By Lindsey Kin

Having come from an abusive childhood, Rey began robbing stores at a very early stage in his life, engaging in petty crime and serving a few ‘over-nighters’ in prison. However, this all changed one day with a knock at the door. “Two Christian missionaries told my parents that they would take their children to America and raise them – my parents were super happy to get rid of all [us] kids. I was the butt of all jokes when I arrived in America because I smelled funny, dressed differently and I arrived in a banana cargo boat.” Having constantly been beaten up by the American kids, ‘little Robert’ had to quickly learn how to defend himself, in due course sparking his interest in and love for martial arts. Rey was raised in Utah by a middle-class family that taught him the importance of education. “They pushed education and forced us to read books and give reports every Monday – quite a … crazy family. However, it is because of this that I ended up at Harvard, and when I completed my studies, I was ready to take on the world.”

Fresh out of Harvard and refusing to listen to his professor who encouraged him to start out small in a state such as Montana, Rey realised that if he was going to conquer the plastic surgery world, he needed to conquer Hollywood. “Plastic surgery is Hollywood. So I went to Beverly Hills, the home to the highest competition within this industry.” Rey adds that on his floor alone, there are 12 plastic surgeons and 100 on his street. Looking back to when he first started his career, the Doctor 90210 star had an office where he could lie down and touch all four walls. “By the grace of God, one day a beautiful and talkative girl came knocking at my door. She heard that I was able to perform the new Harvard technique of through-the-belly breast augmentation with no scars.” The lady, who was from E! Entertainment, was at the time the first face people would see as they entered the E! Entertainment building. A producer then overheard that Rey was the ‘magic hands’ behind the new breast augmentation method and from there, Plastic Surgeon Special was born. “The show was screened 55 times on E! and had enormous ratings … someone noticed the ratings and the rest is history.” Rey explained that he has gone on to become one of the busiest plastic surgeons in the world. “For about four years, it almost killed me. I was operating until 02:00.”

Following his success as a surgeon and 33 000 patients later, Rey shared an epiphany he had mid-career. “Perhaps we plastic surgeons are exploiting the insecurities of young women [in order for us] to become millionaires? I thought, there has to be an alternative to cutting girls with a sharp knife.” It was here, during my interview with the Hollywood A-lister that Rey pulled out his knife to show me the type of utensil used during breast augmentation – to say it was an extremely sharp knife that scared me is an understatement. The answer was a less radical alternative, and Body by Rey was born, “a simple guide to attaining optimum physique and a healthy, energy-filled lifestyle to counteract the aging process based on the diet of our ancestors,” explained Rey. “The book presents a plan for how to take your 'now' body and transform it in to your personal 'wow' body using simple diet and exercise techniques.” Body by Rey is one of the many products he has created for a healthier lifestyle and less painful alternative to plastic surgery. Other apparel includes vitamins, juices and even jeans and lingerie. On his decision to bring his brand to South Africa, Rey commented: “The southern hemisphere is poised to take over the world. I pick the countries with a robust economy where the people are pretty and no matter what I do, they will still be pretty. I think the southern hemisphere is poised to conquer the world – BRICS [Brazil, Russian, India, China and South Africa] is a perfect example.” He added: “We are not going to spend our efforts in parts of the world that do not have a ‘winner’ mentality.”

At the end of the day it is always important to give back to the community, and although this is something that has become synonymous with Hollywood’s celebville, Rey believes it is important to give back to society, because “some day, you will face your creator and he will ask you not what you drove, where you lived or how much money you made, but how you changed the human condition for the better.” With his clinic in Brazil, Rey is helping those children with deformities and families who cannot afford such surgeries. “It is one thing to be a success here [on earth] but it’s not mutually exclusive to be a success there [in heaven] and I have done some ‘not so nice things’ in my life – as the scripture says, charity shall cover a multitude of sins.” During his trip to Honduras and the filming of his work at the clinic, the doctor had 14 bodyguards with machine guns protecting him. “I had to continue to operate with the bullets flying by.”

It is clear that it’s not just Hollywood that has noticed Rey, but the business world, too. From successful and world renowned plastic surgeon to health and lifestyle entrepreneur, not forgetting to fund time to give back to those less fortunate than him, one has to wonder what is next for Rey? “This year, I will be running for Brazilian congress and one day hopefully for presidency,” he said.

Before concluding the interview, Rey left me with some sharp words of advice: “There is a funny thing about big dreams. If you work hard at it and stick to it, they can come true. So Lindsey, dream big, girl … all things are possible!”