Meet Nelly Attar
PURPOSE | MOTIVATION
Meet Nelly Attar
Born and raised in Saudi Arabia , part-
Lebanese entrepreneur and climber Nelly Attar was working in mental health as a psychologist and coach therapist while teaching fitness part-time when in 2017 she founded Move Studio – Saudi Arabia ’ s first dance studio , and one of the first of its kind across the Middle East .
“ I ’ m passionate about fitness and especially helping other women access sport ,” she says . “ I have always found opportunities to be involved in sport , from offering runs through the Nike training club , to working with the Saudi government to launch programmes , while also pursuing my own fitness goals – running marathons and climbing mountains .”
Nelly has successfully scaled 17 peaks , including four peaks out of the Seven Summit challenge , Mount Everest and K2 among them , and has completed 2 IronMan 70.3 races , run six marathons / ultramarathons , and completed 100 scuba-dives .
As a fitness professional , she has 10 sports and health programs under her belt , led the first series of dance activations across the Kingdom for Sports National Day , and in 2019 and 2020 , was named female fitness influencer of the year in the GCC by Sports
360 , and one of the most influential women in sports by the Muslim Network , respectively .
Nelly leads other services within her Move Studio business , including designing and delivering fitness and wellness programs both offline and online , for the public and private sector , and organising and leading adventure trips .
Currently studying a mini-MBA , and continuing to conquer mountains ( as we speak , she had just successfully scaled the Matterhorn in the Alps ), Nelly is looking to relaunch Move in a “ way that makes sense in a post-pandemic world ” and that aligns with her own goals and is further exploring other sport-related business opportunities in the Kingdom .
“ In business and in climbing , I ’ ve learned to take risks , but I ’ ve also learned that it ’ s okay to not always get to the top , and that deciding to pause , take a step back , or turn around doesn ’ t have to mean failure ”
Nelly Attar CEO Move Studio and first Arab woman to summit K2 businesschief . com 63