From Nothing to Everything: My Story of Suffering, Cycling, and Success

The mountainous regions, the dirt path, and the pebbles along the gravel. The inner peace emitted by connecting with nature, a silent private conversation between me and the world. The sound of my wheel rolling across the path, serenity.

As I’m strolling around with my bike out for a hike to train for my race. A gentle breeze blows on my face, reminding me of where I am and what I love in life. In moments, everything spins out of control…

Introduction

I am Lahcen El Majdoubi born in 2001, Tangier. I am an international Moroccan cyclist, business owner, cycling coach, and more importantly a person who wants to share his story to inspire others.

I believe that anyone could reach their dreams if they try hard enough. Although they may struggle, life ultimately creates opportunities for them to succeed. My story is a shining example of chasing your dreams.

What you are about to read is not an attempt to brag or flex about where I am currently. On contrary, I want my transparent story to inspire others and motivate them.

Early Childhood

I come from a low-income neighborhood and a poor background. You can already guess how difficult it was to chase anything from hobbies to career opportunities. This was made worse when I dropped out of school in the 8th grade due to school issues.

After dropping out of school at an early age, I sold car pieces and did odd jobs to make a living. Although it was tiring, this early work experience benefited me massively later on in life. It thought me the value of hard work, money, and grinding.

My early life was difficult, to say the least. Despite the struggles, the younger me would always ride around on my bike whenever things got difficult. Since I received my first bike as a kid, I fell in love with cycling. I always used my bike anywhere and everywhere whether it was as simple as getting groceries or as leisurely as a stroll around Tangier.

First Gear into Cycling (2017)

My earliest experience with hobbyist cycling was back in 2017. I was invited by a group of people to ride with them. My performance was surprising for both them and me. I wasn’t aware of my proficiency in biking and it felt as if I had an untapped potential that was ready to burn. This fire would linger for the rest of my career.

In 2017 I was invited to join the Boughaz Cycling team. However, I lacked the money to purchase proper gear and join the team. It was a reminder from my background to remind me where I came from, and that this fire needed to be extinguished.

Luckily, two teammate twins gifted me a shirt and I sold my previous bicycle and gathered enough money to purchase an adequate bike. I sought to protect my fire and stop it from extinguishing, I could feel it was the start of something big.

My hunch was correct as, during the first year of joining the team, I reached 1st place in a race in Tetouan and reached the podium four times. Moreover, I also got 4th place in my first international course in Rabat.

I thought to myself “this isn’t bad for someone who just started racing, maybe I could do better if I continued.” I was recommended by teammates and coaches that my performance was impressive for a freshman and that I should consider going professional. If my fire was an oven, it was just getting pre-heated.

Setting Things in Motion in Second Gear (2018)

In 2018, I promised myself to take cycling more seriously.  If I was to become a professional at this sport, I needed to make my exercise harder, my diet stricter, and my lungs bigger. After finishing work, I would immediately cycle and train until it was time to go to sleep. 

Fortunately, my hard work paid off as in the same year, I won the Tangier-

Tetouan-Al Hoceima competition. With this third victory, I was scouted by the national cycling team and after a series of trials and interviews, I was recruited to the national Moroccan team.

During the same year, we flew to Algeria to participate in the African championship. In this tournament, we competed against professionals much older than me with more experience and races under their belt. Yet despite the odds, I won my first national gold medal at the age of 17.

In all honestly, the taste of victory was addictive. I wanted more trophies and more recognition. As such, when I came back from Algeria, I decided to truly dedicate my life to cycling.

However, there was one obstacle that stopped me, money. The national team did not pay a fixed monthly salary for its members. Instead, we received bonuses based on our performance. These incentives were frankly not enough to fund a professional athlete’s lifestyle. I couldn’t even afford a professional bike. Instead, my team’s two twins bought me a bike, which was an act I would never forget.

It was at a point where sometimes, I was not able to afford a cup of coffee when training with my team. Whenever we would stop to purchase some, I would continue riding to avoid embarrassment. I would often cry tears and see them fall on my bike, reminding me that life wasn’t easy for people like me.

Although the emotional pain was tough, I endured it. My warrior self told me to be patient, You can win, Lahcen. In the same year, I would win the silver medal in the African Championship held in Morocco.

