SOUTH AFRICA
BEYOND THE ORDINARY
THATO KGATLHANYE
The social entrepreneur who’s changing our world
BARREL OF
VENDÉE GLOBE
DREAMS
Sailing to the ends of the Earth
SA’s Frank Solomon: from journeyman surfer to movie star
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THE WORLD OF RED BULL
32
FANTASTIC VOYAGE
Yacht racing doesn’t come tougher than the Vendée Globe: 78 days, 40,000km, non-stop, solo and unassisted
In this issue of The Red Bulletin, we’re stepping out of the comfort zone and heading for uncharted territory. At its most extreme, that means setting sail on the world’s toughest yacht race, the Vendée Globe, where competitors take on skyscraper-size waves, howling gales and freezing temperatures on a solo, unaided 44,000km voyage around the world. Closer to home, cover star and big-wave surfer Frank Solomon tells us about the wild ride that led to his starring role in the new fantasy autobiographical movie Let’s Be Frank. Finally, we go off the beaten track with those who are definitely born to be wild – the partygoers at America’s biggest biker bash, the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Enjoy the ride. 10
“I’ll tell you one thing: living your dreams is not easy” FRANK SOLOMON, PAGE 54
SACHA SPECKER (COVER), VINCENT CURUTCHET/DPPI, CHRIS SAUNDERS
WELCOME
NOVEMBER 2016
64
AT A GLANCE
REBEL RIDERS
Every year, Buffalo Chip in Sturgis, South Dakota hosts the biker party to end all biker parties
GALLERY 16 GOOD SHOTS! Photos of the month
BULLEVARD 27 INSPIRATIONS Unique talents
FEATURES 32 Vendée Globe
RICK RODNEY, EMILIANO GRANADO, SYDELLE WILLOW SMITH, YU TSAI/CONTOUR BY GETTY IMAGES
The solo, around-the-world sailing race that few skippers ever complete
31 PAYNE BARRIER
Peak fitness is essential when you’re kicking zombie butt. The Walking Dead’s Tom Payne shares his training secrets
48 Heroes of the month
50 GREEN MEANS GO
Social entrepreneur Thato Kgatlhanye on empowering communities and inspiring positive environmental change
52
Kiteboarder turned tech director Susi Mai, eco-industrialist Thato Kgatlhanye, actress Felicity Jones and singer JoJo
54 Frank Solomon
The laid-back big-wave surfer whose life has been made into a movie
64 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally Booze, bikes and burning outhouses in South Dakota
ACTION!
79 TOUGH ACT TO FOLLOW
For Felicity Jones, coming up in new Star Wars film Rogue One, acting is about accepting challenges – and nailing them THE RED BULLETIN
COOL AS FXX K
It may sound like an expletive, but Ferrari’s new FXX K will have elite-car enthusiasts counting their blessings
75 SEE IT. GET IT. DO IT. The best travel, gadgets, films, games, music, wheels and events. Plus what’s on Red Bull TV this month, our cartoon, and how to disappear completely 93 TIME TRIALS Watches made for racing 98 FLASHBACK Steep challenge
11
CONTRIBUTORS INSIDE THIS ISSUE NOVEMBER 2016
WHO’S ON BOARD
RÜDIGER STURM
Big-wave Frankie, surfing his way to Hollywood
Believe in your dreams Our cover star, Capetonian Frank Solomon, has spent the last decade as a journeyman big-wave surfer, trotting all over the globe to the spots where the surf is largest. His tale – a mix of hard graft and hedonistic chance-taking in idyllic locations – is now the subject of a movie, Let’s Be Frank. It was conceived after a chat with renowned surf filmmaker Peter Hamblin, who was fascinated by the contrast between Frank’s enviable existence as portrayed on social media and the reality of his life. See our feature on page 54.
IN FOCUS BEHIND THE LENS
The German film journalist has interviewed almost every Hollywood A-list celebrity. For this issue, he talked to British actress Felicity Jones about her secret of success. And skateboarding. Page 52.
GISBERT BRUNNER
One of Europe’s leading authorities on timepieces, Brunner has written many books about the subject and is a regular speaker at industry meetings. This issue, he presents watches that capture the spirit of F1. Page 93.
THE RED BULLETIN AROUND THE WORLD The Red Bulletin is available in 10 countries. This cover, featuring rap star Cro, is from this month’s German edition. Read more: redbulletin.com
Rick Rodney hangs with female biker crew The Iron Lilies
“I was blown away by the stories of the people I met” RICK RODNEY, PHOTOGRAPHER As someone who has travelled the world with his camera, Rodney says it’s not every day that he gets to photograph something that he connects with on a personal level. While immersing himself in the motorcycle scene in Sturgis, South Dakota (see our feature on page 64), he enjoyed hearing tales like those of Dave Zien, a former Wisconsin politician who has logged more than two million miles on his Harley.
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THE RED BULLETIN
Editorial Director Robert Sperl Editor-in-Chief Alexander Macheck Editor-at-Large Boro Petric Creative Director Erik Turek Art Directors Kasimir Reimann, Miles English Photo Director Fritz Schuster Production Editor Marion Wildmann Managing Editor Daniel Kudernatsch Editors Stefan Wagner (Chief Copy Editor), Ulrich Corazza, Arek Piatek, Andreas Rottenschlager; Contributors: Muhamed Beganovic, Werner Jessner, Martina Powell, Clemens Stachel, Florian Wörgötter Web Kurt Vierthaler (Senior Web Editor), SchinSu Bae, Christian Eberle, Vanda Gyuris, Inmaculada Sánchez Trejo, Andrew Swann, Christine Vitel Design Marco Arcangeli, Marion Bernert-Thomann, Martina de Carvalho-Hutter, Kevin Goll, Carita Najewitz Photo Editors Rudi Übelhör (Deputy Photo Director), Marion Batty, Ellen Haas, Eva Kerschbaum, Tahira Mirza
THE RED BULLETIN South Africa, ISSN 2079-4282 Editor Louis Raubenheimer Chief Sub-Editor Nancy James Deputy Chief Sub-Editor Davydd Chong Country Project and Sales Management Andrew Gillett Advertisement Sales Andrew Gillett, andrew.gillett@za.redbull.com Printed by CTP Printers, Duminy Street, Parow-East, Cape Town 8000 Subscriptions Subscription price R228, for 12 issues/year, www.getredbulletin.com, subs@za.redbull.com Mailing Address PO Box 50303, Waterfront, 8002 South Africa Office South Wing, Granger Bay Court, Beach Road, V&A Waterfront, Cape Town 8001 +27 (0) 21 431 2100
THE RED BULLETIN Austria, ISSN 1995-8838 Editor Ulrich Corazza Proof Reading Hans Fleißner Country Project Management Thomas Dorer, Lukas Scharmbacher Advertisement Sales Alfred Vrej Minassian (manager), Thomas Hutterer, Corinna Laure, anzeigen@at.redbulletin.com
Illustrator Dietmar Kainrath Publisher Franz Renkin Advertising Placement Andrea Loprais Creative Solutions Eva Locker (manager), Verena Schörkhuber Country Management and Marketing Stefan Ebner (manager), Thomas Dorer, Manuel Otto, Kristina Trefil, Sara Varming Marketing Design Peter Knehtl (manager), Simone Fischer, Alexandra Hundsdorfer, Mathias Schwarz
THE RED BULLETIN France, ISSN 2225-4722 Editor Pierre-Henri Camy Country Co-ordinator Christine Vitel Proof Reading Audrey Plaza Country Project and Sales Management Leila Domas Advertisement Sales Cathy Martin, cathy.martin@fr.redbulletin.com
Head of Production Michael Bergmeister Production Wolfgang Stecher (manager), Walter O Sádaba, Friedrich Indich, Michael Menitz (digital) Repro Clemens Ragotzky (manager), Claudia Heis, Maximilian Kment, Karsten Lehmann Office Management Kristina Krizmanic, Petra Kupec IT Systems Engineer Michael Thaler Subscriptions and Distribution Peter Schiffer (manager), Klaus Pleninger (distribution), Nicole Glaser (distribution), Yoldas Yarar (subscriptions)
THE RED BULLETIN Germany, ISSN 2079-4258 Editor Arek Piatek Proof Reading Hans Fleißner Country Channel Management Christian Baur, Sophie Herkommer Advertisement Sales Martin Olesch, martin.olesch@de.redbulletin.com
General Manager and Publisher Wolfgang Winter Global Editorial Office Heinrich-Collin-Strasse 1, A-1140 Vienna Phone +43 1 90221-28800 Fax +43 1 90221-28809 Web redbulletin.com Red Bull Media House GmbH Oberst-Lepperdinger-Straße 11–15, A-5071 Wals bei Salzburg, FN 297115i, Landesgericht Salzburg, ATU63611700 Directors Christopher Reindl, Andreas Gall
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THE RED BULLETIN Ireland, ISSN 2308-5851 Editor Ruth Morgan Associate Editors Tom Guise, Justin Hynes Music Editor Florian Obkircher Chief Sub-Editor Nancy James Deputy Chief Sub-Editor Davydd Chong Advertisement Sales Deirdre Hughes, redbulletin@richmondmarketing.com
THE RED BULLETIN Mexico, ISSN 2308-5924 Editor Luis Alejandro Serrano Associate Editors Marco Payán, Inmaculada Sánchez Trejo Proof Reading Alma Rosa Guerrero Country Project and Sales Management Helena Campos, Giovana Mollona Advertisement Sales Rodrigo Luna, rodrigo.luna@mx.redbull.com Humberto Amaya Bernard, humberto.amayabernard@mx.redbull.com
THE RED BULLETIN Switzerland, ISSN 2308-5886 Editor Arek Piatek Proof Reading Hans Fleißner Country Channel Management Antonio Gasser Product Management Melissa Stutz Advertisement Sales Marcel Bannwart, marcel.bannwart@ch.redbull.com
THE RED BULLETIN South Korea, ISSN 2465-7948 Editor Jung-Suk You Deputy Editor Bon-Jin Gu Publishing Director Michael Lee Advertisement Sales Hong-Jun Park, hjpark@kayamedia.com
THE RED BULLETIN United Kingdom, ISSN 2308-5894 Editor Ruth Morgan Associate Editors Tom Guise, Justin Hynes Music Editor Florian Obkircher Chief Sub-Editor Nancy James Deputy Chief Sub-Editor Davydd Chong Country Project and Sales Management Sam Warriner Advertisement Sales Mark Bishop, mark.bishop@uk.redbull.com
THE RED BULLETIN USA, ISSN 2308-586X Editor Andreas Tzortzis Deputy Editor Nora O’Donnell Copy Chief David Caplan Director of Publishing and Advertising Sales Nicholas Pavach Country Project Management Melissa Thompson Advertisement Sales Los Angeles: Dave Szych, dave.szych@us.redbull.com New York: Regina Dvorin, reggie.dvorin@us.redbullmediahouse.com
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GALLERY
EPIC ELEVATION
CHAMONIX, FRANCE PHOTOGRAPHY: KELVIN TRAUTMAN Ryan Sandes had a nightmare 2015, battling serious illness and injury. Yet the ultra trailrunner is determined to make his way back to the front of the elite pack. Sadly, hometown Cape Town lacks the altitude and intensity of the Alps, so Ryan set off for Chamonix to train in these spectacular mountains. Follow his progress at: ryansandes.com
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KELVIN TRAUTMAN/RED BULL CONTENT POOL
TOUGH BREAK ST PÖLTEN, AUSTRIA PHOTOGRAPHY: YDWER VAN DER HEIDE
YDWER VAN DER HEIDE/RED BULL CONTENT POOL
Two days before his surprise show at the Frequency Festival near Vienna, US rapper Machine Gun Kelly suffered an unfortunate accident: he faceplanted while running across the tops of parked cars after a gig in Germany. The result: cracked teeth, a broken elbow, and stitches in his chin. For most musicians, this would be a valid reason to cancel any upcoming shows, but MGK was quick to reassure his fans via Instagram: “Sorry to my body, but I’m finishing this tour.” Not only that, but when fans began moshing to his hit Wild Boy, there was no holding back the 26-year-old, who stage-dived into the crowd, despite his sling and cast. Now if that isn’t rock ’n’ roll… For more festival action: redbull.com/music
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MOUNTAIN HIGHS
VIRGIN, UTAH, USA PHOTOGRAPHY: BARTEK WOLINSKI Nic Pescetto rolled up at the 2015 Red Bull Rampage qualifiers hoping for better luck after crashing at Canyon Gap the previous year. This time round, the Italian freerider nailed the jump, though a place in the finals eluded him. On October 14, 21 of the world’s best mountain bikers will gather to compete in this year’s competition. Expect new, more natural terrain, and thrills as big as ever. See it live on Red Bull TV on Oct 14: redbull.tv
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RIDERS ON THE STORM BUDAPEST, HUNGARY PHOTOGRAPHY: BALAZS GARDI
As Team Hamilton’s Nicolas Ivanoff flies in formation with Martin Šonka at the Budapest stop of the Red Bull Air Race World Championship this July, the cloudless sky and glittering waters of the Danube belie the turbulent conditions looming. So brutal did the weather become that the Final Four couldn’t even take off – though by then both Šonka and Ivanoff had been eliminated. “It’s a big step back,” said Šonka, who failed to score with 13th place. “In these bumpy conditions, the bump can push you over the G-limit.” redbullairrace.com
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BALAZS GARDI/RED BULL CONTENT POOL
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BULLEVARD THE HOME OF PEOPLE WHO INSPIRE, ENTERTAIN, EDUCATE, INNOVATE
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JAKE GYLLENHAAL HE’S HAD A FEW KNOCKS ALONG THE WAY, BUT NOW HE’S BACK ON TRACK Six years ago, Jake Gyllenhaal’s shot at big movie stardom hit a major stumbling block. Then 30, he bulked up for Prince Of Persia: The Sands of Time, which was critically panned – as many films based on video games tend to be. He returned to the mid-budget films that made his name – and went on a run of lead roles in terrific movies: Source Code, End Of Watch, Prisoners, Nightcrawler, Enemy and Everest. Accidental Love, released in 2015, is an unfinished film from 2010 brought out on the back of the ‘Gyllenaissance’; up next is thriller Nocturnal Animals, out in November. There’s luck in that, of course, but at the end of 2010, Gyllenhaal’s parents got divorced and it rebooted his outlook. “It made me look at myself,” he said, of his parents’ split, “and ask more questions. Such as, ‘How can I be as honest, too?’” Honesty, it seems, really can be the best policy if you want to make changes in life.
