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The Spirit of Travel
GQ_4/19 CO NT EN TS 4 / APRIL 2019
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P H OTO G R A P H Y B Y N I Q U I TA B E N TO
Classic meets streetwear p91
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DEPARTMENTS _8 Letter from the Editor _10 GQHQ FEATURES _64 Cassper Nyovest _70 Thando Thabethe _76 Inside the world of SoundCloud rappers _82 The greatest watch heist of all time ESSENTIALS _17 It’s all in the bag _22 Fight back against hair loss _23 The world’s swaggiest earbuds _24 Man of the Moment: Kat Sinivasan _26 TV goes interactive _28 NYC’s Aliz Hotel _30 Q&A: Mawande Mdluli _32 Women We Love: Nina Milner _34 The Drop: MVMT’s success story _38 Cape Town’s best new restaurants _42 How to be a good wingman THE EDIT _44 Winston Duke _46 Carishma Basday _104 Get healthier in just five minutes _112 The last word DRIVE _51 An Alpine journey in a Boxster _56 The Bernina Grand Prix WEALTH _58 Profile: Pepe Marais _60 The work/sleep dilemma _62 Advice: Bring your A-game ST YLE _91 Turn it up! _106 Groomed: Bottle service _110 Directory
THE COVER Photography by Niquita Bento All prices quoted in this issue are approximate and subject to change. 6 / APRIL 2019
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P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y N K U L U L E K O N G C O B O , C O U R T E S Y O F M V M T, E L I Z AV E TA P O R O D I N A
Everything you need to know this month p17
G E N T L E M E N ’ S Q U A R T E R LY
EDITOR IN CHIEF Nkosiyati Khumalo CONDÉ NAST INTERNATIONAL EDITORIAL
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REPRODUCTION Hirt and Carter PRINTING Paarl Media Cape DISTRIBUTION Allied Publishing, 32 Wepener Street, Booysens, Johannesburg PRODUCT MANAGER Madelein Simon, 011- 248-2418 © 2019 Condé Nast Independent Magazines (Pty) Ltd. Copyright subsists in all work published in this magazine. Any reproduction or adaptation, in whole or in part, without written permission of the publishers is strictly prohibited and is an act of copyright infringement which may, in certain circumstances, constitute a criminal offence. ‘The paper used for this publication is a recyclable and renewable product. It has been produced using wood sourced from sustainably managed forests and elemental or total chlorine free bleached pulp. The producing mills have third-party management systems in place, applying standards such as ISO 9001 and ISO 14001. This magazine can be recycled either through your kerbside collection or at a local recycling point. Log onto www.prasa.co.za to find your nearest sites.
ISSNs: 1562-4366
INSIDE GQ L E T T E R F R O M T H E E D I TO R
Do it yourself
Contributors D I E T E R LOS S K A R N MOTORING EDITOR
long before streaming and MP3s and iTunes and SoundCloud, a recording contract was the musician’s yellow-brick road. You slog through thousands of openmic nights, free gigs, – anything to get your name out there; you hustled and pushed and fought until all that work put you in front of the right people and boom: a record deal. TI M E,
08 / APRIL 2019
for some of the country’s bigger stages prevents many artists from ever breaking even. So when your vision is stadiumlevel huge, how do you surmount those odds? Rather than rely on an industry that would lament, by default, ‘it won’t work’, Cassper Nyovest (p64) decided to do it himself with his social-media driven series of #FillUp campaigns. And in true style, it’s worked – propelling a talented, successful artist to incredible heights, including a brand spanking new collaboration with Samsung, and a global collaboration with Ciroc and Moschino. His fellow Ciroc ambassador, Thando Thabethe (p70), left behind a career in accounting to cut a similar path through acting, radio, and entertainment – fuelled by sheer determination. ‘I will not be the one to make an excuse,’ she shares; ‘I want to work, and so I’ll make a plan.’ And it’s that same kind of determination that drives everyone in this issue, from the founders of fashion brand MVMT (p34), to chef Matt Manning (p40), to E! presenter Kat Sinivasan (p32) and author Mawande Mdluli (p30). If anything, they’re all examples of the fact that now more than ever, the power is in your hands. What are you waiting for?
K E E N A N JE P P E GRAPHIC DESIGNER A brand like GQ has many moving parts that all require attention (and often all at the same time). The core of the newsroom is our graphic designer, Keenan. When he’s not busy making these pages come to life, you’ll find him in the recording studio working on his next album (now streaming).
NKOSIYATI KHUMALO EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
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PHOTOGRAPHY BY ARTHUR DLAMINI/@DARTPHOTOGRAPHY
ONCE UPON A
Competitions like Idols made that dream an even closer reality for the average Joe: anyone could audition, anyone could be discovered, and if you won (or in a few cases, even if you didn’t), that was it. You’d already had some of the best mentors in the biz, all backed and underwritten by some of the world’s biggest labels, and once a major studio was involved, they basically took care of the rest – photography, music videos, wardrobe, distribution, marketing, concert promotion. With the right team around you, and with a strong enough brand and a distinct sound, you could focus on creating and prefecting your craft, while the industry started taking care of you. Of course that doesn’t guarantee that that yellow-brick road would remain an easy street – we’ve all seen enough ‘true Hollywood stories’ to know better. And now those rules are entirely rewritten. Album sales don’t mean nearly as much as track streams, and artists make a majority of their cash now through live performances. As a musician, it’s even more challenging in markets like ours where the average concertgoer seems to prefer spending more on international acts than local ones – coupled by the fact that there are fewer and fewer performance venues and the costs
Few people’s lifestyles incite more jealousy from the editorial team than that of our motoring editor. In his never-ending, global search for the next great road – and the best car – this month sees him piloting a Porsche Boxster GTS through the twists and turns of the Italian Alps.
PRESENT
FE AT. THAND O THABE THE , CAS S PER NYOVEST & JERE MY S COT T, CRE ATIVE DIRECTOR OF M OS CHINO
Not For Persons Under The Age Of 18.
GQ HQ
2
Sex Education
The
Hit List
This one just got renewed, so while we’re waiting for season two, take in season one of this brilliant and ridiculous story of a pubescent teenager (Asa Butterfield) who takes the family business of sex therapy and opens his own practice at school, with hilarious and catastrophic – but equally helpful – results.
What to watch on Netflix this month
3 Umbrella Academy When their adopted father dies, a group of supernaturally gifted kids reunite in their 30s to figure out exactly what happened to him, while also trying to stave off the apocalypse. Robert Sheehan (Misfits) steels the show.
1 Turn Up Charlie
10 / APRIL 2019
5 Shadow
4 Russian Doll Too good to ruin with a too-detailed overview, and with more than enough layers revealing themselves over the eight-episode arc (hence the name) this wild ride sees Natasha Lyonne star as Nadia, who has to live through the worst night of her life over and over and over again.
Pallance Dladla stars as a Jo’burg detective who becomes a ‘fixer’ for those failed by the criminal justice system. He takes on the underworld with help from his partner (Amanda du-Pont) and a special gift – he’s impervious to pain.
W O R D S B Y N K O S I YAT I K H U M A L O
Idris Elba’s first Netflix comedy sees him playing a struggling DJ and eternal bachelor, who is given a final chance at success when he reluctantly becomes a ‘manny’ to his famous best friend’s problemchild daughter, Gabby (Frankie Hervey).
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@seth_shezi In this month’s issue you’ll find my tailoring essentials to looking sharp
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@trevor_stuurman Proud to share our 3rd #GQStyle Vol.14 SS ’18/19 digital cover
S O C I A L M E D I A P O S T S H AV E B E E N E D I T E D F O R L E N G T H . P H O T O G R A P H S B Y L U K E K U I S I S A N D N I Q U I TA B E N T O
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Secure your place now at: CNILuxury.com
10-11 April 2019 • Cape Town, South Africa
THE PREMIER CONFERENCE FOR LUXURY BUSINESS AND CREATIVE LEADERS
Hosted by Suzy Menkes, Editor, Vogue International, the conference will address the topics that truly matter to the luxury and fashion industry. Find out more at CNILuxury.com Speakers include: Marco Bizzarri President & CEO, Gucci
Bruce Cleaver CEO, De Beers Group
Laurence Graff Chairman & Founder, Graff
Morin Oluwole Global Head of Luxury, Facebook & Instagram
Laduma Ngxokolo Founder, MAXHOSA BY LADUMA
Micaela le Divelec Lemmi CEO, Salvatore Ferragamo
Alessandro Bogliolo CEO, Tiffany & Co.
Thomas Heatherwick Founder & Design Director, Heatherwick Studio
Laudomia Pucci Deputy Chairman & Image Director, Emilio Pucci
Simone Cipriani Head & Founder, Ethical Fashion Initiative at the International Trade Centre
Precious Moloi-Motsepe Founder & Executive Chairperson, African Fashion International
Nicolas Bos President & CEO, Van Cleef & Arpels
Hanneli Rupert Founder, Merchants on Long; Creative Director, Okapi
Susan Akkad Senior Vice President, Local & Cultural Innovation, The Estée Lauder Companies
Roberta Annan Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Impact Fund for African Creatives
Jo-Ann Strauss Master of Ceremonies
Sylvie Bénard Environment Director, LVMH
Uche Pézard Founder & Chief Curator, Luxury Connect Africa; CEO, Luxe Corp. Group
Rosario Perez Member of the Board of Directors, Kering Foundation
Folake Coker Founder & Creative Director, Tiffany Amber
See the latest speaker list at CNILuxury.com
For more information please contact Adrian Ting: +44 (0)20 7152 3472 • adrian.ting@condenastint.com
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T HE ACT UAL M ANB AG You can rely on Prada to set the seasonal trends, and for SS19 Miuccia has decreed that it’s all about ultra-short shorts, oversized nylon deerstalkers (yup) and these neat little shoulder bags for men. Somewhere between last season’s camera bags and actual handbags, they’re as practical as they are elegant.
Secure the bag Embrace a bold new approach to your day-to-day luggage. From super-flash totes to up-close-and-personal crossbodies, now is the age to boldly carry what no man has carried before Words by Teo van den Brooke Photographs by Florian Renner
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Jacket, rollneck, shorts, and bag POR Prada
APRIL 2019 / 17
ESSENTIALS
Gentlemanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Corner
Shirt, vest jeans, belt and bag POR Dolce & Gabbana
The cross-body bag has reached its high-fashion zenith with Dolce & Gabbanaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pop art-inspired take on the trend. Go the whole hog and pair this Lichtenstein-bythe-way-of-Milano piece with an eye-catching shirt.
T HE C ONFIDEN T CRO S S - B ODY
T HE BOLDER-ISBE T TER TOTE The nascent creative director of Bottega Veneta, Daniel Lee, recently unveiled his first bag for the luxury Italian brand. An oversized take on Bottega’s traditional intrecciato woven-leather Cabat tote, it’s just the thing if the plan is chilled drinks, but you want to inject some glamour.
Shirt, trousers and bag POR Bottega Veneta
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APRIL 2019 / 19
ESSENTIALS
Gentleman’s Corner
Sweater, trousers and bag POR Gucci
There was a strong hard-wearing theme at the SS19 shows in London, Paris, and Milan. A high-function conflation of oversized ripstop windcheaters, heavy-duty hiking sandals, and outdoors-ready cargo shorts, the trend was manifested most clearly in durable high-fashion camping rucksacks – a bit like this beasty from Gucci.
T HE RU G GE D DE L U X E RU C K S AC K
20 / APRIL 2019
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CARBON COLLECTION AQUARACER EXCLUSIVELY AVAILABLE IN TAG HEUER BOUTIQUES Sandton City 011 784 7422. V&A Waterfront 021 421 8539
Grooming
How to prevent hair loss Five steps towards not going completely bald
• EVERY GUY WANTS TO KNOW HOW TO PREVENT HAIR LOSS. Even if he isn’t particularly worried about losing his hair, it’s reassuring to know that there’s some recourse if it ever gets bad up there. While there are a lot of gimmicky devices and procedures and supplements out there, there are really only a few things that actually work. We sought expertise from Dr. Michele Green, one of NYC’s most in-demand dermatologists, about what she tells her patients to do to keep and strengthen the hair they have (and regrow the hair follicles that haven’t yet dried up). Follow her plan at any age, with the help of your own board-certified dermatologist, and you should see longlasting results within a few months. 1. Seek help as soon as you notice a change Dr. Green says that, if you want to fight hair loss, you need to visit your board-certified dermatologist at the first sign of thinning or shedding. ‘Getting treatment for hair loss in its early stages can help minimise overall hair loss and increase the odds of a treatment’s efficacy,’ she says. ‘Hair loss can seem overwhelming, which is why it is necessary to consult with a dermatologist who will assess your condition and explain all of your treatment options.’ 2. Build a proactive plan that works for you There are three hair-loss prevention options that you should consider, and they all work to stimulate re-growth on dormant follicles, too (the ones that have weakened but haven’t died). Talk to your dermatologist about how you could combine them. Finasteride (commonly known as Propecia) blocks the formation of DHT (dihydrotestosterone). ‘DHT is a male androgen hormone that contributes to hair loss by making hair follicles thin and short,’ says Green. ‘Hair grows in three phases, and DHT disrupts the hair growth cycle (anagen phase). The hair goes into a longer rest period, which makes the hair stop growing.’ By blocking the absorption of DHT, finasteride helps promote hair growth. Minoxidil (known as Rogaine) is available over-the-counter. By dropping it onto your crown twice daily, you’ll increase blood flow to follicles, strengthening and thickening them. The hair grows fuller, and is less susceptible to permanent fall. It also boosts the follicle in its regrowth phase, after natural fall occurs. It’s particularly effective on the crown of the head, and promotes uniform thickness, but isn’t an effective defense against hair recession at the temples.
22 / APRIL 2019
Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) is the most unique (and deluxe) option. PRP uses the platelets in your own blood to stimulate growth. ‘The first step in getting PRP is having your blood drawn and then spun in a centrifuge,’ says Green. ‘Spinning the blood separates red blood cells from platelet-rich plasma. The plasma is drawn into syringes and injected into the scalp. Platelets contain growth factors that promote healing and begin a new growth cycle.’ For the best results, you should do this monthly for four months at the start, and then quarterly or biannually afterwards, says Green. 3. Supplement your diet There are numerous vitamins you can take that help hair grow faster and stronger; biotin is always mentioned in this vein. A diet rich in oils, protein, and nutrients to nourish your body and scalp will cover many of those same bases, but consider more specialised supplements. ‘Viviscal promotes hair growth by providing nutrients your hair needs to grow such as b complex and zinc, among other nutrients which promotes thicker, stronger and longer hair. Nutrafol is formulated with marine collagen, saw palmetto, and ashwagandha,’ she adds. ‘Marine collagen is enriched with B vitamins, which promote hair growth, saw palmetto prevents testosterone from being converted to DHT, and ashwagandha reduces inflammation.’ 4. Minimise stress Stress is one of the biggest culprits behind hair loss: ‘Stress can cause the hair to stop growing and cause excessive shedding,’ says Green. ‘It can also cause an autoimmune response where the body’s immune system attacks the hair follicles resulting in hair loss. The hormones that our bodies release when its stressed is what disrupts the hair growth cycle. As a result of this disruption, the hair goes into a longer rest period which stops growth.’ How you minimise your stress is up to you, but start by getting consistent rest, exercising frequently, eating healthy, staying hydrated, and avoiding drugs. 5. Cut the bad habits Things that you do routinely might be contributing to your hair loss. You might be self-sabotaging with your grooming routine, Dr. Green explains: Not shampooing enough, or too often. Twice a week should do it, with a shampoo for thinning hair. Rinse and condition daily. Smoking and alcohol both aggravate hair loss: they restrict the blood vessels, reducing circulation and blood flow to the follicles. - ADAM HURLY
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PHOTOGRAPH BY GETTY IMAGES
ESSENTIALS
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ESSENTIALS
R14 000 louisvuitton.com
The ultimate flex AirPods too basic for you? Virgil Abloh’s got your back
See more of our favourite luxury finds at GQ.CO.ZA
• NOW THAT THEY HAVE THE MASTER OF ALL THINGS COOL at the helm in the form of Virgil Abloh, Louis Vuitton have wasted no time in making sure they have their hand in the most lucrative, fashionable pot in tech: ultra-luxe, true-wireless earbuds. And they have the tech inside to somewhat back up their price tag. LV have worked with New York-based luxury audio company Master & Dynamic, who developed a precise system to help the Horizon Earphones deliver impeccable sound without the loss of audio quality that so frequently comes with using a pair of Bluetooth earphones. Louis Vuitton’s famous logo pattern adorns the earbuds, while they also have ‘L’ and ‘V’ monogramming as a highlight, just to make sure everyone knows what they are. Which is the most important part, no? – BRAD NASH
APRIL 2018 / 23
Kat Sinivasan As E! Entertainment’s first African presenter – and first international presenter ever – Kat can’t ever afford an off day. Here, the former musician tells us exactly how he stays ‘on’ – and what keeps him going
24 / APRIL 2019
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GQ: How did you go from music and singing into television? Kat Sinivasan: I studied classical
music in university. And that’s when I got my first job in television, which was a search for a [musical] group. While I was doing the show, we recorded an album, and did a country-wide mall tour. While we were filming that show, they were looking for presenters at YoTV, which was filming at the same studio. So I caught wind of them searching for young guys particularly, and I decided to go and audition. So technically it all started on television, although the first television job was as a recording artist. I’m a triple threat. I’ve always really just enjoyed being in front of an audience performing. GQ: What do you enjoy most about what you do now? KS: I think now it has stopped
being about instant gratification and it’s about building toward an ultimate, greater purpose. One thing I realised about dreams is that the minute you achieve a certain dream, you have to dream bigger and get a new dream. I always want to push myself to the next level – that’s what I enjoy about my career; being constantly out of my comfort zone. I think it was a realisation, when I became an E! host. Watching it from a distance, it’s easy to think, ‘If I can just get in there, then my entire life is made.’ Once I got in there, however, I realised that’s where the work actually begins. I had set myself up for a bigger task that I needed to take a lot more seriously than I ever had imagined. It’s sobering, and it hit me in the nicest of ways – and it was a realisation that I ended up falling in love with, because it’s what I live for. GQ: What do you think makes a great presenter? KS: My strongest suit as a television
host is interviewing, and I think that’s because I have a very good understanding of myself. I definitely keep on discovering myself on a daily basis, as we all do. But I get the kind of person that I am, so interacting with other people becomes easy, because I have no question of who I am, and the
conversations don’t shake me. What makes a great TV host? Being comfortable in your own skin before anything else. That will go hand-inhand with knowing your lines and understanding what your particular role is. But even as a person, with your movements, the way you speak – you have to be comfortable. You have to rehearse in the mirror, which is the most psychotic thing, but it really works. GQ: And I’m sure that working as a TV host is similar to your career as a musician, because when you’re up on stage, or in front of the camera, you’re also leading people along a journey. KS: I feel music is so much more
difficult because in television, it’s all scripted for you. The set has been created by the best set designers, the lighting’s been done in a specific way to accommodate the show, and that’s the whole idea. With music, it’s all personal. As an artist, you have to write it. That’s why I have such a fear of going back into music because it’s so personal. And if it fails, it’s all on you. GQ: What’s been one of your favourite interviews so far? KS: Definitely almost everyone
I interviewed at the People’s Choice Awards made my entire life. Speaking to Victoria Beckham was beyond me. If you asked me what I said to her or what she said to me, I absolutely don’t remember. I don’t even remember if it was a good or a bad interview [laughs]. I totally left my body at that moment. I was just lost in her aura and personality. Same with Rita Ora – I don’t remember the conversation but I remember the feeling. They’re such big personalities without even doing anything dramatic. GQ: How do you think the art of the red-carpet interview has changed over the years? Do you think that there are certain questions people are tired of hearing or answering? KS: As far as red carpets in South
Africa, there’s such a big difference between our celebrity culture in SA and that of Hollywood. For the longest time, our celebrities haven’t
Because I know myself fully, interviewing becomes easy; the conversations don’t shake me really been given an opportunity to shine in a glamorous space. We’ve always been about ubuntu and being human. Now we’re more glamorous and more elevated, and we have more of a sense of celebrity, so that makes the red carpet more interesting. Now, people are thinking about the answers. Asking someone who they’re wearing now as opposed to when I used to do red carpet for YoTV – it’s a totally different space. People would be wearing any retail outlet they could think of, and now they know that it’s important who they’re wearing – as it speaks to who you are as an artist. People dress up more now; they know their designers; they care about fashion. We’ve gotten into an elevated place with our red carpets, which emulates the Hollywood blueprint. GQ: It seems that in the TV hosting world, the women get all the glitz and glamour. How do you think the role of men has changed in the TV world? KS: I think this is a fight that I’m
fighting right now. I definitely think that not enough light is shed on the male role. We seem to still be in the space where [male hosts] support the female, and that’s our [entire] role. A lot of attention needs to be given to the guys. The amount of coverage that the girls get is a lot more. When we consider hosts, for events like the SAFTAs – I was one of the guys in the running to do it; but age plays a role, and the older guys get preference over younger guys, so that they can support a younger woman. It’s backwards to a certain extent, but it’s a fight for us to fight as male hosts, to get attention. A lot of guys who get the most attention are musicians and actors, and other people in the
Man of the Moment
entertainment industry, and male hosts don’t necessarily get enough attention. GQ: What do you think is one of the biggest misconceptions about what you do, and about the industry at large? KS: One the grandest
misconceptions of them all is that we’re rich and it’s an easy job [laughs]. It’s a difficult career, and the highs and lows are extreme. You have to keep a brave face. You have to be consistent. We don’t have much rights to our work, or leeway to negotiate contracts, but at the end of the day we still have to deliver – on a Hollywood level. It’s not easy. People think it’s so easy to just look pretty and say something cute and you know, it’s a wrap – but it’s really, really tough. GQ: We often underestimate the amount of research that you do as a host – you actually have to live and breathe everything that you’re talking about. KS: I have references for everything.
