The Red Buleltin_1211_UK

Paul Banks / Danny Brown / Diplo / Mick Jagger / Travis Pastrana / Katherine Reutter / Travis Rice / Jordy Smith

a beyond the ordinary magazine

M ission accomplished!

red bull stratos exclusive Recordbreaking Felix Baumgartner in his own words

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november 2012

Your favourite artists share their personal playlists: Headphone Highlights on rbmaradio.com

THE WORLD OF RED BULL

November 17

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COVER PHOTOGRAPHY: PREDRAG VUCKOVIC/RED BULL STRATOS. PHOTOGRAPHY: GRAEME MURRAY/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, GETTY IMAGES, CORBIS, SUTTON MOTORSPORT IMAGES

MIXING AND MAXING Few snowboarders train as hard as Louie Vito. The American’s 2014 Olympics prep is pitching him against boxers and NFL players

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WHERE’S YOUR HEAD AT? Satisfaction has surely been got by now, but what else does Mick Jagger have going on?

BIRD OF PARADISE Is Danny Brown the man to usher in a new era of hip-hop?

WELCOME It came to light as a crazy idea seven years ago and has just come to a successful conclusion in the forbidding landscape of New Mexico: a journey to the edge of space and back again, undertaken partly at supersonic speed.

Felix Baumgartner, encased in his space suit, was the face of the Red Bull Stratos mission, an extreme sportsman who was doing his thing in the name of adventure and science.

No longer the daredevil, but part of a team of experts all devoted to a common goal. Red Bull Stratos is a refreshing example of how teamwork can lead to the most remarkable achievements.

We have an exclusive post-mission briefing from Baumgartner and the team. We hope you enjoy, and the rest of this month’s issue.

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F1’S US RETURN With a Grand Prix in Austin at the end of the month and one planned for New Jersey in 2013, F1 is back to crack the final frontier: America

THE WORLD OF RED BULL

November 48

TRAVIS PASTRANA’S NITRO CIRCUS The American daredevil is ringmaster of a travelling show where all things wheeled are flipped, jumped and pushed to their limits

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NEW WAVE CINEMA What happened when Jordy Smith became the subject of a documentary that pushes the boundaries of surf movies

THE GREAT ESCAPE Tim Jarvis and his team hope to recreate the most dangerous leg of the most gruelling journey of all time: Shackleton’s rescue

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“ The landing is perfect.

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MISSION COMPLETE Last month Felix Baumgartner became the first person to break the sound barrier without the help of an aircraft. The Austrian daredevil shares his diary from the days leading up to the historic feat with The Red Bulletin

08 Gallery: the month’s most spectacular images 14 Bullevard: sport and culture on the quick 20 Kit Evolution 26 The science behind handball 28 Lucky Numbers: the creation of Adam

PHOTOGRAPHY: MIKO LIM, CRAIG KOLESKY/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, PAUL CALVER, JOERG MITTER/RED BULL STRATOS

I’m overwhelmed. I have returned to Earth ”

THE WORLD OF RED BULL

November “ Injury has

made me a much calmer person ”

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ME AND MY BODY Post-hip-surgery training and college are not slowing down two-time Olympic medallist and speed-skating star Katherine Reutter

22 TOP THREE

A round table with a trio of filmmaker-adventurers whose 3D movies are the bar-raisers for sports action documentaries: “The limits are… limitless”

88 REAL-LIFE TALES

With his one-man musical project, Herm, Kevin Connolly is working very hard to bring you heartfelt tales from the long shadows

more

Body & Mind PHOTOGRAPHY: TOM BAER, GUNNAR KNECHTEL, EAMONN SEIOGE, VICTOR LUCAS

82 TRAVEL IDEAS

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TOP SPOTS

Enjoying the high Global goings-on life with a flying 96 SAVE THE DATE school above the Events for the diary Argentinian pampas

WARS OF GEAR

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Race hard, enjoy harder: The Red Bulletin heads to South Africa to find out why the Single Speed World Championships is the toughest, easy-going bike contest on the planet

97 KAINRATH 84 GET THE GEAR Our cartoonist The tools of the F1 trade with Scuderia 98 MIND’S EYE Toro Rosso’s chief mechanic

90 NIGHTLIFE

Stephen Bayley unveils a car of dreams and nightmares

A glamorous club, an exotic cocktail, a midnight snack, the best in music and much, much more: everything you need to get you through ’til dawn

HELLY HANSEN CATWALK

Aurelien Ducroz World Champion Freeride Skier Lofoten, Norway

Scandinavian Design is the cornerstone in all Helly Hansen gear. The optimal combination of purposeful design, protection and style. This is why professional athletes, patrollers and discerning enthusiasts choose Helly Hansen.

CONFIDENT WHEN IT MATTERS

BAR I LO C H E , ARG E NTI NA

RETROSPECTIVE

Central Patagonia, Andean foothills, the eastern end of the Cardenal Antonio Samoré mountain pass linking Chile to its eastern neighbour. This place is many things to many people, but South America’s best freeskiers were single-minded in their pursuit of victory in Red Bull Beyond The Line. The best man turned out to be local boy Tomás Blanc. “Anyone could have won,” he said, “but it was my best win ever.”

Competition gallery: www.redbull.com.ar Photograph: Diego Ferreyra/Red Bull Content Pool

OF THE MONTH

09

Credits:

G AR H WAL , I N D IA

outlook: good OF THE MONTH

Before Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chin and Renan Ozturk made it to the top of Meru Peak via the Shark’s Fin route, 25 previous expeditions had been forced to turn back. One of those abandoned attempts was in 2008, when the three Americans were caught in a terminal snowstorm about 100m from the top.

Anker, who was part of a group thwarted in 2003, knows that there is more to successful summiting than determination. “Luck was on our side,” he said of the climb. “We had three weeks of perfect weather.

[It was] the very best expedition I’ve ever been on.”

Expedition blog: www.neverstopexploring.com Photograph: Jimmy Chin

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GIRDWOOD, USA

an extra dimension

That speck on the slopes is Travis Rice, the unofficial figurehead of big-mountain freestyle snowboarding.

As well as a knack for finding and taming previously uncarved snow, Rice stars, alongside a band of his fellow adventurers, in action sports’ most ambitious documentaries. A 3D version of the latest film, The Art Of FLIGHT, has just been released. The original movie could hardly be described as ‘flat’; in 3D, Rice and co’s exploits are turned up to 11.

Trailer and more: www.artofflightmovie.com Photograph: Scott Serfas

T N U O M CLIMB O R A J N KILIMA 2013 TH T S U G U A 5 2 15 – TH

HEST CLIMB THE HIG TO IA N A Z N TA G BACK TO WORLD! WE ARE HEADIN UNTAIN IN THE O M the most G IN D N TA e route which is FREE S beautiful Macham g the additional day of trek takes us alon g in ng le al ch 5896m. With an is Th at it m m su ed e snow capp route. scenic route to th cularly rewarding ta ec sp t bu h ug is a to acclimatisation it

ation visit For more inform

et n . n r e c n o C r You www.Shoolyw et oak@concern.n or email: zoe.h

Bullevard Sport and culture on the quick

Räikkönen

Schumacher

Hit parades Along with the turkey, the parade is a key ingredient of a proper Thanksgiving celebration.

Here are four of the best that will make their way down US streets on November 22

1. MACY’S THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE, NEW YORK CITY The biggest: three million people turn out. Good luck on the subway.

2. THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE, PHILADELPHIA Longest-running parade in the country, held since 1910.

THIS SEASON’S FASHIONS

Want to feel what it’s like to be F1 champion?

Start with the kit

Button

Vettel

The whiff of sweaty Nomex is an especially rarefied scent, since a race-worn Formula One driver’s suit – made primarily of the aforementioned fire-retardant artificial fibre, and absorber of up to 3kg of driver perspiration during a race, as well as the champagne afterwards – has an air of authenticity that cannot be trumped.

It is among the most highly sought of all F1 collectibles, and each of the six world champions in the 2012 field has donated a suit he has worn this season to a sale of automobilia to be held by the international auction house, Bonhams. Money raised by the sale of the suits and other donated items will go to the Wings For Life spinal cord injury charity. Said Sebastian Vettel, who has given the suit and gloves he wore during the Australian GP in Melbourne: “Its been one of the most competitive seasons for Formula One drivers, but we’re all willing to come together to support a great cause which means something to everyone involved with motorsports.” Bids can be made online via the auction house’s website.

Hamilton

Alonso

Under the hammer: race suits from the six F1 world champs on the 2012 grid

December 3: www.bonhams.com 3. AMERICA’S HOMETOWN T’GIVING PARADE, PLYMOUTH History, not balloons: closest to 1621 site of ‘first Thanksgiving’.

PHOTOTICKER

EVERY SHOT ON TARGET

Have you taken a picture with a Red Bull flavour? Email it to us at: phototicker@redbulletin.com 4. AMERICA’S THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE, DETROIT Most notable for The Big Head Corps, a corps of big heads.

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Every month we print a selection, with our favourite pic awarded a limited-edition Sigg bottle. Tough, functional and well-suited to sport, it features The Red Bulletin logo.

Sakhalin

Wingsuitman Valery Rozov leapt from 4,000m to fly across the Strait of Tartary in Russia.

Daniel Kolodin

Active apps

Downloads to make you a better person

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES (4), WINGS FOR LIFE, DEAN TREML/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, PICTUREDESK.COM, REX FEATURES

Red Bull Street Style finalist Daniel Dennehy

True feet of skill A stadium packed with 15,000 tifosi was nothing new to Fabio Cannavaro, captain of the Italy team that won the 2006 FIFA World Cup. But what he saw one night in Lecce was, to him, unprecedented. “I have played football all my life, but I have never seen such ball control,” he said. This was the 2012 Red Bull Street Style World Final, and he was watching the 16 best freestyle soccer players in the world.

The Japanese Kotaro Tokuda was overall winner, but Irishman Daniel Dennehy was the surprise package. The Dubliner, aka Dan The Man, began the competition as a rank outsider, but knocked out one favourite after another until he finally met his match in the experienced Tokuda.

“Getting to the final was mad enough as it was,” said the 21-year-old, who went to Italy well prepared, to say the least.

“I trained for four hours a day,” he said.

“Always outdoors, even when it was cold and raining. I had my own spot under a streetlamp in a car park. Sometimes I’d be out there ’til midnight. The hard work didn’t quite pay off. Tokuda absolutely deserved to win, but I’ll be back.” www.redbullstreetstyle.com

RUNTASTIC PRO Analyses key data via GPS, and can even count calories burned, to give you a running commentary on your running skills.

AUTHENTIC YOGA Indian guru Deepak Chopra gives easy-to-follow explanations of exercises to help improve posture and flexibility.

STILL FIGHTING THE POWER A new album marks the silver jubliee of the pioneering Chuck D and Public Enemy In 1987, a young hip-hop crew sent convulsions through the music world with their album, Yo! Bum Rush the Show. An explosion of sirens, beats and politics, it became a milestone record, its makers, Public Enemy, rap icons, and frontman Chuck D – then, as today – hip-hop’s good conscience.

Now, the maestro and Enemy cohort Flavor Flav are back.

What’s the nicest thing said about Public Enemy?

Well, us being the Rolling Stones of the rap game. Me and Flav are Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Those guys are celebrating 50 years together, us celebrating 25.

What’s the best thing about a rap star’s career?

Travelling around the world, and having somebody come up to you and say, “Thank you.” But if someone says, “I got drunk and had a good time to you guys, rock on,” I’ll take that, too.

Dr Dre has his own brand of headphones. What would you let your name be used in association with?

It would have to be something I actually use, like deodorant.

I need deodorant and I wouldn’t mind saying, “This is deodorant I believe in.”

I couldn’t put my name to fast food. I don’t eat that stuff.

The Evil Empire Of Everything is out now: www.publicenemy.com Chuck D (left), the Mick Jagger of hip-hop

GYMGOAL PLUS Bulging – as your biceps will be – with 280 tip-rich animated exercises.

Set a bespoke training plan and see your progress.

WE HAVE A WINNER!

Kyoto BMX flatland world champion Matthias Dandois meets Japanese culture.

Jason Halayko

Macapá At Red Bull Latitude Zero, even Brazilian locals felt the sweltering 35°C heat.

Marcelo Maragni

Talloires Frenchman Alexis Vuillermoz won the Red Bull Elements mountain bike relay on home soil.

Stef Candé 15

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Gary Hunt: 2012 champion

The magic number

Picture this Whether on snow, sea, mud or concrete, amazing things happen every day in the world of action and adventure sports.

International photography competition Red Bull Illume ensures they’re not lost to memory. Snappers are invited to ready their favourite shots for entry into the third edition of the triennial contest. (Josh Letchworth’s photos of wakeskater Ben Horan, right, got to the final in 2010.)

A 50-strong winning field, across 10 categories, will be chosen by a panel of expert judges and then displayed in a global travelling exhibition (an overall winner will also be selected). The images will be shown illuminated, and at night, for maximum impact.

Enter at www.redbullillume.com

Dallas The Red Dragon makes its

final leap at the Red Bull Soapbox Race.

Christian Pondella

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For Francisco López, not seeing is believing

The Hear And Now

Award-winning Spanish sound artist and experimental musician Francisco López invites listeners to enter a new world – blindfolded Do Come In “I take recordings of reality and use them to create a new sonic world that listeners can enter, explore and define for themselves. I want them to be inside the sound, not just listening to it.”

Global Gathering “I’m nomadic. For example, I’ve just been recording polyphonic singing in Georgia. Travelling helps me collect all sorts of sounds from very different situations and places.”

It Really Is Golden “Typically you imagine an artist

Alcatraz Hugo ‘Baby Shaq’ Jones (left) defends his Red Bull King Of The Rock 1-on-1 basketball title.

Christian Pondella

or musician surrounded by devices and equipment, but I just have my laptop and an empty room. I need silence and minimal surroundings.”

Restricted View Seats “The audience will be blindfolded during my performance to intensify the experience.

Then Paul Prudence will use patterns found in nature to create visuals and sound – and percussionist Z’EV is into cymatics, the visualisation of sound waves.”

Nov 19-21, Corsica Studios, London: www.redbullmusicacademy.com

Vienna Not back to 1985: forward with an 18.1m leap. Team Back To The Future win Red Bull Flugtag.

Philipp Schuster

Words: Ruth Morgan. Photography: Red Bull Content Pool (3)

Southampton diver Gary Hunt, 28, has been crowned 2012’s king of the cliffs after an impressive third successive Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series win. Here’s how he did it: Winning ways: Hunt stood at the top of the podium at three of the seven stops (Norway, USA and Oman) – more than anyone else.

Manning up: Despite suffering from chickenpox at the Ireland stop, Hunt competed. He came sixth, his lowest result of the season.

D is for Difficulty: Hunt’s signature dive, the triple quad, is a triple back somersault with four twists with a difficulty level of 6.3 – no one attempts a trickier cliff dive. www.redbullcliffdiving.com

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Where’s Your Head At?

mick jagger

Documentaries, gigs, books and, of course, a new greatest hits, are marking the half-century of the Rolling Stones. Satisfaction has surely been got by now, but what else does Sir Mick have going on?

Start Me Up

Michael Phillip Jagger was born on July 26, 1943, in Dartford, Kent. Father Joe taught PE, mother Eva cut hair. Younger brother Chris is a musician who released the last of his seven solo albums in 2009. (Mick’s fourth came out in 2001.) Until going to LSE in 1961, for an economics degree that he would not finish, young Jagger was known as Mike.

With The Beatles

Two weeks before Jagger’s 19th birthday, the Stones played their first gig, at London’s Marquee Club.

Their debut album was released in April 1964; by 1966 they were the Beatles’ biggest chart rivals. Last year, Paul McCartney honeymooned at Jagger’s house on Mustique. “Paul is very nice and easy to get on with,” said Jagger, in 1995.

words: paul wilson. illustration: lie-ins and tigers

Sir Mick-y Tak e

Of Jagger’s 2003 knighthood, Charlie Watts said, “Anybody else would be lynched: 18 wives and 20 children and he’s knighted, fantastic!” The drummer was only 16 wives and 13 children out, but no Stone has had more of either. Mick is the second oldest, after Charlie (b.1941), and before Keith (Dec 1943) and Ronnie (1947).

Mick Jagge r, Guita rist

As well as vocals, harmonica and swagger, Jagger has contributed rhythm guitar parts to several Rolling Stones records: Sway, on Sticky Fingers (1971), Stop Breaking Down on Exile On Main St (1972) and Fingerprint File on It’s Only Rock ‘N Roll (1974). One producer present said Mick’s licks made the sound “a little choppier”.

Yo u Ca n Always Ge t Wh at Yo u Wa nt

On the A Bigger Bang Tou r of 2005-6, the rider stated that Jagger’s dressing room must have the right TV cha nnels for cricket. In 1997, with covera ge of an international tourname nt unavailable, he founded a company to buy the rights and bro adcast it online. He is also a regular face in the stands at Lord’s in Lon don for England matches.

Keith On Kee pin g On

Born 145 days apart in the same Kent hospital – now a care facility mainly for the elderly – Keith Richards and Jagger met as teens on the platform at Dartford station in December 1961. “You’ve got to go through the bullshit; it’s like a marriage,” said Richards, of the pair, in his 2010 memoir, Life, which, by revealing said BS, burned then rebuilt bridges.

Sym pathy For The Dev ils

After being blamed for the death of a fan at a Stones concert in 1969, the gig’s security, the Hells Angels, planned to kill Jagger at a house in Long Island, New York, but a boatload of biker assassins capsized. In 2007, Mick was executive producer on The Knights Of Prosperity , a sitcom about thieves out to rob his Manhattan apartment.

Not Fad e Away

rHeavy, a supergroup with Last year, Jagger recorded with Supe y and Dave Stewart, and Marle ian Dam an, Rahm AR e, Joss Ston tly himself, including direc ts twee He launched his Twitter page.

69th, another from his on nt prese day birth a with one pics: the 80-track, 50th for s song es Ston Paris recording new manofrockrollson. ndold #gra !

