Mark Sykes: Kindling a passion

Mark Sykes the creator of the Caveman brand for his Dubai-based company called Outdoor Concepts has great ideas for life and leisure. A doer and risk taker he tells Suchitra Bajpai Chaudhary that it is always better to have tried and failed in life than never to have tried at all!

‘A firebrand with a passion for fun.' If Mark Sykes were himself a brand, that is how I would describe him. Working at a frenetic pace creating popular brands for other people, Sykes decided to create one for himself. And that is how Caveman came into being.

Sykes is a man of many talents - a graphic designer, art director, copywriter, businessman, motorbike racer, snowboarder and wildlife enthusiast with a passion for outdoor sports. He is best summed up as a brand ambassador for an adrenaline-flowing lifestyle.

Sykes came to the Middle East in 1987 and says he is living the Arabian dream. After completing his diploma in commercial art design, he began his career as a graphic designer in his home town of Bournemouth in England. After 18 months, he decided to move to Doha to take up the position of art director at a travel magazine. He then went on to work for an advertising agency. Once he had gained some expertise in advertising, he decided to start his own agency, called Face to Face, and moved to Dubai to do this.

It took him another 16 years to build his agency, but the effort proved to be well worth it after it bagged the Best Agency of the Year Award in the Middle East in 2005.

"I had started Face to Face in my spare bedroom. It grew to such an extent that I eventually had to step down. So I brought in several talented people and gradually sold 75 per cent of the shares, retaining only 15 per cent for myself. I realised that I had spent my entire professional life creating brands for others. It was my dream to have my own brand. The only way to do it was to reinvent myself and get out of the ad agency. I had gathered good experience as a creative professional and also hada good background in business."

Sykes brought shares in a distribution company selling a popular brand of barbecues. He soon realised that the existing barbecue products on the market were premium brands with high price tags.

"There are people here who love the outdoors and barbecue occasionally - but not as much as the Australians and South Africans - and they were looking for something more affordable," he says.

And that is how Outdoor Concepts came about. After many nights burning the midnight oil as he worked on creating the brand he dreamt of, he had several concepts on paper. But which to go for? "I thought about what best represented the spirit of the outdoors and I immediately thought of fire... and then a caveman.I remember thinking the line: ‘Caveman make fire'. The hair at the nape of my neck stood up because I knew I had stumbled upon the identity for my brand."

Sykes himself is a keen outdoors enthusiast, and the brand encompasses his outlook on life. He started out with barbecues, but hopes to branch out into other areas under the Caveman banner. He has already developed four aspects to his brand - Earth, Air, Fire and Water - and has created a Caveman Sports Challenge to develop the brand's identity. Eventually he plans to include a wide range of outdoor equipment.

Sykes believes that we must live life to the fullest. "I don't want to be one of those people who have to deal with the ‘what if' questions at the end of their lives. I'd rather try something, see myself fail and know I gave it my best shot. I don't want to be left wondering what might have been."

I, ME, MYSELF

I am defined by optimism. I have the ability to always see the glass half full. I think it is always important to think big and to try to go for it with a positive attitude because you are bound to get somewhere with that. I believe that if you reach for the stars you will never emerge with a handful of mud. I think this is what defines the entrepreneurial spirit.

I believe in brands in this world. What this means is that while products are important, brands are equally important. Sometimes they overtake a product. We are a brand-driven society; how often do we bring something home because of the name?

I have a knack for creating something from nothing. If you give me a blank sheet of paper, I will produce something out of it. I believe I have natural leadership skills. You need to get people to believe in what you believe and be part of your vision. I have a knack for motivating people.

I have discovered that life is all about contentment. There is a difference between happiness and contentment. People are used to measuring success by how many trophies you have in life. I used to have a Ferrari and it made me happy. But today I derive happiness from the things in life that you can't attach a price tag to. I get more joy paddling a kayak, racing my motorbike, going mountain biking and spending time with my daughter, Georgia, than from anything else.I have come to realise that life is all about smaller pleasures.

My mentor, John Hooper, who was a creative director at an advertising agency I worked at, taught me how to think commercially and creatively. He taught me too that sometimes less is more in life.

I have faith in people. Whenever I meet someone, I always give them the benefit of the doubt until the point where that person breaks that faith. I have been disappointed by many people, but I refuse to break this habit. I feel cynics are not born, they are made, and cynicism is a result of bitter encounters in life. I do not want to be a cynic although the tendency is there when someone lets me down.

I think that there are two kinds of people in the world: ‘radiators', who give out feel-good vibes and have a positive aura, and ‘drains', who drain you of emotional energy. I try to keep my life filled with radiators.