If we’re talking cookbooks I’m going to give you a pop culture reference. If we’re talking working out, I’ll give you a pop culture reference. I’m pop culture; that’s my blueprint as a host. My entire life is in pop culture, and I work on it every single day. You can’t just sit with a bunch of magazines one day and figure it out. You have to live it. You have to understand how the lives of these people work, and that they’re everevolving, because at the end of the day pop culture is about individuals. GQ: What advice would you give to someone who’s looking to follow in your footsteps? KS: It’s very important for you
to decide if it’s something you’re willing to quit everything for. Television hosting is something some people do on the side – but you’ll never be a great host that way. You have to commit, without having something to fall back on. I believe that people who have something to fall back on, always fall back. I literally devoted my life to TV hosting since I was a teenager and I’m committed to it. - NKOSIYATI KHUMALO
ESSENTIALS
Technology
Netflix and choose Every viewer is a showrunner now
• AS WE’VE TAKEN OUR SMALL-SCREEN DESTINY INTO OUR OWN HANDS –
skinny bundles, ‘over the top’ content, a device-agnostic smorgasbord of streaming – our hands have become empty, idle. Channel surfing feels futile, if not obsolete. TV is no longer a remote-controlled menu to peruse as much as it’s a Tube Goldberg machine carrying our eyes from one diversion to the next. Choice is everywhere; agency, not so much. Algorithms forever recommend what to watch. Autoplay functions cue up the next episode without waiting for your input. With nothing left to do but gaze and glaze, a viewer’s chief responsibility is to not fall asleep (lest you wake to find yourself five episodes into an unwitting binge of Hell’s Kitchen). It’s strange, then, given its role as the architect of programmatic passivity, that Netflix is handing back the reins via choose-your-own-adventure experiences it’s calling ‘interactive content.’
I L L U S T R AT I O N B Y P E T E R S T E M M L E R
If you’re interested in interactive TV, keep reading. If you’re already convinced it’s just another fad, follow the yellow line.
26 / APRIL 2019
GQ.CO.ZA
If you’re curious what Netflix has to gain, keep reading. If you’re thinking, ‘Wait a minute, we already have video games,’ follow the red line.
Starting in late 2017, Netflix piloted the idea in a handful of children’s shows, peppering installments of Puss in Boots and Buddy Thunderstruck with moments that asked viewers to pick a prompt: Should Puss kiss Dulcinea or shake her hand? Should Buddy and Darnell have a Wet Willie contest or work out and ‘get jacked’? The decisions gave you a glimmer of control, but Netflix’s latest ambitions lie more in a Sliding Doors or Clue direction: complex stories for grown-ups that reward their choices with starker consequences. Netflix’s first concerted push into interactive TV, Bandersnatch, aired at the end of 2018. A standalone episode of dystopian sci-fi satire Black Mirror (of course), it told the tale of a videogame designer who tries to adapt a choose-your-ownadventure novel that drove its author insane (oh, of course). Not a fourth wall was left standing. The result, a time-bending existential thriller with terrifying overtones, was twisty and meta enough not to feel like a gimmick. But it’s difficult to imagine another, less shrewd show pulling off such structural contortions. Not to say they won’t try. As Todd Yellin, Netflix’s Vice President of Product, told me before Bandersnatch premiered, ‘We’re starting to hear other stories. There’s a rich vein.’ Corporate coquettishness aside, more experiences are in the offing—and judging by the company’s prodigious investments in anime, romantic comedy, and other genres, plenty of them. Netflix knows the value of our choices well. We’re already being prompted to navigate narrative junctures; it’s called ‘personalisation.’ We watch shows, so we’re offered new shows. We watch those shows, then learn about still other shows. Each time we bump from one to the next, a Boolean knot unravels; an if-then dance of demographics and precedent – who you are, what you’ve watched – that seeks to keep you right where you are rather than discovering the charms of another streaming platform. Interactive TV may support more insidious ends, though. We’re already on the cusp of relinquishing our subconscious to technology: VR headsets that track our gaze and see our pupils dilate; virtual assistants that read our mood; sneakers that can tell we’re getting tired because our running stride falters. These are reactions, not choices. They don’t have an opt-out feature. And while they might not seem it, our narrative choices add up to a near-biometric signature too, a portrait visible only in aggregate. Do we seek chaos? Play it safe? How long does it take us to select an option about breakfast cereal versus one where we can urge a character to commit suicide? Netflix already famously pores over every byte of viewer behaviour data. Now the buttons we choose, the prompts we pick, the tastes they suggest could become part of that great graph that defines how the company sees us. Television in the age of psychographics.
Officially, Netflix sees the interactive option as a ‘lean in’ alternative to the ‘lean back’ nature of conventional TV. But what really changes, experientially? Choose-your-own-adventure storytelling is, at its root, curiosity dressed up as control. By the third time you’ve followed one of the paths in Bandersnatch to an arbitrary ending, the only reason to loop back to try another tributary is a completist’s sense of duty. What’s a watercooler moment when everyone at the watercooler saw only a portion of what’s possible? When the show finally ends, you feel respect for creator Charlie Brooker’s ingenuity, but you don’t come away feeling changed, as you might after a tightly written, sharply edited, well-constructed hour of television. The more malleable the story, the less cogent the experience.
We’re already on the cusp of relinquishing our subconscious to technology: VR headsets that track our gaze and see our pupils dilate; virtual assistants that read our mood Videogames, the only real analogue for interactive storytelling, have always balanced the trade-off by choosing their illusion, giving players pockets of free will in a straitjacket. You may not affect the outcome in an adventure game like God of War or Red Dead Redemption 2 – you’ll get there or you won’t – but navigating the challenges in the story offsets the determinism with a visceral sense of autonomy. (Multiplayer games like Overwatch and Fortnite do away with explicit narrative entirely, baking their lore into the background so as not to interfere with their compete-die-repeat Groundhog Day-ness.) Netflix’s choose-your-own-adventure content will find its audience—first through novelty, then because creators will tease ever more fireworks out of the form. But interactive TV starts at a disadvantage: It is arriving just as we’ve learned, in so many ways, not to interact at all. - PETER RUBIN
If this troubles you, keep reading. If you’ve been waiting for it all your life, follow the green line.
ESSENTIALS
Destination
The core of the Big Apple Built to turn your focus outward, New Yorkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best new hotel may also be its least narcisssistic
28 / APRIL 2019
Check out more killer destinations at GQ.CO.ZA
stopping by, as it promises a collection of Thomas Kellercurated restaurants, along with the highest observation deck in the western hemisphere. Of course, you don’t need to leave the hotel to get your fill of a great view. With more than 40 storeys to its name, the chances you’ll get a great view from your room are quite high. • LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION. That’s the classic tenet in real estate – and when it comes to booking accommodation in the world’s biggest and busiest cities, like New York, it’s even truer. Staying in Brooklyn looks cool on TV, sure, but if your itinerary features more stops in Manhattan than it does trying to recreate scenes from You (please don’t do this), the journey from one borough to the other isn’t worth whatever marginal savings you might nab. Where to then? Whether it’s your first time in New York, or you’re a veteran, the best places to stay are the ones near cheap public transport. This is not the city to stay cooped up in your hotel room, reading novels. If you’re in the big apple, you’ll need an easily accessed base of operations. Opened at the end of 2018, the new Aliz
Hotel Times Square is about as close to what’s perhaps the world’s most famous intersection as you could get without being positively surrounded by neon lights and way too many Elmo or SpiderMan impersonators, eager to overcharge you for a pic. Near the intersection of 40th Street and 8th Avenue, it’s on the quiet side of Port Authority, one of the city’s biggest and most central transport hubs, with buses; trains, meter taxis and e-hail cabs all accesible within.
That said, the best way to experience New York is with your own two feet. I always recommend a good walk around your neighbourhood, and a 10 minute jaunt in any direction from the Aliz will put you where you’ll want to be. Across the street is the headquarters of The New York Times. A few blocks away, you’ll find Bryant Park, once home to New York Fashion Week, and always home to a flurry of free activities year-round. The allnew Hudson Yards development is worth
The best way to experience NYC is with your own two feet – and the Aliz puts you in the middle of everywhere you’d want to be
You shouldn’t come expecting sprawling suites – again, wrong city – yet the hotel’s clever use of space makes it all the more ideal for providing an authentic enough NYC experience. The jewel in the Aliz’s crown is, fittingly, right at the top in the form of its exquisite rooftop bar. Maximising the rest of the hotel’s sleek, modern feel, the top floor is outfitted with plush booths and dramatic, Instagramfriendly floor-toceiling windows. The Aliz’s membership in the Preferred Hotels portfolio all but guarantees great food and drinks – for the best experience, skip the large bar in favour of the smaller one, and ask for a tour through the cocktail menu. We took the extra time to verify their skills and can safely say you’ll be in very good hands with the Aliz’s bartenders – and really, you don’t need much else. - NKOSIYATI KHUMALO
GQ&A
Mawande Mdluli The 23-year-old author shares his thoughts on creating the next generation of gentlemen
‘IMAGINE A WORLD FREE FROM A POORLY GROOMED POPUL ATION OF MEN. Imagine a world where the traumatic events of women and child abuse only existed in myths. Imagine a world where crime and violence became banished from our social norms. Imagine a world where all men played their role as true gentlemen in society. This is the time for the gentlemen’s revolution,’ states the back cover of ’ The Groomer: A Gentleman’s Guide, written by Mawande Mdluli, who believes that such a world is within grasp – and is doing something to make that dream a reality. Here he shares his journey.
30 / APRIL 2019
GQ: What inspired you to write The Groomer? Mawande Mdluli: The Groomer was inspired by a movement that I founded in 2016 named The Groomer South Africa. It was ignited by the realisation of the generational patterns representing our social epidemics. Gender based violence, rape culture, substance abuse, crime, suicide; these social epidemics have evolved into social norms and as a humanitarian, I made it a personal mission to discover a practical solution to these social epidemics. The Groomer South Africa is a movement engineered to build a better society through various platforms and A Gentlemen’s Guide is a book tailored by The Groomer South Africa that will function as a grooming platform. GQ: What do you think are some of the biggest challenges facing today’s young men? Are there any uniquely South African challenges? MM: The fatherless effect is one of the main challenges faced by young men in today’s society. There is a large global number of young men who suffer from the effects of having absent fathers and there are quite a number of socioeconomic, environmental and political factors that have contributed to this social crisis. A portion of these young men have fathers who are financially present but are either too busy to be present, or make no effort to spend effective time to feed their sons with positive influences. The fatherless effect tends to toxify the true definition of a man and ultimately misleads young men into making poor life choices. We cannot ignore the fact that South African history has contributed towards the cycle of producing fatherless generations. During and post-apartheid, a large number of men; in particular men of colour, were forced to relocate to the cities from rural areas to find jobs. These men left their families behind and unfortunately some never returned home, leaving their children fatherless. In South Africa, toxic masculinity has been instilled into young minds through cultural practice. Most South African traditions function under the system of patriarchy. One of the biggest challenges that young black
men face in South Africa is the fact that they are raised or influenced by the patriarchy system and since this system is starting to fail in our society, they are unable to cope with the change and so they detour into a flood of mistakes. GQ: Why do you think it’s difficult for men to have these discussions? MM: Most men have been indoctrinated into thinking that it is unmanly to have these discussions and this makes it difficult for most men to openly have conversations that resonate with their emotions. The cycle of producing generations of men who are affected by toxic masculinity is indeed one of the barriers that restrict such crucial conversations. For some men, it is not easy to openly have such conversations when they are not given the platform. One of the reasons why I felt a need to write A Gentlemen’s Guide was simply because I wanted to create a platform for men to have the necessary conversations that they should be having with themselves without fearing judgement from other men. GQ: How do you plan to share this philosophy with the youth? MM: I believe that in order for us to build a better society, we need to focus on our youth and ensure that they are equipped with the wisdom to become constructive groomers in society. We have recently partnered up with St Catherine’s High School (Germiston) where we have launched a program called Grooming Sessions. There, we discuss topics that are key and relevant in self-discovery, selfgrowth and topics that function as catalysts to unlock the greatness within every student. These Grooming Sessions are also a platform to teach young people how to become constructive groomers towards their peers and also how to overcome destructive grooming. I’m planning on expanding these Groomer sessions in the near future, but the ultimate goal is to replace Life Orientation with a syllabus that I’m building called Social Transformation Skills. This syllabus will be tailored to give young people the tools that they need to build a better society and thus bring social transformation. – NKOSIYATI KHUMALO
Read the full interview at GQ.CO.ZA
PHOTOGRAPHY BY NKULULEKO NGCOBO
ESSENTIALS
A PERFECT BALANCE OF FOUR BOTANICALS IN TANQUERAY LONDON DRY AND TANQUERAY NO. TEN A SMALL BATCH DISTILLED GIN WITH A FRESH CITRUS HEART. DEFINITIVE RECIPES. DEFINITIVE GINS.
ESSENTIALS
Woman We Love
Nina Milner We meet the Capetonian star of Showmax’s chilling new runaway hit • IF YOU ASK 31-YEAR-OLD NINA MILNER to reflect on her career to date, she’ll tell you she doesn’t have one. She’s had experiences – more than most people her age. But a career? No, that’s not what she calls it. ‘When I’m involved in an acting role or a modelling job, I get totally enveloped in what’s on the go,’ she explains, ‘but my interests are actually very diverse.’ She spends a lot of her time at Harrington Street’s New York Bagels, a business that’s been in the family for decades. She’s studying craniosacral therapy and kinesiology, and is intent on walking the academic road. But somehow, the acting and modelling world keeps finding her and pulling her in. ‘I’ve asked myself before how the many opportunities I’ve been given have come to me,’ says Milner in her disarmingly candid way. ‘Maybe it’s because I wasn’t looking for them and there’s something about that vibration that attracts people. Maybe it’s my short hair. Or maybe it’s because I’m not as polite as others and people are like, “Oh, that’s a whole different package”.’ Regardless of how it happens for her, the fact is that it does. It did when she was 18 and looking for a way to travel: she landed a modelling contract in Milan, followed by a string of other gigs, including lead roles in the local TV shows Ella Blue and Innocent Times. And it did again three years ago when she returned home after a lengthy modelling-free stint in Big Sur, California. Between then and now, she’s posed for Vogue Germany, hit the catwalk for Alexander Wang and walked for Versace, Lanvin and others at Paris Fashion Week. She also starred in Troy: Fall of a City (‘I got to do two months’ worth of horseriding lessons for that one,’ she
32 / APRIL 2018
says) and now, in early 2019, she’s on everyone’s radar as one of the leads in The Girl from St. Agnes, an original Showmax series filmed and produced in South Africa. ‘[Casting director] Moonyeenn Lee has this weird way of phoning you out of the blue,’ says Milner, recounting how she got involved with the show. ‘You’ll be parking your car on a Tuesday evening and suddenly she’s on the other end of the line, saying, “Hello, darling”.’ A self-taped audition secured her the role of Kate Ballard, a drama teacher at a distinguished all-girls boarding school who’s determined to unravel the mystery around the death of one of her students. ‘It was an extremely cathartic experience for me,’ she says of the filming period. ‘Kate’s emotional spectrum is very wide, and because I’ve never received any formal acting training I had to basically haemorrhage my own life experience to get into character. It was like breaking off parts of myself.’ When asked what it’s like to be a woman in the local entertainment industry, the actress asserts that “being” a woman is not really something she does. ‘Lately I’ve started to embrace a more masculine style of dress – it happened very naturally and I’ve never felt more like myself, but it’s definitely changed the way I’m received on set and in public. I come in plain and unassuming because it’s truer to who I am, and it seems I’ve bought myself a lot of space by doing that.’ The industry’s attitudes to feminity aside, Milner’s non-performative manner says a great deal about her: this is someone who doesn’t feel the need to assign labels to her story. She’s just doing her thing, figuring stuff out as she goes, and it seems to be working pretty well for her so far. - DAYLE KAVONIC
Read more of the freshest entertainment news online GQ.CO.ZA
P H O T O G R A P H S B Y E L I Z AV E TA P O R O D I N A
The Girl from St. Agnes is out now on Showmax
ESSENTIALS
The Drop
MVMT co-founders Jake Kassan (left) and Kramer LaPlante
Making good time How one crowdfunded watch start-up took over the internet and the industry 34 / APRIL 2019
GQ.CO.ZA
WHAT DO YOU GET WHEN YOU FLING an idea into the universe with all the vigour and optimism of youth, and then put the force of the digital world behind it? A whole lot of movement, that’s what.
