Private Edition Issue 12

ISSUE 12

MEN WITH BALL SENSE EGO-MANAGEMENT BEHIND SA SPORTS

IN THE BALANCE THE BIG CHILL

BURNING CALORIES IS SO LAST SEASON

WHEELS ON FIRE

HOW TO PLAY IN SLEEK, POWERFUL CARS

CHASING MOMENTS

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN SURFERS PUSH THE LIMITS

Each office is independently owned and operated.

contents contemporary classics: Louis vuitton’s pre-autumn collection salutes women of the past who’ve embraced the modern era

06 ED’S LETTER The theme for this issue is balance, metaphysically and with a dash of madness – from those who balance the lives of SA’s sports stars to the blokes who ride some of the biggest waves in the roughest sea.

10 PSST Graff’s Delaire Sunrise diamond sparkles brightly; and seriously old Scotch whiskies please the palate.

20 ORIGINALLY SINFUL It’s a tough job, but someone must do it. Janna Stone’s into chocolate and discovers that there’s a market for hand-delivered delicacies.

24 BILINGUAL BALLADEERS With a combined age of over 160, two friends and colleagues quietly prove that octogenarians rock.

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26 SHEER GENUS It’s petal power when it comes to art these days, with botanicals being the new hot commodity under the hammer.

27 A FAMILY THING Vintage Champagne not only tastes sublime, but you may think of ‘laying down’ a few cases for future investment.

28 COMING TO TERMS Never mind the play, it’s the sports agents who can make or break a career. It’s all down to managing money, time and that tricky thing called reputation.

34 ESTATE OF GRACE The modern businessman is driven not by money and power, but by play and paternal responsibility.

Farryl Purkiss shot by Craig Kolesky.

contents The take-off is the most important part of a wave. From lying down to standing up in one fluid, almost indiscernible movement – surf coaches often tell first-timers to not think about standing up … and rather ‘think about standing’

There was a time when good looks and luxury features sat rather uncomfortably with performance. Four models throw that theory out of the electric window.

44 FREEZE YOUR ASS OFF Sometimes jogging and spinning off your fat doesn’t work. Of course there’s always the scalpel ... Now it’s the sweat and blood-free big freeze.

48 CHASING THE MOMENTS Surfers belong to a strange cult of spiritual men with a death wish.

Or is it that out there riding the waves, they’ve discovered the ultimate Nirvana?

62 A CATALYST FOR CHANGE MTN’s Ryan Gould manages to meld entrepreneurial spirit with corporate momentum – with a dash of the unexpected on the side.

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66 CHECK IN, CHECK IT OUT So what do you get for upwards of R10 000 a night? Space is a given, but it’s the little extras that count.

68 STELLAR ZANZIBAR There’s no doubt that Zanzibar is exotic, but two envelope-pushing resorts have made it a five-star African destination.

70 A GROOT SURPRISE Go figure the French. A panel of judges rate the best SA wines, with one or two surprising results.

71 SOCIAL EVENTS Private Edition teams up with Bunnahabhain for an evening of whisky tasting and great company.

72 THE POINT OF IT ALL Eccentricity has its own charm.

One man puts the ultimate spin on his grand obsession, but there are life lessons to be learnt, too.

PHOTOGRAPHY: CRAIG KOLESKY

38 SPIN DOCTORATE

editor

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Editor Les Aupiais privateedition@tppsa.co.za publisher mark beare creative AND FASHION director SUZANNAH GARLAND EDITORIAL AND PRODUCTION ASSISTANT jacqui turner copy editor riekie human Advertising Sales manager NIC MORKEL 021 488 5926 082 468 6490 nmorkel@tppsa.co.za Advertising Sales Executives SAMEEGHA SAMAAI 021 488 5938 078 356 9521 ssamaai@tppsa.co.za Simon Tully 021 488 5944 083 500 4888 stully@tppsa.co.za ad sales co-ordinator SIMONE JACOBs 021 488 5928 sjacobs@tppsa.co.za executive Directors Mark Beare, John Morkel hr manager jolinda kemp Accounts Naeema Abrahams kauthar cerff elmon searle office manager marché jason receptionist tessa mbanga

PRIVATE EDITION IS PUBLISHED BY

Private Edition is published by The Publishing Partnership (Pty) Ltd, 9th Floor, Tarquin House, 81 Loop Street, Cape Town 8001. Copyright: The Publishing Partnership (Pty) Ltd 2010. No portion of this publication may be reproduced without prior written consent from The Publishing Partnership or the authors. The publishers are not responsible for any unsolicited material. The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of The Publishing Partnership or the editor. Editorial and advertising enquiries: PO Box 15054, Vlaeberg 8018; tel: 021 424 3517; fax: 021 424 3612; email: privateedition@ tppsa.co.za. Reproduction: Hirt & Carter.

Printing: ABC Press. ISSN: 2218-063X Private Edition is produced using certified paper from GOLDEAST PAPER CO LTD, an accredited company committed to environmental protection. The paper is made from legally harvested trees using environmentally friendly materials. The paper supplier is submitted to regular environmental audits.

photography: damon hyland. trenchcoat: GAVIN RAJAH

A

few months ago, I asked my colleague and friend André Wiesner to write a feature on sports agents.

When he’d stopped laughing – here’s a man who confesses that the names of our rugby and soccer heroes are flotsam and jetsam of his consciousness and besides, he says, he’d rather smoke and read than watch them in action – he plunged in, asking all the right and rude questions (page 28).

The thread of this lead story – a balance between money, fame, physical prowess and reputation management – runs through this issue in many forms. Tabitha Lasley put herself through a radical new fat-reduction procedure called cryolipolysis (with sexy headlines such as ‘cool sculpting’) that lies between science and beauty without the knife. It will take a good six weeks before we know whether the little stubborn pouch of adipose tissue over her stomach muscles has been processed by her own body (page 44).

According to the clinic, men find it appealing to put the need for the procedure down to looking fitter in the workplace where youth and vigour contribute to a speedy rise through corporate ranks.

It’s a short cut to looking good without necessarily changing your ways, but if that seems too much like cheating then our feature entitled ‘Estate of Grace’ offers the (balanced) alternative (page 34). CEO of Val de Vie Martin Venter believes he’s created a lifestyle that brings real equilibrium to life – not only because the estate offers it comes down to space, service residents anything from polo lessons to and a real understanding of swimming, rowing, cycling and secure luxury which has a time and jogging paths, but also because business effort component people see their families more often.

Plans to build a new business hub will mean that the estate becomes a hub for business, family life and leisure.

Balance, balance, balance.

We love cars. The faster, sleeker and more technologically advanced the better. Kathy Malherbe spent several dirty weekends with four muscled machines and succumbed to the glamour, power and gadgetry of the BMW 530d, the Jag XJ 3.0-V6, the Audi A7 and the Mercedes S350 BlueTEC. We tried to see it as a tough assignment but failed (page 38). Her brief was to look long and hard at ‘green’ claims versus performance.

Luxury hotels with presidential suites face the same challenge. What does R30 000 to R50 000 a night buy you? It comes down to space, service and a real understanding of luxury which has a time and effort component, a whisk through customs, a chauffeur-driven car, butlers, bubbly and the absence of irritating little extras (page 66). Neil Markovitz, MD of the Queen Victoria Hotel, recounts one international experience that really impressed him as an hotelier. The ‘virtual’ checkout not only leaves a trail, but they can connect with you again on a one-to-one basis – and you have an e-filing option that’s ‘green’ and efficient.

Is drinking fabulous French wine green? I’m tempted to say there are times when green must know its place. Steven Lack of IWC hosted a lunch in May where among four wines, we drank a ’98 Château Margaux and an ’82 Château Palmer. Ah, the Palmer. Of the I-don’t–know-enough-aboutwine-but-I-know-what-I-like school, I will say this: if the spoils of the Lotto ever come my way, it’s a case of Palmer that will top my list. He chose Pigalle in Melrose Arch to pair the wine and food. With no reservations at all, the partnership was superb.

On a final note – and more in the next edition – if you haven’t eaten at Reuben’s at the One & Only, do so. The gnocchi with fried porcini that sits gently on a bed of pumpkin brown butter, parmesan, sage and pumpkin seeds will have your eyes rolling back in pleasure. The balance? Go anywhere in the world and try and find food this spectacular, but at under €200 a head.

Not possible.

D E LA I R E

E S T A T E

Delaire Graff Estate Helshoogte Pass Stellenbosch South Africa www.100x100capri.it

www.delaire.co.za

behind the scene

‘Find a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.’ There’s some controversy as to whom this famous quote should be credited to. Was it Confucius who said it? It doesn’t really matter. Whoever it was used Cape Town-based action photographer Craig Kolesky as their reference. To the point that Craig’s friends have taken to using his surname as a verb – getting ‘Kolesky’d’ means getting looked after. Landing with your bum in the butter, as they say. Truth be Craig Kolesky

Jazz Kuschke was a photojournalist with Getaway magazine for four years, where – much to the dismay of his editor – he managed to turn just about every assignment into a surfing or fishing trip. It lead to an exotic passport stamp collection from Indonesia, Malaysia and Reunion to Mozambique, Angola and a score of other countries inbetween. After finally unpacking his bags, he joined Men’s Health as features writer, where he covered a variety of subjects including asthma, circumcision, career planning and the ABSA Cape Epic, which he finished twice. After a stint in the world of sports marketing as Athlete JAZZ KUSCHKE

told, they’re all jealous of the places he’s seen, the athletes he’s worked with and the spectacular images he invariably comes home with. Of course, the success and spectacular portfolio didn’t come overnight. From the first time he picked up a camera at the age of 14, to his first published photograph in Zigzag Bodyboarding (‘a looong time ago’) and the countless images he’s published in everything from Red Bulletin to Zigzag, The Bomb Surf, Australia’s Surfing Life, 18 seconds, Waves, Tracks and Sports Illustrated, he’s had to work pretty damn hard. Beautiful images aside, it’s this work ethic that landed him the honour of becoming the official South African photographer for Red Bull Photofiles. In-between travelling and shooting stars such as Jordy Smith, he still puts in surf time of his own. ‘I grew up surfing. It’s why I do what I do.’

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Manager at Red Bull, he took the freelance writing and photography road. We’re not sure if it’s because he missed being a creative, or because he just wants to surf and fish more. We suspect a bit of both.

Jazz lives in Cape Town with his wife Sally, who has become a more than half-decent surf photographer herself – ‘by choice and not because she spends so much time watching me surf,’ Jazz adds proudly.

‘I’d be lying if I said no,’ says Cape Town-based, Durban-born singersongwriter Farryl Purkiss when asked whether he’d be playing the style of music he does if he wasn’t a surfer. ‘It (surfing) was a huge part of my youth, and of course it had an influence on me. Not in the respect that I’m trying to play surf music, but to the degree that everything that’s important to me influences my music: my family, my friends, my girl, my home, God, Creme Soda, staffies and yes, surfing. It all ultimately contributed to who I am today, and that comes through in my music,’ he says. The world clearly appreciates what these influences have created.

After his self-released EP in 2005, he was signed to 2Feet Music, leading to a host of international gigs and the release of his first full-length album in 2007. A second album “Fruitbats & Crows” followed in 2009. In the past three years, he’s toured Australia three times, and visited Europe and the USA. His songs have been used in campaigns by Nissan (Greece), Audi (UK), MTN (South Africa) as well as in the international film Adopted (featuring Pauly Shore). In 2007, he was voted the most popular musician

by Heat magazine (South Africa) and he’s been featured by every major newspaper, magazine, TV show and radio station in South Africa. Did we mention he’s also an ambassador for Woolworths? Check out www. farrylpurkiss.co.za for upcoming gig information and to download ‘Pennies in the snow’ – the hit single from the series Private Practice.

PHOTOGRAPHY: craig kolesky

FARRYL PURKISS

Psst

Utterly random and occasionally tactical trivia

SUNBURST

SPARKLING PRIZE: WHAT BETTER TRIBUTE CAN THERE BE TO OUR COUNTRY THAN THIS STONE WHICH SEEMS TO CAPTURE THE WARMTH OF SA’S SPIRIT AND PEOPLE

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It was both luck and fate at play when the perfect octahedral-shaped diamond was found in an alluvial mine in South Africa. It had taken millions of years for the soil and rock to erode to expose it to light and then, once cut, the stone’s astonishing colour-burst of yellow – almost as if the sun itself had been captured and released by expert cutters – would captivate anyone who saw it. The timing was impeccable. The rough stone came to light at a time when the renowned House of Graff had already cut and set some of the world’s most exquisite fancy yellow diamonds. At an auction in 1987, Laurence Graff – Chairman of Graff Diamonds Holdings – acquired the Windsor Yellows, a world-renowned pair of fancy yellow pear-shaped diamonds originally owned by the Duchess of Windsor. The Sarah was found in 2000 in South Africa and weighed 218 carats in the rough. It took 16 weeks to cut it into two cushion-cut diamonds. And in 2003, the Golden Star – a rough diamond of 204.03 carats –continued the legend. But in 2010, Graff knew he held something of even more beauty and quality. The transformation from what nature had wrought took 12 months and what emerged was a vivid square emerald cut diamond of 118.08 carats, the largest in the world. It was named the Delaire Sunrise, after the sunrise at the Delaire Graff Estate in Stellenbosch. Visit www.graffdiamonds.com; www.delaire.co.za.

PHOTOGRAPH OF THE DELAIRE SUNRISE: supplied by graff

The Delaire Sunrise

Private Edition readers can now receive a free room upgrade when booking at the MoLOKO Strathavon Hotel For reservations, email reservations@strathavonhotel.co.za.

Subject to availability. Terms and conditions apply.

S e re n e • Tran q u il • E xc lu si ve

More than just somewhere to sleep, the Moloko Strathavon Hotel is a style statement.

It’s the future of the boutique hospitality industry which embodies all that is great in the modern luxury hotel market, and then takes it one step beyond. The exclusive hotel encompasses an award-winning organic spa, fine dining at the Ambassador Restaurant and the sought-after post-dinner night spot Off the Record cigar lounge. Taking its cue from Mother Nature, the hotel has been designed to blend seamlessly into the indigenous gardens surrounding it. Moloko Strathavon Hotel is a mere stone’s throw from Sandton, Johannesburg’s trendsetting business and shopping hub.

160 Helen Road (off Grayston Drive), Strathavon, Sandton, Johannesburg • +27 11 384 4900 reservations@strathavonhotel.co.za • +27 861 MOLOKO (66 56 56) • www.strathavonhotel.co.za

psst lifestyle

The gold standard

Glenmorangie’s masterstroke With the launch of the Private Edition Collection, a prestigious series of innovative whiskies for the true connoisseur, Glenmorangie is reviving a popular tradition of limited-edition releases. The brand will add a gem to the collection every year, starting with the first two ‘expressions’: Sonnalta PX and Finealta. After 10 years maturing in American White Oak casks, Sonnalta (Scottish Gaelic for ‘generous’) is finished in Pedro Ximenez (PX) sherry casks for its final two years of extra-maturation, creating a subtly complex and delicate spirit. The first impression is of dark chocolate, sun-dried raisins and Demerara sugar. Sonnalta PX has found favour among the cognoscenti, winning numerous awards including Best New Scotch Whisky Brand in Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible 2010, and many Gold in Class honours. Finealta (‘elegant’) is a recreation of a vintage Glenmorangie recipe dating back to 1903, which used to be served in the American Bar of The Savoy in London at the height of Art Nouveau. The Private Edition series can only be bought or ordered via the travel retail and duty-free sector in South Africa.

