Recently, Lt Cdr Vivek Chaudhary (retd), a Submariner from the Indian Navy has hit the news by becoming the first Submariner, turned commercial pilot. I caught up with him to find out more about his extraordinary career.
Introducing Lt Cdr Chaudhary
Coming from a humble background from the city of Gurugram, Haryana – India – Vivek has always strode for success in all sphere of life. He has been awarded the title of ‘Grand Master’ by the Asian Book of Records for becoming the First Submariner who Became Commercial Pilot and also acclaimed on various others platforms such as India Book of Records, World Record Forums and World Record Association have also awarded him.
In the interview, now Captain Vivek Chaudhary stated that he firmly believes that only our thoughts and action shape our reality and our life, a motto he refers to as ‘Thoughts becomes Thing’ – a motto that he said helped him through his journey.
He went on to say that being a submariner is one of the most special things he has ever done and would always remain close to his heart. Submarining had been an astonishing experience that pushed him higher each day in pursuit of his goals and enabled him to discover the best version of himself.
From Dolphins to Wings
He is an alumni of IIM Ahmedabad and the Indian Naval Academy. He achieved independent charge of a Russian Kilo Class submarine on June 28, 2011 and achieved the Dolphin Badge thereafter. After leaving the Navy, he went on to achieve his commercial pilots licence on July 27, 2020, having completing 205 hours of flight training. He later specialised on the ATR72-600 fleet of aircraft; This breaks another record of a submariner being the first pilot of an ATR72 aircraft.
Vivek has been labelled a ‘Flying Dolphin’ in tribute to being the first to transition from mapping the deep sea as a submariner to scaling the heights of the sky as an Aviator. Vivek said, it’s a honour for him to pin both Dolphins as well as Wings on his chest, adding his “lifelong dream has come true”.
When asked about the biggest difference between the two roles, he said:
“You cant see anything when submarine dives its all dark deep sea while taking off the run way, the world rushes by while penetrating the clouds to have clear extraordinary view of blue azure sky.”
Lt Cdr Chaudhary’s story shows that you truly can achieve anything you put your mind to. Do you have an exciting story to share? Comment below or get in touch – we’d love to hear it!
