Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live without boundaries? Do you ever imagine how you would feel completely transforming your physical and mental states in the pursuit of daily betterment? Will you ever experience pursuing your dreams with a relentless passion, never faltering at the fear of failure or rejection?
If like me, you bank on the successes of those who have tried before you, then it is my pleasure to present a true case-study of the above.
Stefan Pinto is by all definitions a modern-day superman; male fitness model, national columnist, radio show host and stage & television actor. And that's just his resume. Underneath the tireless gym sessions and diet work he has embraced to create his sculpted physique, he is (surprisingly) dynamic when it comes to conversation. Let's face it - it's not that often you find someone this attractive with a balanced show of intelligence, introspection and compassion - making him quite the role model for any aspiring male.
And yet, even with all these achievements, there exists about him a very obvious air of humility.
I caught up with Stefan to find out what makes a modern-day superman.
Clément Yeung: Would you say that having heroes is a prerequisite for success?
Stefan Pinto: When I was quite young growing up in Trinidad, we didn't have many television shows to choose from; we had two stations and both showed the same programs! One treat was watching The Six Million Dollar Man on Sunday nights. It wasn't that he could run fast, or that he had a bionic eye or any of those things. It was the fact that he was given a second chance. Maybe that show suggested possibility for me. Maybe he was a role model? A role model is having someone to look up to. If we're fortunate enough, we have someone who believes in us and sort of points us in the right direction. In life, we don't always know where we are going and it helps when someone provides you with the motivation and the credence to help you get there. I've been fortunate to meet many people along the way that have helped guide me.
Clement Yeung: Two stations, both showing the same programs? Trinidad has come a long way since then, but then I'd have to ask you, what are your thoughts about the sedentary lifestyle we live today and how it's affecting our culture?
Stefan Pinto: Television is meant to be a form of instant entertainment. It takes us away from the daily routine of a possibly hum-drum life. It's sort of a fantastical arrangement between reality and possibility; perhaps this is why reality shows are so popular? They seem to imply a "me too" mentality; "look, they're just ordinary people and they have their own show about nothing in particular." Certainly, it is much easier to sit and watch something when your mind is overwhelmed, but I firmly believe - and have suggested - that when you're feeling overwhelmed or "too tired," that is when you should engage in a creative endeavour. It is also the best time to workout. Your mind becomes lucid and your thoughts return back to normal.
Clement Yeung: The Stefan Pinto of old seems a distant memory indeed. Who was he and what was his main motivation to change?
Stefan Pinto: Not really. The old Stefan Pinto seems to be a strong character even though his physical features may no longer be apparent. That "nerdy, shy guy inside" isn't that weak - sometimes he comes out with a vengeance. I may look different, but I'm still the same inside, now with a different altogether outlook on possibility and armed with a knowledge of what's truly important to me. Being a better person, asking "how can I help," really does change your outlook on life. It helps to count your blessings every morning when you wake instead of focusing on what's wrong with your life.
Clement Yeung: How often and for how long do you work out?
Stefan Pinto: Working out is a daily activity for me. It keeps me truly grounded and focused. People have laughed at me for joining a gym, then for hiring a trainer, then for not eating this or that and who knows for what else. But they turn around and say "I could never be so disciplined." The gym changed my life - saved my life, and now that I've come this far, an hour a day (sometimes two), really isn't a sacrifice.
Clement Yeung: What's your diet like? Got any tips for people that want a body like yours?
Stefan Pinto: It changes, but generally I stay away from processed, fake foods as much as possible. Before I started working out, I suffered from arthritis, GERD, migraines and debilitating allergies. Needles to say, I was taking prescription medication for these things, thinking that it is just part of getting older. None of this is true. If you eat a proper, nutritious diet - feed your body what it needs to stay healthy - you won't have these ailments. I eat six servings of vegetables every day, avoid meat, white rice, wheat and dairy (except yogurt). In one of my columns, I suggested how to eat fruit (always on an empty stomach to avoid gas and bloating) and you would not believe how many people wrote to me, mostly women, thanking me for that piece of advice. You would think being in the 21st century we would know how to eat by now.
