ISSUE 63 - Adventure & Exploration by The Essential Journal

MAY 2022 ISSUE 63

FA S H I O N - L I F E S T Y L E - C U LT U R E

WOW! ACTION MAN REALLY TALKS...

BATTERIES NOT INCLUDED. PAGE 58

BILLIONAIRE BOYS CLUB X NOVELIST PAGE 32 ESSENTIALJOURNAL.CO.UK

MARK BILLINGHAM PAGE 50

IXTA BELFRAGE PAGE 82

CONTENTS

ISSUE SIXTY-THREE 6 THE EDITOR'S NOTE // 9-21 THE PRIMER 25 SOLOVAIR // 27-31 THRUDARK 32-33 NOVELIST X BILLIONAIRE BOYS CLUB 35-37 MISSONI // 38-39 JÖTTNAR // 40-41 VOLLEBAK 42-43 PIP STEWART // 44-45 BEN FOGLE 46-49 ED STAFFORD // 50-54 MARK BILLINGHAM 56-57 HOLLY BUDGE // 58-66 ALDO KANE

67-68 JOHN RONEY // 69-72 ED JACKSON 74-75 WATCHES & WONDERS // 77-79 LA MARZOCCO 81-91 CULINARY EXPLORATION // 92-98 THE COLUMNS

THE ESSENTIAL JOURNAL STAFF publisher

editor

creative director

lead designer

ESSENTIAL STUDIO

JAI MCINTOSH

THOMAS SUMNER

EVIE FRIAR

essentialstudio.co.uk

j.mcintosh@essentialstudio.co.uk

t.sumner@essentialstudio.co.uk

e.friar@essentialstudio.co.uk

partnership manager

SAM DYSON

s.dyson@essentialstudio.co.uk

ESSENTIALJOURNAL.CO.UK // @ESSENTIALJOURNAL

contributors Ashley Caldwell // Gestalten & Grace Banks // Fjallraven // Solovair Louis Tinsley & Staz - Thrudrak // Novelist // Tom O'Donoghue // Jack Finnigan Thomas Kelly - Jöttnar // Nick Tidball - Vollebak // Pip Stewart // Ben Fogle Ed Stafford // Mark Billingham // Holly Budge // Aldo Kane // John Roney Ed Jackson // David M. Robinson // La Marzocco // Lisa Lawson // Nathan Retzer Estelle Bright // Scott James // Ollie Sears // Laura Chamberlain // Will Pitts Oliver Worley // Daniel Say // Mel Dabbs // Ixta Belfrage // Nieves Barragán John & Desiree Chantarasak // Harriet Mansell // Andrew Clarke & Daniel Watkins Evie Friar // Issy Ross // Cameron Robson // James Blake

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THOMAS SUMNER

THE EDITOR'S NOTE

interview

JAI MCINTOSH

THE COVER IMAGE

SO SHUT UP, LIVE, TRAVEL, ADVENTURE, BLESS, AND DON’T BE SORRY. Jack Kerouac

THE EDITOR'S NOTE

pictured

ALDO KANE photographed by

JACK FINNIGAN

CLIFTON OBSERVATORY BRISTOL direction

THOMAS SUMNER interview

JAI MCINTOSH

Welcome to EJ63.

THE COVER IMAGE

pictured

JAI MCINTOSH EDITOR

location

Tackling the theme of adventure and exploration has not been an easy endeavour. Consider, just for a moment, the ambiguities inherent in the phrase. It became clear early on that adventure and exploration are themes that appear time and again in almost every aspect of society, both historically and in the contemporary. The need to push boundaries, explore new avenues, and direct the future adventurously, is something every age requires if progress is desired. Therefore, this issue is not just about those that explore the planet we call home, although a lot of them do appear in this issue, naturally. This issue is home to people who are going that one step beyond, overcoming adversity, and forging new paths within their own world. There are myriad stories within these pages, hopefully you will stumble across some inspiration along the journey. This time, we are indulging in the cliché. We are going on an adventure, are you game?

THE PRIMER

FIVE IN FIVE

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THE PRIMER

WHAT WE'RE READING

FILMMAKERS ON FILM: HOW THEY CREATE, CRAFT AND COMMUNICATE David Jenkins’ intricate and detailed text is a thorough exploration and celebration of the most innovative multihyphenates working in film. Through a curated selection of quotations, images and interviews, Filmmakers on Film reveals what matters most to the masters, chronicling how the giants of filmmaking - from David Lynch to Agnès Varda - developed their distinctive visual styles, the core ideas that underpin their practice and, most importantly, what their films mean to you.

THE PRIMER

3 AC After watching the 2006 Olympics, my parents actually encouraged me to combine my gymnastics skills and my skiing skills, as I had been doing both since the age of three. They thought that my height would be slightly problematic for a gymnastics career, so I went to a summer camp and just fell in love with it. It was pretty easy from that point for me to consider pursuing it seriously. The first summer camp I did was for mobile skiing, but I was not quite good enough for that! My acrobatic skills were really strong so I ended up being encouraged into that. Then having attempted some of the tricks in water, I knew I had to do it. EJ You have an incredible World Cup track record, with six individual wins and eleven individual podiums in an eight season career. You were also the youngest freestyle female winner in 2011 - how do you maintain motivation?

Every win is more motivating for sure, I always want to push myself as hard as I can and see what I am capable of. Also, the unsuccessful competitions are motivating, so learning from loss is equally important.

WHO WE'RE TALKING TO

UPON THE PODIUM Ashley Caldwell is one of the most successful women in U.S. aerial skiing history. With a collection of world championship medals to make anyone jealous, Ashley went that one step further and managed to secure a gold medal in this year's 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. We caught up with Ashley to discuss her sporting career and how she was able to overcome major injuries to regain her position at the top of the field. EJ In the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, as part of Team USA, you won a gold medal in the mixed team aerials, how did that feel? AC Winning gold with my team felt incredible. I have been working so hard to get an Olympic medal with it being my fourth Olympic games. It felt so good to stand on that podium and reflect on the successes and failures that have got me to this point. EJ Having trained at Apex Gymnastics in Virginia, what inspired you to push your boundaries and take what you had learned in gymnastics and explore a career in aerial skiing?

EJ Having suffered from back to back ACL tears, missing the 2012 and 2013 competitive seasons, you built yourself back up to then become the first female skier to land a quadruple twisting triple back flip at the 2017 World Championships. What encouraged you to attempt a trick that no female skier had done before? AC You saying it out loud, it sounds crazy. When I first tore my ACL I thought “there are loads of athletes who have torn an ACL and won gold later down the line”. When I tore my ACL for the second time it really upset me, I thought I would lose my chance though I'd had a really successful rehab period and felt like I was bouncing back stronger than ever. My motivation came from dreaming about being the first woman to land that trick. Tough times combined with an ongoing dream is the ultimate motivation. EJ What does the rest of 2022 look like for you? AC Right now I still feel like I am on the post Olympic high, so it has been kind of challenging to think too far into the future as I am just enjoying the moment. If I stick around in the sport, then I want to continue to push boundaries and become the first woman to land more tricks. It is hard to make those claims before you have started trying but it is important to believe.

IMAGE COURTESY OF ASHLEY CALDWELL

AC I love what I do. It is incredibly fun to challenge yourself and push the limits of whatever you're doing, especially in the sport you love so much, it is really rewarding. I get to travel the world with my friends who also love doing what they do. Surrounding yourself with supportive people who at once encourage and challenge you is the best thing you can do.

THE PRIMER

THE PRIMER Art Escapes Hidden Art Experiences Outside the Museum

EDITORS gestalten & Grace Banks Full colour, hardcover, stitch bound, 304 pages 21 × 26 cm Available now

WHAT'S ON OUR COFFEE TABLE

ART ESCAPES: HIDDEN ART EXPERIENCES OUTSIDE THE MUSEUM London-born, culture and current affairs editor and journalist Grace Banks has cultivated the ideal book for those looking to step outside the gallery and rediscover the creative outdoors with these in-situ artworks that turn locations into must-see cultural destinations. Art Escapes explores exciting art outside conventional spaces, freely available for those willing to discover creativity on another plane. From the Italian countryside via the Utah desert to the forests of Finland and beyond, Culture Editor Grace Banks offers a list for art lovers seeking unique experiences.

THE PRIMER

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO

SHAWANDA CORBETT Shawanda Corbett has been exciting and enticing lovers of film, art, and science fiction through her variety of exhibitions, films, and studies. This exhibition will focus on her film Cyborg Theory: The Adequacy of Tenderness to Our Antipathy, which attempts to understand and analyse cyborg theory and the ethics of artificial intelligence. Corbett has also written an accompanying jazz score that compliments all the facets of the exhibition, from dancers, ceramics, set design, and the exhibition space. Art Now is a free series of exhibitions as part of the Tate’s commitment to shining a light on important emerging British artists.

THE PRIMER

6 WHAT WE'VE BEEN WATCHING

In 2015, collaborative director duo Daniels had a ridiculous idea: to make a film about the multiverse. Seven years later, Everything Everywhere All At Once burst onto the film festival circuit with a much-applauded premiere at SXSW. A concept so wickedly complex which asks a general audience to believe in the expansive multiverse theory would have suffered, one can’t help but think, if it had come out upon its conception. However, with bigger franchises *cough* Marvel *cough* introducing the concept of The Multiverse to box office audiences, Everything Everywhere All At Once wholly appears to benefit. Michelle Yeoh’s solid portrayal of Evelyn, an exhausted laundromat owner at odds with her charismatic husband (the wonderful Ke Huy Quan), her lesbian daughter (Stephanie Hsu), and proud father (James Hong) is both hilarious and deeply moving in every universe we meet her in. Everyone involved in the film clearly had an extremely good time being a part of it. A personal best at the box office for distribution company A24, Everything Everywhere All At Once is a domineering beast for independent filmmaking and it arrived in British cinemas this last week to audiences with monumental expectations. With philosophy from Phil Collins to Satre, references from In The Mood for Love to Ratatouille, Everything Everywhere is bursting with excitement, humour, and laundry bags. There are so many moments when this film could implode, cave in on itself with the sheer force of its ideas, but it remains solid and consistent, grounded by a simple and timeless story: the ever-changing, ever-evolving bond between a woman and her family.

ARTWORK JAMES JEAN / A24

EVERYTHING, EVERYWHERE, ALL AT ONCE

THE PRIMER

PHOTOGRAPHY MAUREEN M. EVANS

THE PRIMER

A RECIPE FROM KIN THAI: MODERN THAI RECIPES TO COOK AT HOME by JOHN CHANTARASAK £22 HARDIE GRANT

WHAT WE'RE COOKING

YUM MAKHUA YAO

PRIK BON TOASTED CHILLI POWDER

SMOKY AUBERGINE SALAD WITH SOFT-BOILED EGG SERVES 2 4 tbsp dried shrimp 1 large egg, at room temperature 2 long purple Japanese aubergines or 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced 2 makrut lime leaves finely shredded 4 tbsp coriander leaves 3 tbsp 3 mint leaves

METHOD Light a charcoal grill or preheat an indoor grill, if using. To make the dressing, mix all the ingredients together in a pestle and mortar until the sugar has completely dissolved. It will taste spicy, sweet and sour with a salty finish. Set aside. To prepare the shrimp, pound the dried shrimp in a stone pestle and mortar until a floss-like texture is achieved. Alternatively, use a spice grinder or small food processor to achieve a light flossed texture. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks if making a larger quantity. Bring a small saucepan of water to the boil and cook the egg to your liking. I prefer an egg with a fudgy yolk, so I boil mine for 6 minutes before plunging it into a bowl of iced water. Once cool enough to handle, peel the egg and set aside for later. Barbecue the aubergines over hot coals, or over the highest flame on your hob, or under a very hot grill. The skins need to be completely blackened so the flesh inside becomes soft and tender with a smoky flavour. Leave until cool enough to handle, then peel off the blackened skins and discard. Roughly chop the aubergine flesh while still warm and arrange on a serving plate. Combine the sliced onion, makrut lime leaves, coriander and mint in a medium bowl with the dressing. Gently toss the salad together and arrange over the aubergine, then pour over any remaining dressing. Halve the soft-boiled egg and place on top of the salad. Finish by generously sprinkling with the shrimp floss.

This condiment and seasoning powder is beloved throughout 200g dried long red Thailand for flavouring salad chillies, seeded dressings, dipping sauces, soups, stir-fries and curries. 25g dried bird’s Thai’s love for prik bon is so eye chillies ingrained in their eating culture that this ubiquitous toasted chilli powder is found on all dining tables, from homes to streetfood vendors and restaurants. Shop-bought crushed dried chilli flakes or chilli powder are fine to use, but you won’t get the same depth of flavour as you do when you dry-toast the chillies yourself until blistered, smoky and charred.

Makes 200g

METHOD Dry-toast the dried long red chillies in a wok over a medium heat for 10 minutes, moving them around frequently so that the chillies colour evenly and darken. Some black blistering and charring is good for flavour, but too much will cause the final chilli powder to become dark and bitter. Remove from the wok and repeat the process for the bird’s eye chillies, this time cooking for 5 minutes. Blitz the chillies in a hand-held blender or spice grinder to a powder of your chosen texture. I prefer my prik bon with a little more texture than shop-bought chilli powder, more like that of sand. Be careful not to blitz any of the chilli seeds that have fallen out of the chillies and become burnt and blackened while toasting, as these will be bitter. Store in an airtight container away from direct sunlight for up to two months.

2 tbsp 1 tbsp 1½ tbsp 2 tbsp 1 tsp

For the salad dressing (nahm yum) palm sugar water fish sauce lime juice toasted chilli powder

Traditionally, this salad, which hails from Isaan, is made using long green aubergines. These specific aubergines are hard to come by on British shores so I look out for the long purple aubergines (known as Japanese aubergines) that are sometimes available, but you can also make this salad using the widely available regular Italian aubergines. The aubergines become smoky and luxurious by barbecuing (grilling) over hot coals, but you can replicate this effect by charring them over your gas hob or under a hot grill (broiler). Just be sure to cook them directly over a very high heat to blacken and blister their skins while keeping the insides moist and juicy.

THE PRIMER

WHAT WE'RE LISTENING TO

'UNTIDY SOUL' SAMM HENSHAW A covert nod to the notions of selfhood, identity, and personal meaning, South-London’s Samm Henshaw is bringing a sweet bite of American soul, a collaborative blend of gospel, jazz and blues, to the undertones of contemporary London. Featuring Tobe Nwigwe, Keyon Harrold, and Maverick Sabre, Henshaw’s self-reflexive themes are offset by the rasping vocals and pseudo-Paak instrumentals. Having broken onto the music scene in early 2015, the wait for his debut album has been a laborious one. However, we think it has been worth the wait. @SAMMHENSHAW

THE PRIMER

WHERE WE’RE EATING

LUCKY FOOT, MANCHESTER Birds, Birds, Birds.

