Emirates Man - Spring /Summer 2022

LOOK SMART, LIVE SMARTER

Steven Bartlett SPRING/SUMMER 2022

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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Obaid Humaid Al Tayer MANAGING PARTNER AND GROUP EDITOR Ian Fairservice EDITOR/ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Amy Sessions amy.sessions@motivate.ae SENIOR ART DIRECTOR Olga Petroff DIGITAL EDITOR Olivia Morris JUNIOR DIGITAL STYLE EDITOR Sarah Joseph GENERAL MANAGER PRODUCTION Sunil Kumar ASSISTANT PRODUCTION MANAGER Binu Purandaran PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR Venita Pinto CHIEF COMMERCIAL OFFICER Anthony Milne GROUP DIRECTOR Andrew Wingrove DIGITAL SALES DIRECTOR Sabir Khodabux GROUP SALES MANAGERS Bindu Gupta bindu@motivate.ae Chaitali Khimji chaitali.khimji@motivate.ae GROUP MARKETING MANAGER Joelle Albeaino WEB DEVELOPER Firoz Kaladi CONTRIBUTORS Andrew Wingrove, Varun Godinho, David Ndichu, Guido Duken

HEAD OFFICE Media One Tower, Dubai Media City, PO Box 2331, Dubai, UAE, Tel: (+971) 4 4273000, Fax: (+971) 4 4282261, E-mail: motivate@motivate.ae DUBAI MEDIA CITY SD 2-94, 2nd Floor, Building 2, Dubai, UAE Tel: (+971) 4 390 3550 Fax: (+971) 4 390 4845 ABU DHABI PO Box 43072, UAE, Tel: (+971) 2 6772005, Fax: (+971) 2 6770124, E-mail: motivate-adh@motivate.ae LONDON Acre House, 11/15 William Road, London NW1 3ER, UK, E-mail: motivateuk@motivate.ae

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Editor’s Letter Welcome to Emirates Man SS22.

14 while The Comeback on page 24 takes a This is your guide to being in the know. detailed look at LVMH Watch week. We have From grooming to tech we’ll ensure you’re exclusive interviews with those delivering ahead of the curve when it comes to the latest excellence beyond expectation at every level gadgets. If you’re into watches, our resident from Oliver Ripley, co-founder and CEO of watch geeks will deliver all the detail you need Habitas AlUla in A Conscious Future on page to make the right investment, we interview the 86 to Andrea Zaffin, Commercial Head for guys making moves on a global India, Middle East and South and local scale and we’ll tell you Africa of Safilo Group in Clear where the coolest places are to Vision on page 42.

LOOK hangout. Welcome to the club.

The coolest kit you can buy SMART, For the cover we welcome is curated in The Boys Toys LIVE to the region none other than on page 12, the essentials for a SMARTER. Steven Bartlett, the serial modern man’s beauty regime entrepreneur and businessman in Well Groomed on page 16 best known for The Diary of a and Sustaining Your Skin – An CEO. We spoke to Bartlett on what it takes Expert Guide, outlines the best way to achieve to scale successfully and drive towards your optimal aesthetic results on page 58. dream in The CEO on page 18.

Style and substance are intrinsically linked, Watch obsessives will enjoy the latest Emirates Man delivers both. installment from The Watch Addict on page Look smart, live smarter.

Amy Sessions EDITOR / ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER

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CONTENTS SPRING/SUMMER 2022

The Monitor

p.10 Monitor News

p.14 The Return of the Zenith Cover Girl

p.12 The Boys Toys – Reboot your gadget collection

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Fashion & Watches

p.22 The Edit – Precision detail, Japanese craftsmanship

p.50 Bold Notes – The new fragrances that pack a punch p.52 A Clean Cut – Grooming specialists for a smooth start to 2022

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p.18 An exclusive interview with Steven Bartlett

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p.24 The Comeback – LVMH Watch Week 2022

Fitness & Grooming

p.16 Well Groomed – The modern man’s regime

p.32 Cruise Control – Celine Homme SS22 p.38 The Dream – Santoni SS22 p.42 Clear Vision – Interview with Andrea Zaffin,

p.54 In Top Form – How two British servicemen are changing the dialogue around mental health

Commercial Head for India, Middle East and South Africa of Safilo Group p.46 Reborn to Live – Dolce & Gabbana SS22

p.58 Sustaining Your Skin – An Expert Guide – The best way to get optimum skin results and how to sustain them

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Features

p.62 The F1 Report – A behind-the-scenes look into F1 including the drivers, teams and venues which are shaping the future of the world’s fastest sport

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Lifestyle

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p.76 The Pad – The coolest finds to add to the mancave

p.80 Prime – Interview with Dariush Rakhshani, CEO of Prime Gourmet

p.84 The Next Chapter – Beefbar makes a return to Dubai

p.78 A Beginner’s Guide to Crypto – Interview with Christopher Manessis, Chief Investment Officer of Moonchain Capital

p.82 Perpetual Fire – Interview with top Dubai restaurateur, Chef Akmal Anuar

p.86 A Conscious Future – Interview with Oliver Ripley, co-founder and CEO of Habitas AlUla

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THE ROYAL TREATMENT FROM GOLF CLUBS TO PERFUME TO MOVIE PRODUCTION, THE PRESIDENT OF THE ROYAL LIFESTYLE CORP. JACK CHARLES TELLS BILL WELDER WHY HE’S BRINGING HIS MULTIFACETED COMPANY TO THE UAE

You have a rich career history that includes engineering, golfing and acting. How did this path prepare you to form The Royal Lifestyle Corp?

I went to college and played golf, ran on the track team, and studied engineering and drama. I also played in several stage plays while in college and had fun creating characters different from myself.

I’ve always been interested in how things are made, so, after college I worked in engineering for four years and loved it. While working as an engineer, I played golf before and after work and on the weekends.

This helped keep my body and golf game in very good shape.

Eventually I got tired of working indoors all the time so I decided to try professional golf.

That was fun or a while, but “living out of a suitcase” just wasn’t for me, so I decided to try to become an actor, writer and producer.

So, I went to Hollywood to see what would happen. Because of my acting and golfing ability, I wrote, directed and hosted several TV commercials for various auto Companies and got invited to play golf as a celebrity in charity golf tournaments all over the U.S. Among your many business ventures, you have designed and launched a range of golf clubs. What makes your clubs different from those already on the market?

I remembered from my engineering days that energy is magnified as it comes out through the surface of the ball bearing – like hitting a nail with a hammer.

I named this line of clubs after a movie I wrote called “John Jumano,” and the driver, I named “JC1 – The Only One.” This club is quickly gaining a reputation of being one of the World’s Longest hitting golf clubs.

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What are your future ambitions for the Royal Lifestyle Corp? What is your growth strategy for the coming months and years?

With our promotional abilities, we expect both our brands and products to be in high demand worldwide, within a year or two.

My wife, the Roman Countess Donatella Pecci-Blunt has developed a “super perfume” called “CONTESSA” which we expect will become a sought- after top-seller worldwide.

TV commercials and online social media ad campaign materials are already produced and ready to be launched in Europe, Asia and the United States.

I would very much like to see The Royal Lifestyle become a household name and a super profitable company.

We have no debts and all our products have been developed and tested Jack Charles, President

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You have a rich career history that includes engineering, golfing and acting. How did this path prepare you to form The Royal Lifestyle Corp?

I would very much like to see The Royal Lifestyle become a household name and a super profitable company. We have no debt and all our products have been developed and tested to make sure that people love them.

Furthermore, we currently have several movies in the pipeline ready to go into production, alongside tested golf clubs and perfume marketing ad campaigns ready to be rolled out on TV and social media.

With all the major work done, and marketing campaigns ready to go, I am keen to speak with potential Partners & Investors that can help take the Royal Lifestyle brand to the next level.

M I A M I

For more details, you can contact us by phone or mail: Ph. (Dubai) +971 56 710 6410 | Ph. (Monaco) +33 680 860 281 Email: royalst.john@gmail.com | www.theroyallifestyle.com

A New World

T H E H E R O B U YS

The latest launches, new openings and hero buys C O M P I L E D BY: S A R A H J O S E P H

Shearling-Lined Leather Jacket Dhs9,158 Acne Studios

Space Invaders T80 34mm Gold-Tone Watch Dhs390 Timex available at MR PORTER

NEW BEGINNINGS AMI’s SS22 collection includes sharp shapes and a vibrant mix of pastels for a fresh, spring feel.

Two Buttons Jacket Dhs2,458 AMI

Embellished Cotton-Jersey Sweatpants Dhs758 C.P. Company

T H R E E TO OW N

The Biom’Sphere Overnight Serum 30ml for Dhs432 Seed To Skin

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Thierry Lasry Rhevision Rectangle-Frame Acetate Sunglasses Dhs1,791 Rhude

Leather Passport Cover Dhs1,745 Tom Ford

City Sport Leather Sneakers Dhs2,066 Givenchy

THE MONITOR – NEWS

2/28/22 1:02 PM

THE PIONEERS OF GENTS NIGHT IN DUBAI

MONDAYS FROM 7-10 PM AED 199

Fogo de Chao Brazilian Steak House, which means ground fire and

Located in the heart of Dubai, with stunning views of Burj Khalifa, where men can enjoy three hours of the most famous fire roasted

fire, was the first restaurant in Dubai to introduce a night for the Gentleman.

side dishes, a market table with more than selected house beverages.

Central Park Towers, Level P3 RSVP 04 343 8867

A P P L E I M AC 2 4 - I N C H

We loved the new iMacs when they were unveiled last year, and we love them now.

The new iMacs take Apple’s renowned design cachet a notch higher – the sleek 11.5mm silhouette of the new devices make older Macs appear protuberant in comparison. Partly, this is the result of the

company domesticating its chip-making process. With the M1, the company built in-house, affording Apple more control of its own destiny. If you want to get technical, the M1 integrates the processor, graphics, memory, and more onto a single chip (called system on a chip) that allows Apple to shrink the machine substantially. The

screen is a 4.5K Retina display, while the 1080p FaceTime HD camera elevates your conference call experience. And if you are tired of the staid, monotonous white-greyblack repertoire of the standard desktop, then you are going to love the vibrant colour range of the new iMacs, of which there are seven in total. Dhs5,499 Apple

THE BOYS TOYS

It’s spring and time to reboot your gadget collection WORDS: DAVID NDICHU

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STYLING: AMY SESSIONS

THE MONITOR

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SAMSUNG SMART M O N I TO R M 7 S E R I E S

We return to Samsung to help you decide on your next monitor. The line between work and play has gotten pretty blurred since the pandemic. Your devices should be too.

The M7 4K UHD Smart Monitor is built for both Excel to Netflix and lets you switch between them with ease. It comes installed with productivity apps such as Microsoft Office 365 as well as your favourite entertainment apps. The M7 also comes with a remote, voice assist capabilities and powerful in-built speakers. Dhs1,355 Samsung

W I T H I N G S S CA N WATC H

Are you one of those people who wear a standard watch on one hand and a smartwatch on the other? Do you have an idea how odd that looks? Would you like a watch that accomplishes both your intentions? Then say hello to the Withings ScanWatch hybrid smartwatch. Essentially, a hybrid smartwatch combines the mechanical hands of an analogue watch with smart features that track fitness and

health while also enabling smartphone notifications, albeit with more subtlety than your standard smartwatch. Don’t let the uninspired product name fool you; the ScanWatch packs quite the punch. Its sensors monitor heart health, breathing disturbances, analyse sleep patterns and track your fitness activities, all enclosed in a classic watch body. We dig the minimalist no-fuss design, 30-day battery life and interchangeable straps. Dhs1,028 Withings

SAMSUNG GALAXY Z FLIP3

Relive the past with the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3. The return of the flip phone is now complete, with Samsung apparently ironing out the kinks that made its initial foray into the flip smartphone space seem a tad immature. If not for nostalgia, then buy the Flip3 for the diminutive silhouette. Folded, the Flip3 tucks nicely into your pocket before unfolding into a full-screened 5G smartphone. A screen on the cover shows you alerts when the phone is closed, while the hinge is sturdy enough to hold the top part at any angle. Oh, and don’t forget, this is a Samsung premium device, so all the bells and whistles come as standard. Don’t just take our word for it; Time magazine named the Galaxy Z Flip3 “One of Best Inventions of 2021”. Dhs3,799 Samsung

THE MONITOR

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The Return of the Zenith Cover Girl

A stunning new limited-edition Chronomaster Revival A3818 ‘The Airweight Cover Girl’ has arrived, courtesy of Revolution and The Rake.

Here’s all you need to know about it WORDS: ANDREW WINGROVE

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THE MONITOR

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Zenith continues to roll out Seventies icons as part of its continued El Primero 50th Anniversary collection with a second revival of the ‘Cover Girl’ A3818 in partnership with our friends at The Rake and Revolution. We witness the launch of a true modern classic: ‘The Airweight CoverGirl’.

There are likely to only be 100 people around the world who are not happy to see this beautiful 250-piece limited edition rerevival of the Cover Girl, and they will be the people who bought the previous stainless steel Cover Girl revival two years ago which was limited to 100 pieces. We’ll get to the Airweight reference shortly, but for those who are not aware of the Cover Girl origin, it dates back to 1971. The A3818 won its nickname after being featured on the cover of Manfred Rossler’s book – Zenith: Swiss Watch Manufacture since 1865. The A3818 was introduced in 1971 and was only available for a short period (less than 1,000 pieces), which made the model all the more rare and sought after by vintage El Primero collectors.

To understand the prestige of this watch, a quick history lesson is required. The first El Primero movement was the A384 produced in 1969. This was closely followed by the Quartz crisis which hit Zenith hard. By 1976, the new management of Zenith ordered all presses and tools used to manufacture the movement to be sold. Fortunately, Charles Vermot – the El Primero watchmaker responsible for the movement – disagreed with the managements decision and strongly believed that mechanical watches still had a future. So he hid over 150 presses and small tools behind a wall in Zenith’s building.