GRRR , album y ersar anniv www.rollingstones.com

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B U L L E VA R D

BIRD OF PARADISE

DANNY BROWN

It’s time for a new era in hip-hop and this revolutionary is the man to usher it in. He tells us about the gap in his teeth, nursery rhymes and the new rules of the game in the music business

Born March 16, 1981, Detroit, Michigan, USA Deal not trousered 50 Cent considered signing Brown to his label until he met the rapper in person. “He didn’t sign me because of my jeans,” says Danny. “He liked the music, but he didn’t like the way I looked.”

Fab and free SPIN magazine named Brown’s second album the top hip-hop album of 2011. His audience dramatically increased after it was released as a free download.

The title of Brown’s second album, XXX, refers to his age, not its content

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He has an asymmetrical haircut and a preference for wearing loud T-shirts and skinny jeans. Danny Brown, 31, the new star in the world of rap is doing to hip-hop now what David Bowie once did to rock music: adding a riot of colour, and not just because of his outfits.

Brown has done away with the bigger-better-sexier macho stereotypes which have held rap to ransom for years.

Not for him the same old who’s got the most expensive ride and the most bitches on the back seat monotony.

He’s doing this noble job with self-deprecating party lyrics, fresh electro beats and the rasping timbre of a breaking voice. An increasingly large number of hip-hop fans love him for it.   : Why do hip-hop fans today seem more open-minded than they were?  : Because of the internet.

Back in the day, when I grew up in Detroit, you had only two sources for finding new music: friends and TV. We probably had 10 rappers and you had to pick your favourite because they were all signed to major labels. Now we don’t care what a major label tries to sell us: if it sucks we’re not buying it; if it’s good, we mess with it. People don’t care where the music comes from as long as it’s good. And the

Earning his stripes: Brown is a fan of the Detroit Tigers baseball team

other thing is, people want the new.

Potentially, a 16-year-old kid with less than $5 in his pocket can be a music expert. And that’s great.

Bringing glam into hip-hop wasn’t an easy mission.

People hated me! And a lot of them still do. But anything that’s in the middle where people are like, “It’s OK” – that’s boring. I want you to either hug me or mean mug the hell out of me.

How did you get into rapping?

When I was a baby, my mum would read Dr Seuss books to me. So when I started saying my first words, I said them in rhymes. If I was to say “Dad”, I was like “Dad mad”. I was talking in rhymes before I even could formulate full sentences. One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish – that stuff was ill.

Dr Seuss has bars, man!

You lost your front teeth through an accident some years ago. Has that gap become your trademark?

I don’t know. There are a lot of girls who come up to me, telling me they want to stick their tongues through it. I feel like if I fixed it, I might be too normal. It sucks trying to eat a hot dog though. I want to bite. I’m tired of thinking about options with spoons and forks, you know?

Brown’s third album Danny Johnson (Fool’s Gold) is out soon

WORDS: FLORIAN OBKIRCHER. PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

Name Daniel Sewell

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Make Them Smile

It’s a good point, well made: what if the great movie face-offs had a bit more love in them?

Photography: Love Ablan

Ripley versus the Alien. Donnie Darko versus the bunny.

Die Hard’s John McClane versus that broken glass that cuts his feet. These pivotal cinematic confrontations, and the sprinkling upon them of a little happiness, are the chief concern of Scott Campbell, a 38-year-old artist based in New York City, whose work has been collected in a new book. the red bulletin: What makes a great showdown? scott campbell: It’s about memorable moments of tension.

There are obvious ones, like Schwarzenegger versus Predator, but often it’s also a character versus a situation. There’s a scene at the end of Point Break, where Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves are handcuffed together, and there’s tension between them, but actually it’s about this epic wave that Swayze wants to surf. So in my painting, it’s them versus the wave with a smiley face on it.

All your characters are smiling. Why is that?

I see them all as a big group. There’s such a wide range of emotions associated with these movies: some are really sad, some violent, and some are funny. I just wanted them to all be on the same level, just feeling good.

What’s the ultimate movie showdown?

I tried to figure that out recently, because I wanted to paint

BaseCamp_Layout 1 11/10/2012 09:23 Page 1

Illustrator Scott Campbell, aka Scott C, and friends

the ultimate one on a bigger scale. I was thinking about epic war movies, but it always came back to The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King, because it’s just a million dudes from all sides. The most epic armies I’ve ever seen.

The Great Showdowns by Scott C (Titan Books) is out now: www.greatshowdowns.com

B U L L E VA R D

KIT EVOLUTION

Jumping Through Time Automatic activation devices are the panicking or problematic parachutist’s last resort. Here’s the ABC of AADs

RIPCORD

This eyelet is connected to the ripcord via a pin that is pulled out of the loop when the cord is pulled. The downside is that the pin can bend or get stuck

CENTREPIECE

A robust metal case houses the altimeter, speedometer and release mechanism.

The wire leading to the ripcord is mechanically pre-stressed

FXC 12000

An automatic and entirely mechanical (no batteries) ripcord system made in America and still widely used in training by military and civilian ’chutists. The skydiver sets the desired activation altitude before a jump; this is when the pressure altimeter in the system will cause the parachute – either the main or the reserve – to be deployed automatically if it isn’t already open. It will also kick in if air speed exceeds 20m/s. www.fxcguardian.com

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Hollywood star Burt Lancaster heads for the skies with an early automatic activation device

WORDS: WERNER JESSNER

1973

HEIGHT CONTROL

Activated with the red knob; activation altitude can be set in advance with an adjustable screw on the underside. The dial on front shows altitude

When airspeed or altitude becomes critical, they kick in

CONTROL UNIT

A self-calibrating computerised system constantly measures air pressure and speed of descent to determine whether or not a situation is critical

BUTTON

PHOTOGRAPHY: KURT KEINRATH (2), CORBIS, JOERG MITTER/RED BULL STRATOS

All the skydiver does is press the red button and everything else follows.

The display also has a flight counter and shows servicing appointments

CUTTER

No ripcords here.

Instead, a cutter that’s activated pyrotechnically severs a loop of cord keeping the reserve container closed

2012

AIRTEC CYPRES 2

There are two kinds of AAD: mechanical and electrical. German firm Airtec, a field leader in the latter, introduced its Cybernetic Parachute Release System in 1991; the first CYPRES 2 followed in 2003. Used on a jumper’s reserve, it deploys the chute (when speed or altitude is critical, or on the pressing of a button) on the say-so of its digital sensors, which cause a pyrotechnic charge to go off, which in turn opens the reserve chute container. www.cypres.cc

Felix Baumgartner had the CYPRES 2 in case of emergency for his Red Bull Stratos mission

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top three

A round table with a trio of filmmaker-adventurers whose 3D movies are the current bar-raisers for sports action documentary cinema: “The limits are… limitless” Words: Christophe Couvrat Photography: Gunnar Knechtel

A

t the prestigious San Sebastián Film Festival this year, snowboarding film The Art of FLIGHT 3D received its world premiere on the same day that Storm Surfers 3D made its European debut. The former is an epic of international off-piste snowboarding, directed by Curt Morgan and starring American snowboarder Travis Rice, the pioneering big mountain ’boarder and outspoken figurehead for his sport.

The stars of Storm Surfers 3D have been friends for 25 years. In their film, Tom Carroll, a two-time world surfing champ, and Ross Clarke-Jones – unofficial big-wave world champion and the first nonHawaiian to win the Eddie Aikau Memorial, a touchstone Hawaii surf contest – embark on a similar globetrotting mission as Rice does in his. However, instead of riding snow previously thought untouchable, the two Australians track extreme weather and surf the giant waves it generates. Rice, Carroll and Clarke-Jones sat down with The Red Bulletin for a fully three-dimensional discussion encompassing the water of life, inner voices and feeling like a lion. the red bulletin: What sticks most in your memory about making Storm Surfers 3D? tom carroll: There are moments that changed me physically, like when I get swallowed up by a huge wave. I thought I wasn’t going to recover. ross clarke-jones: I can laugh about it now, but I couldn’t back then when I saw his face. What stays with me is that at every screening we’ve been to, there have been children aged six and grandparents aged 75. It’s the first 22

time that surfing has been shown in an accurate, non-Hollywood way. The directors [Chris Nelius and Justin McMillan] knew what they were doing. tc: Absolutely. We had 1,500 hours of darting about to end up with a film lasting an hour and 30 minutes. rcj: We made the film serious without being arrogant.

What do you feel as you attack a wave? rcj: Adrenalin, mostly. tc: Seeing the wave in the distance brings an emotional response. That’s when the danger begins, and then you leap into

“ we made the film serious without being arrogant”

Ross Clarke-Jones

“ the hardest thing? doing the voice-overs” Travis Rice

“ you feel like a lion in a cage in a studio” Tom Carroll

Action: both movies were a hit at San Sebastián

action. It’s like when a dog grabs something in its mouth and then won’t let go of it.

When the wave hits, you know you’re not going to let go of it and vice versa.

The two of you are long-time great friends. Which of the other’s qualities do you admire? rcj: I’d like to be organised like him.

He’s got 87 surfboards lined up in his garage in a perfectly organised way.

It’s insane! That’s not how I am. tc: The guy is crazy. Not a bit crazy: completely crazy! A lot more than I am.

Do you think you’ve reached your limits? tc: It all depends how you define limits.

The older you get, the more you think of the consequences of a fall. There’s a little voice in your head that tells you whether to go for it or not. I’ve hit 50 now, so I’m physically very different from the man I was 20 or 30 years ago. My attitude has changed, too. I’m more aware of the risks now. If you go flying into the air aged 50, you’re going to pay a high price. But one thing’s for sure, I never thought I’d be doing this at my age. rcj: Yes, maybe we’re more cautious when it comes to risk now. People have said to me, ‘Remember, you’re a father...’ but nothing really changes. tc: Limits challenge the unconscious.

They are each other’s mirror image. travis rice: The limits of what we do are… limitless, as far as I’m concerned.

That’s the basic principle of a limit, after all. These two guys here with me now prove that age isn’t a limit.

What was the most memorable thing about The Art of FLIGHT 3D? tr: The action, and, at the end of the day, the film was even better than we thought.

All three of you are weather experts. tr: It’s true, we are. You have to get to know the liquid element. We’re made up of water. This planet is largely made up of water. It’s everywhere. Snow is water, and it moves, too, like a river does.

What is the most complicated part of making a snowboard film? tr: You know what the hardest thing was? Doing the voice-overs, the narration, after we’d filmed. tc: You feel like a lion in a cage in a studio.

What’s your ultimate dream? tc: We’re living it right now. rcj: This is what we wanted to do when we were kids. tr: Maybe it’s appropriate to be satisfied and content with how things are right now. rcj: A good, 30m wave. That’s the dream. tc: I’m just happy to be doing what I do. www.redbull.com www.artofflightmovie.com www.stormsurfers.com.au

Stars of surf and snow (from left): Tom Carroll, Travis Rice and Ross Clarke-Jones

B U L L E VA R D

ME AND MY BODY

KATHERINE REUTTER Juggling a rigorous post-hip-surgery training regimen and college is not slowing down this 24-year-old, two-time Olympic medallist and speed-skating star www.katherinereutter.com

1 BACK ON TRACK

2 HIP TO BE STRONG

Surgeons detached my leg from the hip socket and shaved down the head of my femur until it was shaped like a ball instead of like an egg.

3 HOT FEET

A trick to prevent blisters: you put your boot in the oven, get it nice and hot, then put it on and tie it super-tight so it’ll mould to the shape of your foot.

4 BODY IMAGE

I’m a workout freak. I’m majoring in exercise physiology; I love the body and how it works, how we fuel it, how it functions. It’s important to have a strong body and to be proud of your accomplishments.

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5 BALANCED MIND

Injury has made me a much calmer person. I was always stressing about my results.

Now it’s: “Whatever the result is, how am I going to make it better next time?”

6 FIRST CUT

I had knee surgery when I was 15. They cut out bone spurs.

Skating’s not good for your knees, but I think this was more from being a rough and tough kid.

WORDS: LAURA DUNPHY. PHOTOGRAPHY: TOM BEAR

What really hurts my back is when I have to round it out, and that’s what we do. If your chest can touch your thighs, but you have an extension curve in your back, it doesn’t count.

You have to suck in your belly button and draw your hips underneath you.

b u l l e va r d

winning formula

Basic instinct: France’s goalkeeper, Thierry Omeyer, tries to guess which way Andreas Nilsson of Sweden will throw

Don’t Think, just Feel

For handball goals, intuition is better than reaction, says our sports scientist. The goalkeeper concurs

words: martin apolin. illustration: Mandy fischer. photography: imago

On The Field “I put the thrower under psychological pressure before he takes a penalty by concentrating my gaze on him,” says Thierry Omeyer, who this year won his second consecutive Olympic handball gold medal with France’s national team, and who is closing in on 300 caps for his country. “Then, just before he throws, I try to guess the direction the ball is going to go in from my opponent’s arm position, or I just follow my gut instinct.”

In The Lab “Can a handball goalkeeper react correctly to a throw to save it?” says Dr Martin Apolin of the physics faculty of the University of Vienna. “And what do we mean physically by the term ‘reaction’?

“Firstly, an electric impulse from the eye reaches the brain, which analyses the situation and as a reaction ‘programmes’ a movement – another electric impulse that is sent to the muscles (fig 1). Until that happens there can be no appropriate movement.

“The fastest reaction time to visual stimuli is 0.15s. The body won’t allow it to be any quicker than that. But in the case of the goalie facing a throw, he doesn’t only have to react, he has to react correctly, with a complex reaction using many parts of his body. That means the brain’s ‘thinking phase’ lasts longer. So let’s say the reaction time in this instance is a much more realistic 0.2s.

“How long is the ball in the air before it reaches the goalie?

He usually stands quite a way in front of the goal; for a penalty throw, taken 7m in front of goal, he can stand up to 4m in front. Let’s assume that the distance from the thrower’s hand to the goalkeeper is 3.5m. Speed is distance over time, s = d/t, therefore t = d/s. You can see the time the ball spends in the air on its way towards the goalkeeper at various speeds in fig 2.

“Even at 40kph (11.1m/s), which is pretty leisurely, the ball only takes 0.3s to reach the goalie. So if we take away the reaction time, the goalie has only 0.1s to get a hand or foot to the ball. At more realistic speeds of about 65kph (18.1m/s), the ball would already be with the goalie before his 0.2s reaction time has elapsed. It’s impossible for him to react correctly.

“Yet statistics say the handball goalie has a 25 per cent chance of saving the ball. His successes lie in his anticipation.

The goalie will know which corner a thrower favours, and readies himself accordingly. Or, he will anticipate the direction of the ball based on the thrower’s initial arm movement. In any case, the goalie’s attempt to make a save has to begin before the ball is thrown. A successful save always has an element of luck to it.

“So why does the goalie not stand on the goal line and give himself more time to react correctly? If he stood on the line, the ball would take twice as long to reach him. The problem is that the goal is 3m wide and the span of a goalie’s outstretched arms is about 1.8m, leaving a gap of 60cm on either side. You can calculate how much of the goal is covered with the goalkeeper standing 3.5m in front using the intercept theorem, in which a1/a2 = b1/b2 and so b2 = b1 x a2/a1, which here equates to 1.8m x 7m/3.5m = 3.6m. Thereby you have the whole goal covered. www.ihf.info

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B U L L E VA R D

LUCKY NUMBERS

THE CREATION OF ADAM In November 1512, in the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, Michelangelo unveiled his ceiling fresco and its most famous element, The Creation of Adam. We’ve done the math on its making

Michelangelo’s astonishing work depicts nine scenes from the creation story and covers 520m2, an area the size of two tennis courts. It was the world’s largest ceiling fresco when it was painted. The 33-year-old artist opted for the most complicated painting technique of the day, buon fresco, in which pigment ground in water is applied to wet plaster. Michelangelo was a control freak, too: he would only let his assistants paint small figures or background scenes, mix paints and rebuild the scaffolding, which enabled him to work 20m above the ground.

41

ET phone home; ape Adam

Pope Julius II

Raphael

3,000

Equivalent to roughly €2 million today, and then 30 times the annual income of a distinguished artist, Michelangelo was paid 3,000 ducats for his ceiling fresco, but paid a high cost in terms of his health. The Pope would often pay months late, causing the artist great stress, and he also suffered headaches and back pain due to the physical strain of the work. He wrote a sonnet on his painterly tour de force: “My beard doth point to heaven, my scalp its place / Upon my shoulder finds… my paintbrush all the day / Doth drop a rich mosaic on my face.”

The hands of Adam and God form the centrepiece of the fresco, but two of the fingers are not by the original artist. In 1565, the year after Michelangelo died, Pope Pius IV commissioned the painter Domenico Carnevale to repaint Adam’s index and middle fingers, because they had started to crumble away due to a crack in the ceiling. The fact that the Pope commissioned an unknown artist to do the work indicates that The Creation of Adam was not seen as the central masterpiece of the fresco back then.

The Creation of Adam

The maestro was heralded as the new star of the Roman art scene in the early 16th century. This created a lot of envy among his peers, not least from Raphael. It was he who encouraged Pope Julius II to commission Michelangelo to paint the fresco. Raphael’s dastardly plan was either for his rival to fail – Michelangelo was primarily a sculptor, after all – or that the work would take a heavy toll on him and put him out of action for years. Raphael’s plan did not bear fruit. Michelangelo spent 41 months creating this masterpiece, after which he became known as Il Divino, ‘the divine one’.

Michelangelo

The Sistine Chapel

2

4,440,000 Maurizio De Luca, the chief restorer at the Vatican Museums, is driven to despair; dust used to be brushed away from the ceiling every two years, but that is no longer sufficient, given that 4.44 million visitors come to crane their necks every year. The large crowds are too much for the ventilation systems to deal with: breath and body warmth create humidity and adversely affect the works of art. One attempt at solving the problem saw opening hours extended so that the visitors would be more evenly spread over the course of the day.

6

In 1990, Dr Frank Meshberger stumbled across an interesting detail while flicking through an art book: the bent leg of one of the angels looked like the human pituitary gland, while the shawl underneath God’s cape resembled the artery which provides the brain with blood. Meshberger showed in a subsequent study how the right-hand side of the fresco corresponds, in close detail, to a longitudinal section of the six areas of the brain. Was Michelangelo suggesting that God only existed in our heads? Was this – the original Easter egg – a coded criticism of the Vatican?

www.museivaticani.va

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WORDS: FLORIAN OBKIRCHER. PHOTOGRAPHY: DDP, PICTUREDESK.COM (3), GETTY IMAGES, MAX GALLI/LAIF, KOBAL COLLECTION

520

The shell around God (below) resembles the brain

ime Than Drivetim t y a l P e k i L e r e!