@LUCKY-LUCKYFOOT

Following the success of Belzan and Madre, the Lucky Foot team has opened a permanent space in Manchester’s Escape to Freight Island. With the strapline 'Free Range Birds, First Class Serves', one is left with little confusion as to what they are serving; fried chicken. Offering customers a variety of incredible bird-based beauties including the Hen Solo, a chicken sandwich consisting of chicken thighs, romaine lettuce, gochujang mayo, chilli crunch, cheese, and pickled cucumbers. This goes beyond finger lickin’ good to lip smackingly delicious.

THE PRIMER

10 THE FJALLRAVEN KEB JACKET & KEB TROUSERS AVAILABLE AT FJALLRAVEN.COM

WHAT WE'RE WEARING

FJALLRAVEN KEB JACKET & TROUSERS

Fjallraven Keb Trousers The Fjallraven Keb Trousers are the pinnacle of technical outdoor trekking trousers. They are functional, rugged, cut to perfection, and built to last. They are a trusted ally for the most decorated adventurers and explorers, such as Aldo Kane, Steve Backshall and Jason Fox, and for good reason too. Fjallraven’s technically advanced G-1000 Eco fabric and waxed exterior make the trousers highly weather resistant, extremely durable and the zippered vents allow for easy cooling whilst on the move. The stretch fabric on the waistband and back of the legs also allows for ease of movement, making them equally as suitable for rock climbing and scrambling. From the Arctic tundra to the desert and jungle, the Fjallraven Keb Trousers are a one-stop shop for those looking to explore a multitude of climates and environments. The craftsmanship is truly unparalleled; beautifully crafted to protect you against the elements. You can’t go far wrong with the Fjallraven Keb Trousers. Fjallraven Keb Jacket The counterpart to the highly esteemed and award-winning trousers, comes the Fjallraven Keb Jacket. Similar to the trousers, the jacket is extremely versatile, abrasion resistant, and weatherproof. The G-1000 Eco fabric is made of 65% recycled polyester, with 35% organic cotton used on the high-wear areas. Fjallraven’s Greenland Wax enhances protection from the wind and rain without jeopardising the overall breathability of the jacket. During the summer months, simply pop it in the wash to reset its breathable qualities. The recycled polyamide stretch fabric also promotes freedom of movement. Equally, opting for durability over weight makes the Keb Jacket a great asset for mountaineers, climbers and scramblers, in all weather conditions. There’s no surprise that it’s a long-time favourite among adventurers all over the world.

THE PRIMER

WITH YOU ALL THE WAY

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MADE TO MEASURE

READY TO WEAR

S LU •MW M IENR FAL TER S ARTO LUXU RYTAI LO R I N G .CO.U K

SOLOVAIR URBAN HIKER BOOT ONE THING DONE WELL

SOLOVAIR URBAN HIKER BOOT WORDS BY JAI MCINTOSH

The world of outerwear is vast. Filled with a plethora of products that range from elite mountain wear to hybrid lifestyle options for the casual explorer. Whatever adventure you’re looking to undertake, it is essential to get your choice of footwear on point. After a lengthy discussion at EJ HQ, the team landed on the conclusion that the Solovair Urban Hiker Boot is the standout lifestyle boot built for urban exploration. Solovair are steeped in heritage, with roots developed back in the early 1880s and a love of domestic production that has maintained to this day.

entirely in Britain. The Black Greasy comprises a black greasy leather upper with a leather and synthetic lining complimented by a soft suspension classic sole. The Gaucho Crazy Horse differs slightly with a brown waxy leather upper, coupled with a slightly distressed look with the same classic sole as the Black Greasy.

Available in two colourways, the Black Greasy and the Gaucho Crazy Horse - amazing names, we know - Solovair have crafted a durable yet stylish boot made

Both boots are Goodyear welted and designed based on Solovair’s classic 5400 modelling. One of the unique aspects of these boots is that, due to the creation process

and materials used, there is an individuality and personality to each pair. Solovair have created a pair of durable urban boots with a lasting aesthetic that ensures both quality and style remain throughout their cycle of use. With nearly 150 years of experience and quality craftsmanship, Solovair’s Urban Hiker Boots will not let you down.

UK.NPS-SOLOVAIR.COM

N E W L I V E R P O O L S H OW R O O M O P E N I N G A P R I L 2 02 2 LO N D O N

LIVERPOOL

MANCHESTER

A LT R I N C H A M

THRUDARK ESSENTIAL INTRODUCTIONS

THRUDARK WORDS JAI MCINTOSH

THRUDARK ESSENTIAL INTRODUCTIONS

As outerwear continues to evolve, the need for clothing to be able to function within the most extreme environments at all times is now a necessity. It has always been understood that clothing and equipment is the first line of defence. Louis Tinsley and Staz, former Special Forces now Co-Founders of ThruDark, are making it their mission to push clothing to the absolute limit. I sat down with the both of them in their Thrudark freight container to dig beneath the surface of one of the world’s toughest clothing brands. JAI Before we introduce the brand, I wanted to ask, to what extent has the idea and reality of exploration played a part in your lives both personally and professionally? LT For me, exploration is looking to see what is on the horizon. If you spend all your time looking at your feet you’re not going to be able to see as much. We have always had our eyes on the horizon.

JAI Who are ThruDark? LT We are an aspirational high performance outerwear brand. Staz and I are very lead-from-the-front. We wanted to inspire other people to get outside and to do things out of the ordinary. Not only that, but to do it to the best level they possibly can and beyond. It is that relentless pursuit of excellence which is something bred into you in the Special Forces, always looking to improve on the day before. JAI Louis has previously stated “As UK Special Forces Operators, we were equipped with the highest specification kit and clothing for the operation at hand. That said, we were always critical of the way it performed and we are at the forefront of developing it to meet our demands”.

formance. That’ll do, will never do”. What does the process of garment testing involve?

LT In the Special Forces you get the best possible kit. The budget is huge so whatever the lads want, they tend to get it, the Special Forces require that. The best brands we used such as Arc'teryx and others were great but they were not built for the highest level military environments. They were often outdoor jackets with a colour changed and placed in our military environment which meant few brands could provide a product with the durability to stand up to the test and task at hand. Staz and I are hypercritical of every brand; we are always trying to pull things apart and make things better.

LT When we started the company we were doing everything. We wanted to learn more about the step-by-step production and post-production process as every stage was crucially important. Due to us being so involved for so long, we were and are now able to critique every aspect of the design and production process which is uncommon in other brands who shift a product between various departments. That is why our kit is so good because of our experiences and involvement. Out of all the kit I have ever had, I have broken pretty much all of it because we push our kit to the furthest extent. We do this to work out how to stop this happening, which makes our clothing better.

ST The very first time Louis and I met back in 2006, we both joined the 40 Commando Royal Marines; we both joined the Bravo Company, and luckily enough, within that company it was us, Ant Middleton, and others still actively serving. Straight away we went out on mountain training exercises; this is a notorious practise within the Royal Marines. It is pretty fucking grim. You’re up to Scotland for two weeks, the military takes the fun out of things, huge backpacks, grim conditions, and the clothing we had was okay, not Special Forces level, but it was fit for purpose. I was already thinking about how we can make our kit better. Lads were cutting the tops off Arctic socks and stitching them to the wristlets of the jacket for extra layers and protection, adding wire in the hood for greater stability and protection. All these little tricks that we started at the beginning of our career continue until you end up tinkering with all of your gear. I saw this move up another level when I went on the Royal Marine sniper course which just turns you into a fucking massive kit pest. When you’re put in a highly demanding position, you find quite quickly the lads would become quite ingenious in making their kit fit for purpose, so we knew we had to take it to the highest level possible. These experiences birthed ThruDark. JAI It states on the ThruDark website “We ruthlessly test and critique all products ourselves making no compromise on per-

ST To caveat that, it comes back to the credibility aspect. What gives us the right to critique and ruthlessly test our own clothing? Well, we have been in the fucking craziest places all over the world and we know exactly what is needed. If the kit does not perform right, we fucking bin it off. We are constantly evolving, looking for new materials, zips, new pulls, everything. Some of the things we get initially we love but after testing for years, we find that other materials work much better. We go on expeditions with ThruDark to test things consistently but things circle back to the quote there, ‘That’ll do will never do’, this is what we stick to. We would rather have ten outstanding, ruthlessly tested products, over a larger but slightly lower quality product range. JAI ThruDark incorporates Dyneema, Pertex Quantum Pro, C-Change, Coldblack, and The Cohæsive™ System clothing technologies all to enhance performance. Where do the ideas to utilise these clothing technologies come from and to what extent do you believe this attention to detail separates you from the competition? LT It is really difficult to get a foot in this arena of outerwear, especially when you start out being the little dogs. From the offset, Staz and I said we don’t give a fuck about the margins, stopped worrying

ST On an individual level, exploring my personal development and growth as well as being in the outdoors pushing myself physically and mentally is something I love. Professionally, pre-ThruDark, we were within the Special Forces, physically exploring different areas, different climates, pushing ourselves to the limit and beyond. This mentality has helped us with Thrudark as we apply this mentality with everything we do.

What criticisms did you have with the kit and clothing you had and how are ThruDark amending these issues?

LT Pretty much all of the top range clothing in this field uses these fabrics, but we just use them in different ways, different places, and in greater quantities. We would always be told we are crazy using super expensive material as a jacket liner for example, but we don’t scrimp on anything. It has to be the best.

JAI Which product was the first to instil in you the belief that the clothing you make is of the highest quality and popularity? LT Staz and I still joke about this to this day. We released our first Arctic Parka in the middle of summer. It was built like a tank and had gone through over ten different design stages as we kept pushing it back to ensure it was of the very highest quality. Poor timing to release it perhaps, but for us that was the start of everything we do now. ST That was the very first thing we did and I completely agree with Louis. We planned to launch in December but we had to get it right. For me, the best thing we have made is the summit suit. If you look at where we are as a business, we are still in our infancy in the grand scheme of things. We don’t often stop and pat ourselves on the back but a few years ago we had two summit suits standing on top of the world on the summit of Everest. For us it was like,

JAI Everyone is talking about Nims Purja’s incredible 14 Peaks film, but how significant was Nims achievement for ThruDark?

ST We have a great network of people, and they all offer something incredible. Foxy had a huge social platform which was a real boost to us in the start. Leaving the cloak and dagger world of the Special Forces and learning how to use Instagram was a steep learning curve. We have supported these people and they, in turn, support us.

ST We work very closely with Nims developing a suit fit for purpose. Not only a suit that can hit one 8000m peak, he needed a suit to crank out 14 peaks in 7 months, which is unheard of. We needed to look at the durability, incorporating all of those materials above in certain places to make it the very best it can be. LT When you look at what Nims has done, it is inconceivable. If you know anything about mountaineering, the mind boggles. He could have done it in different kit because he is simply outstanding. For us, it was the case of making his life less painful whilst he was undertaking this task. The last thing you want to worry about when you’re on the side of the world’s biggest mountains is poor kit. You need confidence in your kit to focus on the task at hand. We didnt help him climb the mountain, but having bomb-proof kit allowed him to just focus on the task. ST I think him having the capacity to come down to ThruDark, put pen to paper, and design with us - which no other company was doing - before anyone knew who Nims was, really built that connection between us and him. We also had the same thing with Hari Budha Magar, a double above the knee amputee, who was being rejected by bigger companies alongside Nims. These projects meant something to us; if we have the capability and capacity to help someone, we should definitely do that. We made bespoke suits for both individuals' needs, Hari first and then Nims. The time and the resources were crazy, but we had to do it. From a factory point of view, we had to stop production to focus on these bespoke summit suits. JAI Nims Purja, Jason Fox, Mingma David Sherpa, Hari Budha Magar, Dylan Hartley, and Victoria Pendleton are all brand

There are a lot of parallels between elite sports stars and military people as you attach so much of your identity to the thing you do. When you leave, you feel lost and you have to build things up and realise you have to utilise your skills and transfer them into new professions. That is how we are able to build mutual respect between athletes and military people. LT I think reputation goes a long way. The careers that we had and these guys have had holds some sway with people and it, in a nice way, breeds respect. Due to this, you are able to build a network of like minded people who believe in the brand with us. All of these people have endeavoured through adversity with the same drive and expectation as us. All of our ambassadors have this. JAI How do you ensure that, as a brand, you're constantly exploring and pushing the limits of clothing as you move into the future? LT It is just the fire in the belly. The reason Staz and I are the way we are, the relentless pursuit of excellence, is just what we are about. We know we can always improve. ST We hold ourselves accountable and we are honest. You don’t get to the top of the Special Forces without wanting to consistently improve and be the best you can be. We are incredibly passionate, we love what we do and we want to make sure we are always moving forward in the right direction. thrudark.com

ST In the early days, we were economical in terms of using fabric to make sure we are not wasteful. We like to be economical and clever about fabric selection and making sure that, whatever we decide to use, it is utilised in the best way.

ambassadors. What characteristics and achievements do you look at when deciding who can become a brand ambassador?

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ST It starts and finishes with a quality product that in itself will sell. We are obsessed with materials, technologies, always looking to innovate. We are always looking to improve, we joke by calling ourselves "fabric pullers" because we are just obsessed with getting things to the highest level.

fucking hell, we can create clothing that looks good, is functional, and can take you to the top of the world.

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about the finances and focused on getting the gear right, that was fundamental. If materials are expensive, it is what it is. We start at the top and stay there.

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" Style isn’t so much about

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PHOTOGRAPHY TOM O'DONOGHUE

VELIST NO " Style isn’t so much about how you look or what you show, it’s more about how your mind works. It’s very easy to behave or look a certain way, you can fake the funk, but style comes from within.

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Kwadwo Quentin Kankam better known as Novelist, is one of the independent souls of the UK underground. Novelist has maintained a strong stance on his independence, speaking up against social issues that affect him and his community.

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Grime is a movement. An anti-establishment movement that infuses influences from the British multinational diaspora with hard-hitting beats and lyrics that focus on the lived experiences of those rapping them. In all honesty, Grime really needs no introduction. The scene has exploded since the early 2000s originating from the dancehall and garage scenes that came before them. The Grime scene has evolved into the face of contemporary UK music, yet, unlike other genres that have come before Grime, the scene has maintained a fiercely independent underground subculture in every city throughout the UK. Novelist is, without a doubt, one of the leading voices of the underground, opting to follow his own path rather than the mainstream paths many artists, understandably, tend to follow.

