Geeky Gunjan

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What do you get when you mix part IT genius, part micro brewing champ, and part world ranked ping pong player? The answer is this week’s newest East Nasty of the Week, the one and only Geeky Gunjan!

So let’s start with the basics:

Born in the suburbs of Mumbai, India.

Graduate of Mumbai University for his undergrad., and a master’s degree from Polytechnic University of NYU, located in Brooklyn, New York.

But there is so much more to “Geeky Gunjan," for instance, his name. His name real name is Gunjan, and his self-given nickname came from a way to distinguish himself in the world of facebook. No need to throw his whole nickname out there, as he answers to just Gunjan any time you call his name.

Gunjan also revealed that he used to be ranked towards the top of young ping pong players in the nation during his middle school years. He claims that he was a relatively shy pre-teen, and thus was able to focus all his efforts in the art of table tennis. His team, that’s right TEAM, were ranked 2nd in the entire state of New York, and he went on to win a fair amount of medals and trophies playing the sport. Unfortunately as he has grown older he has not had the ability to continue staying up to speed as he used to, but he more than likely could take down anyone who is reading this blog right now!

Undergraduate work was difficult at Mumbai University due to its intense nature of the computer science department. Graduate school in New York City offered a much more fun and active paced environment for his studies. In 2008 Gunjan was offered a 6 month work project here in Nashville, TN. He was supposed to return to NYC after the work project ended, but more and more work kept coming in and his contract was extended more and more each time.

So Geeky Gunjan got his start into the running world in 2010, and completed his first 5K in that year’s East Tomato race. He noticed all the of the “East Nasty” shirts throughout the entire race, and after looking up our group online, he found himself out with our group on a Wednesday night run. Through East Nasty he trained and completed his first half marathon (the CCM) in 2011. He owes everything in that race and his time of just over two hours to his friend and running partner, Jessica McCurly.

In his spare time he enjoys riding with fellow cyclists, doing yoga, and brewing his own beer. So far he has been able to create a Chocolate Milk Stout, a  Weizenbier and a Belgian tripel. He also is a BIG supporter of the Nashville Rollergirls! Finally, Gunjan is one of the happiest people out at East Nasty each week. You will more than likely find him smiling and ready for a good laugh.

Be sure to leave him a comment below!

Rod