Rohun Chivate has played basketball since he was nine. He says it is part of his identity, one of his “favorite things to do.” But after two seasons on his high school team in New Jersey, he was cut his junior year. 

“It felt kind of embarrassing and sad getting cut,” says Chivate, a Weinberg second-year. “But then I realized it was a result of me not prepping enough. So I was like, ‘I’m going to show them.’” 

Chivate started going to the gym five to six days a week to work out and practice his shooting and dribbling. The harder he worked, the better he felt. When tryouts rolled around senior year, he earned a spot on the varsity team. Since then, Chivate has made exercising a key part of his routine. 

For many students like Chivate, the gym serves as a space to gain self-confidence. 

“I can see myself improving every day. That felt good,” Chivate says. “Even physically, I [sit] more upright in a chair. I felt more confident in myself and how I look.”

Research shows that working out improves mental well-being. A 2018 study published in The Lancet Psychiatry found that across demographics, people who exercised reported 1.5 fewer days of poor mental health per month. For many Asian students, who may be held to high standards due to stereotypes like the model minority myth, the gym can offer a break from academic pressures to focus on well-being. 

“Success isn’t about how long you’re sitting in your chair for studying for a midterm or preparing for an interview,” Medill second-year Jasmine Kim says. “A part of success is also prioritizing yourself and prioritizing your mental health.” 

Kim says she likes the community she has built at the gym because she spends time with people she may not see in her day-to-day life.

Weinberg second-year Rohan Sekhar was initially apprehensive about the gym because he worried about being weaker than everyone else. Now, he says he realizes the gym is “a really supportive environment.”

“Northwestern is obviously a great school academically, but you’re not always getting encouragement and positive energy, whereas the gym can provide that,” Sekhar says. 

The gym can also serve as a mental reset. Weinberg third-year Caleb Shim started working out after graduating high school. He says he works out as a form of self-development and values the tangible process of seeing himself grow stronger. 

When exercising, Shim also says he sometimes thinks about stereotypes regarding Asian American masculinity — that Asian men are nerdy, unathletic or less “manly” than the white ideal.

“It would limit your self-confidence — knowing you wouldn’t even try to go after any sports, wouldn’t try to go to the gym even when it’s healthy for you,” Shim says. “Just because you might just think, ‘That’s not my thing. It’s not for people like me to do.” 

These stereotypes couple with Asian Americans’ underrepresentation in professional sports. They make up less than 1% of players in leagues like the NFL and NBA. 

This lack of representation can fuel stereotypes about Asian athleticism. Chivate says people often don’t expect him to be good at basketball because he’s Indian. When he plays with new people, he makes a point to prove them wrong. He says Asian American representation in the athletic field is “powerful.” 

“Indian middle schoolers and high schoolers might think, ‘Oh, there’s no chance I could go play in college because that’s not something that Indians do,’” Chivate says. “But as you see more and more people like that, it’s more and more of a possibility.”