Amidst life’s shifting landscapes and personal hardships, some people learn not only to adapt, but also to turn each struggle into fuel for purpose. Douaa Kayed is one name among them. From a vibrant upbringing in Abu Dhabi with a close-knit Palestinian family to a life that has included Dubai, Jeddah, Toronto, and now Riyadh, her tale is one of resilience, reinvention, and unwavering trust in movement, both physical and emotional.
When the world slowed during the pandemic, she accelerated towards her destiny. What started as online exercise sessions in her Canadian basement has grown into DCoach, a thriving health firm founded on balance, discipline, and human connection. She is a Guinness World Record holder, Master Trainer, Boxing Coach, and Harvard-certified Lifestyle and Wellness Coach who has turned personal resilience into a global platform for empowerment.
Her concept goes beyond fitness; it’s about leading oneself before leading others, using time as a currency for success, and putting health first. Her narrative is more than just lifting weights or setting records; it’s about elevating spirits, regaining confidence, and demonstrating that with focus and faith, life’s ceaseless motion can mold not only the body but also the soul.
Roots and Resilience
Born and raised in Abu Dhabi, Douaa grew up in a large Palestinian family that valued togetherness. She lived with her parents, seven sisters, and two brothers, experiencing the vibrant chaos and joy that comes with a big family. Her childhood sparkled with laughter and friendship until her father’s death shattered that security. The family persevered, each sibling finding their own path forward through the darkness of loss.
Her path led through education and early marriage. At nineteen, she married, balancing university coursework with the responsibilities of a new wife. By twenty, she welcomed her daughter Tia while still pursuing her Bachelor’s degree in History at Beirut Arab University. She graduated in 2005, proving that young motherhood need not derail academic ambitions.
The young family relocated to Dubai, where she gave birth to their first son, Marwan, in 2006. Life continued its pattern of movement and adaptation. Her husband’s career took them to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where they spent several years building their life. In 2014, they welcomed their second son, Omar, eight years after their first son’s birth.
The constant relocations across countries and cities made maintaining friendships difficult. When the family returned to Dubai in 2015, she cherished the small circle of friends whose children attended the same school as her three kids. This stability lasted until 2019, when a career opportunity prompted another major transition and this time it was Canada.
Finding Purpose in the Pandemic
Summer 2019 marked a turning point. Arriving in Canada, Douaa Kayed launched her professional career in fitness and wellness. She pursued this new direction with characteristic determination, even as the COVID-19 pandemic complicated everything. While others saw lockdowns as obstacles, she recognized opportunity.
She transformed her basement into a training studio, offering fitness sessions to neighbors. She conducted online classes for her sisters and extended family members. The pandemic gave her something invaluable: time to crystallize her vision, complete certifications, and map her professional trajectory.
“COVID for me was not that bad; it was the beginning of my career in the field of health and fitness,” she reflects. She utilized every moment at home, completing course after course, attending workshops, and building expertise. By summer 2022, she had earned multiple certifications as a Master Trainer, Boxing Coach, and Personal Trainer. She worked at UFC Gym in Mississauga and several other Toronto facilities, constantly learning and refining her craft.
The pandemic also witnessed something remarkable. She trained herself for a Guinness World Record attempt. On December 13, 2021, in Montreal, Quebec, she achieved the record for most full contact knee strikes using alternate legs in one minute by a female, 132 strikes, surpassing the previous record of 120. The achievement symbolized her approach to life: set ambitious goals, train relentlessly, execute flawlessly.
The Coach Who Coaches
Douaa Kayed’s passion centers on words like success, ambition, goals, and achievement. She channels this passion into fitness, health, wellness, and boxing and in fields where she helps others pursue healthy lifestyles. Her website, DCoach.me, synthesizes her diverse experiences into a comprehensive coaching platform.
She also develops her own sportswear brand called YALLA, which expresses her fitness philosophy. The brand name itself, Arabic for “let’s go” which captures her energetic approach. YALLA embodies her belief that everyone deserves access to healthy living, regardless of background or circumstances.
Her coaching philosophy emerges from personal experience. She watches her mother manage type 2 diabetes without medication, relying instead on healthy eating and walking daily to maintain blood sugar levels. Her mother grew up in a household that emphasized wellness, healthy nutrition, and herbal remedies. This example inspired her to explore nutrition and exercise more deeply, eventually committing herself to help others achieve similar wellness.
“I love helping others live a healthy lifestyle and help them to achieve their goals,” she explains. She also draws satisfaction from her own self-realization as a successful woman who has overcome numerous obstacles.
Yet she observes a critical gap in her industry. Many people lack awareness about coaching’s importance and the transformative role coaches play. She emphasizes that even coaches need coaches, everyone benefits from having someone who serves as a mirror, revealing blind spots and illuminating paths for growth.