Billionaire Boys Club & Ice Cream teamed up with Tessuti and Novelist to help foreground the artists’ rise to Grime stardom, focusing on his influences, the nature of his style both in music and in fashion, his love of music, and his plans for the future. In keeping with the theme of the issue, it has become clear that adventure is far from easy to label. Pushing your creative limits to become a successful artist is arguably one of the most challenging endeavours a person can undertake. Novelist has risen to the challenge, but sets his own bar. These principles make the Lewisham MC an ideal collaborator for Billionaire Boys Club & Ice Cream. Billionaire Boys Club, founded in 2003 by Pharrell Williams and Nigo; people who really do not need an introduction as their impact on popular culture outranks that

of almost anyone else. The name is laced with irony, with the true messaging of the brand being that wealth is of the body and mind, not in the pocket. Billionaire Boys Club and Novelist pride themselves on building communities and forging long-lasting and caring relationships. Both are able to positively influence change, both in the youth culture and in mainstream culture with their messaging through lyrics and clothing. Novelist’s journey as a musician is constantly evolving and adapting, sticking by his fundamental principles and following the love. Novelist continues to inspire those both within and outside of his community, with headline shows happening throughout 2022, there is no respite for one of London’s finest. Shop Billionaire Boys Club at TESSUTI.CO.UK

V E LI NO

FORZA MISSONI "Mine is work that is fantastic when it is done with passion, because you have antennae for moods, for feelings that are in the air." - Rosita Missoni

WORDS JAI MCINTOSH PHOTOGRAPHY TOM O'DONOGHUE

FORZA MISSONI "Mine is work that is fantastic when it is done with passion, because you have antennae for moods, for feelings that are in the air." - Rosita Missoni Founded by Ottavio and Rosita Missoni in 1953, Missoni began as a small knitwear shop in Gallarate, Italy, and since then has remained a deeply familial brand. Towards the end of the decade, Missoni first displayed their garments at a Milanese fashion show in 1958. Missoni and the iconic patterned designs began to engage the minds of the Italian fashion scene, with support from the seismic fashion writer and journalist Anna Piaggi and French stylist and future collaborator Emmanuelle Khanh.

THE RISE The catalytic moment in the making of Missoni as a leading fashion brand was their first show at the Pitti Palace, Florence, in 1967. Shocking audiences at the time in what was referred to in Italian papers as the ‘Crazy Horse’ show, Rosita Missoni, and her burning eye for detail, insisted that the female models remove their bras, as the colours contrasted with the designs they were wearing. Subsequently, the material became somewhat transparent under the lights, meaning the models were exposing body parts which had almost always been covered. Despite not receiving an invitation the following year, Missoni was already taking root in the hearts and minds of the Italian masses, as Ottavio’s grasp of colour and artistry combined with Rosita’s designs created a generational brand and product range. Equally, heads began to turn abroad. In typical Missoni fashion, the brand is supported by leading voices in the culture, such as the French-American Diana Vreeland, former Vogue Editor-in-Chief, and the New York Times’ Bernadine Morris.

THE PLATEAU Commonly, writers are told to abide by their subheading. Yet, this might seem a harsh title given that the brand has

At the same time, Vittorio took charge as Marketing Director, and Luca was promoted to Menswear Designer, a role that lasted until 2008 when he transitioned into Head of Events and Archives. By 2005, Missoni’s main revenue stemmed from womenswear. Between 2007-2009, Massimo Gasparini became CEO of the company, streamlining products and developing corporate structure. The second act of despair, and without a doubt the most tragic occurred in 2013, when Vittorio Missoni was on a plane that went missing off the coast of Venezuela. After extensive searches for the aircraft, it was recovered north of Los Roques Archipelago. Vittorio’s body was recovered from the wreckage and the darkest part of Missoni’s history was entered. FORZA MISSONI Margherita Missoni, Rosita and Ottavio’s granddaughter, began to play a vital role in the Missoni revival. As a brand ambassador, Margherita began to model the Missoni womenswear range, the result being huge national and international attention. In a period where identity began to blur, and creativity began to decrease, Margherita’s influence helped resurrect a brand that needed a new muse; a vision of youthful beauty and courage. It makes perfect sense that, for Missoni, the answer to their creative problems would come from within the family circle.

In 2018, the Missoni family sold a 41% share of their company to Fondo Strategico Italiano, a move which helped reignite the brand and opened the doors to new markets and demographics. Three years after the sale in 2021, Angela was succeeded by Alberto Caliri as Womenswear Designer. His new direction has awoken a relatively sleepy giant outside of Italy and the inner circles of fashion, with the brand pillars of colour, bravery, artisanal designs, and family remaining tangible throughout Caliri’s runway shows and product lines. In 2022, Missoni will have come full circle with a real emphasis on their quality knitwear and original patterns. The SS22 Menswear collection is deeply rooted in the original colourful geometric designs from Ottavio Missoni. Additionally, the SS22 Womenswear collection spotlights independent and decisive femininity; clearly a foundational element of the Missoni family and brand. Equally, there has been a huge revival throughout Europe and North America in the desirability of vintage Missoni, with pieces surfacing with a regularity previously unseen as a new market begins to discover the wonder of this true Italian brand. The brand remains true to artistic fashion, but also places an emphasis on the conflicts that appear within the real-world. One need only look at the recent Pussyhat initiative in 2017, which solidified Missoni’s stance on women’s rights, as the brand openly supported the initiative started by Jayna Zweiman and Krista Suh following the comments of former US President Donald Trump. IN CLOSING Beautifully intense and artistically exquisite, bound together by the bonds of family, Missoni has a history and heritage to span the ages. Stepping into the future is always easier when held by the hand of the past. Missoni evolves, always the same, yet always different. Forza Missoni.

Shop Missoni at tessuti.co.uk

The 1970s were the height of the Missoni influence in the world of high fashion. Edward Enninful suggested that Missoni was “representing Italy”. The Missoni range became, specifically for the female audience, the stylistic energy that enthused a new wave of aesthetic and philosophical ideals in relation to fashion and design. Missoni ushered in a colourful artisanal approach, developing their expertise in patterning, printing, and material versatility. Missoni’s savoir faire continued throughout the ‘80s and early ‘90s, as they managed to always reinvent ways to remain emblems of the Italian contemporary. As the Missoni family grew and developed, the brand followed in their footsteps. The synergy between family and brand were, and remain, one in the same, with the increasing involvement of Vittorio, Luca, and Angela in the design and business elements of the brand. Rosita began to take a back seat, allowing her children to take the reins of various brand elements.

hardly fallen in quality and stature since late 1960s. However, there are two tales of despair that sit in a side room at the heart of Missoni. The first, and less tragic, is Rosita Missoni’s growing disillusionment with fashion, in alignment with her lifestyle, towards the turn of the millennium. Believing that fashion is, in part, an expression of youthful courage, Rosita was succeeded by her daughter, Angela Missoni, who since 1998 has taken charge of Missoni as Creative Director. This move allowed Rosita to focus on Missoni Home, a range of uniquely beautiful and functional products to decorate one's house. Fortunately for Rosita, Angela was perfectly poised to take over, with her designs, vision, passion, and attention to detail remaining central to the brand’s identity to this day.

WORDS & INTE JAI MCINTOS WORDS & INTERVIEW JAI MCINTOSH

Jöttnar is one of a few companies looking to combine the stylised aspects of contemporary outerwear with a total focus on technicality and quality. We spoke to Jöttnar co-founder and former Royal Marine Thomas Kelly to detail the Jöttnar journey so far, their love of quality testing, the rise of their Pro Team, and what the future holds for one of outerwear’s most exciting young brands.

JAI Before becoming the Co-Founder of Jöttnar, you have had an extensive military background being a former Royal Marine Mountain Lead Specialist. What does that entail? TK I joined the Royal Marine commandos in 1998, after university in Edinburgh at the age of 22. After a few years of service, I joined the specialist Mountain Leader branch. The ML branch is responsible for reconnaissance as well as mountain and Arctic warfare within the Marines, which makes for a deeply interesting, challenging and rewarding line of work. The world changed suddenly in 2001, which for me led to operational deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq. Interspersed between these deployments, much time was spent training in Arctic Norway and the Scottish Highlands. And then, after 10 years, having achieved a whole host of personal and professional ambitions, I felt it was time to leave and do something else. That something else ultimately became Jöttnar. JAI Jöttnar, in comparison to a few other outerwear brands, is relatively young. What encouraged you to start the brand and what differences did you think you could bring to an already populated market?

JAI How did your experiences with military clothing influence Jöttnar’s creative philosophy? TK An awful lot is the short answer. We both come from a background where, in the Marines, you would be 100% reliant on the clothing you are wearing for literally weeks and months depending on where you are operating. You develop a self interest into the clothing that you put on your body as it absolutely has to perform, there is no way of getting around that. That is the design philosophy of the clothes we make. The testing, the prototyping, the quality control, the performance thresholds that all

JAI Jöttnar promotes and supports high-level climbers within the Jöttnar Pro Team. How important was it for Jöttnar to create a professional team and in what ways do you support these climbers and explorers? TK It's very important, so much so that the Pro Team athletes were assembled at the same time we created Jöttnar. Before the first product had rolled through the production line, our Pro Team had been intimately involved in the design process and prototype testing of the four products we started with back in 2013. These guys are out operating at the highest level in the likes of the Alps, the Himalya, the Arctic and the Scottish Highlands pretty much every day of the year. No small group of people is better placed than they to provide such continuous, ongoing, multi-condition, multi-environment testing. This is fundamental for a company like ours, built entirely around producing the most resilient and highest performing clothing as possible. JAI Outerwear, for the first time, now occupies a central space in the world of contemporary fashion. What do you believe are the reasons people from all sections of society are gravitating towards outerwear? TK It is interesting to have watched this development, specifically over the last 12-24 months. I wonder if it has been the effect of the pandemic and how it has encouraged people into seeing the value of the outdoors, the mountains, and wild spaces. Perhaps the pandemic has encouraged this en masse reconnection with the outdoors which has then opened people up to exploring more clothing and finding that outerwear is of the highest quality. JAI Now that you have less time to actively engage with serious climbing, where do you go to reconnect with the outdoors? TK I am lucky enough to live in a beautiful part of the country, in the middle of nowhere. I get to indulge in beautiful fields and forests which are not especially mountainous, but as you know, Jai, in this part of the world, it is lovely to be outside. When you live rurally, you have a deep appreciation for the seasons and the weather in a way that you don’t have when you live in a city. Just being outside, seeing natural beauty, feeling the weather, that promotes a fundamental sense of wellbeing. jottnar.com

Jöttnar Fenrir Lightweight Hooded Down Jacket Jottnar is a relative new-comer to the outerwear and outdoors scene, but it’s certainly made its mark on the industry. The Fenrir Hooded Down Jacket is one of the premium mid-weight jackets on the market for all-yearround hiking and mountaineering. Behind the brand are two former Royal Marines, who have a wealth of knowledge and experience in the mountains, so if anybody knows the level of protection required in harsh conditions, these two do. The impressive warmth-to-weight ratio and thermal efficiency is certainly something to shout about, with the 850 fill power goose down, it doesn’t really get much warmer. However, the insulation isn’t the only impressive feature, Jottnar has also taken a number of steps to ensure the down isn’t jeopardised when it gets wet. With the hydrophobic down and finish, it is 10x more water repellent than most of its competitors and performs well shrugging off mild showers. The athletic fit, combined with its superior performance and excellent protection against extreme weather, undoubtedly make this a must-have for year-round mountaineers and alpinists alike. With that said, it’s also a great piece for typical British weather and winter walks in cool, crisp conditions. WORDS SAM DYSON

TK Myself and fellow founder Steve Howarth, also an ex-Marine, both wanted to be in our own hands professionally. So building a business appeared to be the best way of achieving this. As lifelong climbers, skiers and general outdoorsmen, we saw a space at the technical performance end of the outdoor clothing market which many of the established brands had increasingly vacated in pursuit of casual wear and lifestyle product. We believed that there would be sufficient appetite for highly technical, high quality product, built with a clean and understated aesthetic. Our arrival into the market quickly proved this to be the case.

of the sampling needs to meet and surpass is certainly influenced by that same sense of dependence on clothing. Clothing needs to perform and it cannot let you down.

OUTERWEAR Vollebak are beginning to transform the way in which clothing is used and perceived. Combining utility and science to create long-lasting highly functional clothing that aims to keep you protected in any environment and in any reality. I sat down with Co-Founder Nick Tidball to discuss ideas, materials, inspiration, and preparing for the future.

INTERVIEW JAI MCINTOSH

VOLLEBAK: WHEN SCIENCE MEETS OUTERWEAR Vollebak are beginning to transform the way in which clothing is used and perceived. Combining utility and science to create long-lasting highly functional clothing that aims to keep you protected in any environment and in any reality. I sat down with Co-Founder Nick Tidball to discuss ideas, materials, inspiration, and preparing for the future. INTERVIEW JAI MCINTOSH

VOLLEBAK:

RULES AND THINK, THESE ARE BULLSH*T.

vollebak.com

JAI So, who are Vollebak and what inspired you to create the company and explore the extent to which clothing can be pushed?

JAI The Solar Charged Jacket took people by storm, and rightly so. Where did the concept idea come from? NT Well, I could say lots of things here but it comes down to the fact that, as a former architect, I am a magpie for materials. I came across some amazing people from Italy who were making this material and were unsure whether people would be interested. I thought, “I love it, of course bioluminescence has a place in clothing”. For me, that material was exciting and applicable. JAI Similarly, you have created a carbon fibre t-shirt, ceramic t-shirt, and full metal jackets. With everything Vollebak does, there seems to be a combination of science, technology, and practicality. How central are these ideas? NT They are central, completely. Utility, purpose, artistry, and craft as well. These tenets pretty much create the future for

JAI How are you able to ensure a continuity of new ideas and material exploration?

true to the material. I am going to use material that is not considered a fashion fabric because of its price and photosensitivity but for me it was important.

JAI Which material do you believe will be NT The honest answer is that virtually all used more commonly in clothing in the of the ideas for this company come out of next 50-100 years? my brain, therefore ideas are never ac- " NT Algae. That is a very tually the issue, they NOW, WE LOOK AT THE easy answer. When you start are relatively simple. RULES AND THINK, looking around at how the The actual battle is the THESE ARE BULLSH*T. colour black is made, it is execution of the ideusually pretty bad for the environment. A as. I am pretty open when it comes to few clever fuckers out in the States have being creative, somewhat like a river thought about this. They basically have with a series of bridges along the way. worked out that algae can produce various You have to be open if someone has colours and pigments. This is going to be proved it, but similarly, you have to be the future. It is a fact, it is just a case of brave enough to tell someone to fuck who gets there first. off when it isn’t right. JAI A large selection of the clothing is built for durability. Do you envision a future whereby clothing, and in a sense people, need to adapt to a harsher environment?

JAI Every week Vollebak releases unseen clothing concepts. How important is it that you keep continually evolving and exploring the boundaries of clothing?

NT Yes, so I think you have to build for multiple realities. Clothing has the ability to transcend all of these environments across all sections of global societies. I think we need to ensure we are attacking the future, coming up with interesting answers and supporting everyone we can.

NT Boundary pushing is something you have to do. When you die, you have to look back and go “holy fuck, look what we did” and if you don’t do that, I think you’re silly. Secondly, in pushing the boundaries, you are going to innovate your way to the future. That is the goal.

JAI Which piece that you created became the catalyst for enhancing your belief that Vollebak can become the most innovative clothing brand in the world?

