EventNewsDXB

EventNewsDXB - Mark Breakspear: From Snowboarding to Event Excellence

• W4 Podcast Studio • Season 1 • Episode 2

Share episode

EventNewsDXB Ep 2 - Mark Breakspear: From Snowboarding to Event Excellence

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

Support us!

It takes time and effort to put the EventNewsDXB podcast together and we hope it's worth something to you. If it is, please consider supporting us for as little as US$200 per month (that's US50 per episode!) to keep the podcasts coming. Contact us for details.

Ian Carless:

Welcome to Event News DXB. Before we begin, I've got a quick favour to ask. There's one simple way that you can support our show, and that's by hitting that follow or subscribe button on the app you're listening to the show on right now. It really does make a huge difference in helping us get the show out there to as many people as possible. So please give us a hand and click that button right now. Thanks a bunch. Thanks a bunch.

Ian Carless:

Event News DXB. You're listening to the Event News DXB podcast. Your behind-the-scenes look into the world of events in Dubai, the UAE and the MENA region. I'm Ian Carlos and each week I'll be bringing you the latest news, industry trends and insider stories shaping one of the world's most dynamic event markets. From professional insights to Dubai's most inspiring success stories, we've got everything you need to stay ahead in the ever-evolving event industry. So, whether you're an event planner, a brand manager or just someone passionate about the power of events, you're in the right place. This week we're talking to Mark Breakspear.

Ian Carless:

After graduating from the University of Manchester in 2005, mark moved to Dubai to work with Magin Alpha Tame Leisure during the opening of Ski Dubai. Fast forward 18 months and a huge career change saw him join the events industry with DLC Events. Originally a crew member and lighting technician, mark soon progressed to project management and quickly began to specialise in conferencing technology, where he's now the sales and operations manager, and it's in this role that he's helped guide DLC events to become the leading supplier of simultaneous interpretation and discussion systems in the Middle East. Mark, welcome to the show, thank you, good afternoon. Now I'm going to kick off and I'm going to put you on the spot. So you told me earlier, just as we were grabbing coffee. You used to be a ski instructor, snowboard instructor.

Mark Breakspear:

I actually learned how to teach skiing purely because they paid me more money. So, yeah, I've been snowboarding since I was a young age and got the opportunity to be part of the opening of this great indoor ski centre in the middle of the desert, and it timed up quite well with me graduating from university. So I thought, why the hell not? Let's go and spend a couple of years in a fun country before settling down and getting a proper job. And, like many people, yeah, didn't leave.

Ian Carless:

Never left, Never left, Never left. So at what point then I mean, I won't dwell too much on the whole ski Dubai experience but at what point then did you decide that okay, snowboard instructor maybe isn't cutting the mustard and I need to do something else?

Mark Breakspear:

You know what? It was? A great, great job. I really, really loved it. But it's not a career there's nowhere to move up to, apart from moving into the office. And the great thing about teaching lessons is that every single lesson you do has you do your introductions, you find out what people do for a living and you wait until you find an industry that you're interested in do a good lesson, take them for a beer afterwards, and that's actually what I did with one of our industry power horses I guess you'd call him Steph Sebeler, okay, so I taught him snowboarding many, many moons ago. At the time he worked for DLC.

Mark Breakspear:

I was always been interested in events 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 management in the future, you'll have a bit better understanding of how everything works, a bit more well-rounded. And then I really enjoyed the technical side. I enjoyed being up on the truss plugging lights in. I did want to be one of the guys sat at the back of the room, stressed on their blackberry, dealing with every little problem, much like making things look cool.

Ian Carless:

Yeah, that progressed on so how long did it take you to sort of ingratiate yourself into the industry? Was there a period at the beginning where you thought, or did you straight away kind of know, okay, I enjoyed this I knew right from the start, I enjoyed it.

Mark Breakspear:

I I think my path has changed from initially being interested in lighting to then being the guy that um, we, you know, we had a small translation system back in the day. We used to all these uh, training sessions with mcdonald's and things where they brought off over the turfish guys and no one else wanted to do that because it was boring compared to the av jobs. So I, as the new kid I got bumped onto quite well at it, got a few bigger contracts. Then, I think, we got the Dubai Film Festival one year where we ended up investing in all the digital equipment and from there it just snowballed as interpretation became more and more common. We got microphones and we've got all the other paraphernalia that goes with it and it turned into being what is now our core business. So, from being a little side hustle almost back in 2007, fast forward to 2025, and it's our primary focus is conference technology.

Ian Carless:

Now, obviously, dubai is well known for hosting world-class events. What kind of trends have you sort of seeing at the moment or over the last four or five years, and where do you think it's going now?

