Behind the statistics, trophies and packed stadiums ran a personal journey marked by identity shifts, mental health battles and an eventual reckoning with purpose beyond sport. Today, Robin Uthappa finds himself in a very different arena. With the launch of TRUE, a high-performance coaching and leadership movement with a vision of empowering individuals to reach their highest potential, he has turned his experiences into a framework for transformation. His work blends neuroscience, NLP and personal storytelling with a deeply human understanding of performance, leadership and mental well-being. TRUE now extends its reach from corporates and leadership teams to young people through the TRUE Freedom Program, which focuses on essential life skills and emotional readiness.
In an exclusive conversation with Zenith, Robin reflects on rock-bottom moments that reshaped his life, the unlearning required after stepping away from professional sport, his work on modern masculinity and the inner architecture of sustainable performance. He speaks with disarming honesty about vulnerability, discomfort and what it truly means to lead with clarity and purpose in today’s world.
You’ve spoken openly about standing at the peak of your career and also being in the dark. What was the moment that made you realise TRUE needed to exist?
I’ve had multiple moments in my life that made me realize TRUE needed to exist. The first was in 2010 and then again in 2013. When I went through clinical depression and became suicidal, I realized afterward, when I got better, that so many others might have gone through the same thing. A family member discouraged me from speaking about it and not tell anyone I was struggling with depression and mental health challenges. At the time, there was so much stigma around mental health that even mentioning a counselor or psychologist made people think something was deeply wrong with you, like you were mad or couldn’t be trusted.
But after working with my counselor, I felt empowered. I got control back over my own narrative. I felt so empowered that I knew every person who experiences clinical depression or any mental health issue deserves to feel the same way. So I went against everyone who told me to stay quiet. I knew I needed to stand up and speak about this. People needed to know it’s okay and normal to go through challenges and that these challenges can affect your mental health and how you operate in everyday life.
When TRUE eventually came to life, I knew, even toward the end of my cricket career, that I wanted to serve people in a way that helps them live their best lives. I always knew I would become a life coach. I didn’t know when and I didn’t expect it to happen so soon after my career ended. But I’m grateful to God for the alignment that happened and for being able to do this. Even if it’s in a small way right now, I’m able to help people live their best lives, a life aligned with God, their values, their principles and the standards they’ve set for themselves. They learn to take ownership and live intentionally and for that I’m deeply grateful.
You’ve navigated fame, pressure, identity loss and mental health struggles. What part of that inner work has shaped you the most in your life today?
I’d say it’s the acceptance of being outside my comfort zone and learning to happily acknowledge that I’m there, living with complete surrender and the intention to learn and grow. In the beginning, when life pushed me out of my comfort zone, I resisted. I felt apprehensive. But once I started working on myself and became more self-aware, I began accepting it. I started operating like a sponge, learning as much as possible and understanding that everything happening to me was for a reason.
When I approached life with that intention, I learned and grew. Slowly, the place outside my comfort zone became part of my comfort zone. After repeating this across different areas, my personal life, professional life, friendships and relationships, I started looking forward to being outside my comfort zone. Sometimes I even pushed myself out of it on purpose, because I knew it was helping me grow. It became an enjoyable process. That inner work has shaped most of who I am today and how I navigate life.
Many people know “Robin Uthappa the cricketer.” What did you have to unlearn from your old life to build this new one?
I had to unlearn many things and I’m still unlearning every day. One of the first was trying to control the narrative of my life. Taking complete ownership meant releasing control, that was a big one for me.
Another major unlearning was expecting people to take care of me or constantly have my back. I had to take back the remote control of my emotions from the people I depended on or loved. By doing that, I gained a stronger hold over my emotional life and regained control.
So while I let go of trying to control life in general, I learned to control my emotions. These unlearnings have served me incredibly well.
For someone discovering TRUE for the first time, what makes this approach unique?
TRUE is a platform for people to rediscover themselves. And when I say rediscover, I don’t mean it in the usual way. I mean remembering yourself as you truly are, the person you were intended to be, the person you were born to become.
