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THE WORLD OF RED BULL
26
high adventure
Red Bull Air Race, the world’s fastest motorsport series, is back in the skies
Welcome
Out on the water, a Class 1 offshore powerboat can notch up a high speed, during a race, of about 255kph (158mph). Out on the track, an F1 car might push the needle up to 310kph (193mph). Up in the air, Red Bull Air Race pilots will push their planes past 400kph, which is close to 250mph. As the world’s fastest motorsport takes to the skies, we’ve got all the stories, stats and seat-pounding G-forces that go into making this spectacular race series. Plus: an exclusive chat with the highly quotable Nicolas Cage, we’re roadside all the way for a remarkable race across Mexico and we look back at the moment when Muhammad Ali shook the world, with the help of the great man’s biographer. Enjoy the issue. “ I’m reinventing myself in terms 04
of the movies I want to do” Nicolas CagE
march 2014
at a glance Bullevard 08 oscars special Celebrating little gold men, and those who win ’em, for the Academy Awards
76
Features 26 Red Bull Air Race
All the planes, pilots and locations for the 2014 World Championship
the big guy
Mike Hewitt/Red Bull Content Pool (cover), Daniel Grund/Red Bull Photofiles, Miles Holden, marcelo maragni, Predrag Vuckovic/Red Bull Content Pool, Andrew Woffinden , ddp images peter strain
The New Zealand mountain biker known as McMassive has become a late-breaking star thanks to the self-shot footage of his giant leaps
38 Nicolas Cage
Exclusive interview with the most interesting movie star of them all
44 Running Wild
How a burnt-out Kiwi businessman changed his life with ultramarathons
62
52 Sebastian Copeland
The British explorer and filmmaker with Leonardo DiCaprio on speed dial
54 Muhammad Ali
The night he became a legend
60 Sounds Good
88 ¡viva la carrera!
The legendary Carrera Panamericana is the last true road race, taking place on Mexico’s untamed highways
NZ band The Shocking And Stunning
62 Carrera Panamericana Rip-roaring road rally across Mexico
going the distance
Long-jump queen Ivana Spanovic reveals the weight-room regime she swears by to achieve the big results
the red bulletin
76 Kelly McGarry
Action
54 the girl’s a genius
From the lab to the recording studio Kiwi king of downhill mountain biking
70
Musician, scientist, artist, inventor, actress… and now a superhero? The multitalented Simonne Jones
70 Simonne Jones
birth of the greatest
When Cassius Clay fought Sonny Liston 50 years ago, sport changed, politics changed – and the world changed
84 85 86 88 90 92 94 95 96 98
travel Rope jumping in Siberia party Rare grooves at LA club Sound get the gear Electro music musts training Get fit for the long jump enter now Wings For Life World Run My city An artist’s Copenhagen music Katy B’s top tracks gaming The new Metal Gear Solid save the Date Unmissable events magic moment Ice climbing
05
Contributors who’s on board this issue
The Red Bulletin New Zealand, ISSN 2079-4274
The Red Bulletin is published by Red Bull Media House GmbH General Manager Wolfgang Winter Publisher Franz Renkin Editors-in-Chief Alexander Macheck, Robert Sperl Editor Paul Wilson Creative Director Erik Turek Art Directors Kasimir Reimann, Miles English Photo Director Fritz Schuster Production Editor Marion Wildmann Managing Editor Daniel Kudernatsch
peter strain
thomas hauser The American author’s name was first on the list when it came to finding a writer to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Muhammad Ali’s epic win over Sonny Liston. Hauser’s book, Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times, is regarded as the definitive Ali biography, so his piece about the 1964 heavyweight bout is a must-read (page 54). “It’s hard to imagine the excitement he created,” says Hauser. “Fifty years from now, that feeling won’t be there. But the image people will have will be of a strong, vibrant young man.”
andrew woffinden The Londonbased snapper is used to working with talented people. His recent credits include shooting top British acting stars in the form of Naomie Harris for Esquire and Damian Lewis for The Guardian. But when US musician Simonne Jones did a handstand in high heels at the shoot for this month’s feature in The Red Bulletin, Woffinden was flabbergasted. “Simonne was amazing,” he says. “She was like superwoman. There seems to be nothing she can’t do incredibly well, and she’s beautiful, too.” His work appears on page 70.
06
The Belfast-based artist was commissioned to illustrate this month’s interview with Nicolas Cage, and the results give a unique insight into the mind of the gleefully eccentric actor. “He’s an enigmatic and complex character,” says Strain, whose work regularly appears in Time, The Guardian, Empire and Esquire. “Cage stands by the choices he has made – despite some of the critical reaction he’s received.” The Cage opens on page 38.
Chief Sub-Editor Nancy James Deputy Chief Sub-Editor Joe Curran Assistant Editors Robert Tighe, Ulrich Corazza, Werner Jessner, Ruth Morgan, Florian Obkircher, Arek Pia˛tek, Andreas Rottenschlager Contributing Editor Stefan Wagner Contributors Lisa Blazek, Georg Eckelsberger, Raffael Fritz, Sophie Haslinger, Marianne Minar, Boro Petric, Holger Potye, Martina Powell, Mara Simperler, Clemens Stachel, Manon Steiner, Lukas Wagner Design Martina de Carvalho-Hutter, Silvia Druml, Kevin Goll, Carita Najewitz, Esther Straganz Chief Photo Editor Fritz Schuster Photo Editors Susie Forman (Creative Photo Director), Rudi Übelhör (Deputy Photo Director), Marion Batty, Eva Kerschbaum Repro Managers Clemens Ragotzky (manager), Karsten Lehmann, Josef Mühlbacher Head of Production Michael Bergmeister Production Wolfgang Stecher (manager), Walter O Sádaba, Christian Graf-Simpson (app) Advertising Enquiries Brad Morgan, brad.morgan@nz.redbull.com Printed by PMP Print, 30 Birmingham Drive, Riccarton, 8024 Christchurch
miles holden A photographer couldn’t ask for a better backdrop than Queenstown; Holden first picked up a camera as a teenager taking pictures of his ski buddies in the Southern Alps. Twenty years later and he’s still discovering new places to shoot. “Working with Malcolm Law at the Kepler Challenge was very special,” says Holden of his shoot with the Kiwi ultramarathon runner. “You can get a bit blasé about the views here, but I try not to because it’s an amazing place to take photos.” See for yourself on page 44.
“ There seems to be nothing Simonne Jones can’t do incredibly well” andrew woffinden
Finance Siegmar Hofstetter, Simone Mihalits Marketing & Country Management Stefan Ebner (manager), Elisabeth Salcher, Lukas Scharmbacher, Sara Varming Distribution Klaus Pleninger, Peter Schiffer subscription price: 45 NZD, 12 issues, www.getredbulletin.com, subs@nz.redbulletin.com Marketing Design Julia Schweikhardt, Peter Knethl Advertising Placement Sabrina Schneider O∞ce Management Manuela Gesslbauer, Kristina Krizmanic, Anna Schober
The Red Bulletin is published in Austria, Brazil, France, Germany, Ireland, Kuwait, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, Switzerland, UK and USA Website www.redbulletin.com Head office Red Bull Media House GmbH, Oberst-Lepperdinger-Strasse 11-15, A-5071 Wals bei Salzburg, FN 297115i, Landesgericht Salzburg, ATU63611700 New Zealand office 27 Mackelvie Street, Grey Lynn, Auckland 1021 +64 (0) 9 551 6180 Austria office Heinrich-Collin-Strasse 1, A-1140 Vienna, +43 (1) 90221 28800 Write to us: letters@redbulletin.com
the red bulletin
full-frame. pioneering size. The world’s smallest and lightest 35mm full-frame interchangeable-lens camera. Introducing the from Sony.
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the Oscars
thank you, thank you, thank you
Lucky Loser
Michael DouGlas
In 1988, Douglas won an Oscar for Best Actor playing the greedy financier Gordon Gekko in Wall Street, but he will have no such luck for his role as Liberace in Behind the Candelabra. The film premiered on US TV, making it ineligible for the Academy Awards. He won’t care too much; he also has a Best Picture statuette as one of the producers of One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, and has made two comebacks to acting after a ski injury and cancer. Sir, we salute you.
Martin Schoeller/August
The best performance of the year will go unrewarded at this year’s Oscars
3
Be st pixel oscars If there were awards for Best Animated Acting
minion One of many in two Despicable Me movies, the second of which is in the running for this year’s best animated film Oscar.
DONKEY Without him, Shrek is simply about an unjolly green giant. All together: “Are we there yet?”
t h e O S CAR S
THE OSCARS’ MOST SPECIAL EFFECTS
CGI DON’T BELIEVE IT! Three films that revolutionised
cinema’s computer-generated wonder
Avata r James Cameron gave the new 3D generation its first blockbuster in 2009. In fact, it’s still the benchmark of 3D… and three sequels have been announced for 2016, 2017 and 2018.
t h e M at r i x In 1999, motion slowed right down to make ‘bullet time’. Shot with 124 cameras, action could effectively be stopped and viewed from any angle. Still influential 15 years later.
AAPimages/Allaccess/Maria Laura Antonelli, The Kobal Collection, imago(2), picturedesk.com(4), getty images(2), Corbis(3)
AND THE OSCAR FOR BEST INVISIBLE ACTRESS GOES TO... Scarlett johansson. She’s been the muse in three Woody Allen films, voted Sexiest Woman Alive twice and in Her, her voice alone is enough to make Joaquin Phoenix fall in love with his smartphone’s speech software. Once you’ve seen – and heard – the film, you’ll understand exactly why.
Me! Me! Me! Some people seem to get one for every movie; others learn to clap and smile as the winners walk past. Oscar’s current lucky and unlucky few
the red bulletin
Buzz Lightyear This is what real plastic toy heroes should look like: who wouldn’t go “to infinity and beyond” with this guy?
Usual suspects
ep l Stre Mery scars 3O
lson Coen Nicho Ethanars & l JackOscars e c Jo 4 Os 3
Pa c i f i c r i m The digital technology in Guillermo del Toro’s monsters-v-giant robots epic of 2013 had a real impact in terms of visual force. You knew it was all made up, but it felt kind of real.
Thus far the bridesmaids
pp ny De John inations m o 3n
s illiam elle W ns Mich ominatio 3n
alick nce M Terre inations 3 nom
09
t h e OSCA R S
infuriating blockbusters
DECODING THE WINNERS
Why do some Academy favourites polarise their audience (if they even get one)?
Kathryn Bigelow’s riveting war film about bomb disposal experts in Iraq is the least popular Oscar-winner of all time among cinemagoers. A box office damp squib.
w h y n o Ha p p y ending ? Because, duh, war is hell.
Just not always at the movies. WHO ’ S M I SS I N G ?
george clooney.
A MOU R
Love v Death, that age-old match-up. In director Michael Haneke’s hands it won last year’s Best Foreign Language Film Oscar.
WH AT M A K E S US YAW N ? A deliberately slow-paced movie that dragged on for what seemed like more than its 2h 7m running time.
N O T T O B E CO N FUS E D W I T H
death becomes her, with Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn.
OR SEAN PENN. OR DENZEL WASHINGTON. OR DANIEL DAY-LEWIS.
p er f e c t f o r
military recruiters
WHO ’ S M I SS I N G ?
brad pitt
as Joe Black.
D E PA R T U R E S
Daigo is a cellist and unemployed. So he takes a job preparing the dead for funerals. Won the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar for 2008.
WH AT ’ S M I SS I N G ?
THE ARTIST
Best Picture at the awards in 2012. A silent movie star falls in love with a dancer. But then come the talkies. She has a career on the big screen. He spends his days on the bottle.
WHO ’ S T H E R E A L H E R O ?
Decent careers advice. P E R F E C T FO R Six Feet Under fans suffering
withdrawal symptoms.
s ticks in t h e m emory… ...because you and your dead buttocks will need to go and see Daigo, too.
Uggie the dog. w h at m a k e s u s yaw n ?
it’s a silent film!
ANd the anti-war movement.
WHO ’ S T H E R E A L H E R O ? Anyone who goes to see this film on a first date, because, for such a couple,
IT MUST BE REAL LOVE! 10
A N A LT E R N AT E E N D I N G
bruce lee
comes back to life on the bamboo mat.
w h at ’ s m i s s ing ?
Apart from sound and colour? A few
more laughs. And more Uggie.
the red bulletin
picturedesk.com(3), The Kobal Collection, Filmladen Filmverleih(2)
T H E HU R T L OCK E R
star attractions
FANTASTICAL LEADING LADIES Great performances in sci-fi and fantasy films are rarely recognised by the Academy. Although Sandra Bullock is a Best Actress nominee this year for Gravity, female stars in such movies tend to be remembered for other reasons
neytiri
Avatar’s leading lady may be blue, but that wouldn’t stop many a red-blooded human male looking for romance in the jungles of outer space. In 3D.
jessica rabbit
THE KOBAL COLLECTION(2), picturedesk.com
Somewhere there is a lascivious illustrator to thank for her cartoon curves in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, but the love for this femme fatale is oh-so-real.
CAT W O M a N
The movie of the same name was a flop, but as far as whip-crackers go, Halle Berry in a cat mask is definitely sexier than Indiana Jones in a floppy hat.
Etalon Film/The Kobal Collection
t h e O S CA R S
WHY NO OSCAR FOR STUNTS?
HOLLYWOOD’S TRUE HEROES
Stuntmen and women risk their skin for cinema action, as demonstrated in this scene from Fast & Furious 6. There are no Oscars for their work, although they do have their own gong-giving night out at the annual Taurus World Stunt Awards. But we say this: Academy! Award these people Academy Awards! taurusworldstuntawards.com
12
This might look like Tyrese Gibson leaping out of one car and into another. But it isn’t. It’s Mens-Sana Tamakloe, his stuntman
t h e O S CA R S
CULT CLASSICS
will go down in history and yet they didn’t win an Oscar. We honour them here
ALFRED HITCHCOCK, 1968: “Thank you very much indeed.”
i ’ l l b e b ac k !
Three words was all it took for Arnie to write cinema history in THE TERMINATOR. And what did the Academy go and do? They didn’t even invite him to that year’s awards ceremony.
Gwyneth paltrow, 1999: “I would like to thank the Academy from the bottom of my heart [continues, through tears, for another 2m 33s, thanking 23 individual friends, family members and colleagues, a film company and the rest of her family].”
LUCKY STARS THANKING
GET TO THE POINT! If you ever do win an Oscar, there are three things to avoid in your acceptance speech: wit, spontaneity and emotion. Gwyneth Paltrow hasn’t received another Academy Award nomination since her tearful acceptance speech in 1999, which included thankyous to almost two-dozen people. Adrien Brody, who snogged Halle Berry on stage in 2003, has never made the shortlist again, either. Greer Garson gave the longest acceptance speech in 1943, blabbing on for seven minutes. It would be the only Oscar she ever won. 14
Br u ta l ly g oo d
“The first rule of Fight Club is: you do not talk about Fight Club.” The Oscars voters agreed and overlooked Brad Pitt, who was magnificent, malevolent and never better.
i f hips co u l d k i l l
In PULP FICTION, Uma Thurman and John Travolta made one of cinema’s finest couplings, even though they weren’t a couple. Celluloid history ensued; little gold men did not.
oscar ’ s o d d est m u sic m o m ents
VOODOO DRUMMING King Of The Zombies (1941) This horror comedy was a flop, but the Oscarnominated soundtrack, heavy with hypnotic beats and chanting, became a blueprint for scary movie music.
GREGORIAN CHANTS The Omen (1976) Legendary cinema composer Jerry Goldsmith’s Oscarwinning score, including theme Ave Satani, left cinemagoers unsure as to whether they should cover their eyes or their ears. ryan inzana
Too cool for an Award They’ve given us classic moments that
BOOM-KNIRSSSCH! The Social Network (2010) Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails doesn’t do tear-jerking soundtracks, but he does do Oscar-winning and wonderfully dark electronic music.
the red bulletin
picturedesk.com(2), getty images, THE KOBAL COLLECTION(2)
T W O A C C E P TA N C E SPEECHES IN THEIR ENTIRETY
StudioCanal/Cinetext/Allstar
Geoff Berkshire
DANIEL BRÜHL: Nikki Lauda in Rush
HARD TIMES
“If you get the opportunity to work with a genius, Oscar-winning director like Ron Howard, you don’t normally complain, even if you have to sit in make-up for seven hours a day while filming. But I did have to take deep breaths when I looked at the daily schedule. Chris Hemsworth, first scene: kisses nurse. Chris Hemsworth, second scene: has sex with nurse. Daniel Brühl, first scene: checks tyres. Those were hard times for my ego.”