As demand for mechanical watches once again began to grow in the Eighties, Zenith rediscovered its hidden gems and were able to reproduce the El Primero

movement once again. So good was the El Primero, that the movement found its way into other brands with the most famous being the Rolex Daytona.

This latest attempt of a very modern classic follows the recent trend of other Chronomaster Revival Models (The Lupin, The Safari and Shadow Editions) to use Grade 5 titanium for the case and bracelet. Unlike the micro-blasted A384 Safari, the look and feel of the watch remain true to the original – thanks to the micro polishing treatment which can only be achieved when using the highest quality titanium. The Cover Girl was never weighty due to its slim 12.6mm case and ladder bracelet. Throw titanium into the mix, and we come up with a weight of 78.3 grams. Why you may ask, why not is the answer you will hear from Revolution and Zenith. Hence Wei Koh, the editor-in-chief of Revolution describes the watch as almost weightless – hence the watch is now being referred to as the ‘Cover Girl Airweight’.

The Cover Girl Airweight maintains its Seventies feel with its classic tonneau case measuring 37mm wide and 47mm from lug to lug. Add to that the beautiful Superman Blue dial colouring and its original Gay Frères 1969 ladder bracelet design, and we can only marvel at this modern classic. The bracelet, also in Grade 5 titanium, has some wonderful contrast with its highly polished centre links adding a degree of sophistication, but also differentiating it from the previous editions. The watch also comes with a Navy Blue Cordura effect rubber strap.

The watch has been given some special Super-LumiNova treatment that shows off its ‘shark tooth’ chrono scale markings which is so good, you will still be able to time yourself in the dark within 1/10th of a second, using the legendary El Primero 400 chronograph

MODEL LIMITATION FUNCTION

Chronomaster Revival A3818 250 Hours and minutes in the centre Small seconds at 9 o’clock Chronograph Central Chonograph hand 12-hour counter at 6 o’clock 30-minute counter at 3 o’clock Tachymetric and pulsometric scale Date indication at 4.30 MATERIAL Titanium DIMENSION 37mm Blue satin-brushed dial DIAL CASE Titanium MOVEMENT El Primero 400 Automatic WATER RESISTANCE 50 metres Bracelet – Polished titanium ladder bracelet STRAP Navy Blue Cordura effect rubber strap included with a pin buckle

THE MONITOR

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movement of course. The 31-jewel automatic column-wheel measures up to 12 hours and has a 50-hour power reserve. Flip the watch over and we are rewarded with a sapphire glass back that allows you to view the legendary El Primero calibre 400 movement with the heart of the engine beating at 5Hz. By the time we go to print, this limited edition will undoubtedly be sold out with a few making their way onto Chrono24 with a hefty margin. Nonetheless, it is an exciting launch and I look forward to seeing one in the flesh in the not-too-distant future.

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WORDS & STYLING: AMY SESSIONS

WELL GROOMED The modern man’s regime

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THE MONITOR

2/28/22 3:39 PM

Beard Shampoo, 250ml Dhs55 Horace; Orange Amber Soap, 160g Dhs64 Claus Porto; Chrome-Plated and Resin Safety Razor Dhs149 Mühle available at MR PORTER; Eye Rescue Stick, 10ml Dhs367 Suzanne Kaufmann; Hand Wash - Sweet Orange, Cedarwood & Sage, 500ml Dhs115 Grown Alchemist; Heart of Darkness Eau de Parfum, 60ml Dhs642 TIMOTHY HAN / EDITION available at MR PORTER; FS1 Anti-Ageing Volcanic Sand and Crushed Diamond Face Scrub, 75ml Dhs265 Patricks; Set of Two Silk Face Towels Dhs782 Japan Best; Reverence Duet, 2 x 500ml Dhs399 Aesop

THE MONITOR

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2/28/22 1:10 PM

THE CEO

Founder of Social Chain and The Diary of a CEO podcast host, Steven Bartlett, discusses the business of overcoming challenge, what it takes to scale successfully and drive towards your dream WORDS: AMY SESSIONS

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COVER STORY

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Steven Bartlett is the 29-year-old Founder of the social media marketing agency Social Chain. From a bedroom in Manchester, this university drop-out built what would become one of the world’s most influential social media companies when he was just 21 years old, before taking his company public at 27 years old with a current market valuation of over $600M. We spoke to Bartlett prior to his second visit to the GCC this year.

What do your first 30 mins of the day look like, your morning routine? To be honest, it’s really hard to have any form of routine juggling my businesses. Sometimes we’re recording a podcast at 9am, sometimes I’m flying

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abroad for a talk or event at 6am. Because of this mad schedule I just respond to whatever the day’s got ahead, go with the flow and probably have a Huel at some point!

How did your time building Social Chain support the areas of business you now focus on? The only way to really learn is to do things and to some extent trial and error, every day I bring lessons I learnt at Social Chain to my current businesses, from my hiring processes to instilling a strong sense of company culture in the business. The skills I look out for in people are similar to those that I looked for at Social Chain, a team hungry to learn and passionate about the ever-changing media industry. The content, marketing and communications teams are vital in producing high quality content and strong storytelling in all my businesses.

What is your approach to business and building a work culture? My number one priority is hiring the right people. Having the best people in the right role is what makes the business strive. Value and trust the people who you work with. Listen to their needs, and understand where their interests and skills lie. There is really a special culture in my team, on Monday we start the week together brainstorming ideas and making decisions as a team and celebrate the week together on Fridays.

What was the catalyst for investing in The Diary of a CEO and what have been the biggest hurdles you’ve had to overcome to date?

The Diary of a CEO was originally just me in my bedroom speaking into a microphone, with a duvet covering me for sound quality.

It’s grown into this much bigger phenomenon where I wanted to learn from some of the world’s most influential people, experts and thinkers. I wanted to embark on a curiosity driven journey to discover untold truths, unlearned lessons and important insights that will make both mine, and my audience’s lives more enjoyable, more successful and more fulfilled. There have been challenges to overcome like any production, but my team has been so vital in making the podcast run as smoothly as possible and reach new heights. It’s crazy to think how much it’s grown in a year.

How do you approach challenges in general – what tools do you have in your armoury to stay positive? The stress of business can of course become overwhelming, but I find the challenges a test, because it is important to face these in order to learn and be resilient when they happen again.

IMAGES: MATTHEW KELLY

“Building evidence that you CAN, will change your life.”

COVER STORY

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When you make that decision to step out of your comfort zone you create evidence for yourself that you can achieve things you didn’t think you could. Challenge yourself; take that public speaking opportunity, create that YouTube channel, launch a business, run a marathon. Building evidence that you CAN, will change your life. That mindset kept me motivated to achieve career goals. Equally, failing at things are essential learning curves too, you can’t know what you’re going to be good at, or what you’ll love doing unless you give it a try. I guess you need to be fearless in that sense and take risks occasionally.

How do you think last year affected the growth of podcasts and content and have you made changes in light of this? I definitely think the past few years of the pandemic have made people look at life a little differently. People may have learned things about themselves that they didn’t understand before, that they should truly value themselves, and be more content with life. People are looking for content to turn to that might be of some help to improve their life, to find happiness and to learn from. I think podcasts can establish a real connection with their audience, to feel like they’re part of something. I’m humbled to receive such an incredible response from listeners about what my podcast brings to their day, what my guests’ insight and honesty can do to change someone’s outlook on life. Hearing real human stories allowed us to fill that companionship that we lost during the pandemic.

What has been the best piece of advice you’ve had in business? In the moments where it matters most, it’s your invisible PR that can make or break the progression of your business. No matter how small or big, you are building it with each and every person you come into contact with. Everyone has an invisible reputation which is working for or against you and it’s based on these small decisions you make. I would implore people to get the tiniest things in their life right and see that as a compounding tailwind.

What are the three best pieces of advice you’ve learned from your guests on The Diary of a CEO? 1. From Mo Gawdat I learnt that happiness and your personal fulfilment is more important than financial success.

Mo had both and he derived much, much more from the former than the latter.

2. From Michael Acton-Smith I learnt that your toughest personal challenges can be learnt from and turned into your biggest

strengths. When Michael was going through a tough patch at Moshi Monsters, this led him to practising meditation, which became the basis for his unicorn company Calm. Success can come from our darkest moments.

3. From Jimmy Carr I learnt that finding and chasing your passion is worth shortterm sacrifice. Jimmy had a cushy job and could have fallen into a life of being a man in a grey suit, he left it all behind to take a chance on becoming a comedian, something he’d never even tried before he did it full time. It’s not going to work for everyone, but if you don’t try then the urge will gnaw away at you for the rest of your days.

What has been your approach to scaling the business to date? The Diary of a CEO podcast and my wider personal brand are intertwined, they feed into each other and their growth compounds on the other. What’s unique about The Diary of a CEO is that it has a real community with a dedicated following behind it, so I try to build in as many feedback loops as possible. In my team we share feedback from the episodes, and more importantly we take into consideration the messages and feedback we receive and think about where we can take the show.

All of this helps us keep ahead of trends, make quick decisions, and factoring in those marginal gains – something Sir David Brailsford talks about in my podcast.

From the audio and lighting to the cameras, from when a guest arrives to when a guest leaves, this podcast has succeeded due to those 1% improvements. Total perfection is too far away to achieve, so we have to turn to the consistency and small changes of progression to ensure we are always on the move as a business. Success is the result of 5% brains and 95% consistency. We always set the bar extremely high within the team, nothing is impossible. With that attitude, we’re set to release double the episodes every week from the end of February, with the same high calibre of guests, high quality production and fast turnaround. We’re expanding the team in all departments to deliver twice as much valuable content.

How many podcasts do you film back-to-back and how will you scale this to include filming globally? How long is a piece of string? When you’re dealing with the world’s top people, you have to work around them to some extent, but I’m filming all the time and in any given week between one and five guests will walk through the door. We’re travelling to the US to record there this year, and as men-

COVER STORY

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tioned above upping our release schedule to two episodes a week so we’re scaling super quickly to keep the momentum up.

What do you believe is the value of social media in business growth and which platform do you feel will next drive the most success?

There is a scalable way of networking and I believe that the use of social media is vital to the power of personal branding. Producing consistent content is everything. If you can reach one audience via TikTok, another through Instagram and another via LinkedIn then you are communicating your idea to a spread of people in different age groups and locations. Keeping up to date with trends, building trust and engaging with your community is key to driving success.

What advice would you give to entrepreneurs in the current market? Think about your objective and where you want to go.

You have to be able to pivot around difficult situations and be flexible with your ideas instead of romanticising them. I would also say, know when to quit. Quitting is very underrated, we talk a lot in business about a sense of timing, the next frontier in this conversation is knowing when to make an exit.

You’re now an investor – what do you look for in terms of investing and is buying into the founder key? I look at who is behind the business. If they are passionate about it, know their market, have goals and are a genuinely nice human being then those are all things that help when deciding to invest.

Of course, the business has to capture my attention and interests, but those three things are a crucial starting point.

What is your advice on taking investment as a founder? Give away enough of the company to build it, not hollow it out until you have nothing left.

When you travel – how do you maintain any kind of routine and what do you always need to travel with? I don’t stick to any particular routine when I travel as I’m often away on business with packed schedules, but when I do have time I like to read, I have my iPad or laptop on hand in case I want to write, whether that’s preparing notes and questions for an upcoming podcast guest or writing the script for my live show, or if I have a new business idea, all my ideas come to me when I least expect it. I do make sure I have time to work out wherever I am or how busy my day looks, whether I go for a run or go to the local gym to reset. My health is always my priority so wherever I am I will make that work.

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Japan Best sources some of the finest examples of the country’s craftsmanship. This cup has been made by hand in storied porcelain workshop Kutani Choemon – it fuses traditional and contemporary methods, with an image of a cross-legged DJ levitating a vinyl disk. It comes in a wooden box and makes a thoughtful gift alongside some tea leaves.

Right from top: + Maruhiro + BAR BAR + NONCHELEEE + Chowrasta Porcelain Tea Cup Dhs219 Japan Best; Printed Porcelain Tea Cup Dhs596 Japan Best; + Maruhiro + BAR BAR Porcelain Plate Dhs131 By Japan

THE EDIT

Precision detail, Japanese craftsmanship IMAGES: SUPPLIED

WORDS & STYLING: AMY SESSIONS

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FAS H I O N

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Left from top: Cotton-Blend Jersey Hoodie Dhs1,473 Blue Blue Japan; + 639 Cedar Salad Bowl Dhs437 By Japan; + Maruhiro + Hasami Block Set of Four Porcelain Mugs Dhs329 By Japan available at MR PORTER; Japan Suede-Trimmed Leather Sneakers Dhs523 Adidas Originals; Below right: + Maruhiro + BAR BAR + Evisen Kill Pill Porcelain Skateboard Dhs2,661 By Japan available at MR PORTER

By Japan champions traditional Japanese craftmanship and artistry by handselecting pieces from local brands to curate its unique selection of homeware.

Designed by Maruhiro, BAR BAR and Evisen, this ‘Kill Pill’ skateboard ornament is crafted from porcelain that’s painted with a vibrant design that’s sure to spark conversation when you invite guests round for dinner.