THE RED BULLETIN
27
BULLEVARD 1980
2016
“I was in the hospital when she was born,” says the infamous OJ Simpson of Kimberly Noel Kardashian’s first public appearance, on October 21, 1980. The former sports hero is Kim’s godfather, and a close friend of her dad, Robert, a businessman and lawyer who later becomes part of OJ’s successful defence team at his 1995 murder trial.
Ten years on from Kim’s rise to fame, Forbes magazine names her the world’s 42nd highest-paid celeb, with annual earnings of $51 million (Mr West doesn’t even make the top 100). KKW has more than 150 million followers across Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, and in March this year she finally joined Snapchat, having previously considered it “invasive”. Her popularity and business sense show no sign of waning.
1996 Kim grows up rich, but her dad wants her to learn the value of a dollar earned. Pa buys her a car, but she has to sign a contract: she must wash it weekly, keep petrol in the tank and get good grades, or no vehicle. “And if I crashed it, I had to be responsible for paying for it.” After a prang, she gets a job in a clothes shop, liking it so much that she stays on after the repair bill is paid.
2015
2007
Having become the world’s most Googled celebrity, Kim starts to feel the power of her brand online. But, at 28, she’s already a successful real-world businesswoman: DASH, the California boutique she runs with sisters Khloé and Kourtney, opened in 2006. Miami and NYC branches follow.
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THE MOST FAMOUS MEMBER OF HER KLAN, KIM KARDASHIAN WEST STAYS TOP OF THE GOOGLE SEARCH CHART THANKS TO AN UNWAVERING TALENT FOR SELF-PROMOTION
2011
2013
Would someone really get engaged (to NBA star Kris Humphries), get married (seen in a double episode of her reality show) and file for divorce (three weeks after the wedding episodes fetch the show’s highest ratings) in 162 days, merely to fan the flames of fame? Kim – previously divorced in 2004, aged 23 – says no way: “I’m not an idiot. I obviously know that that would be a bad business decision.”
Kim heads in a new direction with the birth of North, her first child with Kanye West, whom she marries in 2014. Marriage and motherhood – seen as career obstacles for any celebrity female keen to retain an image of youth and availability – do not “diminish [Kim’s] eroticism”, says GQ, “but, combined, they make it more palatable. Imbue it with a new élan, even.” Élan – nice.
2014 In November, KKW ‘breaks the internet’ with a naked photoshoot for Paper magazine. It becomes a pop-culture moment and adds heat to an ongoing debate: is Kim empowering women, or selling them out? The woman herself says, “It’s a skill to get people to really like you for you, instead of a character written for you by somebody else.” And she’s right.
THE RED BULLETIN
TIM MÖLLER-KAYA
2008
HOW I GOT HERE
GETTY IMAGES (4), ACTION PRESS
Following minor fame as a friend and stylist of Paris Hilton, Kim lands front and centre on TV – in reality show Keeping Up With The Kardashians – and on the internet when her sex tape is leaked. A book on the family alleges she arranged the latter, though both Kim and her mom deny it.
Two apps – Kimoji (emojis) and Kim Kardashian West Official App (exclusive freemium content) – are launched and make a ton of cash, though not as much as 2014’s Kim Kardashian: Hollywood. In 2015, the game generates $71.8 million – $20 million of which goes to Kim, who was heavily involved in the creation of all three apps. “I became intrigued by the tech world… [It’s] going to be the next cycle of my career,” she says.
BULLEVARD
STAR QUALITY
AUSTIN HARGRAVE/AUGUST
COBIE SMULDERS COMES OUT FROM BEHIND THE S.H.I.E.L.D. TO TAKE THE LIMELIGHT
With the new Tom Cruise movie, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, out worldwide from the end of October, you can be pretty sure that audience reactions will be 1) impressed nods at Cruise being a lithe kick-ass 54-yearold and 2) an ‘oh-it’s-her!’ response to his co-star, Cobie Smulders. Nerds know and love the Canadian actress as Maria Hill, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent in the two Avengers movies and Captain America: The Winter Soldier (and three episodes of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), while sitcom fans enjoyed seeing her in over 200 episodes of How I Met Your Mother. But she has never been front and centre in a Hollywood blockbuster: Never Go Back is her breakout role and she’s excellent in it. Tinseltown regularly takes flak for bad decisions – feeble CGIfests, unnecessary reboots – and here’s another: waiting too long to give Cobie Smulders the marquee billing she deserves.
THE RED BULLETIN
“JUST DO YOUR BEST. I FIND IF I SET THAT GOAL FOR MYSELF AND NO ONE ELSE, I FEEL GOOD” 29
BULLEVARD
SAY WHAT? GETTING STUFF DONE IS A KEY LIFE SKILL. HERE’S HOW THE BUSIEST, MOST SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE MAKE THINGS HAPPEN
“I sleep from 11-5am usually. Blackout shades help… Up at five, meditate for 30, seven-minute workout times three, make coffee, check in [with work]… I look to build a lot of consistent routine. Same thing every day. Allows a steady state that enables me to be more effective when I do have to react to something out of hand”
STEVE JOBS, APPLE MAN
“Remember to have fun”
JACK DORSEY, CO-FOUNDER AND CEO, TWITTER
“I have tried to embrace [the motto ‘done is better than perfect’] and let go of unattainable standards. Aiming for perfection causes frustration at best and paralysis at worst”
FOLLOW, LIKE AND RETWEET YOUR WAY TO A SMARTER MONTH
ROAD TO VR twitter.com/RtoVR Now that there are three major virtual-reality systems available – PlayStation VR, HTC Vive and Oculus Rift – along with the smartphone-based set-ups led by Samsung Gear, keeping up to date with the world’s largest independent VR news outlet will keep bleeding edgers on the pace.
“I’m fearless. I don’t complain. Even when horrible things happen to me, I go on” SOFIA VERGARA, ACTRESS
“Success at anything will always come down to this: focus and effort. And we control both” DWAYNE JOHNSON, WORLD’S HIGHESTPAID ACTOR
“Of course, my wife hates that I read more than three hours almost every day, but it gives me a level of comfort and confidence in my business” MARK CUBAN, DALLAS MAVERICKS AND AXS TV OWNER, 527TH RICHEST MAN ON EARTH
NASA JPL instagram.com/ nasajpl Like many NASA social media accounts, this one has amazing pics of the universe and the new things probes and spacecraft are finding. But follow the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and you’ll get cool stuff from the visionaries, designers, artists and thinkers imagining the future.
THE RUSSO BROTHERS facebook.com/the russobrothersofficial Anthony and Joe Russo are the director brothers about to film the next two Avengers movies. Their Facebook feed is filled with behindthe-scenes stuff from the last two Captain America movies, which they also made. Expect more of the same. THE RED BULLETIN
GETTY IMAGES (8)
NOVAK DJOKOVIC, TENNIS ACE
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EXPAND YOUR NETWORK
SIMONE BILES, OLYMPIC GYMNASTICS GOLD MEDALLIST
“I guess the winner is the one who believes in victory more”
SHERYL SANDBERG, COO, FACEBOOK
“If you just sit and observe, you will see how restless your mind is. If you try to calm it, it only makes it worse, but over time it does calm, and when it does, there’s room to hear more subtle things – that’s when your intuition starts to blossom and you start to see things more clearly and be in the present more…. It’s a discipline; you have to practise it”
7 ZERO BULLEVARD
STRENGTH IN NUMBERS
TOM PAYNE
THE WALKING DEAD’S BRITISH STAR NAILS HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT ON THE HIT TV SHOW. HERE’S HOW HE GOT INTO ASS-KICKING SHAPE
DAYS IT TOOK HIM TO MASTER A JUMP SIDEKICK TWD exec Scott Gimple gave Ho a photo of a jump sidekick – the basis for creating Payne’s fighting style.“Tom is agile and co-ordinated, so he mastered it quickly,” says Ho. “He’s a lightweight fighting heavyweights. He just has to be faster.” To achieve that speed, Ho had Payne practise quick-twitch motions and defensive sparring.
EMILIANO GRANADO, GROOMING: RHEANNE WHITE, STYLING: JENNIFER AKERMAN
LITRES OF WATER HE CONSUMED PER DAY ON SET This was when filming in Atlanta from May to November. “It’s incredibly hot,” says Payne. “My character wears a padded vest, a long leather overcoat, a woolly hat and gloves. I spend the day in a sweatbox of my own making!” Staying hydrated regulates your body temperature and lubricates your joints, especially when you’re engaging in heavy physical activity in sweltering temperatures.
THE RED BULLETIN
THE HOTTEST THINGS IN HEALTH
THE APP THE 21-DAY SHRED
Sounds like another near-impossible get-fit promise, but, especially since a 2016 upgrade, this has fitness feats within the grasp of most of us: it’s hard but doable. Includes: rest days and realistic meal plans. mensfitness.com
EXPERIENCE PAYNE HAD IN COMBAT TRAINING BEFORE TWD “I was a gymnast when I was a teenager, but I did it so I could do backflips and impress girls,” jokes Payne. “That was the extent of my training.” To play Jesus, a character known for his impressive fighting skills, Payne turned to martial artist Stephen Ho and Milan Costich, founder of an LA boxing studio. Payne has spent equal time on strength and conditioning. “In between rounds of boxing,” explains Costich, “we’d incorporate one-minute burst intervals of plyometrics, such as jump squats, pop lunges, squat thrusts and burpees.”
3.5
FITNESS TRACKER
THE FUEL MATCHA
VITAL STATISTICS
Discipline: Actor Age: 33 Height: 1.7m Weight: 66kg Breakout Role: Plays Paul ‘Jesus’ Rovia in The Walking Dead, which returns to screens in the US on October 23
3
MINUTES HE SPENT DURING A BOXING ROUND “Three-minute rounds keep you engaged and push you past your comfort zone,” says Costich. Each round of boxing on the bags also mixed in work on focus mitts, to sharpen Payne’s accuracy and punch recoil. Every hour-long session ends with 12 minutes of core work, like Russian twists, crossconnects and reverse situps. “I feel more confident in my physicality,” says Payne.
Swapping a latte for a green tea is an instant health boost – for a super-powered jolt, make it matcha. The verdant powder has more than 130 times the antioxidants of regular green tea, and the American Society for Nutrition found it helps burn body fat. ajcn.nutrition.org
THE TECH SENSORIA SMART SOCKS
Analysis of your most recent run directly from your feet. These socks relay info gathered from sensors to an anklet that connects via Bluetooth to your phone. Just make sure you put them on the correct feet: L is for ‘left’, OK? sensoriafitness.com
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Final checks before circling the globe: Frenchman Vincent Riou off the Atlantic coast in France
AROUND THE WORLD IN 78 DAYS WORDS: ALEXANDER MACHECK, ARKADIUSZ PIATEK AND JUSTIN HYNES
BENOÎT STICHELBAUT
THE VENDÉE GLOBE IS THE MOUNT EVEREST OF HIGH SEAS YACHT RACING. THOSE TAKING PART DO A FULL CIRCUIT OF THE GLOBE: ALONE, NON-STOP AND WITHOUT OUTSIDE HELP
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The Race Anyone hoping to get through the 2016 VendÊe Globe will have to put up with storms, waves the size of mountains, icy cold, solitude and a lack of sleep. Of the 138 skippers who have set themselves the challenge since the first race back in 1989 just 71 have made it to the end. Everyone else has retired, been disqualified or died in the attempt. On November 6, 30 of the world’s best yachtsmen will set off on this, the eighth edition of the ultimate solo sailing race. The Red Bulletin speaks to the skippers about the fascination that the ends of the Earth hold for them
VINCENT CURUTCHET/DARK FRAME/DPPI
The VendĂŠe Globe rules are simple and brutal: non-stop means that the competitors cannot go ashore for the length of the race
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CHRISTOPHE LAUNAY, VINCENT CURUTCHET/DARK FRAME/DPPI (3)
In training: UK skipper Alex Thomson (above and below) practises in the rough waters of the English Channel
No assistance: sailors can consult a doctor by phone to seek advice, but no more than that. If they need treatment, they have to do it themselves. Pictured: Mike Golding (UK) in the 2012 race
“DOING IT ON YOUR OWN MEANS IMMENSE DISCIPLINE. IF YOU’RE NOT DISCIPLINED, YOU MAKE MISTAKES” ALEX THOMSON (UK)
In 2012, a roller capsized Spaniard Javier Sanso within days of the start. He was fished out of the water by helicopter – alive
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VENDÉE Les Sables d’Olonne 6
NORTH AMERICA
EUROPE
1
NORTH ATLANTIC HIGH ATLANTIC OCEAN
TRADE WINDS DOLDRUMS
AFRICA
2
SOUTH AMERICA
TRADE WINDS SOUTH ATLANTIC HIGH INDIAN OCEAN Cape of Good Hope
Ice limit
3
5 Ice limit
PACIFIC OCEAN
KERGUELEN ISLAND
4 Cape Horn
160° 150° 140° 130° 120° 110°
100° 90°
80°
70°
60°
50°
40°
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0°
10°
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The Route
The race starts at Les Sables d’Olonne in France and then it’s once round the globe, always heading east, skirting the capes of Good Hope, Leeuwin and Horn on your left with the frozen wastes of Antarctica on your right. It’s 40,000km in all and these are the most dangerous parts of the course… The Bay of Biscay
3
THE GRAVEYARD
Beware of storms from the south west. The Bay of Biscay is one of the world’s largest shipping graveyards. And there are also strong winds from the north. If you catch one of them, you’ll sail at high speed past the westernmost point of Spain, beyond Madeira and the Canary Islands and on to Cape Verde.
