Mustafa Sandal: Stay away from people who can't smile.

Famous singer Mustafa Sandal was a guest on the program 'Unlimited Conversations About Life', presented by Züleyha Ortak and accompanied by Prof. Dr. Serdar Dağ.

'WE WENT TO İSKENDERCIYE, I JUST SMELLED'

The singer, who draws attention with his fit appearance without aesthetics, said, "I have always had a sporty mindset since my high school years. I went to some sports branches because I liked them, and to others because they seemed cool. The athletics team was very cool. The place with the least number of people was the shot put team. They accepted me there so it wouldn't be rude. I tried to join the tennis team, but they didn't take me because there were really good players. They later took me as a ball collector... Then I developed a gym habit with the 'Rocky' movies. Before my first album was released, I made a business plan in my mind because I studied business in Boston. We create visual art, and I wanted to be good in form and body. Before my first album was released, I went to the gym six days a week. Since that day, I have had discipline... I exaggerated a lot from 2002 to 2012. At that time, my psychology would be disturbed if I gained even 100 grams on the scale. I became antisocial and distanced myself from my friends. When we went to a restaurant, everyone was ordering, and I was asking for arugula and water. We went to İskenderciye, I just smelled it and said, 'Friends, share it.' People around me were uncomfortable. I was weighing myself 35-40 times a day. I think I stopped doing that about 1.5 years ago. Since 2015, I have probably weighed myself three times," he said.

'STAY AWAY FROM PEOPLE WHO CAN'T SMILE'

Sandal, in response to the question "What changed you?", said, "I said, 'This can't go on like this.' To live healthily, one needs to stay away from negative or positive exaggeration. You need to feel balanced and in the middle. This doesn't mean completely saying, 'let go.' I still go to the gym six days a week. Back then, I would run on the treadmill for 40 minutes to increase my lung capacity, using oxygen-reducing masks. What’s the need! Am I going to participate in a professional competition? As I observed myself, if you can use your mind a little, I said, 'I should get out of these mindsets; socializing is important for human health... Laughing is also important.' I said, 'A perfectly shaped body but no smile on the face. Stay away from people who can't smile, that's my advice to everyone.' In our geography and environment, there are enough crazily dramatic energies happening at every hour of the day. If we told a Norwegian, Finn, or Swede about the agenda we live in for a week, it would be a situation they experience in 50 years. To be able to live and survive as a human, you need to have a mind. It’s all about how well you manage which energy you let into your life... Spending 20 minutes on social media, you absorb the negativity that a normal person should take in three months," he replied.

'CHILDREN HAVE BECOME HYPNOTIZED BY PHONES'

The singer, who said, "We have unnecessarily accelerated," added, "We are at a ridiculous speed. As the amount of information increases, time seems to be under pressure. There is a wave of unnecessary information you are exposed to. We need to calm down! I don't go on TikTok; my team says, 'We should go on.' But there’s no need... Children have become hypnotized by their phones. Many families, including myself, find it hard to say, 'Come on, my child, let’s watch a movie together,'" he expressed.

'I AM HAPPY TO ELEVATE PEOPLE'S ENERGY'

Stating that he follows artificial intelligence, Sandal said, "In a panel about this topic, someone said, 'In the near future, all content will be produced by artificial intelligence.' I wonder what the quality of producer content will be if artificial intelligence is produced without understanding love and spirituality," he said. Speaking about his stage performance, the singer said, "When I go abroad, when people who don't know me ask, 'What do you do?' I say, 'I work in energy. I take 12 volts and convert it to 220 and send it back.' Then they get into the topic from there. There is an energy on stage that you can feel. I take that energy and weave it into a story. Essentially, I am a storyteller. I take energy and elevate it, and I am happy to elevate people's spirits," he said.