Work of art

a heavy downpour has spectators cowering under umbrellas at the british open

Hole in one

Golfweather.com A South African online entrepreneur has changed the face of weather forecasting for golf by launching a free-to-use website that provides sevenday predictions specific to the GPS coordinates of courses around the world. Moshe Adir, who is also a five handicap, has mapped 523 courses in South Africa and 17 500 courses in the US as well as courses in the UK, Ireland, Australia and Canada. New Zealand is next. By February 2011, golfweather.com had attracted over 100 000 users and supplied over 3.5 million forecasts. It’s perfect for international travellers who want to know what to pack, but non-golfers also love the functionality of finding out what’s in store weatherwise, provided they’re located near a golf course. If you’re a golfer, it takes the pain out of deciding where to play by providing three hourly slots with condition values, and the site is a useful source of golf news, tips plus tailored golf travel packages. Use golfweather.mobi on your mobile to get a 48-hour forecast for South African courses. The Golfweather iPhone application has been developed while the Android version is in production.

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Connoisseurs of fine whisky who are thirsting for a wee dram of the exquisitely packaged special-edition Chivas 18 Vivienne Westwood can taste it if they can wrap their hands around one of the 2 500 bottles now available internationally. The whisky is a blend of 20 of Scotland’s rarest single malts, aged for at least 18 years, and is priced from R3 328. Dame Vivienne Westwood is the third designer to be invited to design an adornment for this iconic whisky, and hers is a silk three-piece coat, bearing Westwood’s Union Jack print first seen in a Gold Label collection in Paris. Together, she and Chivas Regal master blender Colin Scott have created a work of art. The Chivas 18 Vivienne Westwood is an exceptionally smooth, rich drink with aromas of spice and toffee, a velvety dark chocolate palate with elegant floral notes and a wisp of sweet mellow smokiness. Its designer coat of woven tie silk twill shaped to fit the bottle combines masculinity and elegance with four precision hand-cut pieces, padded and finished with delicate gold embroidery, silk taffeta bias binding and the bottle’s limited-edition mark of authenticity.

Unwrap it if you dare.

For more information, call Clair van der Mescht on 021 405 8800.

PHOTOGRAPHY: supplied and gettyimages.com

The Chivas 18 Vivienne Westwood

Art-deco diva

PHOTOGRAPHY: supplied

Louis Vuitton

Elegant and precious, with practical luxury in equal measure, the modern glamour coming through in Louis Vuitton’s women’s pre-autumn collection celebrates opulence, seduction and power with tweed, silk and feathers. Inspired by the textiles of artist Louise Bourgeois and the Art-Deco aesthetic of Bertolucci’s film The Conformist (1970), the autumn 2011 range salutes women of the past who embraced the modern era. It’s neither retro nor vintage, with coats playing a key role, along with tailored trousers and silk twill. Hemlines are lowered beneath the knee, while dresses create impact through deceptive simplicity and subtle sophistication.

High-heeled shoes are inspired by traditional men’s footwear while eye-catching wedges feature jewelled heels studded with hand-placed crystals. For more information, visit louisvuitton.com.

Oh-so British winter warmth New look Hyde Park Corner

Pringle of Scotland sports a sexy new look at Hyde Park Corner in Johannesburg with interior decor that reflects much of the luxury knitwear brand’s almost 200-year heritage. Pringle Hyde Park’s various collections for men and women, knitwear pieces as well as leather accessories and shoes combine elegance with light-hearted humour in what has become the brand’s mainstay. Timeless luxury, quality and attention to detail are givens. The autumn 2011 collection sticks to neutral tones with flashes of deep red to add warmth to the tailored menswear while the women’s garments, fringed jacquards, furs and cable knits are spiced up with brighter reds and petrol blue. For more information, call 011 325 5089 or visit pringlescotland.com.

Up your game Oakley Fast Jacket

Whether you’re a top athlete or have great aspirations to be one, here’s one way to improve your performance – just switch, lock and load. And that’s not a call to arms to take out your opposition.

It’s the three-step process to enhance your vision with Oakley Fast Jacket's ultimate performance eyewear. Simply switch lenses in seconds with a quick-release mechanism that allows your vision to stay true under changing light. The suspension system is engineered to hold lenses securely in place and prevent distortion. The frame’s only contact with your face is at the bridge of the nose and on the sides of the head. In addition, Oakley High Definition Optics gives you the clearest, sharpest, most accurate vision possible by maximising your range of view and improving side protection, while the optional Oakley HDPolarised lenses block performance-killing glare. For more information, visit oakley.com.

Wow factor

Montblanc Eyewear Montblanc's been making its mark, literally, in the art of writing for close on a century. Its legendary fountain pen, the Meisterstück, was one of Anne Frank’s prized possessions during World War II and now, actor Johnny Depp is a collector of Limited Edition models. The timeless design and unmistakeable values that have made this writing instrument iconic have influenced the development of a range of Montblanc eyewear, which carries a specific design language, bearing the brand’s signature white six-pointed star with rounded edges to depict an aerial view of the Mont Blanc snowcap. The range is fashionably chic without being over the top, so you’ll be noticed without even trying. Look out for the new Silhouette Crystal Collection. For more information, call Gabriel Frankel on 071 397 5587 or Drew Valentine on 083 454 1937.

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JHB 31300

Engineered with a lighter touch.

The new Audi A6 with next generation headlights.

Once you switch on the new Audi A6 headlights you will notice why Audi LED technology leaves others in the dark. Innovative design ensures even light distribution at virtual daylight brightness, functioning with very low energy consumption while reaching full luminosity instantly. As with all things Audi, form never follows function without style to spare. Only visual features as distinctive as these can serve as the finishing touch to the sophisticated Audi A6.

For more information visit www.audi.co.za or m.audi.co.za Models: A6 3.0 TDI 150kW multitronic速, A6 3.0 TDI 180kW quattro速 S tronic, A6 3.0T FSI速 220kW quattro速 S tronic.

Fuel consumption for the Audi A6 range: from 5.2l/100km to 8.2l/100km (combined). CO2 emissions from 137g/km to 190g/km (combined).

The figures given were calculated using specific operating conditions. These figures are indicative only and may vary according to the conditions under which the vehicle is operated.

psst beauty

All that glitters La Prairie's pot of gold

If ever there was an argument in favour of gold, it’s for the influence it has on one’s sense of wellbeing. The Egyptians were the first to ingest it for mental, physical and spiritual cleansing over 5 000 years ago. Over the centuries, it's been used in dentistry, pharmacology and cooking to cure ailments and boost health. Metallic gold divided into minute particles and suspended in solution is known as colloidal gold, powerful enough to reduce dependency on alcohol, caffeine, nicotine, and carbohydrates; treat arthritis and cancer; improve blood circulation; heal heart conditions; and increase mental acuity, among others. So imagine what it can do for your skin. The transformative powers of pure gold are captured in Cellular Radiance Concentrate Pure Gold, a facial serum by La Prairie that rejuvenates and brightens the skin. The pure gold in the colloidal gel, a La Prairie exclusive, slows down the breakdown of collagen and elastin to maintain youthful elasticity and firmness while energising and nourishing the skin. Its agedefying biotechnology also helps diminish lines and wrinkles and regulates pigmentation. The serum works in tandem with Cellular Radiance Emulsion SPF30 and other moisturisers to maximise their hydrating effect. Just one drop in the morning and evening after cleansing and toning is all it takes. For more information, call 021 442 7700 or visit www.laprairie.com.

Smoothe operator

PHOTOGRAPHY: supplied

Cathy Gee’s beauty bar

If you know what you need and you don’t want to waste time, treat yourself to a bit of Cathy Gee’s New York state of mind at Smoothe Beauty Bar in Big Bay, Cape Town. Inspired by her work experience at worldclass beauty houses in New York and London, Gee’s boutique concept breaks the mould of a traditional spa in design, treatments and therapists’ training. Even her background music selection is different – French songs mixed in with big band hits and smooth jazz standards.

If you think this might break your reverie, think again.

Essential oil vapours permeate the boutique, setting the scene for the kind of me-time devoured by men and women. The therapists move quietly around their space, speaking in hushed tones, and only when necessary. Their passion for making bodies beautiful allows for the customisation of services from wonderful facials and manicures to massages and waxing.

Products are environmentally friendly and often include fresh ingredients. Try the 90-minute full Smoothe facial for the ultimate pampering session – in addition to cleansing and rejuvenating your skin, it incorporates a massage that will make you float to your car.

For more information, call 021 554 9631 or visit www.smoothebeauty.com.

Face value

The leading creams and lotions aimed at dealing with everything from wrinkles to sun damage and facial scars Elizabeth Arden Prevage The promise: The line is chock-full of idebenone (aka the most powerful antioxidant on the market), which helps heal sun damage, redness and minor scars, while boosting radiance and improving texture.

The delivery: The Face Advanced Anti-Aging Serum (R1 295), a glowgiving fluid designed to be worn under moisturiser and night cream. Dovetail it with the SPF30 day cream and you’ll have people asking if you’ve been away within a week.

Guerlain Abeille Royale The promise: That royal jelly extract will stimulate healing mechanisms within the skin which will firm tissue and smooth out fine lines. The fast-acting serum has caught the attention of beauty editors everywhere.

The delivery: The Abeille Royale Night Cream (R1 565) has a rich, soothing texture and a yummy scent. Use it for a few nights and your skin will start looking fresh and more evenly toned come morning.

StriVectin-SD The promise: Collage-boosting peptides, ceramides and apple stem cells will launch a triple-pronged attack on both static and dynamic wrinkles (sun and smoker’s lines as well as expression lines) and sagging.

The delivery: The Intensive Concentrate for Stretch Marks & Wrinkles (R1 535) is not a quick fix – you need to use this topical treatment every day for two months to see any improvement in lines, but after three or four weeks, your complexion should look bright, clear and taut around the cheekbones.

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psst watches

STYLE STATEMENT

Louis Vuitton Spin Time GMT XL The iconic Louis Vuitton Tambour range takes the company’s ode to travel a little further with the launch of the Spin Time model. It demonstrates a new way of telling the time with an exclusive movement that displays the hour on the rotating cube on the dial, while the minutes and GMT time can be read on the hands. The Tambour is described as a travel instrument – simultaneously beautiful and useful. Crafted in the watchmaking workshops of La Chaux-de-Fonds in Switzerland, it's a testament to the Louis Vuitton values of quality, know-how and excellence. The Spin Time GMT XL is dressed with a black alligator strap and incorporates a 44-mm white-gold case with a LV119 mechanical calibre movement. The movement is visible through the transparent back of the case, which offers an original jumping hour display mode. The hands and figures glow in the dark against a black dial, protected by sapphire glass with a reflection-proof coating. The date is set at 4:30. In addition, the timepiece has a 12-hour GMT function, a 40-hour power reserve and is waterproof up to 100m. It also features the LeVel Up system, making this chic accessory sit easier on the wrist. For more information, visit www.louisvuitton.com.

10 60 PP RR II VV AA TT EE EE D D II TT II OO N N IIS SSSU UEE 1 62

psst watches

MARK OF A MAN Calibre de Cartier

A look at a man’s watch reveals much about his style and interests. If you’re at a formal function, and he’s not wearing a watch, you’ll know he’s a gentleman – time is irrelevant on such occasions. Calibre de Cartier is the masculine emblem of the new men’s watch, powered by the calibre 1904 MC. It’s the first self-winding mechanical movement crafted entirely by Cartier. The 1904 MC pays homage to the first watch made by Louis Cartier for an aviator friend of his. It was one of the first to be worn on the wrist and enabled the pilot to read the time while keeping his hands on the controls during flight. The watch challenges the round form in watchmaking through its mechanical construction, finding a balance between resilience and finesse. Fine finishes and an exquisitely crafted movement place this watch firmly in the 21st century, upholding the tradition of fine Swiss watchmaking. It's exceptionally comfortable to wear with its four horns that curve inwards to embrace the shape of the wrist. The 1904 MC is available in a stainless steel bracelet with a black or silvered dial and an 18-carat pink gold and stainless steel bracelet with a silvered dial. For more information, visit www.cartier.com.

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psst watches

STEELY RESOLVE

Radiomir Chronograph by Panerai

PHOTOGRAPHY: supplied

With its 42mm polished steel case, elegant design and slender cushion-shaped case, Panerai's Radiomir Chronograph offers structural robustness as well as an enviable track record of reliability. Originally created in 1938 for the Royal Italian Navy as the first Panerai watch, the Radiomir is touted for its large size, durability in extreme-use conditions and reliable movement.

No wonder it's become a sought-after rarity, and made a welcome comeback in 1997. Entirely made of AISI 316L steel, features of the contemporary Radiomir collection include automatic mechanical movement, 37 jewels, Côtes de Genève decorations on the bridges, Monometallic Glucydur balance, 28 800 alternations/hour and an Incabloc anti-shock device. Sporting a black dial with luminous markers, the Radiomir's small seconds dial is positioned at 9 o’clock while the minute counter is at 3 o’clock. The watch has a power reserve of 42 hours and also features two chronometer push-pieces – perfectly incorporated into the design of the case band (at 2 and 4 o’clock) – which ensure water resistance to a depth of 100 metres. For more information, visit www.panerai.com.

FREE APP

Panerai Catalogue

GROUND CONTROL Bell & Ross Red Radar

Hi-tech and classy, interpreted in one sophisticated timepiece – that’s the Bell & Ross BR 01 Red Radar available in a limited edition 999-piece collection.

With an analogue display reminiscent of the radar seen on air traffic controls, this watch has graphics that feature the sweeping effect of a light beam on an actual radar screen. It also challenges conventional time-reading modes with the functions of the hands and the dial merged onto one plane. Three independent concentric discs are marked with three red beams against a stark black background for readability. Where their gradually shaded colour begins, the hours, minutes and seconds are read as the eye is directed towards the centre of the dial, while two graduated axes and index indicate the measurement of time in the red-tinted crystal. The BR 01 Red Radar design is technically challenging and highly advanced. Each disc weighs 30 times more than a hand, so ultra-light discs were created to prevent a drop in power reserve or watch precision. In addition, special materials and new techniques were used to make each disc strong enough to avoid distortion and minimise friction. It has a selfwinding movement and comes with a rubber and heavy-duty canvas strap.

For more information, visit www.bellross.com.

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If you’re a watch fanatic, you’ll love the new iPad app called Panerai Catalogue that is free to download from the Apple store. The catalogue includes images, videos, technical and historical detail on four collections: Historic, for models with hand-wound calibres; Contemporary, for watches with automatic movements; Specialities, for models with the highest technical excellence; and Special Editions, for limited-edition timepieces that demonstrate the Panerai hallmarks of rarity, exclusivity, authenticity and simplicity. Another section of the app is devoted to calibres developed in-house by Officine Panerai at its factory in Neuchatel, Switzerland. Ten calibres are showcased through images, videos and information that illustrate each one’s technical features and functions. Officine Panerai has also developed Panerai Magazine for the iPad. It’s another free download, available in English. Founded in Florence in 1860, Officine Panerai was the official supplier of precision instruments for the Italian navy for many years. The brand was launched onto the international market when it was bought by the Richemont Group in 1997. It is the only Italian fine watch-making company that is developing and producing calibres and watches at its own factory in Switzerland.

Products are distributed through an exclusive network and Panerai boutiques worldwide. For more information, visit www.panerai.com.

FASTEN YOUR SEATBELTS

Bell & Ross vintage original

Aviators in the 1940s were the first professionals to consider the wristwatch as an aid to their missions. Bell & Ross pays tribute to them in their Vintage Collection with a new model: the Vintage Original Carbon. They’ve taken the classic circular case of old and added a design based on the legibility principles of an instrumentation panel. Its anti-glare, matt-black carbon finish eliminates glare while the white hands and index marks contrast with a black background to make the dials easier to read, day and night. Photoluminescent coating aids the latter. The ultra-curved glass gives the watch a vintage look. It's made of highly resistant sapphire crystal, another link to the on-board flight instrumentation design inspiration. Owners of these watches want legibility, functionality, accuracy and reliability combined in a good-looking timepiece – and that’s exactly what the Vintage Original Carbon represents. The automatic BR 123 Original Carbon has hours, minutes, seconds and date functionality while the chronograph BR 126 adds a two-counter chronograph with 60-second and 30-minute registers to the package. For more information, visit www.bellross.com.

