Mohammed ‘Mo’ Chaudry was the guest speaker at a Club Lunch held at the Mercure Abbots Well Hotel.
The British/Asian entrepreneur, property investor, leisure investor, financial advisor, fitness enthusiast, motivational speaker and sports manager gave an uplifting, inspirational ‘rages to riches’ speech.
He spoke about his early years in Pakistan, before travelling to England and building an estimated fortune of around £80m (US$131.7 million), confirming himself as one of the most influential and successful businessmen in the country.
Chaudry is notable for his time as chairman of WaterWorld aqua park, the biggest of its kind in the UK, and for his M Club fitness centres. He also appeared in the Channel 4 TV series Secret Millionaire and has made a number of other TV appearances. He is the manager of World’s Strongest Man Eddie Hall and sponsors Paralympic medal-winning rower Ian Marsden.
It was when Mo Chaudry was sweeping floors at the GKN factory in Telford that he had his big light bulb moment. He told the CBC audience, “I thought I don’t want to be doing hard manual work for the next 30 or 40 years. I need to make a life for myself, and the only way to achieve that was to buck up my ideas.”
At that stage, that the teenage Mo had failed most of his exams at Wellington Grammar School, and watched as his father’s grocery business in Bank Road, Telford had run into financial trouble. As a result the family had to give up the shop and downsize into a two-up two-down mid terrace house in Watling Street, with no inside toilet, and Mo remembers: “It was all a bit of a shock to the system….”.
To mark Mo Chaudry’s attendance, the Club made a donation of £500 to his charity choice, M Club Foundation (MCF), a local charity in Stoke-on-Trent supporting local communities through Corporate Social Responsibility.