12 steps to success
how to build a blockbuster
Aristotle first noted the three-act structure for stories about 2,400 years ago. Since then, the work of other writers, such as Joseph Campbell and Christopher Vogler, has led to a 12-step ‘hero’s journey’ which has proved popular in Hollywood screenplays 1 An ordinary man in an ordinary world
2
3
Adventure comes calling
The call, first ignored, is then heeded
4
5 The journey begins
6 First test of bravery/brains
7 9
8
Our man gets his reward
Hero arrives at villain’s lair
Villain fought and defeated
12 Back in his world, changed for better
16
11
tom mackinger
10 The journey home begins
One last struggle
the red bulletin
t h e O S CA R S
Marilyn Monroe
United Archives/picturedesk.com
OVERLOOKED GENIUS She was beautiful. Everyone could see that. But she was wise too, and not many knew that. She was a great actress, cast so many times as the ditzy blonde that nobody realised at the time just how excellently and patiently she played the part. Her stock has risen since her death in 1962, but not high enough. An honorary Oscar, for the most famous and most unappreciated actress of all-time, would be a fitting reward.
t h e O S CARS
will’s way
fresh ideas
oscarwinning music movies
Will Smith’s move from music to acting was perfect timing
In 1990, Will Smith was 22 and broke. He’d released two bubblegum rap albums as The Fresh Prince and his single, Parents Just Don’t Understand, was the first hip-hop song to win a Grammy. But lil’ Will didn’t know how to budget: the US taxman was demanding US$2.8 million in unpaid taxes. What saved him was his first acting role, in a TV show created for him, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. It went on to become one of the most successful sitcoms of the 1990s and is still shown today. These days, Smith, who has twice been nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor (Ali, The Pursuit of Happyness), has no financial problems. He earned US$30m in 2013, making him the sixth highestearning actor in the world.
“ M o n ey a n d s uc c e s s do n ’ t c h a nge p e ople . Th ey m e re ly a m pl i fy wh at ’s a l re a dy t h e re” Will Smith
Art usually imitates life, but sometimes it’s the other way around. Films have given us fictional blueprints for once far-off tech that is now becoming a reality. One thing we’re still waiting on is warp drive, though.
18
Wa l k t h e Line Addiction, prison gigs, one true love. The life of Johnny Cash, for which Reese Witherspoon won a little gold man.
se a rc h ing f or sug a r m a n A long-lost minor musician, Sixto
Rodriguez, is tracked down by two fans. Winner of the Best Documentary Feature Oscar in 2013.
h o v er bo a r d
The floating skateboard in Back To The Future II is, says Haltek Industries, just a few million in R&D cash away, with a launch planned for 2015, when the film was partly set.
ta b l et In Stanley Kubrick’s seminal 2001: A Space Odyssey, the astronauts had what looked like an iPad. Incredible in a 1968 film; today, daily life for many millions of people. the red bulletin
sascha bierl
BIOMETRIC GUNS
In 007 adventure Skyfall, Q gives James Bond a smart gun that will only react to its owner’s fingerprints. Work is underway on the real thing in both Europe and the US.
Corbis, THE KOBAL COLLECTION(6)
Wh e n Fa n t a sy Becomes Re a l ity
r ay Jamie Foxx plays R&B legend Ray Charles and reveals stunning vocal talents. He won a Best Actor Oscar for his efforts.
Movies’ marvellous motors
STAR VEHICLES
Cars as memorable – or maybe more so – than the films they featured in
lotus esprit
Known as Wet Nellie on the set of the Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me, it worked underwater and on dry land, and was auctioned in September 2013.
DelorEan DMC-12
A failed, expensive sports coupe, of which about 9,000 were made, became a truly iconic car when it featured as the time machine in Back To The Future.
THE KOBAL COLLECTION(3)
b at m o b i l e
In Batman & Robin, Bruce Wayne’s runaround had an afterburner that gave it a theoretical top speed of 530kph (350mph). In tests it hit 225kph (140mph).
action! 3 g r e at SPORT films
F u l ly F l a r e d ( 2 0 0 7 )
Street skateboarding at the very highest level: Guy Mariano, Eric Koston and other legends in front of the camera; Spike Jonze and Ty Evans behind. Awesome slow-motion sequences.
be n di ng colour s (2012)
What it’s like to be the exceptionally talented South African surfer Jordy Smith. Especially noteworthy for epic action shot at some of the world’s most breathtaking surf locations.
20
Blake Jorgenson/Red Bull Content Pool, AccuSoft Inc, Ryan Miller/Red Bull Content Pool
Fictional sport films – Rocky, Chariots Of Fire, Million Dollar Baby – win Oscars. So why not these incredible real-life tales?
t h e O S CA R S
Where the Trail e n d s ( 2 0 1 3)
A crew of absurdly talented freeride mountain bikers risk everything to conquer the off-road places where no man on a bike has gone before.
t h e OSCARS
FLUFFED IT
BAD FILMS, GOOD ACTORS
They’ve done some good stuff, but this wasn’t it
“ Th ey s hou l d p ut s o m e u n de rwe a r o n h i m . H e’s a f re e b a l le r a n d h e’s got a ve ry b ig swo rd .” jared Leto, 2014 acting nominee, on the oscar statue
koma*
kainrath’s award
Ti lda Swinton
Oscar winner starred in Female Perversions, an erotic thriller that was neither.
Sharon stone
Eleven years after a Best Actress nod for Casino, she starred in Basic Instinct 2.
George Clooney
Eight Oscar noms, two wins, always a star of Return Of The Killer Tomatoes.
THE MONUMENTS MEN
TOMORROW’S HEROES
passing the baton
Three talents who will go down in cinema history Gravity rg
ielbe
en Sp Stev
rt Robe
es
n Jon
a Dunc
With Moon and Source Code, David Bowie’s boy made two of the smartest sci-fi films in recent memory. Just started filming a big-budget adaption of Warcraft.
22
iro De N
jiofor
etel E Chiw
Amistad was Ejiofor’s breakthrough in 1997; his performance in 12 Years A Slave has moved him into the big leagues. Rightly a hot favourite at this year’s Oscars.
ren
n Mir
Hele
lligan
y Mu Care
Mulligan has recently stood out in Drive, Shame, The Great Gatsby and Inside Llewyn Davis. Oscarwinner Dame Helen has an heiress apparent.
GONE WITH THE WIND *KOMA: Kainrath’s Œuvres of modern art
the red bulletin
picturedesk.com(3), Corbis(5), The Kobal Collection(3), getty images(2)
dietmar kainrath
Talent alone can’t rescue a poor script: that was a maxim of six-time Oscar-winner Billy Wilder. It’s now a favourite excuse of film actors with hindsight, and a prior need for cash.
t h e OSCARS
when creatures feature
roar talent
When votes were counted for the first Oscars, in 1929, canine star Rin Tin Tin was top in the Best Actor category, but the Academy wouldn’t throw the dog a bone. Other big-screen beasts have shown Oscar-winner-like qualities
godzilla
lassie
jaw s
The Christian Bale of sea creatures: potential to snap at any moment.
24
The Brad Pitt of dogs: magnificent hair, but no Oscar.
Credit: Corbis, The Kobal Collection, getty images
The Jack Nicholson of monsters: penetrating gaze, icy grin, fire beneath. Back on the big screen – for the 29th time – in May.
RUNNING CAN'T FOR THOSE WHO CAN SIGN UP NOW! ONE DAY AT THE VERY SAME TIME ALL OVER THE WORLD
4TH MAY 2014 9:00 PM AUCKLAND NEW ZEALAND
WINGSFORLIFEWORLDRUN.COM
high adventure
Balazs Gardi/Red bull content pool
red bull air race, the world’s fastest motorsport series, is back in the skies
26
Racing in the clouds
Abu Dhabi stages the first event of this year’s Red Bull Air Race. After that: Croatia in April
“ I love doing it. I’m an adrenalin junkie I have to go back to it” Ki r b y c h a m b l i s s
Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
Brazil
In 2007, Rio De Janeiro became the first South American city to host a Red Bull Air Race event
lessed with a Texan’s natural ability to tell you exactly what he thinks, Red Bull Air Race pilot Kirby Chambliss is not a man to mince words. Today, however, the transatlantic phone lines are doing their best to do just that for him. As every third sentence whirls away in a whoosh of clanging electronica, it’s hard to pin down just what the double champion is saying, but when the veteran flier talks about his motivation to return to a series that next month takes to the skies again after an almost four-year hiatus, he’s crystal clear. “It’s just me, it’s what I do,” he insists. “I’ll tell you, I don’t like the international travel, all the logistics, that’s a nightmare. And as regards safety, well, I have a nine-year-old kid now, so it wasn’t an easy decision. But I definitely want to be a part of it. I love doing it. I’m an adrenalin junkie… I have to go back to it.” A couple of days later, fellow Red Bull Air Race World Championship pilot Nigel Lamb is echoing Chambliss’s enthusiasm. “I’ve earned a living for nearly 30 years doing air displays, but to me the Red Bull Air Race is the pinnacle of what I’ve done in that time,” he says. “To go back to air racing is really what I want to do. It’s a no-brainer.” But while the decision to race again has been easy for those in the cockpit, for those behind the 29
scenes the act of hoisting the mammoth series back into the air has been a far more complex procedure. After seven years, the series had, by the eve of the 2010 championship, become an unwieldy beast. With average 2009 crowds topping half a million, the logistics and finances required to haul the series around the world had become burdensome. It wasn’t only on the ground that issues were becoming apparent, however. In the air, too, problems were arising as a technical arms race pushed planes to their limits. When logistical issues forced the cancellation of the final two rounds of the championship, enough was enough. The series was grounded.
jörg mitter/red bull content pool(2), Daniel Grund/Red Bull content pool, Hamish Blair/Red Bull content pool
F
our years have passed since then, and the championship has been reinvented with new rules, new formats and a fresh approach to safety, as new series CEO Erich Wolf explains. “The real business started at the beginning of 2013, and from that moment on we had to sign contracts with all the locations and relaunch the sport from an aviation point of view,” he says. “However, we also realised we have to open it up to new pilots. We will have a super-licence class of 12 pilots, who are competing in a certain schedule, in a certain format. But there will be a second class of pilots, the challenger class, which is open for qualified pilots, male or female, on a global scale. “We have also simplified the rules in order to make it easier to understand for the consumer, the spectator on site and for fans watching on TV.” The safety matters that raised concerns in 2010 have been taken in hand with the introduction of a number of standard parts, a change designed to put paid to the engine arms race that had begun to develop in the sport. Also, in a bid to improve safety, the fabric pylons used to delineate the course have been raised from 20m to 25m in height, a small increase, but one which Head of Aviation Sergio Pla says will make a big difference. “It may not look like much, but in the plane reaction time is much higher than before. We didn’t have any surprises in training. The pilots have a big margin of time and the altitude to resolve it. It makes a dramatic difference.” New locations have also been sourced, with the city-based tracks the series latterly favoured giving way to a mix of circuits over land, water and, in a new development, more races in controlled environments – motor speedways in the US, arenas that are perfectly suited to the series. “Red Bull Air Race is a motorsport, and we should go to the home of motorsport,” says Wolf. “We have to provide the spectators with the best quality venues, so they can see the whole race track. They should also have food and beverage services and parking. These locations are huge, plus the venue is prepared
“ we have simplified the rules to make it easier to understand” Erich wolf
Abu Dhabi, UAE 30
American aviator Michael Goulian prepares for take-off in the 2007 Red Bull Air Race World Championship
Monument Valley, Utah, USA
British pilot Paul Bonhomme navigates through the pylons in the third race of the 2007 season
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Matthias Dolderer of Germany wows the crowds during the 2010 Red Bull Air Race Qualifying Day
already. You have grandstands there which hold 200,000 spectators and they have the best view of the track. US speedways are a perfect venue for us. However you’ll still find us in city centres as well.”
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he pilots, too, are enthusiastic about the changes that have been wrought, with Nigel Lamb insisting that the standardised engines introduced will result in closer, more exciting competition. “The engines thing I think is just fantastic, and it was something that I always argued for,” he says. “It makes sense on many levels. From a safety point of view it is definitely relevant, from a cost point of view it is relevant, but also, most importantly, it just creates a much better, even playing field, where it is not all chequebook-driven. You will find that the margins of power are much less between the best and the worst and I think it sets up the potential for an absolutely fantastic 2014 season.” Chambliss too is optimistic, however, and while he acknowledges that Red Bull Air Race 2014 spec is likely to be a flight into the unknown, he’s more than happy to strap himself in for the ride. “My goal is always to win. I’m not going to just play,” he says. “Some friends said it would be really nice if you could go, just cruise it and take it easy, but what I say is, sure, enjoy it, but remember why you’re there, remember that you were one through 15 in the world, that you’ve won the nationals five times and that you’re a very competitive person. So I’ll get the plane as close as I can, I’ll think about the fastest way to get from this gate to the next one. I’ll be doing the same thing I’ve always done – trying to win. That’s what I do.” Getting the planes as close to the edge as possible is also what the Red Bull Air Race has been redesigned to do, though this time in the right conditions and in the right arenas, as Sergio Pla insists. “This is the most exciting motorsport in existence,” he says. “We’re the fastest series in the world. You really shouldn’t miss it.”
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redbullairrace.com
Czech pilot Martin Sonka prepares for take-off in Australia in 2010
The hot seat hustling a plane of more than 300hp through multiple high-g turns is not easy. this is how it’s done
4 2 3
6 7 15
planes burn half a gallon of fuel per minute
9 11 14
markus kucera/red bull content pool, Cameron Spencer/red bull content pool
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1 Airspeed Indicator This shows the plane’s speed in knots relative to the air. 2 Altimeter Indicates the aircraft’s altitude (in feet) above a reference level by measuring the static air pressure.
EFIS (Electronic Flight information System) Gives the pilot lap information. The touchscreen facility can switch between display modes. It also sends speed or G info to the Race Tower. 3
4 Engine Analyser A device that records engine data. After a flight, info is downloaded for analysis. The switch on top is a voice alarm that warns the pilot in case of any system failure. 5 Fuel Pump Switch
7 Pedals The pedals direct the plane to the left or right on the ground. In flight, they are used to activate the rudder. 8 Propeller Control Adjusts the pitch of the propeller blades.
Used to switch between the three fuel tanks: right wing, left wing and main tank. Planes burn around 0.5 gallons of fuel per minute in the air.
headquarters.
6 G-Meter Shows how many G is being pulled For 2014 pilots must not exceed 10G.
10 Smoke On/Off Toggled at the start of a run to emit coloured smoke and attract attention.
9 Radio For talking to race
11 Start button Fires it up! 12 Stick Left or right causes the plane to roll, forwards pitches the nose down, backwards pitches it up. 13 Throttle control The power control. 14 Transponder Relays information to the tower concerning the plane’s position and altitude. 15 Vertical Card Compass Indicates the plane’s heading.