ON YOUR MARK

Tag Heuer Carrera Mikrograph Racing enthusiasts fascinated by ultimate precision will love the Heuer Carrera Mikrograph 1/100th Second Chronograph – a wristwatch and stopwatch in one prized accessory, with each movement operating independently of the other. It’s a world first, limited-edition Tag Heuer release of 150 timepieces in rose gold. In the past, the wristwatch ('marathon runner') and stopwatch ('sprinter') were manufactured separately because of their different performance objectives – slow endurance versus accelerated bursts of activity. If they drew on the same gear for these differing intensities, the traditional chronograph movement would've have worn quickly. Since its 1916 development of the Mikrograph, which was accurate to 1/50th and 1/100th of a second, Tag Heuer has been the official timekeeper of the world’s most prominent competitive sporting events. Now the Heuer Carrera Mikrograph 1/100th Second Chronograph sets a new milestone in grandes complications with two assortments, 62 jewels and 396 components. It comprises a fully integrated chronograph (certified by the Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute) with a column wheel system that allows the balance wheel for the watch to move at 4 hertz (28 800 vibrations per hour) while the stopwatch balance wheel oscillates at 50 hertz (360 000 vibrations per hour).

The transparent sapphire crystal case showcases it perfectly. For more information, visit www.tagheuer.com.

ISSUE 12 P R I V A T E E D I T I O N 1 9

at your service

Originally sinful If you are what you eat, then Janna Stone could be ranked as one of the most delicious women in South Africa.

By Les Aupiais

Take the chocolate, close your eyes, place it on your tongue, let it melt, breathe out slowly.

It’s not an experience you rush

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your tongue, let it melt, breathe out slowly. It’s not an experience you rush.

There are other very good chocolate brands on the market, from Lindt to Ferrero Rocher, but Godiva is doing something different.

‘I realised there was a gap in the market for a premium chocolate brand in SA,’ says Janna. ‘The chocolates are air freighted to SA and then delivered to companies or individuals rather than sold in retailers.’ It’s a click-and-indulge method via the Internet and those who order more than 50 units (of any sized box) are able to personalise the ribbon that elegantly ties the gift packages.

Lady Godiva’s naked protest lowered taxes in Coventry. Today, most people are happy to pay the import tax buried in the cost of the luxury brand for the sheer pleasure of the taste. Unless of course you fancy a strip-and-ride-by on the off chance they’d consider a cut.

Godiva South Africa: info@godivachoc.co.za

PHOTOGRAPHY: SUPPLIED AND GETTYIMAGES.COM

T

o say that Janna Stone landed with her derrière in the cocoa butter is an understatement. The 20-something director of Godiva South Africa began with her love for the brand when her parents brought a ‘pretty treat’ for her and her brother Jonathan from their international travels. Let’s just say the properties of the Belgian brand were imprinted early and deeply. It’s not hard to see why she fell for it.

The 85-year-old formula was masterminded by Joseph Draps, who cleverly – and rather ahead of his time – used sex to sell it in Brussels. Well, perhaps that’s not quite fair, but the legend of Lady Godiva is hardly tame stuff. The 11th-century beauty took to the streets on a steed in nothing but her tresses to protest against heavy taxation in Coventry. She was, so the legend goes, of great virtue – but as the saying goes, ‘Virtue is its own revenge.’

As she rode by, the people closed their shutters in respect (all but one Thomas ... hence the origin of the term ‘peeping Tom’) and ‘Lady Godiva’s velvet gown dropped to the ground, her luminous skin shimmering.’

That’s hot copy circa 1060, but then combine it with the Draps’ 1926 methodology of making the chocolate and it’s inescapably sensual. Here’s the job description of just one of the chocolatiers: ‘She plunges a little dome of fresh cream, garnished with a kernel of a Grenoble nut into a bath of melted sugar heated to 60 degrees. And with a simple flick of a wrist, she creates the characteristic drape.’ Other chocolates are decorated with the characteristic Godiva leaf , which are versions of the feather that Scarlett O’Hara wore on her hat in Gone with the Wind.

The cocoa is largely sourced from the Ivory Coast and then dipped, rolled, enrobed, pressed and vibrated into its various forms. Inside are nuts, cream, fruit and Cognac. The way you eat it is like this: take the chocolate, close your eyes, place it on

AN ARTIST’S RENDITION OF LADY GODIVA, THE 11-TH CENTURY BEAUTY WHO FAMOUSLY TOOK TO THE STREETS IN THE NUDE TO PROTEST TAXES

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a montblanc release

Mastered by hand

A handwritten thank-you note – to some a rarity; to others still a mark of good etiquette. By Debbie Hathway

E

lectronic communication may be ideal for people in the modern world, but its speed and ease of use can backfire if the style and content of the email or text message is lacking.

While some argue that they think faster and better when they type, and actively avoid the arduous task of making legible an unpracticed hand, others have quite the opposite experience.

A gentleman with an unruly scrawl, who practised as an attorney, took the trouble to learn calligraphy so that recipients of his communications would find pleasure in them. To him, writing in italic form is far less fatiguing – he once wrote a 60-page legal brief to Counsel lying in bed one morning, which he presented at Chambers the following day. The brief did not need to be typed.

Aside from legibility, a handwritten note demonstrates a level of politeness to the reader that creates a connection with the writer in a way that an email or text message cannot. The benefit for the writer on the other hand is in the emotional process and the development of thought afforded by the act of writing.

Handwriting modes and materials have come a long way since marks in the sand developed into more immortal means like ink on papyrus and inscriptions on stone. In Japan, calligraphy is written with a paintbrush.

It’s considered therapeutic; an art rather than a mechanical chore.

It’s exactly this kind of artistry that upholds the Montblanc brand, launched in Europe in 1906 with its trademark white six-pointed star with rounded edges symbolising an aerial view of the Mont Blanc snowcap. (Mont Blanc straddles the France-Italy border, peaking at 4 810 metres to make it the highest mountain in Europe.)

This year, the German company’s cornerstone Meisterstück fountain pen for the first time trades its distinctive black look for a special snowwhite edition as one of five variants in the Tribute to the Mont Blanc Collection. There are rollerball and ballpoint options too. The exclusive snow quartz emblem at the top of the pen cap symbolises the icy glaciers and rocky surfaces of the famous landmark, while the platinum-plated forepart has been delicately engraved with the Mont Blanc massif. Each peak is also named.

The exclusive snow quartz emblem at the top of t and rocky surfaces of the famous landmark, has been delicately engraved with the mont

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a montblanc release

MONTBLANC’S TRIBUTE TO THE MONT BLANC COLLECTION HONOURS EUROPE’S ICONIC SUMMIT WITH A RANGE OF WRITING INSTRUMENTS, JEWELLERY AND LEATHER GOODS

The prized writing instruments, handmade by master craftsmen, complement a collection of timeless jewellery and leather goods for men and women crafted with stones and materials that reflect the composition, spirit and magnitude of the snowy summit. Every item in the Montblanc luxury gift portfolio is created with precision and minute attention to detail to reflect its clear shapes and colours.

The Tribute to the Mont Blanc Leather Accessories range incorporates the organiser, ladies’ purse, men’s wallet and pen pouch presented in the finest imprinted white leather with jacquard lining for an ultra-luxurious look and feel. In the Men’s Fine Jewellery, Men’s Classic and Ladies’ Silver Jewellery Collections, Tribute to the Mont Blanc pieces comprise elements that embody the bold presence of the mountain and capture its mystical side.

The women’s jewellery incorporates milky quartz to represent the snow-covered summit of the glacier, vibrant blue lace agate for the sky, and translucent rose quartz to reflect the Alpine roses in bloom. The men’s collections in stainless steel or platinum feature intriguing dome-shaped, hard stones in either black onyx or white opaque howlite, adorned with a 0.06ct Montblanc diamond on each peak.

The exclusive collection honours the brand’s namesake and supports Pro Mont Blanc, an international non-profit group formed to protect the massif through projects like the goal to obtain UNESCO World Heritage status. It celebrates classic design with a contemporary twist, and is available in Montblanc boutiques worldwide.

the pen cap symbolises the icy glaciers while the platinum-plated forepart blanc massif

chapter and verse

PHOTOGRAPHY: gettyimages.com

The Karoo farmer in the silence of his world has long since come to the realisation asks at least three things: love and knowledge but above all humility before the won

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n that the planet so small nder of created things.

chapter and verse

Bilingual Balladeers APART FROM HAVING titles like lawyer, mountaineer, archeologist, musician and author; these two talented 80-plus men ALSO mergE words and images masterfully. By Debbie Hathway

M

y conflict is that I want Afrikaans people to appreciate English poetry and vice versa,’ says retired Cape Town lawyer Deryck Uys (84), who’s been translating Afrikaans into English for 60 years and is now reversing the process. ‘I’m a convertible!’

In the fifties, Uys (whose first language is English) attended an Afrikaans production of Hamlet and was struck by the immediacy of the language in comparison to Shakespeare’s English. He says that if he hadn’t been ‘struck blind’ virtually overnight, he’d never have begun with his translations. But this honorary member of the SA Law Society, who was a driving force behind the computerisation of SA’s legal profession and lectured at UNISA and UCT for many years, likes to keep busy.

A light sleeper, Uys begins work in the early hours of the morning at his Tamboerskloof home before dressing in a three-piece suit and catching a taxi to his town office four days a week. In the last two years, he’s translated Edward Fitzgerald’s version of The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, all of William Shakespeare’s 154 sonnets, and the plays Julius Caesar, Romeo and Juliet, and Anthony and Cleopatra, and now he’s busy with Macbeth. ‘Fortunately, that’s a bit shorter. English has so much more vocabulary than Afrikaans that finding the rhyme and maintaining the iambic pentameter is very difficult.’

When Uys is not sharing puns and witticisms, he’s spouting poetry. Put him in the same room as retired magazine and advertising photographer Tom Burgers (83), who is also a mountaineer, archeologist, musician and author, and you’ll be treated to dramatic bilingual poetry recitations. As one completes a verse, it’s immediately translated by the other – neither misses a beat. The men were introduced by Burgers’ son-in-law, Chris van Zyl, about 10 years ago. Van Zyl, an attorney, was so impressed by Uys’ translation of Jan F Cilliers’

lyrical poem, ‘Die Vlakte’, that he shared it with Burgers. It was all the inspiration Burgers needed to use poetic excerpts to caption the photographs for his books.

Burgers recently published his second book, Karoo Pastoraal, which is ‘a ballad of word and image’ inspired by his love for the timelessness of the Karoo. It’s the product of a 40-year photographic study of a ‘legendary portion of our planet’ that some people see merely as a barren and desolate landscape.

The carefully selected images depict life in the Karoo from the fossil period to today, and are grouped in themes to ensure a continuous flow. Burgers’ insightful approach highlights everything from vintage cars and fashion to stone fences; from sheep being shorn for their wool to expressive portraits of children; from churchgoers to the Karoo farmer whose home is his palace.

All the images are authentic, with little if any manipulation or retouching. ‘I lay on my back in Sutherland, unable to see the explosion in the Milky Way, but my camera picked it up,’ Burgers says of one. He’s also captured masses of yellow Karoo flowers in a field (‘in 20 years, I’ve never seen it again’) and a tortoise drinking water.

Conventional captions are replaced by poetry by the likes of Jan F Cilliers and Dr Dolf van Niekerk, translated from Afrikaans into English by Uys. Burgers says the subject matter inspired him to seek text from various well-known poets and he decided to publish in both languages because of Uys’ capabilities. ‘I saw his translation of “Die Vlakte”, and that was it. Deryck has the poetic rhythm and an awareness of what the poet really felt.’ Knowledge and familial love are underlying themes of Karoo Pastoraal. ‘As the 17th century Japanese poet Matuso Basho wrote: “Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home”.'

Karoo Pastoraal: R750 excluding postage and packaging. Contact Burgers on 021 987 1366.

ISSUE 12 P R I V A T E E D I T I O N 2 5

green-brand chip investment iconic

Sheer genus Botanical art is a hot item under the hammer when it carries the signature of Lisa Strachan. By Debbie Hathway

A

cclaimed Cape Town-based botanical artist Lisa Strachan’s specialty is capturing the fragile delicacy of rare indigenous plants in watercolour for as long as they are flowering, and by the time she receives the plant, she could have a few hours or a few days to capture its spirit.

So when you visit Strachan at her home studio, don’t be surprised to find more plants in her fridge than food. The cooler temperature buys her precious minutes. Her technical prowess and eye for detail has attracted invitations to exhibit among international artists at Filoli in San Francisco and the Royal Horticultural Society Show in London and she’s won several medals at the Biennale Exhibition at Kirstenbosch. Her work has been collected in South Africa, the UK, USA, Europe, Ireland and Australia.

Strachan has illustrated Cotyledon and Tylecodon (2005) by Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden senior horticulturalist Ernst van Jaarsveld, who is not the only one to peer intently

at one of her masterpieces to ascertain whether it’s actually a painting and not the pressed plant. Her interpretation is that real.

And it has to be to maintain her status as one of South Africa’s artistic experts in this field.

She recently completed a commission for the World Wildlife Fund to illustrate a rare and endangered wild iris of the Moraea genus, discovered near Jacobsbaai on the West Coast. Her painting was presented to the winning bidder on naming rights for the bloom at an auction conducted by master auctioneer Stefan Welz to raise funds for the WWF Table Mountain Fund.

The hammer came down on a whopping final bid of R550 000 from South African Rose Hainebach.

Globally, botanical art is attracting more investors who see it as fine art rather than a scientific study, and prices are starting to increase accordingly. Local art collector Julia Meintjies commends the sheer poetry of Strachan’s illustrations. ‘Her work is very beautiful, so delicate and finely observed, yet so confident.

And she never repeats a plant, which is very special.'

Strachan’s highly collectible work can be seen at her second solo exhibition of endangered botanic works and nature studies, to be paired with a solo exhibition of sculptures by Nic Bladen, at Everard Read Cape Town from 11-25 August 2011.

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iconic brand

A family thing

AT THE HEART OF GLOBAL BRAND HENNESSY’S UNDENIABLE SASS IS A HERITAGE OF SUPERIOR LUXURY.

By Emma Jordan

class act: hennessy’s global ambassador maurice hennesy epitomises the brand’s leading presence in the luxury arena

PHOTOGRAPHY: SUPPLIED

T

he direct descendent of Irishman Richard Hennessy, Maurice Hennessy is over six-foot tall with a shock of silver hair and large expressive hands. He smiles when he’s asked what it’s like to be so intrinsically tied to one of the largest luxury houses in the world. ‘Look,’ he says (it should really be alors), ‘Hennessy became part of the Moët Family in 1973. It was a marriage, more than a buy-out, and even still today, there are thousands of Hennessys around the world.’

Yes, but they don’t all work for the family firm, they don’t travel the world as Global Ambassador and they don’t own land that produces grapes for the famous cognac’s eau de vie.

Moreover, they don’t help to affirm the brand’s heritage, to provide a living, breathing link to a status brand that was founded over 250 years ago.

‘Luxury is a product that is not necessary to survive,’ he says in his impeccable grey suit, his Hermès tie replete with a party scene. ‘Luxury is only successful when it is good. When there is demand. And often the demand exceeds supply.’

As a GA for the company, Hennessy’s more often than not on the road, visiting new markets. If he wasn’t in the family business, he says he would’ve been a cattle farmer. He talks easily of opera, good food, good wine, good company, and says the best time for tasting is 11am, when the tongue is perfectly primed between morning and midday.

