The Sevan Podcast - #34 - Haya Alsharhan

Episode Date: May 14, 2021

Fittest Mom in Kuwait The Sevan Podcast EP 34 - Haya Alsharhan & Brian Friend @SEVANMATOSSIAN @BRIANFRIENDCROSSFIT @HAYA_CFQ8 The Sevan Podcast is sponsored by http://www.barbelljobs.com Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/therealsevanpodcast/ Sevan's Stuff: https://www.instagram.com/sevanmatossian/?hl=en https://app.sugarwod.com/marketplace/3-playing-brothers Support the show Partners: https://cahormones.com/ - CODE "SEVAN" FOR FREE CONSULTATION https://www.paperstcoffee.com/ - THE COFFEE I DRINK! https://asrx.com/collections/the-real... - OUR TSHIRTS ... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Call 1-866-531-2600 or visit connectsontario.ca. Please play responsibly. In the finder. Oh, yeah, Brian, it's recording. Oh, my goodness. Hiya. You did something right. Oh, yeah, Brian, it's recording. Oh, my goodness. Haya. You did something right. Yes, hi.

Am I pronouncing your name right, Haya? Yes. Very nice to meet you. And your last name is Alsharan? Alsharan? Alsharan, yeah. Alsharan. Alsharan. Yes. AlshSharhan. Al-Sharhan.

Yes. Al-Sharhan. Hiya, Al-Sharhan. Hiya, I'm Sevan Matosian. Thanks for coming on the podcast. That's Brian Friend. Brian is an expert in a lot of things. One of them is in human movement and in just games athletes in general.

He's a big fan of the CrossFit Games and the sport. And what a pleasure to have you on. So I live on – Haya is in Kuwait. And for those of you who don't know, and I know a lot of Americans are struggling with their geography, Kuwait is a very small country surrounded by the Persian Gulf, Iraq, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. It is north of Saudi Arabia. Well, Saudi Arabia kind of, yeah, let's just say for ease of use, it's north of Saudi Arabia and south of Iraq and Iran. And then on the other side, it has the beautiful Persian Gulf. Did I describe where you live correctly?

Yes. And what time is it there? Right now it's 9 p.m. Okay. And I am in California, which is on the west coast of the North American continent. I'm about 300 miles north of Los Angeles and a little less than 100 miles south of San Francisco. And Brian is in Chicago, which is sort of, for ease of thought, it's in the north center of the United States of America.

I'm familiar with American geography. It's not for you. It's not for you. It's not for you. It's not for you. It's just to show how international the show is. healthier people in the warmer climates in the United States, particularly on the coasts, because people wear less clothes and therefore there's a peer pressure to have a better body and look better. And I was chatting back and forth with Haya on Instagram and I shared this theory with her after seeing a lot of the statistics coming out of the UAE. And I've spent a little time in Dubai. I've spent more significant time in Lebanon and in Syria. But I had this theory that when you covered the people, specifically the women, that that would give them a default to not look as healthy because there wouldn't

be this peer pressure that basically you could hide under this sheet or this garb that they have that's kind of free-flowing and wouldn't hug to your fat rolls. And, of course, I say that for myself because I hate wearing a T-shirt that shows my chubby tummy, which isn't chubby anymore. And I shared this with Haya. And, you know, this day and age, you never know how people are going to respond. And instead of being defensive, she gave me a very, very thoughtful, um, response, um, thoughtful and intelligent. And I thought, man, I got to have high on the show. So she can, um, basically, um, uh, I'm going to try not to swear in this show for some reason. feel like i have to be extra polite around you it's your show you can do whatever you want i i i thought well ma'am maybe she could help unfuck me with all my

prejudices and misconceptions because after reading her her post to me i was like wow yeah okay so um before before we get before we get into stuff like that and the culture, which is what really what a lot that I'd like to talk about, because I think people in the United States, um, since we don't, we don't know Kuwait, so few of us have been to Kuwait, we don't understand the culture at all. And we just get it from our TV and our TV has been lying to us a lot lately. And so it's important to hear from people who are actually living in the country and from those people.

But tell me about, you have, you have a fascinating Instagram. You're clearly a very typical CrossFitter. You're managing kids. You're managing elite performance. And you're passionate and you're obsessed with lifting heavy objects over your head. So how old are you? I'll be 34 in July. And you're a mother of two beautiful children?

Yes, I have two daughters, a 7-year-old and a 3-year-old. And how did Haya and CrossFit, how did their paths cross? What's the origin there? Do you want all the details? I mean, I could... Yeah, give it to us give it to us let's hear it um okay so and before crossfit i had zero knowledge and and fitness um i would try you know to be healthy but it was just you typical jog as much as you can or do these random fitness magazine workouts at home and then just try to eat less, not eat healthy. That was basically my limited knowledge when it comes to fitness and health. And then in 2012, I randomly by chance saw on TV there was a local CrossFit competition, a really small competition throwdown happening in Dubai.

And they were showing it on TV. And Dubai, I think, is probably the first place in our region that started to bring in CrossFit and introduce CrossFit. And I saw it and I thought it looked really cool. There was, I think there was a couple of local girls and I was like amazed by what they were doing. I mean, when I look back now, it's, it's basically nothing. I mean, they were probably like carrying a sandbag and tossing it over their shoulder. At the time, it just seemed very impressive. And it was not like something I've seen before. So I looked up.

I googled CrossFit in Kuwait. And I didn't find anything. I did that, I think, for a couple of weeks. And then one day, a tweet popped up. A tweet as in from Twitter. And there was this guy. His name is Yusuf Al-Baghsumi. And he basically was saying that there's a sport called CrossFit. And I want to, you know, I want to share it with you guys. So I'm doing a free workout outdoors. Anyone who's interested, you're

more than welcome to join. So I grabbed my sister and I'm like, we have to go. And we went and it was so much fun. It was a group of girls and guys. And we did like a bunch of body weight workouts. There was a few like kettlebells and dumbbells and some sandbags and stuff like that. We had a blast. And when we finished, he let us know that he was going to open an affiliate, which was the first affiliate in Kuwait. And he told us the date, the location, and we were all super excited. You know, we signed up right away. And then I became one of the first group of people to join that gym, which was CrossFit Q8. And that was the first affiliate in Kuwait at the time in 2012. And I just fell in

love with it. I mean, I didn't grow up passionate about anything. I didn't grow up particularly good at anything. Like I didn't excel at anything. And I felt like with CrossFit, I found, I guess you can say my niche. Like I found something I'm good at, something I saw potential in myself. And I just loved how it made me feel and introduced me to a whole different world. And that's basically it. But I also should add that Yusuf al-Baghsami is now my husband and we both run the gym together. the gym together. So this is 2000. This is 2012. So that was nine years ago. You're 34 now. So you were 25 years old. Yes. That's when your story sounds. Your story sounds very, very. And your story sounds very typical. I think that was Yes, I can't speak for Brian. But I think that's my thing, too. I was basically just going to the gym and doing workouts that I saw in magazines.

And if I wanted to lose weight, I just ate less. So I think that was the – I think that was it. So you saw the competition from Dubai. You weren't – and it's interesting that you say that it wasn't a big deal. It's not a big deal now relative to what the human beings are doing today. But you weren't intimidated at all? No. And honestly, I didn't grow up playing sports.