Mark Breakspear:

Dubai is a very popular venue, um it's, it's got headquarters of a lot of different organizations. Certainly, during the, the pandemic, obviously everything dropped off again and I'm really really happy that everything's gone back. And some with uh, with these live events, there's a lot of uh people that were pessimistic about how you know events would be after the, after the pandemic, and I'm very pleased to hear that I was. I was right and things are bigger and better, I think, because of the location of dubai. It's very central, so it's easy for people to get to when the audiences or the attendees are spread all over the world, because it's a very central area.

Ian Carless:

Yeah, you mentioned the pandemic. I guess you know we probably couldn't have gone through a podcast without referring to that especially in relation to events right. I mean, how did you manage that whole process?

Mark Breakspear:

Oh God, you know it was hard. I was actually trying to get a mortgage at the time and they wouldn't give me a mortgage because I told them I was in the events industry. It's like, well, you know, your job's not safe, you're going to be let go any day. You know DLC are a very close-knit company. Lorraine who owns the business she's the kindest woman you ever know we all put in together, we all dug our heels in, found out where we could progress in terms of doing work, because obviously no on-site events.

Mark Breakspear:

But a few of our forward-thinking clients moved their stuff to virtual events. We very quickly adopted remote interpretation. So where we had the platform, we used one called Interprefy and we shouted about it because it 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 of positions where we could work from home. Um, so we also came into the office, obviously completely socially distanced and taking all precautions, promise, and we battled on.

Mark Breakspear:

We, we tried to find new avenues. Some worked, some didn't. We tried like home cinemas at one point. That never really took off, but you know, it was that kind of forward thinking idea of where can we get money in? Where can we get money in to pay the wages, where can we get money in to pay the bills? And we all hunkered down a little bit, carried on pushing forward, carried on marketing, carried on with uh to people Very lucky to be under the leadership of Lorraine, and no one was actually let go at all. And we came out the other side even stronger a lot happier.

Ian Carless:

I think it's been interesting. I mean, what have you seen since the pandemic? I mean, do you think we're back to where we were pre-pandemic levels in terms of the event industry?

Mark Breakspear:

I definitely think so. I think people are now. I think, ever since the end of the expo is when I really noticed the change. We were quoting a lot of jobs and heavy discounts because we just wanted the work and it seemed like every end client left things so late in the day when the industry really kicked off at I guess it was 2021, like towards the end of the year whereas at the start of that year we'd been offering heavy discounts just to get some confirmations in. Now, when it all started picking up, everyone's back to higher prices, and I think the industry really benefited from that cash injection, which was the Expo. I don't think the Expo could have come at a better time for Dubai. Lots of people came, lots of people wanted to show off and have these large events. We did the World Government Summit, which was the last event of the Expo, and that was the biggest one they'd had up to that point and it was really a showcase on you know, we can come back and we can come back big.

Mark Breakspear:

And ever since then people seem a little bit more willing to appreciate the, the value of expertise, rather than just that bottom line. They're considering the value rather than the cost, which I'm sure will go up and down as the as the years go by. But since the pandemic I really feel that people are appreciating the, the expertise that people deliver, rather than just the equipment list and that final budget number.

Ian Carless:

I think it's encouraging to hear you say that because I think you know so often in my experience in this market as well, we are very bottom line driven. I mean, there are a few clients that you know really put the emphasis on quality, but at the end of the day they look at that final figure and if it's got too many zeros on it or if it's too high a number, they balk. So I think it's really good to see that people are, you know, perhaps getting less conscious about the actual budget. What other challenges do you think we face here in the UAE with events?

Mark Breakspear:

Certainly competition. There's a lot of people around that do the same thing. There's a huge number of AV companies. There's a lot of people around that do the same thing. There's a huge number of AV companies. There's a huge number of conference companies. There's a huge number of translation agencies. A lot of them, especially on the small scale stuff. Everyone's doing the same thing and it's very hard to compete.

Mark Breakspear:

We've never been the cheapest company, never tried to be, but it really pushes us to deliver above the quotes. So the customer service, the experience you get dealing with us so you know when you're going to ask us for a quote you know you're going to get not only are quite fast, but if you've asked something I don't know, maybe wrong or that could be done better, we guide you on that. We use our expertise to say look, the best solution for your event, how we can add the most value to your events, is by doing this rather than just taking whatever they're asking for. You know we're the experts in the field, that we do as any company should be, and it's our role to guide the clients into getting the most success and for the least money. So we want to make it as economic as possible, while still getting value for what we bring to the events, how do you stay ahead of the competition?

