Sunday 17 / November / 2024
Muscat: If you see an Omani handstanding outside one of the Seven Wonders of the World, do not be alarmed: for he is promoting peace and understanding.
Fahad Al Abri is the founder of ‘Handstand Every City’, and aims to make a handstand in every city in the world. He hopes this will provide him with a broader perspective of the way people around the world live. His New Year’s resolution for 2018 is to travel to the Seven Wonders of the world.
“The movement of Handstand Every City is to promote happiness, travel and wellbeing – these are things I am passionate about – so every city I travel to, and handstand in, is me sending a message to people about the many reasons why all of us – irrespective of where we are – want to be well and happy,” said Al Abri.
“This is going to encourage and give them more reasons to pursue a healthy life,” he added. “There are many schools of exercise, such as yoga, martial arts, and callisthenics, that emphasise a connection with our hands, but the handstand is one that connects us to the earth.”
Al Abri has already travelled to more than 16 cities throughout the world. After beginning his journey in Muscat, his handstanding dream has taken him to Milan, Naples, Dubai, Dublin, Granada and Marbella, among others. In addition, he wants to travel across the rest of the GCC, India and the United States.
“Learning to move out of your comfort zone will enable you to see things in a different perspective, but people sometimes don’t want to do that because it is maybe an acceptance issue,” said Al Abri. “If you want to really grow and thrive in every environment, you need to learn to stand outside your comfort zone, and to me, the handstand symbolises mental and physical strength in one motion.
“This is a move that grabs so much attention, and the fact that a person is able to stand on his or her hands shows you that we can excel in different environments: this is just a learning process that we have to go through,” he noted. “When I first began doing this, people thought I was crazy and they laughed at me, but after I went to about 15 to 16 cities, they saw that I had a goal, and the messages of support have since grown stronger.
“Every landmark I stand in front of makes people very happy, and they want to interact with me,” pointed out Al Abri. “They think it is fun, and this brings out the child in them. I will try to stand in every city in the world, and I will make it.”
With Oman having earned a reputation worldwide as a nation that always stands for peace, Al Abri wants to spread his message of tolerance, as far as possible.
“I am standing on my hands to show respect, and the meaning of existence these cities have,” he explained.
“I began funding this from my own pocket, but lately I am starting to get support, and it would be great to get the support from organisations here, because I want to put Oman on the map. Every city I put on my list makes the value of my message grow, and this helps my ideology grow.”
Al Abri has some words of advice he has learned from his travels. “I would say people should travel more, give meaning to their lives and appreciate wellbeing,” he emphasised. “Many people don’t appreciate the importance of wellbeing and they have problems with obesity, diabetes, strokes, heart attacks and more, so attention needs to be brought to this.
“I believe every person stands for peace,” added Al Abri. “His Majesty Sultan Qaboos has always flown the flag of peace, and as an Omani I believe in promoting peace when I am travelling to spread happiness. What we can get from peace is something you can never get otherwise.”