I have a younger brother, and he was into soccer or football. And that was basically it. My sister is an artist. I was good in school, but there was nothing particular that I enjoyed um I when I went to university I graduated with an art history degree which I loved and I worked at a museum for a while um so you know I had zero background in sports and um I don't know. I just, it just looked, I'm not sure, you know, I just saw it and it was like, it was like calling me. I don't even know how to explain it. I asked because so many people, you know, when I was working at CrossFit HQ, one of the big, you know, never ending debates was, do the games bring people in or do they scare people away? And obviously, you know, it's not black and white. There's, there's, there's both. You

were obviously 25 young, but like me, you had, you had no, I had no athletic background. And I actually, one of the best things about CrossFit is I found in a world of fitness and movement where usually all the other boys and girls were better than me, I actually found things like, oh my God, I'm actually better than some people at some of this stuff. And you're right. That was a very nice feeling. That was an incredible feeling. I'm going to jump ahead here and then we'll go back. What is the courtship process like? So you, you with, with Yousef, how, how, tell me about, um, I'm a little older and nowadays I think people are using like Tinder and I don't, I've never actually seen that app, but I, you just look at a picture and you swipe and then if people like

each other, they get to meet. But, but, but I'm a little bit of of those apps. It sounds like you had a more traditional courtship process that was more like what I was used to. You have to actually talk to the person. There has to be a lot of awkward moments. And then you have to ask for their phone number and then pretend like you don't like them but try to spend more time with them. Tell me about this this courtship process were you single at the time when you met him yeah i was and you know dating in our culture and is taboo but it happens um but the way the way it worked for for us is his sister was with us in the in the class in the gym and we all And we were a small group of girls when we first joined

because I'm sure CrossFit did look intimidating to the majority of our society in Kuwait at that time. I mean, now it's completely different. CrossFit is very popular. But at the time, there weren't many girls lifting weights. So we were a small group of girls, and it became really close. And his sister was with us as well. And we were a small group of girls and it became really close. And his sister was with us as well. And we got to know each other. And I have to, I have to add

that Yusuf was extremely professional. And he, he's, you know, very passionate about his work. He's a great coach. And he never, and he never gave off any impression that he was interested in anybody, you know. He has that, you know, that tough look personality type, you know, like I'm here to do my job. I'm not here to make friends and stuff like that. But yeah, his sister got to know me and then I guess she saw something in me and we all went out for like a dinner dinner and she started asking us a bunch of girls in general about my questions about marriage and stuff like that but I could I I sensed that she was focusing more on my answers so I started to get I started to get a feel that you know something might be up and then um and then from then on we did the traditional thing where basically he will,

you know, he would tell his mom, I'm interested in this girl. And then his mom would speak to my family. And then, you know, and then we'd take the next step from there where we can exchange numbers and, and talk more. But I mean, he was also my coach at the gym, so I would see him all the time. Um, but you know, through the phone, we would have more personal conversations. And when you say traditional, this is a tough question to ask you, but what percentage of the, or tough question maybe to answer, not to ask, but what percentage of the relationships in Kuwait start like that, being with that formal tradition where his sister feels you out, gets a sense of you, and then the parents do their part, and then

the couple begins. Is that like 90%? Is that 95%? A big majority, but I mean, I can't say it happens to everyone. There are a lot of people that start out dating, and then they'll get married, and their families are totally okay with that. And then there are the families who would go through it the same way that I did. And then there are other families where the girl and the guy don't even know each other. It's just like relatives that assume that they would make a good couple and then try to you know set them up so it depends it depends mostly on the family history it's interesting because in this country we we have a really um romanticized relationships and

love and i grew up thinking that too like you go out there and you meet this perfect mate in the world. And my history on this isn't great, and I'll probably get torn up a little bit for this, but I think that's really a modern phenomenon. And that basically, if you just go back, not even that many years, maybe just even a couple hundred years, the entire globe married for survival. And it wasn't just about love, but it was about survival. Okay, your family cuts down trees. My family makes paper. Let's get them together so we can keep the process going. And so as foreign as maybe what you're saying sounds to people of this country, it's really

a modern phenomenon, this whole romanticized true love thing. I agree with that. As opposed to arranged marriages or doing stuff for survival. And survival is important. I'm not downplaying that at all. It's survival. Survival is important. And so how long did you date before you got married?

It was a few months. Just a few months. And then that's it? Just a few months? Yeah. But within those few months, we asked each other all the big questions that we needed to know. Because the majority of our relationship would be through conversation. And we try to get to know each other as much as would be through conversation. And, you know, we try to get to know

each other as much as we can through that. And then also, you know, just seeing each other's actions and, you know, trying to understand each other more. You know, what you said about relationships and marriage being so romanticized, it's so true. Like we're sold this idea that, you know, love always has to come first. And I've seen so many successful relationships where it doesn't start out that way. I mean, don't get me wrong. People, couples here, of course, there has to be some form of attraction. And, you know, if the girl or the guy is not interested, they can refuse and say they don't want to. That's not like nobody's forced into a marriage. But yeah, I think conversation has to be conversation, communication, and asking each other, you know, the important

questions, being able to get to know each other. And then also after that, within the marriage, within the relationship, is learning how to compromise, learning how to communicate with each other is extremely important. There are for sure couples that, you know, it just doesn't work out because the communication isn't there. And I think that's something I'm usually a very quiet person and I keep to myself. And Yusuf likes to talk things out a lot. And I learned a lot from him in that sense where, you know, we always try to work things out.

I learned a lot from him in that sense where, you know, we always try to work things out. And I learned how important communicating how you feel is and how that can keep a relationship strong. I'm Armenian. I'm 100% Armenian. Both my parents are Armenian. One side of my family came via Turkey and the other side came through from Beirut. And in my culture, bluntness, what Americans would think is blunt is just normal conversation. It's very – there's very straightforward talk. And on the other end, I've only been to Japan a couple times and I don't know a lot of Japanese people. But on the other end of that spectrum from what I've heard about Japanese culture

it's the exact opposite I'm saying no to someone I've heard is taboo in Japan with Japanese people I know I'm making sweeping generalizations and then in America we're somewhere in the middle we're somewhere in the middle although it seems like

more and more we're losing our bluntness and we're being more concerned about being sensitive. And how is it in Kuwait? I imagine that these are, I imagine you to be similar to my people, to be very blunt, that there's not a lot of, that dishonesty amongst people is not, you know, in Armenia, if you get pulled over by the cops, you jump out of Armenia, if you get pulled over by the cops, you jump out of the car and you put your arm around the police officer and you guys start arguing with each other. If you did that in the United States, you'd get shot, you know? Yeah.

But there's just a whole different cultural, um, phenomenon going on. What, what's it like there in your homeland with people? Are you guys a blunt people? Are you guys? Pretty blunt, but I think it depends as well. You know, can't generalize um but yeah i think leaning more towards being more blunt for sure and you're smart to not generalize that's what gets me in trouble sorry brian go ahead i was just curious uh what what do you consider to be the like important conversations to have in your culture prior to marriage. In the United States, usually people would say you want to talk about if you both want to have kids or not. You want to have a financial conversation and probably a religious conversation is kind of the big three maybe. Are

those similar there or are there other things to consider or maybe some of those are not important? No, those are similar conversations. But what I found hilarious you know Yusuf he's not he's not very romantic and he's very straightforward when he speaks and you know I still remember that I laughed through throughout this whole conversation when he was asking me because he would basically make up these scenarios and and ask me what my you know response would be or or you know how I would react in certain scenarios to try to get to know, to know me more. And I knew exactly what he was doing. And I thought it was hilarious. But that's, that's something that he did. So.

So you, you, so now I want to circle back to that original question that we spoke about through Instagram, our first interaction with each other. And I don't know if you can remember your answer, but it doesn't matter. You know the truth. So tell me about my theory. Tell me about my theory. Is the reason why that we're seeing such a huge spike in the UAE, do you think that there's any relationship? What is your outfit called? That's a religious outfit?