FAS H I O N

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THE COMEBACK WORDS: VAR UN GODINHO

Will this be the year when luxury makes its muchawaited comeback? After nearly two years during which the industry took a blow, it now seems like it’s ready to return with a vengeance. Nowhere was that clearer than the recently concluded LVMH Watch Week 2022 where four Maisons – Bvlgari, Tag Heuer, Hublot and Zenith – showcased their novelties for the year. Each brand emerged with strong collections signalling in no uncertain terms that pure luxury, craftsmanship and pedigree are certainly once again in the offing EM_0322_P24-31_LVMH Watch Week.indd 24

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Bvlgari Octo Roma Blue Carillon Tourbillon 103627

Bvlgari Bvlgari is a jeweller at its very core, and among the world’s finest at that. Its expertise in precious materials, exquisite design, and high-grade rare-to-source gemstones are regularly on full display through its watches. This year, the new Bvlgari Serpenti Misteriosi High Jewelry Secret Watches collection included four references that feature an “extra-small” BVL 100 mechanical movement that measures just 12.30mm x 2.50mm. For watch enthusiasts who are looking for the very best in haute horlogerie, turn to Bvlgari’s new Octo Roma Carillon Tourbillon.

The tourbillon minute repeater is now available in blue. For ultra exclusivity, there’s also the decadent Octo Roma Emerald Grande Sonnerie of which only one piece will be made. The Lucea Intarsio meanwhile is available in both quartz and mechanical options, all of which have stunning handcrafted three-dimensional gemstone dials.

WATC H E S

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Tag Heuer Autavia 60th Anniversary GMT 3 Hands; Tag Heuer Autavia 60th Anniversary Flyback Chronograph (right)

Tag Heuer The brand brings back vintage cool to the table with the new Autavia collection which celebrates its 60th birthday this year. Among the many Autavia novelties are a pair of flyback chronographs that use the Caliber Heuer 02 and a GMT model too. This year, Tag also unveiled a new Aquaracer Professional 200 collection that sits comfortably (and stylishly) on the wrist thanks to the new 40mm case size.

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WATC H E S

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Hublot Big Bang Unico Golf Orange Carbon (left); Hublot Big Bang Integral All Black

Hublot There are three new pieces offered in the Big Bang Integral Time Only collection, with the black ceramic edition limited to 250 pieces being one of the most sought after. To do black-tie right, there’s the Yellow Gold collection that comes in six references. For those who want to keep their watch game perpetually fresh, there’s the Big Bang One Click that features 12 interchangeable calfskin straps. We also received the Sang Bleu II which has a complex set of hypnotic geometric patterns on its dial, while the new Unico Golf Orange Carbon is anything but understated – classic Hublot.

WATC H E S

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Zenith Defy Revival A3642; Zenith Defy Skyline (right)

Zenith The watchmaker pushed the envelope this year with its first-ever Defy Extreme in full carbon fibre which was a collaboration with electric off-road racing championship Extreme E, a Defy Revival A3642 which operates on an Elite 670 calibre limited to only 250 pieces, an all-new Defy Skyline collection, and a colourful Defy 21 Chroma that makes a bold statement.

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WATC H E S

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Cruise Control Celine Homme’s SS22 collection ‘Cosmic Cruiser’ was as cool as you’d expect

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Words: Amy Sessions

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THE

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WORDS: AMY SESSIONS

Proudly made by hand since 1975 in Marche, Italy, Santoni stands for traditional craftsmanship and the kind of meticulous quality you can only dream of

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FAS H I O N

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FAS H I O N

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CLEAR

Andrea Zaffin, Commercial Head for India, Middle East and South Africa of Safilo Group discusses legacy and leading the brand in the region

VISION WORDS: SARAH JOSEPH

What do your first 30 mins of the day look like, your morning routine? I usually begin my day with some stretching exercises while reviewing the main tasks that need to be carried out for the day ahead. Previously, I would start my day by looking at my phone, however, recently I try to avoid doing so and take the time to interact with my children and enjoy a family breakfast, which has been the best decision, along with an espresso of course.

What is the DNA of Safilo, its core values? Safilo is a company defining the eyewear industry for more than 140 years thanks to craftsmanship, innovation, passion and technical know-how. These are the values that set us apart and allow us to create top-quality products with a unique design and timeless style The brand’s heritage is based on innovation. How have you built on this both globally and through the region?

In terms of style and product development, Safilo has constantly been innovating from design to the final product; we capture the evolution of new trends with an eye on technology and sustainability. For me, a quote that stands out is “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower”. To give you an example, in 2020 we launched a new brand David Beckham, which is a completely new approach to conventional branded eyewear. The savoir-faire of Safilo together with a global icon like David Beckham reflects his vision and taste for attention to detail. As a revolutionary approach in our industry and client appreciation, we attend both global and regional shows that reflect how consumers are changing and how optical retailers are evolving. From new brands like David Beckham to brands like Carrera that are celebrating 65 years of history, the innovation is continuous. We also recently launched a special edition “Carrera for Dubai” honouring the city

and the people of Dubai, a project we are very proud of. Last but not least the company has taken a strong direction towards digitalization which will drive more and more the way we work with clients; a new B2B online platform was launched in Europe beginning of 2021, regionally implementation has been already done in some of the countries and we expect to complete the entire roll out in the coming months. Overall, I would say not bad for a company that is 140 years old.

How does the appetite for sunglass design and composition in the Middle East differ to that of other markets?

Globally, the consumption of optical frames is higher than sunglasses, while in the Middle East traditionally, the sunglasses business has always been the leading category. Particularly in the last two years we have seen very strong growth for the optical category, while appetite for sunglasses remains, even if the change in travelling and tourism has been impacted. On the other side, the attention to eye-wellness and generally a wider acceptance of optical frames are giving strong momentum to this category. Another key point is that consumers are moving more towards mid-price products as in this region luxury and premium brands have previously been taking a lot of space in the optical stores. Today, it is key to have a more balanced offer and the Safilo brand portfolio is particularly suitable with brands such as Tommy Hilfiger, Carrera, Levi’s and Under Armour to name a few under their wing.

The UAE encourages and cultivates an environment for business to thrive – how have you experienced this?

Historically, geographically and culturally this region has always been an important trading hub. Over the years the UAE’s leadership and capability to innovate and adapt with timely execution has strongly modernized the country, created infrastructure and incentivised competitiveness for anyone who has been working in this country.

What piece of advice would you give to your younger self? I always believe that it’s important to keep learning and investing in yourself. Whatever you decide to do, connect and build your network, not just on social, but physically go and speak to people. The most important advice I would give my younger self is to be surrounded by good people.

So much has been achieved in the UAE, do you feel this pace and scale of growth is reflected in the businesses based here? I am a big believer in this part of the world; if we look at the past 20 years we have seen lot of acceleration and development in the UAE and in the rest of the Gulf. If you like to learn to move fast the UAE is the right place to be: this is a country where organisations can grow young talents, test new initiatives and develop a strong entrepreneurial mindset.

“Whatever you decide to do, connect and build your network, not just on social, but physically go and speak to people.”

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FAS H I O N

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WORDS: AMY SESSIONS

REBORN TO LIVE

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Rimbaud Dhs990 for 100ml Celine This neo-classic scent leaves a couture trail behind a heady mix of musk and vanilla notes.

Invictus Victory Dhs320 for 50ml Paco Rabanne Fresh and sporty, oriental notes of bay leaf, oak moss and patchouli are set for the win.

BOLD NOTES

Gentleman Reserve Privée Dhs400 for 60ml Givenchy This sophisticated fragrance combines notes of iris and amber wood for timeless elegance

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Guilty Intense Eau de Toilette Dhs350 for 50ml Gucci Rich masculine notes of cedar combine with citrus for an intense ride.

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Boss The Scent Absolute Dhs311 for 50ml Hugo Boss Experience the elegance and power of vetiver.

Ébène Fumé Dhs992 for 50ml Tom Ford Notes of ebony wood and herbs blend to conjure signature sophistication.

The new fragrances that pack a punch C O M P I L E D BY: S A R A H J O S E P H

L’Homme Intense Dhs510 for 100ml Prada Fresh hints of amber, patchouli and tonka beans lie at the heart of this luxe scent.

Signature Oud Dhs975 for 100ml Acqua Di Parma The sun-kissed aroma of bergamot with citrus is blended to create this powerful accord.

GROOMING

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GROOMING

CHAPS & CO

1847

This premium barbershop offers sleek haircuts, beard trims and therapy services.

An elevated grooming experience promising exceptional attention to all the small details.

Dubai Marina, Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai Design District, Caesars Resort, Reform Social & Grill, Jumeirah Island Clubhouse and Bloomingdale’s

Grosvenor House, JBR, Nakheel Mall The Palm, The Springs Souk, City Walk, DIFC, The Dubai Mall, City Centre Mirdif and Emirates Towers

THE WHY

THE LOCATION

FA D E A N D S H AV E BARBERS THE WHY

An old-school barbershop delivering superlative shaves with precision.

THE LOCATION

Dubai Marina and The Beach, JBR

GOODFELLAS V I N TAG E BARBERSHOP THE WHY

THE WHY

THE LOCATION

X H A I R LO U N G E THE WHY

This sophisticated venue offers a host of indulgent services in the heart of Dubai for men to look and feel their very best.

THE LOCATION

City Walk and Mirdif City Center

C H I VA L RY THE WHY

This one-of-a-kind barbershop takes you back in time with retro interiors.

This luxury gentleman’s salon combines a sleek contemporary aesthetic with a meticulous VIP approach to grooming.

Dubai Marina

Downtown Dubai

THE LOCATION

THE LOCATION

WORDS: SARAH JOSEPH

A Clean Cut

Grooming specialists for a smooth start to 2022 GROOMING

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In Top Form David Wiseman and Nathan Jones, former British servicemen, were severely injured while serving their country. They made remarkable recoveries and even participated in the Invictus Games.

Now, they have focused their energy on their new organisation called Peak State which places a spotlight on mental health

chest. The round hit just below my clavicle, travelled down the length of my torso, nicking my axial artery on the way and smashing through my brachial plexus and shredded through my lung. It shattered my ribs and came to rest in my right lung where it still sits today.”

Getting shot was the start of an ordeal and one where Wiseman had to use every ounce of his training and sheer will to survive. “My chest was filling with blood and [my team] kept me alive for long enough until an American helicopter landed to take me away. I stopped breathing three times on the ground. I get onto the back of the chopper and as they strap me down, I stopped breathing again. That’s when [the paramedic] takes a blade and starts cutting into my chest without any anaesthetic and [inserted a tube].

All that blood seeped out onto the floor of the helicopter, and I could breathe again. I spent a week in intensive care in Birmingham. I left the Army in 2013 after several years in and out of the fantastic Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre at Headley Court.”

It’s at that defence medical rehabilitation centre where Wiseman met with fellow British serviceman Nathan Jones. It would be the start of a friendship that would lead to sports – the Invictus Games – and the founding of an organisation called Peak State that deals with mental health.

Jones, a pilot, was also on duty flying to Afghanistan when he suffered a horrific injury. “I was flying a Voyager aircraft, an Airbus A330, from the RAF Brize Norton station to Helmand Province in Afghanistan. We were in cruise mode, flying at 33,000 feet when I decided to exit the cockpit and take a break. While I was having a cup of tea, the next thing I knew was that I was pinned to the roof. We were plummeting into the sea. I had to crawl on the roof, pull myself down to my seat, and then activate a button that gave me priority on my controls [to take over the aircraft]. What had happened is that the captain – I was a co-pilot at the time – was taking photos of the stars with an SLR camera and got his camera jammed at the controls. So, he moved his seat forward and it knocked the autopilot out and jammed the stick all the way forward. He was there thinking the autopilot was stuck, but it was the camera jamming the controls instead. From hitting the roof, I split the back of my head open and broke my back. From 2014, I was full-time in the defence medical rehab centre recovering from both physical and mental injuries,” explains Jones.

The experiences of being injured and going through extensive rehabilitation programmes together led Wiseman and Jones to the opportunity of a lifetime. A few years after their respective accidents, and after spending a considerable

WORDS: VAR UN GODINHO

It’s someone else’s backyard, it’s someone else’s war. For the majority of us, the brutal and bloody realities of war seem a disconcertingly distant idea. Add to that incessant coverage of conflicts around the world across media channels, and it’s easy to justify why we choose to look the other way. Until we cannot. Until we hear a first-hand account of it from someone who was there – and paid a price.

In 2009, David Wiseman was an officer in the British Army’s infantry unit. It was his second tour in Afghanistan, having previously served in Baghdad. He was embedded with the Afghan National Army and had a very small specialised team of eight-nine British soldiers along with him.

“I was in Helmand Province in 2009, and it was a terrible year for us. Over two weeks, at the back end of October and November, we dealt with 25 different casualties. On November 15th, 2009, I became the 26th casualty,” Wiseman tells Emirates Man. Wiseman narrates what happened that day in vivid detail. “We had fought the Taliban off an area and had to push them back a little bit further that day. As we crossed into this next tactical bound, we were engaged by a position, which I was not covered from. Essentially, a sniper – a good tactic from those guys – got us in the end.

One round zipped past my head and it sounded like someone cracked a whip, and after that you hear the sound of the weapon firing. That one went past my head. I didn’t react quickly enough because the second one slammed into my

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Nathan Jones (above); David Wiseman (below and previous page)

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IMAGES: SUPPLIED

time recovering from their injuries, it was time to turn that into something bigger than them – both decided to compete in the Invictus Games founded by Prince Harry for wounded, sick and injured servicemen and women – where both have won numerous medals.

Meanwhile, their shared journey through arduous physical recovery and the Invictus Games itself, led Wiseman to partner with Jones to found Peak State that focuses specifically on mental health. Peak State, as Wiseman notes, is a collection of tools and techniques that he and Jones have taken from across the world of sports psychology to influence and help people to have a proactive approach to the good management of mental health. It was a little royal intervention that helped spark the idea for it. “After I left the army, I went to work for Prince Harry and Prince William at The Royal Foundation. I was advising them on their philanthropic involvement in supporting those who serve. There were lots of different programmes over the years, and mental health was interwoven in a lot of those programmes. But the message with mental health has always been from a negative angle. It’s always been discussing depression, anxiety or trauma – and that really isn’t the whole story. There’s the other spectrum about it promoting the management of good mental health. And Peak State essentially focuses on that thinking,” adds Wiseman.

