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AVE CRANE, ONCE DUBAI'S BEST-KNOWN DJ,

has reinvented himself as a hypnotist,hypnotherapist and a life coach.Lorraine Chandler meets him expectingto be entertained, but ends uphypnotised

Sitting in the trendy More cafe inGarhoud, I wait for Dave Crane. I havegreat expectations of being amusedby a man who has spent most of his lifeentertaining others.

Crane came to Dubai over 10yearsago, starting off as the DJ of theChampions nightclub in the JWMarriott Hotel in 1995.

He later went on to become the

station manager of the innovativeChannel 4 radio, in addition to discjockeying and presenting some ofDubai's most high-profile events.He gained a name for being a 'party boy'and his impish face and dreadlockswere seldom absent from society pages.In a city desperate for celebrities, Cranecarved a unique niche for himself.

Mindis a seriousmatter ... Fromfull-time entertainment to a

life coach and hypnotherapist,Dave Crane (left, as acaricature) is working hardto change people's previousperceptions of him.

He is half an hour late for our

meeting, a fact I wrongly attributeto his celebrity status, but he later

blames it on the Garhoud Bridge traffic.His trademark highlighted dreadlocksare still there, as are his earring andcheeky grin. But he's wearing a sombresuit and tie, despite the searing heat.When he starts to tell me about

a business networking group, I worrywhether my afternoon is going to be asentertaining as I had anticipated.

It turns out Crane has had a changeof career. He still entertains, comperesand hypnotises people on stage. Buthe's also a certified hypnotherapist,an NLP (Neurolinguistic Programming)master practitioner, life coach andcorporate trainer. He is bursting withideas about people achieving theirpotential and upgrading their lives.

Still yearning for some lightentertainment, I ask him to hypnotiseme. Immediately, I question mywisdom, given the fact that we area conspicuous pair in a crowded cafe.

Without any sign of being self-conscious, he stands over me in the

middle of the cafe. I close my eyes andgive in to his soothing voice as he asksme to recall my most powerfulmemories and to see myselfexperiencing great success in thefuture. I cautiously foresee myself asa published novelist in 2010.Afterwards, I curse myself for notenvisaging myself as a millionaire orfamous actress a little bit closer to thepresent.

I quickly realise it is morehypnotherapy than hypnotism heis using on me, and that he is askingme to consciously believe I canreach my ambitions if I truly wantto. I'm disappointed when he stopsbecause I am enjoying envisioningmy success, without having toimagine the work that would gointo it.

Part of me is a little disappointedthe old hedonistic radio presenter isgone, but there's no denying it:Dave Crane has grown up. At 37,he's found a new career thatsatisfies him more than anythinghe has done in the past.

FRIDAY 149

I, ME, MYSELF

'Thereweretwo waysfor meto copewith [being the only blackchild in nearlyeverytown I lived].I could either fight my wayout of trouble, or I couldmake people laugh. I chosethe latter.'

He is working hard to changepeople's perceptions of him as primarilyan entertainer, and has turned downa number of lucrative contracts.

Nowadays, he focuses onmotivational staff training and lifecoaching and has as much businessas he could want, in Dubai and abroad.

Most importantly, he believes in whathe is doing. NLP and hypnotherapy haveturned his life around, and he finds itmore rewarding to share these withothers than to spin discs and play thejoker card.

I look... [from the outside, like] anincredibly confident self-assured radioDJ type. I am certainly self-assured,but I am more introverted than peoplerealise.

Ifeel... many people in Dubai put upa facade of happiness. For me andmany others in the wellbeing industry,this is El Dorado. There are a hugenumber of people who believe thathaving fancy goods and cars is the wayto happiness, but they have to realisethat it isn't enough and that they needto start looking for more.

I loveDubai... more than any otherplace on the planet. There are [many]nationalities living together [here]...After 10 years of living here, it is myreality. Your reality is what you chooseit to be, and I know which realityI would prefer.

I believe .n I am gifted, not becauseof what I've done in my life, but becauseI know now what life is all about.

