Namma Royal Challengers have plenty of loyal aficionados who root for them through thick and thin. But only a few of those ardent fans get to be part of RCB’s Bold Army. Meet superfans Mohit Kashyap and Allen Abhishek who impressed the judges at the Bold Army Boot Camp and bagged a chance to be part of the RCB crew this season.
Mohit, who has been chosen as the team’s chief photographer is a mechatronics engineer. Having studied at Hubli and Belgaum, he used to work with an MNC before making it to the team’s crew. “The selection and the title itself is overwhelming. I look forward to the next two months as I’ll get to be with the team and create amazing photo-led content capturing key players during their practice sessions, events, team sessions etc,” he says. When the Bold Army’s registration call was out, Mohit couldn’t hide his excitement. “My friends supported me by voting for me throughout the initial process — which helped considerably in edging out the competition. Later, I received a call saying that I’ve been selected. It was the best feeling ever.”
Post that, Mohit had to participate in an intense Boot Camp. “There were many talented and tough participants. I had to present my work profile, portfolio and achievements which were centred around sports photography. I was quizzed about my social media following and told them that I had 5,700 followers on Instagram, which was a huge plus,” he shares.
This sports buff is kicked that he got to interact with a few Men in Red including Tymal Mills, Mandeep Singh and Iqbal Abdulla. “It was just an indescribable feeling! The meeting with Tymal was a humbling experience as he was extremely down-to-earth. He’s such an inspiration and a source of motivation,” says Mohit, who’s favourite Challenger is Virat Kohli.
The other devoted RCB-ian who won the contest is Allen Abhishek who was declared the ‘superfan’. This HR professional from the city started an RCB fan group in 2009, which now has more than one lakh enthusiasts. Talking about the contest, he says, “We were divided into four groups — social media, bloggers, photographers and media. I was included in social media. A lot of questions were thrown at us.” Allen will now work closely with fellow RCB buffs. “I will be required to organise meet-ups and galvanise fans to cheer for the squad during the entire season. I think it will be a fabulous experience to be a link between the team and the supporters,” he smiles. As for his rendezvous with some of the players, Allen admits that he was dumbstruck when he met them. “My current favourite player is Tymal Mills, though my all-time favourites are AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli,” he says.
