Esquire Q&A

Dolores Al Shellah - Climbing Mt. Everest and making documentaries

Another week, another Esquire Q&A Podcast.  Today, we're sitting down with Mohamed Jassim Al Serkal, the UAE's lone Emirati dressage rider. 

Mohamed Jassim Al Serkal - on Olympic dreams and dressage

Welcome back to the Esquire Q&A Podcast! Today is a very special day for the podcast because it's the start of season three. Yes, the podcast has proven so popular that we are back, bringing with us an entirely new roster of interesting guests that represent both style and substance - two traits that us here at Esquire hold most dear. As per usual, each week we will be sitting down with a man or woman who exhibits both style and substance, and talking about their interests, and figuring out what makes these people tick. Today is no different, as we will be delving in - for the first time in this podcast's history, I might add - into the motoring industry. Yes, we have talked to artists, musicians, designers, hotel managers, influencers, gamers and more, but this marks our first-ever discussion based around cars. Our guest today is Markus Leithe, who is the marketing manager of Infiniti Middle East. He is in charge of driving Infiniti's performance here in the region. He brings more than 20 years of automotive experience to the job, having previously worked for another motoring stalwart: General Motors. Today we're going to go over everything from where the car industry is going - from both a design and a technological standpoint - as well as the elephant in the room, what the coronavirus might mean for the wider industry in general. 

Markus Leithe - Self-driving cars and the future of the motor industry

Another week, another episode of the Esquire Q&A Podcast.

Ghassan Salameh - Urban activism and what makes good design

It's another episode of the Esquire Q&A podcast. 

Yassir Max Corpataux - Becoming a coffee sommelier and how to make the perfect cup

Welcome to another episode of the Esquire Q&A podcast

Amir Khan - The Clash on the Dunes and what's next for boxing

As you know – each week we sit down with a man (or a woman) who exhibits both style and substance, two characteristics that we hold most dear at Esquire. Today, my guest certainly embodies those two principles – and for the first time for the podcast he’s involved in the busy hospitality industry. As those who know places like the Middle East will tell you, this region is a hot bed for new luxury hotels – Dubai in particular. Tim Cordon has spent most of his life running hotels, and now looks after 85 currently, with another 80 in development. Yes, Tim is the senior vice president of the Radisson Hotel Group here in the Middle East and Africa – and spends his time travelling around the world literally – checking in – on some of the region’s best hotels. But, that’s enough waffle from me. Why don’t we talk to the big man himself. Enjoy.

Tim Cordon - the wild world of Middle Eastern hospitality

Hello, and welcome once again to another episode of the Esquire Q&A Podcast. Now as regular listeners will know, this is the show where we sit down with men and women who exhibit both style and substance. Today is no different, as for the first time we are sitting down with someone who specializes in all things social media. Benjamin Ampen is the managing director for Twitter’s Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan offices. Our conversation today obviously covers all things social media, but we also discuss what it’s like working at a social media giant like Twitter, how to get a job there as well as what the other bigwigs of social media need to look out for. Oh, and we also chat a little bit about his penchant for martial arts, and driving very fast on two wheels. Enjoy the show…

Benjamin Ampen - what's next for Twitter and getting a job in tech

Now, today is a very special episode because we are – GASP – breaking our regular podcasting schedule? Why would we do that I hear you ask? Because it is currently the Dubai Watch Week, aka the region’s biggest watch shindig that brings thousands of people to the city to marvel at all things watch related. Watch Week is currently going on at Dubai’s International Financial City, and we’ve been there pretty much every second of every day, rubbing shoulders with watch royalty, checking out the newest launches and – yes – talking to some very interesting men about some very interesting watches. And that’s what brings me to today’s podcast. Today we talked to none other than David Tedeschi, the regional director for – among other things – Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as the Middle East and Africa. We sat down to discuss what makes Hublot tick, as well as some very, very interesting new materials in watchmaking. Enjoy the show.

