From overcoming childhood bullying to building a global movement that empowers tens of thousands of vulnerable kids, Sebastian Bates is more than just an entrepreneur, he’s a changemaker. As the founder of The Warrior Academy and The Bates Foundation, Sebastian’s journey spans eight countries across four continents, sponsoring over 4,000 orphans and street kids, and impacting more than 50,000 families worldwide.
In this exclusive MG interview, Sebastian shares the powerful story behind The Warrior Academy’s beginnings in a humble inner-city gym, the challenges of scaling a mission-driven business, and the transformative lessons learned while supporting children through martial arts and character development. From personal setbacks, including a life-changing injury, to groundbreaking breakthroughs in Dubai, his insights offer invaluable wisdom for entrepreneurs and changemakers alike. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, parent, or simply passionate about making a difference, Sebastian’s insights on perseverance, culture, and empowerment are sure to resonate. Let’s dive in!
What inspired you to start The Warrior Academy, and how did you turn that inspiration into a business?
The reason I started The Warrior Academy, I guess, if you look back and join the dots, is because I went through bullying as a child, and it inspired me to help other children through that.
The first-ever club we had was actually in a rundown inner-city gym. It was a club where young men, aged around 16 to 18, were going through some really difficult transitions. Some of them were struggling with drugs, alcohol – you know, the basic kind of typical challenges that age groups face in an inner-city area. A lot of them were getting into fights at the weekends, being kicked out of their homes, failing academically, and so on.
And what we realised was that within the first year, they had completely changed. The impact we had on them was that we had developed their character. They were no longer kicking their shoes off as they came in and started fights with others.
Instead, they were parking their shoes neatly, filing in as they entered, calling each other “sir,” and they had this focus, drive, and moral compass for their life, which channeled all that energy into something constructive.
I realised that I could change their lives by doing that. So, literally from that point, I decided to work with younger kids. We pivoted the business from working with young adults in Thai boxing clubs to working with kids from the age of four and above, with a character development programme designed to develop their confidence, conduct, and concentration over an eight-year journey.
Was your main focus really on reaching kids at a young age – to influence their behaviour early on?
We started with that one single club, and that was kind of the catalyst for the light bulb moment of: hold on, if we just worked with these kids when they were younger, in primary school age, we could have prevented them from going through all that trauma.
All the challenges, and going down the wrong road they were on. That was the catalyst.
And then, you know, working with young people, for me, it became really apparent that the reason I was doing it was because I could help prevent them from making mistakes. Help them transition through things like adolescence and bullying, and set them up for a happy and successful life as an adult.
What challenges did you face when you launched The Warrior Academy, and how did you overcome them?
Geography was definitely a huge challenge in the beginning. I was running the academy in the southwest of England, a very rural area. Our first club was in Bath, which is kind of a small town-city hybrid.
The initial Warrior Academy classes for kids took place in village halls and schools, serving villages with populations often under a thousand. That meant a lot of driving, sometimes an hour and a half to two hours to get to each class.
We were incredibly limited by geography, which made scaling tough.
Within five years, we cracked the problem by expanding to Dubai. Back home, we’d hit a glass ceiling with about 500 kids, so to grow, we needed to bring the product to an urban, densely populated, and affluent area.
Originally, London was the target. But on a trip to Dubai, I realised no one there was offering what we did, especially with our strong focus on character development. That’s when we made the move.
Can you share some of the most impactful lessons you’ve learned from working with over 30,000 families?
Actually, we work with around 50,000 families and operate across five continents in more than 10 countries. We’ve learned so many lessons along the way.
To give you a snapshot of where we are now, and the journey we’ve been on: We currently teach about 2,000 kids in the UAE and are the largest martial arts academy in the Middle East. We have three full-time academies, with a fourth launching next month.
Alongside that, we sponsor roughly 4,000 vulnerable children every week in developing countries. We’re active in the biggest slums in Africa and Asia, the favelas of Rio, orphanages in Uganda, Kenya, Nepal, and villages in Fiji, even the foothills of Everest – literally all over the world.