That's why you cover your head? Yeah, it's for religious reasons, but you can say just being modest or whatever. Okay, and what's it called? The headpiece is called a hijab. Hijab. And then you have to keep your body your whole body covered all the way to your ankles right yeah ankles and your hands can show and basically you know

the the clothing shouldn't be so tight fitted where you know a woman's curves would show and stuff like that and is that outfit that covers your body, does that have a name also? No, not necessarily. Because you can basically wear anything you want as long as it's something that's modest. And black is your preferred color? Just for me. Could you wear a red one of those?

You can, for sure. For sure. There are some women that you know like to wear floral headpieces but for me i just like black in general since i was a kid have you ever have you ever seen a tie-dyed one i don't think so is the hijab big money is the hijab big money is there is that is there a designer hijab like is that is there a like holy cow look at her hijab yeah for sure there is competition in the hijab market and can you yeah yeah you'd think and can you can you can you put other stuff on it like can you put sequins on it or jewels or can you do that or yeah all you can jazz it up as much as you

want i wear the hijab to be modest but look at my fifty thousand dollars worth of diamonds yeah exactly i'm just picking on you i've never i've never seen a hijab i i don't do that but i completely understand where you're coming from i understand how how, how, I mean, I don't know if I can say it wrong that that sounds, you know, but that's, that's also part of, part of our, our culture and society where, you know, people will, you know, they'll, they'll pick and choose, what what they think is okay and not okay when it comes to religion or you know in that sense how you know you're you're showing off uh you're showing off something that's like super expensive when you're supposed to be being modest it's like um what is the word like it contradicts itself uh yeah a bit of a hypocrisy or yeah contradiction so so tell me about my theory so tell me about my theory about that i was suspecting that the uae in places where women are covered head to toe

that that's why they have a spike and they have such high rates of type 2 diabetes and chronic disease because they don't feel the peer pressure of having nice bodies. Yeah, I thought it was completely irrelevant. I love it. I love it. And tell me why. And tell me why. Well, honestly, because, you know. You're messing up my whole theory about the West Coast. You're messing up my whole beach body theory.

We still have that pressure here really i mean uh it's such um people here can be really harsh when it comes to judging other people on on their body or how they look and and then you know and then you can't like for example and i just i just realized also like what about countries where you know it's winter throughout the year and they're always covered up? Like, do they have an obesity problem? I don't know. Great point. Great point. Yeah, you're right.

Well, Wisconsin definitely probably has an obesity problem in the United States. But you're right. I can think of, I bet you Finland doesn't or Norway doesn't relative to the UAE or the United States. So you're absolutely right. I'm sure 11 months of the year they're covered head to toe in Finland and you're probably right. Well said. Yeah. I think it probably has more to do with the lifestyle and the culture of maybe women in general not being encouraged to go into sports and stuff like that, as opposed to because we're covered up. And I just wanted to on the on the modesty conversation, is there

any rules or expectations about the parts of your body that you can show like his makeup accepted there or doing getting your nails done, stuff like that? Everyone's going to give you their own opinion when it comes to that. It's, you know, religion can be can be tricky. And, and, you know, I'd rather not be the person to be preaching all the details about, you know, Islam, but everyone is going to give you their own opinion of what's okay, and what's not okay. And what, you know, what they feel comfortable doing or not so you have you have all of that you have people who are dressed modestly and who refuse to put on makeup and you have women who dress modestly who put on all the makeup and then you have women who say they dress modestly but they're not really dressed modestly so you have all of that. Sounds like California.

Go ahead, Ryan. Go ahead. Go ahead. Well, I have a friend here. He's a Muslim man who trains at our gym. And he trains for 11 months, and then he always takes Ramadan off. He doesn't train at all during Ramadan. And the last time that the Dubai CrossFit Championships

ran a competition, I was able to go there and work for the competition. And so I made some friends there that were Muslim. And I was asking my friend at the gym, I'm like, I'm pretty sure that in the UAE, they accommodate for Ramadan by modifying the schedule of the gyms. And he goes, well, I'm from Pakistan. And there's a certain more strict view of working out during Ramadan, where we just don't exercise for that month in that with that amount of intensity or whatever, he still goes for walks to get exercise, but he won't go to the gym. So I was just wondering in Kuwait, if there's maybe both of those, if there are some people who do work out, some that choose not to, or maybe again, if that's kind of a personal thing. Yeah, again, that is a personal decision. But I mean, there's no reason why you can't. I mean, like you said, we basically, we shift our day, you know, to start a little later. I mean,

not everyone has the freedom to do that. I have two kids, so I still wake up at six and go back to bed, you know, after dawn. But for me personally, my workouts, instead of working out in the morning, I now work out at, you know, 9 p.m., 10 p.m. And you can still make it work. It just goes back to whatever that person wants to do during Ramadan. It's tough. I mean, in Ramadan, people have to accept that it'll be a month where you can basically, you can try your best to maintain, but you're not going to be seeing any gains or any, you know, you're not going to be, you know, performing better than you usually do. You will probably be performing worse.

People are either sleeping too long or not having enough sleep. They're either eating too much or they're not eating enough. And, you know, the routine gets kind of messed up. So you try to do your best within this month. People who live outside of our region, like maybe the U.S., I don't know what time they would have to break their fast. So maybe it's hard to fit in the hour that they can break their fast. And then when they have to fast again, maybe it's not possible for him to work out during that period. I'm not sure.

Again, it depends on the person. Tell me what Ramadan is Ramadan is a month tell me what it is and what are the rules around it it's a month in the Islamic calendar Ramadan no but you say we're saying Ramadan and you're saying something

a little different Ramadan the D you can say it like a T-H. Ramadan. Ramadan. Ramadan. Ramadan. Oh, it's like a marathon, but a Ramadan.

Yeah, okay, got it. Ramadan. Ramadan. Sorry. So what is it? And tell me about some of the rules. Yeah, Ramadan. It's a month in the Islamic calendar where we have to fast throughout the day from the break of dawn until sunset.

And then we can break our fast. And basically, it's a month to people to have their lives slow down a little and focus more on what's important in life when it comes to religion. And for us in Ramadan is like, it's a big, you know, it's a big celebration sort of. Like every time we break our fast, usually we gather with family and it's like a big feast. I mean, not many people did that this year because of Corona. But usually Ramadhan also includes big family gatherings and having big meals together and stuff like that. And when you're fasting, you're not allowed to eat or drink anything.

I went to... Oh, and when you're fasting, you're not allowed to eat or drink anything. I went to... Oh, no water either. No. So I actually found that out, the no water. I was playing in a soccer tournament years ago, and we played against this all-Muslim team early in the morning, and they beat us. And then I saw them playing in a game in the afternoon, and they looked totally depleted. And I was talking to one of the morning, and they beat us. And then I saw them playing in a game in the afternoon,

and they looked totally depleted. And I was talking to one of the guys, and they're like, well, it's Ramadan, so not only have we not eaten today, we also haven't been able to drink. Ram-a-thon, Ram-a-thon, Ram-a-thon. Ramadan, Ramadan. But they also haven't been able to drink any water. Yeah, it's not, no, you can't drink or eat.

At the local store here, i go to a local corner market here and i thought the guy i've been going there for five years and i thought the guy the owner was mexican and um and the other day i walked in there and i'm like aj you look amazing i'm like did you start and he's probably like 55 years old i'm like your skin looks amazing have you been working out he goes no ramadan i was like uh i didn't know exactly what it was but i knew there was some fasting involved and i was like that fasting shit really works it was incredible i mean he looks like a new man he looks like yeah i mean people get healthier during that month it depends i mean not the majority don't because um because of the you know the family gathering and the feasting together. And everyone's making, they have specific dishes that they'll make for Ramadan. And they're extremely high in calorie and stuff like that.

