Dubai based champion fighter Tam Khan talks about life after MMA and how his new health app My Celeb PT has helped maintain thousands of usersβ physical and mental fitness during the pandemic
I was born and raised inΒ Essex, whichΒ wasn’t very multiculturalΒ at the time.Β OverΒ the years,Β the areaΒ changed andΒ became moreΒ diverseΒ andΒ there were moreΒ JamaicanΒ andΒ Zimbabwe-speaking people.Β
Essex isΒ aΒ very white, predominantly English Anglo-SaxonΒ community of people,Β where we have a few mosquesΒ and there are a fewΒ halal butchersΒ andΒ halal shops around.Β You would see women wearing shalwar kameez and saris, you wouldΒ alsoΒ seeΒ menΒ wearing traditional clothes;Β IΒ really enjoyedΒ growing up there.Β
I never had a problem with raceΒ and I avoided trouble usuallyΒ but if there was a problem on the local council estate,Β peopleΒ would say, βcallΒ TamΒ or hisΒ brother and goΒ andΒ fix this situation.βΒ And thatβs whatΒ weΒ didΒ βΒ we wouldΒ go toΒ help the community.Β It helped that I knew everyone and everyone knew my parents and my family:Β it was aΒ very close-knitΒ community.Β So that was theΒ kind of upbringing I had andΒ I miss it;Β everyone knew each other’s name.
So how did it all begin?
So my dad wasΒ a doctorΒ and my mum stayed at home to bring up the family.Β They alwaysΒ emphasised the importance of education;Β they saidΒ βlook – do what you like,Β but please study!β.Β I was aΒ bit of aΒ Jack the Lad andΒ sportyΒ andΒ If I saw aΒ guyΒ driveΒ aΒ nice carΒ orΒ wear niceΒ chainsΒ orΒ if I saw guys with the latestΒ sneakers,Β I wanted to be like that.Β
While I was studying business management,Β I wasΒ aΒ fine amateurΒ andΒ taking part inΒ competitions.Β It was just asΒ MMAΒ was becomingΒ bigΒ in theΒ UK. IβdΒ fight onΒ shows whichΒ were in schoolΒ halls.Β I alwaysΒ tried toΒ keep my studying goingΒ and was working part-time, my selection of jobs included sales to retail management. In fact I even worked atΒ Carphone WarehouseΒ andΒ became an area manager becauseΒ my sales were so good!Β Β
What kind of support did you get from your friends and family when entering the MMA world?
IΒ sometimesΒ wouldnβtΒ tellΒ my familyΒ that I was competing in aΒ fight. My momΒ would say,Β βlook just be carefulβ. SheβdΒ thinkΒ it was practice. I wouldnβt tell her it was an actualΒ fightΒ because she would panic.Β SheΒ wouldΒ say,Β βdo it forΒ self-defence,Β self-confidenceΒ and to be strong butΒ there is noΒ need toΒ fightβ,Β and my dad hated it.Β IΒ wouldΒ just tell himΒ βyeah, I’m just going to go trainβ. I used to come back with bruisesΒ on my face andΒ IβdΒ just say, βyeahΒ it was just training.βΒ But then they startedΒ findingΒ outΒ that I was doing more then “just training” they would freak out a bit. The local community would talk;Β my family wouldΒ see a posterΒ ofΒ meΒ or someoneΒ would say something to them like,Β βyourΒ sonβs fighting this weekendβ.Β Mum would be like,Β βOh is he?βΒ Β
What was your next move after MMA fighting?
So I obviously reached a very high level in MMA and after that I went to Dubai on holiday and I just fell in love with the place; it was multicultural, the weather was obviously amazing, the lifestyle was easy, people were walking around in flip-flops and shorts. I had a fight coming up so naturally I needed to train for it and when I tried to find a gym to train in, I couldnβt find one. Dubai in the early 2000s was seen as this magical and I couldn’t find one gym, which taught MMA, so I thought, thatβs strange for a new place, which is supposed to be booming.
So I decided to set something up for MMA in Dubai. As I told a friend at the time, βmy mindβs made up and Iβm packing my bags.β And Iβve never looked back.
What motivated you to do it by yourself?
Β I was at that age, in my early 20βs and IΒ thought,Β I’m not married likeΒ many 20 year olds were back then,Β my mum wasΒ pressuring me atΒ that pointΒ as well.Β I thoughtΒ IβmΒ lucky IΒ havenβtΒ got much responsibilitiesΒ yet.Β
At theΒ beginningΒ itΒ was hard butΒ once the name got around andΒ a fewΒ articlesΒ appeared in the media, word began to spread.Β Β The business side of my life took me away fromΒ MMA,Β it just got so busy with setting upΒ facilitiesΒ andΒ other projects.Β IΒ still crave myΒ MMAΒ life, butΒ to train toΒ that potential is very hard full-time.Β Β
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The adventurous spirit behind the pages of British Muslim magazine. As the Editor-in-Chief, Natasha leads with a passion for exploration and a pen dipped in wanderlust. With a keen eye for halal travel experiences and an insatiable curiosity for new experiences, she brings readers along on captivating journeys to far-flung destinations. Through her vibrant storytelling, Natasha invites readers on enriching adventures, where every experience is a window into the muslim world.
