00:00:00 – 00:00:08 Nitin Bajaj

Hey everyone, welcome to The Industry Show. I’m your host, Nitin Bajaj, and joining me today is Sunil Narkar. Sunil, welcome on the show.

00:00:08 – 00:00:10 Sunil Narkar

Thank you. Thanks for having me.

00:00:10 – 00:00:13 Nitin Bajaj

It’s great to have you here. I’m really looking forward to this conversation.

00:00:14 – 00:00:15 Sunil Narkar

Man, me too. Thank you.

00:00:16 – 00:00:18 Nitin Bajaj

So let’s start with who is Sunil.

00:00:19 – 00:00:49 Sunil Narkar

Huh. So I’m going to start with my people I know, like my family, my extended family, my friends. For them, Sunil is I can say entrepreneur, then actor. He’s multitasker, always getting into trouble one after another, so risk-taker. And yeah, it’s a he’s a cricket player, pickleball player, you know.

00:00:50 – 00:01:02 Sunil Narkar

But if you ask the people I don’t know out there now, they don’t know the thing. Sunil is lucky. He got this. If Sunil can do it, I can do it. So I’m kind of a normal person, like, you know, next-door guy kind of thing. So that’s how I am.

00:01:02 – 00:01:18 Sunil Narkar

I’m, I mean, I, I love to explore new stuff, and that basically makes me different and makes me busy and keeps me busy. But yeah, I’m basically a father, husband, a son, and friends for all.

00:01:18 – 00:01:26 Nitin Bajaj

You wear multiple hats. The one that I think you did not mention or maybe have forgotten is you used to be in this seat.

00:01:26 – 00:01:27 Sunil Narkar

Yeah.

00:01:27 – 00:01:28 Nitin Bajaj

You used to run your own show.

00:01:29 – 00:01:37 Sunil Narkar

Yeah, I’d several years back, I wanted to interview people who come with two bags from India with $500 in their hand.

00:01:37 – 00:01:40 Nitin Bajaj

Yeah, who are these super rich people? I’ve only heard $3.

00:01:41 – 00:02:07 Sunil Narkar

No, no, actually, when I came in ’86, at time, $500 was the minimum that you can get from Reserve Bank of India. So many people can say that, “Oh, I came with $500,” because they only could get $500. No matter if you have a million dollars or whatever, you can only get $500 as your money that you can spend with it, right? So those, so I wanted to interview those guys, those who have made billions and millions right now.

00:02:07 – 00:02:27 Sunil Narkar

So I was very much impressed with those guys, like, you know, somebody come here, start from scratch, and they, so I started interviewing those people. So I gave the name in Marathi, right? तुमची माती आमची माणसं. So, and you know, so that’s what it was. And then I wrote one in English, like, same five questions. So I used to ask five questions to them, and that’s what it was.

00:02:28 – 00:02:58 Sunil Narkar

And then again, it was, it was going well. It’s just that, you know, there were not many people who could buy this kind of show. So then I wrapped it up, and then again, I got busy with Hollywood anyway. So I was not into, and again, I don’t have that kind of infrastructure to, you know, continuously go because it’s not just this Southern California, right? You have to go to New York and all the places. So with my business and everything, I decided not to go. But yeah, that’s something I started 15, 16 years back. I, I did 15 years back.

00:02:58 – 00:03:01 Nitin Bajaj

Yep, multiple feathers in that cap.

00:03:01 – 00:03:01 Sunil Narkar

Yes.

00:03:01 – 00:03:04 Nitin Bajaj

So let’s peel some of those layers.

00:03:04 – 00:03:05 Sunil Narkar

Okay.

00:03:06 – 00:03:18 Nitin Bajaj

You run the AME Medical Group,Inc. Tell us why you started it and you know, how you went about into this space. And tell us a little bit about the size and scale of the operations today.

00:03:19 – 00:04:04 Sunil Narkar

Sure. So I used to work for the state, State of California, State Compensation Insurance Fund was the name of the company, where I was a claims administrator. I was adjusting claims for all my injured workers. And my job was to send those patients to doctors. And so that way I know exactly who is a good doctor, who is bad, who is, who can write better reports, because those reports were very credible in the court, and if they are credible, then they, we did win some of the cases. Anyway, so that was my job, and I worked there for five years. I got around five promotions in five years. And the last one was the managerial promotion. And somehow I was not getting that promotion. And I was like, you know, I was rank one.

