Tag: 4Play

The Beard Story…!!

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

There is a notorious group roaming in Manali. Their guilt: Growing Beard. Meet the people working in an adventure sports channel, 4Play.in. Most of them have nourished a beard, with some beards flowing long enough for others to gaze at them with astonishment. You ask anyone in Manali about the place where bearded men live, and they will point to the 4Play Hoffice.

Is it a company policy to grow a beard?”

Well, it’s a personal choice for everyone. It just somehow happens that all the beard fanatics are working together,” says Sukrit Gupta, co-founder of 4Play Media and Communication, and a proud owner of a bandholz beard. The company cites itself as a beard neutral workplace. No one is judged on the basis of their appearance and keeping a beard falls under the same category. Work is of the utmost priority and if that is not hampered, then everything is poised.

“What’s the biggest hinder it can cause at the work? Get dipped into your coffee? Soak all the caffeine required?

Don’t worry. We have three dogs who make sure to keep our mornings active each day,” jokes Prashant Bhatt, Creative lead at 4Play.in.

They do have a point here. Many corporate offices forbid keeping a beard. This is because, according to them, having a beard emits a laid-back attitude towards the person as well as the organization. You look like a ruffian as compared to a clean shaven person. This sounds very prejudiced and unfair in a world where we try to recognize someone on the basis of merits rather than appearance. Hence, growing a beard in an office environment seems to be another ceiling to break. And it looks like this company has got the right tools and attitude to break it.

They are progressing to become a trendsetter in this regards. Moreover, they challenge each other as to who can grow denser and longer beard.

Exhausted with the innumerable questions about their beard, the team decided to respond in a very funny way. By bringing their funny bones into the picture, they made a video explaining their reasons to grow a beard. The reasons are quite humorous and bizarre. This video sends two great messages. One, that they are not shy to make fun of themselves. And secondly, they teach us that there is always a lighter side to tackle trivial issues.

As if this video was not comic enough to circulate among your friends and colleagues for a good laugh, these guys decided to bring our focus to serious health issues regarding men, especially prostate cancer. Hence, for every share and comment on the video, 4Play.in will be sharing Re 1 to Movember Foundation, a foundation tackling men’s health on a global scale, year round. Watching a funny beard video (as rare as it sounds) on a No Shave November was definitely a great and, thanks to this cause, a noble idea.

A Kiwi’s Antar Yatra- An Intimate Pilgrimage You Need To Know About…!!

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

Travel has always been an integral part of every religion and not everyone is acquainted with the fact. Irrespective of the religion, pilgrimages have always been designed in such a way that the pilgrim encounters new experiences away from his/her vicinity. People are caught up so intricately in the web of life that they forget to see the world and explore a new perspective. A pilgrimage is one strict reminder.

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Kevin Duggan woke up to a similar reminder when he decided to visit India a second time. The same place where his sister Karyn Duggan had lost her life in 1998. Kevin had come a long way from New Zealand with his bike to traverse a considerable part of the Lesser Himalayas.

He had many unanswered questions and bringing a companion along would have defeated the whole purpose of the trip. Even after facing objections from his dear ones, the 53 year old set afoot on his journey alone!

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He cycled along Shimla- Narkanda- Rampur- Tapri- Reckong Peo- Spello- Pooh- Nako- Tabo- Kaumik- Kaza- Battal and all the way to Chattru in Spiti Valley. A 900 kms stretch on two wheels through mettle testing terrain. His idea was not to cover the distance from Point A to Point B but to ‘live’ the experiences that came along his way. Roadside workers inviting him over lunch, random stranger trekking a 50km patch over a mountain pass with him, pedestrians shouting out ‘Julley’ and many more overwhelming experiences is what emblazoned his quest. The ‘India’ Kevin had imagined ten years ago, was quite the opposite in reality now.

He felt spiritually connected to the place and feels that some part of his sister is still in that valley.

It was a mental challenge for Kevin to come back to India. He believed that harder the challenge is, greater efforts are required but if you meet that challenge; greater the rewards!

His rewards, as he genuinely puts it were, “meeting you (the 4Play.in Team) guys and having seven adopted Indian sons”.

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Everyone has a different way of traveling, some travel in groups, some aim in covering different spots on the globe but for Kevin, travel has a lot different meaning. Keeping himself in shape is what has helped him discover the world the way he wanted to.

Made of true grit and due to a passion for the outdoors, Kevin Duggan still going strong at the age of 53. Having completed one of the most prestigious endurance races on the planet, His quest for exploration has attained an undying character. Working regularly on his fitness level, he is quite a challenge to the status quo of modern athleticism.

Here is a video showcasing Kevin’s intimate pilgrimage journey.

The video is created by 4 Play. 4Play is India’s first adventure sports channel which curates stories from the outdoor extreme and adventure sports. They are the outcome of roughing it up in the outdoors, living on the cutting edge of what may be termed as extreme, and basking in the experiences that came along. For more interesting stories log on to http://4play.in and witness adventure sports like never before.