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Return of the king defending champion Paul Bonhomme admits he has been consumed by racing in the past, but in 2014 he’ll just enjoy the ride
when they were watching celebrations of them landing on the moon and Aldrin said: “Hey Neil, I guess we missed the whole goddamn thing.” That’s how I think about the championship now. Before, I was so tied up in it that I think I missed the whole thing. So I’m looking forward to going back this year and enjoying it. One of the things I want to improve on is my ability to just smile my way through the race. Are you smiling at the moment? Not much. In fact, I’d say stress levels are running fairly high. Once we’re in Abu Dhabi [for the season opener] it will be fine, but right now it’s a little
“ My first goal for the 2014 season is not to scare myself. the second is to win” 34
bit nail-biting. It will be a race to get everything ready in time. Also, if I knew how to find an advantage in the new regulations, I’d be happier, but I have no idea how it will pan out. Now that we’ll all have the same power, weight is going to be even more important, which, for me, isn’t great. I’m one of the heavier pilots and if I’ve got to make 82 kilos, then I suspect that’s going to be a bit too much to ask. I’m 6ft 1in and… wide-boned! It’s going to come down to a blend of pilot skill and aerodynamics. I think in terms of aerodynamics we’re OK, we’ve got a pretty slick aeroplane, but you never know. What’s your number one goal for the 2014 season? Not to frighten myself. If I manage not to scare myself, then by default it should be a fairly safe year, and that’s the most important thing. The second most important thing is to win. So, to be safe, not frighten myself, to win and, like I said, to enjoy it. I think that whatever order you put those in it should all work out… I think. the red bulletin
sascha bierl
Double Red Bull Air Race champion Paul Bonhomme: “Winning comes down to a blend of pilot skill and aerodynamics”
jörg mitter/red bull content pool(2), Ezra Shaw/red bull content pool
the red bulletin: Are you happy to be going back to the Red Bull Air Race? paul bonhomme: I will be as long as I win. I say to my kids: “Listen, it’s not the taking part that matters it’s the winning that counts.” That sounds flippant, but to me that’s why you enter a competition – because you want to win. I can’t see the day I would ever turn up knowing I was going to be last and just doing it for a laugh. If I was doing that I could just go flying on my days off. Will you be approaching the championship differently this time? I’ll admit I did get slightly consumed by doing well. It’s tempting to say it didn’t bother me, I was just out there for fun, but you don’t get anywhere like that, you’ve got to be consumed by it to do well. I had a pretty intense rivalry with Hannes [Arch] and I think actually if you asked him, and if he was honest, he’d say, yes, he was consumed by it too. Was the decision to return easy to make? I had to think long and hard about it. It did take me a while to make the decision because my life’s changed in the years the series has been away. I’ve got three small children and an older stepson, so the house is very different compared to when I started in the Red Bull Air Race. I’ve got a very understanding wife, though, and she echoed what I had been thinking, which was: “Go and do well, but enjoy it. Have a good time rather than it being all-consuming.” What comes to mind is the remark that Buzz Aldrin made to Neil Armstrong
The new air force How does a sport that rewards decades of experience bring through young racing talent? Simple: give rookies a piece of sky to race in
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here aren’t too many sports in which the cult of youth is turned on its head, but the Red Bull Air Race is one. With the 2014 field having an average age of 45, this is a sport in which the voice of experience shouts loudest. The dilemma, then, is how to progress younger pilots through the ranks. The answer is for the series to groom a new generation of air racers through a dedicated competition, the Challenger Cup. The event will see a select band of new pilots race supplied planes on a simplified track designed to hone their skills. The goal will be for the pilots to obtain a super licence and graduate to the main series. “They will fly with much less pressure than the race teams,” says Red Bull Air Race head of aviation Sergio Pla. “All of them will attend at least two training camps before their first race, which means that they are having at least two to three times the training time pilots had in the past [when coming to the series]. The safety margin in air racing is not big, so we need mature people who know what they are doing.” Ensuring that the younger pilots have the necessary maturity is psychologist and Red Bull Air Race crew and safety manager Christian Czihak. “You can be an experienced jet pilot or aerobatic pilot, but it is different to fly around a race track less than 50m off the ground – totally different,” he insists. “You may have the skillset, but it does not mean that you can do it automatically. What we were looking for are people who can complete the goal under stress or trauma. It is often not about how much risk they are willing to take, but how much risk they are able to take and whether they can stay within the rules.” Red Bull Air Race CEO Erich Wolf is convinced the competition will eventually shake up the pilot order: “I am sure they will challenge the current pilots pretty soon. In 2015 we will see some new faces.” Red Bull Air Race 2014 starts in Abu Dhabi and finishes in China
High-G turns can induce tunnel vision and eventual blackout
Feel the Force Imagine trying to bench press a small car half a dozen times in a minute and you’ll have some idea of just what kind of physical punishment Red Bull Air Race pilots endure during a racing lap weighing in Red Bull Air Race pilots are subject to extreme forces in flight. For 2014, pilots will be limited to 10G, meaning that during the tightest turns the pilot’s body weight is 10 times its normal figure. For an 80kg pilot it’s like having a small car dumped onto his chest. “It’s like being hit with a sledgehammer,” says defending champion Paul Bonhomme. “The moment of G onset is the hardest. In less than half a second you go to 10-12 times your body weight. You’ve got to concentrate at not losing consciousness. If you keep pulling G you’ll grey out.” In the grey area Greyout occurs due to blood being forced to the body’s lower extremities when
under high G-forces. The subsequent lowering of blood pressure in the brain causes vision to dim, a precursor to blacking out. “You can combat it by squeezing your stomach muscles,” says pilot Nigel Lamb. “And if you contract your stomach and your thigh muscles just for a second you’ll restrict the blood going downwards and your head will clear.” Suiting Up While the series’ pilots are used to using muscle contractions to beat the effects of high-G turns, the now mandatory G-Race suit helps them perform the task far more effectively. Manufactured by German company Autoflug, the suit reduces the need for muscle
pressure drop
low G
The mandatory G-Race suit works when G-forces cause water-filled tubes that run the length of the suit to squeeze the pilot, thus preventing the downward flow of blood when under high G. Normal blood flow
contraction on the part of the pilot by using waterfilled ‘fluid muscles’ and non-stretch fabrics. The suit builds up a counter pressure which combats the effect of high-G loads on the pilot, reducing the movement of blood to the lower extremities. “The suit compresses your legs and abdomen,” says Bonhomme. “Instead of tensing yourself, the suit does it for you and that gives you about a 1.5G benefit. It might not seem much, but where it really works is in reducing fatigue.”
high G
Cutaway view of suit with engorged tubes
Increased blood flow G-Force
fly the world From tracks over the Arabian Gulf and around the racecourse of Ascot to laps of some of the US’s most famous motor speedways, the 2014 Red Bull Air Race World Championship will be stern test for pilots.
G-Force
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
Abu Dhabi UAE Feb 28-March 1 Rovinj Croatia April 12-13 Putrajaya Malaysia May 17-18 Gdynia Poland July 26-27 Ascot Britain August 16-17 Dallas/Fort Worth USA September 6-7 Las Vegas USA October 11-12 Location TBC China November 1-2
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The Plane Facts Aerodynamics
With the powerplant and its ancillaries being standardised, it’s likely that pilots will start to look elsewhere for an edge over their rivals. Improving the aerodynamics of a plane is the first step.
Propeller
The propeller for 2014 has been standardised, with all teams set to use the charmingly named ‘Claw’ from US manufacturer Hartzell, as well as the company’s carbon-fibre composite spinner.
Engine
MXS-R
Unlike steel-frame fuselage planes, the MXS-R, developed specifically for racing by MX Aircraft from its MXS plane, features a carbon-fibre monocoque fuselage, meaning it’s extremely light and strong but cannot be substantially modified. The lightness does enable high speed, which is the plane’s great strength.
technical data MANUFACTURER: MX Aircraft, USA
ROLL RATE: 420°/sec
LENGTH: 6.51m (21.35 ft)
MAX G: +/-12G
WINGSPAN: 7.32m (24ft)
ENGINE: Lycoming AEIO 540 EXP (tuner: Thunderbolt)
standard WEIGHT: 571kg (1,260lb)
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POWER: approximately 300hp
WING DESIGN: Symmetric, carbon fibre
TOP SPEED: 426kph (265mph)
PROPELLER: Hartzell
In previous years, teams were required to use engines built by US manufacturer Lycoming, but they were then allowed to send the powerplants to outside tuning houses. The 2014 season will see teams limited to Lycoming’s Thunderbolt AEIO-540EXP engine.
Data analysis
One school of thought says that with no engine advantage, pilots will begin looking at their own input in order to improve lap times. And that will come through F1-style telemetry systems. The information will allow pilots to tailor their flying to get close to the best possible lap time.
rules tweaked to improve safety could lead to a much closer battle for red bull air race honours
Exhaust
Peter Clausen Film & TV
The last piece of the standardisation jigsaw is the exhaust system. Constructed from lightweight materials this will come from US company Sky Dynamics, and will be tailored for use with whatever model plane the pilots use.
In any form of motorsport, the pursuit of performance advantage is always shrouded in mystery. Red Bull Air Race of the past was no less complex in its pursuit of advantage, but when all the subtle modifications were boiled down, the essential target for the pilots was simple: maximising power against weight. The desire to extract maximum power from the engine and to simultaneously lighten its load by taking weight from the plane, led the series up a potentially dangerous alley, as teams were at risk of compromising the integrity of the powerplant in pursuit of lighter, more potent elements within. So for 2014, the playing field has been levelled with the introduction of standardised engines, propellers and exhausts. It’s a move welcomed by pilot Nigel Lamb. “It makes sense on many levels,” he insists. “Not being able to tweak engines makes it relevant from a safety perspective, and from a cost point of view it is definitely relevant. Most importantly, it creates a much better, level playing field.” The bottom line for 2014 is that Red Bull Air Race will no longer be a power play and pilots will have to look elsewhere for the edge needed to stand on the top step of the podium.
Zivko Edge 540 V2
Corvus CA-41 Racer
The plane of choice for most pilots, the Edge has been the title-winning plane in every season. It utilises a steel tube frame, which though not as light as composite materials is, according to company boss Eric Zivko, more practical. In 2014, two versions are used: the old V2 and the new V3.
The Corvus Racer was developed by Corvus Aircraft and Institute of Aviation at the University of Budapest, in Hungary, with input from Peter Besenyei, who has been flying it since the Red Bull Air Race round at Windsor in 2010.
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being nicolas cage w ith th r e e fi lm s i n 2 0 14 , a n d th r e e d ec a d es a s a sta r , i s th e fe a r les s , p e e r les s a cto r r e a lly sti ll c r a z y a f te r a ll th es e y e a r s? w o r d s : R 端 d i g e r Stu r m I l lu str ati o n s : P e te r Str a i n 38
Snakes, sharks, superheroes and singers’ daughters: just a tiny part of Cage’s world
Cage fighter: “I have to immerse myself in the very thing that scares me, so it loses its hold over me�
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icolas Cage is a man of extremes. He was married to the daughter of Elvis and named his second son Kal-El, aka Superman. He owned haunted houses and was haunted for real by the taxman. First and foremost he has played characters of a variety and manic energy that most of his colleagues shy away from – angels and alcoholics, sorcerers and soldiers, for which he garnered awards, including an Oscar, and scathing reviews, and became of the object of sneers and cultish reverence. These contradictions notwithstanding, he comes across as a man in harmony with himself and also a proficient teller of tales – about the alien creature that grew into Nicolas Cage.
the red bulletin: Do you think about death? nicolas cage: It is wise to think about death from time to time. I am working on my natural fear of death, because it is a better way of life not to harbour such feelings. And I am by no means a master of that. But I am definitely in no rush to leave. So why did you pick up a cottonmouth viper with bare hands, when filming your most recent movie Joe? Its poison is potentially lethal. Because it relaxes me. Couldn’t you think of a less suicidal method? I discovered doing adventure films that one of the things that relaxes me is stunts. When I drive a car at 100mph and dodge other cars and try to not hit the wall, it’s like a meditation. Also I am one of those people, the more coffee I drink the more relaxed I am. Now that day on Joe, I was filming a very complicated scene, and my adrenalin was going in the wrong direction. So I asked director David Gordon Green would he mind if I picked up the snake. He said: “You have to promise me you’re not going to die. Otherwise I’ll look like a real jackass.” And I said: “I promise you and I will finish the scene.” the red bulletin
So when I took the snake, it was more about the surfing of the adrenalin, so I could get control of my own anxiety in order to play the scene – and in the end I gently tossed it into the grass and said, “Don’t kill it, it’s a friend of mine.” Why aren’t you scared in such situations? There is always an element of fear, but it is the fear itself that makes me want to face it. Because I have to break its power, which means I have to immerse myself in that very thing that scares me so it loses its hold over me. It sounds as if you have had other hair-raising encounters like this? That’s right. Some years ago I went diving in a shark cage in South Africa to confront a great white, because that was one of my most primal fears. It wound up being a remarkably calm, gorgeous experience. There was this massive shark staring at me and I felt a strange connection with this awesome animal. Or I also went to the swampland in New Orleans, where I used to live. There was this 800-pound alligator. I saw him from the surface of the water looking up at me, he looked like a dinosaur. What did you do? I fed him marshmallows. They like that. Perhaps the profession of an adventurer would be more appropriate. In fact, I made the contract with myself when I was 16 that if acting didn’t work out, I was going to become a fisherman or merchant mariner. My first love is the ocean. I feel there is an almost indescribable calm that comes over me when I’m near the water, where I can actually feel every cell in my body relaxing. But you seem quite relaxed now. Because with acting I found an outlet for the energy and passion in me – and at one time anger. Without it I might have made mistakes that would have been irreversible. I could have gone in the wrong direction. Why anger? I wasn’t popular at school, and that was painful. Because I wasn’t able to connect with people. I can remember being shocked when I would come back as a child from the doctor’s office that I had normal organs and that I had a normal skeleton. Because I was certain on some level at that age that I was from somewhere else. And my father once said literally that he felt I was the only son that he had to introduce himself to. Because he thought I was an alien, whatever that meant. But I always had 41
believe in banks, so I invested in real estate. the feeling that something else But then the whole market went in the was in store for me, that there wrong direction, and I got caught up in it. was some purpose. But I am feeling good. I am still passionate And these negative feelings and blessed to be working with some of the have evaporated? Oscar Oscar marriages children noms best people in the business. And ultimately I am not an angry man. I had my everything happens for a reason. moments. I find life is much easier That’s easy enough to say, but what when you’re not angry. I am happy exactly is the reason in this instance? to be on this planet. I am all about Since then, I have found a different lifestyle my family and my kids. But I’d for myself that keeps me in touch with rather stay home and play toys with humanity. I live with my family in a house my son and watch him grow up. in the Mojave desert, I am not behind So why was showbusiness the a gate anymore, I am not on some yacht or first option? Percentage of positive Reviews of cage Film in some private jet somewhere, tucked away. This may have had to do with my Red Rock West (1993) I get to interact with people every day, father. He did a lot to stimulate my which is a much better way to be. imagination. For example, we could Percentage of positive You also seemed to change your choice do this game where we would take reviews of cage Film of movies. Joe is a far cry from the a classic novel and I would write a Deadfall (1993) bizarre action spectacles you did in new chapter. I did it on Hermann the recent past. Hesse’s Siddhartha, Huxley’s Brave Ag e d i ffe r e n ce That’s true, I am in the process of New World and Moby Dick. Also, when i n ye ars be twe en reinventing myself in terms of the movies I was a boy, he built me a wooden hi m and hi s I want to do. I am returning to my roots, castle in our backyard. I spent most cu r r e nt ( thi r d ) wi fe , Al i ce K i m which is independently spirited, dramatic of my hours there, this was my characters. Before Joe, I had taken a year protective bubble where I would purchase price of a dinosaur skull off to re-evaluate everything I had done, nurture my imagination and play bought by cage at auction in 2007 different kinds of performances I had done, different characters, which helped the more operatic and more baroque stuff me a lot with acting eventually. like Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance, Drive Weren’t you and your father Angry or Season Of The Witch. I wanted to alienated from each other for find something where I could use my life some years? experience, my memories and my emotions. But we were very close in the last ta x l i a b i l i t i e s , 2 0 1 0 Do you regret some of your choices? five years before his death in 2008. For a while you turned into the king I thought I was going to have another of B-movies. eight years with him, so I was quite I don’t look at it like that. Much has been shocked when he had the heart made of the fact that I made many action attack. But I was very thankful for alleged outgoings, 1996 – 2011 movies. The reason I did that was because this time and I was able to enjoy the first time people said, you couldn’t do that experience. Both of us were it. ‘You are not an action hero, forget it.’ So sharing this new and much lighter what you saw was a dramatic actor acting and more honest way of life. like an action hero, trying to find characters After the toy castle came a real Google search Cage’s assets that were interesting within the genre. And one you bought in Germany. results (01/2014) h av e i n c l u d e d : then I tried to mix in a little Lord Of War, I can still remember when I saw it • 15 residences a little World Trade Center, The Weather Man for the first time. I had Wagner’s • 1 Gulfstream private and Bad Lieutenant and keep the spectrum Parsifal on the stereo, and I was jet, for $30m going. Now having done that, I want to coming out of the forest, when • 1 collection of 400 old focus on the dramatic kind of filmmaking. sunlight hit the snow in such a way comics worth $1.6m And how about that need for adrenalin? that everything was glowing, and • 4 luxury yachts, one of them for $20m Usually I need that when I am making then the castle emerged between films, but I find motorcycles exciting. the trees and I felt that I was home. And I have another dream. I am convinced Then you had to sell it because of that the ultimate thing I could do as a man communing with nature is to some financial troubles. hang-glide. You don’t pollute the environment. You literally are an eagle. It will always exist for me in my mind like You are learning how the currents work and you are free. So someday the one that my father built for me. I hope to go to the Alps, because there is a school out there and they How painful was it when you had to sell it, like guarantee you that in two weeks time you’ll be a pilot, where you’re most of your properties in various countries? going to meet the most amazing people, who you can just call: ‘Are you I can’t think of it as painful compared to the flying today?’ ‘Yes, I’m flying.’ ‘Let’s go.’ And you get up in the morning problems that people are struggling with around and you fly. Without a plane, but with your own wings. To me that’s the world. In that economic situation I just incredible. However so far I am not allowed to do it at this point in could not hold onto it. People try to blow it out my life. I have people waiting for me, I have contracts to sign that of proportion in terms of excessive spending. I will not do these things. But the day will come. I simply had to put my money somewhere, I didn’t
The numbers
95 0
20
$13.3m
$150M
mi lli on
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running Malcolm Law
was a burnt-out businessman until ultramarathons changed his life. His next challenge? An unprecedented endurance running test across New Zealand
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wild w o r d s : r o b e rt ti g h e p h oto g r a p h y: m i les h o ld e n
alcolm Law’s feet feel like they’ve been cut to ribbons. He can’t tell for sure, because he can’t take his shoes off. He’s sitting on a bench, gasping for breath at the end of the 2013 Kepler Challenge, a 60km mountain run he’s finished in just under seven-and-a-half hours. “It feels like they’re on fire,” he says, between fast, deep breaths, having peeled off the shoes and attempting to massage the pain away. “It’s like I’ve been running with a red-hot steel bar under my toes. Every rock, every tree root I ran over, I could feel it – at least it was only for the last 35km or so.” The Kepler Challenge is New Zealand’s most celebrated and toughest ultramarathon – the name given to any endurance race that’s longer than the traditional marathon distance of 26 miles 385 yards (42.2km). In 2013, as it had been in the 25 preceding years, it was run over the Kepler Track in Fiordland National Park on the first Saturday in December. On February 27, 2015, Law will run this course again as part of his High Five-0 Challenge. The High Five-0, according to Law’s tagline for the event, is “possibly the 46
most audacious feat of endurance ever attempted in New Zealand”. He’s underselling it. The 53-year-old’s goal is to climb 50 peaks while running 50 offroad marathons over 50 consecutive days. The challenge will start in Auckland on January 31, 2015 and finish on Rangitoto Island on March 21. By the time he tackles the Kepler Track, on day 28 of the High Five-0, Law will have run over 1,100km. “I’m fully expecting some bloody desperate times, but pain is an inevitable consequence of ultrarunning,” says Law. “I tell myself all those clichés – pain is just weakness leaving the body; pain is my best friend; pain is fuel; pain is power – but it doesn’t make it any less painful.” Law hopes the pain he’ll put himself through will raise over $250,000 for the Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand. It’s a fitting charity for someone who swears by the restorative powers of running. “I always feel better after a run,” says Law. “A lot of runners will tell you they get grumpy if they don’t run, but I need to run for my sanity. I’m prone to the blues and running is vital for my mental well-being.” Law was born in England in 1960. His father was a keen peakbagger who dragged his boy along from the family home in Liverpool when he ran up and down the Scottish Highlands. He ran a couple of half-marathons in his early 20s between bouts of heavy drinking: rare peaks among personal troughs. He visited New Zealand in the mid-1980s on a oneyear working visa, fell in love with the place and moved here permanently in 1987. A few years later, when he was in his 30s, he discovered multisport races
“I’m prone to the blues and I need to run for my sanity”
Aiming high: Malcolm Law is hoping to raise $250,000 for charity by climbing 50 peaks while running 50 offroad marathons in 50 consecutive days
Ult r a ma r atho n L aw
M alcolm ’s musts N ever S i t D own “One of my mantras is ‘Relentless Forward Motion’. Every step you take, even if it’s at walking pace, is one step closer to the finish line.”
