OWEIS ZAHRAN
Still only 28, the wildly successful automotive entrepreneur is on course to retire by the time he turns thirty
Retiring young: People have always told me that I am young man with an old spirit. When I was 18, I told myself that I would retire by the time I was 30. I’d say ‘you are going to make all this money, have all this success and fill that desire you have, then afterwards, go buy an island somewhere.
I dropped out of high-school at 15 to work for my dad, and it taught me to have an inextinguishable work ethic—i hardly ever take a day off. A friend of mine said that I don’t need to retire at 30, I just need to take a vacation!
My gym tells my story: From a young age I was taught that being physically active was a key part of who you are. I can’t go 72 hours without working out—it actually fills me with dread leaving it that long between workouts.
It’s not about the physical appearance, it is about mentally organizing my life. My brothers and I own a private gym in Sharjah.the walls are decorated with graffiti.tha art work tells our story of growing up in the projects of Newyork.
The business of collecting:
I have an extensive watch collection, which has helped open doors for me in the business world. there are about 15 of us who are involved in that level of seriously exclusive watch collecting here in the Middle East.we buy watches off each other, we bond over them and then we do business.
I collect Richard Mille watches, in fact, the Jamaican sprinter yohan Blake and I became friends thanks to the first Richard Mille watch I bought being the RM61, the one that he collaborated on.
Watches are art: The first thing I put on in the morning is a watch. I will still be in my PJS! If
I’m not wearing a watch it makes me feel incomplete, like I’ve lost my wallet or phone or something. I don’t believe in buying an exotic watch to tell the time. If you want to tell the time buy a G-shock or use your phone watches to me are pieces of art.
The shoe people come to my house: I have about 150 pairs of Louis vuitton shoes. LV is my shoe place, and, in fact, they know me globally as ‘the shoe guy’ they will even come to my house with the latest, limited collections.
It’s handy, but also expensive!