The Red Bulletin UK 06+07/24

NO LIMITS

REINVENTING THE WHEELS Why roller skating is thriving in London

BIG BREAKS Capturing the world’s most extreme surfers

“I’VE NEVER HAD TO DIG SO DEEP” Ultrarunner Jasmin Paris’ impossible race

THE COST OF PROGRESS IS A SIMPLE TRANSACTION.

Ex nihilonihilfit, INPUT MAY NOT ALWAYS EQUAL OUTPUT. BUT THERE CAN BE NO OUTPUT IN THE ABSENCE OF INPUT.

THRUDARK FORCE ACTIVEWEAR. NOTHING COMES FROM NOTHING.

Contributors

SAM RILEY

“I’ve always loved watching people skate,” says the Londonbased photographer of our feature on street roller-skating in the city. “As I delved deeper, I found an amazing community. My time with them was a lesson in prioritising what’s important: friendship, acceptance and having fun together despite life’s challenges.” Page 54

EMINE SANER

“Standing behind Amber as she prepared to jump of the peak, I actually felt nauseous,” says the Sussex-based writer, who travelled to Norway to meet wingsuiter Amber Forte. “But I learnt so much from her, from the practical – keep your hands warm by swinging your arms –to more profound life lessons on facing down fear.” Page 30

TOM WARD

The opportunity to interview ultrarunner Jasmin Paris, the frst woman to fnish the Barkley Marathon, was too good to miss for the Brightonbased writer. “Having profled Barkley’s creator, Lazarus Lake, I thought I knew how tough it is,” he says. “Jasmin exploded that idea. She’s direct and full of grit and inspiration.” Page 28

SETTING THE SCENE

This issue, we bring you tales of history-making missions, covert meet-ups and nausea-inducing voyages, from people whose passion and purpose are taking them to improbable places. Our cover star, Devon-born wingsuiter Amber Forte, has found herself atop numerous mountains – including Norway’s Mt Hoven, where we met her – chasing the unrivalled freedom she feels when in fight. Now, she’s putting her years of experience to the test with a careerdefning project to fy where no one has fown before. Then we meet a new generation of London street roller-skaters sourcing and sharing unlikely skate spots in a city with few dedicated spaces for them to race, dance and roll outside. And we showcase the work of award-winning photographer Ted Grambeau, who captures unique shots of the world’s most extreme big-wave surfers. In pursuit of the perfect picture, the Australian has spent his career in small boats on almost all of the world’s oceans, sufering capsizes and lost equipment – and seasickness. Enjoy the issue.

Lights, camera, action: helpers at our Amber Forte shoot illuminate the wingsuiter’s takeoff for photographer Marius Beck Dahle

The brutal Barkley Marathons have broken many a runner. But the frst woman to fnish isn’t just any runner

DAWA YANGZUM SHERPA 24

The pioneering Nepalese mountain guide who’s inspiring other women to reach their peak potential

SHABAKA HUTCHINGS

The jazz star isn’t one to blow his own trumpet – he played sax, now fute –but his brave career shift has paid of

Some people were born to fy. Now this Devon-born air-sports ace is pushing the limits of possibility –next up, the frst-ever fight across the English Channel in a wingsuit SURF PHOTOGRAPHY

The Australian photographer is a master of his craft, having captured the power of the ocean and the spirit of surfng for four decades. He talks us through some of his highlights

54 London’s street roller-skating scene is about more than dancing around on eight wheels – for its growing community, it’s a source of fun, friendship and endless creativity

Been there, done that. For this US travel blogger, it’s no idle boast: he has journeyed to every country on the planet. And unsurprisingly, he has some wild stories to tell

VENTURE

Almaty region, Kazakhstan

RUMBLE STRIP

Altyn-Emel National Park is known for its ‘singing dune’, a mountain of sand that emits an organ-like rumble, caused by –take your pick – spirits, the bells of a lost city, or the wind. MTBers Saken Kagarov and Petr Vinokurov stuck to rock for this shot, which won Alexey Shabanov a semifnal place (Playground by Radiant Photo category) in the 2023 Red Bull Illume Image Quest. “To capture a trick at the place where people are only allowed to walk on certain trails is the dream of any photographer,” he says. redbullillume.com

Menorca, Spain DIVE HARD

Think you’re the king or queen of the selfe? Get back to school, kid. Sports photographer Victor de Valles Ibáñez shoots underwater self-portraits that thrill the eyes and win plaudits – this one made the Red Bull Illume ‘Photos of Instagram’ semi-fnals. “I put the tripod on a rock in the entrance of the cave,” says the Spaniard of this April dive in Menorca. “I set the camera in timelapse mode, shooting one photo a second, got back to the surface to take a breath, then went into the deep.” Now that’s how it’s done. redbullillume.com

Sharjah, UAE

ROLL CALL

Opened in November 2022, Aljada Skate Park is a world of pure imagination that, in this instance, lives up to its billing. Spread across 8,400sq-m, the immersive complex comprises six skateparks, ranging from an Olympic-level street course to smaller bowls, snake runs, and spaces for novices. Philippines-born, UAE-based photographer Ferdinand Bedana won a Red Bull Illume semi-fnal place (Playground by Radiant Photo category) for his image of this unknown amateur experiencing skaters’ paradise. redbullillume.com

Akureyri, Iceland

QUANTUM LEAP

On April 24, 27-year-old ski-jumper Ryōyū Kobayashi few a distance of 291m, smashing the unofcial ski-fying world record. The exceptional Japanese talent, who stands at 174cm tall and weighs 59kg, glided over the makeshift ski jump in Iceland for around 10 seconds. With this incredible distance, he exceeded the previous record – set by the Austrian Stefan Kraft – by 37.5m. “The experience will enhance my career; this record fight will be my source of strength for the future,” says Olympic champion Kobayashi in his typically calm and philosophical manner. Instagram: @ryo_koba

JOHN GRANT

Positive notes

Life as a gay teenager in 1980s Michigan was tough for the singer/ songwriter. Here, he lists four tracks that helped him through it

Music is a form of therapy for John Grant. The 55-year-old from Michigan addresses life’s troubles through his songs – from his experiences as a bullied, closeted gay kid, to anxiety, addiction, and the frustrations of the Trump era. Now living in Reykjavík, Iceland – the only place he’s ever truly felt accepted, he says – Grant’s mix of dark humour, beautiful melodies and personal torment has won him fans, critical acclaim, and collaborations with artists including Elton John and Sinéad O’Connor. But even before telling his own stories, music was a crucial part of life for Grant. Here, he chooses four songs that saved him. John Grant’s sixth studio album, The Art of the Lie, is out now; johngrantmusic.com

Scan the QR code to hear our Playlist podcast with John Grant on Spotify

Devo

Explosions (1982)

“I grew up in a very religious setting where being homosexual was the worst possible thing ever. And it was communicated to me that ‘there’s no place in the world for people like you’. Luckily, I discovered [US new-wave band] Devo. That music saved my life, because it made me feel like I wasn’t invisible. For me, they’re one of the most important bands in the entire world.”

New Order

This Time of the Night (1985)

“I remember listening to this with my high-school friend Greg. We were sitting in his orange VW Bug with [its] stereo system, and it had some really nice, fat bass. It’s just one of the most beautiful combinations of organic and electronic instruments ever –one of my all-time favourites. It makes me feel really happy every time I hear it.”

The Cure

Plainsong (1989)

“This came out when I was settling into my new life in Germany [Grant moved there to study German and Russian]. The song holds a special place in my heart as part of the soundtrack to that. Heidelberg is one of the most beautiful places ever [and] this was the backdrop to walking around the city with my Walkman on. An incredible time.”

Nina Hagen

Future is Now (1982)

“This is off NunSexMonkRock, which Rolling Stone called ‘the most unlistenable album of the year’. But it happens to be my favourite, because it was so crazy; it was like nothing I had ever heard in my entire life. [German punk singer] Nina is at her very best, with all her growling and screeching and operatic singing. It’s very special to me.”

Beak to the future

“All 8,000 birds are saved in the device. You turn it on, wait for the GPS signal, and you’re good to go.”

Thanks to AI, these binoculars help birdwatchers tell a booby from a bustard without dropping their gaze. And the possibilities don’t end there…

Last summer, Georg Blatnig was birdwatching – or birding – by the lake near his home in Carinthia, southern Austria, when he spotted a species he’d never seen before. “I was shaking, and I thought, ‘I need to identify it!’” he says. But instead of putting down his binoculars to look up the bird on his phone, he just switched them to identification mode. Within a second, the details were in his viewfinder: it was a Eurasian penduline tit.

Blatnig was road-testing the Swarovski Optik AX Visio, the world’s first smart binoculars. Although they might look like traditional birding gear, the in-built AI allows these binoculars to do much more than simply magnify wildlife: they also tell you exactly what you’re looking at.

“The identification process is quite fast – between 200 milliseconds and a second,” explains Blatnig, one of the

project managers responsible for developing the AX Visio. The binoculars can identify more than 8,000 bird species, crucially without needing to look away from the creature. Instead of scrambling for a guidebook and risking the feathered friend in question flying away before being named, the user keeps the AX Visio trained and merely presses a button. This action prompts the AI to search the database of the Merlin Bird ID app – developed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in the US – before presenting an identification on-screen in augmented reality.

The technology works without the need for a phone signal, meaning you can spy condors over the Colca Canyon in Peru or breeding colonies of puffins on clifftops in Iceland without worries. “You don’t need any internet connection,” says Blatnig.

Conceived by awardwinning Australian industrial designer Marc Newson, the AX Visio has 380 component parts and includes a 13-megapixel camera that can send photos and videos directly to the Swarovski Optik Outdoor App on your phone. And while the Merlin Bird ID database is clearly impressive – it’s constantly being updated as more species are spotted and documented – the potential of the binoculars is even greater. The details of more than 300 different mammals, 200 species of butterfly and 60 types of dragonfly can be accessed via Swarovski Optik’s additional Wildlife ID App, and the intention is that these resources will continue to grow until users will be able to identify almost any flora and fauna they choose. Blatnig says the possibilities are endless; the Austrian’s dream would be to add the capability to identify mountain peaks.

With prices starting at almost £4,000, these smart binoculars will be too costly for most nature lovers, but they might consider the option of sharing. Two of the AX Visio’s special features turn what’s often a solitary pursuit into a more communal experience. The Share Discoveries function allows whoever is using the binoculars to drop a pin to mark a location and then pass them to another person, who will be able to home in on the exact spot using gyroscope sensors. And if a smartphone is connected, the screen will even display what the person holding the binoculars is seeing. So now no one need miss out on witnessing that red-necked grebe. swarovskioptik.com

Wing commander: (from top) the Swarovski Optik AX Visio; designer Marc Newson; a bird’s-eye view

SWAROVSKI OPTIK AX VISIO

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Rest for the Restless

In the moments before Hernan Vargas plays one of his musical instruments for the first time, he has no idea exactly how it will sound. But now, when the Argentinian ceramic sculptor and musician lowers an intricately painted clay mask until it covers his entire head, then breathes out, his creation expels a haunting, earthy and deeply vibrating hum.

After many years of sculpting musical instruments from clay, Vargas believes he’s not so much creating sounds as releasing those that have forever lain buried deep in the earth. “The sound of clay is the first known to man,” he says. “The first instruments are known to have been wind instruments made of clay and bone – there are clay flutes believed to be more than 20,000 years old! It is a sound that connects us with our origins, our roots.”

There’s undeniably something primal about the music created by Vargas and his colleagues in Suena Barro, an orchestra and multidisciplinary collective who travel the world performing with ceramic instruments and running workshops teaching others how to shape and sculpt clay to make their own sonic discoveries. Having first began experimenting with ceramics at the National University of Plata in Argentina, Vargas has spent two decades exploring the sonic potential of this ancient material. It has been a journey not of discovery, he says, but of “rediscovery, because it was already discovered by our ancestors thousands of years ago”.

Now based in Oaxaca, Mexico, Vargas strives every day to find new ways to uncover sounds that he believes humans could have heard millennia ago. Not all his instruments require being manually breathed into: some make sounds as air or water is displaced when pieces of clay

SUENA BARRO

Blast from the past

The instruments that Argentinian Hernan Vegas sculpts from clay are original and new. But, he says, the sounds that come from them have a deep history

are moved inside one another; others are played with bellows. There are interpretations of guitars, harps, accordions and saxophones, each of which produces its own unique sound thanks to the specific curves and thickness of the clay it’s formed from. And lately Vargas’ journey has progressed to making instruments that are wearable, such as masks and vests, which express even more viscerally his idea of sound coming from within, and which often require the services of more than one person.

What is crucial, says Vargas, is the organic nature of his craft, which carries all the way through to the brightly coloured designs he paints on his instruments. The artist

never makes preliminary sketches, but instead goes with the flow. In the same way that, for Vargas, his creations make sounds evoking the past, decorating them is like “discovering the characters, spirits and landscapes that are waiting inside the clay”. When it comes to playing the instruments themselves, Vargas encourages a similar embrace of intuition. “The most important thing is to play like a child,” he explains.

“My inspiration is play and, through it, discovering all that remains on our retina, all that we see and discover about our cultures and the cultures we pass through along the way.”