Launched in 2013, Los Angelesbased watch brand MVMT (pronounced ‘movement’) has been in acceleration mode ever since the germinal concept first formed in the minds of co-founders Jake Kassan and Kramer LaPlante, then two 22-year-old college dropouts cradling a dream to disrupt the fashion market by making premium timepieces attainable at ‘radically fair prices’. Between then and now, the online venture has gone on to collect over 1.5 million loyal customers in more than 160 countries around the globe. In 2017, it generated an impressive $71 million (approximately R978 million) in revenue, and in late 2018, it reached the ultimate height of start-up success when it was acquired by major American watchmaking enterprise Movado for a cool $100 million (R1.4 billion). All the way along, the young founding partners have held tight to their belief that, as Kassan says, ‘The most important dialogue is with the consumer,’ and that, it seems, has made all the difference. By opting to crowdfund the project via the Indiegogo platform, they positioned themselves well to not just raise the capital needed to start the business but to get inside the heads of their prospective customers, too. ‘We wanted to tap into this really strong, thriving crowdfunding community because we could get an organic response from our target demographic,’ explains Kassan. ‘It gave us insight into what our millennial consumers craved.’ They had their theories, of course. As young, fashion-forward, digitally savvy sorts, they represent their own core market, after all. So they knew there was a need for clean, quality watches that didn’t break the bank. They just couldn’t have predicted how profound that need was. MVMT went on to become
the second-highest crowdfunded fashion brand in its year, raising 1465 per cent of the original goal. And just like that, Kassan and LaPlante’s direct-to-consumer e-commerce venture was given wings. Real flight, though, was fuelled by social media. The company happened to launch around the same time that social networks were taking off as tools for business, and the founders leveraged the shit out of this opportunity. It meant that they could continue the conversation they’d started with customers right where they were spending most of their time, on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram, where MVMT now has around 5 million followers collectively. By using these platforms to talk with, not at, consumers – to truly listen and engage – the team has established the brand as both an authority on style and a close friend of the budget- and design-conscious. ‘Our audience is constantly engaging with us on social media... asking us for fashion advice, enquiring about our travels and viewing us as people they can authentically connect with,’ says Kassan. >>
‘From the very beginning we’ve considered watches as more than just tools or status symbols, but as constant reminders of the invaluable nature of time’
The Drop
The fact that MVMT is a master storyteller has also worked in its favour. The lifestyle brand has, through clever multimedia campaigns, woven a narrative around itself that’s so much bigger, more aspirational, than watch straps and faces – a narrative that customers want to feature in personally. ‘From the beginning we’ve looked at watches as more than just tools or status symbols, but as constant reminders of the invaluable nature of time,’ Kassan reveals. ‘We want to inspire our audience to not just tell time, but to also make the most of it.’ Like the crocodile that swallowed a clock in Peter Pan, the brand has become a symbol for the passing of hours and
the desire to squeeze every drop out of every second, to be bold, to ‘live life on [our] own terms’, as the company’s tagline summarises. It inspires images of travel and adventure, of people leaping out of aeroplanes and snowboarding down powdery slopes. But that’s not to say MVMT has neglected to keep their focus on the core of the business: the actual merchandise. Kassan and LaPlante set out to create highquality accessories – what Kassan terms ‘attainable pieces of art’ – and that’s exactly what they’ve done and continue to do. ‘There was a lot of strategy behind how to scale, but at the end of the day, it’s the product that matters most,’ says Kassan,
our not but the
‘We want to inspire audience to just tell time, to also make most of it’
Take some time to visit mvmtwatches.com
who shares that his personal love for timepieces is rooted in the confidence they instantly give you when you put them on. ‘If we didn’t have that, MVMT would never have been a success.’ Since the first collection launched with just four models – two with leather straps and two with stainless steel bands – the start-up has continued to up its game with the release of at least 10 other ranges for men (and several for women, too). Today you could spend hours online browsing through the various case silhouettes and material alternatives, but across all the collections, the emphasis remains on sleek minimalism and modern sophistication. Favourites include the futuristic Odyssey Iso, with its hexagonal construction and luxe bronze finish, and the Chrono Gunmetal Sandstone, a contemporary take on the traditional aviation watch. MVMT also recently released its first mechanical timepiece (all others are battery powered), the Arc Automatic, representing the next chapter in craftsmanship for the brand. ‘I get really excited about the evolution of our product over time,’ admits Kassan. ‘The level of detail that goes into the design of our watches keeps reaching new heights, and it grows hand in hand with our expansion into other accessories and the expansion of our team.’ Branching out into sunglasses, protective eyewear, jewellery and collector’s cases was a risk for the company, but a carefully calculated one. In any case, risk-taking is part of MVMT’s ethos. When
asked about his ‘growth hacking’ strategies, Kassan notes, ‘When we started MVMT we had little money to grow. We had to get creative and not be afraid to make mistakes. We had to take shots in the dark, knowing we had nothing to lose and everything to gain. This has been embedded into our DNA, and it’s how we still operate today.’ The expansion worked out: in fact, items like the geometric Savage sunglasses and the Hyde Everscroll glasses, which are equipped with blue lightfiltering technology to protect eyes from digital screens, are two of the business’s bestsellers. It’s not hard to see why a heavyweight brand like Movado would have been interested in an acquisition. MVMT makes for a pretty attractive package and a buy-out gives the parent company access to both the somewhat hardto-capture millennial market and a deep reservoir of digital expertise and social media know-how. Of course, there was plenty in it for the start-up, too, and we don’t just mean that $100 million. ‘We saw so many opportunities for growth with their expertise and infrastructure,’ Kassan explains. ‘The integration allows us to more efficiently deliver the best products to our consumers.’ It must stroke the ego nicely, too – going from fledgling online venture to the object of desire of a multimilliondollar company. ‘It felt great,’ the co-founder admits. ‘It validated what we knew was so special about MVMT all along.’ Kassan and LaPlante remain at the head of the company and will continue to oversee its operations and development. Which begs the question, what can we expect to see from the brand in 2019 and beyond? More movement, no doubt. More innovation, more diversification, more engagement. Oh, and world domination is on the cards, too. ‘We’re excited to continue expanding out our products and becoming the global brand we set out to be,’ shares Kassan. ‘The vision hasn’t changed, just the speed and resources we now have.’ - DAYLE KAVONIC
See more of the accessories worth watching online at GQ.CO.ZA
PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF MVMT
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Taste
Fyn dining The décor will transport you to New York and the wine will take you all over the world – but the food will change your life. Here, Chef Peter Tempelhoff gives us a behind the scenes look at Cape Town’s hottest new restaurant
GQ: When did you first conceptualise FYN? Peter Templehoff: I suppose I’ve wanted to open this restaurant since I started cooking – 22 years ago. My original idea as a young line chef at Grande Roche Hotel in 1996 was going to be a restaurant called Assiette and the idea was that the menu would incorporate many tastes and variations of the same ingredient on one plate. It is quite amazing to see that the FYN menu has not strayed too far from this concept all these years later. GQ: What is the inspiration behind the name FYN? PT: FYN is the Afrikaans word for fine, but I like to think it as the better half of the word Fynbos. My business partner, Ashley Moss and I were at the end of a long namegeneration process which saw us go through 300+ names, without anything sticking. Suddenly Ashley just kind of blurted out, ‘What about FYN?,’ almost as a passing remark. The moment we heard it, the penny dropped and we knew it was right; complementing what we wanted to create in the space. I would also like to think that it’s gonna be a fine place to dine. I am very proud of my Afrikaans heritage and the name we have chosen.
South Africa’s culture, lore and society, as well as my jaunts around the world; especially my many journeys to Japan. Our challenge was to create a menu that can be experienced in around two hours, but that has all the flavours and excitement of a three-hour menu. We looked to Japan- and kaisekidining in particular for the answer and have designed the starter and the dessert courses to be served on small oak trays. This format allows us to offer the guest a multi-sensory experience of three or four courses at the same time, shortening the dining experience considerably. I realise that tapas has been around for some time, but this is far from that. This is selfish-eating – diners don’t need to share their food with the people they arrive with at the restaurant, even if it’s a loved one! GQ: How does the ambience and aesthetic of your restaurant tie in with FYN’s food? PT: My brief to Tristan du Plessis from Studio A was, ‘I want a restaurant with a South African and Japanese feel to it, a Saffanese concept (if you will!) which would match the style of food’. Although we’ve used many Japanese
elements in the design and style, the restaurant is still very African in flavour. Japanese and African cultures have similar elements in their design, such as ropes, beads, dark wood, stone... it’s been amazing combining the two and finding out about their similarities. GQ: Can you tell us a little bit more about what seems to be a very special building? PT: The historic Speakers’ Corner consists of two heritage buildings; the three-storey Church Square building, erected in 1898 and the five-story Parliament Street building, erected in 1928. The buildings formed Speaker’s Corner, designed by the firm of Parker & Forsyth. The buildings were linked in 1967 and renamed Creative House. The Speakers’ Corner building has been sensitively restored by Urban Lime to offer businesses a unique creative office space, layered with history reflected in its design. The interior spaces, designed by InHouse, Robert Sherwood Design and James Milborrow Projects, include features such as original timber floors, exposed brick walls, fireplaces and large windows or balconies.
GQ: How have your travels influenced your cooking and use of flavour? PT: Travel is an important source of inspiration for me; I would definitely not have the same comprehension of flavour and textures if I didn’t have the opportunities to spend time in all the foreign kitchens over the years. I suppose I could sum it up really quickly: Japan lightened my food; Spain simplified my approach; France gave me confidence and America added restraint! GQ: You are one of the most revered chefs in the country. How do you challenge yourself to continue to explore new flavour sensations for your patrons? PT: I don’t see myself as that at all. I’m really just enjoying what I do and have a great love for our industry. I fail a lot in the kitchen, but I think failure is a very important part of the creative process, having the courage to take risks while exploring new ideas promotes abstract thinking, which is great for discovery. fynrestaurant.com
W O R D S B Y N K O S I YAT I K H U M A L O
GQ: How would you describe FYN’s style of cuisine? PT: It’s very ingredient-focussed cuisine drawing inspiration from
‘Japan lightened my food, Spain simplified my approach, France gave me confidence and America added restraint – yet I’m very proud of my Afrikaans heritage’ GQ.CO.ZA
APRIL 2019 / 39
ESSENTIALS
Taste
Grub & Vine
Chef Matt Manningâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s multi-dimensional brainchild
‘We wholeheartedly encourage our diners to lick their plates’ • GRUB & VINE | THE CHEF’S STUDIO | FROGIT T & VONKEL It was only a matter of time before celebrated private chef Matt Manning would set up a permanent base. But he did keep us waiting longer than we thought he would. More than five years after the UK-born food master launched One Ingredient, his now-famous interactive pop-up dinner series, he has finally treated us to a more enduring tripart offering in the form of The Chef ’s Studio events space, Grub & Vine bistro and Frogitt & Vonkel wine bar, all of which sit under one roof on Cape Town’s Bree Street. It was the desire to find a longterm home for his experiential dining workshops that kicked off the hunt for a venue, but the concept quickly evolved beyond this when he stumbled upon the building that now houses the three spaces. ‘When I came across 103 on Bree, I knew I had found the perfect place for The Chef ’s Studio, but I also saw more
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potential in the venue,’ explains Manning. ‘There was a spot just below that I thought would be perfect for a wine bar and another adjacent to it that I figured would make for a great bistro.’ While upstairs is a continuation of what Manning has done for years, Grub & Vine downstairs is the chef ’s first restaurant. ‘The inspiration for it came from when my wife and I visited Toulouse last year and discovered this tiny holein-the-wall bistro,’ he says. ‘It was noisy and vibey, everything we ate and drank was exceptional and the service was warm but stylish. I have tried to recreate the feeling I got when eating that meal at Grub & Vine.’ He’s quick to assure us that it’s not fine dining – ‘We wholeheartedly encourage diners to lick their plates,’ he says – but he has kept the menu small and seasonal and focuses on sourcing only the best ingredients from independent local producers to conjure refined dishes like West Coast hake with steamed
mussels, peas, lentils and bacon, and roasted lamb with potatoes, smoked aubergine and asparagus. What really sets the whole offering apart, says Manning, is the synergy between the three zones. Visitors can start at the bar – Frogitt & Vonkel’s first brickand-mortar venture (they’ve been online exclusively since 2005) – and shift over to the eatery, or vice versa if that suits better. And anyone who wants to get more involved in the preparation of food can attend public events at the studio, which is kitted out with state-of-the-art cooking stations and kitchen tech, or book out the space for a private gathering. So yes, it has been a long time coming, but we’re willing to bet that most would agree, the wait for Manning’s first always-on concept was well worth it. - NKOSIYATI KHUMALO AND DAYLE KAVONIC grubandvine.co.za; thechefsstudio.co.za
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ESSENTIALS
Sex & Relationships 1. Be subtle. Much like a stagehand, the adept wingman goes unnoticed. Being a wingman is all about knowing when to walk over and talk to someone, when to stay, and when to leave. Basically, it’s about vigilantly reading (and re-reading) the room. Which bring us to the basic condition of successful wingmanship: You must be sober enough to read subtle social cues. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen drunk guys try to wingman for a friend, but I can tell you how many times I’ve seen that pan out for them: zero. 2. Talk to everyone. The most critical role of the wingman is to be the introducer. You’re the guy who is unafraid to approach a group of people and say hello. You’re the guy who reintroduces yourself just so your friend can learn someone’s name again. You’re opening metaphorical doors for your friend. Again, this should all happen quasi-organically; don’t wait in the corner, scanning the bar, deciding who to try and pester into going home with your buddy Garrett. Just talk to people. Even (and especially) if you’re not trying to fuck them.
How to be a good wingman You’re going to need to be subtler than sitcoms would have you believe • MOVIES, ESPECIALLY ONES INVOLVING SETH ROGEN, love a good wingman scene. You know the type: A wise, frequent sex-haver gives his less-lucky-in-love friend some very simple tips (‘just be yourself, man’), and then boom! our protagonist is getting laid. Unsurprisingly, movies get it wrong. The characters are too aggressive, too persistent or fundamentally misunderstand the task at hand. Most character-to-character advice either revolves around terrible pick-up lines or ways to get women alone with you in situations they don’t want to be in. A common trope of buddy comedies is the idea that the wingman is meant to ‘take one for the team’ by flirting with a less attractive woman so that his friend can get a chance with the hotter one. Real life is not like that! As a wingman, you don’t need to attempt to create chemistry by listing your friend’s allergies in case a hot woman has one in common. Instead, show her that your bud is a fun (and safe!) person to be around. While you can be deputised as a wingman anywhere, the real arena of wingmen is the bar – most other places it’s vaguely creepy to hit on women, especially if you’re in a group and she’s alone. Getting approached at a bar, even if it’s not always welcome, is somewhat expected. However, as a reminder, women are not there solely for you to pick up. They’re there because they want to have fun at a bar. If you aren’t augmenting their fun, they’re going to try to get away from you, and you, a considerate and gentlemanly wingman, should not follow them if that happens. Do these things instead.
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3. Know when to walk away. The moment you sense the people you’re chatting up are uninterested, make an excuse and walk away. Women are conditioned to be polite, but if she’s actually into your friend, she’ll be laughing at his jokes and touching his arm, rather than gripping her drink tightly and covertly signaling to her friends to come rescue her. Honestly, you don’t even need an excuse, just turn to your friend and say, ‘Hey, let’s go get a drink.’ Despite what bad sitcoms have suggested, persistence is not attractive, nor an effective way to get someone to sleep with your friend. 4. Present yourself well. Once you’re actually talking to someone that your friend is interested in, your job isn’t over, it’s just morphed. The best thing you can do as a wingman is come off like a cool guy yourself, so that your friend seems equally cool in return. Ask questions, make lots of eye contact (don’t look around the room) and don’t interrupt. You don’t need to try lead the conversation, just keep it fun, and keep everyone included. You and your buddy are having a good time and you’re inviting other people to join in; that’s all. Which, by the way, is a much more appealing proposition if your group actually looks like you’re having fun. 5. Make friends with their friends. This is the best incentive for you guys to all keep hanging out. Everyone’s getting along, everyone’s having fun, why end the night? Once again, it’s about keeping the momentum of the evening going and inviting other people to join in the fun. Your job isn’t to mash two Barbie dolls together to kiss on the mouth, your job is to bring the party... and to know when to Uber home by yourself when things start getting spicy. - SOPHIA BENOIT
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TH E O PU L EN C E OF AN EXT RA O L D CO G N AC
ESSENTIALS
The Edit
Winston Duke
• THE BLACK PANTHER CAST IS FULL OF RINGERS, but Winston Duke’s M’Baku – a challenger for the throne of Wakanda who eventually morphs into a much-needed ally for T’Challa himself – still manages to command the screen. Creating a character that’s charismatic, statuesque, and slyly funny, Duke gives a performance that instantly cemented him as an actor to watch. The instant success of M’Baku makes it all the more striking that Black Panther was actually Duke’s big-screen debut. Prior to the movie, Duke was best-known as a TV actor, with short arcs on shows like Person of Interest and Modern Family. But his scene-stealing breakout has made him one of the year’s hottest actors. This year he’ll star in Us, Jordan Peele’s highly anticipated follow-up to the best-picturenominated Get Out. So far, 2019 brings him two more upcoming projects: an action thriller called Heroine and a Netflix crime drama called Wonderland, with Mark Wahlberg. On one of his increasingly rare breaks from filming, we chat about his crazy, thrilling year.
GQ: People rarely understand the work that comes with being a breakout success. What was life like before Black Panther? Winston Duke: At that point, since graduate school [in Yale’s drama program]... probably over 300 auditions under my belt
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Sometimes they last two minutes. You just go through the scene one time, and they say, ‘Thank you, that was really great.’ ‘Uh... do you have any notes?’ ‘No, no, no, I think that was fantastic. I wouldn’t change a thing.’ And then you don’t hear back. GQ: When did Black Panther come about?
WD: I was told by my agent and representative that I was going in for an ‘untitled Marvel project.’ I had no idea what I was auditioning for. I didn’t know what I was auditioning for until... maybe the third round of auditions. It was a director’s session, with [writer-director] Ryan Coogler and
[executive producer] Nate Moore in the room. That’s when I realised it was Black Panther. GQ: And aside from your Marvel duties, you’re in Us, Jordan Peele’s big follow-up to Get Out. Can you tell me anything about it? WD: It was incredibly easy to say yes. Jordan [Peele] is a beautiful mind, and an incredible director. I think it’ll be a wonderful conversation piece for 2019. It’s definitely a Jordan Peele–brand movie. It’s a thoughtful, psychological, impactful experience. Peeleian – that’s gonna become a word in the film lexicon very soon. You’re gonna say, ‘Aw, man, this feels very Jordan Peeleian.’
