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| Sacrificing to Compete: An Interview with Dina Al-Sabah By Rob Wilkins  A self-described "global nomad," 29 year-old IFBB Pro Figure sensation Dina Al-Sabah is one of the sports most promising athletes to hit the scene in years. Born February 28, 1974, in Beirut, Lebanon, Dina's father is Kuwaiti and her mother is half Syrian and half Turkish, this diversity has enabled Dina to take bits and pieces from each culture and blend it to provide her with a unique perspective of the world.Raised in Egypt, Morocco, Italy and the United Kingdom, Dina is a natural born athlete who started riding horses at the age of five. During her teen years, she was very active competing in equestrian show jumping and as a high school athlete at the American School of Tangier in Morocco, she participated in varsity track and field (100m, 200m 400m and long jump), varsity volleyball and varsity basketball. I recently caught up with the highly animated Dina and asked her to share a bit about her life, the sacrifices she has endured in order to compete, and her feelings on the inaugural Figure Olympia competition. Wilkins - Many athletes start weight training to improve their sports performance. How did you get your start? Al-Sabah - The first time I ever lifted a weight was in 1991 when I moved to London. Living in a new country and not knowing anyone, I decided that joining a gym would be a fun way to spend time and meet people. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing, but it was a start. In 1994 when I came to the U.S. to study at George Washington University, I joined a Bally Total Fitness Center and took a more active interest in lifting weights and educating myself about weight training Wilkins - Do you still remember your first competition? Al-Sabah - In November 1999, my first competition was in a NGA show in Roanoke, VA, as a novice bodybuilder. I was so scared going on stage, but very happy with all the changes I had made. Wilkins - There seems to be a bit of a controversy surrounding how you attained your pro card status. Can you clear it up once and for all? Al-Sabah - I would not necessarily call it a controversy as very few people have complained about me receiving my pro card. I will say that my circumstances were special. When I started to compete, I did not know where it would lead. My main goal was to see how far I could push myself and change my body. When I first started getting into the fitness lifestyle, one of my aunts used to always tell me " Dina, you are not an athlete. Stop watching what you eat and exercising so much because you are never going to change the way you look. Just learn to live with it." I was determined to prove her wrong. Needless to say, once I started competing I was hooked and thanks to good genetics, I was able to do well. After winning the Monica Brant Fitness Classic in 2001, I thought that I should give the first ever NPC Figure Nationals a try. That was when I found out that I had to be a U.S. citizen in order to compete at any of the NPC pro qualifiers. I was stumped, so I set about trying to find out what I had to do as a Kuwaiti citizen to turn pro with the IFBB. After many many phone calls I was told that I would have to have the Kuwaiti national federation (associated with the IFBB) recommend me, and there was no way around it. Kuwait is a very traditional Arab country so I knew that no one would ever recommend me. They do not have female bodybuilding, fitness or figure. In fact I don't even know if they have any female athletes. I think the thought of women on stage in bikinis would be so outrageous it would cause a riot! I decided to compete for another year while formulating a plan. In 2002, I competed in well-known NPC competitions that were held in conjunction with IFBB Fitness competitions so that the IFBB judges would evaluate my physique. I thought that if I were good enough someone would take notice. I was fortunate enough to win the Bev Francis Atlantic States Figure competition, the Debbie Kruck Classic Figure competition and the Pittsburgh Northeast Classic Figure competition. In October 2002, I decided that it would be IFBB or bust. I contacted the person in charge of the Arab BodyBuilding Federation and explained that since Kuwait had no Figure division, would they recommend me to the IFBB for pro status. I got the same old answer. "We cannot help you; you have to have the Kuwaitis do it" Finally, after consulting with NPC President Jim Manion, I decided to send a letter explaining my situation to IFBB President, Ben Weider. I explained in my letter that I pretty much had nowhere to go and would never get a recommendation from Kuwait since the whole concept of a female physique show was morally apprehensible to them. My letter finally set the wheels in motion and in November 2002, I was informed that due to my special circumstances, I would be granted IFBB Pro status. Needless to say I was thrilled. Wilkins - Is your family supportive of your decision to compete? Al-Sabah - My husband and the family I am in touch with (mom, one aunt and one cousin) are supportive of my efforts. Other members of my family have chosen either to ignore the fact that I compete or have gone further and decided not to interact with me as they consider competing to be immoral. I do get e-mails from Arabs around the world. Some of the messages are very supportive, while others are close to "hate mail." Most of the "hate mail" comes from distant relatives as they feel I have sullied the family name. Wilkins - Sacrificing family relationships to compete must have been difficult. Besides your husband and select family members, are there others who have provided a shoulder to lean on and helped you get through tough situations in regards to your desire to compete? Al-Sabah - My friends have always supported me, including Shari "King" Kamali. I also have had great people to work with including Roger Semsch who currently does my contest prep as well as Mike Davies who has coached me in the past. Wilkins - If you could change three things in the IFBB, what would they be? Al-Sabah - a. Establish a step-by-step policy to assist athletes whose countries are not supportive of their competitive efforts to turn pro, achieve their dream and receive their IFBB Pro card. b. Transparent judging, where the athletes know exactly how they were scored by each individual judge (Use the judges names and show how they scored each round). c. Promote the sport more. So many people do not know about Fitness and Figure Wilkins - What do you suggest the IFBB do to promote Fitness and Figure to a wider audience? What are some of the things you are doing to help increase the public's awareness? | ||||||
| Dina Al-Sabah at Olympia Competition |
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