Ian Carless:

then I mean clearly, you know, equipment is probably, you know one aspect, but only one aspect of a much larger picture.

Mark Breakspear:

Exactly, I think marketing is a big thing. This region is very much about connections and that's why I had this two-year break after the Expo from DLC, I went and worked for a remote company. When I came back in May this year, it was in a different role that I wanted to carve out that I felt dlc needed, which was as the task chest, the sales and operations side of things, having someone that goes out and maintains those relationships with the clients. It shows interest in what other people are doing fire, not just what equipment we have got available for your event, but how can we help you do even better. Um, so it's about going that extra mile and the experience of dealing with us, rather than just the the equipment list now, you mentioned the expo.

Ian Carless:

I mean, like you said, that was a massive boost to the industry when it was probably most needed. Yeah, now I think you know attention has turned uh towards saudi, doesn't it? How important do you see saudi now in terms of the events here in this region?

Mark Breakspear:

Yeah, saudi is growing. We've got some equipment over there. We haven't gone down the route of getting an established business over there. I think we've got work cut out at the moment with our team the size it is in the region, but yeah, it's definitely growing. I would love it if the freight costs to get equipment there were a little bit cheaper and a little bit more reliable as well. But I I love the region. I've been to jenna, I've been to 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 when we, when we, when we can. I still think it's a lot far behind on on on Dubai in terms of procedures and and ways of doing business, but it's certainly an exciting time. What about?

Ian Carless:

longevity. I mean, you know, I know you've been in the region a long time, so have I. You know we've. We've all seen things come and go. Is the interest in Saudi another one of those things? Is it going to come and go?

Mark Breakspear:

I don't think, think so. I think it's going to carry on increasing and hopefully they'll. There's more and more events going. They're doing so well with the music festivals and the, the, the large conferences and things over there. I can't see ever being as commercialized as as dubai is. I say that in a commercialized for dubai in a good way, because it caters for a really, really wide nationality, a wide, diverse range of people. But I think people feel so comfortable in Dubai in terms of holding their event here and the experience they have in the country. And that's down to the way the government has developed the country and I don't think Saudi are are quite there yet, but I'm sure they'll be going closer in that direction.

Ian Carless:

Is it somewhere? You see dlc heading at the moment.

Mark Breakspear:

No, I would never say never, um, but uh, I think um. Yeah, I think what we're doing at the moment is right for us at this time. Yeah, um, who knows what the future might hold?

Ian Carless:

yeah, moving on a little bit, let's let's talk about technology, because obviously your, your business is, is quite technology focused. Obviously the advance of technology recently has made your business, I would imagine, somewhat easier. What do you do now in terms of like? I mean, you're in translation. Can you talk to us a bit about that?

Mark Breakspear:

yeah, so in obviously, the um industry standard technology for translation or interpretation is the infrared receivers. That hasn't changed in what? 30 years? And it's not going to change because it's so secure and it works so well. Yeah, that's not going to change. But what has changed is more on the discussion side of things. All the microphones you have screens now, some wired, some wireless, all these added functionalities that are really driven by Europe in terms of what the councils and the European Union, what they want as features. That's what the manufacturers listen to in terms of development.

Mark Breakspear:

You know, will, yes, we. I mean that's where we step above a lot of the other companies, because we've not only got the microphones and the, the receivers, but we've also got the, the chip card login systems for delegate identification. We've got digital name signs, we've got automated camera positioning where you preset all the positions of every microphone and as soon as you touch the microphone, the camera recalls that preset. It's fascinating some of the stuff, and it is going more into the virtual world as well, a lot more. Even though we're very blessed with the number of different languages that are available locally, you do get some people that need an obscure language for a short event and then we use this.

Mark Breakspear:

You know the remote technology that we have done before and people are very used to it in Europe and it's all very, very, very common Over here. It's still a little bit slow to get going because people think, oh yeah, what happens if the internet fails, what happens if the interpreter's not online, or something like that. But we've never had an event that's actually failed ever since the end of the pandemic. We all know the virtual works because we had to do it for a while. But there is still that situation 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:

How much of an advantage is where we are geographically, then, in being able to source that talent.

Mark Breakspear:

Very well. Certain languages are good, but no matter where they are, even if they're close by, the cost of flying in interpreters for certain events is still never popular with clients' budgets.

Ian Carless:

How much of that is a part of your business, though? Do you actually have to fly in people, or are they available in the market?

