December 2021 17 www.bahrainthismonth.com interview FAMILY AT THE HEART OF IT ALL “My father, who’s probably my best friend, is one of the head coaches at the academy, one of my training partners and helps run the gym on a day-to-day basis,” he says. Ali graciously believes that family support has also played a significant role in his journey as an athlete. “When I talk about family support, I need to start and end with father because he always believed in me, but not in a way that applied any sort of pressure on me. Whenever I would leave a fight, the smile on his face was identical whether I lost or won those fights,” he says. “Obviously I had my own determination and sense of pressure to outdo myself, but I never felt that in any negative capacity from my father. He supported me no matter what and always insisted, and showed through his actions, that his main concern was that I was happy doing what I love,” he adds. Elements has grown to be a “mini family reunion” of sorts as Ali describes it. “My brother is very much in a similar capacity except he’s younger so I get to bully him a little bit. We also have a number of my cousins, some of which are assistant coaches while others are simply part of the family training for fun,” he adds. Having his parents, brother and cousins play a role at Elements on a daily basis has left Ali feeling quite fortunate. “You know, I always say that I’m a professional athlete, a coach, and a business owner, but above all else… I’m a family man,” he beams. “I mean that to a much larger extent; we’ve built a sense of community here and are a family. Whatever I accomplish personally as an athlete is meaningless compared to the joy I feel when I share it with my family here. I think perhaps that is my defining characteristic in one word: family.”
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