00:04:05 – 00:04:40 Sunil Narkar

I did all the exams that workers’ compensation used to have, all the designations that one can have. It’s all labor code. So I know labor code in and out. I know everything, every rule and everything about it. But yeah, I could not get. And then it’s a stagnation, right? So I thought, I’m not going to go ahead. I’m not going to have a raise, no increment in salary. So I was like, okay, I’m going to quit. And everybody was like shocked, like, why? I said, yeah, because, you know, next year my annual date comes and I’m not going to get a raise. So, and they are not promoting me at all.

00:04:41 – 00:05:22 Sunil Narkar

So I decided to come up with some kind of a thing where I could handle this kind of thing. So I would jump out, form my own medical clinic, and then do this. But then everybody was like, you know, nobody has done this, so don’t even try this. And government job, right? You have a retirement. I started my pension already. You were a pensioner and you were a medical help, dental vision, all those things. So everybody was telling me that you are crazy. Don’t do this. But I said, no, I’m going to do it. I told my wife that she was working for Peringere FISO district. So you continue the job. I have kids, right? One was like one year and one was two years, so two years old. So they were we need insurance and everything. And so I said, you work there and I’ll jump out.

00:05:22 – 00:06:08 Sunil Narkar

So in 1997, I quit. I resigned that place and I, I took a lady’s clinic, the one we just saw. And that was my first clinic. I and then I started going out to find the doctors. Now, let me tell you, it’s very hard to hire a doctor for a non-medical person because, you know, it’s not easy. So I was going out trying to talk to everybody, and then everybody was like, no, I’m busy. I cannot come. Every doctor is busy, as you know, like they don’t have time. So I started going to people whom I used to send patients to, but they also refused. They said, no, we are, we, we cannot do this. So finally, one of the doctors, he was internal medicine. He said, you Sunil, you know what? Thursday, I’m not doing anything. So line up patients on Thursday and I’ll be there. Perfect.

00:06:09 – 00:06:57 Sunil Narkar

So I got one internal medicine, then I got a couple of my relatives, my sister-in-law, she’s an internal medicine doctor. She said, Sunil, I’ll come and I’ll be out. So I got two internal medicines. Then I got a doctor who was 84 years old, Dr. Rodriguez, who was a hand specialist. So that’s how I got like five doctors. And then they said, okay, I’ll give you like three hours, two hours. I said, yeah, that’s fine. So my job was to make sure we line up the patients. Doctor will come, see the patients, and then they look. So that way I will take care of all the hiring of staff and then making the reports, billing, aging, you know, everything. And then we’ll collect the money. And the, but the doctor gets the money the same day kind of thing. So for them, it’s like, you know, just go work moonlighting so they can. So that was the total idea. And it worked.

00:06:58 – 00:07:19 Sunil Narkar

And then I started getting orthopedic, neurologist, neurosurgeon psychiatrist. So I started getting people from my from several faculties or several specialities. And that basically really helped me grow. So I started opening up another clinic. And then so that’s when the AME was formed, 1997.

 

00:07:20 – 00:07:23 Nitin Bajaj

Yeah. What does that mean? And today, now, almost 30 years later.

00:07:24 – 00:07:53 Sunil Narkar

We are having good hundred-some employees working in several locations. Our payroll is around half a million a month. We have around 35-some providers working in all locations. So that’s another thing, like, you know, and of course the nurses and the staff, that’s something we do have X-ray technicians too along with it. So, but yeah, it’s going well. It, they’re doing well. The problem is hiring doctors. So getting those is pretty much tough, like.

00:07:54 – 00:08:19 Nitin Bajaj

But you make it so much fun. You know, I’ve seen you around your team, around the people you meet with. And you mentioned you come across as the next-door guy because you behave like one. You’re very likable. You’re very down-to-earth, very approachable. In what, almost 15 years that I’ve seen you, you know, you just kind of become one with the people you are with. So.