ASIA
2
The Doldrums
EVERY SAILOR’S NIGHTMARE
AUSTRALIA Cape Leeuwin
OLIVIER BLANCHET/DPPI SAEM VENDÉE
DS
70°
The Doldrums are largely calm, but several times a day the serenity is interrupted by torrential rain, thunderstorms and squalls that blow in every direction. Skippers study weather data hour by hour to find the best route through the weather. But they’re wasting their time, or at least that’s what old sea-dogs say. When push comes to shove, the Doldrums will do whatever they damn well like.
ANTARCTIC 80°
90°
100° 110°
120° 130° 140° 150° 160° 170° 180°
E
Indian Ocean
5
The South Atlantic
THE SHADOW WORLD
HEADLONG INTO PAMPERO
That’s how Titouan Lamazou, winner of the first Vendée Globe, described the dark wilderness between the Cape of Good Hope and Tasmania. Hardly any light, gigantic waves, freezing, damp weather, howling winds and not another soul for miles. Heading as far south as possible would be the most direct route, but that way lie icebergs. So the sailors power their way north of the ice line (marked in red).
No sooner have you passed Cape Horn (exiting the iceberg danger zone and sailed into waters that might lead the inexperienced to believe they’ve left the worst behind them) when you’re confronted by the Pampero, an extremely powerful wind that blows in from Argentina. As the competitors head north east along the coast, the storm hits the yachts diagonally from ahead. The result: extreme tilting, which puts huge pressure on both skipper and boat.
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The Pacific
ICEBERG SLALOM En route to the legendary Cape Horn, the boats come dangerously close to the ice line. Go south of it and the risk of colliding with an iceberg is too great. But even north of the line there are smaller boulders of ice which jut less than a metre out of the water yet still weigh 40 tonnes… and they can’t be picked up by radar. Création : designe.fr / © Photos : DPPI/Vendée Globe
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The North Atlantic
THE ICY MOTORWAY The end is in sight. But first you have to wrap up warm as you’re heading north. The reward is that there’s a zone of reliable westerly winds that constantly blow the boats towards the west coast of France as if on a vast, moving blue-grey motorway.
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Achilles’ heel For all their tech, the yachts remain vulnerable. The most frequent causes of boats not finishing are mast damage, hull breaches and hitting unknown objects
Record under threat This year is a first outing for foils, which help the boats go faster. So sailing around the world in under 78 days (the course record) isn’t unthinkable in 2016
No tricks A seal blocks the connection between the engine and the ship’s propeller. If you break the seal, you’re out of the race. That way the engine only provides electricity
“YOU GIVE YOURSELF ORDERS AND YOU OBEY THEM: LIKE, SLEEP!” ANDREAS HANAKAMP (AUT)
The Boat
These vessels are stripped back in every way possible to ensure maximum speed on the high seas The Vendée Globe yacht is an Open 60. The number in its name being its length in feet, equivalent to 18.28m. The boat is 5.85m across at its widest point. The yacht draws 4.5m of water and the mast is 28.10m tall.
All the lines that operate the sail are fed into the cockpit at the rear. For most manoeuvres, the skipper doesn’t have to leave his main workstation at the rear of the boat. However, he has to be in the middle or front part of the yacht if he wants to furl the sails. In these moments the boat is mostly steered on auto-pilot. The living quarters below deck are reduced to a bare minimum. It’s about 2m long and known as the ‘survival’ or ‘navigation cell’. Only this area and the engine room are freely accessible. The rest of the hull is divided into six socalled ‘collision units’, fitted
with waterproof hatches. If the boat capsizes or springs a leak after a collision (with an iceberg, say), these individually sealed units help to keep the yacht afloat.
Alessandro Di Benedetto (ITA) grabs a 10- to 30-minute power nap during the 2012 race
Solo mission: it’s one person per boat. The one exception is if you take on board a shipwrecked competitor until a rescue ship comes to get him or her
OLIVIER BLANCHET/DPPI (2), B. CARLIN/SMA
OLIVER MICHON/GITANA SA
Open 60 boats can reach top speeds of 55kph, which is fast for a sailing vessel. But this year that top speed should be bettered as foils are being allowed in the race for the first time. These hydrofoils lift the hull out of the water once a certain speed has been reached, dramatically reducing friction.
HOW CAN SUCH A LARGE BOAT BE SAILED SINGLE-HANDED?
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“Zen and the art of sailing round the world in a hurry” Offshore specialist Andreas Hanakamp on the immense discipline required by the Vendée Globe and how to circumnavigate the globe in three months – on just three hours of sleep a day the red bulletin: What does it take to win the Vendée Globe? andreas hanakamp: You’ve always got to do the right thing at the right time and avoid any mistakes as much as you can. That’s not all that surprising… Seriously, though, when you’re alone on a racing yacht for three months at a stretch, trying to sail around the world as quickly as possible AGE: 50 and you’re getting three hours of ACHIEVEMENTS: sleep a day – and not even in one Andreas Hanakamp is go, but in 10- to 30-minute naps one of Austria’s finest – it’s all about economising. sailors, having sailed 150,000 miles, and has What do you mean taken part in a number by economising? of Olympic Games. In Any unnecessary movement or 2008/09, he skippered manoeuvre is a waste of time. Team Russia in the Any wrong decision will use up prestigious Volvo precious time and energy. Ocean Race series And the lack of sleep must affect your decision-making… Indeed. It’s like you’re on a downward spiral. The wrong decision can lead to a loss of energy. The loss of energy means you’re more inclined to make bad decisions and so on. You end up getting caught in a lull or on a reef or you sail directly into the worst storm you’ve ever experienced in your life. How do you get out of a vicious circle? With difficulty. But you can avoid getting into it if you plan well. You usually get weather updates and your rivals’ positions on your onboard computer every six hours. Simulation software works that data into viable scenarios and you can then come up with a strategy. Once there you’ve obviously got to be in good shape to do that work. But you also know when you need to make your next decision and which jobs you need to do before you reach that point. And then set yourself sleep and action times.
ANDREAS HANAKAMP
It sounds simple… It is – as long as you’ve settled on the right strategy. Plus, you need experience. That’s why these races tend to be won by old hands – provided you stick to your plan. You also need self-discipline and self-management. You have to be strict, rigorous and focused on how you carry it through. Do you sleep to order? You do. You do everything to order. You have to give yourself clear instructions and obey them. We’re talking procedures and drill. Of course that happens in all top-level sport. Top sportsmen practise procedures in a clearly defined pattern countless times – it’s their drill – until they are confident of their own abilities compared to their opponents’. What about intuition? Is there room for that? When we make gut decisions, we intuitively compare what we’ve already experienced with the situation we need to assess. So the likelihood of making the right gut decision increases with your skill and, even more crucially, with experience. It goes further than that, though. When high-performance sportsmen and women take on something very serious, they often make decisions outsiders don’t understand. When [Austrian sailors] Roman Hagara and Hans-Peter Steinacher went for Olympic gold in Athens in 2004, for example, it looked to the outsider like they’d set the wind to the sails instead of the other way around. Intuition at that high level is also part of Zen Buddhism. I recommend people read Zen in the Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel. What role does risk play in the Vendée Globe? Ideally, none at all. That doesn’t just apply to the Vendée Globe. Basically, we should first always ask ourselves what we want to achieve and then plan our approach precisely according to that goal. In sailing, the result is the aggregate of a number of competitions, and only a downward outlier can be discarded, which means if you sail conservatively and make sure that you’re always in the top 10 in individual races, you’ll be world champion.
RICK TOMLINSON/VOLVO OCEAN RACE, VINCENT CURUTCHET/DARK FRAME/DPPI
The seven editions of the Vendée Globe have claimed two victims. In 1992, Britain’s Nigel Burgess went overboard and in the next race, Canada’s Gerry Roufs was lost without trace
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BENOÃŽT STICHELBAUT
“YOU NEED A STRATEGY BUT ALSO EXPERIENCE – THAT’S WHY THIS RACE TENDS TO BE WON BY OLD HANDS” ANDREAS HANAKAMP (AUT)
Vincent Riou (FRA), winner of the 2004 race, manoeuvres his heavily listing boat during the 2012 event
So close: Armel Le Cléac’h navigates his boat back to Les Sables-d’Olonne in second place after an exhausting 78 days – and just three hours behind the winner
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“I consider this to be a war” Third at the last Vendée Globe, Brit Alex Thomson is banking on a new, faster yacht to take him to victory at the fourth attempt – but first he has to finish the red bulletin: How daunting is the Vendée Globe? alex thomson: You have to put it into perspective. Three thousand people have climbed Everest; almost 600 people have been to outer space but fewer than 100 have sailed solo non-stop around the world. And in terms of racing, only about 70 have ever done it. In offshore yachting, there is nothing bigger than the Vendée Globe. This is your third attempt. You didn’t finish the first two, but came third in 2012. What was missing that time? Last time my boat was four years older than the winning boat. This time we’re turning up with a brand new Hugo Boss boat and we have levelled the playing field. What do you feel gives you the advantage with this new yacht? We’re now using aerofoil sections and wings to lift the boat out of the water – it’s a bit like when double diffusers were the thing to have in Formula One. Red Bull built the best one and it won them multiple championships. The right aerofoil section will give you a clear advantage. Your preparations haven’t AGE: 42 always been plain sailing. A year ACHIEVEMENTS: Bangor-born Alex ago, the boat was capsized by became the youngest a rogue wave 82 miles off the winner of the Clipper north coast of Spain. How did Round The World Race that incident set you back? at the age of 25 in 1999. After we capsized last November He came third in the we didn’t go back into the water Vendée of 2012/13 and hopes his new until April. Since then I’ve done boat will help him 10,000 miles, so about 40 per cent triumph this time. of a Vendée Globe. There are two considerations: on the one hand we’re trying to make the boat fast enough to win and on the other we’re trying to make it reliable. We feel that we have a boat that is fast enough to win, the question is: are we reliable enough to finish? How hard is the race, physically and mentally? Boats of this size and power should be sailed by 10-12 people, 15 even. We’re doing it on our own. It requires immense discipline. You have to be disciplined about your eating, your sleeping, your work, because you have to be able to make rational decisions. We’re making decisions
OLIVIER BLANCHET/DPPI, YVES SUCKSDORFF
ALEX THOMSON
with risk minute-by-minute and if you’re not disciplined you make a mistake. The best case is that it’s going to cost you miles. The worst case is it could cost you your life. I consider it to be a war and anything less debilitating than war is a bonus. I don’t find it mentally hard. The first time I found it shocking. It was such a daunting thought to spend 90 days alone at sea. Now I think, ‘three months isn’t actually a long time’. It goes really quickly. Is there anything you particularly struggle with during those months? When you’re in the Southern Ocean – maybe 2,500 miles from land – there are no rescue assets, no shipping, there are no fishing boats. The winds are high and the waves are big. You feel incredibly isolated. When you’re at the top of the wave looking down it, we call that ‘The Runway’. It’s very steep and you’re already doing 20 knots at the top, so you know you’ll be doing 40 on the way down. That’s exhilarating. But at some point you have to sleep. Imagine sitting in a rally car, driving at full speed, it’s pouring with rain, you’ve got no windscreen and no lights. Your brain is screaming that you are going to die. Adrenalin is flooding your body, your heart is racing and there is no way you can sleep in that state. By visualising looking down at the boat I can see that there are no icebergs, no shipping, no whales. That allows me to reduce my heart rate, the adrenalin levels go down and I can get 20 minutes’ sleep. What are the toughest things you’ve faced? I was rescued from the Southern Ocean in 2006 after the keel broke and the boat was going to sink. That was hard, being in a life raft 2,000 miles from land. For the whole of the Southern Ocean in 2012 I had no power: no lights, no computers, no radio, nothing. I managed to get to the finish with 5 litres of fuel. It’s like The Martian where Matt Damon is stranded on Mars and has to improvise… That’s exactly what it’s like! Coming up with ideas and somehow making them work. We consider that anything is possible. There’s always a way and ultimately the most important thing is to finish the bloody race!