JAI Lastly, 2022 looks likely to continue the theme of global tumult. What role can Vollebak’s clothing play in the world we live in today?

NT What you will see this year is we will NT Good question. Although it was a very create things that you think “wow I did not experimental topic which had both good expect that”.. We are going to make cerand bad aspects, we built the original 100 tain moves, we will do a couple of things year hoodie out of kevlar. Kevlar is a funny that move us into a different territory. We one, it is incredibly tough, and very good broke rules accidentally when we started, with fire and abrasions. However, it is phobecause we didn’t know tosensitive over time and what the rules were. Now, the colour slightly chang- " NOW, WE LOOK AT THE we look at the rules and es. For me, using the think, these are bullshit. kevlar was about staying RULES AND THINK,

THESE ARE BULLSH*T.

NT So it is me and my twin brother, Steve, and we started the company five years ago. I am an ex-architect and my brother is an ex-art historian. We read a few books; we read Phil Knight’s book from Nike, Steve Jobs from Apple, and Yvon Chouinard from Patagonia and there was one thing in common that made us think, we have to start our own thing and leave an impression on the world and do some shit we believe in before we die. At the same time, we were running ultra marathons around the world. There were some very influential people around during these marathons who said we should do this. So we set up our own company. It takes a while to turn a rough stone into a diamond, but essentially, we wanted to make an incredible future facing idea so good that it was almost inevitable.

every industry, they are the fundamentals.

WORDS & INTERVIEW JAI MCINTOSH PHOTOGRAPHY JON WILLIAMS

PHOTOGRAPHY JON WILLIAMS

WORDS & INTERVIEW JAI MCINTOSH

At its heart adventure is about curiosity, it's about connecting with yourself, with others and the natural world around you.

At its heart adventure is about curiosity, it's about connecting with yourself, with

Journalist, broadcaster, and adventurer Pip Stewart has been one of the leading figures in the world of exploration and adventure over the last decade. Speaking with Pip, I found her to be highly enthusiastic and full of intrigue, despite being a little terrified by the prospect of living with a parasite for a while…

JAI How has your 2022 been so far?

JAI Ness Knight, Laura Bingham, and yourself spent a large section of 2018 paddling along the Essequibo River, from source to sea becoming the first to ever do so. How was that? PS It was an absolute privilege to have travelled to one of the wildest and most remote places on earth and we couldn't have done it without the help of our guides from the Wai Wai indigenous community. More people have been into space than set foot into where the source of the river begins. Together we faced danger every day as we kayaked rapids, hacked our way through the mountainous jungle of the Guiana Shield before finally reaching the Atlantic Ocean. It was a journey of over 1,000km where we witnessed incredible highs such as the wildlife and life under the pristine virgin rainforest - as well as incredible lows such

JAI I believe you became well acquainted with a parasite, what happened? PS Unfortunately, I brought back an unwanted souvenir from our expedition - a flesh-eating parasite transmitted through the bite of a sandfly. I ended up having a form of outdated chemo that dates from the 1940s to try and heal the ever growing hole in my neck. The doctors told me if I didn't treat it, there was a chance it might spread to my face and eat away at my nose and soft palette. Fairly terrifying if I'm honest. However, more worrying is the global healthcare inequality. Leishmaniasis (the disease I had) is the second biggest parasitic killer after malaria that impacts over 1 billion people in 98 countries around the world, yet treatment options remain under-researched and underfunded mainly because the people impacted are poor and live in remote areas. I now campaign to raise awareness of neglected diseases like leishmaniasis off the back of my experience. JAI Across 2013/14 you cycled from Malaysia to London, what inspired you to do so? PS My husband and I had been living in Malaysia and we'd always talked about coming back overland. Charlie mentioned

to me one day that he'd read about people who cycled around the world and the idea started percolating. I figured, if I could sit at a desk from 9 to 5 I could probably sit on a bike! It was an amazing opportunity to see the world in a way that was fast enough to get there but slow enough to take things in. It took us 13 months and we calculated that for every hour in a plane it took us a month on the ground. JAI How do you stay inspired to explore new adventures? PS Adventure is really all about mindset - my little mantra is everyone can teach you something. You don't have to do these grand adventures to explore either. It's about seeing where you are, right now, with new eyes. JAI What is the plan for the remainder of 2022? PS We're hiking in the USA, spending a month in Canada, and a trip to Scandinavia. Should be fun. A few people told me when I got pregnant that that would be the end of my travelling days. However, I'm super keen to introduce Willow, our two-year old, to how amazing the world is and the people in it. I realised with my brush with the flesh-eating parasite that life is guaranteed to no-one so go out there and grab it with two hands. @PIPSTEWART

PS So refreshing! How lovely is it to start seeing people again? Although, like many of us, I've realised I've also become massively socially awkward - I mean, when we see each other, do we hug, kiss, shake hands or do that weird wave hello thing and take a step back? I also got married at the end of last year so we kick-started 2022 with a honeymoon to Spain. Another highlight was seeing my first book, Life Lessons from the Amazon, published and out in the world!

as deforestation associated with gold mining. It was an emotional journey as well as physical - we learned about the value of patience and self-belief as well as finding happiness in the small things.

WORDS & INTERVIEW JAI MCINTOSH

IN CONVERSATION WITH:

Ben Fogle is one of Britain’s most recognisable explorers and adventurers with over two decades of experience in some of the world’s harshest environments, undertaking the most difficult of challenges, and exploring the lives of people on the cusp of society. We caught up with Ben to discuss his love of travel and nature, lessons learned, and what his plans for the future look like.

JAI Ben, you have seemingly had an insatiable appetite for exploration and adventure, however, I have heard you describe your love of adventure as part of your personal journey of self discovery. How has exploration helped you in this pursuit?

JAI You have climbed Mount Everest, rowed across the Atlantic, raced across Antarctica to the South Pole and crossed the deserts of the Empty Quarter in the Middle East. When you are struggling for motivation throughout these challenges, what inspires you to keep going? BF The beauty of challenges is that each one is a building block onto which you can mount your next challenge. For me, the challenges have all tested me in different ways. The real foundation adventure was the year I spent on the island of Taransay in the Outer Hebrides for the reality show, Castaway. I learnt a little about discipline, patience, boredom, resilience, fear, love and hate, all during that amazing year. The expeditions I choose are deliberately meant to challenge me and take me out of my comfort zone. JAI You spent your early twenties in Latin America working on a turtle conservation project in Honduras and at an orphanage

BF I fell in love with travelling and loved my early years in Latin America. Even after all I have done since, I have so many vivid, happy memories. Those few years in Central and South America gave me perspective on my life in Britain. It gave me a little window into how the majority of the world lives but, above all, I loved the thrill and excitement of travel. Travel is my life. I still get that little tingle of excitement when I land in a new place and take my first breath of local air. JAI You have spent time off-grid both internationally and domestically. What allure does self-sufficiency and off-the-grid living have on you? BF There is a beautiful simplicity to life off-grid. It instils a resourcefulness and a resilience that are attractive and alluring. Have spent ten years visiting hundreds of people, families and communities all around the world who have embraced off grid life. Their life isn’t necessarily easier but it is almost always happier. JAI Throughout your new show New Lives in the Wild, what key lessons have you learned from the various different people you have engaged with? BF That happiness is an often overlooked aspiration in life. We live in a world so fixated with the notion that financial accumulation is the ultimate human goal that we have lost sight of the simplistic aspiration of happiness. If you want nothing, you have everything. Start enjoying what you have rather than lamenting what you don’t have.

Stop comparing yourself with others. Comparison is the thief of joy. JAI Recently, you posted a video stating: ‘Bad news, anxiety, fear, disappointment, sorrow, anger, all of these things disappear when I get outside’. Whether it is going for a short walk or climbing the highest mountains, what importance do you place on the outdoors in terms of being beneficial for your mental health? BF We are only just beginning to understand the power of nature to heal our anxiety and depression. There is so much pressure on mental wellbeing. We just need to strip our treatment back to the very root. Trees and plants and flora and fauna. It has given me great relief even in times of great hardship, fear and sorrow. We need to ensure more people have access to green, wild spaces. JAI You have scaled the highest mountains, voyaged across the ocean, dealt with tragic bereavement, topped best seller lists, and been on countless television and radio shows. What does the future look like for you? BF We only have one life so we might as well live it to its full. I don’t want to have any regrets. If I were to be hit by a bus tomorrow, I could honestly, hand on heart say that I have done everything I have wanted to do. Having said that, next year I turn 50. I think it’s time to take part in the Vendee Globe. It will be the ultimate test of all the things I have ever done. Watch Ben Fogle’s 'New Lives in the Wild' on Channel 5

BF I would describe myself as an accidental adventurer. Adventure and travel has been a journey of self discovery, allowing me to find my inner self. The real me. I never excelled at sport nor academically. The result was a slightly insecure, vulnerable young boy who was largely directionless until I discovered the beauty of the outdoors. It began with holidays in Canada and the Outer Hebrides and it just continued to grow from there.

in Ecuador. What lessons did you learn from these experiences that have stuck with you throughout your adult life?

DID I EVER TELL YOU ABOUT THE TIME I WALKED THE AMAZON? Ed Stafford is one of those ephemeral figures that appear once or twice in a generation. Pushing the limits of physical and psychological experience has always been at the forefront of his various challenges. Ed has communicated meaningful thinking that have reshaped his life with the hope of positively influencing others. We caught up with Ed to discuss his life experiences and the lessons he has learned from a career of adventure and exploration.

ES I think the military helped from the perspective of pushing us hard in training and I think I had a lot of experience in tough physical endurance sessions. To be able to draw on this memory bank during some of my later challenges and remember I have been able to get through tough challenges was really helpful. From a survival perspective, the military was utterly useless, we didn’t do any survival training. So I have had to learn as I went along. JAI You spent seven years doing conservation expeditions for charity, spending a lot of time in the jungles of Borneo and throughout Central America. Then, you decided to walk the length of the Amazon. Considering it was your first expedition of this magnitude, what inspired this choice?

WORDS & INTERVIEW JAI MCINTOSH

ES I have been quite open about getting into trouble in my early twenties, getting into fights and burning friendships. I think there was an element of escapism in walking the Amazon, creating a new life and getting away from everyday life was the goal.

messages and new ways of

JAI Ed, you’re a man of many talents who has undertaken a considerable amount of seemingly impossible tasks. Did your early military career prepare you for your life as a survivalist and explorer or did you feel as though you have always had a hunger for adventure?

NOTHING TO HELP YOU AVOID FEELING HOW YOU FEEL.

" THE BIGGEST CATALYST FOR PER WAS BEING ISOLATED ON THE IS HAVEN’T GOT PEOPLE AROUND Y SPACE FOR A PERSONAL EVOLUT IS LIKE A MIRROR. THERE IS NOTHING TO HELP YOU AVOID FEELING HOW YOU FEEL.

RSONAL CHANGE SLAND. IF YOU YOU, YOU HAVE TION. ISOLATION

JAI What challenges have been the most psychologically challenging and has overcoming these aided your personal spiritual exploration? ES The biggest catalyst for personal change was being isolated on the island. If you haven’t got people around you, you have space for a personal evolution I don’t think is possible with other people around. Isolation is like a mirror. There is nothing to help you avoid feeling how you feel. I didn’t arrive at any big epiphanies when I was there but felt I developed a new sense of self awareness. About eight months after I entered therapy for the first time, I couldn’t get out of bed, couldn’t travel for work, I was just crying in bed at the concept of packing. There is that cliche of breakdowns then breakthroughs and I think I needed that to build back in a stronger way.

JAI Could you explain the three heads theory you have learned amongst the tribes people and the impact this has had on your life since?

are at once physical and mental challenges that present themselves in various forms, but which are more challenging to deal with and why?

ES An Aboriginal friend of mine, Jermey Donovan, explained to me that your brain is a super advanced tool. Every autonomous thought that is pinging off, whether they work in harmony or in conflict, you’re going to think you’re going mad as if it is not you, it is just a tool that is working too much. The Aborigines say you have three brains, instinctual thoughts should dictate actions, then these instinctual things pass through your emotions, almost like a filter, and then your logic is the last filter and is the smallest one. They use the same word to describe your logic as they do a tangled fishing net. It should be used as a tool but in western society we attribute our sense of self in this logical brain. The advice he gave me really did help but I struggled to take it on board during my time on the island but found it resonated well when I started meditating.

ES Well as I get older the physical challenges are the most difficult (laughs). I have done four episodes in the latest series of First Man Out and I have lost half of them already, it is getting fucking embarrasing. I get more of a kick out of the psychological challenges, I am not an athlete or a meathead but can get into the physical mindset. I do think going through these experiences outdoors is a really helpful tool in helping me and others work out psychological issues.

JAI You have walked the length of the Amazon, been marooned on an island with nothing, explored a Burmese jungle war, and ingratiated yourself within the homeless and the gypsie communities. There

JAI How would you want your legacy and message to be characterised? ES I genuinely don’t really mind about being remembered any more. I would have hugely minded ten years ago, building a legacy was all I wanted. If I can be the bloke that you’d like to go have a drink in the pub with, and my family are humble and healthy then I am happy.

edstafford.org

There was an insecurity at the root of it, explorers definitely don’t do what they do because they are well balanced, normal human beings. Having gone through the full circle of therapy around ten years ago, I was able to understand that having been adopted as a kid I was struggling with abandonment issues and felt I needed to beat my chest on a public stage to prove I was a worthwhile individual.

EW JAI MCINTOSH

WORDS & INTERVIEW JAI

MCINTOSH

WORDS & INTERVIEW JAI MCINTOSH

MARK ‘BILLY’ BILLINGHAM

YOU’VE GOT TO BE FIT...YET ULTIMATELY WHAT GETS YOU FROM A TO B IS YOUR MIND. I REMEMBER WHEN I WAS IN SAS SELECTION I JUST KEPT GOING AND GOING. I HAD THIS VOICE IN MY HEAD CONSTANTLY TELLING ME...

Mark ‘Billy’ Billingham MBE is, without doubt, the most experienced person to feature in EJ63 when it comes to exploration, adventure, and survival. We met Billy backstage before one of his live shows, and, despite initially being a little intimidated, Billy turned out to be a source of wisdom and witty anecdotes.