GQ: Does it make it difficult that basically all of your big film roles have required this incredible level of secrecy? WD: Yeah. It’s really not changing. It’s been hard, but I think I’m used to all the cloaked questions that come when people are trying to dig. I get it on the street. I get asked so many times a day, ‘When they making the next Black Panther? Is that even happening?’ ‘I can’t say.’ ‘How much money did you make?’ ‘Okay, that’s none of your business.’ GQ: So what did you think was happening while Thanos wiped out half of the universe? Did they tell you anything? WD: ‘M’Baku is
looking around and seeing a bunch of his Jabari warriors dissolving.’ That’s all I was told. ‘You’re looking around and some of your guys are dissolving. Just react to that.’ I was like, ‘Okay... my people mean everything to me. I can react to that.’ That’s all I did in that moment. I didn’t know it was, like, half the universe. GQ: At least M’Baku was in the half that survived. WD: I knew I didn’t film a death scene, so I was happy. They didn’t make me go, like, [affects a raspy voice] ‘Uggggghhh, I’m dying!’ GQ: That sounded really good! WD: Oh God. Don’t say that! I don’t want him to die yet. – SCOT T MESLOW
‘It’s a thoughtful, impactful experience. Definitely a Jordan Peele-brand movie’ GQ.CO.ZA
P H OTO G R A P H B Y E R I K TA N N E R
Last year, he broke out in Black Panther. Now he’s in Jordan Peele’s much anticipated Get Out follow-up, Us. And he’s invented a new way to describe it
ESSENTIALS
Movies
Woman on Water • CARISHMA BASDAY’S casting in the new film Deep End was significant for her for a number of reasons. For one, as the Cape Town-based actress points out, it’s not often that an Indian woman gets to helm a production, especially not the sport-centred sort. Notably, the film also embraces a narrative that’s highly reflective of her own experience. The coming-of-age tale follows Sunitha Patel, a young Gujarati girl from Durban who challenges cultural norms and her family’s expectations by pursing her desire to surf. ‘It really spoke to my soul because it’s very much the story of my life, just in a different setting,’ says Basday, who previously starred in Material alongside Riaad Moosa and is currently also a presenter on SABC 3’s Mela. ‘I’ve always been an outside-the-box Indian girl, the black sheep of the family.’ Prior to filming, the actress had spent very little time on a surfboard, so a lot of preparation was required. ‘I live in Hout Bay, so it was kind of a baptism by fire because I had to practice in the freezing waters of Llandudno,’ she recalls, adding, ‘The filming experience was scary on so many levels, but it taught me so much about myself.’ Deep End was released in South African cinemas on 15 March, prior to which it screened at local and international film festivals and garnered an overwhelmingly positive response, in part thanks to its world-class cinematography. ‘Ultimately it’s a story that everyone can relate to,’ notes Basday. ‘Everyone has their own hopes and dreams but, at the end of the day, wants to make their family proud, too.’ - DAYLE KAVONIC
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Read our full interview with Carishma online GQ.CO.ZA
PHOTOGRAPH BY TERI ROBBERTS
Actress, model and TV presenter Carishma Basday dives into the Deep End
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» With one the most agile Porsches ever – across one of the most legendary mountain passes in the Alps – motoring ed Dieter Losskarn travelled to Italy to conquer the 82(!) hairpin turns of Passo dello Stelvio
Altitude slickness
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APRIL 2019 / 51
GEAR
• THE GPS SCREEN IMAGE IS A SIGHT TO BEHOLD. At first glance it looks like the webcam shot of a snake park. As it happens, it shows Passo dello Stelvio – or Stilfser Joch in German, which sounds arguably less spectacular. With an
elevation of 2 757m, it’s one of the highest mountain passes in the Alps, and definitely the most exciting way to cross from Switzerland into Italy. That’s especially true in this – nomen est omen – racing yellow Boxster GTS. You need power to
have fun in those endless bends and a convertible to be able to look up the mountain pass to check for oncoming traffic. The Porsche ticks both boxes. As soon as the road is clear, 260kw and 430Nm are pulling the open GTS around those perfect curves,
accompanied by an awe-inspiring soundtrack. The combination of perfect weight balance and precise steering makes this vehicle the ideal mountaineer. As I gain altitude rapidly, while the Boxster engine is babbling along in my back, I almost
don’t miss the old six-cylinder boxer anymore. Almost. On those narrow mountain roads, I really do prefer the Boxster GTS to its more powerful – and much more expensive – big brother, the 911. It’s narrower, shorter, lighter and thanks to the mid-
911 convertible, it’s worth the premium of R172 000 on top of the Boxster S. You might only have an additional 12kW, but in the mountains they’re well worth the R14 333 each. Plus, with the GTS badge, you get a slightly lower car, a black spoiler lip in front, dark bi-xenon head and rear lights, as well as GTS lettering on the sides and the back. Not to mention the appropriate end pipes, painted 20-inch wheels and Alcantara sport seats with GTS stitching. I’m lucky that during my stay I experienced what weather frogs dubbed the summer of the century in Europe.
mounted engine, more agile around bends and hairpins. The unobtrusive braking of the inner rear wheel results in almost no tyre squealing or ESP activation, despite the great deal of fun in the curves. If you see the GTS as the more affordable alternative to the GQ.CO.ZA
The GTS stayed nearly permanently open. Except in the mornings, to rid the soft top of the morning dew. But as soon as the sun steamed it off, the soft top opened in 10 seconds, at speeds of up to 50km/h. Despite my GPS, I decide to go totally non-digital by buying a proper, folded paper road map at a service station in order to search for the smallest and bend-richest pieces of tarmac around. When you happen to be in the area, make a point of taking the following mountain passes under your wheels: Julier, Flüela, Bernina, Gavia and Timmelsjoch. They’re
all spectacular, but another factor that they have in common is the difficulty of identifying them on top: visitors who’ve conquered them tend to cover the pass signs with stickers of all kind. It’s a nightmare for the road maintenance crews who are constantly scraping them off. The most adventurous of all is the 2 621m high Passo di Gavia. It’s not very well-known – quite remote actually, and closed from October to June due to heavy snow – and it’s barely as wide as the Boxster, with few chances to let oncoming traffic pass. The scenery is breathtakingly
‘As I gain altitude rapidly, I almost don’t miss the old sixcylinder boxer anymore. Almost.’
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beautiful, culminating in a huge lake on top. Gavia is a real piece of work, but very well worth it and my favourite pass of them all. What I love at the top of all those passes are the cosy restaurants, pubs and little hotels where you can have a hearty meal or a strong espresso while catching your breath and enjoying the vistas. Soon it’s my last pass of the trip. Another highlight. After staying over in a tiny place in South Tyrol, the Germanspeaking part of Italy, I start very early with my ascent of Timmelsjoch High Alpine road. At the top of the pass it’s sunny with a bonechilling minus four degrees. The heater works perfectly, so the Boxster stays open. But the below-zero temperatures are turning the descent into Austria into a bit of a challenge. With frozen dew in some of the bends and stone-hard rubbers in contact with the icy road surface, it’s a natural high with a bit of ice, ice baby. The trip ended as it began: me falling asleep in a Boxster: one turned into a bed, featured in one of the themed rooms of the V8 Hotel near Stuttgart.What better place to dream about a topless alpine mountain trip with endless bends and hairpin turns? APRIL 2019 / 53
GEAR
GQ RECOMMENDS
<
V8 HOTEL STUT TGART
PORSCHE MUSEUM
TOP MOUNTAIN MUSEUM
Even if you have only homeopathic amounts of petrol running through your veins, stay in one of the motor-themed rooms at the V8 Hotel in Stuttgart. Aptly, I slept in a Porsche Boxster before my trip. Guests get special ticket prices to the Mercedes-Benz and Porsche Museums, and can rent a classic car at reception.
The shrine to Porsche – and to its enthusiasts worldwide – is celebrating its 10th birthday this year. If you’re a lover of all things Porsche, you’ll want to, at the very least, make the pilgrimage to Zuffenhausen to visit this architectural masterpiece and lust over its priceless exhibits.
Close to the spectacular Timmelsjoch Hochalpenstrasse, connecting Italy and Austria, you’ll find Europe’s highest motor museum. At 2 175m above sea level, it’s home to more than 230 bikes and cars are showcased on an impressively expansive 3000m2 in a spectacular building.
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GEAR G R E AT DRIVE
The fourth Bernina Gran Turismo offered an exciting finale to the summer classic car season in Europe. Dieter Losskarn took in all of the race action
Natural high
• IT’S JUST YOU, YOUR CLASSIC CAR AND 5.7KM OF ALMOST RACETRACKQUALITY tarmac between La Rösa and Ospizio Bernina. Well, you, the stopwatch, more than 50 exhilarating curves and wild nature that only the Alps can provide. While Swiss police are regarded as the most serious and unforgiving in Europe towards fast and loud vehicles, for those two days on Bernina mountain pass it’s all different. The uniforms are only there to make sure the race is safe for participants and spectators. There are six runs on the closed (normally public) road on Saturday and Sunday, two of which are test runs. A total of four are timed competition runs. For those who don’t want to race, you can take part in the regularity
event, where all your driven times should be as close together as possible. The reinvented classic car ‘hill’ climb is inspired by another motoring highlight: the Bernina Grand Prix, which was first held in 1929 and 1930. Today, those good old days are coming back as the newly established St. Moritz Automobile Week. Indicators of which were already visible during last year’s Bernina Gran Turismo. The pilot project, Autofilmtage St. Moritz, was very well received and attracted spectators to come to the theatre of the Kempinski Grand Hotel des Bains, where car film classics such as Le Mans and Rush were screened. The scrutineering on Friday already attracted a lot of spectators. The race itself, on Saturday and Sunday, offered the chance to watch some spectacular cars,
‘Organisers would love to welcome South African classic car enthusiasts to this perfectly organised event, which is regarded as one of the best in the world’ such as the pristine Porsche 912 and the 1931 Martin Special Ford. Both from California. The latter not only had the look, but the performance as well. It raced on the salt flats of Bonneville just as well as on
the twisty Bernina mountain pass. Other participating racing cars ranged from pre-war Bugattis and Rileys to Ford Falcons, Shelby Mustangs and a couple of wild Italian Lancia Stratos rockets.
Due to its family-oriented atmosphere, Bernina will never become an overcrowded event. There’s a max of 80 starters with the focus on great, unusual cars and interesting drivers. So spectators
are able to admire familiar classics that take part in the most prestigious motoring events in the world, from Mille Miglia to Pikes Peak. A total of about 70 vehicles, from many different countries, took part in the hill climb in 2018. And for 2019 the organisers would love to welcome some South African classic car enthusiasts to this perfectly (like Swiss clockwork) organised motoring event, which is regarded as one of the best in the world. One idea would be to ship your classic car from SA to Europe during the rainy season and participate in a couple of vintage car events. Or you c an just buy a historic car there and have an appropriate first run in it. Personally, I think Bernina Gran Turismo isn’t only about the fantastic racing: it’s a combination of wild nature, breathtaking landscapes and the wonderful food on offer. This year, I don’t want to be a mere spectator, I want to be alone with those 5.7km of mountain road for about three and a half exhilarating minutes.
A STAY AT THE STAZIONE DELLA POSTA
GQ Recommends
Watch last year’s event on GQ.CO.ZA
At the foot of the La Rösa is the Stazione della Posta, right where the building has stood since it served as the 17th Century post office that its name recalls. Today, the hotel provides the ideal setting in which to spend the night before taking your trip around the twists and turns of the Bernina – and to soak away any exhilarationinduced muscle aches the evening after.
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W E A LT H CREATE A MORE BANKABLE YOU
Chasing Purpose Invaluable insight from Joe Public United’s co-founder and chief creative officer
Entrepreneurship came before adolescence for Pepe Marais. So it’s no big surprise that several decades on, he’s one of South Africa’s advertising greats. Not only was his brand and communications group, Joe Public United, named the top agency in Africa and the Middle East at the 2018 Loeries, but Marais himself was dubbed the 2018 Sanlam Entrepreneur of the Year, together with his business partner Gareth Leck. In between all of this, he also managed to publish the book Growing Greatness: A Journey Towards Personal and Business Mastery, which was launched in August of last year. We tapped into his wisdom to learn more about the purpose of business, as he sees it; the key to sustaining a professional ‘marriage’; and South Africa’s entrepreneurial prospects.
GQ: Could you tell us how your entrepreneurial journey began? Pepe Marais: Growing up in the home of a single mother who was a teacher, I had to start generating my own income at a young age. I started at 12 as a newspaper delivery boy. At 14, I expanded my income by working at a local corner café. After school I joined the army and turned those two years into an opportunity to earn enough money to pay for my studies and buy my first car. All of this laid the foundation for the work ethic I display today.
PHOTOGRAPHS BY JONO WOOD
GQ: 2018 was a big year for you, with both you and the agency winning prestigious titles. How important is it to you to receive recognition like this? PM: A mentor of mine once said, ‘Money is like oxygen. Without the latter, you’ll die, but you don’t wake up every morning thinking you must breathe.’ Awards and recognition are like money: critical for the profile and growth of our business, but not why we exist. But do these accolades stroke my ego? Of course, just a little bit. GQ: The idea that business is about more than money is a dominant theme in your book, Growing Greatness. In your opinion, what is the purpose of business if not to generate profits? PM: I experienced an incredible turning point in 2007. At that stage, after a decade of working 16-hour days, seven days a week, not only was our business falling apart but also many aspects of my personal life, too. I hit a brick wall at such speed that it compelled me to embark on a journey of deep introspection. I found greater purpose and through this experience started to question the bigger reason for being in business. The general conditioning of the world maintains that businesses exist to make money, but my book seeks to introduce another way of being in order to put the focus on the bottom line back where it belongs: at the bottom of a long list of priorities. The number one priority of our organisation is the growth of our people. Because the
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more we grow our people to be the best versions of themselves, the more they will grow our products and services, the more we can assist in the growth trajectories of our clients and the more value we’ll add to economy growth through the creation of jobs and greater tax contribution. Ultimately, this all results in a spectacular bottom line. It is a fundamental change in approach that’s altered our own trajectory as a business from an average of 10 per cent year-on-year growth over the first decade to an average of more than 40 per cent year-on-year growth over the last decade. GQ: You’ve also previously expressed the belief that South Africa is fertile ground for entrepreneurship. Why is this the case? PM: There is an assumption that successful entrepreneurs come from successful entrepreneurial families. This is often true for secondgeneration entrepreneurs, but not for first-generation entrepreneurs – there is just too much evidence to the contrary. A deep desire to be more is an incredible motivation for starting your own business. Sure, we all had spectacular ideas on which we founded our companies, but for me, the drive that kept that idea alive in the beginning was, at an unconscious level, the fear of ending up on the street like my father. Only when we take full responsibility for life, with all its challenges, will we be able to unlock our true potential. GQ: In your mind, what’s the biggest obstacle entrepreneurs come up against? And how should they overcome it? PM: The oxygen of business: cash flow. Banks are risk-averse, and in our instance it took many years to secure an overdraft for our business, by which point we didn’t actually need it anymore. My strongest recommendation would be to wait a long time before you spend any of your hard-earned money on luxuries. If the purpose of your business is to make money so you can afford all the luxuries you desire, you may not be on a sustainable journey. If you have a greater purpose for your business,
Awards are critical for the growth of our business, but they’re not why we exist you’ll find it easier to re-invest in this before you buy a depreciating asset like an expensive car. GQ: You and Gareth Leck have been in business together for over 20 years. What’s the key to sustaining a successful founding partnership? PM: To me, a great business partnership is like a great marriage. It grows stronger and stronger over time if you choose to work through all the challenges that life throws at you together. Honesty, openness and a willingness to accept feedback and learn from it are also key. Gareth and I are different in our approaches, and over the years we have learned that we complement, rather than oppose each other. GQ: How do you handle the pressure that inevitably comes with running a business? PM: A few years ago, I heard an interview with a veteran marine on 702 Talk Radio. In it he explained the importance of making your bed in the army. According to him, it signifies the first victory of the day, setting you up for a day of winning. Going to gym has become my version of making my bed. It is my first victory of the day, Mondays to Saturdays, and the perfect way to cope with the pressure that comes with running an agency. GQ: Growing Greatness deals with the topic of personal mastery, too. How have you invested in your own personal growth? PM: A young child will ask 126 questions a day on average, while an adult only asks around seven. So the variable between the growth trajectory of an adult and that of a child comes down to 119 questions per day. This little insight drives me to question everything. I ask questions on an ongoing basis, often to the frustration of those around
me. If you double your investment into your own growth, you can increase your earning potential tenfold. To this end, I’ve invested over the last decade in business coaching, emotional intelligence workshops, consciousness and transformational seminars, and processes like Nancy Kline’s Time to Think and Brandon Bays’s The Journey. Right now I’m reading Mark Manson’s The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, Steven Scott’s book on King Solomon and Dan Millman’s Way of the Peaceful Warrior. Personal growth remains an ongoing journey because the more I grow, the more I find that I have further to go. GQ: What would you still like to achieve in your lifetime? PM: We’re only at the beginning of what we hope to achieve as a business. While we may be ranked at the top of our game locally, we will only be seen as the number one agency if we sustain this position for the next three years. Thereafter, it’s our ambition to make our product the best in the world and to expand our offering into Africa. Beyond that, I would love our organisation to spread the notion of purpose for business into the private sector. My greatest dream is to make a significant impact on education in our country. The fact that 22 000 out of the 27 000 schools in South Africa are dysfunctional keeps me up at night and has inspired me to embark on a journey towards finding a solution. I also started studying again this year, so you could say it’s just the beginning for me, too. -DAYLE KAVONIC
Growing Greatness by Pepe Marais (Tracey McDonald Publishers), R280 at Takealot
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W E A LT H BUSINESS CL ASS
The Work/Sleep dilemma Whether you’re launching a startup or toiling for a tech titan, work never stops. But pulling all-nighers at the expense of a good night’s sleep can be damaging for your health – and workplace success
APPLE CEO TIM COOK ONCE SAID HE SE TS THE AL ARM CLOCK TO START HIS DAY AT 3:45AM. Twitter
I L L U S T R AT I O N B Y R A N DY M O R A
founder Jack Dorsey bragged about being ultra-efficient despite only getting four hours’ sleep a night. Tesla founder Elon Musk claims he gets no more than six hours shut-eye – and even moved his bed into the Tesla factory to better oversee production of his latest vehicles. ‘Car biz is hell,’ he tweeted. Former Google executive Marissa Mayer once said that it’s possible to work 130 hours a week – ‘if you’re strategic about when you sleep, when you shower, and how often you go to the bathroom.’
Late nights, early mornings and long hours – work never stops. To thrive, you have to work harder than the competition. ‘The picture of the hard-working entrepreneur that works all night, all day and sleeps very little is sometimes a sign of status or success,” says David Brudö, co-founder and CEO of Remente, a life-coaching app. What impact does burning the midnight oil have? Plenty, according to experts. ‘You’re at 12 per cent higher risk of any cause of death if you’re a short-sleeping adult, at 15 per cent higher risk of having a stroke, and 48 per cent higher risk of coronary heart disease,’ explains Michelle Miller of Warwick University’s Sleep, Health and Society research programme. ‘A lack of sleep has a massive effect on health outcomes.’ This is in large part due to the lack of time for the body to recover when rest is pared back. ‘When we sleep we’re refreshing the mind and the body,’ says Jason Ellis of Northumbria University’s Centre for Sleep Research.
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There’s no hard and fast rule about how much sleep the average person needs per night – although there is a minimum threshold below which you’re endangering your health. ‘If you’re sleeping less than four hours,’ Ellis says, ‘we know that that’s associated with significant lapses in attention, judgement, memory and problem-solving. It’s also best to sleep at night (sorry, shift workers) to follow the body’s natural rhythms; Miller points to research with police officers that shows when officers are put on night shifts, their lack of sleep leads to more complaints against them being taken to court. Aside from the serious threats to longterm health caused by a lack of sleep, there are smaller day-to-day impacts, too. That’s the case for Denys Zhadanov, vice president of marketing at Readdle, a productivity-app developer with offices in San Francisco and Odessa, Ukraine. Zhadanov splits his time between both offices and tries to bridge the ten-hour time difference to be constantly available. ‘I usually tend to stay up late while in Ukraine – say until two to three am – and wake up around five am when in San Francisco,’ he explains. ‘Having a routine is the best way for a healthy life,” he adds – but he doesn’t have it. ‘It’s hard to maintain since I travel a lot.’ That has an impact on his work, particularly in the run-up to a new product launch, when he can be working 20 hours a day and sleeping for just four. ‘I feel less productive when I’m sleepdeprived,’ he says. Brudö’s experience is similar. ‘If I haven’t had the right amount of sleep I become more irritated and find it more difficult to focus,’ he explains. ‘I see a correlation between my sleep and how I interpret and react to the
Lack of sleep is associated with significant lapses in judgement
world around me.’ Despite this, he finds it’s easy to fall into the same, tired old ways. ‘An entrepreneur can easily get into that situation because you have a lot of things to do – probably more than you have time for,’ he says. Even if there don’t seem to be enough hours in the day, it’s essential for entrepreneurs and employees to get a good night’s shut-eye. ‘It seems logical, says Ellis. ‘If I need more time to meet that deadline, I’ll catch up on sleep later. But the other side of that is you’re going to be less productive and more irritable.” The social impact of a poor work-life balance can also affect relationships outside the office. So why do people spend all day and all night working? Like many startup founders, Zhadanov can’t see a way of getting around longer days and shorter nights. ‘Maybe some other founders and companies can do it,’ he says, ‘but with software it’s always hard to estimate deadlines.’ Disrupted work patterns bleeding into disrupted sleeping patterns don’t just have an impact on productivity – a lack of sleep can have a real-world impact on your life, too. Research has shown that a lack of sleep can have the same effect on the reaction times of drivers as drinking alcohol. ‘I was driving the other day and I almost turned on a red light,’ Zhadanov admits. ‘I saw it just in time.’ Delineating your work week and a weekend can help, says Miller – but only partly. ‘Some of the health benefits seem to improve, but most studies seem to suggest that you can’t catch up all you’ve lost during the week,” she explains. Thankfully, even Silicon Valley stars are beginning to wake up to the power of sleep: Amazon’s Jeff Bezos is a strong proponent of getting the average eight hours; Mark Zuckerberg says he regularly lies in until 8am. And while they’re slumbering, their companies are still raking in money. So instead of thinking that the startup lifestyle requires you to pull all-nighters, recognise instead there are only 24 hours in the day – and you need to sleep for a good number of them to be most successful. - CHRIS STOKEL-WALKER
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W E A LT H ADVICE
1
Capture everything
Identify all of your ‘in-baskets’ – your email, your physical inbox, your voice mails. Also jot down whatever’s on your mind: put each thing on separate slips of paper and toss these into your in-tray. Ready to process your stuff? Work through your in-baskets from top to bottom. For each item, ask, ‘Is this actionable?’ If it isn’t, either discard it or transfer it to a ‘someday’ list. However, if it is actionable…
Bring your a game How to conquer your to-do list
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2
Work out the ‘next action’ to complete each task
Can the next action be completed in two minutes or less? Do it now. If not, write it on a ‘next actions’ list or – if it’s date-specific – put it in your calendar. lf a next action is a delegation, note it on a ‘waiting on’ list. Any task requiring two or more next actions should also be recorded on a separate list that you’ll label ‘projects’.
