Exclusive Interview with
Najla Al-Fardan
a certified Nutritionist, International Skincare Consultant, and I am the co-owner of Orangetheory Fitness in Qatar and the Founder and CEO of Qiyorro, which is a conscious beauty platform in Qatar that seeks to share stories and help people feel confident in their own skin. I’ve struggled with health and wellness at a young age, I was obese at one point, and I suffered from digestive disorders and mild acne, which is what lead me into the field of health, wellness, and holistic beauty. The biggest lesson that I learned throughout my journey is that health, wellness, and beauty are all interconnected. From daily forms of exercise, to the food that you eat, to your gut health, to your stress levels, and even your mental health all contributes to how you look and feel. This is the essence of Qiyorro; it is that space in time where all these contributing parts meet. Qiyorro views health, wellness, and beauty not as one part, but rather as a sum of parts that make us whole from the inside out.
Your First celebrity crush?
Jesse McCartney
2 Things you scared of
Heights and Dogs
The craziest rumor you heated about yourself
That I eat frogs
What is one thing you tried and you will never do again?
Jumping off an 80 meter boat. Never, ever again.
Something you hate what everyone else loves
Tomatos
Your best beauty tip
8 hours of sleep and some Vitamin Sea – as in go for a swim in the ocean!
What fashion trends you don’t understand. don’t like
Anything neon I don’t necessarily relate with. My style is quite basic and simple!
What makes you lose your temper
When someone repeats the same problem over and over again.
3 things you always have in your purse
Digestive enzymes, a bold lipstick, and an eyeliner.
The most rebellious thing you did as a child
Skipped school
Something you love but everyone else doesn’t
Celery Juice
3 things you must do every day
Drink lemon water first thing in the morning, some form of workout or movement, and walk around in the sun for at least 15 minutes a day.
Your Hobbies
Working out, that can be in the form of an exercise, or even just dance around my room! I also love to read self-improvement books or podcasts, or really get into any subject I feel curious about. Recently I’ve been super into understanding human behavior and the science of Ayruveda!
Who inspires you?
My sisters. I am very blessed and grateful to have grown up with 5 incredible sisters, all of whom are totally different from the other, yet all share that same drive, resilience, and ambition to go after what they want. Witnessing that attitude as a young girl really influenced my personal development and my goals in terms of what I want to do in my life and the impact I want to leave behind.
Where you see yourself after 10 years:
That’s a good question! I really like to take my life one step at a time, with a bit of an understanding or a framework in mind of where I want to go, what I want to leave behind, and what I want to expand on. I noticed I change every year, my interests change, the topics I am curious about change, the experiences I look to have change. It builds off of itself, one experience at a time. However, what I do know and what is constant is that I will always have a love and a passion towards helping others. The form in which I perform that moral service may or may not change, but the intention remains constant. I also recently started a conscious beauty platform, Qiyorro; a space that seeks to share stories and help people feel confident in their own skin. My goal for this platform is to expand our offerings and be the regional go-to for all thing’s beauty, health, and overall wellness related.
What motivates you the most:
The positive results and the feedback I receive from people is what motivates me and creates that internal drive in me the most to keep going. It’s never about quantity for me, it’s always been about quality. When I hear from one person that I helped them improve their life in any way shape or form, even in the slightest bit, whether that be a dietary alteration, physical movement, routines to better manage stress, or even just talking about a certain topic that isn’t addressed to relate with and connect to others whom maybe really needed to hear that or have that conversation; these minor changes are everything to me, because it ensures me that I am doing my job right and I am playing my part within the community, which is to provide service and be of benefit to the community.
Favorite Song & Favorite Movie
Favorite song Dazed & Confused by Ruel, Favorite Movie I would say is Pearl Harbor
What is the most courageous thing you have done in your life?
Opening two businesses during a global pandemic! The sudden introduction of Covid while I was in the process of opening up Orangetheory and Qiyorro was a frightening experience, I wasn’t sure what to do, how to open. Thankfully we did and I am so grateful for the experience.
If you could go back 10 years, what advice would you give your younger self?
In terms of advice, I would advise my younger self to stay and be curious. Be curious about the world, about yourself. Take your time exploring different fields of interests, try things out, and keep trying until you’ve found your true purpose in life. I would also want to tell my younger self that you are so much more beautiful and valuable than what is externally shown, I would want to constantly communicate this idea of beauty from within, that beauty is shown from the kindness in your heart, from how you treat others, and most importantly, how you treat yourself. I would communicate how beautiful and magnificent the body is, how it works to constantly keep us alive, how it works to protect and heal us, no matter what – and in doing so or at least with that approach, it inspires someone to want to take care of themselves and their bodies not to fit a certain ideal shape, but out of love and appreciation of the day-to-day work our body puts to keep us alive and breathing.
What are your greatest strengths?
I would say my greatest strength is discipline. I am able to discipline myself with anything that is of benefit to me. Whether that be having the discipline to constantly eat healthy foods no matter what is around me, or disciplined to do my work, read, get my homework done. I’ve practiced discipline for years now and it is as most things, a work in progress, but something that I really pride myself with. I always quote this by Will Smith, he says that self-love is self-discipline, which is the ability to forgo instant gratification for a long term benefit. This is the very quote that comes into my head when I am thinking, fries or mixed veggies? Go out or finish your work?
What are your weaknesses?
I tend to take things personally and consume other people’s emotions. It is something I’ve struggled with for years and I think we all have that tendency to digest people’s emotions and/or behaviors towards us. However recently I have really made the effort to work on that, and instead of consuming others attitude, I would focus on being more of an objective observer towards the situation, almost like looking at it from a birds eye view to see where the behavior is coming from. I’ve learned this time and time again, people’s behavior is not a reflection of you or of how they personally feel about you, but rather it is a reflection of themselves and what they are going through.