The Red Bulletin March 2015 - US

U.S. EDITION

BEYOND THE ORDINARY

AXE MEN

Sizing up the world lumberjack champions

SHOOTING

DIPLO

Backstage and crowd surfing with the global DJ

TED TALK American Ted Ligety, ski racing’s chief innovator

GEAR

UP Award-

winning outdoor technology

MARCH 2015 $4.50

Virtual reality just got real.

Read and follow warnings and instructions with the Gear VR before use. The headset should be calibrated before each use. Not for use by children under 13.

A virtual reality experience may trigger health reactions. See a doctor before use if you have a history of seizures. Stop use if you experience health reactions. Š2015 Samsung Electronics America. All rights reserved. Samsung and Samsung Gear are all trademarks of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Screen images simulated. Appearance of device may vary.

Photography Rock Climbing Backpacking Live Music

Be known for what you love Get started at Klout.com

THE RED BULLETIN

48

WANTON BISHOPS

Beirut rockers journey from Lebanon to America, in search of the blues they love.

VITALY GELWICH (COVER), BALAZS GARDI/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, WARNER MUSIC

GOLDEN BOY Ski racing is on the radar here in the States once every four years when Olympic medals are handed out. There are exceptions to the rule, though: the star power of Lindsey Vonn, the maverick style of Bode Miller and Ted Ligety, one of the country’s most successful skiers of all time. It’s Ligety we’ve chosen for the cover story this month (page 26), the first time the global ski championships are hitting American soil (at Vail and Beaver Creek) since 1999. As this season began, writer Gordy Megroz spent a few days with the tireless tinkerer and racing innovator to understand his obsession with winning. We hope you enjoy it. For a quicker read, check out our dossier on the men of the world lumberjack championships (page 56).

Not a lumbersexual among them.

THE RED BULLETIN

“I was seven years old and I wanted to be Britney Spears.”

CHARLI XCX, PAGE 85

05

MARCH 2015

AT A GLANCE GALLERY

26

QUEST FOR THE BEST

Ted Ligety’s physics-defying turns have earned him the moniker Mr. GS.

12 Amazing images of the month

BULLEVARD 18 THE FASTEST EVERYTHING ON EARTH

Plus: How you can be quicker

FEATURES 26 Ted Ligety

The ski champ is a gravity law-breaker

34 Keira Knightley

On blue nipples, golden Oscars, more

56

36 Jerzy Skarzynski

Training for Wings for Life World Run

38 Cyclocross

Inside biking’s filthiest race

46 Mark Strong

48 The Wanton Bishops Beirut rockers sing the blues

56 Lumberjacks

They’re the world’s top cut men

THE AXE MEN CUTTETH

The best lumberjacks in the world wear their scars with pride, their iron socks for safety and do yoga routines to stay in fine felling shape.

74

TRAINING: PILOT HANNES ARCH

06

Heather Shaw’s art rocks the night

ACTION!

38 If this air racer’s regime can battle the effects of intense G forces, imagine what it can do for you.

64 Dreamweaver

THERE WILL BE MUD

Cyclocross is dirty work, combining road racing, mountain biking and obstacle courses. Plus snow, rain, muck—and fun.

74 75 76 77 78 84 85 86 89 94 98

TRAINING Flier tips for the earthbound PRO TOOLS One Swede’s sweet ride TRAVEL Deep cave diving in Mexico ENTERTAINMENT McFarland, USA NIGHTLIFE On the road with Diplo CLUB What’s bubbling up down under MUSIC Charli XCX picks her top tunes GAMES Be a rebel in The Order: 1886 FUTURE GEAR Tomorrow’s tech today SAVE THE DATE Your month in action MAGIC MOMENT Uncommon ascent

THE RED BULLETIN

GETTY IMAGES, OLIVER JISZDA, ERWIN POLANC/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, JULIE GLASSBERG

Bad guy goes good in Imitation Game

Visual Storytelling Beyond the ordinary

JULY 2014 R30

BEYOND THE ORDINARY

7

ADRENALIN PLAYGROUNDS

M A K IN G CHA N G E PAY

THE CAPTAIN OF ADVENTURE

TO BLOW YOUR MIND

South Africa’s brightest social entrepreneurs

ALL-ROUND ACTION HERO WILL GADD IS A LIVING LEGEND IN THE TRUEST SENSE.

LIN K IN PA R K On their new album and Tw itte r madness NEYMAR JUNIOR, Brazilian Football Star

NEYMAR!

UK EDITION

BEYOND THE ORDINARY

19 WORLD

AWESOME

SHOT!

Action photo special

CA N T H E BOY G E N IU S W I N T H E WO RL D CU P FO R B RAZ I L?

CLASS WATCHES

UNDEAD FUNNY

QUEEN OF THE BEACH

2014’s most hilarious movie

Dave Grohl

PEAK FREEFALL

Adventure’s toughest task

EXCLUSIVE: the legend reaches into your mind and music’s future

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CONTRIBUTORS WHO’S ON BOARD THIS ISSUE “I’m trying to capture the essence and grit of what I’m shooting.”

A war photographer who has shot in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Balazs Gardi traveled to the Deep South to shoot the Wanton Bishops band.

SHANE MCCAULEY

NOAH DAVIS

BALAZS GARDI

The photographer and filmmaker, who lives in New York City, first met Diplo at a block party in Philadelphia in 2003. Since then McCauley has traveled around the world documenting Diplo’s rise to DJ superstardom—the results of which feature in this month’s nightlife section.

“My priority has always been to try to capture the energy of the night,” says McCauley, whose work often appears in Vanity Fair and Rolling Stone.

“The pictures are of my 10 top nights touring with Diplo.”

They appear on page 78.

While reporting on the insane sport of cyclocross (“True Grit,” page 38), on a frigid day in Rhode Island, the Brooklyn-based writer got so cold that his hand started to shake while interviewing cross legend Tim Johnson, who kindly offered up some hot chocolate. “I would excel at the running portions of cyclocross,” says Davis, whose work has appeared in outlets including The New Yorker, the New York Times and GQ, “and struggle with pretty much everything else.” Read his piece in a warm place.

A globetrotter who’s worked for Time and Bloomberg Businessweek, the Bay Area photographer shadowed a Lebanese blues band on their first trip to America. “I’m trying to capture the grit and essence of what I’m shooting,” Gardi says. “And I had these great Lebanese characters and they’re out of their element but in their spiritual home. So it was exciting to have unlimited access to their lives and watch them sponge up the atmosphere.” The Wanton Bishops go live on page 48.

THE RED BULLETIN WORLDWIDE

The Red Bulletin is published in 11 countries. On the cover of the latest U.K. edition is Formula One driver Daniel Ricciardo.

BACKSTAGE

Behind the lens

Vitali Gelwich The Berlin-based photographer was planning on a five-hour shoot with ski racer Ted Ligety.

Instead, he got an hour in the fading light alongside the Italian alps. “It was freezing and we broke as early as possible because we didn’t want him to catch a cold,” Gelwich says.

“But Ted was real relaxed.”

10

This month’s U.S. cover features Ted Ligety photographed in the Italian alps.

Trying to simulate a studio shoot outside in fading light.

THE RED BULLETIN

TUNE IN SUNDAY MARCH 1ST 2:00PM ET / 11:00AM PT REDBULLSIGNATURESERIES.COM

KILIMANJARO, TANZANIA

THE ICE MAN Canadian pro climber Will Gadd battles his way over a wall of glacial ice in a strange desert oasis 19,000 feet above sea level, 328 feet from the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. “We had to camp out at 19,000 feet for three days to acclimatize ourselves for the climb,” says photographer Christian Pondella. “Then Will became the first man to scale the ice.” It was an ascent Gadd had to prioritize: Climate researchers predict that the glacier, thought to be around 70,000 years old, could melt away within a couple of decades. twitter.com/gilwad Photography: Christian Pondella/ Red Bull Content Pool

13

SAN FR AN C I S CO, C ALI FO RN IA

WATER BABY Kai Lenny was surfing at 4 and by 9 had added windsurfing, kitesurfing and stand-up paddleboarding to his repertoire. At 22, the man from Maui is the reigning SUP world champion and was runner-up in the kitesurfing world championships last year. Now he’s heading to New Zealand to prove himself the world’s best all-around watersportsman at the Ultimate Waterman contest. If anyone’s prepared, it’s him: “The ocean is my life,” he says. “I do everything in the water that there is to do in the water.” theultimatewaterman.com Photography: Keith Carlsen/Red Bull Content Pool

15

C APE TOWN , S O UTH AFRI C A

WISE GUY It’s taken almost 15 years, countless concussions and numerous broken bones to make South Africa’s Anthony Raynard a seasoned motocross pro. The 2012 MX2 champion has a motto to thank for keeping him in the saddle: “Quitters never win, winners never quit.” Here, as part of project Red Bull My Track, the 24-year-old is passing on his hard-earned wisdom to young riders in the form of a practical lesson: how to power through sandy turns. anthonyraynard.com Photography: Tyrone Bradley/ Red Bull Content Pool

17

EA RTH ’ S FASTEST EVERYTH I N G—A N D H O W YO U CA N B E Q U I C K ER

SPEED

F L O Y D M AY W E AT H E R J R .

FASTEST FISTS IN BOXING Not merely the quickest in the ring—he’s the fastest earner in all of sports.

When Floyd Mayweather Jr. turns 38 on February 24, he will, as usual, have much to celebrate. The welterweight’s record to date is 47-0-0, with 26 K.O.s, and in 2014, he earned more than $100 million for just two bouts. No wonder, then, that his nickname is “Money.” But “Rocket” would also be apt: His punches clock in at nearly 30 mph, which is about three times the speed of a rattlesnake strike.

REUTERS, RAFAELA PRÖLL FÜR WIENER, RED BULL CONTENT POOL, GETTY IMAGES(2), YUSUKE KASHIWAZAKI/RED BULL CONTENT POOL ANNA HAZOD

M OV E FAST E R .

T H I N K FAST E R .

B E FAST E R .

Oh, Susie

4 SPEED SONGS The tracks that get Formula One heroes revved up

INTO THE MORNING The Weekend “It’s a song I’ve won races to, so it’s one I listen to a lot.”

Lewis Hamilton Mercedes

BULLEVARD S P E E D

BE QUICK ABOUT IT!

0.1 SECONDS FOR A FIRST IMPRESSION So make the most of them.

No, it isn’t fair. That new acquaintance scans you in the blink of an eye. And if you fail the likability test straight off, try as you might, it won’t do much good. That said, if, down the line, you turn out to be an idiot, no matter how good the first impression, it won’t count for much.

SMILE But get it right!

The corners of your mouth must turn up, not extend out. That looks too forced.

FOUR KICKS Kings of Leon “It’s a cool song to warm up to. As is ‘Molly’s Chambers.’ ” Jenson Button McLaren

WEAR RED This signal color makes you more attractive. It works on both men and women.

?

ROMANCE IS DEAD Parkway Drive “A bit of a racket gets me going.”

Daniel Ricciardo Infiniti Red Bull Racing

“HOW ARE YOU?” Your interlocutor will think you’re much nicer if you let him talk first.

?

SMELL RIGHT As long as you are clean and fresh, your own scent will impress more than any aftershave.

THE TEST DRIVER It was a case of girl against boys: Susie Wolff was racing karts against future Formula One world champs Kimi Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton from the age of 8.

Now the 32-year-old Scot has become, with the Williams team, the first woman in 22 years to take part in an F1 race weekend.

She doesn’t want to be seen as a role model—she just wants to be really quick.

GET LUCKY Daft Punk “It doesn’t matter how talented you are and how hard you work, you always need a bit of luck.”

Pastor Maldonado Lotus

“If everything seems under control, you’re just not going fast enough.”

MARIO ANDRETTI, F1 CHAMPION

19

BULLEVARD S P E E D

RAPID RAPPER

Here’s a Maxipad Kneel before General Zod this planet’s It’s actually disastrously bad Krypton, no Asgard, Asgard For the wack while I’m masterfully So you’ll be Thor and I’ll be Odin constructing this masterpiece yeah You rodent, I’m omnipotent ’Cause I’m beginning to feel like a Rap Let off then I’m reloading God, Rap God 3:00 Immediately with these bombs I’m totin’ All my people from the front to the back And I should not be woken nod, back nod I’m the walking dead Now who thinks their arms are long But I’m just a talking head, a zombie floating 1:30 enough to slap box, slap box?

Let me show you maintaining this shit But I got your mom deep throating ain’t that hard, that hard I’m out my Ramen Noodle Everybody want the key and the secret We have nothing in common, poodle to rap I’m a Doberman, pinch yourself Immortality like I have got In the arm and pay homage, pupil Well, to be truthful the blueprint’s It’s me simply rage and youthful exuberance My honesty’s brutal Everybody loves to root for a nuisance But it’s honestly futile if I don’t utilize Look, I was gonna go easy on you not to Hit the earth like an asteroid and did What I do though for good hurt your feelings nothing but shoot for the moon since At least once in a while so I wanna But I’m only going to get this one chance (PPEEYOOM) make sure (Six minutes, six minutes) MC’s get taken to school with this music Somewhere in this chicken scratch Something’s wrong, I can feel it ’Cause I use it as a vehicle to “bus the I scribble and doodle (Six minutes, six minutes, Slim Shady, rhyme” Enough rhymes to you’re on) Now I lead a New School full of students Maybe try to help get some people Just a feeling I’ve got Me? Me, I’m a product of Rakim through tough times Like something’s about to happen Lakim Shabazz, 2Pac, N-W-A., Cube, hey, But I gotta keep a few punchlines But I don’t know what Doc, Ren If that means what I think it means, 3:30 Just in case ’cause even you unsigned Yella, Eazy, thank you, they got Slim Rappers are hungry looking at me we’re in trouble Inspired enough to one day grow up like it’s lunchtime Big trouble. And if he is as bananas Blow up and being in a position I know there was a time where once I as you say Was king of the underground I’m not taking any chances 2:00 To meet Run-D.M.C. and induct them Into the motherf––kin’ Rock n’ Roll But I still rap like I’m on my Pharoahe You were just what the doctor ordered Hall of Fame even though I walk in Monch grind I’m beginning to feel like a Rap God, the church So I crunch rhymes Rap God And burst in a ball of flames But sometimes when you combine 0:30 All my people from the front to the Only Hall of Fame I’ll be inducted in is Appeal with the skin color of mine back nod, back nod the alcohol of fame You get too big and here they come Now who thinks their arms are long On the wall of shame trying to enough to slap box, slap box?

You fags think it’s all a game Censor you like that one line I said They said I rap like a robot, so call me ’Til I walk a flock of flames On “I’m Back” from the Mathers LP rap-bot Off a plank and One when I tried to say I’ll take seven But for me to rap like a computer must Tell me what in the f––k are you kids from Columbine be in my genes thinking?

