“I’ve Never Played It Safe. That Is Boring”: Desi Gonzalez On Taking Risks And Embracing The Unknown
The tech extraordinaire, proud dog mum and self-confessed sneaker addict is reshaping the gaming and entertainment industry one incredibly-cool concept at a time
“There are so many opportunities for big dreams to happen fast in the UAE,” tech entrepreneur Desi Gonzalez tells Harper’s Bazaar Arabia. “It’s in the air. Dubai as an entity demonstrates an appetite for big and bold moves which result in an exciting kind of rampant business experimentalism, whether it’s a robust coffee café or a vertical farming solution.”
Desi’s own big and bold move happened back in 2021 when she relocated from New York to the Middle East to help launch Hyperspace – the Dubai and Riyadh based entertainment attractions developer and operator of which she is COO – alongside co-founders Rama Allen and Alexander Heller, and she has spent the last three years bringing her ideas to life while assembling an incredible team she calls a bunch of heavy hitters handpicked from world-leading experience design studios, hopelessly obsessed with creating wonder inducing worlds for their guests.
“I decided to move because it was time for something new somewhere new with new people,” she explains. “The pandemic created the ‘Great Self Reflection’ in so many of us, and we started to consider who we are, what we do, what we want to be and where we want to be in the world. It shook us from our comfort zones and into new possibilities.”
Pioneering next-generation attractions connected to digital lifestyle in the region, spanning avatars and metaverses to create a surreal experience for visitors looking to live in a video game IRL, Hyperspace is the proud parent of AYA Universe in Dubai’s Wafi Mall and House of Hype in Riyadh which, described as a ‘physical video game’ experience, integrates gaming elements into real-world experiences where its visitors can get together in a seriously Instagrammable-space – something Desi believes our generation is currently craving. “This type of location-based entertainment is getting more popular in times where we seek to diversify our diet of entertainment,” she says.
“The wave of social and technological trends over the last decade have led us to a place of endless but isolated streams of engagement that are easy, infinite and at our fingertips, but they don’t meet a human desire to cohabit a space and a time to create shared memories. There’s a rebounding desire to connect in real life.”
It’s safe to say that while gaming is quite clearly no longer the preserve of adolescent boys, the tech and leisure industries are still famously male-heavy. Yet with an impressive CV boasting serious street cred with some of the biggest brands in the world including the New York Times, Desi has long been breaking boundaries with her game-changing ideas, persistent curiosity and experimentation. “I don’t like to be precious about ideas,” she explains. “I love challenging everything and being irreverent, and I’ve never played it safe. That is boring.”
Indeed no-one could accuse her newest concept of being dull. Not only can fans design holographic characters, hunt for Augmented Reality loot boxes, try on sneakers for the metaverse and win digital goods by playing games and exploring weird worlds, everything she touches is always aesthetically-pleasing while implementing some of the world’s most innovative technology all at the same time.
“Fundamentally everything we do is based on decades-old techniques, and technology simply gets smaller, faster and cheaper to make previously impossible expressions of those techniques possible,” she adds. “We just keep our eyes on the evolution of the required puzzle pieces, how they can be connected in novel ways and try them out. There is an enormous power behind statements that begin with ‘wouldn’t it be cool if…?’. Much of our technological innovation starts with a seemingly bizarre idea in search of a method to make it real.”
While the immense intrigue around Hyperspace alone speaks volumes, that doesn’t mean Desi’s success has always come easy.
“It’s mostly hard work and practice,” she says. “While sometimes it feels effortless and intricate ideas just pop into your head, other times being creative results in hours of banging your head against the wall with nothing clearly valuable manifesting. But ideas don’t just happen. They bloom because you put in the days, weeks and months before to lay down fertile ground. An idea will appear when it’s ready.” She isn’t shy about the challenges that come with setting up a new business in a new country and culture either. “I look back and regret not learning Hindi when I first moved to Dubai, and it took me some time to understand when people say ‘yes’ or ‘Inshallah’ there is still no guarantee on when,” she tells us. “And I still haven’t found an epic taco!”
If there’s one thing that’s clear from speaking to her, though, it’s that she wouldn’t change her experiences for the world. “The adventure fulfils me the most,” she enthuses. “Making new things with new people in new places. New challenges and impossible dreams. You just have to not fear what you want, always trust your gut and try not to worry too much. Don’t take yourself too seriously, stay outside your comfort zone and just enjoy the journey.” We’ll be sure to do just that.
Through The Looking Glass; An Exculsive Look Inside Desi’s Life And Style
How do you relax?
DG: Relaxing? Who has time for that? All jokes aside, I like learning new things, be it learning how to play Zelda or teaching myself Phython, a computer programming language used to build software and websites, automate tasks and analyse data. I love to call myself the intern at the office because I’m always in constant learning mode and encourage others around me to do the same.
What is your most treasured object?
DG: My 17-year-old dog Cleopatra is my biggest, most precious joy in life. Then there’s the photographs, memories and family keepsakes. I’m like Marie Kondo – a lot of things and memories bring me joy.
How would you describe your daily ‘uniform’?
DG: Most days I look like an old Japanese man. I start with the shoes I want to wear based on the day’s schedule and then work my way up. Shoes are my tool for self-expression as I tend to wear mostly black.
Which of your items hold the most memories?
DG: My shoes. I always remember what shoes I was wearing for big milestones in my life, like the sneakers I bought with my first paycheck. To me sneakers are much more than just footwear – they are a platform for self-expression and reflection of your own unique identity in that moment in time.
Which brands do you love and why?
DG: Rick Owens, Yohji Yamamoto, Rei Kawakubo and Walter Van Beirendonck. We are all outsiders in our own way and our work is very similar in that it carries the thrill of something wondrous. I’m not into passing trends and fads and I think those designers embody that idea.
What is the last thing you bought?
DG: I accidentally just bought three pairs of sneakers that were on sale – Powerpuff Girls x Nike dunks, Comme des Garçons x Salomon platforms and New Balance 550s.
What is the first and last thing you do each day?
DG: I suppose I do what most people do – I love my morning routine of going to the gym with my trainer, who motivates me and keeps my body and mind healthy. This has to be in the morning or it doesn’t happen – I’m too wiped in the evening – and then before bed I do family walks with my dog.
Desi’s Portraits: Photographer: Efraim Evidor, Stylist: Imogene Legrand. Images: Alexander Ermakov; Supplied
From Harper’s Bazaar Arabia’s February 2024 issue.