3
Assign contexts
You will likely have amassed a huge number of ‘next actions’, so organise these into smaller lists depending on their ‘context’ – this is the situation within which you’ll be best placed to complete the action. For instance, ‘commute’ might be one, ‘home’ or ‘computer’ might be another. Running some errands? Go to your ‘errands’ list and start working through it.
4
Find time to reflect
Once a week, carve out time to review your lists. Ensure you have removed everything that has been completed. Now go through your ‘projects’ and make sure each has at least one ‘next action’. If you encounter a thing that you don’t want to do, either get rid of it entirely or shift it to your ‘someday’ list. Also consider whether anything from the ‘someday’ list should be added to ‘projects’.
5
Get a ‘tickler’ system
This is a way of organising documents so that you encounter them when they are required. It comprises 43 physical files – one for each day of the month, plus 12 for each month of the year. So, you need to renew your visa on 15 May? Put the application form in the May folder. On the evening of 30 April, take out the May foIder, and organise its contents into the relevant days. The visa form will go in file 15.
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P H OTO G R A P H Y B Y R AW P I X E L / U N S P L A S H . C O M
‘Getting Things Done’ is the cult productivity system used by Will Smith, Robert Downey Jr and Joss Whedon. Here, the man behind it, David Allen, explains its key principles to help you squeeze more out of every day.
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Coming off of arguably his biggest year, Cassper Nyovest is a force. Whether heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s making history by filling up unfillable stadiums, or signing multimillion rand deals, everything he touches seems to turn to gold. We found out how he did it Nkosiyati Khumalo
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‘I GET TO TRAVEL THE WORLD, BUT NOTHING BEATS SEEING AND BEING ABLE TO CONNECT WITH MY FELLOW AFRICANS THROUGH MUSIC’ GQ.CO.ZA
onfession: I have always felt somewhat uncomfortable writing, hearing, using the word local. It’s a strange one for me – no other country I can think of finds it necessary to self-classify their athletes, artists, entertainers, musicians, or separate ourselves into these local versus international tiers, with the implication that one is inferior to the other (spoiler alert: it’s not). Who knows what causes us to draw those lines – when the world itself has for years looked to us for inspiration – but for some reason, we do. We do it in the media industry, and it determines what programming we see on television, or who fronts our magazine covers, or what music is included in our advertising. We do it in the fashion industry. We do it in the music industry, and it delineates what we listen to on the radio, who gets priority at our stadiums, or who headlines our festivals. And when it comes to those spaces, that bordered-in thinking has for a very long time prevailed. People won’t buy tickets to see local artists. People don’t go out to see local films. People won’t spend money on local labels. That’s just a small sampling of the beliefs that have often become dictates, shared wildly through the offices of industry gatekeepers for years. When choosing what to watch, what concerts to attend, what albums to download, I wonder, how many times have we even had the same thoughts run through our own heads? Thankfully, we’ve entered an era of questioning everything with a resounding Why not? Why wouldn’t our designers get the recognition of the world’s biggest names in fashion? Why wouldn’t our athletes dominate on any field they choose to inhabit? Why can’t our own stars create new and innovative pathways towards sharing their art with the world? Why wouldn’t they be able to sell out a stadium show – on their own, without any ‘international’ acts attached? A true global citizen and the de-facto poster boy for this new borderless way of life is, of course, the man born Refiloe Phoolo. He calls himself the biggest rapper to ever come out of SA, and after his most red-letter year yet, anyone attempting to counter that has little to no leg to stand on. He’s the face, the sound, the walking
embodiment of a modern South African sensibility that effortlessly moves between traditional and urban, from townships to the high street, from Gusheshe to Bentley. He has pionneered a movement that has been almost systematically knocking down every one of those industry beliefs and challenging us to change our thinking, one filled-up stadium at a time. Some of his partnerships keep him quite busy, too. In 2018, CÎROC luxury vodka partnered with Italian fashion house Moschino, for playful campaign that celebrates a bold new take on modern luxury with a limited edition bottle and acustomised event series. It’s backed by global superstars, including SA’s CÎROC ambassadors, Nyovest and Thando Thabethe, who both starred in the global campaign shoot, launched the campaign at Milan Fashion Week in September – and then joined Jeremy Scott at some of the global hotspot events throughout the year. I caught up with Cassper to find out exactly what inspired his why-not thinking – and get a sneak peek into what’s next. GQ: What an incredible few years you’ve had, capped off recently by a top-notch 2018. Let’s start by digging into the #FillUp campaigns. What inspired you to launch this, and what were the unique challenges around each campaign? Cassper Nyovest: I launched #FillUp as a way of showcasing that South Africans are capable of filling up their own stadiums. It’s not something that’s only reserved for international performers. I also wanted to use the platforms to gather my supporters in one place to give them a world class production, all in the name of celebrating South African music. The #FillUp journey has been anything but easy. Finances and overall sponsorships have been the biggest challenges I have faced thus far. Getting sponsors to commit and stick to their word has been a challenge that has left us indebted to the tune of millions. #FillUp awareness has grown immensely over the years, prompting people to start using the name to promote their own gigs. I’ve been working hard to trademark the name and that
hasn’t been a walk in the park. GQ: Have you found that South Africans are more willing to spend on international acts than support our own local greats? Why do you think this is? CN: Personally, South Africa has shown me nothing but love; they support my music and events. I never perform at events that are empty. I fill up stadiums. I have received resounding support from South Africans. It’s not just me; I’ve seen a number of okes getting a lot of support, too. Black Coffee just threw a dope show in December and South Africans came out in numbers to support. Shimza’s event is always packed to capacity; the same applies to Maftown Heights to mention a few. These are all events that are centered around celebrating South African music, and our people show up for the music man. GQ: How has the #FillUp property grown since then? Has it developed a much more personal meaning as you’ve seen it resonate with more and more people? CN: This property has grown from strength to strength, from me being the only performer to collaborating with amazing artists to build my dream. The platform has also given me the opportunity to work with some industry veterans, giving #FillUp even more diversity and reach. People are loving #FillUp because the message I’m putting across resonates with so many of our people. GQ: You’ve also aimed to get corporate and government sponsorships on board, with varying results. What are some of the biggest challenges here? CN: It has been difficult to get the sponsors to commit. We’ve gone with good faith, instead of us getting the sponsors to sign contracts so that they don’t drop us at the last minute and we don’t have anything to fall back on. There is a lot of opportunity for growth, job creation, youth upliftment. We work with different people and we provide opportunities for them. The fight continues. We will not fall down. We will knock on those doors and kick them open if we need to. GQ: You’ve also brought on other artists to join you on
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stage at the #FillUp shows, which is an interesting move considering how much of hip-hop is imbued with competition. What do collaborations like that mean to you? CN: I try to not just work with hiphop artists at my #FillUp events; I try to mix up the genres so that the whole of SA can be represented and people can see the diversity that we have in the SA music industry. » I’ve also tried to tap into the younger and newer hip-hop acts as a means of giving them a platform to grow. There’s no time for beef. GQ: When it comes to the actual performances, you’ve pushed boundaries. Is it difficult getting people – crews, other artists – on board with that mission? CN: Not at all. #FillUp is a concept that sells and lends itself to people. The older and more established artists respect the hustle and are always eager to support. The newer, fresher artists are always happy to jump on board, to grab the opportunity, to grow. The exposure that comes with #FillUp is unmatched and the overall experience is exhilarating. Even my enemies want in. GQ: You’ve also managed a great level of success outside of South Africa. What’s different for you about audiences in other African countries? CN: The audience in other parts of Africa appreciate my authenticity. They always surprise me with their level of support. They might not understand my vernacular lyrics, but they understand my music and they support me. It’s always love when I’m representing SA across the continent. The energy throughout Africa is amazing. People love the music I create; they love and acknowledge the Cassper Nyovest brand. They also enjoy and support my hustle. One always assumes that South Africans probably only support you because you’re one of them, you speak their language, etc. Being exposed to audiences from other countries makes one think that maybe it’s beyond familiarity. People genuinely enjoy and appreciate the music, period. GQ: On the business of being a recording artist, especially in an African
context, what particular challenges exist now? CN: Payola is killing us, man. Some of these artists and their labels are outchea [sic] paying for radio listings. Certain songs are on high rotation, but it’s not always based on merit. Piracy is still a huge obstacle, but I think going digital has really helped curb this issue over the years. The social issues that come with being an African are also a challenge. We can’t run away from our heritage and historic circumstances, and most of us are still trying to undo a lot of the burdens that the system came with. GQ: Globally, artists are dropping singles and albums in new ways. What do you think is the future of this, particularly in an African context? CN: Being innovative is what keeps you relevant. We need to explore new ways of keeping our target audience interested and also think of ways to tap into a new target audience using innovation and creativity. Music is an art form and it requires creative thinking. I’m not one to shy away from a challenge or exploring new ways of doing things. My new album, Sweet and Short, saw me take the kwaito route, as it’s something I knew my supporters would appreciate. GQ: What was the journey of creating that album like for you? CN: The journey was profound; it took me back to where it all began for me. I got to tap into veterans and people I look up to. I had to get out of my comfort zone and adapt to a genre that has contributed greatly to the artist I am today. I gave it my all because I wanted to give kwaito the honour it deserves for molding me into who I am. GQ: Do you feel freer to experiment with your sound and draw on all these influences now? CN: Absolutely! I had to give myself enough time to grow as a Motswako artist and gain the respect that comes with honing your craft. Dabbling into other genres before I had established myself as a Motswako artist would have been confusing to my supporters. Once I felt that we were all in a zone of comfort, I was able to be a lot more explorative with my sound.
GQ: Tell us about your collaboration with CÎROC. CN: I’ve always been a fan of CÎROC, and have always looked up to Diddy as an artist and businessman, and most importantly the work he was doing with the brand. I’ve always been myself and expressed what I enjoyed on my [social media] pages and the same thing happened with CÎROC. I used to share my moments with the brand on my social media until the brand noticed. They eventually got in touch with my team for smaller collaborations, which led to this massive deal I now have with the brand. GQ: You’ve also taken part in a global CÎROC x Moschino collaboration. What was it like to work with the Moschino creative director, Jeremy Scott? CN: Being able to front one of his iconic campaigns was wild to me. He is such an incredible talent. The whole experience surpassed all my wildest dreams. Sitting front row at Jeremy’s Moschino show was life-changing. GQ: Apart from fame and all of the outside markers of success, what’s one thing you want people to know about you? CN: My family is what means the world to me. I put my best foot forward to make sure they get a better experience out of life. GQ: How do you find ways to remain grounded? CN: Having such a close bond with my family helps a lot. They have been authentic and in support of the dream before the glitz and glam. I love that they have been consistent with me in all the different stages. I can never switch up or act fresh with them. GQ: What do you want your legacy to be? CN: It can be done. Your circumstances should not determine your ending. Going boldly after your dreams will not always be a smooth ride, but with determination and tenacity, it can be done. Mufasa is doing it big in 2019! We’re sparing no one. I’ve recently just announced my new plans with Samsung, including signing with Def Jam Africa through Universal Music Group. I’m taking my partnership with the CÎROC fam to newer heights. All I’m saying – watch this space.
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THE WOMAN WHO CAN’T BE STOPPED
She’s one of the busiest women in entertainment, and as recent collaborations with CÎROC x Moschino illustrate, her star is permanently on the rise. No part of that trajectory, however, has happened by accident. Here, Thando Thabethe gives us a view into the mindset of a woman at the top of her game
T
hando Thabethe: Trailblazer. That’s the first word that comes to mind to describe someone who’ has carved her own path through a very noisy and crowded industry – and did it in such a way that one wouldn’t be laughed at for thinking she has some kind of supernatural future-vision. Lots of us want to be called trailblazers, but it takes a degree of superhuman focus to see past expectations, setbacks, rejections, and instead see them as opportunities to keep going. And it’s a perfect way to describe Thabethe’s story. She left a promising career path in accounting to pursue her true love of entertainment, amassing a series of sequentially higher and higher acting credits while continuously honing her skills on radio – leading her to starring roles on Generations: The Legacy and My Perfect Family, and eventually landing her the coveted drive time radio slot at 5FM. Following her trajectory, you get a sense of strategy, of resilience, of the undeniable power that results from a combination of hard work, determination and tons of talent – evidenced through the launch of her fashion brand, Thabooty’s, her SAFTA-winning TLC show, Thando Bares All. Some of her partnerships keep
her quite busy, too. In 2018, CÎROC luxury vodka partnered with Italian fashion house Moschino, for playful campaign that celebrates a bold new take on modern luxury with a limited edition bottle and acustomised event series. It’s backed by global superstars, including SA’s CÎROC ambassadors, Thabethe and Cassper Nyovest, who both starred in the global campaign shoot, launched the campaign at Milan Fashion Week in September – and then joined Jeremy Scott at some of the global hotspot events throughout the year. Here, ‘Thabooty’ shares what keeps her going – and what helps her maintain her authenticity. GQ: When did you first realize that acting and the world of entertainment was your true passion? Thando Thabethe: From a very young age, I’ve always known that I was born to entertain. I was always the flamboyant one in the family, always ready to perform around my family and friends. This was were I was bound to end up without a doubt. The entertainment business was always my passion, even while I was doing accounting at UJ, I guess I knew at the back of my mind that it wasn’t it for me. I was one of those
people who studied as a back up plan in case this entertainment thing doesn’t workout. GQ: You’ve made some interesting moves in your career, particularly in radio – moves which someone else in your position may not have made, in order to stay comfortable. How has being uncomfortable worked for you? TT: Stepping out of your comfort zone enables one to grow. I guess I’m always avoiding the comfort zone, the moment I feel comfortable doing something I know it’s time for the next chapter. Being too comfortable kind of gets to me and pushes me to go for more. GQ: Do you think it’s more important, now than ever, to differentiate your skills – and to do a bit of everything? TT: Yes, and no! I think it’s important for people to diversify as much as their capabilities and talents enable. The South African entertainment industry is forever evolving, and it favours those that are multitalented and can tap into an array of skills. I’ve been fortunate
enough to work in an industry that allows me to dabble in all that I’m passionate about, whether it’s acting, DJing, radio and entrepreneurship. GQ: What do you enjoy most about what you do? TT: Most of the work I do, be it radio or acting or DJing, allows me to put a smile on people’s faces, to give them a moment to escape from their reality. I think, in a way, I also get to inspire people in different ways to go for their dreams and to live their best lives; that really keeps me going. GQ: In a SA context, how have you found the » industry treats women, both internally and as far as representation? Do you think there are enough accurate representations of women? TT: I think we can start off by acknowledging how a woman is gracing the cover of a ‘male’ publication in celebration of her accolades. I also work in a very male-dominated industry, but getting in and shooting to the top wasn’t easy as a woman. So yes, the industry is finally adjusting itself to including women in positions of influence, but we still have a really long way to go. The industry still has a lot of imbalances where the gender pay gap is concerned. GQ: Internally, and in terms of roles or positions offered, do you ever encounter a degree of double standards when it comes to how the industry treats men vs women – or what the industry expects? TT: Yes, the industry is very harsh on women, we still have to work twice as hard as men to earn half of what they take home. I’ve also observed that society also holds women to higher standards and expectations. GQ: The influencer scene – and to a large part, even the acting and entertainment worlds – are very crowded. Through all of the noise,
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how do you manage to stay authentically you – and present that consistently across your various platforms? What do you think sets you apart? TT: Staying in my own lane and doing things at my own pace is what keeps me as authentic as I can be. My individuality comes from my hard work and knowing who I am and what the end goal is. I also believe that it’s important to not try be like anyone else, that’s usually the best way to remain authentic, and to stand out. This attitude is the same when it comes to who I choose to work with. GQ: You’ve also not been one to shy away from societal issues, notably with the launch of campaigns such as Make It Stop. We’ve of course seen the world, and particularly the entertainment world, finally being exposed for abuses of power. What do you think needs to be done on an individual level to create further change? TT: This is a subject that’s very dear to my heart and I can only speak for myself and hope that through my actions, the next person can draw some inspiration to either save themselves by walking away or by simply doing as much as possible to bring further awareness to the work that is being done on the ground by many organisations and, of course, myself. What I’d love to see more of is some form of consistency, we need to keep advocating for our rights on a daily basis or as often as possible. GQ: Tell us more about some of your other projects, such as Playing It Forward. TT: Playing it Forward is a continuation of Make It Stop and how a few industry players come together to utilise their voices to stand up against women abuse. I use my love for netball to communicate this strong message by bringing these influential individuals together for an annual fundraising tournament.
GQ: Now, let’s dig into your collaboration with CÎROC. How did that partnership come about? TT: The brand actually approached me to collaborate with them about two years ago. CÎROC is a brand that I’ve always admired, it was such an honour to receive such recognition from a reputable global brand. It is equally an honour to represent South Africa and Africa alongside respected artists such as Cassper Nyovest and Wizkid. GQ: The partnership’s led you to take part in a global Moschino collaboration, What was it like to work with Jeremy Scott? TT: The journey for me began with being afforded the opportunity to travel to LA to shoot the official campaign. My job as an actress has exposed me to being directed by the crème de la crème of SA film, that experience enabled me to work with an internationally-acclaimed female director, which was an incredible experience. Working with Jeremy Scott was such a thrill, I got the opportunity to experience his magic and his spectacular level of creativity – he is truly a wonder of an artist and expresses himself to the core with his designs. He was also such a breeze and a pleasure to work with. It was a dream come true to work with and not only be featured in a campaign alongside an international powerhouse like Jeremy, but being invited to be a part of his showcase in Milan was just something else. I can’t quite articulate it. This partnership has been a mindblowing experience and I am truly grateful to my CÎROC family for the incredible journey. GQ: How does fashion and style play a part in what you do? And how does this change and evolve as you get older? TT: Fashion plays a huge part in what I do. Being aware of this fact has helped me to be a lot more in charge of how I present myself to the public. This awareness has also assisted me to recognise some entrepreneurial opportunities
within the space, leading to my entry in the field, through the launch of my own underwear and swimwear label, Thabooty’s. GQ: What are some of your favourite highlights in your career and life so far? TT: Shuuuu, I truly feel like I’ve been so blessed, most of my career has been one highlight after another. Hosting a ‘drive time’ show on a national radio station, getting my dream acting roles, being the female brand ambassador for CÎROC, which is very rare within the spirits category. Having my own talk show and hosting awards shows have also been some of my favourite highlights, and I plan on having even more highlights in the years to come. GQ: What do you think is one of the biggest misconceptions about you? And about the industry? TT: That it was easy getting where I am today. It wasn’t easy getting any of the opportunities I have. A lot of blood, sweat and tears went into getting into the industry and most certainly where I am today. Most people look at the end product and assume that one has had a privileged and easy ride, and that couldn’t be further from the truth, till this day I have to put in 100% to achieve things. GQ: What do you want your legacy to be? What would you tell someone looking to follow in your footsteps? TT: Investing and honing your craft – people have a misconception that it is easy to be where we are. You need to be the most hardworking person in the room of people who want the same position as you. That is what will make you stand out. GQ: What’s next for 2019? TT: I’ll be continuing with my prime-time slot on radio, I’ll be releasing a new range from the Thabooty’s brand. I’m playing a lead role in a local movie called Love Lives Here. And lining up some projects on the small screen.
