Václav Dejčmar
The Restless Auteur

Words Scott McGillImages Steve Herud

When Czech polymath Václav Dejčmar locked eyes on a far-flung African beach, he envisioned his own hotel. He didn’t see what would come next.

Václav Dejčmar is an investor, philanthropist, and proud Renaissance man. Not only is he a shareholder in RSJ—one of the largest algorithmic trading firms in the world—Dejčmar runs the Czechoslovak Models agency, is the founder of Prague’s DOX Centre for Contemporary Art, is one of the master puppeteers behind the Mercedes-Benz Prague Fashion Week, and is the director of I am Fishead, a documentary film on the role of psychopaths in business and politics. If that weren’t enough, he’s now a Design Hotels Original thanks to his stunning new Zuri Zanzibar resort. And there’s more on the horizon.

Why are you so restless?

Because I don’t like to be involved in just one thing. People often call me a Renaissance man. It’s probably because I work on all the components of a project or combine business with nonprofit activities. Drawing from my experiences, I can emphatically say it’s a more colorful way to live. I also try to think artistically in everything I do.

“We’re trying to connect guests with nature and, in turn, help them connect with themselves.”

Václav Dejčmar

What drew you to Zanzibar?

A while ago, I was contacted by a good friend of mine, who’s a mountain climber. He called me and said “Hey Václav, I’m on the island of Zanzibar and have just found the most beautiful beach ever. And it’s for sale!” This was back before tourism really took off there, and I must admit, the beach really was beautiful. Initially, I didn’t have any plans for it, I just wanted to buy it, so I did. We bought a few more plots of land and had 14 hectares in total. Crazy, right? But hey, why not invest in Africa?

What social responsibility measures did you take at Zuri?

Well, we’re helping to preserve the beach. We could have created a 200-room property on the plot of land that we had, but we created 55 villas, and that’s exactly how to stop mass tourism from taking over and ruining a beautiful beach. That’s important to me. We also invest money in protecting corals and providing computers for local schools. And we’re creating local jobs and training people.

We created 55 villas to stop mass tourism from taking over and ruining a beautiful beach
- Vaclav Dejčmar

What was the last Original Experience you had?

Last month I visited Chumbe, a very small island just a short boat ride away from the main island of Zanzibar, and I stayed at a seven-bungalow eco-hotel that reinvests all of their profits into conserving the island, as well as hosting some research scientists. They look after flora and fauna, and take care of the island in general. There’s no electricity or air-conditioning; just beautiful sunsets and interesting wildlife. They have crabs that are one meter in size that can crack open coconuts! That’s the kind of experience we’re trying to give our guests: We’re trying to connect guests with nature and, in turn, help them connect with themselves.

What were the challenges?

To build anything in Africa with Western quality is a real challenge. There’s a big bureaucracy on the island and it seemed like a never-ending chain of problems, even though we used brilliant Czech construction teams. It was a very complicated way to create paradise.

So now that Zuri is open, can you sit back and relax?

No! I’m too restless. I’m working on a coffee-table book about contemporary life here, called “Why I Fell in Love with Zanzibar”. It’ll be around 500 pages of photography and stories of Zanzibar and its people. This island is just so photogenic and I couldn't find a single quality book published on its contemporary culture. My new documentary has also just hit the screens. It’s about shamanic rituals involving hallucinogenic substances found in the glands of Colorado River toads. And after these projects, who knows!