When Anam Khalid and Wajdan Gul talk about SQUATWOLF, they built the company the same way they built their lives: deliberately, relentlessly and with a deep sense of responsibility to the people who believe in them.

Both founders grew up in Pakistan with a clear understanding: education was their passport to the world. It wasn’t just encouraged; it was a survival strategy. They pushed hard academically, knowing it could unlock opportunities far greater than their immediate environment. That discipline would eventually set them on a path to Dubai – first as young professionals building careers, then as ambitious entrepreneurs who saw a gap in the market that nobody else was filling.

When they landed in the UAE, they worked hard, built networks and lived an increasingly active lifestyle – gym sessions, early-morning runs and the kind of personal development routines that define the city’s fitness-driven culture.

But as they went deeper into their own wellness journey, the couple found themselves frustrated by their gym wear choices. The brands they tried didn’t fit the way they wanted. They didn’t last. They didn’t represent the values they believed in. None felt like they were made for them. Or for the people around them. Or for the rapidly growing fitness community in Dubai.

The two of them kept coming back to the same thought: why wasn’t there a gym wear brand built with honesty, integrity and functional excellence at its core? Why wasn’t anyone obsessed with athletic fit the same way serious athletes and weekend warriors were? And when they couldn’t find it, they decided to create it.

Early days

SQUATWOLF started with a couple of laptops, kitchen-table conversations and the kind of curiosity that keeps you awake well past midnight. The founders then began deep research – down to thread counts, fibre blends and the engineering behind movement-specific cuts. The couple spent months talking to manufacturers, studying sportswear patterns, experimenting with prototypes, and learning the science behind compression, sweat-wicking and athletic ergonomics.

And then there was the branding question: what do you call a company whose ambition is to become the go-to uniform for everyday athletes? They wanted a name that reflected strength and discipline, something grounded in grit but modern in attitude. SQUATWOLF was bold, memorable and embodied the mindset they wanted the brand to carry: primal power meets precision performance. The name stuck and the mission became clear.

Homegrown challenger

By the time SQUATWOLF began releasing its early collections, the UAE was entering a new era of fitness and health culture. Gyms were multiplying. Boutique fitness studios were booming. Triathlon and CrossFit communities were taking off. That created the perfect environment for a brand that understood the region better than any global competitor.

But SQUATWOLF didn’t just sell clothes – it represented a lifestyle the region had been waiting for. Defining features included high-performance fabrics that looked good outside the gym. Premium cuts that flattered different body types. Minimalist aesthetics that matched Dubai’s clean, modern sensibility. And collections designed around real workouts, not catwalks.

And because the founders lived the lifestyle themselves, the brand felt authentic. It wasn’t aspirational marketing. It was the founders’ personal story woven into every design.
But growth didn’t happen overnight. It was steady, organic and driven by a fiercely loyal customer base. As SQUATWOLF began appearing in more gyms, more Instagram feeds and eventually in major retail spaces, the brand earned a reputation for precision engineering and premium performance.

Its proudest innovation is ACTDRY, a patented fabric technology that dries three times faster than any existing drying tech. “We built it to handle the desert heat – one of the toughest environments for performance wear. Everything about our product philosophy starts with solving real performance problems for real athletes,” Khalid tells CEO Middle East.

Turning point

During Covid, while most brands were pulling back, SQUATWOLF went the opposite way. “We opened our advertising to the world and everything changed overnight. In our first month alone, we received orders from over 60 countries, then quickly crossed 100+,” Khalid says proudly.

“That moment proved two things: that performance wear from Dubai could resonate globally, and that digital-first scaling had no borders if your product is delivered.”

SQUATWOLF soon became a case study for companies like Meta, Google and DHL for being one of the first homegrown brands to successfully go from Dubai to the world, at a time when the Middle East was known mainly for importing global brands, not exporting them.

And how did they set themselves apart from larger competitors like Gymshark or Lululemon? By not trying to be another Western performance brand. “Our positioning is born from where we come from: Dubai.”

Couple power

Inevitably, I have to ask what it’s like working together as husband-and-wife founders. “People assume it’s complicated, but our dynamic is actually our strength,” Khalid tells me. “We divide roles based completely on skill set: Waj is the builder – the zero-to-one founder with a tech and startup background who can create momentum from nothing. I come from Fortune 500 companies, so my strength is scaling, structure, brand building and people. He imagines what’s possible; I turn it into a system that can grow.”

When it comes to creative differences, they’ve learned to treat them as data, not drama. “We debate, we test, and ultimately we align on what’s best for the brand. And the biggest rule we follow is this: the office never sees the disagreements. We run the business as one voice, one vision.”

In 2023, the SQUATWOLF founders secured a $30m investment which will go towards product, people and retail expansion. “We’re doubling down on performance innovation, strengthening leadership across the organisation, and expanding our physical footprint in key GCC and global cities,” adds Khalid. “Everything we invest in must push us toward becoming the first global performance wear brand from Dubai.”

Going global

The UK and Europe are the brand’s next big focus. They’re viewed as natural extensions for SQUATWOLF – markets with a mature fitness culture and an openness to new performance brands. “But more importantly, they’re places where Dubai’s story of progress resonates deeply. We want to carry the spirit of this region into markets that influence global trends.”

As any company grows, there’s always the risk of losing authenticity, forgetting your roots. Not with SQUATWOLF. “Community has always been our engine, not a marketing tactic. As we scale, we’re simply scaling the impact of that engine.”

So what’s next? Bigger SQUATWOLF Games, deeper partnerships and sponsoring fitness packs across every country it enters. “The one rule we never break is staying on the ground. We show up at sessions, at events, with the people who wear our products. That keeps us real – and keeps us honest,” Khalid proudly states. The team also looks for influencer athletes who aren’t just training for the camera, but who live the lifestyle every day. “When the values align, the content and the partnership feel effortless.”

The future looks bright for SQUATWOLF, but what exactly are the long-term goals when the world is your oyster? “To be recognised globally as the founders of the first performance wear brand from the Middle East – from Dubai – that reached the world. And to prove once and for all that excellence doesn’t belong to the West. It can come from the East, rise from this region, and compete at the highest global level.”