Shahin Hassan | The Nice Guy of The Apprentice: Business, Family, and a Passion for Classic Cars

On this episode, Aleksandra invited the former 'The Apprentice' candidate Shahin Hassan to discuss his experience on the show, his multi-faceted professional life, and the grounding values that keep him motivated. Shahin, a chartered engineer, property investor, and classic car enthusiast, offers a refreshing perspective, proving not all reality TV contestants are "crazy, mad controversial people".

Inside The Apprentice Bubble: Surreal, Tough, and Edited

Shahin described his experience on The Apprentice as "an amazing experience" and "absolutely surreal", emphasizing that the selection process alone was "quite challenging, quite tough, quite demanding". He admitted to being "pretty naive" about the show's difficulty and control, thinking it would be straightforward; soon finding out that the show was much more challenging than anticipated:

The Challenge of Lost Control

The most difficult aspect for Shahin was the profound loss of control. This loss extended to nearly every part of his day:

• No Mobile Phone: Completely blocked off from the outside world.

• Chaperoned: Always accompanied, preventing discussion of the task even off-camera.

• Unpredictable Schedule: Not knowing when he would eat or how long he would wait in a room.

The Reality of Production and Editing

Additionally, Shahin confirmed that the final televised product is heavily managed and edited to appeal to the audience. "You're free to say whatever you want, but how it's edited in the end is is stands there". Hassan views the programme as "more of a game show rather than say a business show" to the dismay of many of us fans of The Apprentice.

Fired for Being the "Nice Guy"

Shahin was the first candidate fired in his season after the initial task, a selling challenge in South Africa. He believed the firing was due to his sales not being "enough" and the way his performance was edited. He reflected that he was "too much of a Mr. Nice guy" and perhaps too honest, he should have instead been "a bit more aggressive" during the task to avoid being "playing it safe".

Career and Entrepreneurial Life Beyond Reality TV

Despite the early exit, his professional journey remained on track. He noted that his on-screen personality was largely aligned with his true self and therefore hi time on the show had no negative impact on his career. Today, he maintains a diversified portfolio of work: working full time as chartered consultant in engineering for the past 20 years while also buying and selling cars a long with investing property on the side.

For Shahin, entrepreneurship is less about pure profit and more about "doing something that you really like and creating value". He noted that his failure in the Apprentice sales task—which was "on the street selling" and "market style"—didn't align with his professional selling style where he is successful.

The Car Enthusiast: Passion and Profit

Shahin's side hustle in buying and selling classic cars is driven by a deep-seated passion, particularly for modern classics from the 80s and 90s. He finds joy in the process of buying, restoring, and occasionally keeping cars like the 1992 Mercedes SL and a 1998 Mercedes S Class. For him, each brand holds a story—Ferrari for its sporting pedigree, Mercedes for technology and luxuriousness—creating a strong emotional connection. His favourite brand is Ferrari, having gone through the process of restoring a Ferrari 456.

Inspiration, Values, and the Future

Notably, Shahin tributes his father for delivering him his own passion for entrepreneurship. Having come to the UK at 15 to support family in Bangladesh, his father was a tireless, hardworking individual who had both successes and failures in various businesses. This taught Shahin the value of resilience and giving everything 100%- a mindset we could all do with having. The key value Shahin instils in his own children (two girls aged nine and seven, and a baby boy) is having a "good belief system". For Shahin, faith provides a grounding foundation that automatically leads to integrity- "doing the right thing even when someone's not looking".

Key Takeaways

• Reality TV vs. Reality: The Apprentice is a difficult, demanding, and heavily edited environment that can take a severe mental toll on some candidates.

• Authenticity is Key: Shahin advises aspiring candidates to "always stay authentic" and "be honest with yourself".

• The Power of Resilience: Seeing his father overcome challenges taught him the value of resilience and being prepared for the "up and the down".

• Family First: His main goal is to be successful, but most importantly, to maintain the right work-life balance and provide a good foundation for his children.

▶️Watch the full episode now on the Aleksandra King YouTube Channel  and many more episodes of The Beyond The Boardroom Podcast for inspiration, advice and entertainment.