His wife took him to gym to get rid of his drinking habit; Shivakumar is now Mr. Kerala

CHOTTANIKKARA: Shivakumar was an alcoholic. He used to drink one full bottle of liquor in one day. He even used to spend all his day's earnings at the bar and return home with an empty pocket. Fed up with her husband's drinking habit, Aparna took him not to a de-addiction centre, but to a gym. Her plan worked out. Shivakumar, who gave up his drinking habit, is now Mr. Kerala.

Shivakumar is the third son of Chottanikkara native Ponnappan and Jayalakshmi. He started going for painting work while studying in high school. He started drinking liquor with his friends at a very young age. Gradually, he started spending his daily earnings on liquor. In the meantime, he fell in love with Aparna, who was his neighbour. They got married in 2007. However, he was not able to give up his drinking habit. In fact, his alcohol consumption only increased.

Although Aparna tried many ways to make her husband give up drinking, none of her plans succeeded. One day, she suddenly felt that Shivakumar might stop drinking if he joined the gym. She thus made him join a gym in Eruveli in 2013 June. However, he was soon kicked out of the gym for coming to the gym drunk. However, Aparna was not ready to give up. She then took Shivakumar to Joby Aashan's gym in Udayamperoor. She paid Rs 50,000 at the gym by mortgaging her gold chain.

Thus, Shivakumar began training hard under Joby Aashan's guidance. He only ate food items recommended by Joby. After finishing his painting work, he would reach the gym by 5.30 pm. He will go home only at 9.30 pm.

Aparna is a member of the Haritha Karma Sena. The couple has two children: Aashiq and Akash.

The goal is Mr India title
In 2023 January, Shivakumar became Mr Ernakulam. He came first in the Mr. Kerala Masters category held at Wayanad that month. He became Mr Kerala Seniors Champion in the competition held in Kannur last February. He is currently training hard for the Mr. India competition in July.