JAI So you've been all over the world in some of the harshest and most inhospitable environments. However, before we get into that we have to start from the very beginning, what was your upbringing like? MB I would say it was tough, but it was also loving. The area we lived in was particularly poor and poverty stricken. My father worked 12 hour shifts, my mom worked 12 hour shifts. We spent a lot of time not seeing them. At the same time, in the area where I grew up, it was all about gangs and status. I remember the kids in my street having scars and thinking that I want to be like them. From there, that's where I started forming a little gang. My upbringing was characterised by making mistakes but, ultimately, I was able to find my way out of the struggles of my youth through boxing, and through the military JAI Yet, before you could join the military and pursue that career, you had two major accidents within a relatively short space of time that could’ve ended your life, right? MB Growing up, I saw people getting slashed and stabbed, then I got stabbed. It felt like I went through the most horrendous pain you can imagine. I was bleeding to death. My head was just fuzzy and I knew I was dying. I'll never forget that

moment when I crawled home and saw the look on my Mum's face, petrified, thinking ‘What am I doing?’ After this, I left school and ended up working in a factory, 12 hour shifts, totally illegal, and getting paid cash. So I was going home and giving her the money and all this sort of stuff, you know? It was here that I fell into acid which meant I almost lost my leg, all the skin was burned off almost instantly. I don’t know how I survived this, I really have no idea. JAI So at what point did you enrol in the military and were the initial challenges more physical or mental? MB I joined the Parachute Regiment at the age of 17, just after the Falklands War. I learned very quickly that, to succeed in the military, you need a combination of a solid mentality and physical capabilities. You’ve got to be fit, you've got to be able to do certain things, yet ultimately what gets you from A to B is your mind. I remember when I was in SAS selection I just kept going and going. I had this voice in my head constantly telling me ‘always a little further’. I've always said to myself that it's all a passage in time, it ain't going to go on forever. JAI I was waiting for that famous phrase, 'always a little further.' Tell me about it. MB It literally starts at nine years old. I remember having it said to me and thinking,

what do you mean by always a little further? Yet, psychologically you can. As long as you're thinking on your feet and you're anticipating, you can go a little bit further. This carried me through my military career and life in general, it has become my mantra. JAI Having finished an unbelievably successful military career, you made an interesting move into celebrity security. How did that come about? MB I was looking for a new direction, and it was a job offer, nothing more. Pay was good, easy in comparison to what I've done before and my skill set made it a natural fit. I just adapted. I went from being shot at by someone with a gun to being shot at with/ by a camera, a huge difference. JAI I heard a story about you getting Penelope Cruise in a headlock, what happened there? MB Yeah, ha! I was taking Tom Cruise to a hotel in Italy. At this point, he hadn’t told me he had a girlfriend. We had all these paparazzi so it was just a case of dealing with them. As I was stepping into the doorway, totally focussed, someone came running towards me. So I just grab Tom to ensure his safety whilst at the same time grabbing the

ST WI

SLA TH I T H Y

AW GROWING UP, I SAW G PEOPLE GETTING BED, SLASHED AND STABBED, ED. THEN I GOT STABBED. NT IT FELT LIKE I WENT ST THROUGH THE MOST IN HORRENDOUS PAIN E. YOU CAN IMAGINE. I WAS BLEEDING TO DEATH. MY HEAD WAS JUST FUZZY AND I KNEW I WAS DYING.

M F

them. Go through life. Be a good person. Don't be a dick.

Don't be afraid to be who you are. Make mistakes, but learn from them. Go through life. Be a good person. Don't be a dick.

person running towards us around the neck, getting them in a headlock. So I have Tom in one hand and then this person in my other hand. At this point, Tom muffles from the folds of my arms attempting to introduce me to his girlfriend who is smiling at me, looking a little concerned. Turned out to be Penelope Cruise. We laughed about it afterwards! She's amazingly nice in fairness. JAI At what point did you begin to think about moving into a broadcasting/television career? MB A former SAS operator Colin Maclachlan had left the military and he was doing bits and pieces of TV work. He contacted me asking if I would be interested in taking part in a new SAS show for Channel 4. Long story short, after a security job, I ended

up with cerebral malaria for the fourth time. I ended up in self isolation on death's door, so obviously I couldn’t be involved with the new show. After the first series, the producers really wanted me to be a part of the show. There was a bit of back and forth; I agreed to do it. Since then, everything has taken off. JAI How was meeting the Queen to receive your MBE? I believe you may have kept her waiting a little.. MB Yes!When I left the military I got this job and I was working with celebrities and so I was busy. So when I first got asked to attend, I couldn’t because I didn’t have the time and was focused on the tasks at hand. I really didn’t want to be disrespectful, I love Queen and country, so I knew I couldn’t miss an opportunity like this.

Also at this time I realised that both my mum and dad didn’t have too long left, so it was something for them to see really, to feel proud. Anyway, when the day came and I stood in front of Her Majesty, she said “You’ve been busy Mr Billingham” ha! Not only did I keep her waiting, she told everyone that I did! I have to look back and laugh. JAI After all you have been through, the highs and lows and everything in between, what advice would you give to the people reading this? MB Don't be afraid to be who you are. Make mistakes, but learn from them. Go through life. Be a good person. Don't be a dick. markbillybillingham.com

FROM THE SKY TO THE SAVANNA Holly Budge has, over the last twenty years, been at the forefront of some of the most daring and important adventures. We spoke to Holly about her journey from skydiving camera operator to charity founder, and her ongoing desire to empower women along the way.

JAI Aged 21, you experienced your first skydive, which subsequently changed your life. How did this happen?

JAI How do you define adventure?

HB At 21, I threw myself out of a perfectly good aeroplane for the first time. That 60 second shot of adrenaline changed my life forever. It dawned on me that people were getting paid to jump out of aeroplanes every day of the year. I decided that I wanted to work as a skydiving camerawoman. Yet, I didn't know how to skydive. I worked as a graphic designer in London and saved up enough money to return to New Zealand and firstly learn how to skydive and then how to get employed as a skydiver.

HB My definition of adventure has changed over the past two decades. In my twenties, I was chasing world firsts and world records. In my thirties, I was looking for more purposeful adventures. Through my conservation work, adventure is now patrolling on the front lines with anti-poaching teams in Africa. These experiences have blown any other adventure I’ve done out of the water.

At the time, less than a handful of women had ever worked as skydivers in New Zealand. This motivated me even more. Eventually, I landed my job and was getting paid to jump out of aeroplanes up to 12 times a day, with bulky film cameras strapped to my body. I didn't overthink it; I didn't talk myself out of it or let the fear of failing get in the way.

WORDS & INTERVIEW JAI MCINTOSH

JAI You became the first woman to skydive Everest and have also summited the mountain later on in your life, tell us how that experience came about? HB I knew skydiving next to the highest mountain in the world was an opportunity I wasn’t going to miss. So I worked hard to get sponsored and became the first woman to skydive Everest. I jumped out of a plane at 29,500ft, getting a bird’s eye view of some of the most breathtaking mountain scenery before landing at 12,350ft. I freefalled in excess of 140mph in temperatures of -40C. It was an incredible experience. I knew I would be back to try and climb to the summit one day. So, I learned how to climb mountains. Eventually, I attempted to climb Everest from the north side. Everest was my home for 47 days, above 5000m. I climbed Everest as a two-person team; we battled ferocious winds, -30C temperatures and got caught overnight in a storm in

The Death Zone. Our reward was sitting by ourselves on the summit for 30 minutes on a spectacular bluebird day.

JAI In June, your World Female Ranger Week initiative begins, can you tell us about that?

JAI Tell me about your journey from skydiver to sustainable designer specialising in the use of vegetable ivory, all with the aim of attracting attention to the struggles experienced by wild elephants in Africa.

HB I launched World Female Ranger Week, taking place on June 23-30th, to find, connect and amplify the voices of female wildlife rangers on a global stage. They're paving the way for women to stand alongside men at the forefront of conservation, but they need allies.

HB I wanted to return to my roots in graphic design. In 2013, I studied for a Masters in Sustainable Design. The idea for 'How Many Elephants', now a UK registered charity, was born. As I began researching the African Elephant crisis, I was shocked by the poaching statistics and set about creating a new, design-led awareness campaign. I designed and built a necklace displaying 96 elephants - the daily poaching rate in Africa - cut in vegetable ivory, a sustainable plant material from South America. I then designed an exhibition displaying 35,000 elephant silhouettes to represent the annual poaching rate.

Women are proving to be highly successful at easing local tension and strengthening relationships within communities, as well as their patrolling skills. However, there is still a significant gender imbalance in environmental conservation, with just 11% of the global ranger workforce being female. Through World Female Ranger Week, my team and I have identified over 4500 female rangers in 18 African countries. We are collating gender-specific data about female rangers to identify their specific needs, find tangible solutions and help build effective policies toward positive outcomes

for female rangers and conservation. My work has highlighted that many female rangers face similar challenges, including a lack of access to adequate sanitary or health products, a lack of security in the workplace, social stigma, and wearing illfitting equipment designed for men. World Female Ranger Week seeks to address these needs through awareness and funding. JAI After all that you have experienced throughout your lifetime of adventures so far, how would you characterise your message? HB I've found that passion is contagious but combined with purpose, it's powerful. The sky's the limit for what you can achieve with passion, dedication, skills and a positive active mindset. Think Big. Dream Bigger. hollybudge.com

WORDS & INTERVIEW JAI MCINTOSH

PHOTOGRAPHY JACK FINNIGAN

Here at the Vanilla Factory, we had one question to answer, who would we have as our cover star for EJ63? We had a theme, adventure and exploration, and we had a list. However, quite quickly things became clear, we needed Aldo Kane.

Here at the Vanilla Factory, we had one question to answer, who would we have as our cover star for EJ63? We had a theme, adventure and exploration, and we had an extensive feature list. However, quite quickly things became clear, we needed Aldo Kane.

WORDS & INTERVIEW JAI MCINTOSH

PHOTOGRAPHY JACK FINNIGAN

WORDS & INTERVIEW JAI MCINTOSH

PHOTOGRAPHY JACK FINNIGAN

have a plan, part of someone else's.

" If you don’t have a plan, you become part of someone else's.

came back and finished Ocean Explorers for NatGeo. So, just a little busy! (laughs)

We caught up with the Scottish explorer in a beautiful pub nestled in the heart of Bristol to go through the stories of his life, his love of exploration and family, and how being in touch with nature positively impacts his personal philosophy…

I wanted to test myself in tough environments from the beginning. I was stuck underground on my own for ten days and that was an adventure as I was able to explore my mentality, what I like and don’t like, what keeps me going, what keeps me fit and healthy. Exploration and adventure is the synergy of testing myself physically and mentally in a challenging environment.

JAI To kick things off, how has your 2022 been so far? ALDO What month are we in, April? I have been pretty busy. Last year was extremely busy, I was away for over six months on the Ocean Exploration project over in the Atlantic which meant I missed the birth of my son. This year, we finished filming The Bridge for Channel 4 in January, went to the States with my family,

JAI What does adventure and exploration mean to you? ALDO Good question. Exploration and adventure differs depending on the person. Some people don’t know what they’re doing next week which can be an adventure, but for me, it is about exploring the planet and exploring myself and if I can do them at the same time then I am winning.

JAI How did the Scouts foster your love of adventure and do you feel your experiences there encouraged you to consider a military career? ALDO The background of the Scouts stems from the military. Lord Badon-Powell was a military man, so a lot of the things you learn in the Scouts such as navigation, survival skills etc. you learn all of these in the military. The Scouts definitely bolstered what I already knew about myself and the outdoors; I wanted to spend my life outside. With adventure and exploration, the more you do the more you need. No one ever goes to the pub for one, do they? Moving from the Scouts to the military was a natural progression. As a nonacademic, I never really liked school all too

much, I just wanted to be outdoors learning practical skills testing myself constantly and that's what the military afforded me and I have continued this throughout my life, I have never had a sit-down job really. JAI How did you decide which course of military career you wanted to pursue? ALDO For me, I was in the Cadets so I was aware of the Air Force, there was also the Navy and the Army. I spoke to a few people about what the hardest course was, and that was the Royal Marine Commandos. As soon as I found that out, I knew it was what I wanted to do. If I failed that, I would have just tried something else in the military but fortunately I passed out first time. I envisioned myself in a green beret from the age of twelve. You become what you think about, and I spent my youth thinking about the Marines, it was my life. I got in at sixteen and passed out at seventeen. I set a goal, broke it down, put in the fucking hard work, and then achieved it. JAI Has being someone who set goals from an early age made it easy to adapt to a military lifestyle? ALDO I didn’t really have a choice, it was all I wanted to do. I never watched television, I wasn’t doing anything other than really being single mindedly focused. If you’re single minded and driven, you can achieve what you want. When an idea is strong, give it wings. I knew what I wanted to do and dedicated my time to achieving that goal. I gave everything to get in and if I didn’t, I would have tried again. JAI Previously you have stated that “The Royal Marine sniper course is one of the hardest sniper courses in the world to pass.”

Often described as the real life action man, Aldo Kane is arguably the leading male figure in adventure and exploration. Over the years, Aldo has worked on myriad television shows and films including Avengers: Age of Ultron, The Kid Who Would Be King, First Man Out, Expeditions with Steve Backshall, Welcome to Earth with Will Smith, and Expedition Volcano. With his own book Lessons From the Edge, and two new shows The Bridge and James Cameron’s Ocean Explorers, it is fair to say Aldo has been very busy.

" If you don’t h you become

entire course, miss one shot and fail. It is not easy. I completed this at nineteen. For me it was constantly about testing myself in the hardest environments. If I can move five miles without being seen, if I can understand environments, I will become a very good soldier. JAI Were you able to maintain a strong and healthy mentality throughout your time in the Marines? ALDO Well, 99% of people don’t make it to the Marines, so the people there are of an elite calibre and it was that association, being surrounded by outstanding people, that had a huge impact on me. It is incredibly important to always surround yourself with people you want to be like and that is what the Marines are like which really helped me maintain a healthy, strong, and determined mentality.

I love being active and busy. I enjoy having goals and achieving them. That to me is how I work best so my mentality seemed to work well within the confines of military life. Constantly changing environments means you always stay alert, constantly training to become better. It really worked for me. Complacency is detrimental, it kills dreams. The minute you’re complacent you take your eyes off the ball. The military prevents most from being complacent. JAI To the surprise of many, you decided to leave the Marines when you were at the peak of your military career. What encouraged you to make this decision? What is it about this course that was so challenging and to what extent did completing the course improve you as a soldier? ALDO The numbers straight away; thirty week basic training. When you join the Marines roughly fifty people start, probably one fifth pass. You then have to complete a two week selection course, out of twenty on it, maybe half make it. Then to become a sniper, you have a lot to do and out of the ten maybe five pass. The reason being it is a two month course which covers so many disciplines. It is physically and mentally demanding but the highest level of pressure is self induced, and if you can’t handle that you will struggle. You can do the

ALDO I was twenty-six and had already done ten years. At this point, I felt I was getting complacent. After ten years of travel and war, I had been there, I had seen the waste of life and I knew I wanted to travel to places I had never been before engaging with the outdoor world. I wanted to know what else was out there for me to see and do. I had this dream of constantly travelling, it broadens the mind. I was never an academic, but I knew by travelling I could become more intelligent than I was. JAI How did you find that period of trans-itioning out of military life into perhaps a more normal integrated lifestyle? ALDO It was a confusing time. I came from a background of being able to trust people

you have as you feel in some way you have done yourself justice. around you, whereas, when I entered the real world with a quote-unquote normal job, everyone is out for themselves. It took me two to three years to find out what it was I really wanted to do after leaving the military. I was constantly doing personal development courses, learning to climb, become a mountain bike instructor etc. I knew I would need it, I wanted to work outdoors and practised as much as I could and became as qualified as I could with the aim of being someone who could do almost anything in the outdoors. Drifting is the biggest fuck up, not doing things never helps. Life is fucking short, in the blink of an eye we won’t be here. I wanted to remain productive and proactive as I was aware of how short life was, that happens when you’ve been a marine or soldier. One of the things people don’t do is look back, on your own, writing things down and developing a deeper understanding of what you have been through, achieved and not achieved. I always tried to do this as I knew how important it was to understand myself more so than anything else. JAI How quickly did working in television and film re-encourage your love of adventure?

