January 28, 2025 • 28 mins
EventNewsDXB Ep 2 - Mark Breakspear: From Snowboarding to Event Excellence
EventNewsDXB is supported by Warehouse Four - Dubai's best independent event venue.
Join host Ian Carless and DLC Event's Mark Breakspear as he recounts his progression from snowboard instructor to Sales and Operations Manager, where he's played a pivotal role in the rise of DLC Events as a leader in simultaneous interpretation and discussion systems.
The discussion explores Dubai’s strategic advantage for hosting world-class events, the city's resilient recovery post-pandemic thanks to Expo 2020, as well as the growing events scene in Saudi Arabia.
Mark also delves into technological advancements that have enhanced conference experiences, such as infrared receivers and virtual tech, and emphasizes the importance of local talent in interpretation services. In all, the conversation offer's an insightful look into the evolving events industry in the region.
Podcast Rundown
• Mark's journey from ski instructor to event management
• Insights on managing events during and post-pandemic
• The impact of Expo 2020 on Dubai's event recovery
• Importance of expertise over cost in event management
• Competition in Dubai's event industry and standing out
• Technological advancements in event production
• The significance of a skilled talent pool in event execution
• Strategies for managing the cyclical nature of event business
• Future opportunities for DLC Events in the global market
Production Credits:
Presented by: Ian Carless
Studio Engineer & Editor: Roy D'Monte
Executive Producers: Ian Carless & Joe Morrison
Produced by: EventNewsDXB & W4 Podcast Studio
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Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Ian Carless (00:00):
Welcome to Event News DXB.
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(00:20):
Thanks a bunch.
Event News DXB.
You're listening to the EventNews DXB podcast.
Your behind-the-scenes lookinto the world of events in
Dubai, the UAE and the MENAregion.
I'm Ian Carlos and each weekI'll be bringing you the latest
(00:43):
news, industry trends andinsider stories shaping one of
the world's most dynamic eventmarkets.
From professional insights toDubai's most inspiring success
stories, we've got everythingyou need to stay ahead in the
ever-evolving event industry.
So, whether you're an eventplanner, a brand manager or just
someone passionate about thepower of events, you're in the
right place.
This week we're talking to MarkBreakspear.
(01:06):
After graduating from theUniversity of Manchester in 2005
, mark moved to Dubai to workwith Magin Alpha Tame Leisure
during the opening of Ski Dubai.
Fast forward 18 months and ahuge career change saw him join
the events industry with DLCEvents.
Originally a crew member andlighting technician, mark soon
progressed to project managementand quickly began to specialise
(01:26):
in conferencing technology,where he's now the sales and
operations manager, and it's inthis role that he's helped guide
DLC events to become theleading supplier of simultaneous
interpretation and discussionsystems in the Middle East.
Mark, welcome to the show,thank you, good afternoon.
Now I'm going to kick off andI'm going to put you on the spot
.
So you told me earlier, just aswe were grabbing coffee.
(01:48):
You used to be a ski instructor, snowboard instructor.
Mark Breakspear (01:52):
I actually learned how to teach skiing
purely because they paid me moremoney.
So, yeah, I've beensnowboarding since I was a young
age and got the opportunity tobe part of the opening of this
great indoor ski centre in themiddle of the desert, and it
timed up quite well with megraduating from university.
So I thought, why the hell not?
(02:13):
Let's go and spend a couple ofyears in a fun country before
settling down and getting aproper job.
And, like many people, yeah,didn't leave.
Ian Carless (02:21):
Never left, Never left, Never left.
So at what point then I mean, Iwon't dwell too much on the
whole ski Dubai experience butat what point then did you
decide that okay, snowboardinstructor maybe isn't cutting
the mustard and I need to dosomething else?
Mark Breakspear (02:35):
You know what?
It was?
A great, great job.
I really, really loved it.
But it's not a career there'snowhere to move up to, apart
from moving into the office.
And the great thing aboutteaching lessons is that every
single lesson you do has you doyour introductions, you find out
what people do for a living andyou wait until you find an
(02:57):
industry that you're interestedin do a good lesson, take them
for a beer afterwards, andthat's actually what I did with
one of our industry power horsesI guess you'd call him Steph
Sebeler, okay, so I taught himsnowboarding many, many moons
ago.
At the time he worked for DLC.
(03:18):
I was always been interested inevents Once you get into event
management, and he suggested hey, why don't you come and learn
the technical side of events?
So when you do event managementin the future, you'll have a
bit better understanding of howeverything works, a bit more
well-rounded.
And then I really enjoyed thetechnical side.
I enjoyed being up on the trussplugging lights in.
(03:38):
I did want to be one of theguys sat at the back of the room
, stressed on their blackberry,dealing with every little
problem, much like making thingslook cool.
Ian Carless (03:46):
Yeah, that progressed on so how long did it
take you to sort of ingratiateyourself into the industry?
Was there a period at thebeginning where you thought, or
did you straight away kind ofknow, okay, I enjoyed this I
knew right from the start, Ienjoyed it.
Mark Breakspear (04:01):
I I think my path has changed from initially
being interested in lighting tothen being the guy that um, we,
you know, we had a smalltranslation system back in the
day.
We used to all these uh,training sessions with
mcdonald's and things where theybrought off over the turfish
guys and no one else wanted todo that because it was boring
compared to the av jobs.
(04:21):
So I, as the new kid I gotbumped onto quite well at it,
got a few bigger contracts.
Then, I think, we got the DubaiFilm Festival one year where we
ended up investing in all thedigital equipment and from there
it just snowballed asinterpretation became more and
more common.
We got microphones and we'vegot all the other paraphernalia
that goes with it and it turnedinto being what is now our core
(04:45):
business.
So, from being a little sidehustle almost back in 2007, fast
forward to 2025, and it's ourprimary focus is conference
technology.
Ian Carless (04:55):
Now, obviously, dubai is well known for hosting
world-class events.
What kind of trends have yousort of seeing at the moment or
over the last four or five years, and where do you think it's
going now?
Mark Breakspear (05:05):
Dubai is a very popular venue, um it's, it's
got headquarters of a lot ofdifferent organizations.
Certainly, during the, thepandemic, obviously everything
dropped off again and I'm reallyreally happy that everything's
gone back.
And some with uh, with theselive events, there's a lot of uh
people that were pessimisticabout how you know events would
(05:28):
be after the, after the pandemic, and I'm very pleased to hear
that I was.
I was right and things arebigger and better, I think,
because of the location of dubai.
It's very central, so it's easyfor people to get to when the
audiences or the attendees arespread all over the world,
because it's a very central area.
Ian Carless (05:48):
Yeah, you mentioned the pandemic.
I guess you know we probablycouldn't have gone through a
podcast without referring tothat especially in relation to
events right.
I mean, how did you manage thatwhole process?
Mark Breakspear (06:00):
Oh God, you know it was hard.
