This magazine is something that shows where some of Birmingham’s hidden treasures, having said this, this magazine is not a guide, not telling where you should go and what you should do in this city...blah blah blah. More of what would strike up an interest in the minds of the 18 - 30 generation, showing places and things to do that might not have spotted first time round, even if you live in the city. This is a magazine more for the adventureous type of people, even those living in the city, it shows more that just what birmingham is known for, for example the bullring, the Mailbox, New Street station and so on.
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CON GARY C M A R CANA CHIN SEEN GYM GYM DRI
NTENTS Y O’NEIL O W R C O ’ S AL LIFE NA TOWN PHOTOS 1 2 IFTING
The name PANO comes from the term panorama, meaning wide angle perspective, something that sees ‘alot’. The shorten version is more familure with the younger generation that will be included in the 18 - 30 catagory. Being able to see both ends of the spectrum, able to see the contrasts, one end to the other, in this case day and night. The logo represents this meaning, the ‘P’ and ‘A’ are in black text with a white background that represent the day, and then the ‘N’ and the ‘O’ are in white text with a black background that represent being in the night.
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R ` N Gary O’Neil is a local artist whose body of work is being exhibited at the custard factory, Digbeth, Birmingham.
perceived that the art scene is quite understated in the area, I feel that the creative sector is an emerging cultural component within Birmingham. The city thrives on small creative enterprises, which I consider are the hidden treasures of Birmingham. Areas such as at the custard factory specifically, represent the creative district of Birmingham, being home to a wide-ranging community of independent artists and designers. It offers a distinctive and unique venue for both day life and nightlife along with being the heart of creativity in Birmingham. Although the city What was the inspiration for your work? I like to communicate creatively through the medium has a long way to go in regards to the arts sector, I of collage and painting. Within my work I explore the feel that this is an exciting development I foresee in concept of unexpected visual conflicts through mix- the future. ing contradicting images used within todays society to create post modernist pieces that reflect visual What types of people do you find come to your exand conceptual contrasts. I have taken inspiration hibitions? from imagery that has been presented to me within I find that there is a quite diverse mix of people who everyday life and of course, by a continuum of dif- attend exhibitions of my work, from a range of ages, ferent works by other artists. A large concentration ethnicities and backgrounds. Especially within Birof my work is focused on the theory of ‘hybridism’, mingham, the social diversity in general is enorwhich has been explored through the use of both mous. I also believe that art has the ability to be past and contemporary images in order to create a universally inclusive, allowing no limitations towards who it reaches. It’s refreshing to see young people mixed image composed of opposing elements. taking an interest in art and attending gallery shows, What do you think of the art scene in Birmingham? in particular due to the abundance of the student I have studied and been living in Plymouth but it’s population in Birmingham. nice to have the opportunity to share my work in a place as exciting as Birmingham. Although it can be ell us about ‘Serious Fun’ This exhibition incorporates a varied collection of paintings, which I have been working on recently in order to showcase my complete body of work over the past few years. “Serious fun” is referencing the prevalent contrasts within my work. Though there are evidently serious themes apparent within the pieces, the overall impression is predominantly one of enjoyment and fun.
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ow is an affordable vintage clothing and accessories retailer, selling handpicked items that are sourced from around the world. all different brands that are big in the public eye, and even some that arent, that classics which were a big fashion years ago that have started to come back in. COW takes out the need to hunt for the clothing you want, if you are someone who is into the new vintage style, there is no need to look online for the brands that you love for the classic clothing items that were a big fashin and that are coming back around. In Birmingham COW is located on the outskirts of Digbeth. Cow also operates in Manchester, Nottingham and Sheffield. With there being four physical shops there is also on online shop where customers can go buy their favourite classic vintage items. With fashion not also coming back exactly how it used to be, but something very similar, COW takes the oppertunity to rework some of the items its recieve, just to keep in line with todays fashion, for example they would take a jumper, which they get tones of coming in, and re work the shape and cuffs.
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arco Pierre whites steak house bar and grill in Birmingham is located on the 25th floor. The restaurant allows the diners to take in the stunning panoramic views of the city with its floor to ceiling window and alfresco balcony. The restaurant gives off a vibe of wealth and elegancy, offering pre-dinner cocktails to the finest champagne for people to relax in an enjoyable atmosphere with friends and family in luxury with an affordable price.
“Affordable Luxury”
M ARCO PI ER R E W HITE S T EA KH OUSE
C A N A L L I F E SILVIA PENNY
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ow long have you lived on the UK Canal How long will you be staying in system for?5 years + Birmingham? Over the winter I’ve got a winter mooring down in caDo you live with family nary wharf till the end of March. members? No, I live on my own. Because I live alone, I like to be in the city in the winter, I like to Do you own a home on land? be able to go out in the evening Yeah, I have a flat that I rent out. and come back and feel safe. Whereas if you’re on a tow pass What is it like living on the canal somewhere A. There’s no means during the day? In what way?... of getting out, transport is limitPeople walking by, what kind of ed and walking back on a mudnoises do you hear?People are dy towpath in the dark isn’t nice. friendly, most people are very friendly. I am able to have a chat; What made you transition from everyone wants to know what your a house to a boat? I was retirlife is like living on a boat, which is ing and I had to make myself quite nice really. Erm, yeah. I just retire because I was a workahollove it; I mean obviously I do it by ic. I wanted to move, but I didn’t choice. I don’t have to live on the know where to move to. So I canal but I’m trying to explore all thought if I lived on a boat then the rivers and canals in the coun- I’d be in the country sometimes try. So far I’ve done everything and the city sometimes. I expesouth, west and east of here. rience the best of both worlds. Are you from Birmingham? No. I’m from London.