Jones went to university to do sports science, in which sports psychology was a big part of it. Sports psychology though remained, in many ways, exclusionary – and the learnings from it are often imparted only to professional athletes. In reality, these learnings can be just as useful to non-athletes. “When you say that your mind is the most important muscle in your body, it couldn’t be more prevalent now with what we’re doing with Peak State. The marginal gains of sports psychology are only being afforded to professional athletes and those at an elite level. It’s not really being spoken about among the general public and those who arguably need it the most.

“We’ve packaged something, knowing that everyone stays on this spectrum of mental health – whether they’re an elite sportsperson, biohacker, or if even if they’ve never focused on it before – and we help them with tools such as breathwork to activate their parasympathetic nervous system, sleep nutrition and nutrition itself. We help them develop their knowledge to use these daily to become higherperforming individuals,” says Wiseman.

In the process, he adds, Peak State is destigmatizing the conversation around mental health. Both understand that it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to mental health, which is why they were recently present at the Expo in Dubai a few weeks ago to deliver lectures on mental health, and also create bespoke content for Peak State that would resonate with people in this region. Peak State already has programmes running in Australia, the US, and will soon launch in Greece. But localization of content will be paramount. “The reason we came to Dubai was to create bespoke content. It’s pointless for someone here in the UAE, for example, to watch a video that was created for Australian communities. So, we create content for a specific community, region, or nationality, that you can level with,” offers Jones.

Peak State has already been catching the attention of big-name partners who are coming forward to support the organization – among them is British watchmaker Bremont who is the official timing partner for Peak State. “You know, people might think that Bremont makes luxury watches, so

“When you say that your mind is the most important muscle in your body, it couldn’t be more prevalent now with what we’re doing with Peak State.”

what’s that got to do with [Peak State]? Well, it is about values and a crossover of those values. We see that their adventurous, forward-thinking and progressive spirit is exactly what’s needed, and that kind of crossover we’re looking at with Peak State. Bremont’s tagline is ‘Tested Beyond Endurance.’ And if you have these Peak State tools, you can actually be tested beyond endurance,” says Wiseman as to the synergy that Peak State seeks with its partners.

Partnering with the right names will also help to further amplify the reach of Peak State – and, as the duo reiterates, helps put the general public on a level playing field with professional athletes as far as mental health is concerned. Apart from Bremont, Peak State has partnered with Iris. “Iris makes the audio software that goes into the headsets for Red Bull Racing. Max Verstappen’s helmet and Christian Horner’s headset have the same audio software that goes into Peak State. Iris creates dimensional soundscapes for us. We’ve partnered with world-leading companies to bridge the gaps and legitimise what we’re doing. It gives the general public access to the marginal gains of elite athletes,” reinforces Jones.

Besides working with adults, Jones and Wiseman note that the greatest potential of Peak State will be to work with children and youth. “In 2022, what we would like to do is for Peak State tools to be inserted into the UK PSHE school curriculum, supported by our app, which is coming out this year,” says Wiseman.

The rationale for directing the discussion around mental health with the youth is obvious. “The youth are our future leaders, so you need to get this in place now – otherwise, you’re just putting band-aids in the future. [With the learnings from Peak State], this youth is putting on different bits of armour. So, if something does arise, and they become stressed or anxious, they have these tools in their arsenal for it to become their coping strategy. Why send a soldier into battle without the armour just because you know that there’s going to be someone with a plaster at the other end to fix that wound?,” asks Jones. Wiseman will undoubtedly second that notion.

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Sustaining Your Skin – An Expert Guide

What brought you to Dubai? During my postgraduate diploma studies, COVID-19 emerged and things became online, so I travelled back to Lebanon and started my career there while still doing the diploma online.

Unfortunately, in August 2020, the Beirut blast, one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history happened, inflicted widespread devastation and caused immense suffering. Therefore, I decided to travel to a safe and stable country, which is the UAE. I wanted a place that will keep me and my family safe, a place that will offer me an endless leisure possibility. Besides that, there are plenty of reasons that made me choose Dubai like year-round sunshine, financially stable destinations, the most modern and reliable infrastructure in the world including healthcare and education and the high quality of living.

What made you decide to go into the dermatology field?

In short, I want to make people feel powerful, beautiful, capable and strong. It’s really hard to explain how the appearance of a human being plays a role in self-consciousness and personality. Skin diseases such as acne, psoriasis, and eczema are associated with a significant impairment in the quality of the patient’s daily life. You cannot believe how many of my friends were ashamed, shy and lost self confidence in themselves due to acne problems. Again, non-invasive cosmetic procedures have a great efficacy in decreasing shyness and anxiety, betterment of interpersonal interactions and improving self-esteem, attractiveness and self-image. The second reason I chose dermatology is rooted in my personal life since my father is a dermatologist. I used to go sometimes with him to the clinic and I just loved it. If I’ve ever met you, I’ve studied every line, bump, and pigmentation of your face. It’s a rewarding field, and it’s inspiring to keep people’s skin healthy.

When it comes to taking care of our skin, what are the biggest mistakes you see? There are many! But the number one is skipping cleansing your face. Even when you’re so tired, make sure you wash your face before you sleep. It can trap dirt and environmental pollutants inside the skin, and this type of environmental stress can result in increased free radicals which can cause DNA mutations, collagen degradation and, over time, can result in premature ageing. Prolonged wearing of makeup during sleep also can clog pores, resulting in acne. Daily sunscreen is a must. Even if it’s cloudy, rainy or snowy, you really need sunscreen

WORDS: OLIVIA MORRIS

Talk us through your career. My journey began in 2007 when I earned a Bachelor of Science in biology and chemistry at the University of Balamand, and a Doctor of Medicine (MD) in 2015 at the University of Balamand in Beirut, Lebanon. I then completed my internship in internal medicine, and residency in dermatology at Saint George Hospital University Medical Center, where I found I could merge my dedication to healing with my passion for healthy, beautiful skin. I graduated with a Master’s degree in dermatology speciality in 2019 after which I was engaged at Broomfield hospital located in Chelmsford, UK. I went on to complete my training in the UK where I received a postgraduate diploma in cosmetic medicine from South Wales University. I even received a certificate in Dermoscopy from HealthCert, Australia, that allowed me to be a well-trained dermatologist providing the most up to date dermatological care and cosmetic procedures. The training and education I gained made me ready to assemble my clinical ability and practice to give quality patient care and meet the future human services needs in the nation and district. I am focused on giving the highest quality of dermatologic care in an unmistakably expert, extensive, and caring way.

I like to offer evidence-based and clinically proven treatments to my patients to deliver optimal results in medicine, beauty and overall health.

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Dubai cosmetic dermatologist, Dr Julian Bachour of Elborno Clinic, discusses the best way to get optimum skin results and how to sustain them

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every day. Exposure to sunlight can cause black spots and skin damage, which can lead to skin cancer. You don’t have to be on the beach to be overexposed to the sun.

You may not be aware that you are doing it, but constant plucking of your skin can cause irritation, skin irritation, and bacterial spread. This can lead to scarring or infection since your hands have a significant amount of bacteria. Regular use of a tanning bed is worse than forgetting to wear sunscreen every day. They increase the risk of melanoma, make the skin look less elastic and accelerate ageing.

In terms of skincare, “natural” does not necessarily mean that it is good for the skin.

Remember that poison ivy is natural. Essential oils are often very concentrated and can cause skin reactions. Therefore, it is better to choose a dermatologically tested cream instead. It is also important to note that not all creams are intended to be used for all skin types, so if a friend really had benefited from a specific cream, that does not mean it will be suitable for your skin too. It can lead to acne breakout or eczema.

When it comes to achieving optimum skin results, how do we maintain them? Besides having the correct skincare routine, we should eat healthily, avoid smoking and exercise regularly. In addition, exfoliating is really helpful in removing dead skin cells. I always say prevention is better than treatment, therefore undergoing regular noninvasive cosmetic procedures to slow down the ageing process is a must. For example, if we have wrinkles on movement it is time to do botulinum toxin, we should not wait till the wrinkles show without muscle movement which is irreversible. If that happens then botulinum toxin will not be capable of removing the fine wrinkles.

There are a lot of machines that make your skin look more vibrant and youthful so it is always a good idea to have this youthful appearance with the help of technologies that can postpone or even eliminate surgical cosmetic procedure that may be needed if we did not fight the ageing.

What is the most popular non-invasive treatment your clients have and why do you think this is? Botulinum toxin remains the most popular noninvasive treatment worldwide and in my clinic. I believe this is because everyone hates having wrinkles. Botox is one of the oldest non-surgical cosmetic treatments so it has a proven track record of safety and efficacy. It is also popular since there is no

downtime and no discomfort. In addition, treatment is very quick and convenient.

There’s been a common misconception in the past that skincare is only for females, but it’s just as important in a male’s grooming routine. What products and treatments do you recommend for men? Male patients also develop acne, skin cancer and ageing spots. Because of this skincare routine for men is also essential. This involves having an appropriate cleanser, daily sunscreen and a treating cream at night like vitamin A to help the skin glow. Usage of skincare for men and minimally invasive cosmetic procedures have been increasing massively especially amid the pandemic, with the desire to look presentable on video calls. We have developed great techniques to administer botox and still leave some expressions giving the natural look to everyone. Men in their 30s begin to encounter extending wrinkles around the face. These wrinkles at the beginning only show up upon movement. But in the long run a few of these lines start showing up at rest. Botox and other neurotoxins are applied to address these wrinkles by paralyzing the muscle involved. There is growing interest among men to start on preventive Botox. Injectable fillers can be used to smooth wrinkles and look more youthful.

But masculinity has evolved and more men than ever are seeking a more square looking face with sharp cheekbones and a more defined prominent jaw. In addition to this, a lot of men nowadays are seeking removal of hair body or in defining their beard.

How do you hope to help your clients both outside and inside? I actually practice active listening. I like to ask about the things that are bothering the client before giving my opinion. I then educate the patient about the ageing process and what tools we have to counteract the bothering problem, then give my advice about treatment. I like to build a treatment strategy for patients and do things in sessions, gaining their trust session by session. I always try to do my best and build a good reputation. I like to focus on skin quality and not just the problem that is bothering the client. When they see improvement in the problem they hate, they will definitely be happy, but when they see that the problem is solved and the texture of their skin is 5 years younger, they will love my work. Building trust and satisfaction with my clients is the most important thing. It is also important to say no to clients when I believe a procedure will do more harm than benefits.

“I want to make people feel powerful, beautiful, capable and strong.”

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DR JULIAN BACHOUR’S TOP FIVE TIPS FOR SUSTAINING YOUR SKIN We all wish to have a glowing skin.

It is the largest organ in our bodies, so investing in it is extremely valuable. To start with every person should have the right skincare products suitable for him 1 Use the correct cleanser for your skin type. You should cleanse every morning when you wake up and every night before sleeping. For oily or acneprone skin, a salicylic gel or benzoyl peroxide wash works great. Use either a glycolic or milky cleanser if you have dry skin. Consider a brightening cleanser that has alpha hydroxy acid for example if you have melasma or hyperpigmentation. For skin with brown spots or melasma, use a brightening wash, such as an alpha hydroxy acid cleanser.

2 Apply a moisturizer daily. If your skin is greasy, you may think that it is better to skip the morning moisturizer, but drying your skin can actually make your acne worse. However, choose the right moisturizer so that it does not exacerbate acne or make the skin greasy (noncomedogenic or oil-free products).

3 Always wear sunscreen. Wear sunscreen 365 days a year whether it’s raining or sunny, indoors or outdoors, you must have your sunscreen. Many feel that they need to protect themselves only on sunny days or when going to the beach. But the truth is that we need to protect our skin, whether we’re driving, flying, or sitting at home.

It is daily UV exposure that contributes to the visible signs of ageing. The sunscreen should be SPF 30 or higher and should be renewed on the face every two hours if you are outside.

4 Eat healthily and stop smoking. A balanced diet is important, but there are several ways to add vitamins to your skin. There are also topical antioxidants that are serums and creams that contain ingredients that nourish the skin like Vitamin C serum.

5 Always wash your face at night. In the evening, clean your face again and apply a cream with active ingredients like vitamin A creams. It is important not to use too many products. It can strain the skin and cause more breakouts and clogged pores.

GROOMING

2/28/22 2:04 PM

Exclusive paintings, sculptures, photography and timepieces from award-winning international artists.

Painting by Mai Majdy

Photograph by Lord Patrick Lichfield

The United Arab Emirates 50th Anniversary Navigator Clock – Limited Edition by David Galbraith

WORDS: CAROLINE REID

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ormer Formula One team boss, the late Sir Frank Williams, once said that “for six-and-a-halfdays a week, F1 is a business, then on Sunday afternoons it becomes a sport”. This is no exaggeration. On the face of it, F1 seems just like any other sport. When the lights go out at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix at the end of this month all eyes will be on reigning champion Max Verstappen who clinched the title thanks to a controversial last-lap decision in Abu Dhabi in December. It dominated sports pages globally but despite these appearances, F1 is actually a business. Most major sports are owned by their teams or governing body, but not F1. The commercial rights to the series are owned by Nasdaq-listed investment firm Liberty Media. A powerful business engine beats beneath its bonnet.

F1 doesn’t own the venues of its 23 races so it doesn’t need to cover their high-octane running costs. What’s more, race organisers have to pay F1 an average $28.7m fee annually and, unlike venues in many other sports, they don’t receive a share of its broadcasting revenue or even advertising and corporate hospitality. That all flows to Liberty and has given F1 a $13.9bn market value.

