Tony Truman, a well-respected businessman and entertainer, has put his heart and soul into O Beach Ibiza, as well as several other locations in and around San Antonio. We caught up with him to find out how he keeps the party going.

You put a lot of time and effort into recruitment for O Beach Ibiza. How do you process the 4,000+ applications?

Yes the recruitment process is a big job, and it’s not just the beach club that we recruit for but a host of businesses that we own so it becomes complex and lengthy when choosing which person best fits each business as well as each position. I’m very, very lucky to have my colleague Nicola Gaston helping me with the process – she has been an absolute star in the pivotal role she plays, as well as the girls who work alongside Nicola in their office – so a massive thank you goes to that team.

What we look for is first of all is someone who looks genuinely happy at all times, with a nice smile as this is the first thing our customers see. We want them to be greeted at really happy faces at O Beach Ibiza – a smile goes a long way! We also look for natural beauty in our applicants, rather than a ‘made up’ look, and confidence is very important as well as our staff are dealing with a lot of people everyday so we need strong, confident characters in themselves.

How would you describe your working relationship with your business partner Duane and why is it successful?

I would actually describe it as a perfect balance between us in so many ways. We’re very different as people and personalities and it totally works for us. We’re very lucky indeed to have a relationship like we do as it’s quite rare nowadays as so many partners in business seem to fall out but we’re very tight together as a unit.He does an incredible job which I fully admire and respect him for, especially as I met first him as a young boy and over the years I’ve seen him grow into a very clever and mature businessman, all without really changing as a person – he’s very humble. We joke that he’s the “spreadsheet” and I’m the “dance floor” which is a unique and dynamic combination that you need in a business like ours: you need the crazy fun party element who keeps the troops entertained and then you need the serious businessman who keeps it all together, The funny thing is I couldn’t do what he does and he couldn’t what I do so this is why we compliment each other so well. I’m very proud of Duane as my business partner, he’s such a great person and above all one of the most genuine and honest people I’ve ever meet as well as being a proper family man.

What do you hope the O Beach Ibiza brand will achieve within the next 5-10 years?

I would like Ibiza to remain the flagship of our brand. For me it will always be and long may that continue… We’ve currently been working on expanding into foreign territories and I think that in the very near future this will be a real possibility as there are some great places out there that fit very well with our brand and we’re in a position to think about expanding.

I can visualise at least three or 4 O Beach clubs around the world eventually, and the next one we open will hopefully be a venue that covers the winter months thus enabling us to be more of an evergreen brand. We want our clients to enjoy our brand all year round, not just in summer.

This year marks the 35th anniversary of Tru’s Do’s – why have they been so successful up until now?

Wow, it seems like a lifetime when you actually write the figure 35 years down on paper. Most of our clients at the beach club weren’t even born when I started hosting parties (showing my age now…)

I’m actually very proud to have been doing parties that long as I’ve seen huge changes in the party scene over the years, but somehow managed to survive and roll with all the advancements in technology. It’s been tough along the way no doubt about it, but I think the main reason my parties have been going so long is thanks to the collective mix of people who attend my events. It’s great that when I host one a Tru’s Do I still see my original party mates from way back when, and they bring their kids who are all grown up – this makes it extra special for me as there’s nothing I like more than seeing my lifelong pals and I partying with our kids as they’re the next generation who will hopefully keep Tru’s Do’s going for at least another 15 years or so.

You own so many businesses, how do you juggle them all?

The answer to this one is simply: AMAZING partners, managers and staff. Without a doubt it would be impossible to do what I do without great people around me. I feel very fortunate that we’ve accumulated such great team members to keep everything on the straight and narrow. There’s far too many to mention as they’re all very dear to me in so many ways but I’d like to say how lucky I am to have Gemma Chartes and George McBlain in my life – not only are they both very good friends of mine personally, but to have the loyalty and trust of these two individuals is very comforting indeed and I’m blessed to be working with such reliable and honest people like them.