Heather Fernandes-Colaco
He may come across as quiet and shy, but once you get him talking you realise that Thasveer Salim is quite the trailblazer. From serving our motherland in the prestigious Indian Navy for more than 15 years, to starting his own PR firm “ Media Waves, to being single-handedly responsible for so many firsts for Goa, be it the recently concluded International Fashion Week, to the Mrs Goa pageant to his latest venture, the en-Vogue Modelling Academy, Thasveer is all about setting new trends.
“Being an entrepreneur and inspiring others to achieve their dreams, that is what inspires me,” he modestly states.
However, Thasveer wasn’t always an entrepreneur. Not many know this, but as a young teenager of 16, Thasveer Salim enrolled into the Indian Navy. Focused and hard-working even at a young age, he quickly grew through the ranks, retiring as a Master Chief Aircraft Artificer (technical cadre) almost two decades later. “After I completed my BSc in Aeronautics from CUSAT, I joined INS Hansa in Goa. Mine was a fast promotion and I achieved the best. It is always a pride to serve our motherland and that too with the prestigious Indian Navy,” says Thasveer, his voice tinged with patriotism for his homeland.
But aeronautics to PR is quite the career change.
“After my initial engagement in the navy, I wanted to follow in the footsteps of my journalist dad, Mohammed Salim,” Thasveer clarifies, adding, “After retiring as a journalist, my dad started co-ordinating press meets. Whenever I was free, I used to join him.”
As luck would have had it, a client of his dad’s had a project coming up in Goa and needed someone astute and capable to handle their PR in the coastal state. Quoting Sir Richard Branson, Thasveer says, “If someone offers you an amazing opportunity and you’re not sure you can do it, say yes and then learn how to do it later.”
Thus began the journey of incredible possibilities and opportunities. “Media Waves is into public relations, advertising and events,” informs Thasveer naming a long list of prominent clientele as well as celebrities like international designer Malini Ramani, models Scarlet Rose, Gail D’Silva, etc. “
On the events side, the company focuses more on fashion events that promote budding designers in Goa. Something they could have only dreamed of before Media Waves came along. “While handling PR for a fashion week, I realised how high the costs involved were. And for that reason, a middle class designer never does a fashion show,” says Thasveer explaining why he forayed into fashion events.
Then with the intention of making the platform even bigger and better, he joined hands with William Xavier, director of Wild Orchid and Newton Dias of G.V Media and started International Fashion Week, the third edition of which recently came to an end.
“After my first fashion show one designer came up to me and said, ‘though I studied fashion designing, till yesterday I was a tailor. Now I am a designer. Thanks for the opportunity.’ Her words really inspired me and are still driving me to create more and more opportunities for youngsters. It’s a proud moment for me when I see models who first walked the ramp with us grabbing pageant titles or on the big screen.”
The Mrs Goa pageant is another first for Goa. “We talk a lot about woman empowerment, so we thought of acting on that. Mrs Goa was launched to provide a platform for married women to showcase their talents and to encourage them. Though skeptical in the beginning, we got an amazing response from the married community of Goa,” he informs.
And that’s where his latest venture comes in. The en-Vogue Modelling Academy located in the heart of Panaji is Goa’s very first, and promises to provide a platform for aspiring models to train under career and lifestyle experts from the fashion industry. “Models in Goa do not have any provision to get professional grooming. The academy has been started with the support of Anna Tharakan of Anna Artistry and fashion photographer Akhil Raju of White Pepper. Admissions for our first batch staring in May will soon commence,” Thasveer elaborates.
Organising fashion shows across India, while glamorous is not an easy task. Yet, Thasveer manages it with elan. “Coordinating the traveling, grooming, choreography, make-up etc demands fool-proof planning and execution. And yes one must have a lot of patience, especially since we are dealing with girls,” he laughs. However, thanks to his wife Divya whom the models simply adore for her hospitable heart, and his team of professionals, this self-made man has indeed managed to create quite a few waves in the fashion world.