I was actually trying to get amortgage at the time and they
wouldn't give me a mortgagebecause I told them I was in the
events industry.
It's like, well, you know, yourjob's not safe, you're going to
be let go any day.
You know DLC are a veryclose-knit company.
Lorraine who owns the businessshe's the kindest woman you ever
(06:21):
know we all put in together, weall dug our heels in, found out
where we could progress interms of doing work, because
obviously no on-site events.
But a few of ourforward-thinking clients moved
their stuff to virtual events.
We very quickly adopted remoteinterpretation.
So where we had the platform,we used one called Interprefy
(06:46):
and we shouted about it becauseit was the only work we were
doing.
There's no lighting jobs,there's no on-site events, so we
didn't really have the kind ofpositions where we could work
from home.
Um, so we also came into theoffice, obviously completely
socially distanced and takingall precautions, promise, and we
battled on.
We, we tried to find new avenues.
Some worked, some didn't.
We tried like home cinemas atone point.
(07:07):
That never really took off, butyou know, it was that kind of
forward thinking idea of wherecan we get money in?
Where can we get money in topay the wages, where can we get
money in to pay the bills?
And we all hunkered down alittle bit, carried on pushing
forward, carried on marketing,carried on with uh to people
Very lucky to be under theleadership of Lorraine, and no
(07:28):
one was actually let go at all.
And we came out the other sideeven stronger a lot happier.
Ian Carless (07:34):
I think it's been interesting.
I mean, what have you seensince the pandemic?
I mean, do you think we're backto where we were pre-pandemic
levels in terms of the eventindustry?
Mark Breakspear (07:43):
I definitely think so.
I think people are now.
I think, ever since the end ofthe expo is when I really
noticed the change.
We were quoting a lot of jobsand heavy discounts because we
just wanted the work and itseemed like every end client
left things so late in the daywhen the industry really kicked
off at I guess it was 2021, liketowards the end of the year
(08:08):
whereas at the start of thatyear we'd been offering heavy
discounts just to get someconfirmations in.
Now, when it all startedpicking up, everyone's back to
higher prices, and I think theindustry really benefited from
that cash injection, which wasthe Expo.
I don't think the Expo couldhave come at a better time for
Dubai.
Lots of people came, lots ofpeople wanted to show off and
have these large events.
(08:29):
We did the World GovernmentSummit, which was the last event
of the Expo, and that was thebiggest one they'd had up to
that point and it was really ashowcase on you know, we can
come back and we can come backbig.
And ever since then people seema little bit more willing to
appreciate the, the value ofexpertise, rather than just that
(08:52):
bottom line.
They're considering the valuerather than the cost, which I'm
sure will go up and down as theas the years go by.
But since the pandemic I reallyfeel that people are
appreciating the, the expertisethat people deliver, rather than
just the equipment list andthat final budget number.
Ian Carless (09:09):
I think it's encouraging to hear you say that
because I think you know sooften in my experience in this
market as well, we are verybottom line driven.
I mean, there are a few clientsthat you know really put the
emphasis on quality, but at theend of the day they look at that
final figure and if it's gottoo many zeros on it or if it's
too high a number, they balk.
So I think it's really good tosee that people are, you know,
(09:31):
perhaps getting less consciousabout the actual budget.
What other challenges do youthink we face here in the UAE
with events?
Mark Breakspear (09:39):
Certainly competition.
There's a lot of people aroundthat do the same thing.
There's a huge number of AVcompanies.
There's a lot of people aroundthat do the same thing.
There's a huge number of AVcompanies.
There's a huge number ofconference companies.
There's a huge number oftranslation agencies.
A lot of them, especially onthe small scale stuff.
Everyone's doing the same thingand it's very hard to compete.
We've never been the cheapestcompany, never tried to be, but
it really pushes us to deliverabove the quotes.
(10:02):
So the customer service, theexperience you get dealing with
us so you know when you're goingto ask us for a quote you know
you're going to get not only arequite fast, but if you've asked
something I don't know, maybewrong or that could be done
better, we guide you on that.
We use our expertise to saylook, the best solution for your
event, how we can add the mostvalue to your events, is by
(10:22):
doing this rather than justtaking whatever they're asking
for.
You know we're the experts inthe field, that we do as any
company should be, and it's ourrole to guide the clients into
getting the most success and forthe least money.
So we want to make it aseconomic as possible, while
still getting value for what webring to the events, how do you
(10:47):
stay ahead of the competition?
Ian Carless (10:48):
then I mean clearly , you know, equipment is
probably, you know one aspect,but only one aspect of a much
larger picture.
Mark Breakspear (10:55):
Exactly, I think marketing is a big thing.
This region is very much aboutconnections and that's why I had
this two-year break after theExpo from DLC, I went and worked
for a remote company.
When I came back in May thisyear, it was in a different role
that I wanted to carve out thatI felt dlc needed, which was as
(11:17):
the task chest, the sales andoperations side of things,
having someone that goes out andmaintains those relationships
with the clients.
It shows interest in what otherpeople are doing fire, not just
what equipment we have gotavailable for your event, but
how can we help you do evenbetter.
Um, so it's about going thatextra mile and the experience of
(11:38):
dealing with us, rather thanjust the the equipment list now,
you mentioned the expo.
Ian Carless (11:43):
I mean, like you said, that was a massive boost
to the industry when it wasprobably most needed.
Yeah, now I think you knowattention has turned uh towards
saudi, doesn't it?
How important do you see saudinow in terms of the events here
in this region?
Mark Breakspear (11:55):
Yeah, saudi is growing.
We've got some equipment overthere.
We haven't gone down the routeof getting an established
business over there.
I think we've got work cut outat the moment with our team the
size it is in the region, butyeah, it's definitely growing.
I would love it if the freightcosts to get equipment there
were a little bit cheaper and alittle bit more reliable as well
(12:18):
.
But I I love the region.
I've been to jenna, I've beento re-add a couple of times and
it's it's really up and coming.
So I'm we're watching from afar.
Yeah, we're being involved whenwe, when we, when we can.
I still think it's a lot farbehind on on on Dubai in terms
of procedures and and ways ofdoing business, but it's
(12:39):
certainly an exciting time.
What about?
Ian Carless (12:41):
longevity.
I mean, you know, I know you'vebeen in the region a long time,
so have I.
You know we've.
We've all seen things come andgo.
Is the interest in Saudianother one of those things?
Is it going to come and go?
Mark Breakspear (12:52):
I don't think, think so.
I think it's going to carry onincreasing and hopefully they'll
.
There's more and more eventsgoing.
They're doing so well with themusic festivals and the, the,
the large conferences and thingsover there.
I can't see ever being ascommercialized as as dubai is.
I say that in a commercializedfor dubai in a good way, because
it caters for a really, reallywide nationality, a wide,
(13:16):
diverse range of people.
But I think people feel socomfortable in Dubai in terms of
holding their event here andthe experience they have in the
country.