" When you’re mentally and physically prepared for something, then it happens, and you smash it, it reaffirms the passion you have as you feel in some way you have done yourself justice.

I am never the most qualified in the room, but I am a people person. I try to always converse with experts, bring people together, and keep people safe.

A lot of people go out thinking about what they can get for themselves, whereas I went out with the intention of helping others, that is what I do. I don’t really care about being front and centre, it is the teamwork and the togetherness I like. Once I came back from that first trip, I knew what I needed to do to make it in this industry, thankfully it has all worked out so far. JAI You have worked consistently in television and movies over the last 10-15 years, whether it be inside volcanoes, exploring narcos gangs, pushing Steve Backshall along the Amazon or being buried underground. Which projects will always remain ingrained in your memory? ALDO The volcano in DR Congo, as it was the first job I ever did. Since then, I have been back four or five times taking various teams in there so I know the space really well. Boiling lava lakes are also interesting, as you never knew what was going to fly out of them and I got to work with my brother on that one.

Also the expedition series with Steve Backshall, I think we did thirteen world firsts in that series. He is the real deal and gave me a great opportunity. We did ten expeditions in eleven months, just crazy. These trips are the pure essence of adventure, you’re grafting, working hard making the film, consistently discovering. Pretty cool.

When you’re mentally and physically prepared for something, then it happens,

ALDO When you’re mentally and physically prepared for something, then it happens, and you smash it, it reaffirms the passion you have as you feel in some way you have done yourself justice. When the opportunity to take people inside an active volcano came up, I knew I could do it due to all of my training and experience. Once this happened, things quickly fell in place and I knew exactly what it was I wanted to do. I didn’t really know anything about TV, I just wanted to keep people safe and help facilitate other people working on great projects.

JAI To get you through all of the expeditions, you need elite kit. You now work with Osprey and Canada Goose as well as others such as Bremont. Why these brands? ALDO It is very difficult to be with one or two brands as most brands don’t make every single piece of kit you need, so I tried to avoid a direct sponsorship for a long time as I liked having the option to change kit depending on where I am. Kit has to perform, and I do think most top brands do. However, when you are on an expedition, you push beyond performance and things get damaged. I used to adapt my kit constantly when I was a sniper. I had to move my pockets around as I was lying on my front a lot, clothing is the first layer of protection from all aspects of the environment, it has to work. The teams I work with now share the same values in terms of pure quality functionality. JAI Something that I am sure you get asked to speak about regularly is Team Essence and the record breaking row. Can you tell us about this adventure? ALDO Anyone can do it physically, it is mentally that things get tough. When you’re messaging Tim Peak and he is the closest person to you and he is not even on the planet it is strange but great (laughs). It was about raising money for the NSPCC and also about adventure. We just did it, no support. No one had rowed from central Europe to South America. It took us fifty days and ten hours to complete it, a real challenge. The waves were not the issue necessarily, it was more the big rolling swells, sometimes as big as 30/40 foot. You might also have wind blown waves added to this, which is scary for sure. It can actually make you feel insignificant when you’re surrounded by the enormity of nature. When we capsized, we all experienced it differently. As soon as it happened, all I remember thinking was survive, that is it. I think about what I can do to survive the next minute, once that is done, work out how to survive the next five minutes, then the next fifteen minutes, building out and staying focused in the moment. We all worked together on that and fortunately we survived and continued on our journey.

JAI All of the things we have spoken about so far have ultimately focused on physical endurance, strength, and planning. I am aware you resonate strongly with certain philosophers such as Marcus Arelieus, how have you worked on your personal philosophy? ALDO Well, I think. I write down problems, deconstruct, reconstruct and go from there. Age helps to a certain degree as you’re far more experienced. Everyone has a philosophy for life, whether they know about it or not. You just have to look at how your life has panned out, that says a lot about someone's philosophy. If you don’t have a plan, you become part of someone else's. Your past doesn’t dictate your future, making mistakes is normal but constantly making them is not ideal. Life is about personal development and I have that front and centre in my mind. When I did the bunker experiment, I didn’t know much about mental health. I realised after ten days in the dark with no connection and communication to anyone, it is easy to slip into poor mental health. I worked out what kept me on track back in the real world, these things were exercising, socialising, and being able to explore and enjoy nature. When these things were taken from me, I knew how important these things are to me and, actually, are important to every single person. JAI Do you have a mantra like a lot of former soldiers do? ALDO Yeah, probably ‘you’re going to fucking die soon’. It is true, but if you are aware of that you’re able to see things that truly matter and things that don’t matter as much. JAI Tell us about your book Lessons from the Edge and what inspired you to write it? ALDO From a very young age I knew I would always write a book. I left school with a few GCSEs and could hardly spell, but I knew I wanted to write about my experiences in the future. I have a proper old school journo's dictaphone, so every night I am out on various expeditions, I record my thoughts after each day which means I now have a shit load of memories and stories taken right from the moment.

It was nice to be able to look back, as I mentioned earlier. You become what you think about and I was able to record my life path and knew I had made the right decisions more often than not. If you’re constantly thinking about being scared of a snake, you will be scared of a snake. I knew what I wanted, I kept it front and centre in my mind, and did what I could to achieve this. Writing the book was really helpful for me to look back and, to a certain degree, appreciate the journey so far. JAI Arguably life's greatest adventure is parenthood. How have your life experiences up to this point positively influenced your parenting style? ALDO It is still a very new adventure. I am not sure what my parenting philosophy is, but we just crack on and take Atlas with us! I am not naive enough to think you can do what you want when you want, we need a routine to make him feel safe and secure but we love taking him across the world with us. We have travelled fairly extensively with him, he won’t remember it, but perhaps the seed of adventure and exploration has been planted in him. JAI Recently you have worked with NatGeo, Disney, Will Smith and on a James Cameron project that we will get to see soon - what can you tell us about both of these projects? ALDO I have done a lot of work over the last two/three years with NatGeo and Disney Plus on the Welcome to Earth series with Will Smith. It is an incredible series, I can’t quite believe I worked on it. Will Smith has a huge audience, and the stuff we do with him is full-on epic, it is nothing easy or safe. These are huge jobs, there are a lot of crew members and everyone needs to be kept safe which is usually my job. The Ocean Explorers show with James Cameron and BBC Studios for NatGeo and Disney, has been crazy. What it is, there is a huge research ship, complete with submarines, helicopters, everything. A full science team, all of the kit, and there is pretty much nowhere this ship can’t go. There are four of us on screen, it is a little like a Jack Cousteau odyssey (laughs). I can’t say too much now as it is coming out in 2023, but it is an

[my mantra] You're going to f*cking die.

" [my mantra] You're going to f*cking die.

INSTAGRAM.COM/ALDOKANE

outstanding project and I really can’t wait for people to see it. With The Bridge, I worked with AJ Odudu, she's great! It is the second series, and it is much bigger. It is basically a hybrid between adventure and entertainment. There is quite a large cash prize, and people are competing to get it. For me, I was on screen more than I had been before which was a different yet enjoyable experience. JAI What advice would you have for someone looking

to achieve difficult, challenging goals throughout their life? ALDO For anyone looking at achieving things in life, you need to think, work out what you want to do, set goals. Literally, write them down on paper and then action that plan by ensuring you do what you can to achieve these goals. Goal setting is a fundamental principle to success. Also, making sure you know exactly why you want to achieve that goal. If the ‘why’ isn’t big enough, the chances of success diminish massively. When it comes to the Marines, or any other line of work, having these ideas nailed down is required to achieve everything you want. Money is

never a leading motivation, as things are just things, experience outweighs that. Maintain focus, trust the process, and you’ll be able to achieve whatever it is you want to achieve. Fuck knows, I am not a psychologist (laughs). JAI Last question, where is the one place you haven’t been that you would love to visit? ALDO The Antarctic. When I look at everything I have done and places I have been, I realise there is a large part of the world that I haven’t experienced yet. I would actually love to try a solo expedition, maybe a solo ski out there. Maybe one day.

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PHOTOGRAHPY KRISTINA DUCHSCHER The ocean is inevitable, expansive, and ultimately essential. Without the ocean, life would simply cease to exist, that much is obvious. Yet, for most of us, the ocean is a wildly unknown space populated with dangers at a temperature far below that which would be considered pleasant. However, some find their calling in the ocean, exploring everything this alien world has to offer in the hopes of protecting oceanic life and educating others about the wonders of life below the surface. We caught up with John Roney, an underwater cinematographer and video editor, to take a deep dive (I simply couldn’t avoid the pun, apologies) into his love for the ocean, exploration, and animal protection. JAI What is it about the ocean that encourages your sense of exploration? JR Growing up on Vancouver Island, I’ve always been drawn to the ocean. Long

before I began scuba diving, I spent more hours than I could possibly count exploring coastlines and camping on rugged west coast beaches. During this time I always dreamt of sailing off on adventures. The ocean held a sense of the unknown for me but it was when I first dived beneath the Salish Sea that I realised just how little I truly knew about the ocean. Here was a world completely unknown to me, and most people, that was right on our doorstep. Just minutes from my front door were giant Pacific octopuses, massive wolf eels, and entire undersea forests brimming with life. How could I resist exploring it?

our waters?” Many local Vancouver Islanders still have no idea about the amazing animals that live in these waters. There’s this misconception that colourful sea life is only in the tropics, and it couldn’t be further from the truth. That is what drives me to constantly film in these cold, harsh conditions. I want to use my footage to educate audiences about what lives within the Salish Sea - not just the famous orcas, sea lions, and salmon - but all lesser known and equally important animals that make up this rich ecosystem. If people are going to fight to protect this marine ecosystem, they have to know what they stand to lose.

JAI The ocean is still one of the great unknowns. Does this mystery of the ocean inspire you to continually document and explore?

JAI What experience cemented within you the idea that you want to spend as much time as possible understanding, analysing, and exploring the ocean?

JR Every time I surface from a dive in a public area, onlookers will ask me the same question: “Do you actually see anything in

JR The first time I encountered a Giant Pacific Octopus, I saw these two large eyes staring out at me from a fissure in a

WORDS & INTERVIEW JAI MCINTOSH

rock wall, twenty-five metres beneath the surface. What intrigued me so much, aside from the alarming size of the animal, was the intelligence I saw staring back at me. Here was an animal that was clearly trying to figure me out, just as I was trying to figure it out. Later that night I went home, and began reading every piece of research that I could on the Giant Pacific Octopus. While researching the animal, I noticed just how little footage of these incredible animals was available and I realised I was in a unique position to add to the conversation. As my passion for capturing footage of these animals grew, so too did my desire to protect them. JAI In terms of oceanic conservation, what can be done on a personal level to protect the oceans from as much human-caused damage as possible? JR Two things that we can all do on a personal level to protect the ocean are only consuming safe, sustainable seafoods and avoiding single-use plastics. There are plenty of helpful resources out there that can point you in the direction of well-managed fisheries. You can also let your voice be heard by electing public officials that support policies that protect our oceans. I personally work with the ocean conservation organisation Only One, which runs campaigns that support ocean protection policies, such as expanding marine protect-

ed areas and ending the shark fin trade. I would encourage anyone who’s interested in protecting the ocean to learn about the marine life in your own backyard and find out what challenges it may be facing! JAI The ocean is not only full of animal life, plant life dominates the ocean and is vital for the safety of the planet. Which plant do you believe to be the single most important in the ocean? JR It’s not actually a plant, but kelp immediately comes to mind. Kelp belongs to another kingdom of life, called protists. Off Vancouver Island, we have giant kelp and bull kelp forests that not only serve as shelters and nurseries for a myriad of marine animals, like all the colourful rockfish, but also sequester large amounts of carbon. It’s estimated they actually absorb twenty times more carbon per acre than land forests. This means healthy kelp forests are incredibly important in the battle against climate change. They also happen to be absolutely gorgeous. During the spring and summer, I’ll often get up before dawn to dive through bull kelp forests when I can catch the early morning sunrays breaking through the canopy overhead. There’s nothing quite like it. JAI What animal encounter that you have personally experienced will you never forget?

JR One animal encounter I’ll never forget was during a solo night dive. I was searching for opalescent squids, when suddenly I felt something smack the back of my head. I turned to see hundreds of opalescent squids swimming in unison towards me, drawn to my video lights. For the next hour they frequently swarmed me, jetting ink and capturing small prey, sometimes inches from my face. It felt as though I was suspended in outer space surrounded by shooting stars. JAI What are the easiest ways for people to begin their own journey of exploring the coast and the ocean and what piece of advice would you give them? JR If I could offer any advice, it would be to take interest in your local marine life. If you’re fortunate enough to be living along a coast, there’s so much exploring you can do even without diving down to 30 metres. You wouldn’t believe how much life you find even within a tiny tidepool! Freediving is also a great way to begin exploring the underwater world for a fraction of the cost of scuba diving. But if you’re ready to take the plunge, contact your local dive shop and ask about doing your open water. Breathing underwater is a life-changing experience and I couldn’t recommend it more. Just remember to relax and breathe. @roneydives

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STAND OUT STORIES:

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PHOTOGRAPHY HAYLEY FEARNLEY

Throughout this issue, the ideas of adventure and exploration have been analysed and understood through various lenses each with an individual perspective and understanding of what it means to explore. Yet, very few have had to explore an entire new sense of self both mentally and physically. This is where we bring you Ed Jackson, former professional rugby player turned alpine climber, charity owner, and broadcaster. Having just stepped into the second decade of his professional rugby career, Ed suffered a life altering accident which left him with an exceptionally low chance of walking again.

PHOTOGRAPHY HAYLEY FEARNLEY

ED JACKSON

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Not one to back down from a challenge, Ed managed to defy the odds. Having achieved some very minor movement, Ed set his sights on something much bigger. Fast forward, and Ed is now the first quadriplegic to climb above 7000m, has raised hundreds of thousands for charity, and has worked on the game changing Berghaus Adapt equipment for disabled explorers. We spent the day with Ed in his hometown of Bath to discuss all he has been through in the last five years, and how he is continuing to push the boundaries of human possibility.

" WHEN YOUR BACK IS AGAINST THE WALL, YOU REALISE HOW MUCH DEEPER YOU CAN DIG.