So it depends on the person and what you decide to do during this month. For me personally, it helped me feel lighter, healthier. And my mind is more clear throughout the day. like for me personally, helped me feel lighter, healthier. And, you know, I can, you know, my mind is more clear throughout the day. And I'm just making sure, you know, I'm eating the same healthy meals that I usually do. I just shifted everything to start from after sunset. How old are you in Kuwait when you start doing that? Like, are your kids under those rules also?

No, it's basically, I mean, in Islam, it's when you hit puberty. But there are some families that have their kids fast at a young age. I think it's totally unnecessary. So, yeah. Yeah, people ask me all the time. I fast one day a week for 36 hours. And people ask me, do you do that to your kids? And I say, absolutely not. Yeah.

They need to eat and grow. Grow, grow, grow. You don't want to be short like me, 5'5". Whoa, whoa. Easy, easy, Haya, easy. So when you work out, do you have a separate hijab that you have for working out, like the one that's all sweaty and just your ratty workout hijab? Yeah, I wear – it's like a tighter headpiece, similar to what I'm wearing now. And the hijab that I don't work out in is more free-flowing and it's looser and more – yeah.

And how is it staying on? Is it just a scarf and you pull it over and you have a, this is actually like a headpiece that I just slip on and it's like super tight and it just, it does, it won't move. Like something like we would use in the United States for, or anywhere for skiing. Yes, yes. Like a ski mask. Yeah, yeah.

On a cold day. I didn't actually grow up wearing the hijab. Does that ever fall off when you're working? You did not? No, I recently wore the hijab in 2015 after having my first daughter. And my biggest concern was how it would affect my CrossFit. And tell me about that. What inspired you to wear the hijab? What did your parents say? What did your friends and family say? What was the inspiration after you had your daughter?

You know, it's hard for me to explain because I grew up, I went to an American school. Me and my family, we traveled a lot and we were what they would call us here in Kuwait, open-minded. And so, you know, growing up, you know, we were, you know, we were religious, but not religious in a sense where my parents would force us into doing anything. And when it came to the hijab, I didn't have any close relatives in Kuwait who wore the hijab. So it's not like I grew up with, you know, surrounded by women who wear hijab. you know, surrounded by women who wear hijab. And as I got older, I just, you know, I just felt like it was the right time for me to do it. And when I did, I didn't get, you know, the most supportive response from my family, not because because for religious reasons I'm not sure I think it's more cultural reasons um maybe sometimes women who wear the hijab are judged differently um but uh yeah I didn't get the the best support when it come when it came to

some distant relatives um but obviously my my my, my close relatives, my, my parents, my, my husband were all supportive and they were happy for me. And it was like, you know, it's a decision I made and we just go on with our life. So. It's the reason why this conversation is important is not only what you're saying, but the fact that you have these two random guys, you know, I don't know, 10,000 miles away from you and that we're speaking so openly and cavalier about it and that it's not a big deal. It would be like if you said to me, Hey, how did you choose your glasses or how did you choose that beard? But it is one of those things that people don't

see in the United States. So when they see it, they're almost afraid to ask about it, talk about it. And they'd rather just sit on their judgments and their prejudices and their confusion. You know, they may go, you know, to why would you do that to your women? Or they come up with all sorts of, you know, ideas that suit their narrative. And so I, you know, I, yeah, it's, I mean, it's just, I appreciate you just letting us have at it with you. It didn't change anything in my life. I mean, for me, maybe personally and spiritually, it did. But other than that, it's just a decision that I decided to make, and it's not going to affect anyone else.

And like I said, before I decided to do it, I mean, obviously, I had made up my mind about it, but I was so worried that, you know, how would I continue competing in CrossFit wearing a hijab, but then, you know, I was being naive, and I just looked up, I looked up, I googled athletes, like Olympic athletes from different Muslim countries, and there are so many of them that compete in the olympics and they're wearing hijabs and they're you know top athletes and like it doesn't affect their sports or their career in any way so yeah the two two questions one is what environments do you not wear it in and the other is how does it affected the amount of time that you spend taking care of your hair?

I can be without my hijab when I'm surrounded by only women. And certain relatives, like my father-in-law, my father's brothers, my own brother. But yeah, mostly in our gym, we have a women's only facility and a men's facility. And our women's only facility, I coach without the hijab. So yeah, it's just, you know, I spend most of my day either at home or coaching in the gym. So I don't even spend most of my day in the hijab. So when it comes to my hair, it doesn't, it didn't make that much of a difference. FanDuel Casino's exclusive live dealer studio has your chance at the number one feeling, winning.

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Ew. Ew. Ew. Ew. Ew. Ew. Ew. Ew. Ew. Ew. Ew. Ew. Ew. Ew. Ew. like i don't so when you come home it's like one of the first things you take off like i take off my shoes i take off my jacket you like take off your hijab and let your head yes yeah like ah like taking off you know i have i have a funny story you know when it came and about um uh people's perception of women hijab i actually um in, I think it was 2016, I competed in Waterpalooza in Miami and I had my hijab at the time.

And I got so much support. I, you know, I did get a few weird looks here and there. I was probably the only woman in a hijab in Waterpalooza at that time, maybe ever, I don't know. And I still remember I got like a high five from Andrea Ager and Brooke Entz. And some of the some of the people in the stands that came up to me, they were like super supportive with such, you know, nice comments. There was there was a swimming event. And I was like surrounded by all the athletes, you know, in their normal swimming attire and bikinis. And I'm wearing like a full on wetsuit.

And, you know, I was and I felt, you know, I felt a little out of place, but I did. I was I was happy with my performance in that water and then, you know, coming out of the water and then getting the support from the crowd at the time was was you know something i i won't forget so you know the crossfit community has always been whether it's here or or outside of our region supportive and like the hijab just didn't make a difference at all of course not they just love seeing people move and suffer yeah that's it move and work hard and you get the accolades you know maybe i'm just cynical but the same people who judge you in a negative way for wearing it for whatever or give you the weird looks they're to me they're just the same as the people congratulating you and i know that when you're the only person they're doing it it's a little bit different, but it would be nice if it just didn't matter.

Yeah, that's true. Like it wasn't, it would be nice if it was just like, yeah, yo, what's up? Hi, good job. You looked a little slower than yesterday. What's wrong? You know, or, you know, just like, just judge her on her performance or, you know, like her effort or, but, but that's awesome. That's awesome that she did that. And, and obviously, um, people have to break new ground and if they're not, and when you break new ground, people aren't used to seeing someone swim in one of these events in a, in a, in a, in a full body suit, then, then it's, it's something different. I mean, I remember at the Olympics one year, that lady had the, I think her name was Flojo. She had the track suit with one leg missing, you know? And that,

I don't think it was for religious reasons, but people dug it. There is, so these people, these CrossFit men and women, and by the way so you you are the fittest mom in kuwait is that true i i'm claiming that title for myself but yeah i don't claim to be i don't claim to be the funniest podcast ever too so go ahead you know i don't none of my competitors not not only in in kuwait but within the the gulf countries our moms and it's been that way since I started. You know, my competitive career in CrossFit, you know, it basically took off after I became a mom. I went to regionals in 2013,

but then that was my only competition before motherhood. And yeah, so I mean, I compete in the open. I do some, you know, some local and and regional competitions and there haven't been any moms that have surpassed me. So I guess I can claim that title. They should probably have that. They should have that. Go ahead, Brian. She's been the second fittest each of the last two years in the Open. Well, I didn't check this year's, but but 2019 and 2020 to the same woman so as long as that woman's not a mom her title's legit that's a very that's true that's a very easy thing to look at yeah is your goal to win is your goal to win the open yeah i hope so in your region i hope so i'm gonna try i mean this year was kind of a disaster for me.