Mark Breakspear:

Occasionally. Yeah, we really try and avoid it because it's not only the cost but it's also the hassle of booking the flights and hotels and everything like that. So we try and avoid it and I always recommend people to go remote to save their budget. Uh, when? And then you know, you get the big conferences where, like the cop at 28th, where they'll fly all the interpreters in.

Ian Carless:

But generally for those we just provide the the equipment and the client will have the headache of the interpreters and that's leave, leave that up to them, yeah one of the biggest challenges that you face, then, when you're asked to come in and provide your services for an event.

Mark Breakspear:

I'd say, first of all it's the understanding of the clients of the spec they need. So getting all the information is quite hard. With AV events you'll have more production time because we'll be lighting designs and there'll be rigging plans and all those things. But you're, you tend to be left a little bit more uh to creating the, the look. Unless it's a concept where they'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 rig or av setup to complement that and you're kind of left as long as it looks like you've, you've promised it's good.

Mark Breakspear:

With conference systems, you've got to know exactly what functionality the client needs and sometimes when you're working through an event agency, they don't, they don't know. So the the process can be quite slow and quite backwards and forwards in in getting that. Yeah. But then on the plus side, sometimes when it's a simple event, it's extremely low maintenance. You say how many languages you want, how many receivers you want, where to be and when to be there, and you're, you're good to go, and it's very low maintenance in terms of a planning perspective.

Ian Carless:

So how about? How about the timeline?

Mark Breakspear:

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 200 people in eight days time eight days is a blessing in most the time, and that that again is um, where this region differs to other parts of the world, I think, where you get laughed at by a company, a different in a different country but over here it's absolutely normal. You know you bend over backwards to help clients because you never know it might be, uh, a small student might want to write eight lights and pick them up tonight, but their next event could be a huge event. And if you again, that's where you've got to differentiate yourself from other companies by putting in that extra mile. Sometimes it comes back to bite you. Sometimes they cancel last minute when the kit's already prepped in the warehouse. But you know that's the gamble you take and most of the time it pays off okay, I want to ask you about staffing.

Ian Carless:

I think that's probably one of the perennial problems of of this part of the world, and maybe it is for other parts of the world as well. But in particular, I found in my 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 industry here in dubai? You know, because we, we suffer, don't we, from the whole thing about having quiet periods and then 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 well I.

Mark Breakspear:

I think the the establishment of so many companies that do event production recruitment that have come up in the last few years is a testament to how much this service is needed. Dlc have a very well-retained crew, so we've been quite lucky. A lot of our guys have been there over a decade myself over 17, 16, 17 years and a lot of our guys have been there over a decade myself over 17, 16, 17 years and a lot of our crew have come on from initially being freelancers, uh, and then have worked with them more, uh. We've ended up growing and we've then brought them on full time, so we've had a long experience of working with them in a kind of like a risk-free environment, if you like.

Mark Breakspear:

With events, it's all about work ethic. You really have to have the mindset and the passion to do what you want to do. Skills you can teach. You can teach anyone the operations of a warehouse, but if you have people that don't want to be there or are only there for fun and can't be relied upon, you can't do that. And that's where we found out through our freelance database, and a lot of the guys have been starting off with freelancers with us. Recruitment is the most expensive part of business it is, and you've got to get it right because you end up paying twice otherwise.

Ian Carless:

And how do you cope with the sort of cyclical nature of the business? I mean, I don't know whether it's still quite the same as it was, say, 20 years ago. I mean, you know, the summer used to be dead. Yeah so now I think it's perhaps a little bit more evened out, but still you have periods of lows and then you have, you know, as we all know, in the events you know, october, november, december.

Mark Breakspear:

January February.

Ian Carless:

Crazy, isn't it? Where you don't have time to take a leak.

Mark Breakspear:

So when I first started I used to go back to the UK for a couple of months and do some temp work, but over time we've become busy. Even during summer there's all the tenders and the pitches to do for the events that are coming up. The guys in the warehouse do elements like stock checks and full equipment preps, so we've got plenty of stuff. As an AV company and as a conferencing company, we've got so much equipment. There's so much stuff to fill all the time with.

Mark Breakspear:

So we use those quiet periods not only to do marketing and meeting with people, because generally when we're quiet, other people are quiet, so it's a great time for a coffee. First couple of weeks of January tend to be really quiet, which is great because I get to come meet people like you and have cool chats, even though the revenue coming in tends to be quite cyclical in terms of uh seasons, if you like. Yeah, the work certainly is and we we plug the gaps with work and there's always stuff to do and you know our guys they enjoy going back home for a few months, taking, if you want to take, their leave plus a month's unpaid leave. No issue at all, most of them have enough loo days and working public holidays to be able to get paid leave for most of it anyway so yeah, do you think that seasonal element of the business has got shorter?

