From the silver screen to the cricket pitch, Preity G Zinta’s passion for fitness and sports has always been a hallmark of her personality. As a co-owner of the IPL Mohali franchise, she’s been a prominent figure in the cricket world for years, but her love for the game goes beyond mere ownership. After a 26-year journey since her debut and an eight-year break from acting, Preity is set to reclaim her spotlight with a comeback in Rajkumar Santoshi’s Lahore 1947, slated for release in 2025. Her timeless fashion sense and youthful energy have fans of all ages eagerly anticipating her return.
Taking her enthusiasm to new heights, Preity has co-founded DRIVE FITT, an innovative gym chain that merges cricket training facilities with cutting-edge fitness amenities.
Opening its flagship location in Gurugram this month, followed by another in Noida, the venture aims to ignite a passion for health and fitness through the love of cricket. Co-founded with cricketer Shubman Gill and Australian entrepreneurs Mark Sellar and Deke Smith, the facility will offer state-of-the-art training for aspiring cricket stars as well as world-class gym facilities for anyone looking to get fit, enjoy the game, or enhance their skills for weekend matches.
In this exclusive interview, the actor and fitness enthusiast talks about her fitness and workout regimen, her vision for the brand, her passion for the sport, her plan to integrate cricket-infused training methods into the fitness programmes, and more.
How did your passion for cricket develop, and how does it influence your approach to fitness and wellness?
I have been interested in sports since childhood. When I was five, I started gymnastics and athletics and then went on to play basketball for my school and college. Playing any sport like cricket, or going to the gym makes it easy and fun to stay fit, stay sane, and stay connected with everyone, especially in a world dominated by technology leading to a stay-at-home culture where kids are addicted to video games and social media. The discipline required to do well in sports is the magic formula to stay healthy and fit all your life. Staying fit and healthy means being consistent with your training and eating well. There are no other shortcuts to health and longevity.
You recently returned to the Cannes Film Festival red carpet after 17 years. And you were the talk of the town. Can you share your fitness and workout routine? What are some of your favourite workouts?
I get bored easily, so I like to have different gym and outdoor routines. I love doing yoga, weight training, pilates and sports training. My fitness mantra is straightforward. Eat healthy and clean food. Eat everything, but portion control is very important, and never starve or go on crash diets. Where working out is concerned, it’s essential to stretch before and after a workout, it’s also important to drink lots of water, stay hydrated, and be consistent with your workouts. So, don’t work out one day for two hours and then not work out the whole week. It’s better to work out for 40 minutes a day, but at least work out five times a week.
How do you stay motivated? What is your personal fitness philosophy, and how has it evolved over the years?
It’s easy to be motivated when you have two-and-a-half-year-old twins. Earlier in my life, I used to work out to look good and feel good, but now I work out to be strong, besides looking good and feeling good. I want to be able to play with my kids. I want to have the energy to keep up with them and lift them when needed. The only way to make all of this possible is by being fit and consistent in the gym. It’s very important to love and respect your body and take care of it because it is our first home, and that’s why they say — health is wealth.
In an earlier interview, you said, “This whole thing of ‘don’t eat,’ it’s not fitness.” Can you please elaborate on that and your daily diet?
Good and lasting fitness is a perfect mix of working out and eating well. Starving yourself with crash diets is the fastest way to destroy your body from within. If you really want to eat less, try intermittent fasting but please don’t indulge in crash diets etc. I love Indian food, which makes it easy for me to stay fit since home-cooked meals are low in calories and high in nutrition.
You made a stunning appearance at the Paris Fashion Week. What is your style philosophy?
My style philosophy is to keep it simple and stay true to who I am. Your best accessory should be your positive attitude, your confidence, and your smile. Besides that, the way a garment is cut is very important to me. I like the sophistication and structure of my clothes. My mood, how I feel, and the occasion or event I have to go to, often dictate what I wear. One should wear clothes and not the other way round. Sometimes people get so carried away by wearing what’s in that they end up wearing clothes that are in fashion but don’t necessarily suit their personalities and body structure. I love to take calculated risks, and I love fashionable clothes as much as I love my salwar kameez, jeans, and track pants that I wear when I’m chilling at home.
What inspired you to co-found a fitness venture, and what vision do you have for the brand?
I love the concept where a gym meets a high-performance centre for everyone. I am a big believer in fitness, so my dream is to see every Indian on a fun and inspiring journey to good health and longevity. Having said that, these gyms are not just limited to aspiring professional athletes, but also to senior citizens, new moms, or anyone else who wants to be healthy and strong. I also want it to be a place where anybody who aspires to join professional cricket can come and train and showcase their talent. We intend to provide opportunities to all those people who do not have access to the best facilities for professional sports training.
What are the primary goals you aim to achieve with this venture in the next few years? Can you explain how cricket-infused training methods are incorporated into programmes? What are the benefits of combining cricket with traditional fitness training for participants?
I would love to see these gyms to be the perfect place for aspiring professional athletes who do not have access to world-class training facilities. Besides that, these gyms will also be the place for anyone who wants to be fit and healthy, no matter how old or young you are or if you are male or female. It will be a place where people come to be part of a fitness journey that is fun, inspiring and clinical in its approach to fast-track your path towards fitness and good health.
What motivated you to embark on this entrepreneurial journey, and how has your experience been so far?
Some of the best talent in the IPL are young cricketers from small towns who have struggled and toiled hard to be seen, to be heard, and to showcase their talent. Almost all of them have struggled with world-class training facilities and access to them. This has been my biggest motivation to be involved in this project. I want to reach out to anybody who has a big dream in sports and help them as much as I can, and I also want to make fitness easy and fun for regular people. India is a very young country and one of the superpowers of the world. We must be fit and healthy as we embark on a new journey towards global domination.
How have the contributions of Shubman Gill, Chris Lynn, and Ryan Harris shaped the training programmes and facilities?
Professional cricketers like Shubhman, Chris, and Ryan have had a lot of experience over the years. No amount of theory can rival their experience, and each of them has brought their expertise in the field into training to make training facilities better for people who want to reach their level. Besides having everything that a regular gym offers, there will also be access to bowling machines and cricket nets for budding cricketers and video recording so they can look at themselves and get better. All this under one roof will make it the perfect place, not just for a fitness enthusiast, but also for someone who wants to take up a career in professional sports.
— manuvipin@newindianexpress.com
@ManuVipin