in their own time. If I had to give up one then I’d give up the country and go for the city. That’s because I live alone really. Do you feel safe at night? Not always. People sometimes find it funny to jump on your boat, smash your windows, cut your ropes and set you adrift. I’ve had people on my roof and a smashed window in the past. Have you ever confronted them? No. I jump up and down and make a lot of noise and use strong language call the police and get my fire extinguisher ready.
Do you pay tax to live on the boat? You have to hold a license to be on the river, you’ve got restricted mooring. Its 48hours max, if i stay longer than 48hours then its £25 a day but that’s a fine more than a charge. They don’t want Do you like the loud city or the you to say longer than 48hours. quiet country side? I like both,
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It What are you plans after you have explored all of I it. these rivers and canals? Probably get a stationary boat on the Thames, but that’s easy to say How much did it cost in total to decorate? All the and hard to do. Because there’s very few moorfurniture’s came with the boat. The boat itself, I paid ings and you have to buy the boat to get the £45,000 for, which was a bargain, a good buy because mooring. I can’t see myself going back on land. it was only 2 years old. To buy it new it would have cost me about £90,000 at the time and £10,000 now. How do you go about doctors, how do you go about that? Very difficult, I have a doctor in London Was it hard transitioning from a house to a boat? Yes, who thinks I live in London so I keep registered in because I lived in a luxurious flat in Surrey. lived the that surgery. Otherwise it’s very difficult when you’re middle class Surrey life, but I couldn’t bare living that travelling; it’s amazing how difficult it is. If you admit life as a retired person. Because what do you do? that you live on a boat then they would cross me Play golf, bowl? I didn’t fancy that, I like this life here. off of their list. They fear that if I had an emergency here, then that doctor would charge my doctor so Do you like being a traveller? I like the moving they don’t like it. The costs are disgusting. I think on bit, I get fidgety after a winter of standing still, that it’s really disgusting that people who travel in but I visit people in the winter’s have a lot of vis- this country have to lie to get medical treatment. itors because Birmingham is a place that lots of my friends and family haven’t visited before. How was
old is 2 years
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boat? when
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he Chinese quarter in Birmingham is rich in Chinese culture ranging from restaurants, nightclubs and social clubs. The Chinese quarter first began to emerge as an informal cluster around Hurst Street in the 1960’s and has been growing ever since. As the Chinese quarter grew so did the businesses situated in it, creating well known restaurants such as the big wok and Ming moo, of course once these restaurants became more and more popular so did the demand for the Chinese vegetables and spices, which wing yip took advantage of creating a huge wholesalers in the city centre making it easier for both the Chinese restaurants to get their authentic herbs and spices but also the regular Chinese people. Not only does the Chinese have some of the most distinguishable foods, but they also have very exclusive prices, such as £6.50 for an all you can eat buffet, making this very good value for money. That’s not the best part, the Chinese quarter is only a 5 min walk away from the bull ring shopping centre making this an ideal places to go if you’re looking for an alternative to MacDonald’s or sandwiches, it is healthier and it also gives you a chance to take in culture and be adventurous with foods, without leaving the city.
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The Chinese quarter in Birmingham is rich in Chinese culture ranging from restaurants, nightclubs and social clubs. The Chinese quarter first began to emerge as an infking this very good value for money. That’s not the best part, the Chinese quarter is only a 5 min walk away from the bull ring shopping centre making this an ideal places to go if you’re looking for an alternative to MacDonald’s or sandwiches, it is healthier and it also gives you a chance to take in culture and be adventurous with foods, without leaving the city.
Cow Vintage | Digbeth
Trumpet busker | Main city library
Think Tank Picnic Area | Millennium Point
Water feature | Birmingham City University Parkside campus
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“Genetics are everything in the bodybuilding game, but that should never stop you from striving to become the best you, you can be! Steroids are not the magic answer, hard work is the magic answer, but you didnt want to hear that did you�
Where do you see yourself as a company in the next decade ?
In the next decade, I hope to have made a successful business for my 3 sons to to take over in the future, and will constantly strive to be the best hardcore gym in Birmingham and will always improve on the ironworks legacy left by my parents to push the gym development to levels my dad would be proud of.
What is your favourite part of birmingham and why ?
My favourite part of Birmingham would have to be Brimley place, because of the wide range of restaurants and bars and my favourite place to go to with my family would be Edwards who se rve the best food I have tasted and is reasonable on the price and of course I love to eat.
