Transcript – Dentology Podcast with Riaz Sharif
Episode Release Date – Monday 21 October 2024
Andy & Chris (00:01.255)
So here we are, it’s Monday morning, 7am, so that must mean only one thing. I’ve got a cup of coffee. No, with Dentology podcast. yeah, and a cup of coffee. You’d thought after 160 plus episodes you’d have worked it out by now. You know what, it’s old age, So today we are…
Riaz sharif (00:07.437)
You
Andy & Chris (00:18.801)
We are privileged. have an incredibly interesting chapter. definitely interesting. We have Dr. Riaz Shouif joining us and Riaz is a private cosmetic dentist and a story which is going to blow your socks off. Riaz, how are you? Yeah, how you doing man? We’re good. We are very good. Thank you. Yeah. Looking forward to hearing your story. I think it’s going to be very interesting. It is. It is. It’s not the conventional story. Yeah, it’s not conventional. Yeah.
Riaz sharif (00:31.746)
Thanks Dr. Grifstrand and Ian Will, thank you. How are you both, right?
Good, good, good, good.
Riaz sharif (00:42.125)
It’s very unconventional. We can dive into that slowly.
Andy & Chris (00:49.051)
We can, we always start at the beginning and childhood is a good place to start because I believe it’s our childhood that leaves the clues for the people that we become. I know that yours wasn’t the easiest start and we’re all a product of the environment. So can you look back on a time in your childhood and say kind of this is the person I am today, but perhaps before answering that, just give us a sort of set the scene as your childhood was like.
Riaz sharif (00:51.617)
with me.
Riaz sharif (01:01.602)
Yeah.
Riaz sharif (01:14.61)
Hmm. Yeah, it wasn’t the most straightforward childhood, Andy and Chris. I was born in London in Hackney. I was brought into orphan, you know, I was an orphan basically, started off in several foster care homes. Didn’t have a very steady upbringing to be honest. You know, you get flashbacks of when you’re a child. You don’t still remember the more clear details, but obviously as you get older you sort of…
Andy & Chris (01:29.796)
well.
Riaz sharif (01:39.276)
It sort of stays with you as an adult too and you wonder why you are the way you are compared to your partner. But no, it was good. Raising a niece in London, Hackney and a few great foster carers. So I’m grateful for all of that. I did, yeah. I mean, for one or two years you were someone, another few years you were with another family. When you’re young, you sort of think it’s normality, don’t you? You think that’s, you you’re brought into a house full of different children.
Andy & Chris (01:39.805)
Hmm.
Andy & Chris (01:53.671)
Did you move around quite a lot between foster carers? Right.
Andy & Chris (02:01.309)
That’s hard, that must be really hard, I thought.
Riaz sharif (02:08.701)
and you’re expected to integrate into that house. I always remember feeling a bit, I wonder what it was like being, because sometimes the families would have their own children and we would bring in as the foster kids and stuff.
Andy & Chris (02:12.615)
Hmm.
Andy & Chris (02:20.274)
Hmm.
When you say we, was it you and siblings together that…
Riaz sharif (02:26.15)
No, no, was me and numerous other kids to be honest. So we all shared the same sort of home together. Some kids would come and go sooner than others. So you form bonds with children and also the mum and dad, we call them mum and dads, don’t you? So they were, they were never to be your mum and dad. But yeah, in that respect, they always try and push your education on you two. even then it wasn’t forcefully put on us.
Andy & Chris (02:34.557)
Mmm.
Andy & Chris (02:38.49)
Yeah.
Riaz sharif (02:48.798)
to study, as I believe a natural mum and dad would, a birth mum and dad, they’ll push their kids more, I believe, especially if they come from a background that was in an educational field.
Andy & Chris (02:48.889)
But yeah.
Andy & Chris (03:01.627)
I suppose you had to adapt as well didn’t you feel you know for different different families different parents different children, I suppose
Riaz sharif (03:04.679)
Yeah.
Riaz sharif (03:09.769)
Yeah, yeah, different personalities to be honest and some experiences are more better than others to say. But obviously, yeah, and obviously you sort of find yourself early than you do late, I believe. That’s made me very independent and sort of driven in my, you you can go left and right. believe that people will say to me like you based on, you know, when I start opening up and talking about my past, they say to me, you could have turned out way worse than what you are right now. And I believe, you you can or you…
Andy & Chris (03:16.413)
I can imagine. can imagine.
Andy & Chris (03:23.293)
Hmm.
Andy & Chris (03:38.415)
Hmm.
Riaz sharif (03:39.047)
you can make something of yourself. And I’ve always had that drive, but I never really figured out where I wanted to go. But I always knew I wanted to do something with it.
Andy & Chris (03:41.309)
Hmm.
Hmm.
But credit to you, Riaz, because I think you’re right. Yeah, that phrase, you know, we’re a product of our environment. I think that’s why lots of young people that end up in the foster care system quite often do struggle because it’s not, you don’t have the stability. And sometimes you end up wrapped up in a crowd who also don’t have stability. So you get drawn into a world that perhaps isn’t good for you. So for you to use that in a positive way and take good things from it, I’ve obviously benefited you as an adult, is credit to you because it’s not a given.
Riaz sharif (04:05.749)
Absolutely.
Riaz sharif (04:11.305)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Andy & Chris (04:15.351)
Can I ask you a question about schooling Ria? So if you were sort of moving around from home to home, what did that do with your sort of like your secondary schooling? So were you always at the same school or did you sort of have to keep moving?
Riaz sharif (04:23.677)
Yeah.
Riaz sharif (04:28.659)
No, We kept moving different schools, to be honest. And sometimes I wouldn’t even finish a year. You’d sort of be taken out halfway through a year and then discontinue that and then start somewhere else. that was quite… But then you fall behind in education and then eventually you lose interest in it too. So you think, all all the other kids are going, progressing. You don’t really feel that you’re missing out because it’s not…
Andy & Chris (04:32.273)
Flip.
Andy & Chris (04:46.571)
Yeah, it must be really hot.
Andy & Chris (04:54.949)
Hmm.