Mo

action

“You become very humble up there” exactly 65 years to the day after us test pilot chuck yeager became the first person ever to break through the sound barrier in an aircraft, red bull stratos had lift-off after five years of testing and preparations. On October 14, 2012, 43-year-old austrian skydiver Felix baumgartner

30

became the first person to break the sound barrier without the protection or propulsion of an aircraft, reaching, according to preliminary figures, 1,342.8kph (833.9mph, or mach 1.24), setting the record for the highest manned balloon flight and the highest jump

(39,045m, 128,100 feet) as well as the longest distance in free fall (36,529m, 119,846 feet). clocking 4m22s, he missed out on breaking joe kittinger’s 1960 record for the longest free fall by 14 seconds. you could say that baumgartner was just too fast and descended too quickly.

photography: predrag vuckovic/red bull stratos

but even more than setting records, even more than providing scientific data, for red bull stratos it was about inspiring people to attempt something great, to question boundaries. what lies beyond the horizon? you couldn’t say it more philosophically than baumgartner did standing

on the step of his capsule: “sometimes you have to reach great heights to realise how small you are.” we now go to our man in the stratosphere – in an exclusive for the red bulletin, baumgartner shares his diary from the days that made him a true hero of our time.

12.16

sunday, OctOber 14, 2012

dOwn tO earth: a euphoric

Felix baumgartner sinks to his knees in celebration shortly after executing a perfect landing in the scrubland of new mexico, usa.

17.00

wednesday, October 10, 2012

FELIX: “Obviously I worked

hard on getting myself in top physical form for the Red Bull Stratos project. Basic endurance,

strength, power endurance, the whole gambit. I knew that I had to perform well not only during those few minutes of free fall, but also during the long, hard days leading up to it. I had to prepare myself for this as best I possibly could.”

Andy Walshe : “In the days leading up to the launch, I really put Felix through his paces in the gym. On

the day before, I only had him do a light cardio workout.”

(Andy Walshe is High Performance Director of Red Bull Stratos.)

18.00

friday, October 12, 2012

FELIX: “I got to know Klaus

during the shooting of aN advert in Leogang, Austria, and the chemistry

klaus hammerle: “Before the jump, Felix’s energy levels were at the maximum level, you

could even see it in his face.

Only very few people are able to build up such an exacting power and focus.”

(Klaus Hammerle is a masseur and naturopath.)

photography: joerg mitter/red bull stratos

was good right from the start.

He is much more than a massage therapist for me. He just touches me and feels how I’m doing; he knows what he has to do to get the maximum out of me.

Klaus understands the body as a whole, he sees what my energy reserves are doing.

I had to persuade him to come to Roswell with me because he shies away from the limelight. but it was important to have him with me in this decisive phase.”

action

10.00

saturday, October 13, 2012

FELIX: “My whole family

was there. My girlfriend Nici – who you see here enjoying her morning coffee – my mother, father, brother, and my closest friends. For some, this was their first time in the USA, and I think it was unforgettable for all of them. I wanted to have the most important people in my life around me for the most important project of my career. That was crucial.”

02.40

sunday, October 14, 2012

FELIX: “Not easy to sleep

the night before. I got up just after two in the morning, drank

a strawberry smoothie and drove out to the airfield. After winds foiled our attempt last Tuesday, we’re hoping for better conditions this time. Meteorologist Don Day, Joe Kittinger, Art Thompson and Andy Walshe will run through

everything again with me today before it gets real serious.

At 03.10 I’ll climb into the capsule again, alone and in civvies, to quietly go through the most critical procedures once more.”

33

Action

05.18

sunday, October 14, 2012

FELIX: “I put on my pressure

suit for the final time, then I pre-breathe pure oxygen to purge nitrogen out of my blood.

Luke Aikins [Red Bull Stratos Skydiving Consultant, above left] and Mike Todd [Life Support Engineer of Red Bull Stratos, right] are with me in my trailer.

While I’m doing this, the balloon is spread out on the airfield and connected to the pressure capsule via the flight train. At 07.04, Andy Walshe opens the trailer door. The sun has bathed the horizon to the east of Roswell in a crimson glow. No sign of wind. Today is a glorious day.”

34

07.07

sunday, October 14, 2012

FELIX: “A forklift lifts

Mike Todd and me up to the capsule. Mike

straps me into the seat. There is a meticulous protocol for everything and we must follow it exactly. Everything is OK. Now we just have to wait for Don Day to give the go-ahead to inflate the balloon. Inflation could take up to an hour and a half. So that I don’t start to sweat, cool air is blown through a hose into the capsule. But I find I get too cold, so I instruct my team to remove the hose.”

09.00

sunday, October 14, 2012

FELIX: “At precisely 08.44,

photography: joerg mitter/red bull stratos (2), balazs gardi/red bull stratos (3)

the command is given to fill the balloon. Helium now flows into the gigantic envelope that will transport me into the stratosphere. We were here at this very point five days ago.

On October 9, the wind gusted at the height of the sensitive top of the balloon, which forced us to abandon the launch. The wind had started to twist the balloon envelope, making a safe start impossible; the balloon was lost.

I couldn’t believe it. I had to really pull myself together and use every bit of professionalism I had to deal with the shock.

This one here is our last balloon, but all is going well today.”

09.31

sunday, October 14, 2012

FELIX: “Take-off! This is the moment we have worked towards all these years. You can’t see what’s happening from inside the capsule. You just hope your team is doing everything right.” don day: “we learned From

the aborted launch that we had to be even more precise, to work even faster, to get Felix airborne earlier in the morning. My calculations had given us a 20-minute window on October 14, between 09.20 and 09.40.

The balloon crew chief, Ed Coca, issued clearance for take-off right in the middle of this.

It was a perfect start.”

(Don Day is Chief Meteorologist of Red Bull Stratos.)

09.40

sunday, OctOber 14, 2012

FeLIX: “the FIrst mInutes

OF FLIght are the mOst crItIcaL. at low altitude

11.31

sunday, OctOber 14, 2012

FeLIX: “we have a prObLem. a majOr prObLem.

It seems the heating in the face plate of my visor is not working. my breath is condensing inside. If you’ve ever experienced fogged-up ski goggles on the slopes, you might get an idea what that would mean for a supersonic free fall from the stratosphere – in a pressure suit, to boot. we’re on the brink of cancelling the mission. joe kittinger [red bull stratos Flight Operations and safety, capsule communications] decides to cut the audio feed from live so that we can discuss the situation openly and directly.”

11.45

sunday, OctOber 14, 2012

art thOmpsOn: “we Instructed FeLIX tO

dIscOnnect the vIsOr heatIng FrOm the cIrcuIt OF the capsuLe and to try connecting it

to the power supply of the chest pack, which also takes over the supply during free fall. On the mission control cameras, we could see that the heating was now working. still, we left the decision to Felix whether he wanted to jump under these circumstances.” (art thompson is technical project director of red bull stratos.)

mIke tOdd: “we had never eXperIenced

a prObLem wIth the vIsOr heatIng. In the stratosphere even the smallest things turn into problems that could terminate the mission.”

FeLIX: “I decIded tO jump, despIte the

problem with the visor heating. the decision proved to be the right one. I wanted to go through with this. and the alternative – descending in the capsule – was not very enticing.”

photography: joerg mitter/red bull stratos (4), jay nemeth/red bull stratos (3)

I wouldn’t have the chance to exit the capsule with a parachute in case something went wrong.

Looking at the images, I really notice just how thin and small the balloon looks near the earth, while in the stratosphere it looks round and full because of the low ambient pressure. you could use this in teaching physics as an example to explain how atmospheric pressure works.”

action

12.07

sunday, OctOber 14, 2012

FeLIX: “It’s hard tO put IntO wOrds what

yOu FeeL at that mOment. Obviously, you’ve visualised this moment a thousand times, but nothing can prepare you for the sheer magnitude of it, when the sky above you is pitch black, you can see the curve of the earth, and you think to yourself: ‘I have arrived.’ you have finally reached the point which you have been working towards for so long. It is a moment you’ll never have again. never before had a man been up so high, protected only by a pressure suit. come up and get me is the cheeky title of joe kittinger’s biography. It is a privilege to be allowed up here.

“I have the greatest humbleness for the universe and an awareness of our insignificance. ‘I’m coming home,’ I say, before I jump, and this profoundly matches what I’m feeling right at this moment. I’m at the furthest point of my journey. From now on I’m homeward bound – metaphorically and literally. “the jump is flawless. For the first 34 seconds, my fall is perfect. then the big tumble dryer in the sky turns on.”

37

Action

12.07

sunday, October 14, 2012

FELIX: “I try to hold my

position. I don’t feel anything, no indications, no noise. There is only nothingness. I don’t even feel how fast I’m falling – there are simply no reference points.

I may have already broken the sound barrier, but, of course, I can’t hear. I’m travelling faster than sound. Part of the rescue crew waiting, former CIA men and firefighters, close to my calculated landing spot tell me later that they heard two bangs. The first when I entered supersonic range; the second when I slowed down to subsonic again in the denser air.”

12.07

sunday, october 14, 2012

FELIX: “Now it really

over all three body axes. It’s the infamous flat spin that I’d been warned about. I have to get this under control quickly before I black out from too much blood being pressed into my head.

Stretching your arms out only makes the situation worse.

I pin my arms to my sides, get my head low and manage to assume a controlled position again. I’d practised this with Luke Aikins. After 40 seconds of uncontrolled spinning, I take a safe free fall position and deploy my parachute – as planned – at an altitude of 1,585m (5,200 feet) above ground level.”

38

photography: Jay nemeth/red bull stratos (3), predrag vuckovic/red bull stratos

gets going. Massively!

I rotate uncontrollably

12.16

sunday, october 14, 2012

FELIX: The landing is perfect. The crew gives

me a signal via radio of the wind direction

so that I can steer my parachute accordingly. At just 3.4G, the landing is the softest I’ve done in the pressure suit. jon clarke: “We survived. This is the most

decisive thing from a medical point of view. We were up higher and fell faster than we had anticipated. Felix was in space, and just like an astronaut, he lost control of his position for several seconds. He got into this spin – just as we had predicted – and he survived. We’ve shown that this is possible. You cannot overstate Felix’s achievements and the records will very possibly remain intact longer than those of Joe Kittinger.”

(Jon Clarke is Medical Director of Red Bull Stratos.)

13.00 sunday, OctOber 14, 2012 FeLIX: “It’s dOne. I Landed saFeLy and

I survIved. the red buLL stratOs prOject was a success. I can’t help but fall to my knees

and raise my hands to the sky. I know that joe kittinger and the team prayed for me earlier and asked the guardian angels to watch out for me. but I was up in their realm anyway. mike todd and the rescue crew were the first to race up to me. during the last few months, mike was like a mother to me: he was the one who dressed me, he was the last to leave me in the capsule and the first to welcome me back onto solid ground. “we fall into each other’s arms. a helicopter brings us back to mission control. there is art thompson, there is joe kittinger, there is my team. I’m overwhelmed. I have returned to earth.”

“the us air Force, nasa and private companies have already asked if they can have access to our data. they are all interested in what happens when you exit at such high altitudes. It will take some time to analyse the data from the flat spin and to deduce an exact pattern of how people with less skydiving experience than Felix can survive a fall from such a great height.”

photography: joerg mitter/red bull stratos (3)

art thOmpsOn: “the scIentIFIc data that

we have collected with the red bull stratos project include Felix’s complete biometric values, subsonic to transonic to supersonic and back again. these data are of interest to medical practitioners and will help to develop future treatments for accidents in the supersonic range. the load values of suit, helmet, gloves and parachute will make equipment safer in the future. we are the first to collate such data.

action

13.47

sunday, OctOber 14, 2012

FeLIX: “my team. red bull stratos was teamwork. even though I’m now standing in the limelight, it was all of us who turned an idea into a project and a project into a success. even if there were recurring problems during the five years of working towards this goal, we overcame them. joe kittinger said at the debrief meeting that the red bull stratos crew were the best he has ever worked with. I couldn’t put it better myself.”

41

photography: ryan miller/ red Bull Content Pool

Action

42

New wave

filmmaking

Blood in shark-infested waters, time stretched by factor of 60, the linking of generations: what happened when Jordy Smith, pro surfing’s renegade talent, became the subject of a documentary profile that pushes the technical and creative boundaries of surf cinema Words: Simon Nicholson

a Action

KAI NEVILLE: The original idea of doing something that’s totally focused on Jordy came from the background of filming Modern Collective. We formed a really good relationship and his surfing in that film was something I’d never seen before.

He was just an amazing surfer to work with – always getting clips, really highperformance stuff. It seemed that a profile 44

Jordy Smith: from surf star to film star

the film was shot in waters off Western movie was a natural thing for Jordy to do. australia, réunion island, indonesia, I wanted to document the progression of tahiti, puerto rico, hawaii and Smith’s Jordy Smith, from the early years to hometown of Cape town. neville and today. How he’s grown as a surfer. crew had to arrange shooting around JORDY SMITH: The title of the film, to Smith’s tour commitments. me, is the movement of the ocean, the bending of the waves. When you’re NEVILLE: It’s tougher turning with your board to do something like this through the water, so many with someone like Jordy, different colours bend and who is also focusing on blend. Water turns from blue a world title and a top-10 to white; you could get brown ranking. It means we don’t and milky water in Bali, or get to peel out on freesurfing some of the bluest water ever trips as much. But when we in Réunion. Water and colours get to do trips like Réunion, bend, so Bending Colours. it’s exactly the same – the NEVILLE: It’s a true “When we boys just having fun and collaboration between us. do trips like the work side of the trip The film definitely takes on comes naturally. direction from Jordy. He would Réunion, it’s the boys SMITH: It was fun, yeah, get psyched, and also tough just having but some days we were with me, because I’m used to surfing for 10 hours. It being totally independent. So fun, and was draining. [Thirty we would work at it together. the work surfboards and one ankle SMITH: Working on films side comes were harmed during the before meant we have a great naturally” making of this film.] friendship. To succeed in front kai neville, of a camera, you have to be the ‘boys’ included as comfortable as possible. filmmaker the australian surfer Even when swells didn’t show Julian Wilson and the american up, when it can get really frustrating, surfer tom Curren. Curren, at 48, we were positive. But Kai knows exactly is twice the age of both Smith and what he wants, and he knows the style Wilson, and was world champion I wanted. There isn’t a better man on twice before either were born. > Earth to film and direct my movie.

PHOTOGRAPHY: CRAIG KOLESKY/RED BULL CONTENT POOL (3), GETTY IMAGES, ASP/KIRSTIN SCHOLZ, RYAN MILLER/RED BULL CONTENT POOL

ged 24, Jordy Smith has been surfing for 20 years, and yet he’s torn between polar opposites of a life lived on the breaks. on the one hand, he’s a leading competitor on the aSp World Championship tour, the high watermark of men’s professional surfing. on the other, he fully embraces the philosophy of freesurfing: no rules, no ranking, no regimentation. Fans of the tour love him for bringing the two together when he competes; his backers and sponsors, and Smith himself, would like better tour results, which might only come by leaving the freesurfing principles on the shore. (in 2010, he was overall tour runner-up, after coming 26th in his debut season in 2008, and 11th in 2009. last year he was seventh, and after seven of the 10 events on the 2012 tour, he was in 11th place.) this clash between the two halves of Smith’s surfing character makes him one of the most fascinating characters on a surfboard and perfect as the subject of new film Bending Colours, a production of the red Bull media house, realised by Kai neville Studio and supported by o’neill. neville has rightly earned a reputation as a maker of a new kind of surf documentary, thanks to his openness to the current generation of freesurfers. his films, Modern Collective (2009), Lost Atlas (2011) and Dear Suburbia (2012), are not the high-fiving, moody-sunset surf films you’re thinking of; they’re dynamic and exciting, reaching surfing’s outer edges, as well as its inner being. The Red Bulletin spoke to neville, Smith and some of Smith’s friends and peers to get a better handle on the film and its star.

Clockwise from above: Smith demonstrates his skill in the Maldives; during the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, Hawaii; in Teahupo’o, Tahiti; also in Tahiti

SMITH: Surfing with Tom Curren was, the red and the phantom hd gold. to me, the best part of making this film. the former, released in 2008, has It’s been a long-time dream of mine to revolutionised action filmmaking surf when it’s just me and him. He has because it makes gathering hi-def always been someone I’ve looked up footage both cheap and portable. the to. Making the film, I found myself latter is a slow-motion camera that relaxing a lot more watching him surf. can stretch four seconds of real-time He made me go for different lines on incident into four minutes of footage. a wave and do things I would never do before. Watching him helped NEVILLE: Working on RED me change things about the cameras and the Phantom way I surfed that I hadn’t has been amazing. At the end realised I needed to change. of a day’s filming, we’d all sit JULIAN WILSON: Jordy wanted down and check out the stuff me for this movie, so when we got. You pick up moments I got the call-up I didn’t care with these cameras that how I did it – I was going. At you don’t normally capture Réunion Island, the bottom [of with other cameras – spray the ocean where filming took exploding on the waves, every “in certain place] is sharp like in Hawaii: movement of the boys bottomconditions, volcanic rock, the kind you turning [the sweeping turns don’t want to land on. And, at made at the bottom of wave, Jordy surfs the right of where we surfed, which set up a surfer for the better than there’s a big pile of rocks. rest of his ride on that wave]. the guys Jordy got smashed on it. On You can even see the boards who are my last session, I hit another flexing. When you use the winning set of rocks. But, you’re not Phantom and slow everything going to hear any complaints events now” down to 1,500 frames a second, from me. I surfed a ton there Travis logie, you pick up every little detail. and got a lot out of it.

It’s a completely fresh angle surf pro NEVILLE: That spot delivered on surfing. But out there on and friend one of the greatest waves the water, you have to make I have ever filmed. It’s very sure every last thing about exposed to swell; the trade wind blows your technique is good; otherwise, the from the side, and the reef allows for whole thing just looks wrong. you to have a huge roll into a big ramp.