And that's down to the way thegovernment has developed the
country and I don't think Saudiare are quite there yet, but I'm
sure they'll be going closer inthat direction.
Ian Carless (13:39):
Is it somewhere?
You see dlc heading at themoment.
Mark Breakspear (13:42):
No, I would never say never, um, but uh, I
think um.
Yeah, I think what we're doingat the moment is right for us at
this time.
Yeah, um, who knows what thefuture might hold?
Ian Carless (13:53):
yeah, moving on a little bit, let's let's talk
about technology, becauseobviously your, your business is
, is quite technology focused.
Obviously the advance oftechnology recently has made
your business, I would imagine,somewhat easier.
What do you do now in terms oflike?
I mean, you're in translation.
Can you talk to us a bit aboutthat?
Mark Breakspear (14:12):
yeah, so in obviously, the um industry
standard technology fortranslation or interpretation is
the infrared receivers.
That hasn't changed in what?
30 years?
And it's not going to changebecause it's so secure and it
works so well.
Yeah, that's not going tochange.
But what has changed is more onthe discussion side of things.
(14:34):
All the microphones you havescreens now, some wired, some
wireless, all these addedfunctionalities that are really
driven by Europe in terms ofwhat the councils and the
European Union, what they wantas features.
That's what the manufacturerslisten to in terms of
development.
You know, will, yes, we.
I mean that's where we stepabove a lot of the other
(14:57):
companies, because we've notonly got the microphones and the
, the receivers, but we've alsogot the, the chip card login
systems for delegateidentification.
We've got digital name signs,we've got automated camera
positioning where you preset allthe positions of every
microphone and as soon as youtouch the microphone, the camera
recalls that preset.
It's fascinating some of thestuff, and it is going more into
(15:20):
the virtual world as well, alot more.
Even though we're very blessedwith the number of different
languages that are availablelocally, you do get some people
that need an obscure languagefor a short event and then we
use this.
You know the remote technologythat we have done before and
people are very used to it inEurope and it's all very, very,
(15:41):
very common Over here.
It's still a little bit slow toget going because people think,
oh yeah, what happens if theinternet fails, what happens if
the interpreter's not online, orsomething like that.
But we've never had an eventthat's actually failed ever
since the end of the pandemic.
We all know the virtual worksbecause we had to do it for a
(16:02):
while.
But there is still thatsituation where if the
equipment's available locally,if the interpreter's available
locally, there's no need for it.
Just get them on site.
It just works the old way.
Ian Carless (16:14):
How much of an advantage is where we are
geographically, then, in beingable to source that talent.
Mark Breakspear (16:19):
Very well.
Certain languages are good, butno matter where they are, even
if they're close by, the cost offlying in interpreters for
certain events is still neverpopular with clients' budgets.
Ian Carless (16:33):
How much of that is a part of your business, though
?
Do you actually have to fly inpeople, or are they available in
the market?
Mark Breakspear (16:39):
Occasionally.
Yeah, we really try and avoidit because it's not only the
cost but it's also the hassle ofbooking the flights and hotels
and everything like that.
So we try and avoid it and Ialways recommend people to go
remote to save their budget.
Uh, when?
And then you know, you get thebig conferences where, like the
cop at 28th, where they'll flyall the interpreters in.
Ian Carless (17:00):
But generally for those we just provide the the
equipment and the client willhave the headache of the
interpreters and that's leave,leave that up to them, yeah one
of the biggest challenges thatyou face, then, when you're
asked to come in and provideyour services for an event.
Mark Breakspear (17:15):
I'd say, first of all it's the understanding of
the clients of the spec theyneed.
So getting all the informationis quite hard.
With AV events you'll have moreproduction time because we'll
be lighting designs and there'llbe rigging plans and all those
(17:35):
things.
But you're, you tend to be lefta little bit more uh to
creating the, the look.
Unless it's a concept wherethey've got bringing their own
team.
The client will say, okay, we,this is the kind of atmosphere
we want.
You'll provide a lighting rigor av setup to complement that
and you're kind of left as longas it looks like you've, you've
(17:57):
promised it's good.
With conference systems, you'vegot to know exactly what
functionality the client needsand sometimes when you're
working through an event agency,they don't, they don't know.
So the the process can be quiteslow and quite backwards and
forwards in in getting that.
Yeah.
But then on the plus side,sometimes when it's a simple
(18:17):
event, it's extremely lowmaintenance.
You say how many languages youwant, how many receivers you
want, where to be and when to bethere, and you're, you're good
to go, and it's very lowmaintenance in terms of a
planning perspective.
Ian Carless (18:30):
So how about?
How about the timeline?
Mark Breakspear (18:32):
because I know, with warehouse four, for
example, our event venue, um,we're often challenged, to say
the least, with, you know,clients coming in and saying,
yeah, we've got an event for 200people in eight days time eight
days is a blessing in most thetime, and that that again is um,
where this region differs toother parts of the world, I
(18:53):
think, where you get laughed atby a company, a different in a
different country but over hereit's absolutely normal.
You know you bend overbackwards to help clients
because you never know it mightbe, uh, a small student might
want to write eight lights andpick them up tonight, but their
next event could be a huge event.
And if you again, that's whereyou've got to differentiate
(19:17):
yourself from other companies byputting in that extra mile.
Sometimes it comes back to biteyou.
Sometimes they cancel lastminute when the kit's already
prepped in the warehouse.
But you know that's the gambleyou take and most of the time it
pays off okay, I want to askyou about staffing.
Ian Carless (19:32):
I think that's probably one of the perennial
problems of of this part of theworld, and maybe it is for other
parts of the world as well.
But in particular, I found inmy time here in dubai um, how do
you get over, a the problem,you know, the perennial problem
of finding good talent and then,b getting around the cyclical
nature of events and industryhere in dubai?
(19:54):
You know, because we, we suffer, don't we, from the whole thing
about having quiet periods andthen being absolutely manic.
Sometimes it's feast or famine.
So I guess, first of all, yeah,talk to me about how you manage
the crewing side of things wellI.
Mark Breakspear (20:07):
I think the the establishment of so many
companies that do eventproduction recruitment that have
come up in the last few yearsis a testament to how much this
service is needed.
Dlc have a very well-retainedcrew, so we've been quite lucky.
A lot of our guys have beenthere over a decade myself over
(20:27):
17, 16, 17 years and a lot ofour guys have been there over a
decade myself over 17, 16, 17years and a lot of our crew have
come on from initially beingfreelancers, uh, and then have
worked with them more, uh.
We've ended up growing andwe've then brought them on full
time, so we've had a longexperience of working with them
in a kind of like a risk-freeenvironment, if you like.
(20:48):
With events, it's all about workethic.
You really have to have themindset and the passion to do
what you want to do.
Skills you can teach.
You can teach anyone theoperations of a warehouse, but
if you have people that don'twant to be there or are only
there for fun and can't berelied upon, you can't do that.
