Amit Sodha is only “32 years young,” yet he has already lived a full, varied and eventful life. Born 
in a small town in South Wales called Pontypool, he moved to London aged 12. Of this he says “It wasn’t a great time for a kid just starting secondary school with a Welsh accent, but, all those moments contributed towards the person I am today.”
Today, Amit lives in Wembley, North London, though his grandparents are originally from Gujarat, India, his mum was born in Uganda and his dad was born in Tanzania. Here, Amit speaks to Society Today about his many jobs, his most embarrassing moments and his similarities to Homer Simpson.
When Amit was younger he went through a phase of wanting to be an Aeronautical Engineer. Although not quite sure why, he thinks this was a result of “one of the natural fascinations that young boys have with aeroplanes.” He also wanted to be a teacher, which, he now realises, “stemmed from wanting to be on stage in front of people talking and entertaining them.” So it seems somehow appropriate that Amit is now a radio presenter, stand up comedian, and life coach.
Life coaching, says Amit, is “not easy to put into a few simple words but if I were to sum it up it would be ‘a process of cutting through the crap.’” It is, he says, often the way we are conditioned to think that holds us back from
improving our lives. Amit asks his clients “some simple yet powerful questions,” and, he says, that is often enough to “illuminate the situation” and make them realise “what it will take to move forward.”
However, he isn’t a qualified life coach, and doesn’t pretend to be. He simply lets his “story and experience” talk for him. Some friends encouraged him to get into life coaching when they told him that he’s a great listener and gives great advice.
Amit’s best moment as a life coach so far has been “keeping a young woman off antidepressants.” Clients are always encouraged to seek appropriate professional help, but Amit is always happy to help in any possible way. His positive approach to life, and his great sense of humour, follow him to the stage as a stand up comedian.
It was a life coaching client who first asked Amit if he wanted to try stand up comedy. This was, Amit recalls, “always something I wanted to try so I said yes!” The first time he did stand up comedy he “did a 30 minute set,” which was quite an achievement, as the recommended length of a set is 5 minutes. He loves being on stage and making people laugh, so he has never looked back.
His most embarrassing moment in stand up comedy came during his second gig. It was on a day when he had already run a half marathon, so, unsurprisingly, Amit was exhausted. He “gave a girl in the audience a chocolate bar and made fun of her. She threw it back at me.” However, like all good public speakers, he now looks back and laughs about this.
The funniest, he says, was his stage entrance for his third gig. “I reversed onto stage to the sound of an articulated lorry beeping in reverse with a ‘wide-load’ sign stuck to my back. It got loads of laughs!”
Amit’s comedy and public speaking skills are a great help to him on radio. A friend asked him to help present a weekend breakfast show, which he eventually took over. He now presents a weekday breakfast show, as well as a weekly youth talk show called ‘Backchat’ where “we discuss all sorts of issues that affect teenagers.” Of radio presenting, Amit says, “It’s hard work and takes a lot of energy but I really enjoy doing it.”
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