Ian Carless:

do you think the low period now is?

Mark Breakspear:

I think the uh period of of doing business has got a lot shorter. People are now working throughout the summer preparing on the big projects that are coming up in September, october. I think Ramadan has a very interesting effect as it's moving back over the years. The country's getting much more open. There used to be nothing going on. Now there's some events in the evening and now, as the country becomes more open during Ramadan, things are happening during the day and there's no curtains up between foods, between food areas or anything. So I think that the uh, the regions um being more accepting of people doing business and doing events during that period, so that we don't miss out, which is this year going to be peak season in in February so if you look back now to when you were a snowboard instructor and to where you are now, was it a good move.

Mark Breakspear:

Oh, absolutely. I didn't know my passion was in events until I started doing it. I knew I enjoyed it. I did a dissertation at university on the effects of sponsorship at sporting events. I did management and leisure at university on the the effects of sponsorship uh sporting events. So I did a management and leisure uh university. So that was all focused on the, yeah, the leisure and sporting industry, which I really enjoyed.

Mark Breakspear:

But you know, I've never been the kind of person where I want. I know what I want to be when I grow up. Yeah, I still don't know what, what I want to do when I grow up, but I know that at the moment I'm enjoying what I'm doing. Yeah, and taking each day as it comes. I've been very fortunate being with DLC for so long had a lot of influence in the company and had a lot of support, a lot of mentorship, yeah, and yeah, just enjoying, enjoying life at the moment, yeah, where do you see yourself next? You know I committed to staying with DLC long-term. I've no interest in working anywhere else.

Mark Breakspear:

There's possibilities with us and the team that we have and the rate we're growing in terms, not necessarily in size, like we're growing in what we're doing, the size of events we're doing, but we're managing it with the same core team, relying on freelancers as and when we need to, and working for a company like dlc is very organic and where our growth is, we go where the market is.

Mark Breakspear:

We've we've had great success. Lorraine's got a great eye for business and she she can see where there's an opportunity and where it's maybe not worth putting any effort in, and we've carved out a position for us where we're not really competition to a lot of the other companies and we have great relationships with majority of people in this industry and the industry is very close all the same. But we don't tend to compete with jobs with Bwanda or PRG or Encore, but we support them in elements that they don't want to have the headache from. They need a few more lights or they need, uh, translation. We, we collaborate with people rather than compete against them. Yeah, um, and it's yeah.

Ian Carless:

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 vinyl collection again, like many of us, I think, who've experienced vinyl the first time around, bought cds, ditched it all, and then now we're all buying it back again. What are you listening to at the moment? What's? On your what's on your playlist at the moment?

Mark Breakspear:

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'm running. I enjoy dance music when I'm in my car, if I'm not listening to a Idiot House. I used to be a bit of a drum and bass head actually, oof, yeah, we used to love that back in my day, so I still got a soft spot for that.

Ian Carless:

We did a gig with Goldie years back Not here, no when I was in the Philippines.

Mark Breakspear:

Gosh, there was a great place where and remember Chi, yes, the nightclub Chi 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 over here. So, even though it's not the kind of thing that I'd really listen to, if I was with anyone else over here no one that I hang around with, like family, etc. Uh, would appreciate it. I've you know I'd love to listen to music more. Uh, definitely at the moment, more focused in um, in, in reading and and parenting, I guess, takes up most of my time so what on a personal level, um, what have you got to look forward to?

Ian Carless:

and also on a professional level, is there anything that you've got going on with DLC that you can share with us, that you're looking forward to Just?

Mark Breakspear:

looking forward to a really busy year. We've got a lot of things coming up. We do a big event in Singapore every June, which is a nice regular climb which I look forward 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 trade shows. I love a good trade show. I love seeing all the other guys, seeing their stands and networking with people. Personal level, yeah, my kids are getting older every day. I've got a 10-year-old one that's about to turn seven, on Saturday actually, and then another one's about to turn four. So they certainly keep me up on my toes and, yeah, keep my wife happy, which, as you know, in the events industry is extremely, extremely difficult. But happy wife, happy life.

Ian Carless:

You took the words right out of my mouth there. Yeah, mark, thank you very much for joining us. Really appreciate it. Thank you. Event News DXB was presented by myself, ian Carlos, the studio engineer and editor was Roy DeMonte, the executive producer was myself and Joe Morrison, and this podcast is a co-production between Warehouse 4 and W4 Podcast Studio Dubai, and if you haven't done so already, please do click that follow or subscribe button. See you next time.