A 20-question interview with self-made businessman and star of ‘My Fat Gypsy Fortune’ Alfie Best
The Steeple Times shares “wit and wisdom”. What’s your guiding force?
For a man to know where he is going, he must remember where he is from.
“Don’t get even, get medieval” is, in our humble opinion, a great motto. What’s yours?
Life is a light, it is your job to make it shine brighter.
Kerry Katona was considered unacceptable in 2007. Who or what is unacceptable in 2017?
Internet trolls who are brave behind keyboards.
Tony Blair misses being Prime Minister. What do you miss most in your life?
Time.
What might you swap all your wealth for?
More time.
Donald Trump was once a case of: “If you owe the bank a thousand, they close you down; but if you owe the bank a billion, you own the bank”. What’s your view on the state of the financial system?
If you treat the bank as a bank, they will treat you as a customer but if you treat the banks as a partner within your business and build your relationship with the management of the bank, they will consider you as a partner and offer much more insight and help which it is own way, is free to you as a business.
What phrase or word do you most loathe?
“We have a problem”; one man’s problem is another man’s opportunity.
In the UK, some people consider charity to “begin at home”. What’s your view and what causes do you personally support?
I do believe charity begins at home but I also believe giving is not as good as teaching. If you give a man a fish, he will feed his family for a night, show the man how to fish and he will feed his family for a lifetime.
We’re actually setting up own charity – Wyldecrest Parks Charity – which hopefully we’ll be able to help vulnerable people in need.
The judge in Law Abiding Citizen states: “I can pretty much do whatever I want” before being blown up whilst answering her mobile phone. What’s your view on the appropriate use of such devices?
Connection is unbelievable and the forward bounds it has given us a society is unprecedented but we have to remember not to become disconnected from society.
If you could fill a carriage on The Orient Express, who would be your fellow passengers?
I would fill the carriage with my family and friends and invite Tracy Chapman and the musical artist Rodriguez; I would look for them to enjoy the ride and party whilst it lasted.
If you were unfortunate enough to end up on death row, what would be your last meal and where would you eat it?
Pie, mash and liquor at the White House with the President to try and get a reprieve whilst eating my last meal.
What time is it acceptable to consume the first drink of the day?
6:30am with a nice cup of lemon tea.
A Negroni, a martini or a cup of tea?
A cup of tea.
Whose parties do you enjoy the most and why?
I enjoy my son’s parties because the charisma he brings to the room is like a ray of sunshine on the beach.
Who is the most positive person you know?
Me.
What’s your most guilty pleasure?
Chocolate.
If a tattoo were to sum you up, what would it be of?
If I were to have a tattoo, it would state ‘BEST’ across my back because it would mean the best is behind me and there is even better to come.
If you were a car, what marque would you be?
A black Lamborghini.
Cilla Black presented Surprise, Surprise. Tell us the most surprising thing about you.
After becoming a millionaire at 20, I nearly went bust and slept in my car for 3 months.
What’s currently sitting on your mantelpiece?
A backward clock – it confuses everyone!
Alfie Best is a successful entrepreneur driven by tenacity. With humble origins, born and raised in a Romany Gypsy family, this self-made man started his professional path totally from scratch. Alongside Wyldecrest Parks, Alfie Best also owns other very successful businesses within the hospitality and leisure, events, trading and finance industries including Vinyl Bar, Kyoto Furniture, Axiom Uno and Wylde Event Management.
Follow him on Twitter at @alfiebest33.