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How the Middle East Became The Next Global Wellness Hub: Inside FIBO Arabia 2025

Release Date: 10/08/2025

Is "New Year New You" The Wrong Approach? An Interview with Jennifer Walsh

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How Emotional Intelligence and Personalization Are Creating Human-Centered Hospitality, with Magdy Abdelaty

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What happens when luxury hospitality, holistic wellness, and human transformation intersect? In this conversation with Magdy Abdelaty, we explore how modern wellness leaders are redefining the guest journey through emotional intelligence, culture-driven design, and deeply personalized experiences. This episode reveals why wellness is shifting from a service to a philosophy, and what the next generation of spa and wellness leadership must embrace to stay relevant, regenerative, and meaningful. What You’ll Learn: Why wellness no longer belongs in a silo, and how to embed it across the entire...

How Four Seasons Costa Rica is Designing the Future of Spa, with Arnaud Dieutegard

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More Episodes

The fitness and wellness revolution is transforming Saudi Arabia, and FIBO Arabia 2025 is at the center of it.

In this episode of the Starrcast Podcast, host Lisa Starr takes you behind the scenes at the first-ever FIBO Arabia event in Riyadh to uncover how vision, entrepreneurship, and cultural transformation are reshaping the region’s wellness economy. From boutique studios and luxury health clubs to female empowerment and data-driven innovation, this conversation reveals how the Middle East is redefining what “wellness for all” truly means.

What You’ll Learn:

From law to Pilates: How Dina Elshurafa turned her legal career into a thriving boutique fitness brand, Reform Athletica, and what it takes to scale in a new market.
Cultural innovation in fitness: How Louise Whiles and Matthew Graham are adapting global wellness concepts to meet the needs of Saudi Arabia’s rapidly growing audience.
Building wellness economies: Insights into the investment, training, and retention strategies shaping the region’s next generation of fitness professionals.
The business of transformation: Susan Turner shares how Saudi’s Vision 2030 is empowering women, driving entrepreneurship, and redefining community health.
A region in motion: Why the Middle East’s wellness expansion represents one of the most dynamic market opportunities in global hospitality and lifestyle sectors.

Episode Highlights:

00:00 – On location at FIBO Arabia: a new era for fitness in Saudi Arabia
04:10 – Dina Elshurafa on leaving law for wellness and building Reform Athletica
13:45 – Louise Whiles on inclusive design and empowering women through fitness
25:20 – Matthew Graham on leadership, local training, and integrated wellness ecosystems
39:05 – Susan Turner on the evolution of Saudi wellness and Vision 2030
51:30 – Collaboration, innovation, and the wellness economy’s new frontier
1:04:40 – How Saudi Arabia is shaping the global fitness conversation
1:10:20 – Closing reflections: redefining wellness, access, and human potential

Meet the Guests:

Dina Elshurafa – Founder of Reform Athletica, a luxury boutique fitness brand blending Pilates, TRX, and strength training with a community-focused philosophy.

Louise Whiles – Director of Operations at Reform Athletica, and a former professional dancer, specializing in movement-based programming and performance coaching.

Matthew Graham – General Manager of Core Life, a regional social wellness company integrating spa, performance, recovery, and lifestyle data science across the Middle East.

Susan Turner – Saudi-based wellness consultant and industry pioneer who helped launch the Kingdom’s first female fitness centers and expand Pure Gym’s footprint across the GCC.

Tools, Frameworks, or Strategies Mentioned:

Reform Athletica Method™ – A boutique training system combining Pilates, barre, and functional movement.
Core Life Ecosystem – A holistic model integrating fitness, nutrition, recovery, and behavioral insights.
Vision 2030 Wellness Framework – Saudi Arabia’s strategic plan for health, well-being, and inclusivity.
Precision Health Models – The intersection of DNA testing, AI, and personalized wellness programming.

Closing Insight:

“We’re not just opening gyms, we’re opening doors for transformation.” – Susan Turner

FIBO Arabia 2025 isn’t just an event; it’s a milestone in the Middle East’s wellness journey. Through entrepreneurship, inclusivity, and innovation, Saudi Arabia is redefining what the global wellness future looks like.

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What You’ll Learn:

Episode Highlights:

Meet the Guests:

Tools, Frameworks, or Strategies Mentioned:

Closing Insight:

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