How you spend your mornings can set the tone for the day.
For a whole year, we’ve asked incredible men we know, “What do the first 30 minutes of your day look like, your morning routine?” As the year draws to a close, we look back at some of the most interesting interviews of successful male founders, entrepreneurs, and tastemakers in and out of the region who have shared their daily go-to morning habits.
From self-care rituals, wellness practices, grooming essentials, supplements worth trying or spending quality time with family, scroll through snippets from some of our favorite interviews this year to know how they start their mornings focused to inspire more productive mornings for the new year ahead.
Jay Shetty, Author and Coach
“The way I see it, how I start my day is crucial to how I experience the rest of it, so I’m very intentional about it. Instead of waking up and saying, “I hope today’s going to be a great day,” we should ask ourselves, “What am I going to do today to make my day great?”
For me, my day actually starts the night before. I jot something down on a sticky note that will help me program my mind the next morning. So, if I want the day to be especially productive, I might put a quote or a mantra about productivity, positivity, presence or whatever I want the day to be about. And then when I wake up, it’s right there and I read it a few times, and really try to internalize it.
My day then starts with meditation for 1.5 hours. This includes breathwork, visualization and mantra meditation. I then will hike for an hour and then have breakfast and set my intentions for the day. But I think the key concept for everyone is to not be passive about your day, program it. Set yourself up to have the experience you want to have.”
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Ali Sajwani, Managing Director of Operations and Technology – DAMAC Properties
“Well, it depends. I wake up at 4:30am during the summer months and if it’s winter, I’m up at 6:30 and then go to the gym. If I’m working out, I first pray then begin my fitness routine and that’s mostly how I start the day. I love Ice baths, so I first jump into a two-degree bath for around 10 minutes and that usually helps to wakes me up.”
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Dr. Michael Apa, Founder – Apa Aesthetics
“It’s all about setting routines. Whether I’m in NY, LA or Dubai, my mornings look the same – email, coffee, gym. That consistency is important because it gives me the mental space to think critically about other things. My alarm goes off at 4:45am, and I joke that I wake up in a rush. Time is my most valuable resource. I hit the gym and follow a programme my trainer put together for me. After the gym, I grab a coffee (iced quad with oat milk and three Splenda), and head back to my room to get ready for work. I get picked-up at 8am with a fresh coffee (same order) and go straight to the office.”
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Nerio Alessandri, Founder and CEO – Technogym
“Usually, the first part of my day is dedicated to wellness. I like to work out early in the morning, this energizes me for the whole day. I do it both in my home gym and at our beautiful Wellness Center at the Technogym Village, where I can test the new products and also meet colleagues.”
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Khalid Shafar, Furniture Designer and Entrepreneur
“I am an early riser. I usually wake up at 5am, start with my prayer and then head to do some sport. I will either join a very early sports class (at Barry’s) or go for a run on Kite beach and catch the sunrise. I’m a true sunrise lover! This routine changes a bit during the weekend, still waking up at the same time but I enjoy empty spaces that are always crowded during the week for reading a book and a fresh cup of coffee.”
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Michael Kliger, CEO – Mytheresa
“I usually get up without the alarm – the excitement of the day naturally wakes me up. I’m lucky that I look forward to each day. I’m not a breakfast person so I usually just have one single or double espresso. That’s it. Then the first thing I do is go online to check my emails and see what the numbers in the business are doing. As Mytheresa is a global business – we have offices in Germany, Shanghai and New York – so we are always on in that sense. If I’m in Munich, I’m in the office by eight o’clock.”
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Chef Hattem Mattar, Founder – FIYA
“The first 30 minutes of my day in the winter are my dreams come true. Every day, I wake up, feed the animals, water the plants, pick what’s ripe, walk barefoot, take a deep breath, say a prayer and then get in the car to take my eldest daughter to school.”