HEROES
”YOU HAVE TO OVERCOME YOUR FEAR” SUSI MAI The pro kiteboarder turned tech director likes to throw Silicon Valley CEOs in at the deep end. She gives us a networking masterclass…
the red bulletin: From professional kiteboarder to tech cruise director. Not really a career path you can plan for, is it? susi mai: I never thought I would be running a tech conference. I didn’t even have a flip phone when I met these guys; they had iPhones and BlackBerries. Bill ended up 48
getting me an iPhone. He was like, “If you’re going to be working with these people, you need to know what they’re talking about!” Relating to these guys is about more than an iPhone, though. Didn’t you feel like a fish out of water? At the beginning, I thought they were a bunch of dorks. I was 18 at the time and like, “Whoa, what is going on with these people?” But what we quickly figured out was that the people who start companies and hose who get
sitting on the beach with some dude who founded Expedia, you can really milk that guy for a lot of good intel. They don’t mind being milked? At the end of the day, whether it’s a big-dude CEO or a guy who’s never started a company, they can always talk about kiteboarding and be on the same level. Whether it’s kiteboarding, where you crash and you have to relaunch your kite, or it’s your company having a struggle, people are able to relate. What strengthens those bonds? When you’re kiteboarding, you have to have friends on the beach. You have to rely on people to launch and land your
“THERE’S ALWAYS FAILURE WHEN YOU’RE LEARNING TO KITE… THEN YOU TAKE OFF AND FLY. IT’S THE SAME WITH A COMPANY” attracted to kiteboarding are essentially the same type. How so? When you’re setting up a company, you have to be able to face challenges, overcome your fear. You have to be all in. You have to commit. There’s a lot of that stuff in kiteboarding, too: when you learn to kite, you have to really want to learn to kite. It’s a tough sport to pick up? The first three days are
Seems like they’re learning a kind of meditation? Maybe they do learn lessons, even just relaxation and getting that reward of kiting. It’s just awesome for them to have that outlet. MaiTai has become a kind of networking Mecca. Why do you think that is? People who are starting companies really need help, because they don’t know everything. When you’re
kite. You can’t just be a loner, because you always need people. One day you’re going to need someone on the beach to get you out of a situation where you’re overpowered by [wind or waves]. People have to look after each other and be social. I think that’s one of the things in tech that’s the same. It’s a crazy world out there. Corinne Iozzio maitaiglobal.org THE RED BULLETIN
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ill Tai, venture capitalist and co-founder of the MaiTai Global networking summits, calls his partner, world-class kiteboarder Susi Mai, the “user interface” to his “microchip”. He brings the techies, she brings the thrills. Over the past decade, MaiTai weekends – part TED conference, part holiday, part cult – have become the ultimate pilgrimage for tech CEOs and CEO wannabes. But fun and games are just the beginning: on some of the world’s most beautiful beaches, Mai shows Silicon Valley heavyweights like Elon Musk a thing or two about what it’s like to fall down.
actually pretty horrible; there’s always failure when you’re learning to kite. You’re failing all over until it finally all comes together, and then you take off and you fly. It’s the same with a company. Sounds addictive… These guys, their lifestyles are pretty crazy. When they go kiting, they can turn off their brains completely, because it is such a multitasking and demanding sport. You leave your workload and your stress on the beach, and you get to go out and just escape. I hear it all the time: if these guys can’t kite once a week, they’re so wound up they can’t focus on their work.
Pro kiteboarder Susi Mai, 32, is stirring up attitudes in Silicon Valley
“WE NEED TO STOP LIVING FOR OURSELVES” THATO KGATLHANYE The social entrepreneur and
eco-industrialist has a revolutionary view of waste as a resource. She’s also impressed Bill Gates
the red bulletin: How and when did you first develop your awareness of the need for social change? thato kgatlhanye: When I was 20, I attended a conference in Dublin. They talked about the ‘circular economy’ and how, with decreasing resources, we should think about waste differently. It was a real awakening. It taught me that you shouldn’t look at things as they are, but as they could be. 50
Are you constantly on the lookout for potential changes you could make, things that could be approached differently? Yes, I am. Look at the way we view waste, the way we collect and process it. I’m involved in building a company for the future. Many of the lessons we’re able to draw from, and the work that we do, will set the tone for how governments and some companies view the economy, and will help them realise what’s possible. Take our school bags – this gave us the opportunity to
strife. People shouldn’t have to struggle, environmentally, socially or economically. Would you call yourself an environmentalist? I would say I’m an industrialist and I have an eye that looks for gaps that humanity has yet to close. I’m a circular economy industrialist! Your product idea and its development has been widely praised. And now you hang out with Bill Gates and are praised by him. How does that make you feel? The work that’s being talked about is stuff that we worked on three years ago. But now people are starting to understand what’s possible. The purpose of our work is
“WHAT SORT OF IMPACT WILL WE LEAVE BEHIND, SO THAT IN THE FUTURE PEOPLE WILL BE BETTER OFF THAN US” build a case study from end to end with a project that looks at waste as a resource. How far away do you think we are from mining landfills and dumps? We already mine landfills. Many companies claim that they recycle, but they don’t really, they just sell the waste on to the next guy. And you see value in landfills and dumps? Yes. And it’s not just mining for the sake of it and then
already seen it through. What is the one thing that we could do now to change the world for the better tomorrow? We need to stop living for ourselves and we should start to concern ourselves with what we’re doing to future generations. We have to ask ourselves what sort of impact we’re going to leave behind, so that in the future people will be better off than us and won’t be born into pain and
to encourage people to think differently. This is the thing that makes me happy, creating a legacy which is going to help business leaders run their organisations better. Hopefully, this will benefit not just South Africa, but the whole continent of Africa. Do you have a motto? Think in years, plan in months, work in days. Louis Raubenheimer repurposeschoolbags.com THE RED BULLETIN
SYDELLE WILLOW SMITH
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hato Kgatlhanye is CEO of Rethaka, a South African company whose best-known product is a school bag made from recycled plastic waste. Each bag has a solar panel that charges during the day so children from impoverished rural areas, who often don’t have access to electricity, can study at night. A graduate of the Red Bull Amaphiko Academy, an initiative which empowers people who’ve come up with solutions to social problems affecting their communities, Kgatlhanye believes this is just the start. She sees opportunity all around her, even where others only see waste…
selling it off in the way we do with our natural resources in Africa. I’m talking about things like the way we mine platinum in Rustenburg, send it to Europe to be processed, and when it’s returned, we can’t even afford to buy it. It’s about using the resources we extract. I’m trying to take traditional thinking and turn it on its head. Ask how we, as a business, not just make money, but create products that currently don’t even exist. Which is a very different way of thinking. What motivates you? Being able to create something out of nothing. I’m grateful I found my purpose so early in life and that I’ve
Thato Kgatlhanye, 23, sees beauty where others see only waste
Felicity Jones: always pushing the boundaries – both in her movie career and in everyday life
“I’M NOT AFRAID OF CHALLENGES”
JoJo: the former teen chart-topper planning to make up for lost time
FELICITY JONES The Oscar nominee stars in two
very different roles over the next few months – but how does she mix things up in real life?
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YU TSAI/CONTOUR BY GETTY IMAGES, WARNERMUSIC
ritish actress Felicity Jones made her big Hollywood breakthrough in the 2011 romantic drama Like Crazy, and four years later she earned a Best Actress nomination at the Academy Awards for her role as Professor Stephen Hawking’s wife, Jane, in The Theory Of Everything. Over the next few months, we’ll see her play an adventuring medic in the new Dan Brown adaptation Inferno, and an interstellar criminal in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The Red Bulletin talked to the actress about pushing boundaries and facing new challenges… the red bulletin: You’ve acquired a lot of different skills for your movie roles, including skateboarding and snowboarding. What’s the secret of mastering new disciplines? felicity jones: Time and effort: a lot of both. It’s pretty laborious. Whenever I pick up something new, I have to do it over and over again. Great golfers always say it takes practice to achieve that moment of ease and spontaneity, which means you have to keep on doing it afterwards, too. I haven’t been snowboarding for six years – I’ll have to get back on the slope to see if I can still do it. Mustn’t you also overcome the fear of failure? Sure. But I’m not afraid of challenges. I embrace every opportunity to do something new. I grew up in quite an THE RED BULLETIN
adventurous, outdoorsy family; we went horse-riding, biking, surfing and skiing. Most kids rebel against their parents’ lifestyle. Did you? No. My brother and I were always pushing our parents, because we wanted to go further and faster. When he became adept at rollerblading, I had to be good, too. We always pushed the boundaries of how late we could stay out doing those things. If you were a mother, would you support your kids in doing the same? Children need boundaries. Even though it’s horrible being the ‘boring parent’, my instinct is that you need to be a bit boring for your children to grow up disciplined. Have you kept on pushing the envelope as an adult? In my work, yes. I have late nights where I’m constantly thinking, “Can we get it better? Did we do it justice?” As a creative person, you don’t have a choice. What did you learn while making Inferno? How to navigate through high-density tourist areas like St Mark’s Square. I also picked up some Italian. How about Rogue One? I loved working with stunt people and learning to fight. So could you take us on right now? You’re too big. Right now, I could hold my own only with a small person. Like I said, it all comes down to practice. Rüdiger Sturm infernothemovie.com; starwars.com/films/rogue-one
“TAKE THINGS A STEP AT A TIME” JOJO After 10 years in record-label limbo, not allowed to sing, the child superstar returns the red bulletin: In 2004, at the age of 13, you were the youngest solo artist ever to have a US number one, but then, around 2006, your career came to a standstill… jojo: That was because my record label no longer had distribution and wouldn’t allow me to sign other options to release my music officially. For almost 10 years I didn’t own my own voice. It was a horrible time. I’m glad I’m free now. You lost control over your career? Totally, and I felt helpless and angry. But then I began reading interviews with top athletes, which inspired me. I learned that you can choose how you perceive things. You need to focus on the things you can control, in order to shake off any ill feelings. How do you do that? Break down life into intervals. Take things a step at a time. It’s like when you’re on the treadmill: you run your ass off for three minutes, then you slow down for the next two. In those two minutes, you recover and prepare yourself so that you can take the next sprint fully charged. Florian Obkircher Her comeback album, Mad Love (Warner), is out now; iamjojoofficial.com
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BEYOND
Turning what seem like pipe dreams into reality is Frank Solomon’s game – the big-wave surfer travels the world to ride the best breaks
B R A S H , B O L D A N D B A L L SY, F R A N K S O L O M O N S U R F S T H E M O S T M O N S T R O U S WAV E S O N E A R T H . N O W, H I S C E A S E L E S S T E N A C I T Y H A S PA I D O F F A S H E S TA R S I N A M OV I E A B O U T, W E L L … F R A N K WORDS: LOUIS RAUBENHEIMER
IAN MITCHINSON
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rank J Solomon is quite literally living his dream. When The Red Bulletin meets the globetrotting professional big-wave surfer on Llandudno beach near Cape Town, he has just returned from the movie premiere circuit, which took him to Los Angeles, London and San Sebastián. The reason for this promo work: Let’s Be Frank, a film directed by Peter Hamblin and based on Solomon’s rather unusual life. In person, the Cape Town native appears as laid-back as they come, but behind the relaxed demeanour lies a steely resolve – a resolve illustrated by his decision, less than a decade ago, to throw his belongings into a bag, pick up his surfboard and set off to conquer the biggest waves he could find. Solomon speaks of landing in San Francisco, home of one of the most infamous monster breaks, Mavericks. “I got there and I didn’t know anything,” he says. “I thought, ‘What the hell am I doing here?’ I didn’t know anything about the place, I didn’t really have any money, didn’t know where I was going to stay, nothing.” He soon figured it out, however, taking on a bunch
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“ I WA S A L R E A DY T E L L I N G P E O P L E T H AT I WA S A P R O S U R F E R , E V E N W H E N I WA S N ’ T. I WA S J U S T S O C O M M I T T E D ”
Reluctant star: the shy, unassuming Solomon was never entirely sure how to act on set, and often got mistaken for a crew member
of odd jobs to earn some cash, finding places to bunk, and riding loads of beast-sized waves. “Today, I can take you anywhere in San Francisco,” he says. “I know the place like the back of my hand, which is quite amazing when I think about how clueless I was when I first arrived.” Solomon stares out at the waves breaking on Llandudno beach near Cape Town. He’s spotted a young surfer skilfully navigating the waves. “Check that kid out – he’s damn
good!” Then suddenly Solomon stops talking and sets off towards the rocks to the right of the bay. Soon, he’s hopping back towards the beach, from rock to rock, with a board under his arm. “That guy lost his board,” he says, pointing out a guy battling against the tide. “I don’t want his board to get smashed.” It’s not all glamour, the big-wave surfing lark. For one thing, surfers of the really giant waves spend virtually all their time in winter; Solomon
says he hasn’t seen summer in Cape Town in years. However, the doom and gloom is a tough sell; the man has an enviable tan, and today is a spectacular day in the Cape, even if it is technically still winter. “I wish people could see where we’re sitting right now,” he says, gazing out over the ocean. He’s right, it’s pretty idyllic. “I live right there, in a little cottage,” he says, gesturing. “I wake up and get straight into the water.” A few days later, word gets round that some serious waves are expected at Dungeons, Cape Town’s notorious bigwave surf spot. Solomon, of course, is one of the first guys in the water. Dungeons has played an important part in his ascension from surfer to movie star. It was here, years ago, that he was put up as a stand-by for an event and gained the self-belief that he could make it as a surfing pro. “Professional surfing today is very different from what it was even a few years ago,” says Solomon. These days, everyone builds their profile via Instagram accounts, and surfing professionally no longer means you have to be on a pro tour. Solomon appreciates how this has helped his situation, and believes that being visible and creating good content is even more important than
EYE OF THE LENS
TOBY GOODYEAR (3)
Director Peter Hamblin’s mock biopic about Frank Solomon is one of the unlikeliest surf films you’ll ever see and was shot on location in South Africa, Ireland, Mexico and California, USA
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the red bulletin: How did you come to live this dream lifestyle? frank solomon: I honestly don’t know; I’ve just been really fortunate. Wherever I go, doors open for me. People appreciate others who are trying to live their
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“You’ve got to have belief in yourself,” he says. “A belief strong enough to silence the critics”
dreams; they’re inspired by those who are trying to do it for themselves. I’m super grateful. I get to be here and surf waves – it’s insane. But you take it seriously? Yes, I take it unbelievably seriously. I train every day: I’m up before the sun rises, and if I’m not in the water I’m training with weights or doing yoga. I feel really lucky, because I never, ever thought I’d be in this position. It didn’t happen overnight, either; it took six years of travelling, doing odd jobs and riding waves before the whole thing came together. Then you’ve got to get the content that will keep a brand happy. And you’ve got to maintain your presence, which is entirely down to you; if you don’t do it, you’ll end up being forgotten about within a month.
