About fifteen years now. It seems a bit of a blur after the first 6 months - 2 years of complaining about everything and telling everyone I wasn't going to stay. But Dubai gets into your system and subconsciously raises the bar on your expectations from life.
It makes it very hard to go home as things just aren't good enough anymore and also very hard to find a better country with a go-gettem attitude and English as the common language. I love it here, but it can also be a very cold place, when you just arrive or when things start going wrong in your personal or business life.
Where you originally from?
I'm from Middlesbrough in the North East of England. Near Newcastle and not much better at football. Great friendly people who light up the world wherever they go. I miss the society but not the place. It's a bit rough.
What is your role at The Life Designers?
I'm the boss and original Life Designer. I run the company with my wife and bring in talented people when required. I'm blessed to work with great DJ's like Jeff Price, TV personalities like Susie Illyan and sports commentators like Kev Scorah. We've been the Dubai Rugby Sevens team for 8 years and look how that's grown. We don't very often organize events from scratch, more likely we facilitate existing events. I've been in show business since I was 3, so I know how gigs should be, I know audiences and how to put on quality entertainment.
This isn't our main business though. Life Design is a motivational system which blends hypnotherapy, NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming), business coaching and self-improvement to make people the best that they can be. It's similar to life coaching but has something for everyone and is based on learning to run yourself as a business, whoever you are. I train companies across the world to do this. Hence the name.
We still do the best events in town because we do them very well. A great MC is the difference between a brilliant night out and another one that could have been better. How many events in Dubai cut corners and get a bad reputation when good people put their heart and soul into making them? I can help.
What kind of events do The Life Designers organize?
We organize our own Life Design based events such as corporate seminars, workshops and gala dinner entertainment. Also we have put on sell out comedy stage hypnosis shows in the Madinat and Mall of the Emirates. We have a specific target market for our own products and that is people who want to make themselves or their company happier and more motivated.
Any Up-coming events we are going to spot you at?
Right now I am presenting The Legends Rock Dubai tennis with Delwood Sports Consultancy. I bring in the MC team and run the show on the day. This means all the promotions, sponsored highlights and audience elements are our responsibility. We've just completed the Back To School, Dubai Desert Rhythm and Rock Festivals with CSM. We've been working together for over ten years back to my radio days. We have the Dubai Rugby Sevens next. It's easily the biggest event in the GCC calendar. Over 100, 000 people are expected this year in the new venue. It's very exciting and challenging. My favourite year was when we got flooded out by the rains. It was a real test of character for all concerned. Me pulled it off though when the rest of Dubai shut down for the weekend.
What do you think is your most successful event?
Personally, two come to mind. The first was my first stage hypnosis show in Champions at the JW Marriott hotel. It was New Years Eve and I was petrified. 35 people turned up and I still did the show. It was brilliant and stretched me in every direction. A few years later I did 3 sell out nights on the trot of 400 people at the Madinat Theatre. It was very satisfying. My biggest commercial event was probably the opening of Planet Hollywood Dubai. Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stallone, Patrick Swayze, Wesley Snipes, Amitabh Bachchan, Cindy Crawford and Tia Carrera. Myself, Andy Pyzer, Steve Johnston and Annabel Giles (all from 104.8 Channel 4fm at the time) kept 5,000 people at fever pitch for 3 and a half hours. The world was watching. It was (and still might be) Dubai's biggest showbiz opening.
How long have you been involved in the events industry?
I have been performing in show business from a very tender age performing in talent shows and school musicals. I came second in a national talent competition when I was 7 against all grownups. It's always been in my blood, first as a singer, then presenter and DJ and now as a stage hypnotist and motivational speaker. Best part of 40 years. Omigod, did I just admit that?
How did you first get interested in the events industry?
I can't remember a time when I wasn't. I remember listening to the Radio One (UK) road shows with all the DJ's and pop stars and knowing that I could do that. I worked for the BBC for 3 years but never got my chance to show what I could do. I felt that the system wasn't very ‘encouraging' at the time. I actually got very frustrated as I couldn't get a break but could win the Blind Date Xmas show with 20 million viewers (on You Tube if you want to watch it). I left the UK and set off to seek my fortunes and the first stop was Dubai. The rest you can guess.
What do you think the future of event and entertainment business in the Middle East region?
The biggest problem is the rules of permissions and red tape. It is very difficult for talented people to learn their trade when it costs a small fortune to perform. People have to get it right and wrong and learn from their mistakes. Dubai Lime have a great open mike session that helps but not everyone is right for that. We need to encourage home grown teenagers to form a rock band and make some bad music, from there we will find diamonds and with such a wonderful mix of cultures, it will one day lead the world. 5 nationalities in every band. Otherwise we will remain a country of lobby pianists, cover bands and DJ's because they are the only thing that hotel F&B directors understand. Apart from menus. Of course entertainment will grow anyway with the new internet technology like My Space and Face book but much of it will evolve and bypass traditional methods anyway. That's why no-one buys CDs and downloaded content reaches more young people than TV, magazine and radio.
They build up their own community and that it harder to reach. Permissions will drive these people underground so they find a way that doesn't need it anymore. That's why iTunes works because it realized that Napster was onto something when the record companies were trying to stop the downloads rather than realizing that maybe Napster was onto something.
When Bawadi opens, there will be an influx of top talent to play in the new venues. Anyone who is surviving now will be obliterated then because the world's standards will be arriving. Cirque De Soleil is a prime example of what is to come. I road tested using cinemas as a business model to see how much we actually need to go through a hotel to make a gig work. The truth is we don't. As Dubai grows and Abu Dhabi matches it, there are huge opportunities for everyone. They should put what they do in a Google search and see the top 20 results that come back. That is their competition, not anybody doing a similar thing in Dubai.
For long term growth, event managers need to evolve into talent developers, nurturing and developing the careers of the artists that are now resident here. They pretend to be experts but just use a switchboard model to match up performers to gigs. Everyone has the same names and they are all trying to outdo each other on price rather than quality. The customers do have a big budget and will pay when you are the best at what you do.
What you get paid is never about what you are worth. It is about the effect created by the work that you do and the comparative costs of getting someone cheaper to do the same thing. If there is no-one as good as you, you can charge what you like and no-one can undercut you. That's why I stopped DJing. Someone would always do it cheaper and the quality may have been less but I had no leverage. Nicheing is at the heart of Life Design. If anyone wants to know more about how to become the best at what they do, they should contact me.
What makes The Life Designers different from other event management companies in Dubai?
We're not an event management company. We are an entertainment and motivational solutions company. We work with event manager to enhance their service and product range. It grows our community and raises the quality bar.
Do you have any advice for young executives approaching a career in events management?
Do everything, get an overview of as much as you can because one day someone will want it. Always separate your ego from your work, people do business on relationships and professionalism. You may be right and the customer may be wrong but if they want it and you won't deliver it, someone else will. There's nothing wrong with turning down work and you should if it's not what you are excellent at doing. Give it to someone else and get back to what you do best. Oh, and stop asking for permission. Revolutionaries don't. Elvis didn't, neither did Ghandi or Barack Obama.
If you want an edge, start reading self-improvement books. One of mine is a great start.
What is the best way for potential clients to contact you?
Through my website www.thelifedesigners.com and you can also email me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . I'd love to hear from you.
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