Ever wonder what the most powerful leaders, business execs and celebrities keep on their desks? Well, we’re about to tell you. Our biweekly “What’s on My Desk” feature will take a look inside the offices and at the desks of the world’s most influential power players.
This week we’ve featured the desk of Tarek Sidani, founder and CEO of the cutting-edge business software company LASIDCO, and more recently, the driving force behind the all-natural sports supplement start-up Old School Labs. Sidani doesn’t really have an office at the original Muscle Beach in Santa Monica (though he may sometimes wish he did). Born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon, Sidani studied economics at American University and received a BSc in Business Administration & Entrepreneurship from the prestigious Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne in 2008. He then worked in Switzerland before moving to Los Angeles with his wife in 2012. As a longtime fitness, bodybuilding and health enthusiast, he wanted to live in the “birthplace of fitness” and enjoy the unique lifestyle of Southern California. Soon after arriving, he created his first company, which focused on providing B2B technological solutions for some of the most pertinent retail challenges in today’s market. At the same time, he continued to pursue his fitness regime leveraging his certification as a personal trainer from San Diego State University. However, he quickly became disillusioned with the current bodybuilding culture, which he felt had lost sight of the traditional values of natural balance, proportionality, and camaraderie embraced by its early practitioners; so his latest venture was born. Sidani sold LASIDCO and used the money to found Old School Labs, a company dedicated to recapturing the Golden Era principles of bodybuilding and to providing the world with Supplements That Make Sense (the brand’s slogan). Sidani is convinced the brand’s success with customers is because Old School Labs takes the time to do things right and gets its inspiration from the right places—which is why he felt that Muscle Beach was an appropriate location to feature his desk. Here is a peek at the items he holds near and dear.
1) The bobblehead piece is one of about twenty that we had made as surprise Christmas presents for our extended family. The scooter is based on an actual scooter that we had back in Switzerland. It was an interesting process getting the bobbles made, especially the one of my daughter, since she was still a baby and her looks changed almost daily. My family means the world to me and, while the format is a little silly, I treasure it as a symbol of our lives together.
2) What can I say about the stapler? I’m a big fan of the movie Office Space, in which the red Swingline stapler has a featured role, and I enjoy having it around. It’s also funny that, as we move more and more toward a paperless workplace, soon there won’t be anything left to staple. Stapler app, anyone?
3) Vintage Build is one of our two flagship products (the other being the coveted Vintage Burn fat
burner) and I keep it around as an inspiration. Since we’re building a business, it seems like an appropriate icon. And of course I also take my two scoops a day.
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