I tried to do the Open by myself at home with my kids, and they kept pushing the camera down, and I just gave up. So hopefully working on for next year. Imagine that, people, some of you CrossFit nuts out there. Imagine you want to enter the Open, but you have two kids and you can't because of sabotage. I mean, because we had gyms that were under lockdown and we had a curfew, so I couldn't go and do it at a gym either.

Schools are closed. There's no daycare. So, I mean, I'm with my kids 24-7. either schools are closed there's no daycare so i mean i'm with my kids 24 7 so you where are they now oh they're asleep their bedtime is before yeah i appreciate you taking the time it's very obvious from your instagram that you have a very very busy day thank you Have you worked out today? Not yet. I will after this interview. Awesome. I'm a late night. I probably don't work out as hard as you, but I work out at night too. After the kids are down around 9.30 or 10, I go in the garage.

You have a pretty nice gym at your house. I was actually surprised. Thank you. It's actually a very small space. We're in an apartment building, so I can't drop the weights or anything. But actually, I prefer working out in the morning. I'm usually working out at 7 a.m. or 8 a.m. But with Ramadan, I'd rather not work out fasted. So I'll break my fast, have a couple of hours of rest, and then I'll do my workout. But like you said, I'm realizing working out at night, the benefit of that is not having my kids interrupt me. So I might continue this after Ramadan. Do you ever wake up on Ramadan before the sun, before like you, you, you look on your

phone and you're like, okay, the sun rises at six 47. I'm going to wake up at six 40 so I can get a quick few bites in. Do you ever do that? No. I mean, the majority of people do that. They will, you know, set an alarm so they can wake up and they'll have their last meal before they have to fast. But I'd rather not, I'd rather sleep. Like I'll just have a big meal before going have to fast. But I'd rather not I'd rather sleep like I'll just have a big meal before going to bed and I'll sleep and I know my kids are going to wake me up in a couple of hours. So I'd rather not not wake up and have a meal and then go back to sleep. I can't do that. It almost it almost seems like cheating. I'm just gonna say it's cheating. Do you bring your kids to the gym?

Yeah, they're with me when I coach. Oh, they are? Yeah, I have a little corner for them with all their toys. And, you know, sometimes they'll join in and they'll do their own little workout. My seven-year-old, like, she has a notebook she likes to program for herself. And she'll their own little workout. My seven-year-old, she has a notebook. She likes to program for herself and she'll do a little workout. But I make sure to bring snacks, lots of entertainment, and they'll keep themselves busy.

It's tough, but I mean, it's my only option. And you said your husband's name is Yusef? Yeah, Yusef, yeah. Yusef? That, Yusef. Yusef? That's Joseph, right? Yeah, basically. That's the same. Yeah, Yusef.

I have a Joseph. One of my sons' name is Joseph. And when my grandmother would call him, my dad's name is Joseph, and when my grandmother would call him, she called him that, Yusef. Yusef, yeah. Does he work at the gym? Is he training at the gym also? Yeah.

Basically, our gym is where I think I can say that we're the only gym in Kuwait. There are many CrossFit gyms in Kuwait. Not all of them are affiliated. I think we're the only one that's affiliated. Kuwait. Not all of them are affiliated. I think we're the only one that's affiliated. But basically, we're the only basically family run gym. A lot of them are commercial, big, big gyms. And our gym is basically run by myself and my husband. And it's always been since it's opened in 2012. At first, it was just him just him and then I joined in with him. And he runs and manages the men's facility. I run and manage and coach the women's facility.

But my husband, he has a long background in sports. He used to do jujitsu for many years. He also competed in CrossFit as well, along with me. also competed in CrossFit as well along with me. The past few years, he's been focused more on coaching and he's really good at coaching competitive athletes. The fittest athlete in Kuwait right now is his athlete, the fittest in Kuwait. And he's really good at what he does when it comes to coaching. He's coached me all these years as well. Do you enjoy being coached by him? It's really hard.

It's hard for me to separate the husband and coach relationship. Can't you just put on the hijab and it just makes you humble and modest and you can handle all the coaching in the world? I mean, I have been all these years and he's helped me achieve many things when it comes to competing. But yeah, it's not easy stuff. I wonder if something, I hear that a lot, that it's hard to be coached by your mate. And I, I don't have my head wrapped around it because some, was it hard before you were married? No, I, I, you know, I think it's, it's mostly, it's mostly on me. He's, uh, he's just the type of, the type of coach that he is. He's very, you know like it's when his with his competitors especially like if you if you perform really well he's not gonna you know say anything but if you perform badly he'll

let you know so like if you're performing well to him that's what you're supposed to be doing and for me as his athlete but i'm also his wife like i'd want you know some encouragement you know some nice motivating words and i don't get that and then i take it personally and it's just so the uh the best you know the best female crosser in the world is obviously tia claire tumu who's coached by her husband as well and there's been some uh some scenes of them in their training in some of the documentaries have you guys watched those together and when you do do you guys like are you able to laugh about some of the similarities or is it awkward at all? Oh, I'm, I'm the, I'm the big CrossFit fan. I'm the one that watches

all the YouTube videos and all the, you know, all the media that comes from CrossFit. Yusuf doesn't, doesn't watch much of that. So I'll just come to him and tell him, by the way, did you know that this and this did this and that, but you know, he, he is, he's in his own little bubble. So. Is your sister still doing CrossFit? No, no, she's not. My sister isn't much into fitness. She's a, she's a, she's an artist and she's a jewelry designer and she's really focused on that side. I don't have anyone in my family who's into fitness as much as I try to encourage it. So you guys went to your first CrossFit class together.

You've picked up a healthy lifestyle, a husband and a couple of kids, and she went back to art. I love it. You scored. What do your parents think? What's your mom think? And why do you think you like this? What do you think in your upbringing made you receptive to something that's so hard? You know, I didn't grow up competitive at all. Like even with when it comes to like board

games and stuff, like I would, I would try to avoid any form of confrontation. Um, I was very quiet growing up and, um, I don't really know what it is with CrossFit. I think maybe it's because, you know, even though I am competing against other athletes in the gym, it's, it's me, even though I am competing against other athletes in the gym, it's me against myself. And I think that's something that attracted me to it. So, you know, it's basically working against the clock and trying, you know, to make myself become better. And like I said, it's like I found something that I was good at, that I saw that I had potential in, something that I could, you know, see progress in and work towards a specific goal.

And I enjoyed it. I don't know. It made me feel the feeling it gave me wasn't like anything else I've experienced before. Like I felt, you know, I felt strong. I felt empowered. And those are just great feelings to have. When it comes to my family, I think there's, you know, when I first started, it was, you know, they just saw it as a hobby. Okay, sure, you can have fun with it. But my mom refuses to see any videos of me lifting weights. My parents have never attended

any of my competitions when they're like local competitions. They support me, but they don't want to see any of it. You know, like my family, I grew up, you know, I feel very blessed. My family has always been supportive. But, you know, they're not the biggest fan of the idea of, you know, girls lifting heavy weights. And I'm sure that's not just with my family. I'm sure that's a common, um, a common thought amongst many families, not just, you know, in our region, but, you know, in many countries, you know, the idea of, of women lifting weights is still not a hundred percent accepted everywhere. Um, but, um, but yeah, they support me, but they just don't want to, don't want to see it.