Riaz sharif (04:55.943)
you missed out so many years that you don’t really care anymore. And then you think, all right, what else can I do in my life that would be enjoyable and also fun as well? that’s where I fell into boxing quite early. that was a big part of my life when I was growing up. I was about 14, 15, very early. So started boxing the amateur ranks around that age in East London.
Andy & Chris (04:58.358)
Yeah.
Andy & Chris (05:04.509)
Hmm.
Yeah.
Andy & Chris (05:11.642)
How old were you when you sort of started boxing? Well, okay
Andy & Chris (05:20.199)
Well, you say amateur rings, did box at York Hall in Bethnal Green. David Hay, Nigel Ben, Karl Frock, Riaz Sharif. Is there a pluck on the wall? No, but it’s a really famous boxing hall, isn’t it? It’s well known.
Riaz sharif (05:23.3)
Yeah, yeah, but yeah, I’ve done a few. Yeah, yeah. I’m up there with the rhythm. I’m up there somewhere. Yeah, it’s well-known boxer, definitely, in York Hall, yeah. So I had lot of junior amateur boxing fights, the junior ABAs and stuff. So I’ve done very well, actually. And those coaches who were my boxing coaches were more like my mentors back then.
Andy & Chris (05:51.773)
Did you ever think of it as a future?
Riaz sharif (05:52.551)
They sort of.
Yeah, I did. mean, I thought if I could, well, they would encourage the guys in the gym that, know, if you keep fighting, you keep training hard, know, discipline with that sport has always kept with me to date. know, I’ve always been thinking, anything I’ve done now, I’ve always put 100 % into it. And I learned that discipline from boxing to be honest. And yeah, they did encourage us to, you if you fight, you can earn something and turn professional, get your pro card and make something of yourself.
Andy & Chris (06:09.533)
Hmm.
Riaz sharif (06:24.813)
Obviously it’s like anything is, they picked the golden bunch didn’t they?
Andy & Chris (06:28.381)
Yeah. When you were in and out of foster care moving around, notwithstanding the schooling issue in that you’d kept changing schools, which is quite disruptive, I imagine that it was quite hard to build long-term friendships as well because you were in and of different houses, changing schools. Did boxing provide you with kind of a sense of family in that that was something that was constant for you?
Riaz sharif (06:40.09)
Yeah.
Riaz sharif (06:44.92)
Yes.
Riaz sharif (06:49.892)
It did, yeah. The guys I met in the gym when I was growing up, they were like my family. forget names, but you know, you feel like you remember moments. And I remember like jumping in the minicab and then going to the boxing fights. And it’s like a big family, getting already, everyone’s boosting each other up. And after the fight, it’s just a nice environment, you know? And then obviously being in the foster care homes, you…
Andy & Chris (06:56.028)
Hmm.
Andy & Chris (06:59.546)
Yeah,
Andy & Chris (07:13.053)
Yeah.
Riaz sharif (07:17.22)
Like myself, when I was a foster kid you sort bonded with them more than you did with the actual families. So that was another thing that I remember feeling like back then. yeah, that was my closest sense of family back then.
Andy & Chris (07:21.478)
Yeah.
Andy & Chris (07:29.062)
Yeah, so how did you how did you get so it’s obviously schools a bit disjointed which then I’m assuming a levels are probably a bit disjointed as well So so where did you get when you know? You said it around the problem is moving around as you sometimes sort of fall out of love with education for what a better choice would say so what was the thing that sort of? Reignited your your enthusiasm for education
Riaz sharif (07:34.624)
Yeah.
Riaz sharif (07:38.851)
Yeah.
Riaz sharif (07:47.076)
Good.
Riaz sharif (07:53.451)
Yeah, to be honest, I got adopted quite late in my life. that family, not, you know, one of the, I call him my dad, he was called David, he’s passed away now, but he was like my main father figure. He always sort of saw something beyond me. that was, know, he was like, listen, Grias, know, maybe you need to sort of take a different path, you know, something a bit more stable in your life.
Andy & Chris (08:13.639)
My
Riaz sharif (08:20.354)
And yes, the medical field was always his sort of, he admired it himself, you know, and he encouraged me to look into it and see if I can find a career in that sort of aspect, in medicine or dentistry. But I knew for a fact, I wasn’t academically, you know, I knew how hard it was to get into these sort of careers. You know, it’s difficult. It’s not just about getting top eight grades, it’s about who you are, what you’ve done, that, extra curriculum.
Andy & Chris (08:47.685)
Yeah.
Riaz sharif (08:47.925)
activities that you do and even now today it’s extremely hard. He was my person but to be
Andy & Chris (08:51.933)
Hmm.
Andy & Chris (08:55.837)
It’s funny isn’t it sometimes somebody having faith in you when you haven’t got it in yourself makes a massive difference doesn’t it in terms of pointing you in a direction using their experience
Riaz sharif (09:02.273)
Yeah, definitely. It gives you a better belief in yourself as well, know, that extra bit of that courage to push forward and stuff.
Andy & Chris (09:10.907)
Yeah. So was it, it was his kind of comments and suggestions that led you to do biomedical sciences at the university of Birmingham. But it sounds like that wasn’t perhaps a passion. was,
Riaz sharif (09:17.139)
Yeah, yeah.
Riaz sharif (09:22.497)
It was actually, reason I picked biomedical science was more like a stepping stone. So I thought, all right, I didn’t have the grades to get into dentistry or medicine, so let’s try biomedical.
Andy & Chris (09:32.829)
So you were already thinking about dentistry and medicine back then? That was something that you thought could be down the line? well, alright, okay.
Riaz sharif (09:35.809)
Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, it was more, I didn’t have it in my head, but it was something that I thought, maybe let’s see how the three year bachelor’s goes and then see how it goes. And you know, if not, then I’ll just take the mediocre sort of job and medical research and be happy with that. I was also quite involved in fitness then still other than boxing. So personal training was on my list of cried zero what I could do. I’ve had lot of jobs growing up, to be honest.
Andy & Chris (09:52.701)
Hmm.