Instagram: @barromadre

The masked player: (from top) Hernan Vargas wears his ‘sonorous clay harp’ at Dainzú, a Zapotec archaeological site in Mexico; the artist with another of his creations

GRAPHIC REWILDING

Heavy petal

With their vast, hand-drawn foral designs, this creative duo are reconnecting urban landscapes with the natural world

When artist Lee Baker was a heavy-metal-loving teenager plastering Motörhead posters over his mum’s floral Laura Ashley wallpaper, little did he realise the maximalist patterns of the latter would prove most influential in his life. But now, more than 30 years later, the Brighton-based creative and his artistic partner Catherine Borowski are responsible for displaying enormous, brightly coloured flowers across urban landscapes – all in the name of happiness.

“I always think about the unsung heroes of city life: the daisies and dandelions growing up through the cracks,” says Borowski, who was raised on a north London housing estate and would dream of owning a garden where she could grow flowers and play. “There’s a

phrase: the extinction of experience,” adds Baker. “It’s when kids living in environments where they don’t have access to green spaces lose the idea of what nature even is.”

Recognising that traditional rewilding initiatives aren’t always possible, in 2021 Baker and Borowski launched their public art project Graphic Rewilding, adorning dilapidated high streets, multi-storey car parks and shopping centres with Baker’s hand-drawn pictures of flora and fauna blown up to huge proportions. “We’re not frightened of scale,” he says. “The bigger, the better. We like people’s sense to be overwhelmed and engulfed in what David Hockney describes as ‘new nature’.”

One of the duo’s earliest installations – a 70m-long

mural of blooming foxgloves and yarrow, installed in the town centre of Crawley, Surrey, in October 2021 – was only meant to stay for three months but has been such a success that it’s still there. “Numerous tests have shown that imagery of nature is mood-lifting,” says Baker. He can draw on personal experience: sketching flowers helped him recover from a breakdown 10 years ago.

Now, working from thousands of folders of flowers Baker has drawn over the years, he and Borowski undertake “digital flower arranging” to ensure each work is location-specific. “We spend a lot of time researching the area, and flowers that are native,” says Borowski. “We do community engagement, asking people what their favourite flowers are, or what flowers are culturally important to them. We’d like people to feel they’ve got a bit of ownership over it.”

With future works slated for Hereford and east London, the pair are also interested in venturing into sculpture and digital art. Their summer 2023 installation at Westfield London shopping centre – 1.5sq-km of chrysanthemums, buttercups and bumblebees towering 8m high above shoppers’ heads –incorporated QR codes granting access to augmented reality that bought the meadow to life.

In terms of dream locations, anything goes for the creative duo. Borowski would like to return to her roots and create a “Teletubbies-type” playground on a housing estate, while Baker is eyeing up the enormous Rio Tinto aluminium smelter in Iceland. Wherever their next project takes them, ultimately the team see their work as a companion to traditional rewilding, fostering a new appreciation of plant life. “We can’t replace real nature,” says Baker. “Nothing could – it’s everything. But we can celebrate and honour nature through what we do.” graphicrewilding.com

Making a bold stamen: (from top) In the Garden of my Imagination, a digital creation; artists Baker and Borowski

Routine wins

In 2014, cycling novice Colin Gay decided it was time to get ft. He’s ridden at least 30 miles on his bike every day since. His target: 10,000 days, no excuses

By 4am on weekday mornings, Colin Gay is already on his bike for a 30-mile (48km) ride in pitch darkness. If snow is forecast, he sets his alarm for 11:50pm and heads out at midnight so that he’s home before the weather sets in.

This is the kind of dedication you might expect from an elite athlete in the lead-up to an important race. But Gay, who lives in Charlottesville, Virginia, is neither a professional sportsperson nor in training for a specific competition. Instead, he’s almost 10 years into an astonishing – some might say bonkers – undertaking: to ride his bike every day for 10,000 days without fail.

newcomers might begin with the odd ride at the weekend, Gay – who’d previously only cycled around 20 times – set himself a goal: 100 days of riding in a row. “I’m someone who’s good at following rules,” he says. “My mantra is not if I’m gonna ride, but when I’m gonna ride. It’s non-negotiable.”

After 100 days, Gay shifted his goal to 1,000, and when he’d reached that, he multiplied it by 10. The stipulations for his rides are simple: they must be outside, be at least 30 miles long and happen every day. It’s a logistical challenge balancing this with a full-time job – he now sells IT to the US government – and life with his wife and children, hence the earlymorning rides. Gay listened to music during the first 100, but then decided it would be more productive to “do some thinking. It went from being about fitness to more of a mental wellness thing. It’s like meditation. My mind is always racing, so when I can get into it and just calm down, that’s the best time”.

“Anybody could do it, but no one in their right mind would,” says the 48-year-old father of two. “But when you’re trying to make a change, it’s not what you do for a day or two; it’s what you do for months or years. It’s the long game.”

Gay’s mission is the definition of long game. He’s speaking to The Red Bulletin on his 3,397th consecutive day in the saddle, with every ride – all 116,000 miles (187,000km) covered so far – documented on his Instagram account, Ridestreak. It all began in 2014 when the former high-school athlete turned football coach wanted to get back in shape and had a go on a friend’s bike. While many

Gay is often asked what happens if he’s sick, and the answer is that he still rides. He continued through COVID and kidney stones, which was painful, he says, “but better than not doing it”. What the cyclist loves most about his challenge – which won’t finish until 2042, when he’s 66 – is that there can be no shortcuts: “You can’t speed it up. You can’t do two days in one.” This sense of accountability has positively influenced other areas of his life, too. When Gay changed careers after 25 years, his cycling helped him bag the new job: “They were like, ‘We need someone consistent and reliable,’ and I’ve got those two things down.”

If something did stop him riding – a broken leg, say –Gay knows exactly what he’d do. “If I did take a day off, it would be a new streak,” he says. “I’d just start over again.”  Instagram: @ridestreak

DAWA THE EXPLORER

Pioneering Nepalese high-altitude climber and mountain guide DAWA YANGZUM SHERPA has summited all but one of the world’s 8,000m peaks. But her life’s ambition is to help other women realise their potential

WORDS CHARLIE ALLENBY

The village of Na in Nepal’s Rolwaling Valley is an inhospitable environment. Situated at 4,200m above sea level and surrounded by giants of the Himalayas, roads in and out are often blocked by snowstorms, and those travelling on foot must brave treacherous mountain passes.

“[Growing up] we had no electricity, phone or TV, limited sugar, and we worked a lot, carrying water and wood and looking after baby cows,” says Na native Dawa Yangzum Sherpa. These harsh conditions were formative for many of the village’s men, who often left for a few months in spring to work the mountaineering season as porters and guides. Na’s women, meanwhile, were expected to stay at home, look after the children and lead the household.

At the age of 13, Yangzum Sherpa knew which path she’d rather take. Defying the wishes of her family and community, she began a stratospheric, two-decade ascent to the pinnacle of mountaineering. By 21 she’d summited Mount Everest for the first time, while in 2017 she became the first Asian woman – and one of only around 100 women worldwide – to secure certification by the International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations (IFMGA), widely regarded as a PhD in climbing.

On her mission to summit the world’s 14 tallest peaks, only China’s 8,027m Shishapangma remains unconquered and, given her current trajectory, it’s only a matter of time before the 5ft 2in-tall (1.57m) climber nails it. But Yangzum Sherpa’s legacy is about more than records. Now aged 33, she’s determined to help other Nepalese women find their own route to freedom…

the red bulletin: What sparked your passion for climbing and exploring?

dawa yangzum sherpa: Half of the village – all the men and even young boys – went away mountaineering and they’d [return] with lots of money. I wanted to do the same thing. I was 13 when I went to the Tashi Lapcha pass. Because a lot of porters from the lower valley got sick [from altitude], many [local] women were hired as porters. The other girls turned around, but me and a friend kept going to Kathmandu – it was scary, but getting a plane for the first time was scarier. After that, I never returned home; I stayed in the city with my brother.

What were the risks involved?

In our culture, even if we went to a friend’s house, girls had to be back home before night, so going trekking was tough. Society was hard, negative; women should stay home and learn home skills. There was a time when my family said, “People are not going to see you as a good wife. You might not get a husband.”

What made you carry on?

I always thought, “I’m made to climb.” My childhood was very tough: I grew up in altitude, there was a lot of physical work, and you have to be patient to survive big storms. That was a good combination to shape me as a climber.

When did you know you wanted to be a mountain guide?

I trained at the Khumbu Climbing Center [KCC] and met [American mountaineer] Conrad Anker, who asked me if I wanted to work on a National Geographic Everest expedition in 2012. I was very shy and barely spoke English, but I summited and made more money than I’d ever seen in my life. That’s how it began. I knew my body could do it, so I planned to become

a guide. I began to aim bigger – I wanted to do K2. But the IFMGA was my major goal, and I did everything I could – saving, working, trekking and guiding – to get it.

You became the first Asian woman to secure IFMGA certification. What kept you going?

The course is run in my hometown, so I know the valley very well – the rocks, the ice, the elevation – but I think it was the hardship I grew up with that prepared me. I was pretty strong physically, but I think you need more mental strength. I still had doubts all the time. It’s also very expensive, and the training never ends. I failed once and almost gave up. But a few of my mentor friends said that I’d regret it if I left. They encouraged me. After six months, I went back and passed.

What are your long-term ambitions?

My goal is to inspire and help women in their lives. You don’t have to become a guide and climb; it’s more about coming out [of the home] and gaining confidence so that women can think, “I can do what a man does.” I run a course every year where I work with single mums, widows, and people who are financially poor. I take them on an ice-climbing course and teach them how to be a guide, but it’s a motivational way of teaching. I was that same girl a long time ago, but then I met Conrad and it led me in a really good [direction]. I know that, in my situation, I needed someone to inspire me first. I pay for the first step [for the women I teach] through my sponsors, because that really helped me. Doing everything for them while they just watch isn’t inspiring; helping inspires a lot.

Instagram: @dawayangzum

“Growing up, I always thought, ‘I’m made to climb’”

Aim

is a role model for women climbers

high: Yangzum Sherpa

CHANGING FLOW

Award-winning British musician SHABAKA HUTCHINGS is among the world’s most successful saxophonists. But at the beginning of this year he put down the instrument – for good

WORDS LOU BOYD PHOTOGRAPHY ATIBA JEFFERSON

Shabaka Hutchings is one of the most prolific and globally revered jazz musicians of the past two decades. Since 2010, the London-born saxophonist, composer and bandleader has played in a number of the contemporary jazz scene’s most successful ensembles –including The Comet Is Coming and Sons of Kemet – won a MOBO Award and multiple Mercury Prize nominations, and performed sell-out world tours.

But then, in July last year, he released a statement on Instagram captioned “The saxophone must end”. In the post, Hutchings explained that, as of the end of 2023, he would permanently stop playing the instrument and follow a different path. “In many ways,” he says. “I feel like the saxophone as an instrument has been played out.”

Instead, the 39-year-old is making the brave move to pick up a new instrument, starting out again as a flautist. On his debut solo album, Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace, released under the name Shabaka, Hutchings collaborates with music icons including rapper André 3000 – a fellow flautist – singer Lianne La Havas and bassist/vocalist Esperanza Spalding to make music unlike anything he’s created before. “The safe option would be to do fewer gigs on the sax, not take the extreme option of ending my association with it,” he admits.

“Unfortunately, I’m not that guy.”

Here, Hutchings tells us about his decision to part ways with the instrument that made him famous…

the red bulletin: To mark the end of your saxophone career, you posted a video that included a quote by the late US author Octavia E Butler: “To survive,

know the past. Let it touch you. Then let the past go.” Why that quote? shabaka hutchings: It got me thinking about change as something that’s necessary and crucial to development. Things just aren’t going to stay the same; we all have to just relax about that. My musical interest is changing, and if I follow that, it will be more satisfying for me than to cling onto a past idea of who I once was.

Do you still play the saxophone for your own enjoyment?

No, I don’t even have a saxophone. I haven’t actually missed it at all. There’s a physicality in playing the saxophone, but there are also so many different instruments out there to experience. For me, playing a Mayan flute is a different world to playing a [side-blown] wooden flute, or a clay flute… I haven’t lost anything by putting the saxophone down.

Do you find that challenging yourself leads to greater creative inspiration? I now feel most comfortable with the flute, because it’s what I’m interested in. That’s what motivates me to get up and put in the work every day. But I’m not as good a flute player. Every day, I’ve got to spend hours and hours practising just to learn the patterns and scales and get familiarity with the instrument. That’s an exciting place to be.

Are you worried about stepping away from success and starting again? I believe that if you’re an artist and you follow the music, it’ll work itself out. That’s the only thing you can do. The future isn’t certain for anyone; all we have is our ability to create art that represents ourselves. For me, following the flute is following my heart. If you’re not making what’s in your heart, because you’re trying

to ensure a comfortable future, that’s a very dodgy route to go down as an artist.

Perceive Its Beauty… features many top musicians. Was it nerve-racking asking them to collaborate on it when you were picking up a new instrument? Absolutely. I wasn’t anywhere near as good of a flute player as they were on their instruments. It took a lot of trust.

