Whether it is helping someone run their first marathon or lose weight, or inspiring a generation to win bigger, think bigger, dream bigger, the vision behind performance coach and international athlete Marcus Smith’s brand InnerFight has always been to ‘make people better at life’.

Indeed, InnerFight is not your typical fitness facility and has many special programmes that have proven effective in helping people reach their goals no matter what they are.

Services include a Weight Loss Club, various endurance, cardio, strength, as well as CrossFit and other speciality training programmes from gymnastics and weightlifting; but InnerFight ups the ante by also focusing on that ‘inner fight’ buried in all of us, hence the name.

They offer sports psychology, educational podcasts and regular ‘InnerTalk’ meets and ‘Smash Life’ seminars which bring in motivational speakers, among them Smith himself, to share success stories and inspire people to drive performance on every level, be it fitness or business.

One of Smith’s latest endeavours is extra special though, as it gives back to the UAE, the country that provided him with the opportunity to develop his brand many years ago. It also extends a hand to the next generation springing from it.

The InnerFight Intisaar project is a non-profit programme which gives Emirati youths an opportunity to use physical and mental fitness to excel in life. The free training sessions focus on developing them physically while also offering guidance on their life aspirations.

Intisaar is an arabic word that means ‘victory’, which Smith chose because he wanted these kids “to be victorious in everything and essentially win at life,” says the Briton, an ex-professional rugby player who has since then been named among the Top 10 fittest men in Asia for consecutive years.

“On April 1, 2014 I got a call to meet a guy who was trying to lose weight from a start point of 197kg. He came to see me the same day and could not even sit on the couch, I was blown away.

"They [InnerFight] have basically saved my life" – Kassim

“We chatted and I just felt an inclination to help. My theory was pretty simple in that this guy was committed and dedicated, but just to the wrong things. It’s just not possible to get in that state without a huge commitment to eating and lack of activity,” he says. 

“I challenged myself to find a way to reverse that addiction and create instead an addiction in this guy to fitness, and to getting the very most out of his life. He is now under 100kg.”

Speaking to the man, Mohammed Kassim, himself shows the dedication that InnerFight puts into their efforts. “Before I started at InnerFight I tried a number of different things on my own to lose weight but failed. The attitude they had and approach they took on my case was motivating from the start. I was in a seriously bad state and they have basically saved my life,” says the Emirati, a regular member at the facility today.

Smith adds: “It’s true that the project developed through my initial experience with Mohammed, as well as the stats on obesity within the Emirati community, but Intisaar is not just a programme for the obese, we have a group of youths on board now of varying shapes and sizes. It is rather to give this community the chance to live the best lives and hopefully lead them to better decision making.

“It is a very simple programme actually where we invite Emirati youths aged 15-18 to come and work out with us. Through that we are able to teach them the importance of physical exercise as well as educate them on nutrition.

“For me more than anything we are exposing them to an environment and a certain attitude to life that simply says ‘I will be the very best version of me possible.’ We mix them in with the adults from time to time which is interesting, but on the whole makes them mature pretty fast, whilst it also creates role models and a population that they can look up to and be inspired by.”

What: InnerFight
Where: 4th Street, Al Quoz 3, Dubai
Verdict: The dramatic results show InnerFight is well worth checking out if you want to get in shape.