Meet Ryan: From Naval Childhood to the Only Fresher Recommended at 12 SSB Bangalore

“Growth begins when you stop pretending to be someone else—and start becoming the best version of yourself.”

Growing Up in Uniform Culture

Ryan’s father serves in the Indian Navy, so naval campuses, defence housing, and disciplined routines weren’t new to him.
He studied at Naval Children School, shifted through cities like Pune, Kochi, Mumbai, and finally Visakhapatnam.

His roots trace back to Hoshiarpur, Punjab, but his identity was shaped by the defence environment.

And like many defence kids, he learned early:

• how to adapt
• how to stay grounded
• how to take responsibility
• how to dream fearlessly

Where the Dream Truly Began

One day, senior students—who had cleared their own SSB—stood on stage in his school to give motivational speeches.

Ryan listened.

And something inside him whispered,
“One day, I want to give that speech.”

That moment didn’t just inspire him.
It set his target—NDA.

The First Attempt—and the First Success

Ryan appeared for NDA NA 1 2025 and walked into 12 SSB Bangalore.

And life surprised him.

He was the only fresher who got recommended in that batch.

A dream fulfilled in the very first attempt.

But the journey behind that success had its own struggles—especially with GTO and Interview, where he initially felt underconfident.

The YouTube Trap: Knowledge Without Direction

Like many aspirants, Ryan began his preparation on YouTube.

It gave him enough exposure to clear the psychological tests,
but when it came to GTO and Interview, he didn’t know:

• how to speak,
• what to speak,
• where to stop,
• how to showcase OLQs naturally.

Interview felt intimidating.
He didn’t even feel confident enough to attempt a mock.

Somewhere, he knew he needed direction, not random information.

The Turning Point: Discovering R2R

While searching for lecturette topics on Telegram, Ryan stumbled upon R2R and something told him to give it a try.

That decision changed everything.

Every morning, the classes went on for 2–3 hours, diving deep into:

• OLQs
• real interview expectations
• common probing patterns
• what assessors actually look for
• how to speak without overspeaking
• how to structure responses

The Day “Courage” Made Sense

In a session about Courage, the instructors explained how certain SRTs require candidates to display this OLQ clearly.

Ryan still remembers an example discussed:

“If in a train, you face a robber one-on-one, what will you do?”

Exactly this situation appeared in his own SSB.

Because it had already been broken down in class,
he knew precisely how to frame his response—
not dramatically, not passively—
but confidently and rationally.

These subtle insights made all the difference.

15 Days. Unbelievable Transformation.

After the 15 days of training, mock interviews were conducted.

For the first time, Ryan felt something shift.

His answers had become:

• crisp
• structured
• less wordy
• more meaningful
• more aligned with the OLQs

The feedback from Anshika ma’am showed him:

• exactly what to refine
• exactly what to continue
• exactly what to avoid

He finally felt ready.

Not perfect—just enough and authentic, which is exactly what SSB wants.

Ryan’s Message to Future Aspirants

Ryan strongly believes that:

“If you try to act like someone you’re not, the Interviewing Officer will catch it instantly.”

His advice?

• Be honest.
• Be yourself.
• Work on improving your personality—not faking it.

A Mindset Hack That Helped Him Win

Ryan shares an interesting approach:

He stopped thinking of SSB as a test.

Instead, he turned it into a game.

Each day became a task,
each task was a level,
and completing each level meant becoming a better version of himself.

If he messed up, he imagined restarting the level—not the whole journey.

This gamified approach kept him motivated and hungry.

The Biggest Challenge: Knowing When to Speak and When to Stop

Ryan admits he naturally speaks a lot.
So, controlling that instinct was difficult.

Learning to balance:

• talking enough to answer well 
• stopping early enough to avoid probing

…was something he learned during his R2R sessions.

The personalised guidance helped him build that instinct.

And that small shift made a huge difference in his interview performance.

For Every Aspirant Reading This

Ryan’s story is not just a success story.
It’s proof that:

• the right guidance accelerates progress
• clarity matters more than overconfidence
• preparation beats pretending
• being yourself is your biggest strength

If his journey makes you curious about how he refined himself so quickly,
maybe it’s time to explore the place where he found that clarity.

And that’s a journey worth taking.