M i n d T he G a p “Run in a pair of shoes that are half a size bigger than you would normally wear. Your feet swell over longer distances and you can expect to lose toenails if your shoes are too tight.”
B i ts A n d P i ec es “Buy some anti-chafing cream and apply it liberally before your run. For added insurance, tape over your nipples. Chafing hurts like hell.”
“The connection with wild places is part of the human condition”
and tramping, and it was then that he really fell in love with the outdoors. “There’s something almost primal about it,” he says. “That connection with wild places is part of the human condition, but unfortunately a lot of people miss out on that connection. Running replenishes my soul. Life can wear you down, but as soon as I hit a nice bit of trail or run along the top of a mountain, I’m refreshed instantly. Not just physically, but emotionally as well.” Five years ago Law was in a very different place. He was unfit, overweight and burnt out by his corporate job. He had developed and sold a market research product to a multinational company and one of conditions of the sale was that Law had to work for the firm for three years, visiting their various offices around the world to train staff. He travelled to about 50 countries and the only running he did was on treadmills in hotel gyms. In October 2008 he took a break and escaped to the wilderness on a six-day solo tramp through the Kaimanawa and Kaweka Ranges in Hawkes Bay. “I was a wreck,” says Law. “I went on the tramp to find myself. My plan was to take a few months off to reconnect with my family and the outdoors. It was then that the idea of the first 7in7 Challenge hit me.”
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year later, in November 2009, Law became the first person to run seven of New Zealand’s Great Walks in seven days, a total distance of 370km, or almost nine marathons. The idea was sparked by Sir Ranulph Fiennes’ autobiography Mad, Bad & Dangerous to Know. In 2003, just four months after suffering a heart attack, the 59-year-old British explorer ran seven marathons in seven days on seven continents. To Law, doing something similar seemed like a great idea. “My ex-wife asked me if I was having a mid-life crisis and I told her, ‘No, I’m having a mid-life epiphany,’” he says. “I was fast approaching 50 and for me it was a case of, ‘Christ! It’s now or never if I want to do something different with my life.’ “Now I’m obsessed with running. It defines me in many ways and the funny thing is that was never the intention. I was going to do the 7in7 Challenge and go back to normal life. I had a new business all mapped out, but after running came along, I thought, ‘No thanks. Not for me’. Market research felt so meaningless compared to getting out there, raising
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Pain and glory: Malcolm Law after completing the Kepler Challenge in Te Anau on December 7, 2013
money for a good cause and inspiring people to live more healthy lives.” The 7in7 raised over $85,000 for Leukaemia & Blood Cancer NZ (Law’s older brother Alan died of leukaemia when Malcolm was eight years old) and one of the people he inspired was his wife, Sally. Before she met him, she was a keen jogger, nothing more, but it was only after she worked in his support crew on the 7in7 and later watched a short film about the challenge that she decided to go along. “There was this shot of him running across the top of the ridge line that looked amazing and I wanted to experience it for myself,” says Sally. “The thing is, if you hang around with Mal long enough and listen to him talking about running 50 or 60km, he makes it sound normal.” “It does become normal – or rather your perception of what is normal changes over time,” says Law. “Ten years ago when I did multisport races, 20km was a long run for me. I couldn’t conceive of running 60km and the idea of running the Kepler was beyond me. Now it’s like a run around the block.” At the start line of any endurance event you’ll find a curious mix of elite athletes and eccentrics. Malcolm Law insists he’s neither. Instead he likes to think of himself as an Everyman, an average Joe, a middle of the pack competitor who finished the 2013 Kepler Challenge in 113th place, three hours behind the winner. The pain in his feet he blames on the hard ground and pushing himself too hard. He reckons his run on the Kepler Track during next year’s High Five-0 will take him at least 11 hours, or 3-4 hours slower than his race pace. “I’ve never come close to being an elite athlete and I don’t pretend to be,” says Law. “There are other ways of achieving things apart from being the fastest and besides I’m not focused on racing these days.”
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aw’s training programme over the next 12 months will see him spending lots of time in the mountains around his new home in Wanaka. “My focus ahead of the High Five-0 is getting as much mileage as possible into my legs and running as many big hills as possible,” he says. “I don’t even think of it as training. A running coach would take one look at my training log, shake their head and ask ‘Where’s the discipline?’ If I feel good, I’ll go for a long run. If I don’t, I won’t. The reason I’m into off-road running is the places it the red bulletin
“What i do alters your perception o f n o r m a l” takes me. It’s about getting out in the pristine wilderness and escaping the humdrum realities of daily life.” The High Five-0 will take Law to wild and remote parts of New Zealand. There are back-to-back runs in Kahurangi and Mt Aspiring National Park that will mean an overnight stay in a mountain hut. Some climbs will require crampons. Many have been on Law’s to-do list for a long time. “Picking the peaks was fun,” he says. “They’re pretty random. There are no restrictions on the height of the peaks, but I wanted them all to be significant in some way. One Tree Hill isn’t a big peak, but it’s a significant one. I had to plan it around peaks that had well-established trail networks because I need to be able to run up and down. Every day I’ll scale a peak and run between 30 and 60km.” So every day isn’t a marathon? “No – I mean, you can’t plan a marathon on off-road trails that easily,” he says. “Over the course of 50 days, it
will equate to 50 marathons. The total distance will be 2,110km and the cumulative altitude ascent will be over 100,000m.” As with the 7in7 Challenge, Law is inviting other runners to join him on individual legs of the High Five-0; the more runners, the more funds he will raise for his chosen charity. Law is also a believer in the notion that ‘shared pain is lessened, shared joy is increased.’ “The ultra journey is one of massive highs and lows,” he says. “There will be times when I feel I can’t possibly carry on and times where I feel absolutely fine, but the more ultras you do the more you realise the lows are temporary. People talk about hitting the wall when they run a marathon. A wall implies you can’t get through it, but if you hang in there you do pop out the other side. The camaraderie that comes from running with other people makes it very special and there’s a great sense of connection with the tribe of trail runners around the world.” Not everyone shares his enthusiasm for the challenge that lies ahead. At the end of the Kepler Challenge, an elderly female volunteer helps Law to his feet. She kindly enquires if he’ll be back next year, then shakes her head when she hears the details of the High Five-0. “Fifty marathons over 50 peaks in 50 days?” she says. “That’s right,” says Law. “You’re indecent,” she says. “But good on you and good luck.” high50.org.nz
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sebastian copeland
The Iceman
The British explorer and filmmaker has crossed Antarctica with broken ribs, explored Greenland by kite and is friends with Leonardo DiCaprio. Here he tells us his survival tips
the red bulletin: When you crossed Greenland in 2010, you and your expedition partner Eric McNair-Landry had to sit out a blizzard for seven days in your tent. How did you stop yourselves going mad? sebastian copeland: Adrenalin keeps you alert, to start with. I was worried the storm would damage the tent. Then, getting to sleep became a problem. The wind shook the sides of the tent at speeds of up to 130kph. It felt like camping in a jet turbine. What did you both talk about? The thing is, you don’t go on a polar expedition with the aim of making friends for life. You seek out a professional like Eric who in all likelihood is going to see the mission through. We didn’t have any profound discussions about our childhoods. We spent most of the day in thought; we played the odd game of chess. What’s the most important mental quality an explorer is required to have for a polar expedition? Your head is more important than your body – that’s beyond question. The physical preparation is the easy part. You go to the gym and you get in shape. Dealing with pain is more difficult. One part of my training involves me putting on a 50kg vest and trekking through the mountains for two hours. Obviously, you’re completely exhausted after five minutes, but you’ve got to get through it, even if it hurts. If you flag on an exercise like that, what business have you got going to Antarctica? When you were in Greenland, you travelled on skis and were pulled along by a kite and set a new record for travelling that way: 595km in 24 hours. When did you eat? 52
We cooked meals in snowmelt in the morning and evening. You can buy almost all foods in dehydrated form: beef bourguignon, fettuccine Alfredo. You need a lot of fat and carbs. I ate Brazil nuts between stages. They have the best weight-calorie ratio. You need to be scientifically rigorous when choosing your provisions. Every calorie is counted. In your photography and film
“You don’t sleep well when 130kph winds shake the tent. Like camping in a jet turbine” projects, you seek to address the risks of climate change. What’s the most difficult thing about raising environmental awareness? We’re increasingly isolated from the consequences of our actions. Your electricity bill, your rubbish disposal, it’s all dealt with easily just by you writing a cheque. But when you’re living in a tent in the snow for weeks
at a time, you become aware of every single tin can. You think to yourself, “What idiot chose to camp here?” How did you get Leonardo DiCaprio to write the introduction to your photo book, Antarctica: The Global Warning? I work for an environmental organisation in the US called Green Cross International and helped prepare an initiative for the Earth Summit in Johannesburg with Leo in 2002. After that he started coming to my presentations. I consider Leo to be one of the most committed environmentalists from the world of showbusiness. You can believe what this man says. You broke two ribs right at the beginning of your 2011 Antarctic expedition. How did you persevere for the remaining 75 days? I fell on a zastruga, an ice formation shaped by the wind, during a kiting manoeuvre. Ironically, I’d met an adventurer friend for dinner in Cape Town a couple of days before. He told me about how he’d broken a rib once during an expedition. I asked, “What did you do?” He answered, “Took painkillers and soldiered on.” And I took that as advice after my own accident because I knew that he’d managed with a broken rib. What lessons do you take from your expeditions into everyday life? Firstly, that problems don’t solve themselves by you moaning about them. Secondly, learn some humility. Expeditions require you to have a strong ego, but there’s no more efficient way of learning humility than being exposed to the elements in a desert of ice. You get out of the plane, set foot on the ice and you know that you have 4,000km ahead of you. sebastiancopelandadventures.com the red bulletin
Sebastian Copeland
Interview: Andreas Rottenschlager
Sebastian Copeland on his way to the North Pole in 2009: “problems aren’t solved by moaning”
Born April 3, 1964 Copeland On Film Into the Cold: A Journey Of The Soul (2010) is a documentary about his 600km trek to the North Pole. Hell on Ice (2013) is about him kiting his way 2,300km across Greenland. Minus Ten Degrees to Six Degrees Copeland is a cousin of actor Orlando Bloom, and was married to the model and actress Brigitte Nielsen from 1990-92.
Words: Thomas Hauser
Sueddeutsche Zeitung Photo
When Cassius Clay fought Sonny Liston in February 50 years ago, sport changed, politics changed, what it meant to be black in America changed... the world changed. Today, the power still resonates
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On February 25, 1964, a young man named Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr entered a boxing ring in Miami and stood opposite Sonny Liston.
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n the early 1960s, sport was one of few areas in American life where blacks could be on equal footing with whites. But in many respects, sport reflected the old order. Black athletes could become stars, but only within guidelines dictated by the establishment. The heavyweight championship was the most coveted title in sport. The man who held the crown was supposed to be a role model. That meant being modest,
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Cassius Clay, the Louisville Lip, lands a left on Sonny Liston, the Big Bear, Miami Beach Convention Centre, February 25, 1964
respectful of authority and accepting of a class structure that denominated black Americans as second-class citizens. Clay himself later said, “Many black people thought it was better to be white.” He defied that stereotype. In 1961, he’d met a man named Sam Saxon, one of a small group of adherents known to the media as Black Muslims who followed the black separatist teachings of the selfproclaimed messenger of the Nation of Islam, named Elijah Muhammad. Clay accepted Saxon’s invitation to attend a Nation of Islam service at a Miami temple and thereafter was indoctrinated with the tenets of the religion. The Nation of Islam taught that white people were devils who had been genetically created by an evil scientist with a big head named Mr Yacub. It maintained that there was a wheelshaped Mother of Planes half-a-mile wide manned by black men in the sky, and that, on Allah’s chosen day of retribution, 1,500 planes from the Mother of Planes would drop deadly explosives destroying all but the righteous on Earth. Neither
of these views are part of traditional Islamic thought or find justification in the Qur’an. Moreover, while the concepts of Heaven and Hell are central to traditional Islamic doctrine, the National of Islam rejected both. More significantly, as far as most Americans were concerned, Islam adheres to the premise that hearts and souls have no colour. Nation of Islam ministers preached that, for black Americans, integration meant destruction. It wasn’t public knowledge that Clay was a convert to the Nation of Islam at the time he fought Liston, but the young fighter felt that a powerful force was on his side. Betty Shabezz, the wife of Malcolm X, a follower of Elijah Muhammad, later recalled, “My husband indoctrinated [Clay] continuously about the fact that, not only was he young, strong and skilful; he was a man who believed in God. They talked continuously about how David slew Goliath, and how God would not allow someone who believed in him to fail, regardless of how powerful the opponent was.” the red bulletin
Sueddeutsche Zeitung Photo, corbis
Liston was heavyweight champion of the world and a cold, menacing presence. After a stint in prison for armed robbery, he’d found employment as a strong-arm man for organised crime. Then the Mob decided to promote him as a fighter. He won and successfully defended the heavyweight championship by knocking out Floyd Patterson twice. Each time, he needed only slightly more than two minutes to accomplish the task. Many in the boxing community thought of Liston as unbeatable. “I remember being very nervous that night,” Pulitzer-Prize-winning writer David Halberstam later acknowledged. “Clay seemed so young and vulnerable. And I remember caring about what would happen to him, being frightened that a dark shadow would fall over him, because Liston seemed to be what he was supposed to be.” Clay later admitted, “Just before the fight, when the referee was giving us instructions, Liston was giving me that stare. I won’t lie; I was scared. Sonny Liston hit hard and he was fixing to kill me. But I was there. I didn’t have no choice but to go out and fight. The first round, I was dancing, moving back and side-to-side. I hit him with a couple of combinations, and he got me once with a right hand to the stomach. At the end of the round, I went back to my corner and I felt good because I knew I could survive.”