I boughtan X-men comic when I wasfive years old. I've always thought ofmyself as a bit like Wolverine. He'ssmall and dangerous and not one tounderestimate, a bit like myself. I thinkeveryone has hidden abilities.I wouldlike to be the Jamie Oliverof hypnosis. Everyone should doself-hypnosis because they deservethe self-discovery and happiness theycan create for themselves.

ME

Me and growing up:

My parents, Peter and Eugenie, metin the 1960s when mum came fromthe West Indies to chase work in the

UK. At the time they got together,racism was very strong in the UK andpeople disapproved of their inter-racial

Dubaiis incrediblebecause

it's like being on aworking holiday. I thinkanyone who complainsabout it needs to gohome for a while andthink about it.

. I feel safe in Dubai,!md I like the fact thattheJaws ...are so strict.

If you flout the lawsand get caught, that'syour responsibility.

I thought it was greatwhen the policecracked down on drink-driving.

There is a great pushtowards putting the cityon the map, and it'scommercially the bestaddress in the world.

ME AND DUBAI

150 FRIDAY

marriage, but my parents wantedto prove that they could make a go of it.They moved to St Kitts and Nevis in theWest Indies nine years ago, and I visitthem whenever I can.

I learned from my parents that youhave to go beyond skin colour to findthe person inside, and that you haveto believe that you can be the best.

I was the only black kid in nearlyevery town I lived in as a child, firstin Scotland and then later near

Middlesborough in England. Therewere two ways for me to cope with this.I could either fight my way out oftrouble, or I could make people laugh.I chose the latter.

Many years after I left school,I met a big brother of an old classmatewho told me when I arrived insecondary school, he and the rest of therugby team had vowed to protect me.I like the idea of that secret protectionI had, although I never knew of itat the time.

In were [of] a different skin colour,I might have ended up as an accountant,but the challenges of growing up in thatenvironment taught me how to readpeople.

Me and celebrity:

I always wanted to work in TV or radio.I started in hospital and local radio, andspent some time working in Warner'sholiday camp in the Isle of Wight.I was a DJ, singer and entertainerworking 14hours a day. I loved it,and would recommend it to anyone.

I also worked as a freelance

journalist for the BBC for three years.However, when I was asked to take my

I, ME, MYSELF

earring out in a radio studio, I realisedthat wasn't where I wanted to be.

I then took the desperate stepof going on Blind Date, which wasa tremendously popular TV showat the time. I won the Christmas showand went on a TV date with a bellydancer (it didn't workout!). But I never did getthe TV break I had hopedfor, especially as I didn'twant to move to London; Ifound it cold andunfriendly, so I decided togo on a world tour instead.

My first stop was Dubai,where I got a job as a DJat Champions. One night,my close friend Jeff Price(now manager of Radio 1and 2) and I were standingon the roof of the Marriott and we bothsaid how much we'd like to be workingin radio. Then we got the chance to joinChannel 4, where I spent five years,eventually ending up as stationmanager.

proves there's more to life than meetsthe eye. If you can make someone thinkhe is the world heavyweight boxingchampion, then what's to say he can't behypnotised into being the world's bestsalesman or even dad?

Meandmycoaching:While it took me a few

years to establish myselfas a hypnotherapist, thechanging point for mecame about a year agowhen I got a contract fora major training event forAPC (American PowerConversion).

My coaching focuseson how to upgrade yourlife. It looks at the premisethat we all have to take

ownership of our lives andresponsibility for making them what wewant them to be. I tell people that whatyou put into life is what you get back.I believe self-hypnosis is very importantin affecting change in our expectationsand behaviour.

'Hypnotismisthe ultimate

karaoke, where

people canpretend theyare children

again:

Meandhypnotism:About three years ago, [I decided to]rethink my career. If I was one of thebest-known faces in the country, whywasn't I happy? I had also lost interestin being a DJ. I no longer got the samepleasure out of playing music forpeople.

I decided to question my ch"ices.Hypnotism appealed to me becauseit was something I could do for therest of my life. I started investigatingand trained in hypnotherapy with BerylComar [in Dubai]. When she asked meto envision my future, I saw myself ata show in Las Vegas with 3,000 peoplein the audience.