How did you build that trust?

I’d build it in the studio. I would tell them that everything had to be incredibly quiet and we weren’t going to use headphones or have any separations. Everyone had to play to the level of a very quiet wooden flute and be able to hear it. That added a vibe of tension to the music we created.

How do you feel about touring without your bandmates for the first time?

There’s something special about developing over a long time with a group of musicians. We watched each other grow musically and nothing that can beat that. With this tour, I have the chance to play with different musicians and explore new creative relationships. I’m excited to discover new ways of playing with people.

Are the days of gigs with stomping audiences and sweaty dancefloors behind you?

The music I made with my previous bands really got people dancing, and that was great. I’m not necessarily drifting from that completely. But for now I’m excited to live at a different tempo.

Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace is out now on Impulse! Records; shabakahutchings.com

“For me, following the flute is following my heart”

Trading blows: Hutchings has found a new creative motivation

DOING THE IMPOSSIBLE

This March, JASMIN PARIS completed the Barkley Marathons with 99 seconds to spare, making her the frst woman to fnish one of ultrarunning’s most colourful – and brutal – races

WORDS

TOM

WARD PHOTOGRAPHY HOWIE STERN

Jasmin Paris looks like she has nothing left to give. Flanked by cheering spectators, the Brit wobble-runs out of the Tennessee woods before collapsing at the yellow fire gate that marks the start and end of the notoriously brutal Barkley Marathons. With a minute and change to spare, she has just made history as the first woman ever to finish the race.

Founded by US race designer Gary Cantrell – aka ‘Lazarus Lake’ – in 1986, the invite-only Barkley comprises five steep loops, each roughly 32km in length. The trail, which changes annually, includes obstacles such as Danger Dave’s Climbing Wall (a sandy area of exposed roots) and Rat Jaw (a slope of razor-sharp briars). Lake starts the race close to midnight by lighting a cigarette. The 40 lucky runners have 60 hours to complete their laps, collecting pages from books left at checkpoints along the route. In March this year, only five finished. Paris, 40, is used to superhuman feats: she got into ultrarunning in 2008 after falling in love with the Scottish fells, and in 2019 she became the first woman to win the UK’s 430km Montane Spine Race. The same year, Paris received the Barclays Sportswoman of the Year Award, with judges citing her athletic achievements and her career as a senior veterinary clinical lecturer at the University of Edinburgh. And she isn’t done yet…

the red bulletin: How is it possible to balance being a parent, an awardwinning academic and a recordbreaking ultrarunner?

jasmin paris: It isn’t easy. My work can be stressful – you often don’t get time to think – so running is a good mental

release. In terms of logistics, that 5-to7am slot is the best time to train – nobody calls you in for an oesophageal foreign body in a dog at 5am.

When did you start focusing on ultras? It’s difficult to travel with young kids, so I shifted to focus on doing bigger events and making them count. Lazarus Lake invited me to take part in Barkley after the Montane Spine Race in 2019. It wasn’t until around summer ’21 that I had the desire to do it. Then I was all in.

What changed?

The challenge of doing something regarded as virtually impossible. Putting in the effort to see what you’re capable of. All the mystique [like Lake’s unique ‘starting pistol’] is part of what makes it Barkley, but you have to just focus on running.

This was your third attempt, having failed to finish in 2022 and 2023. What was different this time around? I had experience. Barkley isn’t just dependent on your navigational skills; it’s about learning the route on the course and making mistakes. You might drop into the wrong gully [while] looking for a book, or you can literally run off the wrong side of a mountain. After my first try, I thought, “This is possible; it’s just going to take a lot of work.” This year, I found I could pre-empt a lot of those mistakes or correct them before they became a disaster.

What was the toughest part?

There were so many times I wanted to stop. The first two loops were alright, then loop three and four were really mentally hard, knowing I’d have to do it again. Loop five was better, because I was doing things for the last time. You go from one pain to another; at the end, it was my tendons in my left leg that hurt most. I was also

struggling to eat, so I felt really sick. And there was a new section that was really thick with brambles – worse than Rat Jaw – so that was pretty miserable.

You’ve said you hallucinate during long races. Is that scary?

Not really; it happens every time you go without sleep. Once you’ve had a few hallucinations during a particular race, you get good at realising it’s not real. The only thing that confused me this year was seeing people in black mackintoshes up on a ridge, and for a while I did believe that was real. You get used to it.

You said every fibre of your being was telling you to stop before you reached the finish line. How do you keep going?

I was massively driven by the thought I might finish over [the allowed] time and have to do it all again [next year]. I knew I wouldn’t lay it to rest until I’d finished. I wanted to give it everything I had. Now I get why people collapse metres from the finish line. I’ve never had to dig so deep.

What does it mean to be the first woman ever to finish Barkley?

I’ve never really considered that what I can do is any different to what a man can. The fact that I was a woman wasn’t in any way a barrier in my mind. But I’m incredibly happy to be able to inspire women and girls in sport.

Do you feel pressure to do something bigger next time?

I’m running the Tor des Géants [in the Italian Alps] in September. But I don’t think I’d do Barkley again, because I’ve [completed] it. So no, zero pressure. I’ve proven what I can do.

“I knew I wouldn’t lay it to rest until I’d finished. I’ve never had to dig so deep”

refuses to be beaten

Ultra tough: UK runner Jasmin Paris

CALL OF THE WILD

AMBER FORTE always wanted to live a life less ordinary, and when she found wingsuit fying she knew how. Having mastered the art of fight everywhere from the mountains of Norway to Pakistan’s Karakorum range, the Brit is now taking her skills to new heights

Words EMINE SANER Photography ESPEN FADNES and MARIUS BECK DAHLE

Taking flight: Amber Forte, photographed for The Red Bulletin in Loen, Norway, this April

Amber Forte

The only sound at the top of the mountain is the rush of the wind. A single line of footprints in the spring snow leads to the edge, a one-way track to where Amber Forte is standing on a small ledge of rock, arms outstretched. In the valley more than 3,000ft (900m) below, the sun glints off a fjord and the village of Loen looks like a toy town.

“Three, two, one…” Forte shouts. Then she leaps. She disappears for a second as she drops, then soars out, following the curve of the landscape, gliding gracefully on the stiff breeze that buffets the landbound. Were you to glance up from the ground, you might mistake

Forte in her wingsuit for one of the sea eagles that visit this part of north-western Norway, silhouetted against the sky. A short while later, wingsuit rolled down off her upper torso, Forte is sharing a lift back to the top of Mt Hoven with tourists and walkers. Her husband, Espen Fadnes, hugs her as she exits. “I was a little…” he begins, then pauses. The wingsuit Forte is wearing is new and untested, and the handle to open the parachute is in a slightly different place. “I could see the time it took,” he says. “Three- or four-tenths of a second longer.” It wasn’t a problem, Forte says: “I pulled hard. But the parachute is bigger than I’m used to.”

Fadnes and Forte are a team, a wingsuited power couple. They live in Loen, a village in Norway’s beautiful Nordfjord region, where they can train all year round. “It means I can stay current and allows me to test and try out new techniques and equipment,” says Forte, aged 32 and originally from Devon. “The area is stunning; there are so many valleys and mountains to explore with my wingsuit.”

“It’s not about the risk or the adrenaline –I just love the feeling of fying”

Drop zone: (left) Forte launches herself from a small ledge on Mt Hoven, more than 900m above her home village of Loen; (right) the wingsuit in all its glory

“Amber’s full of warmth, but she can be tough on herself”

Team values: former FAI world champion Espen Fadnes first met Forte – now his work and life partner – in 2016

“If she could, my mum would tell me to not do this”

She tries to jump every day, though it’s not always possible with the weather – she must also factor in rest days – but her life revolves around the sport. Fadnes is the same. “We work together, train together, execute projects together,” Forte says. The two of them first met in 2016, when Forte moved to Voss in western Norway and started working at an indoor wind tunnel where Fadnes sometimes taught. “She was unusually vibrant,” he recalls. He was struck by the way she moved her body in the air: “Like a ballet dancer in the sky. I’m more like a stiff runner.” But Fadnes was experienced in the wingsuiting that Forte wanted to learn and had grown up climbing in the Norwegian mountains with his father. “I had skills she didn’t have, and she had skills I wish I had. We took off, like a little team.”

At the beginning, he says, while Forte learnt wingsuiting – to get started in the sport, you need to have done around 200 to 300 skydives – their relationship was imbalanced. “I had 15 years in this sport, and a position that got me jobs and opportunities,” says Fadnes, who’s 12 years senior to Forte and is a pioneer in air sports and wingsuiting – a former FAI world champion, he has been Emmynominated for his airborne camerawork and features in numerous documentaries including Netflix’s Wingmen. “I think she felt she had to work hard to reach further.”

Forte rose to the challenge. In a relatively short time, she has become the world’s fastest female wingsuiter –her 2017 record of 283.7kph still stands – was the first woman to make the top 10 at an FAI performance wingflying competition, and has featured in commercials and documentaries. Her next challenge could become reality in a matter of months and is something her husband, though heavily involved as ever, says he has no intention of completing: Forte plans to wingsuit across the English Channel.

It has never been done, and there’s probably a reason for that. It will require Forte to jump from 35,000ft (almost 11,000m – her highest so far is 22,000ft, or 6,700m), a height that will require a mask and oxygen tank, which will affect her weight and speed. Her skin will need

to be protected from the -50°C cold, which will mean wearing a full fighterjet-pilot-style helmet, and her body kept warm enough to do what it needs to do. And it needs to do a lot.

Forte will glide for around 10 minutes, crossing 34km, holding a precisely calculated plank position all the way – a feat that requires serious gym and endurance training. She will have to navigate precisely, too, as even the slightest degree off-course could add up to a distance she won’t be able to cover. The aim is to land next to the lighthouse on the Dover cliffs. But she will have to practise for the chance she’ll land in water, quickly jettisoning her parachute and oxygen tank before it drags her down, and learn how to stay afloat in the middle of the sea. This will be as much a mental battle as a physical one. “I’m actually really scared of water,” she says. A wetsuit would help, but that comes with its own problems – at 35,000ft, the tiny air bubbles in the neoprene would expand and strangle her. She’s learning so much, she says. “I need new skills, technology and a team I trust, so it’s a lot of things to feel comfortable with,” says

Forte. And a lot of training. Forte is about to return to Spain where she’s training with a plane. There will be numerous wind-tunnel sessions and BASE jumps as she puts all the necessary pieces into place. Fadnes describes Forte as a determined athlete: “She doesn’t give up; she is willing to go very far. She’s full of warmth to others but tends to be tough on herself, with high expectations.”

It also comes just five years after Forte had a skydiving accident that threatened to end her career. She spent months recovering from a broken back and femur, learning to walk again, and this challenge is partly about putting this firmly in the past. “I do respect [the accident] is a part of me. But I don’t want to be known as that injured person for ever.”

This project, she says, is about the future: “A huge part of my motivation is to do something new and groundbreaking, to set my mark.”

Forte always knew she wanted to do something different with her life, though flying wasn’t a childhood dream; at one point she considered joining a circus. She grew up in the town of Kingsteignton, Devon, as the youngest of four, with three BMX-mad elder brothers. Her father was, she says, completely in love with motocross and BMX, and he coached all four children. Forte looked up to all her brothers, including the eldest, Kye, a pro BMX and mountain-bike rider: “I admired him for his ability to do what he loved for work, and I wanted to be like that.” Their mother, she adds with a laugh, isn’t particularly adventurous but has been “taken on that journey. She’s happy for me and supports me, but she’s not fond of talking about what I do. If she could, she would tell me to not do this”.

Her mother’s apprehension is understandable. Although wingsuit flying, or wingsuiting, has come a long way since its origins at the beginning of last century, it still carries huge risks. The first recorded wingsuit flight was in Paris in 1912, when Franz Reichelt jumped from the Eiffel Tower wearing a parachute-like suit he’d designed, but fell to his death. Wingsuit design

Ready to roll: Forte and Fadnes pack up their parachutes on the blue tarpaulin landing strip

“The only real limit when fying is your creativity”

Fjord focus: Forte sails down to the valley after activating her chute; (opposite) smiles after a successful landing

Amber Forte

“Breaking new ground is a big part of my motivation”

developed throughout subsequent decades, but it wasn’t until the ’90s that they became more dependable and available. A new sport was born. Wingsuit flyers either jump from the air like skydivers or do a BASE jump, soar through the air (record speed: 400kph), then open a parachute contained in their backpack to safely land.

Forte discovered the sport after leaving the UK – one week after her 18th birthday – on a one-way ticket to Australia, with a list already written of things she intended to try, including scuba diving and skydiving. She did her first skydive in New Zealand, but it wasn’t love at first flight. “I was in shock,” she says with a laugh. She did a few more jumps but then ran out of money, so she got a job at a skydiving centre, packing parachutes. “I could see how much everybody liked it,” Forte says, “and I remember feeling jealous of that.”

She decided she’d commit to skydiving: “I remember telling myself that even if I don’t like it, I’m going to make myself like it. I just wanted to be really good at something.” Then, as her skill developed, so did her passion. “I’ve always enjoyed movement, like

dancing,” Forte says. “I think what fascinated me in the beginning was that I could do those types of movements, like yoga and gymnastics, in a place where there’s nothing hard, no limits, it’s just freedom.”

