I "USED TO" LOVE TRAVELLING

Hello FAB people,

A few things about being FAB is that you tend to work a lot and harder than most; your sleep time is punctuated by beeps on your phone indicating urgent emails and sometimes calls from colleagues who can hardly relate to the time zone you are in; you hardly find time to eat properly; you go to loads of meetings and if you spend seven hours or more travelling, you end up having to respond to over a hundred emails! In all of this you are expected to turn-up at meetings and events looking well-rested, sharp and in control. Permit to shout this out...PERSON GO DIE O!

I refuse to lament about this though as the path of FABness wasn't thrust upon me, she only presented herself and I fell in love. FABness peeped through an opening in my door, I saw half of her face and boy was she pretty! I leapt from my bed, opened the door to let her in and as we lay in bed together, I made a promise to her..."I will never let you go as long as I live!" Sometimes I wonder whether or not I should have done a proper courtship with her before saying, "I do!"

I would usually tell people that I love travelling but about a week ago, I finally admitted to myself that I really didn't like travelling after all. I will tell you my reasons shortly.

I am sure you read about my travel to Sri Lanka, if you didn't search within the blog archives and try to find it. I managed to come into Lagos for 3 nights after my Asian travels with the intent of registering to vote in the elections coming up in April, and yes, I did. I immediately left for Dubai and subsequently New York right after where I attended the New York Fashion Week with our amazing Fashion Editor, Pepper  where we saw over a dozen shows and attended a couple of fashion parties, most memorable was the Patricia Fields after-party (Look at the images and you will understand why).

I spent 10 days in New York and permit to mention that FAB Magazine is now distributed in NewYork and across other states in the US - store details coming soon.

Moved on to Chicago, then Atlanta, then Dallas, then Houston, then Chicago, then Minnesota, then Chicago, then back to New York, then Dubai and finally Lagos! I am positive a lot of you are immediately envious, and yes, I usually spend 5% of my time ensuring I take pictures that will keep you envious for a long time. However, I do not envy myself much! In 3 weeks I have been on 14 different flights! Who the hell does that?! I have taken a total of 18 flights in 6 weeks. I now officially hate travelling as I got airsick on one of my trips and got feverish, with a headache and nausea on a particular flight! I sincerely dread the next flight I will be on  shortly but then it is a price to pay for FABness! Till I update you next, I hope my fun pictures inspire you to envy! Lol!

Have an amazingly FAB week!

Mr. FAB

Outside the Tea Castle in Sri Lanka

The sun setting on the beach right outside my hotel in Sri Lanka

Patricia Fields Party, New York

Patricia Fields Party, New York
(by the way, these are men!)

Patricia Fields Party, New York

Patricia Fields Party, New York

Tadashi Shoji, New York

Tadashi Shoji Show, New York

Let it rain!

Minnesota was all white and mad cold.

The funniest chef I have ever met, Minnesota

Mall of America, Miinesota - so big they have theme park inside!

With the Sulaiman sisters, beauty experts

You can be my first son - it don't matter if you're black or white!

My Houston sons!

Rodeo Parade, Houston

Sick traveller

Stop-over in Dubai

With my twin & FAB Editor-in-chief, Sinem - Milton Keynes

MR FAB'S SRI LANKA DIARY

Hello FAB People,

Greetings from New York where I am attending the New York Fashion Week!

This time last week I was in Sri-Lanka, a beautiful tropical Island in Asia in the region of the Maldives with beautiful people, lovely beaches and amazing food!

The island is home to 20million people and used to be known as Ceylon. Primarily known for tea production (Yes...Even Lipton tea started from there), this is a major tourist destination attracting visitors from England, Sweden, France and Russia. I might as well have been one of the first ten black men on the island as you will see from my experience. 

Now to the fun stuff! I got into Colombo about 3 weeks ago and immediately I felt everyone was staring at me right from the airport and indeed they were! I quickly asked Gihan, my half-SriLankan companion what this was about and he told me that these folks hardly ever see black people on the island and I was even lucky they weren’t touching and feeling me yet! Wow! I really didn‘t have to work hard to be a superstar in these parts! As I was escorted to my vehicle I smiled and waved at my fans that hurriedly waved back at me obviously excited that I had taken notice of them!

After my red carpet entry into Colombo, I headed straight to my 5-Star hotel, The TAJ SAMUDRA and my red carpet treatment continued! The TAJ is synonymous with Asia and has a good network of amazing hotels. 