00:08:20 – 00:08:55 Sunil Narkar

You know the thing is the staff is my backbone, right? Because first of all, I don’t have a medicine degree, so I cannot see patients. I don’t have a medical assistant diploma, so I cannot even, or I’m not a nurse. So basically they are my backbone kind of thing. So, and we, I have made such an environment in my office that I’m very much approachable to everyone. And I know from doctors to the last person, like a janitor in my thing. So I know each and every person by name and luckily many people who have been with me, they have been with me for a long time.

00:08:56 – 00:09:15 Sunil Narkar

We are open seven days a week. Okay? So there is no blue Monday. So every day is somebody’s working every day, even if it’s Saturday, Sunday. So we make sure that, you know, there should not be any attitude. Everybody should be helping other people. We try to make sure that, you know, the patient should feel very comfortable when they come.

00:09:15 – 00:09:37 Sunil Narkar

And they will only feel comfortable when we inside are happier. We have a smile on our face. We are there. And I always tell that you have to be biased towards patients. So because, you know, normally when a patient goes, like, if I’m a patient and if I go to any office and if I see those rude faces, I’m already sick and that may really make me more agitated.

00:09:38 – 00:09:39 Nitin Bajaj

They’re coming to you when they’re in pain.

00:09:40 – 00:09:40 Sunil Narkar

Exactly.

00:09:40 – 00:09:44 Nitin Bajaj

And you want to relieve them of that pain. And starting with a smile goes a long way.

00:09:44 – 00:10:05 Sunil Narkar

Yeah. And we also go one step further that we have done a, like a program where every 15 minutes, one of my staff will go and tell every patient, “Hey, Mr. Smith, you have been waiting for 15 minutes, but there is a procedure going on. It’s going to take time. So we know that you’re waiting and we’ll be back with you in the next 15 minutes.”

00:10:05 – 00:10:18 Sunil Narkar

It’s because, you know, the staff is giggling inside all that stuff and the patient thinks, “What are they doing? They forgot about me or what? I’m still sitting here.” So I try to make sure that somebody’s going out and telling the patient that, “Hey, you know, we are, we know you are there.”

00:10:18 – 00:10:31 Sunil Narkar

So these all kind of things make the having fun. I mean, you know, the most important thing in my job is everybody should have fun. That is important. Then work comes along automatically.

00:10:31 – 00:10:37 Nitin Bajaj

And you know, that thing is so small, but it’s so critical, right?

00:10:37 – 00:10:38 Sunil Narkar

Exactly.

00:10:38 – 00:10:44 Nitin Bajaj

But that, that approach shows in the reviews you have.

00:10:44 – 00:11:02 Sunil Narkar

Yeah. I mean, you know, we we did Kaiser this time. So in Downey, we, my two clinics got first and second rank and Kaiser was third. We are doing something right, that’s for sure. And and again, it’s not just to get the Google reviews. It’s basically humanity, right?

00:11:02 – 00:11:16 Sunil Narkar

You want to, we, I mean, I live, I lived in Downey for like 30-some years. So I know each and every doctor. I know many people around in the city. My kids grew up in Downey. The community, the neighborhood is something.

00:11:16 – 00:11:38 Sunil Narkar

So I always tell when I interview providers, when I’m hiring doctors or nurse practitioners, I always tell them that, you know, our main job is nobody should end up in ER. And the way we can do that is by making sure that their medications are right. They’re we are checking their dosage is right. Their labs are okay.

00:11:38 – 00:12:00 Sunil Narkar

So we want to make sure that they are not, everybody’s handled and they’re, we call it as age-appropriate testings. So their pelvic exams, cervical cancer or A1C, you know, you name it, colonoscopy, everything should be done on time. So we, we urge to make sure that we are doing everything when we are seeing our own patient as a primary care.

00:12:01 – 00:12:10 Nitin Bajaj

Love that. Now, amongst the many challenges you face being in the healthcare system in this country, what is the one big challenge you want to call out?

00:12:13 – 00:12:31 Sunil Narkar

This, well, first of all, this country is very well managed by, from the healthcare point of view. Okay? If you, like, whatever the CDC is giving you the guidelines or so they all are so good that you do exactly know how you’re going to manage the patients, right? So that’s one, that’s a good thing.

