Ali rarely forgets to remind us that he founded the UK's first ever Northern Lights holiday brand but behind his self-promoting braggadocio is a genuine pride that The Aurora Zone has been responsible for helping thousands of people tick the Northern Lights off their bucket list. Ali has a problem. Ali is getting older and as his time grows shorter, the amount of places he wants to go and things he wants to do grow longer. Ali's solution to this problem is to create holidays on which he himself would like to travel because that way he can make the absolute maximum out of his travelling time.Ali's love affair with Northern Scandinavia began many, many years ago on a trip to Finnish Lapland. "The descending plane broke through the cloud and all I could see was snow-covered fells, forests and lakes, it was like arriving on a different planet and I loved it before I'd even got off the plane." He soon learned that there was far more to the "Frozen North" than just stunning snow-covered landscapes. "I was taken on an 80km snowmobile safari and it was the greatest thing I'd ever experienced. We saw reindeer; we visited a Sámi village and enjoyed salmon that had been slow cooked over an open fire as we sat in a traditional Sámi kota (teepee)." On that occasion he didn't see the Northern Lights but a text from a colleague arriving at Kirkenes Airport in Norway a few weeks later alerted him to the wonder what was to become the basis of The Aurora Zone. "Just walked out of Kirkenes Airport and the Northern Lights are absolutely covering the sky. Unbelievable!" And so a seed was sewn and a few years later that seed became the UK's only dedicated Northern Lights holiday company. It's funny where life takes you and people often suggest that Ali is a lucky man to do everything he does. Maybe there is some luck involved but as he never tires of pointing out, "It's not luck, I made this happen. I sat down with a piece of paper and wrote down what I wanted to do with my life. Travel, activities and experiences were the top three items and so I created something that would allow me to do the three things I love most. It's a great life but all too short and I believe we have to make the absolute most of our time here. I'm doing that and I hope that we are helping others do exactly the same." When he's not at work (increasingly so these days) Ali has become one of the ranks of MAMILs (Middle Aged Men in Lycra) who cycle along the UK's poorly surfaced roads in ever increasing numbers. He is so boring about cycling! Gear ratios, the weight of different sets of tyres, bottom brackets, iconic rides, he goes on and on and on. We just nod, smile and do our best to humour him. Ali's greatest love however is his family and he will always ensure that neither work nor cycling will detract from the time he spends with wife Kate, kids Daisy and Archie and their ageing and increasingly ailing dog Misty.