Body-Shamed By Husband, This Woman Turned Her Life To Become Bodybuilding Champion

Ruby Beauty, a single mother from Tamil Nadu's Chennai, runs Zumba classes online to train clients in order to make ends meet amid the ongoing pandemic. Her 30-day fitness challenge is popular with fitness enthusiasts where Ruby helps her clients map out customised diet and work out plan which is to be followed religiously for a month. However, she is not just an ordinary fitness trainer.

In 2018, Ruby won the IFA Classic National Pro-AM Championship-Bodybuilding and Fitness in Guwahati, Assam. Interestingly, she was the only female bodybuilder to represent the southern state. In the same year, she won Miss India Bodybuilding. She had to overcome personal challenges to get to the point of winning accolades in fitness championships but due to lack of sponsorship and financial support, Ruby has been unable to fuel her career.

Fighting The Odds

Ruby shared that before her physical transformation, she worked as a teacher and was obese. Her husband constantly chided and body-shamed her which eventually turned toxic for the couple. Soon after, they parted ways. However, Ruby, with a strong mind and a stronger heart, used the series of events in her life to work on herself and kickstarted her fitness journey.

Walking at least 10 kilometers every day, gymming and training, and focussing on her plate helped Ruby in losing the extra weight. She wanted to be a bodybuilder but she lacked direction and was not receiving encouragement on chasing the goal. However, things started to change for good when she met Karthik (owner of a nutritional factory), who recognised her strength and understood her passion. Prasanth, a junior under Karthik, trained her. Even though it wasn't an easy road to success, she overcame all the hurdles and remained true to her dreams.

Although fitness is a journey, it can also be financially draining. Ruby explained that she has to take expensive supplements but things have been extremely challenging with the onset of the pandemic. However, it has not deterred her from putting in efforts.

"If you are going to think low of yourself then no one can help it. We can not go and fit into someone else's shoes, we know what our shoe sizes and the designs we like we wear. It's like the Cinderella shoes, it fits only for Cinderella, not for anyone else, we are all Cinderellas of our world," she told The Logical Indian.

Ruby said that she never felt like giving up once she had set her goal. "If I am not going to respect my word and my goal then who is going to respect my word and my goal?" she added. There were many difficulties on the mental, emotional, and physical levels but despite all that, the pain from her past has just made her stronger and given her fuel for going ahead in her journey.

She told that during the events the bodybuilders from the north and the western parts of the country were able to get good sponsors.. Her only disappointment is that she is yet to find a sponsor as she has been funding her training and nutrition. "The sponsors who come, they look for only the followers and likes."

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