Nabil Al Busaidi

Nabil ‘Nabs’ Al-Busaidi (sometimes spelt El-Busaidy), born on 23 January 1970 in London, United Kingdom, is an Arab adventurer who has successfully completed major expeditions such as walking to the magnetic North Pole, a climb of Mount Vinson in Antarctica,^[1] and a row across the Atlantic Ocean.^[2]

He is the first Arab to accomplish many of these feats. For this he has been voted one of the Top 100 Most Influential Arabs in the world by Arabian Business magazine in 2009,^[3] the Top 50 Influential Arabs by Middle East magazine in 2009 and 2011, and remains in the Top 500 Power List in 2011 for Arabian Business magazine.^[4]

A documentary ^[5] about his trek to the magnetic North Pole was directed and edited by two-time Emmy Award winning director David S. Ward,^[6] and is an entrant into the 2011 film festivals in the Middle East.

Early Life and Education

• Nabs was born on 23 January 1970 in London, United Kingdom, and grew up dividing his time between the UK and the island of Bahrain in the Middle East.

• He completed his formal education from Bath University earning Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Mathematics (1993) and Masters in Management (1997).

• In 1998, he moved back to his roots in the Middle East and began residing in Oman and Bahrain.

• He is a Project Management Professional (PMP), has completed Level 1 of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), and is a Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society (FGRS).

Career

Multinational Organizations

During his career, Nabs has worked at institutions such as Gulf International Bank (Bahrain), KPMG (Oman), Mizuho Bank (Bahrain) and Gulf Air (Bahrain) before becoming a full time adventurer.

Sports

An avid sports enthusiast, Nabs was awarded university colours twice for outstanding ability and service to Bath University’s teams for soccer and American football.

He competed in the British Winter Biathlon Championships in 2001, 2002 and 2004 ^[7] and was invited to the British Winter Biathlon Olympic development squad in 2003. He is a Royal Life Saving Society UK Bronze award holder for life guarding and a PADI advanced open water scuba diver.

In Bahrain, he played for Bahrain RFC, an amateur rugby team,^[8] during their 1997-2005 seasons and as a lifelong fan Liverpool FC he founded the Bahrain Liverpool FC Fan Club.^[9]

Other

Nabs has also worked as a military consultant for the BBC series, Preston Front, the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies and as an extra in Eyes Wide Shut.^[10]

Nabs published a coffee table book entitled “The Arab who Took on the Arctic - From Sand to Snow” ^[11] in 2011 and is registered with the London Speakers Bureau as a motivational speaker ^[12]

Adventurer

An active adventurer, Nabs has undertaken the following expeditions since 2009:

• In April 2009, he became the first Arab to walk the 650 km from Resolute Bay to the magnetic North Pole and one of less than 500 ever to walk to a pole.

• Later that year, Nabs helped Commander Richard Ryan, a United States Naval officer, set a World Record for a wheelchair traverse ^[13] from Land's End, Cornwall, England to John O'Groats, Scotland; a total distance of 1,451 km in 8 days 10 hours.

• Later in the same year, during December, he also successfully completed a climb of Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa at 5,895m and one of the 7 summits.

• In January 2010, Nabs became the first Omani, second Arab, and one of only 1,400 to climb the highest mountain in Antarctica, Mount Vinson – (4,897m) also one of the 7 summits.

• In April 2010, Nabs was hoping to be the first Omani to summit Mount Everest, but survived a fall that left him with several broken bones in one ankle and required evacuation from base camp.^[14]

• From the highest mountain to traversing the deep sea, Nabs changed expedition styles in 2011. He set yet another world record by becoming the first Arab to row over 4,600 km across the Atlantic and joined an exclusive club of less than 500 ever to row an ocean.^[15]

Current Activities

Inspired by boarding school^[16] friend Major Phil Packer,^[17] who raised more than one million pounds for charity,^[18] Nabs is working on a tour of 100 schools throughout the GCC. He is hoping to raise US$ 1 million for local charities by inspiring the students to organise their own fundraising efforts.

Later in 2011, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of Scott and Amundsen’s race to the pole, Nabs hopes to be the first Gulf Arab to walk to the South Pole.^[19]

References

1. ^ Nabil Al-Busaidi's Antarctic expedition diary - Features - ArabianBusiness.com
2. ^ Ocean Rowers By Country
3. ^ "Nabs" becomes first Arab to reach the North Pole - Sport - ArabianBusiness.com
4. ^ Arabian Business Power 500
5. ^ 'THE ARAB WHO TOOK ON THE ARCTIC' - Trailer on Vimeo
6. ^ David Ward Films Awards
7. ^ http://www.britishbiathlon.com/Rucksack%202004/Biathlon%20Sprint%207-5%20km%20Women%20PTS.PDF
8. ^ Bahrain Rugby Football Club - Nabeel Al Busaidi’s Book Launch this weekend
9. ^ Bahrain Liverpool FC Fan Club | Facebook
10. ^ Eyes Wide Shut (1999) Ending - YouTube
11. ^ Nabs Al Busaidi interview - The Knowledge Features - TimeOutDubai.com
12. ^ Nabil Al Busaidi - Speaker Profile - The London Speaker Bureau
13. ^ Gulf Daily News » Local News » Documentary on epic Arctic adventure premieres
14. ^ Gulf Daily News Archives
15. ^ Every Oceanrower On The Planet
16. ^ Eltham College
17. ^ Welcome to the official Phil Packer website
18. ^ The Pride of Britain Awards - Major Phil Packer
19. ^ AdventureStats - by Explorersweb

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