YASMIN BAKER

A Life of Movement

Sportswoman, freediver, aerial silk swinger, Yasmin Baker does it all with a sense of physical grace that few of us will ever come close to.

What lessons have you learned throughout your journey as an aerial acrobat?

Aerial silks was the thing that opened me up to a world of sports and activities, and really changed the course of my life. It started as a simple fascination, but then became a gateway to so many types of movement/ activities/ sports, so many different communities... but more importantly, it helped me develop my self awareness and my confidence, and hone in on my passions.

What new areas of yourself have you discovered throughout your acrobatics journey?

Through silks, I developed certain skills that transfer from sports to life. Skills I didn’t even realise I needed to work on; like facing fears, remaining calm, trusting the process, learning to let go and taking things step by step.

How has your fascination with free diving and marine life exploration come about?

I always loved being outdoors and in the water. My siblings and grew up in the water and never went more than a few days without being at the beach or in the pool. My family and I are also big animal and nature lovers, so we spent many holidays exploring different environments. It came naturally that studied Biology in university, and focused on Environmental Studies. But freediving was a bit of a curveball. As a young adult, I was not a very “chill” person, found myself always on the go, and the curiosity that led me to aerial silks led me to so many other things that struggled to feel “balanced.” A friend of mine noticed this, and suggested that I try freediving as a way to centre myself and slow down the pace. took my first course and have been hooked ever since. The peace of mind, focus, and stillness are unimaginable.

As an adventurer, what is one superpower you would like to have?

I love this question! think would want to be able to teleport. As someone who loves adventure and thrives on planning, there are so many things want to see and experience that I can’t do simply because of the time it takes to get there. would love to be able to close my eyes, and open them and be in another country or underwater, or back at the office, or just skip Dubai traffic, ha, ha, ha!

What goes through your mind when you are in motion - floating in an acrobatic pose or flowing through a reef?

With both these sports in particular, an overwhelming sense of calm and being present, which is not a state easily get into in normal life settings. It’s so still and quiet, and I can only hear my own reassuring self talk.

Tell us about your experience shooting for Bulgari’s Ramadan campaign.

Working with Bulgari was something never expected to do. They are an amazing global luxury brand, and never thought that my lifestyle could somehow reflect that essence. I was used to talking about sports, or culture, or personal views about gender norms and so on, but “luxury” was not something I was familiar with. But as with most things, I was curious to learn more and to see what the message behind the campaign was. This campaign was very much an opportunity for me to practice what I preach - stepping outside of my comfort zone. And as a result, I met a wonderful team with a beautiful artistic vision and a strong culture message from this part of the world to everywhere else. Being out in nature, experiencing the elements! It was a totally different kind of adventure to wear a dress and heels and walk through the desert and on cliffs. loved the green rings and necklaces that were a key part of the Ramadan collection; simple yet elegant and unique.

Your fascination with aerobics first emerged when you were 13 at a Cirque Du Soleil show. What about the show intrigued you?

I loved how free and effortless the movement looked. I imagined it was difficult (I had no idea how difficult until actually tried it for the first time). But the performers just seemed to flow. Something about movement that is not limited; you can just explore in all directions and ways, and push the boundaries yet build selfawareness and body- awareness. I guess this is what drew me to both silks and freediving; you just float in the air or water.

What other sports do you participate in?

I love being active. I don’t have a competitive bone in my body and am quite intimidated by team sports, but love personal challenges and love trying something new. I want to be active as a life goal, so I try to be versatile and mix up my routine and the intensity of my workouts. do a lot of Pilates, but have also tried Muay Thai, sprinting, obstacle races, callisthenics, yoga, ballet, cycling, horse riding, kung fu, circuit training and more.

If you could create your own sport how would it go?

Ha, ha, ha! This one is so hard, I can’t answer! I need them all!

What is your dream destination or venue to perform at?

Aside from being non-competitive and intimidated by team sports, I also get nervous performing in front of an audience ha, ha, ha. As you can tell, I adopt a very “no pressure” approach to my training. That’s not to say don’t push myself, but I am conscious of doing it on my own terms and for my own growth. That being said, I love being in nature. If there was some kind of beautiful remote jungle or beach location where I could hang my silks up and practice (and then go for a freedive after), that would be the dream!

