Dubai Fitness Challenge: Meet the man who made juice while cycling on Sheikh Zayed Road

Out of the nearly 33,000 people who took part in the Dubai Ride on Friday, one cyclist caught the eye of many — and they called him the ‘juicer man’.

Indian tourist Anand Raja wowed the public as he made some fresh fruit juice while pedalling his bike on the Sheikh Zayed Road.

With his unique juicer-bike contraption in tow, Raja came all the way from the Indian city of Bengaluru just to be part of the Dubai Ride.

An environmentalist and the founder of India’s first zero-waste juice bar, Raja didn’t expect people would appreciate and applaud his sustainability message during the event.

“Many participants recognised me and called out my name. They asked me for tips about being sustainable. Some of them — from Europe and other parts of the world — were surprised to see the juicer fitted to my bicycle,” said Raja, who arrived in Dubai just a few hours before the ride.

What looked like a regular blender sitting atop his bicycle’s rear wheel was actually a device that ran only when Raja pedalled.

At the start of the ride, he tossed in some fresh fruits into the blender so when he got to the finish line, he had some refreshing ready-to-drink juice.

“Many took videos and uploaded them on social media. People have already started calling me juicer man,” Raja said. Even the famous Emirati influencer Khalid Al Ameri shared a video of him.

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Raja said the Crown Prince of Dubai, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, was his inspiration.

“Sheikh Hamdan has motivated countless people with initiatives like the Dubai Ride and the Dubai Fitness Challenge. I am really moved by the way he is pushing youngsters to embrace a fitness routine,” he said.

Raja has made many headlines in India for his unique juice bar that produces zero waste.

“We have banned anything that is disposable like paper cups and plastic straws. Our juices are offered in fruit shells,” he said.

“We don’t waste anything at all in our juice bar. We have edible straws made out of chocolates and dried coconut leaf made into straws.”

His café, which he called Eat Raja, is completely eco-friendly, so much so that even fruit wastes are given new life.

“Fruit wastes are not thrown in the trash. We use these to make soaps and candles. We also make bio-enzymes that act as natural cleaners,” he said.

“Everything that comes out of our shops gets converted into another product and that is why we are unique.”

Now, Raja is planning to bring his juice bar to Dubai.

“The way Dubai has changed in the last 10 years shows that nothing is impossible in this city. It's such an inviting place. It also promotes sustainability, so for me, this is the best place to be part of raising awareness,” he added.

• UAE
• Dubai