The Mettleset Podcast

Today’s episode of The Mettleset Podcast is brought to you by New Balance
What do you do when you’re the only local woman teaching diving in your country, and the women who want to learn don’t have a place where they feel comfortable?
For Ehdaa (Dee) Al-Barwani, you buy a secondhand yacht, strip it down yourself, and build one. Then you go diving in your Omani attire to show every woman watching that nothing is stopping her.
Host Dawn Barnable sat down with Dee, Oman’s first female PADI scuba instructor and the first woman to own a dive centre in Oman, to trace her path from a childhood on the Omani coast to backpacking through Asia and diving to fund her travels, to founding Aura Divers. Dee opens up about the dive that went viral overnight, close encounters with whale sharks and one very curious octopus, and the role models who shaped her: her mother, one of only four women in the Royal Oman Police at the time, and ocean legend Dr. Sylvia Earle.
We also get into the bigger picture: why “woman diver” is giving way to just “diver”, Oman’s underrated dive spots from the Daymaniyat Islands to Salalah, and DiveNav.ai, the safety-first liveaboard booking platform she’s building now. We’re releasing it just in time for Omani Women’s Day on 17 October.
Join the DiveNav.ai waitlist: divenav.ai
Follow Dee on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dive.with.dee/
🌍 Stay Connected with - and support - The Mettleset
📥 Newsletter: Sign up for athlete stories, behind-the-scenes insights, and women’s sports news from MENA and beyond
📸 Instagram: @themettleset
💼 LinkedIn: The Mettleset on LinkedIn

Credits:
Host: Dawn Barnable
Guest: Ehdaa (Dee) Al-Barwani
Editor: Diya Vergis
Produced by: The Mettleset

🚲 The Mettleset is a multimedia platform and online community dedicated to sharing stories of underrepresented athletes and underreported sports from the Middle East and beyond. With a mission to diversify the sporting ecosystem, it is one of the first and only sports platforms in the Middle East to put women in sport first, while also featuring niche sporting communities such as action and endurance sports.
I hope you enjoy the episode!
Dawn

Today's episode of The Mettleset Podcast is brought to you by New Balance and Dr.stretch.
Mavi García didn't turn professional until she was 31, after more than a decade working a full-time job and nearly ten years away from organized sport altogether. Since then, she's become a four-time Spanish national road champion, a four-time national time trial champion, and — at 41 — the oldest woman ever to win a stage of the Tour de France Femmes. Now 42, she's extended her contract with UAE Team L'IMAD — the team she first rode for in 2022, then known as UAE Team ADQ, rebranded this August — through the 2027 season.
In this episode, Mavi opens up about the fear that nearly derailed her cycling career before it started, the moment she realized she'd made history, mentoring the next generation of riders, and why, well into her forties, she still treats every day on the bike as a gift.
Follow Mavi on Instagram: @mavi_garcia_c
🌍 Stay Connected with - and support - The Mettleset
📥 Newsletter: Sign up for athlete stories, behind-the-scenes insights, and women's sports news from MENA and beyond
📸 Instagram: @themettleset
💼 LinkedIn: The Mettleset on LinkedIn

Credits:
Host: Dawn Barnable
Guest: Mavi García
Produced by: The Mettleset

🚲 The Mettleset is a multimedia platform and online community dedicated to sharing stories of underrepresented athletes and underreported sports from the Middle East and beyond. With a mission to diversify the sporting ecosystem, it is one of the first and only sports platforms in the Middle East to put women in sport first, while also featuring niche sporting communities such as action and endurance sports.
I hope you enjoy the episode!
Dawn

Today’s episode of The Mettleset Podcast is brought to you by New Balance and Dr.stretch.
Dr Sarra Lajnef-Taylor made history as the first Tunisian woman to qualify for the Olympics in swimming, competing at London 2012. Since then, she's refused to be defined by one sport, becoming a six-time FINA Masters World Champion, a five-time Guinness World Record holder, a UAE rowing champion, and a medalist in triathlon and obstacle course racing. In this episode, recorded at the Khalifa International Bowling Centre at Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi, Sarra opens up about leaving Tunisia for France at 15, the punctured lung that nearly cost her the London Games, the mental toll elite sport rarely talks about, and why she's now pushing for athlete safeguarding on the world stage.
This is the first of what we hope will be a series of conversations with Sarra, stay tuned for round two.
Follow Sarra on Instagram: @sarralajnefofficial
🌍 Stay Connected with - and support - The Mettleset
📥 Newsletter: Sign up for athlete stories, behind-the-scenes insights, and women’s sports news from MENA and beyond
📸 Instagram: @themettleset
💼 LinkedIn: The Mettleset on LinkedIn