It seems pretty mad. Did you always know you would live this life? If I had told someone [in the early days] that I wanted to be a pro surfer, they would have laughed at me. But here I am. I will tell you one thing, though: living your dreams is not easy. It has taken me 10 years of complete dedication and commitment to get on this path. And I was already telling people that I was a pro surfer, even when I wasn’t. I was just so committed to it. It was like, “This is what I’m going to do.” What advice would you give to others planning to set off on their own dreamfulfilment mission? You’ve got to want it more than anything else. I’m very competitive, so when people told me it couldn’t be done, or that it was going to be
difficult for a South African, it pissed me off and I said, “Well, now I’m definitely going to do it.” Ryan Sandes is one of my best friends, and he’d just started running at the time, so I thought that I could do it, too. So you made it happen all by yourself? I honestly don’t know what I was doing when I went on that first trip; I got to San Francisco and I didn’t know the place at all. I was going to try it out for a year, and if the worst came to the worst I would just get a job. So I just kept going and kept going, and here I am. You’ve got to have belief in yourself – you can’t be half a pro surfer. It’s total commitment and it requires complete belief, so you’ve got to go for it with absolutely everything you’ve got.
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ALAN VAN GYSEN, TOBY GOODYEAR (2)
how well you surf. He still surfs some of the big-wave events, but competitions aren’t his focus. “If I can keep sponsors happy and stay relevant and do things that mean that people keep believing in me, then I’m doing my job,” he says. The wisdom here is that today’s surfers can be brands by going to exotic locations, surfing the best waves and using social media, the web and other avenues to promote themselves. “It’s amazing, really. You can live a dream.” Solomon’s success is testament to the tenacity of this seemingly laid-back man; by his own admission, he’s not the greatest at his sport. “I’m a really good surfer,” he says. “I’m not a great surfer, but I’m a good surfer. It’s a lifetime of learning, this sport.” Instead, Solomon relentlessly seeks out every opportunity and does all he can to maximise the power of social media. People all over the world have been incredibly responsive to his story – from his adoring fans to lucrative sponsors.
“I NEVER IN MY WILDEST D R E A M S T H O U G H T A N YO N E W O U L D WA N T T O M A K E A M OV I E A B O U T M E ”
PUSHING LIMITS Solomon was seriously put through his paces during filming of Let’s Be Frank. But the surfer’s regular routine of yoga, work with weights and core exercises meant that was no problem
Whether in life or on a wave, Solomon believes that one should never hold back, because you might never get another chance
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SACHA SPECKER
“ YO U ’ V E G O T T O H AV E B E L I E F I N YO U R S E L F – YO U C A N ’ T BE HALF A PRO SURFER. I T ’S T O TA L C O M M I T M E N T ”
To be successful, Solomon believes, you need to be a person who says yes to everything – and that includes monster waves
SACHA SPECKER, IAN MITCHINSON
How did the idea for Let’s Be Frank come about? I never in my wildest dreams thought anyone would want to make a movie about me, so the whole thing was pretty strange. I went to a premiere that [surf filmmaker] Peter Hamblin had put on for his film The Wright Side Of Wrong, and afterwards we started chatting and I told him my story. After we’d had probably too many beers, he said that we should make a movie and call it Let’s Be Frank. I was like, “Whatever,” and carried on partying. But a couple of days later he called me, saying, “Remember me? I really want to do this. I think that it would be pretty cool.” Ja, that’s how it all started. Pretty crazy. What did you tell him when he asked you for your story? Well, I would post photos of my travels and stuff, so I guess that from the outside it looked like I was always travelling to these super-exotic locations. It’s true that I was travelling – I was like going to California and surfing Mavericks – but in between I was working four or five jobs and sleeping on people’s floors. I wasn’t posting about that, though, so from Peter’s perspective I was this guy living the dream, travelling the world and surfing these amazing spots. I think for him, as a filmmaker, the contrast between his perception and the truth was appealing and, being supercreative, he saw how we could turn that into a movie.
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BACK BREAKER In November 2014, during filming, Frank was surfing Rileys – a monster left slab in Ireland – when he had a serious fall, hitting the reef and suffering a harrowing fracture of the L2 vertebra in his spine. It was a tough road back, but the man’s a fighter
So he made a fictional movie based on that contrast? Yeah. I mean, I have had a very interesting life, and there have been a lot of stories – many of them true. Peter managed to take real stories, change them and escalate them into these fictional ones. Before we started, he sent emails to all of my friends, asking for the best stories about me. From that, he changed what really happened into this wild, creative vision that is still rooted in the truth. Like the bare-knuckle fight scene in Ireland? In the movie, I run out of money, which is based in the truth. I’ve often run out of money and had to do what I had to do to earn some cash – but I’ve never had to take part in an underground bare-knuckle fight to get some. That scene was heavily influenced by the movie Snatch. We shot in Ireland, the UK, South Africa, Mexico, Hawaii, California – all places where I’ve travelled and surfed. We also shot the movie while I was actually travelling
and surfing, Peter would come and meet up with me while I was in these locations and we’d do some movie work. What about Ben Harper doing the soundtrack? How did that happen? That was just as crazy. Ben Harper was at the Red Bull offices in California and one of the people working there had some of Peter’s footage on their computer screen. Ben was looking to get involved in something new at the time, and apparently, after seeing a few rough edits of the movie, he said, “That! I want to get involved in that.” The rest is history, hahaha.
So, where does your journey go from here? That’s something I ask myself a lot. People always say you should live your dreams and set goals – but what happens when you reach those goals? What’s happened to me is way beyond any dream I’ve ever had – I mean, I never imagined that Ben Harper would write a song about me. So I’m not sure. I try not to think about it. Who knows what’s going to happen? Even if nothing does, this journey has been amazing. Someone made a movie about me – that’s insane! franksolomon.co.za
“ W H E R E V E R I G O, D O O R S O P E N F O R M E . P E O P L E A P P R E C I AT E O T H E R S W H O A R E T RY I N G T O LIVE THEIR DREAMS”
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The Seattle Cossacks, seen here on their vintage Harleys, have performed stunts since 1938
E VE RY Y E AR , H A L F A M I L L I O N BI K E RS D ES CEN D O N T H E B UF FALO C H I P CA M P S I TE N E A R STU R GIS, SO UT H DA KOTA, FOR T H E WO R L D’S L A R G EST M OTO RCYC L E RA LLY. B UR LY B IK E RS A N D A N E W BR E E D O F WO MEN RID E RS F IN D C O MMO N CAU S E AT TH E BI G G EST PA RT Y I N TOW N , W H E R E TH E I R ATTI TU D E IS SUMMED UP BY THE MOTTO ‘YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE’ WO RDS: NOR A O’DO NNE L L PHOTOG RAPHY: RIC K ROD NE Y 64
FEEL THE
On a sprawling acreage in the Black Hills of South Dakota, plumes of milky exhaust swirl across a racetrack, forcing a throng of spectators to take a step back and block their nostrils with their dirty forearms. It’s a sticky day in early August and the grit clings to sweaty flesh like socks fresh out of the dryer. But the mood of the crowd is fervent as two motorcycles from different clans – a Honda and a Harley – rev their engines with total bloodlust. “They’re hell-bent on self-destruction!” an announcer yells over the PA system. “These guys are crazy!” “That damn Honda ain’t gonna win,” mutters a silver-bearded onlooker as the start flag is raised in the air and then dropped. The Honda and the Harley take off towards the finish line, their tyres shrieking like a chorus of banshees. They accelerate to a speed of more than 190kph and cover the 170m of track in a matter of seconds. To the chagrin of the onlooker, the Honda wins.
Overseeing the street drag is Rod ‘Woody’ Woodruff, a 70-year-old retired country lawyer sporting rimless glasses, cowboy boots and smile lines as deep as the valleys of South Dakota. Woodruff is the founder of the Buffalo Chip, a 600-acre campsite about 6km from the small town of Sturgis and, since 1938, home to one of the largest motorcycle rallies in the world. For the past 35 years, it is said, the rowdiest of the bunch have found a safe haven at the campsite. Like the fiercest of their biker brethren, the people of the Chip live by the motto ‘Ride fast, live hard’. It’s a passionate ideology that celebrates freedom and independence above all else, even at the risk of death. For newcomers to the rally, the advice from veterans – “Pack some heat and, no matter what, do not touch anyone else’s stuff – can sound a bit alarming. Unlike other music festivals or arenas that house thousands of fans, there are no metal detectors, bag checks or armies of security guards patrolling the campsite. If you want to smoke a cigarette while sitting next to several cans of petrol, no one will bat an eyelid. “It’s about freedom and two wheels,” says Rod, who muses like a cowboy philosopher as he relaxes in an easy chair in the comfort of the campsite’s air-conditioned main office.
This is the common thread between the bikers who come to South Dakota every August, he says. “Two wheels is the key. When you get on a motorcycle, you forget about all your little worries. You feel things differently. You smell the air. You notice the changes in the temperature, all these little environments. We live in the city, in an air-conditioned office, where everything is controlled. But when you get on the road, you’re out there experiencing the world.”
BAC K I N 1 981 , about 20,000
people came to Sturgis for the rally, tripling the town’s population for several weeks. Many bikers partied and camped in City Park and, as Woodruff admits, “were a little unruly”. Pressed for specifics, he says, “Well, they had a little annual ceremony of burning the outhouses, and they did little sexual things that upset the lady on the hilltop with her binoculars. She and her friends complained, making it pretty hard for local politicians to support the rally. It got to the point where the police decided that everybody who rode a motorcycle was probably a career criminal, and they were all treated that way.” The city took a vote and decided that the bikers could still come to Sturgis, but they were banned from the park. Seeing an opportunity, Woodruff and a few locals started discussions about finding a natural amphitheatre outside town where everyone would be welcome. What Woodruff found was a ranch owned by an elderly couple. After leasing it for
After the 1981 Sturgis rally, politicians banned bikers from a local park for ‘unruly’ behaviour. These days, the town’s mayor throws an official welcome event for them
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THE RED BULLETIN
Leticia Cline is one of an allfemale group of Harley-Davidson riders called the Iron Lilies
‘RIDE FAST, LIVE HARD’: THAT’S THE BIKERS’ MOTTO, AND THEY TAKE THEIR PASSIONS VERY SERIOUSLY. RIDING AND PARTYING ARE A CELEBRATION OF FREEDOM AND INDEPENDENCE
Crazy John Markwald (far left) watches over one of the drag races, where riders hit speeds of more than 190kph
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IT’S A PARTY. THOSE THREE LITTLE WORDS HAVE ALLOWED
ORGANISERS TO STICK TO THE SPIRIT OF THE ORIGINAL EVENT, WHILE ATTRACTING TENS OF THOUSANDS MORE
a bit, he bought the property and slowly started making improvements. In those early years, only a couple of hundred people came to the ranch to camp and listen to music. The headliners back then were Grand Ole Opry members such as Johnny Paycheck, best known for popularising the outlaw country song Take This Job And Shove It. Before long, Woodruff had a makeshift stage, a small bonfire, and a loyal crowd of people having a good time, drinking beer and telling jokes. One visitor was a reporter from the Rapid City Journal, who wrote a big article about the gathering and deemed it the equivalent of an old mountain man rendezvous. The next day, the cars poured in from Rapid City – and they haven’t stopped coming.
TO DAY, THE BUFFALO CH I P is an adult theme park for gun-slinging, leather-clad bikers and women who enjoy painting their breasts with the stars and stripes. A sea of vendors form a perimeter around the main amphitheatre, selling everything from burgers and beer to bandanas with flaming skulls and bodices made of lambskin. Those who want a permanent souvenir of their visit can 70
PEOPLE
Your background, age or upbringing don’t matter at the Chip – it’s all about getting together once a year for some serious racing, music and drinking, with a few weddings, tattoos – and sex – thrown in
brand themselves at a tattoo parlour. The headliners are no longer Johnny Paycheck, but Kid Rock, Willie Nelson and US country star Miranda Lambert. Beyond the old-timey bonfire sessions, there are now stunt shows, flat track races and whatever ideas the combination of alcohol and exhaust fumes can inspire. Take, for instance, the Super Hooligan races. A throwback to the days when riders would make modifications to their machines for track races, this ‘run what you brung’ concept was given a modern update by former pro racer and custom motorcycle designer Roland Sands, and the organisers of the rally jumped at the opportunity to showcase the event. “Last year, we couldn’t foresee we’d be doing a flat track race,” says Daymon
Woodruff, Rod’s son. Like his dad, Daymon speaks slowly and deliberately, but his cowboy demeanour has an urban update. He’s keen on making the rally as big as any outdoor festival, without the sterile feeling that plagues so many events today. The morning of the flat track race, bulldozers are digging up dirt in front of the main stage where concertgoers were standing the night before and will be standing again just a few hours after the races. Putting a bunch of high-speed riders on a freshly made track might work, or it might not, but at the Chip the organisers will try anything once. “One time, we had a guy jump through a flaming shithouse,” says Daymon. A flaming shithouse? “Yeah, you just start an outhouse on fire and have a rider jump THE RED BULLETIN
The Seattle Cossacks perform daredevil stunts – including blasting through wooden frames that are ablaze
Former professional racer and bike designer Roland Sands introduced flat track races to add more spice
through it and land. It was a success!” But there were epic failures, too. In 2013, daredevil Clint Ewing tried to set a world record by riding through a 300ft tunnel of fire. He didn’t make it. About two-thirds of the way through, Ewing couldn’t see, and his gloves started melting into his hands. He needed skin grafts, but he lived. “Man, I probably wouldn’t have done that,” Daymon says with a laugh. But the freedom to see an idea through from start to finish – even if dangerous or ridiculous – is what the Buffalo Chip is all about.