The brand’s heritage, and of course, heritage with a capital H when talking luxury, is part of the packaging: the age, the locale – such as Bordeaux or Champagne, and the fact that the same family of blenders (seven generations in total) have worked for the name and will continue to do so for the unforeseeable future, all count.

‘I try to explain,’ says Hennessy, ‘that it takes 100 years to make a cognac that is 100 years old. People don’t always understand that.’

It’s not just the ageing in the barrels, the craftsmanship and the quality that makes it a market leader. It’s this man himself: a sophisticated, interesting, interested and animated advertisement; a personal invitation to a world that this particular luxury affords. He’s a link to a different time and a different class. And that’s priceless for those selling the concept of global luxury.

I SS U E 1 2 P R I V A T E E D I T I O N 2 7

the real deal

Coming to terms

B

ooze, fist fights, zoning out on daytime TV and tomcatting till dawn – right off the bat I could sense my life was being check-listed for reform and chalked up for death. Bloody agents. I’d assumed it would be all about immortalising me, but it was sounding suspiciously like marriage or, worse yet, what with all this odd talk of ‘financial planning’ and ‘tax’, like grown-up life.

Yes, I was told, impositions there would be. Advice, encouragement.

Buddy sessions with mentors, stuff about ‘finding balance’ and ‘not going overboard’. The line between private existence and public celebrity would become wafer-thin, and I’d be judged as much on my lifestyle as my performance. No-one minds a hero, but everyone craves a whipping boy.

And then I heard something that made the clouds part and sunlight shine, if only for an instant.

In the future, I saw myself machine-drilled into a cyborg of sporting prowess. I would come to know the cheering ovals, the thunderous stadia, the madness of the vuvuzela hive: that was obvious. Just as obviously I’d be swept into a whirlwind of cover shoots, fancy cars, trophy babes and massed fans. But, hey, it was nice to know I could still cruise on two packs a day. Smoking, thank the Lord, would be cool, even compulsory. My agents-to-be said so.

Or at any rate appeared to imply that whether I quit my intake or quadrupled it, my chances wouldn’t be affected either way.

So where, I wondered, did I stand with these guys? Although unstintingly courteous, the legendary sports managers Mike Makaab and Craig Livingstone were giving my do-or-die offer a curiously ambiguous reception. Gentleman, I had announced, I’m an undiscovered, chainsmoking, 40-something darts player. I battle to hit a bull’s-eye, often the board itself, but these are early days. I have vision, indeed double vision.

There is greatness in me, and I thirst for darting glory. Show me the way forward.

‘I’m heading for the hills!’ Livingstone cackled, no doubt an agent ruse

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(show interest, but not too much), yet I couldn’t help feeling a twinge of resentment that he might be favouring another of his clients over me – someone called Fourie du Preez, whom he mentioned was ‘one of the best rugby players in the world’ and a fellow likely to emerge after the World Cup (huh?) as the sport’s highest earner thanks to a deal which he, Livingstone, had recently closed.

He revealed the sum. After you sat down for a while, it was surprisingly unridiculous. That said, it was nonetheless about 100 000 percent more than the fee I’d get for this article.

For his part, Makaab turned to the darts bid with the air of a man rolling up his sleeves to try and find some good in what the day hath brung. ‘I guess,’ he sighed after a pause, ‘continue smoking. I’ve seen some of the world’s best darts players totally out of shape physically.’

Did it mean the beer glass of my life was half full or half empty? I was, as I say, in emotional turmoil as I tried to fathom the prophecy or indictment his words held. But Makaab carried on speaking, and his voice took on a warm, golden note. There is much that a sports manager has to manage, and a player’s expectations are right there at the top, bottom and centre of the list.

‘The most important thing is that you need to get your confidence back, your eye in again, and – you know – start throwing those bull’seyes.’ He chuckled. ‘Otherwise you ain’t gonna make any money.’

It was the sort of calming, tutelary gesture which he’d presumably bestowed many a time in his life, and whether I was being shown the way to glory or the door, I was certainly, with great delicacy, being shown the way. Our encounter was unusual, perhaps, in its details and extremity, but in its outline it appeared that it was a scene repeated time and again, the pivot around which so much else turns.

Makaab and Livingstone are leading and longstanding players in South Africa’s sports-agency game, a demanding, high-stakes pursuit waged in the combustible space where sports, mass media, commerce and rockhard realities impact on one another.

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTYIMAGES.COM

Behind the fields of dreams lie the sports agents. Some say it’s a world swimming with sharks and scam artists. The good ones are the dealmakers and career shapers. By André Wiesner

the real deal

there is much that a sports manager has to manage, and a player’s expectations are right there at the top, bottom and centre of the list

The Welsh rugby team meet in Richmond for a training session before the Home Nations international match against England at Twickenham (15 January 1937). Representing star players would be decades in the future

I S S U E 1 2 PRI V ATE EDITION 2 9

jack of all trades: being at the top of his game means that craig livingstone has even handdelivered flowers to a client’s wife

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the real deal

In olden times players fended for themselves or relied on family lawyers and the like when there was paperwork to sign or money matters to discuss. Before 1994, says Makaab, agencies were ‘unheard of ’ locally.

Nowadays, they’re a nearly indispensable gateway through which any athlete of big-league calibre or aspiration has to pass, and their rise has been sustained by the same nation-building energies and global forces that saw South Africa move from isolation to participation in the world arena.

Formerly an Olympic-level hockey coach and for long, a devotee of Mark McCormack (the American golfer and lawyer hailed as the founding father of sports marketing), Livingstone was himself practising in a law firm when he made his pioneering debut in rugby representation.

‘The 1995 Springboks were offered professional contracts for the first time, and five or six of them came to me for legal advice. I saw the commercial opportunities, and that’s where it started.’

Not long afterwards, he went solo with a start-up agency, glad to this day of his legal background, but gladder it’s just that – background.

‘Doing the deals, being out in the field of play … that was the most stimulating thing, and got me going.’

During the same era, Makaab was equally close to the action and exhilarating liberations of the Rainbow moment, serving in ’94 as technical manager and chief coach of Orlando Pirates, the biggest soccer club in South Africa, and in ’95 leading it to become Club Champions of Africa. A year later, he was technical advisor to the national team that won the Africa Cup of Nations.

‘The day I decided to retire from coaching, it made sense to marry the two loves in my life apart from God and family – football and business.

I became the first FIFA-licensed agent in this country, which gave me a head start over my competitors – and there are a lot of them. But I’d like to believe I’ve paid my dues. I’ve seen sports management grow from its infancy.’

In 2001, Livingstone and Makaab joined forces; today, their company, Prosport International, has offices in South Africa’s main centres as well as Europe and greater Africa, and positions itself as a blue-chip management service for the blue-blood athlete. Even an ace like me can recognise some of the names on the client roll call: the Olympic swimmer Ryk Neethling, the cricketer Makhaya Ntini and the footballer Bernard Parker, as well

PORTRAITS: V A U G H A N T R E Y V E L L A N

as rugby players such as Schalk Burger, ‘Beast’ Mtwawirira and the Springbok captain, John Smit.

If sport is the sublimation of war, sports management is the continuation of sport by feeding the supply lines. The partners are frequent fliers, with non-stop calls and meetings with a litany of prospects, players, staff, sponsors, journos, CEOs, officials, coaches and more.

‘Every day brings completely different scenarios, challenges and levels of composure,’ says Makaab. ‘All in one day you can have incredibly high emotions and incredibly low emotions. This is the closest profession you can get to a roller-coaster ride. A lot of your success depends on the sportspersons you represent, and theirs depends on many variables – their fitness, injury, or lack of injury, their form, the form of their team, the way they feel about their career at that point. It’s as if you live the emotions of each and every player you represent, on a daily basis.’

So don’t get the wrong idea, says Livingstone. ‘Anyone thinking it’s glamorous to represent all these celebrities isn’t living in the real world. It’s high action, high stress.

You need to be pretty hard-nosed and level-headed to handle the scenarios that get played out.’

Sure, he agreed, if you’re a pro sportsperson, this is a good time to be alive. Athletes earn money principally from two sources – contracts with clubs and unions on the one hand, endorsements for corporate sponsors on the other – and business is booming. The recession is receding, South Africa is steeped in talent, and among what Makaab called ‘the Big Three’ (soccer, rugby, cricket), players’ salaries are rising, better overseas offers are emerging and the guys are scoring solid tom on and off the field.

It also looks swell to be an agent. Commissions, says Livingstone, are ‘generally 10 percent on the player contract, sometimes less, not more, and on endorsements and sponsorships, 20 percent.’

Then again, he explained, only a fraction of players reap full benefit from sponsorships. ‘Not everyone is marketable, not everyone has the X-factor.’ Or as Makaab put it, ‘Probably 90 percent of sponsorship spend is on 10 percent of sports personalities – the 10 percent left is for the 90 percent to fight for.’ Sponsors’ number-one criterion is that players be at the top of their game. The second is that they have qualities that can enhance a brand: this one’s flamboyant, that one’s a saint, the other one’s edgy but a safe sell for beer.

The craft of brand building can go wrong, of course. A minor heart

ISSUE 12 P R I V A T E E D I T I O N 3 1

the real deal

few bucks.’ stopper along the roller coaster comes when the star has an unscheduled When his career began, he was a 19-year-old unsure of ‘what to say training commitment and 300 guests at a breakfast event start checking or do’ during his contract negotiations, and was regularly solicited by their Rolexes. A major plunge is when he goes Krakatau, thereby ‘chancers posing as sports agents’ – until being referred to Makaab and contradicting the pitch on which he was sold, setting himself on a Livingstone. ‘With things happening at a million miles an hour, these lonely road as an endorsement untouchable, and damaging his agency’s guys were valuable and guided me as a father would to look long-term credibility with his bad behaviour. rather short-term.

As for the idea that the sports boom means untold wealth for agents, ‘Importantly, Craig knew what I was about, and steered my commercial Livingstone was again qualified in his remarks. It can certainly be exposure in that direction. So no centrefold shirtless Huisgenoot pics of worthwhile – ‘if you have the right clients’. Although regulated, the industry is ‘fiercely competitive’, and he was sceptical about how viable me just yet, no diamond through the tongue, and certainly no dancing its many newcomers would be. The business model must be sustainable. the full monty on DSTV! Make no mistake, there were times when I In his case, the model appears to involve a combination of blue-chip expected more from them, but all players in their early- to mid-20s think positioning and, over time, ‘lean, mean’ streamlining, both of his staff and they should be endorsed like Tiger Woods.’ client-base. These days, Livingstone supervises 10 to 12 clients himself Expectations … We were back to my bid for darts glory, back to that (with more than that you risk ‘dropping balls and losing clients’). Just interpersonal space where ambition meets finite, mortal yob reality. From as important is acquiring new talent, often on the basis of referrals from the agent’s perspective, he has to maintain your patronage and yet deliver existing clients. And then it’s service, service, service. the news, good or ill. Will the client bolt or keep loyal to the stable? More Broadly stated, managing a player’s career entails doing everything for pertinently, does this person have talent? Determination? Or will some that person shy of stepping in to do the sport. waywardness of character sour things midIt ranges from making deals and giving tax career? He’s sitting there, awaiting an answer. advice to providing an admin service: booking ‘If you have a good relationship with your Financial planning flights, collecting boots, playing sidekick at agent,’ says Makaab, ‘if you trust him, if he’s is especially critical. functions. Livingstone has even hand-delivered been upfront with you, if he’s believable in the they earn incredible flowers to a client’s wife. But financial planning industry, and he presents a scenario that as far is especially critical. ‘They earn incredible as he believes is a fair deal given where you are amounts of money amounts of money at a relatively young age, in your career, the sensible sportsperson will at a relatively young and are often not sure what to do with it. It’s a understand and support that. We all have to age, and are often flashy car, a flashier house, a coffee shop – buy dream and set our aims higher than we’d be not sure what to this, buy that. That’s not necessarily the right satisfied with. But there comes a time when you way to go about it. For the rugby player, it’s a have to take stock of everything and be realistic.’ do with it 10-year career, and in the grand scheme it’s not The agent represents the player, but the a long time to maximise revenue.’ player also represents the agent: as trophy, The key service is bagging the best possible playing contracts. These sometimes as embarrassment, and perhaps even as mirror image. Makaab are the athlete’s ‘lifeblood’ and the agent’s adrenaline rush. Negotiations used himself as an example. Was he possibly speaking to himself too – are complex, protracted exercises in off-the-field gamesmanship, but the speaking to a younger, sporting self, and by extension revisiting his own kick-off is always the same: either the club makes an offer and you bargain coming-to-terms in the counsel he gives to the young guns, civilising upwards, or you make it and they bargain downwards. their passions, initiating them into living reality?

If their offer is ‘cheeky’, go silent. ‘Never make a hasty decision,’ says ‘Unfortunately our sportspersons don’t give enough attention to Livingsone. Odds are the club will fear the player is off elsewhere and preparing themselves for life after sport,’ says Makaab. ‘It’s not only sally back with a juicier proposal. Flick it away. By then rivals are stirring a financial thing. People ask why boxers go back when they’ve got to life. France, let’s say, will bid almost twice the price. Now revert to enough money. They miss the adulation and the adrenaline when the the first club for the coup de grâce. Chaps – escalate your offer or lose crowd screams their names. Managing that transition is one of the most the player. important aspects of our industry.’

Not everyone in the stadium applauds manoeuverings like these, and He adds that the agent-player relationship could last a lifetime.

Livingstone bristles at complaints about players’ earnings. From MD to ‘You have to work together for a common cause with both parties receptionist, people seek better deals. Why the tizz when jocks do it too? always doing their best. But it’s a two-way process. I often liken myself to The stereotype of the greedy agent is particularly nettlesome. ‘Come on, a car battery. If I don’t get energised, I’m not gonna start the car. I need we’re running a business! Of course money’s a factor – but it’s not the to feed off the energy of my clients. Then I can hopefully help them kickonly one.’ start things.’

‘Get the wrong agent,’ said John Smit, echoing the point, ‘and he’ll be selling you to every club around the world at the highest price to ED’S NOTE: Not donning cricket bats in press shots like these doesn’t mean earn his comm, no matter how unhappy you might be; or getting you to Livingstone and Makaab aren’t serious about everything from cricket to, erm, perform in some ridiculous advert and making you look like a fool for a well ... darts.

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PORTRAITS: V A U G H A N T R E Y V E L L A N

keeping an eye on the ball: according TO mike makaab, about 90 percent of sponsorship spend is on 10 percent of sports personalities

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choice lifestyles

Estate of Grace

Y FIELD OF DREAMS: VAL DE VIE’S POLO FIELD COMBINES MESMERISING NATURAL BEAUTY AND AN ENVIABLE SETTING SURROUNDED

BY VINEYARDS AND MOUNTAINS

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ou definitely see a shift when they turn 40, says Pietermaritzburg career coach Anna Martyn of the crisis of confidence many of her most successful clients go through. They start asking questions, she says. “Have I made the right decisions? Am I enjoying what I’m doing? Is this what I want to do for the next 25 years? Do I need to take a sabbatical, revisit my values?”

They usually come to see her when they’re at a crossroads. They’ve spent the first 20 years of their working lives building their businesses, consolidating their reputations, amassing a lot of money. Then, they reach a midlife milestone and are suddenly struck with a severe case of existential angst. Suddenly, questions of community, social responsibility and quality of life seem pertinent.

In Johannesburg, development coach Dina SafferMyers reports more of the same: ‘They take a step back and think, “How can I renew my marriage? How can I be more than a provider?” Often, they’ve had children in their late twenties and (effectively) missed the first five, 10, or 15 years of their children’s lives.’

It is, she says, something of a growing trend. The global financial crisis has made many of us take stock.

And although South Africa was buffered from the bleeding edge of the downturn, it still served as a kind of wake-up call. ‘It’s about having a balanced lifestyle,’ reasons Saffer-Myers. ‘If everything’s staked on your career, and then that’s destroyed, your whole life is shattered. If things are more evenly spread, they’re more easily recoverable.’