David Tedeschi - on what makes Hublot tick

When Caroline Leon broke her back four years ago she never thought she’d be able to walk again let alone attempt to become the first person to climb the 15 highest peaks in the Middle East. At the time, her injuries were so severe she wanted to give up. But after being confined to a wheelchair for six months as well as undergoing 14 surgeries and 23 blood transfusions, she slowly regained her ability to walk and came up with a plan to get not only her strength back but also her confidence. She has now climbed 10 of the 15 peaks and is almost at the end of her journey. The only problem? Navigating her travel to the currently hard-to-get-to countries of Iraq and Yemen. She joined us in the Esquire studio to share her journey since the accident.

Caroline Leon - road to recovery and climbing the world's tallest peaks

Hello, and welcome back to the Esquire Q&A Podcast. Now as many of you will know, this is the show where we sit down with men and women who exhibit both style and substance. Previously, we’ve talked to award-winning chefs, broadcasters, watchmakers, entrepreneurs, actors, singers and artists. And this week is no different. Today we’re sitting down with a man who is no stranger to an audio studio. Jafaar is a Jordan-based singer/songwriter who wants to bridge the musical cultures of the east and the west. Ultimately, he wants to modernize Arab music with international beats, and hopefully increase interest in that flavour of tune. Fun fact – Jafaar is actually the nephew to Jordan Royalty. So stay tuned to hear us talk a little about that. Enjoy.

Jafaar - The arab music scene and developing inspiration

It’s not often that you hear of someone successfully lifting 500 kilos in a world record deadlift.  The Beast, Eddie Hall shattered records in 2017 and also took home the title of the World’s Strongest Man. The former truck mechanic turned the world’s strongest man turned Hollywood actor speaks to Esquire in his gruelling training regime, working out with Arnold Swazzenagger and the difficulty of travelling when you’re a big man. 

Eddie Hall - Lifting 500 kilogrammes and working out with Swazzenagger

Today we are sitting down with an internationally renowned chef with restaurants all over the globe. He’s been working in the culinary world for the last 20-years, but before that was a professional snowboarder of all things. Since swapping the snow for the kitchen, Akira Back has been named the Best Chef in Las Vegas, participated in more food and drink events than I have time to list right here, and been presented with a Michelin star. Earlier this year he opened up his first restaurant here in Dubai at the new W Hotel on the palm, and today we’re here to talk about what got him started in the culinary world, how he compares Dubai to other food capitals and what’s next on his docket of world domination.

Akira Back - Michelin Stars and why mums are the ultimate food critics

Amir Siddiqui tells it like it is. He didn’t come to the UAE to help the country get fit or lose weight (although, that is a helpful byproduct), he did so to make money. Since then has earned a reputation as one of Dubai’s most effective – and expensive – trainers. Siddiqui runs Symmetry Gym, often touted as Dubai’s most expensive. There’s a reason for that; mainly that the private gym only offers one-on-one training sessions with some of the region’s best fitness experts. The gym also specializes in building fitness systems and most recently put together a 28-day plan that costs a whopping US$9,800 (AED36,000) with no money-back guarantee. We sat down with Siddiqui in this month’s Esquire Q&A podcast to ask about the merits of this radical new system and the mistakes people make when getting fit.

Amir Siddiqui – Dubai’s most expensive trainer on his US$10,000 fitness plan

Welcome to another episode of the Esquire Q&A Podcast. This week we have a genuine superstar on the show, the WWE's Mansoor.  WWE superstar Mansoor Al-Shehail has quickly become a man of firsts. He was the first Saudi-born wrestler to sign for WWE, he was the first Saudi-born wrestler to wrestle on the company’s NXT show, he made his debut in 2018 on WWE’s first-ever live event in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and followed it up a year later by winning of the largest Battle Royal in WWE history at the Super Showdown event in Riyadh. Making a success of yourself in the immensely competitive and cutthroat world of sports entertainment is difficult enough, but add that list of trailblazing accolades to a 23-year-old’s shoulders and it takes a person of serious character to not only survive but thrive. Ahead of the upcoming WWE Crown Jewel 2019 event in Riyadh on October 31, Esquire Middle East sat down with Mansoor to hear his story. 

WWE Superstar Mansoor - wrestling and women in sports

Our weekly podcast that brings you the biggest names in the world of entertainment, style, travel, culture, sports and a whole lot more. Esquire Q&A aims to leave you - the listener - a bit more clued up with what's going on in the world (from the experts who should know). The Esquire Q&A Podcast is brought to you by Esquire Middle East.