Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, December 13, 2024: From a drug addict to a world jiu-jitsu champion, the journey has been one filled with pain and raw emotion for Bahrain’s Bader Namshan Al Doseri.
A two-time World Masters champion, Bader says if not for jiu-jitsu, his life would have been over. Today, he is “loved by my country,” and the darling of many.
“Jiu-jitsu helped me massively. I started taking drugs as a teenager and I struggled with drug addiction for more than a decade. I was in a pretty bad place and I was hooked on drugs. I even ended up in jail because of this,” reveals Bader, a coach at the ongoing OCA-JJ jiu-jitsu development programme.
“I tried five times to give up drugs, over a period of a couple of years, but every time I failed and I was pulled back. The longer you stay addicted, the harder it is to get out. I lost everything that mattered to me, a good job, a strong relationship, everything.
“It came to a point where I knew there were only two options left to me: one was to take my own life, and the other to somehow try and be a better person and leave this sad life behind,” Bader disclosed in a candid interview with OCA.
Bader discovered jiu-jitsu in 2016 and it gave him a strong lifeline. The sport gave him a new-found discipline, and more importantly helped him discover respect – for himself and the world.
“I started from zero to build a new life. Today, I talk about my previous life openly on social media, and I hope it will inspire others. Jiu-jitsu helped me to be focused, healthy, loved by my country and to become a role model,” says the 41-year-old champion.
In Thailand earlier this year, Bader won the gold medal in the Masters category, at the Thailand Open. Then last month at the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship for Masters, Adults and Youth in Heraklion, Greece, he secured a silver medal in the under-77kg Masters category.
“I have been a podium finisher five times at World Championships, twice gold, from white to black belt divisions. I sometimes think, "If not for jiu-jitsu, where would I have been.”