00:12:31 – 00:13:03 Sunil Narkar

The only problem in my side is having providers because we have so many patients, but we do not have enough providers. So I’m always running around to find new doctors, somebody who can, like, I go to all the medical schools. I go to PA schools and nurse practitioner schools to see whoever their alumni, whoever is graduating. And I try to put my boot there. I try to tell them that, you know, we are always hiring. Yeah. So that’s the biggest problem I have.

00:13:04 – 00:13:24 Sunil Narkar

Most of the stuff we are handling very well. Like they have the performance data. We call it as a risk assessment factor. So that also we are handling very well. So I don’t have any other problem, but having those providers who can come and follow all the directions that we are giving, and they should be able to see patients. So that’s important.

00:13:25 – 00:13:32 Nitin Bajaj

Now, on the flip side of challenges come opportunities. What’s the one most exciting that is in front of you?

00:13:34 – 00:15:45 Sunil Narkar

So I’ve been doing this for 28 years. Like I said, you know one of my clinics, I changed into nonprofit now because I wanted to start as a free community clinic. We, I’m very happy to say that we started this in September last year. It’s in the city of Lynwood. Lynwood is an underserved area where, so we opened up that clinic. And that basically is my giving back to community kind of thing. So that’s where I’m really trying to make sure that we are running everything well. And it’s a big headache, I can say, to run those kind of things because you have to get so many approvals from OSHPD and, you know state. And then you have to get the fire and county, LA County. So there are a lot of stuff that we went through. It took a long time, but then finally we started that clinic. We are going towards the Federally Qualified Health Center. So we will give that probably in a year or two. And that’s, I’m very much excited to start that because, you know, for-profit is great. I mean, everything is fine. But I think, you know, we, I’m talking from an Indian point of view. What we did is when we were we spent a few years here and then we started donating money in India. My kids started a nonprofit organization named DARM, Development of Rural Maharashtra. So we went to India. We started building wells there, gave water to everybody, schools. We started, but then what we are doing is we are getting money here and we are giving it back. But now, and we are facing problems here because, you know, we have a DART buster, we have a discrimination and all that stuff. So then I thought, you know what? I’ll find living in this country for 40 years. This is the time to give back to the community where I am, then going back to India. So we changed our focus now, the, just to make sure that we should not get this kind of discrimination or ratio hate and all that stuff. So they should know that we are here to help the community. So that was the thing and my kids loved that. So I said, okay, let’s do that. So that’s how made us start this process.

00:15:45 – 00:15:57 Nitin Bajaj

Love that. Congratulations again. And I know this is still early days, but you’re already starting to show the impact through the clinic. So thank you for everything you do. I’m of the same opinion. This is our home now.

00:15:57 – 00:15:58 Sunil Narkar

Yes.

00:15:58 – 00:16:17 Nitin Bajaj

And we should be adding value. And that’s the one way to get through all of the noise that happens around you know, call it any negative term, but we can’t get caught up in the game to address it and become defensive. We got to keep doing our deeds, which you are. So thank you for that.

00:16:17 – 00:16:30 Sunil Narkar

Yeah. And like, you know, I, when I came here, I was 25. And, you know, I spent more years in this country than in India. So I cannot just keep on, I mean, I have to change my vision and grow with the way it should be.

00:16:31 – 00:16:52 Nitin Bajaj

So as we look forward, I like to pause and reflect. And I would love to invite you to share two moments from your past. One where things did not work out as you’d expected. There was disappointment, failure, lessons. And another where things exceeded your expectations and became a success beyond your imagination.

00:16:54 – 00:17:26 Sunil Narkar

Okay. So like I said, you know, when I was working for state that time, things were not working the way I wanted. I was not there, they were not promoting. And I, I was, I even applied in Sacramento, San Francisco, wherever state agencies are. I was trying to apply those places, but I was not getting promoted to managerial level. So then that’s where I decided that, you know, I’m going to, so that was like the where you really break down and you feel like, you know what, just nothing is happening what you want, the way you want.

00:17:27 – 00:17:50 Sunil Narkar

And then, then the second time that happened when workers’ compensation was kind of going down in California and then the payment and everything went down. So that time I really felt that I should quit now because, you know, it’s all doctors left me because, you know, there were not many claims coming up. So 2009 was another thing where I felt like, you know what, it’s not working. I should do something else.