Put ’em all in a line I got a laptop in my back pocket Little gay looking boy Add an AK-47, a revolver and a nine My pen’ll go off when I half-cock it So gay I can barely say it with a See if I get away with it now Got a fat knot from that rap profit “straight” face looking boy That I ain’t as big as I was, but I’m Made a living and a killing off it You’re witnessing a mass-occur like Morphin’ into an immortal coming Ever since Bill Clinton was still in office you’re watching a church gathering through the portal With Monica Lewinsky feeling on his And take place looking boy nutsack 4:00 You’re stuck in a time warp from two Oy vey, that boy’s gay thousand four though I’m an MC still as honest That’s all they say looking boy And I don’t know what the f––k that But as rude and as indecent as all hell You get a thumbs up, pat on the back you rhyme for Syllables, skill-a-holic (Kill ’em all with) And a “way to go” from your label every You’re pointless as Rapunzel This flippity, dippity-hippity hip-hop day looking boy With f––king cornrows You don’t really wanna get into a pissing You write normal, f––k being normal match 2:30 Hey, looking boy, what d’you say looking boy?

And I just bought a new ray gun from With this rappity-rap I get a “hell yeah” from Dre looking boy the future Packing a Mac in the back of the Ac I’mma work for everything I have Just to come and shoot ya 1:00 backpack rap, crap, yap-yap, Never asked nobody for shit Like when Fabulous made Ray J mad yackety-yack Git out my face looking boy ’Cause Fab said he looked like a fag and at the exact same time Basically boy you’re never gonna be At Mayweather’s pad singin’ to a man I attempt these lyrical acrobat stunts capable While he play piano while I’m practicing that Of keeping up with the same pace Man, oh man, that was the 24/7 special I’ll still be able to break a motherf––kin’ looking boy, ’cause On the cable channel table I’m beginning to feel like a Rap God, So Ray J went straight to radio station Over the back of a couple of faggots Rap God the very next day and crack it in half All my people from the front to the back “Hey, Fab, I’mma kill you” Only realized it was ironic nod, back nod Lyrics coming at you at supersonic I was signed to Aftermath after the fact The way I’m racing around the track, speed, (JJ Fad) How could I not blow? All I do is drop call me Nascar, Nascar Uh, summa lumma dooma lumma you “F” bombs Dale Earnhardt of the trailer park, the assuming I’m a human Feel my wrath of attack White Trash God What I gotta do to get it through to you Rappers are having a rough time period I’m superhuman Innovative and I’m made of rubber, so 4:30 that anything you say is Ricochet in off a me and it’ll glue to you And I’m devastating more than ever demonstrating How to give a motherf––kin’ audience a feeling like it’s levitating Never fading, and I know that haters REBEL XD, THE WORLD’S FASTEST RAPPER are forever waiting He raps 18 syllables per second—faster than Eminem.

For the day that they can say I fell off, they’ll be celebrating Try this at home.

1,560 WORDS

“I’m coming to rock and I’m taking a rapper and I’m breaking ’em up.”

’Cause I know the way to get ’em motivated I make elevating music You make elevator music “Oh, he’s too mainstream.”

Well, that’s what they do When they get jealous, they confuse it “It’s not hip-hop, it’s pop.” ’Cause I found a hella way to fuse it With rock, shock rap with Doc Throw on “Lose Yourself” and make ’em lose it I don’t know how to make songs like that I don’t know what words to use Let me know when it occurs to you While I’m ripping any one of these verses that versus you It’s curtains, I’m inadvertently hurtin’ you 5:00 How many verses I gotta murder to Prove that if you were half as nice, your songs you could sacrifice virgins to Unghh, school flunky, pill junky But look at the accolades these skills brung me Full of myself, but still hungry I bully myself ’cause I make me do what I put my mind to When I’m a million leagues above you Ill when I speak in tongues But it’s still tongue-and-cheek, f––k you I’m drunk so Satan take the f––king wheel I’m asleep in the front seat Bumping Heavy D and the Boys “Still chunky, but funky” But in my head there’s something I can feel tugging and struggling 5:30 Angels fight with devils and Here’s what they want from me They’re asking me to eliminate some of the women hate But if you take into consideration the bitter hatred I had Then you may be a little patient and more sympathetic to the situation And understand the discrimination But f––k it Life’s handing you lemons Make lemonade then But if I can’t batter the women How the f––k am I supposed to bake them a cake then?

Don’t mistake him for Satan It’s a fatal mistake if you think I need to be overseas And take a vacation to trip a broad And make her fall on her face and Don’t be a retard, be a king?

Think not 6:00 Why be a king when you can be a God?

KEVIN MAZUR/GETTY IMAGES COPYRIGHT: SHROOM SHADY MUSIC, SONY/ATV RHYTHM, SONGS OF UNIVERSAL INC., COMEBACK KID PUBLISHING, HEBREW HUSTLE MUSIC, RUTHLESS ATTACK MUZICK, BIZA PUBLISHING INC., PINK PASSION MUZICK, BUGHOUSE, TWO BADD MUSIC

Eminem now has a Guinness world record to add to his many plaudits: most words in a hit song.

During the 2013 track “Rap God,” he manages a top speed of 6.5 words a second.

BULLEVARD S P E E D

LAND, SEA, AIR AND ELSEWHERE

WHAT WINS, WHEREVER Man versus machine, falcon fights tornado, rocket takes on planet, mountain against Bolt.

Four races, four surprising victors.

1

2

3

In space No resistance, because of the vacuum. In the 1970s, the two Helios probes flew faster than the quickest planet in our solar system.

Helios probes: The fastest unmanned machines

Mercury: The fastest planet orbiting the sun

157,077 mph

HELIOS-A & HELIOS-B

1 2

MERCURY

3

Apollo 10: The fastest manned machine

APOLLO 10

105,946 mph

24,790 mph 1

2

3

4

In the air Your granddad will know the winner here: The fastest manned aircraft is now more than 50 years old.

MAX PLANK INSTITUT, NASA(2), WIKIPEDIA(2), JAY NEMETH/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, FOTOLIA(3), PICTUREDESK.COM(2), GETTY IMAGES(3)

1 2 3 4

Oklahoma: Hit by the fastest tornado in 1999

Peregrine falcon: King of the vertical nosedive

NORTH AMERICAN X-15

4,519 mph

North American X-15: Broke Felix Baumgartner: the speed record in 1967 No one fell faster in 2012

FELIX BAUMGARTNER OKLAHOMA TORNADO PEREGRINE FALCON

843.59 mph

316 mph

241 mph 1

On land Even mountains move, but the 5mm by which the Pakistani peak Nanga Parbat grows each year is countered by erosion.

2

3

ThrustSSC: Supersonic car Cheetah: Sprints faster set land speed record, 1997 than any other land animal

Usain Bolt: The fastest human being of all time

THRUSTSSC

1 2 3 4

CHEETAH USAIN BOLT NANGA PARBAT

763.035 mph

74 mph

0.00000000035 mph 1

We can still only guess when it comes to the fastest submarines. For security reasons, no government will admit to their subs’ top speed.

2

Black marlin. Fastest fish; no wonder with that nose

2

K-162 FLORENT MANAUDOU

3

K-162: Soviet, quick and formerly top secret

BLACK MARLIN

1

Nanga Parbat: Ninth-tallest mountain keeps growing

27.78 mph

In water

3

4

Florent Manaudou: Fastest 50m swim of 20.26s

80.77 mph

51.4 mph

5.51 mph 21

BULLEVARD S P E E D

S - A - A - A -Y C - H - E - E - E - S - E

632 DAYS LOOK LIKE THIS Michael Wesely exposes photos for over a year. A lot of stuff happens while he makes a pic.

2003

MAY 2, 2003 Michael Wesely turns off the camera.

APRIL 4, 2003 Haiti officially recognizes voodoo as a religion.

MARCH 20, 2003 The war in Iraq starts as U.S. forces invade.

JULY 23, 2002 The Dow Jones falls 11 days in a row and sinks to below 8,000 points.

MARCH 30, 2002 Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, dies in Windsor at the age of 101.

2002

JANUARY 1, 2002 The euro replaces the national currencies in 12 EU countries.

OCTOBER 23, 2001 Apple’s iPod goes on the market.

2001

SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 Terrorists strike the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in the U.S.

AUGUST 9, 2001 Michael Wesely presses the shutter release.

MICHAEL WESELY, THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART, NEW YORK (8.9.2001-5.2.2003) © BILDRECHT, WIEN 2014

JANUARY 26, 2003 The Tampa Bay Buccaneers win Super Bowl XXXVII.

THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART, NEW YORK (8.9.2001–5.2.2003) Wesely’s long exposures focus on photography as a process. Here he captures the renovation of MOMA in New York. In doing so, he is touching on themes of memory, time, image and imagination.

BULLEVARD S P E E D

These teens and 20-somethings have risen rapidly to the top of their fields, earning fame and fortune beyond their years.

27 75 goals

LIONEL MESSI Scored a Barça hat trick against Real Madrid at 19.

And, after scoring for the 75th time in 92 matches, he’s the all-time top scorer in the Champions League.

18 2 Grammys

LORDE The youngest person on this list, yet an old hand in the music industry: She signed her first record deal when she was 12.

IT’S ALL

GOOD Time heals all wounds, just not at the same rate

TATTOO It takes 10 laser treatments to be rid of that tatt. With the necessary breaks between sessions, that’s 14 months in all.

24 $1.5 billion

EVAN SPIEGEL Snapchat’s CEO owns 15 percent of the $10 billion business he co-founded but only left his parents’ home last year, dropping $3.3 mil on his new pad.

Kainrath’s 1×1

BROKEN BONES Your shin should be fine again eight weeks after that silly, showboating snowboard crash.

ALCOHOL It’s longer than you think: three hours to break down the booze content of a pint of strong lager.

22 $500 m+

PALMER LUCKEY He invented the virtual reality headmounted display Oculus Rift before he was 20, then sold it to Facebook last year for $2.3 billion.

Speed = (the right) distance over time

NUCLEAR MELTDOWN Chernobyl and its surroundings will be inhabitable again in 25,000 years.

DIETMAR KAINRATH

FASTEST TRACKERS

GETTY IMAGES, JAMES KLOWE, AP PHOTO, PICTUREDESK.COM

GEN-SUCCESS

BULLEVARD S P E E D

LIFE HACKS

DO THINGS QUICKER NOW! Over the course of our lives, we spend 100 days brushing our teeth. Here are genius ways to help you make more time for the things that really matter.

PEELING GARLIC Put whole cloves of garlic in a sealed container and give it a vigorous shake.

They peel themselves.

FOLDING T-SHIRTS Place the T-shirt on a flat surface and mentally draw two lines (see fig. 1 below).

1

KER-CHING What others have earned in the eight minutes you’ve been reading these pages

$175,714

2

BILL GATES Why does the guy still bother working?

$303 COOLING BEER Put the beer in a bowl of cold water with ice cubes and salt.

It will be the perfect temperature in a couple of minutes.

CRISTIANO RONALDO You almost feel sorry for him compared to Floyd Mayweather Jr. Place your right hand at the top and your left in the middle.

3

Fold downwards, keeping your left hand where it is.

4

ANGELA MERKEL We knew it! You won’t get rich in politics.

$2

BOILING EGGS Crack open an egg and empty into a cup, cover with microwavesafe plastic wrap and heat on high for 40 seconds.

Now pull the T-shirt through with your left hand.

Fold it again at the sleeve, and you’re done.

Stop already, will you? Hello! You there! Quit it.

REUTERS

DIETMAR KAINRATH

There are nice things that lose their sheen if you do them too much. If you’re not careful, they could even turn into world records that nobody wants or needs.

LONGEST KISS 58h 35m 58s Ekkachai and Laksana Tiranarat from Thailand kept their lips pressed together for more than two days in 2013. Our advice: Any couple together that long with nothing to say to each other should split up.

THE RED BULLETIN

$17

LONGEST TENNIS MATCH 11h 5m

LONGEST KARAOKE MARATHON 101h 59m 15s

LONGEST TATTOOING SESSION 50h 10m

Nicolas Mahut and John Isner’s 2010 Wimbledon match spanned three days and was twice suspended for darkness.

Isner won—and was promptly knocked out the next round.

Italian Leonardo Polverelli warbled a total of 1,295 songs to backing tracks in 2011.

That’s four days and nights! Thankfully, nobody was obliged to stick around for all of it.

Dave Fleet tattooed scenes from the life of Christ onto James Llewellyn in 2011. For two days.

A crucifixion had never been so aptly rendered.

THE PERSON WHO WROTE THIS STUFF Has anyone got Bill Gates’ number?

CAN TALK OK, my answer’s wrong, but I didn’t know before you asked the question.

25

TED SHRED Ted Ligety’s rise to skiing prominence began with hard work and training. But his consistency at the top comes with constant innovation. Meet the sport’s chief craftsman.

Words: Gordy Megroz Photography: Vitali Gelwich

27

T 28

GETTY IMAGES

ed Ligety walks into the base lodge in Vail, Colorado, and instantly gets the boy-band treatment. Kids in skintight, spiderwebbed speedsuits swarm him and begin begging for autographs. “Of course,” says Ligety, as he scribbles his name on several ski helmets. A young girl walks over and asks him if he’ll pose for a photo with her. Ligety obliges and smiles widely as she snaps a selfie.

“Will you sign this for my daughter?” asks one father. “She’s too shy to ask you herself.”

In Europe, these impromptu autograph sessions are commonplace. Ski racing is one of the continent’s top sports and Ligety, 30 years old and a dominant force on the World Cup tour, is one of the sport’s biggest stars. After winning gold at the Sochi Olympics, the Park City, Utah, native is getting used to the attention on home soil, too. But after writing his name 20 or so times he needs a break, so he takes a seat and starts peeling off his ski boots.

Just then, German ski racer Felix Neureuther sidles up alongside Ligety and throws his arm around him. Then he leans in and hugs Mia Pascoe, Ligety’s fiancée. “Let’s see the ring,” he says. Ligety popped the question in October.

“Very nice,” says Neureuther.

“When did you get in?” Ligety asks.

“Yesterday,” says Neureuther. “And I already got drug tested at 6 o’clock this morning.”

“That’s good!” Ligety jokes. “They need to drug test you guys!”

Neureuther laughs.

“How’s the wrist?” he asks.

That’s the question Ligety has been getting most this week. Just three days ago, Ligety was training gates here in Vail and caught his hand on one of the plastic poles, shattering bones in his left wrist. That night, Ligety had surgery to place four metal pins in the bum joint.

“I can’t grip a pole,” he tells Neureuther. “But I’m still training. I’m just skiing with one pole.”

Ligety has little choice but to suck it up and ski.

This is a big year for him—and it’s off to a lousy start.

It’s already November, and frankly, he needs the

THE RED BULLETIN

Ligety has little choice but to suck it up and ski.

A surprise gold medalist at the 2006 Olympics, Ligety has since become America’s most dominant male skier.

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training. In February, right here in Vail, he’ll try to defend the three World Championship gold medals he won two years ago in Austria. In October, he received a smackdown by his fiercest rival, Austrian Marcel Hirscher, who beat Ligety by a whopping three seconds (eons in ski racing) in the American’s best event, the giant slalom (GS).

