The Times of India
“Forget 10,000 steps — this 71-year-old walks 24 km daily.”
Dental surgeon · Walker · Speaker · Bengaluru
33,000 steps a day. Every day.
Dr. Mangalore Vittal Kamath is 72. He has walked roughly 24 km a day, every single day, since 1 January 2008 — more than 135,000 km across 80 countries, without missing one.
Times of India · The New Indian Express
135,000+ km walked. 80+ countries. 18 years unbroken. 330 minutes a day.
33,000
Steps every single day
24 km
Covered daily, in 330 minutes
135,000+ km
Walked since 1 January 2008
80+
Countries, same routine
18 yrs
Without missing a day
The day, hour by hour He is 7 km in
He is 7 km in
before sunrise.
Four walks, one day, planned to the minute. It has looked almost exactly like this since 2008 — at home in Bengaluru, and in every country he has travelled to since.
2:45 am
Wakes upBhagavad Gita verses from memory, then acupressure.
—
3:30 am
First walk — 90 minutesThe long pre-dawn stretch, finished before the city is up.
7.2 km
5:00 am
Yoga and pranayama — 45 minutesFollowed by a shot of garlic, turmeric, ginger and curry leaves.
—
7:00 am
Second walk — 60 minutesPlus stairs, a habit from the years his clinic was a floor up.
4.8 km
12:30 pm
Third walk — 45 minutesThrough the hottest part of the afternoon.
3.6 km
4:00 pm
Fourth walk — 135 minutesThe longest stretch of the day. Done by 6:15 pm.
8.4 km
Total — 330 minutes on his feet 24 km · 33,000 steps
“I am committed — come rain or shine, I wake up and walk. Even when I am abroad, I make sure I complete my schedule.” Dr. Vittal Kamath
He did not start big
On 1 January 2008 it was a New Year’s resolution and a 5 km walk. Two months later it was 10 km. Six months later, 15 km. It settled at 24 km and has not moved since.
“Begin with short distances and increase step by step,” is the advice he gives everyone who asks. He recommends a brisk walk over running — consistent and measured beats fast and occasional.
He has kept it up at high altitude at Pangong Lake in Ladakh, through Eastern European winters, and through 0–5 °C mornings in Seattle. When the routine and a lucrative post as Principal and Medical Superintendent could not both survive, he chose the routine.
Stairs, against the clock The other
The other
obsession.
Temple steps, timed. National and international recognition for speed climbing at an age when most people take the lift.
650
Steps
Shravanabelagola
Karnataka, India
in 7 minutes
437
Steps
Rockfort Ucchi Pillayar Temple
Tiruchirappalli, India
in 5 minutes
300
Steps
Muktinath Temple
Mustang, Nepal
in 4 minutes
272
Steps
Batu Caves
Selangor, Malaysia
in 6 minutes
He has also completed the Tiger’s Nest Monastery trek in Bhutan.
For brands
Put your product on the hardest feet in India.
Dr. Kamath is open to endorsements, ambassadorships and long-term product testing with brands in walking, footwear, fitness and health.
01
Testing at real mileage
Roughly 8,760 km a year on one pair of feet. A shoe gets a normal walker’s year of wear in about six weeks — on tarmac, hills, temple steps, monsoon and snow. Honest feedback, from a clinician.
02
A doctor who does it
He started walking because he was tired of prescribing exercise he did not do himself. Eighteen unbroken years later, that is a credential no campaign can manufacture.
03
The audience brands miss
Indians over fifty who are told to move more and have no idea where to begin — and their children, who worry about them. He is living proof, and he is approachable about it.
04
Stage and press
He spoke to an audience of 1,500 in Seattle in April 2026 and has been covered by The Times of India and The New Indian Express.
Ways to work together
- Product testing
- Brand ambassador
- Campaigns & shoots
- Walkathons & launches
- Corporate wellness talks
- Interviews & podcasts
Categories that fit
Footwear · sportswear and socks · wearables and step trackers · nutrition and supplements · hydration · preventive health and insurance · joint and orthopaedic care · senior living and travel.
In the press
On the record.
Covered in the national press for a routine that reporters keep double-checking.
The New Indian Express
“The doc who walks the talk.”