Vahid Unesi looks proudly around his inner-city Auckland gym and breathes in the smell of linament.
"We have almost 50 different nationalities here in the gym."
Vahid Unesi (R), coach Yo, kickboxer Hayollem Tesfay (middle) and Richie of Kings Academy Photo: Subject's own
And that's no exaggeration at Kings Academy, a fight club owned by Iran-born Vahid.
Vahid Unesi and Steve Oliver, with whom Vahid trained in MMA. Photo: Subject's own
"Martial arts is like a multicultural language I would say - we all speak the same language here."
Vahid runs this Auckland city gym that's packed out everyday with fighters training in all sorts of disciplines, from Brazilian jujitsu to kickboxing and muay Thai.
It's through his own struggle to adjust to New Zealand in his early years of arriving here, that Vahid was spurred on to find a sense of community and belonging through martial art when he started to train with Steve Oliver's MMA gym.
Iran has a history of Olympic success when it comes to martial arts - taekwondo, jujitsu and karate. Unsurprisingly, Vahid's love for martial arts started young. He was seven years old when he started training taekwondo.
"As a child, I had a dream to go to the Olympics but that never happened. Unfortunately, I left the country.
"If I can train these young people and they win some medals, I will be happier," he laughs.
Vahid Unesi (L) Hayellom Tesfay (middle) and Scott Aitken Photo: Subject's own
As someone who came to New Zealand from overseas, Vahid is a stickler for drive and discipline, something he's keen to pass on to younger versions of himself in the gym today.
"My advice to them is you came here for a better life - believe in yourself and work towards your goal."
Over the past three years, Kings Academy has been prolific in putting out a host of rising star kickboxers with origins from around the world - Ethiopia-born Hayellom Tesfay to Persian fighter Arshia Ebadi.
"We train like a family here. We ask our that people leave their egos at the door - if you do that you are welcome to be part of our community."
On 14 August, Kings Academy fighters brought home several wins at Ultimate Rage and in next week's Voices episode, we talk to some of the winners.