In 2019, before the pandemic, F1 had revenue of $2bn. A total of $301.1m was paid by sponsors such as Emirates and luxury watchmaker Rolex which get advertising around the tracks. Next up is corporate hospitality ticket sales which, along with other miscellaneous sources, came to $356m. It was followed by the $602.1m paid by race organisers with F1’s biggest revenue generator being the fees from television broadcasters which came to $762.8m.

In 2020, total revenue reversed by 45 per cent to $1.1bn due to the pandemic.

However, in November, Liberty announced its performance over the first nine months of 2021, at $1.3bn, had already overtaken 2020’s tally. This growth was driven by the return of spectators to races. Hospitality revenues bounced back while Liberty was able to once again charge full price hosting fees. F1 also held a record 22 races with new events in the Netherlands, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. It will benefit from them for a long time to come. Only 10-20 per cent of F1’s contracts need to be renewed annually as they have an average length of around five years. It explains why F1 had a staggering $6.7bn of future revenues under contract at the end of 2020 – and that’s not all.

Most race contracts contain an escalator clause increasing the amount paid by 5-10 per cent annually. It gives F1 good vis-

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The Winning Formula There are many moving parts that determine the financial returns from the sport. We look at how to drive ROI

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ibility of its revenue and the same applies to its profit. F1’s biggest single cost is a payment of 68 per cent of its profits to the teams as prize money. This is divided based on performance with an additional payment going to F1’s longest-standing team Ferrari. It received an estimated $200m in 2019 with the teams getting a total of $1bn, leaving F1 with a profit of $482m.

The higher F1’s revenues, the more prize money the teams get, so the more races there are, the higher the amount received from hosting fees, advertising and hospitality. Increasing the number of races is the most logical way of raising revenue but it raises the teams’ costs and means their staff have to spend more time away from home.

The consent of 70 per cent of the teams is needed if there are more than 24 races in a season, which means they really do hold the keys to F1’s future.

To maximise race fees F1 markets itself to emerging nations that are willing to pay to put themselves on the global map alongside countries such as the UAE, France, Japan and Monaco. It drives tourism by promoting them to F1’s TV audience which hit 433m viewers in 2020. That really is a winning formula.

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02

The Rise and Rise of the Middle East The region has a history spanning nearly two decades with the sport – we look at the evolution and growth we’ve seen to date

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n 2014, Formula One’s former chief executive Bernie Ecclestone was asked about the impact the sport has had on the Middle East since its inaugural race there in Bahrain a decade earlier. He responded: “I didn’t even know where Bahrain was, but now I do.” Research has revealed that over the 18 years since the first Grand Prix was held at the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) in Manama, 3.1m spectators have attended F1 races in the Middle East. It has driven spending in local hotels, shops and restaurants, and put the region on the global sporting map as well.

The Bahrain Grand Prix alone has attracted an estimated 1.3m spectators peaking at 100,000 across the three days of the event in 2008 and 2010. It even got a boost from the coronavirus pandemic as the BIC was home to two races in 2020 when other F1 venues crashed off of the calendar. It fuelled worldwide media exposure for Bahrain which would be worth $519.7m if it had been bought as traditional advertising, according to research commissioned by the BIC. Although Bahrain’s tally of races reversed back to one last year, it slipped into the prestigious spot of being the seasonopener when the Australian Grand Prix got the red light due to Covid. The season starts in Bahrain again this year cementing its position as one of F1’s crown jewels. It hasn’t just been a magnet for spectators.

Since its first round, the Bahrain Grand Prix has been sponsored by local flagcarrier Gulf Air which gets naming rights and advertising banners around the track.

It initially paid around $5m annually for the privilege but over time this has gradually risen to $8m. To promote the race in its first year, Bahrain itself sponsored the former Jordan team and got large logos on the sides of its two cars for an estimated $10m.

It did the trick as attendance at the Bahrain Grand Prix accelerated by 10.3 per cent to 75,000 in its second year.

Bahrain put the brakes on its sponsorship of Jordan in 2005 as its home race was on a firm footing and awareness of F1 in the Middle East had begun to build. Testimony to this, the following year F1 was joined by one of the region’s most well-known brands when Emirates became a sponsor of 12-time champions McLaren. In a deal valued at $25m, the distinctive red-and-white Emirates logo was emblazoned on the front- and rear-wings of the McLaren cars. Although the partnership only lasted for the 2006 season, it helped to put McLaren on the map in the Middle East as the following year Bahrain’s Mumtalakat wealth fund bought a 30

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per cent stake in the team from its chairman Ron Dennis and the Saudi TAG Group.

Mumtalakat’s stake has grown to more than 50 per cent since then, whilst Emirates has become a global partner of F1 itself which gave it naming rights of one race last year and advertising banners at most of them. And then the Middle East got a second Grand Prix. It came in 2009 when Abu Dhabi raced onto the F1 calendar with a 3.5-mile track that winds around Yas Marina where superyachts bob on the sparkling water giving it an air of F1’s most historic race in Monaco. The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix occupies an equally prestigious spot to Bahrain as it is the final race, meaning that the Middle East bookends the F1 season. The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was F1’s first twilight race and finishes with fireworks and a spectacular son et lumière show on the marina’s centrepiece W Hotel which is wrapped in colour-changing LED lights. The marina was purpose-built at an

estimated cost of $500m for the inaugural race and it has hosted a total of 1.7 million spectators since then. The crowd hit an estimated high of 154,000 over the three days of the event in 2014 and 2015. Although this dipped to an estimated 135,000 last year, the race was one of the most memorable in F1 history, thanks to a controversial decision on the final lap. It was triggered by Williams driver Nicholas Latifi hitting the barriers leading to the safety car coming out. F1’s race director Michael Masi then allowed some cars to unlap themselves, and not others. This saw title challenger Max Verstappen move up right behind reigning champion Lewis Hamilton just as the safety car was being brought in. Verstappen, who was on much fresher tyres after pitting behind the safety car, overtook Hamilton on the last lap to seal the title. It didn’t just put the eyes of the world on Yas Marina Circuit, but its sponsors too. They include the race’s official energy partner ADNOC and Etihad

Airways which has been the title sponsor of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix since the first race. It costs an estimated $8m annually and gives Etihad naming rights as well as banners around the track.

In 2018 alone, Etihad’s pre-race flyby attracted 23 million viewers on social media and had over 90 per cent engagement along with the reveal of its latest livery. Following Bahrain’s model, in 2008, Etihad began a sponsorship deal with F1’s most famous team Ferrari. This helped to drive interest in Abu Dhabi and gave Etihad logos on the car as well as the drivers’ overalls for an estimated $20m annually. The deal ran for three years and contributed to F1’s annual sponsorship income from the Middle East reaching a peak in 2010. The driving force behind it was the money from Etihad and Gulf Air, but Abu Dhabi’s Aabar Investments also made its entrance. In 2009, Aabar paid an estimated $115m for a 40 per cent stake in reigning champions Mercedes which re-ac-

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quired it three years later, before selling it to team boss Toto Wolff and former F1 champion, the late Niki Lauda. In 2010, Aabar also became a Mercedes sponsor in a short-lived deal that gave it logos on the car and overalls of the drivers for around $5m annually.

The biggest impact has been felt on Yas Island itself which was little more than a dust bowl when the first Grand Prix took place. It is now a hub of nine hotels, a mega-mall, a golf course, a 40,000-seat arena and a complex of three world-class theme parks which will soon become four when SeaWorld Abu Dhabi swings open its doors later this year.

“The advantage of Yas Island is that we have so many different experiences that you can enjoy with your family and that can cater for different segments – youngsters, teenagers, adults and families,” said Mohamed Al Zaabi, chief executive of Yas Island developer Miral in 2019 before the pandemic.

Saif Ghobash, undersecretary at the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism, added, “The hotel sector has also witnessed great improvements in performance over the last few years, we have seen occupancy hover around the 90s during the Abu Dhabi GP week. We have seen revenue per available room and the average daily rate at their maximum during this exact same period.” F1 is the engine behind it.

“We had 1 billion viewership over the past ten years, and we had over one million visits to the circuit here for the Grand Prix,” noted Al Tareq Al Ameri, Yas Marina Circuit’s chief executive. It wasn’t lost on Qatar and Saudi Arabia which both joined the F1 calendar last year and brought two telecoms companies, Ooredoo and STC, as title partners. The former race attracted an estimated 18,000 spectators with 58,000 believed to have attended the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The total will reduce this year as the Qatar Grand Prix is taking a breather for the World Cup, but it will begin a ten-year contract from 2023.

The Middle East now has more races on the F1 calendar than any other region except Europe. There is still room for growth as Mohammed Ben Sulayem, president of F1’s governing body the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) explained in 2019. “I would say we are lacking a young generation of drivers. We have been talking about it for a while and I can see some good hope there for young drivers. If we look at for example Spain, they only used to sell 75 per cent of their tickets, but they didn’t have a champion. Once they had a champion, which was Fernando Alonso at that time, they started selling all their tickets.”

It is a fine goal to have.

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03 Entering New Territory Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz outlines the impact of F1’s new regulations for 2022

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hen the cars arrive in Bahrain for the start of the new season, they won’t look dramatically different to the ones from last year. But when they hit the track, it could look like the drivers have raised their game. One of the biggest criticisms of F1 is that it can be processional.

This isn’t the drivers’ fault but is actually down to physics. The cars are designed to cut through the air which means that they leave waves of turbulence behind them, making it harder to overtake.

The cars are designed like upside-down plane wings so that they stick to the track at high speed. However, turbulent air reduces this downforce as it doesn’t flow as smoothly over the cars. Last year’s F1 cars lost 35 per cent of their downforce when 66ft behind another car and 46 per cent at 33ft. The new regulations for 2022 are set to reduce this to just 4 per cent and 18 per cent, giving chasing cars a greater chance of overtaking.

Tips on the edges of the new rear wings are designed to deflect much of the wake over the top of the following car. Many of

the other winglets that cover F1 cars have been scrapped to reduce turbulence. Even the size of the tyres has been changed to thinner low-profile ones which should be grippier than the current set.

Spain’s Carlos Sainz is one driver who could benefit from this. He drives for Ferrari which has been beaten by Mercedes and Red Bull Racing in recent years. Despite being one of F1’s biggest talents Sainz only got on the podium four times in 2021.

Talking in the Spain Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, Sainz said: “For sure the handling of the car [will change] because of the different levels of downforce following each other and the tyres are going to be fundamentally different. I think there will be many challenges ahead of us going into this season and I hope that Ferrari and I are as prepared as we can be to use that opportunity.”

Adrian Newey, chief technical officer of last year’s champions Red Bull Racing has described the new rules as “the biggest single regulation change” in F1 since the 1980s. F1’s research division spent more than $13.9m since 2018 and has clocked up 16.5 million core-hours working on more than 10,000 computer simulations which take up half a million gigabytes. In comparison, a DVD fills just under five gigabytes.

The impact should be noticeable.

The spread between the fastest and slowest cars in F1 is currently around three seconds on a 90-second lap. This 3.3 per cent difference should be significantly reduced by the new regulations.

The new cars will be 0.5 to 3.5 seconds slower per lap because they are 42kg heavier and their fuel will be 10 per cent sustainable ethanol at the cost of 20bhp. Whilst the drivers will notice this difference, fans will likely not. The technical changes are coupled with a $140m cap on team budgets this year which should further reduce the gap between the haves and have-nots.

Sainz says he believes that the new regulations “should level up the playing field along with the budget cap.”

He added, “This is the biggest change in the sport. All of us have to stay inside a budget cap and for teams like Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull that means cutting the budget at least by half. So, it is a huge challenge financially to adapt to that, to run such big operations in that budget. Also, I guess the regulation changes on the aerodynamics side of the cars, plus the tyres, will create practically a new category and I am sure this new category is planned to be more exciting, easier to follow and have more overtaking [opportunities].” We don’t have to wait long to find out whether that is true.

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04

Bringing it Home

Why venues around the world are racing to be the next destination to host F1 race

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hen Formula One raced on the streets of Jeddah in December, it set a record. It was not only the first time a Grand Prix had taken place in Saudi Arabia, but it also brought F1’s tally of races in the Middle East to four – the highest it has ever been.

It won’t be long before F1 returns to Saudi Arabia. The country’s second race takes place at the end of March, just seven days after the season-opener in Bahrain and two weeks before the Australian Grand Prix. Twelve days after the dust has settled

in Melbourne, the teams race in Italy. The long-haul races are the toughest and cost the most for teams to travel to, since all of them are based in Europe. To prevent further pressure, F1’s governing body –the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) – has capped the number of races at 25 and that limit will come one step closer to being reached this year when the inaugural Miami Grand Prix takes place two weeks after Italy.

It gives F1 a record 23 races, and with its calendar having dramatically expanded, the sport can’t continue signing up new countries. Over the five years to 2020 F1’s global television audience accelerated by 8.3 per

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cent to 433 million viewers and this brought the sport to the attention of many new markets. The visibility drives tremendous tourism so governments are prepared to pay top dollar to host a race.

One of the biggest success stories has been the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit, which joined in 2009. The circuit’s chief executive Al Tareq Al Ameri said in 2019 that the race had 1 billion viewership over the previous ten years and had over a million visits to the circuit.

Other Gulf nations wanted to emulate this achievement, ultimately leading to Qatar and Saudi Arabia joining the calendar.

This competition has fuelled an arms race in hosting fees. Over the ten years to 2019, the average annual fee for a race rose 16 per cent to $28.7m, and some venues in F1’s European heartland were priced out of the market. In certain cases, F1 had to slash the fees of historic races in order to keep them on the calendar. Using sports campaigns to promote a country pulls at the viewers’ heartstrings more than typical advertising and F1 offers perhaps the most emotional link of all as tourists can stay on the same streets where their heroes have raced.