Andy & Chris (10:01.693)
Right.
You
Riaz sharif (10:04.32)
I’ve had loads of unusual jobs, but fair read jobs. I’ve been to Pizza Hut, McDonald’s, I’ve been working in Conventry shop, I’ve done it all, worked in car showrooms. But no, I thought I’d try to buy medical route and into the medical field.
Andy & Chris (10:08.519)
Varied.
Andy & Chris (10:20.593)
Yeah. But those things you’ve had a lot of years, like, yeah, people say, yeah, yeah, they’d often get categorized as quite low level jobs. But the truth is you’re developing incredible interpersonal and communication skills. you’re coming across people who are nice, who are unpleasant, who are drunk.
Riaz sharif (10:29.589)
Yeah.
Excuse.
Andy & Chris (10:40.061)
who are rushing, you’ve got a whole mix bag of people and that’s just society. as a dentist, your patients will be one or other of those at a different time. I’ll tell you what’s fascinating. Hopefully not drunk. It sort of puts you into, when you think a lot of dentists struggle with…
Riaz sharif (10:40.308)
Yeah.
Riaz sharif (10:46.237)
Yeah.
That’s certainly true.
Andy & Chris (10:55.777)
sales because they hate it. You know, I’m sort of thinking to myself, you know, you’re working in your burger place and probably, you know, we read this article about how much the question, would you like fries with that generates for McDonald’s and they always ask it. But sometimes people, a lot of times people say no, but you, you’re in that business of asking that question. So therefore when you’re coming to doing your, your dentistry, you’re like, yeah, okay, it’s just a question I’m asking you.
Riaz sharif (11:08.798)
Good.
Riaz sharif (11:16.35)
Yeah.
Riaz sharif (11:20.127)
You do develop customer service skills and all these sorts of jobs and like you said you meet different people, people from young to old, different personalities so it has helped in dentistry to date and I look back and I’m grateful for those jobs because it’s taught me lot of life skills and yeah so it’s all come together. You look back and you think why, you know it was tough then but it’s all meant something.
Andy & Chris (11:23.197)
Yeah, it’s brilliant.
Andy & Chris (11:32.721)
Yeah. Yeah.
Andy & Chris (11:43.665)
Well, talking of things being tough, you then went to Hungary, to Budapest, to study.
Riaz sharif (11:47.038)
god, yes, so Budapest was the next stage in my life. So I didn’t actually plan to do that. That was, I planned to just hopefully do more biomed and you know get a job in the UK, hopefully in dentistry postgraduate or if not in medical research. I had a friend actually who reached out to me, he was actually studying out there and he said to me, listen there’s a five-year degree out there, you know get your degree in Birmingham and come out here and see if you can do it.
Andy & Chris (11:59.611)
I say, how did you end up there?
Riaz sharif (12:14.557)
God, was a nightmare. The first year of going to Budapest in Hungary was extremely hard. And anyone I know who has an overseas dentistry degree can even vouch for that. It’s difficult. It’s not just going overseas and getting a bit of certificate coming over. It’s brutal. But it’s also valuable. Yeah, that was part of it. you know, firstly, adapting to the culture was hard in the first year and also learning Hungarian was essential.
Andy & Chris (12:26.907)
Yeah.
Andy & Chris (12:32.061)
But you also have to learn Hungarian as well.
Riaz sharif (12:43.362)
wouldn’t let you progress to the clinical year to the clinics and hospitals unless you knew Hungarian. you know passing all these verbal exams were in verbal context and weren’t written. no it’s one of the second hardest
Andy & Chris (12:47.933)
Bloody hell.
Andy & Chris (12:53.725)
And Hungarian’s not easy, is it? When you listen to it, it’s like…
Riaz sharif (13:01.28)
God, it’s the second hardest language in the world apparently, under Japanese, I think it is, or Chinese. Yeah, that’s what it’s doing.
Andy & Chris (13:06.673)
Seriously? Are you fluent in Hungarian? Can you still speak it?
Riaz sharif (13:10.811)
I was fluent in Hungarian, yeah. I could have a good conversation, but now if I go back to Budapest, I went back in Christmas, I couldn’t even get a word out. like, God, I don’t what I’m going to say. I don’t want to say it, it’s rude. It’s going to come out very wrong right now. But I had a lot of Hungarian patients, I had to speak to them, treat them over there. Things were good over there until my last year, actually. So struggled to complete the actual degree.
Andy & Chris (13:22.609)
Ha ha
Riaz sharif (13:39.899)
And a lot of my closest friends, obviously, who were with me the time in the final year, saw what I was going through and I just sort of stepped out of it and gave up in the end, right before I was about to graduate. So, yeah, so my stepdad passed away. A lot of things in my life weren’t aligned and stuff, so I of needed a bit of a break. I don’t know what was going on, but I came out, I came out. And that was a big chapter in my life too, you know, just…
Andy & Chris (13:51.229)
about, yeah. I will.
Andy & Chris (14:03.673)
Mm. Mm.
What do you, I mean, there’s this kind of tragedy and trauma and it’s not been easy for you, but what coping mechanisms do you use for this? Because, you you’re striking me as somebody who’s kind of got it together today, you’ve got a great career. There were lots of things that have happened in your life, even in just this kind of 15 minute conversation that could have derailed people. So what mechanisms do you use to cope with this trauma that comes your way?
Riaz sharif (14:18.34)
video.
Riaz sharif (14:23.876)
Yeah.
Riaz sharif (14:30.148)
Yeah. Yeah.
I think, well first of all I just want to make myself proud and obviously make him proud. He was a big figure in my life. You know, it all comes down to what your self-worth and what you want out of your life, don’t you? And I always wanted not to be that, like, the guy who, you know, the orphan or the little, the young boy who never really progressed and made something of his life and just, you know, wanted more but never did get more. I wanted more and I wanted a
Andy & Chris (14:48.635)
Hmm. Hmm.
Andy & Chris (15:01.693)
Hmm.
