Nav’s story – shortlist nominee for the Self Management Champion award
"It's important for there to be more people out there that look like me, being positive role models and showing others they can do it too."
“Boots and Beards came about purely by accident. As fathers, Kash and I started to look at our lives and noticed that our families were becoming more reliant on computer games and technology and that our close-knit connections were getting lost. I am still scratching my head as to why I said it, but one day I suggested we all go hillwalking. I had never been into it before, but Loch Lomond was near, it was free and I thought it would be good for us all to get out of the house and into the fresh air. We really enjoyed it and made plans to go out every couple of weeks and as we were sharing pictures on social media our friends started asking to come along.
We quickly realised it wasn’t just us that were finding our families drifting apart, others in our community were suffering as well. Boots and Beards works so well because we have gained respect and trust from our community. We have people now asking us for different activities like yoga, bootcamps and cycling, and this got me thinking that hillwalking isn’t for everyone, especially in the Scottish weather. We wanted to link it back to the outdoors at some point but we knew we had to improve the fitness of the community first so we now offer health and wellbeing options as well. There was no game plan, we grew organically and developed based on what people were asking us and what they needed. We know we have still only scratched the surface.
Our community are normally very reserved and don’t talk about personal issues or things we are struggling with but, by creating a safe space with like minded people who are happy to share stories and to talk about what we are going through, we are supporting each other to get fitter and healthier.
I am in my mid forties now and I was about 25 years late to this party. I wish my parents had done this with me when I was growing up and that is one of my hopes going forward. I want to target a younger audience, to teach them to be more health conscious, to enjoy exercise and make better choices with their diet. Members have said that if it hadn’t been for the group they wouldn’t have made the changes they have and they wouldn’t enjoy exercise as much as they do. This has been life changing for so many people in our community and I would love Boots and Beards to be available in more areas in Scotland. Our community is no different to others across the country, we have the same problems, particularly within the Asian community, but it is important for there to be more people out there that look like me, being positive role models and showing others that they can do it too.”
This story has been shared in collaboration with the ALLIANCE’s Self Management Awards, which form a part of Self Management week.
Read more inspiring Humans of Scotland stories here.
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