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Jamie Clements, Founder – The Breath Space
“On an ideal day, I wake up at 7am and take the first hour completely for myself. I like to start my days slowly as it sets the tone for the day. I’ll drink water/electrolytes to rehydrate, put my infrared light on and move through a combination of calming breathwork and unguided meditation for the first 30 minutes. After that I like to read a few chapters before heading for a cold shower/ice bath or sometimes even a swim in Hyde Park if I can get myself there.”
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Charlie Wright, Founder – Humantra
“I have a 5 am alarm every morning without fail. I immediately have a cold shower and hydrate with one sachet of Humantra. I do five minutes of box breathing, do my gratitude journal and head straight to the gym – exercise fuels my creativity. The newest part of my routine is to not check my phone or laptop for 100 minutes after waking. All these tasks are non-negotiable. My morning is the most sacrosanct part of the day. I go by the belief that “If a person puts even one measure of effort into following ritual and the standards of righteousness, he will get back twice as much” Xunzi.”
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James Miller, Co-Founder – Embody Fitness
“I believe in having strong rituals to my days and weeks. My key ritual is an early start and beginning the day with exercise outdoors while the sun is rising. I wake at 5am and typically train for two to three hours either cycling, or running and swimming before breakfast. I take breakfast with friends in either the Surf House or at our Embody Fitness cafe and then I do strength training with one of our personal trainers at Embody Fitness. I find this routine positive for my mind and body and means I start the day feeling great and take a very positive attitude into my daily meetings.
My alarm normally goes off around 4.45am so I can jump in the car and start my morning Ironman training by 5.30am which consists of either 2-3 hours of cycling or 3 hours of swimming and running and then a gym session. This is my morning ritual, and it ensures I start the day positively. I feel great when I do this as I train with amazing people, and I am then ready and energised to take on the day ahead. When I am on vacation I do enjoy not needing to roll out of bed before 5am but I will always start the day with physical or mental exercise but in a more relaxed and probably less demanding manner than when I am training for performance.”
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Chervin Jafarieh, Founder and COO – Cymbiotika
“I wake up and before getting out of bed I spend five minutes or more reflecting on my dreams. Dreams provide us an opportunity to look within the veil of our subconscious and it’s just as important to understand those deep layers within us. I hydrate with 30 oz of spring water and one tablet of Cymbiotika’s Molecular Hydrogen dissolved into the water. Next I make my way outside, I place my bare feet directly on the earth and allow the rising sun rays to hit my face and chest, activating the production of melatonin in my body, and turning on my immune system. I take 10 minutes to breathe deeply into my body and reflect on various things that I am grateful for and how I want to approach my day. I like to listen to 432 Hertz music throughout the house while taking a cold shower.”
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Dr. David Montalvo, Aesthetic Dentist – Apa Aesthetic
“I recently started a new routine where I wake up, get a quick shower with really cold water at the end, facial cleanser, hyaluronic serum and face cream from Dr. Barbara Sturm, brush my teeth (of course) and hit the gym. I was never a morning person but after having two kids I’ve been forced to become one. So, now that I crossed the 40’s border I have tried to arrange some time to take care of myself before I take Diego and Bruno to school.”
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Sheldon Maduray, Founder – SM Marketing
“I’m a morning person by nature and an early riser. I start my day with supplements and skincare. Both are important routines that shape the rest of my day. My supplements include probiotics and mushroom liquid extracts, with alkaline water sprinkled with pink Himalayan salt. I like a simple, yet results-driven approach to skincare. I use Augustinus Bader The Cream Cleansing Gel, The Essence and The Cream.”
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Ryan Gibb – Musician
“I’m usually woken up by my son who is eagerly awaiting to play so we have some quality time together before he goes to nursery, but I also try and incorporate some breathing exercises and stretching whilst trying to get outside as early as possible to set me up for the day ahead.”
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Frankie Yang Tao, Executive Chef – Mott 32
“The first thing I do every morning is cook breakfast for my daughter so I can spend quality time with her before the busy day ahead. I like to try different recipes and make a variety of dishes (she is a massive foodie). I then check guests’ feedback based on their experience from the night before and share their comments with my team, so we are constantly improving.”
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Feature Image: Supplied
