There's a very specific silence that falls when someone orders a soda water instead of a drink at a Delhi bar. It's not judgment, it's confusion, like you've broken an unspoken rule. For a generation that grew up believing a good night out is measured in shots and the hangover you wear like a badge, sitting one out feels almost rude. And yet, more men in their 20s are doing it anyway, not for a trend, but because at some point they sat with the math of what a night actually cost them versus what it gave them, and the numbers stopped adding up. We put the question to two men who've both walked away from drinking, both happen to be young founders. One has a music label (person 1) and the other is a founder of a run club (Krishbir Singh)
What struck me wasn't how similar their stories were, it's that they arrived at the same place from opposite directions. One never even liked the taste. He was chasing a feeling, the buzz, the couple of hours where everything felt lighter. That high never came free; he'd pay for it the rest of the day. It wasn't one dramatic moment that made him quit, just a pile of ordinary ones: the bad hangovers, the wasted Sundays, a couple of nights he'd rather forget. He kept telling himself the same lie , I'll drink responsibly this time and kept waking up at 2pm with a headache and guilt anyway.
The other's story starts warmer. Growing up, drinking felt exciting by default. "It was just the excitement, you know... I'm going to drink some alcohol and feel, feel what it makes you feel, it was damn attractive." - Krishbir Singh
What's interesting is what happened once both pulled back. Their descriptions sound like they compared notes: better sleep, steadier energy, lower anxiety, surprising until you remember alcohol is chemically a depressant dressed up as a good time.
"Everything improved. My sleep got better, my energy became consistent throughout the day and across the week, and the biggest change was simply knowing I was doing something good for my body and myself." - Person 1
Clearer skin. A resting heart rate that actually drops, which sounds small until you realize it's a fairly honest indicator of how hard your body's working just to keep you alive. Person one puts it clinically: alcohol suppresses your nervous system, full stop; cut it and everything lifts.
"Sleep, I think becomes 10 times better. Your natural energy also is just higher. Anxiety is lower. Your skin is glowing, your weight reduces, there's no bloating, your HRV spikes up, your resting heart rate goes down." - Krishbir Singh
Neither replaced drinking with an elaborate wellness routine. Mostly it's sparkling water, a lot of coffee, Diet Coke if they're out and the gym, which crept in almost by accident and did more for their self-respect than drinking ever did. Heavy nights meant two foggy days after, a tax neither wanted to keep paying. Another aspect of quitting that was interesting to note was how they’re social lives were impacted. That’s the part nobody warns you about, especially when you’re just in your 20s : cutting back costs you friends or at least the version of your social life built around drinking. "Friends and people around me gave me plenty of reasons to just indulge. Socially, my circle got smaller. I realized there were only a handful of people I could actually hang out with or have a real conversation with, without the plan revolving around drinking." - Person 1
Ask either if this is permanent or just a phase, and neither hesitates. One doesn't think alcohol has much upside at all, though if you can keep it in check, that's your call. The other, says he's not interested in going back to being the guy who used to black out on nights he can't remember.
Two men quitting alcohol isn't new - people have always done that, for a hundred different reasons, in every generation. What's new is the framing. Neither of them talks about it like a sacrifice. There's no gritted-teeth willpower story, no countdown to relapse, no sense that they're missing out on something and just gutting it out. They talk about it like they got something back; hours, mornings, a body that isn't running on a deficit, a version of themselves they actually like being around.