Ligety boots up and heads outside, clicks into his skis and slides past the wall of junior paparazzi capturing photos with their smartphones. He hops on the chairlift and makes his way to the top of one of the training courses. In two weeks, Beaver Creek, a ski area just down the road, will host men’s World Cup races, and several national teams are here training.

Ligety sets himself and pushes out of the start gate. As he picks up speed and rounds the fourth turn, his inside hip nearly touches the surface, while his right hand scrapes the snow.

He is famous for such physics-defying turns, and he does them better than anybody. By leaning his body far into the mountain, Ligety is able to make his skis start arcing a turn earlier than anybody else on the World Cup circuit. “He’s actually skiing a rounder line around the gates,” explains Ligety’s coach, Forest Carey. “But he’s clean. He never skids the way a lot of guys do, so he’s traveling at a higher speed than other skiers.”

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“He wasn’t a big dude, but he put in his time training.”

The turns are the reason he’s won five overall World Cup GS titles and earned the nickname “Mr. GS.” And, even skiing with a busted wrist and a single pole, one thing is clear: Ted Ligety is still the fastest man on the mountain.

H

e wasn’t always the fastest. At 9 years old, he was cut from the Park City Ski Team. “It didn’t bother me,” he says. “I was just like, OK, I’ll do something else this winter. Then the next winter I made the team.”

Still, Ligety, who was smaller than a lot of his peers and lacked refined skills, spent most of his junior racing career far

from the podium. “He got his ass kicked for so long, so he had the hunger and desire to hammer on,” says Mike Day, who coached Ligety as a junior. “When kids are good for so long you often don’t see those meteoric rises. He had a true love for skiing and he had solid fundamentals. He wasn’t a big dude, but he put in his time training and got stronger.”

When he was 19, Ligety shocked his teammates and coaches on the U.S. ski team’s development squad by winning a time trial that qualified him for a World Cup race. By the end of the year, he was skiing into the World Cup tour’s top 30. A year later, in 2005, he made another leap, reaching the podium in Beaver Creek. He scored three more podiums later that season. Just a year later, and still relatively unknown, he won the gold medal in the combined event (one run downhill, two runs of slalom) at the Olympics in Turin, Italy.

Part of that rapid success can be attributed to Ligety’s dogged determination and torturous, leg-burning gym workouts. But his attention to detail when it comes to racing equipment and his reliance on technology is also a big part of the equation.

In 2006, dissatisfied with the helmets and goggles being offered to skiers and wanting to begin building a future for himself beyond ski racing, Ligety began THE RED BULLETIN

GETTY IMAGES

By leaning his body far into the mountain, Ligety begins turns earlier than other skiers.

Dissatisfied with the helmets and goggles available to pro skiers, Ligety launched Shred Optics in 2006.

GETTY IMAGES

Ligety has won five World Cup season titles in the Giant Slalom, but his dominance is facing a massive test this year.

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THE RED BULLETIN

“he’s changed his tactics so that they’re like mine.”

He’s the only U.S. men’s ski racer to win two Olympic gold medals in his career (in 2006 and 2014).

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making his own race gear. His Shred Optics now enjoys an annual growth rate of 60 percent, boasts one of the lightest helmets on the market and sponsors some of the World Cup’s biggest stars, including Frenchman Alexis Pinturault.

When he’s not on the hill, Ligety can often be found hammering away on his computer, taking conference calls with the sales team or checking in on production in Italy, Taiwan and Vietnam.

“I come up with a lot of the designs for the goggles and helmets,” he says, “then I test them to make sure they work.

Sometimes I test goggles years before they come out.”

A few years after starting Shred, he also helped develop Slytech, a company that produces body armor for ski racers.

“Right now we’re working on a carboninjected arm guard,” he says. “If I was wearing any other glove the other day, my hand would be destroyed.”

In addition, Ligety helps his ski and boot sponsor, Head, design all the equipment that he races on. Head has made boot molds based on Ligety’s drawings, and when ski racing’s governing body made a rule changing the dimensions of GS skis, at a moment when Ligety was at his most dominant (prompting him to call the organization a “dictatorship” out to “ruin the sport”), he helped design the ski he would use to continue his winning ways.

At Vail, Ligety was toting around a bag with four pairs of boots in it, testing each to see which pair skied faster. “Even if you’re winning, you’re always trying to find something better,” he says. “In 2011, I was having a great season, but a week before the World Championships, I switched to a new GS ski anyway.” It paid

off. Ligety went on to win his first World Championship gold medal.

Ligety also relies on video feedback to hone his technique. The day before he broke his wrist, he had five different GoPro cameras strapped to his body, including one attached to a 2-foot metal rod hanging off the back of his helmet.

“He looked like a human science experiment,” said fiancée Mia Pascoe.

Maybe so, but Ligety believes that capturing his skiing from different angles helps him see things that then allow him to make subtle tweaks to his movements.

“I watch to see how smoothly my skis go through the snow and what the rest of my body is doing to allow that to happen,” he says. “I also watch the other fast guys to see what they’re doing.” And with Hirscher so far leading this season’s GS standings, innovation is crucial.

“I’ve noticed that he’s changed his tactics so that they’re more like mine,” says Ligety of his rival. “He definitely pushes me to be better.”

But how much longer will Hirscher be around to push Ligety? In the Austrian edition of The Red Bulletin in January, Hirscher hinted that he might retire before the next Olympics. “I don’t believe that,” says Ligety. “But that’s certainly not my plan. I’m racing a lot longer.”

T

ed Ligety is pissed. His broken wrist in Vail kept him out of races in Lake Louise, Alberta, and his return to racing here in Beaver Creek has been mediocre. In the downhill race two days ago, he was 28th. Yesterday in the super G, he was 11th. And after the first run of GS today, Mr. GS sits fourth, a hundredth of a second behind Hirscher, who’s third.

As he bursts out of the starting gate in run two, it’s clear he’s leaving everything on the hill, even arcing a turn by using his left injured hand as an outrigger. “Are you kidding me?!” exclaims the announcer.

“What an incredible athlete!”

Ligety blows through the finish line to the roar of a standing ovation. Hirscher skis next, finishing six tenths of a second behind Ligety. Pinturault can’t catch Ligety either, nor can Benjamin Raich, another Austrian who’d led after the first run. Ligety throws his arms in the air in victory. It’s his fifth straight GS win in Beaver Creek. In just a little over two months, he’ll go for number six in the World Championships.

“But what about the wrist?” an interviewer asks right after Ligety’s win.

“The wrist?” he says. “I didn’t even think about the wrist.”

Good for plenty of tweets: @tedligety

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KEIRA KNIGHTLEY

“I couldn’t take all the drugs I wanted to” In the run-up to the Oscars and after tackling Everest, the Londonborn star talks beauty, lobotomies and tattooing her nipples.

At 18, Keira Knightley was swashbuckling on the high seas with Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean, an adventure she repeated in two sequels. She then fought very different fights alongside Mickey Rourke in Domino and Clive Owen in King Arthur, and indulged in serious S&M with Michael Fassbender in A Dangerous Method.

On screen, Knightley is not to be messed with; off screen she commands respect, too, after translating her early success into an enduring career that also boasts complex character roles in films including Anna Karenina, Atonement and most recently as the confidante to Benedict Cumberbatch’s Alan Turing in The Imitation Game, for which she received an Oscar nod. The 29-year-old can be seen in the survival drama Everest this year, before she takes a break to have her first baby with husband James Righton, of new rave band Klaxons. the red bulletin: You’ve been at the top of your game for well over a decade and are one of the best-paid actresses in Hollywood. How have you managed it? keira knightley: I tend to get back up quickly after I’ve been knocked down, and I try to forge ahead as much as possible. I must admit, I can easily be one of those actors who almost seems like they’ve got a frontal lobotomy and doesn’t do anything.

But then I get terrified by my own laziness, and that pushes me to be proactive. Why have I lasted in this business? I’m surprised myself. I’m incredibly lucky. There are a lot of people who have a couple of films and don’t get any more offers.

Were there downsides to becoming famous so early?

For me it meant a lack of experimentation.

I couldn’t take all the drugs I wanted to take. That’s a good quote, isn’t it? When 34

I was 18, I had men following me around with cameras, while the media commented on everything I did. So I didn’t have that carefree time of getting drunk and falling over a lot.

So without booze and drugs, did you take up healthier habits instead?

I go through phases. There are six months where I get a personal trainer and go to the gym. Then I go, “God, that’s boring. I can’t be bothered to do that.” So I enter six months of vegetation, and after that I’ll do some exercise again. Other than

“It’s an imagebased industry and I know my looks were partly responsible for my getting the part.” that, I did go hiking in the Himalayas, but physically that wasn’t very impressive.

Last year you posed topless on the cover of Interview magazine and banned any retouching on the pictures, as you don’t agree the practice should be commonplace. Do you have a penchant for bold statements?

It’s not the first time I’ve appeared naked in a publication. Perhaps I won’t want to do it in five years, but my mum said, “When I’m a grandmother, I want my nipples tattooed blue, so I can show everyone I’ve led a life.” And for me that’s my nipples being tattooed blue, as it were. I will show them to my grandchildren with pride.

You’ve been nominated for a supporting actress Oscar for The Imitation Game.

Do you spend time thinking about whether you’ll win the award?

Quite a few times I’ve played parts where people have gone, “Oh my God, this has got to get nominations.” And it hasn’t.

You do go, “Oh f*ck.” But you can’t aim to make an award-winning film. You can aim to make the best film you can possibly make. If you get a nomination for something, it’s f*cking excellent, and fun and brilliant. But really what matters is that people find the work interesting.

You can’t ask for more than that.

You got your first part in a blockbuster at the age of 18 in Pirates of the Caribbean. Did it bother you some people attributed that more to your looks than your acting chops?

At least they weren’t saying I was the ugliest woman in the world. Look, it’s an image-based industry and I know that my looks were partly responsible for my getting the part. But there were a lot of pretty girls up for it, so there must have been something else as well. Looks fade.

They fade! If that was all I had to offer, I’d have something to be very worried about.

If all did fail, would you start a music career with your indie rocker husband?

No, Jesus Christ. It would be the worst idea. He and his band work very well together, so I’ll let them get on with it.

I hate singing in front of an audience.

It’s scary as shit, because you don’t want to look stupid in front of other people.

Do you care what other people think?

If you don’t, you’d be a psychopath. On the other hand, I know some people find what I have to offer attractive and some people find it disgusting. That’s just the way it is. keiraknightley.com THE RED BULLETIN

AUSTIN HARGRAVE/AUGUST

Words: Rüdiger Sturm

Born March 26, 1985, in Teddington, London.

Breaking out Soccer film Bend It Like Beckham launched her career in 2002.

Fitting, as she’s a fan of West Ham United.

Blooming early At age 3 Knightley demanded an agent.

At age 6, she had one. ​

JERZY SKARZYNSKI

“Be afraid—and conquer that fear”

Secrets of long-distance longevity from an athlete with over 30 years of marathons under his belt. With no signs of slowing, he plans to go ultramarathon in his seventh decade.

It wasn’t easy being a world-class athlete in Eastern Europe during the Cold War, but Jerzy Skarzynski defied Poland’s politics and poverty to win marathons in two countries and come within four and a half minutes of the then world record.

And he hasn’t lost his love of the longdistance challenge since retiring in 2004; he’ll be trying to reach his favorite mark of 26 miles 385 yards in the Wings for Life World Run in May. the red bulletin: Why did marathons become your thing?

Jerzy Skarzynski: Even when I was a child I wanted to win. I gradually worked my way up from [soccer] and 400m races to 10,000m and beyond. To start with, I couldn’t imagine completing a marathon.

How did you prepare mentally for races?

I thought to myself, “What’s the price I have to pay? How much do I want to win?” I visualized my opponents, the way they ran, when I’d overtake them.

I could see the spectators I’d run past.

Those thoughts alone were enough to flood my brain with adrenaline.

How can someone who only does sports for fun do that?

By having a clear goal and using common sense. Common sense will tell you, “Every time I go for a run I get closer to my goal.”

You should run as long as you’re healthy.

If your body doesn’t want to run, even though you’re healthy, it’s just you being lazy. Train consistently, even if you think it’s not enough. Overzealousness is bad for you, so be careful and gradually work your way up to longer distances. Once you can run 10km, try 11km next time around and see how your body reacts. The mental side of things starts to come into it at 25km.

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What do you mean by that?

By 25km [15.5 miles] at the latest you’ll start having stupid thoughts. “There’s still too long to go,” or “I’m not going to make it.” They bring you down. And you have to counteract them, push back the barriers in your head, take control of your psyche.

How do you take control?

Try to see long-distance runs as an adventure. You’re going to have to run slowly and for a long time. So don’t try to escape that mentally. Before you start, be clear that it’s going to take time.

Your attitude makes a big difference.

“I’ve run 170,000km, but I’m in great shape.

Nothing hurts.”

Do world-class runners do that too?

They keep an eye on GPS and their pulse and don’t have time for stupid thoughts.

You once said that you were afraid of the marathon distance.

It’s good to be afraid. It’s OK to be afraid.

You should be afraid. And you should conquer that fear each time.

How do you do that?

You get out there and compete. You don’t bottle it. Ever.

Is it even possible to like marathons?

It is. It’s wonderful when you know what you’re doing and do a good job of improving your form long term. I ran my personal best for the marathon of 2:11 30 years ago. Now I’m training for another marathon and, yes, I’m happy about it.

You’re taking part in the Wings for Life World Run in May. What are your goals?

I want to get as close to marathon distance as I can. For 2016, the aim is any distance beyond that, ultramarathon distance.

How far have you run in your lifetime?

I’ve run about 170,000km over the last 43 years. People told me I’d suffer from wear and tear, but I’m in great shape. Nothing hurts. You just have to listen to your body.

What were training conditions like in Poland behind the Iron Curtain?

A friend of mine had to sew my tracksuits.

I’d get sneakers sent to me from the West, and there was no proper altitude training.

I don’t look back fondly. The most painful thing was that we had a strong team but weren’t allowed to go to the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984. Having said that, as a professional sportsman, I had a better life than a lot of other people in the country.

What’s your best career memory?

New Zealand: One time I trained for a race there for two weeks and then did the same again another time. There was beer and ice cream and whatever I wanted to eat . . . I had the time of my life.

And a memory that motivates you?

The 1984 Vienna City Marathon. The favorites from Ethiopia set off too quickly and my teammates and I reeled them in one by one. Our fans were singing Polish songs and cheering us on. My teammate Antoni Niemczak won and I came second.

The starting pistol for the 2015 Wings for Life World Run will be fired simultaneously in 35 locations in 33 countries around the world on May 3, 2015. Who will hold the Catcher Car at bay the longest? All the info you need to take part: wingsforlifeworldrun.com THE RED BULLETIN

MICHAL JEDRZEJEWSKI/RED BULL CONTENT POOL

Words: Werner Jessner and Arek Piatek

Born January 13, 1956 Personal best 2:11:42, set in April 1986 in Debno, Poland Tape taker Won the 1989 Warsaw Marathon and the 1991 Leipzig Marathon

TRUE GRIT MUD, SNOW, FREEZING RAIN AND KILLER OBSTACLES: THIS AIN’T MILITARY BOOT CAMP, IT’S CYCLOCROSS—AND IT’S A HELLUVA LOT MORE FUN. WORDS: NOAH DAVIS PHOTOGRAPHY: JULIE GLASSBERG

Log rhythm: Part speed race, part obstacle course, cyclocross forces riders to dismount several times in a single lap.