We sponsor children to go through our program in these locations, partnering with charities, orphanages, homeless shelters, and rescue centers. We also train local instructors and pay them full-time salaries to teach in these communities.
Right now, we teach about 6,000 children every week, employ close to 100 staff, and are approaching eight-figure revenue, probably within the next 18 months.
What are some lessons you’d share from that journey?
I’d say having a long-term view is key! There were so many times during the journey when, if you zoomed in, it would’ve looked like a disaster. Everything was crumbling.
We had COVID, which completely shut us down after our first year in Dubai. We lost everything. I had a medical disaster, I fell 50 feet from a wingsuit base jump and was told I’d never walk again. It took me two years to learn to walk again. And I had a business partner try to steal the entire business while I was in the hospital. That could’ve been a total disaster.
In terms of the business idea, you can’t patent something like that, can you?
No! We’ve trademarked the methodology, the brand, and the locus as you would, but ultimately, people can just take your ideas. You can’t protect that. That’s capitalism, right?
If you zoom in, there are all these disasters. Every 18 to 24 months, there’s a massive disaster.
But if you zoom out, we’ve gone from 300 kids to 6,000 in five or six years. So one of the biggest pieces of advice I’d give to an entrepreneur is: See entrepreneurship not as a race, but as a career. Expect the ups and downs. Understand that you signed up for a massive adventure.
This is a 20- 30-year journey. Enjoy it. It can bring a huge amount of fulfillment to your life.
Is there any other advice you would give to new entrepreneurs starting today?
Post-COVID, that was the biggest shift, removing toxic people and developing our culture. I feel like businesses go through phases, like hitting plateaus or glass ceilings. You either break through or stay stuck.
For us, the first big plateau was geographic. In the UK, we hit about £300,000 a year with 500 students and then just plateaued. No growth for two years. A lot of entrepreneurs make the mistake of hitting a plateau and then immediately starting something new, instead of sticking with the problem long enough to solve it. So I sat with that problem for a year. Eventually, I realised we needed to expand. We launched in Dubai and suddenly doubled from £300,000 to £600,000-£700,000. That was the breakthrough.
Then came the product plateau. Before COVID, we were just running after-school clubs with low-priced, large group classes like many others. We couldn’t differentiate ourselves. When COVID hit, we were shut down completely; that was a harsh plateau.
While others ran away from commercial real estate, we ran toward it. We secured our first full-time academy, refurbished it during lockdown, and opened it as soon as restrictions were lifted. It was a risk that paid off!
Next was the culture plateau. Our annual growth dropped from 100% to 25%, mainly because of internal culture issues. We were at risk of decline. So we brought in an experienced manager, invested in the team, and focused on rebuilding culture. Within a year, we doubled in size again.
After that came marketing. We realised we were massively under-investing and didn’t really know our numbers – cost per acquisition, lifetime value, none of that was clear. We fixed it by hiring a new agency and tripling our ad spend, now close to a million dollars annually. That again doubled the business.
So yeah, it’s a pattern. Every couple of years, there’s a plateau, geography, product, culture, and marketing, and we stick with the problem long enough to break through it.
When it comes to marketing, how did you go about attracting your core audience?
The first step was understanding lifetime value (LTV). We reverse-engineered it: how long do people stay, what’s the attrition, how much do they spend over time?
Then we looked at month-one payments. If someone commits for a full year, their LTV goes up, so we can spend more to acquire them.
Once we knew our LTV, we focused on acquisition costs, and how much it takes to get a member, a trial, or a lead. But I care more about trials than leads. A trial is a real buying signal, someone pays £40 for a week. If they like it, they sign up. Leads from TikTok don’t mean much if they’re not quality.
We track all this carefully. Typically, we spend about 15-18% of revenue on paid ads, and 5-7% on agencies. It’s been a game-changer.
Let’s shift to your personal journey. You’ve spoken before about being bullied growing up, was that something that really shaped your direction in life?
Definitely. I grew up in a military family and moved around a lot. At one point, I was in a chaotic class of 40 at a state school in Aldershot, where I struggled academically due to the lack of discipline.
