Sasha Ray is a singer, model, restaurateur, entrepreneur and a Fashion Icon. She has worked her way from Ukraine to Dubai, founding a series of businesses and brands along the way.
Now based in the city of Dubai, Sasha hopes to leverage her influencer status while revamping successful ventures in music and hospitality. Sasha’s journey began soon after she finished her first Master’s degree in international business in Kiev National Economic University.
SHASHA’S SINGING CAREER TOOK PLACE DURING HER INTERNSHIP. “In between my Internship, one of my University mates came to me with a Proposal to try my Luck in the Music Industry. She had been working with one of the Best Ukranian Music Producers out there and at the time she was searching for New Projects. We Recorded my first Single «БОЛЬ- ЛЮБОВЬ» (LOVE IS PAIN) and it was a Hit!” , she explained.
Born ALEXANDRA VOVCHENKO,
Sasha admits that it always had been a dream of her to be a singer growing up. “Deep inside I had always wanted to try myself in show business. Even being a little girl I remember how I was begging my parents to buy me a piano , so I could learn how to play it.” She explained.“SASHA is a short version of my name, while RAY stands for a “RAY OF LIGHT or SUNSHINE” describing my personality, she said.
Since releasing My First Single, Music has always been a part of My Life, No matter how busy I was with my other projects.
“MUSIC , IT HAS ALWAYS HELPED ME TO FEED MY SOUL.”
Discovering her passion in hospitality, the young entrepreneur decided to pursue a second Master’s degree and traveled abroad to study luxury management at the EM Lyon Business School and at the Institute Paul Bocuse and Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne. She also completed a semester in China East Normal University, before pursuing internships in some of the most luxurious hotels in the world, including the Burj Al Arab and London’s Berkeley Hotel.
However, Sasha’s career has expanded far past her early dreams of being a singer. Soon after completing her second Master’s degree in hospitality, Sasha moved to Dubai to pursue her passion for business full-time. It was in Dubai that Sasha created her first restaurant brand, Vesna (which translates to “Spring”). The restaurant blended Ukrainian, Russian, and contemporary themes, offering a full service of amazing food and entertainment. Catering to travelers from the former Soviet bloc and locals alike, Vesna was one of the first restaurants in Dubai with karaoke.
SUCCESS came at a price, “After some time , the financial crisis hit the markets in Russian and Ukranian and we lost quite a few customers. The Economic Crisis soon proved that no Business Venture can exist without its own set of challenges”, as Sasha recounts. She never lost her faith, and soon Rebranded the Restaurant and that’s when “MAISON ROUGE” came to life. This time the concept was very International and it was the First Place to Offer Cabaret Shows in Dubai. MAISON ROUGE proved to be a huge success and has since brought Sasha a huge amount of influence and followers in the Russian and Ukrainian media, as well as internationally. Sasha now considers herself a full-time influencer, as well as entrepreneur. Being involved in such a highly social business helped her build up a social media following of at least 3.4 million and she now works with some of the top and luxurious brands worldwide and is often invited to highly rated events.
When asked about her greatest Fears? Her reply is simple :
“I’VE CHOSEN TO BE FEARLESS IN MY LIFE. FEAR IS THE BIGGEST OBSTACLE IN BEING SUCCESSFUL NOT ONLY IN BUSINESS BUT IN LIFE IN GENERAL. YES I’VE HAD MANY FEARS IN MY LIFE, BUT EVERY TIME I WENT TOWARDS MY FEARS I REALIZED A SIMPLE THING… THAT IT WAS ALL JUST IN MY HEAD.”
This Fashion Icon and Entrepreneur offers her bit of advice to hopeful entrepreneurs:
“Be curious! Learn as much as you can, talk to people, meet new people, build right connections. If you are willing to build partnerships for your business you are willing to succeed!”
Influential Dubai