SMITH: Surfing can look so effortless, Perfect for airs. It’s safe to say the stuff and I want people to understand how we filmed here closes the movie out. much power and technique goes into WILSON: It was the saltiest water I’ve each move. By using the Phantom ever surfed in. The friction from the salt camera to slow things down, people water between our bodies and our boards can see what’s really going on and how tore us to pieces. Our chests and our much effort is going into each move. stomachs were bleeding. I wore a full suit for a couple of days. I literally couldn’t lie down on my board. The skin would come straight off and I’d be bleeding into the water, which isn’t something you want to be doing over there. [Between January 2011 and August 2012, there were seven shark attacks off Réunion Island, three of which were fatal.]

SMITH: I had a whole bunch of healing to do, because I got really cut up on the rocks. as well as the physical challenges inherent in making the film, the technical element of Bending Colours led those both behind and in front of the camera to question what they could and couldn’t put on film. archive footage, of course, comes as it is, but for everything shot anew, neville used two models of high-definition camera: 46

PHOTOGRAPHY: RYAN MILLER/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, BRIAN BIELMANN/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, ASP/KIRSTIN SCHOLZ

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Réunion Island in the Indian Ocean provided some spectacular moments for Bending Colours.

Below, left: Smith prepares to surf the waves at Teahupo’o

Smith’s self-belief nearly derailed the filming of Bending Colours in august 2011, when he competed against fellow South african surfer and long-time friend travis logie in the Billabong pro tahiti in teahupo’o, the fifth of 11 aSp World Championship tour events that year. logie, 33, was then flitting between the aSp tour and the qualifying tour one level below. during their third-round contest, Smith disappeared under a wave and resurfaced in some distress. initial fears were of a broken rib puncturing his lung, which can be fatal. the injury turned out to be a dislocated rib, which did not prevent Smith from getting back on his board and finishing the round, holding his damaged side with one arm and balancing with the other.

TRAVIS LOGIE: When Jordy first came on the scene, he was all guns blazing, but there were definitely moments here and there when he needed advice.

I think I was able to help him learn how to respect his competitors, but still want to smash them in a heat and then be civil after the heat was done, regardless of the result. Sometimes he didn’t know when to turn off after the heat; I was the same in the beginning.

He came on with a reputation for being arrogant, but it wasn’t long before he was one of the most liked guys on the Tour. Surfing-wise, I don’t think there’s much more he needs to do to win a world title one day. He surfs as good, and, in certain conditions, better than some of the guys winning events now. It will come. It just takes one event to start a winning run. recently on the tour, Smith has become friends with Josh Kerr, a 28-year-old australian surfer who also shares Smith’s love of freesurfing.

JOSH KERR: When he puts it all together, Jordy’s real strength is flow. I love how he can flow such crazy moves together without any bobbles, it’s super-rare to see someone do that, and he does it in every surf. He is the full package.

Bending Colours, a Red Bull Media House production, is available on iTunes, DVD and Blu-Ray: www.redbull.com/ bendingcolours

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NITrO cIrcus THE amerIcaN daredeVIl IS rINGmasTer Of a TraVellING shOw WITH ONE CORE BELIEF: IF SOMETHING HAS WHEELS, THEN SOMEONE WILL FLIP, JUMP, TRICK OR RIDE IT LIKE NO ONE ELSE ALIVE Words: Josh Dean & Christophe Couvrat Photography: Miko Lim

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“The best in the world doing tricks on anything entertaining.

That’s what Nitro circus is all about” 50

Strike one: Travis Pastrana makes a match of it on the Nitro Circus tour

defying ways. But today it’s also a global brand that’s spawned a series of videos, a popular MTV show, a 3D movie to be released this winter and a live tour that, despite selling out arenas in the US, Australia, and New Zealand, is really Pastrana’s attempt to get back to the very origins of the idea. “Let’s get back to why we started Nitro Circus, which was the foam pit at my house and everyone was trying to learn tricks for X Games and stuff,” he tells The Red Bulletin, while hobbling around the property.

The 29-year-old designed Nitro Circus Live to recapture that spontaneity, and the tour is now headed to Europe for the first time, opening on November 18 in Stockholm and touring across the continent, ending in the UK in early December.

No two shows are the same, and the only requirement of the 30 or so participants is that each one attempts something new every night. “It doesn’t have to be something that’s never been

A novel way to beat the queues at the checkout

done – just something you’ve never done before,” Pastrana explains. Of course, with some of the world’s best skaters, freestyle motocross riders and BMX riders on staff, there’s a good chance any single night will contain at least a few world firsts. At the Nitro Circus show at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in June last year, there were 15 first-ever feats.

“It’s basically an athlete’s best trick at X Games for every type of contraption you can imagine,” he says. “Nitro Circus prides itself on pushing the envelope on not just the conventional.” That means not only skateboards, BMX bikes and motorcycles, but also scooters rollerblades, roller skis – even kids pedal cars and Big Wheels tricycles.

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ne of the guaranteed showstoppers is Aaron ‘Wheels’ Fotheringham, a paraplegic who joined the Circus and has since become the world’s foremost wheelchair daredevil.

“Aaron didn’t have a platform to show off his stuff,” Pastrana says. “So he convinced us he could jump. The whole show consists of amazing athletes like him.

The best in the world on anything that’s entertaining is what Nitro’s all about.”

Some dates also feature Pogo Fred, a guy who does pogo stick flips, among other stunts, and during a stop in Sydney in May, Nitro regular Jolene Van Vugt set a Guinness land speed record on a motorised toilet built by Nitro Circus engineers. (The new mark is 74kph, beating the previous record

additional photography: garth milan/red bull content pool, chris tedesco/red bull content pool

t all started with the foam pit. It’s a central feature of Travis Pastrana’s 20-acre property in Maryland, USA, which also includes: a large house with its own health club, bar and games room; a pool; an extensive skatepark; a freestyle motocross course; a barn full of toys, most of them motorised; and ground-level trampolines. The foam pit is a swimming-pool-sized container filled with 41,000 chunks of blue and yellow foam, and covered by a retractable roof, built so that the world’s foremost professional daredevil can practise the kinds of tricks that have made him a legend.

For the better part of the last decade, Pastrana and his ever-growing retinue of fearless friends and roustabouts have propelled themselves down his driveway on bikes, motorcycles, skateboards, four-wheelers and even children’s toys, up one of the many precipitous handbuilt ramps and into the air. There they attempt difficult and sometimes impossible tricks before plunging into the stinky, dark pit of foam. Over time, the wagers grew, as did the scale of the tricks, and nothing was too outrageous to attempt, and that’s how the Nitro Circus was born.

The Circus is still just a group of crazy and extremely talented friends trying to one-up each other in ever-more death-

The BMX, bedrock of trick cycling, is an integral part of a Nitro Circus Live show

Like two motocross tricksters passing in the night

Chill far out: Andrew Broussard jumps a cooler on wheels at Nitro Circus Live in Las Vegas, 2011

Pastrana’s wife understands him. on her second moto ride, she did a backflip of 68kph.) The only person who won’t be risking life and limb each night in Europe is Pastrana. He is still recuperating from a shattered ankle and foot after a crash sustained while attempting a motorcycle trick at the 2011 X Games, and is having shoulder surgery just a few days before the tour departs, so he’ll be serving as ringmaster, urging on his friends.

One of those people he’ll be egging on is his wife, the professional skater Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins Pastrana, and maybe the only woman on Earth who can understand why he does what he does.

She did a backflip the second time she ever rode a motocross bike and recently asked her husband to add an even bigger and more terrifying quarter-pipe to the skate-park so that she can practise the kinds of tricks that Nitro Circus – with its 50m-high, Giganta Ramp roll-in 51

Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins Pastrana and, below, being asked to be Mrs P at Nitro Circus in 2011

Soft option: there are more than 40,000 foam pieces in Pastrana’s ‘practice pit’ in Maryland

“we aren’T Paid enough for whaT we PuT our bodies Through, buT we’d paY TO dO IT. we haVe sO much fuN” 52

of his pulverised foot bones. To entertain himself and sate his competitive soul, he had a special recliner made so that he could play the arcade game Big Buck Hunter. he got good enough to enter the world championships, and he finished in eighth place. Apart from that, Pastrana says his recuperation was “total hell”.

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ravis Pastrana has not been on a motorcycle since his accident. he has, however, raced 25 times on NASCAr’s second-tier Nationwide Series this year, and once in the NASCAr Camping World Truck Series, the latter on the same day as racing in the penultimate round of this year’s Global rallycross series, also in Vegas. right after that double duty came the surgery that will hopefully keep his oft-dislocated shoulder from popping out of joint at inopportune times, for instance, in the middle of a car race, as happened “so many times” this year.

There are worse ways to recover from surgery than road-tripping around Europe in a bus with your friends, watching them do what they’re best at for adoring crowds every night. “We aren’t paid nearly enough for what we put our bodies through, but these are all guys who would pay anything to be able to do exactly what we do,” Pastrana says, chuckling. “Dude, we have so much fun.”

www.nitrocircuslive.com

NITRO CIRCUS LIVE

EUROPEAN TOUR 2012 18. 11 20. 11 21. 11 23. 11 24. 11 26. 11 28. 11 30. 11 01. 12 03. 12 04. 12 05. 12

STOCKHOLM HAMBURG BERLIN VIENNA VIENNA PRAGUE DÜSSELDORF ANTWERP ARNHEIM LONDON MANCHESTER BIRMINGHAM

ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY: GARTH MILAN/RED BULL CONTENT POOL

– constantly demands. “She loves moto so much that it scares the hell out of me,” Pastrana says, as, right on cue, the petite brunette careens down the steep drive on a four-wheeler and screeches to a stop.

Lyn-Z is a California native, and she and her husband spend a lot of their time on the West Coast. She calls the Maryland place “our summer house, though we were hardly here this summer”. It’s also where Pastrana holes up if he’s working on a new trick, or if he needs to recuperate. After the X Games crash – it torpedoed the first season of a brand-new job, as a NASCAr driver, before it started – Pastrana had to spend a month in bed; for the first three weeks, he couldn’t get up to use the bathroom. For three months, he had to keep his leg elevated above his heart to prevent any swelling from screwing up the delicate reconstruction

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“Difficulties are just things to overcome, after all�

Ernest Shackleton

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“Shackleton’s a legend. I’m doing this to honour him” Tim Jarvis Six men led by adventurer Tim Jarvis are hoping to recreate the most dangerous leg of the most gruelling journey of all time: Shackleton’s rescue mission. To follow exactly in century-old footsteps, they’re using identical gear and supplies Words: Ruth Morgan Photography: Paul Calver

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The Endurance is crushed by pack ice in 1915, as the dogs watch the spectacle unfold

CAPE HORN

illustration: kerstin luttenfeldner

im Jarvis has just spent four days at sea inside a tiny wooden boat, his 6ft 5in frame bent into a 4ft-high compartment shared with five other men, all of them severely seasick. The environmental scientist and adventurer is no stranger to discomfort having endured some of the world’s toughest environments: at 46, he’s eluded polar bears, broached freezing waters and scaled mountains. But this was a sea test off England’s southern coast, a mere preparatory drop in the ocean of the adventurer’s next voyage, his toughest 105° to recreate legendary yet: an expedition explorer Ernest Shackleton’s Antarctic rescue mission of 1916, using only the equipment Shackleton had available.

It’s the reason these six men, among them Barry Gray, the survival expert for the British Royal Marines, have been throwing up in seas far more manageable than the formidable Southern Ocean where they’ll be early next year. The boat, an exact replica of the James Caird used by Shackleton, has no keel and rolls helplessly at the whim of every wave. “We were like ping-pong balls in a cement mixer,” laughs Jarvis.

When they go for real, they’ll have to cope with it for weeks.

If Jarvis is worried, you wouldn’t guess it as he stands on a wooden jetty at the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, looking every bit the explorer as he chats with his crew in gravelly Queen’s 120° English, kitted out in stone-coloured vintage Burberry. The jetty is strewn with archaic kit: a chrome chronometer; hand-stitched woollens; oak boxes full of tea and Bovril. It looks incongruous next to the trainers and hoodies of the day-trippers walking by. But, in January,

SOUTH AMERICA

“Jarvis’s boat, an exact replica of Shackleton’s lifeboat, rolls helplessly at the whim of every wave”

PACIFIC OCEAN

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No bases covered

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From leaky boat to man overboard: Jarvis lists his journey’s potential pitfalls leaving elephant island “We’re going to try to head north, coming in from the west. The wind’s going to try to push us out into the open Atlantic and we’re going to try to hold as close as we can to the South America side, as if we allow it to blow us too far east we’ll end up in Africa a few months later.”

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the southern ocean “The Southern Ocean is the roughest in the world and the boat is just not designed for it. We’re in an old wooden rowing boat with no keel, water can leak through the planks, it can capsize very easily. If someone falls overboard we’ve got no remote possibility of going back for them because we can’t turn the boat around.”

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Faulkland Islands

April 24, 1916 7 Shackleton and five others sail to South Georgia in the James Caird

Elephant Island

3 South

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Georgia 1 start December 5, 1914 Having left England on the Endurance in August, Shackleton and his crew set off from Grytviken Whaling Station

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2 May 10, 1916 8 After 17 stormy days, the crew arrives on South Georgia

1 6 April 16, 1916 The lifeboats land on Elephant Island 5 April 9, 1916 Crew in three lifeboats: the James Caird, Dudley Docker and Stancomb Wills

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crossing the island “There is less snow in the mountain crevasses than when Shackleton was there, so it’s a very dangerous crossing in places, very easy to fall down. We’ve got one little section of hemp rope, which doesn’t stretch like modern rope, so if somebody does fall, it will put their back out. And we’ve got one carpenter’s adze, a pick-axe type thing, which isn’t much use between three people.”

Arriving at South Georgia “This poses a new set of problems. It’s a narrow entrance, and jagged mountains come right out of the sea. The wind and currents from Antarctica hit the southern side, the only place we have a chance of landing. So you have one go at getting it right: you’ve got to see the gap, get the sails out, get the oars out and go for it. Getting dashed against the rocks is a major fear.”

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4 November 21, 1915 Shackleton and his crew watch the Endurance sink

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9 FINISH May 19, 1916 Shackleton, Worsley and Crean trek for 36 hours solid across South Georgia’s glacier-clad peaks to reach the Stromness whaling station

December 7, 1914 2 The Endurance first encounters pack ice

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3 January 18, 1915 The Endurance becomes set in the pack ice

Ernest Shackleton expedition 1914-1916 Tim Jarvis expedition early 2013

RONNE ICE SHELF

FILCHNER ICE SHELF

500 miles 1,000km

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“Shackleton is a legendary figure and I also like him. I would have liked to have had a drink with him”

On the James Caird lifeboat

The chronometer will keep accurate time

Chrono­ meter “This Thomas Mercer chronometer is specially designed to keep time accurately at sea, important as clocks used to all work on a pendulum which became a problem with the motion of the sea. If you didn’t have accurate time, you couldn’t navigate, even if you knew where the sun was supposed to be at a particular time. These things are gimbaled – they sit on a base plate which allows them to remain stationary while the sea and the boat moves around beneath them.”

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when Jarvis reaches the endless expanse of the world’s roughest ocean, followed by the snow of South Georgia, it may as well be 1916 again.

“The gear chafes a lot, it weighs a lot,” says Jarvis, “it’s different on so many levels. But it’s amazing how your whole world centres on what’s available in these situations, you adjust.” Jarvis speaks from experience: his last polar trip was a recreation of Australian explorer Sir Douglas Mawson’s 1912 Antarctic journey using century-old kit. It’s part of the reason Alexandra Shackleton, Shackleton’s granddaughter and closest surviving relative, sought Jarvis out to propose The Shackleton Epic. For Jarvis, the expedition poses his greatest challenge off land. “I’ve done a fair bit of sailing, but as a crew member of a much larger ship,” he says. “So for me this is breaking new ground: the Shackleton journey is the greatest survival journey of all time. Shackleton is a legendary

figure and I also like him. I would have liked to have had a drink with him.”

Though Jarvis spends a lot of his time as a senior associate of an architectural consultancy firm, he has every reason to feel an affinity with Shackleton.

Exploration and adventure have been a big part of his world since childhood.

It began as a boy growing up in Malaysia when he and his dog would disappear off into the jungle for whole days, then the serious expeditions began aged 30, after he suffered a leg injury back in Britain playing rugby. He used a rowing machine for rehabilitation and, after seven weeks, entered himself into a national indoor competition. He won, taking the scalps of a number of the Olympic men’s squad.

It was a revelation. “Once you discover what you’re capable of,” he says, “you think ‘Holy crap, maybe I could go a bit further.’” ‘A bit further’ for Jarvis was an unsupported trip to the South Pole in 1999, the first of many polar expeditions which he also uses to research and bring about awareness of climate change.

“It gets desperate,” he says. “You have to regard severe depravity as a daily occurrence; frostbite, teeth falling out, falling into freezing water. I have no idea where I got the strength to get up each day. You just know as long as you take the next step you’ll keep going.”

But even Shackleton would have likely scoffed at the idea of completing his gruelling mission through choice. His original plan, as he set sail in 1914, was to become the first to cross the Antarctic continent, however his ship was slowly crushed by pack ice. Having reached the remote Elephant Island after a week at sea in three tiny lifeboats, he knew the only hope of survival for him and his crew of 27 rested on reaching a whaling station in South Georgia 800 miles away.

Shackleton and five of his men achieved this feat in May 1916, 658 days after he departed from London. It’s recognised as one of the greatest survival stories of our time, battling the Southern Ocean, navigating a narrow landing onto jagged rocks, and scaling the icy mountains that lay between them and the

Jarvis at the prow of his boat, a replica of the James Caird. The Shackleton Epic has been realised in partnership with adventure travel company Intrepid Travel

Explorer kit, vintage style: Jarvis and team will use brand-new 100-year-old kit

Compass “Our compass was made

by E Dent & Co, London, the same manufacturer as Shackleton’s. She gets stored in the cockpit and there’s a little light inside. It weighs a ton.

Funnily enough, ours has a crack on the lid, just like Shackleton’s.”