In 2003, I went to Las Vegas and dida lO-day course in hypnotism at theJerry Valley School, led by legendaryhypnotist Ormond McGill. Only a shortwhile later I did a huge show in Vegas.

I am still the only stage hypnotistin the GCC, but I was years aheadat the time, because when I approachedthe hotels, they just didn't get theconcept.

At the Las Vegas hypnotism shows,I saw a lot of wacky things... [including]people regressing to [act like they were]8 years old. In a way, hypnotism is theultimate karaoke, where people canpretend they are children again.

I'm very ethical about who and howI hypnotise and I never like to makepeople look stupid. A hypnosis show

152 FRIDAY

Old [human resources] approacheslooked at training people in the areaswhere they were weak, but I think youshould let people focus on theirstrengths. You should help peoplefind their talents and [achieve]an emotional balance.

When I carry out corporateentertainment and training, peoplewalk away feeling that they havemore inside them than before,and that they are more willingto push themselves for theircompanies.

In addition to NLP, hypnotherapyand life coaching, I'm also involvedin pranic healing and dream

therapies.

MYSELF

If you were on a desert island and you could

hypnotise yourself into having three things,

what wouldthey be?

Kylie Minogue, the internet anda place to [entertain] friends.

Nowadays, people are more opento hypnosis. We unconsciously spenda lot of time in a hypnotic state, whenwe drive home without thinking,when we listen to a favourite song.You can hypnotise yourself throughyoga [or] meditation. It's a way ofaccessing your subconscious ...and tapping into something that's notyour usual reality.

"Sometimes I canaddress

up to 30,000 people witha microphone ... But whenI'm not working ... I nolonger feel I need to bethe centre of attention.

My direction now ismore about helping people"- Dave Crane.

If a disasterwasaboutto happenandyoucouldonlysavethreepeople,whowouldtheybe?My friend Azizah, my best mate andmy two dogs [hoping two dogs count asone].

Whoarethe mostinterestingpeopleyou'vemetinyourcareer?Jools Holland [pianist and band leader]was an idol I met at an early age.I interviewed him and was impressedby the fact that he didn't do the whole'BBC thing' - the accent, theold-fashioned approach.

He has a great sense of humourand is tremendously talented. I foundhim a real inspiration, and he keepsevolving into different roles.

[While at Channel 4] I met JamesBrown and interviewed him. I knew he

was a legend but I have to say I couldn'tunderstand a single word he said, evenwhen I replayed the tape afterwards.

I met Phil Collins when we was

doing some volunteer work for thePrinces Trust, whereby celebrities visitlong-term unemployed or ex-offenders.I was working with him for three daysand in fact, we did a concert together,although I doubt he would rememberme!

If youhadto bea bagratherthana man,whatsortof bagwouldyouliketo be?I supposed I'd be a cabin bag: smalland neat, perfectly formed, and ableto go anywhere. Oh no, is thisa reference to my Blind Dateappearance years ago?

154 FRIDAY

You'vespenta longtimein professionalentertainment.Areyouanexhibitionistdeepdown?

Sometimes I can address up to30,000 people with a microphone,like at the Dubai Sevens. I switch

on for work, but when I'm not working,I just don't do it. I no longer feel I needto be the centre of attention -

been there, done that!My direction now is more about

helping people.

If youcouldbesomeoneelse,whowouldyouliketo be?In my work now, I sometimes meetpeople who are depressed about theirlives. I tell them about what a miracletheir lives are.

I believe I have a great life andwouldn't swap it. So many of ourheroes, like Elvis, Marilyn Monroeand Curt Kobain, had immense talentand wealth, yet were immenselydepressed. Life is about enjoying whatyou've got.

What'sthe worstthingthat everhappenedtoyou?Well, sometimes the worst things areprobably the best things in that youlearn so much from them. People spenda fortune on survival training wherethey have to face the elements witha Swiss knife.

If you survive something, thenyou're still here. I have embraced mybad experiences because they've mademe a survivor. II

"I knewhe [JamesBrown]

wasa legendbut I haveto say I couldn'tunderstand a singleword he said, evenwhen I replayed thetape afterwards," saysDave Crane, seen hereinterviewing Brown forChannel 4 in the late1990s.