Property developer Martin Venter targets businessmen with this kind of equilibrium in mind.

PHOTOGRAPHY: MARGUERITE OELOFSE IS REPRESENTED BY INFIDELS. INSET IMAGES BY CHRISTOPHER AUPIAIS

The recession has seen many high-flyers step back, reassess their priorities, and slow down a gear. PRIVATE EDITION TALKS to businessmen who are finding a new balance. By Tabitha Lasley

choice lifestyles

Val de Vie, his 200-hectare residential estate, is a 40 minute-drive from Cape Town International, so it’s still a viable option for commuters.

But sunk deep in the Paarl-Franschhoek valley, it feels miles away from the commercial hub of the city. Its USP? It’s the only estate in South Africa that majors in both wine and polo. On paper it may seem an unlikely partnership, but estate owners are guaranteed a green ocean of immaculately kept fields and vineyards. It’s Paarl’s answer to la dolce vita.

Venter cheerfully admits his polo handicap is still an absolute beginner’s minus two – ‘I only started playing polo when we constructed the polo fields!’ He tosses out the story of Val de Vie in a cursory fashion, as if it’s a very ordinary achievement. ‘Most decisions that you make in business are just common sense.’

In his hands, even the polo sounds inclusive. ‘It’s much more of a family event than golf. In the afternoons, you’ll find whole families sitting round the polo field on a blanket. It’s the heartbeat

of the estate.’

Venter’s aw-shucks modesty seems incompatible with the kind of tough-mindedness that it must take to drive a project like Val de Vie, but the real key to the estate’s success was his willingness to listen and to learn from others. Before he started building, he travelled the world, reviewing estates and making a list of what he calls ‘critical success factors’. Every time he saw something he liked, he resolved to take it home.

From the French town of Châteauneuf-du-Pape he took inspiration for his Rhône-style vineyards. For sheer scale and ambition, he looked to the Soto Grande resort in southern Spain.

The polo? That came from both the Ellerstina estate in Pilar, two hours from Buenos Aires, and the desert enclave Arabian Ranches, just outside Dubai.

But alongside this runs a very real regard for the Western Cape aesthetic. Venter speaks of the region’s strict planning legislation with relief, not resentment. It means residents are unable to run

ISSUE 12 P R I V A T E E D I T I O N 3 5

riot with their grand schemes and risk despoiling the landscape. Houses must be built in a Cape Colonial style. ‘You won’t find anything too flashy,’ says Venter.

‘We need to fit into the heritage of the valley, because that’s what we’re leveraging on.’

That said, the estate doesn’t rely on residential expansion alone to attract new buyers. Venter’s currently finalising plans for a small office development, which will come complete with a deli and coffee shop. His target market? The Blackberry generation; that newly mobile breed of businessmen who’ve eschewed the daily commute, but need a space free from domestic distractions. This final flourish, Venter says, is a natural progression. It will make the estate completely selfsufficient.

‘It goes with the whole lifestyle at Val de Vie, of it being a live and work location,’ he explains. ‘You need to have that little bit of a distance. But it’s important that you’re still close enough to go and watch your little boy’s rugby match in town, or his swimming gala. I do believe that the family is in a happier place if Dad is closer to home.’

Resident Renier Swart, a 40-year-old former Pretoria Businessman of the Year, has several business concerns: an award-winning car dealership in Johannesburg, a game lodge just north of Pretoria, and a plot of twenty houses on the estate. Added to that, he’s just become a father for the second time. Surely he should be off somewhere playing the harried executive, putting in 14-

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on a cold day, the mist comes over the mountains and the mood changes. i couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. Living here is food for my soul

BLISSED OUT: AT VAL DE VIE, VARIOUS OUTDOOR PURSUITS, INCLUDING KAYAKING ON THE RIVER AND DAMS, ARE PAR FOR THE COURSE

hour days at the office, a permanent pulse jumping in his left temple? Or at the very least, studiously avoiding the nappies and new-baby chaos at home? But he turns up at the polo club looking fresh and relaxed; he’s just picked up his three-year-old daughter from daycare and is here for a leisurely lunch with Venter and resident Ryk Neethling’s family, down from Bloemfontein.

As is the case with Martyn’s clients, Swart had made his money by his mid-thirties. Only then did his thoughts turn to marriage and family. It’s a trajectory many residents have followed: ‘We’ve made a lot of friends here who are the same age; people who first focused on their careers, then got married, and then had kids,’ he says. ‘We’ve all got babies now. I think in the last three or four months 10 babies were born on the estate.’ He too experienced the pang for the community Saffer-Myers indentified. He now sits on the board of trustees, something akin to a town council, after a hard-fought election campaign. As for work, he runs his businesses remotely, commuting to Johannesburg just once a month. ‘I operate from home with the latest technology. I’ve built myself a proper office at my house, I’ve got my PA coming in, and I work from here. It’s fantastic.’

Swart has hit on the happy equation of working from home – cutting out the daily commute. Plus, ignoring the office’s arbitrarily imposed framework of nine-tofive frees up hours without affecting productivity. He works when he needs to work. The rest of his time can be spent with family and friends, preferably outdoors.

Here again, the estate’s inclusive planning comes into play: ‘There are lots of open spaces that your family can use. It suits us because we’re outdoorsy: we run, we cycle, we like going to the river.’ Halfway through lunch, his wife Leigh joins us, also looking remarkably glossy for someone who gave birth just five months ago. Later, she confides that she was worried about the effect estate living would have on her home life: ‘I was concerned that the way of life would consume my husband. That it would take him away from his family.

That he’d be here at the pub all the time, or start playing polo.’ But in fact, she says, since moving to Val de Vie they see more, not less, of each other.

If career coaches like Martyn are right, and the new measure of midlife success is the luxury of time and a restored connection with your partner and family, one look at Leigh should tell us how Renier’s doing.

In fact, it tells you all you need to know. Leigh shifts in her chair, turns her face towards the Cape sunshine, and smiles. ‘I can sit here with the sunset and look at this view. Or on a cold day, the mist comes in over the mountains and the moods changes. I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. Living here is food for my soul.’

PHOTOGRAPHY: supplied and justin polkey

choice lifestyles

choice lifestyles THE BEAUTIFUL GAME, POLO, ENJOYS PRIDE OF PLACE AT VAL DE VIE

ESTATE LIVING – THE BEST OF THE REST Pecanwood Estate, near Johannesburg The look: Red-roofed villas massed round the shores of the Hartbeespoort Dam, set against the Magaliesberg Mountains.

Need to know: It’s home to South Africa’s first Jack Nicklaus signature golf course, which Golf Digest recently ranked as the fifth best in the country. Besides golf, there’s water sports, fishing, hiking trails, tennis courts and a gym.

There’s also a good spa.

Nearest airport: OR Tambo Waterfall Equestrian Estates, Sunninghill, Johannesburg The look: There are strict aesthetic guidelines here: residents should adhere to simple, honest structures like farmhouses and barns, in material that weathers well. There’s a boutique hotel onsite, with rooms designed to emulate barns.

Need to know: The estate has 5km of walking trails, polo fields, stables, paddocks, a training track, tack rooms, a jumping arena, a lunging ring and dressage arenas.

Nearest airport: OR Tambo The Fancourt Hotel and Country Club Estate, near George The look: Houses are either Dutch-style or Old Colonial with white walls, green roofs, wideframed windows and balconies.

Need to know: The estate is within striking distance of the Outeniqua Mountains, Tsitsikamma forest and the Indian Ocean. Move here and you’ll get access to not one, but three Gary Player-designed golf courses. There’s also a fivestar hotel onsite, with a huge indoor pool.

Nearest airport: George

ISSUE 12 P R I V A T E E D I T I O N 3 7

driving force

Spin doctorate What’s the definition of luxury? Abundance, sumptuousness, something added to pleasure and comfort but not absolutely necessary? Well, that’s moot. When it comes to cars, desire can turn into need rather smartly. By Kathy Malherbe

A high 5 Described as a ‘fine new addition to the executive ratpack,’ the BMW 5 is as comfortable as it is sporty, as gracious as it’s gritty. The 530d not only has style and substance, but just as attractively, it boasts fuel economy. In fact, its attributes sound like most men’s definition of an ideal life partner: graceful, elegant, shapely, dynamic, alluring and frugal.

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t’s certainly not the description one would previously have associated with a diesel car – even before one-stop shops replaced workshops, high-tech fuel-injection and sound insulation brought death to the ‘diesel rattle’ and special exhausts sweetened emissions. Yes, diesel has not only arrived, but made a red-carpet entrance.

Seamlessly, silently and victoriously. No longer is there anything a petrol car can do that a diesel can’t do better.

Luxury, of course, is a given in a car with this kind of price tag. It buys you an eightspeed automatic gearbox so smooth you don’t feel the shifts, and it comes with a man (or woman) who talks to you in traffic through a computerised COMAND voice control for the satnav, phone, aircon and audio installation.

The voice also adopts a slightly superior tone if you’re not imperious enough or hesitate in your command, suggesting you may need help.

A tad teutonic, but I confess – I needed it.

Life’s about choices and there are plenty in the 530d. Dynamic Driving Control allows you to adjust the engine, suspension and steering to your mood: Normal (as if ); Comfort for just chilling; Sport Mode, if you’re feeling playful; and if you’re really frisky, Sport Plus. Which I most certainly was when I took off on an oil-burning cruise over the serpentine Houw Hoek Pass and drove the glorious False Bay coast road from Cape Town to Hermanus.

The back end of Houw Hoek, where the bends never seem to end and the cambers are, at best, challenging, is a magnificent track to test the car’s road-holding abilities. For

driving force

SLEEK SURRENDER: BMW’s 530d boasts an unparalleled performAnce as well as plush interiors

the 530d, which shares its suspension with sportier models but is superior thanks to its high torque diesel, it was a breeze.

The drive was seamless and silent with a grip on those corners as tenacious as a terrier.

The description of this Beemer as ‘executive express’ is no exaggeration. It justifiably landed Car of the Year by the South African Guild of Motoring Journalists earlier this year.

While petrol-powered cars are thrashing away at high revs to generate power, the diesel engine in your 530d will be barely ticking over thanks to an abundance of torque. The result is near-silent, high-speed progress and at least two litres/100km lower fuel consumption than an equivalent petrol engine.

Despite the 530d being capable of 0-100km/h in a blistering 6.3 seconds. And,

despite those dirty stories about diesels, the 530d emits carbon dioxide at a rate of only 160g/km – less than any petrol BMW. ‘Luxury without waste’ is how BMW describes it.

Plush interiors, power-operated windows, exterior mirrors and seats (three position memories) and deep carpets are common to most luxury sedans.

That aside, these were some of my favourite things: rear-wheel steering, cruise control that can actually stop the car in an emergency, infra-red night vision assistance and a party of airbags.

My absolute favourite though is a small projector on the dashboard, which sends a display out to the windscreen to make information like speed, direction of travel,

satnav info and speed limits seem as if it’s floating somewhere over the car’s bonnet.

Mind-boggling really.

This is just some of the futuristic gadgetry available in the 5 series.

Let it be said, though, that a little time and concentration are required to Rubik-cube your way through the brilliant and enchanting high-tech stuff. Some smart car-manufacturer should come up with the idea of providing a teenager to go with each vehicle – someone has to figure out all that technology faster.

But then again, exploring all the possibilities click by click is part of the fun of taking ownership.

Price at time of going to press: R642 500.

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driving force

NO LIMITS: AUDI’S NIFTY A7 SPORTBACK IS PRACTICAL, VERSATILE AND COMPACT

The magnificent 7 Sculptured, muscular elegance; sporty curves; a generous bonnet and a curved roofline finishing with a flourish in a pert rear end – Audi took all of it to the drawing board and created the Audi A7 Sportback.

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ow slung, gutsy, sleek, glamorous. This car says, ‘Look at me.’ And almost simultaneously, ‘Drive me.’ The Audi A7 four-door hatchback combines the best of three worlds: the sporty character of a coupé; the comfort of a sedan and, though hardly a Mom’s taxi, the practicality of a station wagon.

You’ll be be forgiven for thinking you’re in a Bond movie when you first unlock the car. Rather satisfying noises emerge as you’re prepping for departure: the lights ignite with a celebratory ‘poof ’ like floodlights at Lilliputian stadium; and as you open the door, the windows lower fractionally to allow the air to be released and the doors to close more easily.

Once you start the keyless engine, there’s a flurry of activity in the cabin. The MMI display slides up elegantly to give the driver access to the

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car’s radio, navigation, Bluetooth and vehicle systems (and gives an elegant little bow before tucking away when you turn off the ignition).

Think David Hasselhof’s KITT (30 years on) where technical intelligence is akin to the car having its own personality and brain.

Safely cocooned in the wraparound cabin’s ergonomically designed seats, you sit snuggly and surrounded by Milano leather. A big thumbsup for the slightly retro three-dimensional analogue dials flanking a digital display of things like fuel consumption and speed. As the brake is released, the advanced parking distance control with rear view camera clicks in, and the array of interior lighting creates the ambience of a cockpit rather than a cabin.

Like Audi’s A8 flagship, the Audi A7 combines ‘technical intelligence, logical, intuitive ergonomics and intuitive operation’.

My introduction to one of the intuitive technologies, Stop/Go, however, was slightly disconcerting. At a busy intersection the car turned off. On releasing the brake, however, it gently purred back into action, saving fuel. Audi boasts an economical six litres/100km with reduced C02 emissions of 158g/km.

Speaking of technological intelligence – if parallel parking is your nemesis, you’ll be blown

away by the fact that the new park-assist system relieves the driver of the chore of steering when parallel parking. The A7 Sportback is also the first Audi to be equipped with active countersteering assistance as standard – designed to help the driver stabilise the vehicle more effectively.

The voice command comes with a selection for ‘speech training’. It’s best to do this when the vehicle is stationary, and even though the dials and controls are easily accessible, one should check out all the technology before take-off.

Not accustomed to doing things in moderation, I turned up the 1300W sound system while driving up the West Coast – the quality of sound through the 15 speakers was enough to make an audiophile speak in tongues and shout hallelujahs to Bang & Olufsen.

I also figured that if the Audi 7 could accelerate from zero to 100km/h in 6.5 seconds, it should theoretically stop far quicker. And it did. Powerful ABS-controlled disc brakes mean you need to hang on to your hair or handbag.

The most difficult thing about the Audi is sticking to the speed limit. It just begs to go…

Price at time of going to press: 3.0 Turbodiesel, R728 000. (Some equipment mentioned might be optional extras.)

driving force

Blue is the new green The Mercedes S-Class is described as ‘the style icon of the luxury vehicle segment’. Add high-tech and impeccable green credentials and you have the sophisticated and sumptuous S350 BlueTEC.

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he nose of the latest S-Class is unmistakeable; the car’s distinctive profile and muscular tail emphasise automotive upper-class exclusivity. It’s a superbly luxurious car – sophisticated, heady and seriously in charge. Which was reassuring as I was driving solo, sandwiched in a post-sunset Easter up the Cape’s West Coast road, cocooned in an S350 BlueTEC. Ahead and behind a thousand holiday-headed families were hustling through the darkness.

I was in autocruise, feeling sealed in and superior in splendid silence with an eight-speed auto gearbox and a bunch of computers doing all the work – including maintaining my following distance from a car with no tail-lights up ahead. The power is smooth, the acceleration impressive.

The S350 doesn’t sacrifice environmental impact on the altar of comfort, design and performance. BlueTEC is part of Mercedes Benz’ BlueEfficiency determination to reduce exhaust emissions and improve fuel consumption.

