Introduction
Paul Evans is the CEO of Solutions Leisure, one of the most recognised hospitality brands in the UAE with 23 venues across the region. But that is not the reason we brought him in.
He grew up dyslexic and spent years being told he wasn’t enough, and the decisions he made in his early twenties landed him in a UK prison cell at 21. What followed was years of searching for something he couldn’t name, until his body made the decision for him.
While building a business in Egypt, acute pancreatitis brought on by years of serious alcohol abuse put Paul in a coma for 77 days. He woke up with a different set of priorities and the kind of clarity that only comes when you have had to earn the right to still be here.
This conversation goes places most successful people never go publicly. He talks about what accountability really looks like when you stop blaming everything else, about the real price of starting over from nothing, and about why a man who has built all of this still believes that success has nothing to do with what you build.
Some conversations change how you think about things.
Show Notes
00:00 — Introduction Spencer introduces Paul Evans and Solutions Leisure.
19:30 — Growing Up: Dyslexic, Bullied and Written Off Paul on his childhood in Cheshire, being diagnosed with dyslexia, the bullying, a distant father, and the moment at 14 when he decided to prove everyone wrong.
25:36 — Going to Prison at 21 An altercation. A 12-month sentence. Six months served across Walton and Kirkham prisons in the UK. Paul on what he took from it.
31:07 — From General Electric to a Bar in Egypt After prison, Paul builds a successful career in sales at General Electric. Then makes an accidental £30,000 investment in a bar in Hurghada, Egypt and never looks back.
35:43 — The Spiral: When It All Started to Fall Apart The Egypt years. Running his father’s diving business, managing his own bar, and the heavy drinking and long hours that quietly took everything to the edge.
38:20 — 77 Days in a Coma Acute pancreatitis. An emergency flight to England. Seventy-seven days in a coma while his family lived in Singapore. The most intense part of the conversation.
56:19 — Building Solutions Leisure: 20 Venues in Dubai Paul on arriving in Dubai, founding Solutions Leisure from scratch, and building one of the most recognised hospitality portfolios in the UAE.
1:10:12 — Finding Purpose and Getting a Life Coach What do you do when you have everything and still feel lost? Paul on finding direction, working with a life coach, and the advice he gives people who feel stuck.
1:13:38 — The Daily Practice That Changed Everything Three things. Every morning. The gratitude habit Paul picked up through coaching that he says shifted everything.
1:14:04 — Selling 50% of the Business Paul on the decision to sell half of Solutions Leisure to Sunset Hospitality, the timing, and why he has no regrets.
1:14:58 — How He Saved 400 Jobs During COVID The pandemic. The decisions nobody talks about. Paul on how he kept 400 people employed when most of the industry was collapsing around him.
1:20:57 — Quick Fire Round No alcohol. Daily gym. Surround yourself with the right people. Fast, unfiltered, and completely honest.