A CO UPL E OF H OURS
before the flat track races, the rain starts to pour. The South Dakota winds are merciless and can blow thunderstorms in and out of the campsite in a matter of minutes. Finding cover beneath the race tents, the competitors watch as the track is seemingly washed away. “It’s going to be a massacre out there!” the PA lady yells. “These riders are here to battle it out for your entertainment!” During one heat, a racer hugging the inside of the track slams into the rider in front of him, spins out of control and splats onto the wet ground. Racers whip past him and there’s a split-second of panic when the chances of him getting trampled are tenfold. “EMS to the track!” the announcer shouts. But the rider waves them away, shakes it off and gets back on his bike. Although the first turn on the course is tight, it doesn’t take long for the riders to get the feel of it. And the rain, it turns out, actually improves the conditions by making the track stickier. In another heat, Leticia Cline, one of two female racers competing today, goes up against Jason Paul Michaels – her husband. Neither holds back. Cline takes an early lead, but Michaels closes the gap and comes out on top. On the podium, she playfully flips him the finger. Cline is here with three other members of the Iron Lilies, an all-women, allHarley biker group from Orlando, Florida. Cline, a motorcycle journalist who’s been riding since she was a kid, has logged around 13,000km on her Harley 883 Sportster in the past two months. “People come here for two things,” she says. “To party, and to ride in one of the most beautiful areas of the country.” As far as the partying is concerned, Cline – like everyone else here – certainly knows how to partake. At a bash that night for racers and hangers-on, she THE RED BULLETIN
The Buffalo Chip campsite covers 600 acres and has its own zip code, but despite its size it has kept its special appeal and many return year after year. “We’re a family,” says organiser Rod Woodruff
enjoys a round of bar-stool derby, downing her beer while Roland Sands spins her chair as fast as he can. “Two years ago, I got kicked out of the Chip!” Cline says with a wide smile. She was wrestling with a friend, she explains, when she rolled down a hill and managed to knock out the power. Although you can get away with pretty much anything here – public sex, burning outhouses – cutting the power is the last straw. That said, she was welcomed back the following year. Cline and her fellow Iron Lilies are the antithesis of the grizzled, burly and brutish biker stereotype. Although many of the people here fit the latter description, a quick conversation erases any preconceptions. The Buffalo Chip is where people from every section of society – from engineers and truck drivers to shop assistants and dental hygienists – come together to drink and talk engines. This is a place where, if you wish, you can marry your motorcycle at the on-site chapel. Or you can marry your human partner. Or you can have your ashes scattered after you’ve passed away. “Bikers have had a poor rap over the years because of a few bad apples,” Daymon says. “But really they’re the friendliest people you’ll ever meet. And they look out for each other.” For stunt performers like the Seattle Cossacks, the reliance of one biker on
another is more than just part of an unspoken code; they require that trust in order to avoid serious injury. Ever since 1938, the Cossacks, who range in age from 12 to 58, have formed human pyramids, done back bends and flown through burning walls while riding vintage Harleys, all for some applause and a few hearty slaps on the back. “It’s a lot of practice and a lot of trust,” says longtime member Andrew Nicholson, a man with a handlebar moustache and twinkly eyes, who’s been coming to the rally since 1990. Nicholson marvels at the legacy that’s been built. “You know, you thought it would get more commercial,” he says of the Chip, “but it hasn’t. It’s really cool how people from all over come every year. It has its own community!” “It’s not a picnic to stay here,” he adds, “we’ve had thunderstorms every night and we’re in tents. But you know what? We wouldn’t change a thing.” Neither would Woodruff. “This is more than just a business, more than just a camp,” he says. “There’s something in the spirit of the people that you can’t really quantify. It’s a kind of magic.” To learn more about motorcycle culture, check out The Greasy Hands Preachers on Red Bull TV on October 23
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See it. Get it. Do it.
AC T I O N ! TRAVEL
MAKING THE DROP Swing by one of the world’s most lethally powerful waterfalls – on a rope
Looking for an adventure that someone hasn’t already laid claim to on their Instagram? Try abseiling to the bottom of the Kaieteur Falls in the Amazon jungle of Guyana. A rare few have dared, however none have yet gone the whole distance. But if you’ve got the money and know who to call, perhaps that person could be you…
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TRAVEL
Taking the plunge: once you’re over the edge, the only way is down
Guyana, on the north-east coast of South America, is one of the least-densely populated countries in the world – by humans, that is. Eighty per cent of it is covered in tropical rainforest rich in flora and fauna so rare some has yet to be recorded. And the interior is almost untouched by man. “A lot of things have never been done here,” says Ian Craddock. He should know – his company, Bushmasters, specialises in brand-new wilderness experiences. “Most people don’t know what they want. They say, ‘We’ve got two weeks, we’ve got this amount of money, we want to do cool things in whatever environment, what do you suggest?” explains the former British Army officer. “I say: we’ve got to have helicopters, we’ve got to jump out of them and we’ve got to abseil off the biggest waterfall there is.” That waterfall is Kaieteur. At 251m high, over 660,000 litres of the Potaro River
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Georgetown GUYANA Cheddi Jagan Ready to abseil? Take the plunge at bushmasters.co.uk
gush over its 152m-wide ledge per second, forming the widest single-drop waterfall in the world, and one of the most powerful. “It’s a real butt-clencher,” says Craddock. “As soon as you’re off the rock you realise how tiny you are. You’re spinning, there’s a big mist, you’ve got an earpiece with people talking to you, but that normally falls out. And you’ve got to control your descent.” Abseiling from the top to the plunge pool at the bottom is an operation that requires meticulous planning – “The water is close to terminal velocity and creates air swirls that can pull you in” – it also necessitates specialised equipment: “Over such a long distance, only certain metal objects can cope with the friction. Your normal abseiling harness will melt.” Such a unique experience naturally draws special THE clientele. “We had INSIDER some movie-star guys “This is a 250m- come down on a trip. long abseil and You know, Channing you’ve got nothing Tatum. I had no idea to put your feet who they were, I don’t against,” says have a TV. They were Craddock. “You’ll just normal people.” need plenty of But, says Craddock, bottle. Keep anyone is capable of calm and take doing it. “I’ve put it slow, because 12-year-old kids down if you descend that rope. You just too quickly that causes heat build- need to be able to go over the edge up, which can mess up the rope without shitting or abseil device.” yourself” – providing you can afford it. “The biggest cost is the helicopter. They’re stupidly expensive, and what we’re doing with the helicopter is not normal, so we’re bringing in a specialist pilot,” says Craddock of a trip he’s planning, which involves jumping from the chopper into the river, to be collected from the bottom of the rapids by a cargo hook. It will be the first full abseil of the falls. “Something like this for two weeks is close to US$100,000, and half of that is helicopters.” Still, if you win the lottery you may want to consider a trip he’s formulating for 2018. “I’m sure you’ve heard of tepui, the tabletop mountains. The biggest, Roraima, is over 2,800m. It’s so large it has its own weather system, and we want to abseil off it. To get to the bottom it will be two-three days, if not more. We’ll have to camp on the rock face – just hanging there. “People have climbed it, but no one’s come down like this. This will be the first time. This is just a big one.”
STAYING ALIVE All-terrain survival situations
Just deserts If humidity isn’t your thing, try the dry heat of the desert at Wadi Rum in Jordan. Learn to ride Arab horses, drive a 4x4 across dunes and escape the unending sands on foot with little sustenance. bushmasters.co.uk
Lonely planet
How long would you last marooned on a desert island? A while if you take Bushmasters’ survival course, which includes hunting, fishing, extracting fresh water and salvaging aeroplane wreckage. bushmasters.co.uk
Stay frosty
Ice Trek runs annual expeditions to the North Pole, plus wilderness training courses in Svalbard, Norway, to prepare you for everything from frostbite and polar bears, to falling through the ice. icetrek.com
THE RED BULLETIN
BUSHMASTERS LTD, ICETREK
ACTION
GEAR
ACTION
HERO’S JOURNEY
Setting off on a bold adventure? Arm yourself with these state-of-the-art weapons and document your epic quest for posterity
Detach the gimbal along with your Hero5, 4 or Session and plug it into a ‘Karma Grip’ for smooth handheld or shouldermounted footage
GoPro Karma Drone Pro aerial filming made easy. With its backpack and touchscreen controller, it’s ready to go. Passengers ride along via an app, and geofenced no-fly zones and GoPro crash cover have your back. gopro.com
GoPro Hero5
Birdie
The world’s greatest action cam is reborn with two simple buttons, a touch display, voice commands and instant GoPro Plus cloud uploads. Also waterresistant to 10m without a case. gopro.com
Plug your action cam into this shuttlecock-shaped device and throw it into the air for bird’s-eye views. Foam bumpers keep it buoyant on water and shockproof on impact. birdiepic.com
TomTom Adventurer Built for those treks and trail runs where a fitness watch won’t do, the Adventurer has a barometer, compass and GPS tracker, as well as sensors for pace, altitude and other live stats. tomtom.com
THE RED BULLETIN
LowePro Droneguard BP 450 AW backpack Armoured protection for quadcopters such as the DJI Phantom and 3DR Solo, with an all-weather cover to keep out rain, snow and dust. lowepro.com
GoPole Scenelapse Fix your GoPro to this slowly-rotating carousel, wind it up and capture epic 360° panoramic timelapse videos. The Scenelapse can also be mounted onto a camera tripod. gopole.com
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GEAR
INNOVATIONS: FLYING ON EMPTY This plane has unbeatable fuel economy – around the world on zero litres
Solar Impulse 2 72m
Boeing 747-8I 68.5m
The cockpit has room for one pilot. “The toilets are in the seat, which reclines flat. Here you heat up your food and change clothing”
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In 1999, explorer Piccard made the first non-stop around-theworld balloon flight. “Every day I was afraid of running out of gas. We landed with almost nothing left,” he says. “I thought, ‘Now I have to do another flight, but with no fuel.’ Teaming up with engineer and pilot Borschberg, they built Solar Impulse 2 – a plane that this July completed a 40,000km circumnavigation of the globe powered by nothing but sunshine. solarimpulse.com
So, could this plane fly non-stop around the globe?
André Borschberg: When we proposed it to the aviation industry, they told us it was impossible. Bertrand Piccard: Nobody in the aviation world could build the carbon-fibre pieces for Solar Impulse – so light and big – so we went to a shipyard, to the people who build the Alinghi catamarans for the America’s Cup. These guys have no idea how to build an aeroplane, but they know carbon fibre. By putting together our engineers and this company, we got new materials and ways of construction.
AB: Theoretically yes, but practically it will be a hell of a challenge with existing technology. Firstly, there’s sustainability for the pilot. I flew five days, I could fly seven, but to fly 20 we’d need to rethink life in the cockpit; it’s not impossible. Also, each day we go up to 9,000m [to charge the solar panels] and each night we glide down, so we need weather that allows that. Over a quarter of the globe, it’s feasible; over the entire globe, it’s difficult.
How close were you to a dead battery each sunrise? AB: In good weather, air goes down and it’s easy to fall 2-3cm a second, which for us is 10 per cent of performance. By sunrise we’d only have 10 per cent battery left, so we’d be really close to the limit. When we reached the Pacific, we hadn’t flown an entire cycle and now I was going to be in the plane for five days and nights. After two months in Japan, I saw the weather improving and took off, but the equipment that monitors the plane as I sleep stopped functioning. The engineers called me back, but I decided otherwise, because the weather is critical. They were threatening to resign because they didn’t understand the risk I was taking. It created a lot of emotion in the mission.
Is that the ambition? AB: First I’d like to build an unmanned version capable of flying above bad weather for six months, replacing or enhancing what satellites are doing in a more flexible, sustainable way. Bring the plane down, change equipment, send it back up. That’s something we’re working on. BP: My goal is not to make a third flight around the world, but to leverage the success of Solar Impulse to promote clean technologies. I’ve been appointed goodwill ambassador for the United Nations and I’m working to shape the world’s energy policy. The limit is not technology, but people who are prisoners of old beliefs. We have to do something real for the world.
HERI IRAWAN
“The plane has been designed to be extremely energy efficient. The wingspan is bigger than a 747 and it’s extremely light – the weight of a car”
THE IDEAS MEN André Borschberg, 63, and Bertrand Piccard, 58
How hard is it to build a solar-powered plane?