(21:10):
And that's where we found outthrough our freelance database,
and a lot of the guys have beenstarting off with freelancers
with us.
Recruitment is the mostexpensive part of business it is
, and you've got to get it rightbecause you end up paying twice
otherwise.
Ian Carless (21:25):
And how do you cope with the sort of cyclical
nature of the business?
I mean, I don't know whetherit's still quite the same as it
was, say, 20 years ago.
I mean, you know, the summerused to be dead.
Yeah so now I think it'sperhaps a little bit more evened
out, but still you have periodsof lows and then you have, you
know, as we all know, in theevents you know, october,
november, december.
Mark Breakspear (21:45):
January February.
Ian Carless (21:46):
Crazy, isn't it?
Where you don't have time totake a leak.
Mark Breakspear (21:48):
So when I first started I used to go back to
the UK for a couple of monthsand do some temp work, but over
time we've become busy.
Even during summer there's allthe tenders and the pitches to
do for the events that arecoming up.
The guys in the warehouse doelements like stock checks and
full equipment preps, so we'vegot plenty of stuff.
(22:11):
As an AV company and as aconferencing company, we've got
so much equipment.
There's so much stuff to fillall the time with.
So we use those quiet periodsnot only to do marketing and
meeting with people, becausegenerally when we're quiet,
other people are quiet, so it'sa great time for a coffee.
First couple of weeks ofJanuary tend to be really quiet,
which is great because I get tocome meet people like you and
(22:35):
have cool chats, even though therevenue coming in tends to be
quite cyclical in terms of uhseasons, if you like.
Yeah, the work certainly is andwe we plug the gaps with work
and there's always stuff to doand you know our guys they enjoy
going back home for a fewmonths, taking, if you want to
take, their leave plus a month'sunpaid leave.
No issue at all, most of themhave enough loo days and working
public holidays to be able toget paid leave for most of it
anyway so yeah, do you thinkthat seasonal element of the
(22:58):
business has got shorter?
Ian Carless (22:59):
do you think the low period now is?
Mark Breakspear (23:02):
I think the uh period of of doing business has
got a lot shorter.
People are now workingthroughout the summer preparing
on the big projects that arecoming up in September, october.
I think Ramadan has a veryinteresting effect as it's
moving back over the years.
The country's getting much moreopen.
There used to be nothing goingon.
Now there's some events in theevening and now, as the country
(23:26):
becomes more open during Ramadan, things are happening during
the day and there's no curtainsup between foods, between food
areas or anything.
So I think that the uh, theregions um being more accepting
of people doing business anddoing events during that period,
so that we don't miss out,which is this year going to be
peak season in in February so ifyou look back now to when you
(23:50):
were a snowboard instructor andto where you are now, was it a
good move.
Oh, absolutely.
I didn't know my passion was inevents until I started doing it
.
I knew I enjoyed it.
I did a dissertation atuniversity on the effects of
sponsorship at sporting events.
I did management and leisure atuniversity on the the effects
of sponsorship uh sportingevents.
So I did a management andleisure uh university.
(24:11):
So that was all focused on the,yeah, the leisure and sporting
industry, which I really enjoyed.
But you know, I've never beenthe kind of person where I want.
I know what I want to be when Igrow up.
Yeah, I still don't know what,what I want to do when I grow up
, but I know that at the momentI'm enjoying what I'm doing.
Yeah, and taking each day as itcomes.
I've been very fortunate beingwith DLC for so long had a lot
(24:33):
of influence in the company andhad a lot of support, a lot of
mentorship, yeah, and yeah, justenjoying, enjoying life at the
moment, yeah, where do you seeyourself next?
You know I committed to stayingwith DLC long-term.
I've no interest in workinganywhere else.
There's possibilities with usand the team that we have and
(24:54):
the rate we're growing in terms,not necessarily in size, like
we're growing in what we'redoing, the size of events we're
doing, but we're managing itwith the same core team, relying
on freelancers as and when weneed to, and working for a
company like dlc is very organicand where our growth is, we go
where the market is.
(25:14):
We've we've had great success.
Lorraine's got a great eye forbusiness and she she can see
where there's an opportunity andwhere it's maybe not worth
putting any effort in, and we'vecarved out a position for us
where we're not reallycompetition to a lot of the
other companies and we havegreat relationships with
(25:35):
majority of people in thisindustry and the industry is
very close all the same.
But we don't tend to competewith jobs with Bwanda or PRG or
Encore, but we support them inelements that they don't want to
have the headache from.
They need a few more lights orthey need, uh, translation.
We, we collaborate with peoplerather than compete against them
(25:56):
.
Yeah, um, and it's yeah.
Ian Carless (25:58):
So far it's working well I'm gonna ask you
something a little bit personal,because we've been asking uh,
everybody this?
I don't know about yourself,but I'm a bit of a music fan.
I've got a large vinylcollection again, like many of
us, I think, who've experiencedvinyl the first time around,
bought cds, ditched it all, andthen now we're all buying it
back again.
What are you listening to atthe moment?
What's?
(26:18):
On your what's on your playlistat the moment?
Mark Breakspear (26:20):
you know I'm I'm not I.
I enjoy dance music.
Uh, I, I enjoy everything.
I enjoy dance music.
I enjoy rock music when I'mrunning.
I enjoy dance music when I'm inmy car, if I'm not listening to
a Idiot House.
I used to be a bit of a drumand bass head actually, oof,
yeah, we used to love that backin my day, so I still got a soft
(26:42):
spot for that.
Ian Carless (26:43):
We did a gig with Goldie years back Not here, no
when I was in the Philippines.
Mark Breakspear (26:47):
Gosh, there was a great place where and
remember Chi, yes, the nightclubChi we used to go to these
great drum and bass nights there.
I forget what they were called,but it was very, very rare to
have a drum and bass night overhere.
So, even though it's not thekind of thing that I'd really
listen to, if I was with anyoneelse over here no one that I
hang around with, like family,etc.
Uh, would appreciate it.
(27:07):
I've you know I'd love tolisten to music more.
Uh, definitely at the moment,more focused in um, in, in
reading and and parenting, Iguess, takes up most of my time
so what on a personal level, um,what have you got to look
forward to?
Ian Carless (27:23):
and also on a professional level, is there
anything that you've got goingon with DLC that you can share
with us, that you're lookingforward to Just?
Mark Breakspear (27:29):
looking forward to a really busy year.
We've got a lot of thingscoming up.
We do a big event in Singaporeevery June, which is a nice
regular climb which I lookforward to every year.
We did Prague last year as well, so we're getting around the
world.
It's not just the Middle East,we go all over.
Fantastic.
Looking forward to some tradeshows.
(27:49):
I love a good trade show.
I love seeing all the otherguys, seeing their stands and
networking with people.
Personal level, yeah, my kidsare getting older every day.
I've got a 10-year-old onethat's about to turn seven, on
Saturday actually, and thenanother one's about to turn four
.
