Dilan Abeya is a fitness enthusiast, model, advocate of mental wellness, and influencer who took charge of his life, transforming his problems into opportunities for self-improvement and growth.
Dilan always had a knack for building something out of nothing: conceptually enthused by the challenge of taking something that was “nowhere” to “somewhere better.” At high school, as an A-level maths and arts student, he saw the potential in transforming an idea into beautiful sculptures made from raw materials to stir an aesthetic impact. He further applied his artistic skills by revamping derelict properties into spaces fit for modern-day living, allowing him to build assets. Moreover, Dilan has always looked for points of growth and development, believing in the hidden potential within all. During his high-profile investment banking career, not only has he served to help win client-facing business, but he’s also been instrumental in hiring interns and graduates who’ve demonstrated the right traits and base skill sets, fostering their development to revenue-generating professionals in their own right.
This productive attitude was further manifested when he encountered a life-altering crisis in his personal life. A major challenge was recovering from a toxic relationship – time with his ex-partner was very unhappy, preventing him from maintaining a healthy social life on and offline with his friends and family. These traumatic events had a very negative impact on Dilan’s physical and mental well-being: at his lowest ebb, he gained over 25kgs in weight to a high of c.85kgs, rocketed to a 24.6 BMI, a 35inch waist and needed psychiatric help.
Not wanting to dwell in his misery, Dilan vowed to grow mentally, emotionally, and physically, promising to become the best version of himself, transforming the stats above to c.61kgs in weight (a drop of 24kgs of fat), 11.1 BMI, a 28inch waistline and learned mental-wellbeing strategies to help him cope emotionally each day.
As such, he started his journey as a gym goer, posting his progress on Instagram, working on his physical health, along with developing mental strength and emotional intelligence. He began to introspect the reasons behind the failure of his past relationships and professional plans that didn’t work, acknowledging that he has to sit with the darker parts of his life to furnish a “better understanding of oneself.” Dilan rightly notes that “Delving into depths of the very insecurities that made you attach yourself to toxic people and situations is important to examine because if you refuse to explore the weaker and darker side aspects of yourself, you will never be able to optimize the lighter and positive side.“
Dilan acknowledges that developing this mindset and practically embodying it in real-life situations is a work in progress: “There is no ‘quick fix.’ However, if we gather experience from these challenges, we can learn to navigate this minefield of pain, exercise our power, and shift negative thinking patterns to take back control of our thoughts and emotions.” It involves a series of unlearning past approaches in order to lead to a more authentic self. Dilan’s story gives us a real-life example of how perseverance, hard work, and discipline can transform one’s life.
His Instagram reflects all he has learned thus far, focusing on his post-failure journey.
Transparent, real, and relatable words can best define his content, where his life lessons transcend to help others. Thus, Dilan has worked on himself and provided room for other people to outgrow redundant patterns in their lives, making way for physical and mental development. His plans revolve around enhancing his reach to help as many people as possible, bringing positivity to the influencer culture.
You can keep up with Dilan’s inspiring fitness journey by following him on social media or visiting his Instagram feed and website.
Instagram: @dilanabeya
Website: www.dilanabeya.com
