Running on the Edge: Milind Soman

CLIMBING MOUNT KILIMANJARO, MUNCHING ON INSECTS, OR DIVING INTO THE FREEZING WATERS OF ICELAND—THE MODEL, ACTOR, AND ATHLETE’S FAVOURITE KIND OF TRAVEL IS SWEATY, AND ALMOST ALWAYS SHARED WITH THE LOVE OF HIS LIFE

- SOHINI DAS GUPTA

Tree lover and running person,” reads his Instagram bio. The deceptively disciplined rectangles of his photo gallery are spritzed with the colour and chaos of a free spirit...hiking, diving, running all over the world. Actually, make that two free spirits. By his own admission, Milind Soman’s favourite travel partner also happens to be his partner in life, Ankita Konwar. He loves the thrill of committing to active sports in new countries, and she likes faraway places with stories to spill. Here’s how travel makes the lovers meet in the middle.

Your childhood years played out over a lot of different places—Scotland, London, and Mumbai. Do any of the places/travels stand out?

I travelled a lot because I was swimming competitively. But back then, it was never about the place. I was travelling for organised events. At that age—I could have been 13 or 14—all I cared about were the swimming pools. And my family wasn’t with me. When you’re older you travel because you want to experience something particular. As a child you don’t know enough to be interested in the place or culture or food. But what was interesting about that kind of travel was meeting new people from different cultures, from all over the country, who were doing the same as me. I met swimmers from Kerala, Delhi, Punjab, Gujarat.

When did you start travelling mindfully?

About two years ago. After I grew up, sometimes I’d be travelling for 20 days a month. But even then, I was travelling for work. Anything that I saw happened by the way.