Something on Liston’s gloves gave Clay eye trouble. He came back to the corner after the fourth round, shouting, ‘I can’t see!’ Midway through round five, his vision cleared. Liston quit before round seven
In round three of the Liston fight, Clay went on the offensive. Mort Sharnik, then a young sportswriter, would recount the moment when the tide turned. “Liston had seemed indestructible,” Sharnik reminisced. “But Cassius had incredibly swift hands and a manner of punching where he twisted his fist at the moment of impact, which had the effect of a pretty sharp knife. He hit Liston with a one-two combination; a jab followed by a straight right. It was like the armour plate on a battleship being pierced. Cassius pulled his jab back, and there was a mouse [a severe bruise] underneath Sonny’s right eye. Then he pulled his right hand back and there was a gash underneath the other eye. Liston’s skin had seemed so thick; I didn’t think it could possibly burst like that. And I said to myself, ‘My God! Cassius Clay is winning this fight.’ Then things got complicated. In round four, Clay began having trouble with his vision. A caustic substance – most likely an astringent illegally rubbed on Liston’s gloves by one of his cornermen, after the third round – temporarily blinded the challenger. Clay’s trainer, Angelo Dundee, later recalled, “Cassius came back to the corner after the fourth round and started shouting, ‘I can’t see! My eyes!’ Something was wrong. His eyes were watery. He was saying, ‘Cut the gloves off! We’re going home!’ You can imagine what was going through his mind. He was winning the fight, and all of a sudden he can’t see. I told him, ‘Forget the bullshit. This is the championship. Sit down.’ I pushed him down, took a towel, and started cleaning out his eyes. Then I threw the towel away, grabbed a sponge, rinsed his eyes and threw the sponge away. I got his mouthpiece back in, stood him up and said, ‘This is the big one, Daddy. Stay away from him. Run!’” Just going out for the fifth round was an incredibly brave thing to do, said Dr Ferdie Pacheco, Clay’s physician. “It was like blinding someone and
then sending him out to fight Mike Tyson,” he said. “Cassius was absolutely brilliant then. The things he did, staying out of range, reaching out with his left hand, touching Liston when he got too close to break Sonny’s concentration. It was an amazing, astonishing, breathtaking performance. Here’s a fighter who’s supposed to be Godzilla, who will reign for maybe a thousand years. Nobody can stand up to him. Cassius can’t see and still Liston couldn’t do anything with him.” Midway through round five, Clay’s vision cleared. For the rest of the stanza, the two men fought on even terms. Round six belonged to the challenger. He hit Liston at will and Sonny couldn’t hit him. Just before the start of round seven, Liston quit on his stool.
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lay’s conquest of Liston showcased the attributes that would make him a legendary fighter: speed, sharp punching, masterful footwork, creativity, courage, and defensive genius. In his own one-of-a-kind way, he was a ring craftsman of the highest order. But much of that brilliance was overlooked in the chaos that followed. One day after the fight, Clay held a press conference and stated that he was no longer a Christian. The following day, at a second press conference, he announced that he was a follower of Elijah Muhammad. Ten days later, the Nation of Islam leader proclaimed that: “This Clay name has no divine meaning. I hope he will accept being called by a better name. Muhammad Ali is what I will give him for as long as he believes in Allah and follows me.” Robert Lipsyte, who covered ClayListon for The New York Times, later said, “At that point, the press had no choice. We were hooked into the story and had to follow it. Clay was not dismissable. People were stuck with a heavyweight champion who said, ‘I don’t have to be what you want me to be. I’m free to be me.’ And among the things he didn’t have to be were Christian, a good soldier of American democracy in the mould of Joe Louis, or the kind of athlete-prince white America wanted.” Many Americans, black and white, took issue. “I never went along with the pronouncements of Elijah Muhammad that the white man was the devil and that blacks should be striving for separate development, a sort of American apartheid,” said triple Grand 57
Slam-winning tennis legend Arthur Ashe. “It was a racist ideology, and I didn’t like it.” But for many, Ali was the ultimate symbol of black pride and black resistance to an unjust social order. And, from 1964 until his conversion to orthodox Islam in 1975, he was the Nation of Islam’s most visible and vocal spokesman. Among the positions he preached were opposition to integration, opposition to intermarriage, and the need for a separate black homeland. “We’re not all brothers,” Ali said. “You can say we’re brothers, but we’re not.” Meanwhile, the war in Vietnam was raging and American men between the ages of 18 and 26 were subject to a military draft. In 1964, Ali had been classified 1-Y – not qualified for military service – as a result of scoring poorly on a Selective Service mental aptitude examination. But in early 1966, with the war expanding and manpower needs growing, the test score required for induction into the armed forces was lowered, leaving him eligible for the draft. Ali requested a deferment. But on February 17, 1966, he was reclassified 1-A: available for the draft. Several hours later, a frustrated Ali blurted out to reporters, “I ain’t got no quarrel with them Vietcong.” The following day, Ali’s outburst was front-page news across the country. Then, on April 28, 1967, citing his religious beliefs, he refused induction into the United States Army. Almost immediately, he was stripped of his title and prevented from boxing by state athletic commissions throughout the country. Less than two months later, he was convicted of refusing induction and sentenced to five years in prison, although he didn’t serve any time. His exile from boxing lasted for more than three years. Aided by a series of court decisions, Ali returned to the ring and his criminal conviction was overturned by the US Supreme Court. In 1974, he journeyed to the heart of Africa and dethroned George Foreman to reclaim the crown that had been unfairly taken from him. 58
Then, on February 25, 1975, Elijah Muhammad died. “After Elijah died,” Ali later recalled, “his son Wallace took over as leader. That didn’t surprise us, because we’d been told Wallace would come after his father. But what surprised some people was, Wallace changed the direction of the Nation. He’d learned from his studies that his father wasn’t teaching true Islam, and Wallace taught us the true meaning of the Qur’an.” Muhammad’s death marked a seismic shift for the Nation of Islam and foreshadowed a significant change in Ali’s public pronouncements on race. In the past, the public and private Ali had seemed almost at war with one another over whether white people were truly evil. Now he was able to say openly, “I don‘t hate whites. That was history, but it’s coming to an end.”
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li fought for the last time more than three decades ago. His health has deteriorated markedly since then, but he remains the preeminent athlete of our time. His love affair with America and the world reached its zenith in 1996 when he was chosen to light the flame at the opening ceremonies for the 26th Olympiad in Atlanta. Three billion people around the world watched on television and were united by love and caring for one man. It’s generally acknowledged that Ali’s most significant contributions came in
the 1960s, when he was most closely scrutinised, his conduct bordered on revolutionary, and he was at his most controversial. Ali in the 1960s stood for the proposition that principles matter; that equality among people is just and proper; that the war in Vietnam was wrong. Every time he looked in the mirror and preened, “I’m so pretty,” he was saying “black is beautiful” before it became fashionable. Hall of Fame baseball player Reggie Jackson spoke to that point when he declared, “Do you have any idea what Ali meant to black people? As a young black, at times I was ashamed of my colour; I was ashamed of my hair. And Ali made me proud. I’m just as happy being black now as somebody else is being white, and Ali was part of that growing process. Think about it! Do you understand what it did for black Americans to know that the most physically gifted, possibly the most handsome, and one of the most charismatic men in the world was black. Ali helped raise black people in this country out of mental slavery. The entire experience of being black changed for millions of people because of Ali.” Ali today is a symbol of tolerance and understanding. “When I was young,” he has said, “I followed a teaching that disrespected other people and said that white people were devils. I was wrong. Colour doesn’t make a man a devil. It’s the heart and soul and mind that count. Hating people because of their colour is wrong. It doesn’t matter which colour does the hating. It’s just plain wrong.” But Ali is unrepentant regarding his past beliefs. “Elijah Muhammad was a good man,” Ali has said, “even if he wasn’t the Messenger of God we thought he was. Elijah taught us to be independent, to clean ourselves up, to be proud and healthy. If you look at what our people were like then, a lot of us didn’t have self-respect. We didn’t have anything after being in America for hundreds of years. Elijah Muhammad was trying to lift us up and get our people out of the gutter. I think he was wrong when he talked about white devils, but part of what he did was make people feel it was good to be black. So I’m not apologising for what I believed.” Thomas Hauser is author of Muhammad Ali: His Life And Times, widely regarded as the definitive Ali biography. His most recent book is Straight Writes And Jabs: An Inside Look At Another Year In Boxing. His email address is: thauser@rcn.com the red bulletin
ddp images, Keystone
‘I followed a teaching that disrespected other peop le, that said white people were devils. I was wrong. But part of what it did was make people feel it was good to be black. So I’m not apologising for what I believed ’
Clay was jubilant after beating Liston, becoming world heavyweight champion for the first time. Ten days later, he became Muhammad Ali the red bulletin
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The shocking and stunning
One Big Trance A wall of sound from just two bricks: the open-to-anything NZ duo who hypnotise with their massive music Words: Sam Wicks Photography: Nic Staveley
If you’ve watched all the way to the end of the credits of a Peter Jackson epic, you might have seen the name Park Road Post scroll down the screen. Housed in the former home of the stateowned National Film Unit, Jackson’s post-production facility sits at the end of the nondescript street that provides its name and slices through the sleepy Wellington suburb of Miramar. With its mix of single-story bungalows and anonymous rows of warehouses, there’s little to give away the fact that Park Road accommodates the multi-billion-dollar movie business that draws Hollywood heavyweights to a neighbourhood a world away from La La Land. Two doors down from Jackson’s centre of operations is another warehouse space in which a very different kind of alchemy is taking place. Pull up at 132 Park Road, and you’re in the headquarters of The Shocking And Stunning, a band whose name alone offers a heads-up on the IMAX-sized sounds they generate from just synths, samplers and drums. Lounging on mismatched furniture in an anarchic space that serves as a flat, a rehearsal space and the site of a series of legendary parties at which The Shocking And Stunning have played, synth and sampler operator Jack Hooker recalls his one and only visit to his neighbour’s gaff. “I went over to Park Road Post when I was studying at music school – and it was incredible,” he says, wide-eyed. “If we’re mixing Shocking And Stunning material, we mix in a small room. If you’re mixing for a movie, you need an actual movie theatre to do it in. It’s so ritzy in there; there are these massive movie studios just with huge mixing desks in them.” Hooker, 23, and his Shocking And Stunning collaborator Sam Lovrich60
FitzPatrick, 25, are high-school buddies from Christchurch who first played in a jazz group together but bonded over the full-on sound of noise-rock bands like Boris, Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Sunn O))). Armed with guitar and drums, the early incarnation of The Shocking And Stunning set about trying to capture and combine the power of their favourite groups. “We were always a two-piece, but we did try our hand at lots of different things,” says Lovrich-FitzPatrick. “At first Jack focused on guitar, but then he got a second-hand synth. That was the birth of The Shocking and Stunning.”
“Making instrumentals shouldn’t be seen as any different from making music without, say, a banjo” “I was trying to find the right fit for the kind of noise we wanted to make,” says Hooker. “At one point, I picked up a flute and even a fretless bass. But when that synth came up, it was a game-changer. Suddenly, as a two-piece, we’ve got the drums, we’ve got the bassline and we’ve got the melody. There was nothing missing.” To hear The Shocking And Stunning play live is to witness the awesome energy they can generate with the most basic of set-ups. Their intoxicating, trance-inducing formula combines Hooker’s walls of synths and samples with Lovrich-FitzPatrick’s frantic drumming, ingredients enhanced by their liberal use of musical effects.
“Getting to a trance-like state is something we talk about a lot,” says Lovrich-FitzPatrick. “We keep it repetitive with big build-ups and then huge drops. I don’t think we do that to try to make other people feel the same way. It’s more like we want to get lost in the sound, and we take them with us.” It’s not just The Shocking And Stunning’s mantra-like, repeat-and-build musical phrases that have been known to entrance the band and those who hear it; it’s also the ear-bleed sound levels Hooker and Lovrich-FitzPatrick play at, whether it’s on stage or within the walls of their Park Road warehouse. Legend has it that Wellington station Radio Active was forced to move offices following the noise complaints a Shocking And Stunning live session was met with, something station manager Dave Gibbons likes to remind the band about. While The Shocking And Stunning carry on testing their own threshold for extreme volume as they work towards a debut album due later this year, they’ve also been in contact with Auckland rhymesmith Tourettes about working on a collaborative EP. The idea of Tourettes’s word soup of raps grafted onto the duo’s dense, wordless compositions sounds like a perfect marriage; Hooker and Lovrich-FitzPatrick are adamant the project will be a one-off. “Sometimes I think vocals ruin music, in the sense that you have to make an association with the words that are being sung,” says Lovrich-FitzPatrick. “I don’t even like the term ‘instrumental music’,” adds Hooker. “What we do shouldn’t be seen as any different from making music without, say, a banjo. It’s not like it’s lacking anything. We have everything we need.” www.shockingandstunning.com the red bulletin
The line-up (from left) Sam Lovrich-FitzPatrick – drums Jack Hooker – synth/ sampler Discography We Will Fight You (EP, 2013) Live At The Attic (cassette, 2013) Music To New Light (EP, 2012) 17th Century Disco Horse (EP, 2012) I’ve Met Them, They Were C––ts (EP, 2011) The Shocking and Stunning Statement (EP, 2010) No Words While The Shocking And Stunning’s output is allinstrumental, their song Danger!! was sampled by Wellington rapper Name UL and they supplied backing tracks for Tourettes’s EP, Dead Dog’s Dance.
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The legendary and untamed Carrera Panamericana is the last true road race. After racing the length of Mexico, winners earn bragging rights and the chasing police convoy needs new tyres Words: Werner Jessner Photography: Marcelo Maragni
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The stages usually end in town centres, such as in this park right in front of Oaxaca’s cathedral (right). Facing page (clockwise from top): NASCAR technology in the old bodywork, but with stopwatches and satnavs on board; a tight corner on a hillside section; Guillermo Rojas won the Carrera Panamericana 25 years ago. His son, Memo, debuted in 2013
Se disputó desde 1950 hasta 1954, 34 años después volvió en su forma moderna actual.
