More Than Fitness: How InnerFight Has Made Me Better At Life

I arrived in Dubai on the 23rd of August, 2020. Like many others during that period, I was dealing with the aftermath of COVID. I’d been made redundant, and the opportunity to join InnerFight came at just the right time. On paper, it made sense. Dubai was booming, the city had energy, and InnerFight looked like a place full of high performers who trained hard, worked hard, and carried values I respected.

I’d seen the Six Pillars on the wall, Honesty, Simplicity, Mental Toughness, Smash Life, Hard Work, and Fun, and they immediately resonated with me. I thought I’d spend a few years here, earn good money, and move on to whatever was next.

But that’s not how it played out.

Five years later, I’m still here. Still at InnerFight. Still working with people who push me to grow; not just as a coach, but as a person. And while I’ve helped a lot of people get stronger, leaner, fitter, that’s no longer the measure of success I care most about.

When I first joined, the phrase “Show No Weakness” really stuck with me. It shaped how I approached training, business, and life. Don’t show cracks. Push hard. Be tough. And that mindset served me well, until it didn’t.

A couple of years in, I thought I had everything I’d come to Dubai for. Business was thriving, I was making good money, and I was working hard. But none of it made me feel fulfilled or truly happy. That’s when things shifted. I began to understand what InnerFight was really about, and what it could be for my clients and for myself.

Helping people become better at life became the focus.

Yes, we still train hard. Yes, we still chase performance. But more than anything, we build habits, create space for honest conversations, and support each other in the three most important areas of life: mental, physical, and emotional. Fitness became the vehicle, not the destination.

What’s made this journey so powerful isn’t just what I’ve given to others. It’s what you all have given me.

Working alongside Marcus, Jamie, and Tom, and every client I’ve coached, has changed me. Their standards, their challenges, their trust in me… it’s made me better. I live a more fulfilling life. I have a home that brings me peace, an incredible wife, Vic, who supports me unconditionally and pushes me to grow, a house full of animals (chaotic, but I love it), and a daily rhythm I’m genuinely proud of.

So when I ask myself whether the move was a success, the answer isn’t in a blank statement.

It’s in the memories I’ve made. The people I’ve met. The moments we’ve shared and the impact made on their lives that can’t be defined by what a scale tells them or how much they can deadlift. It’s so much more than that.

It’s in how I live, who I’ve become, and how I show up for others.

I’m better at life. And for that, I’m incredibly grateful.

The next few years? I’m excited for them.

Because if the past five are anything to go by, I’m just getting started.