When the circuits are on city streets local landmarks can become inseparable from the racing action and while purpose-built tracks take years to build, it is far quicker to prepare street circuits. Saudi Arabia showed how quickly it could be done as the race took place just 13 months after it was announced. In addition, there are no fears of organisers being left with a white elephant if they quit when their contracts expire. The greater the success of these new races, the more emerging markets will be attracted to F1. In turn, this could drive the average hosting fee even higher, putting more pressure on F1’s historic events.

The coronavirus pandemic seemed to present an opportunity for F1 to reset the dial as hosting fees had to be slashed in order to get venues on the calendar. It paid off as fan-favourite tracks like Turkey and Italy returned after years of absence. However, fees have started to rise again and some of these historic tracks have been cut from the 2022 calendar. Only time will tell whether F1 does a U-Turn in future.

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Keeping the Wheels Turning

Formula One team owners spend tens of millions each year in keeping their teams alive – but the returns on their investment can be just as handsome

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here is a saying in Formula One that the quickest way to become a millionaire from the sport is to start as a billionaire and buy a team. So, it is no surprise that unlike most businesses, profit is not the yardstick of success for an F1 team. Instead, they tend to spend all of their revenue in an effort to win on track. It is high risk, but equally high reward. The theory is that it is better to win on the track and make a loss rather than finish last and make a profit. Victory increases the value of the team giving the owners a pay-out when they come to sell it. It also increases sponsorship revenues since brands

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are prepared to pay more to be associated with a winning team. Whilst team owners can get a financial return from selling a team in the long run, what do they get out when it is running to break even? If the owner of a team is a brand such as Mercedes, Ferrari or Red Bull, the benefit they get comes from the exposure of their logos on the cars on television. The metric of this exposure is known as Advertising Value Equivalent (AVE).

This is the price a brand would have to pay for a similar amount of advertising time on television to the exposure it got through the sport. According to findings from Mercedes, when it won the F1 title in 2020, it generated $5.8bn of AVE for its commercial partners.

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The Mercedes-Benz brand has grown in value from $31.9bn in 2013 to $49.3bn in 2020, according to Interbrand, with F1 making an important contribution to its status as the eighth-most valuable brand in the world.

Eight of the ten teams are based in the UK so they have to file publicly available accounts.

They show that in 2019 the teams had average revenues of $251.8m, with Mercedes the highest at $490.6m.

The teams’ main source of revenue is sponsorship, and in this field money talks.

The higher the cost, the greater the exposure. Generally, the rear wing, sides of the air intake box and the sides of the car itself are prime logo positions. A sponsorship deal

with a top team involving any one of these locations is likely to cost around $25m. At the lower end of the spectrum, small logos on the nose of the car can generally be bought for under $2m. These are annual figures so the total deal cost can be much greater.

The other main sources of revenue are payments from team owners followed by prize money. F1 pays the teams 68 per cent of its profits as prize money and this came to a total of $1bn in 2019, with Mercedes taking an estimated $157m for winning the title.

According to the teams’ accounts, they made a combined net loss of $187.7m in 2019 which narrowed to $26m the following year as they attended fewer races. There

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is hope on the horizon as in 2021 F1 introduced a cap on team budgets for the first time in its history. This limited the teams’ annual spending to $145m and will fall by a further $5m this year. The aim is to stop the top teams outspending their rivals, and the cap has already reaped rewards.

Since the budget cap was announced in May 2020, stakes in the Williams, McLaren and Mercedes teams have been sold to new investors for a total of around $1bn. There is little doubt that the promise of a more costeffective business model was a driving force behind the investment. It demonstrates that although F1 teams don’t make high-octane profits, they are still money-spinners.

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06

Under the Hood

Ever wondered why the cost of an F1 car is so high? Here are a few answers

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ormula One cars look like cutting-edge spacecraft from the outside, but underneath their sleek skins, they are even more futuristic. Research and development is typically the biggest single cost for F1 teams and it comes to around 33 per cent of the total budget.

F1 cars are crammed with advanced technology which enables them to race for two hours at more than 200mph, often separated from each other by just thousandths of seconds. Tiny technological improvements can make the difference between winning and losing, so the more money a team spends on developing its cars, the greater their chances of success.

Tucked inside each F1 car is around 1.3km of wiring and 120 sensors which generate 3GB of data per race and 1,500 data points every second.

The information needs to be sent wirelessly from the car to the garage, and on to the teams’ headquarters which are largely clustered in the UK. It is no mean feat as F1 races take place in 21 countries from Brazil to Belgium where the track is located in a forest 40 miles from the nearest major city. Engineers at the teams’ headquarters crunch the numbers and send feedback to their colleagues at the track so that they can make decisions about everything from when the drivers should change tyres to whether they should turn up their engine power or dial it down to save fuel.

The teams can make tiny changes to the cars remotely and to make the most of the opportunity, the data transfer has to be done in real-time. Fitting out F1 cars with computers to handle this presents its own challenges and increases costs.

To make sure that the bodywork is as slender and aerodynamic as possible, all the wiring, electronics and cooling systems must be packed in a tight space around the engine. Having an electronic control box just millimetres away from a white-hot exhaust requires military-standard connectors in the car’s wiring system. Preserving the cables is particularly important as they are transmitting high volumes of information. The car’s technology nerve centre is the steering wheel which wouldn’t look out-of-place inside a fighter plane. Except for the throttle and brake pedals, few F1 cars have any controls other than those on the face of the wheel.

In its centre, is a multi-function LCD screen which is surrounded by brightly coloured buttons controlling over 40 functions from clutch, radio and rev limiter to changing the car’s front-to-rear brake bias as well as its fuel mixture.

There is also a button to activate the Drag Reduction System (DRS) which enables the rear wing to be moved to improve overtaking. Another switch gives the cars a brief boost of power from recovery systems which convert exhaust gases and energy created under braking into electricity which powers an on-board electric motor. These systems are what make the engines hybrids.

In 2014, F1 switched from using a 2.4-litre V8 to a more environmentally friendly 1.6-litre V6 turbo which is one of the most technologically advanced engines ever built.

The engines epitomise engineering expertise. They deliver around 1,000hp and rev to 15,000rpm which is three times higher than a typical road car engine. At each race, the cars can burn through as much as 110kg of fuel which is stored in a deformable tank made from Kevlar and rubber to maintain its structural integrity in the event of impacts.

Kevlar is stronger than steel and about 5.5 times less dense, which is crucial.

Weight is an overriding demand as F1’s technical regulations state that each car’s minimum weight must be 775kg, and most teams hit this bang on. If the car weighs any more it may lose a performance advantage, and with such tiny time differences between race positions, every milligram matters.

Unsurprisingly, an F1 car’s most expensive component is its engine. Each car is only allowed to use up to three per season so not only do they have to run to the highest specification, but also, they have to last. Their intangible costs are the greatest.

The engines’ material costs are believed to account for only 10 per cent of the total amount invested in them with the remainder being spent on development. This eyewatering expense is revealed in the accounts for Mercedes’ engine division which show that since development began on the V6 its costs have come to a total of $1.8bn.

The material costs of the car itself come to approximately $2.4m (see box). Unlike the teams in rival race series, every F1 squad has to be a constructor, which means it must design and build its own chassis.

That alone costs around $1.4m followed by the floor at around $400,000. Even a single suspension strut can cost upwards of $13,500. The components aren’t just expensive because they are made from hightech carbon fibre, but also due to the tight window for manufacturing them.

F1 teams rely on what are known as rapid prototype machines which cut carbonfibre parts with a laser from computer designs. This allows new parts to be designed and manufactured over the few days between races in a bid to boost performance.

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Even the driver’s seat is specially designed and each one is anatomically crafted to suit the contours of the driver’s body.

Several seat fittings can be required just to construct it. Since F1’s technical regulations state that the driver must be able to get out of the car within five seconds, removing nothing except the steering wheel, a rapid release is essential. Hence, one of the most technically complicated parts of an F1 car is the snap-on connector which joins the steering wheel to the steering column.

It has to be tough enough to withstand huge forces, but also has to provide the electrical connections between the controls and the car itself. It all adds up and the steering wheel alone costs a whopping $75,000.

It’s perhaps no surprise that the drivers in charge of these money machines are so well-paid and no expense is spared when it comes to the tools of their trade. Drivers have to wear high-tech gloves featuring sensors stitched into the fabric to monitor their pulse rate and the oxygen levels

in their blood. It doesn’t stop there as the gloves transmit the potentially life-saving data back to the medical team at the track, before, during and after a crash. The drivers’ principal form of protection is a fireproof suit, costing around $700, and a helmet. They start at approximately $7,000 each but can cost thousands more if they have an intricate paint scheme.

Perhaps the biggest irony is to be found underneath the cars. Attached to the carbon fibre underside of the chassis is a 10mm skid block that enforces ground clearance.

In contrast to the cutting-edge technology just centimetres above it, the skid block is made of wood. That said, it is a special type of wood called Jabroc which is used because it is particularly tough and thin.

Built in a composite process, it has layers of veneers and resin and is embedded with titanium skid blocks to prevent the plank from getting damaged. It shows that it really is no exaggeration to say that nothing is standard on an F1 car.

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How much does an F1 car cost?

Chassis: $1.4m Floor: $400,000 minimum Nose cone: $350,000 Front wing: $200,000 Steering wheel: $75,000 Suspension strut: $13,500 minimum TOTAL: $2.4m Tyres: $1,800 per set

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he Middle East is often seen as Formula One’s new world compared to its traditional heartland in Europe. However, its journey to the Gulf actually began back in 1991 and there were several driving forces behind it. F1 was a very different sport back then. Races were much more disorganised with crowds crammed right up against the fences. Cars with wide slick tyres and few safety measures screamed by and F1’s corporate hospitality outfit was still in its infancy. Only around a decade earlier, F1’s former boss Bernie Ecclestone had convinced the teams and the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) to sign the Concorde Agreement – the contract on which the sport was built.

Prior to that, F1 races ran as ad hoc, almost amateur, events. Each team made separate deals with each event promoter and television coverage was sporadic as races could be cancelled at the last moment if there weren’t enough cars to fill the grid.

Ecclestone had the foresight to change this. In 1981 he convinced the teams to sign the Concorde Agreement which committed them to race at every Grand Prix in return for a share of the spoils. He took this contract to TV companies which could then guarantee coverage and F1’s exposure began to accelerate. It was only after the untimely death of Ayrton Senna in 1994, that the eyes of the world turned their gaze on F1 leading to a surge in investment from broadcasters and manufacturers. In turn, it attracted the top drivers which cemented F1’s status as the world’s leading motorsport series.

Ecclestone had forecast this growth for some time and in the early Nineties he began approaching new markets about hosting races. One of them was the UAE. Speaking before the pandemic in 2019, FIA president Mohammed ben Sulayem revealed, “The negotiations for Formula 1 [in the UAE] started in 1991. I had breakfast in my house in 1992 where Bernie said, ‘If you pay, you will get it’ and he was so straight.

Then someone said to me ‘It is a dream, and it won’t happen’ and that was in the Nineties. They said it will never come to this part of the world.” It took time, but it got to the finish line in the end.

The first step was driven by Cambridgeeducated Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa becoming Bahrain’s Crown Prince in 1999, a few months before his 30th birthday. He had the idea of hosting a race and contacted Ecclestone who told a publication in 2021 that Salman “was completely behind this because he realised that it would be the best thing that could happen for the country.”

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Deals in the Desert

Mohammed Ben Sulayem was elected as president of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) in December – here’s what he intends to deliver It suited F1 too as Ecclestone said, “We had been calling ourselves a world championship for years, and we were a European championship.” He added, “I thought Bahrain would be great. It’s another part of the world. We’ve opened the door for people doing business... using the sport to open doors that probably would never have been

opened.” Construction of the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) in Sakhir got underway in 2002 and cost an estimated $150m.

Its inaugural race took place on April 4, 2004 and put Bahrain on the global sporting map alongside 15 other exciting nations including Monaco, Malaysia and the UK. A total of 56 per cent of the races were in Eu-

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rope that year, but it soon began to change.

The UAE took notice of Bahrain’s success and revved up its talks with F1 again. However, it had to swerve around an obstacle first. In 2015, Ecclestone revealed that he gave the BIC exclusive rights to host F1 in the Gulf, so when Abu Dhabi wanted to stage a race, it needed Bahrain’s blessing.

“When I went to Bahrain they said, ‘Give us a guarantee that you will not put another race on in the Gulf.’ I said, ‘Yes’.

Typical Ecclestone handshake deal with the Crown Prince. Then we wanted a race in Abu Dhabi, and I explained to them the position I was in and I said ‘You had better ask the people in Bahrain. If they are happy, I’m happy.’ So, they got together and that’s what happened.” The talks were initiated

by Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Ben Sulayem helped to steer them to a successful conclusion. Sulayem is a 14-time Middle East rally champion and in December 2021 he became the first FIA President from the Middle East. Back in the mid-2000s he was the head of the UAE’s motorsport authority, so he played a crucial role in the development of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Abu Dhabi reportedly initially wanted to host a street race, but Ecclestone informed them that this would be difficult due to the US-style grid system in the city.

Instead, Abu Dhabi proposed building a dedicated marina with a track that weaves around it. That alone would be an immense undertaking, but Abu Dhabi didn’t stop there. In 2006, it gave the green light to build an artificial island that would become an entertainment hub for Abu Dhabi with the marina at its heart.

The plan was a first for F1 and Ecclestone was sceptical as to whether it could be done. “I said fine, that would be super, but you understand how difficult that would be – and what did they do? They built the island.” No expense was spared.

