I was born on the 2nd of February 1971 in South Africa where I lead a carefree childhood, filled with adventure, sport and plenty mischief.  Once my childhood had run its course I started life as a Hospitality Designer, moved to London, where life offered exciting experiences.   Eventually Dubai’s development opportunities could not be resisted and it became home – 13 years later it has still not lost that appeal!

Along the way I met and married my beautiful Antoinette, our family increased by one when Tallulah was born in December 2004 and as life developed we added Noah and McCai, our wonderful Jack Russell terriers.  Life was ‘Poptillicious’, bonfires in the desert, weekends on the beach, winter barbeque’s, time in the pool, long runs and Skydive Dubai.  Dubai’s proximity to the world provided the perfect opportunity to create wonderful memories travelling as a family.  Our annual trip to the Maldives gave us the opportunity to explore the beautiful shades of blue…me from the depths feeding my passion for scuba diving and the girls from the soft white sand of the shore. At the end, no matter how exotic the destination, coming home to Dubai was always comforting, filled with special caring friends and loads of memories and an opportunity to experience an active lifestyle.

Work was also filled with adventures and opportunity, being an integral part of teams that brought 3 amazing Hospitality Brands to life: Armani Hotels; Vida Hotels & Resorts; Rove Hotels and an opportunity to work closely with great professionals and Outliers in the Real Estate and Lifestyle Sectors.  Thirteen years in, building success on lessons learned, a RAK half marathon, a DXB Marathon, an additional 3 failed marathon attempts an abysmal attempt at becoming a crossfit groupie and ….”Peter, you may have ALS”.

Welcome to the start of ‘Filipendulous’’