00:17:51 – 00:18:10 Sunil Narkar

And again, like I said in that there was a retail that I was doing most of the time, 2001 to 2008. Retail also stopped because, you know because of the recession thing. So going back to that, so those were things I felt like, you know, nothing is working. But again, like I said, one door closed, the other door open.

00:18:10 – 00:18:32 Sunil Narkar

So there every time there was something happening, somebody comes and tells me that, you know what then I got this doctor who knocked on my door and said that, okay, I lost the job as an ER doctor. He always used to do, they were at shift. So he said, I want to, I want a job. And I’m like, you know what, I, we are workers’ comp, we occupational injuries, we don’t do this kind of job.

00:18:32 – 00:18:47 Sunil Narkar

But then I thought, you know what, let me see what I can do out of it. So I asked him what are the things he does. And then he said, oh, I can do laceration repairs. I can do suturing. I can do broken bones and those things. I said, okay. So let’s start urgent care. So that’s where the urgent care comes into the picture.

00:18:47 – 00:19:16 Sunil Narkar

So every time there was a fall and there was something else popping up again. And then we we said, okay, we’re going to start only four to seven. So our clinic was open at four o’clock in the evening and seven o’clock we used to close. So that’s how we started. And then we started having one Monday was the full day first, then Tuesday, then third, then that’s the, and then we started Saturdays and Sundays. You know that so those are the things where I was really depressed. I was broken.

00:19:17 – 00:19:52 Sunil Narkar

And then the third one is pandemic. Pandemic is the one where March, everything stopped. And then we were, we did not have basic stuff like, you know, toilet, toilet tissues or, you know, seat covers. That was the biggest thing because no patient wanted to come in. And then the Cloracs and those things, like cleaning supplies was not there. So that’s the reason we had to keep so many clinics closed every time. And people were also not coming and they were not getting sick because they were wearing masks, eating home food. So nobody was even falling sick. So that was another issue that we had.

00:19:52 – 00:20:11 Sunil Narkar

So until June, July, I realized that this is not going anywhere. We are falling apart right now. Many of my doctors stopped coming to the clinic also because nobody knows what COVID is, right? So they were like, this so I didn’t even have enough providers to see the patients, but there were no patients either.

00:20:12 – 00:20:47 Sunil Narkar

So that’s where we, we, I changed the whole vision of my business. I started PCR testings as well as rapid testing or antigen testings. And that basically started generating revenues. And then we, we used to have like, you know, drive-through where people come, they, we just stick that thing into the nose and then do it. And yeah, we started generating revenues. So even so much that we even got a contract for one of the school districts where we used to do like 40,000 kits. We used to do testings of those. And that was the biggest thing.

00:20:48 – 00:21:21 Sunil Narkar

So again, we got a big reward after that some bad patch. So it always, there is something wrong and then we come up. Like right now we have so many doctors, less doctors that we are looking for more providers and I’m not finding it. So we are still again struggling and trying to get into the point where we can get doctors because patient is not our problem. We we are seeing those patients is the problem. So I think those are the ones which have glorified.

00:21:21 – 00:21:41 Nitin Bajaj

Yeah. The beautiful aspect here of, in the true spirit of entrepreneurship, you fall, you get up. In the process, you learn. And you learn more about you. And you learn about the people that are with you. And you take all of them along and move on to the next thing and make that a bigger success than the previous one.

00:21:42 – 00:22:03 Sunil Narkar

Yeah. Absolutely. Because, you know, the thing is you, you cannot cry. You cannot just say that, oh, you know what, these things are not happening. You have to find something. Because, you know, if you drop down yourself, then you are, it’s really hard to stand up again. So you always have to look for some other alternatives and that will definitely help.

00:22:03 – 00:22:11 Sunil Narkar

And of course, the the power is your employees. I mean, you all have to, and for them, you have to do something because otherwise they don’t have a job.

00:22:12 – 00:22:34 Nitin Bajaj

And you make it fun. You make it really easy for them to, as you said, you know, have that focus around customers be genuinely happy as they’re serving others. And you give them that importance. And that’s what makes them work seven days a week. I mean, they’re not, every single one of them is not working seven days, but.

