Best of Weekender: Tête-à-têtes with Luke Coutinho, Viraj Datt, and more

In the third week of February, YS Weekender had a mixed bag of stories on entrepreneurship, health and fitness, photography, and entertainment.

YS Weekender got into a conversation with nutritionist and Co-founder of RESET and GOQii, Luke Coutinho. Having realised that nutrition alone cannot fix health problems, Luke got involved in integrative and lifestyle medicine, and co-authored books with Shilpa Shetty and Anushka Shetty.

During the interview, Luke discussed his stint as an entrepreneur, holistic wellness, social media and its impact, what stops India from becoming fit, and much more.

He said: "It all comes down to what you assign value to: Netflixor your health. Similarly, if you assign more value to your growth in your company alone and less to your health, you will burn out."

Check the conversation where Luke dives deep into his stint as an entrepreneur and explains what stops India from becoming fit.

The sneaker business is evolving fast and enthusiasts who buy and sell limited edition sneakers know that these tangible assets make great investments. Statista reported that the sneaker market was valued at $79 billion last year, and it was expected to reach $119.5 billion by 2026.

B-town celebrities are now inclined towards rare sneakers and we caught up with the 22-year entrepreneur who supplies limited edition sneakers to Bollywood celebrities. Chandigarh-based Viraj Datt sources limited edition sneakers from the US, Japan, and India and resells them through his Instagram page, VJ Kicks.

Starting his business in 2017, Viraj has sold more than 500 sneakers so far. His star-studded client list includes the likes of Parineeti Chopra, rappers Divine and Raftaar, singer RitViz, and Ananya Birla.

COVID-19-led lockdowns saw many turn to their kitchens and put the chef hat on. Going by this trend, Amit Gupta and Mohan Lath founded Pune-based baking academy Bakedemy. The online academy provides a 360-degree learning programme, focusing on the essentials of baking, cake decorating, and the business of baking.

Co-founder Amit says, "Our aim is to help home bakers in India build a sustainable business at a cost that makes learning available to almost everyone."

The 90-day programme is conducted by professional trainers, chefs and cake artists, and is priced at Rs 15,995 per candidate. Since the launch of the course on October 26, over 325 students have enrolled in Bakedemy. Of these, 225 bakers have already completed the course.

For your weekly fix of entertainment, YourStory MediaReviews Netflix wedding reality show The Big Day. The three-episode series, produced by Conde Nast India, is Netflix's modern take on traditional Indian weddings.

The Big Day reminds one of the much-talked-about Netflix show Indian Matchmaking. The show tries to touch upon important themes such as a bride's role in a wedding, stereotypical rituals, and equal participations by the bride and groom's families. However, it fails to dive deep into any of these issues.

Superficial at the surface, The Big Day fails to showcase the 'chaos' that is an essential part of Indian weddings.

In a guest column, we had Functional Nutritionist Deepa Kannan suggesting foods that keep one healthy and safe. She says, "Remember that they come from whole food sources. Random supplements promising immunity are a myth."

Deepa suggests that the first step to better immunity is avoiding eating foods that congest the lymphatic system. Eliminating gluten, dairy and refined sugar, and including ginger, broccoli, and green apple makes the immune system stronger.

Shrey Bhagat writes about how to successful tell stories through photographs. He says, "Stories can be written in words, but when they are written in pixels, the magic is simply unparalleled."

The co-founder of wedding photography company Knotting Bells writes about the do's and don'ts of wedding photography, focusing on how capturing the right moments at the right time is important to keep memories alive through photographs.

This week, Joji George, Co-founder of GoNuts , answered our Proust Questionnaire.