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Rations & cooker Right: “The cooker is a Primus, exactly what Shackleton used. These haven’t changed in 100 years. You wouldn’t take any of the rations we’re taking with you on a modern expedition, apart from tea bags. Our rations are Bovril and pemmican, which is congealed animal fat in biscuit form, beef jerky, sugar, butter, and a lot of nougat. In the old days, explorers would make what they called hoosh, where they just boil up the pot, chuck everything in, create a slop and drink it.”

Sails “Our sails are all handstitched, and the detail is exquisite. There are two or three men in the UK surviving who can do this. We found one called Philip Rose Taylor, a salty old sea dog living in Weymouth. The quality of the handiwork is just incredible.”

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“When we’re in trouble, no one’s going to rescue us.

I feel quite relieved that we have to fend for ourselves”

Additional Photography: Corbis (2), Picturedesk (2)

Burberry clothing Above and left: “In Shackleton’s day, Burberry kit was the equivalent of Gore-Tex. The pattern maker is long gone, and the original Burberry patterns lost. So when they wanted to remake the outfit for the Shackleton TV programme starring Kenneth Branagh, they copied the surviving Burberry clothing of Shackleton’s friend and contemporary, Australian explorer Douglas Mawson – now I’m using them for this expedition. There’s no insulation, it just keeps the wind off. I’ll also have big beaver-pelt mitts.”

whaling station using only one carpenter’s adze and a short length of hemp rope.

These situations that most do their best to avoid are what Jarvis lives for.

“Back at home, you’re in second gear,” he says, “whereas [on an expedition] you’re constantly in fifth. You have to be totally on the ball, and I like the side of my personality that comes out in those situations. It’s like meeting an old friend again, I feel complete. It’s addictive.”

Jarvis’s true grit is clear as he airs his views on the back-up boat, the only concession to modern technology during the expedition, that will be stationed in the Southern Ocean in case of emergency.

When faced with a challenge of this magnitude and risk, Jarvis is possibly the only person who could find reassurance in the crew’s small chances of rescue.

“The possibility of rescue eats into your resolve,” he says. “That’s a problem Shackleton didn’t have. Death is a hell of a motivator to keep going, but for us we’ve got the problem of thinking, if it got so bad, we could try to bail on it. I’d rather know that there’s no going back.

But in reality, the conditions that would get us into trouble are the same conditions that would stop the back-up boat reaching us. Once we’re in trouble, ain’t no one going to come. I feel quite relieved that we have to fend for ourselves.”

Jarvis does have his worries: that the boat will capsize; that they can’t easily rescue a crew member gone overboard; the battle against the wind to nail the narrow entrance to South Georgia.

Then there’s the icy climb using frozen block-like leather boots and next to no equipment, with deep crevasses waiting to punish any misstep. But there’s no question Jarvis will get back on board that 22.5ft wooden boat. “This is the ultimate challenge for me,” he says.

“To put up with the intense sea sickness, the danger and the discomfort. I don’t think I could be happy in normal life without it. You don’t get these trips out of your system; they’re who you are. My biggest fear isn’t of losing a toe, or even death. It’s failure.” www.timjarvis.org; www.shackletonepic.com

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wars of gear Race hard, enjoy harder: why the Single Speed World Championships is the toughest, easy-going bike contest on the planet Words: Steve Smith Photography: Victor Lucas

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Above: Riders had to congregate 100m away from their bikes before sprinting back and then cycling around in a pen, waiting for a gate to be opened and the race to start.

Below: Bikes are also pieces of art here, such as these handmade titanium-framed Black Sheep models built in the US. They are super-light and very quick uphill

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outh Africans can be a serious bunch. It’s not surprising: South Africa is a country that bites.

Look beneath the fading Rainbow Nation veneer and you’ll find people toughened up by the geography, wildlife and social demands. You can see it in the politics, the chewy dried meat, even in the approach to riding a bike. Bicycle races – especially mountain bike races – are becoming increasingly popular, and not just the 60km, 70km or 80km races either. South African bike racing is now embracing multi-stage epics lasting upwards of five days. This is hardcore.

The toughness extends to the type of bicycle, too. More and more South 64

Africans are saddling up on single-speed mountain bikes. Some of these bikes go even further in terms of back-to-basics toughness – they have no suspension.

Hard tail. Rigid fork. The only way to be even more uncompromising would be to swap inflated tyres for solid ones.

If the Spartans rode mountain bikes, they would be on single speeds.

The venue for the 2012 Single Speed World Championships was therefore an appropriate one. Held on and around Spioenkop, a rocky hill, known as a ‘koppie’, near the Kwa-Zulu Natal town of Winterton, it was the site of a fierce Boer War battle in 1900. The race route featured an energy-sapping climb, straight up the koppie, before it snaked back around a long, flowing downhill course cut into its side.

As any great warrior will tell you, strength is only half the battle – one also needs brains to triumph. Up on Spioenkop, several of the riders realised that months of slogging

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Above: Being an extrovert helps. Lurking in this line-up is the streaker (Mr Y-Fronts) and former US single-speed champ Dejay Birtch (second from right).

Below: Wearing Lycra is generally frowned upon in the world of single-speed racing, as are wellies and forks with any kind of energy-sapping suspension

uphill on a single-geared bike was only going to get them so far in the competition. Advice from battle-hardened veterans was needed to complete their race preparations.

Fortunately, among the bulging calves in the tented race village at the Winterton Country Club were a few wise heads. The home nation riders were looking in particular to the foreign riders: single speeding is a decade-old race discipline in Europe and the USA. Leaning against his bike was Dejay Birtch. Wearing a sleeveless denim jacket and a handlebar moustache, Birtch absolutely looked the part of a singlespeed rider. The carbon bike he was leaning against was made by US company Niner, as high-end as singlespeed bikes get. Anyone with a weapon like this must be a pro. Turns out Birtch is a former US national single-speed champ and a sponsored Niner rider.

“My strategy for the race? I don’t have one,” he said. “I’m just going to 65

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Left: Among the French maids and Zulu warriors were a handful of unicyclists.

These were perhaps the ultimate single speeders on show Bottom: This brave soul left very little to the imagination in his patriotic Speedo. His fellow riders instantly dubbed him ‘Mr South Africa’, which they loudly chanted at every opportunity Opposite, top: The heat took its toll on wig-wearing entrants.

Opposite, bottom: Burry Stander (left), with a broken saddle-post bobbing millimetres from his crotch, passes Macky Franklin on the line to claim the 2012 crown

“MY STRATEGY FOR THE RACE? I DON‘T HAVE ONE”

ride it. The course looks great – I’d be happy to ride it every day – and these South Africans have really put on a great event. One thing though… there is no free beer, man! There’s one thing you need to have at the singlespeed worlds and that’s free beer!”

Beer?

Perhaps what was needed was advice from someone a little closer to home.

Where the Spartans live. A guy like Grant Usher. The Johannesburg native and his partner had recently finished the 900km of the Joberg2C multi-stage race on single-speed bikes in eighth place. On paper, the sinewy Usher was an ideal dispenser of advice.

“Look, you’re never going to be in the right gear. You’re going to be walking up some of the climbs and spinning out on the flats. You just have to learn to surrender yourself to the terrain and to Mother Nature.”

Surrender?

“Yes, that’s your pace now, not your gears or your fitness,” he explained.

“It’s about not taking it too seriously either, because there’s nothing you can do about the gear you’re in. That’s the biggest thing for riders to grasp. It’s not about being a hero. Don’t worry about it. Just go out and have fun.”

Fun? These mixed messages were driven home together at the compulsory pre-race briefing the night before the race. Until then, no details of the race route had been revealed. Most riders knew about the trails around Spioenkop – some had even scouted them the day before – but the actual race route would only now be divulged.

Course designer Gary Green appeared on stage and finally talked everyone through the route. Not that it helped everyone. He spoke in Zulu.

T

he next day’s start confirmed the whole-hearted departure from anything resembling a standard mountain bike race. Rather than assembling before a start line, riders were made to leave their bikes at the start and congregate 100m away, in a field. At the start, they were then required to run back to the bikes (a 30-second advantage was granted to anyone who stripped naked; there were two takers) and then cycle around in an enclosed circular pen, before a gate would be opened at a random moment, allowing whoever was closest to the gate to be first into the first corner – to take the holeshot, in cycle racing terms.

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A 30-SECOND head start WAS given TO ANYONE WHO STRIPPED; THERE WERE TWO TAKERS There were serious talents on this year’s entry list, including 2010 winner Garth Weinberg from New Zealand, Dejay Birtch and fellow American Macky Franklin, the 2012 Single Speed Stage Race World Champion, and Burry Stander, the South African, who, on the day of the race, was in third place in the UCI world cup crosscountry mountain bike rankings.

Despite all the start shenanigans, when the riders had completed the first kilometre of the 38km course, it was these guys who were at the sharp end of the field, sticking close through the initial 12km loop along a fast, sinuous riverbank single-track course.

On the second loop, the frontrunners were strung out with an additional steep climb that appeared to head straight up the koppie. Even Stander, running an easier gear ratio than the others, was forced to get off and push.

The reward at the top was the first compulsory beer stop and, fighting 67

Action

Right: The winner of the women’s race, Amy Beth McDougall, at the final beer stop. There were three drink points – all compulsory and all serving only beer Below: Shortly after crossing the finish line, men’s winner Burry Stander received his trophy tattoo

Single speed essentials

The bike

Frame: This steel Cotic frame epitomises single-speed bikes. It’s hardy, light and stiff, but compliant enough to soften the terrain a little.

Wheels: Big 29in wheels provide more traction and help soften the effects of zero suspension.

Fork: Rigid carbon-fibre. But many riders opt for a suspension fork.

Choose whatever is going to make riding more fun for you.

Gear ratio: Opt for a ratio that will suit the trails you ride. This is a 32:18 combo (front chain ring has 32 teeth; rear sprocket has 18).

The kit

Lycra: Highly frowned upon.

Shorts and a T-shirt are sufficient. fancy dress: Dressing up is encouraged. Our writer, Steve Smith (left), wore his 1982 Liverpool FC jersey. It was an apt choice: due to its steep nature, the famous Spion Kop terrace at the English Premier League club’s Anfield home was named after the Boer War battle that played out on the same soil where this year’s Single Speed World Championships took place.

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the effects of a mug full of frothy brew, Stander made his break, putting 30 seconds between himself and Macky Franklin. It wouldn’t last too long. On the descent, an errant spectator caused Stander to cartwheel his prototype Specialized bike, and in the process snap the saddle clean off the seat post. This was no deterrent to his continuing in the race. Stander was hauled back by Franklin after about 5km of riding without a saddle, and the two scrapped it out until a surprise final beer stop 20m from the finish line decided it. The South African managed to down his drink and get across the line an inch ahead of Franklin.

As is tradition in single-speed racing, the winner doesn’t get a shiny trophy, but a tattoo. Right there at the finish, amid the buzz of the needle inking his first-ever tattoo, Stander explained why he was here: “For me it’s about changing things up. It’s a fun way to keep things fresh. What’s cool is that this race felt a bit like the days back in 1998 when I started racing; it’s the same spirit and camaraderie.”

For the rest of the field, final finishing places were incidental, both to them and to the ethos of the event. Although most of the pack, which was mainly the South African riders, rode hard as expected, the satisfaction of physical exertion was as equally rewarding as 38km spent riding with mates, whooping down the longest, most sublime single-track descent most had ever ridden, and enjoying the free beer along the way.

So, after months of training, conditioning legs to deal with the standup grind of the climbs, the clamping of teeth for the rattling descents, gleaning a little tactical nous from the experienced rides, it turned out that the real lesson of single-speed racing was something none of the South African rookies had foreseen. A good many mountain bikers that day had their attitudes influenced by their Spioenkop experience. They spoke of why they loved riding a bike in the first place, of learning to ride, even, when they were very young. When the reasons for riding a bike were simply wanting to; because they loved to; because it represented a certain freedom; because it was a fun thing to do with your friends. Ride hard – there’s benefit and satisfaction in that – but appreciate the trail, the surroundings, and the company on the way. Even if sometimes you have to stop and get off your bike to do it. www.sswc2012.co.za

COMING TO AMERICA There have been a few times over the last 50 years when formula one had its chance to break into the pantheon of motorsports beloved by Americans. but drivers, and races, came and went, leaving NASCAr to capitalise on its quintessential American mythology.

F1 took a backseat.

Now, with a Grand Prix in Austin at the end of the month and one planned for New Jersey in 2013, F1 is back to conquer the final frontier: America Words: Ann Donahue

photography: Sutton Images, Red Bull Racing/getty images

(Again)

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In 2012, Austin will host the first F1 race in America in five years. In 2013, New Jersey is scheduled to get a race, with the Manhattan skyline as a backdrop

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F1 fanatics, from left: Malcolm Page, Kate Goddard, Peter habicht, AJ rosensky, robert Park and Tim Gasser

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‘1’, AS IN F1, IS THE LONELIEST NUMbER amerIcan Formula one supporters are Few and Far between, but they are as ardent as any sports Fans In the world It’s JUst BeFORe 10aM at the Kezar pub in San Francisco, and the front room is full of sports fans at full froth, screaming at the television screens hoisted above the bar. on the screens is lacrosse? or the highland games? or some other thing involving long poles and running? regardless, a patron has to weave a path through a collection of lunatics to get to the back room, where the 2012 monaco grand prix is about to air on tape delay. this is the life of a Formula one fan in america seeking a communal viewing experience. not only are you relegated to the back room of a bar that specialises in telecasting weird sports, you don’t even get to watch the race live. according to Formula one management, more than a half a billion people worldwide watched the series during the 2010 season. of the last three races that aired in the united States, not one was watched by more than one million people, according to nielsen media research. there are several reasons why Formula one hasn’t taken off in the united States.

Some are due to logistics: most of the races are shown on motorsport channel, 72

Speed, a cable channel that sits firmly in the 600-something nosebleeds on the guide. they are shown live, which means the races in europe are painfully early for fans on the West coast and the races in asia are painfully late for fans on the east coast. Sports that require pre-twilight caffeine bingeing are not destined for mainstream american success. opting to record the races means the fan has to live in a social media vacuum until they have time to sit on their couch and press play. however, the other reason for america’s Formula one apathy is social. this country’s heart belongs to naScar, with its savvy marketing and quintessential american backstory: c’mon, a race series that evolved from bootleggers in appalachia evading the cops? amazing. the odds of another form of motorsport gaining traction, let alone one considered as exclusively for effete european one-per-centers as Formula one, is small.

But the next 12 months could be when F1 conquers its final frontier. after the uS grand prix in austin this month and another race scheduled in new Jersey next year, media coverage

of the sport in the uS will be at an all-time high. there are two young, promising american drivers – alexander rossi and conor daly – edging their way towards the starting grid. In September, director ron howard – he of over a billion dollars in box office receipts – will debut Rush, a movie about the 1970s rivalry between drivers niki lauda and James hunt.

With all of this about to explode on the american media landscape, right now the diehard Formula one fan in america feels like they’re in on a tremendous secret. For the few, the proud, the ones who know how to pronounce “hungaroring” on the first try, it’s great fun. the San FRanCisCO FORMUla one fan group is the largest in the united States, with 2,000 members signed up through various social media outlets. according to founder peter habicht, a couple of dozen gather to watch every race at Kezar’s – unless it’s a morning when the giants or the 49ers are on, in which case they are booted out of the bar entirely and move their viewing party to a go Kart track in the suburbs. habicht is one of the diehards. he blogs about F1, visits circuits under construction for fun and arranges outings, screenings and lectures for the group at local car museums. and, of course, it frustrates him no end that his favourite sport is relegated to the sidelines in the uS. “When you

photography: Bryce duFFy, getty ImageS

THE FANS

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Far from the gilded city, the Monaco Grand Prix is enjoyed by a hardy few over Bloody Marys at bars across America

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Formula One Races in the US 1950-1960 Indianapolis 500 Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis, Indiana 1959 United States Grand Prix Sebring International Raceway, Sebring, Florida 1960 United States Grand Prix Riverside International Raceway Riverside, California 1961-1980 United States Grand Prix Watkins Glen International Watkins Glen, New York 1976-1983 United States Grand Prix West Long Beach, California 1981-1982 Caesars Palace Grand Prix Las Vegas, Nevada 1982-1988 Detroit Grand Prix Detroit, Michigan 1984 Dallas Grand Prix Dallas, Texas 1989-1991 United States Grand Prix Phoenix, Arizona 2000-2007 United States Grand Prix Indianapolis Motor Speedway Indianapolis, Indiana 2012 United States Grand Prix Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas

The 1966 US GP at Watkins Glen

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”It's viewed as a rich person's sport. The entry fee just to see it live is a ticket overseas." look at the spectrum of entertainment in the United States – movies, video games, TV – and you take that slice of it that’s going to sports, motor racing is another subset of that, and within that, most of that is NASCAR,” he says.

“It’s a really difficult job that Formula One faces when trying to sell itself in the United States. I think a lot of that understanding and awareness comes over time.”

There are hundreds of clubs like Habicht’s in the United States, handfuls of people throughout the country who meet in bars at ungodly hours. For the Monaco race, several dozen have gathered at Kezar’s to order breakfast and Bloody Marys and cheer their chosen team.

It’s a far different atmosphere than the usual for Chris Dove, who just moved to San Francisco from Montana. For three years running, he got up in the middle of the night by himself to watch the races on Speed. “I only met one other person who was a fan,” he says, “but he was rich so he always went to the races.”

For Dove, that’s one of the reasons F1 only has a cult of core fans in the US. “It’s viewed as a rich person’s sport. The entry fee just to see it live is a ticket overseas.”

All this while NASCAR’s Americana is much more accessible. “F1 is disturbingly European,” he says. “If you went to your average American, they’d be like ‘Uhhh Vodafone? Sauber?’”

The group at Kezar’s cheers as Red Bull Racing’s Mark Webber crosses the finish line first. Many in the crowd have paid that steep airfare to see Monaco live, making a trip to the hallowed Grand

“I t’s like Chez Panisse or McDonald’s,” sighs Terry Griffin, a retired Formula One photographer. “There’s always going to be a few people who are McDonald’s people – that’s the NASCAR crowd.”

