Flying Beast in Indore, says 'I wanted to become a cricketer' as he cycles to Chennai to pay tributes to captain cool Dhoni

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Gaurav Taneja aka Flying Beast, who has recently emerged as a famous Youtuber, is currently on a Delhi to Chennai cycling expedition to pay tributes to his favorite cricketer MS Dhoni.

Free Press had a quick conversation with him as he passed from Indore on Wednesday to reach Thaliava's Chennai under his mission 'Desh ka Dhoni'.

Gaurav, who has 3.8 million followers on Instagram and 7.8 million YouTube subscribers, is a huge cricket fan and wanted to be a cricketer.

“I used to go to a sports academy in Kanpur as I aspired to be a cricketer. However, with increasing pressure of studies I had to give up on that dream,” Gaurav said.

Sharing his love for Dhoni, he said, “Dhoni is an inspiration. When I met him I touched his feet. I started following Dhoni after he won the 2007 World Cup for India. Dhoni remains calm and composed in every situation. We saw yellow jerseys everywhere we went. Dhoni is neither of Ranchi, nor Mumbai, nor Chennai, he belongs to this country, that is why we are collecting wishes for him across India.”

Before he became an influencer, Taneja was a commercial pilot. He has also worked as a nutritionist.

When asked about any tips he would like to give to people who are stuck in wrong career, Taneja said, “I have always followed my heart. This is how ‘Aasman mai Bharat’ came to me. Most important thing is that you should like what you are doing. If you are stuck at the wrong place, it becomes monotonous. College years are the golden time to decide what you want to be because after you get married it gets difficult.”

Notably, on Republic Day this year, Gaurav Taneja drew a large Indian map in the sky by flying for 350 kilometres in three hours. Gaurav performed the daredevil stunt as a part of the 'Aasman Mein Bharat' mission. When asked about what keeps him motivated to try such creative things, he replied, “The execution is difficult. It takes a lot of mental toughness. Dhoni is also mentally tough that’s why he is the best captain. I suffered from cramp, heatstroke on the very first day but that doesn’t matter if you are mentally tough.”

When we asked how does he take care of her daughter when he is out on creative missions, he said "My parents are very supportive and take care of daughters at home. "

Though Gaurav is active on social media about several current issues, he chooses to keep mum when Free Press asked him about the wrestlers protest against WFI Chief, BrijBhushan Sharan Singh, claiming that he is not aware about the issue.

Gaurav completed his Btech in Civil Engineering from IIT Kharagpur in 2004, but then revived his dream of becoming a pilot. In between Gaurav also pursued his passion for bodybuilding and fitness.

Talking about Indore, Gaurav said that he met people with banners for Dhoni all around the city. “The people in Indore and Ujjain are so welcoming. The best part of this journey is the 65 km stretch from Ujjain to Indore where we met people at every nook and corner with Snacks, so we did not have to buy food anywhere. They brought us Chai, Poha, Sev, Biscuits.”

He also visited Mahakal Temple in Ujjain. On a lighter note, the fitness freak also said that Indoreans are fit because they eat Poha in every meal.