In daylight, the plane ascends to 9,000m to charge its solar cells. At night, it uses stored battery power to maintain altitude
THE RED BULLETIN
ACTION
WHEELS The Ford Focus RS: fierce, powerful and a lot of fun
MOTOR MERCH Adding acceleration to your accessories
Piloti Competizione driving shoes The most high-tech footwear you’ll ever buy just to wear while seated, these have Roll Control heels and side cushioning to help prevent painful injury in the footwell. piloti.uk.com
SUPREME FOCUS
Bugatti boutique
A supercar aficionado falling in love with a hot hatch? Shmee ended up smitten… As the owner of a McLaren 675LT Spider, Ferrari FF and Porsche Cayman GT4, I don’t often drive cars like the Ford Focus RS, with real seats, rear doors and actual room inside. It’s too sensible, and yet, when I took this 345hp super-hot hatch to the Le Mans 24 Hours in the summer, I loved it. It’s a menacing-looking eco-beast with monstrous twin tailpipes and a gaping maw of a front grille, and the 2.3-litre, four-cylinder engine with twin-scroll turbo – capable of 0-100kph in 4.7s – generates power to match. The ingenious AWD system can channel 70 per cent of available power to the rear wheels and 100 per cent of that torque to one side for improved cornering. A consequence of this torque vectoring is Drift Mode – activated at the touch of a button, it’ll blow your mind. Before that, there’s enjoyment to be had with the road-driving modes: Normal is quiet and comfortable; Sport picks up and keeps going, while Track feels more pointy – you’d only use it on an actual track, but it’s clearly set up for fun. And that was my impression of the Focus: it wants you to have fun and not fear its power, but it’s also an all-purpose vehicle. Like I said, I don’t often drive cars like this, but now I will. I was so impressed I bought one. ford.co.uk
CAUTION: STRONG LANGUAGE
Tim Burton, aka Shmee150, is one of social media’s mostfollowed supercar connoisseurs. Now he brings that expertise to The Red Bulletin. Watch Shmee’s full video review of this month’s cars at redbulletin.com
A track-only Ferrari you’ll never see competing… what the FXX K? The latest model in Ferrari’s XX programme, the FXX K hypercar, is based on the LaFerrari, but is very much its own beast. Just four letters, and if you get to ride in one, as I did at Goodwood, you’ll be exclaiming something similar – the experience is insane. The ‘K’ stands for KERS, a kinetic energy system that maximises track performance and, in tandem with the
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6.3-litre naturally aspirated V12 engine, provides 1,036hp. Definitely not roadlegal, but also never intended for racing, there are crazy aerodynamics, with winglets and an active spoiler, ensuring more than half a tonne of downforce at 200kph. The price, which includes two years’ access to XX events, is €2.5m. An elite car for an elite club. ferrari.com
No need to drive your Veyron to the shops – Bugatti’s online store sells apparel from the EB Ettore Bugatti, Bugatti Performance, Chiron and Bugatti Vision GT capsule collections. lifestylebugatti.com
The Outlierman Authentic Race gloves Get a grip behind the wheel with these, handmade in Italy by craftsmen using nappa lambskin. You even get a protective leather case for when the gloves come off. theoutlierman.com
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ACTION
CULTURE PARALLEL UNIVERSES
Forget 3D movies – enjoy some shows set in the fifth dimension
Altered States Season two of The Man In The High Castle comes to Amazon, continuing a past that sees the USA colonised by Nazi Germany and Japan after the Axis Powers win World War II. But other works of fiction ask what would have happened if major world events had ended differently (spoilers ahead)…
Miles Teller goes beyond the call of duty in Bleed For This
For boxing biopic Bleed For This, Miles Teller plays champ Vinny Paz. His fight trainer, Darrell Foster, reveals what it took What’s the key to creating a convincing boxing scene? We teach real fighting, not ‘picture fighting’. When actors show up on set on day one, they’re confident in their ability to fight. Often the director will call for things unrehearsed, so their ability to know the punch sequences allows us to create fights that are realistic on screen, even last-minute ones. Teller’s better known for bookish roles. How did you teach him to box like a champ? We moved directly to ring generalship – knowing who you are in the ring, owning the ring. The first thing I told him was, “You’re going to become Vinny Paz. You have to develop the attitude that it’s yours. The attitude that it’s ‘my house and you don’t belong’.” The transformation he made from ‘training day one’ to ‘shoot day one’ was incredible. You also trained Will Smith for his performance in Ali. Will had to go from 87kg to heavyweight, so training had to be an all-round physical transformation. He was on a professional fighter’s daily regime. We started at 6am and ran five miles, then did intense boxing training. I brought in real, heavyweight boxing pros to train with him. By the time the movie was about to shoot, Will could stand toe to toe with any of them. He learned the intricacies of Ali and could fight for real. But it’s also the psychological aspects of what it means to be a real fighter – the way we walk, hold our hands, the way we stand in public – a lot was character development. When most people think boxing movies, they think Rocky. What’s your opinion? The Rocky movies are about the story, about the underdog triumphing against life’s circumstances. The fight scenes are strictly theatrical, they’re fantasy. They are so preposterous that nobody takes them seriously as real fights.
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TRADING BLOWS
Three actors who pushed themselves to the limit to portray boxers on screen Robert De Niro, Raging Bull (1980) There are many stories surrounding De Niro’s preparation for his classic performance as Jake LaMotta. Most surprising was that he fought three actual boxing bouts in Brooklyn, winning two, and LaMotta was his trainer. Daniel Day Lewis, The Boxer (1997) “Daniel Day Lewis in The Boxer is the best boxing performance I’ve seen,” Foster enthuses. High praise for the star who spent 18 months training with former world featherweight champion Barry McGuigan. Jake Gyllenhaal, Southpaw (2015) Having slimmed down for his previous film, Nightcrawler, Gyllenhaal underwent a brutal regime which included working alongside real fighters in Floyd Mayweather’s gym, resulting in one of cinema’s greatest physical transformations.
War Is Swell Two popular storytellers have rewritten the ending to famous wars. Alan Moore’s Watchmen sees Nixon coast to victory in Vietnam thanks to the help of superheroes. Quentin Tarantino wraps up WWII a lot quicker in Inglourious Basterds, when Brad Pitt and Co assassinate Hitler four years before the real conflict ended.
Dark Pasts Other reimaginings have less fortuitous outcomes. Kim Stanley Robinson’s novel The Years of Rice and Salt chronicles 600 years after the Black Death kills 99 per cent of humanity (instead of a third). Similarly cheery is video game Command & Conquer: Red Alert – Soviet Russia conquers Europe after a time-travel mission halted the Nazis’ rise to power.
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OPEN ROAD FILMS, AMAZON PRIME VIDEO, GETTY IMAGES, WARNER BROS.
RING MASTER
JAMES LUXFORD
FILM
CULTURE
ACTION
CAN ART
DIETMAR KAINRATH
Dietmar Kainrath’s pointed pen
NEW YORK CITY MARATHON, NOVEMBER 6
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CULTURE
THE PLAYLIST TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB
PIXEL POP What do Nicki Minaj, Taylor Swift and Britney Spears have in common? They’ve all released their own mobile games this year. But they are far from the first pop icons to venture into the video-game market…
The Northern Irish indie-rock band are riding a wave of success, but it hasn’t always been so. Originally called Life Without Rory, the trio entered a local band battle and came last. They changed their name to Two Door Cinema Club and recorded Tourist History, the acclaimed debut album which scored lead singer Alex Trimble a solo at the London Olympics opening ceremony. With their third album, Gameshow, about to be released, bassist Kevin Baird reveals his five most important songs. twodoorcinemaclub.com
JOURNEY ESCAPE (1982)
The Specials
At The Drive-In
A Message To You Rudy
Rolodex Propaganda
“I remember this song from being a kid in the back seat of my dad’s car. He literally owned only three or four cassettes: October by U2, a Van Morrison album and The Specials’ debut. I remember going, ‘Please, Dad, play The Specials!’ I just loved the way the guys sang and their accents. It just felt so cool and different. Also, I started playing the trombone because of the trombone solo in this song.”
“This was the soundtrack of my teenage years. Me and my bandmates grew up in a small town in Ireland that wasn’t a general stop on bands’ touring schedules, so instead we watched videos of rock bands like At The Drive-In. We would base our band’s live performances on how they played. This song in particular, I just love the energy and the craziness of it. It taught me a lot about writing songs.”
Tom Petty
Todd Terje
I Won’t Back Down
Ragysh
“He’s one of the best songwriters of all time. Take this song – it’s so uplifting and inspiring, it feels very suitable for the times we live in. There are many musicians who take all the glory for their past work, but Petty has been a great storyteller, varying themes and not rehashing himself throughout his career. He strikes me as someone who still absolutely loves it. In that sense, he’s also a big inspiration.”
“A few years ago, we were playing a festival in the US and James Murphy [LCD Soundsystem] was DJing after us. This track from his set blew my mind and started my passion for Scandinavian spacedisco artist Todd Terje. This nineminute tune is dance music at its best. On the surface, not many changes are happening, but if you hear it in a club, these subtle movements turn into peaks that make you go nuts.”
4 Degrees “I find myself grinding through so much new music that I’ll never come back to, but this song stood out immediately. I love the electronic textures, the way that ANOHNI approaches global warming without being preachy. It’s the most refreshing protest song I’ve heard in a long time. It’s similar to the lyrical approach on our new album, voicing opinions instead of singing about break-ups and having a great time.”
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MICHAEL JACKSON’S MOONWALKER (1989) To promote his bizarre Moonwalker movie, MJ launched this considerably superior video game. Backed by tinny versions of hits like Beat It, he fights through a series of levels to save kids from Joe Pesci’s evil mobster, Mr Big.
THE GADGET BeatBringer
Taking the ghettoblaster into the 21st century, this hardshell backpack houses a high-end audio system with an output of 110 decibels – equal in noise level to a rock concert. Connect your smartphone to this 5.8kg boombox and with 15 hours of sound from one charge, you’ve got enough juice to power your own mobile rave. beatbringer.com
WU TANG: TASTE THE PAIN (1999) Taking the Wu myth – nine rappers obsessed with KungFu films – a Mortal Kombatstyle game based on the clan makes perfect sense. Sadly, it was a critical failure, but is remembered for the controller shaped like the band’s W logo.
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WARNER MUSIC, BEATBRINGER.COM
ANOHNI
Opening this Atari 2600 game with an 8-bit rendition of their hit Don’t Stop Believin’, ’80s group Journey were the first band to star in a video game. The aim is to navigate the band members past paparazzi, groupies and promoters to their space ship.
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ACTION
CULTURE
MY LIFE IN GAMES BILL HARMS
BRAIN TRAINING Get your grey matter into shape with Red Bull Mind Gamers
Mafia III is about history, loyalty and revenge. Harms is its lead writer and here, he reveals the titles that have shaped his own story FIRST GAME I PLAYED: PITFALL 2
Platform game, 1984, Atari 2600 “I was about 14, playing with my neighbour, Mike Linderman, and this game blew our minds. One of the things that made it so memorable was it made me feel I was part of the adventure. There’s a section where you fall off a waterfall and into this cavern – it was so immersive. I felt I was in the game.”
Action-adventure, 2016, PS4, Xbox One, PC, Mac “Mafia III follows the story of Lincoln Clay – an orphan and Vietnam veteran, determined to get revenge on the Italian Mafia after they slaughter the Black Mob, the only family he’s ever known. Set in our New Orleans-inspired fictional city of New Bordeaux in 1968, creating the story has been really interesting – the late ’60s is such a fascinating time in US history, and it’s an honour to take the narrative reins of a franchise with millions of fans.” Out on October 7
MY CURRENT FAVOURITE GAME: THE LONG DARK
HARMS’S TOP TIP “In Mafia III, you have an associate with the ability to kill the phone lines, so use them early and often. This can stop your adversaries calling reinforcements when you’re on the attack, and stop bystanders reporting you to the police.”
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First-person survival, 2014, Steam, Xbox One The play mechanics of this open-world survival simulation are incredible. Deleting your save position adds an amazingly intense element to the whole experience – the very idea of death in a game. It’s a really bold development move and completely changes the way you play the game.
THE GAME I’D TAKE TO A DESERT ISLAND: LEFT 4 DEAD 2
Survival horror, 2009, Xbox 360 The mechanics lend themselves to replayability. You can keep upping the difficulty and there are a number of modes. Plus the characters talk, so I won’t be alone. Also, I love killing zombies.
THE GAME THAT MOST INSPIRED ME: SYSTEM SHOCK 2
Action role-playing, 1999, PC There’s a scene early on where you come across a hanging corpse and it reinforces how bad things are aboard the Von Braun [the starship you’re travelling on]. It really enhances the game’s atmosphere and, as a writer, shows the power of telling a story within the video-game medium. Plus, it’s scary as hell.
The Last Ritual Some of the games, like this Secret of Monkey Island-style point-and-click one, more closely represent physical escape rooms where you have to try and break out.
Mission Unlock Enoch This is the most important test on the Mind Gamers site. Your performance is measured to qualify for a global mindgaming tournament. More info: redbull mindgamers.com
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AMAZON PRIME
MY LATEST GAME: MAFIA III
Streamline Mini-games like this Snake-style maze puzzler have been created by games studios and experts at MIT to test your mental agility. Score skill points and map a graph of your mind.
p ro m ot i o n
Must-haves! 1
1 TAG HEUER LEGEnd AcETATE TAG Heuer Avant-Garde Eyewear has developed a unique hinge: the Legend. Inspired by the bracelets of Swiss watches, it combines great design with durability. With its built-in and integrated mechanism, the 316L stainless steel hinge decorates a discreet and understated design. Inspired by TAG Heuer watchmaking DNA, the Legend is strongly recognizable and became a major hinge signature of the brand. Vintage looking and avant-garde feeling, the Legend Acetate collection will go beyond your limits and provide ergonomics, comfort and attitude. No matter the stress of the business world, no matter the speed of urban lifestyle, the Legend Acetate will always keep you on top and never crack under pressure. Price POA.
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www.tagheuer.com
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2 LExAR jUmpdRivE c20i I can charge your phone and move data between Apple devices and PC. What am i? I‘m Lexar‘s JumpDrive C20i Lightning USB 3.0 flash drive. The JumpDrive C20i looks like a regular charging cable for an Apple device, except that it is far more. It is actually a high-speed flash drive capable of expanding the memory of your Apple device. Choose from 16GB to 128GB of storage. The C20i plugs directly into your Apple device with a Lightning connector on one end and into your PC using the USB 3.0 connector on the other. You are able to transfer, copy and playback your movies, photos and much more directly from the flash drive. RRP 32GB R999.
www.lexar.com
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3 TomoTom spARk cARdio TomTom Spark Cardio + Music 3 & TomTom Runner Cardio + Music 3: now equipped with Route Exploration. Easily explore new trails and find your way back, no matter where your run takes you. These GPS Sports Watches are launching with brand new, slimmer, sleeker straps in a range of colours to wear every day, while still ready to take on even the toughest workouts. RRP R2299.
www.tomtom.com 4 vicToRinox AiRBoss BLAck EdiTion RELIABLE. RIGOROUS. RESOLUTE. Modern, sandblasted PVD in dark matt, making a collection debut, is the trio’s fil rouge. This marks a double family first by combining a metal case with a bracelet in exactly the same material and finish. A three-hand model and two chronographs make up the series. Their common language is clarity. RRP R15 250.
www.victorinox.com 5 BiLLABonG pLATinUm x PFA a pair of Platinum X Performance boardshorts: • Tribong X Havannah – 19” • 19” performance fit • tri panel cut and sew • patch pocket • logo transfer • signature athlete style Retail Price: R899.95 Available online at www.swindle.co.za
www.billabong.com
ACTION
“The track is rough, it’s cruel. It’s so heavy, it’s really demanding on your body” Jeffrey Herlings, Double MX2 world champion
Red Bull Knock Out is the toughest and biggest beach race in the world
WHAT’S ON IN NOVEMBER
LIVING IN THE FAST LANE
From racing cars and bikes, to the thrills of skiing the world’s best powder, to the highs and lows of the eSports industry – it’s all on Red Bull TV this month
RED BULL KNOCK OUT LIVE NOVEMBER 19 Fifteen hundred motocross racers gather for the ultimate beach race at The Hague in the Netherlands. Attracting thousands of fans, this epic annual event sees The Hague’s beach transformed into a 5km long track, helping both pro and amateur riders reach speeds of up to 200kph.