Credits:
Host: Dawn Barnable
Guest: Dr. Sarra Lajnef-Taylor
Editor: Diya Vergis
Produced by: The Mettleset

🚲 The Mettleset is a multimedia platform and online community dedicated to sharing stories of underrepresented athletes and underreported sports from the Middle East and beyond. With a mission to diversify the sporting ecosystem, it is one of the first and only sports platforms in the Middle East to put women in sport first, while also featuring niche sporting communities such as action and endurance sports.
I hope you enjoy the episode!
Dawn

This episode is brought to you by New Balance and Dr.stretch.
What does it take to see something others don't?
In this episode, host Dawn Barnable sits down with visionary designer, entrepreneur and brand builder Johan Lindeberg, whose influence has shaped the worlds of fashion, sport and culture for more than three decades.
From helping build Diesel into a global phenomenon to redefining golf style through J.Lindeberg, Johan has built a career on challenging convention and trusting his intuition long before others could see what he saw.
Today, he's embarking on a new chapter with Jay3lle, a luxury golf and lifestyle brand being built from Riyadh alongside CEO Princess Noura bint Faisal Al Saud. Together, they're reimagining what golf can become through the lenses of fashion, luxury, wellness and community, while drawing inspiration from the energy and ambition shaping modern Saudi Arabia.
In this conversation, we discuss:
Why intuition has been the guiding force throughout Johan's career
The leap from Sweden to Italy and knocking on Diesel's door
Building one of the most influential fashion brands in golf
Why community is at the heart of every successful brand
Saudi Arabia's emergence as a global hub for sport, creativity and culture
The vision behind Jay3lle and why Johan chose Riyadh for his next chapter
Golf as a lifestyle, a creative canvas and a vehicle for connection
Entrepreneurship, risk-taking and seeing opportunities before others do

Whether you're an entrepreneur, athlete, creative or simply someone navigating your next chapter, this conversation offers a fascinating perspective on vision, courage and trusting your instincts.
More about Jay3lle:
https://www.jay3lle.com/
https://www.instagram.com/jay3lle/

Learn more about the Aramco Championship via The Mettleset
🌍 Stay Connected with - and support - The Mettleset
📥 Newsletter: https://themettleset.com/subscribe/
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themettleset/
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/themettleset/
Credits:
Host: Dawn Barnable
Guest: Johan Lindeberg
Social Media: Diya Vergis

Produced by: The Mettleset
🚲 The Mettleset is a multimedia platform and online community dedicated to sharing stories of underrepresented athletes and underreported sports from the Middle East and beyond. With a mission to diversify the sporting ecosystem, it is one of the first and only sports platforms in the Middle East to put women in sport first, while also featuring niche sporting communities such as action and endurance sports.
I hope you enjoy the episode!
Dawn

This episode is brought to you by Dr.stretch and New Balance.
At just 18 years old, Zamzam Al Hammadi is already making history. The Emirati athlete is set to become the first Emirati woman to compete for a major regional MMA promotion when she steps into the cage at PFL MENA: Pride of Arabia in Dubai on May 24.
In this episode of The Mettleset Podcast, we sit down with Zamzam ahead of her professional debut to talk about pressure, purpose, representation, and the mindset required to compete at one of the highest levels of combat sport. A Youth MMA World Champion and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu standout, Zamzam opens up about growing up in a family of fighters, the influence of her mother and coach, and why she hopes this moment inspires the next generation of girls in the UAE to step into sport.
We’re also joined by Jerome Mazet, GM of Professional Fighters League, who discusses the rise of MMA across the GCC, the UAE’s growing pipeline of talent, and the increasing presence of women both inside the cage and in the crowd. From Saudi Arabia’s Hattan Alsaif to Zamzam’s debut in Dubai, this episode explores how women’s MMA is becoming one of the region’s most exciting emerging sports stories.
🌍 Stay Connected with - and support - The Mettleset
📥 Newsletter: Sign up for athlete stories, behind-the-scenes insights, and women’s sports news from MENA and beyond
📸 Instagram: @themettleset
💼 LinkedIn: The Mettleset on LinkedIn

Credits:
Host: Dawn Barnable
Guests: Zamzam Al Hammadi & Jerome Mazet
Editor: Diya Vergis
Produced by: The Mettleset

🚲 The Mettleset is a multimedia platform and online community dedicated to sharing stories of underrepresented athletes and underreported sports from the Middle East and beyond. With a mission to diversify the sporting ecosystem, it is one of the first and only sports platforms in the Middle East to put women in sport first, while also featuring niche sporting communities such as action and endurance sports.
I hope you enjoy the episode!
Dawn