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memorable order came through to the Mexican National Army in November 1953. In order to avoid unnecessary bloodshed among the participants in the Carrera Panamericana, they were to shoot on sight anything – be that man or beast – that crossed the road during the race. Of all the pioneering road races, the Carrera, which was first held in 1950 to mark the opening of the Mexican section of the Pan-American Highway, has always been the one with a reputation for unpredictability, adventure and danger. The star racers of the day had to be press-ganged into making the trip to Mexico, even though the Carrera – in Spanish it means
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‘race’ – was part of the World Sportscar Championship, the most important motorsport category of its day. The Formula One World Championship was only established in 1955. The Pan-American Highway was merely the race’s namesake. Some of the roads being hurtled along were barely tarmacked in places. Hundreds of racing drivers took a gamble on this great adventure. Many of them fatally overestimated their abilities. Cars fell into ravines, lost wheels and axles, burst into flames as they hit rocks, rolled over, had vultures fly into their windscreens. In the early years, a lot of the accidents might have been a lot less serious if those behind the wheel had worn seatbelts and decent helmets. There was the unpredictable behaviour of the spectators along the way. There was a rule that said any driver who came to another’s 65
“ I t’s the first time I’ve ever been scared in a car. Tense, nervous – yes. But, today I was afraid” assistance would be automatically disqualified; it applied in the case of accidents. There is no reliable data on the exact number of deaths during the race, nor is there any official record of the Mexican National Army acting on its order to shoot. In any case, the Carrera Panamericana was called to a halt after the race in 1954. It had spun out of control. The 1954 winner’s average speed of 222kph is unimaginable, even by today’s standards. The race was revived in 1988 and new rules stated it was now to be driven in “appropriate cars”. For the sake of precision, the rules also broke the cars down into seven categories. Racing for 3,500km across Mexico is no easy task for old cars with the look of the Studebaker, Oldsmobile and Cadillac about them. Their bodywork hides a tubular frame chassis with heftily souped-up V8 engines, SUV axles and racing car brakes. The people tuning the engines don’t go easy either: 700bhp comes as standard if you want to roar along at 300kph. Memo Rojas, the most successful racing driver in Mexico, parks up at the end of the 66
Veracruz-to-Oaxaca stage and seems oddly contemplative after suffering a tyre blow-out. “That’s the first time I’ve ever been afraid in a car,” he says. “I know what’s it’s like to be tense, nervous and focused at the start. But today I was afraid. The car is shit. It’s an overpowered piece of shit. There’s no undercarriage, no passive safety. Barrelling along at 300 in this piece of junk I was scared. You want to brake, but you can’t.” Memo’s father, Guillermo, won here 25 years earlier, in 1988. “We weren’t sluggish back then either,” says the elder Rojas, with a smile. “We went at similar speeds. This is Memo’s first road race; when I won it, I knew every road, every turn. He doesn’t know any of that.” At the end of day one, Memo Rojas is down in 40th place, adrift of Mexico’s elite rally drivers out in front. The pace they set on the shorterdistance special stages is breathtaking, whereas on the longer, untimed liaison stages, they go in for some advanced pack racing. In the middle of it all, where there are 172 Dodge Chargers, the Federales, the Mexican police, make sure that the pace doesn’t drop. The Carrera stickers on the the red bulletin
From dry heat to cold and fog, the weather gods bring it all to the Carrera Panamericana Left: the hairpin bends make bruised bonnets a common feature of the race Below: tyres suffer more than the rest of the car; mechanics put water in them to make sure they swell up evenly
Pin-ups and religious icons nestle side by side at the Carrera Panamericana. Indeed, the loving way in which cars are decorated is a large part of the race’s charm. The route itself is shown religious reverence. “If I die,” one driver says to his co-driver, “promise me you’ll scatter my ashes on the route”
Memo Rojas and his Studebaker. After a tyre blow-out, the driver’s side of the car has gallant battle scars
One car comes home on its wheel rims. “The best cars fall apart at the finish,” says its driver cars give them carte blanche. Anyone who stops at a red light in a village somewhere is frantically waved on. Vete, pendejo! [Get a move on, stupid!] Before long there are the first retirements. A Dodge manages to find the gap between the end of a fence and the beginning of a crash barrier, and wedge itself against a tree. Some kind of brake problem, the driver groans. One of the Studebakers flips over multiple times and six cars slip on the trail of oil it leaves and come crashing off the road. Other drivers decide that, from this point on, the Carrera Panamericana should be more of an adventure holiday and choose to spend their technical budget on appropriate provisions: a good bottle of wine to go with dinner, a daily steak and champagne. Many of the participants seem to have a healthy cushion in their finances. Some are heroes just for crossing the finish line. More drama on the final stage. Doug Mockett of the USA suffers tyre damage with about a kilometre to go. He virtually drags his Oldsmobile through the finish line on its wheel rims, and that’s after he’d ripped out the gearstick. “The best racing cars fall apart at the finish line,” he says, repeating an old mechanic’s adage. the red bulletin
A conspicuous number of the bangers have no working clutch and struggle across the finish in third gear, stinking to high heaven. Young Mexican Pasqual Piccolo takes a spin on the last morning of the race and two concrete pillars rip off his left rear wheel. He makes repairs and struggles on, but then the engine cuts out. The radiator has taken some sort of hit, too. He makes a phone call and gets pushed, bumper to bumper, towards the finish line in Zacatecas, where a 16-strong contingent of locals help to drag his mortally wounded Datsun to the end of the race. The centre of this former silver-mining town has long since turned into a Mexican fiesta scene. All around there is trumpeting, drumming, confetti, enchiladas, mezcal, Corona, singing, dancing, madness. Memo Rojas comes in third in this, his first Carrera Panamericana. Not bad after an accident at the start and a whole load of other mishaps along the way. He is dancing arm in arm with the winners and the second-placed team. “Viva Mexico! Viva la Carrera Panamericana! We are a family! See you next year!” His father looks on with a smile on his face. He knows exactly what his son is talking about. panamrace.com
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hings go quiet for a moment when Simonne Jones enters the room. On the one hand, that’s down to the fact that she has done some modelling and she catches the eye in all her one-metre-ninety glory. Curly black hair and big brown eyes. Long, long legs. On the other hand, it’s because the 26-year-old Californian has a talent for holding your attention. Even if it’s doing a handstand while wearing high heels, or smashing a guitar to bits, whatever she does is engaging. You listen as she explains that the scrawl on the back of her hand is the structural formula for serotonin, “my favourite neurotransmitter. I wrote it on this morning.” If she wants to nerd off about the first law of thermodynamics, you nerd right along with her. Simonne Jones is enjoying her meeting with The Red Bulletin in London. She’s brought along a guitar she made herself and explains, between photographs, how to hook up an analogue synthesizer, how to meditate for 15 hours straight or how to clone bacteria. Last year, she was on stage, as both actress and musician, at the prestigious Salzburg Festival. The Red Bull Music Academy graduate is currently recording her debut album – “imagine Depeche Mode and PJ Harvey have a love child born in Einstürzende Neubauten’s backyard,” she says, and later you might have to Google that German industrial band – and divides her time between London, Toronto, Los Angeles and her adopted home city, Berlin, where in 2013 she had an exhibition of her art and performed concerts with two of her heroes, Björk and the electro-punk icon Peaches.
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the red bulletin: What is it exactly about Peaches, who said once that you are “the future”, that makes her a hero of yours? simonne jones: I went to a concert of hers when I was 15. It was a crazy circus show. I saw my first dildo, my first transvestite, it was intense. Nothing was the same anymore after an evening like that. I met her after the concert and a couple of years later I was her roadie on tour. Now she’s my mentor. What can you learn from her? I tend to be kind of shy, but on stage I’m like an animal and I think this comes from Peaches, because she used to come and critique my shows. It’s thanks to Peaches that I’ve got the confidence to jump off speakers into the crowd. Did you have to work hard to conquer your stage fright? During rehearsals and every show, I video myself and watch every recording. That took my performance to another level. You don’t want to look at somebody who is awkward and shy on stage. But cringing at yourself won’t diminish stage fright, will it? This is what works for me. I try to get myself into my songwriting mood when performing live. When I’m writing, there are no inhibitions. It is the same concept of dancing around in your underwear at home with a broom or whatever. How old were you when you fell in love with music? I started playing the piano when I was three. I was 10 when I composed my first piece. I took up the electric guitar when I was in that the-whole-world-hates-me phase, aged 14. Then the bass, then the drums and then the sitar. I learned every instrument I could get my hands on. Aged three most kids are learning to count. How come you were on piano? My mother was giving my older sister piano lessons. I really wanted to learn, but she didn’t have time to teach both. So I listened in on the lessons she gave to my sister and would sit at the piano when they were finished and try to reproduce the songs they played from memory. She’d teach her Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and I would copy it. When I was five, I had this copying thing down. You should have seen the look on my mother’s face. When did you come up with the idea of making instruments yourself? My guitar, you mean? I made it out of a wooden crate and a broomstick. It is based on an African guitar. When Africans were brought to the plantations, they couldn’t afford instruments, so they used what they had around them. They took cigar boxes and broom handles and elevated
“ I WA S 1 0 W H E N I C O M P O S E D M Y F I R ST P I EC E . I TO O K U P T H E E L ECT R O N I C G U I TA R W H E N I WA S I N T H AT T H E -W H O L E WO R L D - H AT E S ME PHASE, AG E D 14”
Star turn: Jones finds patterns in astronomy, converts them into sound waves
“ U N D E R STA N D I N G K I L L S C U R I O S I T Y. T h e art t h at I m ake s h ould ins p ire and catalyse t h is curiosity in others�
STYLIST: Julia Brenard, STYLIST ASSISTANT: Felix Bischof, HAIR: Claire Rothstein Clothing credit: Model‘s own
Maker fair: Jones builds her own instruments. She has made a bass synthesizer out of a computer’s hard-drive and a guitar out of a wooden crate
it with no frets, then took a Coke bottle and used that as a slide and created fretless sounds. I tricked it out a bit, because I’m into electronics, so I put two pickups in it. So you can play Diddley Bo with two guitar amps at the same time and you end up with a bass sound that’s eyeball-rumbling. Diddley Bo? Yes. That’s my guitar’s name. What drives you to do what you do? Curiosity. When there’s something that can’t be explained, I just want to pull it apart and dive into it and explore it. That’s probably why I got a degree in biomedical research and biology. I worked in a genetics lab cloning bacteria cells and making mutations of them for research into HIV. Are art and science in stark contrast to one another? Writing songs is similar to problem-solving in a mathematical way. Even understanding harmonics is mathematical. A harmonic is created by taking a directly proportional cut of a vibration. When a string vibrates, you cut it in half and you get a specific harmonic. Wait, let me show you. [Jones fishes a notebook out of her bag and pops it open. The pages are covered in song lyrics, sketches and formulas, including one that breaks down the structure of chords. One corner of that page has a scrawled the red bulletin
drawing of a computer hard-drive that has been taken apart.] By the way, I’ve worked out how you can make a bass instrument from the coil of a hard-drive. So the best thing for you is discovering things and understanding them? Not understanding: exploring. Understanding kills curiosity. The art that I make should inspire and catalyse this curiosity in others that will get people to explore and be curious about their universe and get excited about the potential of existing in this limitless universe. What do you mean? There’s a quote by Nikola Tesla; he’s my favourite scientist. When he wasn’t creating the alternating current generator and the Tesla coil, he was also an inventive human being who viewed science as an art. One of the things he said was that one of the greatest things a person can experience is when an inventor sees some creation of the brain unfolding into success and the feeling is so powerful it can outweigh everything: sleeping, friends, eating, love. You become completely consumed by it, and that’s a beautiful thing. How do you link science and art? For my Berlin exhibition, I created six computer-controlled pictures using LEDs. They react to movement. The closer you get, the brighter the lights become. If you move your arm, they change colour. What was the theme of the exhibition? It was about secrets of the universe, finding patterns in science that are repeating among different disciplines that can’t really exist without each other. I covered themes like dark matter, the birth of the universe, the big bang, the death of the universe. I have to ask a renaissance woman what she thinks of Leonardo da Vinci. I love Da Vinci. He was an awesome man. He was also a musician. He invented instruments and played the flute. Da Vinci is like a snapshot of a normal man in a few hundred years: I think all human beings in modern times are a bit renaissance because we have to know a lot more than we did a hundred years ago to just understand how a computer works.
We don’t all need to know how to clone bacteria and compose music for the theatre. You do; you’re a superwoman. Nonsense. I’m just interested in things. In theory, anyone could do what I do. But it’s funny you should say that, because there’s a comic book coming out where the heroine is based on me. A couple of years ago, I met Peter Steigerwald of Aspen Comics at ComiCon. We chatted and a few months later, he told me he was dedicating his next book to me. Who is this heroine? She travels to different planets preserving alien species that are being hunted illegally. I want to say that she is a scientist and musician and model, but I don’t know the specifics because the book isn’t out yet. You’re really a solo musician, but last summer you performed with an orchestra. What was that like? I played four concerts with the German Rock Symphony Orchestra. The conductor liked my music and asked if I’d like to perform it with his orchestra. We arranged my songs for a 350-piece orchestra: a choir of 150 and 200 instruments. It was an incredible experience. Being a soloist in an orchestra is one of those childhood fantasies. Actually, when I was little I said I wanted to be a scientist, an inventor, a concert pianist, an artist, a dancer, and a doctor. I wanted to do all of them. You’ve achieved almost all those things. Apart from doctor. I was accepted into medical school, which is hard enough, and I was very close to going down that path. Simonne Jones’s debut album will be released this summer by Universal Music. Samples and tour dates: simonnejones.org
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Mountain man: Kelly McGarry tried BMX and motocross before discovering a talent for freeriding
The
Big Guy
The New Zealand mountain biker known as McMassive has become a late-breaking star thanks to a unique record of his giant leaps Words: Robert Tighe Photography: Miles Holden
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K elly McGarry still occasionally watches the two-minute YouTube clip of his ride down the mountain at last year’s Red Bull Rampage, but he’s given up reading the comments: there are too many. The footage, taken by a GoPro camera mounted on his helmet, has had over 15 million views and received nearly 10,000 comments. ‘Treacherous’, ‘insane’ and ‘incredible’ are just some of the superlatives used to describe McGarry’s run down the steep, sandstone terrain in Virgin, Utah, USA. All of the superlatives put together don’t do it justice. It’s one of those incredible first-person-view clips that has viewers moving their heads in sync with the footage.
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he 31-year-old from Queenstown became the first rider to backflip the 72ft canyon gap at the freeride downhill event, but it wasn’t enough to win him the title. American rider Kyle Strait got the nod from the judges and McGarry had to settle for second. He did win the People’s Choice award, as voted for by an estimated 400,000 fans watching online. Many of those fans felt McGarry was hard done by. ‘Wait wait wait, the guy only came SECOND?’ reads one of the online comments. ‘What did the first guy do? Cure cancer on the way down?!’ It was the best result of McGarry’s career, but he was left wondering what might have been after the competition was cut short due to high winds. “It got a bit messy,” says McGarry. “One of the 78
Relative values: McGarry blames his greatgrandfather Harry for the extreme gene. “That side of the family is pretty wild”
riders broke his leg, so the medics were a bit stressed out. I wanted to ride again and have a shot at winning, but at the same time I was stoked to finish second. If the competition had gone ahead someone might have got seriously injured.” Injury almost ended McGarry’s career before it started. Aged 18, he was working in a bike shop in his hometown of Nelson when he went for a ride after work one evening. “I was racing a friend of mine and I thought I was invincible,” he says. “I tried to overtake him on a high-speed firebreak and I slid out. I took him with me, we cartwheeled down the track and I smashed into a tree. I looked down at my leg and it was bent like a banana. I was lucky I didn’t pierce an artery.”” His friend was able to ride off to get help, but it was two hours before McGarry’s father arrived in his truck, with a doctor. “Afterwards, my dad wanted me to do something less
“Downhill is about minutes and seconds. Freeriding is about your tricks and style�
Wild ride: McGarry backflips during the finals of Red Bull Rampage 2013
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John Gibson/Red Bull Content Pool
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dangerous, but riding bikes was already my passion. I got back on the horse as soon as my broken leg had healed.” McGarry was 14 when he picked up a copy of Ride BMX magazine in his local Paper Plus store, bought a BMX that same week and got into motocross a couple of years later, but his size counted against him. “I was a lot smaller back then,” he says. “I was a little thing with skinny legs and arms. After I left high school I had this massive growth spurt.” With his 6ft 5in frame too big for a BMX and motocross too expensive, McGarry made the move to a mountain bike at the age of 21. He won a national downhill title in 2004 and in 2006 went to Whistler, Canada on his first overseas trip. (He has since made an annual trip to Whistler, as part of the six months he spends each year riding in North America; he spends the other half of the year in New Zealand.)
cGarry was first invited to ride at Red Bull Rampage in 2008, but crashed out and failed to make the final. However, he still managed to backflip a 40ft jump and earn a reputation as a big rider with big hair capable of landing big jumps, hence the nickname McMassive. “That’s one of the cool things about freeriding, as opposed to downhill racing,” he says. “Downhill is purely about the number beside your name at the end of a race. It’s all about minutes and seconds. Freeriding is about your tricks and your style, not just your results.” At Red Bull Rampage in 2010, another backflip followed by another crash meant another missed final. McGarry didn’t even make qualifying in 2012, breaking his leg on what was supposed to be a fun downhill run the day before the event. So he arrived in Utah last year with unfinished business. At Red Bull Rampage, riders choose their route down the mountain. The week before qualifying, riders can dig their own trail and pick which of the ramps and kickers laid by race officials they want to ride. “I pretty much had my run mapped out in my mind when I got there,” says McGarry of his 2013 effort, “so I didn’t have to stumble around in the cactus trying to figure out where I wanted to go. Some people spend their whole time digging their line. There were guys up there with rockcutting saws, building retaining walls. It can be overwhelming, because there are so many lines you can take, so many tricks you can do and so many ways you can hurt yourself. A lot of the jumps are blind. If you go off line you’re history.” McGarry played it safe in qualifying, just doing enough to make the final. Before the final he visualised his run in his head one last time and reminded himself to slow things down on the backflip. “When you do a jump that big, you really don’t need to pull the handlebars much. You just look up and back ever so slightly and hope you land it perfectly.”