By now back in Australia, she was working for another skydive centre. “But I wanted to pursue a career that wasn’t connected to commercial skydiving – I wanted to be so good at flying that I could teach people, or be hired to do projects, to be more creative. The first step was to take my pretty good flying skills and figure out how to be one of the best. There weren’t a lot of women doing that in Australia.”

In Norway, conditions seemed more equal. She booked another one-way ticket and settled in Voss with enough money to survive for a few months, then hassled the wind-tunnel centre for a job. There she met Fadnes and asked him about wingsuiting. “He said it feels like the most amazing rollercoaster, and the possibilities are endless. It sounded adventurous and exciting.” She paid him for a day of coaching. Did she love it instantly? Not really, she says. She loved the feeling of free flying from a plane, and the wingsuit felt a little more restrictive

at first. “Wingsuiting really became a fascination when I started jumping from mountains. I was definitely motivated by Espen because he was so passionate and had so much knowledge, so I was able to learn quickly.”

Forte was still skydiving regularly, and in 2019 she was part of the Norwegian skydiving team. She had done around 500 jumps that year and was preparing for the upcoming world championships. “It was very exciting but a lot of pressure,” she says. She was taking part in a demonstration jump and was supposed to land on a beach. Everything was telling her not to do it – Forte was tired, hadn’t eaten, the briefing was in Norwegian, and she wasn’t yet fluent – but she didn’t listen. “It stands as a reminder of how important it is not to be complacent.”

She took a low turn as she made her descent, hit the top of a tree, then struck

Forte parachutes from 10,000ft to land in Dover

“Flying makes me feel like I have belonging and purpose”

Bird’s-eye view: Forte flies high above the Spanish coastline during a training session

it: launch

“My accident is a reminder not to be complacent”

the ground hard. Fadnes watched it happen. “This slow-motion nightmare [was] unfolding in front of my eyes,” he says. “I ran towards her. When someone has a high-energy impact, they may have internal bleeding, so it’s very hard to know if this is their last 20 minutes or not, and you can’t do anything about it.”

Miraculously, Forte didn’t have internal bleeding, but she’d broken and dislocated her back and broken her femur. “I was just devastated,” she says. “I didn’t understand how I was going to deal with it.” She spent a month in hospital, and early on she promised herself she would get back to her sport.

Forte also started filming her recovery and sharing it on social media, hoping it would help others. “I’ve been in contact with so many people with similar experiences and it’s brought a lot of meaning to my life.”

Back at home, Fadnes did everything for her, including personal care. “In a weird way, it becomes intimate,” she says. “I never felt like he didn’t want to be there.” Forte was determined to do as much as she could, however hard – just getting from her bed to the kitchen and back to fill up her water bottle could leave her vomiting from the effort or having to sleep for several

hours. She worried it would affect their relationship. “We weren’t able to do the activity that was the very reason we bonded in the first place. The questions start: are we going to make it? What if I can’t keep jumping?”

After spending six weeks at a clinic in Oslo for people with high-impact injuries, six months after the injury, she was able to walk without crutches. A year later, Forte did her first skydive. Then, shortly afterwards, she did a BASE jump – Fadnes was away, and Forte hiked a mountain alone.

When she’s standing at the edge and she’s started her countdown, not much

Winging

time in Loen. Fadnes had to improvise to get this shot of Forte, mounting the camera on his foot before he took to the air

“The

passion for fying has to override fear, because the fear never goes”

stops Forte taking that leap. But that day her phone rang at that moment and she did decide to answer it – it was her surgeon telling her the latest scan results were fine and she could get back to normal life. She told him she was about to jump off a mountain.

Watching Forte jump, it seems both extremely technical and a little bit DIY. Her suit costs thousands, conditions are strictly monitored and, when planning new exit points, she and Fadnes use complicated GPS modelling. But as hers is such a niche activity, the landing strip is merely a piece of blue tarpaulin held down by rocks, and she’s now in the boiler room beneath the restaurant on top of the mountain, warming her hands on the pipes ahead of her next jump. She needs warm hands: “That’s the only way I can open my parachute, and if I can’t feel it…” Forte is typically about 15 seconds away from hitting the ground when she pulls that handle. Outside, getting ready, she swings her arms back and forth, sending blood to her hands. “It gets to the point where you just want to do it.”

Since the accident, things have changed a little, Forte admits. “I don’t want to stop what I’m doing, but it’s a battle when you take so much risk. Your mind tells you to be careful.” She smiles. “That doesn’t really include jumping off a mountain.”

The fear, she says, creeps in during the lead-up to the jump. “If we’re hiking a new mountain – for example, we were in Pakistan, opening new exit points – it’s scary because you know that if something happens, there’s no helicopter rescue; you’re in the middle of nowhere. On those type of jumps, I feel a lot of fear. And it’s rational, because you’re putting yourself in a high-risk situation.” She has learnt to disregard gut feelings – “Our gut is always going to tell us not to jump off the mountain” – and focus on how to decrease risk as much as possible.

Both she and Fadnes have lost friends and, she says, being with someone also involved in such a high-

risk activity is difficult. When Fadnes is jumping without Forte and he doesn’t answer his phone, she says her heart drops. “I just have to push it away and enjoy what we have, because it’s amazing, the life we have together.”

While mastering fear feels like an accomplishment, Forte is no adrenaline seeker. Sitting at home and knitting in front of the TV is also enjoyable, she says (in an alternative life, she’d be an interior designer). “I don’t need to be risking my life to feel like I’m living. The fascination is not in the risk or the adrenaline – I just love the feeling of flying. Often, I find myself wishing it wasn’t so dangerous, because sometimes when I stand on top of the mountain I feel sick. The passion for flying has to override fear, because the fear never goes away, and it shouldn’t. If it does, there’s probably something wrong with you.”

It’s possible to fly upwards for a short period if enough energy has been generated to transform vertical speed into horizontal lift, but she has a lot of control over other directions. “Like, down to the centimetre, left and right. You can fly up and down relative to

Life-saver: Forte now wears a flotation device after a touch-and-go experience in perilous water

somebody easily. If me and Espen are flying next to each other, we can hold hands, change sides, navigate between trees. People look at wingsuiting and think, ‘Why do you throw yourself off the mountain and hope you’re going to make it?’” But when someone is following the plane of a mountain, or going between crevasses, they’re not just at the mercy of gravity, she says: “You’re actively choosing to go there.”

It’s a lesson in living in the moment and letting go, she says. “It’s very rare that I’m flying and I think, ‘Oh, I need to send that email.’” Tense your body and the air feels hard and stiff. “But if you glide through it, then it becomes quite soft, you really feel like you’re in touch with what you’re doing.” Even when it’s cold and raindrops feel like daggers at speed, she feels powerful. “It makes me feel like I have belonging and purpose. It’s a feeling of freedom. Obviously, there are safety guidelines, but the only thing that really limits you is your creativity.”

After that first wingsuit flight since her accident, “I felt like crying on the landing,” Forte says. “After everything I’d been through, to stand in the landing area alone, taking that in, was powerful. It was like, ‘I did it.’”

When she lands in Dover, the first person to fly the Channel in a wingsuit, it might be a similar experience: a homecoming, and the start of a new stage in her career, but also a serious achievement, the pinnacle of her childhood dream to live life differently.

Forte and Fadnes are about to do the last jump of the day. They’re jumping together so he can get footage of her in the air, and also because it’s just what they do together. Earlier, Forte said she chose wingsuit flying over skydiving because of its proximity to nature and the opportunity to bring elegance to her flights. It seems some of her dancerlike grace may have rubbed off on Fadnes as they both launch themselves into the sky, swooping and wheeling, playing in the air. They look as natural as two birds in flight. amberforte.com

GOLD RUSH

Nias, Indonesia, 2018

With fawless timing, Hawaiian Mark Healey drops into a perfect wave at Lagundri Bay on the island of Nias in the golden evening light. “I can look at weather maps and surf forecasts around the world and pick the best spot for that swell, like the surfers do,” says Grambeau. “So you’ll have me and 10 of the world’s best surfers turn up at a very remote location like this. It was the biggest swell I’ve ever experienced in the Indian Ocean.”

THRILLS AND STILLS

Australian photographer TED GRAMBEAU has spent decades travelling to some of the world’s most remote and revered surf spots, in pursuit of the perfect shot

Words SIMON SCHREYER and RUTH M c LEOD

THE PHOTOGRAPHER TED GRAMBEAU

Despite sufering from seasickness, the Australian surf photographer has spent a lot of his career aboard boats in some of the world’s biggest swells. And after 40 years in the game he’s a master of his craft. Grambeau’s incredible images capture the spirit of surfng, the power of the ocean, and the drama inherent in the pursuit of catching the perfect wave. “You do whatever it takes to get the best shot,”

he says. “When you’re swimming, you’re literally in the impact zone of the waves, inches away from the surfers. It’s thrilling. But with the biggest waves, you’re more productive on a jet ski or in a boat. These surfers are searching for the ultimate limit in terms of them versus wave. And, like them, I’m constantly looking for ways to show things in a diferent way and push the limits.”

Instagram: @tedgrambeau

BLACK RUN

Shipstern Bluf, Tasmania, 2023

“This is Australian surfer Russell Bierke catching an exceptionally hollow wave, which is an extremely powerful wave in very shallow water. It’s like the black run on a ski slope. Russell has a reputation as a fearless bigwave surfer, and he’s technically very profcient. Even the best continually push their own personal limits in pursuit of the perfect ride.”

CODE RED Teahupo‘o, Tahiti, 2011

The day this image was shot, a surf contest with world-class pros such as Mick Fanning had to be cancelled due to the phenomenally large swell.

“It’s known as a Code Red swell,” says Grambeau. “That’s when the extreme surfers fy in, like Nathan Fletcher [pictured]. I had Mick on the boat with me and he was screaming, ‘This is crazy!’ The competition surfers were in awe of these guys.”

“This image portrays the ocean’s spectacular power”

WATER POWER (above)

Nazaré, Portugal, 2022

The massive surf of Nazaré is worldfamous. A 5,000m-deep undersea canyon along that section of the coast allows waves to reach the shore without losing energy, creating 25m-high explosions of water like the one shown here. “For me, this image portrays the spectacular power of the ocean, particularly in relation to the little human silhouettes,” says Grambeau.

INTO THE BLUE (right)

Teahupo‘o, Tahiti, 1998

To capture legendary Tahitian surfer Manoa Drollet in the blue interior of a wave, Grambeau freedived below the surface, wearing a weighted belt to stabilise himself. “I’m inside the wall of the wave; you can literally see an internal perspective of the wave breaking,” he says. Even more remarkable is that this was shot on a flm camera. “When I saw the image, I fell in love,” Grambeau adds.

PINK WAVE

Nazaré, Portugal, 2021

Spectators watch epic waves roll into the Nazaré shoreline at dusk. “It’s a massive swell, probably waves of 60 feet [18m] at least,” says Grambeau. “It was spectacular but also beautiful, almost tranquil.”

“It’s a massive swell at Nazaré, waves of 60 feet at least“

“This shot makes the hair on the back of surfers’ necks stand up”

RISKY BUSINESS (above)

Teahupo‘o, Tahiti, 2022

It’s every surfer’s nightmare: not being able to make it over the crest of a wave. Thankfully, Peruvian Rodrigo Reinoso came out of his ocean tumble with only minor cuts and bruises. “This shot makes the hair on the back of surfers’ necks stand up,” says Grambeau. “A wave that takes you backwards into the whitewater is always terrifying. And this is like a normal wave on steroids.” The arresting image made it to the fnals of Red Bull Illume Image Quest 2023 (Masterpiece by Sölden category).

TUNNEL VISION

Teahupo‘o, Tahiti, 2022 Florida-born, New York-bred surfer Balaram Stack, who in 2022 won the prestigious Pipe Masters contest, stays laser-focused on making it out of the perfect barrel wave. “It’s unusual to fnd a surfer from New York who’s technically one of the best in the world,” says Grambeau.

Ted Grambeau

BEST FOOT FORWARD

Teahupo‘o, Tahiti, 2015

For Owen Wright, 2015 was a year of extreme highs and lows, culminating in a devastating injury, but in Teahupo‘o that August he was on top form. “It was a privilege to document Owen’s elegant freesurfng,” Grambeau says of the Aussie ace, who retired from the sport in 2023.

For more jaw-dropping action photography from Red Bull Illume Image Quest 2023 – including Ted Grambeau’s winner in the Energy category – click on the QR code, or go to redbullillume.com

ENHANCE YOUR ABS AND BACK WORKOUT

Muscle Stimulation controlled by smartphoneapp coaching tracks your progress and helps you stay focused on your goal

ROLLING DEEP

Words JESSICA HOLLAND Photography SAM RILEY

The signature style of roller skating in London involves speeding backwards to the sounds of jungle, but US-style ‘jam skating’ – freestyle and choreographed dancing to R&B – is also a big part of the scene. Here, a group of roller skaters gather to dance in a Vauxhall car park

Roller skating

Across the Thames on a clear Sunday evening, an early-spring sunset is lighting up the skyscrapers in Canary Wharf. On this side of the river, fenced off from the plastic grass of a golf range, dozens of Londoners have gathered on an empty stretch of tarmac to leave the stresses of surviving in the city behind. With roller skates on their feet, they glide around the space as R&B floats from a speaker into the peach-coloured sky. As the city around them buzzes, here there’s a chance to exhale and be in the moment, connecting with the music, the feeling of motion, the breeze on their skin, and each other.