Riaz sharif (15:03.45)
also give back and help people. I’ve always been someone like, you know, I was a personal trainer, you know, I was always willing to help people enhance their body and then, you know, get them back into shape. I’ve always been that sort of person. So I wanted to have a career that could allow me to do that on a bigger scale. And I thought dentistry or medicine was that, but yeah, like these, all these tragedies, it’s, they’ve always, yeah, it’s just, I think I’ve sat down, you know.
Andy & Chris (15:05.798)
Hmm.
Andy & Chris (15:15.867)
Hmm.
Hmm.
Riaz sharif (15:29.728)
just restart myself and tell myself to keep going every sort of hurdle I come across, however hard it gets. And that’s what I say to any…
Andy & Chris (15:39.291)
It’s amazing though, isn’t it? Because it’s hard, you know, it’s hard, isn’t it? You know, keep going. You know, you’ve had a fair few… yeah. …knockbacks, haven’t you? It’s like,
Riaz sharif (15:44.769)
in.
Riaz sharif (15:48.826)
You know, everyone has traumas, that’s the thing, know, we all got our dark days. But there’s always an out, there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel, isn’t there, I believe. There’s never ever a dead end point, you know, where we can be in our lives. There’s always, can always be better and be in a better place.
Andy & Chris (16:01.068)
Mmm. Yeah.
Andy & Chris (16:06.525)
I think you’re great example of that. Yeah, positivity. So, I was going to say, you’re in Hungary, you were doing your course, sadly lost your stepdad. So then you stepped out for a period of time, but then you then took another turn. talking about the path isn’t smooth. It’s not even bumpy. It’s a cobble stone. And you end up in Slovakia.
Riaz sharif (16:16.386)
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Riaz sharif (16:27.258)
So yeah, so then, I got to my last exam in Budapest. Things didn’t go right, I failed them. I was about one exam from becoming a dentist. So can imagine how heartbroken I was as well. It was just the worst time I’ve ever had. Plus all of the dentists from the UK I’ve spent so many years, four years doing a bio-med, and it’s just all collected all these years and nothing to…
Andy & Chris (16:48.285)
Five years.
Riaz sharif (16:57.434)
to really save for what I’ve done. And then they wouldn’t accept me back into the university in Budapest. So what I did was collect my credits that I got from Budapest over the last five, six years there. And then I was just searching frantically looking for how I could salvage the degree. I had a good friend, he’s actually a dentist in Coventry right now. He helped me find a university or couple.
Andy & Chris (17:05.179)
Andy & Chris (17:16.743)
Yeah.
Riaz sharif (17:26.498)
So I reached out to them, they allowed me to do the entrance exams along with the credit transfers that I had from Budapest. But the thing is they put me in different years. They didn’t put me, you know, you can just do one exam. Here’s about 50 exams you can do and you can finish in the next three or four years. So, yes, I found Slovakia. It’s a small city called Kosice in Slovakia that I found.
got my bags, on a train, crossed the border into Slovakia, you know, in the hope to salvage what I already had. And that’s another journey that I had, yeah, that was an interesting one. I was doing Slovakian this time, so I did, had to learn Slovakian, adapted to Slovakian culture. was just like, honestly, I was thinking to myself, what, is this really worth it?
Andy & Chris (18:13.767)
Ha ha ha!
Riaz sharif (18:15.77)
It’s dentistry, people in the UK just do their five year bachelor’s degree, that’s it, they roll straight into DFT one and do their…
Andy & Chris (18:23.781)
Yeah, but then I suppose we only know our own life and through circumstances your upbringing was incredibly disjointed and no stability. So this carrying through into your young adult life, kind of you’re just rolling with it because like, yeah, that’s just what it’s like. We have this world just like this. We just keep going, isn’t it?
Riaz sharif (18:28.462)
Yeah.
Riaz sharif (18:32.632)
Yeah, so I was… Yeah. I was used to… If I would tell people this, they’d be like, this is it, you’re used to disruption. You know what, I need to eat a bit of peace of my life right now.
Andy & Chris (18:49.601)
So you’ll probably find it really dull if nothing happens. What do mean I’m not moving countries? Come on. So it’s now 2021. Sorry, how long were you in Slovakia? Were you able to just do a year?
Riaz sharif (18:52.218)
Yeah, I still do. I need bit of excitement, that’s just what it is.
Riaz sharif (19:02.862)
I was in, no, no, so they put me in numerous years doing different courses in every single year.
Andy & Chris (19:07.709)
So you had to do three or four years or so.
Riaz sharif (19:11.002)
Yeah, so I’ve done four years, but I do like, for example, three courses from year one dentistry, two courses from year two, one course from year six. I’m actually, I’m actually, I’m actually retiring next week. I’m done now, I’m finished. I’ve done three years of dentistry, I’m finished, that’s it. Three years in, I’m retiring, I’m finished, that’s it. Honestly, it’s been a journey.
Andy & Chris (19:18.075)
He’s 46 years old. He doesn’t look it. He’s 46. After giving you two months good service. off. Ria says the world’s longest dinner degree ever. Flipping heck, Tucker. I didn’t realise. I thought you were going to say, they let you off, but no, you had some bloody hell.
Riaz sharif (19:41.594)
No, no, I went to the Dean of the Faculty in Slovakia, they didn’t care at all. They were like, where are your credits? This is what we accept. Done the entries, the exam got in and then finished it four years later. So I said…
Andy & Chris (19:47.815)
Yeah.
Andy & Chris (19:57.455)
So now we’re 2021, you’ve qualified, you’ve got your badge of honour, you’re now qualified as dentist. So now you’re back in the UK and what did that look like when you came back? Changed his mind. Yeah, dentistry sod it, I’m not interested now.
Riaz sharif (20:00.526)
Yeah, yeah, yeah. So the next thing, I thought become a mechanic. I was like, I’m too tired. is for now to go for this. Do you know what I think it be overseas dentists?
coming back to the UK, it’s a challenge. That’s another hurdle that I had to overcome. You can’t just walk into a foundation training system like any fifth year graduate in the UK in dental school. Fortunately, I had a friend who knew someone in Bournemouth and Poole who was a mentor and contacted them and they were working for my dentist. It’s a great corporate, highly recommend working for them.
