AEROPLANE MODE

STANLEY THAPELO GABRIEL, CEO OF MOMENTUM INVESTO AND

FOUNDER

OF

THE GABRIEL INSTITUTE, TELLS US ABOUT HIS FAVOURITE PLACES AND THE LUXURIES HE CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT WORDS THEMBALETHU ZULU

Go-to leisure outfit: A kikoi. Your happy place: Salsify at The Roundhouse restaurant in Cape Town. Hidden gem you love: Mr Pants in Joburg; it’s the smallest wine bar I’ve ever been to. A hobby you’d like to get into: I have the desire to become a mountain biker, but I have no intentions of ever making it a reality! To go through the bush and the dirt, swerving over rocks and avoiding trees… I’d love to do that, but I never will. One luxury that’s actually a necessity: Bubbly, whether it’s Champagne or MCC. I have it on tap at home. It’s the thing I buy the most – and what I run out of the most! Favourite luxury under R500: It’s actually under R50… gourmet popcorn. I live for it and I don’t even eat junk food.

WHAT IS YOUR IDEA OF LUXURY? “Having some space to myself and being in a place where I feel like I’ve got an expanse of experience and don’t have to contend with being prioritised. It’s actually because I don’t like crowds and small, confined spaces so when there are less people around, it feels like luxury to me.”

IN A WORLD WHERE WE’RE TECHNICALLY ALWAYS AVAILABLE, HOW DO YOU SEPARATE YOUR WORK AND PERSONAL LIFE? “I don’t – that’s the simple answer. I have the privilege of doing something I love, so my work flows into my life and sometimes my life flows into work. I call it work-life integration rather than work-life balance.”

WHAT’S THE LONGEST TIME YOU’VE MANAGED TO STAY OFFLINE? “I’m generally offline from Saturday morning to Sunday morning. On Friday nights I like catching up on social media, so it won’t be before that.”

IS THERE ONE THING YOU DO AFTER A LONG DAY AT WORK TO HELP YOU UNWIND? “Oh, there’s only one thing –I go straight to the kitchen and start cooking. Within 30 minutes, whether it has been a great day or a bad day, I start thinking about the flavours and how I’m going to change the recipe I have in my mind. That helps me relax.”

OUTSIDE OF YOUR HOME, WHERE IS YOUR FAVOURITE SPACE?

“There are two: Franschhoek and Karen in Nairobi. I often go to Kenya, and whenever I’m there, I feel like I can switch off.”

ON A SUNDAY, HOW DO YOU PREPARE FOR THE WEEK AHEAD?

“I play tennis on Sunday morning and cook lunch if I’m home, or I’ll go to my family. I spend about two hours catching up on the things I didn’t manage to do and make a rough to-do list so I can make sense of what the week is going to look like.”

THE BEST REASON YOU LAST SWITCHED YOUR PHONE TO AEROPLANE MODE?

“It was when I decided to go on leave in the last, most hectic and productive week of the year. It felt so good. I went to Jordan on a solo trip (pictured below) as a gift to myself for my birthday.”