The Acceleration of Passion Towards Success

We were delighted to have a very unique and motivational conversation with the businessman and founder of “British Automotives”, Mohamed Zaki, who is not only a successful and inspiring figure in the business and car industries but also, a very dedicated sportsman who can motivate many others to keep a healthy and active lifestyle.

The Start: A Passion That’s Louder Than Thoughts

Mohamed Zaki graduated from the Faculty of Engineering, Architecture department at Ein Shams University, but he has always had a strong passion for cars since a very young age. Although being an excellent student at the university, his passion for cars was so stubborn that he couldn’t just neglect it or treat it as a part-time.

“My interest in exotic cars turned into a persisting passion. When I was young, I’d stop in front of a car that caught my attention, completely dazzled and drawn into its details,” Zaki said.

Throughout his college years, Zaki’s passion kept increasing. When he graduated, it was not an easy decision to choose to shift his entire career to the car business, especially since he was one of the top students in his department and participated in significant projects. But passion was louder than thoughts. He went where his heart led him. He was only 21 years old when he had professionally embarked on this career.

Breaking Stereotypes

Zaki was one of the very few who changed the stereotype of the exotic car business. He has significantly developed the industry and has created an image for himself that is completely different from what is usually seen or expected in this area.

“I always look for the competitive edge; what distinguishes me from others. Everyone wants the best service with the least cost and very high quality; something that the car owner won’t be able to provide for himself on his own. So, I started to look at it from this perspective.”

Zaki elaborated by mentioning that he built an entity whose job doesn’t end when the car is sold; it actually starts there. “Even if there is a problem encountered by the client, he calls us directly and we take it from there, handling the whole situation, making sure to eliminate any kind of suffering that the client might go through, as there is a full well-equipped team for their service,” Zaki said.

Zaki makes sure that the client who chooses his service doesn’t have to make the slightest effort to do anything except enjoy his car to the max.

When we talk about cars, we had to ask Zaki the following.

1. What was the first exotic car you bought?

“Mercedes convertible, 1997,” Zaki answered.

2. Rank the top 3 cars in the world in your opinion.

The answer for this one was expected, from his company’s name “BRITISH Automotive”. “British cars combine performance, shape and safety. These are the 3 factors that make me respect and love British cars,” he mentioned. “For your question, I’d choose Ferrari, Rolls Royce, and Bently.”

3. What’s your favorite sports car?

For this question, Zaki’s passion was heard in his voice as he mentioned many different sports cars, like Jaguar, specific types of Mercedes and BMW, which are some of the significant sports cars in the market, then he also mentioned Bently, MclAren, Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Rolls Royce which are very powerful and have special uses. “Every car has a special character, a different feel and use. Every car is special in its own way, so it is very hard to give one answer. I just love them all,” he concluded.

4. Do you follow car races?

“Not really my thing. I prefer safe driving. I am against speed because the main goal behind this is pleasure and happiness. I’d take risks in anything except for a person’s life. This is against my ethics. I promote safe driving and pleasure. Humans come first.”

Then, we moved the conversation to talk about sports and fitness.

How important are sports in your life?

It is a major and main thing, just like eating and drinking. It’s one of life's functions for me.

What is your favorite sport?

“I love any sport that involves rackets. I play tennis, padel tennis, and ping pong. But when it comes to watching and following sports, I watch football. And of course, the gym is the first thing I start my day with. When you work out in the morning, you’re on full power and you have energy for the rest of the day. Just like a car, you need to warm up your body first before pushing it to function well.”

Do you have a specific workout routine?

No. I personally work out with my trainer. It’s very motivating as we push each other. This is actually what it’s all about, the motivation.” Zaki also mentioned that Ali Mazhar is one of the people he respects and appreciates their work in the field of fitness.

 Have you tried any of the following diets? Keto, Paleo, intermittent fasting… which one do you prefer?

“I do believe in nutrition, but not in ‘diets’.  I always follow a nutrition program; even in Ramadan, I made sure to go for a program that would fit the holy month. I believe that any input has an output. So, it’s all about calories after all for the weight, and of course, the healthy routine for the health and lifestyle.”

Who among your celebrity friends would you call a workout partner?

“I have worked out with many people, but on top of the list comes Amr Diab. He is the most dedicated person in this area, not only when it comes to consistency and training, but he has great knowledge; he studies, not only trains, and is always full of motivation. I derive my energy from him, and also Amir Karara who pays a lot of attention to working out, and when we travel, we always train together.”

Were you an athlete when you were young? What sport did you play when you were a kid?

“I started playing tennis when I was a kid, but I haven’t participated in any tournaments. I was super consistent and took it seriously, not for the sake of the win and competition, but because since I was a kid, I had this concept of training to keep good health and be in shape, which kept growing with me.”

You have been recently injured. How do you psychologically and mentally cope with your injury, as there are a lot of people who find it stressful and depressing?

“I had a shoulder injury. It was a minor injury at first, but I over-trained so it turned into a partial tear. I’ve fully recovered now though.”

Injuries do not only affect physical health but mental health too. A lot of athletes fall into the trap of getting demotivated or sometimes even depressed during their injuries or recovery phase. Zaki has shared how he copes with such challenging phases without letting his pain affect him mentally and psychologically.

“In such periods, we need to look a bit further than this bothersome moment. It’s a target that I have in general, to look further and not get stuck in this present moment. The challenge is to find the will to overcome this challenging phase and act upon it. It’s all in your head; what thoughts will you fill your head with? And this doesn't only apply to sports, but to life in general; when we face any challenge in life, we need to focus our energy on overcoming this phase instead of thinking about its negative aspects and current consequences. We need to think about how to get done with it. If we think that this is the end of the world, we’ll never move on with our lives. There must be hope.”

How do you keep the work-life balance?

“I am originally an engineer. So, engineering helped with a very important thing, which is how to be organized. It helped me to know how to divide my goals and responsibilities and to multi-task. I give everything its time. Family time. Work time. My own time. My workout and gym time. I personally have to manage my life in a way where everything gets done in its desired form without sacrificing the time or the quality of getting one thing done over the other. It’s all about good organization and time management.”

We have to mention that Zaki is also a father to two young athletes, Talia, his 12-year-old daughter who is a gymnastic champion, and Omar, his 10-year-old son who plays football. Aside from their main sports, Zaki made sure that both kids play swimming for well-being purposes.

We ended this interesting chat with a little game, getting to know Zaki’s preferences when it comes to:

Individual sport or team sport?

“I like playing individual sports, but I prefer to watch team sports.”

Leg day or upper body day?

“Upper body. And cardio is one of my favorites too.”

Cycling or running?

“Cycling. I am used to cycling from my home to the gym; I enjoy the uphill and downhill.”

Movies: Rush or The Fast and The Furious?

“The Fast and the Furious.”

Coffee or tea?

“Neither. I prefer fresh juices.”

Fish or meat?

“Fish.”

Vanilla or Chocolate Whey Protein?

“Vanilla.”

If you have one food that you’ll have to eat for the rest of your life, what will it be?

“Molokhia.”

If you have only one car to drive for the rest of your life, what will it be and why?

“Range Rover. It’s the car I worked with the most, the car that distinguished me in the market, and also the car I sold the most. I personally love it.”