Yeah, so I’ve done their mentorship program for a lot for about a year. Honestly, you you start endeavoring on the NHS schemes and learning their regulations and you know, doing all their courses and getting familiar with that. So that was a whole new system that I had to understand and get used to. But at least I was working and I was getting, I was on the ladder somewhere. Yeah.
Andy & Chris (21:02.525)
Mm.
Andy & Chris (21:14.865)
Hmm.
Yeah. And is there mentorship program purely around navigating UK dentistry? It’s almost like a conversion for overseas dentists to understand just how the UK system operates. Right. Right.
Riaz sharif (21:27.523)
Yeah, it’s more like the banding system. getting overseas dentists used to the banding system and how to operate and get used to the UK dentistry to say. But I was fortunate because not being a foreigner and talking quite native English, it works quite well. Yeah, it helps a lot. It helps. Yeah, it does help a lot.
Andy & Chris (21:40.445)
Hmm.
Andy & Chris (21:46.203)
Yeah. Yeah, because you’re English. Yeah. Yeah. And given the path that you’ve been through, like genuinely, are you you you loving dentistry now? Because it’s been such a long journey to get qualified. Please answer this. Is it is it is it all you hope for?
Riaz sharif (22:03.577)
Yeah, it’s been a blunt. With dentistry, what I’ve noticed, you have to steer this career in the right direction that you want it to be. And I’ve always been interested in the arts and aesthetic, building rehabilitation, restorative cases from an early age. But obviously with that, you have to upskill, you have to do courses, you have to know what you’re doing before you start taking on those cases.
Andy & Chris (22:26.823)
Sure.
Riaz sharif (22:29.553)
Steering it in a path that I like now is what I enjoy the most. Getting the cases that I like to do is what I enjoy. And that’s happened in the last year or two now, and that’s where the passion comes from. We’ve been stagnant and accepting, just scaling fillings and extractions and doing that on repeat on the NHS system. Daring yourself to branch out and do a bit of private work was a big challenge, I think, for dentists at the start.
Andy & Chris (22:37.254)
Hmm.
Andy & Chris (22:57.853)
Yeah.
Riaz sharif (22:58.563)
especially coming from overseas, know, the demand for the hot, like, private dentistry is quite high. You need to provide and give, you know, if they’re paying that much money. But yeah, it’s going alright so far. I am enjoying it a lot, yeah.
Andy & Chris (23:06.555)
Hmm.
Andy & Chris (23:11.741)
Good, good. And are you now, are you enjoying this period of stability or are you just a sort of person that needs a bit of chaos to really thrive?
Riaz sharif (23:22.225)
I’ve got itchy fingers again. I feel like there’s more to this. I feel like I do want to open my own practice in the near future, a very near future. That’s what I’m doing now in the practice. I’m working with the practice, brand it. What I’ve learned about this being an associate then is for corporate, I think you’re a business within a business, aren’t you? You have to brand yourself to get known.
Andy & Chris (23:29.818)
Yeah.
Right. Right.
Andy & Chris (23:48.835)
Mm. Yeah.
Riaz sharif (23:50.432)
And obviously social media is a huge part of this now with young dentists. And that’s what I’ve sort of, I’ve become quite involved in that now, know, posting my contents and getting people more involved in what I’m doing, who am I, what I provide, bookings. And obviously with that will come the practice that I want to have open in the future. But yeah, getting recognition was a big thing this year too. So I was a finalist in the Young Dental Awards.
Andy & Chris (23:59.175)
Good.
Andy & Chris (24:04.252)
Yeah.
Andy & Chris (24:11.163)
Yeah, yeah.
Andy & Chris (24:16.273)
Yeah, that’s right.
Riaz sharif (24:17.1)
best young dentist in the south west so that alone for me if i look back 10 years ago and someone was to say that to me i would be gobsmacked i’d be like yeah it’s the biggest it’s the biggest humans for me but you know that that’s just one that i will you know is one for the books so yeah so they keep you got to keep going up with you get more and more and feeling good yeah
Andy & Chris (24:29.159)
Good for you. Good for you.
Andy & Chris (24:39.117)
Yeah, I was just saying it’s a massive journey, isn’t it really when you go back to you know You start as an orphan and then you moved around and then you finally get adopted and then Then then we have Hungary then we have Slovakia then we it’s just like well, it’s a book in here. Yes. I’ll tell you
Riaz sharif (24:57.739)
It’s a bloody big book, isn’t it? But I want that book to keep growing, know? It’s with all of our lives, know, the book never ends until the end, does it? We’re all evolving, aren’t we, every day? That’s what I’m
Andy & Chris (25:01.02)
Yeah, yeah.
Andy & Chris (25:07.323)
Yeah, yeah. It’s interesting one though, isn’t it? So the fact of
Yes, I was just thinking it’s interesting one is around because you could go down the other sort of path Which is the fact of I don’t know your your first 20? Probably first 25 28 years have been somewhat topsy-turvy and therefore you’d really quite like a period of of 10 years of you know of Normalness want about choice of words. Yeah, you know, whereas now it where is actually what you’re saying is no no
Riaz sharif (25:32.682)
Yeah, just retreat into a desert island. Yeah.
Andy & Chris (25:41.883)
I want to do this, I want to do that, want to do that, it’s brilliant. But you’re already talking about the idea of perhaps having your own practice. I think what you said was absolutely on point, and a lot of people miss this point. You said as an associate, you’re self-employed business, working within a business. And I think increasingly people are starting to think like that. But I still think there’s a lot of associates that have the mindset that they’re just working in a business. They’re not…
Riaz sharif (25:44.423)
It’s
Riaz sharif (25:48.691)
Yes, yeah.
Riaz sharif (26:02.446)
Yeah. It’s using your resources around you. Like I said, you’re a business within a business, so why not use what you’ve got around you to operate and to pave the way for the future of yourself?
Andy & Chris (26:08.837)
responsible for themselves. And I don’t necessarily mean in the sense of perhaps going on and opening a practice or buying a practice, but just thinking of yourself as a profit center in your own right. And you have to add value to that business.
