A man has opened up about his real life rags-to-riches tale which has seen him go from working at a motor sales company in Co Derry to selling the most expensive villa in Dubai in the space of five years. Conor McKay, who turns 25 next week, has become a millionaire and is one of Dubai's leading luxury property brokers after being inspired by a real estate reality TV show.
Conor, who now works for Belleview Real Estate, broke the record for selling the most expensive villa in Dubai when a custom-built, 33,300-square-foot mega-mansion went for AED 280 million (£59.4m) earlier this month. The previous record from 2015 stood at AED 185m (£39.2m).
He has been named in the UAE top 10 agents by PropertyFinder and is also one of three agents in Dubai to be named PropertyFinder's number one agent in two successive years.
READ MORE: Nature lovers urged to enjoy spring blossom spectacle
Speaking to MyDerry, Mr McKay said he "loved making money" and would have "three or four people working for me in school, selling energy drinks, sweets, chocolates" before landing a job in the motor car industry. It was after the shifts at work that he would then go home and watch Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles, an American reality show about young real estate agents and their attempts to sell high-end properties in the Los Angeles area, including Beverly Hills and Malibu.
"I wanted to be exactly like one of them," he said. "What struck me about it all was the way that they lived. It was like something that I had never really been exposed to before. They all had good business acumen, had handsome earnings and lived lavish lifestyles.
"I was absolutely astonished looking at these properties and the commission that they would be receiving, which always popped up on the screen. I thought to myself, 'if they can do it then so could I'."
Conor initially tried to move to the United States but struggled with the process to get into the country so chose to relocate in the Middle East instead. He admitted to "harrassing" one company for a job to get into the real estate industry but insists it is hard work that has gifted him the lavish lifestyle he currently lives.
"I had never been in Dubai, I had never been for a holiday and I kept getting turned down by brokers because there were no people of the age that I was doing the job that I wanted to do. It was unheard of," he said.
"One company, after me harassing them for quite a while, gave me an opportunity. Fast forward to the present day and I am living my absolute dream. I had no idea what I was doing either, I had to learn as I went along and I just knew that I would have to work harder than anybody else out here.
"When I first started and even to this day, there are some days where I start at 8am and don't finish to midnight. It's a lot of work and that's what is required if you want to make it."
Mr McKay has now gone full circle as he now brokers deals with agents which inspired him not too long ago. He added: "I actually talk to the people out in Los Angeles that were part of the reality TV show and I actually brokered a deal from Dubai for a property in LA.
"If someone told me a number of years ago that I would set the sort of record that I have then I probably wouldn't have believed them myself. I've been doubted by everybody, I even doubted myself at times but I have set the sky as the limit now and I want to be known as the go-to real estate broker across the planet in the next 10 years."
For more stories from where you live, visit InYourArea.
