Abu Dhabi grocer runs off the kilos between customers
Famish Musthafa found that running a grocery store left him with little time to stay in shape.
In his first six months working as a shopkeeper at Abu Dhabi Cruise Terminal, he put on five kilograms.
Serving customers from morning until night did not seem like a way to stay fit.
“My weight went up from 65kg to 70kg,” said Mr Musthafa, 28, who is from Kerala, India.
“I barely have a day off once a month, and I work from 9am to 9pm, so I don’t really have time and energy to train after work.”
But he soon found the answer to his problems – at his workplace.
“I would have liked to go to a gym and train properly, but I did not have the time or means to do that,” he said.
But an opportunity to combine work with exercise soon presented itself.
“I noticed members of the gym upstairs going down to run loops around the blue chairs in front of my shop,” Mr Musthafa said.
“They do many loops between their exercises.
“So I thought I could do the same. “
In his jeans, work shirt and old running shoes, Mr Musthafa started making an appearance on the terminal’s improvised running track.
“It is a 100-metre distance and right in front of my shop, I do as many rounds as I can when the shop is not busy,” he said.
For the past four weeks, Mr Musthafa has made it a habit to run every afternoon.
“It was perfect for me because if any customer comes I can just run back into the shop,” he said.
After seeing the results of the past month of exercise, he said he was motivated to run more.
Mr Musthafa’s hard work was noticed by Noura Al Dhaheri,
managing director of the terminal.
“Ms Noura noticed what I was doing and she started motivating me,” he said.
“Every time she saw me running she clapped and gave me a thumbs-up.”
Ms Al Dhaheri said she was happy to see people use the space at the terminal to keep fit.
“I have been keen on making the terminal a fitness hub for the community, and not just a place for passengers to pass through,” she said.
A few years ago, Ms Al Dhaheri invited a fitness group to hold their boot camp sessions at the terminal, for free.
The group trained there for months before the pandemic began and people were asked to stay at home.
That same group was offered the chance to rent the space on the terminal’s upper floor for their own gym, which opened last September.
When The National met Mr Musthafa last week, he climbed on the scale for the first time since he started running, and weighed in at 66.9kg.
“I saved for new running shoes, and I just want to be fitter and stronger,” he said.
Mr Musthafa said he noticed the difference exercise has made in his life not only on the scale, but also at work.
“I feel happier and I interact better with the customers,” he said.
Determined to help him make further fitness progress, Ms Al Dhaheri spoke to the owners of the gym at the terminal to offer the aspiring new athlete complimentary training.
“The gym gave me a onemonth free pass and new running shoes, so I don’t have to save for that any more,” he said.
Mr Musthafa now arrives at work about an hour early to hit the gym for some functional training and proper running drills.
“I also asked my older brother, who works in Mussaffah, to buy me a bike so I can cycle to work,” he said.
“I used to cycle in Kerala as a means of transportation so I am used to it.
“I want to combine work with a workout whenever possible.”