Vinay Menon knew little about Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich. He knew even less about football; he had never seen a match in his life. But as he approached the door of Abramovich's west London mansion in 2009, he was about to have a meeting that would change his life and transform him into, arguably, the most famous Indian in the sport.
Born in Kerala and inspired by his maternal 'yogi' grandfather to pursue a career in wellness, Menon was a word-of-mouth recommendation to the Russian oligarch. He was delivering wellness, yoga and relaxation exercises to billionaires and celebrities at a luxury hotel in Dubai, when the father of Abramovich's then-wife Dasha booked in for a session. Menon then came to London to run private classes for the Abramovichs.
But Roman was so impressed by Menon that he sent him to Chelsea's Cobham training ground with a brief to work with the first-team squad as the Premier League's first wellness coach. "Roman asked for it to happen and it happened," Menon says. "I was an Indian, who was never exposed to football, entering a massive club and it seemed impossible.
"There was a big barrier, but it was not an immovable rock because it came from the owner himself - he initiated that change so everyone was ready to try." Still, the arrival of Menon and his philosophy was a culture shock for a squad who had finished as either Premier League champions or runners-up in the previous five seasons. "We are talking about elite performance - change is always diff.