Yeah.
Andy & Chris (26:27.217)
Hmm.
Andy & Chris (26:30.629)
Yeah.
Riaz sharif (26:30.865)
rather than being compliant and just accept it. But then, you know, it’s exciting because it’s a phenomenal effect. You get one success and you want more. But what it also does is it keeps you humble and keeps you driven. You know what it is.
Andy & Chris (26:33.201)
Yes.
Andy & Chris (26:39.227)
Yeah, completely.
Andy & Chris (26:44.977)
Yes, yes, yeah. So do you see yourself buying a practice or setting your own practice up? What does that look like?
Riaz sharif (26:50.953)
I would like to set my own practice up or buy to be honest, depends on opportunity comes at the right time. But it’s something that has really become quite certain in last year or two.
Andy & Chris (26:58.877)
Mmm.
Andy & Chris (27:04.529)
Right, yeah, yeah. What I love is your outlook is very broad. We talked to lots of people who were very specific about how they expect things to be. And I wonder whether this kind of relates back to your childhood. You had to be very on your toes because things were changing and you didn’t box yourself in.
Riaz sharif (27:09.299)
Good.
Riaz sharif (27:12.678)
Yeah.
Riaz sharif (27:19.495)
I think indentuously you need to be adaptable as well, Chris. Yeah, I’m just saying. I saw that as well.
Andy & Chris (27:22.989)
On your toes, I like that. was a boxing. A boxing, I like that, yeah yeah, I was with you. thank you for noticing Sorry, sorry, I’m with you, yeah sorry, yeah. Took me a while. This stuff doesn’t write itself, this is going down, I was so slow there, I do apologise. Exactly. You have to box clever.
Riaz sharif (27:35.111)
You’ve to keep all your toes over here. That’s one of those things. You’ve got to box clever. Keep your guard up all the time. I think it’s being adaptable as well. Right now, I do believe, I’ve learned to be adaptable from growing up. think that is the main quality as a dentist and to steer your future as well. To be adaptable and just go with it.
Andy & Chris (27:54.533)
Yep. No shit.
Andy & Chris (28:02.811)
Yeah Yeah, I think ink dental. Yeah, that’s what it’s gonna be called. Thank you dental dental ink. I thought sounded very American. Yeah For those of you who are podcasting you should look on YouTube and you will see a fair amount of ink on the doctor’s reef
Riaz sharif (28:19.878)
I didn’t do that. Literally.
Andy & Chris (28:20.955)
Yeah, we were talking before we started recording. And yeah, you’ve got some wonderful, wonderful artwork. Is there a story behind that? What’s the background to it? Because it looks fabulous.
Riaz sharif (28:28.238)
yeah.
Yeah, there’s a lot to do with my childhood as well, so you can’t really see much of it. But I’m on the shoulders of my stepdad when I was growing up. My mum’s arm, her hand in front with my little small, with my baby hand. I’ve got my real name and my mum’s real name. So yeah, that’s all in ink on it here.
Andy & Chris (28:45.967)
Riaz sharif (28:57.646)
A lot of the context on the YGG has meaning to it and I think that is should be like that. It shouldn’t just be just a bunch of, you know, and.
Andy & Chris (29:01.617)
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It’s a story, isn’t it? It’s like your life story, isn’t it?
Riaz sharif (29:08.461)
Yeah and it’s nice to just sort of, I’ve got the adoption, or that’s the adoption assigned, so it’s like a triangle with a heart in it, so that’s got that. Yeah, please. Yeah, I’m working on that please.
Andy & Chris (29:17.949)
That’s amazing. That’s very cool. There’s a bit of space though there Riaz on the bottom of it. Just out of interest. mean, know, tattoo is a pretty common place these days, but how has it received by patients when they see Because you’ve got a lot and it looks impressive. Does it surprise some patients?
Riaz sharif (29:32.089)
Peace.
I think patients, yeah, they either like it or they want to know more about it and then actually they’re like, I’m thinking about getting something myself done. Like, how was it? I’ve never had one negative response about my tattoos. No, no. It doesn’t deter your skills or make you less of a skilled dentist, does it, having tattoos? And also, I wanted to break that sort of persona as well. was like, you know what, it doesn’t mean…
Andy & Chris (29:50.959)
really, that’s good. Bye.
Andy & Chris (29:56.887)
Mmm, no. No.
Riaz sharif (30:03.384)
doesn’t mean you’re abandoned just because you got tattoos, you know, could be highly skilled and be someone as well, be a normal human being who actually has interests and…
Andy & Chris (30:05.979)
Hmm. No.
Andy & Chris (30:11.345)
Yeah. Yeah. I think it’s just a form of expression and if anything in a very noisy world, it does make you slightly distinctive.
Riaz sharif (30:20.036)
Yeah, it does. It does. It has bit of character to it, I think.
Andy & Chris (30:22.353)
This was, I say it’s also a brilliant relationship building tool. If someone asks you and you virtually by sounds thing, every tattoo has a story. know, it’s like, as you say, you didn’t just decide you’re going to knock up a tribal tattoo on your arm. you, fancied one of those. We, we, as we talk a lot about, controlling the controller balls.
Riaz sharif (30:32.873)
Every tattoo is born on the artist’s hand.
Riaz sharif (30:39.639)
I’ve actually got a tribal tattoo over here Chris. That was one of my first tattoos actually in Budapest.
Andy & Chris (30:52.153)
And obviously within your life, there’s been an extraordinary amount of uncontrollables. How big a part has fitness, health and mindset played in kind of keeping you on track? The fitness, sounded like the boxing was a real kind of anchor for you. let himself go now, hasn’t he? Yeah. Yeah, again, those of you who are listening, Riaz looks finely chiseled.
Riaz sharif (31:02.205)
yes.
Riaz sharif (31:09.627)
Yeah, I definitely have it, know. It’s that big belly popping out on it. Do you know what, guys?
