dubai is where dreams and fantasies become reality a land of superstars and fast cars but
in the world of high performance vehicles it's a male-dominated industry but one group of women is
changing that they're the arabian gazelles a group of around 80 women from all kinds of backgrounds
ceos housewives business owners and more and they love to go fast to quote jaylen jarvie an
active member of the gazelles you don't have to be the hot chick in the front right seat you can
be the hot chick in the driver's seat buckle up folks it's time to learn all about the arabian
gazelles with a motto like life is too short to drive boring cars you can bet anyone involved with
this group is a major gear head and that's just what you'll find with the arabian gazelles only
with them there's just one catch it's girls only girls who love to go fast founded by
hanan mizuzi sabati the arabian gazelles are a group of around 80 women from 17 nations you'll
find that it's quite an eclectic group as ceos influencers business owners and even housewives
are the ones who comprise this group of supercar aficionados so body has described the gazelles in
interviews and she has been quoted as saying we are supercar enthusiasts and bonafide drivers who
share the same passion and rush behind the wheel as men do we refuse to sit pretty on passenger
seats or cheerlead from the pits so what caused sobati to start the group apparently zabati has
been a major fan of sports cars all her life she was born in algeria and lived in the uk and qatar
before finally calling dubai her home even though her background is in the luxury industry cars had
always fascinated her ever since she was a kid and played with her brothers toy sports cars after
20 years of living in dubai soboti's passion for cars became her reality when she bought her morgan
arrow super sport a 185 thousand dollar car and a rolls royce phantom drop head which goes for 249
822 bucks when she would head over to the track to fulfill her need for speed she would face flagrant
and unabashed sexism each and every time after all the world of track racing and fast cars is
overwhelmingly male dominated especially in dubai so body has said they always thought i was someone
else accompanying someone i was just there to support him or to sit in the passenger seat
it's as if they didn't see me well they certainly see her now so body knew she couldn't be the
only woman with a passion for super cars she orchestrated a track day with two of her neighbors
in 2016 and her guests were so enthralled by their experience they either went out and bought their
own supercar the next day or started taking their husband's ride thus began the arabian gazelles
so body started posting on instagram and other social media platforms and the word spread of this
female group of patrol heads and words spread fast eighteen-year-old member gala al-kheppi
who is a student in international relations at sharjah university and who also owns a porsche
911 carrera a 101 200 ride found the group through instagram and has been an active member ever since
so now we bet you are wondering how in the heck does someone join the arabian gazelles well to
ride with the gazelles the first requirement is to be a true sport car aficionado members must either
drive or own a car by porsche lamborghini ferrari rolls-royce bentley mercedes mclaren aston martin
maserati or bugatti luxury suvs like the bentega and the g-wagon are also accepted but over the
years the group's definition of sports car has been slightly blurred and not so defined so body
has talked about her current definition and has gone on record saying for me it's a combination of
design acceleration speed style and rarity it has to be super in every aspect we have to agree mr
body well said you may now be wondering what it's like to actually be in the arabian gazelles well
many times the gazelles will participate in events that are run by some of the biggest names in the
industry and the theme is always one of excitement adrenaline and cars mclaren who is the company
behind the mclaren f1 a car that went for 20.5 million dollars at an auction in 2021 sponsored
an exclusive female only track experience with the gazelles which doubled as the first of its
kind in the region and it was just recently that the gazelles were seen at the dubai autodrome
driving the latest from rolls-royce it was their high-performance black badge models which go for
anywhere between four hundred thousand and five hundred thousand dollars then luxury fashion
retailer moda operandi sponsored the gazelles and that turned into a feature with harper's bazaar
arabia who else is eyeing the gazelles michelin has expressed interest in setting up a workshop
day for members basically what we're saying is the gazelles are really kicking but it's not just
sponsored events for the gazelles remember these are car enthusiasts sometimes they just want to go
for a drive so body has said we are always trying to bring in different experiences drive different
make or simply drive to new locations around the uae we do drive experience drive and stay weekends
and high octane luxury events she has even hinted that soon there will be international drives for
the group the gazelles will also act as test drivers and companies couldn't be more thrilled
to associate themselves with soboti and her team one time ferrari set up a test driving event
with their two hundred thousand dollar california tea with five members of the gazelles and ferrari
said two of them were ready to buy one the next day but we gotta say the coolest thing that
the gazelles are up to has to be the fact that big name car companies are now looking to them
for input on the design of cars and even brand perception bmw is one such company and they put
their money where their mouth is and invited the gazelles to a round table talk about car design
which is a huge step forward in this industry when it comes to inclusion somebody was even invited to
the dubai international motor show as a panelist a spot that has been typically held by men
but when you're the head of the gazelles you are undeniable and perception is definitely
changing because of these women the proof is in saudi arabia's recent renouncement of
the world's only ban on female drivers well done gazelles your work is paying off how could we talk
about the arabian gazelles without talking about social media after all it was through this forum
that they made their mark on the industry and marketed their brand their instagram is the prime
location to go for gazelle content it includes countless pictures of the girls and their cars
and all of the photos are centered on the love of sports cars and of course speed currently they
have an impressive 123 thousand followers at the time of writing this video but we venture to say
that number is only going to grow influencers are a huge part of the reason for their online success
alex hershey also known as supercar blondie is a well-known influencer in dubai and sports
9.2 million followers on instagram her net worth is nothing to sneeze at either she's amassed a
fortune of 17 million dollars she also happens to be an active member of the arabian gazelles
and many of her pictures on the gram are of her hanging with the group we have to say
this is just the beginning for these women it's a group all about positivity changing
perceptions and of course fast cars they won't be slowing down anytime soon hey before we go
have you ever wondered if there was an all-women's motorcycle group well there is sirens women's mc
of new york city is one of the biggest in the country and their tenants are safety solidarity
support and friendship as well as supporting and participating in lgbtq plus pride events and
women's health initiatives nicely done we'll see you next time right here on the richest