Dutt’s trainer is Playboy rabbit!

Lawrence Gonsalves Jr, who is in Mumbai training Sanjay Dutt, was featured on the cover of Playboy.

Along with former US President Ronald Reagan’s rebel daughter Patti Davis, Lawrence was the magazine’s strong-armed rabbit!

Says Lawrence, “Yes, I have the sole distinction of being the only man on the cover. There was also a photo of me sitting on a rock like Rodin — The Thinker!”

Lawrence was roped in by Ashtavinayak Films to train the actor for their upcoming project titled Blue, which will be shot in the Bahamas. The film also stars Lara Dutta and Zayed Khan.

Says Lawrence, “My agent in Hollywood was contacted by Hiren Gandhi of Ashtavinayak. They were looking for a well-known A-list bodyshaper and nutrionist.

I was flown down to Mumbai for a meeting with Sanjay Dutt. As soon as he looked at me, Sanjay said: ‘I want a body like you’. I replied that with time and dedication it is possible.”

Besides being a body-shaper, Lawrence is also a model-actor, power-lifter, boxer and taekwondo martial artist. “In the next few weeks, Sanjay’s distinct body shape will be seen.

He has his eight-pack abs now but years of not training the right way did not allow this to show; his body fat around the waist is coming off and we will soon achieve our goal,” says Lawrence.

He feels Sanjay has “a heart of gold. Sanjay really takes good care of me. He gives me anything I want. I have met lots of people — thanks to him. Everyone has been so kind to me, especially Sanjay’s buddies like Dharam Uberoi, Bittu Arora and Ajay Marwah. ”

This is Lawrence’s first visit to India and he already has plans of staying on here. “I love this place and the people have warmed my heart. I have found a new home for a while and am relocating here in a few months to train more people.”

His body, he claims, is a sum total of hard work and the three ‘d’s — desire, determination, dedication. Lawrence began with acting and then veered towards fitness.

In 2003, he designed the Ufit exercise chair. He also has developed weights called smart bells which he terms “smarter cousins of dumbbells.”

Lawrence feels than anyone can have a body they envision with a correct exercise programme, proper diet and cardio exercises done correctly.

Shaheen Parkar