Riaz sharif (31:20.77)
I need to lose a few pounds. You know what, think honestly, it’s good you pointed on this because the biggest thing that’s kept me back on my path of trying, aiming for success has been fitness. Whatever dark days or any troubles I’ve had in my life, I’ve always walked into the gym, whether it was boxing gym or a weight gym or any sort of…
Andy & Chris (31:21.661)
But yeah, what about those other elements in terms of keeping you on track?
Riaz sharif (31:48.633)
sports gym and just release my energy and whatever hard day I had I’d release it and then start again. And I’ve been doing that from a young age. Honestly, I train six days a week and it’s become a lifestyle habit. It resets my mind every single day and I believe that anyone in this sort of profession, any profession, whether it’s stressful or not stressful, it needs to have something that keeps them mentally focused. I believe fitness for me is that.
Andy & Chris (32:12.765)
Mm.
Mm.
Riaz sharif (32:16.383)
It adds discipline to my life.
Andy & Chris (32:18.811)
Yeah, yeah, it’s good to hear. I know lots of people that when they exercise they kind of they’re huffing and puffing about it But when you do exercise you never regret it you at the end of it Yeah Yeah
Riaz sharif (32:25.086)
No, It’s like a form of meditation. You go into the gym and you’re in your safe place. And for me, that was always my escape whenever I had horrible times. I just escaped in the gym and just left the world alone, you know, and come back and take it on again. And I think all dentists should be involved in fitness too. You know, we’re stuck in a chair all day, so sometimes, yeah, you know, we’re sitting there hunched back all day.
Andy & Chris (32:40.605)
Hmm.
Mm.
Andy & Chris (32:50.021)
Yeah, especially if you’re back
Riaz sharif (32:54.707)
bloody, how many hours a day, six to 12 hours a day, we need to be active, you know, we’ve got busy family lives, so fitness should be incorporated into our lifestyle. So.
Andy & Chris (32:59.687)
Hmm.
Andy & Chris (33:04.669)
Hmm, but I don’t I don’t think it is in and I think you’re right. I think you need to One create the time for it in the discipline But I think it’s a consistency of it and it’s making sure that you build into your routine because if you want to deliver Dentistry is as you know, lots of people do for perhaps, you know 15 20 years You’re not sitting in the perfect position hour after hour and bending and twisting and it’s a really important part of
Riaz sharif (33:14.291)
Yeah.
Riaz sharif (33:29.311)
Yeah, it’s also like if you look good and you feel good, you deliver good work, know, and that’s also what, you know, that plain proof in all of my examinations abroad and all my things that I’ve ever tried to do, you if you feel good, you accomplish well, don’t you? And that’s, you can deliver good dentistry to patients, I believe, if you feel good.
Andy & Chris (33:45.563)
Hmm. Yeah. Given the life you’ve had Riaz, if you could go back, would you change anything?
Riaz sharif (33:56.798)
I wouldn’t change a single thing. I’m grateful for every single part of our life has a meaning and I think there’s a reason for it. know, so cliché, know, it happened for a reason, but it is true, it happened for a reason to sort of define us, to be honest. And that’s the adult we are today. You know, I would say inside of us, we’re a little person still, aren’t we? But no, I wouldn’t change a single thing.
Andy & Chris (34:09.041)
Hehehehe… Mmm.
Andy & Chris (34:14.909)
Hmm.
Andy & Chris (34:19.269)
Yeah.
Riaz sharif (34:23.453)
I’m kind of, I’m on a pathway but I’m still not firing at 100 % of where I want to be. So I’m on about 30%. But that’s good, it keeps me hungry. So yeah, I’m breaking stuff up.
Andy & Chris (34:27.611)
Hmm
Andy & Chris (34:33.309)
I find your answer, Kay, for me that’s the right answer, but I also find it fascinating because obviously life hasn’t been easy and it would be very easy to have said, well, no, I’d love to have been one of those kids that came from her.
Riaz sharif (34:46.215)
Yeah.
Andy & Chris (34:46.453)
Stable home or you know, there was a bit more money or there was a bit more food or whatever it might have been But that appreciation of this is what makes you the person I’d to die be reass of today. No, what is there? there’s a guy called Mo Gordat who was at Google X and He has this thing called the eraser test and it’s that question and he asked people if you go back in your life Would you change anything? But and then the point that he makes is that if you erase one part of your past it will change everything on that point going forward So you wouldn’t be the person you are today
Riaz sharif (34:51.015)
Yeah, you’re right.
Riaz sharif (34:56.989)
It’s the
Riaz sharif (35:06.907)
Okay.
Riaz sharif (35:14.45)
Yeah.
Andy & Chris (35:16.317)
And it it came about a sad that he lost his son his son died during a fairly routine operation and people said to him You know, did you wish that that hadn’t happened? And he said as hard as it is he said no it has to have happened because everything there after only happens as a result of all those individual things and You are the person you are because of all those things and you perhaps wouldn’t be as driven as you know I was resilient. Yes
Riaz sharif (35:32.569)
Yeah, definitely.
Riaz sharif (35:38.747)
Yeah.
Yeah, mean there’s always things to work on but you know, that’s good if you’re aware of it too, that’s also a good thing isn’t it? We all are, yeah. I think we never stop do we? We just, we keep going. Yeah, that’s right, it does stop, yeah.
Andy & Chris (35:45.341)
You know, I think we’re all a work in progress, aren’t we? Yeah.
Andy & Chris (35:54.735)
Death. it’s, but the thing is it’s rare we get somebody of your age that has such a wild story and for somebody who’s still relatively early on in their history. given, you know, what you’ve dealt with so far, I think the future for you, I think is so bright. You know, I think you will literally, you know, you’ll create a new path for yourself. And we just don’t know what that is yet.
Riaz sharif (36:17.116)
Yeah. Yeah. It’s exciting. I don’t know that I’m what I’m… You it’s… Like you said, you take it as it is and just adapt to it all and evolve slowly. That’s what it is.
Andy & Chris (36:31.133)
It’s going to become a motivational speaker. Do you know what I mean? It’s got that sort of, hasn’t it? the fact of you could do something. say whether you go on to do that or whether we just share your story, this would inspire and motivate people. of course it would.