JAI How significant was it for you making your debut for the club you grew up supporting? EJ Running out onto the pitch at a ground which you've grown up in as a kid, it was a bit surreal and absolutely terrifying. We played against Leicester Tigers, I didn't expect a game like that to be my debut, but there was an injury crisis in the back row and I found myself as a 19-year-old in front of 10,000 fans on my home ground. It was an amazing experience. Actually just being able to play rugby at all was incredible. Looking back, I realise how lucky I was to be able to do that, to go to work with 50 mates every day. I feel really fortunate to have done that, especially the opportunity to play for my hometown club. JAI After three years in the Bath first team you moved to Doncaster, then to London Welsh, Wasps and ending up at the NG Dragons. How difficult is it to integrate yourself into various new teams? EJ When I left Bath, I was terrified as I was going to be well out of my comfort zone; Bath was my home. I had spent three years there as a professional and grew up there, so moving up to Doncaster was a bit of a shock to the system, but I loved it. A lot of people would think a successful career is staying at one club your whole life, a lot of the time, that is the case because you are really good. I look back on my career and I'm glad I played for five different clubs. I had to climb the ladder again after taking the knock back from my shoulder injury; moving clubs was inevitable if I wanted to achieve my professional goals. I look back now having played for five clubs and I've got five times as many friends and experiences.

" WHEN YOUR BACK IS AGAINST THE WALL, YOU REALISE HOW MUCH DEEPER YOU CAN DIG.

JAI So you had all these excellent experiences and were playing what you have said yourself was the best rugby of your career.

" WHEN YOUR BACK IS AGAINST

Then, you have a life changing accident. Could you talk me through what happened? EJ I was recovering from another shoulder injury in April 2017, when I went round to a family friend's house on a really hot day and we wanted to use the pool. We went down after lunch, it was just a really casual Sunday afternoon. I just took my shirt off, dived into the end where the waterfall was. I thought it was deep so I couldn't see it, but I was a lot bigger back then. It turned out to be three feet deep. I hit my head straight on, the impact was so hard, it dislocated the bottom of my neck and the two vertebrae exploded. I was completely paralysed from the shoulders down. I was just in the water staring at the surface, confused. Thinking, why can't I move? Weird. Then that confusion escalated into panic. I thought I could drown here, I hope someone sees me. Luckily my Dad was there with one of my friends. They came over and pulled me to the surface, I'd lost all sensation of movement. Four or five minutes later, the ambulance came.

I just spent the whole time feeling not just sorry for myself, feeling sorry for everyone, including myself, but just thinking, why me? Why has this happened to me? Do I deserve this? I thought about some things that night that I probably never want to think about again. I've been there, I understand what it's like to not want to be here anymore. I don't regret having experienced that because it gives me so much more empathy and understanding for people. JAI How were you able to grasp some of the positives and reshape your mindset? EJ There was a bit of a tipping point after about nine days. The surgeon came in and effectively told me that based on my spinal assessment results I was category one, which was the highest level of injury. I was most likely never going to walk again. I remember thinking to myself that in six months time if I look back and I've cut

Two days passed, nothing had moved. I'm not going to lie, I was questioning is this ever going to happen? Then after a couple of days, my toe moved for the first time, which I was told was never going to happen. So the rules went out the window and I was thinking all bets are off, let's see how far we can take this. That mental shift was the first change. JAI Would you say that your support group, family and friends, were the main source of inspiration behind your desire to improve your situation? EJ Yeah, absolutely. Recovering from a traumatic experience like this there are a lot of things that play into it. The number one thing is that you have to make the decision that you are going to try and get better because if you don't do that, then you won't. The one thing that I've noticed throughout my recovery was that the people who were really trying to improve their recovery were the people with good support networks, people who had a reason to get better. The people who had kids, had a good life outside of their injury. All of those things I took for granted before, and I probably didn't realise. It is not just the practical things that they've done for me in terms of rehab or moving me around, taking me to different places, helping me raise money for special rehab, all of those sorts of things. Actually, just as a motivating factor to want to be back with them, to want to make them proud, to want to give my then fiancé now wife the life that she deserves. JAI Quite remarkably, you climbed Snowdon just nine months after suffering your injury. At what point did you begin to consider your first challenge? EJ I was back home still using a wheelchair most of the time. I was taking steps, rehabbing, and moving. I actually started to find it hard to motivate myself to carry on doing the rehab. I knew if I did something stupid like trying to climb Snowdon eleven

months after being told I'm never going to walk again, it would make certain levels of press and people might see it in hospital. It might be the one message that gets through to one person that motivates them to try again. I never actually thought I'd make it to the top. I thought I might get a few hundred metres up the slope, but at least the people would see me on my feet. The message would have been sent either way. I opened it up to anyone who wanted to come and join in, thinking a couple of people would come, my friends or family. But 70 people came to join because I'd started this blog in hospital on social media. It was unbelievable, I couldn't believe the turnout of people I didn't know, who had just been following my journey for their own reasons. By taking on these challenges and trying to help myself whilst helping other people, that became that first feeling of "I might be of use here again, I could live a life of purpose and be useful." JAI At what point in your physical and mental recovery did the idea of starting your charity, Millimetres to Mountains, come into your thinking? EJ So it happened relatively organically over the next 18 months. I went out to the Alps and climbed the mountain Khumbu Way and had this moment on the summit where someone was actually filming. I was standing up there, in front of the most incredible view looking out over the Alps; clear blue sky. I just felt so lucky to be there. That was the moment I realised how impactful being outdoors and challenging myself in the outdoors was having on my mental health and my own recovery, and how lucky I felt to be there. Later that year, I got invited out to Nepal. So I went out to Nepal just trying to raise awareness for this spinal unit over there. I went on this little three day trek and completely fell in love with the place and decided that I wanted to try and raise as much money as possible for this charity and for this spinal unit. So when I got home, one of my mates, Max Clark, and Bath colleagues helped me set up this way of raising money for this spinal unit. Then we would do it by taking people on trips around the world to climb mountains and raise money for charity.

l had a seven hour operation and woke up in intensive care the next day, but as a quadriplegic. I was completely paralysed from my shoulders down. It was a nightmare you never thought would happen to you. I'd gone from professional sportsman to the exact opposite in a matter of seconds. That was a lot to take on and deal with in those early days, it was not just a loss of identity, but a loss of self completely. I felt really guilty.

corners and I've just carried on laying here feeling sorry for myself, and now everyone's got to look after me, I'd never be able to look at myself in the mirror. But if I do everything I can to get better, and even if nothing happens and they still have to look after me, at least I know it wasn't all my fault; I tried.

" BY TAKING ON THESE CHALLENGES AND TRYING TO HELP MYSELF WHILST HELPING OTHER PEOPLE...I COULD LIVE A LIFE OF PURPOSE AND BE USEFUL.

JAI Over the last four years of climbing and exploring, what key lessons have you learned?

JAI You made national news by climbing the height of Everest up your own stairs during lockdown, how was that experience?

EJ One of the things that I first realised is that when your back is against the wall, you realise how much deeper you can dig. During my rugby career, I'd push myself to my furthest extent, you know, in pre-season when you're running until you're sick and all these sorts of things. Mountaineering emphasises that as well.

EJ Yeah, it was wacky. What was I thinking about? (laughs) I was so bored. After two weeks of lockdown I was getting fidgety. I had to do something to help one of the charities that I support. I thought I'd try to climb some stairs and picked the height of Everest, which, in hindsight, was me just saying something and then not actually thinking about what goes into it. The challenge ended up being twelve hours a day, four days, five and a half thousand times up and down the stairs, and I could only do it with one leg. 69,000 steps!

It's not a reckless pursuit; there is discipline involved. It's an art form and there's so much respect for the mountain. Yes, accidents happen, but the diligence and attention to detail that go into actually being good at mountaineering and mastering the craft fascinates me. I think the single biggest thing for me has been my perspective shift. Realising how lucky I am to have the things I have, rather than how unlucky I was to not have things. We always worry about what other people think but in reality it doesn't matter; follow the things that you're passionate about. JAI Could you tell me about the importance of reconnecting with nature? EJ Being outside and in nature is just so important for all of us. I think it's the biggest untapped resource for positive mental health. I didn't realise but I was very lucky to work outside most of my life with rugby. Something I took for granted until I was stuck in a hospital ward for months. Now I use it for my own inner peace. Being outside is where we're meant to be.

The news reports were talking about death tolls, which of course, is sad and important. It was causing people so much more unnecessary stress. So we just did Instagram lives over the news slots, if people want to tune in to just have a laugh, they could. We ended up raising £50,000, so it was definitely worth it in the end. JAI In part due to your charitable efforts in lockdown, plus all of the inspirational work you have undertaken both personally and professionally, you were awarded the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Unsung Hero Award. Did it feel as though it confirmed or helped instil the belief that what you're doing is the right thing? EJ I still can't believe I got it, it was a complete shock. My wife, Lois, was aware and managed to hide it from me until I was surprised during a BBC News interview.

I mean, it does worry me a little bit that she can pull the wool over my eyes so easily for such a long period of time. But I suppose I'm a bit too laid back to notice this sort of thing! It was incredible because in the video, there were a couple of people there who have become friends of mine. Hearing from their point of view the difference that I made, it was pretty incredible. I don't feel like I need any awards for it. There's all these people that have inspired me and done it for me. Having said that, it was really humbling and an amazing thing to receive. JAI After hosting the Paralympic Winter Games on Channel 4 you’re then off to try and become the first quadriplegic to summit over 7000m at Himlung Himal. Any chance you’ll get some down time when you’re back? EJ I come straight back into rugby to work on the TV stuff. Then we go with the charity to Morocco to Climb Mount Toubkal. Following that, we go back to Iceland, to trek over there, and we're going back to the pole in October to do another trekking trip. So, lots of travelling this year, but all really exciting trips and also ones that we can actually fulfil and look forward to. Hopefully, everything will run smoothly and we're really excited to bring this new next group of beneficiaries through and have a full year with the charity. Search TESSUTI ED JACKSON on YouTube

C R E AT E D & P U B L I S H E D B Y

E S S E N T I A L S T U D I O.C O. U K

› To find your nearest showroom visit davidmrobinson.co.uk

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WATCHES & WONDERS

WORDS JAI MCINTOSH

For the horologists reading, Watches and Wonders 2022, held in Geneva last month, marked the return of in-person shows for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic; a major milestone. Taking place at the Palexpo Conference Centre over the course of a week, the event brought together some of the biggest watch brands, including a number of DMR friends.

In keeping with the theme of this issue, we worked together with David M. Robinson to supply you, dear reader, with a collection of watches built for the inner explorer in all of us. Okay, most of us…

« Patek Philippe | Annual Calendar Travel Time Ref. 5326G-001 This white gold piece released by Patek Philippe, is the first time the brand has cleverly brought together these two genius complications in one piece. The Travel Time function allows the simultaneous display of the time in two locations, whilst the Annual Calendar function allows the wearer to read the date, day and month at their location, with a moon phase display and local and home day/night indication in apertures. Patek Philippe has redesigned the Travel Time function. While the basic principle with two hour hands from the centre is retained, the two common time zone pushers in the left-hand case flank were replaced with a winding-stem setting mechanism that has three positions. The user merely needs to pull the crown to the middle position

and then turn it clockwise or counterclockwise to adjust the local-time hour hand in one-hour increments in either direction without affecting the precise rate of the movement. To accommodate this mechanical movement with its exclusive functions, Patek Philippe created a new white-gold case with a diameter of 41mm. With its slightly chamfered bezel and the polished, inclined lugs, it underscores the sleek and timeless elegance of the Calatrava design yet expresses its very own distinctive personality. Travelling in style is never a bad thing. Patek Philippe continues to innovate at the crosslines between outstanding craft and aesthetic beauty. For travellers looking to carry that extra layer of style, this watch is ideal.

« Rolex | GMT Master II The Rolex GMT Master II is designed with the frequent traveller in mind. Its key function is the ability to simultaneously display the time in two time zones. Designed as a navigation aid for professionals criss-crossing the globe, over time the GMT Master became the watch of choice for travellers. The new version of the GMT Master II is equipped with calibre 3285, a movement at the forefront of watchmaking technology, enabling it to display the hours, minutes, seconds and date, as well as an additional time zone in 24-hour format. For 2022, Rolex introduced an unexpected addition with the winding crown and crown guard on the left side of the case.

Like all Rolex watches, the Oyster Perpetual GMT Master II is covered by the Superlative Chronometer certification redefined by Rolex in 2015. This designation testifies that every watch leaving the brand’s workshops has successfully undergone a series of tests conducted by Rolex in its own laboratories according to its own criteria, following the official certification of the movements by the Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute (COSC).

The GMT Master II is far from just beautifully functional, it is durable too. A paragon of robustness and reliability, the 40mm Oyster case of the new GMT Master II is guaranteed waterproof to a depth of 100 metres (330 feet). Its middle case is crafted from a solid block of Oystersteel, a particularly corrosion-resistant alloy. The crystal, fitted with a Cyclops lens, is made of virtually scratch proof sapphire and benefits from an anti-reflective coating. The waterproof Oyster case provides optimum protection for the watch, making the GMT Master II an ideal watch for the budding explorer.

TUDOR | Black Bay Pro a Manufacture Calibre with builtin GMT function. Taking inspiration from the their archive of quality watches, the Black Bay Pro brings together over sixty years of TUDOR divers’ watches at the same time as being resolutely anchored in the present. Whilst it is neo-vintage in conception, its manufacturing techniques, reliability, robustness and the quality of its finish are consistent with today’s more rigorous requirements.

This release epitomises TUDOR’s commitment to the spirit of the adventurer. The Black Bay Pro is an entirely new model with a dual time zone feature, a technical complication that establishes local time without losing sight of the time in another time zone. Compact, robust and sporty, this model boasts many unique aesthetic details and celebrates the spirit of the technical watches that TUDOR has produced throughout its history. This 39mm watch has a fixed steel bezel and

TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 Orange Diver The new TAG Heuer Aquaracer addition is inspired by an iconic heritage timepiece from the brand that is now popular with collectors. Like other watches in the collection, it is designed for the professional diver and is water resistant to 300 metres. A symbol of safety and security at sea, the strong tone used in the orange of the dial on the latest addition to the Aquaracer family, is prevalent due to its strong contrast against the blue of the ocean. In terms of design, the TAG Heuer Aquaracer Orange Diver has a fine brushed and polished 43mm case in stainless steel with a distinctive orange dial and white tip on the second hand. Legibility being one of the main features of the collection, the indexes and hands have been coated with white Super-LumiNova® to contrast with the colour of the dial. The Aquaracer Professional 300’s sophisticated fine adjustment system on the strap can extend or reduce the bracelet length by up to 1.5cm. This enables any wearers to resize the bracelet so the watch can be worn on any occasion and under a variety of climatic conditions. Thanks to its bright colour combined with high-quality technical features and bold design, the TAG Heuer Aquaracer Orange Diver is the perfect adventure companion.

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TIPS FROM THE PROS FOR THE HOME BARISTA All the gear and no idea? Or exploring ways to dial up your espresso making expertise at home? Well lucky we have La Marzocco and their trusty troop of pros to lend you a few handy tips on acheiving the perfect pour from your Linea Mini...

