Egyptian bodybuilding champion collecting rubbish to earn living

Each morning at 5am, Ali Al Sharqawy, 30, heads out to a small warehouse near his home, fastens his horse to a wooden cart and roams Tanta, the largest city in Egypt’s Gharbia province, in search of scrap metal or plastic bottles that he can sell.

To make a living, Ali spends his days working as a rubbish collector. At night, he is a professional bodybuilder with big dreams.

“On some days, I make 200 pounds, on another I get lucky and collect enough rubbish to make three or four hundred, and then some days, I make nothing at all," he tells The National.

"But it doesn’t matter to me so much, it’s all just passing time until I go to the gym in the evening, that’s where my life mostly happens.”

Ali's living room wall is covered with certificates from many of the national competitions he has taken part in.

He hopes to reach the heights achieved by other Egyptian bodybuilders such as Mamdouh "Big Ramy" Elssbiay and Mahmoud Al Dorra, two of his most important role models.

But he has little other prospects that could lift him out of the abject poverty he lives in, he says.

Amid a sharp rise in the cost of living for many Egyptians, Ali feels his dream is slipping further and further away.

He dropped out of high school, leaving him lacking the basic educational requirements for employment opportunities beyond manual labour.

Ali, who comes from a family of rubbish collectors, says he has not tried any other professions.

He hopes to reach the heights achieved by other Egyptian bodybuilders, such as Mamdouh "Big Ramy" Elssbiay and Mahmoud Al Dorra, two of his most important role models.

But he has little other prospects that could lift him out of the abject poverty he lives in, he says.

Amid a sharp rise in the cost of living for many Egyptians, Ali feels his dream is slipping further and further away.

He dropped out of high school, leaving him lacking the basic educational requirements for employment opportunities beyond manual labour.

Ali, who comes from a family of rubbish collectors, says he has not tried any other professions.

“I need between ten and twelve thousand pounds a month ($323-388) to be able to train at a professional level, half of it would cover the seven meals a day I need and the other half for my supplements. Today, if I make four or five thousand a month. I feel lucky," says Ali, who married in July.

“Before marriage, every penny I made went to my food, my supplements and my training. Now I have a home and a wife to take care of.

“What I am hoping for is a sponsor who can fund my bodybuilding journey.”

Most professional Egyptian bodybuilders need sponsors that fund their training, extensive eating regiments and supplements, before they are prepared to compete on a national level, Ali explains.

Some are chosen for the Egyptian bodybuilding national team and are given benefits to continue their training.

Ali is yet to be chosen for the national team.

Last year, he was visited by a businessman and bodybuilding enthusiast, a fellow Tanta native, who agreed to fund some of Ali’s training needs.

While many have advised Ali to leave bodybuilding behind because of the high costs of competing, Ali refuses.

“The first time I picked up a dumbbell, I was 12 years old at a small gym on our street," he said. "I had been spending a lot of time at an internet cafe in our neighbourhood where I watched a film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, I remember seeing his chest and my jaw dropped."

At the heart of Ali’s bodybuilding dreams is to finally being given the respect he says he has been denied for most of his life.

But his commitment has also left Ali with few friends outside the gym and a strained relationship with family members who want him to quit.

“When I started lifting weights and getting bigger, people treated me differently. I wasn’t pushed around as much any more and I began to be noticed,” he says.

“It’s all I have really. I have to succeed at it. All I need to do is enter a world championship and I have faith that I could win. But that all depends on the funds I can bring in until then.”

In recent years, social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram have become an important tool for aspiring bodybuilders to show off their progress and their training regimens. Many others also provide online training for beginners to make more money on the side.

Ali joined TikTok two months ago and is slowly growing his online presence in the hopes of finding a sponsor who can help him turn his misfortunes into success.