TRUE helps people reconnect with the highest version of themselves and operate from that place with self-awareness, intention and purpose. Whether it’s high performance, leadership or mental health, especially men’s mental health, TRUE helps people step into deeper awareness. In the near future, TRUE will also serve people in romantic relationships and parenting. These are the core spaces TRUE exists for today.
You work with neuroscience, NLP and storytelling, but you always emphasise the “human” side of performance. How do you keep that balance while working with high-performing individuals and teams?
It’s quite simple. When you work with individuals, you help them understand that excellence, not perfection, is the pursuit. If perfection is the goal, there’s very little room for error. But in the pursuit of excellence, you build resilience. You learn to fall and get back up. You learn to face pitfalls and challenges and grow through them. That’s what makes someone an enduring, high-performing individual or leader.
You don’t need to inspire a million people. You can inspire one person, someone in your family, your child, a teammate, a junior, or someone you lead. If you can inspire even one human being, you make a meaningful difference in your world.
You say the best results come from people who are self-aware. What does that look like for a leader in today’s world?
For a leader today, self-awareness starts with clarity about the standards, principles and values that guide their leadership. When they operate from that place, they know what they expect of themselves and the people they lead.
To lead people well, you must know people well. A self-aware leader makes the effort to understand those they lead and through that process, inspires them to become self-aware too. Leadership is about ownership. It’s about meeting people where they are, not where you wish they were. The best leaders elevate people from their starting point to where they need to be to achieve shared goals. That’s where true leadership lies.
How do you guide leaders to drop the mask and step into a more honest, grounded version of themselves?
The best leaders are listeners who want to grow and be the best they can be. When I work with such leaders, I guide them by example, inspiration and vulnerability.
When a leader operates from vulnerability and shares their own shortcomings and how they overcame them. It becomes a point of reference for their team when they face challenges. Through storytelling, I help leaders drop the mask and connect from a human place. When leaders connect with people on a human level, people are inspired to bring out their best.
TRUE also reaches young people through the TRUE Freedom Program. Why was it important to build something that goes beyond corporate spaces?
It matters to me because young people receive little preparation for the real world. Schools and colleges teach work skills, not life skills. Without life skills, you enter the world at a disadvantage.
The TRUE Freedom Program fills this gap. We focus on five essential life skills: etiquette (social, personal, professional, digital), networking, personal finance, personal style and communication. These aren’t taught in school, yet they’re vital for navigating life. The program empowers young people with the skills they need to grow, evolve and move confidently through the world.
What do young people need most when it comes to emotional readiness, life skills and purpose-building?
I believe the most important thing young people need today is empathy. We live in a world with very little of it, a world that’s ultra-critical and hyper-competitive, often without humanity. When a young person builds empathy as a foundational value, they become emotionally ready, better able to develop life skills and more equipped to discover their purpose. Empathy is the root from which everything else grows.
You’ve spoken about modern masculinity and the pressure men carry to perform emotionally and professionally. How does TRUE aim to reshape those conversations?
This is an integral part of TRUE because very little is being done to support men emotionally, mentally and spiritually. Today, masculinity is viewed through two extremes. At one end is the toxically masculine man. At the other is the defeated, emasculated man. But true masculinity lies in the middle.
There is space for the alpha man but not without vulnerability, empathy and kindness. You don’t need to be an arrogant go-getter who hides his human side and operates only from ego. Nor should you be a people pleaser who ignores his own emotions and lets himself be stepped on.
A truly masculine man is in touch with both his stoic side and his vulnerable side. He knows when to exercise each. That’s why TRUE exists, to help men become grounded in this balanced masculinity, so they can serve their relationships, friendships, careers and personal lives with excellence.
What advice would you give to someone who feels successful on paper but disconnected internally?
I would ask them to reflect deeply on internal questions. Are they aligned in their own life? Are they pursuing what they truly love? Does it bring them peace in their heart and soul? Based on their answers, we help them work through those aspects and apply the insights to build a life that feels meaningful. That’s what matters.
What is the one shift you hope TRUE sparks in people, whether they are leaders, athletes, students, or anyone trying to live more authentically?
The one shift I hope TRUE inspires is for people to live aligned with their truest purpose and highest self. I want TRUE to help them navigate life with clarity, intention and purpose. If we can spark that shift, it would be the most meaningful impact we could have.
