Five years ago, Matt Farr was a fixed-income trader living the high-finance lifestyle in Dubai. He now owns Mountain Quests, an adventure travel company based in the emirate. Here, he talks about how he got started.
How do you get from being a trader to owning an adventure travel company?
In March 2008 I was planning to go to Thailand on a holiday to a five-star hotel in a nature reserve. I decided to go to the doctor's to check if my vaccinations were up to date. He tested my blood pressure. It was 160 over 110. He basically told me to change my lifestyle and I listened. I decided to go and try new things. It took me to Everest Base Camp.
What happened next?
I came back to Dubai and it started eating away at me. I called the guide I got to know because it was just me and him on the [Everest] trip. I said, 'Nima, so I have done the base camp but I really want to feel what it's like on a mountain now. Can I climb one?' He said, 'Yes sure'. A year later I turned up in Nepal again to climb a mountain near Everest. We stood on top of this mountain and you could see all of the world's famous mountains in front of you. It just blew me away.
After that trip your passion for your career was steadily replaced by a love of the outdoors. What was the tipping point?
In August 2010 I was given a new job offer in the UAE. I was already questioning my career. After about three or four weeks of deliberation I decided, 'No, I don't want to stay in this.' I quit my job and I turned down the other job.
What did you do next?
I decided to go to Nepal again and climb another mountain. While we were climbing, Nima asked me how work was going. I told him I had quit and he was shocked. He said, 'Well, actually Matt, I have been meaning to talk to you for ages' about how he wanted to set up his own company to be a guide and do adventure sports. He said, 'Would you like to do it together?' I said, 'Yes.'
Why base your company in Dubai?
By definition, all expatriates have a sense of adventure in us anyway. We have moved away from our home countries and come somewhere else. Either we have known it very well or not at all. But it has taken a leap of faith. And in a way it's the same thing people do when they come on a trip with us. I also think the framework of the UAE and how they allow business to grow is also very powerful.
gduncan@thenational.ae
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Women & Power: A Manifesto
Mary Beard
Profile Books and London Review of Books
MEYDAN RESULTS
6.30pm Baniyas (PA) Group 2 Dh125,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner ES Ajeeb, Sam Hitchcock (jockey), Ibrahim Aseel (trainer).
7.05pm Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner Galaxy Road, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi.
7.40pm Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner Al Modayar, Fernando Jara, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
8.15pm Handicap (TB) Dh170,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner Gundogdu, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer.
8.50pm Rated Conditions (TB) Dh240,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner George Villiers, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
9.25pm Handicap (TB) Dh175,000 (D)1,200m
Winner Lady Parma, Connor Beasley, Satish Seemar
10pm Handicap (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner Zaajer, Fernando Jara, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Bareilly Ki Barfi
Directed by: Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Starring: Kriti Sanon, Ayushmann Khurrana, Rajkummar Rao
Three and a half stars
