Fit Runs in the Family

Originally from Opotiki, Grant Goes, 32, Dubai’s 2012 Fittest Man, has just completed the gruelling Give Me 3000 challenge, in which he completed 300 repetitions of 10 key exercises in under five hours. The Dubai resident tells Karen Ann Monsy of the Khaleej Times his secrets to staying fit. One half of an equally adventurous identical twin, he talks of how the boys learnt to swim deep water by the time they were two, thanks to their mother, also an active swimmer. It did, however, make for some awkward conversation when, at the ‘fittest man’ challenge last year, he had to admit the lack of any specific training or weight lifting to the other he-men who asked. “I’ve always been involved in everything from gymming, tennis, cricket, badminton, surfing, kayaking and 4x4s to so much more,” Goes explains. “It’s the lifestyle I’ve led that helped me develop my fitness over the years – not any specific training.” Goes first started out working as a fitness instructor with Les Mills, international distributor of trademarked exercise programmes. Riding the success of his crowning as Dubai’s Fittest Man, Goes founded FitnessLink – a Middle East network that provides up-to-date fitness information from industry professionals themselves – in December last year. “All the information is on there for free. People keep asking me for recommendations: who’s a good personal trainer or which fitness class they should attend … I believe if you’re given information, you can make a better choice.” And FitnessLink is about Give Me 3000 was another campaign, organised by Fitness First Middle East on 29 June in Dubai, for a cause – this time to spread awareness about the dangers of diabetes and obesity, especially within the UAE.