UAE: Meet 86-year-old businessman, avid golfer for whom age is just a number
Asgar Shakoor Patel, an 86-year-old entrepreneur, is setting new fitness and business goals for himself instead of reminiscing about the past like most people his age. Patel, one of the largest logistics business owners in the region, featured in the documentary “The Way to Yourself Long Life” by Olga Sapozhnikova, is proving that age really is just a number.
Now, Patel reveals to us his secrets to staying sharp, his journey from bustling boardrooms to serene golf fairways, and his determination to never slow down.
Fewer people are still managing to keep up with Patel's daily structured routine each morning, which would likely be a Herculean challenge for people half his age. He does Yoga and stretching 3-4 times a week with the guidance of his Yoga instructor and regularly trains in strength and cardio coupled with aqua aerobics at his in-house gym with his assistant, Jenilyn Calatero. Patels workout plan extends even further, as he actively practices his swing during a round of golf every day at the Montgomery Golf Club, which is situated just beyond his Dubai Meadows backyard. “Golf is not just a sport, it is a lesson in humility. No matter who you are, that small ball can bring you back down to earth,” he recounted while grinning.
Patel is an avid golfer and has been since he turned fifty, intrigued by its humbling nature. “To drive that small ball is a challenge for everyone - a managing director, chairman, even Donald Trump. It teaches you that sometimes you’re up, sometimes you’re down, but you never give up,” he reflected.
Patel's journey began in India, and due to the Partition chaos, he was sent to live in Glasgow, Scotland at the age of eight. His father’s McCormick family welcomed him, “They were very nice people, and they looked after me.” They ensured that he was safe.
Life after World War II in Glasgow was particularly difficult. The city was under strict rationing rules. “Everything was on ration...if you needed sweets, you had to buy sweets. You had a choice between sweets and chocolate,” he comically recalls. “Sometimes you wanted sugar in your tea, you couldn’t have it. Sometimes you wanted butter, but you couldn’t have that either."
Because of these restrictions, Patel attempted to customize his experience by booking specific seats in the cinema that were behind Betty. At college, he would go to her typing classes and had to cope with her strict Catholic parents who would keep her under close watch. “She moved out of her family house after she started a job as an air hostess,” Patel explains.
Patel vividly remembers Betty being “captivating” to the point where the fellow pilots would shout “What do you want with this kid?” But she waited until he was ready — at 21, Patel finally proposed. They ended up being together for sixty years.
Then Payslaps CEO and Gaurun Banker Patel became the region’s richest man.
An astute entrepreneur who kickstarted Dubai’s shrimp trade, his empire expanded to numerous industries including construction and trade. He handpicked employees and nurtured them into executives who managed multi-billion dollar companies.
When he was a lorry driver, situational circumstances stemming from his parent’s financial aid withdrawal due to his romantic involvement with Betty placed Patel into menial jobs to save for his first ever truck – unlocking the happily ever after for him. With the self-made logistics streamline of Patel Roadways, driving incited fuel, him blossoming further into establishing a fully functional construction and glass enterprise. Within the shrimp domain, he employed over 10,000 people across multiple industries.
What brought him self funds stemmed not only from Dubai, but heavily have Saudi and Kuwait intertwined mobile bail out constricted business walls. He co founded the finance serve company Wall Street Exchange Center with customer villains and Gus Nation contributors Al Laus, who then became our grade service provider. When he chose to sell his owns stake subscriber half allegiance Patel was known for irrevocability ensuring billions worth of remittance patients on hold prior to leaving his legacy on the only inter-denominator left for immigration financial services merged patents of the region.The City in the Desert is a book by Marco Sonino, a long-time Dubai resident who Patels Mr. Dubai is his tribute to the most important businessmen who built Dubai's economy, revered in the community for his unbelievable foresight and businesscraft. Currently, Patel has put the Port of Dubai Free Zone Volume One to print.
“Dubai, it was a desert,” recalls Patel. “When we went to Dubai, there were hardly four or five hotels.” Patel remembers Sheikh Rashid as rather modest yet strong. "Very, very nice person."
It remains striking how many elderly are able to recall and describe with pinpoint accuracy daily life in the world before the Internet or cellphones. But life unfolds they remember from so long ago, a world of silence for us that rabid clashes with modern day aspirations, is unforgettable.
Patel chest puffs with delight sharing stories from the past in our meetings saying that he had been personally invited to visit several times in Dubai. In an over evening while still beaming the Patel glows to tell me how every thing from road and urban city planning to sky-scrapper designing was prepared to the finest detail.
Patel gives credit to this level of foresight and access as the reason behind Sheikh Rashid's integral involvement in Dubai's transformation. “I’m appreciative of Sheikh Rashid,” Patel says bluntly, “The vision of Dubai was very broad. Everything exploded once Sheikh Mohammed took the reins.” His eyes brighten as he recounts the changes: “When I first set foot in Dubai, the only landmark was Al Nasr Square. There was no Emirates Golf Club, no Sheikh Zayed Road—just desert. When people told me they were planning to build homes here, I thought, ‘Why would you build homes in the middle of the desert?’ But they did it.”
Life goal: Learn dancing
Set new goals after establishing fitness milestones, but for Patel, it’s another challenge waiting ahead. What particular one? Learning how to dance. He points to Betty, the love of his life, as the reason she would be known to twirl elegantly on the dance floor. What'd he say about it? “I didn't think I had to learn it back then,” Patel said while reminiscing on Betty's captivating performances at glitzy parties.
Now that Jenilyn's helping him, he's prepared to begin taking dance lessons. “I want to lead dances at official parties,” he adds with a glint in his eye.
Patel’s son Riaz is coming visiting from New Zealand for work briefings that will enable him to potentially take over his father’s role. Even at 86, Patel shows no signs of slowing down. Presently, Riaz pilots the Group’s newly established advisory firms in New Zealand and Malaysia. From their hub in Kuala Lumpur, backed by operations in Thailand, they provide corporate finance, trade credit, and cross-border investment services.
But for Patel, life is not anchored to work. Beyond business, he intends to conquer golf, dance, and uphold his fitness regimen with unrivaled devotion. “Business never ends," he said decisively. “You cannot end a business. It is lifelong. And so is living, if you do it with passion.”
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