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A

s the winter sun dips low in the afternoon sky and a sustained, icy 20-plus mph wind rips off the blue-gray water of nearby Greenwich Bay at Warwick, Rhode Island’s Goddard Memorial State Park, Curtis White quickly, deliberately and just a tad desperately makes his way to the former carousel building doubling on this Sunday afternoon as race central.

It houses the podium where in 20 minutes the 19-year-old will receive his medal for winning a bike race and, even more importantly, two propane heaters on full blast to take the chill off the 35-degree day. White’s victory came by three seconds over Kerry Werner, whom he dramatically outsprinted after an hour and three minutes of intense riding. And running uphill through sand.

And sprinting up a flight of steps. And hopping off his bike, over two logs, then 40

remounting to continue on the 2.14-mile loop course with more than 60 turns.

Welcome to cyclocross. White, clad only in a thin black skinsuit, is an up and coming star in the up and coming sport, which mixes road racing, mountain biking and Tough Mudder into one gruesome gut check. The worse the conditions—rain, mud, snow, wind—the better. The lanky Union College freshman from upstate New York won both pro races at the NBX Gran Prix of Cyclocross, the final event of the Verge New England Cyclocross Series. The wins cement his status as a rising star.

At this moment, however, White has other concerns. He is covered in “good dirt” from 63 minutes of splashing through near freezing mud puddles left over from Saturday’s constant rain, and a sheen of sweat has soaked through his uniform, contributing to his plummeting body temperature. Just minutes off the course, White takes long strides toward the shelter offered by the nearby building, disappearing behind a door held shut against the strong breeze by a bungee cord. He looks ready to raise his arms in triumph and accept his reward for winning. Or perhaps just surviving.

While cyclocross, usually called cross or CX, is the least known of the six competitive cycling disciplines in the United States, it’s older than mountain

biking, dating back to France in the early 1900s. It remains popular across the pond, with Europeans dominating the world championship, but it’s gaining traction in American riding circles. According to USA Cycling, the number of events jumped from 237 in 2005 to 526 last year.

The sport draws all types. Cross is a balls-out race, competitors blasting through laps that are between one and two and a half miles through woods, around hairpin turns, up and down steep hills, over grass fields and across stretches of pavement. Courses boast obstacles like sand or staircases that force a rider to dismount the bike, carry it and sprint. As if nature’s barriers aren’t enough, race designers erect man-made obstacles, too.

The course at Goddard Park is no different. It starts in a grass field, a sevenlane grid marked with white chalk. After a sprint for position, riders blast into two tight downhill turns, then into the woods,

CYCLOCROSS MIXES ROAD RACING, MOUNTAIN BIKING AND TOUGH MUDDER INTO ONE GRUESOME GUT CHECK. THE RED BULLETIN

Though not as well known as other biking disciplines, U.S. cyclocross is gaining in popularity, with events more than doubling in the last 10 years. Amateurs as well as pros, like Curtis White (above left and right) and the riders below at the start of a pro women’s race, are drawn in part because they are so openly welcomed by the “come one, come all� attitude of the sport.

Here’s mud on your thigh: Samuel O’Keefe legs it across a beach section; Tim Johnson is one of the deans of the cyclocross scene.

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Down to the wire: Lewis Gaffney ahead of Adam Myerson around a tight turn.

where they battle roots and mud that require technical riding found in mountain biking. They exit near the beach, jumping off the bikes to run by the ocean for 75 yards before hopping back on, pumping down a stretch of pavement and up a steep hill, followed by a downhill into the second sand section, just 25 feet or so, but nearly vertical.

A

fter another root-ridden downhill, riders dismount, run up a dozen stairs and remount for a series of sharp turns around a picnic area. Halfway through, they dismount again and hop over two large logs. More wooded area is next, then a quick turn to a downhill pavement section. The course continues through the woods, uphill around the carousel building, over two plastic barriers and by a food truck selling beef-brisket tacos. The last stretch includes an artificial-turfed four-foot trapezoid, one final obstacle on a course full of them.

Justin Lindine—whose nickname is “The Honey Badger” and whose Facebook fan page lists his personal interests as “Eating roadkill. Crushing his enemies.

Watching the cat sit around. Standard stuff, really”—started out mountain biking but got hooked on cross during college. “It’s really condensed racing,” the 31-year-old pro says in the carousel building before his event, a goofy smile on his face, two-day stubble on his cheeks. “Something is always going on, and you don’t have a lot of time to think about your decisions.”

And unlike road racing, where you need to know a “secret handshake” to get into races, jokes Tim Johnson, cross’s most successful American rider, or mountain biking, which can require a long drive to a mountain to find an event, CX welcomes all comers with open arms.

The brutality of the conditions breeds a camaraderie among all the racers. In Warwick, the pro Category 2 event has 49 riders; the Category 3 and Category 4/5 races each have about double that number, more than 100 diehards in brightly colored skinsuits hauling around the course with equipment ranging from the latest carbon fiber to dilapidated mountain bikes—riders crashing, smiling, filthy. “You’ll find the amateurs are the

real heroes of the day,” says Chris Dale, owner of race sponsor NBX Bikes.

Half an hour before his Category 3 race, Cory Lafleur sits in the driver’s seat of the Volkswagen station wagon he shares with his wife, Melissa. It’s packed with pumps, discarded suits and energy bars and features a large decal on the hood from a sponsorship deal he arranged with a local outfitter. He’s wearing his helmet—cross racers seem to pretty much constantly wear helmets, as if they might jump on a bike at any moment.

The 2014 campaign marks the second full season for Lafleur and his first in Category 3. His wife races with the pros in Category 2, but both of them have seen their training time reduced because they are building a cross course near their house, a few miles away on an overgrown river walk. Lafleur’s immediate concern, however, is the race. He inhales the dregs of an iced coffee, jumps on his bike and rides off enthusiastically. “I’m gonna need it,” he calls back to someone who wishes him luck. “It’s freezing.”

He will finish his race in 40:26, good enough for 26th overall and first place in the riders from Rhode Island division. For his effort, he earns a gold medal that will no doubt end up next to his filthy jersey somewhere in the VW. While Lafleur competes on the course, Curtis White and Tim Johnson sit in their team’s heated Cannondale team trailer, something in between a rock-band tour bus and a bike shop. Half-eaten pecan

Misery loves company: Cory and Melissa Lafleur (right) are avid cyclocross riders. To increase training opportunities, they’re building a course near their Rhode Island home.

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THE RED BULLETIN

after a flight from Hartford to Chicago and complains that his shirt always comes off in the first two hours of the postNationals party. That final point sparks a heated debate about whether Clark took off his shirt or it was removed for him.

T

Above: Justin Lindine, aka The Honey Badger, lists among his interests eating roadkill and “crushing his enemies.”

and pumpkin pies sit next to a coffee machine across from a spare propane tank. A dozen tires and cabinets of parts are everywhere. Lafleur’s station wagon feels very far away indeed.

Johnson turned pro in 2001, owns six national cross championships and is one of two male American riders to reach the podium at the UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale, the sport’s governing body) Cyclocross World Championships, THE RED BULLETIN

a feat he accomplished in 1999. At 37, he’s nearing the end of his career but rides with a grace that looks effortless, despite a bad back. TJ, as everyone calls him, remains a huge draw and the sport’s most revered figure, happily offering tips to younger riders.

White is the recipient of much of the coaching and he goes as far as to credit the knowledge for helping him to victory later in the afternoon. But at the moment, he lounges in a folding chair, calf muscles bulging and stretching his skinsuit.

Another pro, 28-year-old Anthony Clark, joins the pair, a whirling dervish with long hair and a neck tattoo of red lips. He wears a purple racing suit paired with black skate shoes and blue laces, tells a story about getting strip searched

THE BRUTALITY OF CONDITIONS BREEDS CAMARADERIE AMONG THE RIDERS.

he men’s elite race, the last event of the day, starts just after 2:30 in the afternoon, the sinking sun doing little to warm up the day. White, Lindine and Werner, a mountain bike specialist who held off White the previous Sunday to win his first UCI cross title, quickly and efficiently separate themselves from the pack. Clark leads a trio of riders in the chase group. Johnson, elegant on his bike but clearly not at full fitness and carefully watching his back, is content to ride a dozen places back, testing a new Cannondale setup.

Around and around the course they fly, battling for position while ceding little. Despite its madcap appearance, to win a cyclocross race requires patience, especially on a fast course with little elevation change like the one in Goddard Park. There’s nowhere to break away.

The trio stears clear of the chasing group, slowly gaining distance. Curves come and go, the proper line worn into the ground by a day of races.

Forty-five minutes into the hour-long race, Lindine drops off slightly, leaving White leading Werner. The youngster tries to shake his older pursuer but fails.

Werner matches his adversary stroke for stroke, splashing through the mud puddles just a fraction of a second after the leader, using his superior technical ability to match the freshman’s power and grace. Near the end, Werner manages to push past White, who appears to be tiring. But it is a feint. White wins the race to the final turn and powers his way to the win. A minute and three seconds later, Clark crosses in fifth, his hair matted slightly by the moisture but still bouncing gloriously outside his helmet.

Johnson finishes 13th.

But the frigid weekend clearly belongs to White. The rider says he plans to spend part of his upcoming vacation racing in Europe as part of USA Cycling’s National Development Program. Given his enormous potential, the larger cross family worries he might turn his focus to the road. At the medal presentation, someone asks if he will continue competing in cross. “I couldn’t see myself not being involved,” he says, looking into a crowd of friends.

Get muddy and sign up at usacycling.org

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MARK STRONG

“Maybe I look like a man with secrets” There’s typecasting and then there’s Mark Strong. The British actor known for villainy is turning over a new leaf in recent years.

In The Imitation Game, which is in the running for Oscars on February 22, Mark Strong plays the head of British secret intelligence, pulling strings and offering wry encouragement for Benedict Cumberbatch’s Alan Turing. It marks a change from being a baddie. “I played villains for four or five years,” says the 51-year-old, who did rather good being bad in films like Body of Lies, Sherlock Holmes, Robin Hood, Kick-Ass, Green Lantern and John Carter. “Then it took care of itself, because directors would say to me, ‘I know you’ve played the bad guy, so let’s turn things around. The last two or three years I’ve hardly played villains.”

His current thing is spies, and during a long talk with The Red Bulletin over coffee at a London hotel, he revealed plenty of top secrets. the red bulletin: Did you feel while making it that The Imitation Game would be an Oscar contender? mark strong: You never know, because there are so many hurdles to jump over for a film to come out, but the script was fantastic. I was expecting a dry, clipped decoding film—there are elements of that, but so much more. It’s a perfectly crafted movie.

You play Stewart Menzies, who was the real-life head of what became MI6. Are you an actor who tries to be like his real-life roles?

Not really. You have to decide if it’s useful, at which point the Internet makes research incredibly easy. I looked him up, where he’d gone to school, but in the movie, he is 46

the guy holding all the strings, watching over everything, and that’s what I had to deliver. The best way to do that was to give him a weary, knowing quality and not get bogged down in whether or not he had a mustache. Ironically, an actress I knew a long time ago is now married to his grandson. I got an email from him saying that they were rather proud of my portrayal of their grandfather.

The part came with a few jokes and light moments, something you’re not associated with. What was that like?

“I went from an Arthur Miller play to Sacha Baron Cohen peeing on my leg through a doorway.”

I only subsequently realized, at a screening, when everybody laughed, that I had created a character that was very wry, and I loved it that people could take humor from that corner because other parts of the film are so sad. You can’t have this story about this man without steam being let off somewhere.

Your next movie, though, is the new Sacha Baron Cohen film . . .

In which I also play a spy. It’s called Grimsby, and I play a spy in Kingsman:

The Secret Service, Matthew Vaughn’s new film. All pretty much one after the other.

Maybe it’s the age I’m at: I’ve ascended to a level where I look like a man with secrets. With a hint of menace, of course.

You haven’t quite left the villains behind, though. You played one in a Jaguar Super Bowl commercial last year.

Exactly. That led to Grimsby, I think. They wanted someone who could play Sacha’s brother, who is a superspy à la James Bond. I think they saw that and thought, “There he is.”

It’s an action film but also improvised.

Sacha wanted to do a lot of improvisation.

The longest take we did was 43 minutes.

So I don’t know what to expect, because we’ve made three films’ worth of stuff.

Did you find yourself getting funnier as you did more long takes?

I realized that the gag of my character is not that he’s funny but that he can’t quite believe that his superslick world has been invaded by his idiot brother. That situation is funny, and Sacha is where the laughs are.

Do you enjoy the challenge of such varied roles?

I really want to try and mix it up. I was in a play in London between playing film spies: A View from the Bridge at the Young Vic. I finished the play on a Saturday and started filming Grimsby on the Sunday.

So I went from a very erudite performance of an Arthur Miller play to Sacha peeing on my leg through a doorway. Acting can be a funny old game.

Twitter: @MarkStrongFans THE RED BULLETIN

MARK HARRISON

Words: Paul Wilson

Name Mark Strong Born August 5, 1963 London, England Bond and Villain Strong calls the man who plays 007 “Dan,� because he and Mr. Craig have been friends for 20 years.

Coen, Coen, Gone Strong made it to the final round to play Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men, but the Coen brothers chose Javier Bardem instead; the Spaniard won an Oscar playing the cattlegun-toting psycho.

THE

BLUES TRAVELERS

What happens when a Lebanese blues band journeys across half a world to the heartland of the music they love.

Words: Andreas Tzortzis Photography: Balazs Gardi

Nader Mansour (left) and Eddy Ghossein of the Wanton Bishops.

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A

long the sidewalk in front of the music bars of New Orleans’ Frenchmen Street they weave, the silly-hatted, drunken detritus of a holiday weekend. They bum smokes and talk loudly and don’t want to call it a night.

They push past a bearded, lean-limbed, tattooed fellow smoking Marlboro Reds and holding court in a group of guys.

Nader Mansour, finance-degree graduate and the visceral frontman of a Lebanese blues band, is cracking jokes in Arabic and English and keeping an eye on the talent making its way into the club. Nearby stands his bandmate, Eddy Ghossein, who, with his mod haircut and Nehru jacket, looks like he walked in off of a ’60s album cover to partner with Mansour. Together they’re the Wanton Bishops, and they’ve been spending the last week getting their asses kicked.

“We’ve needed an ass-whooping,” says Mansour. Being the No. 1 blues band in cheesy pop and electro heavy Beirut is one thing. Being a blues band in the country in which the blues was born is something else entirely.

“They’re all on a high level here musically,” Mansour continues. “Our asses are blue.”

