Mr India Supranational 2025, Shubham Sharma, on Winning Big and Dreaming Bigger

Just a few years ago, Shubham Sharma’s life looked very different. The 24-year-old was preparing for the Officer Training Academy (OTA) entrance exams, aspiring to serve in the armed forces. But 2025 had other plans. He went on to win the title of Mr India Supranational 2025 and will now represent India at Mister Supranational 2025 this month in Poland.

He admits he didn’t see it coming. Shubham is a fitness instructor and a national-level footballer, but now it’s the world of glamour and glitz that has called him. “I wasn’t into pageantry at all,” he says. “I’d only just started modelling last year. And then out of nowhere, I get this message—‘We’ve scouted you.’ It was from Mr India. I thought, okay, why not. So I went for it. My first time, and well, I won.”

The shift has been fast, but Shubham is grateful—and it shows when you speak to him. “The journey was special. It came suddenly. I hadn’t followed pageantry before, but once I got here, I knew I had to give it everything.” With just a few weeks to prepare, he immersed himself in training for the competition. “For 20–25 days, I trained. And somehow, by God’s grace, I won,” he says.

Football, though, remains the beating heart of his story. “It’s everything to me,” he says. “I used to be a professional footballer. That sport shaped me — it gave me discipline, focus, confidence.” It also became the foundation of his From the Ground Up community service initiative — Kickstarting Dreams, a grassroots project providing football gear and access to underprivileged children in red-light areas, juvenile homes, government shelters, and the transgender community. “It’s close to my heart. We’ve just started. But even if one kid gets to chase their dream because of it, that would mean everything to me. This is what I want the most.”

Through his initiative, Kickstarting Dreams, Shubham has joined hands with Sports Mentoring Infusion (SMI) to fuel change at the grassroots level, using football as a bridge between hope and opportunity.

Shubham’s clarity inspires awe. “Wherever I go, I want to carry where I came from with me. I want to be someone who is the means for those children to achieve their dreams.” Beyond that, he’s eyeing acting. “I’ve always loved storytelling,” he says. “I want to do more — explore that side too. So yes, Bollywood is definitely on the horizon.”

Ask him who he looks up to, and there’s no pause. “Prathamesh Maulingkar,” he says, adding, “He won Mr Supranational in 2018 — and he’s the one who sashed me when I became Mr India. He was also a footballer before this, and he’s serious about fitness and growth. I really relate to his journey.”

The training for the international stage has been intense. “We have a proper schedule from morning to night — gym, walk training, content workshops, grooming. It feels like we’re prepping for the Olympics sometimes,” he laughs. “I’ve learnt so much. Not just how to walk or pose, but how to carry myself. How to speak. How to be confident with people. I used to be super introverted — didn’t talk to anyone, just stuck to my circle. This has pulled me out of that.”