But yeah, they support me, but they just don't want to see it. Do you feel like that's shifting at all? Or if it's important that it changes? Like the perception that it's not okay for women to lift weights? Yeah, for sure. It has to change. I mean, it slowly is, but I mean, it's still, there is a majority of the population that just doesn't agree with it. Men and women.

Do you expect that to take a long time or what do you think could be like a way that could push that forward? I mean, maybe I'm just so, so wrapped up in my own little CrossFit bubble between my work and what I do. But but for me, I see that CrossFit changed many things in Kuwait. There are a lot of girls that got introduced to lifting through CrossFit. We have a lot of girls that came through our gym and then eventually became members of other gyms or went to other sports and lifting continued to be part of their life. And, you know, I think, I think it's, it's taking that first step into, you know, into a gym or the other, taking that first step into learning how to lift weights and basically do hard things in the gym. Because, you know, people are so used to

being in their comfort zone, nobody wants to feel uncomfortable. And even here, you know, if I, if I'm working out, or if I'm exhausted, or if I'm exhausted or if like my hand is ripped or I have like a bruise from the bar or something, the comments will always be like, you know, why are you doing this to yourself? Like, why are you, you know, what's the point of you hurting yourself in that way? But they just don't understand the, you know, the outcome or the benefits of going and doing hard things and coming out on the other side of that. Just the feeling is just, you can't describe it unless you experience it for yourself. So I think it is important for a woman to have the opportunity to try it for themselves

and then they can decide if it's something for them or not. In the United States, we have a culture, pretty strong culture. I wouldn't say for everyone, but it's definitely a strong piece of the culture here of people trying to avoid discomfort, avoid pain, get the easy way out. Same here. Not take personal responsibility. I mean, and it's programmed into us

at a young age it's very subtle but like like you know from the subtlest things to your parents telling you to wear a jacket outside because you'll get a cold which you won't i mean unless you live in wisconsin but um there's this constant like avoiding discomfort yeah so you say same here you see that you see that there too there's hey, we have all of these modern things. Why put yourself through? It's almost like they don't realize that really what you're doing through that discomfort is making yourself stronger and actually making life more fun, richer, and more enjoyable. So like they're having fun being safe and no discomfort, but the fact that if you and I, if I'm a CrossFitter and you're a guy who drinks milkshakes all day and we go for a walk, it's fun for me.

I get to look at the birds. You're struggling to take a breath. I've made room to look at lizards and birds and chat with you when we walk, and you're gasping for air. What, you don't like that, Brian? What are you laughing at? It's been a while since I've had a milkshake. Maybe I should have one.

No, definitely don't have one you work so hard on your body you work so hard on what you eat and you say your sister is an artist and your body is your art it is something that you're working on. You're honing, you're fine tuning. When I've had women on the podcast before, people have said to me, people have accused me of being sexist or saying inappropriate things to them. And it's really insane because I've said the exact same things to men. It has nothing to do with someone's sex. Like I've said, you know, I've told no Olson. God, I'd die to have your body. You have the most beautiful body ever or Josh Bridges or, you know, Rich Froning.

There's humans with beautiful bodies. And you, but you can't say those things to women for some reason because, I mean, you can. I can. But people are afraid to, right? Because they think maybe you're being sexist. But especially if you work on your body all the time and you're always, and that's been what you do for 10 years and you're honing this body to win the CrossFit Games, people should be able to pretty much ask you anything about it, right?

Like, hey, do you shower after workouts? Do you get more yeast infections because you work out? Do you get less yeast infections? You should be able to ask anything. How does it affect your menses? It's like, and the person you ask the question to has the opportunity to say, no, I don't want to talk about that. But it's not like you're asking something out of context. It's the same thing if you had a Ferrari, I should be able to say to you, what's the gas mileage on that? Do those drink more gas? How fast does it go? I heard an oil change on a Ferrari is $1,000.

Is that true? I mean, you should be able to ask. I mean, you're an outlier and you're breaking new ground. And it's the focus. It's your art. Hey, what kind? Ask your sister. Hey, what kind of a gem is that in Iraq?

So my question to you is this. You work on this body so hard. You're in this community where people are very proud of their bodies and they're showing off their hard work. They're showing off their artistry. And yet your body is completely covered. Is that ever a challenge with you? You're like, oh my god, no one gets to see. This effort is now being expressed with these veins or these calluses or these calves or my neck has gotten longer do you ever feel like hey this is kind of silly that no one no one can observe it do you

ever have that oh i just want to just like show someone you know the the the great thing about crossfit is what if you just say what if you just answer this what if you just answer this like no what if you just said no to me? You're like, no. Next question. No, but why would I? I'm here to have a conversation, so I'd be more than happy to answer it. Right, right. But what I wanted to say is CrossFit, the beautiful thing about it is it teaches you to focus on your performance. And that's the message I try to preach when it comes to coaching.

Where, sure, I mean, a byproduct of that is having a nice body. But when it comes to CrossFit, it's all about showing off our performance. And for me, because I can't show off my body, let's say on social media, I try to focus more on, you know, performance. So I can show people what my body can do as opposed to how it looks. But when it comes to coaching, like I said, for me and my classes, we're a women's only facility. So I for sure show off my body when I'm coaching.

I don't have to be covered up when I'm coaching my women-only classes. And then, you know, what happens is like my members, classes. So and then you know, you know, what happens is like my members, there'll be like, you know, there'll it'll be like word of mouth, you know, like this coach looks like this or whatever, because they see me in person. And that's how it works. So you can so your clients can see the product like, Hi hi, I'm Maya. I've been doing CrossFit from 2012. This is how my DNA is expressing. You may not see it on Instagram, but if you come,

and this is the product. Yeah. Wow. Man, you got all the answers. You got all the answers. Go ahead, Brian. So, Haya,

when you competed at Guadalupe, that was not your first time competing in Miami, was it? I was, it wasn't Miami. I forgot. I think it was in Orlando. There was a competition called the Crush Games. I don't know if they do it anymore. And I competed at the Crush Games. I think it might still be around, but.

Um, and I competed at the crush games. I think it might still be around, but. I was, I think I was, I was five to six months after having my first child at that time. And I didn't wear the hijab at that year. So this has been a, like a big topic in the CrossFit space recently because several very, um, prolific games, athletes, female female games athletes like Annie Thor's daughter, Kara Saunders, and a few others have had children recently. And people have been talking about how they've been able to, well, either train during pregnancy, which is a big, big question that a lot of people have different perspectives on. And also what's a realistic timeframe following that pregnancy to either just get back to training in general or to be like competitive once again. And I saw that on your coach's profile for your gym there,

that it was only five months after giving birth, you were competing and it wasn't exactly a local competition either. You were traveling and competing. So I thought it'd be cool for you to talk about what that was like and what your experience has been training through pregnancy and then getting back to training following giving birth sure yeah i i completely see where you're coming from when it comes the to the idea that you know there's all these famous crossfit games athletes that are having babies all at the same time um but people are acting like you know they're the first athletes to do so. When actually, you know, we had Valerie Vobrel years ago and she was, you know, I can't remember if it was second or third. She podiumed at the Games and she had just had a baby. She was my biggest inspiration at the time.

And, you know, because at that time there weren't many top games athletes that were mothers. It was just Valerie who had just had a baby. And then you had Elizabeth Akunwale, but her son, her son was a little older, I think. But I really looked up to those two athletes because of the fact that they were mothers. And I, you know, funny story, I actually saw Valerie Bobril at Waterpalooza, but I saw her and I started crying and I couldn't go and say hi to her because I had looked up to her for so long. She was like my inspiration. But yeah, when it comes to working out during pregnancy, you know, I, of course, I was a little nervous with my first pregnancy. My second pregnancy was completely different.