“It’s like everything I’ve ever needed encapsulated in one,” says Nalan Derby, 34, who’s here with the other three members of skate collective Sk8gotchi, named after the Tamagotchi gadgets dangling from their skates. “I’ve built a sisterhood through skating. It’s a blessing I could never have imagined.”

The only notable feature of this patch of tarmac on a riverside pathway in North Greenwich is its iconic view. But across the capital, far more modest spots have helped make London the UK centre of a vibrant, creative roller-skating culture that boomed

during the pandemic and continues to grow. In multi-storey car parks, on basketball courts, weaving in and out of cars on the street and on scraps of unused flat ground like this, roller skaters have gathered to feel the pure joy of dancing and speed skating on eight wheels.

The roller-skating community has been active in London for decades, inspired in part by the innovative dance-skate styles coming out of US cities such as Atlanta, Cleveland, Detroit and Chicago. London is known for the chop and shuffle: flying backwards with a jerky, high-speed crossover, preferably to hammering jungle beats. There are middle-aged Londoners who remember an ’80s heyday of roller discos and street skating, and a shopping centre in Stratford after hours became a pivotal gathering place in the 2010s, but this recent spike in popularity feels different, its sustained rapid growth fuelled by social media.

“It’s a snowball effect,” says Shakeel ‘Shak’ KiddSmith. The 28-year-old, who has been roller skating regularly since 2011, formed a skate team called Wavy On 8 in 2019 and organises a pre-Carnival skate party every summer involving hundreds of

Shakeel Kidd-Smith, photographed in Greenwich: “Roller skating isn’t just one thing; it’s community, freedom, enjoyment. It’s about friendships. It’s collaborative, productive, magical. It’s played a massive role in me being who I am. There was always a skate community, but it’s given birth to a much wider audience now. It’s here to stay. Honestly, I can’t imagine a life without it”

Mohammed Awwal

in Greenwich: “Skating is like a second life, an escape from the real world. Last summer, I’d skate from Tottenham to Greenwich, and we made shade by tying a blanket to the fence because it was so hot. There were so many people just vibing, big speaker in the middle. When it got dark, we’d go to the front of the O2 and skate out there. Summer on roller skates is perfect”

Azeez

Levi Gonzales at a meet-up in Vauxhall: “The London skate scene has introduced me to so many talented and beautiful people –people I never thought I’d be friends with. Whether you’re Black, white, Asian or whatever background, it brings people together. The scene can get competitive, but it pushes people. You just have to remember to race your own race”

The culture is thriving in grimy, out-ofthe-way spots

Roller skating

others. “More and more people are paying attention,” he says. Two new roller rinks have opened in London in the last five years, and Usher danced on roller skates this year during his Super Bowl performance, as Kidd-Smith points out: “It’s hit a peak, not just in the UK but globally.”

While companies and superstars may be starting to jump on the trend, the culture is thriving in grimy, out-of-the-way spots where people can spend all night rolling freely. The basement of a supermarket car park in Vauxhall a week ago was packed with hundreds of roller skaters until the early hours, socialising, practising choreographed moves and footwork, and chopping backwards through the space in a blur. Many were wearing Bauer ice-hockey boots with the blades ripped off, mounted onto roller-skate hardware – a cheap, ingenious way to build a decent set-up that won’t fall apart if you skate every day. Every now and then, a roar reverberated off the concrete walls as motorcyclists did wheelies at the other end of the space.

“It gained clout on TikTok last summer,” 17-yearold Michael Onas said, explaining why so many teens choose to spend their time rolling around a car-park

basement. He was resting an injured knee, sitting on a rail as skaters flashed past. “People follow the crowd, but after that, they actually enjoy it.” Young people had been coming every night to perfect their moves, although Fridays were always the most popular.

It’s common for skaters to be kicked out of repurposed spaces like car parks, but Vauxhall had been growing in popularity for years, with supermarket staff turning a blind eye – until that night in March, one of the busiest yet. A few days later, the teenagers found that the basement floor, their makeshift rink, had been barricaded off. For some, it feels like the end of an era, but not everyone is concerned.

“The scene’s always going to move,” says Mohammed Awwal Azeez, an 18-year-old basketball player, model and A-level student who describes himself as part of roller skating’s “TikTok generation”. He first borrowed skates from a youth centre three years ago, got hooked, and was recently invited to join Wavy On 8. “Some people think that because we’re getting kicked out of spots, it’s the downfall of skating, but I don’t see it stopping any time soon.”

Sitting on a camping chair at the Greenwich riverside spot as the sun dips behind the skyline,

Nalan Derby of the Sk8gotchi collective on the streets of Holborn: “I reverted to Islam a few months ago. It’s been like a rebirth – I’ve been finding myself, and skating helps with that. I’ll be out skating in the car park, pull out a mat, pray on the floor, go back to skating. I love the fact that you can have an openly gay person, a Muslim, a preppy white boy, a guy from the ends, and no one will bat an eyelid. Everyone will be in the middle, dancing together. It’s love”

Roller skating

Ashley Murray (left) and Jameka Colquhoun of

“Before I started skating, I was in a dirty depression with a capital D,” Murray says. “Without skating, I don’t think I’d be the same person. When you put your skates on, you feel like maybe you’re not so tired”

Sk8gotchi in Greenwich:

Young skaters are turning the city into their playground

in words – it’s more of a feeling. I feel free. It’s a form of art. It’s a way to express myself. It’s empowering. I can be in my own world and just shut everybody else out”

Jodie Stewart of Sk8gotchi on a solo session at Westfield Stratford City: “Skating is hard to explain

This page: “We’ve all been on our separate journeys,” says 19-year-old Ricky Rampage, pictured in Vauxhall, “and one day we woke up and chose skating. Who would’ve known eight wheels would lead us to our family?”

Opposite page, top: “I found out about the community on TikTok,” says 18-year-old Londoner Aliyah ‘Lee’ Puertas-Thomas, second from right. “It’s been increasing every year. I look forward to skating every day. People are always open to teaching you stuff, and because the scene is so diverse, you also learn about everyone’s culture”

Opposite, bottom: brothers Andre (front) and Antoine take a skate break in Vauxhall. Antoine wears Bauer skates, the brand most associated with London’s roller-skating community. While some buy ready-made set-ups, others rip the blades off cheaper Bauer ice skates and attach roller-skate hardware (plates, trucks and wheels)

Skaters gather to feel the pure joy of dancing on eight wheels

eager to break his Ramadan fast with a bag of sweets, Azeez explains that while some are “vibe skaters” – those more invested in the social side of skating –for him there’s more to it than that. “I love the vibe, but I’m skating because I want to be the best version of myself that I can be. I’m taking different styles from different people, learning. I want to go to America and experience how they skate.”

Roller skating is a global phenomenon, with US cities such as Detroit and Chicago pushing the form forward and Barcelona hosting Europe’s biggest annual roller-skate event. But there’s a special, gritty inventiveness to roller skating in London. You can buy a ticket to dedicated roller rinks out in the west and north of the city, but the most creative and passionate young skaters are turning the whole city into their playground, making rinks out of any flat space they can find. “Outdoor skating is very much a UK thing,” Kidd-Smith says. “That feeling of freedom, the wind in your hair, the rush of skating down a steep hill, hitting 30mph [48kph], we love it.”

For skaters like Derby, a single mother who took it up during the COVID lockdown, it goes deeper. She says skating has helped her rediscover herself: “It’s a

couple of hours when I’m not a mum, I’m not Nalan. I’m just one person putting on skates, pushing out my problems through those wheels. Just me and skating.”

Her Sk8gotchi sisters, Jameka Colquhoun, Ashley Murray and Jodie Stewart, have similar stories to tell about suffering through the pandemic, feeling isolated and lost. “I don’t think I would be here without skating,” Colquhoun says. “It helped me open up.” Murray nods: “It takes you back to your child-like self. You’re present, grounded.” It’s hard for the four of them to find time when they can all get together, what with work and Nalan’s childcare responsibilities, but today they’ve managed to make it happen. Their laughter and warm energy are infectious as they dance and race.

This Greenwich riverside spot is likely to be overflowing with skaters again this summer, along with an ever-evolving constellation of car parks, sports courts and street spots, as the word is spread on social media platforms and in group chats. “It’ll only keep growing,” Azeez says, “and the London skate scene is definitely gaining notoriety. We’re going to be noticed worldwide. This is only the beginning.”

Instagram: @sk8gotchi; @wavyon8

Sk8gotchi’s Jameka Colquhoun enjoys the last of the day’s sunlight at a riverside skate spot in Greenwich

LESSONS FROM THE GLOBE

DREW BINSKY has devoted his adult life to travelling to every country on our planet. Here, he shares some of the wisdom that he’s gained from a decade of exploration

Words LOU BOYD

Photography DREW GOLDBERG

Phileas Fogg, eat your heart out: globetrotting internet star Drew Binsky, photographed in Cappadocia, Turkey

Drew Binsky

When Drew Goldberg – better known by his online name, Drew Binsky – was a young child, his parents gifted him a globe. Growing up in suburban Scottsdale, Arizona, young Goldberg would sit in his room, spin the globe and dream of travelling to wherever his finger landed. “I would memorise the capitals and countries I landed on,” the 32-yearold American recalls. “I really loved geography as a kid, but the idea of actually traveling to all those places seemed so far-fetched.”

Today, that same globe sits in Goldberg’s home, which he shares with his wife and his dog. However, if he were to spin it now, no matter where his finger landed, he would no longer have to imagine distant lands – as of October 2021, the online content creator has visited every country on the planet. Goldberg has become one of the world’s most successful and most viewed online travel content creators, filming his adventures and posting personal stories for his followers.

Goldberg’s – or rather, Drew Binsky’s – travel stories rank among the most watched videos on the internet. His YouTube channel hosts more than a thousand uploads chronicling his numerous journeys and has amassed in excess of four million subscribers. Across all his social media platforms Goldberg has almost 13 million subscribers, and total views of his explorations number more than four billion – that’s around one view for every two people in the world’s population. Delving into diverse landscapes, cultures and customs, his travelogues range from a visit to a polyglot in Budapest, Hungary, who speaks 22 languages,

to meeting the tallest people on the planet in South Sudan; taking part in the Hindu celebration of Dussehra in India; and countless other encounters with people and in places that many of his viewers might otherwise have never seen.

“I never travelled overseas at all until college,” says Goldberg. “Then I went to study in Prague in my junior year of college. That was the turning point. The moment I was introduced to a new culture and started having these new experiences, I knew my future was meant to be spent travelling.”

Realising that, at the time, studying in Prague was far more affordable than in the US, the then 20-year-old dropped out of his degree at the University in Wisconsin and enrolled as a student in Czechia. Once he’d graduated, he moved to Korea, where he began teaching English and started a small online blog, The Hungry Partier. “As people began reading that blog, I started making a little money from it, around $2,000 a month,” says Goldberg. “With that, I had the means to make money while travelling. That’s what propelled me into this life, and it’s grown ever since.”

For most people, having visited every country on Earth would mark the end of the adventure, but Goldberg says he has no intention of ever curbing his travels. “Travel is the best education anyone can get,” he says. “There’s nothing that compares to just going places and meeting people, learning about their cultures. You can spend your life reading books or watching movies, but if you’re not actually there, your senses are not stimulated. You can’t smell the air, you can’t touch, you can’t feel, you can’t taste. Once you’ve had that level of experience, why would you ever go back to one place, day after day?”

Now, Goldberg’s greatest ambition is for his videos to inspire yet more people to leave their comfort zone and experience the world for themselves. “Travel makes you wiser, more wellrounded, more educated and more understanding,” he says. “If everybody had those characteristics, I think we’d have more empathy, and the world would be safer. Not everyone can just get on a 15-hour flight, but I encourage everyone to travel, even if it’s within their own country. Maybe just hop one border. I’m sat in Arizona right now, and if I drove two hours south I’d already be in Mexico. That could be a totally new experience, even a fresh perspective, but many people will have never thought of doing it.”

Here, Goldberg shares some standout stories from roads less travelled…

“Travel makes you wiser, more well-rounded, more understanding”

THE PHILIPPINES

A visit to the world’s oldest tattoo artist

“In the Philippines, there’s a 107-year-old woman named Whang-od who’s the last remaining tribal tattoo artists of her kind. She gets her needles from trees, her ink from charcoal, and the beating stick she tattoos with is

bamboo. I’d heard a lot about Whang-od – she’s a living legend in the Philippines and around the world – but I’d also been told that it can be hard to find her as she lives far away from anywhere, and everyone who visits her must work to her schedule.

“When we were in the Philippines in 2023, I drove 15 hours from Manila to try to meet Whang-od. Once we’d

PHILIPPINES

Glowing places: Binsky marvels at nature’s beauty on the island of Koh Tao, Thailand

Drew Binsky

parked, we hiked through rice fields and mountains. Most people imagine the Philippines is just beaches, but this part of the main island has really high elevation and incredible nature.