The marina alone cost an estimated $500m to build with the bill for the entire complex, including the track and its centrepiece hotel, amounting to $1.3bn. A total of $40bn was reportedly spent on Yas Island. The world’s first Ferrari theme park sits next to the F1 track and the sprawling Yas Mall. There’s also Yas Waterworld, one of the world’s most high-tech water parks.

One of the biggest steps in Yas Island’s his-

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07 tory came in 2018 when the world’s biggest indoor theme park, Warner Bros. World, swung open its gleaming gates.

“I believe the world-class infrastructure makes this a compelling first-class destination,” said Saif Ghobash, undersecretary at the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism. Building the facilities is the easy part. They then need to be filled and this is where F1 comes in. F1 doesn’t just put Abu Dhabi in front of 433m television viewers, but it has also driven a total of around 1.7m spectators there. The more there is to do on the island, the longer they are likely to stay, the more likely it is that they will return for a holiday and the greater is the economic impact. “Formula 1 shouldn’t just benefit the motorsport world, it should benefit society here and the region,” said Ben Sulayem.

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Back on Track

The Covid-19 pandemic has taken its toll – but the resilient nature of F1 prevails

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n the face of it, the coronavirus outbreak should have sent Formula One into the wall. The pandemic put the brakes on mass gatherings and made it tough for fans and personnel to travel around the world.

However, it emerged from the turmoil firing on all cylinders and there is a formula for this success. In F1’s 72-year history few seasons have got off to a worse start than 2020. Its ten teams were on their way to Australia for the season-opener just as Covid began to sweep around the world. The event was given the red-light minutes before the action was due to begin. A series of race cancellations quickly followed.

It looked like the end of the road for F1.

No races meant no revenue from broadcasters, sponsors or organisers which jeopardised the teams’ prize money putting their futures in question. F1 itself was saddled with $3.4bn of debt partly dating back to its acquisition by the investment firm Liberty Media in 2017, and if it defaulted on repayments, it could have ended up in the hands of its lenders. “If the sport collapses there’s thousands and thousands of people out of work,” said F1’s motorsport director Ross Brawn in April 2020. In the end, the coronavirus actually ended up having a silver lining. Acting with F1’s trademark speed, F1’s governing body – the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) – insisted that teams must use their existing car in 2021 to put the brakes on development

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costs. It also delayed costly new car regulations until 2022. Teams were banned from working on the new regulations in 2020, but that was just the start.

F1 has always been a battle between the biggest spenders. The more they invest in their cars, the faster they go and the more prize money they get when they win. That allows them to attract the best drivers which further cements their lead. This vicious circle was compounded by F1’s decision to award bonuses to the most successful teams meaning that the top three received around

51 per cent of the prize money. The top teams had budgets of around $500m whereas the backmarkers spend less than a third of that, giving them little chance of catching up. For decades the top teams resisted the introduction of a budget cap. However, Covid called their existence into question and the FIA seized on it. It did the unthinkable by introducing a budget cap of just $145m starting in 2021. It scrapped most bonuses from 2021 onwards and distributed the prize money more evenly. It made a big difference.

Last year Alfa Romeo team boss Frédéric

Vasseur told Motorsport.com that his squad had no choice but to agree to the changes.

“We were in such a tough situation that we had to,” he said. “Thankfully that did happen, because I’m not sure that we would have been able to survive.”

To give F1 breathing room, Liberty amended the terms of its debt which state that its profits have to remain at a certain level. This was deferred by several years and F1 also raised $1.4bn by selling its shares in event organiser Live Nation to another Liberty offshoot, SiriusXM. Meanwhile, the

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FIA introduced strict Covid protocols and although several F1 drivers have had to sit out races since then, entire events haven’t been cancelled by an outbreak. Reducing F1’s high-octane hosting fees also led to fanfavourite but cash-strapped tracks returning to the calendar and several have stayed the course. The development freeze and budget cap led to several mid-grid teams winning races during the pandemic and F1’s market value has accelerated nearly three-fold to $14.4bn since that fateful race in Australia.

The sport is certainly back on track.

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MW65 Wireless Leather over-ear Headphones Dhs1,960 Master & Dynamic available at MR PORTER

THE PAD

The coolest finds to add to the mancave WORDS & STYLING: AMY SESSIONS

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Left and below: Phantom II 95dB Wireless Speaker Dhs5,000 Devialet available at MR PORTER; TP04 Pure Cool Purifying Tower Fan Dhs1,999 Dyson available at Jumbo; Andes Sofa Dhs7,188 West Elm

From left: Oluce Atollo Lamp by Vico Magistretti Dhs2,890; Resin and Wood Chess Set Dhs1,807 Skyline Chess, London Brutalist Edition; TAB-F Floor Lamp Dhs1,450 Flos; Mineral Coffee Table by Bianco Curia Dhs5,670 Ferm Living

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A Beginner’s Guide to Crypto Christopher Manessis, chief investment officer at Moonchain Capital, has a few tips for those who are eager to break into the cryptocurrency investment landscape

WORDS: VAR UN GODINHO

You were once a pizzeria owner. How did you transition to the world of cryptocurrency? Yes, but I sadly don’t have one of those wild pizza Bitcoin stories. I transitioned to cryptocurrencies in late 2016. I started investing in Bitcoin and Ethereum, and also participating in ICOs after a friend told me about the disruptive potential of distributed ledger technologies. I have been investing in cryptocurrencies in a professional capacity ever since.

Do you remember the very first time you tasted success with cryptocurrency, and also have you ever burnt your fingers? Yes, of course. You never forget your first successful investment. During the ICO boom in 2017, I invested in a novel Ethereum competitor called Zilliqa. It was my first significant trade where I made almost 20x my money. Yes, there is no reward without risk. I have on rare occasions been wrong with my investment and lost 80 per cent of my money.

What is the sort of advice that you’d offer to a complete newcomer who wants to begin investing in cryptocurrency? Keep things simple. There is no diversification

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in crypto. Find projects you are genuinely passionate about and believe in long-term.

Don’t invest what you are not prepared to lose. Crypto is not a get-rich-quick scheme; some people have gotten lucky, and you might too, but there are no guarantees. Don’t invest in cryptocurrencies led by teams that constantly make excuses for their lack of execution and progress.

Is there a right time ever to cash out, or is investing in crypto a long game? It depends entirely on individual circumstances. If taking profits can significantly improve your way of life, then do it. If you don’t need the money right away and have a firm conviction in your investment, then be patient and hold on to your investment for as long as you can. Selling too early is just as bad as selling too late. There is no way to time the market, and no one knows what will happen next, so utilising an effective risk-reward strategy is the surest way to remain in the game.

How would you advise balancing crypto investments vis-a-vis traditional investments such as real estate, gold, and stock markets?

I always advise allocating a small percentage of your portfolio (1-5 per cent) in crypto

to get started and increase your allocation size based on your risk-reward profile.

Cryptocurrencies are highly asymmetric investments, so you don’t need to allocate much to make a solid overall return. On average, most coins have provided 10x returns to investors since 2020. This is not a solicitation or guarantee that the same returns are possible in the future. Still, it gives a realistic example of the risk-reward potential cryptocurrencies can provide investors.

Are Dogecoin and Shiba examples of a far too casual and reckless approach to cryptocurrency? Not always. Meme coins like Doge and Shiba are no joke. They are backed by incredibly passionate communities and form part of investment theses in many well-respected modern investment firms. That said, their risk-reward profiles are highly elevated, so investors should invest in these coins with extreme caution.

Meme coins can have short life expectancies and quickly lose their widespread appeal and value. It is also important to note that not all meme coins are alike; most meme coins are giant Ponzi schemes.

All cryptocurrencies are not equal. Which ones are currently faring better than their peers, and are there undiscovered gems out there? In my opinion, very few cryptocurrencies are worth buying. Today, investing in crypto assets is like selecting the winners post the dot-com bubble. Many internetrelated stocks failed, but if you invested in Amazon, Google, Apple, and Microsoft and held your position until today, you would have done exceptionally well. I am personally very bullish on Solana and their ecosystem – primarily around Solana based Play-to-Earn (P2E) games. I also believe Bitcoin, Ethereum, and a few Ethereum competitors will be here in the future and will be worth a whole lot more than they are today. Otherwise, plenty of talent is going full time into crypto, so there will be a lot of gems emerging in the near-term future.

Keep an eye out for NFT and gaming-related projects. They have mass appeal and will bring millions of users to crypto.

What are the regulations that are necessary to grow the crypto investments landscape responsibly worldwide? We need regulations that are specific to the crypto industry. Applying our outdated financial regulations to the crypto industry will hinder innovation and progress. I firmly believe that regulators worldwide should foster a safe harbour approach. They should let new crypto projects build their services with lit-

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“Keep things simple. There is no diversification in crypto. Find projects you are genuinely passionate about and believe in long-term.”

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tle-to-no oversight, observe how users interact with these cryptocurrencies and then work with lawmakers to design new rules to protect investors.

That said, I also believe too much emphasis is being placed on regulation and not enough on education. Most financial institutions are burdened with regulatory oversight today because of the lack of education amongst retail investors. Proper education programmes can help reduce overregulation whilst protecting the market.

The Swiss regulators known as FINMA were the first to introduce a classification of cryptocurrencies in 2017, which provided enormous clarity to projects and investors.

FINMA immensely helped Switzerland become an incredible hub to launch new crypto projects. I think more regulators should provide clarity as FINMA has done.

What are some ways that both individuals and crypto exchanges can safeguard their crypto assets? As a general rule of thumb, don’t keep any sensitive information like passwords or private keys online; ideally, store this information in a notepad in a safe or bank vault. Don’t store your crypto on exchanges; keep them in a hardware wallet (like a Ledger), or for institutional investors, use institutional-grade custodians like Coinbase custody or Copper. Also, use two-factor authentication on your exchange accounts or, ideally, a 2FA key like Yubikey. If you are using a web wallet like Metamask, don’t interact with websites you don’t fully trust and remove connected sites after using them.

What is the core model of Moonchain Capital and can you give us a business overview of it?

Moonchain Capital is a crypto holding company based in Geneva, Switzerland. Our investment thesis revolves around NFTs, NFT platforms, and gaming. These segments of the crypto market have mass appeal and will help onboard millions of users into crypto.

Although we only invest from our balance sheet, we have recently partnered with DIFC-licenced investment house, Audacia Capital. We are aiming to launch a crypto/ web3/metaverse themed fund during Q2 to enable investors to get broad exposure to this incredibly exciting space.

How do regions like Dubai and other regions within the Middle East fare when it comes to maturity and adoption of cryptocurrency investments? I think Dubai has incredible potential to become a world-renowned crypto hub. The two local crypto players in the region CoinMena and Rain are both

regulated by the central bank of Bahrain, which has taken a proactive approach to regulating cryptocurrencies and businesses. Very few countries have released clear regulatory guidelines for cryptocurrencies, except Switzerland, Singapore, and El Salvador, which has gone as far as declaring Bitcoin legal tender. I am highly impressed with the commitment to innovation in Dubai and the UAE, so I am confident that in due time Dubai [can become] an international crypto hub.

What are your broad predictions for the crypto market in 2022? Volatility is the trend for

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2022. We are currently in a bear market; Bitcoin has corrected approximately minus-40 per cent since its all-time high, and many other cryptocurrencies have corrected by around minus-60 per cent or more. I expect some cryptocurrencies to bounce aggressively and post double-digit gains, but this is contingent on macroeconomic events; geopolitics, global interest rate hikes, and recession fears which all play a crucial role in how cryptocurrencies perform. They are an evolving asset class and are increasingly reactive to macroeconomic externalities.

Despite short-term woes, I am confident crypto assets will outperform other asset classes. For the patient investor, 2022 has presented an incredible buying opportunity.

Disclaimer: Nothing mentioned here should be taken as solicitation to trade or a recommendation of a specific trade

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IMAGES: GETTY AND SUPPLIED

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Prime

Dariush Rakhshani, CEO of Prime Gourmet, on curating a premium butcher that supports sustainable farming and focuses on providing superlative produce

WORDS: SARAH JOSEPH

What do the first 30 minutes of your day look like, your morning routine? My days start very early with a jog on the beach at 4.30am before jumping into daily calls with our suppliers in the Southern hemisphere and then reaching the office at 7.30 am.

What inspired you to start Prime Gourmet in Dubai? Prime Gourmet was initially created to provide a showroom and a place to produce value-added products for the chefs that were already using our meats in their restaurants. Although this was the very start, I soon realized that Dubai was missing a place where customers could enjoy quality steaks and ingredients at home, while being assisted by professional butchers. Prime Gourmet soon became a place where we could promote all different cuts beyond the

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tenderloin, ribeye or striploin, which is the only way you can eat meat sustainably.

What are your hero products? Through the years we have developed such a variety of steaks and value-added products that it is very difficult to identify one in particular. At the beginning, the most popular products, besides steaks, were our all natural and gluten free sausages and burgers, but today our smoked brisket, our Japanese wagyu selections of cuts for shabu shabu and yakiniku and our new dry aged meats have become extremely popular. We have been the first butcher shop to make Japanese wagyu widely available in retail and again proposing to our clientele the least known cuts.

You also have an incredible selection of condiments – how do you sustain client interest by switching these up? Every ingredient you find in Prime Gourmet is carefully selected to be paired with the different meats and cuts we offer and according to different methods of cooking, from the Asian condiments for the stir fry and shabu shabu, to the gourmet sauces, mustards and cheeses for the burgers, to special rubs mix for the grill masters. We aim at offering to our customers all the necessary ingredients to enjoy their cooking and eating at home, while remaining focused on meat.