The S350, Mercedes claims, has the world’s cleanest diesel technology. Not just in terms of an efficient six-cylinder engine, but also thanks to a liquid formula – AdBlue – which is squirted into the exhaust stream to almost eliminate nitrogen oxide in compliance with international emissions levels as far ahead as 2014.

Its maker says the BlueTEC is ‘the most efficient and safest S-Class’, with an EU-standard test return of 6.8 litres of diesel per 100km – but not at the expense of performance. The S350 (a diesel engine, remember!) will reach

100km/h in only 7.1 seconds and is electronically limited to 250km/h.

The active multi-contour ergonomically designed seats are adjustable and create lumbar support for your body shape and the cabin is plush and beautifully finished. The comfort doesn’t end there. The car is set in C for Comfort mode when the transmission starts, or you can change to Sport mode where the car sets down its muscular tail and from a floaty and dreamy ride you feel the tyres grip the road and the suspension tighten up.

The S350 also has a number of Big Brother detection systems as well as a plethora of packages to help keep you on the straight and narrow. The Driving Assistance Package warns you if you leave the lane unintentionally through a ‘subtle vibration’ on the steering wheel. And if you aren’t the acquiescent type, this is followed by a lane correcting action over which you have no control – it gently brakes the rear wheel on the opposite side of the vehicle. An initially perplexing icon on the dashboard of a cup of coffee (the car makes cappuccino too?) proved to be Attention Assist, which detects driver fatigue or loss of concentration. Even the slightest fidget is picked up by sensors between 80 and 100km/h – a winner for long-distance driving.

It doesn’t take much effort to drive the S350. If it rains, the wipers spring into action; the lights dip automatically for oncoming traffic; there’s an active blind-spot detector – radar sensors which morph into a red warning triangle on the exterior mirror warning you if your lane change might cause an accident and a rather natty towaway protection assist. Oh yes, and the seat belts tighten up automatically and snugly as you put the car into Drive.

They say that no other man-made device since the shields and lances of the ancient knights fulfils a man’s ego like an automobile. Then again, Joan of Arc would’ve loved it.

Prices at the time of going to press: S350 BlueTEC, R1 034 880; CO2 Tax value: R 4 874.

CLASS ACT: with its clever and intuitive controls and abundance of luxury touches, mercedes’ S350 BlueTEC is all about sitting back and enjoying the ride

ISSUE 12 P R I V A T E E D I T I O N 4 1

driving force

Jag’s edge The two book ends of Jaguar design are traditional and contemporary and the recently launched XJ 3.0-V6 Diesel is just that – a perfect mix of a modern racy thriller and classic novel.

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t has lines described by Jaguar as ‘complemented by a taut waistline, confident face and strong haunch’.

And when you press the chequered-flag button and put the car into Sport mode, it does seem to sit back on powerful hind legs then leap forward – slightly faster than its namesake though at 0-100km in 6.4 seconds.

Even though I had plenty of time to take the Jag through its paces during a meandering trip up the West Coast to Paternoster.

There’s an absolute sense of occasion when you first lay eyes on the revitalised XJ. A design based on the purity and proportion of a prima ballerina and the perfect lines of Riva Boats – sleek and streamlined; innovative, trendy and classic. Think sunglassed divas, romantic escapades, luxury and elegance. No doubt Sir William Lyons, who set up the company that evolved into Jaguar in 1901, would look at the

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new XJ with pride and nostalgia.

The XJ’s beauty is more than skin deep – each is assembled using aerospace-inspired aluminium body technology and the same riveting and bonding. The result is a vehicle lighter than rivals by 150kg (not to be sneezed at, bearing in mind that that’s the equivalent weight of a fairly solid Springbok forward).

It’s not surprising to hear that the Jags are assembled in a factory in the UK which issued Spitfire fighters that fought the Battle of Britain in the Second World War. Jaguar describes the interior as like a ‘stateof-the-art living space’, but it feels more like the spacious cockpit of a very expensive private jet. You’re recessed, cushioned and cosseted in sumptuousness, surrounded by Nappa leather, ebony inlays (pressed and polished 17 times to give it sheen and depth) and an array of instruments sufficient to keep a teenager busy for hours. The interior is all cool chrome and warm veneer. ‘Hmm, moderately luxurious,’ pronounced driving partner and columnist David Bullard with his inimitable irreverence.

My personal favourite is the crystalencrusted clock between two seriously aeronautical air vents. The blank screen of the 12.3-inch high-definition touchscreen lights

up with virtual instruments on start-up and has dual-view technology. (Bullard watched and gave a running commentary of a DVD while I used the same screen for navigation.)

An absolute winner: heatable/chillable power seats with a massage function and described (by Bullard) as, ‘little Thai women running up and down my back’. A perfect sensual accompaniment to the phenomenal sound issuing from the 1200W Bowers and Wilkins sound system. The clarity is glorious through no fewer than 20 speakers.

We also went out in the dead of night to have a look at the Jag’s blue mood-lighting and while admiring it, we struck on the idea of locking Bullard in the boot. Jag has thought of everything, right down to the ingenious little tag inside the boot – one tug and he emerged Houdini-style, in just two seconds.

The XJ won a 2011 International Car of the Year award based on the emotional connection between the car and the consumer. If covetous is an emotion (apart from being a sin), then it has my vote, too.

Prices at time of going to press: XJ 3.0 V6 Diesel Premium Luxury, R950 472; XJ 3.0 V6 Diesel Portfolio, R1 085 472.

PHOTOGRAPHY: SUPPLIED

added allure: jaguar’s xj 3.0-v6 diesel is 85 percent recyclable, so in the unlikely event that you get weary of your xj, just cruise to the local prep school’s recycling depot and park it

Skiing in Austria. We can take you there.

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Freeze your ass off

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t’s a cold, clear day in Johannesburg. I’m lying in a starkly lit room while two young doctors hover over me. One pinches the fat on my stomach, carefully calibrating the thickness with a practiced eye. The other fiddles with the dial on a machine next to the bed. Then the second doctor adjusts the setting and takes aim with a large applicator cup umbilically attached to the machine with a loose cord, like a vacuum cleaner. The machine purrs and hums.

The cup looks like it’s going to hurt.

In one sudden, seamless motion, it locks onto my flesh, sucking my stomach into a vice-like clamp. I gasp, more from shock than pain. Both doctors take my hand.

‘Lovely,’ they say in unison. ‘You’re doing great.’

I’m here because my stomach and I have ‘priors’.

I’ve tried every diet out there. I’m at the gym four – sometimes five – times a week. I watch my alcohol intake. I go easy on the salt. But still, there’s a dense pad of fat around my waist that just won’t shift. According to Dr Natasha Begg-Spiro, aesthetic practitioner at the Laserderm Med Spa, and the doctor overseeing my treatment today, this makes me the perfect candidate for the Zeltiq.

The Zeltiq uses extreme cold to ‘kill’ fat cells, which are then metabolised and expelled by the body over a period of two to four months – a process called cryolipolysis. The vacuum cup pinions the spare flesh into position, so the cooling panels can get to work, chilling subcutaneous cells to around 4°C. It’s designed to spot-reduce fat in people within 5-7 kilograms of their ideal weight. And although you’ll probably be a bit tender afterwards, with some localised bruising, the pain is nowhere near debilitating enough to warrant downtime.

Of course, the concept feels slightly counterintuitive.

Up until now, non-invasive procedures have turned on the idea of heating fat up to get rid of it (a preoccupation reflected in the lexicon of weightloss – we talk about ‘going for the burn’, ‘firing up our metabolism’, ‘melting fat away’). But heating techniques can damage the surrounding tissue.

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Freezing fat, however, leaves the overlying skin and muscle intact. And so far, the results are good.

Clinical studies in the US found 84 percent of patients showed a marked improvement after one treatment.

On average, they lost around 22.4 percent fat from treated areas.

Coolsculpting – the marketplace moniker for cryolipolysis – is the latest in a long line of noninvasive treatments designed to slim and tone the body.

It occupies an industry hinterland known as nonsurgical aesthetic medicine. The fact that it involves no needles or incisions means it’s not sufficiently radical to qualify as surgery. But it has enough scientific heft to gain FDA approval, so we can assume it’s more effective than the conventional treatments on most spa menus.

Demand for this sort of procedure is growing all the time, catering as it does to clients whose low-level body dissatisfaction means they’re unhappy enough to seek medical intervention, but not quite so desperate that they’d risk surgery. These are the ranks of the just-vain-enough; people who now see their bi-yearly injections of botox and filler as essential maintenance, something akin to a half-head of highlights, or a monthly manicure.

And it’s a growing demographic. In 2007, approximately 77 million aesthetic procedures where performed worldwide. This figure is expected to increase at 5.5 percent annually, and reach 101 million by 2012. Botox still tops the non-aesthetic wish list, followed by filler and laser hair removal.

Currently, body-sculpting treatments like VelaShape™, Ultrashape and Zeltiq are the fourth most popular type of procedure. But in the next five years, BeggSpiro says she expects to see the most growth in this area – around 21 percent per annum.

As for her clients, they’re nothing like the boredhousewife archetype of popular imagination. They tend to be working women, teachers, secretaries, PAs. An increasing number of men are also walking through her doors. Some 50 percent of the enquiries she’s received about the Zeltiq have come from male

PHOTOGRAPHY: gettyimages.com

The latest weapon in the aesthetic industry’s arsenal? A vacuum device that freezes fat cells. Can high-tech appliances hope to succeed where diets, pills and creams have failed? By Tabitha Lasley

the science of beauty

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the science of beauty

patients. Partly, they’re attracted by the hard scientific back-up and boys’ own appeal of the equipment. But their interest also speaks of a wider shift in values. ‘Men used to go out on the golf course to do their business deals, or they’d do it over a long, boozy lunch,’ says Begg-Spiro. ‘That’s not happening anymore. The streets are full of cyclists in the morning. Everyone’s a lot more body conscious, people are going to the gym, they’re not smoking, they’re not drinking as much.’

She estimates that around 10 percent of her clients are now men, up from around 2 percent ten years ago.

Over in America, arguably the spiritual home of the self-improvement industry, it’s much the same story.

‘The vast majority of my patients are female still but many of my colleagues are reporting a 30 percent increase in male patients,’ says LA-based cosmetic surgeon Dr Robert Rey. Like Begg-Spiro, Rey has noticed a change not only in the clientele seeking his services, but also the way in which those services are being deployed. ‘People’s attitudes toward plastic surgery have changed in the last decade. People are taking care of themselves with less invasive methods. Face-lifts are becoming less common, or are, at least, being held off much longer. This is the way cosmetic surgery should be used – sparingly. It should be for tweaking and perfecting, not for major overhauls.’

So what’s kicked off this new mood of scrupulous self-maintenance? Rey reckons the recent economic crisis may have something to do with it. ‘It makes sense, because competition for jobs is increasing. And often, success can depend on how a man looks and whether it appears that he has enough energy for the job.’

Begg-Spiro agrees. She says she’s seeing more and more salary men opting for botox and fillers ‘because they look too old or too angry or too disgruntled’. So perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that this is one arm of medicine that seems to be recession-proof. Obviously, the old adage ‘you’ve got to look like money to get money’ still holds good. According to Begg-Spiro’s colleague Dr Loredana Nigro (an aesthetic practitioner), the downturn’s impact has been barely perceptible.

‘Aesthetic medicine hasn’t taken a knock. At all. How people feel about themselves is very important. They might not have their hair done, but they’ll save their money to have their botox.’

Accordingly, industry developments are moving along at warp speed. There’s now a treatment for every indication. While Zeltiq is good for spot-reducing stubborn pockets of fat, if you want to target cellulite, there’s HYPOXI. If you need to treat small pouches of fat on delicate areas such as the face, you can opt for injection lipolysis.

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The price of beauty Zeltiq CoolSculpting The Zeltiq CoolSculpting procedure is priced between R7 000 and R12 000 per area – each thigh or love handle being R7 000, while the tummy area is R12 000. It’s best to have an assessment, as prices can be personalised according to specific requirements.

Also, there are discount options when you’re having multiple areas treated.

HYPOXI At R3 200 for 15 treatments of 30 minutes each, this popular procedure packs a punch.

INJECTION LIPOLYSIS In terms of injection lipolysis, it depends on the size of area which will be treated, but you can expect to pay between R600 and R1 200 per area. (Usually, three to four sessions are required for visible results.)

people’s attitudes to plastic surgery have changed in the last decade

Like the Zeltiq, HYPOXI therapy flies in the face of an accepted orthodoxy – that the harder you train, the more weight you’ll lose. Instead of busting your gut with high-impact cardio, you just get zipped into a stiff rubber skirt, hop onto a stationary bike and pedal at a gentle pace for 30 minutes (any faster than 70rpm and you’ll slip out of fat-burning mode, and into cardiovascular territory).

What’s more, you’re instructed to load up on carbs beforehand. It sounds – and is – absurdly easy. But it’s backed up by ten years’ worth of international trials, and here, the Sandton branch claims to have a 99 percent hit rate. Put simply, the rubber skirt creates a vacuum, which pulls blood into the connective dermal tissue, and pushes fatty acids out into the bloodstream. It takes just ten sessions to make a real and visible difference.

The hardest part, says HYPOXI’s Chene Vermaak, is getting people to shake off their no-pain, no-gain mentality: ‘People think that cardiovascular changes your shape. But it doesn’t target saddlebags and cellulite.

You get people who can run the Comrades Marathon, and still have excess fat around their body.’

Injection lipolysis is a similarly soft option. It’s used to dissolve hard-to-shift fat in small, localised areas – under the chin, around the jaw line, and on the upper arms. The active ingredient at play is lecithin, also known as phophatidylcholine (PPC), a soybean extract that breaks down the cell walls around fatty deposits.

And unlike liposuction, which occasions a sudden – and sometimes disorientating – change, it’s a gradual process. With around four to six treatments required, you’ll be able monitor changes carefully, and get used to the results.

It’s this stealth aspect of non-surgical aesthetics that is perhaps the biggest draw. As Nigro points out: ‘Surgery is a real statement of your vanity. These treatments aren’t. As there’s no downtime, nobody has any idea.’

She’s right of course. We may be increasingly willing to work on our appearance, but for the most part, we’re still vain enough to want to keep it quiet. When I leave Begg-Spiro’s consulting room today, nobody will know where I’ve been, or what I’ve done. That said, if in two month’s time I’m finally gifted with the flat stomach I’ve always longed for, the chances of me keeping it under wraps are pretty slim.

Zeltiq therapy and injection lipolysis: Laserderm Med Spa, tel. 011 783 9483, laserderm.co.za.

HYPOXI therapy: Wellness In Motion, 8 West Road South, Sandton, hypoxi.co.za.

It’s a brotherhood – the common bond of being a surfer transcends the personal and often very selfish act of riding a wave. On the Cape West Coast, standup paddleboarders gather for a memorial dusk paddle out in the memory of a passed fellow surfer. Stand-up paddleboarding (or SUP) has not only added a big board (most are over 10 foot long) to a surfer’s quiver, but, as the name implies, a water and wavebased core fitness regime 48

Chasing the moments JUST WHAT MAKES SURFERS GET INTO WETSUITS ON GREY MORNINGS?

By Jazz Kuschke A photo essay by Craig Kolesky A wave-ride doesn’t last very long. 15 seconds, 20 … or maybe 25, if it’s a really good one. Ride inside the barrel for longer than 10 and you’re a hero. Half a minute on your feet is possible only at pointbreak, at locations such as Elands Bay or Supertubes in Jeffrey’s Bay, where some claim that on just the right southwesterly swell, you can surf a wave for over a minute long. One minute. In the grand scheme of a life, what does 60 seconds really amount to? It’s hardly more than a moment.

‘Surfing, like music,’ says cover guy, singer-songwriter Farryl Purkiss, ‘is governed largely by rhythm.’ It’s a subtle, but not altogether unexpected comment from a proponent proficient in both. ‘If you don’t have any rhythm in your surfing, the wave will leave you behind,’ says Purkiss. ‘You have to – to some degree

– let the wave take you where it pleases. Kind of let go while hanging on, all at the same time. And, if you do tap into that rhythm, you might just have the ride of your life. It’s the same with playing music.’