Nowhere to Go but Forward (2019)

My biggest struggle and achievement occurred in 2019. For this year, I sought to improve my training and win bigger tournaments including the national Moroccan tournament.

However, it was during this year that I received my first major injury which happened during a major race in the mountainous regions of Wazzane. If you recall the brief poetic introduction, the injury occurred on a peaceful sunny day with ideal racing conditions.

I liked to go off-road biking in mountainous regions since it helps me improve my stability, adaptability, and breathing. During this training session, I happened to lose control and fall on the gravel, centimeters away from a cliff drop…

Additionally, I lacked the money for medical treatment which was concerning for my future. Luckily, the cycling community is supportive and a fellow cyclist who was also a doctor helped me free of charge, bless his heart.

With 32 days left before the Moroccan championship, I reflected on my life and career. I thought of giving up on winning the championship but my dear brother, Houssin El Mejdoubi, motivated me to chase my goals.

He told me: “You can do it, you’ll make me happy if you do it.” In retrospect, I owe a lot to my brother. Despite his physical disability, he crossed more difficulties than I did. Our love for cycling brings us together, and he drives me to push myself harder and harder.

It is undeniable that without the help of others, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I am forever grateful for their aid and I am certain to repay the favor to others and lift them the same way others did, most notably my dearest brother.

Nonetheless, after my recovery and more training, I was to participate in the Moroccan cycling champion in Ifrane. This time, I had to cycle harder and smarter to win the competition.

I was cycling with an injury that restricted my potential against veteran teams who will indirectly try to sabotage me. By indirect sabotaging, I mean tactics that often put other racers at a disadvantage.

For instance, teams often utilize drag and air resistance to their advantage. By cycling in a straight vertical line formation, teams can alternatively head cyclists to avoid exhaustion through air resistance management. For me, this meant no air or drag protection which meant constant struggle throughout the entire race.

Hard work prevails, as my rigorous training paid off and I won the gold medal in the championship. This time, however, I felt happier since I made my brother proud of me rather than winning the race itself. This was because of the reflection I had during the injury recovery period.

Following my victory, I was contracted by the Sidi Ali Unlock Team. They were a professional cycling team that participated in international races. More importantly, this contract allowed me to pursue my dreams without having to worry about finances. My fire was a phoenix that is violently burning and growing.

Now that I was in the big league, I had to radically change my lifestyle to fit this sport. I started cutting sugar/salt from my diet and I improved my sleep cycle. During peak season, I rented houses near mountainous regions with altitude, since they lacked oxygen which meant I could train my oxygen intake and increase my red blood cell flow.

Slowing Down (2020)

Slightly before the infamous pandemic and lockdowns, our team had the opportunity to participate in an international tour championship held in Turkey. This global championship was nothing like anything I have seen before, it was truly the major league.

During that time, I was 19 years old which made me the youngest cyclist racing against athletes aged 35 and above with mountains of experience and titles. Although I managed to stay up to par with other racers, I lost the competition.

Yet the international championship was the most humbling experience I had and it thought me a lot. On a personal note, Turkey was fun to visit. By far it's the most enjoyable country I’ve visited.

Oddly, we were almost stranded in Turkey since the lockdown occurred shortly after our return. Unlike others, I thoroughly enjoyed the dreaded pandemic. I had more than enough time to self-reflect on my life and connections.

After lots of meditation, I realized that I needed an additional passion on top of my cycling career. I leaned towards my leadership and charitable traits and decided to pursue something related to this.

As such, I applied to an athlete’s champion nurturing program called ‘Intlaqa’. This program aimed to teach athletes how to monetize themselves and teach them crucial business skills.

However, I was anxious to apply since these programs have long application processes and require language proficiency which I lacked since I left school at an early age. Eventually, I mustered up enough courage to apply but I didn’t bring my hopes up.

It’s More Than Just Pedalling (2021)

My 2021 began by flying to Egypt and participating in an international competition. Since I wasn’t practicing as frequently as I used to, I won the bronze medal. Naturally, I wasn’t proud of my performance.

Shortly after I flew back, I was called for an interview about the ‘Intlaqa’ program. To my surprise, I was accepted despite my lack of linguistic capabilities. As mentioned before, I haven’t a clue about this school.  So to my surprise, I learned that this elite school only admitted 60 professional African athletes. Set in Casablanca, the program lasted for 9 months. All of us were thought subjects like digital marketing and coaching to prepare us for becoming self-sufficient.

