An owner of a Cranbourne multicultural gym has won big at a state bodybuilding championship, while continuing to build a tight-knit fitness community.
Sarab Singh Gill, owner of Fitbase Cranbourne, has recently won gold in the Masters division (age over 40) and bronze in the under-80kg division at the 2025 Victorian Natural Championships.
Sarab started bodybuilding in 2018. His passion didn’t just stop at sculpting his own physique — he also focuses on building a supportive, inclusive community within his gym.
His sporting background, including a postgraduate degree in physical education, a diploma in sports coaching, and years of competitive athletics in India, laid the groundwork for him to take over the local gym after Covid.
“I’ve done my first competition in 2018 or 2019. Since then, I’ve competed in various big competitions. I went to the World Championship in 2023. And then, I started competing in international competitions as well,” Sarab recalled.
“In the meantime, after Covid, I spoke to the owner of the gym. He was losing interest in the business, and obviously, my background was sports and fitness, so I was very happy to take over this place.”
Since taking over nearly four years ago, Sarab has overhauled the gym floor, expanded the space, added a dedicated women’s training space, upgraded equipment, and introduced new systems and services, all aimed at creating a more welcoming, respectful training environment.
“Whatever money we made, we’re just buying new equipment, providing better service, doing better cleaning, creating a more professional system,” he said.
“We are on the right track, and the members are beautiful.
“We got a separate ladies’ training area, which is very good for ladies because sometimes what happens is, migrant ladies, they don’t like to train outside in the main hall. They feel very uncomfortable.”
Having lived in the area for more than a decade, Sarab said it is a very compact community.
“It’s not like we are the owners and they are the members, and we don’t have any mutual relationship,” he said.
“Instead, we help each other. We talk. We build a friendly environment in the gym.
“Apart from this gym, if someone has got any issues or stuff like that and they want to talk to us, they feel free to talk to us.”
Behind the scenes, Sarab lives a highly disciplined life. His daily routine includes a one-hour cardio session every morning, followed by structured meals every three to four hours, strength training, and consistent recovery.
His philosophy is that he could be a better person through bodybuilding.
“It (bodybuilding) teaches me a lot of things – how to respect food, how to be more disciplined in your life,” he said.
“We don’t go out to the parties because we don’t have time. Even if you have to go out for the party, we will eat our own food. We don’t actually eat outside food.”
He credited his discipline to his parents, like his mother, also an athlete, who remains a strong presence in his life.
When asked how people can improve their self-discipline, Sarab said they have to build up some motivation to be a better person.
“Not only physically, but socially, emotionally, we have to be better. This is our job as humans,” he said.
“Because God has given us this life, we have to respect this life. We need to respect everything: your food resources, your water, your air, your body, your mind.
“Obviously, we have to be financially strong. It’s a general point. Everybody likes to be rich and famous. But at the same time, we have to be responsible for our own bodies as well.
“Body is the only thing that is yours. You have to look after your body as well as your mind. A healthy mind will always stay in a healthy body.”
Sarab has a message to aspiring bodybuilders, or anyone looking to improve their health.
“First, they have to be very disciplined,” he said.
“They have to build a good relationship with good nutrition, good food, so they cannot have a good physique while having bad habits.
“They have to rest, recover, improve their sleep, drink lots of water and then train regularly.
“These are the basic things, but there are a lot of other things we can add on, such as how to train, and you need to have a trainer as well.”
As he prepares for his next competition this weekend, Sarab’s focus remains the same: not just on winning, but on inspiring others to chase their best and building up a community in his gym.
