Muhammad Kermalli

2025 Richmond Hill Honouree

Nothing grows strong from a life lived easy.  This is true for all living things.  Sentient or not, it is the storms we weather and droughts we outlast that build the strength and resilience we need to not only carry on, but to also inspire and support the growth of others.  

Muhammad Kermalli was born more than twelve thousand kilometers away in Nairobi, Kenya, but his earliest memories of life were growing up in Saudi Arabia.  It was not an easy time or place, and little Muhammad had an early and acute awareness of the conflicts that everyday life and people presented.  While they didn’t have riches and had to work very hard, they shared, and from as early as he can remember, his father would pick up travellers on their way into Mecca and bring them home where his mother would welcome them like family with open arms - they could have a bath, something to eat, and some rest.  It was something Muhammad never questioned but would later become one of his life’s greatest blessings.

There are moments in our life that shape us, and two life events specifically that shaped Muhammad as a teenager.  The first event was losing his mother, at the age of 13.  She was his person.  His comfort.  Losing her, and trying to navigate life’s new challenges in Toronto, made him a very confused and uncertain boy.  The second catalyst, and I’m sure most folks born after 1970 will appreciate this, was the iconic movie, “The Karate Kid”.   

It was around this time (the movie came out in 1984) that a fellow student at James Robinson Public School did an in-class presentation on Tae Kwon Do, and if trumpets could have sounded for the impact this would have on young Muhammad’s life, this would have been the moment the theme from “Rocky” to start playing…for the rest of his life.

Present-day Muhammad credits Martial Arts for the clarity, discipline and outlet he so badly needed in his life and still devotes himself to.  Each Dan (degree) requires a self-reflection piece including an essay.  There is no growth or transformation without this, and Muhammad credits this work as the catalyst for his integrity and discipline in all things.  Both of his sons practice and embrace the many benefits of Martial Arts, and his youngest has even become an instructor, further sharing the magic.

With so much self-reflection under his ‘belt’, Muhammad quickly and easily focuses outside of himself and in the moment.  This is how he’s been so impactful on so many levels in and around the residential and business community of Richmond Hill.  By sharing his passions and encouraging those around him to grow, he’s creating the system of ‘sustainable giving’ that has always been in his heart.  Reciprocal, sustainable existence and growth is the measure of true success, in any business or community, “If it ends with me…” he laughed and then compared himself to a single-use straw.  This notion, however, is exponentially impossible, given the pivotal role he has played in helping to foster a thriving environment for all businesses and especially entrepreneurs.

He credits his wife for being his biggest supporter, and when asked about what he is most proud of, the answer was not at all to do with Skytek Executive Office Suites, Skailit, Well at Work or his involvements with Hill House Hospice or as past chair of the Richmond Hill Board of Trade.

“Throughout my life and to this day I am meeting people who knew my father, and our family and they are so grateful for the simple acts of kindness, shared so long ago, when we opened our home to them and created more connection in the Universe as a whole.”

Balance is greater than excess. – Muhammad