You may know him as a celebrity fitness trainer and a health expert, but for those who have sought training from him, call him “the guru”. Their bodies, lives and style of living have been completely transformed by him, a credit he humbly accepts. “If people are trusting me with their lives, it is binding upon me to deliver, to make them happy, to pull them out from shadows of unhealthy living and breathe life into their positivities,” AB says, while talking exclusively to Daily Times. What we personally like about him is that there’s no pomp and show, there’s no hint of glamour to rake in clients or unnecessary promotion for others to notice how great he is. AB relies solely and wholly on his years’ old credibility and the massive reputation he has built for himself of that being absolutely the best fitness trainer in Lahore. The claim has been further glorified when American publication TopTeny, named him as one of the top 10 fitness trainers in the world, recently. He’s quiet, dependable, intelligent, ambitious and focused — the qualities of every champion that there is and the cherry on top is that he has only gone from strength to strength over the years from the time he started out up until now. There has been a whole journey of struggle, fight, resilience, bravery and ultimately seeing the light of day by winning the title of the best that there is in his field. AB has been a 10 time national wushu champion, having represented Pakistan at international wushu championships on multiple occasions, winning both national and international tournaments for over a decade. He is also one of the only United Kingdom’s certified personal trainers in Pakistan. He has travelled far and wide to reach where he is today; from a champion performer to a personal trainer for his clients bringing them the best of his knowledge and experience. AB became a celebrity fitness trainer when a lot of his celebrity friends approached him for their upcoming projects where they had to achieve a certain physique on a timeline. He may have a lot of attributes and qualities but the one standing out the most for us is the fact that he’s consistent and passionate and we feel that it’s his consistency and passion only that has propelled him towards superstardom and tasting immense success on the way. “Personal training is an art and a science. You may be an outstanding sportsman but if you’re not trained in the science of fitness, you will not be able to customise the best regimen for your clients. The UK certification on personal training that I possess is accredited worldwide that also focuses on new research and developments in the fitness arena,” AB says. Being a former world champion of wushu, we wonder why we don’t even hear of this sport these days. “Simply because we don’t groom talent from a young age! I have tailor made some classes for children from the ages of seven to 14 at Sukh Chan Wellness Club specifically to cater to this need,” he says, giving us hope. AB says the three rules he has lived by all his professional life are never stop learning new techniques and upgrading your knowledge base, set goals at a global level and not in your immediate peer group and lastly, never give up on a student. “Allah has blessed all of us with great machines which are our bodies. We just need the right guidance, strength and functional training to carve out a master piece,” he states. We ask AB how he deals with unhappy clients or those being difficult, to which he says, “So far I have not had any! This is not to blow my own trumpet but simply because I take ownership of my work.” Asif Butt has had a phenomenal journey of self-learning, struggle and eye-opening experiences to which he’s grateful for because he says, it’s only the tough time that shape us all as better versions of ourselves. AB is a people’s person. There’s no pretence. He has reached the pinnacle and the very crest of success and stardom but little do people know that he was never born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Post his parents’ demise, he realised the importance of making a name in the field which was very dear to him and he held on to it tight, to be able to give a better life to his siblings. “You know when my mother was alive, she used to pray for me, all the time and that in itself never let me fail whatever I ventured into. I was flying for as long as my mom was alive. However, I feel like when she passed away, my feet never left the ground,” he recalls. Speaking further about his struggle as an athlete, AB says he may be a star now, but he’s seen the days when there was hardly any money in his pocket to get by. He might’ve been broke but was never poor, as being poor is a state of mind only and AB leads by example. From walking barefoot in the streets of Samanabad to get to his destination, AB has flown business class to the entire world, rubbing shoulders with fitness greats and health giants, becoming the ultimate celebrity fitness hero. Amongst his celeb clientele, he has trained Sana Fakhar, Meera Jee, Annie Khalid, Asian Body Building runner up. “My clients have won national Wushu championships and also won body building contests nationally and globally, however, I would rate Sana Fakhar as my favourite celeb student. She packs a power punch and has a brilliant cardio output as well. She is 100 percent dedicated and never gives up on her goals,” he says. AB has a dedicated YouTube channel that claims to build ripped bodies and recreate lifestyles. He breaks it down for those who don’t know what that is. “A ripped body is one that has optimum lean mass and less than 10 percent body fat composition in addition to good muscle definition. Gender is a key variable in terms of fitness training so whilst the basics are similar, I customise different regimens for men and women and also various age groups.” Currently, AB is working towards authoring a book that entails his journey as an active sportsman and an elite fitness trainer. He hopes to add value to the body of knowledge on this subject. Dwayne Johnson, Vin Diesel, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Lee are some of the people who inspire him all for different reasons. “The Rock has an overall power physique and has great presence in terms of stature. Vin Diesel is built with greater lean mass and has great endurance as well. Arnold is an all time perfect example in strength training and Bruce Lee had speed, power and lean mass with very optimised body fat,” he adds. AB says that at the time when he was announced as one of the top 10 fitness trainers in the world, he knew that hard work always pays off in the end. “My lowest low was a career threatening injury when I was playing and coaching wushu for WAPDA. It thought me that we cannot take anything for granted and one can always bounce back,” he says. Keeping in mind how saturated the fitness market has become over the years, with new gymnasiums opening up at every nook and corner and personal trainers eyeing, vying and dying for attention and to muster clients, AB has held his own and educates us that there’s a marked difference between YouTube taught “trainers” and professionally qualified ones like himself. “The best way to identify an amateur trainer and a professionally certified one is to tell the former to either train an athlete or to help heal a gym injury,” he says. What these young girls and boys don’t know is how dangerous it can be when they’re training people and have little knowledge on it. “Keep working hard, there are no short cuts. And don’t copy others, build your own regime and tactic,” he tells us. AB says one needs to devote an hour five times a week at a bare minimum to lead a healthier life with lifestyle modification and diet changes. He creates that regimen for his clients. You may know him as a celebrity fitness trainer and a health expert, or even as one of the top 10 in the world, but for us, AB is the saviour of many lost souls, seeking life transformation.