Riaz sharif (36:41.691)
Yeah.
You know, I’ve always wanted to have a platform where I can speak and inspire or guide or help or advise younger people who were in the same position as me and see if I could give them a little help in a bit of a short cut, a bit of a motivational push to say. And I will find that platform, be it universities or at conferences or you’re
Andy & Chris (36:53.983)
Hmm
Mm.
Andy & Chris (37:04.207)
Hmm or dr. Bernardo’s or it’s cool places on interesting we get we get quite a lot of listeners that are dental students and younger dentists So when we put this episode out, there’s a few key guys I know that we will take and I’ll privately message them and ask me if they could share this episode
Riaz sharif (37:14.811)
Yeah.
Riaz sharif (37:22.694)
Okay.
Andy & Chris (37:23.161)
into dental schools, because there will be people there that will be finding it hard or will be struggling or won’t have had the best of starts. So to hear your story and to see where you are now will be great. they might not have to fly off to Budapest or Slovakia, but it will give them hope that they’ll get there.
Riaz sharif (37:29.851)
Yeah.
Yeah. I think so. Yeah. I mean, I’m not mindset mental, but I’ve always endeavoured in these sort of… I’ve taken a big interest over the years in mindset, you know, and I’ve listened to the of Tony Robbins and Les Brown. All these guys have always been like, know, resounding in my ear. And I’ve always listened to all of their stories. And it’s always been a big help for me growing up. So, yeah.
Andy & Chris (37:51.163)
Yeah
Andy & Chris (37:57.906)
Yeah.
Hmm.
Riaz sharif (38:02.24)
having my own version of it is good as well you know.
Andy & Chris (38:05.117)
It’s very cool. We just don’t do the Coles in the surgery that will be You might find CKC might have an issue before we do you composite bonding? I’m I’m fascinated by the answer to the next two questions. Yeah, We always finish up the same way and we also I guess two questions to wrap up
Riaz sharif (38:13.852)
Yeah, I think we struck off by that.
Andy & Chris (38:29.669)
And the first question is, if you could be a fly on a wall in a situation, where would you be and who would be there?
Riaz sharif (38:36.668)
If I was a fly in the wall, where would I be and who would be there? I think I’d be a fly in the wall in the presence of my real mother.
Hmm. It’s a bit, it’s a bit, yeah, it’s reason being is because I just, you know, I’ve always had this question even at my age right now, you know, I did go in search for her, but it’s always been my biggest like wish to know where she is, that she’s okay. So, it touches me a bit, but I get emotional about it, but that’s just…
Andy & Chris (38:48.231)
Meh.
Andy & Chris (39:09.241)
No, I think I think it’s your history. I that’s that’s that’s that’s your past, isn’t it?
Riaz sharif (39:12.132)
Yeah, it’s not just to just observe her and just hope that she’s okay and just then fly away, I guess. That’s a very sense of her. But yeah, if I was a fly in the wind, I’d to be around to see if she’s doing all right or who she is and if she’s happy.
Andy & Chris (39:18.684)
Yeah.
Andy & Chris (39:25.222)
Mm.
I think what’s lovely in that, Riaz, is that thing about you wanting to help people and care for people, which means you’ve been in a really good profession. But your answer to that question is it’s nothing about you. It’s all about, want to make sure she’s okay, which I think from a caring point of view links back very nicely with the path you’ve been on and where you are. And the answer to this question may well be linked to maybe something else. But if you’ve got the chance to meet somebody, who would you like to meet given the opportunity?
Riaz sharif (39:41.402)
Yeah, yeah.
Riaz sharif (39:45.424)
Yeah. Yeah.
Riaz sharif (39:56.604)
I grew up listening to reggae a lot, so Bob Marley. He’s my, not just because I’ve never really been the celebrity for that, it’s more like I loved his culture, the reggae culture, his music, I was brought up around that, his free spirit in nature. Just sitting there having a conversation with the bloke.
Andy & Chris (40:03.226)
Andy & Chris (40:12.902)
Yeah.
Andy & Chris (40:19.025)
Yeah.
Riaz sharif (40:22.852)
It’d inspirational for me to sit down and be with a man of his sort of stature and where he came from. His story was also amazing. just maybe get a few bit of guidance, a few tips from Bob Marley would be great.
Andy & Chris (40:24.818)
Yeah.
Andy & Chris (40:30.141)
Yeah, yeah.
Andy & Chris (40:39.517)
And probably none of this. It might be interesting what his tips are for you.
Riaz sharif (40:47.804)
More just clearing your headspace, relaxing, just not letting life get to you. Everything’s going to be alright. Everything’s going be alright.
Andy & Chris (40:51.077)
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Don’t worry man. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No, very true. Riaz, it’s been a joy. Honestly, it’s been an absolute joy. I think we’ve caught you at a really, really good time. I think we’re on this cusp where I see things going up for you. We’ll be saying that thing. Do you remember we met Riaz when he was writing Bigger? Yeah.
Riaz sharif (40:59.43)
But
Riaz sharif (41:05.756)
It’s been a pleasure both of you. It’s been great.
Riaz sharif (41:11.161)
No, but… I’ll be asking if you’ve podcast in five years. Let’s do this, update of Riaz’s life.
Andy & Chris (41:17.437)
Yeah, you’ll be inviting us and yours. Exactly. But genuinely, I think I’m fascinated to follow your career and stay in touch because I think a lot of the things that you’ve talked about are going to happen. I think you will end up with a practice or practices. I think your profile will build and I think you’re somebody that young people should definitely keep an eye on. Great story. Yes. Great story. Yeah.
Riaz sharif (41:29.148)
Appreciate it.
Riaz sharif (41:43.622)
Thanks, thanks guys. I appreciate the platform as well. Thanks for your time today.
Cheers guys. Thanks Chris. Bye.
Andy & Chris (41:55.377)
That was great. Absolutely wonderful. Yeah, that was really good. Yeah, thank you. Very interesting.
Riaz sharif (41:57.48)
Was that right? Was that okay?
