The health and fitness industry may be a multibillion-dirham global business dominated by household names, but there are always gaps in the market.
Given the UAE is a celebrated hotbed of business-minded entrepreneurship, it’s no surprise that over the years an array of homegrown brands has sprung up to prove innovation can be endless.
From running vests that are disrupting the male-dominated industry to a community-minded gym that centres on building children’s confidence through fitness, here are some regional brands to support and look out for.
AllezKit
When a brand’s founders are a former fashion magazine editor-turned-fitness instructor and a bridal fashion designer, that it will be stylish is a given. And style, along with performance is at the heart of AllezKit, a luxury women’s sportswear brand that was launched this year by Louise Nichol and Barbaranne Heaton.
“The idea for the brand started a couple of years ago,” says Nichol. “I had become a spinning instructor, and I realised there was a real lack of sportswear that appealed not only to my fashion aesthetic of what I had been used to as a fashion editor, but that also performed to a high intensity level.”
The pair connected when Nichol asked Heaton to design an outfit for her 10th wedding anniversary. With both immersed in the fitness world, Nichol as an instructor at Crank, and Heaton a support trainer at Circuit Factory, conversations soon turned to the kind of workout gear they wanted to wear.
“Events like Hyrox have elevated the visual fashion sense in sportswear,” says Heaton. “People want to twin outfits, they want to look good for photos and they want to post those looks to social media.”
Nichol adds: “Fashion is such a creative medium, but I wasn’t getting any of that from functional gymwear. There are some great brands you can wear to take a photo in, but not for jumping up and down or for offering support and coverage, especially after having kids. We have a strong focus on the 35-plus customer, providing elevated, performance wear to work out hard in.”
Mileoff
The brainchild of British expat Alice Bugeja, since launching in March 2025 on International Women’s Day, homegrown women’s running brand Mileoff has gained fans and plaudits aplenty resulting in “rocket ship growth”.
With running in her blood – Bugeja's earliest memories are of cheering on her father as he ran marathons – it wasn’t until she moved to the UAE three years ago that she discovered the joys of group running and began to contemplate the availability and quality of running clothes for women.
“My friends and I would say: ‘Why don’t the perfect running shorts exist for women with enough pockets?’” she says. “I would wonder why all the running vests were unisex. They chafe and you can only get them in black or white. Being in Dubai where we have sunshine all year round, we don’t want boring dark colours. A seed was planted. I had always wanted my own brand and business, but I never knew what, and then there was this perfect lightbulb moment.”
Working on the brand for two years, Bugeja launched her first collection comprising shorts, running skirts, tops, running vests, accessories, caps, socks and sunglasses.
Through social media and word-of-mouth marketing, the collection sold 70 per cent of its wares on its first day before eventually selling out, followed by a summer collection that sold out in 45 minutes.
“The hydration run vest is our bestseller,” she says. “We just can’t keep it in stock.”
Made from soft, non-chafing material in bright colours, Mileoff running vests have 12 pockets to carry keys, a phone, snacks and water.
“Everything we do is about functionality, performance and style,” Bugeja says. “If I hadn’t been in Dubai, in an environment where people aspire to create something and do something different from the norm, I don’t think this business would have been born. Now I’m dreaming big and shipping to over 33 countries.”
Dryp Fitness and Yoga Studio
Founded in the UAE in 2017, hot yoga studio, Dryp has come a long way from the single room it used to occupy to the six-room space with a cryo chamber and an infrared sauna it now has in Dubai Marina.
“We have classes for all levels,” says studio director Jessica Casalegno. “We’re not a traditional studio; we’re much more contemporary, our classes are unique and our trainers each have their own style.”
Anticipating the workout and well-being wants and needs of UAE consumers has been key to Dryp’s endurance in a crowded market. One of the first studios to offer hot yoga sculpting in the UAE, it has evolved to encompass Pilates and barre classes – both performed with the temperatures cranked up – as well as adding an in-house cafe, where clients can bond after a heavy session spent sweating it out.
“There are a lot of benefits to heated workouts,” says Casalegno. “Working out in the heat inside is different to the heat outside. It engages the lymphatic drainage system, is good for the skin, burns more calories as the body has to work at higher levels to move through the heat, plus it helps to shed water weight. The rush of endorphins after a hot class is unlike any other.”
For Casalegno, being part of the community is key to Dryp’s success, as well as having teachers who have been with the studio since the beginning.
“The community here is exceptionally strong,” she says. “If you’re new to the country, are feeling isolated or find it hard to find a group of friends or community, Dryp is the place to come.”
Just Therapy
After years spent visiting the UAE on holiday, British-Egyptian Ashley Galal, 34, moved here permanently 13 years ago, immersing himself in the fitness community after meeting a group of fellow jiu-jitsu practitioners.
After “a few quirky jobs along the way”, the personal trainer hit on the idea of opening a gym that was welcoming to all
“There was a group of us who train in jiu-jitsu and we kept encountering problems when we wanted to train together,” he says. “We decided to pull together and open our own place that was just for us. From that, I saw opportunity to open somewhere that focused on strength and conditioning.”
Offering classes as well as spaces for personal trainers, Galal wanted to build a community feel in the gym, which regularly hosts get-togethers.
“We have a lot of kids come and some are shy to begin with and don’t say too much, but we encourage them to get to know the others and build their confidence because in us they have eight uncles in the gym,” he says. “The environment is important, as the main thing that stays with you after a gym session is how you feel after. When you leave, you feel better about yourself and better about your day.”
For those curious about the WWE memorabilia on the walls, they were a gift from Hollywood action star Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson after Galal acted as his stand for the 2019 Fast and Furious spin-off Hobbs & Shaw.
“I’m the same height and same weight as him,” Galal says. “I met Jason Statham and Idris Elba too; they were all really great.”
Original Culprit
The UAE was supposed to be a stop-off for British national Deborah Stokoe on her way back to the UK from Australia. But seven years later, Dubai is home not only to herself and her family, but also to her growing gymwear brand Original Culprit.
For the self-confessed fitness fan, Covid was restrictive, but that time spent at home ended up being well spent.
“It was during that time in the UAE when everything was closed and you couldn’t leave house that I started drawing,” she says. “I came up with the logo first and it got me thinking: ‘What can that stand for?’”
Thus, Original Culprit was born. Using just over Dh1,000 in savings and with “no background in business”, Stokoe says her fabric and gymwear samples evolved into fitness wear for women that she sold online.
“I was always in gym clothes because I was training or running and I was spending a fortune on certain brands,” she says. “My thought process with OC was to make it affordable for the average gym-goer and to create a product that’s made to last – nothing disposable that will lose its shape or fade.”
The Jenny Long shorts (named after her sister) are one of the brand’s bestsellers, along with the classic pant-leggings, and Stokoe aims to encourage women to go brighter with their sportswear.
Two years after launching the clothing line, Stokoe started the OC Throwdown, an event for women of all fitness levels to compete against each other, the clock or their own personal best. So far, she has hosted four events in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Al Ain, and is planning another this year for the brand’s fifth anniversary.
“Everything has been about developing as I go,” she says. “Being fit and healthy is extremely important to me, now more so as a parent. At the Throwdowns, we have had women in their late 60s and a woman who was pregnant with twins competing. I want to show that functional fitness is open to all.”