“Thankfully, we found that she was awake, in a good mood and wanted to see us. I sat down and interviewed her, and she told me about her life. She’s been doing these tribal tattoos for 95 years – from when she was about 10 years old – and she’s one of the last people alive still tattooing in this style. While she doesn’t have any children of her own, she’s passing the skill down to others in her family, in the hope that it doesn’t end with her. After our interview, she gave me one of her tattoos. It’s on my leg: her signature three marks in a line. It’s the most special tattoo I’ve ever got, and I could be one of the last people to receive one. It means so much to me.”

BRUNEI

A lesson in openminded travelling

“It’s important to remember that travelling is subjective and there are so many variables: bad luck with weather, health, who you’re with and where you’re sleeping can make or break a trip. During my first time in Brunei, Southeast Asia, in 2013, I was staying in a really shitty hotel, I slept badly, and I was travelling with a person I didn’t connect with very well. I generally had a terrible experience and made a video about it.

“But, after almost a decade of travelling, and with many

“If I hadn’t gone back, I’d have missed out on the true Brunei”

BRUNEI

PALAU

UZBEKISTAN PHILIPPINES

more experiences behind me, I began looking back at that Brunei trip and feeling regret at how I’d left. So in 2022 I decided to go back. This time I met a different local with whom I clicked instantly and who made my stay enjoyable, I stayed in better accommodation, and I found myself appreciating everything more. It highlighted to me the importance of giving places a second chance.

“Brunei is a blend of Indonesian and Malaysian cultures, has delicious food, friendly locals, and so many activities to explore. During my return visit, I discovered hidden gems like the picturesque Ulu Temburong National Park, an unspoilt jungle known as ‘the Green Jewel of Brunei’, which is teeming with lush greenery

and wildlife – an example of the country’s efforts to protect forestry and wild spaces. I also had the opportunity to visit stilt houses by the water, where a hospitable local invited me in for a home-cooked meal.

“Travelling has taught me that it’s unfair to judge a whole country based solely on one negative experience. There may be other factors at play, so don’t always trust your first impression. If I had, I’d have missed out on the true Brunei. It’s a fascinating destination.”

ITTOQQORTOORMIIT, GREENLAND

The tiny community living at the tip of the world

“Greenland is a truly fascinating part of the planet. More than 95 per cent of its 57,000 residents inhabit the west coast. However, if you traverse the second-largest ice sheet on Earth, you’ll stumble upon a tiny settlement nestled on the rocky eastern shores and known as Ittoqqortoormiit. It’s home to just 350 people.

“Visiting this region of Greenland is a challenge –only a handful of commercial ships make the journey to the settlement each year, one of which I was fortunate to board during my trip. Ittoqqortoormiit itself comprises only one grocery store, one church and one jail, which is often empty and closed. The brightly coloured buildings resemble life-sized Monopoly homes, while Greenland Huskies roam the streets, not as domestic pets but as sled dogs used for transporting goods. Since no vegetables or fruit grow naturally on the island, the residents rely on fishing in the local waters and hunting walruses, polar bears and whales for sustenance.

“The remoteness of the settlement almost made me feel like I was discovering a

GREENLAND

READY TO TAKE ON THE WORLD

Binsky’s seven travel essentials

This summer, Drew Binsky will be waiting at the finish line to greet the winners of Red Bull Can You Make It?. In this adventure race, teams from more than 60 countries depart from one of five Starting Points –Amsterdam, Barcelona, Budapest, Copenhagen or Milan – and try to make it to the finish line in Berlin in just seven days, using only cans of Red Bull as currency and stockpiling amazing experiences along the way. Here, Binsky shares his seven travel essentials for participants, or anyone else looking to set out on their own grand adventure around the world…

The contact details of the nearest embassy

“Get this information before you go, for every country you plan to – or think you might –visit. Write down the address and phone number in a safe place where you can access them even if there’s no signal.”

A traveller’s wardrobe

“You don’t need much clothing when travelling. As I always say, ‘Pack twice the money and half the clothes.’ If you need something on the road, you can always buy it! Of course, if you’re going to a cold climate, you’ll need to add warm layers. If you’re

travelling for a long time, use a [launderette] – it’s supereasy to do a load. But I don’t recommend hotel laundry services – they’re overpriced.”

A bunch of locks

“They’re your best friends. Use them to keep your bags secure from other travellers [when at a hostel], cleaning staff [at a hotel], or just potential thieves in general.”

Travel insurance information

“You should always have travel insurance. World Nomads and Allianz are great options.”

Extra cash in US dollars

“It’s the world’s most widely accepted currency and is easily exchanged anywhere.”

Photocopies of any important documents

“ More times than not, you’ll need copies of your passport, yellow fever vaccine, flight tickets etc. Be sure to have them printed and organised.”

Basic medical supplies

“Going to the doctor while travelling is never fun. Of course, sometimes it can’t be helped, but you can avoid needless visits by carrying your own medicine bag. You know what you might need. If you regularly use a pain reliever or allergy medicine at home, take some with you.”

EGYPT

KOREA

VIETNAM

HONG KONG

BAHRAIN

RUSSIA

“In the CAR, we were greeted with so much energy”

hidden outpost on the Moon, yet the locals were so welcoming and friendly. As someone deeply intrigued by Arctic communities, Ittoqqortoormiit stands out as exceptionally remote compared to most. Witnessing the resilience of its people as they endure incredibly cold winters after the ocean freezes and supply boats can no longer reach them, meaning they’re truly isolated, was amazing. Existing in such isolation, community is paramount in this place – they rely on each other.”

CONGO RAINFOREST, CENTRAL AFRICA

An all-night party with the pygmies

“I’m fascinated by how people on our planet live. For me, observing unique cultures is like hitting the refresh button on life. Since I spend most of my time in big cities, it’s a reminder that humanity everywhere is amazing. The continent of Africa is home to the majority of the world’s most remote tribes, such as those in the Omo Valley of Ethiopia and in Northern Namibia. In 2019, I travelled deep inside the Central African Republic [CAR] to meet an ethnic group called the Pygmies, who are scattered around the dense tropical forests in that part of the continent.

“On average, the Pygmies are 35-per-cent shorter than most other human beings, and anthropologists still don’t

know why this is. The Pygmies live with almost no aspects of modernity in their day-today lives, so that’s no phones, no cars, no electricity, no internet, no television, and absolutely no connection to the outside world.

“Along with my wife Deanna and a local guide, I took a long road trip south-west of Bangui [the CAR’s capital] to a very remote area of the country in the middle of the forest. We were dropped at the end of a dirt road and then hiked through the hot forest for two hours, finally walking up a big hill to enter [the Pygmies’] living space.

“All the locals welcomed us with so much energy, even though most of the people there hadn’t seen a foreigner before, and many had never left their village or this part of the rainforest. While I went to sleep for a few hours in the forest, they stayed up all night celebrating, and some were drinking, dancing and smoking until the sun came up. I awoke in the middle of the rainforest to happy, drunk people dancing around, enjoying their day and welcoming me into their way of life.

“I also have a memory from that trip of being in a crazy rainstorm and one guy inviting us to shelter inside his hut. He gave us some of the porridge he was making and comforted us. It was just so special and truly one of the best travel experiences I’ve ever had. The main reason I travel is because I’m so curious about how other people live, and this was a beautiful thing to experience.”

Drew Binsky’s new book, Just Go: A Globe-Trotting Guide to Travel Like an Expert, Connect Like a Local, and Live the Adventure of a Lifetime, is out now, published by Penguin Random House. Visit redbullcanyoumakeit.com to see what teams get up to during the event

KUWAIT

INDIA

VENTURE

Enhance, equip, and experience your best life

RIDING THE WAVES

Bikerafting the Inner Hebrides, Scotland

“The horizon in both directions feels an incredibly long way away. The swell picks up, and it’s hard not to feel very exposed – a tiny speck in an endless ocean”

The late-summer sky is darkening to match the Sound of Jura’s deep, moody waters. As the waves crash overboard into my 2.5m-long packraft, concerns pinball around the back of my mind: “What if the boat lets out air?”, “What if the tides are so strong that I’m pushed out to open sea?” But this is no time for doubt. Besides, it’s in these very moments that I feel most alive.

The infatable, lightweight vessel is wrestled from side to side, but it could be worse as my bow-mounted bike is at least providing ballast. The wind is manageable and I’m progressing as planned. An hour into my voyage, I’m almost halfway on my 10km crossing from Jura to the Scottish mainland, but the horizon in both directions still feels an incredibly long way away. The swell picks up, and it’s hard not to feel very exposed – a tiny speck in an endless ocean. Although based in Chamonix, I grew up in the UK and was, at one time, a regular

traveller to the Scottish Highlands, but with 900 ofshore islands, only 89 of them permanently inhabited, there’s still so much to explore. And in bikerafting I thought I’d found the perfect self-sufcient, humanpowered mode of transport to do it.

For anyone unfamiliar, the concept is simple: an infatable raft rolls up and fts neatly onto your handlebars while riding, and when you come across a body of water, your low-budget transformer turns into a raft with the bike perched on the front. I’d seen others bikerafting on calm freshwater lakes and even gentle rivers, but I wondered how the set-up would cope with bigger sea crossings.

Three days earlier, I’d arrived in Islay to fnd out. Riding away from the CalMac ferry landing in Port Askaig, I cut directly south-west across the Inner Hebrides’ southernmost island to the village of Portnahaven, where a tip-of from a curious shop owner about a Caribbeanlike beach has me heading of-piste and

Channel hop

The Inner Hebrides comprises 79 islands (only 35 of them inhabited) off the rugged west coast of Scotland. Although the archipelago is remote and sparsely populated, CalMac ferries run year-round services to 11 islands from the mainland, where direct public transport links to Glasgow make it possible to board as a foot passenger and with a bike. visitscotland.com

uphill along the west coast on my fully laden gravel bike.

My eforts are soon rewarded. A sea breeze greets my face as turquoise waters gently lap the abandoned white sands of Machir Bay. This is what I came for. Armed with camping supplies and exercising my right to roam, I pitch my tent, eat dinner, and take the opportunity to plunge into the cool Atlantic waters au natural, which is as liberating as I’d imagined.

On waking the next day, the calm has been replaced with blustery conditions more typical of these isles. Weaving along farm tracks and through grassy dunes, I make it back onto a vaguely tarmacked country lane and civilisation (well, a patchy 4G signal). Forecasts suggest winds are due to pick up; with an open-water raft crossing to Jura planned, it’s prudent to get cracking. I battle a savage headwind, but after a big push I reach the Sound of Islay – a 1.5km channel of turbulent water separating the two islands. The

Commanding view: the camping spot of Rolph’s dreams, up on Skye’s Cuillin Ridge

Isle seat: Rolph rides one last stretch of tarmac on Jura before hiking to the bothy; (opposite) in the raft, bike precariously perched; (opening page) Rolph’s bikerafting set-up

test:

wind tearing down the strait at Port Askaig means I’d end up in Ireland, so I ride further east to factor in being blown downwind. After battling dense forest and bracken, I lower my bike down a sea clif, onto the rocks below, and infate the raft.

Carefully avoiding scores of jellyfsh, I push of. It feels good to fnally be paddling at sea. I meticulously watch various points on Jura’s shore to assess my progress both forwards and – crucially – sideways with the wind. As expected, I’m being blown down the sound, but I spot a sizeable, sheltered beach that I’m confdent I can make. All in, I land 4km west of my target, but it matters little as I have a whole new island to explore.

Though not too dissimilar in size to Islay, its neighbour has a diferent character. The skyline is dominated by the impressive Paps of Jura peaks; to the west and north, there are notoriously rough seas, along with the Corryvreckan – the world’s third-largest whirlpool. Rich forests bridge the peaty upland and fourishing seas, and the sound of nature resonates all over the island. One road makes navigating easy, too. Arriving at

almost nothing. Crossing the boggy, pathless hills won’t be possible by bike, so I cram what I can into my backpack and continue on foot. The atmosphere is textbook Scotland. A bar of grey clouds cling to the rolling hills, and persistent rain keeps me cool on an otherwise muggy day. After a couple of hours of wading through wet moorland, I get my frst glimpse of tonight’s accommodation, its bright white walls and vibrant orange roof standing out vividly in a landscape otherwise flled with pastel tones. I light the bothy’s fre and crack open the 18-year-old whisky that I picked up in Craighouse, feeling lucky to have this amazing place all to myself.

the largest village, Craighouse, I explore Jura’s whisky distillery and grab some all-important calories at the hotel before fnding a camping spot high in the hills. Strong easterly winds scupper the next day’s paddle to the mainland, but this gives me time to further explore Jura. I aim for Glengarrisdale bothy and, riding north, the road gradually deteriorates to

The next morning, a snatch of phone signal suggests that the wind might temper enough to attempt the full 10km crossing back to the mainland. I set of an hour before slack water – a short period of time when there’s no tide in either direction – to give myself the best chance of a trouble-free crossing, and not even the choppy conditions can wipe the smile of my face. After two hours, I can make out details on the mainland sea clifs, signalling that I must be close. The fnal battle is upwind and feels relentless until I fnally reach a sheltered bay where I crash down onto the beach. Crossing complete, it’s clear that when the conditions are right, there’s nothing that can stop you – land or sea – if you’re prepared to go with the fow. On a bikerafting expedition, you’ll always be a slave to the power of nature.