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T H E T R E N DY D I Y T E E N H I P- H O P G E N R E K N OW N A S S O U N D C LO U D R A P W E N T F RO M A G O O F Y P U N C H L I N E TO T H E P R E P O ST E R O U S LY LU C R AT I V E E N G I N E D R I V I N G A W H O L E N E W G O L D E N AG E I N T H E M U S I C B I Z . B U T, WOW, I S I T M ES SY. Wo rds by C arrie Bat t an
The hardest – working man in America . . . I S T H E D J AT A M I D S I Z E C O N C E R T venue called District N9NE. It's a Saturday night, and it has been an agonising three hours since the doors opened. This poor DJ is trying his hardest to distract hundreds of fans – none of whom appear to be over the age of 22 – from the glaring absence of Juice WRLD, the year's newly minted rap star. They've come to see their digital hero in the flesh, but excitement has curdled into restlessness, and after restlessness comes agitation. So many Juuls have died that some fans have resorted to lighting up real cigarettes inside the venue. For a moment, the DJ is able to pacify the crowd by playing 'GUMMO', the viral New York street-rap anthem from Tekashi 6ix9ine, but the crowd's fury prevails. 'Juice WRLD will be here in five minutes,' the DJ announces in a tone that's not exactly convincing. 'He apologises for the delay.' Some kids begin chucking water bottles at his booth, which puts him over the edge. He's gone from commanding hype man to irritable babysitter in moments. 'Stop fucking throwing shit!' he yells. One kid lets out a bloodcurdling scream: 'Where the FUUUUUCK is Juice WRLD?!' He's in a backward Vineyard Vines hat, standing next to a buddy who is sporting a Thrasher T-shirt and a cartoonishly large chain. Bare midriffs are everywhere. This may be the DJ's personal hellscape, but it's a record label's or an advertiser's greatest fantasy: a millennial-meetsGen Z slush pile. In an earlier era, these kids might have been wearing puka-shell necklaces and vibing out in a field to Dave Matthews Band, but in 2018, they were rocking knockoff Supreme gear and listening to RapCaviar for artists like Juice WRLD – a 20-year-old from the Chicago suburbs who stormed the charts last year with his melodic, angsty hybrid of rap and emo.
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Juice WRLD finally emerges onstage, bare-chested under an oversize leather vest. During the second song, the sound cuts out and Juice performs the first part of his set a cappella. By most standards this is a disaster, but Juice is able to turn it into a winning moment. He knows that these kids have every single word of his catalogue memorised, and they will do this performance on his behalf. I'm in my black Benz / Doing cocaine with my black friends / We'll be high as hell before the night ends, the crowd sings, triumphant. A year ago, not too many people knew who Juice WRLD was, but today nobody in the music business can have a conversation without bringing up his name. He's proof that the SoundCloud rap movement – the wave of chaotic, DIY Internet stars who've overtaken the mainstream in unprecedented fashion over the past two years – is mutating faster than anyone can really process. He arrived in early 2018, a lightly sanitised and seemingly fully formed version of his predecessors – a post-Post Malone, if you will. In a matter of months, he went from being just another kid posting songs on SoundCloud to a major-label obsession. A F T E R A H E AT E D P E R I O D O F L A B E L C O U R T S H I P, he secured a widely reported $3 million (R41 293 500) deal with Interscope, a bet that was handsomely rewarded when his single 'Lucid Dreams' peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song interpolates Sting's 'Shape of my Heart,' and Sting has joked that royalties will 'put my grandkids through college.' Juice racked up well over a billion streams on Spotify last year. He and his team are flush with cash, touring deals, the adoration of fans and peers alike. And he's newly bestowed with the greatest luxury of all: the comfort of
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For Lil Pump and contemporaries, success is to be wallowed in rather than glorified
being able to make anyone – be it a label executive or an eager fan – wait for him. Insiders like to describe the music business as 'feast or famine,' and currently it is on the delirious first course of a long-awaited feast. It can be difficult to remember what the hunger pangs felt like, but it was not so long ago that prospects for the industry, and hip-hop in particular, seemed dire. During the precarious post-recession transition from physical-record buying to streaming, hip-hop records accounted for less than 10 per cent of the market. Trapped between a collapsing old infrastructure and the new prosperous surge of revenue, recording artists found it difficult to secure a lucrative deal. Budgets were slashed, label departments were shuttered, and the glory days of private jets and expensed meals at five-star restaurants became a fading memory. Flash forward to 2016, a year that kick-started a massive culture-wide shift in consumer appetites and industry trends. Only a year later, streaming would finally overtake physical distribution, which enabled a wily crop of young stars with huge online fan bases to storm the dilapidated castle. Bolstered by ravenous fans, artists with preposterous images and lyrics about recreational prescription-drug habits were uploading brash, genre-blurring songs that would become runaway hits. XXXTentacion's 'Look at Me!' – a blunt, lo-fi rap-metal anthem that sounds like it was recorded on a cellphone from inside someone's backpack – went from a cult favourite to a bona fide club smash. Celestin remembers the first time he heard it: 'I go on SoundCloud and I hear this record, and I'm like, This record's not mixed. It's not mixed!
What is this?' Rappers like Atlanta street savant 21 Savage and Philadelphia emo-rap curiosity Lil Uzi Vert managed to sign important deals with major labels, and revenues from merchandise, sponsorships, and live shows ballooned. By 2017, rappers like Lil Pump – an 18-year-old Miami native with a frowny-face tattoo between his eyebrows and the vocabulary of a drunk preschooler – were no longer risky. They were one of the quickest routes to prosperity. Last year, Pump signed his second major deal, for a widely reported $8 million (R110 246 800) for a single album. Lil Pump is signed to a management team called Tha Lights Global, a group that blurs the line between 'influencing' and music, seeding songs through social-media stars. These days, the team strategically avoids following and liking anything it's interested in on social media. 'If I post [someone], the labels gon' flock,' says Dooney Battle, Tha Lights Global's co-founder. Tha Lights Global picked up Pump when he had about 10 000 subscribers on YouTube, and today he's one of the biggest, most irreverent acts on the planet. Run a Google search on Pump and you'll find a trove of headlines that feel like outtakes from Justin Bieber's epic 2014 run of mischief: 'Lil Pump Just Got Arrested Live on Instagram After Swearing at Police.' (A representative for Lil Pump specified that he was
detained at an airport.) 'Now Lil Pump Is Out Here Pissing on British Banknotes.' 'Lil Pump Sends Marijuana Balloon Into the Sky So God Can Smoke.' The team confesses that managing the unruly Pump comes with its challenges. 'He just said to me, I wanna go and run and jump in the lake! I said to him, You do that, you gonna get sick like the last time,' Battle says. 'It's almost like he's our kid, or we're his big brother.' But it's well worth it. 'You know how hard it was two years ago for any artist in the world to hit the Billboard?' Battle asks. 'Now you got 6ix9ine saying, I'm [gonna go] nine for nine.… Look at the subscriber count on Spotify. It's growing bigger and bigger. It's not like CDs – once you build your subscriber base, there's no stopping it.' Even if you haven't listened to these kids, you've almost certainly seen memes depicting them in your Instagram feeds, poking fun at their signature ad-libs ('Aye!') and candycoloured hair. As they overtook rap, and rap overtook the industry writ large, these guffawing, sometimes Xanax-loving teens suddenly seemed less like a passing threat to mainstream norms and... well, more like the mainstream. Todd Moscowitz, the former CEO of Warner Bros. Records and one of the people who shepherded Gucci Mane into superstardom, says, 'You're watching the Spotify and the Apple Charts and you're like, Oh wow. Everything is hip-hop.' IN 2016, MOSCOWITZ LAUNCHED A L A B E L called Alamo Records in the hopes of giving a platform to undersung, left-of-centre artists. Run more like a start-up than a corporate entity, Alamo is staffed by employees who are almost all under 30; plucked from places like Kanye's Yeezy fashion line and the mischievous digital platform and clothing store Vfiles rather than exclusively from traditional record labels. The office is furnished with a giant television and gaming consoles, where artists are welcome to play Fortnite. The label's head of A&R, Zeke Hirschberg, is only 25, a fact that is a secret weapon for an organisation courting fickle young people in the first flushes of fame. 'People are watching those numbers go up and up and up. The prices are going up and up and up,' Moscowitz says. 'The labels are more flush with cash. And record labels that were not focusing on urban music, all of a sudden are now,' Celestin explains. 'Every artist that has a little bit of a buzz, they want to sign.' With such rising tides,
'Rappers like 21 Savage and Lil Uzi Vert managed to sign important deals, and revenues ballooned'
and the wellspring of easily searchable metrics generated by the streaming machine, A&R'ing has become more like forecasting or day-trading. 'Everybody thinks it's Moneyball,' Moscowitz says. A phenomenon can be real only once it has been given a buzzword, and it becomes really real when widespread use of that buzzword begins to piss off the people most closely connected to it. The term 'SoundCloud rap' is one of these things – a description so ubiquitous that it has come to feel like ad-agency shorthand, like 'hipster' or 'millennial.' Artists and labels are sick of this term, and for good reason. For one, it's no longer an accurate descriptor, given that most of the artists we're discussing hardly have the opportunity to actually use the DIY streaming platform before they're snatched up by one of the aforementioned A&Rs. But for the sake of this story, they're absurdists with inventive names who might be more likely to worship Kurt Cobain and Marilyn Manson than Jay-Z or Biggie. Unlike with conventional street-oriented rap, many of them prefer to take drugs rather than sell them; they tend to wallow ostentatiously in their success instead of glorifying it. Lots of them are obsessed with using FaceTime. Many will insist they cannot be boxed in, but many also have some unmistakable commonalities: They like face tattoos and short dyed dreadlocks and braids. Adam Grandmaison ticks only a couple of these boxes – the face tattoos and the thirst for mischief – but he has become, nonetheless, one of the SoundCloud scene's most revered figureheads. It used to be that labels would find artists, and then the labels would be responsible for shaping the artists' images and bringing them to the world via radio stations and formal album rollouts. Now the artists themselves have the reins, and they are likely to find an audience through their own social media platforms, or through an unconventional kingmaker like Grandmaison. Grandmaison, a white 35-yearold former full-time BMX blogger, runs a tiny merch and bike shop called ONSOMESHIT on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles. This shop has become an unlikely nerve centre for this moment, thanks to Grandmaison's dogged documentation of the movement on his podcast, No Jumper. For three years, Grandmaison has been conducting long, unwieldy interviews with SoundCloud rappers during their earliest moments of notoriety. Being invited to sit with him on-camera will guarantee that you will, at the very least, catch the attention of many of his 2.4 million YouTube channel subscribers and plenty of labels. He succeeds by canvassing the entire underground and getting in early with as many rappers as possible. When these artists blow up – which may be mere months or weeks after he interviews them – they often have a sense of loyalty and gratitude toward Grandmaison: someone who gave them
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an early shot. He's still in touch with stars like Lil Pump, Trippie Redd, and Juice WRLD, even after they've graduated from his league. He says he used to spend many hours on FaceTime with XXXTentacion. WHEN I VISIT THE NO J U M P E R S T U D I O , I know that I'm in the right place from a block away. The rain has not deterred a line of excitable kids forming outside Grandmaison's store. Tonight he's trying something new: He's made an open call to his followers to show up and earn the chance to appear on his live stream. Later, the rapper Skinnyfromthe9 will be at a party for his new album, and the adrenaline is flowing. The kids flooding the store are dancing, vaping, shrieking, and Snapchatting while trying their hardest to catch a glimpse of Grandmaison, who is sequestered behind the door of his studio. In this mythic back room, boxes of No Jumper merch are piled by the walls, and on top of one rests a blue-framed photo of XXXTentacion, the 20-year-old singer and rapper whose hit single 'SAD!' reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts the week following his untimely death in June of last year. Fans and industry insiders refer to him simply as 'X.' In the morning, Grandmaison likes to wake up and 'just go crazy on social media' before coming to the shop and spending the afternoon conducting interviews. By evening, he's typically posted dozens of pieces of content and on some days is ready to live stream – an endeavour that might sound ridiculous but has significant impact on the No Jumper business, because fledgling young rappers will send him between $75 and $200 (R1 035 – 'donations' to play their songs. His plans for this evening's live stream? 'We have a girl who's supposed to show up who's famous on Instagram for having a really long tongue.' He'd recently met a promising young kid from Staten Island and expressed interest in signing him to the Atlantic venture. He floated the idea of uploading one of the rapper's videos to his own channels, he said, but the label advised him to hold off, given the excess of competition. 'They were like, "We don't want every other label to realise that we're interested,"' he remembers. There was a live stream that Grandmaison recalls in particular: 'At the end of it, I looked at what the total was [from donations], and it was like 20 grand (R277 000). I was like, Wow, that's fucked up. This feels really weird that this is working out this way.' Grandmaison pops his head out the door of the studio and is greeted by a swarm of kids in camouflage pants and Supreme. 'Adam! Adam!' they squeal, asking for pictures. Young kids giddily pose with Grandmaison, and within 30 seconds I get a notification that someone has AirDropped the photo to the entire room.
'I'm a bit overwhelmed,' Grandmaison says, hustling toward the door to his studio, 'by all this attention.' Much as Grandmaison courts attention, incessantly broadcasting himself, he has also come to be wary of it. In his early days, he could interview artists with abandon and not worry about how the turns of the conversations could impact his business. When he interviewed X in 2016, during No Jumper's infancy, X regaled him with the tale of bludgeoning his 'faggot' cellmate while in jail. Grandmaison chortled nervously and furrowed his brow. Today that interview – one of the only in-depth public discussions with X before his passing – has about 10 million views. Grandmaison is beginning to feel an increasing sense of responsibility for these interviews, and he's begun to appear in a smaller portion of No Jumper's core content as the business grows, gradually outsourcing some of the interviews to employees. He feels a new sense of heat, particularly because he's been wrapped up in some of the same troubling patterns as some of the artists he covers: Last year, he made headlines when he was accused in the press of rape and sexual harassment, claims he vigorously denies. I asked him how, or if, these allegations have impacted his work. 'I think they've certainly impacted my business in ways I'm not aware of... offers that don't come my way,' he said. 'But I've been pretty amazed by how the rap community has continued to embrace me.' 'Everything is about storytelling. And if you're able to offer a compelling counternarrative,' he said in November, 'then that's kind of what it's all about.' Grandmaison's deal with
Juice WRLD's genre-defying success reveals a rapidly mutating industry
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Atlantic ended in early December. 'It wasn't really based around any of the accusations,' he said in a video after the news broke. But, he added, 'I won't deny that it made Atlantic kind of uncomfortable.' Atlantic did not respond to requests for comment. On a Saturday afternoon in Los Angeles, a few weeks after the Juice WRLD show, a group of music-industry glitterati has gathered at the Sunset Tower Hotel for Variety's second annual Hitmakers brunch, an event held to honour the songwriters and producers behind the biggest hits of the year. Industry executives, managers, producers, and artists are rubbing elbows with one another – among them Offset of Migos; Drake's right-hand man, Noah '40' Shebib; Kris Jenner's boyfriend, Corey Gamble; and UK pop export Dua Lipa. The crowd is schmoozy and intimate, sipping complimentary gin cocktails and mimosas. The spirit of the room is friendly and jubilant. One glaring absence in the crowd is Adam Levine, the Maroon 5 frontman who appears on the cover of Variety's Hitmakers issue. Another slightly less conspicuous absence is the late XXXTentacion. The differences between him and the preening, palatable Levine offer a
Bernard poses for photos with Offset and his mother, beaming. Bernard now lives in a gated community, where she can hide from the fans still looking to get closer to him, even after his death. 'Generation X,' she calls them. Every emerging rap star has a constellation of adults surrounding him – managers, A&Rs, family members, and hangers-on, tasked with attempting to shape and manage their unruliest impulses. All of them are getting a percentage, and it is in their best interest to maximise the size of the pie. In the early days of X's career, when he was still behind bars, he'd spend his days taking phone calls and visits from these adults. One was Sobande, a hungry music manager who sensed that X's career was about to skyrocket. 'At first he was very apprehensive. I would beat him down, call him every day,' Sobande says. 'I remember other people were trying to manage him, and I was like, Yo, bro, I'll take half. Ten per cent. I just want to be involved.' Once X relented, Sobande recruited Celestin to negotiate the label deals, which were challenging given the size of the potential and the deeply troubling allegations in the media. Many labels told Sobande they weren't comfortable signing
Bernard asks. The rest of the crew laugh and then launch into an analysis of her son's popularity on radio. 'They blur out "suicide" on "SAD!" on pop radio,' Cunningham says. 'I didn't even know that was a curse word.' 'What I realised, there's like two songs where he's cussing on this new album,' Cunningham says. (In fact, four are marked as 'explicit.') 'The new album is clean. I didn't realise it.' 'And that's why it shouldn't be a problem getting a lot of radio play, right?' Bernard asks. 'There's a lot of factors,' Cunningham says. 'He's already getting a good amount, I think a tremendous amount, especially from where we were before,' Sobande explains. 'I think this will definitely get a lot of radio play.' 'I heard ["SAD!"] like 10 times yesterday,' Bernard says. 'Every time I'm in the car here, I hear him.' 'I gotta start listening to the radio,' Cunningham says, laughing. Now is finally the time for a brief digression on face tattoos, a subject of great amusement for the general public, even those who have never heard a Lil Pump song. Face tattoos are to SoundCloud rappers what flannels were to the grunge movement, or what Swarovski crystals
'Every emerging artist has a constellation of adults surrounding him – tasked with attempting to shape and manage his unruliest impulses' snapshot of just how drastically the definition of 'music royalty' has shifted over the past decade. Born Jahseh Onfroy, XXXTentacion rode a career marked by unprecedented popularity and fan loyalty as well as a near constant torrent of scandal. As Onfroy blew up, in 2016, thanks to a song called 'Look at Me!', he was behind bars on charges of aggravated battery against a pregnant woman. His live shows were often marred – and bolstered – by chaos that sometimes edged into violent territory. After he died, a gruesome confessional tape was released, on which he discussed having committed brutal acts that would disqualify most people from a job at a supermarket. But for Onfroy and his handlers, the train had left the station at record-breaking speed, and nothing – not the brutal allegations, label-hopping, or even death – could stop it. Here to represent XXXTentacion are his manager, a baby-faced 29-year-old New Yorker named Solomon Sobande; an even babier-faced 24-year-old producer named John Cunningham; and Onfroy's mother, Cleopatra Bernard. Donning a jumpsuit and a perfectly smooth coif, Bernard looks younger than her 38 years. Some who'd see her with Onfroy while he was alive would often mistake her for his girlfriend.