But this was the whole point of the journey. Bandmates for four years, the pair had spent their 30-something years on this earth having never made it to the country that birthed the music they fell in love with. Now they were on a journey of discovery, from Austin, Texas, to New Orleans, up the blues corridor through Jackson and Clarksdale, Mississippi, before ending up in a recording studio in Memphis. The goal was to understand the music that carried in it the very moans and wails of slavery, the jangling guitar riffs, the primal pulse of the human 50

Clockwise from top: On the road to Jackson; meeting Glen David Andrews in New Orleans; scenes from Mississippi; and performing in Austin at SXSW, their first U.S. gig.

condition. The blues, in other words: a genre they studied through books and recordings and music lessons and knew enough to record an album of hardcharging tracks that would win fans throughout Europe. But one they hadn’t yet truly understood.

And so they sit on an old church pew in a side room off of the stage of the d.b.a. lounge on Frenchmen Street. On stage Glen David Andrews, part of a New Orleans musical dynasty, is turning the hits of today into rolling funk lines. His booming baritone and brassy trombone solos are granting the blissfully boozedup Monday-night crowd an audience with second-line sassing and deep gospel.

Mansour blows on each of his three harmonicas to tune them. Ghossein shuffles around and they both break out the side door to sneak cigarettes. They’re playing funk for the first time tonight, something they nervously mentioned to Andrews at the break.

“It’s the universal language!” Andrews proclaims, waving them off.

Then it’s time and they head on stage.

The first song won’t see a harmonica solo because Mansour’s is in the wrong

“JUST SHUT THE F*CK UP,

CLOSE YOUR EYES AND PLAY. IF YOUR BRAIN WORKS, YOU’RE DOING IT WRONG.”

From top: In a New Orleans church; jamming with some bayou locals; sitting in the backyard with Vasti Jackson, fifth-generation bluesman and educator, in Jackson, Mississippi.

key owing to a bit of miscommunication.

But at Ghossein’s 12-bar guitar solo, the Beirut boys loosen up. Mansour’s growling vocals on a Junior Wells standard, “Messing with the Kid,” get whoops from the crowd while Andrews leans back and takes it in, occasionally swooping forward to back him up. At one point, he looks at his saxophone player with a tight-lipped, open-eyed smile, like, “Hey, this is working.” The second song gets the crowd fully onboard, and as the chaos of the funk-slash-blues-slash-gospel music winds down to loud cheers, Andrews shouts out “THE BISHOPS WON-TON!” It’s not technically right, but the two 52

couldn’t care less. After years of thinking about it, they got down with some bona fide New Orleans musicians and held their own. It was a good reminder for Mansour. “Just shut the f*ck up, close your eyes and play,” he says in the side room. “It’s not mathematics. If your brain works then you’re doing it wrong.”

H

ighway 55 skirts Lake Pontchartrain and its gnarled swamp before entering a slow undulating pattern through forests on the way to Jackson.

The road is lined with truck stops and the clean, corporate-looking facades of megachurches: Pentecostal this, First

“I LIKE TO TALK ABOUT

THE TRIUMPH OF THE BLUES. LOOKING AT STRUGGLE AND RISING ABOVE.”

–VASTI JACKSON

THE RED BULLETIN

Now they were on a journey of discovery to understand the music that carried in it the very moans and wails of slavery, the jangling guitar riffs, the primal pulse of the human condition.

Adventist that. Burned-out houses, the fire-insurance money collected, dot the outer ring of residential streets, as do empty shop fronts—chicken-takeout franchises that will never re-open, small markets made redundant by superstores.

On a quiet, well-kept street—Cedars of Lebanon Road, as it turns out—the two meet up with Vasti Jackson. An accomplished musician who tours extensively in the U.S. and abroad, the 55-year-old is as eloquent on the history of the blues as he is skilled in its musical nuances. The three sit in the home of journalist Charlie Braxton and discuss the change in the music as it moved from the more rhythmic, drum-led south in New THE RED BULLETIN

Orleans, through the slower, gospel-like sound in the middle of the Delta, on up to Chicago’s electrified crowd-pleasing blues.

“I like to talk about the triumph of the blues,” says Jackson. “Looking at struggle and rising above it. It’s an art form derived from the necessities of life, having to navigate oppression.”

Though they didn’t always voice it, Mansour and Ghossein certainly thought about how they’d be received by people like Andrews and Jackson. They’d only been playing together a few years, after all, and the Wanton Bishops had experienced a level of success many who’d toiled here for years never had: sold-out shows at home; invitations to

play in Sweden, Turkey and at the SXSW Music Festival in Austin.

Now here they were, plucking at strings in the overgrown backyard of Braxton’s house with a fifth-generation bluesman, trying to find their groove, their story, in the simple, ancient 12-bar progressions. At Jackson’s behest, Ghossein strums out the melody of an old Middle Eastern song, with its haunting minor chords. Jackson immediately picks it up and makes it his own, turning the half-tones of the Arab song into full tones; taking the music of a faraway place and bluesifying it. And in his playing is a suggestion, an idea of how the Wanton Bishops could make the blues their own.

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The road trip was vital to the Wanton Bishops’ understanding of the flavors and sounds that created the blues.

“Tonight you’re gonna watch Vasti, yesterday you watched Glen David,” says Mansour at a soul-food joint after the sunset session. “You see these guys, man, and this is the caliber that, as musicians, we’re not there yet. We try and keep it honest, and we try to play. If people like it, that’s beautiful. We try to get better every day, but it doesn’t have the pretension of representing someone, or some place.”

Maybe that’s because where they’re from doesn’t embrace the music they love. Beirut’s war-torn past has created a heightened sense of security, an aversion to risk. The sons and daughters of the middle and upper classes study law, medicine and finance. As soon as they can score a visa, they’re off to Europe or the U.S., to study and work in places with more opportunity. Though just a piece of paper, Mansour says his French finance degree reassures his mother, who knows her musician son has something to fall back on. “His mother thinks exactly like my mother or every other mother because they lived through the war,” says Ghossein, who is 30.

“They saw how easily people can live on the streets and be f*cked because of the war. If you have a good diploma, it’s like a passport.”

“They’re not a big fan of uncertainty,” says Mansour, now 31. “And the artist’s life is uncertain.”

But it’s one they chose regardless.

Ghossein did it early on, when, as a fledgling guitarist, he saw a blues musician play with his eyes closed and his head thrown back, making a spiritual connection, and wanted to do the same.

Mansour came a bit later to it, in Paris, picking up the harmonica after hearing the Doors song “Roadhouse Blues.”

After returning to Beirut, Mansour began to host jam sessions at the nowdefunct Bar Louie. It was there he met Ghossein, and there they bonded after teaming up against a street full of angry car valets whom Ghossein and his brother had tussled with.

Three years and 6,667 miles away, the two are at Jackson’s favorite soul-food restaurant, musing on what it is that captivates them about the blues.

“It’s not pretentious music,” says Ghossein. “It’s limited musically, and within these limitations you are able to express a lot.”

He stops and thinks for a minute after finishing his first black-eyed peas. “It feels nice to be able to discuss the blues,” he continues. “You can’t go into a bar at home and talk about the blues.”

THE RED BULLETIN

Their first album, and a video for the hard-charging “Sleep With the Lights On” won them fans and gigs throughout Europe.

“MY MOTHER ISN’T A FAN OF UNCERTAINTY,

AND AN ARTIST’S LIFE IS UNCERTAIN.”

T

hat night, they’ve got a gig at the CrossRoads Bar & Lounge.

The club is literally on the wrong side of the railroad tracks. For the hour or so before their set, Mansour is pacing nervously, annoyed that only a handful of folks have shown up. Hip-hop’s chokehold on youth culture has put the blues in the backseat, even in its birthplace.

Finally Ghossein and Mansour and their two accompanying musicians get up on the stage and launch into a standard 12-bar blues progression. They get some nods and smiles immediately. They build the volume measure for measure and Mansour kicks in a couple of guitar solos, then gets on the mic: “We’re the Wanton Bishops from Beirut,” he says. “We hope you like it. If you don’t … we’ve got Vasti Jackson to come in and kill it.”

Resplendent in an embroidered shirt and red fedora, Jackson eventually plays his way onto the stage from the back of the venue. Preening and peacocking, he peels off minutes-long solos as he moves around the tables. Especially responsive is

a small table of white people that, improbably, includes both the former drummer for the band Chicago and a mostly drunk Mississippi state senator.

But the Wanton Bishops are keeping pace. Mansour’s harmonica, especially, is sounding inspired. And Ghossein, who secretly hates solos, polishes off a few at Jackson’s request. The hoped-for crowd never materializes, but they focus their energy on who’s there.

“I didn’t see nothing missing,” says local music promoter James Dixon. “The harmonica player is amazing. He played just as well as Vasti played the guitar.

That astonished me. Eddy looked like one of the Beatles but played like he was with Chuck Berry.”

Later, Ghossein will hear the compliment and his eyes will grow wide: “Really?” The next day will take them on a two-lane road through the old cotton fields of Mississippi through to Clarksdale, where John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters learned their craft.

The van makes its way over the ruts of a gnarled dirt road, riven by the rains and hardened into that legendary Mississippi mud that Ray Charles loved to croon about. Mansour talks about how the trip has changed them.

“Now we’re legit, talking about a train track,” he says. “Now, if I write a song, ‘I went down from New Orleans to Mississippi’ . . . I did. I’m not just a Lebanese douche trying to name-drop in a song, you know? I’ve done that, as a matter of fact.”

For more information go to: redbull.com/thewantonbishops

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THEY CAME, THEY SAWED, THEY CONQUERED: BLOOD, SWEAT W O R D S: A N D R E A S R OT T E N S C H L AGE R P H OTOGR A P H Y: O L I V E R J I S Z DA

TIMBER

AND IRON SOCKS WITH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP LUMBERJACKS.

LAND 57

DISCIPLINE STANDING BLOCK CHOP HOW TO WIN IT “IT’S A NUMBERS GAME: FOUR 45-DEGREE STRIKES FROM ABOVE, THEN FOUR FROM BELOW. CHANGE SIDES. REPEAT.”

“MY

SCAR MOTIVATES ME.”

STIRLING HART 25, Canada “I was 21 when my axe slit my right cheek open during a competition. There was sticky blood everywhere. I had 88 stitches. I didn’t recognize my face after the operation, which was a horrible feeling.

But the first time I went to a bar after that cheered me up; everyone wanted to hear the axe story. Especially the women. The scar has been my best friend ever since.

And it gives me motivation.

In 2014, I won my first national championship title.”

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DIRK BRAUN 44, Germany

“I EVEN SAW

AT NIGHT.” DISCIPLINE HOT SAW HOW TO WIN IT “THE WEIGHT-POWER RATIO IS IMPORTANT: THE SAW WEIGHS 61 POUNDS AND RUNS ON A 72 HP KART ENGINE. IT’S LOUDER THAN A FIGHTER JET.”

“When the national championships were held in Winterberg in 2003, the organizers were on the lookout for a local hero.

So of course they asked me.

I was working as a forest manager and was a competitive bodybuilder.

I placed sixth without any preparation. That spurred me on. My training regimen since then has been: 5 a.m. weights; 7 a.m. my forestry job; 5 p.m. timber-sports training. I bought floodlights to light up my garden at night. My wife isn’t so happy with that part.”

DISCIPLINE STOCK SAW HOW TO WIN IT “EVERY CUT TAKES FULL BODY MOVEMENT, WHICH IS WHY I’VE DEVELOPED YOGA EXERCISES FOR LUMBERJACKS. THEY KEEP SHOULDERS AND HIPS FLEXIBLE.”

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“I STAY FIT WITH YOGA.” ARDEN COGAR 44, USA “Most people think I’m a full-time lumberjack, but I have a day job as a lawyer.

Law is what I studied, and I specialize in accidents in the workplace. Litigation and timber-sport competitions have a lot in common: You prepare for months in advance to hit the nail on the head on the day. As a lawyer your tools are specialists and paperwork, as a lumberjack an axe and a saw. But the same rule applies for both: preparation plus sweat equals success.”

DISCIPLINE SPRINGBOARD ASCENT 8 FEET HOW TO WIN IT “KEEP YOUR BALANCE. THE FORCE OF YOUR STRIKE COMES FROM YOUR LEGS, ABS AND SHOULDERS.”

MARTIN KOMÁREK 38, Czech Republic

“I SPENT

A YEAR’S SALARY ON AXES.”

“I grew up in a small town. I first saw competitive timber sports on TV when I was a teenager and thought, ‘Wow! They are real men.’

At 21, I gave up my job as a paramedic and spent a whole year’s salary on sport axes from New Zealand. My parents asked if I’d gone mad. Now I’m the five-time European champion. I think of it like this: Chopping tree stumps releases endorphins. Timber sports make you happy.”

JASON WYNYARD 41, New Zealand “I grew up in the Kaingaroa Forest, the largest plantation in the Southern Hemisphere. It’s 1,120 square miles of Monterey pine; I sort of had to chop my way out of there. I’m a six-time world champion and the current champ.

The bad news is that with every competition comes the potential for mistakes. Timber sports are a constant search for perfection.”

“TIMBER

SPORTS ARE ABOUT PERFECTION.” DISCIPLINE SINGLE BUCK HOW TO WIN IT “YOUR SAW TAKES A LOT OF SHARPENING. THAT’S HARD WORK, BUT IT TAKES MORE WOOD OUT OF THE LOG WITH EACH CUT.”

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BRAD DELOSA 37, Australia “Australians are good at axe sports because we’ve had competitions for more than 100 years. I entered my first one when I was 16, and in 2013 I was crowned world champion. I’ve learned an aggressive chopping technique. The crowd loves it. The fact that timber sports are becoming increasingly popular is due to the increase in sedentary jobs. People like to watch big guys hacking through blocks of wood. ”

“I USE

AN APP

TO PRACTICE.”

DISCIPLINE UNDERHAND CHOP HOW TO WIN IT “WELL-PLACED SWINGS OF YOUR AXE. YOU CAN PRACTICE THEM IN THE SAME WAY YOU WOULD YOUR GOLF SWING. THERE’S AN IPHONE APP CALLED COACH’S EYE AND IT’S BRILLIANT.” HOW TO KEEP YOUR FEET IN ONE PIECE “WE WEAR IRON SOCKS UNDER OUR SHOES, IN CASE A STRIKE OF THE AXE GOES ASTRAY.” stihl-timbersports.com

THE DREAMW P H AR R E L L A N D JA N EL L E M ONA E ST R U T AR OUND HER STAGE SETS, A ND T E NS OF TH OUSAN DS O F FESTIVALGOE RS LOS E TH E MS E LV ES IN THE WO RL DS S H E BU I L DS. ME E T H EATHER SHAW, THE M U S I C SCE NE ’S DESIGN WIZARD. WO RDS: CH R I S PA L M E R

EAVER DANIEL ZETTERSTROM

COACHEL LA DO L AB Shaw and The Do Lab collaborated on the “Misting Oasis” installation. It’s brought refreshment to millions of parched Coachella-ites.

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PHA R R ELL WILLI A M S

DANIEL ZETTERSTROM, SIOUXZEN KANG, CARLO CRUZ

Less than a month before his 2014 Coachella performance, Shaw was asked to design his stage set, inspired by the illustrator NIARk1.

