We were lucky to catch up with Vikram Patel recently and have shared our conversation below.
Vikram, sincerely appreciate your selflessness in agreeing to discuss your mental health journey and how you overcame and persisted despite the challenges. Please share with our readers how you overcame. For readers, please note this is not medical advice, we are not doctors, you should always consult professionals for advice and that this is merely one person sharing their story and experience.
It’s so strange going through something so common in the world to be dealt with in such a quiet isolation. Expressing challenges associated with mental health for males, particularly in the South Asian community, is extremely difficult for a number of reasons that could have its own dedicated piece in the future.
Throughout my 20s, I have learned a lot about myself ~ I manage diagnosed ADD on the daily, and when I’m not in high creative and business spirits, I have gone through very rough periods of anxiety and depression. I can only thank God, my family, and those who have genuinely supported me through all versions of my being without judgement. I hope my words resonate and that I can begin to become a proper voice for others who currently go through and have gone through similar experiences without shame.
Now to start with the word “overcoming”. I’m not sure that I’ve overcome my mental health challenges moreso than becoming a better decision maker with my inner guide. Much of it has become a lifestyle change and listening more to my intuition. Below, I describe a few things that help me:
1. When I wake up, I take all necessary vitamins and supplements for areas I am deficient in with a protein shake. I highly recommend taking a blood panel test to anyone who wants to know more about their body.
2. I take cold showers to assist with dopamine regulation for the day.
3. I pray and perform ohm chanting in the morning every day to awaken my mind and body vibrations. If you notice animals, they have their own “wake-up” sounds in the morning, and I have noticed a positive change from this.
4. Our focus and senses are constantly being redirected and pulled in different directions from technology and interacting with others. It’s important to have time to process and rest, so I often drive and workout without music or headphones.
– My workouts have even changed! I have gone through a couple different physical transformations, and in my most recent phase, which is also intertwined with my current business efforts (more on that later), revolves around incorporating yoga/flexibility/mobility.
5. I need the right type of environment and right level of stimulation to help me stay focused. A favorite coffee shop with ADHD work mode and lo-fi playlists have become a powerful duo.
6. I drink green tea and black tea for caffeine. I have noticed the pick-ups in energy are more consistent, and I don’t get so jittery, as with coffee.
7. For my diet, I am a vegetarian who focuses on pre/probiotics for gut health and vegetables during the day to keep my digestion process and metabolism going in the right direction.
– When I’m in the mood, I’ll eat spicy food in the evening, because eating it during the day causes me inflammation and feeling more sluggish/tired overall.
The last one I’ll describe that requires its own stream of sentences is that I have learned to observe and know myself better. I am, at heart, an extroverted introvert ~ very talkative and social when I have the energy, but require my own personal time to recoup for what’s next. When I was a few years younger, I would often push my social meter for the sake of business/getting to know others more than I could handle, but more recently I’ve gotten better at knowing how to allocate my intrinsic resources.
I’m always looking to improve in wellness areas, and I will let you know of my next inner iOS update.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
So I dive into many different hats ~ I’m a website designer, SEO specialist, portrait photographer, tennis coach, and music artist. Probably part of the ADD, but I love each of these parts of me for different reasons.
As a website designer, SEO specialist, and portrait photographer, I am focused on serving those in the health/wellness/fitness industry. My operations consist of understanding the client’s current and future needs, and helping them build and grow their digital infrastructure (website, socials, Google My Business, SEO, etc.). Through our initial consultation, we identify pain points and then create a timeline with measurable action items. I love connecting with other dreamers, and am very fond of helping those in this particular niche, given my own personal experiences.
The health/wellness/fitness industry also ties in with my second “job” as a tennis coach. I have been playing tennis since I was 11 years old, and have played college-level tennis. Tennis being my true first love, my brother and I started a nonprofit program called Patel Performance, which focused on bringing tennis to the Arlington community in underserved areas. The name has stuck, and since my recent move to Houston, I have been coaching private lessons and continuing my love for the game.
The last hat I will discuss today, music artist. My artist name is viktheguru and I have been making music since my sophomore year of college (about 8 years). At the time around 2015/2016, there was a recent trend on Instagram with many people posting pictures on their feed, saying they are about to drop a fire mixtape. I guess I took it for real, and decided I wanted it to be one of my college endeavors. I ended up getting much better at the craft after college during Covid (what happens when you have a global lockdown and a breakup), and am planning on releasing more music this year. I started out with melodic rap and R&B sounds, and am now venturing into more of a bedroom pop sound ~ this one is purely for my soul, and I am looking forward to seeing how I continue to grow as an artist!
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I think the first and foremost most important quality to have when interacting with others/clients is to know how to speak into their listening. Oftentimes, we have our own desires and agenda for how we want certain plans and objectives to go, but understanding my client’s wants, reading their energy and situation, and following up with appropriate next steps has led me into successful deals.
The concept of speaking into the other party’s listening was taught to me by a mentor. There is a book called “Cilantro Diaries” by Lorenzo Gomez III, where he discusses having his own personal board of mentors, and I believe it is imperative to know the people you can trust around you for advice and guidance. I have both a business and creative mind, and my mentor has helped me be able to flip between those two sides of my brain more quickly over the years.
The last is something I will be reiterating again. Learning how to pace myself. Burn out is real, and life comes at you in its own ebbs and flows. Taking both positive and negative experiences in grace, and having the intuition to understand and follow through with what is needed for you in the moment, whether that be taking action or resting, is essential for personal and professional longevity.
How would you describe your ideal client?
My main focus is to help small business owners and coaches/instructors in the health/wellness/fitness industry. I take exercise, nutrition, and meditation pretty seriously for myself and I love connecting with others who have seen the same benefits that I have. I am here to help bring my clients’ visions to life and am here to assist them in sharing their abilities that will positively impact others. Here is an actual list of types of clients that I work with and am looking to work more with in the Houston area:
– Fitness centers and gyms
– Yoga studios
– Health food stores or cafes
– Wellness spas and salons
– Nutritionists or dietitians
– Juice and Smoothie Bars
– Personal trainers
– Holistic health practitioners
– Local farmers’ markets
– Community centers offering health and wellness programs
I’m here to bring a more authentic greater good and it starts by coming together with those who seek to do the same.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://workingovernight.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/viktheguru
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/patelvikram2018
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vikrampatel1/
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/viktheguru
- Photography Portfolio Site: https://vikrampatelcreative.com tennis
- Website: https://patelperformance.org
- Music Artist Profile: https://linktr.ee/viktheguru
Image Credits
Carlos Callegari Alyssa Patel