I went into it very confident. And at that time, I had gained lots of experience throughout the years. I had a four-year difference between my first pregnancy and my second pregnancy. So with my first one, I was a little nervous. But I had, at the time, there used to be this website called crossfitmom.com or momcrossfit.com or something like that. It doesn't exist anymore. I used to look at that website a lot. And I also stumbled upon Lindsay Matthews from BirthFit.

She has this whole company of training women during pregnancy and after pregnancy. And we just happened to be, I've been to the States a couple of times. And that was when I had found out I was pregnant with my first child. My husband and I were going to California. It was like our delayed honeymoon vacation, sort of. And we went there and I had emailed Lindsay and I asked to meet up with her because I had just found out I was pregnant. And I was worried about how I was going to continue training and stuff like that. And I actually went in person to her gym and met up with her. And, you know, she gave me full support and she gave me, you know, great tips.

And she made me feel very confident that I could continue training through my pregnancy. Obviously, you know, there are precautions and there are things that I need to keep in mind. But I was being smart about it. And, yeah, I'm so thankful, you know, because after having my child, people assume that after you have a baby, you know, you know, you're, you're, you know, you can't pursue your goals when it comes to, you know, sports. And my competitive career actually took off after I became a mother. And I, you know, I achieved my most, you know, my best

achievements happened after I became a mother. So yeah, you just, it's hard, but you have to work around it. And, you know, I competed with my daughter and I traveled to several countries with her during competition. I also breastfed my kids during competition. You know, I've been through it all. And I had mentioned to Zivane that I had two,

both of my childs were born through emergency C-section. And I was able to come back to competing after that as well. So, you know, with the right support, the right guidance, you can make it work. But yeah, it's exciting to see Top Games athletes that are now coming back and are very open about their journey. And they're talking about it because it's nice. It's nice to have more athletes to relate to because at the time I would look around and it was hard to find anyone that I could relate to.

I think Libby DiBiase, this is going back to like 2008 or 9 or 10 or something like that and I could be wrong about this and I should double check but maybe she was even pregnant and she didn't know it at the CrossFit Games, then had the baby after the CrossFit Games, and then came back and competed again at the CrossFit Games. And I also remember there was a mom on Tommy Hackenbrook's team a year he won the regionals, and she would run off the court and breastfeed – off the field and breastfeed her child and then come back and compete again and i think yeah i've done that and i was like man she she needs her own you have done that tell me about that so tell me about that competition that is some wild yeah i mean the the team competitions i'm sure there are there are moms in the team competition. There's also the team that, I forgot what the team was called. They're the team that beat Mayhem in the games a couple years back.

Wasatch. Yeah, they had, I think her name is Michaela, Michaela North. She has like, I don't know how many kids, three or four kids or five kids. And she was also someone that I look up to. Let's say 12. She's pretty amazing. She's pretty amazing as well. But, you know, they joke about, you know, something when they say, you know,

you have mom strength or whatever. But I 100% believe in that because, you know, after you become a mom, it's like you're responsible for this other human that because, you know, after you become a mom, it's like you're responsible for this other human being. And, you know, your whole world revolves around taking care of them. So when it comes to yourself, it's like you kind of have like this no excuse attitude. Like you just have to go after it. Like you just have to get things done because you have to be there for this other human being. done because you have to be there for this other human being. And, you know, I think that that just makes you, it makes you stronger, you know, physically and mentally. That's what I experienced.

I mean, if you allow yourself to feel that way, I'm sure there are moms who probably break down under that pressure and don't allow themselves to experience that. But for me, motherhood for sure made me a stronger athlete. I remember one time my wife, I don't remember how old our son was. He was under a year. It was our first child. And she said, oh, hey, they're doing a MRF. I forget what the day was, like Memorial Day or whenever they do that. And they're doing MRF at this local, I think it was CrossFit Oakland. And I want to go there and just jump in and do it. And I said, okay. And she literally was breastfeeding, did MRF, broke her record for it.

It was, I want to say, somewhere around 40 minutes and a few seconds. And then immediately, while she still couldn't catch her breath, the baby was breastfeeding again. And I was just like, i can't even i can't even believe what i'm seeing it's amazing really it's so i was so proud of my son that he had yeah i was so proud for my son that he had such a great strong mom that could do that for herself and do that for him we had a local competition sorry yeah i was just gonna say that we had a local competition like that and and um. And it was in Kuwait.

It was one of the big competitions that happens in Kuwait. It's called Battle of the East. And I was breastfeeding at the time. So in between events, I would drive back home where my mother-in-law was watching my daughter. And I would breastfeed her. And then I'd drive back to the competition. And then I eventually won that competition. And it was like one of my proudest moments.

So yeah, whenever later on I face anything that's difficult, I remind myself of all these different moments and it just makes me feel like I'm capable of doing anything I set my mind to. It's pretty amazing. When you drove to your mother-in-law's house to breastfeed the kids, was there ever a time you were just like, okay, I'm done. I'm not going back to the competition. None. Not at all. Awesome. And can you imagine if your mom saw you six months pregnant cleaning 135 pounds, but she just totally freaked out.

Yes. She'd freak out if I was cleaning that weight now. Because I freaked out watching my wife do it, but I freaked out in a good way. You know, she's setting PRs in some single lifts. Not tremendous PRs, but sending some PRs, you know, being able to on the minute for 10 minutes clean 135 pounds. And she's like six or seven months pregnant. And I'm like, you couldn't do this when you started. Like, where is the strength coming from?

And then it's got to go around the big old belly. And it's just like, it's pretty remarkable. It's a pretty remarkable thing. There's a couple of months within pregnancy where you feel super strong. It's pretty cool. Like right in the middle of pregnancy. Yeah, and I think I did notice that too. Yeah, she felt really, really good.

Did you have morning sickness? No, I would feel a little nauseous, but no morning sickness, not in my first pregnancy or my third or my second. And I'm so thankful for, for not having that. Are you predicting a third? No, no, no. I'm done with two. My, I, my, my wife really had bad morning sickness but soon as it cleared you know after i forget how many months but then then it was just game on yeah it was game on um do you did you not use you don't use a pump you didn't you pump any milk no i didn't and i didn't i tried it once i didn't enjoy pumping at all i it just made me feel very uncomfortable so yeah

so you just drove it's interesting because my yeah i think that's the same with my wife i think we bought a pump but i don't think in all three kids i ever saw it come out of the box yeah so it's just so much easier to to just breastfeed and that was one of the reasons why we had kids my mom my wife's my mom jesus my wife saw um other women breastfeeding and she was like hey i want to have that experience that was like one of the things and she really embraced the pregnancy part too yeah i bet yeah i bet. I'm going to come back as a woman in my next life. There was a time on your Instagram account where you said you erased your IG. Tell me about that. What was going on that you erased your Instagram? I remember the post, but I'm trying to remember what I was going through at the time.

I don't remember 100%, but I know that... So you took a couple weeks off. Yeah, I think it was just getting overwhelmed with social media in general. I mean, my Instagram account, as much as I enjoy documenting my journey as an athlete or whatever, it's also part of my work. And I think I had put a lot of pressure and a lot of expectations on myself in terms of how I wanted my social media account to be. And I was following a lot of different advice and tips on how to grow in social media and stuff like that. And I think I just put a lot of pressure on myself. I got overwhelmed and I just needed to take a step back.

I got overwhelmed and I just needed to take a step back. I sort of use social media as people's own personal. Do you guys have People Magazine in Kuwait? No, but I know People Magazine. Do you know what that is? Yeah. Okay. And so it's kind of like you're kind of in charge of your own gossip magazine.

