Offbeat: Sahil Chopra – The childhood bully who could be a motivational speaker

Sahil Chopra is the CEO and Founder of iCubesWire, a digital marketing solutions company which help brands acquire and retain clients through web, mobile, email, Videos, Rich Media and so on. He is a highly motivated and adaptive digital marketing professional and Internet evangelist with an expertise in Internet Strategy development and execution. Chopra has over 9 years of experience in digital marketing across multiple traditional and emerging channels.

Chopra completed his engineering from PTU and pursued an MBA from Symbiosis. Thereafter, he started his career with NIIT – Global E-learning Services, where he was exposed to the concept of digital marketing. Prior to joining iCubesWire, Chopra was associated with Hong Kong Tourism as Head – Digital Marketing.

He is a fitness enthusiast and is passionate about cycling and driving. He believes that whatever one does, one should do it with a lot of passion and ethics.

How were you as a child, and which childhood trait do you still possess?
My childhood was like a typical notorious next-door boy, who is touted as the ‘don’ in the neighbourhood. The ideal among the kids and a bully in the eyes of the elders! If you came visiting me during school, I would either be standing outside the class for creating ruckus or would be found bunking with my friends. Besides the fact that my teachers hated me, I was born with the bug of curiosity and was an inquisitive child. These qualities have very much stayed with me over the years and are a part of my personality even now.

Which superhero did you look up to as a kid and why? Which superhero power you wish you possessed?
Honestly, I wasn’t a superhero admirer. Unlike, the other kids of my age, I didn’t idealise any fictional character. In fact, what inspired me were qualities of real people, whom I encountered in my day to day life. I was a non-serious person who was clueless about the future and would love to get invisible like Mr India and do anything that I would like to.

What is your biggest fear and how do you face it?
I am extremely close to my family and friends. Just like many of us, I fear losing them from my life. I dread the hollowness and void that will be created when a situation like this occurs and I wish to not face it ever.

A skill you possess that no one knows about?
I have a strong sixth sense to be able to read people’s character. I can judge people basis their body language, way of talking, etc., and touchwood! I’ve always been correct regarding my judgement. This skill is positive in many aspects, but you certainly miss out on the surprise elements which are revealed about a person over time.

What would one find in your playlist?
It would be a playlist of extremes. On the one hand, there would be gym songs that’ll pump me up and boost my mind with enthusiasm and boundless energy, while on the other hand, there are slow songs of Lucky Ali and Jagjit Singh that are soothing for the mind and relaxing for the soul.

Which is your go-to activity to relax?
I am an ardent sportsperson who’ll play golf, squash and visit a gym at least six days in a week and that is exactly my favourite pick for relaxing as well. Besides sweating it out at the gym, I like to irritate my wife and my six-and-a-half-year-old kid with lame jokes, vicious laughter and nonsensical talks. (Somewhere down the line, I think they like it too!)

What would one find in your playlist?
It would be a playlist of extremes. On the one hand, there would be gym songs that’ll pump me up and boost my mind with enthusiasm and boundless energy, while on the other hand, there are slow songs of Lucky Ali and Jagjit Singh that are soothing for the mind and relaxing for the soul.

Which is your go-to activity to relax?
I am an ardent sportsperson who’ll play golf, squash and visit a gym at least six days in a week and that is exactly my favourite pick for relaxing as well. Besides sweating it out at the gym, I like to irritate my wife and my six-and-a-half-year-old kid with lame jokes, vicious laughter and nonsensical talks. (Somewhere down the line, I think they like it too!)

What’s the one thing you would like to change about yourself?
My drastically escalating levels of OCD. I am sceptical about the timings, extremely particular about the cleanliness and tidiness of things around me. Under the garb of being organised and structured, I tend to become over-structured all the time, which becomes uncontrollable and embarrassing for the people to bear with.

If not the CEO and Founder of iCubesWire, what would you have been?
I’d say a motivational speaker. I have a knack of giving gyaan to people and thankfully, have received praises for it. I don’t give boring lengthy speeches, instead relate every bit of what I speak to my personal instances and club it with a few jokes. This technique is highly appreciated by the others. So, yes, I would’ve loved to be a motivational speaker whom the audience would love in return.