It runs in the family: Yasir Mirza and Haseeb Mirza

Brothers and co-owners of the gym, Evolution Fitness, share their bond. From wrestling each other as children to motivating each other to workout as adults, these brothers talk about it all!

What is your first memory of each other?

Yasir: My first memory of Haseeb is when he was a little, pink newborn. I was seven at the time and I remember my mother telling me that I was going to have a baby brother. I remember coming back home from school one day and finding him there.

Haseeb: I honestly can’t remember. I feel like I was born at four years old, when I used to run after him to let me play cricket.

What is the craziest thing you have done together?

Yasir: The list is never ending, but the craziest thing would be when we lied to our mother and went on a road trip. She thought we were spending the night at a friend’s house.

Haseeb: Everything we do is partly crazy.



What did you get punished for the most as a child?

Yasir: I mostly got punished for trying wrestling moves on Haseeb. We were big World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) fans at the time. He would first agree to let me try the moves, but then he would start crying and get me in trouble.

Haseeb: I was a big troublemaker — the total opposite of bhai. By the age of 17 I had been suspended thrice and my mother was worried about my future. I guess school just wasn’t my thing as I’m a nonconformist — I still pulled through like a boss though!

If you could only wear one piece of clothing for the rest of your life, from the other’s closet, what would it be?

Yasir: His clothes don’t fit me, so if I had to wear anything it would be his hoodies. If a hoodie doesn’t fit I’ll just leave the zipper open and pull up the sleeves.

Haseeb: Probably his pyjamas.

If you could swap places with each other, what’s the first thing you would do?

Yasir: If I could swap places with Haseeb, the first thing I would do is shave!

Haseeb: I would grow a beard and show him what being a real man feels like.



What is the one thing you love about your brother?

Yasir: I love the fact that he loves what I love; we literally have the same habits.

Haseeb: I am what I am because of him. He has been a father figure to me my whole life and he is the reason why I got into fitness in the first place. Back in the day he would drag me (his overweight brother) to the gym.

What is the one secret talent your brother has, that you wish you had too?

Yasir: He has immense knowledge and is trained in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). If there was any money in Pakistan for the sport, I’m sure he would be up there with the best.

Haseeb: It has to be working and knowing the in and outs of the corporate world.

Describe your brother in three words:

Yasir: Determined, an iron junkie and kind.

Haseeb: Motivating, supportive and a leader.

Which fictional character is your brother most like?

Yasir: I would have to say Bumblebee because I have always been Optimus Prime.

Haseeb: He has always wanted to be Optimus Prime.



How are your personalities similar?

Yasir: We both have a lot of passion for the same things in life — literally the same things!

Haseeb: He is a carbon copy of me in everyway possible. We think alike and we even talk alike.

I can’t live without my brother because…

Yasir: We feed off each other, so when I’m down I need him to bring me up. He is my best friend; he tells me how things are without sugar coating them and we share the same dream.

Haseeb: I wouldn’t be me if he weren’t here. He pretty much made me who I am and I owe him a lot.