Member Spotlight - Abel Beck
Abel was born in southern California (Temecula, Camp Pendleton, a military base) but grew up in a small town outside of Oklahoma City (OKC). He has lived in Atlanta for almost nine years. Abel is 38 and is partnered with Austin, who is also an MBCA member! He actually "slid into his DMs" (direct messages) when he bought his Mercedes to get him to join MBCA selfishly so that he could meet him. He turned Abel down for dates a few times but then Austin could not resist. The rest is history, as they say!
Abel obtained degrees from Oklahoma State University (Bachelor) and the University of Oklahoma (Masters). Both of the degrees are based in psychology, with a focus on mental health counseling.
As far as a profession, he has had many different roles within pharmaceutical research. Abel is currently a Project Manager with CenExel’s Atlanta Center for Medical Research (ACMR) in the study start-up department. In this role, he works with pharmaceutical companies and contract research organizations to initiate new research studies and develop programs for human participants. ACMR was a privately owned research facility for 40+ years. CenExel (Centers of Excellence) acquired ACMR approximately 6 years ago, and has a network of top USA research facilities (18 sites).
His first job was at McDonald's. Abel was motivated to work when his parents surprised him with his dream car (1986 560SL). His parents told him that if he could not make the payments they would put a For Sale sign in the window. McDonald’s was the first application he submitted, and he was hired on-the-spot.
Abel enjoys spending time with his vehicles and keeping them detailed. He finds it very relaxing! He and Austin spend a lot of time in the Blue Ridge Mountains and at Lake Oconee.
When asked how he balances work/home life, he responded that he has been with his company for eight years, so he has flexibility in his work schedule. Besides that, he tries to keep work within normal working hours in order to enjoy their free time together.
He does not have a specific "favorite place” in the world. However, Abel loves the ocean. He finds the ocean to be totally relaxing and beautiful! More travel to beaches and countries is definitely planned for the future.
A 1986 560SL was the first Mercedes he saw in the 4th grade. His grandmother knew the owner. The owner let me admire the car while sitting in it. This is where I fell in love with the R107. The owner said, "About the time you're ready to drive, I will be ready to sell." She asked when I was 15, but my parents declined at that time. On my 16th birthday, my parents surprised me with that exact car. I owned that car for eight years and 277,000 miles!!!
Abel currently owns a 1988 560SL. He has owned it for 4 years and has only 77k miles on the odometer. When asked if he could own any model/year Mercedes – what would it be? He replied – “This is a tough one--the 560SL is one of my favorite Mercedes-Benz, but I already own one! If money was growing off of trees, then I would love a 300SL Gullwing!”
What makes you laugh Abel? “My partner! Austin is one of the funniest (and pretty quirky in a good way!) people that I know! Crude jokes have also been known to make me laugh!”
Abel’s top favorite foods are Vietnamese and Sichuan. Abel does a lot of reading for work, so he does not read much during free time. However, two of his favorite books are "Raving Fans" by Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles and "The Four Agreements" by Don Miguel Ruiz.
Music is just background noise to Abel. But, it is typically 90's through current pop stations and current country stations as the background music. His favorite TV show – Frasier. (With degrees in psychology, with a focus on mental health counseling, I’m not surprised by his choice of TV shows.)
Abel and Austin have 3 dogs and 3 fish. The dogs are: Portia (17 years old, Shih-Tzu and Maltese mix), Beau (12 years old, Havanese), and Bella (10 years old, Miniature Maltese). All three fish are Bettas and their names are Gianni, Georgio, and Giuseppe.
His bucket list items include seeing great white sharks (while in a cage of course!) off the southern coast of Cape Town, South Africa. In case you were wondering, Austin will watch from the boat.
Abel “would like to be remembered for making a difference in people's lives. Although pharmaceuticals get a bad rap, there is a need for people with severe illnesses to have relief and even a cure. I've been able to see the good that new pharmaceuticals have brought to people's lives when they had no other hope because nothing on the market has worked for them.”
If retirement happens, Abel would love to live in the mountains near a lake, have gardens, a few animals and spend the rest of his life with Austin relaxing and traveling the world!
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