It’s hard to argue with Griffin as he stands amid $30 million-worth of gleaming, mint-condition sportscars at a San Francisco F1 event at the Mallya Collection in Sausalito, California.

Vijay Mallya is chairman of India’s UB Group, a conglomerate that includes Kingfisher beer and Kingfisher Airlines – and more importantly for F1 fans, he is team principal and co-owner of the Sahara Force India Formula One team.

Malcolm Page is curator of the collection, ensuring that Mallya’s cars are ready to roll should he visit his nearby home and wants to take his 1913 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost or 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder for a spin across the Golden Gate Bridge. Keeping the cars in ready-to-run condition is a technical feat, something that Page, as a Formula One fan, particularly appreciates.

“Formula One is all about the engineering,” says Page. “The technology you get in F1 today is so much more above an IndyCar.” Those who do appreciate it are rewarded. The San Francisco F1 gathering is doubling as a fundraiser for the Make A Wish Foundation. As Sausalito housewives teeter around a red Mercedes 300SL Gullwing in unbelievably high heels, a replay of the Monaco race is showing on a big screen over the bar. It’s a convivial, almost impossibly posh experience – the freeflowing booze and food in a private garage on the harbourfront that’s packed with priceless automobiles.

“If you don’t know people in a group like this, then you’re at home watching alone,” says San Francisco club member AJ Rosensky, “and that can get lonely.”

photography: Thomas Butler, A.Jones/Getty Images, Alvis Upitis/Getty Images

Hotel Hairpin and the Nouvelle Chicane first hand. While American Formula One fans are a rare breed within US borders, to see one overseas is like glimpsing an endangered species.

“I went to the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa with a friend in 2007, and it was hilarious because we were two single American women showing up and no one had any idea what to do with us,” says Charlotte Evans, who runs the San Francisco MeetUp.com Formula One group. “We went to a bar in Brussels afterwards and we saw a group of guys, and they were all gasping. People would take our picture and run.”

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The star who earned his stripes: Mario Andretti was the last American to win an F1 race

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THE LEGEND

backing the american dream

It’s been almost 25 years since a Formula One grand prix was won by an American.

The year was 1978, the race was the Dutch Grand Prix, and the driver was, of course, Mario Andretti. Without his charismatic, competitive spirit on the grid, F1's flair has faded from the memory of most Americans – but not Andretti, who says the racing series is the one that most captured his heart. As spokesman for the Austin race, Andretti told The Red Bulletin that there's no better time for F1 in the US than right now 75

his cup’s runneth over: Andretti, 1978 F1 World champ, with some of his trophies

american Winners oF Formula one races (name, number of wins, years active) Mario Andretti (12) 1968-1972, 1974-1982 dan Gurney (4) 1959-1968, 1970 Phil hill (3) 1958-1964, 1966 Bill Vukovich (2) 1951-1955 Peter revson (2) 1964, 1971-1974 Johnnie Parsons (1) 1950-1958 lee Wallard (1) 1950-1951 Troy ruttman (1) 1950-1952, 1954, 1956-1958, 1960 Bob Sweikert (1) 1952-1956 Pat Flaherty (1) 1950-1959 Sam hanks (1) 1950-1957 Jimmy Bryan (1) 1952-1960 rodger Ward (1) 19511960, 1963 Jim rathmann (1) 1950, 1952-1960 richie Ginther (1) 1960-1967

Phil hill: 1961 F1 World champ

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THE RED BULLETIN: Do you think now is the right time for the US Grand Prix to return, and do you think Austin is the right place for it? marIo andrettI: there’s been such an incredible investment in this facility, which was very much needed. In the united States we have many taj mahals when it comes to oval tracks, but all of the road racing facilities unfortunately have fallen behind the times. compared with the rest of the world, there was nothing to offer until now. now with austin coming up, we finally have something to be proud of. I think it will definitely make a big difference to the interest in Formula one here because I see stability there – Formula one in the united States has moved around considerably. It was always just ‘put up a tent for a weekend for a temporary circuit!’ and the word ‘temporary’ is the one that resonated too much.

RB: How was your little turn around the Austin track in an SUV? ma: part of the track, maybe three or four corners, was paved. the best

part was throwing this SuV around, and the corner workers were in peril. they were out there cheering, ‘Wheee!’ that’s what we want to hear. cheering and lots of rubber squealing. at the official opening, I’ll be able to get on there with a racing car and get a taste of it in a non-SuV. RB: Can Americans love NASCAR and Indy and F1? ma: I think so. you have the real loyal race fans that will stay in their little corner. But in general, we get crossover in the fanbase. lots of the naScar drivers follow Formula one and vice versa. We’re all fans of one another.

RB: How about American corporate support? ma: If there’s ever a chance, now is probably going to be the best opportunity

“austIn wIll Make a BIg dIfference to Interest In forMula one here Because I see staBIlIty there”

photography: Christopher Lane, Bernard Cahier/The Cahier Archive, Hermann Tilke

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to open it up. When you have global interest in something, you cannot ignore it. You want to be part of it. I think once this event takes place, it’s really going to open up the sky. A lot of people will say, “Oh my gosh, finally, America has arrived in modern times.” We’re competing with the rest of the world with this facility.

There’s a solid investment and it’s a different theatre. Previously, if you talked about any country that hosted Formula One, they would outshine us every time.

That’s no longer going to be the case.

RB: What can we do to get an American driver on the grid?

MA: What makes it difficult here to groom drivers who compete at that level is that the individual has to really want Formula One specifically. America, unlike every other country in the world, has a motor racing series that can provide you with a brilliant career without having a passport.

You could have a NASCAR career and be just fine with that. When I was racing here, Formula One was foremost in my mind. I’m driving a midget somewhere on a dirt track, and I’m thinking of Dan Gurney in a Ferrari. To me, it would be so valuable if the FIA would open up the opportunity for teams to field a third car at some events. Who knows, some talent somewhere would showcase and we’d be like, “Oh my God, this guy! The first time out he even beat one of the regulars!”

RB: What does driving a Formula One car feel like?

MA: It’s like a fighter aircraft. It’s purpose-built for one thing: speed.

You can experience the limit of what an automobile can do. An IndyCar is a compromise because of the oval. It’s much heavier, it doesn’t brake as well.

A NASCAR stock car has windows, it has a roof. In an F1 car, you don’t have air conditioning in your helmet, you don’t have a hook on the side where you can hang your hat so you can put it on before you come out.

RB: In your career, what do your years in Formula One mean to you?

MA: I don’t think I could have really called my career complete unless I had a stint in Formula One. It’s where my love for the sport began.

RB: There’s a Grand Prix in New Jersey planned for the 2013 season. What do you think of the potential of having another F1 race in the US? MA: It’s even better. Let’s face it, this country, of all countries, is big enough to host two Grands Prix. If you ask me, I’d love to have five. It can only help. If they can make that happen, God bless them. Or as they say, Godspeed.

The Track

DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS

The United States Grand Prix will be held at Austin’s Circuit of the Americas from November 16-18, 2012. Is the city – known for big-ticket music festivals like SXSW and Austin City Limits – ready for a sports event of this magnitude? turning on the 90 per cent turned off Dave Doolittle remembers the day in July 2010 when the FIA, the governing body of Formula One, officially announced that Austin would be the host of the United States Grand Prix.

Everyone sitting around him at his workplace, the Austin AmericanStatesman newspaper, swivelled in their seats to stare at him. He was the staff’s only out-and-proud F1 fan.

According to Doolittle, community reaction has been mixed: sports fans and car nerds are intrigued, but a segment of the population is aggravated that taxpayer dollars are being used to supplement the cost of building a track for a sport that’s favoured by Middle Eastern oil sheiks and corporate raiders.

“I think 10 per cent of the city loves the idea and 10 per cent hates it,” he says.

“And the other 80 per cent really want to know what’s for dinner. They don’t care.” there’s an ‘s’ on americas for a reason There is a countdown clock in the lobby of the Circuit of the Americas executive office on Congress Avenue in downtown Austin. It’s angry red digital numbers tick down the days – and the hours, just in case the staff didn’t feel enough like they’re under the gun. “When they were like 300 days or 200 days, it was kind of OK,” says Bruce Knox, executive vicepresident of COTA. "Then when it went from triple digits to double

digits, you start getting kind of nervous.”

The last F1 race in the US was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a storied bastion of motorsport history.

It begs the question: Why Austin?

One reason: logistics. Austin is about a three-hour flight from either US coast or the border with Canada. Another: they had the land and the money, thanks to an investment team lead by magnates Red McCombs and Bobby Epstein.

Ticket sales have been brisk, with two tiers selling out: the $159 roam-whereyou-want-three-day pass for grassy spaces that line the track, and the three-day grandstand seats that started at $269. Fifteen per cent of the tickets sold so far are to international fans – 37 countries in total. The name of the track – the plural on ‘Americas’ – is no coincidence. The border is a four-hour drive from Austin and, Knox says, Mexican F1 driver Sergio Perez’s fans are devoted. “At Grands Prix, people from [Perez’s] family will see me, and they’ll say, ‘There’s the guy from the Mexican Grand Prix.’”

August 29, 2012: 81 Days Until the USGP Today, there are just two things speeding around the Circuit of the Americas: dragonflies and dumper trucks.

A team of 900 construction workers are onsite round the clock, seven days a week. The 5.5km track is ensconced in 11,000 acres of Texas scrubland.

It’s a sprawling layout designed by Tilke Engineers & Architects and there are corners on the track in homage to other circuits: a hairpin from Istanbul, a G-force generating left-right-left reminiscent of the Hockenheimring in Germany. Standing at the track’s peak elevation – it’s at Turn One, a left-hander that comes after a sharp 40m climb from the starting grid straight – there is the faint smell of hot asphalt as the final layers of the track cure. The skyscrapers of downtown Austin can be seen in the distance, a reminder that, eventually, big construction projects are finished.

The new home of F1 in the US : Austin’s Circuit of the Americas

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THE SUPERSTAR

ANONYMOUS IN AMERICA sebastIan vettel Is one oF the most Famous racIng drIvers In the world. but In new york, he can pretend he’s Just any other guy SeBastian Vettel kePt his chin down, trying to remain unobtrusive, as he went through customs at the american border. he’d just raced in the 2012 montreal grand prix, where he finished fourth. given that he started the race on pole and recorded the fastest lap – Vettel reached an average of 209kph on his final lap around the circuit gilles Villenueve – finishing off the podium was a disappointment. he wanted to duck the crowds of fans who usually spot him in public places and get some solitude to go over the race in his head. the american customs official swiped his passport and looked it over. “Why did you go to canada?” he asked.

“For the grand prix in montreal,” Vettel replied. the agent nodded. “did you get good seats?” he enquired.

Welcome to america, where being the two-time Formula one World champion doesn’t mean a thing.

It’s an ODD sensatiOn for 25-year-old Vettel. the Formula one racing season consists of 20 races in locations as disparate as abu dhabi and Singapore, and in each location he gets a reception that’s akin to how americans treat carolina panthers quarterback cam newton – a young athlete who has already demonstrated potential for greatness.

Vettel is a driving prodigy, a man who has the prefix ‘youngest ever’ attached to most of his Formula one records: youngest ever to lead a race, youngest ever to be on pole, youngest ever to win a race, youngest ever world champion, youngest ever two-time world champion. after annihilating the field in 2011 – Vettel won 11 races for red Bull racing after qualifying on pole 15 times – the regulatory overlords at Formula one changed the rules concerning the exhaust, which had an effect on performance, as did the tyres. the rubber compound used results in erratic driving conditions, with car response being only consistent 78

in its inconsistency. “the tyres degrade quickly,” Vettel says. “not in one lap, but that’s not far off.” the result is that seven different drivers won the first seven races of the year – a first in Formula one.

For Vettel, this means, unlike the last two years, he is no longer the presumptive winner as soon as the race starts. his wins, as we went to press, have come in Bahrain, Singapore, Japan and Korea, and he is ahead by a scant six points in the driver standings in front of Ferrari’s Fernando alonso.

Vettel is taking the off-kilter season in his stride, and diffuses the suggestion that he was under pressure after his dominance last year. “I don’t want this to be the best part of my life,” Vettel says. “I don’t want to be 65 and look back and have what I was doing at 22 or 23 be the peak.”

so, What’s it liKe to almost Be hit BY a Formula one car? retired F1 photographer Terry Griffin relives the moment when he came this close to being run over by Ayrton Senna.“Senna almost drove into me at the rundle road kink [at the Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide] in 1990. When Senna came through it was clear that he was going 40 or 50 miles per hour faster than anybody else. The only things that were on the track were his right wheels, at a 45-degree angle.

I was as far out as I could be with my lens through the fence, and he came straight for me, absolutely sideways.

All the marshals dropped and I didn’t have time to react. he got it going straight and the crowd that was behind me, I remember them going, ‘Ahhhhh!’ I was the only one still standing up, and I was looking around and I went, ‘oh. Wow.’ That really was the moment that I realised the guy was way, way more than any other driver that ever put his feet in a car.”

VisitinG the uniteD States gives Vettel a chance to breathe the air outside the Formula one bubble. Because F1 only has a cult following in the uS, america has long been the choice holiday spot for Formula one drivers, an escape from the constant attention they receive in the rest of the world. Seven times F1 champion michael Schumacher visits the rockies; photos of mclaren driver lewis hamilton rock climbing in colorado quickly made their way around Facebook during the summer. during his time off last year, Vettel flew to San Francisco and drove down the coast to los angeles on the pacific coast highway, then headed inland across the desert to las Vegas. (So what does a two-time Formula one World champion drive on a road trip? “Just a rental car,” Vettel shrugs, sheepish.)

“I enjoy america, and I want to see more of it outside of the cities,” he says. he has a nostalgic fondness for the country, since Vettel’s first race was at the united States grand prix in 2007, at the Indianapolis motor Speedway. he finished eighth, becoming – yes – the youngest driver to ever earn a championship point in Formula one history. he was 19. the accomplishment came after a lifetime of amateur karting and minor league Formula racing. By the time he was 18, he still hadn’t decided to become a professional racing driver; Vettel was applying to college when he got the call up to Formula one. his first session in the car did not go well. “I remember thinking ‘this is for men, I’m a boy,” Vettel says. “I’m done.”

But he wasn’t. he now loves the power of a Formula one car, the speed-speed V8 beast that can rev to 18,000rpm with 900 horsepower. “I wish everyone could drive it,” Vettel says. “It’s not like going out in a typical sportscar, like taking your Jaguar out. I was so tired I couldn’t hold my head up.”

photography: raIner SchlegelmIlch/getty ImageS, VladImIr ryS/getty ImageS

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others are less sanguine. the global nature of Formula one means that at any given moment, there are millions of people with thoughts about the last race, the next race, or how Vettel flubbed the apex on that one turn in montreal. there are the thousands of F1 blogs with a talmudic analysis of every offhanded comment Vettel makes and analyse his body language in his interactions with his teammate mark Webber. there are the autograph seekers. there are the screaming girls. “actually,” Vettel says, “the screaming girls are oK.”

us grand prix 2012 acTion

Sebastian Vettel might be a twotime Formula one world champion, but he’s unknown in America

the WaiteR at laVO on 58th and madison avenue is the quintessential good manhattan waiter. he has picked up from contextual cues – namely, the four-person entourage that makes requests like: “Sebastian has a flight to catch tonight, he needs to be served first” – that Vettel is a very important person indeed. It is also evident by the slightly bewildered way that he brings Vettel’s dinner to him – eye contact? no eye contact? Speak to him directly? don’t speak to him directly? Wait until he stops checking football scores on his iphone or just barge right on? – that he has absolutely no idea who Vettel is. he tentatively but efficiently brings Vettel a meal of steak, potatoes and vegetables. as Vettel drinks half a beer, he recounts his day. he’s in new york for a press conference for the grand prix of america, a race across the hudson river in Weehauken, new Jersey that hopes to be included on the 2013 Formula one race calendar.

Vettel took several laps on the planned track – it’s a road course, like montreal and monaco – in a 348bhp Infiniti Ipl g coupe. Starting along the riverfront, the course has a 48m elevation change and Vettel thinks he’ll be able to hit in excess of 320kph on the straights. It also has an astonishing view of the new york skyline from the grandstands. “there are a lot of fast, floating corners, and that’s what we, the drivers, really like,” Vettel says. “you need to have big balls. It should be real fun.” the police escort trailing behind him huffed and puffed and failed to keep up with Vettel as he blew over the speedbumps in the Infiniti at 130kph, uphill. after spinning a few donuts down by what would be pitlane entrance, Vettel unloaded his queasy passengers in front of the ferry terminal.

But the day isn’t all about ditching the police and doing donuts. there are still the out-of-their-depth reporters who ask Vettel questions like: “do you like being german?” (Vettel responded with a bemused “do you like being american?”) that morning, Vettel had left his room at the rivington hotel on the lower east Side at 6am to wander the streets of downtown manhattan. Vettel walked and walked and walked, enjoying the rare ability to be alone in the canyons of skyscrapers with just his thoughts and the early June sunrise. “one person recognised me,” says Vettel. “It was a european tourist.” www.redbullracing.com

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Contents 82 TRAVEL Skydiving in Argentina 84 GET THE GEAR Corrado Cardinali, chief mechanic of Scuderia Toro Rosso 86 TRAINING Fitness tips from a snowboarding pro 88 BAND WATCH Kevin Connolly of Herm on that tricky second album 90 NIGHTLIFE Everything you need to get you through ’til dawn 94 WORLD IN ACTION What’s happening around the globe 96 SAVE THE DATE Events for your diary 97 KAINRATH Our cartoonist’s calendar

PHOTOGRAPHY: SEBASTIAN MARKO/RED BULL CONTENT POOL

98 MIND’S EYE With columnist Stephen Bayley

Cool runnings: Red Bull Crashed Ice champion Kyle Croxall starts his title-defence on December 1 in Niagara Falls, Canada.

Event info: page 94

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Away days Spectacular travel adventures

The air up there Córdoba, Argentina

The most direct route to the sky starts above the Argentinian pampas, thanks to Andy Hediger and his flying school

Renowned Swiss pilot Andy Hediger, 46, fulfilled a life-long dream when he opened his flying school

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You’ll find top flying conditions above the pampas of Argentina

in a completely unbureaucratic way,” says Hediger. His motto is, ‘Fly, learn, feel’. “Participants get straight down to business. They receive all the technical knowledge they need and soon find themselves at the controls of an aircraft.”