Aaron Rolph is a British adventurer and photographer based in the Alps. He founded the British Adventure Collective and specialises in human-powered ski and bike expeditions all over the world; britishadventurecollective.com

Parting shot: the sun’s golden rays set over the Inner Hebrides’ islands and their sea lochs

Sweet drams: founded in 1810 and rebuilt in the 1960s, the Jura Distillery is an award winner

Endurance

Rolph’s adventure from Islay to Jura saw him tackle choppy waters by raft, wind-blasted trails on two wheels, and rugged peaks by foot

ENJOY THE THRILL OF SPEED

DISCOVER

Summer camp

Upgrade your staycation and sleep out in style with the latest in outdoor shelters, gear and accessories

PHOTOGRAPHY TIM KENT

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Dometic Hub Perfect for: fuss-free versatility

Say goodbye to fumbling with tent poles. This box-shaped shelter has an infatable frame that can be pumped up from one valve so it’s pitched and protecting you from the elements in seconds. Its modular design and long list of accessories make it multifunctional, whether you’re just after a free-standing canopy in case of bad weather, a decked-out tent with an annex for sleeping, or a means of adding space to your 4x4 or camper van. The Hub’s lightweight material is woven from a recycled plastic-bottle yarn that’s more durable than steel and fbreglass poles, while it covers all bases by featuring UV protection and waterproofng, making it ideal for the UK’s unpredictable conditions dometic.com

This page: DOMETIC Hub, Hub Window Panel, Go Hard Storage 50L, Soft Storage 20L, Compact Camp Chair, Area Camp Light, Hydration Water Faucet, Compact Camp Table, Hydration Water Jug 11L and Compact Camp Bench, dometic.com. Opposite: HELINOX Beach Chair, helinox.co.uk; STUBBLE&CO The Adventure Bag, stubbleandco.com; YETI Roadie 24 Cool Box, uk.yeti.com; HYDRO FLASK 20oz Wide Mouth Bottle and 12oz All Around Tumbler, hydroflask.com; VOLCOM Pistol Stone T-shirt and Ray Stone Cap, volcom.co.uk; THE JAMES BRAND The Hell Gap Knife, thejamesbrand.eu; SNOW PEAK Titanium Multi Compact Cooker Set, uk.snowpeak.com; SALOMON X Ultra 360 Shoes, salomon.com; BIOLITE AlpenGlow 500 Lantern, uk.bioliteenergy.com; SLOWTIDE Journey Fleece Blanket, slowtide.co.uk

#2 Transformative top box

TentBox Classic 2.0 Perfect for: affordable getaways

Dreamt of a camper but dread the eye-watering investment? This ideal alternative transforms a car or van into your very own motorhome. The TentBox Classic 2.0 may look like any other top box when not in use – it can even be used to store overnight essentials like pillows and bedding –but, once at your destination, automatic gas-powered struts turn the ABS shell into a roof-bar-mounted bedroom in less than a minute. Inside, it’s roomy enough for two, plus all your gear, and the dual-layer foam mattress guarantees a good night’s sleep. Its elevated position means you don’t have to worry if it’s wet and muddy underfoot, and the four-season design makes spontaneous, year-round adventure possible. tentbox.com

This page: TENTBOX Classic 2.0, KitchenBox and Chuck Box, tentbox.com. Opposite: THULE Chasm 40L Duffel Bag, thule. com; HELINOX Tactical Chair One, helinox.co.uk; HELLY HANSEN Verglas Tur Pants, hellyhansen. com; DOMETIC Thermo Mug 45, dometic.com; ANKER Solix C1000 Portable Power Station, anker.com; THRUDARK Aigis Jacket, thrudark. com; PRIMUS Alika Camping Stove, Campfire Prep Set and Longspoon Black, primusequipment. co.uk; SNOW PEAK Field Cooker Pro, uk.snowpeak. com; SOLO STOVE Mesa XL Tabletop Fire Pit, solostove.com; KEEN Zionic Waterproof Hiking Boots, keenfootwear.com; HAMILTON Khaki Field Watch, hamiltonwatch.com; FLORENCE MARINE X Airtex Boonie, florencemarinex.co.uk

This page: THULE Outset, thule.com. Opposite: VOITED Slumber Jacket, voited.co.uk; DEUTER AC Lite 16 Backpack, deuter.com; MIZU V12 Bottle, mizulife.eu; 686 Everywhere Hybrid Shorts, eu.686. com; MONS ROYALE Icon Merino Air-Con LS Top and Ridgeline 5 Panel Cap, eu.monsroyale.com; FINISTERRE Firecrest Hooded Jacket, finisterre. com; SILVA Scout 3XTH Head Torch, silvasweden. uk; BLACK DIAMOND Orbiter 650 Lantern, black diamondequipment.com; CHROME INDUSTRIES Sabin 3L Sling, chromeindustries.com; PROTEST Faster Short Swim Shorts, protest.eu; GARMIN Instinct Crossover Solar Watch, garmin.com; SEA TO SUMMIT Detour Stainless Steel Cutlery Set, seatosummit.co.uk; JBL Xtreme 4 Speaker, uk.jbl. com; MERRELL Moab Speed 2 Shoes, merrell.com

#3 The towable tent

Thule Outset Perfect for: off-grid adventuring

Being expert in all things trailers, bike racks and car-mounted awnings, Thule knows a thing or two about exploring the outdoors, so it’s worth paying attention when the Swedish frm enters the towable tent space. The Outset is its compact, creative solution to a tent that can attach to a towbar – ideal if your car has no roof rack, or if it’s already transporting a storage box or bikes. A built-in stand gives this two-person shelter aboveground positioning, allowing you to pitch on rough or uneven terrain without needing a new back the next morning. Unlike a roof-mounted tent, it can also be unhitched from a car when in use, enabling you to come and go from your base without having to pack up camp each time. thule.com

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With a team of 14 to manage in his day job as a charity worker, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Max Stanford already had enough on his plate. But when not at work, the 36-year-old from Brixton, south London, is busy with another, allconsuming passion: creating competitive-eating content on social media.

The dedicated gym-goer was exploring ways to beef up when he discovered the world of competitive eating, which appeared to ofer a literal solution. “In 2019, I was looking to put some muscle on, and I needed to increase my calories,” Stanford says. “Then a friend saw a big burger challenge at a diner and thought that I should take it on, so I did.”

Five years down the line, Stanford is ranked top of the British Eating League, and his YouTube channel, Max vs Food, has almost 20,000 subscribers. He has also qualifed for the Super Bowl of speed-eating, Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island, New York. In July, Stanford will line up alongside other members of the globe’s gut-busting elite, including 16-time champion Joey Chestnut from Kentucky, US. Around 35,000 adoring live spectators, plus millions more online, will watch as the devoted devourers attempt to put away the most hot dogs in 10 minutes. (Chestnut holds the current record: 76.)

This is just the latest pit stop in Stanford’s extreme eating adventure. His completed challenges include demolishing 50 Cadbury’s Creme Eggs in 24 minutes in 2021; wolfng down a 5kg roast dinner known as the ‘Holy Roast’ last July; and, back in 2020, scofng an 8,000-calorie Gregg’s Family Feast platter comprising four sausage rolls (one vegan), a bacon pasty wrap, six pasties

COMPETE

Happy eater

Whether you want to make tasty content for your social feed or simply Pac-Man your way through Gregg’s, Max Stanford, aka Max vs Food, is at your service

of diferent fllings, a pizza slice, a doughnut, a yum yum, a millionaire’s shortbread, a gingerbread man and a cheese scone… all in just six minutes and 23 seconds. And while you digest all that, know this: Stanford has a condition that means he can’t burp.

Here are his essential tips on how to get stuck into competitive eating…

Chews wisely

To become an elite eater, stop chewing. According to Stanford, the best technique is to simply “bite and swallow”. “People think they do that already,” he says, “but really

“Essentially, you’re pushing the food down your throat”

Max Stanford, competitive eater

good, is about 12 pounds, whereas the top pros are upward of 18. That’s around eight kilos. It’s almost an unbelievably huge amount.”

Go with the flow

“I’ll usually ask for – and it sounds horrible – a glass of warm water,” Stanford says, almost apologetically.

“Although it bloats you, it’ll really help get food down, especially if it’s dry. I did Pudge’s Philly Cheesesteak Challenge in Pennsylvania last year, which is almost fve pounds of fries and four pounds of cheesesteak –the driest thing ever – in 30 minutes. The other eaters were going through loads of water, too.”

Eat yourself fitter

they bite, chew, chew, chew, swallow… The correct technique is to bite with the front teeth and then swallow. If you’re eating a hot dog, you need to bite the frst part of it, then push once you’ve bitten. Essentially, you’re pushing the food down your throat with the next bit in your mouth.”

Target bulk capacity

In competitive eating, favour and presentation are irrelevant. “It’s all about weight,” says Stanford, “and diferent weights of diferent foods will all have diferent efects. For example, three kilos of rice is very diferent to three kilos of burgers. You gauge it and then come up with a plan of attack.” Stanford knows his stomach capacity – and therefore his body’s limits – intimately. “My capacity, when I’m really

“It’s all about training your body, just like any contest,” Stanford advises. “As the legendary eater Randy Santel says, you have to ‘win before you begin’, whether that’s practising with the food you’ll be eating at the contest, ensuring you have enough stomach capacity, or working up a good appetite before the event. I’ll build up to a contest by having a lot of max-out meals. I eat lots of vegetables and protein, and then I’ll have a big meal the night before – something healthy and easily digestible. On the day of the contest, I don’t really eat anything; I’ll just drink a lot of water and stay as active as possible.”

Try the sweat menu

“I’m really keen on the active side of things,” says Stanford. “My average step count is about 15,000 a day, and that can be running or walking. I also go to the gym to lift weights. I think that’s really helpful before a challenge to build up an appetite, and afterwards to help with feeling bloated and tired.”

Check out Max Stanford’s channel, Max vs Food, on YouTube; youtube.com

VENTURE Fitness

Sim bunnies

Despite sitting down for a living, esports drivers require the fitness of an elite athlete. And their tips for staying race-rig ready can benefit desk jockeys, too

A minimum of eight hours a day sitting in front of a screen. Limited breaks. Five days a week. The life of a professional sim racer might sound similar to yours, but it comes with additional stresses and strains on the body – the kind that are found in real-life Formula 1.

“[Sim racers] get a lot of feedback through their apparatus,” explains Lewis Paris, personal trainer for the Oracle Red Bull Racing Esports team. Grip-strength sessions help them handle the wheel during hours of intensive racing, and singleleg drills aim to correct the imbalances caused by a brake pedal that simulates up to 200kg of force. The bulk of the sim racers’ health and ftness routine, though, seeks to undo the negative efects of being sedentary for prolonged periods, such as pain in the shoulders, lower back and hips. Sound familiar?

“My goal is to counteract what they’re doing day-to-day in that seat [with] posture development, mobility and activation,” says Paris. The Londoner began working with the team in 2021, and the results speak for themselves: this April, 23-year-old Brit Sebastian Job was crowned Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup world champion for a second time.

Here, Paris shares how he combines the latest in ftness thinking to give his sim racers the upper hand…

Activation stations

Before they step into the racing rig, drivers must perform a series of stretches (see opposite) that get their posterior muscles engaged. “Everything that you can see – the chest, the quads, the abs – draws you forward, so we want to focus on [the muscles] you can’t see,” explains Paris. The personal trainer’s activation drills get the blood fowing to the supporting cast of muscles that keep the drivers upright, taking pressure of the spine and lower back. “This also sharpens the brain and gets them in that alert state where they can go into a race head-on rather than warming into it.”

Going deep

“Most people breathe through their mouth, which is quite shallow,” says Paris. “When you breathe through the nose, you can take a deeper breath, which helps to relax the diaphragm.”

He adds that contracting your abs as you push the air out of your lungs switches on your core and takes a great deal of pressure of your lower back. Research shows that nasal breathing has numerous additional benefts, including increasing oxygen intake by 10-20 per cent and helping to calm and relax the body by switching on the parasympathetic nervous system.

Simulating sunset

The benefts of taking a break from screens before bedtime are common knowledge – the blue light they emit makes “the body think the sun’s still up and we’ve got to stay active” – but what if teaming up across time zones means you’re competing into the early hours? Athletes like Job don blue-light-blocking glasses when sim racing after dark, which help imitate the cycle of the sun and prevent a persistent state of alertness after the race. “It allows them to get better sleep and perform better the next day, too.”

lewisparisftness.com

FLEXIBLE WORKING

Try Paris’ chair-based stretches (demonstrated by Oracle Red Bull Racing Esports driver Sebastian Job, right) to remain in pole position throughout your working –or racing – day

Shoulder slackener

Sit on the edge of your seat with your knees together. Lean forward so your chest is on your thighs and your head is on your knees. Bend your arms behind you so your hands overlap. Imagine bringing your elbows towards your thighs and hold for 30 seconds.