“Having a coach in your life is like having a mirror to help you see yourself correctly and to see what aspects you should work on improving,” she notes. This awareness helps individuals unleash potential and reach goals they might otherwise miss.
Balancing Acts and Tough Choices
Managing multiple roles of wife, mother of three, athlete, trainer, student, and business owner demands extraordinary discipline. Douaa Kayed acknowledges the difficulty frankly. She learned boxing, participated in marathons including the Los Angeles Marathon and four half-marathons in Toronto, worked as a trainer, and pursued continuous education simultaneously.
The turning point came when she recognized the necessity of balance. She loves her family and wants to support them fully. She also harbors dreams of business success and self-realization. These competing demands forced difficult decisions about time allocation.
“I had to manage my time so that there is no negligence from my side, while still being able to complete what I wanted to achieve,” she explains. Time utilization became paramount. She eliminates activities that don’t advance her career or serve her family. She works, develops herself through ongoing education, and cares for her husband and children. Everything else falls away.
This philosophy traces back to a fifth-grade Arabic lesson about time’s importance and using it wisely. That childhood lesson evolved into a life principle. “I believe the life of a successful person is like the wheels that must continue moving, otherwise they will go nowhere; this life must move forward and stay on the path to success,” she says.
Her family now spans continents. Daughter Tia, twenty-two, graduated from the University of Toronto and pursues postgraduate studies. Son Marwan, nineteen, studies Business Management and Economics in his second year at the University of Toronto. Youngest son Omar, eleven, lives with Douaa Kayed and her husband in Riyadh, where they recently relocated again.
Strength Through Movement
Douaa Kayed’s frequent international moves shaped her significantly. Living in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Jeddah, Toronto, and now Riyadh exposed her to diverse cultures, ideas, and belief systems. This multicultural fluency enhances her coaching, allowing her to connect with clients from varied backgrounds.
Her enthusiasm and encouragement constitute core strengths. She genuinely loves her work and maintains clear vision for her future. These qualities, combined with her time management skills and cultural adaptability, create a powerful professional toolkit.
She now holds an impressive array of credentials: Personal Trainer, Master Trainer, Sports Nutritionist, Strength Coach, Lifestyle and Wellness Coach from Harvard, Boxing Coach, and Leadership Performance Coach certified by the Canadian Coaching Academy. Each certification represents hours of study, practice, and commitment to excellence.
Yet she remains grounded about weaknesses. She advocates patience in decision-making, counseling herself that right decisions require time and shouldn’t be rushed. She recommends sometimes becoming a spectator, watching from the sidelines to understand how the game unfolds before jumping in.
“Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, the most important thing is how we deal with our weaknesses and how to use our strengths,” she observes. This self-awareness informs the advice she offers aspiring leaders.
Leading by Example
Her leadership philosophy begins with self-leadership. She urges aspiring leaders to lead themselves before attempting to lead others. Manage time wisely, she counsels. Focus on goals without distraction. Develop skills that support those goals.
She uses a botanical metaphor be flexible like plants with flexible trunks that withstand wind, rather than rigid plants that break. Accept reality, work with available data, develop from there. Understand what you control and what you don’t. Listen to others and allow yourself time before deciding.
Crucially, she warns against neglecting health under pressure. “In order for your body to continue towards your goals, you need to give it enough sleep, healthy food, and exercise at least three times a week,” she advises.
Her mantra emphasizes internal competition over external comparison. “Challenge yourself not others; if you challenge yourself, you will be moving according to your own circumstances, not those of others,” she states. Know your strengths, use them, develop them. Know your weaknesses to address them effectively.
She warns against blindly following others’ paths. Each person possesses different abilities and circumstances. What works for one may fail for another. “We are here on Earth to populate it, so if our abilities were similar to each other, we wouldn’t be able to populate it,” she reasons. According to individual strengths, each person must find their suitable path and goals.
The Road Ahead
From that nine-year-old girl who lost her father to the accomplished coach inspiring others across continents, Douaa Kayed has transformed adversity into purpose. Her story resonates because it’s really marked by genuine struggle, persistent effort, and evolving success rather than overnight transformation.
She continues building her YALLA brand, expanding her coaching practice, and pursuing additional certifications. Her journey illustrates that success rarely follows straight lines. It zigzags across countries, adapts to circumstances, embraces unexpected opportunities, and requires constant recalibration.
Through it all, she maintains the forward motion she considers essential. The wheels keep turning, propelling her toward new goals while she helps others discover their own paths. In a world that often celebrates instant success, she offers something more valuable: a blueprint for sustained growth built on resilience, discipline, and genuine care for others’ wellbeing.
Her message ultimately transcends fitness and wellness. It speaks to anyone navigating loss, change, competing responsibilities, or self-doubt. Keep moving forward. Find your own way. Challenge yourself. Use your time wisely. Lead yourself first. And remember that the path to success requires both flexibility and strength, qualities Douaa Kayed embodies with every stride, strike, and coaching session she delivers.