When I first entered the program, I was not able to speak Arabic, French, and English comfortably.  At one point, I couldn’t even introduce myself. Motivated by this program and failure, I decided to learn these languages. This was crucial since the Intilaqa program organizers would often invite ambassadors and important personalities to view our progress and provide advice. 

One of these talented individuals was Mohamed Amine Zariat, the President of Tibu Africa, who kept making me introduce myself every time he visited to ensure that I improve my language. This continued until one day, I flawlessly presented myself which made him proud of me. It was a milestone in my linguistic progress.

Some attentive readers have probably noticed that I lived and grew up in Tangier. As such, I had to move to Casablanca which came with its own expenses. To keep me afloat, I started coaching different clients.

My experience in the sleepless city was more than wonderful. I became self-independent through house chores, cooking, and money management. Since money was not enough to last me an entire month, I had to adapt and define what was important.

However, this didn’t mean that things never got rough. This one time, I did not have enough money to buy breakfast. When lunchtime came around, I remember asking a local restaurant for a meal that I can pay for once I have money. Luckily and kindly, the owner complied and told me to come back again for dinner.

To sum it up, 2021 was overbearingly complex. I had to stay up to date with my school’s program, had to coach people and attend internships to graduate. This meant that from 5 AM until 10 PM, I cycled more than 60Km every day for 8 months on repeat.

A lot of people would find this difficult and tiring, which it was. Yet in this struggle, I found myself and enjoyed the grind. All these interactions during this period defined my identity and taught me more lessons than I did in my entire lifetime.

Once everything was done, I was set on my way to creating my personal brand. I created a unique coaching program that identified clients’ cycling issues and worked on fixing them.

More importantly, I gained a taste for entrepreneurship and leadership. I realized that I can be bigger than what I already am. I promised myself that I want to make an impact and establish something truly unique.

The Road Never Ends (2022)

In 2022, I joined the Sport Orange Corner initiative. It’s an incubation project for sports businesses that aims to kickstart and fund a business. By then, I had the idea of starting MJ Bike but it wasn’t solidified let alone analyzed.

To clarify, this project was inspired by my personal story. As you know, ever since I was a kid I loved bikes and cycling. However, my poor background did not allow me to buy a proper bike. As a kid, I wished I could rent a bike with whatever money I had.

Once I grew up and purchased my proper bike, I searched for someone to coach me to become a national champion but no one offered these services. As such, MJ Bike is a project that gives others what I don’t have. In other words, make my childhood myself proud.

Nonetheless, in typical Lahcene fashion, I strapped myself by the boots and set out to learn how to develop a study case for my project and applied for the program. Out of 120 applicants, only 15 were incubated including me, who was the youngest member to apply.

Unlike the previous ‘Intlaqa’ program, the Sport Orange Corner was more personal and practical through industry experience. I learned everything about entrepreneurship, gained new connections through networking, and marketed myself to manufacturers and investors.

Furthermore, our instructors prepared us for the dreaded final presentation in front of a jury that determines whether we graduate or not. Although my peers were anxious, I was more chill than scared. I think that my confidence and calmness come from my cycling background.

Years of cycling, months of studying, and hours of preparation were all condensed into 3 minutes. In 180 seconds, I shared my project that revolved around MJ Bike. Getting a third place in this program meant more than every other race I won in my life.

This was because I felt that the months leading to my program graduation were the most fruitful in my personal development. I went from a middle school level education cyclist to a linguistic business entrepreneur cyclist.

More importantly, I was also proud of how I went from nothing to creating a sustainable lifestyle that can help my family, pay forward good deeds, and help others.

This wasn’t the end of my story, as during the same year (2022) I won the regional Tangier competition.

Currently, I’m working on branding myself both online and in real life through digital marketing. I aspire to meet more people, hear their stories, and learn from their experiences.

Finally, if you were inspired by my story then I urge you to take action. Just like my story and many others, anything can happen at any time. This means that once you start, you will learn multiple things that will both benefit and hurt you in life.

Hopefully, you will learn that by time, nothing is impossible in life. I can teach myself anything and I can learn anything and so can you. Set your mind on your goal and get started to help yourself reach what you desire.

I leave you with these words: “Lahcen El Mejdoubi will always chase his dreams and strive to be the best.”