This week’s Into-yous features American expat Amir Siddiqui.

Tell us a little about yourself
I am a self-taught autodidact and I like to think that I’m a science inspired fitness philosopher. I am fascinated with the human body, human performance and physique enhancement. I am an entrepreneur and business owner with two personal training gyms. I risked my own money and my time to create both. I make my own rules and work under no numbers-game pressure. For me, profit is the side effect of materializing a dream, of creating a physical conduit for the expression of my passion. I’ve been coaching clients for over 10 years. And, in these 10 years I’ve picked up on patterns that repeat themselves in each new person, in each new medium, in a slightly unique way, forming a unique impression, creating their own unique signature. I was born in New York and I now live in Dubai.

When did you move to Dubai and what brought you here?
I moved to Dubai a year ago. The dream of opening up a high-end personal training business in the city brought me here. Symmetry Gym is the product of that dream.

Have you been an expat elsewhere and if so, where?
Yes and No.

The best advice you were given to prepare you for life in Dubai
Advice: opening a business in Dubai is hard.
Result: I forged my own path and proved the naysayers wrong. Symmetry Gym is thriving and I’m the most expensive personal trainer in the
city.

What surprised you most about Dubai?
You have to get a permit for everything.

What area do you live in?
Exactly 7 mins from Symmetry Gym which is in Gold & Diamond Park.

If money were no object, where would you most like to live in Dubai?
Palm Jumeirah, facing the water.

Your favourite Arabic word or phrase you have learned so far
Mabrouk.

Your least favourite word or phrase you have adopted since moving to Dubai
None.

What has been your best experience in Dubai to date?
Opening my gym – against all odds, and with my own financing.

Where do you hope to spend your next holiday?
New York.

Who is the person you most miss when you are in Dubai?
I’ve brought the people I care the most about in the world to Dubai
🙂 or will!

What is your favourite restaurant in Dubai?
Kebab Rolls (they deliver the absolute best South Asian food).

What grocery item do you most miss from your home country?
None. I’m totally adaptable.

When friends and family visit you in Dubai where will you absolutely take them?
The Dubai Mall.
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The team at Expat Echo Dubai would like to feature you in our Into-yous section

Please complete our 5 minute interview and submit your answers along with a profile picture (in JPEG format).