How Alter Ego helped a football fan rebuild life after losing everything

Content Admin
5 days ago
4 min read

From Durgapur to Delhi: A Young Dreamer’s Rise and Fall

Arnav grew up in Durgapur, West Bengal. As a kid, Arnav found his heroes not in classrooms or boardrooms, but on the football pitch. Manchester United became his emotional home, and he idolized players like Cristiano Ronaldo for more than just their talent — for their resilience, work ethic, and refusal to quit.

In 2018, Arnav moved to Delhi for higher studies and to chase his startup dreams. His ambition was high, and so was his energy. But in the span of just a year, he lost everything — his beloved mother, a long-term relationship, and the startup idea he built from scratch.

Life stopped making sense to him.

He started travelling all over the country and world hoping time and travel would heal him, but after 3 years of living a supposedly "dream life" he realized he was only running away.

That's when he landed up in Alter Ego Community's First Love Yourself(FLY) Program.

How Alter Ego Helped Him Reclaim His Story

Arnav attended his first Alter Ego meetup with hesitation. When the Facilitator asked him to believe in his extraordinary and to articular it without fear or apprehensions.

He even broke down.

He said, it reminded him of his mother who believed in him like no one else. She used to make him practice his startup pitch like he was already on a TED stage.

What he found surprised him: Alter Ego Framework met him in a language he understood-FOOTBALL.

Just real people having real conversations about identity, childhood passions, grief, and personal power — using examples from footballers, movie stars, and leaders alike.

He had tried therapies but found them to be corrective, not accepting (his words, screenshots attached below). Arnav has been a Manchester United fan all his life. His love for football and Manchester United has stayed constant through everything.

He has always idolized Sir Alex Fergusson for his belief and leadership. Cristiano Ronaldo is his childhood hero.

He wasn’t told to suppress his grief. He was guided to work with it. Alter Ego introduced him to a structured yet flexible 10-step self-leadership framework that made healing practical and deeply personal through stories and metaphors from Football and Manchester United.

He named his Alter Ego "Red Devil" (Manchester United players and fans are often called "Red Devil")

The 10-Step Framework That Changed Everything

Here’s how Alter Ego’s framework helped Arnav take charge of his life again:

1️⃣ Develop Intent – Finding a reason to keep showing up. His startup dreams, his mother's believe in him.

2️⃣ Understand Your Evolution – Seeing his life as a journey, a story.

3️⃣ Discover Your Backstory – Reconnecting with values his mother passed down and find ways to carry forward motivation to act on his startup dreams.

4️⃣ Forgiveness & Gratitude – Letting go of guilt, and embracing what remains

5️⃣ Goal Setting & Prioritization – Focusing on what matters now. Startup goals, finding a good life partner.

6️⃣ Create Your Alter Ego – His: “Red Devil” stands for passion of red and the go-getter Devil.

7️⃣ Shift Your Identity – Acting as the version of himself he admired--building an empire out of belief and hard work like Sir Alex Fergusson, and work ethic and hunger of Cristiano Ronaldo.

8️⃣ Develop New Habits – Journaling, work outs, taking out time every day for his startup dreams

9️⃣ Behavioral Changes – Owning his voice, taking small leadership steps

🔟 Become That Version – Living aligned with that identity, every day

What Made Alter Ego So Effective

✅ Not therapy. Not life coaching. A framework that allowed him to process life on his own terms

✅ Football wasn’t dismissed — it was embraced as part of his identity

✅ Highly structured, yet deeply personal — offering steps but no pressure

✅ Community that listened and reflected, not advised and fixed

✅ Creative freedom to bring in films, strategy, spirituality, or books

Alter Ego didn’t give Arnav all the answers. But it helped him remember that he still had them — buried under grief, waiting to be rediscovered.

What’s Changed for Arnav Now

Today, Arnav is no longer stuck in survival mode. He’s begun rebuilding his confidence, career, and clarity. He speaks more openly, commits to daily practices, and is beginning to share his story with others who feel similarly lost.

And through it all, Manchester United — the club that once gave him joy — has become a metaphor for resilience, loyalty, and purpose. He doesn’t idolize players anymore. He relates to them.