So they certainly keep me up onmy toes and, yeah, keep my wife
(28:14):
happy, which, as you know, inthe events industry is extremely
, extremely difficult.
But happy wife, happy life.
Ian Carless (28:22):
You took the words right out of my mouth there.
Yeah, mark, thank you very muchfor joining us.
Really appreciate it.
Thank you.
Event News DXB was presented bymyself, ian Carlos, the studio
engineer and editor was RoyDeMonte, the executive producer
was myself and Joe Morrison, andthis podcast is a co-production
between Warehouse 4 and W4Podcast Studio Dubai, and if you
haven't done so already, pleasedo click that follow or
(28:44):
subscribe button.
See you next time.
Welcome to Event News DXB.
Before we begin, I've got aquick favour to ask.
There's one simple way that youcan support our show, and
that's by hitting that follow orsubscribe button on the app
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It really does make a hugedifference in helping us get the
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So please give us a hand andclick that button right now.
Thanks a bunch.
(00:20):
Thanks a bunch.
Event News DXB.
You're listening to the EventNews DXB podcast.
Your behind-the-scenes lookinto the world of events in
Dubai, the UAE and the MENAregion.
I'm Ian Carlos and each weekI'll be bringing you the latest
(00:43):
news, industry trends andinsider stories shaping one of
the world's most dynamic eventmarkets.
From professional insights toDubai's most inspiring success
stories, we've got everythingyou need to stay ahead in the
ever-evolving event industry.
So, whether you're an eventplanner, a brand manager or just
someone passionate about thepower of events, you're in the
right place.
This week we're talking to MarkBreakspear.
(01:06):
After graduating from theUniversity of Manchester in 2005
, mark moved to Dubai to workwith Magin Alpha Tame Leisure
during the opening of Ski Dubai.
Fast forward 18 months and ahuge career change saw him join
the events industry with DLCEvents.
Originally a crew member andlighting technician, mark soon
progressed to project managementand quickly began to specialise
(01:26):
in conferencing technology,where he's now the sales and
operations manager, and it's inthis role that he's helped guide
DLC events to become theleading supplier of simultaneous
interpretation and discussionsystems in the Middle East.
Mark, welcome to the show,thank you, good afternoon.
Now I'm going to kick off andI'm going to put you on the spot
.
So you told me earlier, just aswe were grabbing coffee.
(01:48):
You used to be a ski instructor, snowboard instructor.
Mark Breakspear (01:52):
I actually learned how to teach skiing
purely because they paid me moremoney.
So, yeah, I've beensnowboarding since I was a young
age and got the opportunity tobe part of the opening of this
great indoor ski centre in themiddle of the desert, and it
timed up quite well with megraduating from university.
So I thought, why the hell not?
(02:13):
Let's go and spend a couple ofyears in a fun country before
settling down and getting aproper job.
And, like many people, yeah,didn't leave.
Ian Carless (02:21):
Never left, Never left, Never left.
So at what point then I mean, Iwon't dwell too much on the
whole ski Dubai experience butat what point then did you
decide that okay, snowboardinstructor maybe isn't cutting
the mustard and I need to dosomething else?
Mark Breakspear (02:35):
You know what?
It was?
A great, great job.
I really, really loved it.
But it's not a career there'snowhere to move up to, apart
from moving into the office.
And the great thing aboutteaching lessons is that every
single lesson you do has you doyour introductions, you find out
what people do for a living andyou wait until you find an
(02:57):
industry that you're interestedin do a good lesson, take them
for a beer afterwards, andthat's actually what I did with
one of our industry power horsesI guess you'd call him Steph
Sebeler, okay, so I taught himsnowboarding many, many moons
ago.
At the time he worked for DLC.
(03:18):
I was always been interested inevents Once you get into event
management, and he suggested hey, why don't you come and learn
the technical side of events?
So when you do event managementin the future, you'll have a
bit better understanding of howeverything works, a bit more
well-rounded.
And then I really enjoyed thetechnical side.
I enjoyed being up on the trussplugging lights in.
(03:38):
I did want to be one of theguys sat at the back of the room
, stressed on their blackberry,dealing with every little
problem, much like making thingslook cool.
Ian Carless (03:46):
Yeah, that progressed on so how long did it
take you to sort of ingratiateyourself into the industry?
Was there a period at thebeginning where you thought, or
did you straight away kind ofknow, okay, I enjoyed this I
knew right from the start, Ienjoyed it.
Mark Breakspear (04:01):
I I think my path has changed from initially
being interested in lighting tothen being the guy that um, we,
you know, we had a smalltranslation system back in the
day.
We used to all these uh,training sessions with
mcdonald's and things where theybrought off over the turfish
guys and no one else wanted todo that because it was boring
compared to the av jobs.
(04:21):
So I, as the new kid I gotbumped onto quite well at it,
got a few bigger contracts.
Then, I think, we got the DubaiFilm Festival one year where we
ended up investing in all thedigital equipment and from there
it just snowballed asinterpretation became more and
more common.
We got microphones and we'vegot all the other paraphernalia
that goes with it and it turnedinto being what is now our core
(04:45):
business.
So, from being a little sidehustle almost back in 2007, fast
forward to 2025, and it's ourprimary focus is conference
technology.
Ian Carless (04:55):
Now, obviously, dubai is well known for hosting
world-class events.
What kind of trends have yousort of seeing at the moment or
over the last four or five years, and where do you think it's
going now?
Mark Breakspear (05:05):
Dubai is a very popular venue, um it's, it's
got headquarters of a lot ofdifferent organizations.
Certainly, during the, thepandemic, obviously everything
dropped off again and I'm reallyreally happy that everything's
gone back.
And some with uh, with theselive events, there's a lot of uh
people that were pessimisticabout how you know events would
(05:28):
be after the, after the pandemic, and I'm very pleased to hear
that I was.
I was right and things arebigger and better, I think,
because of the location of dubai.
It's very central, so it's easyfor people to get to when the
audiences or the attendees arespread all over the world,
because it's a very central area.
Ian Carless (05:48):
Yeah, you mentioned the pandemic.
I guess you know we probablycouldn't have gone through a
podcast without referring tothat especially in relation to
events right.
I mean, how did you manage thatwhole process?
Mark Breakspear (06:00):
Oh God, you know it was hard.
I was actually trying to get amortgage at the time and they
wouldn't give me a mortgagebecause I told them I was in the
events industry.
It's like, well, you know, yourjob's not safe, you're going to
be let go any day.
You know DLC are a veryclose-knit company.
Lorraine who owns the businessshe's the kindest woman you ever
(06:21):
know we all put in together, weall dug our heels in, found out
where we could progress interms of doing work, because
obviously no on-site events.
But a few of ourforward-thinking clients moved
their stuff to virtual events.
We very quickly adopted remoteinterpretation.
So where we had the platform,we used one called Interprefy
(06:46):
and we shouted about it becauseit was the only work we were
doing.