A Message of Confidence

Mthayel Al Ali is a woman of many hats, influencer, entrepreneur, media figure. What brings all this together? A desire to empower women and project a new vision of strength.

Your journey on social media was kickstarted when you posted an image of your Pakistani driver nine years ago. What was the story behind that picture?

I think he really meant a lot to me, he used to take me to college. He was, I believe, the first eye opener. For a person my age at that time to be very close to someone who has so much experience in his life, I think had that attachment to him and would consider him my good luck charm. Nine years ago, knew this was a story to document and today, we’re still talking about him, so he really made a mark.

You wear many hats; from a social media influencer to an entrepreneur, what is a hat that you aspire to put on in the following years?

I would be very ambitious and say a healer hat. I started my healing and self development journey around five years ago and it has been transformational for me and I really believe that am meant to create a safe space and an environment for my followers. I have gained, I think, the trust of so many women in the region, and I really don’t take that lightly. I want to be a spark of light and to remind them of their power and who they are as human beings.

Talk to us about your three ventures; Takhayyal, Ara and Ce. How do you balance giving equal focus to all three?

Honestly, I don’t balance. It’s not something that I would say mastered. made a promise to myself years ago that every project that I’m going to work on needs to come from the heart. Takhayyal was my creative arm. It is now on pause because I could not balance, could not give it my all, and with time I really had to decide what matters the most and where my message would be stronger. Ce came after a very hard time, when started to realise that women need more. I made this with a partner to help women in Afghanistan as a start. Ara came from a voice. If Takhayyal was a creative arm, Ara was my voice, I wanted to create a platform and I started with podcasts as it was important for me to speak about things that we don’t speak about. I called it Ara because I cannot pronounce the letter R in Arabic. So I decided to call it that because it talks about things I can’t talk about.

Tell us about your experience shooting for Bulgari’s Ramadan campaign.

I consider the Bulgari team my family and it’s always a pleasure to work with them for yet another year on this campaign. Shooting in Wadi Rum, was such a unique and surreal experience, I must say the locations were the highlights. It makes me so very proud to represent the Emirates and Gulf culture and integration with international brands. Anything from the Serpenti collection must be my favourite, the pieces feel as if they naturally fit on me.

Empowering women is at the forefront of all your ventures. Who is your biggest female inspiration?

I think the one thing that we grew up with, especially in our generation, is that we always saw strong hustler women who created and achieved, and had a very strong voice. But never grew up watching a woman who chose ease. I never grew up seeing a woman powerful in her feminine energy. So now, my inspiration is my future self. I want her to be the soft, strong woman and the one who doesn’t have to be loud and aggressive and competitive to be where she is. I want to be that example for other women as well, where I choose to show power in a very different narrative than that we watched growing up.

If you could be in anyone’s shoes for a day, who would it be?

I can honestly say I’m a very empathetic person. And it has served me in my life, made me emotionally intelligent, made me able to know how to speak, what to say and how to be. But empathy has not been my strongest supporter lately. have been feeling down and guilty because feel like other women need to understand this, and don’t know how to help, but am very hard on myself because I feel can’t always pass it forward. The one thing I haven’t been empathetic about is me. I’m finding it a bit hard to be mindful of where I am, and be easy on myself and be in the moment, so would want to remind myself every day to walk a mile in my own shoes, because don’t. My brain usually thinks of everywhere else, but here, where am, that’s where I need to be.

Take us back to your childhood. What did you aspire to be growing up?

I always knew what wanted. And I’m doing exactly what wanted. But growing up, I always wanted to be a teacher. Until one day my mum took me to Sharjah Television. My epiphany moment was when I held a mike there. After graduating with a degree in Media, I got the ultimate offer from the universe. became a TV presenter, a teacher, and a podcast presenter. think that one thing in common between all of them is that loved influence. The idea of creating something that goes outward and that people receive. It was very powerful for me.