Chin win

Pin your shoulders downwards. Imagine you have a pencil sticking out of your chin and try to draw the biggest circle you can. Take five to eight seconds to draw each circle. Complete five loops before repeating in the opposite direction.

Glute goader

Lift your left ankle onto your right knee. Place your left hand on your left knee and your right hand on your left ankle. Lightly press down on your left knee while pushing up your chest. Take deep breaths in and out for 30 seconds before repeating on the other side.

Grid-locked: endless hours spent sitting in a rig can take a physical toll on a sim racer like Job

FOCUS

Pitch perfect

Siya Kolisi, captain of the South African national rugby team, has led the Springboks to two consecutive World Cup victories. Here, the 32-year-old talks about why motivation matters

After South Africa’s national rugby team, the Springboks, won the 2023 World Cup last October – retaining their 2019 title – captain Siya Kolisi shared a podium in the country’s capital, Pretoria, with President Cyril Ramaphosa. “Everything I do is focused on South Africa,” Kolisi told the large crowd attending the celebration. “[It’s] what we also do as Springbok players, and we deliver by playing rugby.” In a country dealing with serious social issues and

“Thinking back [to the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan, where South Africa beat England 32-12 in the fnal to claim their third title], there’s a lot that goes through one’s mind,” Kolisi says. “But the most important is that we just want to win, because we know what’s going on back at home. We would see videos of what happens at home when we win; we saw people from diferent races, at the malls, in taverns, anywhere where people could sit together and watch it. People put screens outside and gave people food. The whole country was behind us, and we saw that.

“There was also a big march against gender-based violence during that time; we had xenophobic attacks in the country; people were fghting. In those 80 minutes [of the fnal], we wanted people to be proud and to be happy for that moment. We played for South Africa, because we knew that if we won, the rest of the country wins, too. We’re out there representing everybody; we have so many races and so many languages [in South Africa]. In our team, we also have a lot of diversity. We showed what you can do when very diferent people have one common goal.

unrest, the Springboks’ World Cup victories have been an important driver of unity – a major motivating factor for Kolisi, who, in 2018, became the team’s frst-ever Black skipper.

“I know that if I don’t work hard, others will suffer”

Siya Kolisi,

World Cup-winning South African rugby captain

“It’s important. You have to know why you’re doing something. And your ‘why’ has to be bigger than the doubt you have of yourself. Your purpose sometimes has to be more than just about you. For me, it’s also about my family; I have a foundation; there are kids that we look after. When you play well, people want to be associated with you; they want to donate. So I know that if I give up, if I don’t work hard, that means other people are going to sufer. That’s my why. Even when I’m done playing, that’s what I want to do: to make the world a better place.”

“Siya is completely aligned with his core values,” says York-Peter Klöppel (pictured), head of mental performance at the  Red Bull Athlete Performance Center in Thalgau, Austria. “From providing for his family to having an impact on his community and helping to inspire people, he gets a lot of energy from his ‘why’.”

How can we fnd our own ‘why’ in life, to help drive us on and overcome challenges?

At the end of the day, ask yourself what resonated with you the most. What excited you? What carried the most meaning? Make a note of it and stick it on your fridge door. When you’re having a difficult day or feeling down, look at the notes to remind yourself what your ‘why’ is. Let the reason you do what you do be a source of energy and motivation to keep going.

Scan the QR code to hear the Mind Set Win Podcast

ELEVATE YOUR STAYCATION

How the TentBox transforms your car or van into a camper – without the never-ending costs

After a day of chasing waves or scaling summits, there’s no better way to continue your adventure than with a night under the stars. Bedding down al fresco is the ultimate way to experience the outdoors, and it includes free evening entertainment that no streaming service can compete with: sunset followed by stargazing. But that’s not all. Camping out also means you wake up in the heart of the action, your next day’s activities only a stone’s throw away.

Historically, setting up a spot for the night has meant going down one of three paths: slumming it in your car with the seats rolled down; fighting with awkward poles to get a tent pitched; or forking out on an expensive camper van.

Fortunately, there is a fourth option: the TentBox. An ingenious bit of kit that can be mounted to almost any car or van, its easy-opening, gas-powered struts mean you can go from parked to pitched in just 60 seconds.

A serious upgrade on a pole-and-guyrope-based tent, it’s best to think of the TentBox as a way of transforming your car or van into a camper. Its boxy shape offers a more spacious feel than your standard dome or tunnel tent, while its internal storage pockets are ideal for jackets, shoes, and any other gear you might need at night. Fitted with a duallayer, 6cm foam double mattress, it’s incredibly comfortable for two – all you need to pack is a pillow and sleeping bag.

Constructed with durable, waterproof

and UV-resistant canvas side walls, it has four-season capabilities and is built to withstand even the harshest storm conditions. And as you’re raised off the ground, it’s naturally insulated, so you don’t need to worry about wet and muddy conditions underfoot. What’s more, two large windows and an elevated position provide a unique, luxury perspective to any location.

And the TentBox has numerous other benefits within its auto-grade ABS shell. When compressed, it’s like any other roof box and has enough space to stow gear, bedding, pillows and its telescopic 2.6m ladder inside. Its aerodynamic design also means it can stay on your vehicle year-round, minimising storage issues and opening up the possibility of spontaneous staycation adventuring, 365 days a year. Find out more at tentbox.com

VENTURE Equipment

TRAVERSE

Go long

Switching from tarmac to trails? Ditch your stopwatch and think about your feet

Trail running is the perfect antidote to the predictability of pounding tarmac, opening up a new way of experiencing the world a million miles from split times and chasing PBs. But a normal pair of running shoes just won’t cut it in changeable of-road conditions. Merrell’s updated, athlete-developed MTL Long Sky 2 (shown) and MTL Skyfre 2 are designed to handle whatever crops up en route. The Matryx uppers are the latest evolution in textile tech – a single-layer, Kevlar-reinforced fabric that balances the breathability and durability required when heading of-piste – while the Vibram Megagrip rubber outsole provides grip on challenging terrain. Sandwiched in between is a FloatPro Foam midsole that’ll keep things comfortable whether you’re tackling local trails or an allout ultra-distance sky race.

merrell.com

Ground control: the Vibram Megagrip outsole features 5mm lugs that lock onto surfaces when slippery while also aiding traction on dry, testing terrain

TIME FOR A FLYING LAP?

VENTURE Gaming

For decades, TV shows such as Eastenders have wrung the drama out of the lives of their characters – everything from family feuds to devastating deaths. Now, upcoming simulation video game Life by You from Paradox Tectonic puts you at the centre of your very own soap opera.

In this world-building wonderland, the player can create communities where as well as helping their avatar tend their rose garden, do the washing or get to work on time, they can customise the aesthetics and personalities of all the other avatars and build homes and workplaces from the studs up.

Where the new game difers from big-name titles such as The Sims is in its ramped-up levels of control and complexity. In Life by You, not only does each avatar have its own unique life with built-in routines that can be changed and edited, but it’ll also remember and react to whatever happens around it. And, crucially, conversations are conducted in real-world language – unlike nonsensical Simlish – with the option to live-edit dialogue, allowing you to craft unique interactions with the depth and drama to rival any TV storyline.

But how to best wield this virtual omnipotence? BAFTAshortlisted scriptwriter and soap-opera afcionado Matthew Cooper gives us some tips on playing God…

Set the scene

In Life by You, you’re the lead architect of your very own virtual set. To build a world made for drama, it’s important that key locations are within a tight walking radius – this allows interpersonal turmoil to spark naturally and keeps things dynamic. “Producers always go on about the pub,” says Cooper. “If my character goes for an orange juice and yours goes for a pint, we can add the argument. Then

PLAY

DIY drama

New sim game Life by You allows you to develop virtual soap operas and gawp at the interplay between avatars. Here’s how to maximise Albert Square-worthy moments…

other characters watch and take sides. So you need plenty of locations where people will congregate.”

Keep it sim-ple

It may be tempting to create complex or extreme characters to maximise dramatic impact, but Cooper advises simplicity. “Soaps are all about diferent people who wouldn’t normally get on rubbing against each other,” he says. “The best characters are often the ones with the simplest backstory. Dot Cotton was in Eastenders for 30-plus years, but her character never signifcantly changed. You need a lot of normal people with human needs, fears and concerns.”

Storylines concerning individuals with unusually dark motivations may end up playing out relatively quickly, whereas everyday characters can last across seasons. But, says Cooper, simple doesn’t

mean boring: “A character’s faws are as important as the good stuf. We love people because they’re imperfect.”

Kill your darlings

After populating your virtual world with dynamic characters, don’t be afraid to banish them. As anyone who has removed the pool ladder in The Sims knows, killing of important members of your digital cast can lead to

“Sometimes a story will take on a life of its own”

Matthew Cooper, scriptwriter

surprising dramatic payofs. “Relatable characters become the fabric of a community,” Cooper says. “So when a serial killer comes in, the last person you want them to kill is that lovely character. That’s the stuf that really hits home.” Avatars in Life by You will react to tragedies depending on the personality traits you give them, so an ousting could open enticing narrative threads to pull at as your never-ending show plays on.

Let art imitate life

Simulation video games such as The Sims have long served as safe spaces for players to experiment with real-world scenarios or relive events from their own lives. “There’s nothing wrong with taking a story from real life or stealing your favourite flm plot – or even [using] all of Shakespeare’s plays if you want to set that up,” Cooper says. “There’s no exact science to it. Sometimes it takes on a life of its own, and you can’t plan for that.” But you will certainly reap the dramatic rewards. Life by You is available as an Early Access title on Steam and the Epic Games Store; paradoxinteractive.com

June

RED BULL SOAPBOX RACE LONDON

Fun fact: soap bars were once packed in wooden crates, and where would we be today if they hadn’t been? For a start, we wouldn’t have this unique downhill race. Named after the hobby of building go-karts from old soapboxes, the outlandish gravity-powered vehicles in this contest are far removed from those origins; this year’s entries include a giant Yorkshire pudding, a kart made from Tetris blocks, and, erm, Stonehenge. The objective is to complete the 420m obstacle course intact and in the fastest time, with points awarded for showmanship and creativity. Alexandra Palace, London; redbull.com

11

June onwards

BRIDGE COMMAND

If you’ve ever dreamt of flying your own starship, actor William Shatner, aka Star Trek’s legendary Captain Kirk, has some advice for you. During a 1986 SNL skit on Trekkie conventions, he told fans to “Get a life”. Well, stick this in your captain’s log, Kirk, because unabashed geeks can now go on their own galaxy quest. Crews of up to 14 players choose roles of captain, helmsman, communications officer etc, before entering a purpose-built spaceship set for a 90-minute experience that’s both immersive theatre and escape room, as actors, on-screen action and an unseen games-master take them on an interstellar mission into outer space. AlbertEmbankment,London;bridgecommand.space

5

July to 23 February 2025

BARBIE: THE EXHIBITION

Admit it, at some point last year you cosplayed as Barbie or Ken (or, for the more boho among you, Allan). Director Greta Gerwig’s cinematic reimagining of Mattel’s fashion doll became the cultural moment of 2023, but don’t pack away the pink gingham just yet, because this year is the 65th anniversary of Ruth Handler’s iconic toy. To celebrate, this exhibition features 180 historic dolls, from a 1968 talking prototype to 1992’s best-selling Totally Hair Barbie (10 million were sold), as well as ones showing the brand’s inclusivity, such as a Barbie with Down syndrome and the first to use a wheelchair. Ken’s 65th birthday is 2026, so bank the cowboy hat till then. DesignMuseum, London;designmuseum.org

16

to 25 August

ALL POINTS EAST

Since 1978, when The Clash and X-Ray Spex performed at Rock Against Racism, Hackney’s Victoria Park has been a cornerstone of the capital’s music scene. And few events are bigger than this six-dayer across two weekends. The 2024 lineup includes dance acts Channel Tres and Kaytranada, hip-hop icons Nas and André 3000, and indie stalwarts Mitski and LCD Soundsystem. Victoria Park, London; allpointseastfestival.com

11 to 22 June

YAMATO

Fans of TV show Shōgun will know the Japanese word Taiko as meaning ‘warlord’, but it’s also the name of an ancient form of drumming.

Watching a performance by this exceptional company –celebrating its 30th year – is all the education you’ll need. Peacock Theatre, London; sadlerswells.com

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Semi-Rad

Adventure philosophy from BRENDAN LEONARD

“Ski boots are the most ridiculous shoes I have ever owned, and will ever own. They’re more of a prosthesis than a shoe, something that enables you to attach yourself to skis so you can slide downhill on snow. They’re also about four times the cost of any other shoe I’ve ever owned, aside from mountaineering boots, which are also ridiculous. But at least you can walk to the corner store and get a soda while wearing a pair of mountaineering boots. Ski boots? No way. They’re just useless except for the one very specialised purpose they were designed for. So there’s all this technology in them, they cost a ton of money to buy, and they do the one thing well, which is hold your foot on a ski. But are they comfortable? I mean, kind of? For real comfort, you’ll often have to take them to a boot fitter – a craftsperson who’ll use several tricks and maybe some witchcraft to get them to actually fit your foot. And then you can go skiing. But you still have to go through the ritual of shoving your foot into them every time.”