Dubai: For former British military commando Cyrus Rustom, 38, it was inevitably his previous job that demanded he remain fit. But on hindsight, he feels it was a near-death accident when he decided to make fitness his full-time career and later his entrepreneurial choice.
“In 2006, I was smashed between two military trucks in Afghanistan and severely hurt with skull and joint injuries. I was hospitalised in intensive care for two weeks and then six weeks recovering in a hospital in Oman,” Rustom recalled, when asked what made him pursue entrepreneursh
“This was when I met a gentleman who checked on me when visiting his son in the hospital room I was in. I learnt later he had just lost his wife and daughter in the same car accident that disabled his son. His attitude helped me change my perspective and deal with fear positively.”
After a five-year stint with the British Navy’s Royal Marines Commandos, Rustom has been in the fitness industry for 16 years, first as a personal trainer and later as an owner of a fitness facility that makes Dh4 million per year now.
From fitness trainer to gym owner
“I eventually developed mental resilience and realised that pushing beyond mental and physical endurance limits was essential to reach my goals. So when I moved to Dubai in 2013, I started working for Fitness First.”
However, when working his first job in the fitness industry, which paid him a monthly salary of Dh4,000, Rustom realised training one person per hour as a personal trainer would never allow him to make the income he desired. “I needed to open my own business and evolve,” he said.
In September 2020, a few weeks after the lockdown, he started a fitness gym. He and his business partner initially invested Dh1 million each in the fitness gym, which currently makes 30 per cent profit.
“I had half the amount needed from my savings and borrowed the remaining money from my dad. Our fit out and equipment were Dh1.6 million, and then expenses on rent, staff, etc. But running a business during lockdown proved challenging and taught me how to adapt,” Rustom added.
Tip: Be prepared to adapt and modify your business plan to meet changing market needs
A few weeks after the lockdown, Rustom went on to describe how important it was as a business owner to be flexible when many facilities closed for good. He said, “We opened a fitness studio when everybody was scared and unsure of being close to others.