There's no lighting jobs,there's no on-site events, so we
didn't really have the kind ofpositions where we could work
from home.
Um, so we also came into theoffice, obviously completely
socially distanced and takingall precautions, promise, and we
battled on.
We, we tried to find new avenues.
Some worked, some didn't.
We tried like home cinemas atone point.
(07:07):
That never really took off, butyou know, it was that kind of
forward thinking idea of wherecan we get money in?
Where can we get money in topay the wages, where can we get
money in to pay the bills?
And we all hunkered down alittle bit, carried on pushing
forward, carried on marketing,carried on with uh to people
Very lucky to be under theleadership of Lorraine, and no
(07:28):
one was actually let go at all.
And we came out the other sideeven stronger a lot happier.
Ian Carless (07:34):
I think it's been interesting.
I mean, what have you seensince the pandemic?
I mean, do you think we're backto where we were pre-pandemic
levels in terms of the eventindustry?
Mark Breakspear (07:43):
I definitely think so.
I think people are now.
I think, ever since the end ofthe expo is when I really
noticed the change.
We were quoting a lot of jobsand heavy discounts because we
just wanted the work and itseemed like every end client
left things so late in the daywhen the industry really kicked
off at I guess it was 2021, liketowards the end of the year
(08:08):
whereas at the start of thatyear we'd been offering heavy
discounts just to get someconfirmations in.
Now, when it all startedpicking up, everyone's back to
higher prices, and I think theindustry really benefited from
that cash injection, which wasthe Expo.
I don't think the Expo couldhave come at a better time for
Dubai.
Lots of people came, lots ofpeople wanted to show off and
have these large events.
(08:29):
We did the World GovernmentSummit, which was the last event
of the Expo, and that was thebiggest one they'd had up to
that point and it was really ashowcase on you know, we can
come back and we can come backbig.
And ever since then people seema little bit more willing to
appreciate the, the value ofexpertise, rather than just that
(08:52):
bottom line.
They're considering the valuerather than the cost, which I'm
sure will go up and down as theas the years go by.
But since the pandemic I reallyfeel that people are
appreciating the, the expertisethat people deliver, rather than
just the equipment list andthat final budget number.
Ian Carless (09:09):
I think it's encouraging to hear you say that
because I think you know sooften in my experience in this
market as well, we are verybottom line driven.
I mean, there are a few clientsthat you know really put the
emphasis on quality, but at theend of the day they look at that
final figure and if it's gottoo many zeros on it or if it's
too high a number, they balk.
So I think it's really good tosee that people are, you know,
(09:31):
perhaps getting less consciousabout the actual budget.
What other challenges do youthink we face here in the UAE
with events?
Mark Breakspear (09:39):
Certainly competition.
There's a lot of people aroundthat do the same thing.
There's a huge number of AVcompanies.
There's a lot of people aroundthat do the same thing.
There's a huge number of AVcompanies.
There's a huge number ofconference companies.
There's a huge number oftranslation agencies.
A lot of them, especially onthe small scale stuff.
Everyone's doing the same thingand it's very hard to compete.
We've never been the cheapestcompany, never tried to be, but
it really pushes us to deliverabove the quotes.
(10:02):
So the customer service, theexperience you get dealing with
us so you know when you're goingto ask us for a quote you know
you're going to get not only arequite fast, but if you've asked
something I don't know, maybewrong or that could be done
better, we guide you on that.
We use our expertise to saylook, the best solution for your
event, how we can add the mostvalue to your events, is by
(10:22):
doing this rather than justtaking whatever they're asking
for.
You know we're the experts inthe field, that we do as any
company should be, and it's ourrole to guide the clients into
getting the most success and forthe least money.
So we want to make it aseconomic as possible, while
still getting value for what webring to the events, how do you
(10:47):
stay ahead of the competition?
Ian Carless (10:48):
then I mean clearly , you know, equipment is
probably, you know one aspect,but only one aspect of a much
larger picture.
Mark Breakspear (10:55):
Exactly, I think marketing is a big thing.
This region is very much aboutconnections and that's why I had
this two-year break after theExpo from DLC, I went and worked
for a remote company.
When I came back in May thisyear, it was in a different role
that I wanted to carve out thatI felt dlc needed, which was as
(11:17):
the task chest, the sales andoperations side of things,
having someone that goes out andmaintains those relationships
with the clients.
It shows interest in what otherpeople are doing fire, not just
what equipment we have gotavailable for your event, but
how can we help you do evenbetter.
Um, so it's about going thatextra mile and the experience of
(11:38):
dealing with us, rather thanjust the the equipment list now,
you mentioned the expo.
Ian Carless (11:43):
I mean, like you said, that was a massive boost
to the industry when it wasprobably most needed.
Yeah, now I think you knowattention has turned uh towards
saudi, doesn't it?
How important do you see saudinow in terms of the events here
in this region?
Mark Breakspear (11:55):
Yeah, saudi is growing.
We've got some equipment overthere.
We haven't gone down the routeof getting an established
business over there.
I think we've got work cut outat the moment with our team the
size it is in the region, butyeah, it's definitely growing.
I would love it if the freightcosts to get equipment there
were a little bit cheaper and alittle bit more reliable as well
(12:18):
.
But I I love the region.
I've been to jenna, I've beento re-add a couple of times and
it's it's really up and coming.
So I'm we're watching from afar.
Yeah, we're being involved whenwe, when we, when we can.
I still think it's a lot farbehind on on on Dubai in terms
of procedures and and ways ofdoing business, but it's
(12:39):
certainly an exciting time.
What about?
Ian Carless (12:41):
longevity.
I mean, you know, I know you'vebeen in the region a long time,
so have I.
You know we've.
We've all seen things come andgo.
Is the interest in Saudianother one of those things?
Is it going to come and go?
Mark Breakspear (12:52):
I don't think, think so.
I think it's going to carry onincreasing and hopefully they'll
.
There's more and more eventsgoing.
They're doing so well with themusic festivals and the, the,
the large conferences and thingsover there.
I can't see ever being ascommercialized as as dubai is.
I say that in a commercializedfor dubai in a good way, because
it caters for a really, reallywide nationality, a wide,
(13:16):
diverse range of people.
But I think people feel socomfortable in Dubai in terms of
holding their event here andthe experience they have in the
country.
And that's down to the way thegovernment has developed the
country and I don't think Saudiare are quite there yet, but I'm
sure they'll be going closer inthat direction.
Ian Carless (13:39):
Is it somewhere?
You see dlc heading at themoment.
Mark Breakspear (13:42):
No, I would never say never, um, but uh, I
think um.
Yeah, I think what we're doingat the moment is right for us at
this time.
Yeah, um, who knows what thefuture might hold?
Ian Carless (13:53):
yeah, moving on a little bit, let's let's talk
about technology, becauseobviously your, your business is
, is quite technology focused.
Obviously the advance oftechnology recently has made
your business, I would imagine,somewhat easier.
What do you do now in terms oflike?