Hollywood keeps getting it wrong. And there’s every risk here of scripting along the lines of yet another cliché of an attempt at a surf-themed blockbuster. And yet, the spiritual bond Purkiss eludes to plays an undeniably big part in why surfing exists. How can it not?

The ocean is a liquid environment – alive and elemental. You can’t sit and stare at an empty tennis court, but you can mind-surf waves for hours. Perhaps because no two waves are the same, not even at the machine-like perfection of J-Bay. Or maybe – a bit

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like watching a lion stalk or birds migrate – it’s raw nature. A surfer’s life is governed by this, by the whims of the tide and the cyclical flow of swell patterns.

To further appreciate this connection, it’s important to understand what surfing is not.

It isn’t something you do – a sport to play or a hobby to pursue. It’s something you are.

‘A lifestyle,’ Purkiss understates. ‘The beers afterward, the camping and the missioning,’ he says. The mission, aka the surf trip, is another key piece in the puzzle. It could be a 15-minute drive to the nearest beach, or a weekend jaunt to a secret bay somewhere up the coast. It could take you halfway around the world to a remote atoll in Indonesia or it can just mean paddling to an unusual spot at your local break.

The mission is also a little less literal. Paddling out for a session in boardshorts where you’d normally wear a wetsuit. Or experimenting with different boards. As with Purkiss’ guitars, the finest surfboards are handcrafted and you’ll have to go a long way to find a surfer who doesn’t desire a new one. Another one.

But, you don’t actually have to ride a surfboard to enjoy the ride. Or, for that matter, be any good at it. The 12-year old bodyboarder getting bashed around the Llandudno shorebreak is as legit a surfer as South Africa’s World Title contender, Jordy Smith, weaving his way through a tropical tube.

Of course, surfers can be classed into smaller sub-cultures, and to an outsider it might seem like an exclusive club divided into pretty damn exclusive cliques. There’s Jordy and his jet-set pro buddies, the big wave chargers, the fitness-first stand-up paddleboarders and the teenage punks on their cookie-cutter shortboards.

And the retro-twin-fin-riding hipsters, and the longboarders, and the weekend warriors. And, and … and everyone in-between. Truth is, they’re all part of one tribe in search of the same thing.

‘It’s not rocket science,’ says Purkiss, completing the puzzle. ‘It’s just loads of fun.’ It really is that simple. Surfing and everything that goes with it is simply so good, so pure a form of fun, that it’s worth getting out of a warm bed on a cold Sunday morning to pull on a wet, smelly wetsuit.

Surfers are bound to the weather patterns – it’s what creates swell and brings grooming off-shore winds. But what most landlubbers fail to understand is that whether it’s rain or shine, it makes no difference 50

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Above Professional big-wave chargers make their living from chasing thundering swells around the globe. They become amateur weathermen (continuously studying swell and synoptic charts) and accomplished free-divers in the process. Here, Grant ‘Twiggy’ Baker is about to put his breath-hold training to good use. He was held under for a really long time, yet after swimming back up to the light, he surfaced and paddled straight back for another big wave

Right Acclaimed Cape-based musician Farryl Purkiss draws inspiration from surfing, among other things. More importantly, he knows that no matter how busy or glamorous his schedule might be, it’s important to get in the water 52

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You can travel by airplane, boat, train and car and even walk for hours, but you might very well end up right back where you started, never having even taken the boards out of their bags. Or you can mission to a seldom-surfed spot not too far away (this one is less than 100 kilometers from Cape Town) and score. Both trips would’ve been worthwhile 55

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Paddling out can be pretty emotional.

If it was a good one, you often just put your head down in the selfish knowledge that that was a moment. If it was a bad one, there’s usually a flood of frustrating thoughts ... ‘I should’ve ridden it a little longer, done another turn, approached it differently. Better go get another’ 57

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Left Usually windy, often wild, the Cape West Coast in winter is a moment waiting to happen. Just make sure, like Durban transplant Paul Daniels here, you have a good wetsuit ‌ and booties and a hood

Below Ironically, the prevailing chilly northwestern winds of winter bring (slightly) warmer water to the Cape West and South coasts, sometimes meaning that the outside air temperature is minus that of the sea. Farryl keeps his ears warm between sessions at his beloved Elands Bay

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post-production: clone

Ever wondered why surfers are so chilled? It’s because they are so adept at waiting. There’s a lot more waiting than magic moments – you’re either waiting to finish work so you can get to the beach; waiting for conditions to be just right; waiting for a friend to make up his mind on whether the conditions are right or not; waiting for a shaper to finish your board. And, once finally out in the water – as with this hardcore crew out at Dungeons, off Sentinel Mountain, Hout Bay – you’re going to wait for the right wave 60

Waiting for your wave to come along, even in a crowded line-up, can be a very spiritual moment. You don’t necessarily have to see yourself as spiritual, but being a surfer and in touch with the ocean somehow seems to open your mind to another world

With thanks to Farryl Purkiss, Nikon, Lexar cards and all the surfers that mission to find surf.

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an mtn initiative

RYAN GOULD, GENERAL MANAGER: BRAND AND COMMUNICATIONS AT MTN

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PORTRAITS: F I O N A R O Y D S

an mtn initiative

A catalyst for change Ryan Gould Is THE KIND OF PERSON WHO IS COMPELLED TO GET THINGS DONE. TO ACCELERATE CHANGE. His latest move – from MARKETING INTELLIGENCE TO Brand and Communications – is GOING TO KEEP HIM BUSY COMBINING SCIENCE WITH ART TO ACHIEVE MTN’s OBJECTIVES. By Riekie Human

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here are certain stigmas surrounding research types, and although they’re not altogether unflattering, the brainy bunch seldom make you feel as if you want to drop everything and follow them. Not so with Ryan Gould. After two hours in the company of this Durban-bred father of two, you’d be pretty much poised to add bogus marketing qualifications to your CV and join his team.

Ryan began his career rather unexpectedly. After attending a focus group as a respondent, he approached a research company to find out what happened ‘on the other side of the one-way mirror’. His curiosity was rewarded and within a week was hired.

‘Research was a fantastic environment to develop your marketing and strategy skills. The learning curve was steep, and I worked on some huge accounts such as M-Net, MultiChoice, BP, SAB and Standard Bank,’ he says.

He worked himself up through the ranks to project manager and it was armed with this wealth of experience and skills in Customer Insight that Ryan joined MTN in 2002 to set up a research team. ‘At this point, I wasn’t convinced that research was the final stop in my career, but I loved proving that there was value in listening to the customer and acting on what we learned’.

He really wanted to sink his teeth into what the company was doing, where it was going, and more specifically – to identify key opportunities in a market that was constantly evolving. ‘There was this sense that there was gold everywhere you got involved

and invested effort,’ he says.

One of the drawcards to joining MTN? The toys. ‘To this day, I’m a huge gadget freak,’ he admits, adding that after years of being exposed to the latest gadgetry, you tend to become a bit indifferent to new gadgets unless they are truly game-changing.

‘The fun part is in playing with gadgets to separate the run of the mill from the great,’ he says.

This June, he celebrated his ninth anniversary at MTN – and as the newly appointed General Manager: Brand and Communications, he looks set for many more moons, and many more challenges, within the MTN fold. There’s a very good reason for this, and it’s all about keeping things interesting, he says. Confessing to an attention span that’s fragile, to put it mildly, Gould says he constantly needs to be challenged. And then some. ‘You have to be curious in this kind of environment and a little competitive. I’m constantly looking for things to fix.

After all, if nothing looks like it needs improvement, then I’m not looking hard enough!’

Ryan is a perfect fit for MTN’s can-do culture, and moving from a cutting-edge intelligence environment to spearheading brand and communications is certainly a case in point. Is he nervous? ‘Of course! But that’s half the fun.’ The desire for entertainment-value and a large dose of adrenaline is what makes this passionate scuba diver tick.

He concedes that the career move was an interesting decision to both himself and his peers. ‘With a strong background in

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you get used to hearing teams describe our environment as a place where we’re rebuilding an airplane ... while it’s flying! insight-generation, it was certainly an unconventional choice for both myself and MTN but, then again, I’ve always been actively involved in the development of the brand. It draws you in. One of my passions is to find the best ways to deliver our messages to our customers.’ Which is a good summary of the mammoth task he’s just committed himself to.

In essence, his role comprises ownership of Brand, Media, PR, Internal Communications, Sponsorships and Events. It’s a challenge all right, and requires someone who can pack a punch on the management front. With strategy, leadership

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and motivational skills counting in his favour, he credits MTN for being open to upscaling promising talent into leadership positions.

This wasn’t done without good reason, considering his responsibilities at MTN so far, which include Senior Manager: Segmentation and Customer Insight, Senior Manager: Marketing Intelligence and Acting General Manager: Strategic Marketing.

In these roles, he ensured that the company’s spectacular rise was driven by practical insight into the customer and the conditions of the market. ‘It was never really about research in the academic sense. Our goal was to motivate internal clients to share in the passion for getting to know our customers better. It was about delivering insight in a simple, timely and entertaining way.’

For the telecommunications industry, it means being acutely aware of the market’s needs, wants and receptiveness. ‘Any marketer’s challenge has always been to discern between a major trend and noise on the radar screen,’ he says. The South African market is very diverse – with those insisting on the latest sophisticated technology on one extreme, and those catching up with the basic offerings on the other. ‘Segmentation became a key tool in understanding all the factors influencing customer decisions and usage, such as affordability, technical readiness and handset constraints. You can’t just cut and paste from overseas.

You need to be very detailed in your opportunity assessments,’ says Gould. ‘An example of this in action was Prepaid, which rapidly addressed the affordability issue, and grew the size of the addressable market,’ he says. ‘And of course innovations such as top-up contracts, airtime transfer and MTN Zone were equally well-informed.’

The trick is to always start with the customer. ‘You have to ask yourself, “Where’s the itch? What’s the need?” And as customers become ready for these innovations, we need to launch at exactly the right time,’ he says. In a nutshell, it’s a constant juggling act, backed up by solid research. And a very clear understanding of the industry and market needs.

‘You get used to hearing teams describe our environment as a place where we’re rebuilding an airplane … while it’s still flying!’ says Gould. ‘We’re constantly regearing MTN, preparing it for convergence, without losing touch with our existing customer base. For the purposes of what we do, we have to walk a mile in our customers’ shoes.’ This translates to a high-octane communications environment with dramatic turnaround times and pressures. Thankfully so, actually, otherwise the likes of Gould wouldn’t have risen to the occasion, given his proclivity for daunting challenges and his aversion to doing the same thing every day.

Working at MTN holds plenty of appeal for adrenalin junkies, he says. This industry moves incredibly quickly. ‘And we’re keen to maintain MTN’s momentum. Which means that you get exposed to a variety of things in a short space of time. The sheer scale of MTN’s vision is intoxicating and being a part of it is what gets you out of bed every morning.’

No wonder he’s got yellow blood.

PHOTOGRAPHY: FIONA ROYDS IS REPRESENTED BY INFIDELS.

an mtn initiative

an african pride hotels release

Blissful breakaways

IMAGES: SUPPLIED

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he classically elegant and luxurious Arabella Hotel & Spa has joined Africa’s largest and leading luxury hospitality brand, African Pride Hotels. The hotel, with its world-class spa and 18-hole championship golf course is the ultimate holiday destination and boasts a superior style that pays homage to the rare beauty of the natural surroundings.

The par-72 Peter Matkovich Championship Arabella Golf Course has also been consistently ranked in the top five courses in South Africa, and is set on the banks of the lagoon and fringed by indigenous wild flowers.

For a more leisurely experience, the Arabella Spa is a glorious retreat capturing the essence of luxury, privacy and rejuvenation. As one of South Africa’s premier spa destinations, this award-winning venue is a heavenly location devoted to wellness, and it’s also home to an African Rainforest Experience (a world first) – a two-hour sensory water and steam treatment using African products and inspired by African rains.

Hotel and spa guests can indulge in the heated indoor hydropool and outdoor lap pool, sauna, steam room and the crystalline waters of the

africanpridehotels.com

swimming pool, while opportunities for the athletically inclined also abound thanks to the estate’s tennis court and gym.

The Arabella Hotel & Spa is situated just over an hour’s drive from Cape Town and is near the southernmost tip of Africa, Cape Agulhas, as well as South Africa’s whale-watching capital, Hermanus. Southern Right whales spend approximately six months of the year on the southern African coast and Hermanus is arguably the world’s best land-based whale-watching location. The area is also famous for its pristine fynbos in the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve, and the Winelands region is an hour’s drive away.

Escape the stresses of city life this winter and experience our City Escape Winter Package: For R1 015 per person sharing per night, the package includes accommodation in a deluxe room, breakfast in Jamani Restaurant, one round of golf or one African Rain Forest Experience per person per stay, as well as unlimited access to the sauna, steam room, hydropool and fitness centre.

To book your experience, contact African Pride Hotels on 0861 50 50 50 or visit www.africanpridehotels.com/arabella.

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superior suites

THE BUTLER DOES IT The all-encompassing allure of the Twelve Apostles’ Presidential Suite

RURAL IDYLL Fancourt’s revamped Manor House’s Master Suite boasts all the bells and whistles

JOIN THE FAN CLUB French château meets African light and space in the Oyster Box’s Presidential Suite

Does size count? In presidential suite terms, not really. But there’s a caveat: the view must seduce, beguile and overwhelm, and is ninety percent of the checklist. The Twelve Apostles Hotel and Spa scores almost full marks for view – from the bedrooms and double-tiered dining room to the living room and patio. The Atlantic stretches to infinity – a moving tableau of passing ships and a sea changing colour by the hour. On cloudless summer nights, sunsets are what they should be – lurid – before fading to indigo at dusk.

The only downside is that the hotel lies on the mountainside of the Atlantic seaboard, and the road beneath prevents direct access to the beaches. Then again, who’s looking down?

The suite has its own ‘Jeeves’, who delivers hot chocolate at 1am if you wish and hovers discreetly for the other 23 hours. He jots down the food you love and how you like it served. He unpacks, books your entertainment and flights and presents your bill at the end. He’ll also source the Financial Times and the latest Vanity Fair, and arrange for flowers on an anniversary. It’s pretty much your life’s desires on a whim and a phone call.

Get the Jeeves man to finetune the flatscreen and give him plenty of time to order the ’85 Château Margaux (a tad under the cost of the suite). Although anything Peter Finlayson produces (try the 2005 Bouchard Finlayson Tête de Cuvée) will ensure you remember the night.

The recently restored Manor House at Fancourt feels like a private residence rather than a small hotel. While most guests come to Fancourt to play golf, luxury, privacy and space are equal draw cards.

The upstairs Master Suite is perfectly suited to a ‘four-ball’ – with a central dining and living room flanked by two en suite bedrooms. Perks include 400 thread count Egyptian cotton linen and an iPod docking station. The only drawback is that it’s located directly above the hotel’s main entrance, making the balcony less than private.

Guests are appointed a butler on arrival, and he’s the go-to guy when you need anything organised, such as breakfast in bed, a lastminute spa booking or a golf cart transfer to the clubhouse. Varying in size, the other 18 suites each have one bedroom, a bathroom worth lingering in and a separate lounge with a flatscreen TV. A nifty butler station boasts everything from boiling water on tap to an espresso machine and a complimentary minibar stocked with topnotch brands.

There are several restaurants at Fancourt, including La Cantina serving Italian regional specialities, but Henry White’s at the Manor House is your best bet for a special dinner served in a charming setting. Not to mention the Garden and Tea Lounge, where a magnificent high tea is served every day.

