In Conversation with Valmakry
Today’s world has seen social networks play a huge role in how people portray themselves, or rather, how they would like the world to perceive them. People do different things to project an impression to their circles that their lives are amazing and their personalities are worth emulating. But here is one so called ‘social media influencer’ who believes in spreading ideas and thoughts, as opposed to personality and looks. In fact, he takes this pretty seriously, to the extent that not many have seen him without his customary helmet over his head.
This is Valmakry.
The man.
The enigma.
Or, as he describes himself, the Curious Tadpole.
Meet Valmakry, a person who wants to bring positive changes in every person’s life, by living the life he has always wanted to live!
He has attained a cult following on Instagram, with his passion for biking, traveling, photography and commitment to social causes making for an intriguing and dynamic personality worthy of attention. While his reluctance to show his real face is part of what he does, he prefers to focus more on ideas and thoughts that shape our society, which has grabbed people’s attention more than anything else.
He took out some of his valuable time to share his ideas and thoughts with our blog:
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A lot has been said by your followers about who you are and what you do. But how would you describe yourself?
It doesn’t matter who I am or where I come from, all that matters is what I do and the message I leave for the public. Valmakry is not a person, it is just a character exploring and learning about Planet Earth one thing at a time while also sending positive messages to the public.
1 year, 403 posts, 78.8k followers. What do you think people see in you that makes them believe in what you do?
As I told you earlier, people see a character instead of a person. All I have is a name. No caste, no religion, no family background, no home. So, there is very little others know in order to judge me.
All they see is what I do and I always make sure that the whole focus is on that, because my actions are what define) me.
#iamfool — A splendid initiative, but a rather puzzling campaign slogan. How would you explain this to a person who may be confused by the slogan?
I am FOOL stands for — I am Future Of Our Law. Each and everyone wishes to do something to make our society better or to eradicate something bad. But (not everyone has) everyone does not have the time or opportunity to do the same. Work, life or other commitments get in their way. So, this campaign is an opportunity to express what you always wanted to tell, in a peaceful way.
‘Living the dream’, focuses on the relevance of what you do rather than (on) how you look! At what point in your life did you feel that you knew what you wanted to do?
I knew what I had to do way before this character was born. But like any other person, I was bound by commitments and had to wait for the perfect time to go behind my dreams. That was when I realized that there is no such thing as perfect timing, you just got to start and make it perfect. Once all that was set, I just started my voyage and I’m very very happy that I made that decision and that’s what gave me the strength to go forward even during hard times.
-Your tattoos have been a huge talking point. What great stories do each of these tattoos hold? (Tell)
There are in total 4 tattoos(4 tattoos in total) — 2 in each hand. So, initial 2 tattoos are AMMA and APPA.
I always wanted to get a tattoo, but when I finally got the chance to get one, I didn’t know what to do. Since this is a permanent thing, I didn’t want to risk getting something ordinary that I might regret later. That is how I came up with this design. All this happened in 30 minutes. I drew this design and finally had my tattoo, which is unique, and something I will never regret. It is actually an ambigram.
Around 5–10 followers got the same tattoo on their arms as well and sent me the pictures. So I decided to do another two along with the old ones. I haven’t revealed the meaning of those tattoos yet and I am planning not to! (hehe).
So, it’s the helmet that drew a lot of attention in the first place. What are the customizations that you brought in for your use?
It is a SOL matte black helmet. I have added a sena SMH5 bluetooth and a smart indicator and brake light which is linked to #Shado.
With reports of many accidents suffered by (happening to) motorbike enthusiasts while on trips, what do you suggest must be done to reduce these unfortunate incidents?
Well, we have to be careful while we are on the road because we are not solely responsible for all the accidents that occur to us. It could be the terrain you ride in, fault of a fellow passenger, other drivers/riders, animals, or even careless pedestrians.
So, you have to be careful. That’s the first thing to do in order to avoid such accidents from your part. As for the other factors that we have no control over, be prepared for them and wear proper riding gears.
With the influence you have, which issue do you feel strongly about and what do you want to do about it?
Ignorance is the biggest problem we face. Everybody is busy with their own lives and little do they understand that all our lives are connected and sooner or later we all will be facing the result of our doings together.
I want to bring all these people together irrespective of their differences and work towards a common goal: Betterment of Humanity and Safety of Earth, because we are way behind in this regard.
Amongst the many journeys you have undertaken, which one changed your perspective on life?
My Kochi -Mumbai ride in June last year. It was a solo ride and that is where it all started.
Shado and Nyt — The off road and sports variant bikes. How do you come to the correct conclusions before you go for a bike? How do you feel the connection with them?
First of all thanks for noticing the obvious difference between both of them. Most people see two bikes
Well, Shado is a tourer/ offroading bike and I had zero doubts in my mind before taking that decision. I wanted to explore as much as possible, so I needed a bike that could take me anywhere I want. It was as simple as that.
Nyt — my new R15. I have clear plans for this one as well, which you will see in the near future.
People talk about wanting to live the life they want to dream, but often say the society pressurizes them to live the life they expect of him/her. According to you, in what extent does societal pressures affect the way we live?
Right from the day we are born, we are directly or indirectly influenced by the people who are around us. But at some point of time, we become totally aware of the situation and want to do something about it. But we will be helpless. Most people adjust with it but there are a very few who keep this in the back of their mind and later on, make a decision to get out of their pressure filled life lives and live the life of their dreams.
It is okay to get inspired by successful personalities. But what we really need to focus on is how they reached where they are today: whether it was sheer luck or whether they created their luck by working hard. I don’t believe in luck, we need to work hard for it and other things follow.
As an ‘anonymous’ influencer, do you feel that more people should be encouraged to not openly show their personality and lifestyle online?
Personal life is public now. Most of them think it is okay to upload the most private moments of their lives in social media platforms which is not the bravest thing to do. For what? The 100 or 1000 likes you get or for 150 comments from random people? What is the point in making a clown out of yourselves for all this? Use all this time to do something productive. That’s what I feel.
Which of the many snaps you have taken is your personal favorite?
Gopro selfie taken during my Kochi-Mumbai ride which made me the character that I created. Until then I was planning to go forward with an illustrated character which is my logo now.
Every story, every post of yours highlights important ideas that need to be spread.
Being a great influence among the youth, what is the next step that you want to take?
Unity in diversity. I want to make this myth a reality.
Last, but not the least, which Paperkin article impressed you the most?
When will we ever stop? That’s the one that impressed me.
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Check out Valmakry on his Instagram to see some really interesting content that will motivate you to live the life the way you want to, and to take part in initiatives such as FOOL (Future Of Our Law), a platform for people to express their views on topics they wish to without fear of consequences of having their opinions.
Also read: In conversation with Sana Khader