00:22:34 – 00:22:58 Sunil Narkar

Yeah. But say they’re picking up such shifts that, you know, those are late shift or early shift and those kind of things. And then happily they’re doing it. It’s not something that, you know we always tell them that, you know what, yeah, if somebody’s calling out, then, you know, they normally have their buddy system where they said, oh, you know what, I’m going to call out, but you cover me and kind of thing. So normally those things do not come to me. And that’s, I’m very happy.

00:22:58 – 00:23:22 Sunil Narkar

Like as I said, most of my employees have given me so many so many ideas that I could do something. And that basically is amazing because, you know, they are actually working in that field. They know exactly what can be done to make this area smooth. And many of them, almost everybody has given me some kind of a suggestion. There is only, can we do this and this and that.

00:23:23 – 00:23:50 Sunil Narkar

So because I’m reachable, they can approach me, they can tell me stuff. And if it is feasible, then I take care of those. At the same time, I would say that none of, I don’t have any employees right now who is not putting more than 100%. Everyone is putting so much. And at doing that, again, having a friendly appearance, then making a very nice relationship with patients.

00:23:50 – 00:24:13 Sunil Narkar

Because we have certain things that, you know, I always train them that, call everybody by last name. You know, smile is most important. Then we even do some kind of a trick and I can tell you those. In our EMR, we have a communication portion, okay? That’s where we type about, I tell every provider and the staff to type anything that you know about that person.

00:24:13 – 00:24:39 Sunil Narkar

So let’s say if somebody says, oh, I like jelly filled donuts. So somebody’s putting the, oh, this is the patient likes jelly filled donuts. So now next time, if you’re the doctor, you’re coming to you say, hey, you still like jelly filled donuts? It’s like, why? How come you know? And then he knows. Or, you know, the patient’s daughter is in her name is Karina. She’s in New Jersey. So now she’s like, how is Karina? She’s still in New Jersey. Oh, no, she came back. So that’s the.

00:24:39 – 00:24:40 Nitin Bajaj

The human connection.

00:24:40 – 00:25:07 Sunil Narkar

Connection. So we, we do that. We make sure that they know exactly how how we can treat you better. That kind of thing. And that makes it easier for doctors also to handle the patient. Because, you know, waiting area, there is a, there are irritated patients that really don’t want to wait for that line. So now these things really make happiness in their life. And that, that’s something we tried. And that’s the reason we can stay open 12 hours a day.

00:25:07 – 00:25:17 Nitin Bajaj

So as you’re making your patients and your staff happy, what makes you happy? How do you de-stress and kind of get away from all of this?

00:25:18 – 00:25:29 Sunil Narkar

Well, I mean, you know, it’s a I love my job. Okay. So there is nothing that can stress me out because, you know, all I look at as every problem, I consider that as a challenge.

00:25:29 – 00:25:44 Sunil Narkar

And then I, I look at it. But then acting, I act in theater or movies or commercials. So that basically gives me all the, I mean, that’s my passion. If I ever have to just act, I will only act. I will not do any of this stuff.

00:25:44 – 00:26:02 Sunil Narkar

Because acting is my, my really, I love acting. I started when I was in college and then I started acting in Indian theater and television on, in India. And when I moved here, I started my own company, LA Dramatics, where I started directing, producing, acting.

00:26:03 – 00:26:15 Sunil Narkar

Every play, I will be the main actor. I’ll be the director. I’ll be the producer. And I’ll do that. So I did 40-some places here, directed those. And then Hollywood came in pictures.

00:26:15 – 00:26:31 Sunil Narkar

So where there was a, Nestlé was the company that they wanted to get money, East Indian guy. I was the one. They wanted to do a film or a commercial on call center. So that’s the reason they wanted to see, I’m from Bangalore. So that’s what they wanted to show. I’m from Mumbai.

00:26:31 – 00:26:50 Sunil Narkar

But so that basically really ran well. I could see my, my big posters and everywhere. So I was very happy. That was my first commercial. And then I did around 57 commercials and, you know, several big products like McDonald’s, Arby’s, Wendy’s, then Coca-Cola. I did Subway.

00:26:51 – 00:27:04 Sunil Narkar

Intel was my, the best commercial that went worldwide. Budweiser was the commercial that was displayed on it’s a Clydesdale commercial on Super Bowl. So that basically got the most audience for that.

00:27:04 – 00:27:05 Nitin Bajaj

And you don’t even drink.