Heather Shaw founded her design firm, Vita Motus, in 2006.

D

reams have always lived in her head.

Ethereal visions of light, texture, shape and sound. In the electronic dance music scene, Heather Shaw is known as a creative soul unbound by bureaucratic constraints and blessed with a restless imagination able to turn abstract thought into a functional design experience.

Vita Motus, Shaw’s nine-year-old L.A.-based design firm, has transformed the stages of artists like Pharrell, Janelle Monae and M.I.A. into combustive hives of energy that dazzle the senses and push personal expression to dizzying heights.

“It’s about connecting with an artist,” says Shaw, “and creating a concept that . . . extends who they are as a person.”

In February, her new project, a fourstory cube of interactive musical experiences, debuts on a rooftop in downtown Los Angeles.

The cube—which will chart technology’s evolution from analog to digital through live performances—is a whimsical, smart examination. Using music, media and design, it accentuates every aspect of her skill set. It’s all at once subtle, straightforward and accessible.

Inspired by the work of inventor Ray Kurzweil and other futurists, it also represents her most ambitious effort to date.“I hope we bring a different experience to the nightlife community,” says Shaw. “One that pays homage to the past and inspires the future by

A$ AP ROCKY For the rapper’s 2014 tour, Shaw created a stage set that used translucent materials and projected new media onto pyramids, an A$AP favorite.

THE RED BULLETIN

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She began as a car designer but eventually returned to another passion: electronic music.

S

he had dabbled in designing festival stages for several years but usually did the work out of passion and didn’t get paid. Now she was unemployed and, after a few weeks stressing about her future, her friends threw her a house party to cheer her up. They posted her résumé all over the house, stapled to the walls, in a tongue-in-cheek, symbolic gesture.

Shaw brought her parents, who couldn’t understand why this was a cause for celebration. Now she’d have to get serious about her own design firm, a side project to this point. “I hustled every day,” Shaw remembers. “I took every job just to do it.

Just to make ends meet. I did everything.”

She began to turn heads with her collaborations with event production company The Do Lab, like the continuous “Misting Oasis” stage, a 360-degree dome that aims to deliver an otherworldly experience. The elaborate designs shaped the feel of major music festivals like Coachella and The Do Lab’s own Lightning in a Bottle. One of her first signature designs with Do Lab co-founder Josh Flemming was a cardboard-tree DJ

Every Vita Motus project is an artistic collaboration.

JOSHUA BROTT, CARLO CRUZ

communicating that technology has enabled strong collectives.”

Growing up in South Pasadena, Shaw can’t remember a time when she wasn’t drawn to the arts. Her grandfather was a sought-after house painter who worked on Elvis Presley’s house in L.A. When she was 8, her mother enrolled her in art classes, where she excelled working with clay and pencil drawing.

She eventually pursued a fine arts degree at nearby USC. One afternoon she was standing in a freshman art class where projects were being judged. In that moment, she decided she was on the wrong path.

“Painting a picture, hanging it on the wall and having people critique it just wasn’t enough,” Shaw remembers. “I was totally over that. I wanted all that effort to have a bigger purpose. I wanted my art to be more functional.”

She shrugged off her USC misfire, enrolled in Pasadena City College and got a job managing an art store to make extra money. Being around a like-minded community was what she needed. The salary, quite generous for a college student, also allowed her to buy her first new car—a life-changing decision.

She surprised herself by diving into her car search so voraciously. She visited showrooms, went for test drives, attended car shows and asked hundreds of questions. She fretted over comfort, practicality, ergonomics, style and function. “I became obsessed with cars,” she remembers.

And then a light went on. This was the real-life application of an artist’s inherent curiosity. She enrolled in Art Center College of Design in Pasadena to major in automotive design. The classes were small and there were few women. She devoured every lesson.

Immediately upon graduating Shaw landed a job with Audi’s Los Angeles– based design studios, where she focused on designing concept cars (the slick ones you see at car shows) and ways to make future generations of automobiles more energy efficient. She thrived and found insight and inspiration everywhere, even in futuristic dystopian fiction.

As she hit her stride in the maledominated industry, she arrived at work one day in 2008 to find that she’d been laid off. The auto industry was tanking and she was now a faceless casualty.

It was a crushing blow, but her time with the German carmaker gifted her two things: 1) a thirst to see her vision come to light in a megacompetitive field; 2) spare time to take on passion projects.

M. I . A. For a 2014 Audi presentation, Vita Motus helped create a 3D-mapped tunnel in New York City that joined a live performance by M.I.A. with one in L.A. by Janelle Monae. It was the first-ever holographic duet.

I NF ECTED MUS HROOM The music duo wanted Shaw to build two spheres they could perform within. She obliged and added 3D mapping for an everchanging visual experience.

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freewill, adventure and, of course, staying up all night are core values she’s tried to preserve. But she wanted to move past the traditional truss-and-light aesthetic that defined early festivals, by merging stimulating sculptures with pulsating, seemingly living light configurations.

“Light is definitive,” says Shaw. “It’s the lifeblood.”

As she talks about her creative process Shaw caroms back and forth from abstract prose to specific design elements.

When collaborating she wants to know what the artist sees—what inspirations, mood or stories the concept started from.

“The process changes with every project, every artist,” says Shaw. “I think it’s always evolving.”

AUD I ON For DJ/producer Matthew Dear’s recent live show, Shaw and her team sought inspiration from the artist’s 2009 Hecatomb tour and created an interlocking puzzle out of the signature “A” logo.

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booth—they came up with the concept while on vacation in Milan—whose branches spread to the ceiling of the dome.

Shaw “follows a different process than most designers,” says Flemming. “She does a lot of pre-work, research and study. Before she even puts pen to paper, she knows how it’s going to work.”

Her early focus was the EDM scene, where she was drawn to the upbeat, communal vibe, tinged with hope and self-expression. As the scene became a movement and evolved from basements to major festivals, Shaw sought to keep the original spirit of the booming subgenre intact. The sense of community,

For more on Shaw, head to redbulletin.com THE RED BULLETIN

SIOUXZEN KANG

A

fter four years of creating festival structures with The Do Lab, it was her own company’s collaboration with EDM artist and sound designer Amon Tobin that really showed the way. Her cubic, pulsating set design for his 2011 ISAM Tour lit the EDM world on fire and pushed the boundaries of what a live experience could feel like.

“That was a game changer,” says Flemming. “It was the first set that incorporated video-mapping technology in a show like that. And now every artist is trying to do something similar.”

The global festival design community took notice. Her name began to smolder in artist’s ears. Hip-hop acts called. So did corporate America.

She was even summoned by TV behemoth American Idol to freshen up its design to appeal to a younger market.

Shaw never saw her work on TV, though, as she doesn’t exactly own one. (She’s all about Netflix and movies on her laptop.)

More recently, one of Shaw’s most ambitious projects was a series of shows in New York City with Absolut vodka, which included an updated 5,000-pound disco ball—an iconic club mainstay—and an 85-foot re-creation of an Absolut bottle that transformed the worldfamous skyline.

But this month it’ll be L.A.’s skyline that’s transformed. “This is me taking my vision to the next level,” says Shaw. “My goal each time is to create something that’s never been seen.”

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Where to go and what to do

AC T I O N !

T R A V E L / T R A I N I N G / N I G H T L I F E / M U S I C / G A M I N G / M O V I E S / G E A R / E V E N T S

Air time THE FITNESS REGIME THAT GETS RED BULL AIR RACE PILOT HANNES ARCH READY TO FEEL THE FORCE IN COMPETITION.

JOERG MITTER/RED BULL CONTENT POOL

TRAINING, page 74

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TRAINING

Feeling the force: Above Ascot Racecourse at 10G and 217 mph.

Hannes Arch: The 47-year-old has won nine Red Bull Air Races.

Secrets of a fly guy

The 2015 Red Bull Air Race World Championship kicks off on February 13 in Abu Dhabi. www.hannesarch.com, www.redbullairrace.com

I N FO C U S “Our planes can rotate as much as 600° per second,” says Arch. “The horizon goes blurry.

This exercise simulates rotational acceleration and helps you improve your balance.”

ON TRACK ARCH’S PRE-FLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT “Music and images are an important part of my preparation.

I use the headphones from my sponsors AKG before every race.

“Sagte der Bär,” a track by electronic musician Paul Kalkbrenner, gets me in the perfect mood so I can focus on my run, which lasts about a minute.”

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“I look at an image in front of me, jump up and rotate 360° around my own axis as fast as I can. When I come to a sudden stop, I try to focus on the image again immediately.”

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SAMO VIDIC/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, JÖRG MITTER/RED BULL CONTENT POOL

“The amount of time you have to prepare for a Red Bull Air Race is very limited,” says Austrian Hannes Arch. “Flying is the only way to achieve the precision you need for racing, so I do a lot of air shows and go to a training camp three or four times a year that focuses on aerobatics.”

When it comes to improving strength, being in the air wins again. So outside the cockpit, the runner-up in the 2014 world championships limits himself to bouldering and climbing. “The only way to learn to cope with the G-force is to fly,” he says. “What we can train for on the ground is stamina, which is really important for pilots. Mountain biking, road-bike racing, paragliding and ski touring all improve my endurance and general fitness. They also help me clear my mind, which is good practice for when I need to focus on quick steering maneuvers in the cockpit.”

HERI IRAWAN

RED BULL AIR RACE TRAINING IN THE AIR AND ON THE GROUND KEEPS PILOT HANNES ARCH RACE READY.

ACTION!

PRO TOOLS

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S P E C I A L I Z E D P. 3 Wheel deal: Martin Söderström will compete at the Vienna Air King on April 11 and 12.

Frame game MASON MASHON/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, FOTOLIA(2)

MTB DIRT JUMPING THERE’S A SECRET TO MARTIN SÖDERSTRÖM’S WORLDCLASS AIRS: THE SIZABLE SWEDE KEEPS HIS BIKE SMALL AND LIGHT.

PRO PICKS THE MUST-HAVES THAT HELP MARTIN SÖDERSTRÖM RECOVER, RIDE AND RELAX

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“People often ask me why I use such a small bike,” says 24-year-old podium regular Martin Söderström, whose skills on two wheels have made him a YouTube favorite. “But it’s only small in comparison to me: I’m 6 foot 5 inches, and my dirt-jumping bike has a standard frame anyone can buy in a shop. Though it might not look like it, the bike’s perfect for me, and it’s incredibly light, just 23 pounds. Some riders are convinced the bike’s light weight should be a disadvantage on big jumps, but I love how easy it is to maneuver in the air.” martin-soderstrom.com

TENNIS BALLS “If you’ve got tennis balls with you, then you’ve got your own trainer on hand. For example, lie on two balls and slowly slide your body back and forth over them.

It’s good for your spine.”

POC CRANE

A FINE-TUNED BIKE FOR A SWEDISH GIANT 1 SPOKES & RIMS “The hollow section rims are made of highly durable aluminum. The spokes weigh just 0.5 ounces each.”

2 FRAME “Made from premium aluminum, it’s light and very stable. I’ve never broken one yet.”

3 SUSPENSION “I use a 120mm suspension fork rather than the standard 100mm.

It’s unorthodox, but

PURE HELMET

“My signature helmet saved my life many times back when I was doing freestyle mountain biking.

I came up with the design for it, so you can see my 17-year-old dachshund on there.”

being tall, I need a slightly taller bike.”

4 GEARS “The more gears you have the more you can break, so we stick to one.”

5 CHAINSTAYS “These are extremely short, just 385mm, and have a low center of gravity.

It makes the bike easier to control when you’re in the air.”

SKINNY STRETCH JEANS “These might be the best invention since the bike. They’re heavy-duty and you know you look good. Plus you can wear them whether you’re dirt jumping, freestyle mountain biking, traveling or out for the night.”

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ACTION!

TRAVEL

OH M AYA ALSO AVAILABLE FOR AN ADRENALINE FIX IN AND AROUND YUCATÁN

FLY Soar high above the waves with a water-jetpowered flyboard over the Yucatán peninsula. flyboard mexico.com.mx

Take the plunge C AVE DIVING DARE TO ENTER THIS ALIEN, UNDERWATER WORLD AND YOU’LL BE REWARDED WITH DEEP ADVENTURE LIKE NO OTHER.

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ADVICE FROM THE INSIDE MIND OVER MATTER “Cave diving is 90 percent mental,” says instructor Natalie Gibb. “Divers who lose focus or let their emotions get the best of them can get into trouble. A good mental preparation technique is to work through pre-dive checks to calm down, review the dive plan and create confidence in your equipment. And remember that any diver can end a dive at any point, no questions asked.”

CRUISE Pick a supercar like a Ferrari F430, Lamborghini Gallardo or Porsche 911 for a coastal highway drive to Playa del Carmen. exoticrides cancun.com

BOARD In deep, up to 130 feet.

Learn the ropes

“This is an extreme sport, and at times divers can encounter frightening situations,” says Gibb. “There are always risks, but proper training and dive protocols mean they can be almost completely avoided.”

Strong and consistent winds combined with warm Caribbean waters make the coastline near Tulum a kiteboarder’s playground. oceanprokite.com

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GETTY IMAGES, JEFF LINDSAY, FOTOLIA(2)

There are few places on the planet as unsuitable to humans as sunken caves. Hazards lurk at every turn, but there are few thrills as powerful as exploring these remarkable underwater locales. The vast subterranean waterways of the Riviera Maya, under the jungle of Mexico’s Yucatán peninsula, are among the most testing and beautiful of all. There are three sunken cave systems, one of which, the Ox Bel Ha, is the world’s longest underwater cave, with 111 miles of explored passages. “Cave diving offers the chance to enter an environment where few people have gone before, one that no other type of diving can provide,” says Natalie Gibb, one of the instructors at Diablo Divers, a cave exploration school on the Riviera Maya. “It appeals to those with the hearts of explorers.” Cave divers go well beyond the reach of daylight, often many miles into a deep cave system, pushing their minds and bodies to the limit. Those with a hunger to explore are rewarded by a new freedom to explore otherworldly surroundings. “In comparison to other diving, it feels like an entirely different sport,” says Jeremy Bruns, who took cave diving instruction from Diablo Divers. “It’s like playing field hockey for years and then putting on a pair of ice skates. It feels Prices for a guided completely new, thrilling cavern tour start at $110. and exhilarating. The Divers must hold a PADI heightened awareness in Open Water Diver this unfamiliar environment certificate or equivalent. diablodivers.com really makes you feel alive.”

Dive time: Explore huge seabed cave systems in Mexico.

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Q & A

NIKI CARO

GOING TO THE MOVIES

Director Niki Caro broke through on the international film scene with her 2002 Oscar-nominated coming-ofage drama Whale Rider.

Now the New Zealand native returns to tell the true story of high school teacher Jim White (Kevin Costner), who coaches a team of impoverished Latino teens to cross-country success in McFarland, USA.

Game of Thrones is one of the biggest shows on the small screen right now, and we’re about to see a whole lot more of its breakout stars on bigger screens, beginning with this month’s release of Disney’s Cinderella, starring the former Robb Stark, Richard Madden.

