Dubai: A Dubai personal trainer and fitness model is hoping to inspire a new generation of natural body builders in the UAE with a top finish at a global fitness event in November.
Briton Cassius Abrahams, 26, who moved to the emirate in February to work as an instructor in a fitness chain, is currently sweating it out ahead of the World Beauty Fitness and Fashion (WBFF) event in Miami on November 15. A stellar showing there will encourage more people in the country to take bodybuilding without steroids or other unnatural substances, he says.
“Not many people are into bodybuilding at a very serious level in this part of the world and that culture needs to change,” says the London-born man who started his career as a sales supervisor at a luxury cut-glass company.
Today, Abrahams, named after boxing legend Muhammad Ali’s childhood name, is desperate to be a cut above all as a natural physique competitor.
“The training and diet are important and over 8-12 weeks, I have to reduce body fat while maintaining as much muscle as possible. I will be competing against 50-odd fitness models trying their best to win the main prize of a Pro Card (professional bodybuilding card),” Abrahams says.
A diverse lifestyle brand servicing the fitness, beauty, fashion, competitive sport, health and wellness industries, the WBFF is often known as home to some of the most glamorous and fit models in the world. Their events across North America and around the world provide an arena for contestants to develop into the next big stars and Abrahams, who is travelling on the money he has saved so far in Dubai, is keen to impress.
“The publicity is great, but the ability to inspire others is larger and I hope to raise awareness about bodybuilding here,” says Abrahams who dreams to one day start appearing on magazine covers as the man with Dubai’s best physique. But before he hops on the Miami-bound flight, he has to impress judges here at the drug-free International Natural Bodybuilding Association (INBA) Middle East competition being held for the first time in the region at the Dubai World Trade Centre on October 25.