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ooking ahead, McGarry is keen to return to Red Bull Rampage in October and try to go one better than last time. He’s also looking forward to competing less and chilling more in the next few years, following the lead set by Wade Simmons, the godfather of freeride. “Wade used to shred hard and now he just cruises and does trips,” says McGarry. “I don’t want to be a longhaired yobbo still hucking off cliffs in my 40s, but right now it’s a pretty sweet job.” redbullrampage.com
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Play time: a cassette deck for your iPhone MUSIC, page 94
Where to go and what to do
ac t i o n ! T r a v e l / G e a r / T r a i n i n g / N i g h t l i f e / M U S I C / p a r t i e s / c i t i e s / c l u b s / E v e n ts Sound line-up: Australian DJ duo NERVO set the club on fire
Troy Acevedo/We Are Night Owls
Bring the bass
The likes of AfroJack and Tiesto usually play stadiums and mega-clubs, but they make an exception For Sound, the Hollywood club where star-DJs spin their favourite underground tracks Party, page 85
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Action!
travel
And anoth er thing Love russia
Aim high Scale gutwrenching stone pillars and cliff faces in the Stolby Nature Reserve, Siberia‘s Mecca for free solo climbing. sibtourguide.com
Learning the ropes Heading out into the wilds of Siberia is, in itself, a leap of faith. As one of the world’s last real offthe-beaten-track destinations, just getting to and around the Russian wilderness is demanding enough for some. Others, however, want more. Attaching yourself to a climbing rope and leaping off a bridge or disused building is one way of adding the extreme to your Russian experience. Siberia is the unofficial home of the unauthorised sport of rope jumping, an activity not unlike bungee jumping, except for two significant details: the jump locations are usually in built-up urban areas, and you don’t use an elastic cord. “We find a bridge or abandoned building in the city, attach a mountain climbing rope to our harness, with the other end firmly fastened to structure, then jump off,” says Dmitri Glebov, a regular in the annual Cup Of Siberia rope jumping competition. “The weightlessness of the leap puts your heart in your mouth before the momentum swings you under with a rush like a corkscrew rollercoaster.” The buzz is enhanced by the climb to the jump-off point, which can be up to 500m above ground, and hazardous enough on its own without the thrill being cranked up by a potential chase. “It’s not technically illegal,” says Glebov, “but the police aren’t Extreme sports happy about us doing it.” Though if tours in Siberia you’re willing to leap off a derelict are organised building in the middle of Siberia, by 56th Parallel, being pursued by angry Russian from US$2,500. 56thparallel.com police is unlikely to put you off. 84
Leap in time: this is not your school playground rope jumping
Ride out Jump on a raft made of pure ice and take a trip through the Arctic waters of the Angara River as it runs off Lake Baikal. 56thparallel.com
Advice from the inside Smooth operators “The trick is to jump far enough out to get a good swing through the hole in the building or under the bridge,” says Dmitri Glebov. “It also helps to prevent jolts. Remember, this is a rope, not a bungee, and it will hurt if you just drop.”
Calm the nerves
If you’re in need of Siberian courage before you jump or a place to wind down afterwards, head for the Bulgakov Bar in Krasnoyarsk. “It’s a cool place, like a St Petersburg bar in the heart of Siberia, with great food and expertly blended cocktails,” says local tour guide Elin Kekovska. “The homemade fruit shots are particularly amazing.” barbulgakov.ru/o-bare
Spike up Join runners from over 20 countries each March for the annual Baikal Ice Marathon, the world’s fastest footrace on ice. absolute-siberia.com
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sellyourphoto.net(2), shutterstock(2), picturedesk.com
R ope Jumping If you’re bored of bungee, this Russian craze offers a serious adrenalin rush
Action!
party
The dancefloor at Sound accommodates up to 650 revellers
Troy Acevedo/We Are Night Owls (4), picturedesk.com, corbis (2)
Floor-filling electronic dance music has a tried-and-tested formula – those catchy tunes over big beats – but what happens when star DJs want to change it up a bit? At Sound in Los Angeles, they prefer playing their favourite underground tracks. “Afrojack usually plays his big-room, bigfestival sound, but he comes into our club and he’ll play a darker, more underground set,” says Kobi Danan, managing partner at Sound. The vibe here is different from the blingy velvet-rope attitude at most clubs in Hollywood. “It used to be about standing around looking for the next celebrity, but what’s cool now is dance music,” says Sound CEO Rob Vinokur. What’s also cool is the interior, which matches Caravaggio-inspired fabrics with wood panels from Frank Sinatra’s mansion, so there’s always one celebrity in the house. sound nightclub 1642 N Las Palmas Ave Los Angeles, California www.soundnightclub.com
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Hollywood nightspots with old tinseltown style
Musso & Frank’s Restaurant It was here that Charlie Chaplin challenged Douglas Fairbanks to a horse race down Hollywood Boulevard. This may be because it has the best martinis in town. mussoand frank.com
Sound effects los angeles top DJs break new ground at the club that encourages deck hands to delve into their deep cuts
V i nta g e vibe
Superstar DJs at Sound: R3hab (right) and Tiësto (bottom)
Do u b le D uty Musicians who changed genres
Iggy Pop Was a blues drummer in Chicago before becoming a punk god, proving that heroin really does change people.
Avalon Hollywood It was a theatre in the 1920s, then a radio studio in the ’40s, before evolving into a music venue in the ’60s and staging The Beatles’ first West Coast show. avalon hollywood.com
Katy Perry Ever wonder about the ‘Jesus’ tattoo on her wrist? She was a Christian songbird before she became a pop star. Michael Bolton Once opened for Ozzy Osbourne before taking the mantle as the mulleted king of easy listening. We’re not kidding. Darius Rucker Went from frontman of cheesy soft-rock balladeers Hootie & the Blowfish to a bona-fide Nashville country singer.
Roosevelt HOTEL Grab a cocktail and look out for the ghost of Marilyn Monroe, who reputedly haunts the place she once lived. facebook.com/ hollywood roosevelt
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Action!
get the gear 1
3
tips from a pro
Revolution in sound: the microKORG korg.com
going live
Oliver Thomas Johnson, aka Dorian Concept
Make some noise
ELECTRONIC MUSIC Making the maximum out of a micro-synth turned one young YouTube curio into an international player
“The microKORG is a simple synthesizer,” says Dorian Concept. “It doesn’t really have that design that you see on other synths where you have all these different crazy knobs.” The Vienna-based musician, 29, has this music box to thank for kickstarting his career. In 2006, he posted the first of a series of videos on YouTube in which he displays total mastery of the microKORG, his fingers flying over the mini-keyboard and tweaking the knobs. The clips gathered many hits and the admiration of musicians, including Flying Lotus, who were impressed by the otherworldly sounds Concept was creating. A year later, he’d gone from bedroom twiddler to graduating from the Red Bull Music Academy in Toronto and playing music festivals. A debut album followed in 2009, since when he has continued to play live and record, all the while staying loyal to the machine that gave him his big start. ninjatune.net
electro gear Three tools to make an EDM smash hit
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2
1 GET WITH THE
4 NOT ALWAYS
PROGRAM “The program select divides 128 sounds into eight categories, ranging from trance to drum ’n’ bass. It’s all a bit fixed, I know, but it makes for a solid starting point.”
RIGHT “As I have a nervous left hand, I am always very active with the pitch and the mod wheel. But then again, this is how I love to make my music.”
2 SWEET RELEASE
“During the live show I use Ableton Live software mainly for backingtrack purposes,” says Dorian Concept. “I take all the lead parts of my original tracks and try to recreate them on the spot with the microKORG. Sometimes in a club I feel like a one-man wedding band.”
“Take a standard sound like the clavichord or organ, turn the release button right up and set the oscillator to the highest level: all of a sudden it sounds pretty weird.” 3 DUB BE GOOD
TO HIM “People are always curious about a dubby, pitchy effect that I get a lot. It’s basically me messing with the delay, which, on the microKORG is very responsive and fluid.”
CNTRL:R
CDJ-2000 NEXUS
ABLETON LIVE
For laptop artists who like twiddling real knobs, a hands-on MIDI controller developed by legendary DJ Richie Hawtin.
Today’s DJ can have all his music on a USB stick and those tracks can be manipulated like vinyl on this multi-format machine.
The software used by live electronic musicians, including Dorian Concept, because it’s so intuitive to use and feature-packed.
lividinstruments.com
pioneerdj.com
ableton.com
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Lander Larrañaga/Red Bull Music Academy
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february – 2014 Issue 85
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50 years on
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Action!
workout
Ivana Spanovic's personal best: “my legs are my main assets”
Going the distance athletics Long-jump queen Ivana Spanovic needs to stay small in order to achieve big results
Pressing time: Spanovic works on her leg muscles
hot tunes, cold water
Heri Irawan
“My iPod is my full-time training partner,” says Spanovic. “Jay Z’s hip-hop spurs me on for tougher sets and I relax to Thomas Newman during cool-down. Speaking of cool-downs: after a heavy workout, it’s off to the ice bath to avoid aches and pains.”
hang ti m e an d step to it! EXERCISE 1
Abs training with a difference: going against gravity increases the pressure on your abdominal muscles and lessens the strain on your spine.
1
2
EXERCISE 2
Put more spring in your step for a better take-off. Hang upside-down, holding a ball in your hands. Raise your upper body towards your knees.
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Touch the tips of your toes with the ball and then slowly – that’s important! – return to position 1.
Step onto a stool carrying a 15kg barbell and once on the stool, straighten your bent leg quickly.
Once both legs are straight, quickly raise the other knee. Repeat 10 to 15 times on each leg.
the red bulletin
Predrag Vuckovic/Red Bull Content Pool(2), shutterstock
“Take-off power isn’t the only key factor in the long jump,” says Ivana Spanovic, who won bronze in the long jump at the 2013 athletics World Championships in Moscow. “Your run-up speed is just as important. So my legs are my main asset. In the build-up to competition, I work on them every day in two training sets, each of which lasts for hours. The fitness centre is my second home.” The Serbian, 23, has to strike a balance between her power and her weight. “Because you have to dynamically make your body as small as possible in the air, I’m very careful about what I eat and weigh myself regularly. If you’re a single kilo overweight, you’re already at a disadvantage. The lighter you are, the further you can jump. It’s as simple as that.”
WINGS FoR EVERY TASTE.
CRANBERRY, LIME, BLUEBERRY. AND THE EFFECT oF RED BULL.
Action!
world run
So far, so good
AT THE WINGS FOR LIFE WORLD RUN, THE GLOBAL RUNNING EVENT TAKING PLACE IN 35 COUNTRIES – INCLUDING THIS ONE – ON MAY 4, IT’S NOT YOUR TIME THAT MATTERS. IT’S THE DISTANCE YOU COVER. HOW FAR CAN YOU RUN BEFORE BEING CAUGHT? AND CAN YOU OUTRUN THE WORLD?
WHETHER YOU’RE A RELUCTANT RUNNER OR AN ULTRARUNNER, TEST HOW FAR YOU CAN RUN AT THE WORLD’S FIRST SYNCHRONISED GLOBAL RUN. FIRST CHOOSE WHICH KIND OF RUNNER YOU ARE, THEN DO THREE SIMPLE CALCULATIONS AND TESTS (SEE BELOW) TO FIND OUT WHAT KIND OF WINGS FOR LIFE WORLD RUNNER YOU CAN BE
The Keep-Fit Fan This is you because:
You run three times a week to stay in shape.
Vitals:
1 Cooper test: 2,500-2,800m 2 Resting heart rate: 50bpm 3 BMI: 18-25
The Non-Runner This is you because:
You run very occasionally or not at all.
Vitals:
1 Cooper test: probably not recommended 2 Resting heart rate: >65bpm 3 BMI: 30-35
The Hobbyist This is you because:
You run once or twice a week for your health.
Vitals:
1 Cooper test: 1,800-2,200m 2 Resting heart rate: 50-60bpm 3 BMI: 20-30
Kilometres run per week: <1
Kilometres run per week: 5-10
Current predicted World Run distance: 1km. Start training* tomorrow and at the World Run you’ll achieve a distance of…
Current predicted World Run distance: 10km Start training tomorrow and at the World Run, you’ll achieve a distance of…
5km
15 km
The Marathonner This is you because:
You run almost every day and have experience of the 26.2-mile race.
Vitals:
1 Cooper test: 3,400-3800m 2 Resting heart rate: 35-45bpm 3 BMI: 16-20
The Ultra-Runner This is you because:
You think you can win Wings for Life World Run.
Vitals:
1 Cooper test: >4,000m 2 Resting heart rate: 30-40bpm 3 BMI: 16-20
Kilometres run per week: 30-40
Kilometres run per week: >70
Kilometres run per week: >100
Current predicted World Run distance: 15km. Increase your training, and at the World Run you’ll run a half-marathon in 1h 52m.
Predicted World Run distance: 30km Increase your training, and at the World Run you’ll run a marathon in 3h 8m.
Current predicted World Run distance: 70-100km You might have to – and can – run 99km in 5h 48m to be the global champion.
21.1km
1 COOPER TEST Determine the distance you can run in 12 minutes
42.2km
2 RESTING HEART RATE Number of heartbeats per minute at rest
70–100km
3 BMI (Body Mass Index) Body weight in kg/(height in m)2
*Work out your pace with the personal goal calculator: wingsforlifeworldrun.com
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the red bulletin
Philip Platzer/Red Bull Content Pool, Harald Tauderer/extreme sport management
How far can you go?
enter
n ow
an d get training
tips from a pro ULTRAMARTHON RUNNER CHRISTIAN SCHIESTER ON HITTING YOUR STRIDE AND HOW TO TALK YOURSELF TO VICTORY
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WHAT’S THE USP OF WINGS FOR LIFE WORLD RUN? “The moving target. You start with the crowd, but you’re not running against the others. You’re running against the Catcher Car. So there might only be one ultimate victor, but there’ll be lots of winners.”
Global gathering W ings For Life World Run A starter’s gun on six continents: The first worldwide running race in sporting history gets under way in May next year. Anyone who wants to race against the rest of the world can take part. Here are the details
2
HOW DO YOU GET MOTIVATED FOR TOUGH RUNS? “Make it into an adventure. Run to the woods, sit down, enjoy nature or have a picnic, and then run back. Then it stops being hard work and becomes fun.”
3
WHAT ABOUT ROOKIES? HOW CAN THEY GET UP TO SPEED? “Start with a run around the block and make a note of it. Then increase your distance. Keep the notes! They’re inspiring. I still log every kilometre.”
1. THE WAY IT WORKS
4. THE RESULT
In 35 countries, 37 races will all begin at 10am UTC (Co-ordinated Universal Time; 10am GMT) on May 4, 2014. ‘Catcher Cars’ will start reeling in the participants 30 minutes later. The last person in the world to be caught wins.
The last man and last woman running will be crowned global champions and win a special roundthe-world trip. Each country will also record its national winners. All runners will be able to check online to see how they did. “Who in the world ran further than I did?”
2. THE CHASERS
4
WHAT DOES IT FEEL LIKE WHEN YOU’RE IN THE ZONE? “Any pain disappears. You feel like you could do anything and carry on running forever. Beginners get into that flow very early on. In my case now, sadly, it doesn’t happen until I’ve run about 60km.”