I think fun is about spending time with the right people. I enjoy my own company sometimes. But on other occasions, I am social and like being with like-minded people on sports adventures - snowboarding, kayaking, bike racing… I have travelled to many parts of the world on such trips with people who share my passion.

I think we ought to take risks in life because life would be pretty boring without them. Risks are very personal in nature and are also relative. I watch guys on bikes and snowboards doing extremely dangerous stunts. I do a bit of both. I don't think that you should always play safe in life. If all of us sat in a room, closed the door and wrapped ourselves in a cotton ball, we would not live for long. The clock would tick louder and louder. Taking risks makes you feel alive.

I detest arrogance. There are people who think there are only two waysto do things - their way or the wrong way. They refuse to see things from others' perspectives.

We must learn to embrace our weaknesses more than our strengths. For instance, when I decided that I wanted my advertising agency, Face to Face, to grow, I brought in people who I thought were better than I was in certain fields. I feel there is a great idea waiting to be discovered in each one of us and if you are too arrogant to hear that out, you will miss out on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

I am greatly impressed by people who display leadership skills. I think among the heroes of history,I admire Winston Churchill the most. I think he was one of the best leaders of his time in that he steered his people through one of the harshest times in history. Bill Clinton is another leader who impressed me with his people skills in his own inimitable way. In my personal life, it was my former boss, John Hooper.

I am easily overwhelmed by my daughter, Georgia. She is 12 and it is a pleasure to watch her succeed. I taught her to skate and when I watch her doing that, it brings tears to my eyes.

I, ME, MYSELF

Me and the outdoorsI am a complete outdoors person. I cannot understand why people need to go to the gym to work out (if the weather's good) when you can walk or run outside and enjoy nature. I am easily overwhelmed by the beauty of a mountain. It is difficult to sit and watch the sun go down behind a mountain and not be in awe of it.I feel a great sense of achievement just being part of that in any wayI can, or trying to conquer a small part of nature. I do this through kayaking, mountain biking and hiking. I can never watch adventure sports on TV because I can't be a spectator. I once read on someone's T-shirt at a racing track: ‘It's better to be a racer for a moment than be a spectator all your life.' I think life is too short to be a spectator. Why not participate?

Me and my business It's something which is with me 24/7. I do not have to be in office to do work. It is with me wherever I go, whether I am kayaking or walking.

I do not do business all the time, but it is an integral part of my lifeand thoughts. Life is a tapestry created out of the rich layer of activities that I engage in, and business is one of them.

Me and my expatriate identity
I have been in the Middle East for more than two decades and I know what works. I am something of a rare breed being a creative person with a business acumen. Over the years I have been a graphic designer, run an advertising company, created the Caveman brand and have created a fitness challenge. I like to create a challenge for myself, work on it and then hand it over to someone else and move on in search of more challenging projects. I am constantly looking for opportunities with reasonably good returns.

Me and my family
Those have to be my fiancée, Andie, and my daughter, Georgia. Andie feeds my fire. She is the driving force behind me and supports and encourages me through thick and thin.

At the end of the day it is scary out there and I am brave enough to say that cuddles are important. My daughter Georgia has got more than her share of cuddles to offer as well.

Me and my dream
I would love to live somewhere in Europe - maybe the south of France. I am not looking for a big home - just a modest house with a history, like an old farmhouse with classic woodwork. I plan to buy an old place and do it up myself.

I would like to spend my last days at a place where I can go outside easily and see mountains.

I, ME, MYSELF

What life skills do you think outdoor activities promote?
Living outdoors can give you the best lessons for survival and life. First and foremost, it teaches you to appreciate the finer things in life, like observing the awesome beauty of nature.

I have come to accept that the things money can't buy are the best things in life. Life is all about enjoying these non-quantifiable pleasures.

They should not be missed for anything. I can't get my head around why people are so hung up onvirtual reality. What happened to actual reality?

That's why I can never exercise in the gym. An outdoors life teaches you to be resourceful and helps you survive on less.

Is it possible to stick your neck out and take risks in life and yet play it safe when it comes to implementing those risks?

Life is a risk. If you are going to jump out of a plane then it helps to have a parachute. Although this will probably save your life, it's never certain. Whenever I take a risk I try to havea ‘parachute' packed, but you should still be prepared for the worst.

Can you recount an unforgettable experience while snowboarding or racing your bike that changed your perspective of life?

There is not any specific experience. I believe that doing things like racing and snowboarding teach you the importance of focusing.

There are times when there is no room for error so it is very good for teaching focus and discipline.