The concept: The school aims to give people their first flying experience without too much red tape and in the most varied forms of flying possible.

The only thing expected of you is a reasonable degree of physical fitness, Hediger sets much greater store by an understanding of aerodynamics and meteorology. The courses are tailored to individual students’ needs. Soon, the Aeroatelier should also provide the opportunity for its students to obtain a basic licence in various forms of flying.

The flying experience: Paragliding is the best way for flying novices to begin, as it is the easiest way to learn the basic principles of aerodynamics and flying. The perfect mountain awaits in the form of Cuchi Corral; it has its own micro-climate with conditions that are perfect for flying and it has long provided the backdrop for Argentinian flying championships.

What’s more, there’s a very good chance of seeing a condor or two up above the Cuchi Corral plateau.

Gliding, in a Swift or Taurus glider, familiarises learners with wing behaviour, teaches students the importance of wingspan and thermal updraft and shows them what looping the loop and zero gravity loops feel

words: ulrich corazza.

Photography: Alfredo Escobar/Red Bull Content Pool (3), Hangar 3 (2), Gustavo Cherro/Red Bull Content Pool

The chief pilot: Andy Hediger has almost three decades of flying experience.

He has been a professional paraglide developer and tester, is former paragliding world champion and runner-up in the Gliding World Championships. The 46-year-old Swiss first visited Argentina in 1994 to flee the European winter and a few years later he took over the run-down Aeroclub La Cumbre in Córdoba Province. In 2007, he set up his Aeroatelier flying school in the Argentinian pampas.

The idea: “It was my vision right from the outset to make flying more accessible

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like. Paragliding and skydiving are the quickest way to get an adrenalin rush. After jumping out of a Cessna Grand Caravan propeller plane, you quickly learn how a mass falls steadily, how to complete manoeuvres and how to make a safe landing.

Or you can glide along just above the pampas in a two-seater microlight.

It’s like being on a flying motorbike.

There are also thrills to be had at ground level in the form of a threewheel kite buggy over the airfield; if the winds are favourable you can reach speeds of up to 80kph.

Paragliding is the best way for beginners to learn to fly at the Aeroatelier flying school

need to know Location The Aeroatelier is near the town of La Cumbre, about 100km north of Córdoba, on a plateau at an altitude of almost 1,200m. The small town has plenty of charm and a relaxed atmosphere. Head westwards from Aeroatelier, and there’s nothing but pampas, mountains, desert and a whole lot of space for about 450km.

Getting there Fly to Córdoba from Buenos Aires (75 minutes) or Santiago de Chile (90 minutes). From there, course attendees are picked up by car – the school is an hour’s drive away.

When to go The best flying conditions are to be had from October to late April – cosy temperatures of between 25 and 30ºC, about 250 hours of sunshine a month and excellent thermal updraft.

What else?

You can book a beginner’s course in polo, or enjoy the other kind of horsepower on a motocross or quad bike. You could have a relaxing round of golf on the 18-hole La Cumbre Golf Course or take a trip to the Sierras de Córdoba mountain range. La Cumbre is also a place that attracts UFOenthusiasts – the area is considered one of Argentina’s best spots for alien sightings. www.aeroatelier.com

Flying without wings: get an easy adrenalin rush with a tandem jump

The thermal updraft above the Cuchi Corral helps fledgling pilots gain more height

argentina Córdoba

Buenos Aires

Not everything is airborne: kite buggying on the airfield at up to 80kph

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During a 20-race season, Cardinali and the Scuderia Toro Rosso crew make thousands of adjustments to Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne’s cars

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GET THE GEAR A PRO’S ESSENTIALS

No screws loose

With a tour of his tools of the trade, Corrado Cardinali, the chief mechanic of Scuderia Toro Rosso, proves that no sporting backroom is as precise as a garage in Formula One’s pits 6

1. Pneumatic screwdrivers We change the tyres with these, during pitstops and when we’re working on the car in the pits. These pneumatic wheel guns are a lot more manageable than the ones used in regular workshops, and are far quicker. Anything that takes longer than three seconds during a pitstop now is seen as slow.

2. Cooling fan For reducing the carbon brakes’ temperature when the car comes into the pits. The front brakes are especially hot, several hundred degrees Celsius, so we need a lot of airflow to cool them down. Our

“Anything that takes longer than three seconds now is seen as slow” WORDS: WERNER JESSNER. PHOTOGRAPHY: JIŘÍ KŘENEK

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team uses two different types of brake cooler: the one shown here and a smaller, batterypowered one for when the car is parked in the pits.

3. Mobile workshop This is where you keep all the tools you need – sockets, ratchets, torque wrenches, screwdrivers, etc – to take a Formula One car apart, right down to the last bolt. There’s a full mobile workshop like this for each of our cars.

4. Special-purpose tools Every mechanic has his own toolbox with the things he needs for his own range of duties. It depends on the area you work in, and every mechanic has his own way of organising his private kit.

5. Rear jack To lift the car up during the pitstop. The lever is used to release the car once all four wheels have been changed and the light shows that the team is ready. Again, we’re looking to save valuable fractions of seconds during this procedure.

6. Lollipop A sign on the end of a stick used to let a driver know when he can set off again at the end of a pitstop. In recent years, all teams switched to a traffic-light system during the race, but we still use the good old lollipop during qualifying.

It has one distinct advantage: it can’t malfunction.

7. Computer trolley With all the processing power you need to start an F1 car on the grid. These are very expensive computers: they’re waterproof, shock-resistant and indestructible, in the same way the computers the military use are. Why? Because when it rains on the grid, the cars still have to start.

8. Fuel In/Out The sign shows whether or not the car has fuel in it, while the mechanics are working on it.

We need to know for safety reasons. A second, identical sign hangs on the fuel pump. www.scuderiatororosso.com

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WORK OUT TRAINING WITH THE PROS

Mixing and maxing

Few snowboarders train as hard as Louie Vito.

The American’s 2014 Olympics prep is pitching him against boxers and NFL players

Jump start Vito’s ability to pop big airs and recover from bad spills depends on an all-round workout

MONDAY Morning: 90-minute set of limitstrength training for legs, with high-intensity run-hop drills (fast sprints, with vertical leaps) Afternoon: 50-minute interval training session TUESDAY Morning: 60-minute set of cone drills, with jumping and series of 90-, 180- and 720-degree spins Afternoon: 50-minute step drills with weights WEDNESDAY Morning: Upper body limitstrength training with drills on chest, shoulders and arms between sets Afternoon: 60-minute interval misdirection run (30-second pace, and then 30-second sprint, increasing each time)

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THURSDAY Morning: 60-minute misdirection cone drills Afternoon: 40-minute treadmill interval run at a maximum speed of 22.5kph FRIDAY Morning: 60-minute limitstrength training for back Afternoon: 50-minute cone drills with 20 40/40s (40 sprints forward and then backwards) at the end. Pull-up drills between each set SATURDAY Morning: 60-minute recovery run

www.louievito.com

WORDS: ANDREAS TZORTZIS. PHOTOGRAPHY: ZACH HOOPER/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, CHRIS SHONTING/RED BULL CONTENT POOL

The top three positions on the halfpipe podium at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver went to Shaun White, USA, Peetu Piiroinen of Finland, and Scott Lago, also of the USA. Louie Vito finished fifth and couldn’t stand it.

“I wanted to get a medal, I was focused,” he says. So he changed pretty much everything: no more booze and no more eating badly. Instead, he decided to live more like Apolo Ohno, the US short-track speed skating gold medallist who introduced Vito to the world of high-performance training.

Since starting with Ohno’s trainer, John Schaeffer, he’s run stairs with NFL players and shadowboxed with professional boxers in addition to his year-round programme. “You get older, you see things differently,” says Vito. “My friend [fellow snowboarder] Kevin Pearce, he hit his head superbad and, last year, there was the unfortunate passing of freeskier] Sarah Burke. Our sport is dangerous and you can pass away in the blink of an eye. I want to look back in 2014 and say I did everything in my power to have a shot.”

THE RED BULLETIN Mission Accomplished

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BEYOND THE ORDINARY THE RED BULLETIN

Headspace: Herm main man Kevin Connolly likes to start the songwriting process alone

Real-life tales

THE SOUNDS OF 2012 #7

herm More Cohen than Dylan, more drummers than Spinal Tap, more serious than ever. Kevin Connolly is working very hard to bring you heartfelt tales from the long shadows

Herm’s first album, Monsters, was a critical hit in 2009

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Think of a musician putting the band together and it conjures images of classified ads in longgone music papers or retired rock gods circumventing legal speak and decades-long grudges for one last shot at the prize. Kevin Connolly, the main man in Herm, is forced into a more literal interpretation. On the day of his meeting with The Red Bulletin, Connolly is “meeting a guy to get a loan of a Fender Telecaster. I want to vary the sounds and textures on the album. Later on this evening I’m going to look at a grand piano in a school. I’ve this plan to make the album sound great without spending the money.”

The album of which Connolly speaks has the working title Under

The Radar. It’s the follow-up to Herm’s 2009 debut album, Monsters, a record that received warm praise for its understated yet powerful songcraft. Its bittersweet stories of everyday life are backed by shuffling combinations of rock, blues, indie, folk and just about everything in between.

Fast forward three years and the only difficult thing about Herm’s second album is Connolly finding time to make it around his day job teaching English.

“The creative process is something I need,” says Connolly.

“It’s like I’m compelled to write.

I’ve smashed the piggy bank to make this record, but that’s fine by me. People who get involved

in music to make money would want their head checked.” He paraphrases a recent quote from Noel Gallagher: “Rock stars won’t exist in the future because there’ll be no money to afford the lifestyle. This is the era of the jobbing musician.”

Since Herm took its first tentative steps back in 2004, Connolly has been the band’s only constant member. “Different guitarists, five drummers alone in the last six years, pure Spinal Tap,” he says, laughing. “It’s hard to hold onto people without the guarantee of steady money, but we’re in the thick of it right now. Done some recording in a few different studios and I’ve

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words: Eamonn Seoige. Photography: HErm

“It’s great to get recognition, especially from Tom Waits and Ray Davies” been working away at home.

It’s all systems go.”

It’s safe to say that even without an empty cashbox and a full working week, Connolly’s and Herm’s musical output would not be prolific. A laidback and dry-witted character, he doesn’t believe in rushing things.

“I’m very fussy when it comes to recording, I’m an annoying perfectionist,” he says. “I think you have to be really. Leonard Cohen supposedly took 10 months to nail Hallelujah while Bob Dylan banged out Knocking On Heaven’s Door in 10 minutes! I’m definitely closer to Cohen’s approach. I like to work alone at first and then collaborate with people in the studio.”

In 2008, Herm’s single Year Of The Horse was shortlisted for the prestigious International Songwriting Competition.

Connolly was especially chuffed by this when he saw that Tom Waits and The Kinks’ Ray Davies were on the list of judges.

“It’s great to receive recognition, especially from people like Waits and Ray Davies,” he says, still humbled a little by the link between his name and those two. “I admire Tom Waits’ approach to making music. He doesn’t make records for the radio, but the quality in his songwriting always shines through.”

Connolly doesn’t need to look to Waits to bring the dark side of life into Herm’s music. In February 2010, Connolly’s best friend, Paul Clancy, died from sudden adult death syndrome. The tragedy has reconfigured what Connolly does with music and lyrics.

“I collaborated with Paul on his own album a couple of years ago. His passing was a huge shock; we were great mates. It certainly had a major influence on the mood and lyrical content of the upcoming record. I feel

On Herm turf: Connolly, far right, and bandmates

that I’ve matured as a writer and understand the recording process better. The new stuff’s much better, more focused. The last album was a little lighter, the songs more playful. The new songs deal with what goes on under the veneer we project to the world, how we cope with life by internalising our emotions.”

Hence the album’s working title, Under The Radar. The name also references a quote from a journalist writing about Herm, which stuck in Connolly’s mind.

“It was a back-handed compliment really, like your music’s good, but more people need to hear it.”

Connolly’s short-term plan is to release the album’s lead single before the end of the year, which, as that quotable journo suggested, its maker would like to be heard by a larger audience. A PR company will be contracted, “to promote the band a little more than in the past”, says Connolly.

“I’d love to tour more. In the past we’ve also gigged in London, New York and in Spain and it’s a huge thrill to play your music to a new audience.”

He flashes a broad smirk as he recalls a series of solo gigs in London some years back.

“It was truly bizarre,” he says. “I booked some shows and ended up playing some really shifty looking spots in the East End. It was a little scary, but that’s a whole other story, maybe an album…”

Under the radar? Not for too much longer.

Need to know The line-up Kevin Connolly – vocals, guitar, piano Hugh Rodgers – lead guitar Arunas Lukasevicius – bass guitar Aengus O Mongáin – drums Discography Rosemary EP (2004) Monsters (2009)

The story so far Mark E Smith once famously said, “If it’s me and your granny on bongos, then it’s The Fall.” The same basic principle could be applied to Ballinasloe native Kevin Connolly and his everevolving creative outlet, Herm. The 34-year-old’s love affair with music began in his early childhood. He wrote his first song aged eight, about the same time that he took up playing the piano and the guitar. A first taste of band life came during his secondary school days, when he formed the grunge-inspired Bliss with friends. Later changing their name to Murmurr, Connolly and co practised anywhere and everywhere, picking up random gigs in nearby towns and villages. After finishing school, he moved to Dublin to study art at UCD and was soon playing bass in brother Pól’s outfit El Diablo, a band that gigged regularly and recorded two albums. By 2004, the time had come to make his own way and Herm

was formed with hometown neighbours Mike O’Dowd, Barry Power and Tullamore’s Colin McCaffrey. (The band is named, says Connolly, for “the offspring of a brief relationship between Him and Her”.) The Rosemary EP was released a few months later.

Drummer O’Dowd was replaced in 2006 by Alex Kouker and this line-up remained intact for an extended spell, culminating in the recording of the Monsters album in 2009. The following spring, Herm re-emerged as a shortlived three-piece, playing shows with Brian O’Higgins on drums and Colum Jordan on bass. Connolly was also dabbling with other projects, including playing bass with Irish folk legend Alison O’Donnell’s reformed band.

This year, Connolly turned his focus back on Herm, putting together the fourth incarnation of the band. Herm’s second album is expected to be released in early 2013. herm.bandcamp.com

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Nightlife Whatever gets you through the night

Action

Night skiing THE PLUS SIDE To avoid busy slopes during the day, or end the day on a high with a bit of sport, look for resorts with after-dark action. Some resorts allow skiing up until 11pm at certain times of year. And what could be more romantic than a ride on a ski lift under a full moon?

REMEMBER: Wrap up extra-warm; temperatures can plummet at night. Slopes also tend to be harder and icier once the sun has gone down. worth a try: In the USA there are over 200 ski resorts with night slopes; the Keystone Resort in Vail, Colorado has 15 illuminated slopes. In Europe, try Söll in Austria, Gstaad in Switzerland and Tignes in France.

out now

Suffer for my art? Not me Interpol singer Paul Banks on revealing himself at last, surfing's stirring of creative juices and Henry Miller In 2002, Interpol’s debut album, Turn On The Bright Lights, featured on many best-of-the-year lists; its 2004 follow-up, Antics, sold half a million copies, making Interpol the coolest and most self-assured indie rock band of the day. At the heart of their mournful songs, with their mangy, post-punk sound and melancholy melodies, is Paul Banks’s breathtaking voice. Yet the 34-year-old New Yorker is more than just a gifted frontman. His second solo album, Banks, is proof that he has come of age as a songwriter. If you’re wondering why you missed his first solo effort, that’s because he did it incognito.

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Why have you released your second solo album under your own name?

Julian Plenti was my stage name before I was in Interpol. My first solo album was a collection of early songs I wrote in college. For the new record, I don’t need a mask anymore.

You studied comparative literature.

Does that influence your songwriting?

Anything you read properly becomes part of your intellectual world. In that sense, there’s a lot of literature in my lyrics. I’m a huge Henry Miller fan.

You took the cover photo in Panama City. What were you doing there?

A lot of my songs were written in Panama. When I do Interpol interviews, I often get asked about the band’s New York factor, but I’m really a surfer. You need to suffer for great art? I don’t.

If you put me by the ocean, then my inspiration certainly does not dry up.

Banks, by Paul Banks, is out now: www.banks paulbanks.com

wise words

“ For the happiest life, days should be rigorously planned, nights left open to chance ” Mignon McLaughlin, American author (1913-1983)

cocKtAiL

Drive In An exotic, fruity freshener free of alcohol (it’s Christmas soon; you can make up the deficit then if you have to). Befitting its transport-invoking nomenclature, the Drive In was developed at an airport; at the Mayday Bar of Hangar-7 at Salzburg airport, to be precise.

The mixologists serve it regularly to the pilots and designated drivers who congregate there.

It’s such an easy drink to make that we highly recommend it to all amateur barkeeps, too.

CLUB OF THE WORDS: FLORIAN OBKIRCHER. PHOTOGRAPHY: EMI MUSIC (2), GETTY IMAGES, RED HUMMINGBIRD (4), FOTOSTUDIO EISENHUT & MAYER

MONTH

INGREDIENTS 60ml orange juice 60ml pineapple juice 10ml lemon juice 10ml kiwi syrup 10ml Blue Curacao syrup (non-alcoholic) Red Bull Ice cubes Fruit skewer (eg kiwi, strawberry, blueberry)

METHOD Put the ice cubes and all the ingredients except the Red Bull in a cocktail shaker.

Shake vigorously, pour into a glass, fill with Red Bull. Garnish with the skewer.

RED HUMMINGBIRD 86 Federal Street, Auckland, New Zealand www.redhummingbird.co.nz

cLuB

Always moving, even when it’s not Red Hummingbird A half–disco, half-jungle that also happens to be Auckland’s best late-night venue: a place to dance with birds and garden gnomes The club’s name is a reference to...

The magic in the movement of the bird itself – it’s always moving, even when you think it’s staying still. While the welcome you’ll enjoy at our bar will never change, don’t be surprised if things look a little different next time you go back.