someone with such a dark cloud following him around. 'But I know those people are choking on their words now,' Sobande says. 'I know they didn't mean those things – they were just trying to be self-righteous about some shit they didn't understand.' Sobande and Celestin continued to sign massive deals with multiple labels. Even after Spotify temporarily removed X's music from its playlists, citing a new 'hateful conduct' policy, there were labels willing to scoop him up. For X's third album, Sobande turned to Empire's Ghazi Shami, who released his debut album and furnished him this time with a reported $10 million (R138 066 500) one-album deal. Kendrick Lamar's team also rushed to X's defense, allegedly threatening to pull his music from Spotify if it did not roll back the policy. WHEN THE VARIE T Y E VENT W R A P S , Sobande, Cunningham, and Bernard huddle outside by the valet station on Sunset Boulevard. Bernard is the executor of X's estate, and everyone around her is deferential. They pile into Sobande's rented Mercedes in search of a late lunch. Soul music wafts from the radio. 'What is this, and why are we listening to it?'
were to disco. XXXTentacion had the words 'Bad Vibes' tattooed on his eyelids. For the late emo-rap phenom Lil Peep, it was 'Crybaby' in giant cursive above his right eye. Post Malone has a slightly less literal face tattoo – an exquisitely sketched piece of barbed wire just below his hairline – along with the words 'Always Tired' inked under his eyes. Lil Xan has the words 'ZZZ,' 'Lover,' 'Candy,' and 'Soldier.' You may know what Tekashi 6ix9ine has inked on his mug, many times over. Face tattoos are funny, but they are heavy freak flags to fly: They telegraph to the world that someone has willingly disqualified himself from the prospect of a conventional career forever. 'To them, but also even to me, somehow it makes me take them a little bit more seriously,' Grandmaison says. 'It's like, Oh, I guess you're really in this, huh?' Five years ago, a young kid from New York named Daniel Hernandez had zero face tattoos. A woman named Debra Weinstein snapped a photo of him on the street because she was amused by his outfit – a sweatsuit that read 'Pussy' on the front and 'Eater' with the number 69 on the back. After he'd become Tekashi 6ix9ine and a global, charting superstar with
PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES
multiple face tattoos, he'd scaled that passerby's fascination into a worldwide obsession. As his star rose, he became trapped within a vortex of escalating incidents and controversies. What had initially seemed like SoundCloud rap hijinks – taunting his foes on social media and boasting about his gangster affiliations – became real. One night, about a month later, I met the rapper Trippie Redd – one of 6ix9ine's long-standing nemeses – backstage at Madison Square Garden. He was opening for Travis Scott and sick with strep throat after spending the previous night at the strip club. Trippie started getting face tattoos in 2015, just before his star began to rise, and now has several, including the words 'Love Scars' and the number 14 between his eyebrows. Grasping for something to say to an ailing, insolent 19-year-old who just wanted to get the hell out of there, I asked him about his tattoos and made the obvious joke that he would never be able to get an office job. Suddenly he grew serious, and he sprang upright. 'I don't need to have an office job,' he said. 'I'll buy the damn office.' One SoundCloud rapper who does not yet have a face tattoo is Matt Ox. This is because he's 14 years old and must legally heed the wishes of his 29-year-old mother, Laurel, who has advised him to wait until he's 18. But she will let Matthew, as she calls him, express himself how he pleases. He started rapping seriously two years ago, at the age of 12, and caught the attention of a few local Philly blogs and producers. They'd send cash to his mom's PayPal for features. 'They were like, Yo, Matt, why is it a lady's picture on your PayPal? He's like, That's my mom,' Laurel says. Laurel is pouring most of her energy into her son's career, along with a carousel of producers, management, and a stylist who's here with Matt. Technically, Laurel says, he's not a stylist – just a 'friend who helps him with shopping and stuff.' If you want a sense of just how fast this world is moving, consider that 14-year-old Matt Ox is already on the second go-round of his career, and his management team is already trying to learn from its mistakes. He broke out in 2017 with 'Overwhelming,' a candied-out little song with a video that prominently featured fidget spinners. His DMs lit up. 21 Savage messaged him, he tells me. So did Metro Boomin and Meek Mill. Eventually he inked a lucrative deal with Warner Bros., but a month later, then-CEO Cameron Strang resigned. One of his managers worked to dissolve the deal so that they could sign a new one with Motown Records, which released Matt's first record late last year. Now he has the same publicist who worked with Nirvana at Sub Pop during the grunge heyday. The following month, he would be one of the featured performers at the XXXTentacion album-release party in Miami. As with many of
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14-year-old Matt Ox; the late, notorious XXXTentacion; Face tattoos like Trippie Redd's have become trademarks of the genre
the closest alliances formed in this era, the two had never met in person but consistently connected over FaceTime. 'We wanted to establish him early as a real artist, and not just the fidget-spinner kid,' Finesse says. 'You used to put fidget spinners in my videos!' Matt argues. 'I keep myself away from a lot of that.' A universal truth is that every boom has its bust. But when I float the possibility that this cash machine will eventually stop running, I'm met with uniform protest: We're in the midst of such a momentous, prosperous wave that it's almost impossible to envision the end. After all, hip-hop is not behaving like disco or EDM did. It's not an isolated phenomenon the way other genres in the past have been. It's digesting every other genre and subculture and spitting it out in a new, blustering format. In some ways, it's simply become too big to fail. But even if the tides of taste do not bring the demise of this moment, and even if Internetfriendly hip-hop is nimble enough to stay ahead of the pace, the hazards are real. There is all this money being thrown around, all of this speculative cash being poured into the pockets of teenagers who don't always grasp what's going on. The industry is churning so quickly that casualties are already piling up, both metaphorically and literally. At lunch in Los Angeles, X's team reflects on the shifts that have occurred within the business since the rapper's passing. They were able to secure his placement on a Lil Wayne song in a Spider-Man movie, though they say he will be listed as the less recognisable Jahseh Onfroy, not XXXTentacion, in the film's credits. 'There are the people where it's very, very clear that the only reason they're talking to us now is...,' Cunningham, the hit-making producer for XXXTentacion says, trailing off. 'I mean, his death did make the music that much bigger. There are people who see that and want to capitalise on it.' X's manager, Sobande, spent as much time with him as anyone, trailing him on his over-the-top tours, a period that Sobande describes as 'some of the most exciting and frightening times' of his life. In many instances, he felt like he was in over his head. They'd get death threats on social media before shows. 'He was like, "You scared, bro? Then don't come,"' Sobande remembers. 'I would spend most of the time at shows begging the fire marshal not to cancel it.' This team describes the day of X's death as the worst of their lives, but they also feel an obligation in their mission to carry his music forward. 'What can we do to make him the biggest? What's good for his legacy?' Sobande asks. 'At the end of the day, we're keeping the lights on.'
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On a quiet Monday around noon, two men dressed in black stepped onto an ascending escalator in the underground parking lot of an open-air mall in Century City in Los Angeles. By the time they reached the top, they'd pulled on ski masks and they were sprinting. 'They're coming, they're coming!' yelled Damian Dupre, a security guard at a luxury watch boutique, when he saw the men. He's is a solid six feet three inches, but as he rushed to lock the front door, the men were already pushing their way in. The first intruder, a short, stocky man, burst in and his gun went off, shattering a glass case. 'Get on the ground!' he yelled, and the guard and three employees dropped to the floor. 'Hurry up!' the man shouted. 'We got to go!' Just four days earlier, a man built like one of the robbers had visited Gearys, posing as a customer. Employees noticed his outlandish outfit – a checked blazer and long denim shorts – and the way he used his phone to film the case that held the priciest watches. Now the store's assistant manager, Daniel Arce, was lying facedown next to that same case as the robbers attacked it with hammers. Arce said a prayer as splinters of glass flew everywhere. I'm going to die, he thought. Less than two minutes had passed before the robbers fled with 36 watches. They sped away in a stolen Toyota that police would soon discover outside the mall, doors flung open. Its engine was still running. And the thieves were long gone. Two months later Ryan Stearman, a 34-year-old special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, was leaving an undercover job in Orange County when his phone rang. A police officer he knew was alerting him to a robbery underway in nearby Mission Viejo. Stearman had been trying to solve a series of gun-store heists, so he flipped on local law enforcement's emergencybroadcast system and learned that these robbers had burst into a jewellery store, not a gun store. Still, he was intrigued by the daytime smashand-grab. Two men had used sledgehammers to break cases, a third helped them scoop out the contents, and a fourth threatened terrified employees with a semiautomatic weapon. They escaped in a Chevy Tahoe. When Stearman heard that the getaway car was heading north toward Los Angeles, he hit his lights and siren and joined the chase. Thanks to tracking devices in the watches' packaging, a dispatcher was broadcasting their
exact location as they passed each exit: Culver Drive! Jamboree Road! MacArthur Boulevard! Stearman had nearly caught up when the dispatcher said the watches had come to an abrupt stop. What Stearman saw next was surreal: 26 Swiss watches scattered amid the usual glass from broken taillights. The robbers, possibly aware that the watches had trackers in them, had thrown some of their loot out the window. They were long gone. Reports of smash-and-grab robberies kept popping up around Southern California. On January 2, 2016, three men burst into Ben Bridge Jeweler in Santa Monica. They attacked the glass cases with sledgehammers but found them difficult to break. Flustered, they fled emptyhanded. Two weeks later, five men in hooded sweatshirts and masks entered a watch boutique in an Orange County mall. They smashed a glass case, grabbed 133 Rolex watches worth more than $2 million, and fled. A mile from the mall, police found an abandoned black Chevy Impala containing evidence related to the crime. Stearman had wrapped up his gun-store investigation and was ready for another major case. The heists seemed meticulously planned, right down to repeated use of stolen Chevys as getaway cars. Stearman knew repeat offenders could be almost ritualistic, mimicking past offenses: passing the bank teller the same note, say, or always wearing the same shirt or hat. Were late-model Chevys a signature? Curious, Stearman searched Google for similar robberies, finding a story about the watches strewn on the 405 freeway and another, about the Century City heist. He also read about a December 2015 robbery in which three masked men had used hammers and axes to smash cases in a Ben Bridge Jeweler in Riverside County. Their getaway car: a stolen Chevy Impala. When I first sat down with Stearman, he wore his preferred uniform: untucked T-shirt, jeans, and Chuck Taylors. His casual look, however, belied a furious work ethic. Jeff Chemerinsky, an assistant U.S. attorney who worked on the watch-heist case, described Stearman as relentless. 'I obsess over these cases,' Stearman told me. 'I always feel like I'm right behind the criminals and if I stop, they get further ahead.' What inspired Stearman to take on the case was the suffering of those who witnessed the crimes. These robberies were a form of street terror. It was time for them to stop. Smash-and-grabs are designed for speed. It's rare for one to last longer than two minutes – most are over in half that. Masks and gloves obscure the robbers' identities, so unless they leave DNA behind, there are often few leads to follow. Another challenge: Stearman didn't want to catch only the men who entered the stores. If these crimes were connected, there were ringleaders. He wanted to find them, too. Stearman was optimistic. 'This isn't rocket science,' he said. 'We're talking about guys who
are greedy. They're gracious enough to keep giving me the clues I need.' The robbers were hard at work. On January 22, 2016, they hit a family-owned jewellery store in an outdoor mall in Topanga Canyon, stealing three Rolexes, one Omega, one Tissot, and one Longines. Two weeks later, an employee of a jeweller in Thousand Oaks was on the phone giving her daughter a recipe for chicken wings when two masked men burst in and stole 35 watches. The suspects fled in a black Chevy Suburban. On February 17, 2016, Stearman was at home with a cold when he got a call from an L.A. County sheriff's deputy he knew. For weeks, Stearman had been spreading the word among local law enforcement: If anyone heard about a watch-store robbery, he wanted to know about it right away. He wanted to help local jurisdictions solve crimes, he said, not 'bigfoot' them and hog credit. The deputy told him there'd just been a robbery at a watch boutique in West Hollywood. On this occasion, three men had entered the store dressed as construction workers. One had stolen a firearm from Westime's security guard. Another had threatened the store's manager, asking if he wanted to die that day. They had fled with 18 Audemars Piguets worth $576,200, and a vehicle pursuit was ongoing. Stearman rushed to his car. It's always better to see a crime scene for yourself—not because local investigators will miss something but to hear witness accounts while they are fresh. 'Even if I get to a dead scene,' Stearman said, 'the little nuances in what each victim has to say can make a big difference.'
'THIS ISN'T ROCKET SCIENCE,' STEARMAN SAID. 'WE'RE TALKING ABOUT GUYS WHO ARE GREEDY. THEY'RE GRACIOUS ENOUGH TO KEEP GIVING ME CLUES.' When he arrived in West Hollywood, he learned that sheriff's deputies had apprehended a suspect: a 22-year-old called Poncho, who had crashed his getaway car—a stolen Chevy Tahoe. Stearman sat down with him in a small, stuffy interview room at the sheriff's station. Poncho admitted he'd gone inside the store and 'bagged' the stolen watches. When Stearman asked who put him up to it, he said he was no snitch. 'I'm willing to sacrifice,' Poncho said. But Stearman explained that Poncho wasn't facing just a couple of years of state time for robbery. The ATF was investigating a federal crime—conspiracy to interfere with interstate commerce by robbery—and that, Stearman said, could require Poncho to make 'a 15-year sacrifice.' Stearman told Poncho that when it came to loyalty, he shouldn't expect his fellow thieves to reciprocate. 'These guys don't care about you,' Stearman said. 'They've already forgotten about you.' That's when Poncho started to cry. 'It was planned,' he said, 'but it was not planned by me. I'm not the organiser of nothing.' He'd never met the ringleaders, he said; all he knew was he'd been recruited by a stranger who called himself J-Stone. Stearman's colleagues ran a search for 'J-Stone' in a database of known gang members. The name Justin Henning popped up, with an alleged connection to the Inglewood Family
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Bloods. (Henning's lawyer denies he was a member of the gang.) Stearman showed Henning's mug shot to Poncho. That was the guy, Poncho said. In short order, Stearman assembled a full briefing on the Inglewood Family Bloods. Henning, prosecutors allege, was close to a member of one of the gang's cliques, the Crenshaw Manchester Terrorists, which was led by a guy named Keith Walton, or Green Eyes. And Green Eyes, it turned out, had a partner in crime, a man Stearman's informants had already put on his radar: a former professional baseball player named Darrell Dent Jr. Darrell Dent had always been good at stealing. The proof was on the back of his baseball card for the Bowie Baysox, a minor league team in the Orioles organization. 'One of the fastest players in the Baltimore system,' the card read, 'Dent led Bowie with 24 stolen bases in 1999 and has had a 77% success stolen base percentage in his career.' Dent had been obsessed with baseball since childhood. The moment he could walk, he began dragging a bat around the house. His mother, Renee, said you could take his bottle away from him but not that bat. His dad, Darrell senior, had been a standout high school player, and Darrell junior was on track to be just as good if not better. Dent's parents separated and, when
he was 10, his mother moved him from South Central Los Angeles to the San Fernando Valley. Still, his dad hardly ever missed one of his games. Then, just a few months before Dent became a starting center fielder at his high school, Montclair Prep, his father committed suicide. Dent, then 14, was devastated. At the funeral, he stood over the casket and said, 'I'm going to make you proud of me, Pop. I'm going to the pros.' Darrell had the goods to deliver on that promise. At 17 he was among the top high school prospects in the nation. He had what one sportswriter described as 'the prototype athlete's body, long loose arms and quick legs. You watch him stand in the outfield and you can't stop thinking about Ken Griffey Jr. or Barry Bonds.' When he was 18, he was a third-round pick in the amateur draft. 'I am ready to get out there and start my major league career,' Dent told a newspaper reporter hours before his flight to the Orioles' rookie-level club in Sarasota, Florida. 'I know this is just a stepping stone to where I am going to be a few years from now.' 'He had a lot of confidence,' remembers Darnell McDonald, a former teammate and roommate. 'And he did have some tools.' McDonald was younger than Dent and looked up to him. 'He had this California swagger to him. I'm telling you, he could play anything off.' When McDonald's Rolex went missing from their dorm and Dent said his watch had been stolen, too, McDonald believed that they were both robbery victims. 'He was a really smooth talker,' McDonald told me. When he lent Dent his car and Dent told him the wheels had been stolen and the vehicle was up on blocks, the younger player still didn't connect the dots. It was only later, in the off-season, when McDonald's accountant sent him copies of his personal checks to review, that he wised up. The checks were made out to Dent. McDonald contacted the Orioles organization, which confronted Dent. When he admitted to forging the checks, he was let go. 'It's too bad,' said McDonald, 'because he probably did have a chance to play in the big leagues. I know he thought he was going to make it.' The same year the Orioles canned him, Dent stole a Range Rover by tricking a parking attendant into thinking it was his. From that point on, baseball took a back seat to crime. In 2001, Dent was arrested for possession of a stolen vehicle. Dent was introduced to Keith 'Green Eyes' Walton in November 2011, at a wake. Walton was a felon with multiple state convictions, the earliest a robbery with a firearm that he'd committed at age 18. His life had been marked by violence; both his first wife and his stepbrother had been murdered in gang-related shootings. Compared with the gangly, freshfaced Dent, who was seven years younger, the
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tattooed Walton – his chest featured an assault rifle, a revolver, and a huge tiger with emerald eyes – looked deadly serious. 'I come across as non-threatening,' Dent would explain. 'I can get into places…or into a relationship with people that [Walton] might not be able to get into because of his reputation.' Dent had moved on from simple theft to more serious crimes: identity theft, forgery, and transporting marijuana across state lines. He'd met a fence nicknamed the Russian, who suggested he start robbing phone stores. Dent tapped Green Eyes and they got to work. Between November 2012 and May 2013, the duo's crew broke into about 25 phone stores around the Los Angeles area. Their method was to enter at night, climbing through air vents or holes they made in the walls. Eventually, Dent, Walton, and three other people were arrested. Walton served jail time. Dent was on probation. Prosecutors say high-end timepieces were already on Dent and Walton's radar around the time of the phone-store heists. There's evidence that Walton may have attempted a few watch robberies on his own even before he and Dent teamed up. When Dent was released from jail, in 2014, he organised a few 'track-star demos' – so named because the robber typically asks to try
they got from the fence, but Dent often took the lion's share. As Stearman continued gathering information about the Inglewood Family Bloods, he got a surprising message: Walton and his attorney were requesting a meeting. The attorney said Walton, facing a gun-possession charge, hoped to reduce his sentence by providing information about other crimes. In the meeting with Stearman and the lead prosecutor, the men were struck by Walton's arrogance. He was enjoying himself, Stearman sensed, so the agent leaned into that, encouraging Green Eyes to keep talking. 'He couldn't help himself,' Stearman told me. The smash-and-grab crew had planned a robbery in Torrance on the day Walton met with Stearman and Tenley. The heist was called off at the last minute. Still, Stearman believes, Walton had intended for the meeting to coincide with the crime, to give himself an alibi. Three days later, the robbery that had been called off was back on. Things were escalating— not just the frequency of the crimes but also the threats of violence. It seemed only a matter of time before someone got seriously hurt. As Stearman rushed to the scene, he learned that a