Then we moved to Wiltshire, and I was placed in a private school with about 10-12 boys per class, very different. These kids came from affluent families, while my parents worked government jobs, so I felt completely out of place and was bullied for about four years.
Martial arts changed everything. It gave me an identity outside school and built my confidence, not by fighting, but by knowing I could protect myself. That confidence deflects bullying.
I also learned you can’t control bullies or stop bullying altogether, but you can control your reaction and your mindset. Working with doctors and psychologists, I’ve come to see that prevention is important, but empowerment is essential.
That’s why I wrote two books: one on character development, and one on anti-bullying called Not a Victim. They’ve helped kids facing chronic bullying, anxiety, and even suicidal thoughts. The bullying book is like an emergency survival guide for parents, with a two-week plan that often stops the bullying within that time.
That’s amazing. Have parents reached out to you directly?
Absolutely. All the time. Many join our programs after seeing the book or hearing the podcast, they want that empowerment for their child.
Bullying is a controversial topic. I’ve been on Dubai Eye Radio, Virgin Radio, and on panels with teachers and psychologists. When asked, “How do we eradicate bullying?” I say, “We can’t.”
That challenges the “bully-free schools” message, but I believe it’s more realistic and more effective to prepare kids to handle it.
It’s like teaching kids to cross the road. You don’t just hope there are no cars, you teach them how to cross safely. That’s what empowerment looks like.
How would you describe a typical day in your life? Any routines or productivity tips you swear by?
My routine’s pretty full-on, not the usual “wake up, meditate” type. I’m up around 4:30 or 5 a.m. Three kids, one under a year old, so early starts are normal.
First, I have an electrolyte drink and go on a long walk with the dogs – about an hour – before the heat hits. I stop for coffee and use that time to jot down ideas and to-dos on my phone. That quiet hour is great for big-picture thinking since most people are still asleep.
Back home, I make the same protein smoothie every day: protein powder, banana, cashews. Then I head to my garden workspace – no chair, just a walking pad and screen. I walk while I work, hitting 15,000-20,000 steps before 9 a.m.
Next, I do a 30-minute Italian lesson on Zoom to switch off work mode. We spend about two months a year in Italy, so learning the language makes sense.
After that, it’s gym time. I train with the same coach 4-5 times a week, usually having lunch there. I fit in another Italian session in the afternoon.
I don’t drive, so I work in the van with Wi-Fi while being driven around. Most meetings happen in the afternoon, on Zoom, or in person.
When the kids come home from school, I switch off work and spend time with them – LEGO, martial arts, and art classes. Bedtime is around 7 p.m., and I’m usually asleep by 8.
You’ve been based in Dubai for a while now, how do you find living there? What have been the biggest changes?
Honestly, I love the sun, that’s a big plus. But more than that, Dubai has this incredible energy. It’s entrepreneurial and future-focused.
From taxi drivers to CEOs, everyone’s here trying to better their lives, most have taken a risk to be here. That mindset and ambition are contagious.
That said, we leave Dubai for about four months each year. Every spring, we spend time on a tiny island in Thailand, off-grid, jungle, with just a motorbike for transport. It’s our time to completely slow down.
Do you find it hard to fully switch off?
Definitely! I love working, and when I’m not working, I’m training hard. I have ADHD, so I need something to focus on. If I go on holiday with no purpose, no gym, no work, I just drift. Lying by the pool doing nothing every day just isn’t my style.
What do you enjoy most about Dubai?
Dubai celebrates success, and that’s rare! The weather (except July-August), the diversity, and the food are all amazing. And of course, the tax system.
In the UK, I felt like the system held businesses back. But in Dubai, thanks to the tax benefits, we’ve been able to reinvest everything into the business, which has allowed us to grow really fast.
What’s the best advice from a mentor, or a personal motto, that guides you in business?
One of the best pieces of advice I got was: sleep on it. When facing a big decision, especially a tough one, waiting until the next day can be a game-changer. We’re often too emotional in the moment, and that leads to bad choices. Sleeping on it gives perspective.
Also, zooming out and remembering this is a long journey, a career, not a race to a fixed goal. That goalpost always moves.
What gives me fulfillment now isn’t just the numbers, but the impact I can make.
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