Two hours after I had settled in, I headed to the lounge of the hotel hoping to get a feel of the people as I could not sleep. I liked their music and the DJ was good. I met two SriLankans in the lounge; one is an individual I named Gangster shortly after meeting him as he obviously acted like one and I could tell he was bred in South-London from his accent and the “other chap” was from NewYork (I don’t think he was exciting enough for me to remember his name or better yet name him! Lol!)

WITH GANGTER AND THE OTHER CHAP

WITH GIHAN

After listening to the music for about an hour, I asked to meet the DJ and asked if he was interested in playing some Nigerian Music and he said YES! I quickly made my way to my room, got my case of CDs and immediately handed him the latest CD I had purchased in Lagos. Fast forward 60 minutes later and the whole lounge had come alive as the DJ played "Something About You" by DR SID! It was amazing! Everyone was dancing! I even attempted to teach some of these dudes some local steps (not that I can even dance but at least I was better... Lol!). Dr Sidney Esiri, Please note that I introduced your music to Asia and be sure to give me some credit when you eventually start touring Asia! Same note goes to PMAN! I took Nigerian music to Sri Lanka. All my CDs eventually got missing so... believe me, they have all the CDs of every major Nigerian artist going around in Colombo!

WITH SRI LANKAN DANCERS

I moved hotels a week later to a town called Mount Lavinia so I could be right on the beach and that proved awesome. I also discovered here that I could get amazing sea food for the cost of a snack at Mr Biggs or KFC!

The most popular means of transportation in Sri Lanka is the TUK TUK! Now that’s a funny name for a 3-wheeler also known as KEKE MARWA or NAPEP in Lagos, Nigeria. I recall telling Chaminda, my local driver what his vehicle was called in Nigeria and he actually parked to have a good laugh! That made me laugh even more... TUK TUK?! Please!

Don’t get carried away thinking I was having this much fun for 3 weeks! I only had weekends to see the country as I was hard at work during the weekdays. However, my last 3 days were spent touring the country whilst recording the pilot for one of our shows on FAB TV. 

We travelled the country and visited quite a number of interesting places and you should read about this on our travel pages in the June edition of FAB Magazine! Now that I have leaked that, look forward to TV experience like never before come December, 2011 in the form of FAB Television.

Stay FAB!

FAB BY NAME, FAB BY NATURE

FAB IN THE FAB HOUSE!

Hello FAB people,

This is my first blog - yaaaay!!! Now that really does not sound like me, but I really do feel like letting out a shout every now and again. 

Five minutes ago I received a mail on Facebook from a lady I do not even know saying she felt I was really proud and short-tempered just from studying me, and my mind immediately went defensive... Me! Proud?However, my heart stopped me as it said to me, "Yes, you are short-tempered!" 

I must admit the littlest things can tick me off, but then I am growing to manage quite a lot in my short life span. I usually expect from others what I give, and my wife, Mrs FAB, has made me realise that it will never happen, so she advises me to just keep loving people even when they are incapable of loving me back. This indeed is a sound Christian doctrine and my heart believes it totally! So watch my temper dissipate with each encounter I come across not because I have the strength but because I have requested for God’s grace. 

However, pride is not something that I can say I possess and could ever even if I tried! "Why?" you may ask. It is quite simple. I realise that everything I could own and everything I could ever achieve is because God has permitted me to have or realise it. I live by this principle and it keeps me in check. If you happen to be creative, think about the authentic creator and the works of His hands and you will be humbled knowing that He only revealed a little of Himself to you! If you are extremely smart, He probably just endowed you with a little of His wisdom!

About 4 years ago, I got the revelation as hidden in my name for 29 years. I was born Familusi Akin Babajide, I was FAB! Immediately I advised every publication writing about me to refer to me as such because with the name came a vision that was indeed bigger than me. I still recall the first day I got a full page write-up in ThisDay Style as FAB! I recall smiling the next week when someone stopped me and asked "Are you FAB?"  

The vision I have is one that only God could have given! FAB Magazine might have been born barely a year ago, but you must realise that everything is first revealed in the spiritual before you ever see it in the physical! FAB Magazine had been settled a long time ago and I thank God that, even though it is fast catching on and being distributed worldwide, becoming a by-word for quality, it remains only the beginning for me. Watch this space and any other platform you could find me on and see me boast not in what I am or becoming but in whom I know...I call Him the I AM THAT I AM!

**Right now I am in Colombo, Sri-Lanka where I am hard at work (forget that the picture makes it look like I am at play) and will bring you my Asian stories next week!

FAB AT WORK?