PICTUREDESK.COM, DDP/INTERTOPICS

Words: Geoff Berkshire

the red bulletin: How much did the actors need to train to look credible as ace runners? niki caro: We cast a mix of actors who had never run before and runners who had never acted. They were all able to help each other. It was a lot of training every day [sports coordinator Mark Ellis was hired to put them through regular drills], and they were very committed. But in the final product, people have told me they can’t tell the experienced runners from the experienced actors. That’s great.

What did you know about running before taking this project on?

Not much, to be honest. I suffered through races in gym class, but I didn’t think much about it. Making this movie I discovered how transcendent the experience of running actually is. Now I run almost every day.

Did you watch any other racing movies to see how the sport has been handled on film?

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Richard Madden Played: Robb Stark Film Roles: Cinderella; Bastille Day (2016)

Emilia Clarke Plays: Daenerys Targaryen Film Role: Terminator: Genisys

“ We’re dealing with underdogs competing in an underdog sport . . . that’s always so inspiring.”

There aren’t many. Chariots of Fire and The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner are the big ones. Nothing very recent and nothing set in America. It felt like fresh territory.

You’re telling a true story.

How important was it to be authentic to what happened?

It was extremely important.

With the boys especially I’d say we are very close to the actual events. It’s all spiritually accurate, if that makes sense.

There seems to be an endless appeal to underdog sports movies. Why do you think that is?

It’s true, and this is the underdog sports movie of all time. We are dealing with underdogs competing in an underdog sport! I think that feeling of watching someone work hard to achieve their goals is always so inspiring.

McFarland, USA opens February 20. movies.disney.com/mcfarland-usa

Lena Headey Plays: Cersei Lannister Film Role: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Peter Dinklage Plays: Tyrion Lannister Film Roles: Pixels (with Adam Sandler); voiceover in Angry Birds (2016)

Charles Dance Played: Tywin Lannister Film Roles: Child 44; Woman in Gold; Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Jason Momoa Played: Khal Drogo Film Role: Aquaman in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

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N I G H T L I F E

Diplo-matic community Words and photography: Shane McCauley

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From live sets in Rome to beach parties in Jamaica: The 10 most amazing moments from life on the road with DJ legend Diplo.

Wesley Pentz, alias DIPLO, became a worldwide star in 2008 thanks to “Paper Planes.” The song, which he produced for M.I.A., went quadruple platinum in the U.S. and was featured in the Oscarwinning film Slumdog Millionaire. The former schoolteacher from Philadelphia has since reworked songs for Snoop Dogg, Beyoncé, Chris Brown and Madonna, among others. In 2014 the 36-year-old reportedly earned $10 million.

SHANE MCCAULEY, 38, first met Diplo at a block party in Philadelphia in 2003. The photographer and filmmaker, who lives in New York, has accompanied the DJ to shows on every continent ever since.

11.30.2011 / Buenos Aires, Argentina

“Diplo doing a set at 3 a.m. in the district of Monserrat. His gig has only just started, which is normal by Buenos Aires standards,” says McCauley. “People party all night there—even on weeknights.”

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01.21.2014 / Melbourne, Australia

“Major Lazer is Diplo’s dancehall music project. At this gig in the Palace Theater, 1,500 concertgoers held up their smartphones on demand. The sea of lights they created is a key part of the show, and that’s the best moment for me to take my pictures.”

02.19.2012 / Kingston, Jamaica

“A couple dance during a Diplo set on Sugarman Beach. He loves the island nation’s dancehall music.

The dance that goes with it is called daggering and looks like you’re having sex with your clothes on.”

08.05.2012 / Brooklyn, NY

“An unplanned riot. Major Lazer was supposed to be outdoors that night, but bad weather meant we had to move to the Music Hall of Williamsburg. MC Walshy Fire got the party started.”

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05.01.2012 / New York, NY

“MikeQ’s Vogue Knights Tuesday is a legendary dance party at Escuelita Nightclub in Hell’s Kitchen. Diplo is a regular. I took this shot during the 30-minute dance-off, when a team of judges award prizes for the best moves.”

“THE DANCE IS CALLED DAGGERING; IT LOOKS LIKE YOU’RE HAVING SEX WITH YOUR CLOTHES ON.”

02.24.2011 / Port of Spain, Trinidad “Diplo and Major Lazer MC Jillionaire on the way to the aftershow.

Jillionaire is a local, so he knows the best parties. We call him the Presi­dent of Trinidad.”

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01.20.2013 / Philadelphia, PA

“For his Trap Hawk Down tour, Diplo played four sets a night in four different cities.

After Baltimore and Philadelphia, he flew by helicopter to Atlan­tic City and New York.”

04.20.2011 / Madrid, Spain

“The Zombie Kids (left) are the kings of Spanish nightlife. Here they are at the Sala Heineken. But why is Diplo literally on the decks? Couldn’t be more straightforward: Because he’s a showman.”

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06.03.2009 / Rome, Italy

“Diplo on his tour of Italy with DJ duo Crookers. This picture was taken during his set at Atlantico Club in the south of the city. Rome was one of the few cities Diplo also had a look around in the daytime. Normally he’d be on his laptop, creating new tracks.”

“Party like you could be dead tomorrow.”

08.04.2012 / Philadelphia, PA

“Diplo’s wild Block Party sets are famous: 8,000 people partying outdoors and a carnival atmosphere.

Here, security coaxes two revelers down from a pole.”

the red bulletin: How did you become the house photographer for a world-famous DJ? shane mccauley: I first met Wesley 11 years ago. A New York music magazine had commissioned me to photograph his block party in Philadelphia. Wes still wore baggy pants at the time and had a ponytail.

We hit it off straightaway because, like me, he’s crazy about music.

How does this craziness manifest itself?

Wes is interested in all local music cultures. If he’s performing in India, he’ll spend hours at flea markets looking for Bollywood records because they might have an interesting beat.

You’ve been traveling the world with Diplo for more than a decade. What’s the wildest nightlife scene you’ve seen?

All hell really lets loose in Tel Aviv. The political situation there is tense. Young people there have the attitude that they could be dead tomorrow. Which is why they’re all the wilder when they party.

Kenya was crazy, too. Diplo played in this venue with a roof made of palm grass and a wooden dance floor. The kids danced so hard that the floor caved in.

The security staff had to form a protective ring around the hole so that nobody fell in.

Where is it dangerous to be a nightlife photographer?

Kingston can be rough. You shouldn’t go out there at night without a local guide. In the Philippines, we wondered why there were sniffer dogs at the hotel. Later we found out that they’d thwarted a terrorist attack the week before.

What’s the secret to taking great nightlife photographs?

You can’t capture music in pictures.

So I try to document the energy of the people at the concerts.

See more pictures: shanemccauley.com

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CLUB

HAD ONE TOO MANY? THREE ANCIENT HANGOVER CURES NOT TO TRY

HARE TEA Tea infused with hare dung was a popular remedy in the Wild West. Although potassium could indeed be of help, the amount in hare dung is less than in a banana.

Voyage of discovery: Partygoers at The Find.

Lost and found The copper lamp shades on the walls of The Find were one of the few things salvaged from the fire that destroyed Queenstown’s iconic World Bar. It was a Friday afternoon in May 2013, and Gary Livesey was in his office when he smelled smoke. “It was the most traumatic day of my life,” says Livesey, The Find’s general manager. “World Bar wasn’t just a bar. It was a big part of Queenstown.” The next day Livesey and his business partners started planning their next venture, and less than a month later they opened The Find. Since then The Find has established itself as one of the most popular venues in the most party-friendly town in New Zealand. “We wanted to create something new and unique with the heart and soul of World Bar,” says Livesey. “We went on a road trip looking for old encyclopedias, bits of art and bric-a-brac to decorate the bar. There’s a lot of love gone into it.”

THE FIND 53 Shotover Street, Queenstown, New Zealand theworldbar.co.nz

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INSIDER INFO DJ STUBACCA, A REGULAR AT THE FIND, GIVES US THE LOWDOWN ON HIS QUEENSTOWN HIGHLIGHTS.

I LOVE TO START A NIGHT OUT AT …

“Farelli’s Trattoria on the waterfront is my go-to restaurant before any big night out. They do great pasta and pizza. They seem to get everything right.”

WHAT QUEENSTOWN ARTIST ARE YOU LISTENING TO? “DJ Ribera is very talented.

He’s originally from Barcelona and he’s got some incredible remixes on Soundcloud.”

THE MORNING AFTER YOU CAN FIND ME AT ...

“Rehab for my juice and smoothie fix, where I’ll have a Berryana smoothie or Green with Envy juice.”

ROAST BIRD Naturalist Pliny the Elder recommended any fellow Ancient Roman who’d overindulged should eat a roast canary and tie a fox’s genitals to his forehead.

SHEEP’S LUNGS After a night of raging, the Ancient Greeks served up sheep’s lung and owl eggs for breakfast.

Scrambled, poached or fried?

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THE FIND(4), FOTOLIA(3)

T HE FIND TEAPOT COCKTAILS, LIVE DJS AND THE BEST BURGERS IN TOWN ARE THE SECRETS BEHIND THE FIND’S SUCCESS.

ACTION!

MUSIC

MUSIC M OVI ES Charli XCX is the new princess of pop. She caught fire about two years ago when, aged 20, she wrote the megahit “I Love It” for Swedish duo Icona Pop while also releasing her major-label debut, True Romance.

Then last summer, she stormed the charts with the catchy single “Boom Clap,” which has sold a million copies in the U.S. alone. Charli’s recipe for a hit is an electronic track with elements of punk and pop and lyrics bursting with youthful exuberance. It’s a mix that captured the imagination of disco pioneer Giorgio Moroder and led the 74-year-old musician to use Charli’s vocals on his comeback album. Charli’s own new album, Sucker, is out now.

She tells us which songs inspired her as she was writing it.

XCX Factor: Charlotte Aitchison, alias Charli XCX

“ Pop music from Mars” PLAYLIST ROCKING ROBOTS, PLAYBOY POP AND ANONYMOUS BEAT-MAKERS: CHARLI XCX PICKS HER FIVE FAVORITE TRACKS.

1 Britney Spears

2 Weezer

3 The Flying Lizards

“This was the first Britney song I heard, the first music video I really connected with and felt totally mindblown by.

I was 7 and it was her vocal, her outfit, the video, the track . . . all of it.

I wanted to be her. It was then that I decided I wanted to be in the music industry. Then I discovered the Spice Girls soon after and it was settled.”

“This feels like a bad-ass rap song. The lyrics are so boozy, the tempo’s great, the video was shot at the Playboy Mansion—everything about it is cool. I wanted some of that on Sucker so I invited Weezer vocalist Rivers Cuomo to join me in the studio. His knowledge is phenomenal; I love the track ‘Hanging Around,’ which we wrote together.”

“I’m such a big fan of this track I actually play it live in my set. It’s been part of my repertoire for years.

The original ‘Money’ is an old blues track, but the electronic version this experimental rock outfit came up with in 1979 sounds like future robots performing. It sounds so futuristic, but so old at the same time. I really love it.”

4 Sophie

5 Dizzee Rascal

“Sophie is incredible.

He’s a nextlevel producer.

His tracks sound super futuristic to me, especially this one—it’s like pop music straight from Mars. Not only is he very talented musically, but he’s an amazing visionary. He lives behind this Sophie pseudonym and no one knows who he is. That anonymity intrigues me. I’d love to work with him.”

“This classic came out 12 years ago but still sounds so relevant. I was a big fan of Boy in da Corner, the album this is taken from, but then I forgot about it until someone on the tour bus put it on recently and I got completely into it again. I love the way Dizzee raps. It’s raw, quick and witty.

This record has serious longevity.”

... Baby One More Time

Hard

WARNER MUSIC, UNIVERSAL MUSIC, FABIEN, SONY MUSIC

charlixcxmusic.com

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Beverly Hills

I Luv U

FROM THE GOD OF GRUNGE TO THE GRANDE DAME OF JAZZ: THREE FRESH MUSIC DOCUMENTARIES

MONTAGE OF HECK The first film about Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, who died in 1994, authorized by his family. Features private footage and newly released live material.

Money

FRESH DRESSED Rap star Nas takes a humorous look at hip-hop fashion trends of the last 30 years, from Adidas sneakers and gold chains to Kanye West’s leather jogging pants.

KEEP FI LM I N G !

GADGET OF THE MONTH

GOPRO HERO4 BLACK/MUSIC After conquering the world of sports, GoPro is coming for the music market.

With new digital converters that capture great sound, as well as mounts, accessories and night-vision mode, it’s the ideal gear for musicians or fans to shoot footage at a gig. gopro.com

WHAT HAPPENED, MISS SIMONE? Oscar-nominated director Liz Garbus goes in search of Nina Simone’s true story. Simone’s daughter grants the first-ever access to the jazz singer’s private archive.

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GAMES

B LOC K BUSTERS GAMING’S BIG HITTERS COMING AGAIN SOON

BATMAN ARKHAM KNIGHT The fourth in the Arkham series sees the Scarecrow going back to Gotham to assemble a team of supervillains to take on the Caped Crusader.

Out in June.

Aim and fire: Defend the city with steampunk weaponry.

London calling

A LTER N ATE H I STO R I ES THREE MORE GAMES THAT MESS WITH TIME

T HE ORDER: 1886 IN A CITY TORN APART BY REBELLION AND MURDEROUS SUPERNATURAL BEASTS, YOU ARE HUMANITY’S LAST HOPE. Imagine a more action-packed Assassin’s Creed set in a world not dissimilar to that of the excellent TV show Penny Dreadful, and you’re entering the world of The Order: 1886. Set in a parallel-universe London of 130 years ago, you play as Galahad, a member of an ancient order of knights, The Order, fighting enemies on two fronts: the rebellious Londoners unhappy with the police-like ways of The Order, and the Half Breeds, hideous, part-human creatures intent on wiping out humans of all kinds.

England’s capital, in the game’s timeline, has elevated trains and airships, thanks to an Industrial Revolution far more advanced than the real-life event. The developers— many of whom also worked on the Greek mythology adventure God of War and its sequels—have gone deep into the history books to devise the game’s steampunk weaponry and gadgets, to make items they’re calling “the Victorian version of the AK-47.” Using all this technology helps to boost the game’s compelling, murky atmosphere—which is also brought to life by a splendid re-creation of the foggy London of the time. There’s a dirty-old-town feel to the action, which is great, and it makes for a game that feels both familiar and different in the right ways.

Available exclusively on PlayStation 4

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theordergame.com

LEGEND OF ZELDA

Homefront: The Revolution Homefront: The Revolution A first-person shooter in which U.S. resistance rises up to fight the occupying united Korean army. Out later this year on Mac, Windows, Linux and consoles.

Bladestorm Bladestorm: The Hundred Years War Out in March for PS4 and Xbox One, this real-time battle game is grounded in the Hundred Years War between the kingdoms of England and France.

The Last Express A real-time point-and-click adventure set before the outbreak of WWI on board the Orient Express for a journey from Paris to Istanbul. On iOs and Android.