By now, anyone who’s loved the Oyster Box Hotel in Umhlanga Rocks over the decades would’ve marvelled about its transformation.

After its grand renovation, the hotel managed to retain its ‘punkah wallah’ charm and although there’ll be those who consider anything left over from colonial days a travesty, new South Africans don’t seem to care. Of course, the fans were never manned by turbaned staff, but the hotel always seemed to skirt the edge of India circa 1860.

Modern, ceiling-mounted fans lazily stir the air and so much of that unhurried pace of old has been retained.

Add the Lighthouse Bar, a luscious spa, a melange of Indian spices, a temperate climate and fresh oysters served on the veranda (the hotel has its own oyster beds), and all thoughts of colonialism’s follies flee in the face of luxury, setting and service.

Then again, if you do fancy living like a pasha, you can. The Presidential Suite is filled with shades of white and cool aqua. Split over two levels to maximise views of the Indian Ocean, the suite is perfect for dolphin spotting and watching the sun rise.

There’s a private study if you absolutely have to work, but why do it when you could dream up business deals in the rim-flow pool or dine on the veranda with guests? Or lie down on a pool lounger, reset your focus on the horizon and get the butler to put Puccini on. Splendid.

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PHOTOGRAPHY: supplied. text by les aupiais and jane broughton

Check in, check it out

THE Twelve Apostles HOTEL AND SPA

when it comes to sheer luxury, sublime settings and unparalleled service, these coveted hotels hit the spot

The suite’s size: 151m² The bill: R42 000 per night The frills: Uninterrupted views, a 24-hour butler service and a decadent marble bath.

Other perks include complementary WiFi and private dining for eight. The hotel is also a member of the Leading Hotels of the World and a member of Leading Spas.

(021) 437 9000, www.12apostleshotel.co.za

FANCOURT MANOR HOUSE

A RIGHT ROYAL SHAKE-UP Enjoy a regal reception when you settle into the Queen Victoria Hotel’s Presidential Suite

NOUVEAU AFRICA The Saxon’s Nelson Mandela Platinum Suite gives African contemporary a dash of glamour

If you’re going to dock yourself at the V&A for the night, opt for the Queen Victoria Hotel’s Presidential Suite. The hotel is mistress and commander of the Waterfront Portswood precinct – a ‘suburb’ that is to the V&A what Notting Hill is to London. The lavish suite has a splendid view of the docks and city and is only a few minutes’ walk from the action.

Cape Town’s Peerutin Architects – under the leadership of architect Tarryn Cohen – managed to keep the exterior of this Newmark Hotel in keeping with the surrounding vernacular, but offers visitors a grand surprise from the triplevolume atrium upwards. Volume, light and playful perspective gives it the boutique hotel edge. And taking centre stage is what might be described as a Bonsai Ficus had it been miniature – but it appears to have taken a sip of Alice in Wonderland growth potion.

On the top floor, the Presidential Suite has the feel of a private apartment. An entrance lobby links the penthouse to the guest room next door, easily creating a two-bedroom apartment which is ideal for families. Silver, taupe and shades of grey with accents of purple and lilac – the royal connection – were incorporated into the decor

by Francois du Plessis.

And if you care about carbon footprints, then you’ll be delighted to know that almost all the furniture was sourced from or produced by South African designers.

Vanilla-cream interiors and rich layers of fabric – all with a subtle African nuance that’s light years from masks and wooden day beds – means that the Saxon Boutique Hotel has elegantly solved the problem of capturing contemporary Africa.

Taking it a step further though, the art is original and by local talent, as is the custom-made furniture. Establishments who call themselves eco-sensitive take note: it begins with importing as little as possible and boosting everything home-grown as long as it meets the benchmarks.

From the moment you’re collected from the airport, guided through customs (for international travellers) and welcomed with Champagne, the luxury game is on. The unit boasts a main bedroom suite (with a spa bath and steam room) and a second suite for either your security detail or children. There’s a fully kitted out workstation with a laptop (WiFi is standard throughout) and eight phones, presumably to avoid an un-Presidential dash to answer the usual one at the bedside.

A butler will arrange your restaurant bookings and sorties around the city if you’re keen to explore. Common to all the presidential suites at the Saxon is a garden that smacks of Sun City at its best – with fully grown trees and lush vegetation. What’s more, the Saxon is set on high ground in the suburb of Sandhurst, so the garden creates a feeling of a Lowveld bushscape in the city. It’s a fabulous inner city hideaway.

The suite’s size: 155m² The bill: R10 500 per night for the Master Suite, which includes accommodation for four in two en suite bedrooms; from R5 500 per night for the smallest suites for two sharing.

(All rates valid until 30 September 2011.)

The frills: The room rate includes many extras, such as airport transfers and a courtesy car to whisk you anywhere within 10 kilometres, wireless Internet access, in-room dining, a generously stocked minibar, afternoon tea and canapés and bubbly before dinner.

(044) 804 0000, reservations@fancourt.co.za, www.fancourt.co.za

THE OYSTER BOX HOTEL The suite’s size: 246m² The bill: R50 000 per night The frills: A private lift and pool, a study and a dining room that seats 10, as well as beach gear and movies on demand. You also have a 24-hour butler, an airport transfer by Merc or Rolls Royce (depending on availability) and an iPod docking station.

(031) 514 5000, www.oysterboxhotel.com

THE QUEEN VICTORIA HOTEL The suite’s size: 124m² The bill: R15 000 per night and upwards (depending on the season).

The frills: The hotel’s central location in the V&A Waterfront gives you unlimited access to water sports, tour departures, restaurants, nightlife attractions and shopping – taxi-free.

(021) 418 1466, info@queenvictoriahotel.co.za, www.queenvictoriahotel.co.za

THE saxon BOUTIQUE HOTEL The suite’s size: 400m² The bill: R30 000 per night The frills: The laundry and pressing service is included in the rate, there’s Champagne on arrival, ports and sherries in the suite, airport transfers and a 24-hour butler.

(011) 292 6000, reservations@saxon.co.za, www.thesaxon.com

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traveller bucket list

Stellar Zanzibar

For too long, a beach break to Zanzibar has been tagGED onto the end of a Tanzanian safari. the opening of not one, but two, envelope-pushing resorts this year is set to change all that. By Tabitha Lasley

If you’re after splendid isolation …

The Residence is tucked away on the island’s sparsely populated southwest coast and the hotel is as discreet as they come – so expect a high celebrity head count (we spotted the brood of Cameroonian soccer sensation Samuel Eto’o at dinner). Each villa has its own private infinity pool, and sea-view rooms get their own little stretch of beach too.

Rooms are similarly low-key: lots of solid, dark-wood furniture; a huge, white-curtained fourposter bed, high ceilings and heavy-shuttered French doors leading out onto a timber terrace.

The bathroom comes with a huge, freestanding bath and two rainforest showers (one indoor, one outdoor), while the sitting room is restocked with fruit and good chocolate daily. If you do manage to drag yourself away

Rooms from R4 950. Rates are per night per villa, based on a two-person occupancy, and including breakfast and dinner.

For more information, visit www.theresidence.com.

If you’re after fullfrontal glamour …

At the more developed northwestern end of the island, Star of the East’s collection of eleven villas has been grafted onto the existing Gemma dell’Est resort. This is the place to come

for all-out, take-no-prisoners opulence. Villas boast jewel-bright colours and water features, lowslung sofas and day beds piled with silk cushions (a decorative nod to the island’s Omani heritage), polished wooden floors, king-sized canopied beds, indoor Jacuzzis and outdoor plunge pools. The glass-walled bathrooms (stocked with Molton Brown products) look out onto sealed, spot-lit gardens, giving you the feeling of peering out from a tank in the natural history section of a museum; while the kitchen comes staffed with its own private butler, on hand to knock up cocktails and canapés before dinner.

Rooms from R5 690. Rates are per night per villa based on a twoperson occupancy, and including breakfast and dinner. For more information, visit staroftheeast. diamonds-resorts.com.

villas BOAST jewel-bright colours AND water features, low-slung sofas and day beds piled with silk cushions

PHOTOGRAPHY: SUPPLIED

PARADISE FOUND: AN ARTIST’S RENDITION OF THE RESIDENCE; A PLUSH ROOM AT STAR OF THE EAST; POOLSIDE ENTERTAINMENT AT STAR OF THE EAST

from your room, the Pavilion restaurant does excellent seafood – go for the delicately spiced Crab Tian. Plus, you’ve got the luxury of kicking back here with a clear conscience; the hotel draws more than 90 percent of its staff from surrounding communities and funds an academy for local schoolage children.

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social events

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the classic wine trophy 1) The winning red wines. 2) Ronel Smidt (co-owner of Dear Me restaurant), sommelier Howard Booysen, Jean Luc Sweerts (owner of MC Square Wines). 3) Mint restaurant at the Taj Cape Town Hotel, where the awards ceremony was held. 4) Jörg Pfützner 5) Christophe and Sabrina Durand. 6) The delectable fare served at the event.

A groot surprise

T

hey came, they tasted, they were conquered. Oh, how the French love South Africa, especially its winelands. Ever since the Huguenots arrived here in the 17th century, they’ve been partial to our country and our wines. And when he was in exile on St Helena, Napoleon took comfort in the great sweet wine of Constantia.

For the past 13 years, the French have come here to judge our wines for the Classic Wine Trophy, a competition founded by Jean Vincent Ridon and now owned by Christophe Durand; both French winemakers living and making wine in the Cape.

They were keen to show their fellow countrymen (and women) that South African wine can be just as good as that of their home country. The one constant is that French palates only are invited to judge; some obviously enjoy it so much that they come back year after year. For Olivier Poels, the urbane editor of the authoritative La Revue du Vin de France, 2011 was his fifth year. Khaled

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Rouabah, owner and winemaker of a property in Burgundy is also a regular. (The French really like our new seductively supple Pinot Noirs, as the results show; can Khaled be getting a little bit concerned?)

No doubt, the decidedly more casual Francois Villard, genius winemaker from the Northern Rhône will want to return after his first visit. ‘Your Syrahs (Shiraz) are becoming beautifully elegant,’ he smiled.

Then there’s Pieter de Villiers, doing a sort of re-emigration. Originally South African, he’s now a co-owner of a wine farm in the Languedoc after playing for Les Bleus, the French national rugby team. The ten-member judging team might be all French, but backgrounds and even levels of excitability – so very, very French – are varied.

So what do these French palates look for in our wines that South African palates don’t? Less is more is their mantra. Less over-ripe, stewed flavours, and less flavour of new oak and residual sweetness. ‘Still too much of these,’ said Poels. What’s required is more elegance, more

variety of interesting flavours of the grapes involved and, above all, more refreshing wines which entice one to enjoy a second glass. Of course, for the French, wine should be made to partner their other delight in life – good food.

Ah, the winners. There are plenty of wellknown and highly-regarded names: Chamonix, Hamilton Russell Vineyards, Paul Cluver, Thelema and Vergelegen; no surprises there.

But Groot Constantia as the overall winner?

Isn’t that the farm where the tourists go and buy their wine? Boela Gerber, winemaker for the past 11 years, is used to this sort of reaction. ‘Yes, we are,’ he agrees, ‘but we’re also part of Constantia and its cool climate, which naturally produces the more elegant wines these Frenchmen are looking for.’

Gerber also mentions that this isn’t the first time his wines have been successful on the Classic Wine Trophy, but it is the first time he’s won the overall prize, which includes a ticket to France. It’s a trip he’s likely to take while keeping an eagle eye open for what pleases French palates.

PHOTOGRAPHY: SUPPLIED

What impressed the French judges of the Classic Wine Trophy? Well, there’s this estate tourists put foremost on their itinerary. By Angela Lloyd

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PHOTOGRAPHY: WERNER PRINSLOO

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Bunnahabhain toasts limited edition a perfect setting, glamour galore and sublime whisky marked the event

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IT’s a matter of taste 1) Pierre Meintjes. 2) Paul Manyanga and Linda Mkhwebane. 3) Martin Kleynhans, Tamaryn McPherson, Andrew Ross, Brent Lindeque. 4) The setting of the evening’s tasting at the Saxon Boutique Hotel. 5) Connoisseur Pierre Meintjes, who led the tastings and is the only South African Master of the Quaich. 6) Shawn Brassel, Tamaryn McPherson, Theo Mhlambi and Linda Mkhwebane. 7) Chris Verrijdt, the Saxon Boutique Hotel’s Communications Manager.

8) Bunnahabhain’s limited-edition 30year-old whisky. 9) Rens Rademeyer from Bentley. 10) Sarah Anderson.

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the last word

THE point of it all

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n a general sense, the term gyroscope can be applied to any solid object rotating about a fixed point. It has a rotational momentum or spin, which depends on the mass of the gyroscope, the square of the distance of the individual particles of mass to the axis of rotation, and on the speed of rotation (rpm). Still paying attention?

I’m describing an ordinary spinning top, the one that we of advantaged age used to wind a length of string around and give a whip-like flick towards the ground. It spun! This toy used to be called a Gee-haw Whammy Diddle. Don’t ask.

My friend Tony Stein is living proof of this. He started spinning tops as an adult of advantaged age in 1998 and has been doing so every day since. That’s thirty thousand hours. That’s more than one and a third million spins. Tony calls it his ‘revolutionary diversion’.

He has a collection of 272 tops, all made to his design specifications, using some very curious materials, including mixes of high-tech Corian and plastic; and bronze and aluminium.

Wood is not efficient and is replaced with tungsten carbide.

This is neither a hobby nor a sport; it’s a deep passion that he’d like to spread around. He’s an old-time pitchman, a huckster; ready to convince you to suspend your cynicism and skepticism with sweet patter, and a flamboyant execution of the spin.

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Perfection is demonstratively achieved in perfect equilibrium, or, as Tony explains, ‘it’s easier to pick your nose while wearing boxing gloves than to do some of these tricks’.

If his passion were a sport, there’d be a lot of swearing in the mastery of it. Because the thing about sport, any sport, is that swearing is very much a part of it. But with Tony’s top tricks, there’s no swearing except to a higher power.

Arthur C Clark’s First Law states that when a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he’s almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he’s probably wrong. Arthur C Clark must’ve been thinking of Tony.

What Tony does with tops suspends time and reality. His skill unites the Top of the Art with the Art of the Top. The secret, he claims, is all in the control of the throw.

A pretty coloured top is spun with exact precision, not onto the floor, but directly into his open, supine palm. This top is placed directly on another top that’s spinning on a firm base. My intelligent friend cannot explain the physics involved when one of the two tops starts spinning in an anti-clockwise direction. He claims that one of the nine reasons this happens is due to sex – the other eight are unimportant.

An even more vividly coloured top is removed from a custommade velvet-lined case. This spins on the tip of a ballpoint pen.

The most difficult aspect of this spin was finding the pen! This top also spins on a cellphone and a dinner plate. The top balances on its point after it’s been spinning – it stays upright, finely poised.

You try and do this – however talented you are, there need be no fear of success.

Why has he gone to these extremes, you might ask? It’s simple.

Early on, Tony realised that just watching a spinning top going round and round doesn’t hold much fascination for anyone. The honest opinions he got – large yawns – convinced him that the static top was of no interest to others. If they only knew; if they could only have witnessed the nigh perfect environment, with no drafts and a decent surface, where he achieved a record one hour and eighteen minutes on a single spin, they’d have gagged their yawns.

To ask Tony why he took up tops as a hobby is as good as asking someone why they took up parachuting as a hobby. The day their plane caught fire.

As I said before, this is no hobby, unless a hobby is a consuming passion that forces itself on you like a ghost pinning you down on the chest.

ILLUSTRATION: GETTYIMAGES.COM

Spinning tops isn’t just a boyhood pastime. Far from it. In fact, for some, it’s neither a hobby nor a sport, but a passion for precision. By Roland Ackerman

wolkoff-arnodin.com

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