What are the next plans for growth? We are looking at expanding regionally and internationally, since we have the necessary knowhow, and can produce high value-added products, cooked and uncooked, ready to go and grab&go. With this in mind, we will have to be aware that any expansion of Prime Gourmet beyond the UAE will have to take into account different rules and regulations in other countries and customer preferences, while making sure we stay true to our standards of quality and sustainability. I can imagine a Prime Gourmet in London, Paris, New York and many more locations that concentrate on halal producers when it comes to wagyu and angus both Australian and Japanese. Furthermore, our expansion plans will be a mix of fusion between East and West, Southern Hemisphere and Northern Hemisphere cuisine, producing the best of fusion between Occidental and Oriental cuisine.

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Perpetual Fire

Chef Akmal Anuar has remained at the top of the Dubai F&B game for over a decade. Having recently launched his latest concept 11 Woodfire, he discusses with us how he’s sustained a successful career

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WORDS: OLIVIA MORRIS

Talk us through your career. My career started in Singapore as Head chef of Iggy’s restaurant, globally known for being the best Asian restaurant that was ranked 26th in the world’s 50 best awards in 2012. After that, I moved to Dubai in late 2013 and started a new venture with Richard Sandoval Hospitality in Starwood. Two years after that I opened 3fils with 2 partners in late 2016 until 2020. In 2020 I launched my first individual project, White Rice Co which had the most disastrous beginnings due to the pandemic. After a painfully hard year, I now have restaurants in Sharjah with Shurooq Investments, Goldfish Sushi Yakitori, a joint venture with Sunset Hospitality and lastly the sensation – 11 Woodfire. 11 Woodfire is my latest project with Atelier House Hospitality that opened its doors in January 2022.

Where does your love for food come from? I was brought up in a family where food was the centre of our lives. My parents were hawkers and they owned a catering service company. They worked hard their whole lives, I witnesses their passion for business and food and was lucky enough to support them as a teenager. My mum is the most amazing chef, I have never seen her use any scaled or modern utensils, a true gangster in her field. I got that and a lot from her.

What brought you to Dubai? Like every expat, we moved to Dubai to discover new opportunities. We came for a life-changing chapter. The series of stages of my life in Dubai has had its fair shares of ups and downs, either way, I always strive to be positive and do better.

Talk us through the concept of 11 Woodfire.

11 Woodfire is a restaurant that serves fresh, top-quality ingredients that are cooked over a woodfire. We keep everything natural and as simple as possible by keeping our wastage low and being responsible about the planet.

Woodfire cooking dates way back when humankind first discovered cooking. This type of cooking needs patience and intuition. I’m very thrilled to be able to introduce this concept to the city I call home, Dubai.

You have been a key player in the F&B industry in Dubai over the years. How do you sustain such a high level of quality and stay at the top of your game? Hard work and sincerity is the key. Nothing else tops that.

What are the hero dishes at 11 Woodfire? I’ve al-

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ways been a huge fan of seafood and my all-time favourite has to be whole French turbot. It’s a delicious flatfish that doesn’t have scales and it can be very difficult to cook. When the fish is super fresh, the skin produces lots of gelatin and collagen which makes it tricky to grill, so we thoroughly clean the exteriors and hang dry it in the chiller to partially dry it for 2-3 days depending on size and age. This process also helps to soften and relax the meat before it gets into the heat. At 11 Woodfire we have created a special tool that we fit the turbot into before grilling, which really helps the cooking process.

What sets the F&B industry in Dubai apart from the rest of the world? Dubai is multicultural and diversified, it is eclectic and never sleeps.

This city has welcomed innovation and ideas that has kept everyone on their toes. This is what I think sets Dubai apart from everyone else, a city that never sleeps. New ventures and ideas pops up constantly. Keeps us on our toes.

New blood and energy all the time.

You’ve only been open for less than two months and have already attracted royalty to the restaurant. What does this recognition feel like? Super honoured and blessed. The work is recognized and that is a testament.

What are the hurdles you’ve experienced throughout your career? Too many hurdles to mention, some of which include; building a professional culture, finding loyalty is one crucial element of running a successful restaurant. Helping people believe they are working for something that is worth their time and life.

What have been the milestones? I’ve always run one restaurant at a time, but in 2021 alone I opened three restaurants and in 2022 with 11 Woodfire’s over 200 seats is the next challenge for me. A part of my life where I am going through hustle life again. The work and dream never stop. More to come soon.

What’s next for 11 Woodfire in 2022? My focus at the moment is 11 Woodfire, it’s a passion project of mine and I am really excited to have brought it to life in Dubai. This spring, starting in March and lasting till around May, I have some exciting new openings in New York and KSA, which I am thoroughly looking forward to getting stuck into. 2022 is going to be very busy and hopefully filled with successes and of course, lots of hard work!

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The Next Chapter

Having first opened in the emirate in 2018 in the bustling dining scene of DIFC, Beefbar is back, but this time located further south at Jumeirah Al Naseem. Restaurateur Riccardo Giraudi discusses what’s different this time around and how Beefbar is set to make its true mark on Dubai

Talk us through your career. After my studies in London, the only internship I could find was in a startup PR company that said they would specialize in hospitality because at that time in 1998 there was no such thing.

It was also the time where restaurant brands were becoming lifestyle destinations.

I was lucky enough to be given the biggest accounts in one of the largest European capitals and I learned a lot. When I came back to Monaco to take over my family business (which is in the meat business) I decided I needed a showcase restaurant for my beef and created the first Beefbar out of sheer luck. At the time, the restaurant was a simple steakhouse with great quality beef and with time this evolved, and I began to really enjoy this business and then opened a second, third and fourth restaurant in the principality of Monaco and that’s how it all started.

Where does your love for food come from?

It’s one of the few pleasures of life but it was always in me since I was a kid. I love to travel, I love to eat, I love to get inspired by what I see all around the world and I like to interpret world cuisines and package them in a luxurious yet relaxed atmosphere. I love contrasts, hate rigidness and enjoy good times.

You recently opened Beefbar for the second time in Dubai. What’s different this time around? In the last three years, the brand took a totally new turn and that’s what made it much more appealing. I’m further away from the classic steakhouse menus and developed an array of street food from all over the world. We now have many chefs from different nationalities who reinterpret their simple local cuisine with the best meaty ingredients. We also developed a large selection of vegan dishes and moved into increasing the menu with great fish and seafood selections as well. Yes, it’s called Beefbar but we can now offer diversity and also cater to non-meat lovers.

You’ve switched up the location from DIFC.

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What’s the appeal of Jumeirah Al Naseem?

In short, it’s the energy of the place. I see it as an oasis with beautiful lighting, a cosy surrounding. It also helps traffic being located in a hotel as we don’t only cater to Dubai residents and tourists but also to people who enjoy spending time in Jumeirah Al Naseem.

Talk us through the concept of Beefbar. The menu is divided into a street food section to be considered as starters, and a comfort food section to be considered as mains. The street food section is divided into leaf (vegetarian) and reef (seafood) items. The main section is divided into the type of cooking.

Grilled, steamed, barbecued, minced, raw and so on. I created desserts that bring you back to childhood with an amazing marbled chocolate bar, an incredible soufflé and our famous gelato.

What are the hero dishes at Beefbar? There are so many as we always evolve and create new dishes. But I would say the rock corn, the jasmine tea-smoked Kobe beef bao bun, and the pepper beef are amongst the best sellers. Not to forget, our signature Sauce Beefbar, and our unique twist on wagyu shawarma!

What sets the F&B industry in Dubai apart from the rest of the world? It’s a very cosmopolitan environment where people come from all over the world. It’s also a very competitive environment. And as a famous song would say, “If you can make it there you can make it anywhere”.

Describe the process that goes into curating new menus and new dish ideas. So, first of all, I cannot cook. People tend to think I am a chef, and I am not. That is my strength, because by travelling and getting inspired by what I see and taste I can then envision all the new dishes with the help of my amazing team. I am more of an Artistic Director if you prefer. You know chefs and restaurateurs are two very distinct profes-

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WORDS: OLIVIA MORRIS

sions. People tend to forget that. I have to mix cuisine with design and music. I am responsible for creating the moment of what we call, the experience.

What are the hurdles you’ve experienced throughout your career? Like any entrepreneur, people tend to see only their successes but like any human being, I’ve had a few failures that made me grow. I had many diversified companies in many industries, and I decided to focus only on a few with time and maturity. Now I focus on myself, and what I believe in. I’m glad I realized so much early on and I’m so grateful for what I have achieved so far.

What have been the milestones? There have been many, but I would have to say opening Beefbar in the French capital surrounded by chefs only and not by brands was a major success. Also, obtaining my first Michelin star in Hong Kong was unexpected. The plans for expansion even though these times are tough yet extremely promising. I hope to have many more milestones in the future.

What are your hopes for Beefbar Dubai in 2022? To put it on the map!

“I have to mix cuisine with design and music. I am responsible for creating the moment of what we call, the experience.”

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A Conscious Future

Oliver Ripley, co-founder and CEO of Habitas AlUla, shares how this experience-led property is part of a wider focus on sustainable living

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WORDS: SARAH JOSEPH

What do the first 30 minutes of your day look like? What is your morning routine? I spend my mornings taking time for myself, enjoying a cup of coffee while I catch up on emails and the news.

Single-use plastic has been eliminated throughout the villas – tell us more? We are committed to eliminating single-use plastic throughout all of our homes and have been awarded the Oceanic Champion Badge for adopting The Oceanic Standard. Our priority is to partner with local vendors who provide alternatives to single-use plastics that we can apply at different levels of our operations. Additionally, we are working towards funding local plastic-free initia-

tives through our programmes and through education-based panel discussions.

Can you elaborate on the modular-build and low-impact design of the property? Habitas uses a modular build meaning our rooms are designed, constructed, flat-packed and delivered to new locations worldwide. People have a preconception for what modular means, but in fact, every hotel is highly customised in design, detail and feel. We just employ a much more efficient building approach, which has many advantages and only enhances experiences. Through extensive research and site visits, we ensure the design of each project harmonises with the location’s natural surround-

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ings. We design and build around nature, which we call our lead architect. Sustainability is at the core of our brand and thus paramount in how we design each of our homes. Whilst the design of each home differs depending on the location, we always create an aesthetic that blends seamlessly with the surrounding landscape. We don’t build through nature but rather around it.

Everything we source and buy supports the local community and creates micro-economies. This is integral to our ethos, helping local farmers and artisans, and training and teaching the local workforce.

How has Habitas disrupted the hospitality industry with its forward-thinking approach to

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“We don’t build through nature but rather around it.”

innovation? We never set out to disrupt the industry, nor to create a global hospitality company. We were building something for ourselves, an experience that didn’t exist, and we took a commonsense approach to solving the problems we encountered.

My co-founders and I have different backgrounds, both entrepreneurial and creative, but funnily enough not a history in hospitality. Building and operating a hotel traditionally has multiple stakeholders, who can have different interests and priorities which include management companies, owners, developers, architects. It follows a linear process, and a project can take three to four years from idea to opening. We do

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this all under one company. By designing, manufacturing, developing and operating in-house, we streamline the process.

Your clients are global. How do you ensure the experience is bespoke for all? We believe in personalising the experience while adding an element of surprise and discovery, infused with local modalities. For instance, at our spa, Thuraya Wellness, we offer an alchemy bar where guests can try different oils and elixirs and apply to their spa treatments based on their preferences.

You’ve created a space for people to connect. Tell us more? Nature plays a fundamental role for Habitas AlUla and when creating the property, we ensured full im-

mersion into the natural world, comfort and space designed for human connection and sustainability throughout the entire design and execution process. For us, luxury is the ability to connect with nature. Our home is designed for human connection, with gathering spaces and panoramic views as the backdrop. Our design philosophy is simple: we let nature speak for itself.

You’re regarded as a philanthropist; how do you engage in social causes for a better future? Philanthropy has been a huge passion of mine throughout my life and has become increasingly important as we develop Habitas, which is built on human connection and supporting local communities. We

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believed it was our responsibility to create our own impact initiative, and thus Habitas Rise was born. We focus on giving back by strengthening local communities, education and promoting sustainable and conscious tourism. We set up pop-up schools to train and hire locals, as for us, hospitality is the kind of experience you receive when you come into an old friend’s home, so it has to feel local. We also look to source local materials, produce and set up and support local micro-economies. Through Habitas, we have a platform on which to encourage conscious tourism and set new standards in sustainable development.

Saudi Arabia is changing at a rapid rate in terms of travel, tourism and hospitality.

What do you see for the near future as the next immediate growth area or innovation?

Saudi Arabia is very unique in terms of its history and culture. It’s the gateway to two holy cities, Mecca and Medina. It has a very young population with over 70 per cent of the population below the age of 30. I’m very impressed with the way that culture is at the forefront of travel, tourism and development inside of the coun-

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try. The country’s perception is still very misunderstood globally, although there is tremendous change happening. There are such a variety of locations, climates and geographies to explore from the Gulf of Aqaba to the Farasan Islands, Al-Faw, to the mountain regions. There is even skiing.

The success inside Saudi Arabia over the next few years politically, culturally and religiously will have a global effect on the rest of the world and its success is key.

What does the future of luxury and wellness look like to you? We believe what luxury means is changing for a growing number of us. We prioritise experiences and human connection over material possessions.

For us luxury is to reconnect with ourselves, with our loved ones and to make new friends. Luxury is about those moments that we create and share that live inside of us, long after we leave a location and come back home. We are huge advocates of responsible tourism and always consider ways to preserve our planet and give back to the local communities. It means giving back in equal measure and doing our part to ensure a sustainable future for all.

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WORDS: AMY SESSIONS

Watch stand Dhs2,500 Charles Simon Watch Stand for Perpétuel, available at Perpétuel Gallery, DIFC

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