The first original Zelda game with hi-def graphics is coming to Wii U later this year. It will be an openworld adventure and could not be more eagerly awaited.

RISE OF THE TOMB RAIDER Follow-up to 2013’s rebooted Tomb Raider, with a younger Lara Croft on a globe-trotting, action-packed adventure. Due at the end of 2015.

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"GAME OF THE YEAR CONTENDER" - EXAMINER

AVAILABLE NOW

Also available on PlayStation速3 * Limited exclusive content through 5/18/2015. PlayStation速4 system owners must have PlayStation速Plus to send online co-op invites. Online co-op game session limited to two hours of online play. 息2014 Ubisoft Entertainment. All Rights Reserved. Far Cry, Ubisoft, and the Ubisoft logo are trademarks of Ubisoft Entertainment in the US and/or other countries. Based on Crylek's original Far Cry directed by Cevat Yerli. Powered by Crytek's technology "CryEngine". "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks and "PS4" is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. "Greatness Awaits" is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC.

CHOOSE YOUR WINGS. NEW. ZERO CALORIES. ALL THE TASTE.

T H E R ED B U L L E T IN

FUTURE GEAR HEXO+ ISPO BRANDNEW WINNER* ACCESSORIES WHAT’S GREAT ABOUT IT This autonomous drone lets you shoot spectacular videos above any terrain from the screen of your smartphone.

WHERE IT BELONGS Above the roughest trails, biggest swells and steepest slopes.

WHO NEEDS ONE Bikers, surfers and snowboarders like Xavier De Le Rue, who invented it.

A RAFT OF INNOVATIONS IN OUTDOOR, SPORTS AND TECH GEAR MEANS IT’S NEVER BEEN EASIER FOR THE ADVENTUROUS TO GO FORTH AND CONQUER. *ISPO BRANDNEW is the world’s biggest start-up contest in the field of sports. The award is given annually at the sports goods trade fair by the same name in Munich.

An expert panel honors projects in eight categories and one overall winner. brandnew.ispo.com

THE RED BULLETIN FUTURE GEAR

SAMSUNG GEAR VR WHAT’S GREAT ABOUT IT This virtual reality headset expands your field of view to 96°, so it’s like watching the biggest movie screen on earth.

WHERE IT BELONGS Perched on the head of any Samsung smartphone user.

WHO NEEDS ONE Anyone who wants to feel fully immersed in their film or game.

ADIDAS T YCANE PRO OUTDOOR

ONOO ISPO BRANDNEW WINNER* OVERALL WINNER WHAT’S GREAT ABOUT IT The look is urban chic, but the tech is practical: It’s breathable, windproof and waterproof.

WHERE IT BELONGS In any city where the weather is a little unpredictable (sorry, Los Angeles).

WHO NEEDS ONE Anyone who doesn’t want to sacrifice style for utility.

VANS SK8-HI WHAT’S GREAT ABOUT THEM Their classic high-top chunky style, inspired by the original Old Skool model from the 1970s.

WHERE THEY BELONG In theory, on a skateboard.

In practice, inside trendy nightclubs and around town.

WHO NEEDS THEM Skaters, hipsters, DJs, artists.

The wraparound design will protect you in even the roughest mountain conditions.

A separate strap turns them into goggles.

JAWBONE ER A A smartphone-appcontrolled Bluetooth headset that minimizes pesky background noise, so all a caller hears is your voice.

CASIO PRO TREK MOUNT TASMAN This solar-powered and radio-synchronized watch can record everything from wind speed to temperature.

POL AR LOOP Activity tracker with all the functions you’d expect, plus the ability to record data as you swim.

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THE RED BULLETIN FUTURE GEAR

BEATS PILL WHAT’S GREAT ABOUT IT A speaker that’s compact, offers crystalclear sound­—and is stylish, too. It’s light, easy to transport and completely wireless.

WHERE IT BELONGS Wherever people want to listen to music.

WHO NEEDS ONE Those who believe sleek and simple design is as important as good music.

BRAGI THE DASH ISPO BRANDNEW WINNER* DIGITAL WHAT’S GREAT ABOUT THEM The world’s first wireless earphones that can also track and record your workout.

WHERE THEY BELONG In the ears of those who want to know their pulse rate, speed, number of steps and distance achieved during a session.

WHO NEEDS THEM Anyone who’s serious about fitness.

OAKLEY AIRWAVE 1.5 SNOW Innovative winter goggles featuring an integrated heads-up screenlike display, GPS and Bluetooth.

SP GADGETS POV LIGHT A waterproof, versatile LED light with 300 Lumens per watt and GoPro mounting system. It comes with multiple modes.

MODELL A SUUNTO EON STEEL WHAT’S GREAT ABOUT IT Diving is easier with this intuitive wrist-mounted computer. The bright user-friendly display tells you what you need to know instantly.

WHERE IT BELONGS On your arm, about 100 feet underwater.

WHO NEEDS ONE Divers who want to maximize their dive time with the latest air pressure and other info.

Du fährst mit deiner Reise-Enduro über­ wiegend auf der Straße und machst Abstecher auf unbefestigte Piste blindtext blind aus.

GO PRO HERO 4 The processor is twice as powerful as before and fits into a case the size of a large lighter.

THE RED BULLETIN FUTURE GEAR ODLO SPIRIT A thin, lightweight, hardshell Gore-Tex jacket that provides protection from wind, rain and snow.

ZEHUS BIKE+

KRAFT & ULRICH HARPER ISPO BRANDNEW WINNER* STYLE WHAT’S GREAT ABOUT IT Your bike or skateboard will no longer be left lying around. The versatile modular storage can be used as a workstation or as a place to keep your sports gear.

WHERE IT BELONGS In your home office or near your coat rack.

WHO NEEDS ONE Sports and space-saving design lovers alike.

ISPO BRANDNEW WINNER* WHEELER This gadget turns Zehus-partnered fixedgear bicycles into e-bikes. It stores power as you ride, requires no extra cables and is operated via Bluetooth.

ORTOVOX ROCK’N’ WOOL OVER ALL Freeriders who fear the cold can invest in this limited-edition base layer made from 100 percent Tasmanian wool.

HEADIÇAO – BALLS 4 BRAZIL ISPO BRANDNEW WINNER* SOCIAL AWARENESS WHAT’S GREAT ABOUT IT A newly invented sport whose goal it is to benefit children around the world.

WHERE IT BELONGS Anywhere there’s a need for affordable sports. So far it has proved popular at orphanages in Brazil.

HOW IT WORKS The game is called Headis and was invented by German René Wagner. It’s like table tennis, only with a bigger ball and without the paddles. Players head a special rubber ball across a Ping-Pong-sized table.

The Headiçao project brought the new game to underprivileged children in the 2014 World Cup host nation and used wood and buckets to set up Headis tables all over the country.

SALOMON SK Y 30 Enjoy year-round adventures with this 30-liter pack. It’s good for everything from ski tours to summer hikes and long excursions.

TENTSILE TREE TENT ISPO BRANDNEW WINNER* HARDWARE SUMMER WHAT’S GREAT ABOUT IT A treehouse that outdoor adventurers can carry anywhere they go.

WHERE IT BELONGS On the ground or, even better, hung like a triangular hammock between three trees.

WHO NEEDS ONE Adventurers who still want a good night’s sleep come floods, rocks, snowdrifts or bugs.

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THE RED BULLETIN FUTURE GEAR

SCHOFFEL CONOR GTX WHAT’S GREAT ABOUT IT This Gore-Tex snow jacket stretches for a snug fit and has different linings for each part of your upper body.

WHERE IT BELONGS On the slopes and après-ski.

WHO NEEDS ONE Winter sportsmen who own too many jackets. This one replaces all of them.

JACK WOLFSKIN ACTIVE HOODY A stretchy, extremely breathable fleece shirt to be worn as a base layer for winter sports. Featuring those handy thumbholes that guard against cold.

SALEWA QUICK SCREW This ice screw sets new standards. It’s lightweight (6.3 oz.), and the ergonomic design helps you get a grip with just one hand.

ANTELOPE ISPO BRANDNEW WINNER* SPORTSWEAR WHAT’S GREAT ABOUT IT This wireless suit from Wearable Life Science contains EMS (electrical muscle stimulation) technology to help your body strengthen and recuperate.

WHERE IT BELONGS Anywhere, because this suit makes EMS possible outside, too.

WHO NEEDS IT Anyone who wants to correct imbalances in their workout.

ONITSUK A TIGER HAR ANDIA MT A middle-cut sports shoe offering performance and style in equal measure.

ICE ROCK IDOL ISPO BRANDNEW WINNER* HARDWARE WINTER The carbon-fiber shaft of this ice axe prevents vibrations. The rest of the axe is made of steel, aluminum and titanium, yet it weighs an unbeatable 6.6 oz.

MAMMUT ONYX With a Gore-Tex fleece lining, waterproof shell and a grip perfect for snow, mud and ice, these boots put an end to cold, wet feet.

MARMOT SPEED LIGHT WHAT’S GREAT ABOUT IT It’s high-tech, lightweight, robust and comes with clever functional details such as a gale-force hood with a laminated wire brim.

WHERE IT BELONGS In the mountains.

WHO NEEDS ONE Rock climbers and hikers looking for flexibility and protection.

ACTION!

SAVE THE DATE

Up a wave with a paddle at the Santa Cruz Paddlefest.

March 13-15

Santa Cruz Paddlefest No, it’s not some wicked gathering of high school disciplinary deans or S&M fetishists— it’s a weekend-long celebration of all things paddlesports, including wave skis, stand-up boards and surf kayaks. With instructional clinics, raffles and silent auctions, there’s plenty to learn and acquire. But it’s the competitions, where you can watch folks tear up the surf, or vice versa (things can get a little sketchy in these Northern California waters this time of year), that will truly inspire. Paddles up! shootout.surftech.com

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March 12-14

Red Bull Double Pipe Aspen For board fans, the only thing better than a half-pipe is two of them. And that’s what they’ll get when Red Bull Double Pipe returns for the second time in two years. Weird, huh? Construction of last year’s 580-foot-long, 68-foot-wide monsters required more than 1,000 Cat hours and 40 million gallons of water for snowmaking. It took 18 cameras and 2 miles of cable to cover the action of top riders like Louie Vito, Ben Ferguson and Greg Bretz (left). No telling what this year’s numbers will add up to. redbull.com/us/en/snow/events

THE RED BULLETIN

March 17-22

DON’T MISS

South by Southwest Music Fest Think of it as an industry convention but without the suits, ties and “Hi, My Name Is” badges, but with the off-the-hook partying, gluttonous eating and I’m-outta-town-on-business debauchery of any self-respecting widget manufacturers gathering. Oh, and music. Lots of it. This year’s lineup includes Arcade Fire’s Will Butler, Twin Shadow, the Ting Tings and hundreds of acts you haven’t heard of but will after they play here.

Because that’s the point of SXSW: It’s all about the music. (And the parties. And the BBQ . . .) sxsw.com

MORE DATES FOR THE DIARY

9

MARCH

MUSIC March 13-15

Frozen Dead Guy Days

Al Bell and Snoop have hit SXSW.

Two decades ago, a Norwegian named Trygve Bauge brought his dead grandpa, Bredo Morstoel, to Nederland, Colorado, had him cryogenically preserved and stashed him in a Tuff Shed, where he chills to this day. Not so good for Bredo, but for you, the lore spawned this frosty fest of midwinter merriment that includes coffin races, slow-mo parades, dead-guy lookalike contests, polar plunges and more. Honor the old man with a cool day in the Rockies. frozendeadguydays.org

Formula E Grand Prix Miami MATT BECKER, GARTH MILAN/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, JORDAN NAYLOR, LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

madonna.com

23 MARCH

March 14

TV In another change of the late-night guard, Londoner James Corden takes the reins of The Late, Late Show—and claims to have been blindsided by the offer. Talk about luck of the English.

Gentlemen, plug in your engines! That’s right, it’s a lot like OG Formula 1 with onemake, single-seater, open-wheeled vehicles— they just happen to run on electricity. And get that vision of a dinky little golf cart or plug-in EV-1 outta your head, because these beefy machines are quick (0-62 mph in 3 seconds) and top out at 140 mph. They’re also quiet, generating just over half the decibels of an old-school F1 car, which may be a plus or minus, depending on your POV.

cbs.com/shows/ late-late-show/

27

miami.fiaformulae.com March 6-8

March 27-29

March 27-29

March 28-29

Tierra Del Sol Desert Safari

Call of Duty Championship

Ultra Music Festival

L.A. Tough Mudder

Fire up your 4X4, rev up your rock crawler or just roll out your RV to the So Cal desert, 23 miles east of Borrego Springs, for the left coast’s largest annual gathering of off-roaders. With trail rides, contests, fireworks and a fund-raiser for disabled vets, it’s a winX4 in our book. tds4x4.com

Gamers may duke it out in a virtual world, but when the stakes are $1 million, well, that’s about as real as it gets.

Join in the battle royale—it’s open to anyone—or check out MLG.TV to watch 32 top teams from around the globe battle live for their share of the booty. majorleaguegaming.com

With 150,000 attendees, the Woodstock of EDM returns to Miami’s Bayfront Park with the heaviest of hitters: Armin van Buuren, Afrojack, Skrillex, Steve Aoki and more.

The new 18-and-over policy means young’uns will have to get their fix on the Ultra Live YouTube stream. ultramusicfestival.com

A 12-mile run in withering heat, an icy “arctic enema,” an electro-shock dash through live wires . . . if that sounds like a day in hell, then skip Tough Mudder. But if it’s your idea of a good time, have we got an obstacle course for you! (Also on the Gulf Coast Mar. 7 and Arizona Mar. 14-15). toughmudder.com

THE RED BULLETIN

Call it a mash of the titans as Madonna joins forces with Diplo, Avicii and Kanye West on the pop diva’s 13th studio album, Rebel Heart. Everybody dance now!

MARCH

FILM Prison-bound Will Ferrell must Get Hard for the pen and hires Kevin Hart—who’s never even had a parking ticket—for the job. Because he’s . . . you know. warnerbros.com/ get-hard

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THE RED BULLETIN

Badami, India February 1, 2014 Kilian Fischhuber is considered the best competition boulderer in the world. But the 31-year-old also conquers rock faces.

He first took on the sandstone south wall of Badami in 2014, before illness stopped him in his tracks. The Austrian retired from competition in December, so he’s now free to try again. “The heat of the wall and bad holds—that’s what makes rock climbing in India exciting,” he says. kilian-fischhuber.at

“ Competition is all about rules. With rock climbing it’s just nature and you.”

Bouldering champion Kilian Fischhuber climbing India’s sandstone walls

THE NEXT ISSUE OF THE RED BULLETIN IS OUT ON MARCH 10 98

THE RED BULLETIN

JOHANNES MAIR/RED BULL CONTENT POOL

MAGIC MOMENT

See how much you could save on motorcycle insurance today.

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WASATCH RANGE, UTAH Goal Zero ambassador Forrest Shearer hiking up the Grunge Couloir in the quest for untouched powder. Photo by Andy Earl.

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