Miranda Jessop goes undercover with Sara Fazlali, founder of a very special secret service that promises to bring out your inner spy.
My rendezvous is a Greek café in Barnes and my target is the co-founder of Secret Me, a unique spy school for the super rich. I arrive early and deliberately position myself with my back to the door, next to a large mirror. And my first mission is accomplished as I successfully clock Sara Fazlali’s reflection before she even claps eyes on me.
From there, however, this astute businesswoman takes the upper hand. Immaculately dressed and looking every bit the glamorous Bond girl, she is on an assignment to tell me about Secret Me and its ultimate experiences, in which clients are trained in a range of skills – from surveillance and live shooting to seduction and poker – before testing their reactions in simulated situations in exotic settings.
It soon becomes clear that Sara, 32, is superbly qualified for her role. She spent most of her childhood in Barnes and was a pupil at St Paul’s Girls’ School, before studying for a degree in business and e-commerce at Brunel University. With an Oxford master’s in social anthropology and a further degree in international relations also safely under her belt, Sara worked as a government intern before joining the UN, assisting on projects in Sudan and Sierra Leone.
Later she started consulting for the Army, and it was around this time that she met her future spy school co-founder Adam, and the idea for Secret Me was born. Adam’s full name is itself a secret, but Sara can at least reveal that he has 12 years with the government behind him, as well as six years as an officer in the special forces.
“We talked about setting up an organisation that would push civilians to their physical limits while building up their emotional and mental resilience,” she explains. “We came up with the idea for this James Bond type school.”
Secret Me offers a choice of programmes, each one delivered by former special forces and intelligence services personnel. Sara talks me through ‘The Signature’, which consists of three different phases across 15 days in three different locations.
“The first phase costs £10,000 and takes place in a secluded stately home where, over the course of three days, you learn hard and soft skills to train and build your resilience.”
These core skills, it transpires, all have intriguing names such as kidnap and escapology, surveillance, combat pistols and live shooting, threat elimination, cocktail mixology and poker and hustling – to say nothing of seduction and persuasion – under the beady eye of renowned burlesque dancer Immodesty Blaize. Then, for upwards of £35,000, it’s on to phase two: three days’ continuation training and a two-day live scenario somewhere in Europe.
“We hire the local town and you have absolutely no idea who is an actor and who is a civilian. Everyone from the local butcher to the mayor could be in on the act. As the script unfolds you are tested on all you’ve been taught: one of your teammates might get kidnapped; there could be a hostage rescue required.”
Finally, the third phase requires clients to deploy all they have learned in a week-long simulated global mission.
“The price of this final phase depends on what the client would like us to create for them,” explains Sara. “It could involve anything from private jets, black tie dinners and luxury yachts to kidnappings, stooges and maximum security prisons.”
If money is no object at all, clients can opt for ‘The Bespoke’ programme, for which the team at Secret Me will dream up a unique, tailor-made experience. Meanwhile, on completion of the courses, clients are immediately enrolled into the company’s exclusive ‘Safe House Club’, which offers back-up support for them, their family and their business, should the need ever arise. It also runs regular events for members, ranging from dinner with a spy to poker nights with a top croupier to an evening of whisky and guns.
Secret Me has been operating for over three years now, with clients including Russian billionaires, hedge fund managers and Hollywood film producers.
“We limit ourselves to 70 clients a year, so it stays intimate,” says Sara. “Our youngest so far has been 28 and our oldest 72, but most tend to be in their late 30s.”
The majority are men, but female clients also make up a significant proportion.
“I am really proud of how many ladies we have on the course; I’m all for female empowerment. The women tend to be more self-critical and I love watching them realise their potential.”
Rigorous background checks are carried out on all potential candidates, followed by a personal interview with Sara.
“We vet everyone really thoroughly and I also believe very strongly in gut instinct,” she adds.
Sara has completed the course herself and oversees all aspects, analysing each client at every step. She also jumps at any chance to join in.
“I’ve been doing martial arts since I was 11. I’m a black belt, in fact, so if they need an extra partner, I’m there like a shot.”
Has anyone ever been unable to take the pace and dropped out?
"No, we have had people that couldn’t complete certain elements, but the course is so diverse that you can always find something you’re good at.”
Even so, I am still struggling to comprehend why someone would spend such a vast amount of money on this experience.
“Most clients are after the ultimate challenge,” says Sara. “They want to push themselves to the limit and see their responses. Our motto is: ‘We often wonder how we’d react in a life-changing moment: now is your time to find out.’”
As Sara explains, there are three basic reactions to an extreme situation: freeze, fight or flight.
“I am ‘fight’, which is generally a good reaction, but if I were kidnapped, I would probably be the first to die,” she says matter-of-factly. “Most people are actually ‘freeze’, but by helping them to identify their type, we can also help them to train their mind and reactions.”
Believing that skills are transferable between military and business, Secret Me has recently introduced its corporate programme, ‘The Charter’.
“The psychology is basically the same and, by identifying who you are, we can help you in any situation – from a guy running in here with a gun to your boss shouting at you in the boardroom.”
As a ‘fight’ type, Sara sees the world very differently to me and is always game for an adventure. I – unequivocally a ‘freeze’ girl – cannot help thinking about the dangers inherent in some of these live scenarios. Sara, however, is reassuring.
“We have 40 highly experienced trainers who take on all the roles. They are the best of the best. We make the training as realistic as possible in a safe environment. Your heart is racing, you feel like you’re in danger, but you’re not.”
Do passers-by ever become alarmed?
“No. Generally everyone in the vicinity is well aware of the situation, but we did once have a comedy moment on one of the private estates. Just as a ‘hard stop’ was being acted out, with the potential suspect apprehended and brought to the ground, a little old lady cycled past. She didn’t bat an eyelid,” laughs Sara.
Despite the thrilling day job, however, there are signs of this daredevil beginning to settle down.
“I got married two weeks ago,” she says, flashing a glimpse of her huge diamond ring and positively glowing with joy. The wedding in Corfu was followed by a mini-moon in Budapest, but Sara and her lawyer husband are still choosing between Mongolia, Argentina and Antarctica for the real thing. Home for the couple is Barnes and Sara would love a dog for walks in Richmond Park.
“I desperately want a puppy but we travel too much,” she admits.
And does she secretly dream of being a Bond girl?
“No way!” she exclaims. “I want to be Bond!”
I watch in the mirror as she strides out, intent on her next Secret Me mission.
You can check out the full spy packages Secret Me offer here
Why not have a look at some of the other great pieces Miranda Jessop has written for us?