With Birmingham being the 2nd largest city in Britain, when you go on holiday do you get Birmingham was chosen for our business simply be- bored with the slow pace of things or welcause it is our hometown and is also a large city with come it ? What made you choose Birmingham to set your business in?
money constantly moving around and a very central place for people to get to. With the train station being a 2 min walk from the gym or the bus stop being outside the entrance of the industrial estate. But there are bad points to our location because of it being slightly hidden away in an industrial estate, first timers and passing people cannot find it easily.
When I travel abroad I like to go to private villas and out in the country because it is a complete contrast to what I usually have to deal with on a daily basis, from the city constantly moving and everyone being impatient, to the gym environment where people are training on a schedule and have to be in and out of the gym in a certain amount of time I like to help them as best I can.
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Has birmingham changed for you as a company over the last decade?
Businesses in Birmingham for me over the last decade with the profit margins on supplements have decreased dramatically due to online shopping such as eBay, Amazon, etc… Also memberships have to be reasonable to compete with other gyms opening up in order to keep clients interested who live further afield
With todays economic climate being the way it is, do you think Birmingham spends as much money as other cities?
Yes and no really, I don’t think that Birmingham council puts as much funding into sports as much as other places For instance my children do ice hockey in Solihull ice rink and the funding there in comparison to Nottingham Tolford, Sheffield, so when I travel with my kids to a game, you can see the standard of under 10’s ice hockey in these places is extremely better than Solihull, because they are able to pay for better facilities, training and events, all because more money is pumped into it. So yeah I do think Birmingham lacks in certain sports because of this fact, but other sports such as athletics it still excels in, because of less equipment needed and the sport is more on the person’s drive and motivation than lack of facilities, because you can run most places were as ice hockey is a specific niche sport, with pads, skates and membership costing close to £300 just for one child at under 10’s.
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ith the new Keep fit and healthy trend coming in, have you had to adapt the gym or have you stayed bodybuilding orientated? We tried to accommodate fitness and healthy eating in the best way possible, from offering the best diet and nutrition advice. We also have a range of cardio equipment available to our customers and a lot of machines so you don’t have to wait to get into a machine, as we also accommodate the bodybuilders, by getting specialist equipment in. but I have found that generally these days people have gone away from the mass monster bodybuilding and went more to the rippwed lean athletic look, so bodybuilding as a sport entirely has had to change to accommodate these people by creating another class called, men’s and women’s athletic class, so we have had to adapt also. As for the fitness side, people in general are becoming more health conscious, for instance more average none training people are still buying protein shakes and supplements to stay healthy, whereas a few years ago majority of people thought that protein shakes were just for bodybuilders and people that train. By having a world famous bodybuilders come and train at your gym has it increased business? I think that having Ronnie Coleman come here recently it was still a very good image for the gym, regards reviews and articles in flex magazine featuring him and our gym in it, but getting back to what I said earlier people have gone away from the mass monster look, they would rather have the only way is Essex look being ripped and tanned rather than just big so they aren’t as interested as meeting him or him making an appearance here as they would have been 10 years ago, but on the flip side of that the older generation that are into bodybuilding and have seen him in magazines and gone to bodypower just
to see him in the flesh appericiate the fact we have got in contact with him to get in here and are not forgetting them and moving on to the younger generation. With your gym being hidden in an indusrial estate, do you think that word of mouth has had alot to do with business? It has been word of mouth over the years I’m not going to lie, but to be honest I think it is time I focus more on marketing. Now since I have taken fully over the gym I’m going to concentrate on a little bit more marketing, whether its flyers, billboards, social media or creating better deals to entice people more. So yes it has been word of mouth, which has been my mom and dads comfort zone, but I feel them ways are antiquated and I need to change up the game plan to compete against these new gyms opening up around the area, which I have lost a few customers to. Has the use of steroids increased over the past decade and why ? I’m my view it has climbed on young lads more than anything, from 18-25 years olds trying to find the quick and easy way to get big, and are using it without researching everything before taking it, training properly, eating properly. Without putting the hard work in and thinking it is the magic pill With you being around bodybuilders and weights all your life, do you think that has effected you as a business person and training? Yes I do, I believed it has made me both stronger as a person and taught me dedication and that good things come to those who work hard and stick at it and then that reflects everyday life. I think that if you’re that motivated in your training that you become that type of person and the transition from training to working becomes easy.
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ndy Lane and a group of his friends have been drifting for many years now both as a hobby and professionally. They have now decided to pass the knowledge onto novice drivers to give them a chance to potentially become a pro like himself. Although Andy’s 6 hour course isn’t to friendly on the pocket he is still having to turn away customers, because he and his team just don’t have the time to fit all of them into the course and give them the attention they deserve, But once they have got onto the course and began drifting under his or his colleague watchful eye, they just cant get enough of the tire screaming, rubber burning adrenaline rush, that every petrol head desires. The cars available to drift range from a 200bhp Nissan R33 Skyline to a whopping 280bhp British Drift Championship Nissan s15. Be sure to visit the SSDA Drift Teams Facebook and check out what’s happening next.
Once you start drifiting a car... truely getting it sideways, you will have been biten by the bug. Then you will realise how much excitement you have been missing your whole life. - Andy Line.