ATHLETICS: THE SOUND OF DETERMINATION |
At 5’10” with a sculpted build, 26-year-old Muhammad Affan looks the part of a fitness model. He works as a trainer instead, navigating the floor between clients at SMF Studio, a multi-storey gym in Karachi’s upscale DHA locality.
As Affan walks his grunting and sweating clients through their regimen, he compliments and censures them — while maintaining his signature smile. One of the clients is Zain, who tells Eos that Affan helped him stick to the exercise and dietary regimen for his physical transformation. Sabien, who has been training with him for two years, finds him strict but funny. A third, Fouzia, adds that Affan “is always pushing you to do more and doesn’t waste time on mindless conversations.”
Affan might be sparing with his words but quick to praise. His economy of speech partially stems from a congenital impairment; he had jaundice at birth, which caused excessively high bilirubin levels and resulted in a hearing impairment.
Speech therapy, learning lip-reading and a supportive family helped him find his voice — lisp and all. But it was his own conviction — and relentless hard work — that carried him into the life he has now. Today, he is a competitive athlete with a disability: powerlifting medals for Pakistan on the global stage, the full London Marathon completed and five years as a fitness trainer.
Born with a hearing impairment into a family of limited means, Muhammad Affan was written off early. Today, he holds in his name powerlifting medals, marathon finishes and a fitness career…
Born with a hearing impairment into a family of limited means, Muhammad Affan was written off early. Today, he holds in his name powerlifting medals, marathon finishes and a fitness career…
But before he became an inspiration, he was a lonely child, struggling to make sense of the world — mocked and ridiculed.
Born to a middle-income household — his father is a medical practitioner and his mother a government school teacher — Affan’s family had........