I mean, you're in translation.
Can you talk to us a bit aboutthat?
Mark Breakspear (14:12):
yeah, so in obviously, the um industry
standard technology fortranslation or interpretation is
the infrared receivers.
That hasn't changed in what?
30 years?
And it's not going to changebecause it's so secure and it
works so well.
Yeah, that's not going tochange.
But what has changed is more onthe discussion side of things.
(14:34):
All the microphones you havescreens now, some wired, some
wireless, all these addedfunctionalities that are really
driven by Europe in terms ofwhat the councils and the
European Union, what they wantas features.
That's what the manufacturerslisten to in terms of
development.
You know, will, yes, we.
I mean that's where we stepabove a lot of the other
(14:57):
companies, because we've notonly got the microphones and the
, the receivers, but we've alsogot the, the chip card login
systems for delegateidentification.
We've got digital name signs,we've got automated camera
positioning where you preset allthe positions of every
microphone and as soon as youtouch the microphone, the camera
recalls that preset.
It's fascinating some of thestuff, and it is going more into
(15:20):
the virtual world as well, alot more.
Even though we're very blessedwith the number of different
languages that are availablelocally, you do get some people
that need an obscure languagefor a short event and then we
use this.
You know the remote technologythat we have done before and
people are very used to it inEurope and it's all very, very,
(15:41):
very common Over here.
It's still a little bit slow toget going because people think,
oh yeah, what happens if theinternet fails, what happens if
the interpreter's not online, orsomething like that.
But we've never had an eventthat's actually failed ever
since the end of the pandemic.
We all know the virtual worksbecause we had to do it for a
(16:02):
while.
But there is still thatsituation where if the
equipment's available locally,if the interpreter's available
locally, there's no need for it.
Just get them on site.
It just works the old way.
Ian Carless (16:14):
How much of an advantage is where we are
geographically, then, in beingable to source that talent.
Mark Breakspear (16:19):
Very well.
Certain languages are good, butno matter where they are, even
if they're close by, the cost offlying in interpreters for
certain events is still neverpopular with clients' budgets.
Ian Carless (16:33):
How much of that is a part of your business, though
?
Do you actually have to fly inpeople, or are they available in
the market?
Mark Breakspear (16:39):
Occasionally.
Yeah, we really try and avoidit because it's not only the
cost but it's also the hassle ofbooking the flights and hotels
and everything like that.
So we try and avoid it and Ialways recommend people to go
remote to save their budget.
Uh, when?
And then you know, you get thebig conferences where, like the
cop at 28th, where they'll flyall the interpreters in.
Ian Carless (17:00):
But generally for those we just provide the the
equipment and the client willhave the headache of the
interpreters and that's leave,leave that up to them, yeah one
of the biggest challenges thatyou face, then, when you're
asked to come in and provideyour services for an event.
Mark Breakspear (17:15):
I'd say, first of all it's the understanding of
the clients of the spec theyneed.
So getting all the informationis quite hard.
With AV events you'll have moreproduction time because we'll
be lighting designs and there'llbe rigging plans and all those
(17:35):
things.
But you're, you tend to be lefta little bit more uh to
creating the, the look.
Unless it's a concept wherethey've got bringing their own
team.
The client will say, okay, we,this is the kind of atmosphere
we want.
You'll provide a lighting rigor av setup to complement that
and you're kind of left as longas it looks like you've, you've
(17:57):
promised it's good.
With conference systems, you'vegot to know exactly what
functionality the client needsand sometimes when you're
working through an event agency,they don't, they don't know.
So the the process can be quiteslow and quite backwards and
forwards in in getting that.
Yeah.
But then on the plus side,sometimes when it's a simple
(18:17):
event, it's extremely lowmaintenance.
You say how many languages youwant, how many receivers you
want, where to be and when to bethere, and you're, you're good
to go, and it's very lowmaintenance in terms of a
planning perspective.
Ian Carless (18:30):
So how about?
How about the timeline?
Mark Breakspear (18:32):
because I know, with warehouse four, for
example, our event venue, um,we're often challenged, to say
the least, with, you know,clients coming in and saying,
yeah, we've got an event for 200people in eight days time eight
days is a blessing in most thetime, and that that again is um,
where this region differs toother parts of the world, I
(18:53):
think, where you get laughed atby a company, a different in a
different country but over hereit's absolutely normal.
You know you bend overbackwards to help clients
because you never know it mightbe, uh, a small student might
want to write eight lights andpick them up tonight, but their
next event could be a huge event.
And if you again, that's whereyou've got to differentiate
(19:17):
yourself from other companies byputting in that extra mile.
Sometimes it comes back to biteyou.
Sometimes they cancel lastminute when the kit's already
prepped in the warehouse.
But you know that's the gambleyou take and most of the time it
pays off okay, I want to askyou about staffing.
Ian Carless (19:32):
I think that's probably one of the perennial
problems of of this part of theworld, and maybe it is for other
parts of the world as well.
But in particular, I found inmy time here in dubai um, how do
you get over, a the problem,you know, the perennial problem
of finding good talent and then,b getting around the cyclical
nature of events and industryhere in dubai?
(19:54):
You know, because we, we suffer, don't we, from the whole thing
about having quiet periods andthen being absolutely manic.
Sometimes it's feast or famine.
So I guess, first of all, yeah,talk to me about how you manage
the crewing side of things wellI.
Mark Breakspear (20:07):
I think the the establishment of so many
companies that do eventproduction recruitment that have
come up in the last few yearsis a testament to how much this
service is needed.
Dlc have a very well-retainedcrew, so we've been quite lucky.
A lot of our guys have beenthere over a decade myself over
(20:27):
17, 16, 17 years and a lot ofour guys have been there over a
decade myself over 17, 16, 17years and a lot of our crew have
come on from initially beingfreelancers, uh, and then have
worked with them more, uh.
We've ended up growing andwe've then brought them on full
time, so we've had a longexperience of working with them
in a kind of like a risk-freeenvironment, if you like.
(20:48):
With events, it's all about workethic.
You really have to have themindset and the passion to do
what you want to do.
Skills you can teach.
You can teach anyone theoperations of a warehouse, but
if you have people that don'twant to be there or are only
there for fun and can't berelied upon, you can't do that.
(21:10):
And that's where we found outthrough our freelance database,
and a lot of the guys have beenstarting off with freelancers
with us.
Recruitment is the mostexpensive part of business it is
, and you've got to get it rightbecause you end up paying twice
otherwise.
Ian Carless (21:25):
And how do you cope with the sort of cyclical
nature of the business?
I mean, I don't know whetherit's still quite the same as it
was, say, 20 years ago.
I mean, you know, the summerused to be dead.
Yeah so now I think it'sperhaps a little bit more evened
out, but still you have periodsof lows and then you have, you
know, as we all know, in theevents you know, october,
november, december.
Mark Breakspear (21:45):
January February.
Ian Carless (21:46):
Crazy, isn't it?
