Saleh Hussein al-Raidi is fighting against the odds in Yemen in an attempt to make his bodybuilding dreams a reality.
In a dimly lit, suffocatingly hot gym in Yemen, bodybuilder Saleh Hussein al-Raidi wraps his hands around rusty barbells, training with steely-eyed resolve for his dream of entering major competitions abroad.
But the 24-year-old, who works two jobs to support his family, lacks the means to buy the supplements and protein-rich foods he needs to build bulk, setting him up for a more gruelling fight than many of his opponents.
Barefoot among the battered machines, he sweats as he runs through his workout in a blue singlet, ignoring the traffic noise blaring through the open door.
Al-Raidi is fuelled more by passion than the strict nutrition regimen required by his sport, his meals often limited to a small piece of fish with rice – more affordable but not as rich in protein as products like eggs and chicken.
To support his wife and child as well as his parents, he works from morning to night unloading ships at Mukalla’s port in southern Yemen, while maintaining a side hustle doing free diving for octopus and cuttlefish.
“I work hard, but even then, I barely scrape together enough to buy the supplements I need,” al-Raidi said.
Years of civil war and a crippled economy have put ambitions of all kinds on hold for millions in divided Yemen, the Arabian Peninsula’s poorest country.
With power cuts common, al-Raidi often trains without even using fans at the cramped King Gym in Mukalla, whose 18 square metres (194 square feet) are crammed with equipment.
Despite his muscular physique and tiny waist, the bodybuilder’s circumstances give him little chance of emulating his idols: Ahmed Shokry, the pneumatically pumped Egyptian, and six-time Mr Olympia Christopher “CBum” Bumstead.
Al-Raidi was 18 when he first competed in Sanaa, the Yemeni capital controlled by Iran-backed Houthi rebels since 2014. It was a chastening experience.
“They gave me a medal, a certificate, and 12,000 Yemeni riyals [less than $50],” he said – barely enough to cover his travel expenses.
When al-Raidi was later selected to compete in neighbouring Saudi Arabia, a plane ticket was too expensive, so he boarded a bus.
But he was stuck for two days at the border crossing, where Yemenis undergo strict checks, depleting his stock of protein-rich food while he waited.
By the time he arrived at the venue, he had lost two kilos (more than four pounds). “My body just crumbled,” al-Raidi said.
“I was exhausted and placed seventh because I couldn’t afford the proper means of travel.”
Supporting his family is already a daily struggle, even before he pays for what little specialist food and supplements he can afford.
When times get tough, he has to cut back on his workouts to avoid exhaustion, pushing his goal of reaching top regional competitions such as the Dubai Pro Bodybuilding Championship even further out of reach.
But “seeing my body respond [to training] and improve keeps me going, no matter how tough things get”, said al-Raidi.
“Bodybuilding has taught me discipline in every part of my life.”
