In search of that life and spurred by his close friend Sudarshan Vats who told him to try modeling, Mann got into an inter-collegiate competition. He walked away with the title: Best Male Model.
He left home for Delhi after class XII. There was no way he could have improved on his communication skills and grooming in his village. In Delhi, he was a regular at the gym. He got himself an 'international coach,' Bhupinder Dhawan.
I had no idea how to turn on my best expressions to the camera. I had no idea which my good angles were. I didn't know how to dress well. I didn't know a single word of English. I was especially uncomfortable posing with women. I wasn't financially well off. I used to feel very inferior.
It probably showed. Maybe that is why I was disqualified when I entered the Grasim Mr India contest two years in a row. It didn't stop me. All I used to dream about was that I would make it. I didn't know how.