From security guard to fitness entrepreneur: Kenyan single father builds new life for his daughters in Dubai

A Kenyan expatriate who arrived in Dubai in 2017 with thousands of dirhams in debt has built a fitness company and brought his two daughters to the emirate. Felix Shikoli Mate, now 35, runs UAE Ninja Warrior, a coaching business with 10 employees, and partners with his former employer.

On 26 October, a social media post about his journey went viral, receiving more than 27,000 likes within a day. Mate told Khaleej Times his motivation has always been to give his children a better future.

Harsh start in Dubai

When Mate first stepped out of Dubai airport in the summer of 2017, the heat was so intense that he thought he had taken the wrong exit. “I thought I had used the wrong exit, where they are cooking or something,” he said. “I ran back inside the airport and I was told, that is the life in Dubai.” The next day he began work as a security guard in a car park basement.

Mate left Kenya because his small business was only covering daily food costs. “There were no savings and I wanted to give my kids a good future,” he said. To secure the UAE job, he sold everything he had, took a loan, and paid an agent thousands of dirhams. He left his two daughters with his aunt.

After night shifts, Mate would cycle three laps around his neighbourhood on a borrowed bicycle. The exercise helped him sleep and reconnected him with his past as an athlete. He met someone from the Emirates Cycling Club and asked to join. “I rode a little bit behind them, because my bike was old and I didn’t have the uniform. I didn’t want to embarrass them,” he said. The group became friends, provided him with a bike and uniform, and picked him up for training. “They never gave me money, but they gave me an environment that made me grow,” Mate said. Listening to them talk about their families made him think of his daughters back in Kenya.

From security to sports academy

Mate left the security job for a role at a sports academy, where he introduced obstacle training inspired by the American show Ninja Warrior. But his new employer did not process his visa on time, and his former company listed him as absconding. He spent two weeks in jail until the academy’s management paid his fine and processed his visa. “The parents and kids were so happy with me, so the company wanted me to work for them,” he said.

He stayed at the academy for four years, building connections. When Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, announced the Gov Games (now the Dubai Games), government teams — including Dubai Police, the municipality and the RTA — used his Ninja Warrior course to practise.

After five years, Mate asked his employer to allow his children to visit instead of giving him a flight home. They stayed for a month, and when they left everyone cried. He became more determined to bring them to Dubai permanently. Shortly after, he was let go, his visa was cancelled, and he had one month to find a job. When he could not, he began coaching people in cycling and personal training. The demand grew so quickly that he hired others, registered his business, and obtained a visa.

He founded UAE Ninja Warrior, offering coaching in cycling, skating and obstacle courses. He bought equipment from China piece by piece on instalments. Today, the business has 10 employees and a licence more than five years old.

Life with his daughters

During this period, Mate brought his younger daughter, Ridemtta Nikita, then five, to live with him. He home-schooled her for a year using books bought online. A year later, his older daughter, Rosemary Bakhitta, then nine, joined them. Money was tight: when he could not pay school fees, they studied with borrowed books at the Water Canal. In summer, they collected plastic bottles to recycle at mall machines for points that fuelled their car. “It was hard, but in Dubai, everything is possible,” he said.

Today, both daughters are in school — one in grade nine, the other in grade six — and both are athletes. The younger one runs, plays football and swims; last weekend she travelled to Qatar alone for a football tournament. The older one throws javelin.

Mate still sleeps no more than four hours a night, cooking meals and preparing lunchboxes after late coaching sessions. “I don’t think I could have done this in any other country but the UAE,” he said. “Here, if you work hard enough, there are always opportunities.”

His dream is to provide a safe place for his children and break the cycle of hardship. “I want to give them education. I want to make sure they’re good in sport. I want them to live a life they will be happy with,” he said.