THE SUSPECTS' PHONES AND SOCIAL-MEDIA POSTS WOULD PROVE A TREASURE TROVE FOR PROSECUTORS. ONE OF THEM HAD GOOGLED “HOW CAN I INVEST 10,000 DOLLARS” AFTER THE MALIBU ROBBERY. on a watch, fastens it around his wrist, and runs out of the store. Seeking a bigger payoff, Dent and some Inglewood Family Bloods pulled off a smashand-grab in the coastal city of Manhattan Beach, but they didn't make as much as they'd hoped. Two gang members got away with 20 watches and 12 diamond rings, fleeing in a stolen. It was only later, investigators think, that Dent reunited with the newly freed Green Eyes to up their game. Instead of bursting into a store and snatching everything in sight, they'd target the most valuable watches. Most importantly, they wouldn't do the robbing themselves. Dent and Walton established a strict division of labour: a constantly revolving army of disposable 'torpedoes' – typically cash-hungry young men – were aimed at the targeted stores. An interface between the ringleaders and the lowest-level grunts, lieutenants gave Walton and Dent cover. For the most part, the torpedoes didn't even know their names. Laforest and Johnson equipped the torpedoes with guns, backpacks, sledgehammers, and ski masks. Then, after the robberies, they paid the torpedoes relatively little. The ringleaders paid themselves a lot more, depending on how much
handwritten list of five people associated with the robbery—Bully Bad Ass, Nate, Macc, Lil K.O., and Hangout—had been found inside the getaway car, complete with each man's phone number. Three of the men had already been apprehended. A guy named Robert, or Tiny Bogart, had recruited him, Hangout said. There was also a big bald-headed guy, he said, who scouted the robberies. And he'd heard another guy—maybe his name was Keith?—was involved. He went by Green Eyes. 'That was pure gold when he threw out ‘Green Eyes,’ ' said Stearman. The robbers were still ahead of him, but Stearman was beginning to close the gap. Before each heist, the torpedoes and the ringleaders would meet in Queen Park in Inglewood to assign roles. They'd send the cleanest-cut among them to visit the store a few days before, to case the place. They'd even developed their own shorthand, which they used to text one another instructions. The ringleaders got careless about using the burner phones. At one point, in the days after one of the robberies, Tiny Bogart and Dent had an exchange on their regular phones about the
need to buy more hoodies. On March 1, Stearman got a warrant to begin tracking the location of Walton's phone. He got the same for Dent's. When the tracking kicked in, Stearman started watching both men's whereabouts around the clock. It wasn't long before Dent headed to the South Coast Plaza mall, and Stearman worried another robbery could be in the offing. Quickly he organized a team of more than 20 local and federal law-enforcement agents to stake out the mall. On the first day, an L.A. County sheriff's helicopter circled above the mall, in case the robbery occurred and they needed to chase the getaway car by air. During the stakeout, Stearman chose a prime lookout post: a Brookstone outlet, where he plunked down in a massage chair. ('I wasn't going to let that opportunity pass,' he told me.) Soon he spotted Dent and a girlfriend strolling along with a big bald guy. In the parking lot, investigators identified the three cars the trio had arrived in. Dent's Chevy Silverado truck had dealer plates and expensive rims. His girlfriend drove a Subaru. The third car, a dark blue Hyundai with tinted windows, had a real license plate. It was registered to one Stanley Ford. In the midst of this stakeout, Stearman got a call from the Torrance police department. A parole officer had just heard from the mother of one of his parolees, who said that her son had been involved in a robbery in Hollywood and was about to do another one. The young man's name was Evan Scott. Scott was not an Inglewood Family Blood. He was identified by law enforcement as a Carver Park Crip. Historically, Bloods, who wear red, and Crips, who wear blue, wouldn't be caught dead working together, as they were notorious rivals. But Stearman had already figured out that, in this instance at least, those allegiances had been trumped by the almighty dollar. As one robber put it: 'Blue and red make green.' An unmarked police car raced to Scott's home and parked outside. Minutes later, a dark blue Hyundai with tinted windows drove up and Scott jumped in. The officers followed them but soon lost the Hyundai in traffic. Stearman will never forget getting a call from a detective on the scene and being able to recite to him the license-plate number of the car in question. 'How did you know that?' asked the astonished officer. 'Because,' Stearman replied, 'that car just left South Coast Plaza an hour ago!' Stearman would soon discover that Scott went by another moniker, which he already had in his notebook: Macc, one of the handwritten names found in the getaway car from the Torrance robbery. A few nights later, Stearman drove to Ford's apartment in Lancaster, about 72km north of LA. To eliminate suspicion, he asked a colleague with a dog to come with him. When they located Ford's Hyundai, around 3AM, they pretended to take the dog for a walk. As they passed the
vehicle, Stearman leaned down nonchalantly and put a GPS tracker on Ford's car. Now he'd know where Ford was, too. In all, Stearman and his team would spend four straight days – from March 1 to 4 – staking out South Coast Plaza. No robbery took place. But on March 9, nearly $663,000 (R9 271 000) worth of watches were stolen at another mall, about 70 miles away, in Canoga Park. There, one of the robbers told a security guard menacingly, 'Don't do anything stupid or I'll kill you.' This time everyone got away. Less than two weeks later, on March 22, four masked men stormed into the Westime watch store in Malibu, squirting pepper spray into the store manager's eyes. 'I thought at that moment that I was going to be shot,' he'd recall, 'and that I'd never see my kids again.' The foursome grabbed at least $1.4 million (R19 576 000) in Franck Mullers, Hublots, Omegas, Breitlings, and Audemars Piguets – one of which was worth $250 000 (R3 496 000)– and fled. By this point, data from the suspects' phones was beginning to yield results: Stanley Ford's phone had pinged off towers near three jewellery stores around the time each was being robbed. And Stearman could see that all of the suspects talked to one another a lot on the days a robbery went down. Meanwhile, he had gotten authorisation to put 'pole cams' on telephone poles outside of some suspects' residences, so he could watch them come and go. Walton had finally been sentenced in his felony-gun-possession case, and he was due to go into custody in May. He told Dent he 'needed a victory' – one more successful heist – before he surrendered. Thanks to Stearman, it would be the ring's last. On Sunday, April 24, 2016, Stearman was attending a family barbecue when he glanced at his phone and saw that Dent had parked his Chevy Silverado in front of Tiny Bogart's home. They then travelled to Queen Park – the place Stearman knew was a pre-robbery gathering spot. Sure enough, within hours another Ben Bridge, this one in Santa Monica, was robbed of 23 Tag Heuers valued at $67,000 (R936 000). This time, all the robbers were caught – two male torpedoes and a female getaway driver. Mariah Smith, 23, was a meth addict who was affiliated with the Inglewood Family Bloods. Stearman believes she was recruited because she had a getaway car: a white Chevy Tahoe. At that point, Stearman remembers thinking, The case won't get any stronger than this. He hurried to put together search warrants for the robbers' many residences, and he and federal prosecutors sought a Facebook warrant to scrape the suspects' accounts. The suspects' phones and social media posts would prove a treasure trove for prosecutors. Laforest, for example, whose Snapchat handle was '@ dacrownking', had Googled 'How can I invest 10,000 dollars' after the Malibu robbery.
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A grand jury was convened, and federal prosecutors meticulously described the case's multiple heists and about $6 million in stolen property – one of the most sophisticated and lucrative smash-and-grab sprees in US history. After jurors handed down an indictment, it was finally time to move on the perpetrators. On June 16, 2016, at precisely 6AM, the homes of Dent, Walton, Ford, Johnson, and several other suspects were raided simultaneously. Houses and vehicles were searched, and guns, phones, computers, and other evidence were seized. At long last, the smash-and-grab robbers were under arrest. Of all the suspects arrested that day, Stearman was the most eager to interview Dent. When they finally sat down, he was struck by the ringleader's soft-spoken demeanour. Dent tends to address authority figures like an athlete would his coach – with a straightforward deference. So while, at first, Dent declined to talk about the crimes, Stearman sensed there was room to build more rapport. When the agent asked about Dent's time as a minor league outfielder, he perked up, talking for 20 minutes about 'all the guys that I came up with' – major league talents he talked about as if they were friends. Carlos Beltran was a good buddy, he claimed, recalling when they overlapped at spring training in the late 90s. Jayson Werth was 'my guy,' Dent said, and Jimmy Rollins was 'my other guy.' On cross-examination, he admitted that he didn't know them well. Later, when asked why he'd responded so positively to questions about his glory days, Dent would say, 'I talk passionate about baseball to anyone.' Eventually, Stearman and the prosecutors would persuade him to talk about his crimes as well. Dent began cooperating with the government and agreed to testify against the rest of the watch-heist crew. In an unusual move, the government tried six defendants at once: Walton, Laforest, Johnson, Scott, and two others. Dent was the star witness; he spent four days on the stand, more time than anyone else. Repeatedly the defense counsel grilled Dent about why anyone should believe him, a career criminal who'd had, and blown, his chance at a better life. Dent was unflappable. He said he was facing a mandatory minimum sentence of 107 years without possibility of parole. He had three kids and an aging mother. He knew if the judge thought he was lying, he'd forfeit his one chance 'to see my family on the outside again at some point in my life.' Dent admitted he had stolen, lied, and 'knowingly misled.' 'I'm not proud of being a thief,' he said. Later he reflected, 'Looking back on it, I did have a nice starting point. I should have valued and appreciated it more.' When she announced the indictment, US Attorney Eileen M Decker had said she'd hoped the case would 'demonstrate that ringleaders cannot escape prosecution by sending lowerlevel participants in to commit the crimes on
Dent's baseball career prospects seemed set
their behalf.' She mostly got her wish: Five of the six defendants were convicted, but one – Justin Henning, one of the first people arrested in this case – had that conviction overturned. Walton, aka Green Eyes, got 55 years in prison. Laforest, aka Janky-Bone, got 22 years, eight months. And Johnson, aka Tiny Bogart, got 22 years. Smith, the getaway driver in the final robbery, faced a maximum sentence of 40 years. But after testifying for the prosecution, she got one year and one day. Ford, too, had his charges reduced because he'd agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. Instead of a 75-year minimum sentence, he got 25 years. (Laforest, Johnson, and Ford have all appealed.) In all, 18 people have been convicted of federal crimes for their connection to the ring, and others have been found guilty in state court. Dent has yet to be sentenced. And what of Stearman? Since foiling the watch-heist crew, he's kept plenty busy. In May, he charged an alleged gang member with committing 16 armed robberies of gas stations and 7-Eleven convenience stores. That guy, Stearman told me, almost always wore a Dodgers baseball hat while holding people at gunpoint. Another ritual. I thought of all those late-model Chevys. 'Criminals have their habits,' Stearman said. 'And that gets them caught.'
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IMPROVE YOUR LIFE IN JUST 5 MINUTES It’s all about the little things BY NOW, WE’RE BL A STING THROUGH 2019, which means that all of our most cherished goals – to eat better,
to lose weight, to get jacked, and to make a better (and healthier) desk lunch – are being put to the test. Research shows that 80 per cent of New Year’s resolutions fail by the second week of February, but if yours have taken a knock, take heart: We’ve got the reserve list ready, in the form of six little habits to restore your momentum. ‘If you think about your everyday life, you’re likely consistent about a lot of things and don’t even realise it,’ says Jason Wersland, D.C., creator of the Theragun. ‘Once you turn something that takes five minutes into a habit, you realise that it’s not as tough as you thought to be a little healthier.’ That isn’t a euphemism, either: Each of these tweaks requires less than five minutes of your time to implement. Feel free to spend the rest of the year thanking us.
1
Take the phone outside the bedroom
So many people attribute the ‘need’ to keep their phone on their bedside table to the fact that it wakes them up in the morning. So let’s dispense with that right now: Go out or go online and grab an alarm clock. For centuries, people managed to get to work on time without the aid of an Instagramenabled device. You can do it, too.
Why? Keeping your phone in such close proximity to your sheets can lead to a delay in sleep onset, and reduce the total amount of sleep you get, too. Even if you do put the phone down 10 to 15 minutes before closing your eyes, the ‘blue light’ from your cell, a tablet, or computer screen is still wreaking havoc; studies have shown that exposure leads to less restorative sleep and more drowsiness. Take a page from Arianna Huffington’s book and put your phone away – out of arm’s reach, and ideally in another room – between 30 and 60 minutes before lights out. Use of her weird phone bed (you’ll want to Google this) is strictly optional.
2
Breathe
Don’t roll your eyes – you’re probably holding your breath right now and don’t even realise it. ‘I talk a lot about how to better take care of our bodies, and it really starts with our breath,’ says Wersland. ‘We hold a lot of tension when we don’t take the time to pause with all the running around. It can happen anywhere – in a car, at your desk, before a meeting.’ Science agrees. In one study, researchers divided a group of 20 healthy adults into two groups. One group was instructed to do two sets of 10-minute breathing exercises, while the other group was told to read a text of their choice for 20 minutes. The subjects’ saliva was tested at various intervals during the exercise. The breathing exercise group’s saliva had significantly lower levels of three cytokines associated with stress and inflammation.
Why? Taking time to focus on your breath can make a big difference not only for your mind but for your body, too. If you’ve never tried yoga, which treats breathing as a critical component of exercise instead of as an ancillary activity, now is a good time to start.
3
Meditate
PHOTOGRAPH: GETTY IMAGES
Meditation is one of those habits that takes a long time to get used to, along with running, swimming, and wearing matching socks. But give it a few weeks, and you’ll see that a small commitment can have a major impact on stress, anxiety, blood pressure, and fatigue.
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Why? Research shows that just one 10-minute session of guided mindfulness can lead to noticeable improvements in problem-solving ability. ‘Choose an existing daily routine – say, brushing your teeth in the morning,’ says Megan Jones Bell, Psy.D., Chief Science Officer at guided meditation platform Headspace. ‘If you are new to meditation, start by walking out of your bathroom, sitting in a comfortable chair, and spending three to five minutes listening to an audio-guided session.’ By pinning meditation to something you already do on autopilot, you’ll be more likely to follow through instead of spending that time scrolling through your app of choice.
4
Read for at least five minutes before bed
‘Read more’ seems to be an item atop everyone’s wish list. But if you need any more incentive to pick up a book, a 2012 study conducted at the University of Notre Dame indicates that recall is best when we learn right before sleeping. Knowing that you’ll benefit all day long from reading just a few pages makes the task feel a little less daunting.
5
Stretch
Not just that morning get-out-of-bed move, either. Stretching is something that even the most dedicated fitness zealots put on the back burner, because they’re ‘just too busy.’ But even a few minutes of stretching can increase blood flow to your entire body, which is a good thing no matter how much exercise you are (or aren’t) getting.
Why? ‘Stretching keeps your muscles strong, healthy, and mobile,’ says Lindsey Clayton, a Barry’s Bootcamp instructor and co-founder of Brave Body Project. ‘Without it, your muscles will get shorter and tighter over time, which can lead to injury.’ Go easy with yourself to start, practicing a few of Clayton’s go-tos: Cat-cow exercises, for example, will go a long way toward making lower back pain a thing of the past.
6
Eat more leafy greens
The list of benefits you’ll see when you incorporate things like kale, butter lettuce, bok choy, and arugula into your diet is about as lengthy as your standard Monday morning to-do list.
Why? Aside from being a great source of vitamins A, C, E, and K, a diet rich in leafy greens has been shown to lower the risk of heart disease and breast and stomach cancer. This needn’t be complicated: Think about adding mixed greens to your morning scramble, or sautéeing tenderstem broccoli for dinner. EMILY ABBATE
APRIL 2019 / 105
DOLCE & GABBANA
CARTIER JO MALONE
D É C L A R AT I O N
V E LV E T R O S E & O U D
Modelled after its predecessor, walk down memor y lane again with this rich and intense fragrance. R1 785 for 100ml
This robust fragrance will lend you that elusive je ne sais quoi. R2 300 for 100ml
106 / APRIL 2019
LIGHT BLUE I TA L I A N Z E S T
BVLGARI MAN WOOD ESSENCE
When wood meets spice and citrus, this is the result. R1 640 for 100ml
You’ll remember that time you par tied on a 150-foot yacht in Italy. R1 510 for 125ml
GQ.CO.ZA
Edited by Jeena J Billimoria Photographs by Jignesh Jhaveri
SERVICE → COOL NIGHTS ARE NO REASON TO AVOID TAKING TO THE TOWN. EMBRACE SCENTS THAT MOVE BETWEEN SEASONS AND OCCASIONS WITH EASE, FEATURING NOTES FROM FRESH CITRUS AND SPICE TO LUXE OUD AND COGNAC
*AVA I L A B L E V I A D I R E C T I M P O R T O N LY
MAISON MICALLEF SECRETS OF LOVE DÈLICE
AZZARO This sensual number is your go-to if you want to ser ve up some ‘Love On The Brain’ vibes. R2 980* for 75ml
WANTED BY NIGHT
This scent makes a statement in the best way possible. R1 410 for 100ml
BERDOUES HOJA DE CUBA
Made via extended maceration for 30 days, this is the real deal. R1 250* for 100ml
PACO RABANNE 1 MILLION LUCKY
This sensual, woody scent will make you smell unique. R1 365 for 100ml
RALPH LAUREN U LT R A B L U E
Cool and fresh – ideal for Sunday ‘drunches’. R1 700* for 100ml
HAYARI PARIS L E PA R A D I S D E L’ H O M M E
Get ever yone guessing what arresting scent you’re wearing. POA for 100ml
108 / APRIL 2019
GQ.CO.ZA
MOLTON BROWN R U S S I A N L E AT H E R
For those sophisticated chaps who host cigarappreciation soirées (or something equally evolved) at home. POA for 50ml
CREED GREEN IRISH TWEED
*AVA I L A B L E V I A D I R E C T I M P O R T O N LY
There’s a reason this perennial bestseller never goes out of style – take it from a brand that’s been thriving since 1760. R4 650 for 100ml
GQ TIP
HERMÈS TERRE D’HERMÈS EAU INTENSE VÉTIVER
This classic fragrance is best suited to those who can decipher the subtle nuances between Cognac and Armagnac. R1 390 for 100ml
The ideal time to spray cologne is after a hot shower, when your pores are open to seizing and retaining the scent for hours.
DIR TO Adidas 021-419-6752 Billabong 021-421-9923 Calvin Klein 021-418-1185 Converse 021-555-4014
Crystal Birch therealcrystalbirch.com Dickies dickies.co.za Diesel 021-425-5779 Dolce & Gabbana 011-326-7808
Gucci 021-418-2793 G-Star Raw 021-418-9000 H&M 086-069-0707 Hugo Boss 021-418-8328
C RY
Levi’s 021-418-8479 Nicholas Coutts nicholascoutts.com OSCS orphanstreetclothingshop. com Prada 011-326-7517
Puma 021-421-8510 Rich Mnisi richmnisi.com Ted Baker 021-418-3113 Vans 021-418-1660
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110 / APRIL 2019
s , u t p h e g rhe i n d r o o o • SUPERHEROES ARE OVER, done with, dead. There, I said it. If I see one more lustrous cape, magic doodad, or chiseled hunk of a Chris, I’m gonna beg Thanos to keep snapping. Look, I love Black Panther, and Captain Marvel totally deserves her own movie. But, man, the story is played out. Some misunderstood dweeb realises he’s special; an extraterrestrial plunks down on Earth to solve our problems. Enough! Of all people, M Night Shyamalan realised the need to break form years ago when he made Unbreakable. Bruce Willis played an average dad with an above-average ability to withstand a beating. He wasn’t a Batmanesque vigilante or otherworldly avenger. He wasn’t an antihero. He wasn’t even that great of a person. He was real. Back in 2000, the movie bombed. Would it in 2019? Audiences seem more suspicious of traditional saviors these days. (One reason: people in real life using their great power with great irresponsibility.) Shyamalan followed Unbreakable with 2016’s Split, featuring a bald James McAvoy with 20-odd personalities that semi-cohere into a frightening super-crazy. Now the director is attempting his most ambitious feat yet, merging those two movies with a third, Glass, that adds Samuel L Jackson’s titular villain to the mix. The premise is that all three of these dude-lusions of grandeur are institutionalised in a mental hospital, much as anyone claiming to be a superhero (or supervillain) in the modern era would be. Do they really have powers? Maybe. In Shyamalan’s universe, abilities are selfmanifested. Perhaps that’s his message: no one will rescue this godforsaken planet except our deranged, unheroic selves.
W O R D S B Y A N G E L A WAT E R C U T T E R
Because they can’t really save us
es
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L as t Word