Where you don't have time totake a leak.
Mark Breakspear (21:48):
So when I first started I used to go back to
the UK for a couple of monthsand do some temp work, but over
time we've become busy.
Even during summer there's allthe tenders and the pitches to
do for the events that arecoming up.
The guys in the warehouse doelements like stock checks and
full equipment preps, so we'vegot plenty of stuff.
(22:11):
As an AV company and as aconferencing company, we've got
so much equipment.
There's so much stuff to fillall the time with.
So we use those quiet periodsnot only to do marketing and
meeting with people, becausegenerally when we're quiet,
other people are quiet, so it'sa great time for a coffee.
First couple of weeks ofJanuary tend to be really quiet,
which is great because I get tocome meet people like you and
(22:35):
have cool chats, even though therevenue coming in tends to be
quite cyclical in terms of uhseasons, if you like.
Yeah, the work certainly is andwe we plug the gaps with work
and there's always stuff to doand you know our guys they enjoy
going back home for a fewmonths, taking, if you want to
take, their leave plus a month'sunpaid leave.
No issue at all, most of themhave enough loo days and working
public holidays to be able toget paid leave for most of it
anyway so yeah, do you thinkthat seasonal element of the
(22:58):
business has got shorter?
Ian Carless (22:59):
do you think the low period now is?
Mark Breakspear (23:02):
I think the uh period of of doing business has
got a lot shorter.
People are now workingthroughout the summer preparing
on the big projects that arecoming up in September, october.
I think Ramadan has a veryinteresting effect as it's
moving back over the years.
The country's getting much moreopen.
There used to be nothing goingon.
Now there's some events in theevening and now, as the country
(23:26):
becomes more open during Ramadan, things are happening during
the day and there's no curtainsup between foods, between food
areas or anything.
So I think that the uh, theregions um being more accepting
of people doing business anddoing events during that period,
so that we don't miss out,which is this year going to be
peak season in in February so ifyou look back now to when you
(23:50):
were a snowboard instructor andto where you are now, was it a
good move.
Oh, absolutely.
I didn't know my passion was inevents until I started doing it
.
I knew I enjoyed it.
I did a dissertation atuniversity on the effects of
sponsorship at sporting events.
I did management and leisure atuniversity on the the effects
of sponsorship uh sportingevents.
So I did a management andleisure uh university.
(24:11):
So that was all focused on the,yeah, the leisure and sporting
industry, which I really enjoyed.
But you know, I've never beenthe kind of person where I want.
I know what I want to be when Igrow up.
Yeah, I still don't know what,what I want to do when I grow up
, but I know that at the momentI'm enjoying what I'm doing.
Yeah, and taking each day as itcomes.
I've been very fortunate beingwith DLC for so long had a lot
(24:33):
of influence in the company andhad a lot of support, a lot of
mentorship, yeah, and yeah, justenjoying, enjoying life at the
moment, yeah, where do you seeyourself next?
You know I committed to stayingwith DLC long-term.
I've no interest in workinganywhere else.
There's possibilities with usand the team that we have and
(24:54):
the rate we're growing in terms,not necessarily in size, like
we're growing in what we'redoing, the size of events we're
doing, but we're managing itwith the same core team, relying
on freelancers as and when weneed to, and working for a
company like dlc is very organicand where our growth is, we go
where the market is.
(25:14):
We've we've had great success.
Lorraine's got a great eye forbusiness and she she can see
where there's an opportunity andwhere it's maybe not worth
putting any effort in, and we'vecarved out a position for us
where we're not reallycompetition to a lot of the
other companies and we havegreat relationships with
(25:35):
majority of people in thisindustry and the industry is
very close all the same.
But we don't tend to competewith jobs with Bwanda or PRG or
Encore, but we support them inelements that they don't want to
have the headache from.
They need a few more lights orthey need, uh, translation.
We, we collaborate with peoplerather than compete against them
(25:56):
.
Yeah, um, and it's yeah.
Ian Carless (25:58):
So far it's working well I'm gonna ask you
something a little bit personal,because we've been asking uh,
everybody this?
I don't know about yourself,but I'm a bit of a music fan.
I've got a large vinylcollection again, like many of
us, I think, who've experiencedvinyl the first time around,
bought cds, ditched it all, andthen now we're all buying it
back again.
What are you listening to atthe moment?
What's?
(26:18):
On your what's on your playlistat the moment?
Mark Breakspear (26:20):
you know I'm I'm not I.
I enjoy dance music.
Uh, I, I enjoy everything.
I enjoy dance music.
I enjoy rock music when I'mrunning.
I enjoy dance music when I'm inmy car, if I'm not listening to
a Idiot House.
I used to be a bit of a drumand bass head actually, oof,
yeah, we used to love that backin my day, so I still got a soft
(26:42):
spot for that.
Ian Carless (26:43):
We did a gig with Goldie years back Not here, no
when I was in the Philippines.
Mark Breakspear (26:47):
Gosh, there was a great place where and
remember Chi, yes, the nightclubChi we used to go to these
great drum and bass nights there.
I forget what they were called,but it was very, very rare to
have a drum and bass night overhere.
So, even though it's not thekind of thing that I'd really
listen to, if I was with anyoneelse over here no one that I
hang around with, like family,etc.
Uh, would appreciate it.
(27:07):
I've you know I'd love tolisten to music more.
Uh, definitely at the moment,more focused in um, in, in
reading and and parenting, Iguess, takes up most of my time
so what on a personal level, um,what have you got to look
forward to?
Ian Carless (27:23):
and also on a professional level, is there
anything that you've got goingon with DLC that you can share
with us, that you're lookingforward to Just?
Mark Breakspear (27:29):
looking forward to a really busy year.
We've got a lot of thingscoming up.
We do a big event in Singaporeevery June, which is a nice
regular climb which I lookforward to every year.
We did Prague last year as well, so we're getting around the
world.
It's not just the Middle East,we go all over.
Fantastic.
Looking forward to some tradeshows.
(27:49):
I love a good trade show.
I love seeing all the otherguys, seeing their stands and
networking with people.
Personal level, yeah, my kidsare getting older every day.
I've got a 10-year-old onethat's about to turn seven, on
Saturday actually, and thenanother one's about to turn four
.
So they certainly keep me up onmy toes and, yeah, keep my wife
(28:14):
happy, which, as you know, inthe events industry is extremely
, extremely difficult.
But happy wife, happy life.
Ian Carless (28:22):
You took the words right out of my mouth there.
Yeah, mark, thank you very muchfor joining us.
Really appreciate it.
Thank you.
Event News DXB was presented bymyself, ian Carlos, the studio
engineer and editor was RoyDeMonte, the executive producer
was myself and Joe Morrison, andthis podcast is a co-production
between Warehouse 4 and W4Podcast Studio Dubai, and if you
haven't done so already, pleasedo click that follow or
(28:44):
subscribe button.
See you next time.
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