“Write down the distance each time you run”
Wings For Life World Run ambassador Christian Schiester
The ‘Catcher Cars’ will gradually increase their speed at predetermined intervals. Once a runner is caught, or passed by a car, he or she must drop out of the race and the distance run at that point is automatically recorded.
5. THE PARTICIPANTS
3. THE COURSES
6. THE MISSION
They fall into five categories around the world: coastal runs, river runs, city runs, nature runs and runs with a view. The event’s homepage (wingsforlife worldrun.com) gives you the latest weather reports, detailed course information, training plans and a distance-time calculator.
The Wings for Life World Run motto is: Running For Those Who Can’t. All of the money earned will go to the Wings For Life Foundation, which supports worldwide scientific research programmes looking for a cure for spinal cord injury. You can find more information at wingsforlife.com.
Beginners, hobby runners, top athletes and stars, such as former Formula One ace David Coulthard. The aim is to cover as much of the course as you can to help cure paraplegia.
Compete against the rest of the world in the Wings For Life World Run. You can register online until April 20, 2014, at wingsforlifeworldrun.com
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Action!
City Guide
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copenhagen skatepark.dk
TOp Five his City HIGHLIGHTS
the fashion scene here, and it’s as good as any New York boutique. You’ll find the latest thing, from streetwear to brands such as Kenzo, Comme des Garçons and Nike.”
Eske Kath, artist, sculptor and performance artist
Great Dane days c openhagen New old bars, pizza in the meatpacking district, and the entire universe under one roof: the best of the Danish capital, according to local artist Eske Kath “What do I like about Copenhagen? The fact that it’s dynamic and lively, but also small and nicely manageable,” says painter and performance artist Eske Kath. He has designed album covers for Danish pop singer Oh Land and had the honour of painting a ceiling at Amalienborg, the home of the Danish royal family. “You soon feel at home here, mainly because of the people who, for the most part, wander the streets with a smile on their faces.” Kath has lived in New York for a while now, but he is always drawn back to his hometown. “If New York is the heart of the world, Copenhagen is the heart of Scandinavia.” These are the five places he says you must visit. eskekath.dk
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COPENHAGEN SKATEPARK Indoor paradise for skaters: the best in the city and with the biggest vertical ramp in Scandinavia. Both pros and amateurs are welcome.
1 Mikael Andersen
Gallery Bredgade 63 “This modern-art gallery shows work by talented young artists. It’s a real springboard if you want to make a career of it: my works have been shown here.”
4 Kodbyen
Vesterbro “The so-called meatpacking district is one of Copenhagen’s up-and-coming areas. I go to art exhibitions there and I like to treat myself to pizza at a bar called Mother.”
2 Cafe Dyrehaven
Sonder Boulevard 72 “Copenhagen is extremely expensive, but in this ’70s-style hipster bar you can get really cheap beer and the best open sandwiches in the city.”
3 Wood Wood
Gronnegade 1 “This place is a real focal point of
5 Tycho Brahe
Planetarium Gammel Kongevej 10 “This is my favourite place in the city. It’s so inspiring to relax and meditate as you look at the constellations. Nothing’s better for driving your creativity.”
URBAN HIGH ROPING At the world’s highest high-rope course, you negotiate the lines 50m above ground. You can also go climbing and abseiling or experience free fall. urbanrangercamp.dk
INDOOR SKYDIVING A parachute jump with no parachute. Experience the feeling of skydiving at the only wind tunnel in Scandinavia, with vertical wind speeds of up to 120kph. airexperience.dk
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alBERT EXERGIAN, JOHANNES LANG
Kon gev ej
Corbis, Urban Ranger Camp, Copenhagen Air Experience/Henrik Sorensen
mel
K H øbe av n ne ha ba vn de s
Pile Alle
Gam
P RO M OT I O N
1 BACKPACK Dakine - Capitol Garnet $59.99
2 CAP New Era - Chicago $69.99
3 WATCH Casio - G-Shock GA110RG-1A Rose Gold $319.00
4 JEANS Long Lost - Tanaka Coal / Grey $119.99
5 SUNNIES Electric- Black Top Matte Black with Grey Lens $160.00
6 SHOES Kustom - Hummer DLX Choc & Gold $49.99
available at selected astores nationwide WWW.amAzonsurf.co.nz
Action!
Burning issues
MUSIC
Finally ripping and ridding CDs? Here’s how to beat scratches
Kathleen Anne Brien, alias Katy B
In 2011 Katy B pulled off a huge coup. The 24-yearold Londoner managed to combine dubstep and garage in her debut album, On A Mission, bringing together the seemingly incompatible underground club sound of her home town and great pop melodies. The album shot to No 2 in the UK charts and her new style quickly spawned a number of imitators. Her new album, Little Red, out now, sees her still innovating while building on the sound she is famous for – and staying ahead of the pack. It’s full of hymns to the night, meetings under lights, and the magic of clubs. Here she tells us about songs that have inspired her, and that she can’t resist when the DJ drops.
1 Arctic Monkeys
katybofficial.com
2 Indeep
3 Banks
“I don’t really have a soft spot for guitar music, but the way Alex Turner tells stories is what I love in a songwriter. I discovered this song last year when I downloaded all the Mercury Prize-nominated albums, as I was on a panel on the night. The guitar riff is so sexy. It reminds me of Bad Boys For Life by P Diddy. That’s probably why I connect to it even more.”
“My parents would play this at their parties when I was growing up. It’s so simple and catchy, I wish I had written it myself. It’s got a bassline and a drumbeat, a singer and some strange rap at the end: that’s it. No matter what kind of party you play it at, it always goes off. That’s probably the best thing you can achieve with a dance song.”
“Banks reminds me of the kind of person who, when I was younger, I would look up to – she’s classy and interesting. I love her and her music, which is electronic but quite R&B as well. This song reminds me of Timbaland, but it’s a bit darker. This young British singer is the real deal, and definitely one to watch in 2014.”
Ciara ft. Nicki 4 Minaj
5 Skream
“Ciara is an amazing performer. I love her last album, and this song in particular because the beat is so hard and she really owns it. Obviously we all love Nicki, but some of her tunes go to a younger crowd, so I forgot how good she was. She’s spitting for half of the tune. Her lyrics are just so sick and she’s so gangster on it.”
“This track, from Skream’s debut album, was a big influence for On A Mission. It’s dark, but you can still dance to it. It reminds me of when I was 18, going to FWD [seminal club night in London where, legend says, dubstep was born]. Now, Skream and I work together occasionally: it’s amazing when those you’ve grown up respecting, respect you.”
Do I Wanna Know
I’m Out
Last Night A DJ Saved My Life
Rutten
This Is What It Feels Like
Software
Free data recovery programs, such as Recuva, can also read damaged CDs. Once you’ve backed up your data, burn it onto a new blank disc.
R etr o M an ia Get behind the deck
freezer
iRecorder No cassettes here. Instead, plug an iPhone into this ’80s-style tape recorder and play MP3s using five chunky buttons. Like the old days… but with no mangled tape. red5.com
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Spread some on a scratched CD with a soft cloth and polish: this removes part of the protective layer so scratches become less deep. Rinse with warm water.
Put a disc in a freezer bag for a couple of hours, to reduce the density of the CD material. As it expands again in the warmth, the smaller scratches will disappear.
the red bulletin
florian obkircher
Playlist The chart-topping Katy B sings about life under the disco ball. So what are the tunes that get her out onto the dancefloor?
TOOTHPASTE
Getty Images, shutterstock
Princess of clubs
Action!
games
Gaming By Numbers Standing out in a world of ones and zeroes
Hideo Kojima: directing the action
V is for victory
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M etal Gear Solid V: Ground zeroes win-win for gamers when genres collide
South Park The Stick Of Truth is the sixth game to feature Cartman and co. Out in March; last year the show mocked its delayed release.
Hideo Kojima is the Quentin Tarantino of video games. He’s one of few games makers with a profile like that of a cult film director (Kojima bills himself as the director of his works) and through his Metal Gear series of games he is as responsible as anyone for gaming being referred to as cinematic. As well as proudly displaying his movie influences – Die Hard, James Bond, Heat, Children Of Men – he is determined to be innovative. Players have had to find clues on games packaging and plug a controller into the ‘wrong’ socket to defeat a boss. With Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, he is mashing up two game genres: stealth and open-world. Not all the fans are happy about this, and are worried that the challenging, sneaky claustrophobia of previous black-ops adventures – this one takes place in Cuba in 1975 – won’t be possible on a vast canvas. Naturally, Kojima says he has devised new ways to play. “With the stress and tension levels that players will experience going through the game,” he says, “I can guarantee that it’s not going to make [it] easier for anyone.” Out in March for Xboxes and PlayStations, with linked elements on smartphones. metalgearsolid.com
stickoftruth.com
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Size of the development team who, since May 2012, have been working on The Elder Scrolls Online, a massive fantasy RPG out in April. elderscrollsonline.com
Cuban missile crisis: the latest Metal Gear Solid game
o u t n ow
Nerd Play
PAUL WILSON
Rule the pop culture world with Geek Resort Design, build and run a theme park with a geeky theme: sci-fi, manga, fantasy, horror or other nerdly subjects. Looks cute and cuddly, but this is seriously involving and fiendishly addictive. Extra nerd points: you can get 3D-printed models of your characters. On Android and, as of February, iOS. amastudios.com
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Fight! Fight! Fight!
Old-school kit for new gen machines There is a generation of gamers who did not spend formative time in arcades, and that is just very sad. You can bring the arcade back – without the sticky floor and the annoying kid jogging your elbow – with a FightStick Tournament Edition 2. Ball-handled joystick, eight big buttons: fighting-game perfection. madcatz.com
5m
Downloads of Red Bull Kart Fighter in 2013. A recent update to the free racing game added five new tracks, making 40 in total. games.redbull.com
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Action!
save the date
March 1-5
Starter’s orders Horse racing – not rugby – is the oldest organised sport in New Zealand. The Auckland Cup was first run in 1874. Today, it’s part of an Auckland Cup Week at Ellerslie that includes the New Zealand Derby on March 1 and Ladies Day on March 5. racedays.ellerslie.co.nz
March 14-16
Going global
February 23
Country chic The glitz and glamour of international polo comes to Auckland with the BMW Polo Open at Clevedon. Expect a heady mix of style, socialising and top-class sport. aucklandpolo.co.nz
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The World of Music, Arts and Dance festival, aka WOMAD, celebrates its 10th anniversary in New Zealand with another eclectic line-up. Brooklands Park in New Plymouth will hum to the rhythms of over 30 artists including US hip-hop collective Arrested Development, Spanish surf-guitar group Los Coronas and Femi Kuti, following in the Afrobeat footsteps of his father, the legendary Fela Kuti. womad.co.nz
February 22
Off-road adventure The Coromandel Peninsula is known as a playground for Auckland’s rich and famous but it’s also home to some of the most scenic trails in the country. The Colville Connection offers mountain bikers, runners and walkers an opportunity to get among it with event options including a 5km walk, off-road marathon and a 72km MTB ride. colvilleconnection.co.nz
the red bulletin
Ellerslie, Michael Packer, thom kerr, Graeme Murray, Daryl Carey, takapunabeachcup, simon makker
The New Zealand Derby is the country’s most prestigious race
March 15
Go long
February 15
Kiwi classics
The first Tarawera Ultramarathon in 2009 attracted just 67 runners, most of them from NZ. This year over 400 runners from 20 countries will hit the trails from Rotorua to Kawerau. The 100km race is part of the first Ultra-Trail World Tour, a 10-race series featuring some of the top ultramarathons in the world including the Marathon des Sables in Morocco and America’s Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run. tarawera ultra.co.nz
February 21-23
In the same boat The sport of waka ama, or outrigger canoe racing as its more commonly known, continues to grow in popularity. The Takapuna Beach Cup is a three-day festival that attracts crews from around New Zealand and the Pacific and features six races around Rangitoto Island in the Hauraki Gulf, including 42km marathon, 35km iron, 24km relay and an 18km novice race takapunabeachcup.com
The summer festival season winds up at Wellington Waterfront with Homegrown, an annual celebration of the best in New Zealand music. Over 60 acts are slated to perform on eight stages, including The Flash Harry AllStar Jam, led by Black Seeds frontman Barnaby Weir, on the Red Bull Sound Lab stage. homegrown.net.nz
don’t miss more dates for the diary
23 february
Cafe culture The last Beach Boutique of the summer happens at Takapuna’s Massimo Cafe. The legendary Sunday session features DJs, live music and a relaxed summer dress code. highlife.co.nz
1
march
March 1
Animal magic
Fresh air
UK producer Gold Panda brings his brand of hip-hop and technoinfused electronic music to Cassette Nine off the back of critical acclaim from Pitchfork, NME and Drowned in Sound. iamgold panda.com
What started as an excuse for Brett and Dan Frew to invite their bike-riding buddies to their sheep farm outside Invercargill has grown to become Farm Jam, a two-wheeled action sports extravaganza that attracts some of the best riders in the world. The event was first held in 2007; this year’s will feature freestyle motocross, BMX and mountain-bike dirt jumping. redbull.co.nz
15 march
Water works March 1
Tri hards New Zealand’s three-time Olympic triathlon medallist Bevan Docherty came to Taupo last year as an Ironman virgin and left a legend after smashing the course record. Ironman New Zealand celebrates its 30th anniversary this year and Docherty is hoping to return to his hometown of Taupo to defend his title.
US electronic musician Will Wiesenfeld, aka Baths, has been compared to Toro Y Moi and Flying Lotus and he makes his first appearance in Auckland at The Kings Arms. bathsmusic.com
ironman.co.nz
the red bulletin
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Magic Moment
Lienz Dolomites, Austria, 7.11.2013 “You actually feel safer climbing in arch-shaped sections,” says ice climber Peter Ortner. The Austrian, also a world-class free climber, has learned to recognise dozens of types of ice. His life depends on it. “Some look as if they’ll hold you, but they’re so soft, and vice versa.”
“ One tiny tap from the ice pick can cause huge chunks of ice to fall – and me with them” Martin Lugger
Peter Ortner, climber
The next issue of the Red Bulletin is out on march 11 98
the red bulletin
2014 SEASON DRAW ROUND 01: Mar 9 Pirtek Stadium ROUND 02: Mar 15
V
Eden Park
V
ROUND 03: Mar 22 1300SMILES Stadium
V
ROUND 04: Mar 30 Westpac Stadium
V
ROUND 05: Apr 5
Remondis Stadium
ROUND 06: Apr 13
V
Eden Park
V
ROUND 07: Apr 19 WIN Jubilee Oval, Kgrh
V
ROUND 14:
BYE
ROUND 15: Jun 21 Mt Smart Stadium
V
ROUND 16: Jun 29
V
Mt Smart Stadium
ROUND 17:
ROUND 18: Jul 12
Mt Smart Stadium
ROUND 19: Jul 19 Suncorp Stadium
ROUND 20: Jul 27 Mt Smart Stadium
BYE V V V
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ROUND 21: T.B.C GIO Stadium
V
Eden Park
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ROUND 22: T.B.C Mt Smart Stadium
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ROUND 10: May 18 Waikato Stadium
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ROUND 08: Apr 25
AAMI Park
ROUND 09: May 10
ROUND 11: May 24 Robina Stadium
V
ROUND 12: Jun 1
V
ROUND 13: Jun 7
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Mt Smart Stadium
NIB Stadium
ROUND 23: T.B.C Hunter Stadium
ROUND 24: T.B.C
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Mt Smart Stadium
V
ROUND 25: T.B.C Mt Smart Stadium
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ROUND 26: T.B.C
Centrebet Stadium
Get your tickets at www.warriors.co.nz
V
The introduction of the KTM Freeride 350 excited a lot of people who
KTM FREERIDE 350
wanted to go off-road without any pressure. Practicality and versatility allowed the rider to free their thoughts of what off-road riding should be. For 2014 KTM has made the decision to add a completely new twostroke model to the Freeride segment – the KTM Freeride 250 R. This may seem strange – but only at first glance. And mostly to those who have not yet had the chance to enjoy the punch of a burly two-stroke within a bike that weighs only 92.5kg. SO FREE YOUR THINKING AND ENJOY YOUR FREERIDE.
KTM FREERIDE 250 R - Agile 250cc / 2-stroke - Extremely light, 92.5 kg only