00:27:06 – 00:28:26 Sunil Narkar

Yes. I, I don’t drink, but I did Murphy’s, Budweiser, and Bud Light. And Johnnie Walker, Blackjack Paul. So I did four of those which are the major, I mean, every people who drink, they would love to do those kinds of commercials. But yeah. So that’s that basically keeps me. I I also started my my little club as a cricket, playing cricket with my friends in Cerritos. And that basically we started in 1994. And we played till pandemic. So that was a big thing. I was playing every Sunday in North Shine. And we had a big group of cricket players. And then recently I played for a USA 60 plus team which I played against West Indies and Canada. There was a selection going in Los Angeles. Somebody called me. He was at my 60th birthday. So he said, Sunil, there is a selection. Why don’t you go? So I went there. I got selected. I went to Houston. I played against this team. So that is another tick mark got into my thing. Lately, I’ve been playing pickleball every Saturday, Sunday, two hours. So four hours a week, I’ve been playing pickleball. I’m loving that game. It’s an addiction. And so these are the things that are really keeping me away from work and away and make me recharge. They, it’s just recharge me for my next job kind of thing. And I’m doing it.

00:28:26 – 00:28:31 Nitin Bajaj

And then on your acting, rumor is you just signed on a pretty exciting big project.

00:28:32 – 00:28:52 Sunil Narkar

Oh yeah. There is a Nile studio in Florida. They signed me up for their movie named Unity of Souls. And I’m the major cast for that role. So hopefully it’s on IMDB. I don’t know when they want to start the shoot. But they said it’s going to be like 22 days in Florida. So I’ll be shooting for that.

00:28:52 – 00:29:03 Sunil Narkar

I’m all excited with that role, which I’m, I really like the script and the role. So I decided that yes, I’m going to go. So that’s a new thing coming up. So I’m pretty much excited for that.

00:29:04 – 00:29:05 Nitin Bajaj

That’s amazing. Looking forward to it.

00:29:05 – 00:29:06 Sunil Narkar

Yes.

00:29:06 – 00:29:15 Nitin Bajaj

Now onto my favorite part of the show. We call this the one-line life lessons. And Sunil, I would love for you to share your life lessons with us.

00:29:17 – 00:29:43 Sunil Narkar

One-line life lessons. I always think that, you know, everything happens is for the best. If we things that don’t go the way you wanted, I think that guy has something else written for you, and which is always better than what you can do. So I think that’s when I go back and look at those things, like, you know, when I, when I was working for the state of California, I was not getting promotion.

00:29:43 – 00:30:02 Sunil Narkar

And I was, that was something happening good because I, for good, because I was quitting that job and starting my own AME Medical Group. When I was doing AME Medical Group, the workers come kind of dying. And I thought, okay, I have to close this thing and all this stuff. Again, Arjun Care came in the picture. So, you know, I again started it.

00:30:03 – 00:30:28 Sunil Narkar

And then the pandemic again. The pandemic was the worst thing. Like, you know, seven months we did not have patients. And we were really struggling. And then again, I started doing those testings. And I, we also do the vaccination for Pfizer vaccination we got. So we were giving vaccination to all the, all our patients. So that basically started giving generated revenue. And then we started back on the track kind of thing.

00:30:28 – 00:30:57 Sunil Narkar

So I think whatever happens, you just have to stay there, hang in there, and just do whatever best you can do. And then you will come to the point where something better will happen for you. So just hang in there. And like I said, you know, sometimes your loved one, they leave and they go away. And you feel bad for that. But then again, you know, everything happens is for some reason. You know, never give up. Never always keep your chin up and then go further. That’s what I feel.

00:30:58 – 00:31:10 Nitin Bajaj

Love that. Sunil, thank you so much for making the time to be with us, to share your journey, your story, your life lessons, but most importantly, for doing everything you do for the community.

00:31:11 – 00:31:21 Sunil Narkar

Thank you. Thanks for having me. And again, I would, I really like to wish you good luck. And whatever you’re doing is amazing. I think you should continue. And I’ll be with you all the time.

00:31:21 – 00:31:22 Nitin Bajaj

Thank you for your blessings.

00:31:22 – 00:31:23 Sunil Narkar

Thank you.