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CULTURE RED BULL TV HIGHLIGHTS
RED BULL BATTLE GROUNDS: STREET FIGHTER V LIVE NOVEMBER 6
Following the Street Fighter V final, this two-hour aftershow will feature the most popular players in the Fighting Game Community, with commentary of the final battles and post-match interviews.
SHADES OF WINTER: BETWEEN MOVIE PREMIERES NOVEMBER 14
WATCH RED BULL TV ANYWHERE Red Bull TV is a new global, multi-platform channel that features inspirational and entertaining programming beyond the ordinary. Available across devices, watch Red Bull TV anytime, anywhere.
To learn more, visit redbull.tv
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RUTGER PAUW/RED BULL CONTENT POOL (2), JARNO SCHURGERS/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, GARTH MILAN/ RED BULL CONTENT POOL, MATTIAS HARGIN, DAVID CLANCY, ULRICH GRILL/RED BULL CONTENT POOL
Sandra Lahnsteiner returns in her third Shades of )Winter feature, which tells the story of some of the world’s best female freeskiers, including Lahnsteiner herself, Janina Kuzma and Julia Mancuso.
DRIVING DIRTY: BAJA 1000 DOCUMENTARY NOVEMBER 11
Five wildly diverse desert race teams risk money, machinery and personal safety as they prepare for, and race in, the toughest off-road event in North America.
MCCONKEY MOVIE NOVEMBER 20
Shane McConkey is a revered pioneer of freeskiing and ski-BASE jumping. This film is a heartfelt examination of the late athlete’s legacy and celebrates the life of one of skiing’s ultimate innovators.
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EVENTS SAVE THE DATE More sporting and musical highlights coming your way this month
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November Red red wine
December 2-9 Year-end raging Plettenberg Bay, Western Cape The annual Plett Rage student festival rolls back into the Southern Cape coastal town of Plettenberg Bay and you know what that means… It’s the start of the summer holidays and a licence for Mzanzi’s students to go absolutely ballistic in their quest to be the most hedonistic party animal on show. Acts confirmed so far include Goldfish, Sketchy Bongo, ShortStraw, PH Fat and Grimehouse. Ous are going to be jolling. plettrage.co.za
November 5 Tame the beast
November 6 Racing ahead Soweto
The Wedge, Johannesburg
Organisers want to turn the Soweto Marathon into an event as iconic as the ones in Boston, New York, London and Berlin. And why the hell not? The route passes some of the finest heritage sites in Soweto – home of course to two Nobel Peace Prize winners, Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu, who both lived in the same street. Known as The People’s Race, 25,000 runners are expected to take part. sowetomarathon.com
The Beast Challenge is a series of obstacle races across the country. The races can be savagely gruelling, but they’re primarily about getting active and dirty and having some fun with likeminded, active loons such as yourself. The Beast includes off-road running, climbing, crawling and sliding your way across various obstacles. The categories are: Tame Beast, Wild Beast and – toughest of them all – the Savage. thebeastchallenge.co.za
November 4-6 Grape escape Western Cape From the foot of the Helderberg mountains at Lourensford Wine Estate just outside Somerset West, the Wines2Whales mountain bike race will see riders cross 13 wineries, 26 farms and some big mountains before finishing at the Onrus caravan park three days later. The finish is just down the drag from Hermanus’s famous whales. It’s nail-bitingly tough and covers some spectacular terrain. wines2whales.co.za
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You’d jump for joy after 26 miles
20 November Jozi rides
The highveld’s massparticipation Sunday bike race, the 947 Cycle Challenge, will see some of the busiest roads in Jozi closed as up to 30,000 riders take to the streets. Get down there for an epic atmosphere. cyclechallenge.co.za
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November Park jol The summer concert series is back and there will once again be shows at many of SA’s picturesque botanical spots. Zimbabwean star Jah Prayzah is one highlight. webtickets.co.za
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JOHN-HENRY BARTLETT, TOBIAS GINSBERG, JETLINE ACTION PHOTO
Feel the noise and rock out in style at Plett Rage
UK reggae stars UB40 pull in for another tour of SA. On Saturday the 12th they’re at the Dome in Northgate Jozi and before that are in Durbs and Cape Town. They’re old, but they still rock. bigconcerts. computicket.com
ACTION
HOW TO
DISAPPEAR COMPLETELY
Take yourself off the grid with tips from the man who can track you down Frank M Ahearn has a very special set of skills. He’s a professional ‘skip tracer’, hunting down fugitives by the clues they’ve left. It’s a talent he can put into reverse – helping high-net-worth clients simply vanish. It doesn’t require disguises or hacking, just a skilful mind and the ability to cut loose friends, family and colleagues. “Assume your predator is here with you now – live as if they’re around the corner,” says the author of How To Disappear. “I teach my clients how to accomplish things without creating connections.” Now he’s going to teach you.
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To lose yourself, first find yourself
“Disappearing is about being a strategist. Step outside yourself – look at the life you’re leaving behind and the things that will lead a predator to you. Six months ago, what did you search for on the internet? What habits do you have? What are your mannerisms? Change anything that could make people curious about you. Don’t walk around looking like you’re from Miami when you’re actually in the west of Ireland. And if you’re in a rowdy bar, don’t act like a wallflower – be rowdy.”
EDDIE LAWRENCE
MARK THOMAS
2
The getaway
“Don’t travel with all your tools, because what will happen if you lose them? Prepaid phone, prepaid debit card, major ID, those are the essentials. You can buy clothes. If you have a passport and driver’s licence, carry one and ship the other. If you’re not running from the government, you don’t need a new identity. Get pulled over with a fake ID, loads of cash or 75 prepaid debit cards and law enforcement are going to find that suspicious.”
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3
Leave a trail of breadcrumbs
The art of disappearing is disinformation – it doesn’t have to be believable, but it has to be findable. In one case, the predator was my client’s husband. I stuffed her wallet with euros and dropped it in a hotel in Paris knowing that someone would hand it in. Bingo – her husband is hunting my client down in Paris and she’s tucked away in Lisbon. Keep them busy with fake information or they’ll find real information.”
4
Minimise your footprint
“Wherever you go there’s going to be a trace; the key is leaving the fewest traces and breaking the connection between each step. Don’t walk in Times Square – take a taxi, reduce the number of people who can see you. If you run into someone you know, tell them you’re heading to Belgium in two days. If they post it on Facebook, you’re spreading more disinformation.”
5
Live off social transactions
“You still have to operate in the world, but it’s how you manipulate situations to accomplish this that matters. People think pay-as-you-go phones are anonymous – they’re not. Walk into a store and a camera captures the transaction. Instead, find some homeless guy and say, ‘Here’s 100 bucks, go buy me a prepaid phone.’ They make the physical transaction, their picture’s on the camera, you have no connection to the phone.”
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12 months + Red Bull Racing 2016 Team Cap (valued at R299) all for only R228 (R19 per issue). SUBSCRIBE NOW to the men’s active lifestyle magazine
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FORMULA WATCH IN THE GLAMOROUS, HI-TECH WORLD OF FORMULA ONE, THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SUCCESS AND FAILURE IS MEASURED IN HUNDREDTHS OF A SECOND. LITTLE WONDER, THEN, THAT F1 HAS FORGED LINKS WITH THE MAKERS OF CUTTING-EDGE TIMEPIECES… EDITED BY GISBERT L BRUNNER
CHARLES COATES/GETTY IMAGES/RED BULL CONTENT POOL
DANIEL RICCIARDO RED BULL RB12 2016 AUSTRIAN GRAND PRIX
TAG TEAM
Tag Heuer Formula 1 Red Bull Edition Official F1 timekeeper from 1992 to 2002, Tag Heuer partners the Red Bull Racing team. This stainlesssteel chronograph, accurate to a 10th of a second, celebrates the relationship. tagheuer.com THE RED BULLETIN
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FO R M U L A WATC H
SPORTING ICON
Porsche 1919 Chronotimer While it has always championed sportscar racing over F1, Porsche is a true motorsport legend. It also makes stylish watches such as this, with its titanium case and self-winding movement. porsche-design.com
RACING SMART
Fitbit Blaze This is the smartwatch you need when your adrenalin surges into the danger zone during a grand prix. It syncs with your smartphone to put text messages, pulse-rate info and more on your wrist. fitbit.com
EXTREME MACHINE
Oris Williams Chronograph Carbon Fibre Extreme This watch’s name is a reference to Oris’ long-standing partnership with the Williams F1 team. It has a patented durable carbon-fibre case and a self-winding movement. oris.ch
TRUE BRIT
Bremont ALT1-C/PB F1-level precision is writ large in this British chronograph. Each automatic movement must pass the official Swiss chronometer test before it can go into the 43mm stainless steel case. bremont.com
VALTTERI BOTTAS WILLIAMS FW38 2016 AUSTRIAN GRAND PRIX
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RED BULL CONTENT POOL, FERRARI MEDIA
DATA STREAM
Samsung Gear S2 x Atelier Mendini Anyone wearing this smartwatch will be kept right up-to-date, even during the heat of racing action. Compatible apps send notifications – about F1, for example – to its colour display. samsung.com
FO R M U L A WATC H
JOLYON PALMER RENAULT R.S.16 2016 GERMAN GRAND PRIX
LAP RECORDER
Bell & Ross BR-X1 RS16 Made in partnership with the Renault Sport F1 team, this chronograph – a limited edition of 250 – has a 45mm case made from carbon fibre, rubber, titanium and ceramic. bellross.com
LEFT TURN
Nixon 51-30 Chrono Lap timing is no problem with this striking timepiece, which is waterresistant to 30 bar. And with its buttons on the opposite side to most chronographs, it’s ideal for the left-handed. nixon.com
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HIGH FLIER
Richard Mille RM 011-02 Flyback Chronograph Dual Time The ultra-luxe Swiss firm has signed up to a 10-year partnership with McLaren-Honda F1. The RM 011-02 features a stopwatch, large date and dual time-zones. richardmille.com
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FO R M U L A WATC H
LEWIS HAMILTON MERCEDES F1 W07 HYBRID 2016 AUSTRIAN GRAND PRIX
TOUR DE FORCE
Tissot T-Race Tour de France 2016 Special Edition This year, the official timekeeper for MotoGP also signed a deal with the Tour de France. The multifunctional T-Race would cut a dash at any racetrack. tissotwatches.com
LEADING LIGHT
FEAT OF ENGINEERING IWC Ingenieur Chronograph W125 Limited to 750 pieces, this watch from IWC and partner Mercedes F1 pays homage to the Silver Arrows of the 1930s. The new, in-house 69370 self-winding calibre with columnwheel control sits in a 42mm titanium case. iwc.com
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MILES AHEAD
Chopard Mille Miglia GTS Automatic Speed Black Chopard is synonymous with motorsport, and this limited edition of 1,000 pays homage to the classic Italian race. The steel case has a very durable DLC coating. chopard.com THE RED BULLETIN
MARK THOMPSON/GETTY IMAGES, GEPA PICTURES/RED BULL CONTENT POOL
Luminox F-22 Raptor 9249 This chronograph is all about velocity – the tachymeter scale is ideal for calculating average speeds. The watch has a quartz movement, titanium case and is water-resistant to 20 bar. luminox.com
FO R M U L A WATC H
FULL MONTE
ITALIAN STALLION
Tudor Heritage Chrono Blue The Tudor Monte Carlo of the early ’70s serves as inspiration for this stainless-steel automatic chronograph, which channels the heritage of F1’s most glamorous grand prix. tudorwatch.com
Hublot Big Bang Ferrari Speciale Ceramic Hublot has teamed up with an iconic marque. You can see it in the red elements, yellow date display and horse motif on this chronograph, which has a ceramic case. hublot.com
SPORTS STAR
Rolex Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona Named after one of the world’s most famous sportscar races, this watch from F1’s official timekeepers has an automatic movement and a scratchproof Cerachrom bezel. rolex.com
TIME’S ARROW
Swatch Sistem51 Irony Arrow F1 is all about making everything as light and functional as possible; likewise the Sistem51 Irony, with a single screw attaching the rotor to the movement. The new Arrow model exudes that driver look. swatch.com THE RED BULLETIN
SEBASTIAN VETTEL FERRARI SF16-H F1 TEST, BARCELONA 2016 97
MAKES YOU FLY
Fifteen of the Alps’ steepest slopes, all of them on peaks higher than 4,000m. For his freeski documentary La Liste, Swiss skier Jérémie Heitz (the dot in the picture above) created a wish list of extreme trails he wanted to take on – then mastered every one of them. The resulting film is an homage to tackling 55° inclines at 120kph. Watch La Liste on Red Bull TV on November 5
Freeskier Jérémie Heitz, 27, speeds down near-vertical slopes at 120kph
THE NEXT ISSUE OF THE RED BULLETIN IS OUT ON NOVEMBER 8 THE RED BULLETIN IS AVAILABLE AT THE FOLLOWING STORES AND OUTLETS: PICK N PAY | SPORTSCENE | DUE SOUTH | MUSICA | BILLABONG | VANS | QUIKSILVER | AIRPORTS 98
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TERO REP/LA LISTE
BRUNEGGHORN, SWITZERLAND JUNE 6, 2016
“I’m looking for luck, not risk”
JHB 56348/OJ
As seen on DStv
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