Yeah. And really what social media – not really. One of the things that social media shows people, and they probably miss this all the time, is just how free you're not. Yeah. Because of all the manipulation you're trying to do to give off a certain image, whether it's conscious or unconscious. Yeah. And it can be used like that, like a spiritual tool. The same way that when you interact with your parents, you realize this is a chance to work on myself. Your parents may say something that upsets you and you have to work on yourself.

I mean, you're now an adult. You don't want to fight with your parents. You want to work through these things. You want to clear the air before they die, right? And, and there's, and there's, you know, we pick up their issues and now you're an adult and the issues have to work themselves out. And I feel like social media is a lot like that. And I've come to those terms since more and more since, um, when I was fired from CrossFit HQ a few months ago, that basically all of a sudden I just felt free and I was fired from CrossFit HQ a few months ago, that basically all of a sudden I just felt free.

And I didn't even realize I had a cage around me. I didn't even realize I was a trapped animal. Because I was trying, and not in a bad way, and that's not CrossFit HQ's fault. I did that to myself. But you're kind of, you're trying to play within someone else's rules. Right? And so, yeah. Were you able to, were you able to let yourself go

of that pressure and be like, okay, I'm not going to worry about garnering using this as a business tool, or I'm not going to worry about garnering more followers. I'm just going to be myself and let the chips fall where they are. Like, was there ever a remedy to that? Yeah, for sure. That's what I, that's what I told myself. I stopped obsessing over the numbers and making sure that the content I put out is going to please the followers instead of something that I felt I wanted to post. But also I think, you know, I was trying really hard to speak to a part of our community that I might not usually relate to. I mean, I grew up going to an American school. I studied abroad. So, I mean, I speak and read and write Arabic, but I'm very comfortable with English. And I think I went through a phase where I wanted to

add more Arabic content to my page. And it just, it was not, I was not comfortable with it at all. And I felt pressured and like it wasn't 100% genuine. So I just went back to doing what I was comfortable doing with. Do you guys recruit women? Are you guys openly recruits? Maybe a too strong word. Do you guys have a way that you're reaching out to women in Kuwait, in your culture to let them know, hey, this is for you?

What do you mean? In terms of what? Just word of mouth. Maybe market specifically to women. Is that what you're asking someone? Yeah, yeah. For the gym, but for exercise in general. Like, for instance, do you get asked to speak to um schools and to groups of girls or do you ever reach out to schools and be like hey you know i work out a

lot and i think this would be really healthy for the girls here can i come talk to you these girls or is there anything like that going on in your life yeah for sure we do get stuff like that we get like um you know we get certain interviews or they ask for certain appearances or live interviews through Instagram is very popular here. So they do stuff like that for sure. Do you have kids' classes at your gym? Yeah, we do have kids' classes, and my husband coaches those classes. Are those co-ed? Yes.

And is there a reason why he coaches them and not you? Yeah, he has more patience for other people's kids. I'm fine with my kids. My two kids are enough yes i'm yes isn't it amazing how much more patient you can be with your own kids so hiya hiya in 2000 in 2018 you know CrossFit changed the competitive landscape by making this possibility for the national champion in certain countries to get to the CrossFit Games. Did that affect the CrossFit landscape in Kuwait in any way? For sure. People got so excited with the idea of a national champion. It was like something that they could work for, something that they could actually, you know, achieve.

It felt like it was, it felt like, you know, something that wasn't, you know, like, I mean, because an athlete from Kuwait actually making it to the Games through the normal way CrossFit used to do it through regionals or now semifinals, seemed impossible. I mean, it's not impossible, but it seemed like so far, far away. So the idea of becoming a national champion got people really excited. A lot of people started training towards it. I personally as well was hoping to achieve that.

I got second. I didn't make it. but I didn't like the idea of national champions. I think it completely ruined the concept of finding the fittest. But, yeah. So I'm glad it's gone. There it is. There's some

blunt honesty. Sorry, Brian. That is someone who's not confused between her emotion and her intellect. Yes, emotionally it's great. It inspires a lot of people and gets the country moving. Intellectually, it makes no sense at all. This goal is just to like find the fittest. Sorry.

I really like – that's a great answer. It is. And one of the reasons I wanted to ask the question is because that year, 2019, I was working at the CrossFit Games and I got a chance to interact with a lot of the national champions, but I also interact with a lot of just people in the community. And I heard that while there was always, of course, this excitement about having someone represent your country, it also was creating in certain countries a little bit of tension between gyms and athletes. And there was a little bit of controversy over maybe the standards or how they ended up being there. And then particularly, I have one instance in mind

where in the first cut, I was talking to someone who's from a small country like Kuwait, watching the national champion of their country fail and fail and fail. And that person happened to finish, I think, third or fourth that year in the division. And he's like, I could do this workout and this guy can't. Obviously, the system is flawed. And then the broader spectrum is in a small country like that, I think it would generally be important for the community, regardless if they're separate gyms and whatever, for the community to have the same agenda, which is maybe it's to motivate women to lift weights or something like that. But instead, it was creating a little bit of division, because then athletes from different gyms were competing

for that one spot, and maybe cutting corners and losing sight of why they were doing this, you know, the bigger picture behind why they exercise. Yeah, for sure. Unfortunately, that is also a big thing here. The idea of gyms competing against each other, even though in the end, it's going to be someone representing our own country. But yeah, there is a lot of tension. can't speak for other places but that this is what I see in Kuwait is is with CrossFit because because the the line between doing CrossFit as a lifestyle and CrossFit competitively is sometimes so blur blurry that you know you get people who are clueless with the idea of sportsmanship coming into competition and then you know just losing sight of, you know, supporting your competitor or supporting, you know, someone who's going to be there to represent your country

and they're just thinking about themselves or thinking, you know. Yeah, it just creates tension for sure. I think it's just a lack of sportsmanship. But again, I think I know what country you're talking about, about the rope climb. I've heard all the drama. And like I said, it's because of the testing that year, the idea of taking a national champion, grabbing someone from the open, from a country, and then sending them over to the Games. It's just not, it wasn't right.

That person is just not ready to be at the games. Haya. Yeah. Haya Alsharhan. Did I say it right? Shadhan. Yes. No.

Shadhan. Yes. Haya Alsharhan. Yes. Can you say my last name, Matosian? Matosian? Can you say Matosian? Matosian. Wow.

Holy cow. She's way better than me. I don't believe you. You're Kuwaiti. You sound Armenian. Thank you very much for your time. This was really cool. I enjoyed it.

Tell your parents thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. thank you very much for your time. This was really, uh, this was really cool. I enjoyed it.

Tell your parents, thank you for having you telling, tell Yusef, thank you for being such a good husband and giving you the time and space to whatever he's doing. That's holding the kids down so we can talk to you. Um, and, uh, and we'll be in touch i guess in the future we'll see each other on instagram thank you so much um i'm i really appreciate you um asking me to be here i'm a huge fan savann of of all your work throughout these years i mean you you're the one who opened the door for us to to basically have relationships with these CrossFit Games athletes, like finding something that we're able to relate to them. You made them more human for us. And, you know, that's back then.

But now everything you talk about on Instagram, whether I agree with or I don't, it's opened my mind to many things. It's opened my mind to many things. It's given me opportunity to have conversations about topics that people don't usually talk about, including what you're doing with your kids, which I think is amazing. And I try to implement some of that stuff with my own kids. So I want to thank you for everything that you're doing. And Brian, it was nice to meet you. And hopefully I can speak to you guys again soon.

Thank you for having me.