The inspiration behind opening the club (in August 2011) came from...

Things I’ve been bought or been given over the years. It provides a journey through the recesses of my mind. If I die tomorrow, and my life flashes before my eyes, I’ll probably see the Red Hummingbird.

From the outside, the club looks like...

A forest. If you look up at the ceiling after you come in, you’ll see trees decalled onto glass panels.

The craziest night we ever had was...

Our launch party! Picture the scene, if you will: bird-like creatures on stilts, cheeky garden gnomes running loose and a UV light performer in full body paint.

To be considered packed, the guys on the door will have let in...

About 150 to 200 people.

The best spot nearby to soak up any excess alcohol is...

Well, there are two: Depot for oysters or Bellota for tapas. Small plates to share and so much tastier than a drive-through cheeseburger.

Interview: Luke Dallow, club owner

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Clint Eastwood “He is the godfather of all antiheroes. Watch the spaghetti western The Good, The Bad And The Ugly or Dirty Harry.

Eastwood’s a hustler, the coolest scumbag ever. I like later films, too, like Gran Torino, where he plays a crazy old conservative. But maybe he wasn’t acting at all, when you think of the rally speech he made for Mitt Romney. On the other hand, maybe he was just preparing for a new role?

I wouldn’t put it past him.”

Diplo and his Major Lazer cohorts Walshy Fire (left) and Jillionaire (right)

Take 3

Good, badass and the ugly Diplo The multi-hyphenate music man, currently showcasing his work under the Major Lazer moniker, is a huge fan of action cinema. Is Clint cool or crazy?

What of Jean-Claude’s incredible bulk? And: oh Sly! He is the most sought-after producer of the moment and almost certainly the busiest: over the last 10 years, Diplo has helped rapper M.I.A. achieve Grammy-winning success, backed talents like Crookers and Lunice on his own record label and produced hits for stars including Beyoncé, Usher and No Doubt. He also DJs – sets in three different countries is a typical weekend behind the decks – and makes his own music. He is currently on the road with his Major Lazer project; an album, Frees The Universe, will be released soon. Major Lazer’s logo, reflecting its electrifying vision of Jamaican dance music, is a fictitious action hero of the same name, a muscular Rasta Rambo. It comes as no surprise, then, to learn that Diplo is a huge fan of action films. During a rare few minutes spare, the 33-year-old, whose Tupelo, Mississippi, birth certificate has him as Thomas Wesley Pentz, waxed lyrical about his favourite men of action.

Red Bull Culture Clash feat Major Lazer soundsystem All the best bits: cultureclash.redbull.co.uk

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Jean-Claude van Damme “An incredible guy. His first appearance was as a back-up dancer in the movie Breakin’.

His breakthrough came in Bloodsport. I love that film.

It's always fun to watch dudes who are really great at karate go to Hong Kong and beat up everybody else. It’s some weird fantasy boys have. He was one of the first guys to do that in a movie. Then, more recently, there was JCVD, where he shows a more self-critical side.

What an incredible guy.”

Sylvester Stallone “Sly may not have aged well – there’s something about his face that makes him look pretty crazy – but I’ll never forget the impression Rambo made on me when I was a child.

The movie has the same story as Bruce Springsteen’s Born In The USA: Vietnam veteran comes home and nobody cares about him. My father was one of them. He didn’t have it easy, but still managed to put me through college. I’m eternally grateful to him for that.”

Night snack

Rio de Janeiro Tapiocas In Brazil’s megalopolis, people get nocturnal sustenance from a crispy crêpe made using the roots of a type of palm tree. Sweet or savoury, they’re the toast of Rio’s streets

the root of it all The manioc flour, used to make tapiocas bind nicely, has no strong taste of its own and gives an extra texture to the finished dish, which usually has a soft filling. It is made from the potato-like roots of the cassava plant, which are eaten extensively in the developing world.

If you are served manioc as a side dish, in Africa or South America, you will likely be eating boiled or fried cassava roots.

words: Florian Obkircher, klaus kamolz. photography: Dan Wilton/Red Bull Uk, Rex Features (2), Kobal Collection, Fotostudio Eisenhut & Mayer

flour power Making manioc flour is more than a grind. Once the cassava root has been ground, the flour is soaked for days, dried out and then slowly roasted. To make tapiocas, the flour is moistened with a splash of water, or water and coconut milk, a little oil is added, and it is then sprinkled into a nonstick pan with very little oil for frying, if any. A fish slice is used to press the mass together until it binds and goes crispy underneath. It is then flipped over, and the other side is fried until that too is crisp.

Rio’s FINEST The city’s tapiocas stalls are mainly on the beach, especially Ipanema, and around the Carioca Metro Station, where it smells of roasting manioc flour all night. Depending on the filling you go for, a tapioca can be bought cheaply. And because this is Rio, a cold beer, a freshly squeezed juice or a smoothie, made from the country’s abundant and wide variety of fruits, is always at hand.

a balanced diet Locals and tourists in Rio can easily find themselves eating a meal consisting solely of tapiocas.

To start, the savoury ones, filled with vegetables, fish, cheese (usually catupiry, a Brazilian cream cheese) and coconut flakes, or carne-de-sol (sun-dried beef). For dessert, the sweet ones, served with grilled bananas and cinnamon, chocolate spread, caramel or coconut paste.

Street food at home Polvilho doce (sweet) and polvilho azedo (sour) are the two main varieties of readymade manioc flour mixes.

Both aren’t too hard to find outside Brazil, either online or in specialist food stores.

A common mistake is to use the more widely available cassava flour instead of manioc flour; they are very different items.

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Davis Cup Final

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Tennis’s team tournament trophy has been dubbed the ‘world’s ugliest salad bowl’ due to its questionable design, but there’s no question that either of this year’s finalists – defending champions Spain and hosts the Czech Republic – would be happy to get their hands on it. The five-time Davis Cupwinners from the Iberian Peninsula travel to the Czech capital’s O2 Arena as the bookmakers’ favourites, but the Czechs are in with a chance of taking their first Davis Cup victory since 1980. Their team, led by Tomáš Berdych, has the home advantage and is hoping to benefit from the arena’s hard surface.

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Dubai World Championship

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Brazilian Formula One GP

The best 60 golfers from the European Tour qualify for the Dubai World Championship.

With total prize money of US$8m on offer, it is the most lucrative tournament of the year after the PGA Tour Championship. Last year, Spain’s Álvaro Quirós García celebrated taking home a winner’s cheque for $1.2 million on the Jumeirah Golf Estates Earth course, which was designed by double British Open winner Greg Norman. Purse aside, the course stands out for its lush vegetation and the snow-white sand in its bunkers, which was imported especially from North Carolina.

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25.11.2012, SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL

The exciting 2012 Formula One season enters the finishing straight and this race has it all. The 71 laps around the hilly Autódromo José Carlos Pace track are a roller-coaster ride of high humidity, brutal heat, all at altitude of almost 1,000m above sea level. The course forces the teams into a balancing act between power for the straights and enough downforce for the twisty, narrow middle section. Last year it was Red Bull Racing that got the sums right, with a Mark Webber-Sebastian Vettel 1-2 finish.

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Ryan Sandes was the 2010 winner in Antarctica

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22.11-03.12.2012, ANTARCTICA

The Last Desert The runners in this event (the only multi-day race to be held on Antarctica) won’t be able to enjoy public support, so they’ll have to make do with the gaze of thousands of penguins. There are six daily stages, breaking up the 250km course in snow up to 1m deep, and temperatures that reach -20°C. Competitors who want to enter must prove their mettle by completing at least two of the other three ‘4 Deserts’ runs: the Gobi March, Atacama Crossing and Sahara Race. In 2010, the last time the competition was held, South Africa’s Ryan Sandes won. This year he becomes the first person to enter all four races.

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Álvaro Quirós Garcia tees off in Dubai

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Kyle Croxall, Red Bull Crashed Ice world champ

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES (2), ZANDY MANGOLD/RACING THE PLANET, JOERG MITTER/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, DDPIMAGES, PICTUREDESK.COM

22-25.11.2012, DUBAI, UAE

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4 Dubstep hotshot Porter Robinson 6

06-08.12.2012, SENTOSA, SINGAPORE

Zouk Out

Over the course of three long summer nights, Asia’s biggest dance music festival brings 25,000 people to the beaches on the island of Sentosa, the fifth largest of the Singaporean islands. This year’s line-up is a who’s who of leading international DJs including A-Trak, Calvin Harris, Hardwell, Major Lazer, Paul Van Dyk and dubstep wunderkind Porter Robinson.

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06-09.12.2012, MIAMI, USA

Art Basel Miami Beach

01.12.2012, NIAGARA FALLS, CANADA

Red Bull Crashed Ice Ice Cross Downhill World Championship 5 The is now into its third season and is being played out in four venues, with the final set for Quebec City in March 2013. The backdrop for the first meet of the season could hardly be more spectacular than Niagara Falls. More than 80,000 spectators are expected to watch the athletes hurtle down the icy obstacle course, boardercross style, in a series of thrilling races. Reigning world champion, 24-year-old Canadian Kyle Croxall, will be hoping for a home advantage here on the border between Ontario, Canada and New York, USA.

In 2002, the renowned Art Basel art show created a subsidiary event in Florida, and within a decade the spin-off has threatened to usurp the original. Art Basel Miami has become a cultural must for East Coast celebs and art experts alike, with stars like Kanye West and Michael Douglas attending the numerous openings, which this year will showcase work by more than 2,000 artists from more than 260 galleries based all over the world. The event hasn’t just outstripped the original in the glamour stakes, either.

Prominent gallery-owners, such as Nicole Hackert from CFA in Berlin, say its sales figures are better too.

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Rihanna: nominated for six MTV EMA awards 16-24.11.2012, GIJÓN, SPAIN

Gijón Film Festival

Culture

What do independent film legends Aki Kaurismäki, Todd Haynes, Paul Schrader and Kenneth Anger have in common? They’ve all been guests at Gijón, Asturias, a cineaste’s favourite on the festival circuit and now in it’s 50th edition.

In an unusual twist, the winning film, such as last year’s La Guerre est Déclarée [Declaration of War]

by Valérie Donzelli, is selected jointly by a five-person professional jury and a committee of young film fans aged between 17 and 26.

11.11.2012, FRANKFURT, GERMANY

17.11.2012, SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA

MTV EMA

Harvest Festival

will be thousands of fans at the 6 There Festhalle in Frankfurt, and tens of millions people watching on TV, when the MTV Europe Music Awards crowns the biggest stars of the year in 15 main categories. There’s a battle between two very different pop princesses, Rihanna and Taylor Swift, with the former nominated in six categories and the latter in five; they’ll go head-to-head three times. The victorious vocalist will be especially proud of her trophies, as the winners are chosen directly by fans in an online vote.

Beck, Sigur Rós, Grizzly Bear, Beirut, Liars and Mike Patton: it reads like a must-see list of indie rock and this November, Australian music fans will get to see all these acts and precisely 17 more at the Harvest Festival.

There are no bands booked just to make up the numbers, as each year only 23 choice artists are invited to perform. With ticket prices also kept low, Harvest has become one of the most popular festivals of its kind in the world.

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Works by Richard Williams at Art Basel in Miami

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Save The Date November & December NOVEMBER 24

Home run

DECEMBER 8

Oar inspiring For nearly 60 years, scullers have headed to the Thames in December to contest the Vesta Scullers Head, the biggest single-division processional single sculls race in the world. Novices and pros record their time along the 4.25-mile course, hoping to be ‘head of the river’, the title awarded to the winner from which the race takes its name. Entries are open until November 24. For spectators, there are numerous places to watch along the course edge. www.vestarowing.co.uk

Soul sister: Jessie Ware UNTIL NOVEMBER 14

Ware with all With a top-five debut album and recognition from both the Mercury Prize and the MOBOs, Brixtonite Jessie Ware will remember 2012 as the year she officially joined the likes of Florence Welch, Adele and Katy B on the list of successful female artists coming out of south London. It almost wasn’t to be, with the 28-year-old English Literature graduate initially choosing to follow a career in journalism. But a call from former schoolmate Jack Peñate requesting Ware lend her soulful, Sade-inspired vocals to his live tour got her back on a musical track – which the crowds flocking to her tour of the UK and Ireland are no doubt thankful for. Can’t get tickets? She begins a second UK tour in March 2013. www.jessieware.com

NOVEMBER 17, 18

Horsing around Punchestown Racecourse has been attracting racegoers from around the world since 1824, making it one of Ireland’s bestloved venues. This month the season kicks off with the Winter Festival, two days of top racing, including highlight the Morgiana Hurdle. As the first Grade 1, two-mile race of the National Hunt season, it attracts highprofile contenders and is a good indicator of form for big hurdle meets later in the season. Last year Co Kildare local Ruby Walsh was first past the post on Thousand Stars, while Make Your Mark (right) won on the flat. www.punchestown.com

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NOVEMBER 29–DECEMBER 18

Modern warfare A life-sized hologram of Liam Neeson, an 11m-tall Martian fighting machine and Kaiser Chiefs’ Ricky Wilson make an unlikely trio, but all share a stage in The War of The Worlds – The New Generation, opening in Dublin this month before touring the UK. The epically scaled reimagining of HG Wells’s 1898 story of a Martian invasion of Earth has become the life’s work of Jeff Wayne, the musician/ producer behind the 1978 multimillion-selling double album inspired

by Wells’s novel. His latest offering, released alongside a reworked album featuring Gary Barlow, promises

Fighting for the planet: Liam Neeson

effects including a holographic Neeson interacting like the Tupac projection at the Coachella festival, bringing the 19th-century tale firmly into the modern age. www.thewaroftheworlds.com

WORDS: RUTH MORGAN. PHOTOGRAPHY: ALICE PEPEREL/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, GETTY IMAGES, PA

Anyone inspired by gold-medallist Mo Farah, but not ready to face 10,000m on track, can try another of the Londoner’s favoured disciplines: cross-country running. The European Cross Country Trials will see runners of all ages and experience levels gather in Liverpool’s Sefton Park, with the top six finishers from each starting category to represent team GB&NI in the European Championships, an event Farah won in 2006. Entries open until November 18. www.uka.org.uk

illustration: dietmar kainrath

K a i n r at h

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f, like me, you believe that anything which is made betrays the beliefs, fears and preoccupations of the people who made it, then you will be especially interested in the fourwheeled Pyeonghwa Whistle.

This magnificently named vehicle is the People’s Republic of North Korea’s best-selling car. Although that is not a very great claim: they, somewhat listlessly, make several hundred cars a year. Last time anybody counted, 24 million North Koreans had only accumulated about 30,000 cars between them. Car-sharing on the Pyongyang-Mangyongdae commute must be harrowing.

As if news of this car’s existence were not interesting enough, this article brings you other firsts. In the paragraphs that follow, you will find a combination of subjects unique in the history of journalism. Treated here, briefly, will be the anthropology of Claude Levi-Strauss, the legacy of the late Reverend Moon, a respectful note about the Duke of Edinburgh and a discussion about the concept of authorship in design.

North Korean car design must, until it gets better, be understood as a cargo cult. This is how anthropologists describe a touching religious practice in preindustrial nations. Noted among the Pacific islanders after World War II, a cargo cult refers to the belief among ‘primitive’ folk that wealth might be acquired by imitating the admired artefacts of the more prosperous.

Thus, Melanesians might march around carrying sticks to suggest rifles, while wooden copies of a B-26 Marauder might be found by a runway in Micronesia. African tribal chiefs enjoyed using umbrellas in dry climates because possession of a colonial attribute conferred status. It is, continuing the theme, pleasing to note that Prince Philip is, correctly in my view, worshipped as a god on the island of Tanna (pop: 20,000).

An important predecessor of the Pyeonghwa Whistle was the Kaengsaeng 88.

Mind’s Eye

The Axles Of Evil Stephen Bayley unveils a car of dreams and nightmares, made and driven in North Korea (Before we continue, let’s not be snitty about North Korean achievements because in the matter of the naming of the parts, they have unrivalled creativity.

The Whistle’s rivals include the Hwiparam and the Ppoggugi). The 88 was a cargo cult Mercedes, a reverse-engineered 190 with no regard to either copyright or quality. Very few independent critics have experienced one, but I have read that assembly standards were so poor that as you motored to, for example, The Spring Friendship Art Festival, where the chorus sang Long Life and Good Health to the Leader, the car filled with dust.

Thus whetted, the North Korean appetite for driving was then satisfied by a variety of licence-built, or possibly pirated, Fiats. The miscegenated bloodlines are fascinating.

The most popular light-truck in the PRNK is based on the Chinese Jinbei Haise, itself a second coming of an obsolete Toyota HiAce. As North Korea tentatively explores economic reforms –

the Whistle’s manufacturer is the country’s sole advertiser – we may with fascination contemplate other exciting collaborations. One day a new generation of marketeers in Pyongyang will surely commission a rebirth of the E-Type.

The Pyeonghwa Whistle is not a North Korean original, but a Hyundai seen through the prism of juche, the name for their philosophy of independence, created by Hwang Jang-yop, a senior member of Kim Jong-il’s government.

That the Whistle exists we owe to a joint venture between North Korea’s Ryonbong General Corporation and South Korea’s totally mad Unification Church, established by the late Reverend Sun Myung Moon.

The founder of the Moonies was born in the North, and must surely have felt a natural sympathy with the territory’s motoring needs. But first came a message from God: in 1935, Jesus appeared to Moon and gave him the brief to create the Kingdom of Heaven.

Thus empowered, he studied electrical engineering at Japan’s Waseda University, and the rest is satire.

I wanted this story to be called The Axles Of Evil (and your wish came true, Ed) because the PRNK is a repellent place where the People have to eat coal, watch folk dancing and drive cars which even a minicab service in Mogadishu would find unacceptable.

But thinking about the Pyeonghwa Whistle has mellowed me a bit. It’s a ludicrous machine, but the mere fact that it exists is a nice testament to the car’s ability to create vistas of escape.

Somewhere in a cold concrete apartment where the lights get turned off at seven in the evening and martial music plays nonstop from speakers with no offswitch, someone is dreaming of a new Whistle. I find that rather marvellous.

Stephen Bayley is an award-winning writer and a former director of the Design Museum in London

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