. Of course, if you are enrolled in a specialised course, then you know what you want to do in life.
Once you are done with your college, people will ask you about job, etc. But when you are in school/college, you have nothing to lose, no one to tell you much about what to do. Begin your content making journey then itself, start earning some money.
I started my journey as an 18-year-old. Some of my friends who started content making along with me have millions of followers, but all that is down to hard work, content type and luck. I don’t bother about these things.
There was a phase when I too had thought of taking up a job because I wasn’t getting too many views. I kept pushing myself through and now I am at a stage where there are decent earnings through YouTube.
Q10 – Tell us three things people don’t know about you.
First, I am bad at replying to my friends. I read the messages but park them for responding to later, but end up never going back to them.
Second, I cannot consume dairy products without some added flavour.
Thirdly, I eat chicken on Tuesdays too.
Q11 – If you have ₹10 crores as your bank balance, what would you do with it?
I will buy a new, nice house, open a gym, purchase camera gear and hire a good video editor. I will donate ₹1 crore. And the remaining portion will be my savings.
Q12 – But you don’t leave YouTube?
Never. I am not doing YouTube for money anyway. This is my passion. If for a couple of days I don’t create/upload a video, I feel some emptiness. So this is something that I will continue doing.
Q13 – There is one complaint I have. In fact, many of your followers have this complaint too. Aarush Bhola promised to do daily vlogging after hitting the 20K subscriber mark. Why has that not happened?
I had promised daily vlogging for 20 days. But I did it for 7 days before going back to the previous frequency of once in 2-3 days.
My life is currently very simple. I go to the gym, come home, meet friends – that’s it. I don’t party, nor do I travel much. So I thought there is no point in showing the same things every day. It will get repetitive. It is good that people want to see daily vlogs but I don’t think I will be able to do justice to them.
My goal is to purchase a good iPhone, hire an editor and then daily vlogging will be easier.
Q14 – You have said in one of your videos that you do not like travelling. In fact, you cannot stay away from home for more than 2-3 days. The question is – what is that thing that will make you stay comfortably for a longer duration (7-8 days)?
My problem is that I cannot stay with one individual for such a long duration. I get bored with that person, even if he is my best friend. I can stay longer outside if my entire group of friends comes along. Having a girlfriend will make things easier too!
Q15 – I want you to make one promise. What would you do for your subscribers when you hit 100K, 500K and 1M subscription mark on YouTube?
At 100K, I will give the Silver Play button to one of my subscribers. At 500K, I will organise a big party in Mumbai. At 1M, I will do a big, really big giveaway for my YouTube family.
Q16 – Who is your role model, from whom you have learnt a lot in life?
I don’t have any hero as such as my role model. But like everyone else, my role model is my father. I have learnt a lot of things from him. His helpful nature without expecting anything in return has come to me as well. I always wish for everyone’s good.
Q17 – Are there any YouTube/Instagram influencers whom you admire a lot for their content?
I don’t mean to disrespect anyone but I don’t watch videos of any other creators. This is primarily because of the lack of time, and focus I want to give on my own channel. I watch my videos at least 2 times before uploading to ensure there are no misses. As soon as the video is uploaded, I have to begin thinking about the new video. Then I read the comments to understand what people want.
Q18 – When are you doing your meet-up in Mumbai?
Mumbai is definitely on the cards, maybe in the next 2 to 4 months. Let’s see.
Closing Note
During the fag end of our conversation, Aarush also mentioned that he likes doing stand-up comedy and this is something he could come up with too. We hope we get to see this soon.
Lastly, you have seen the promises Aarush Bhola has made! So head over to YouTube and Instagram to subscribe and follow him respectively. We all want the play button, party and giveaway very very soon!