Clement Yeung: I agree with what you say about food being thy medicine. However, I've noticed that some people just don't understand it and therefore don't take action. How do you react when someone asks you for advice and they don't put it to use?
Stefan Pinto: You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. People will only take action when they are ready. Unfortunately, most people take their health for granted. How many times have you heard, or even experienced, someone who changes their diet and lifestyle only after they've been diagnosed with a disease that was preventable? One of the simplest, easiest ways to jump-start a healthy lifestyle is to drink more water and eat more vegetables. This may be too simplistic for most people to believe, and if that is the case, then so be it. My personal conviction - and it has worked for me - is that it is our responsibility to take care of ourselves. Health care seems to be more of "health cure;" we are a nation focused on fixing rather than preventing.
Clement Yeung: Speaking of cultures, have you noticed that our culture points to "what to do?" in order to be successful, instead of "who to be?" Do you have a philosophy behind your lifestyle?
Stefan Pinto: If your virtues are built on acts that serve others in an altruistic way, where the arrangement is truly symbiotic, I feel that the "what to do" will answer itself. Once you know who you are, everything else will fall into place. So many people are lost today; either they are unemployed with skills that are no longer needed or they are trying to "fit in." Where do we belong in a world where we seek to differentiate ourselves while attempting to find our sense of belonging by fitting in?
Clement Yeung: You seem to get a lot done. You're either on a photo-shoot, in front of the TV camera or on stage, writing or having a great time. Do you have a set routine? Do you have any productivity tricks?
Stefan Pinto: I keep "to do" lists. They're on my phone, in my notebooks and on my laptop. Whenever I have a thought, an idea of something that I want to do, big or small, I write it down. Sure, it may not get done today or tomorrow, but it serves as a reminder of what I want to do. It's a fantastic feeling of accomplishment when you look at these lists and you can mark-off the items that you've accomplished. One of the best productivity tricks is getting up early. It helps put the day on an orderly track. None of this rushing around to catch up with the day, or feeling scattered and overwhelmed. Get up an hour earlier and you'll be amazed at what you can accomplish. The world is remarkably quiet early in the morning.
Clement Yeung: What was the single most defining moment of your life, and where do you think you'd be now if you hadn't experienced it?
Stefan Pinto: Realising that no matter what, life goes on. It must. Four years ago, a family member died. It was tragic and I think about it every, single day. I don't believe I will or can ever forget it. That single event made the whole point of everything different for me. Sure 9/11 made many people stop and ponder if what they were doing really "mattered." But we tend to forget those collective emotions. When a family member, you grew up with -- close to your age -- was here yesterday and is gone today, you do take into account your own existence.
Clement Yeung: Is there a trick to making the seemingly impossible, possible?
Stefan Pinto: Doing these things brings me joy. It really isn't "impossible" to me. You get up on stage and you say the lines, you sing the song, or you do the movement. Same with modelling, if you want to be a fitness model, find out everything you can on the industry and what it takes to do it. People do ask me how I manage to get all of these things accomplished. There are moments where I feel like I've gotten nothing accomplished and then there are days where I feel thoroughly productive. My very first column, I wrote while in jury duty. I didn't set out to have my own column, I just had nothing else to do. I hate wasting time, sitting around, feeling like I'm trapped.
Clement Yeung: If you could choose one word to describe life before your transformation, what would it be? And a word to describe it now?
Stefan Pinto: "Accidental." My first blog post surrounded how I accidentally changed my life by doing something different. This is what I encourage people to do; something different. It can be taking a different way to work, or stopping into a different coffee shop, or maybe even the same one, at a different time. Life is about the people that you meet and you just never know how one person could help to change your life. Hey, "if you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten." One word for my life now? Uncertain. Sure, this may seem shockingly frightening at first. In the beginning I found it so. But I don't want anything to be certain anymore, besides what is? There is so much more opportunity in uncertainty. You just have to be courageous enough to live with that knowledge.
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Engage with Stefan on Twitter or visit him at his website pintofactory.com.