From cancer to can do

Gym owner Rubina Rehman not only defeated the deadly disease, she came back with a resolve to help others

Cancer takes lives. But it can also strengthen the resolve of people like Rubina Rehman to make a difference in other people’s lives. In 1996, Rehman was told by her doctor she would need an urgent surgery to deal with her ovarian cancer. After being successfully operated upon, she embarked on a journey to open a gym called ‘Life Style’ in 2000. She now owns two branches in Defence, Karachi.

“My doctor told me the chance of a relapse lingers for five years after the cancer is taken out. So I went to the US and continued getting regular check-ups,” she says. Though Rehman dealt with the threat of a relapse, she quickly started gaining weight, putting her at risk of heart disease. That is when she started taking her health seriously and joined a gym in the US to exercise regularly. “After returning to Pakistan in 2000, I saw a drastic change in myself and felt the need to continue exercising. However, due to the scarcity of gyms here, I could only do aerobic exercises. This prompted me to open a gym of my own.”

Of the many obstacles Rehman faced in her venture, she says procuring equipment from abroad was the biggest. Customs authorities deliberately impose such high duties to deter people from getting advanced machines, she claims, adding that a gym should be comparable to a hospital for keeping people healthy. “I offer people a place to relieve their everyday stress and improve their fitness levels. The government should levy taxes on a place that is [striving to] improve the health of the people,” says Rehman. Threats from political parties for extortion money have been another concern, but she has resolutely refused to cough up money for unjust reasons.

Despite the tribulations, Rehman’s gym has become a popular spot for the health-conscious. Celebrities like Wasim Akram, Faisal Kapadia and actor Sami Khan visit her establishment regularly. Rehman attributes this success to her family and their support. “My husband has been an ardent supporter of mine and without his financial support I would have never been able to undertake such an expensive project.” Rehman says her 26-year-old son motivates her to work out regularly, which is why she manages to devote time to her household responsibilities as well as maintaining her physical routine.

Having observed gym-goers in the US, Rehman says women in Pakistan are more focused on short-term goals to reduce weight instantly, instead of looking at weight loss as a permanent change in lifestyle. Men, on the other hand, she says are more driven towards maintaining their fitness level and do not have weight loss as the only objective in mind. “I tell people to go slow and steady, as depriving themselves of food or adopting other unhealthy practices can have adverse long-term consequences.”

The cancer was thus a blessing for Rehman. It enabled her to not only transform her own life, but also the lives of others, giving people a platform to channel their stress positively.

Komal Anwar is a subeditor at The Express Tribune’s magazine desk.

She tweets @Komal1201

Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, September 20^th, 2015.