START HERE

FROM THE R DATE, IT'LL B REALLY NICE SETTLED ON YOUR ESPRE RECIPE WILL DIAL IN REAL EASILY

@de arg re en

WORDS THE PROS

LISA LAWSON

DEAR GREEN COFFEE ROASTERS GLASGOW

@qu art er

NATHAN RETZER

QUARTER HOUSE COFFEE BIRMINGHAM My best tip for making espresso at home is to buy a good set of scales.

@lam ar z u co oc

" LEAVE YOUR COFFEE FOR ABOUT 14 DAYS FROM THE ROAST DATE, IT'LL BE REALLY NICELY

ESTELLE BRIGHT

LA MARZOCCO UK & IRELAND Something important when making espresso at home is the quality of water: either filtered or bottled water. This is for the taste of the coffee and the longevity of the equipment.

P.T.O

coffee rse ho

It's really important to check the roast date on your coffee. If your coffee's too fresh, there's lots of CO². When you grind that coffee, it releases CO² and you can get lots of volatile acidity. You can get a really sparkling water, sort of texture and a lack of sweetness. To stop that happening, leave your coffee for about 14 days from the roast date, it'll be really nicely settled on and your espresso recipe will dial in really easily.

ee off nc

For more from La Marzocco Home head to uk.lamarzoccohome.com

" MY BEST ADVICE FOR MAKING ESPRESSO AT HOME IS TO TRUST YOUR PALATE

SCOTT JAMES COALTOWN COFFEE CARMARTHENSHIRE

@no rt h st ar ast ro

@coa lto w

If you're looking to make espresso at home, one thing to watch out for is your grind size. If your grind size is too fine, your espresso will choke up and run through too slowly. If it's too coarse, the water will run through too fast and your shot will be too acidic and weak. So the best way to look at it is like a bucket of sand or a bucket of pebbles. If you've got a bucket of sand, the water will be absorbed in those particles. If you've got a bucket of pebbles, the water runs through too quickly. So adjust your grind size to suit, weigh your coffee to get accurate measurements and then pull your shots.

OLLIE SEARS

NORTH STAR COFFEE ROASTERS LEEDS My top tip for a steaming milk on the Linea Mini is figuring out where the wand is about to turn on, so when it starts to get a little bit tense. And then basically having a set routine where you go like a quarter turn or a little bit more from that point. Then when you're actually steaming, the milk gets to the right height on the steam wand so your milk is just at the right depth where it won't splash all over. You don't have to move a lot to get the perfect texture for flat whites, lattes, cappuccinos and stuff. And then you're holding the milk jug with your other hand, on the side and the bottom, so that you can't really avoid measuring temperature pretty accurately. You'll never go too far wrong with that because you want to turn it off before it gets uncomfortable.

@oat ly

LAURA CHAMBERLAIN OATLY

A question I often get asked is, "What's the difference between steaming oat milk and cow's milk?" And the answer is simple: not much difference. One sneaky tip that I have is pouring a little drop of cold oatly in with the espresso before you pour your steamed milk on top.

" AND THEN YOU'RE HOLDING THE MILK JUG WITH

HAND, ON THE SIDE AND THE BOTTOM, SO THAT YOU CAN'T REALLY AVOID MEASURING TEMPERATURE PRETTY ACCURATELY

@for tsc of e fe

WILL PITTS FORTS COFFEE MARGATE

So my top tip for making a really decent milk drink is just to make sure that you do a simple step, which is to work the espresso at the same time as pouring in the milk. I mean, you have a very shiny, decent looking milk drink.

For more from La Marzocco uk.lamarzocc

@ext ra ct e ffe co

OLIVER WORLEY

EXTRACT COFFEE ROASTERS BRISTOL

@clim ps o na

sons

DANIEL SAY

@we llg ro

CLIMPSON & SONS COFFEE LONDON

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My best advice for making espresso at home is to trust your palate. There is no greater arbiter of subjective quality than you.

MEL DABBS

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THE END

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WELL GROUNDED TRAINING ACADEMY LONDON My top tip for home baristas is not to worry too much about the numbers. Your dose, your yield, your pressure - that's important, but don't get hung up on them. Just dial in a recipe that tastes good to you.

One of my best tips to make great coffee at home is when you're milk steaming, and you want to make sure you're trying to get a really great milk texture, one way to do that is by tapping the milk after you've steamed it and giving it a really good swirl.

FROM SOURCE TO... SAUCE? words & interviews JAI MCINTOSH

Culinary exploration is a defining characteristic of humanity, a space in which needs and wants are combined with art and daring to create something at once deeply nourishing and optically engaging, hopefully. Food is the gateway into other cultures, the easiest way to bridge divides and open conversations for a greater understanding. Thus, food is a facilitator, a mediator, and a guide. In keeping with the theme of the issue, we sat down with a collection of leading Chefs currently working in the UK and asked them just how important exploration is to their culinary endeavours. We then went into greater detail of each chef’s journey and philosophy, looking at the myriad components that make what they do authentic and successful.

IXTA 1 BELFRAGE Exploration and adventure are key to creativity when it comes to cooking. That could be literal or figurative- afterall, you can travel to the other side of the world or share culinary ideas in the time that it takes to refresh your phone screen or to flip through the pages of a book. Of course I would always encourage literal travel. Nothing gets your culinary creative juices flowing better than immersing yourself in a country and its cuisine to gain a better understanding of ingredients and how they are used. However, I’m aware that this opinion comes from a position of great privilege and not everyone can travel. Exploration and experimentation is key to developing creativity in your cooking.

N IEV E S 2 BA R R AGÁ N M O H AC H O

is all It’s very important to me. Sabor is a and in Spa of lity ona regi the about the from journey across many regions ors asad the to ía tapas bars in Andaluc of nts aura rest ood seaf the of Castile and Galicia.

JOHN &3 DESIREE CHANTARASAK

The influence that I take from my food is from Thailan d which, in itself, requires a lot of tra vel and exploration both to understand people, culture, and the food that bin ds all of these things together.

ANDREW, 5 DANIEL & STEVE. cooking The whole reason I was drawn to to food of ty abili the at an early age was in pism esca e Pur . ney jour a on take you imand every way. I travel extensively their merse myself in cultures through my into k bac s idea g cuisine. When I brin e thos to d linke ver fore feel I kitchens, ired me. times, people and places that insp

HARRIET MANSELL

Undeniably fundame ntal. We work in harmony with the wo rld around us, watching the shifts in season, observing the micro-fluctuation s in what becomes available day to da y. The menu is deter mined by following the land and shoreline, and by learning and exploring the forests, woodland, be aches and fields, as the seasons pass by . To really tune in to what is growing an d where, the only wa y is to explore. The wa y in which I choose to explore - because really, the options ar e endless - is to tune in to my internal co mpass and think, "Whe re would I like to go on a day like today ?" Perhaps tuning int o the weather: tempe rature, humidity, the energy in the air. It's quite intuitive reall y - there is no great rhyme or reason, bu t I go where I feel wil l bring me happine ss. That's where you be gin to observe and log what is growing around you. When you see something in great abundance, thriving in its growth, then that for me is what is going to go on the menu. Usua lly, we try lots of differen t ways since we are completely focusse d on extracting new and unusual flavour s, things to provoke thought and the pa lette.

“What we do with food is the oldest form of our culture, it’s before writing, it’s before singing, it’s before dancing, it is who we are''. - A.A.Gill

How central is the notion of exploration and adventure to your personal cooking philosophy?

LFRA

LFRA E B

E I X TA

It took me a long time, a bunch of random jobs and two abandoned degrees to realise that I wanted to work in food as well as eat it. I started out with a market stall where I sold tacos, after which I set up a little catering business. I found both extremely tough without any industry experience, so I applied for commis chef positions, not hopeful as I had no restaurant experience. Luckily NOPI, one of Yotam Ottolenghi’s restaurants, gave me a chance and I worked there for the best part of a year before being offered a trial in the Ottolenghi Test Kitchen. At the time, I had no idea the test kitchen existed, or that recipe development was even a job, but it all came very naturally and now I couldn't really imagine doing anything else. Aside from actually cooking, you seem to be heavily involved in writing cookbooks, most recently in collaboration with Yotam

The reception to FLAVOUR surpassed any of my wildest dreams. So many people have told me that the book changed the way they cook, the way they view vegetables, and made them more creative in the kitchen. I’ll never forget receiving an email earlier this year from someone with cancer who said that FLAVOUR had turned a radical and difficult change in lifestyle into an exciting and uplifting experience. Hearing this made it all worth it! I won’t pretend that I’m not pretty nervous about the upcoming publication of MEZCLA, even though FLAVOUR did so well. I’ve put so much of myself into it but I think it’s human to worry that it’s not good enough. By the time it comes out, the material feels old and you wonder whether it could be better. I have to keep reminding myself that even though I’ve seen the book a million times, tested the recipes until I’m sick of them and proofread the text until I can pretty much recite it off by heart, everyone else will be picking it up for the first time!

I’ve been obsessed with food since I had conscious thought. When I was a child, we lived in Tuscany. My mum is Brazilian and some of my Dad’s family lived in Mexico, so we travelled around Italy, Brazil and Mexico a lot when I was growing up and this all meant that I was exposed to a lot of diverse and delicious food from a young age.

Ottolenghi with a book entitled FLAVOUR. Add to this your first solo book MEZCLA, which is out towards the end of July, and it is fair to say you have been incredibly busy. What has the reception to FLAVOUR been like and how are you feeling ahead of the release of MEZCLA?

LFRA E B

E I X TA

Where did your love of cooking stem from?

E I X TA

Ixta Belfrage is a cook, food writer, and author capable of absorbing tradition and presenting her discoveries throughout her cooking. Having created her own catering company and market stall, Ixta was given the opportunity to show what she can do at Ottolenghi’s NOPI. Fast-forward, and Ixta alongside Ottolenghi, wrote Flavour. The success of this book has meant that Ixta is releasing her book, MEZCLA. We sat down with Ixta to discuss the importance of travel, food, and writing.

E I X TA

On your travels, what is the one meal/food that you tasted and have never been able to forget? I’ll never forget the meals my family and I had on Ponta Negra beach in Natal, northeastern Brazil. The beach was home to a few fish restaurants, our favourite was just a rudimentary shack in the sand, the tables of which were close enough to the sea that the water would lap up around your bare feet as the tide came in and the meal stretched into the late afternoon. We would feast on moqueca (a seafood, coconut and palm fruit stew), pirão (a porridge of sorts made by beating coarse cassava flour into hot seafood stock), grilled fish and prawns and all the trimmings: rice, vinaigrette (which is a chopped salsa, not a dressing), macaxeira frita (fried cassava chips) and an endless flow of guaraná and caipirinhas. The best.

@IXTA.BELFRAGE

S BA R

Á AG N

O H AC H

I O N EV

I love to be outdoors and I’m very sporty, so I try to do as much of that as possible when I’m travelling. Hiking, diving, cycling, all of those things. When I travel, I like to eat the way locals eat, drink the way they drink and explore the areas away from the crowds. I want to be one of them. On a professional level it’s always very inspiring to explore the local markets and discover the produce local to the area.

How important is it for you to help people explore new culinary avenues and find new taste experiences? It is truly one of the most important things. The regional variety of the cuisine in Spain is enormous, when I started Sabor people thought that because I’m Basque, that’s what I would be doing. In the south of Spain you have a lot more fried things and tapas whereas in the north you’ll find whole cooked fish and in Castile there’s a big focus on stews and beans in the food culture. At Sabor people can come in and it’s like “Where do you want to go?” It’s a great chance for discovery. You have travelled extensively throughout your professional and personal life. What

You are often regarded as one of Britain’s, and the world’s, leading chefs. You are also considered to be one of the leading female figures in this world. Do you feel a sense of responsibility to help enhance the visibility of quality female chefs? Of course, it’s very important and I’m so proud to represent female chefs here in the UK. I have great respect for my peers and friends Angela Hartnett, Monica Galetti and Lisa Goodwin Allen, they have the most successful restaurants in London as well. I think it’s very important for the visibility of females in professional kitchens and to encourage more female chefs in the industry. It's changing but there is work to be done.

O H AC H

Á AG N

Travel is everything to my style of cooking and where I find a huge amount of inspiration. Mexico is one of my favourite places to visit and the variety of cooking is amazing. In Oaxaca you’ll find all kinds of goat and lamb stews with spices you can only get in Mexican cuisine. It informs a lot of the dishes I create but using Spanish ingredients.

What is one meal/food that you have had on your travels that you will never forget? I will never forget a meal we prepared in Malinalco, Mexico. It was something really special. We dug a hole about a metre and a half deep and made a fire. Chickpeas, vegetables and a little water went into the pot with a rack on top for a with the goat. The goat was marinated in typical spices and chillies of the region and the steam is locked in with a mescal leaf from the agave. After we covered it for 14 hours, we came back the next day and the meat was falling apart. The chickpeas had been stewing in the juices, just amazing. I prepared tacos with the local women, and we filled them with the meat, coriander and sauces and enjoyed it all with an amazing view. I wanted to die from happiness.

@NEIVES_BARRAGAN1

experiences do you search for when you’re travelling and exploring new places?

When developing new recipes, where do you find your inspiration?

Á AG N

Nieves Barragán is one of the leading chefs anywhere in the world. Holding a Michelin Star, as well as making multiple appearances on television and radio around the globe, the Spanish chef has played a seminal role in the beating heart of London’s culinary landscape. If we’re talking food, who better to talk to?

I O N EV

& DESI

E CH

TARAS N A

JOHN K A

With AngloThai it speaks to both sides of my heritage. The development really starts by looking at the Thai side of my heritage, it tends to be dishes I know from Thailand, dishes I have cooked with my grandmother, or from my cooking experience in kitchens throughout Thailand. I try to take these concepts and, respectfully, substitute in ingredients from the British larder to achieve similar taste profiles.

I started cooking only eight years ago. I was feeling disillusioned with work in the UK so I travelled to Thailand and ended up working in some really good kitchens which enabled me to reconnect with that side of my heritage. I knew when I returned to London I wanted to cook Thai food. Being from the UK and being brought up here, I knew about the British larder and the amazing ingredients grown here. It was almost an immediate thought to follow the modern British new school and organically draw together Thai recipes into this. Can you give me an example of British ingredients that replicate taste profiles found in Thailand? I was cooking a dinner recently and we had oysters from Essex as a snack. Typically,

What differences have you discovered between understanding food and understanding wine? Again, it has been an organic journey for the both of us. My wife took her WSET during her free time when she was working, it has only been in the last few years she has come on board full time. I guess for us the journey of understanding wine was a daunting one as the old worlds of wine can be a little stuffy, so the natural wine movement felt like it was something quite accessible for us. We like to have fun with it and pair things up with food based on our own sense and tastes. We like to chill the wines so they're more fruit focused, we like skin contact stuff to bring out the florality of whites when complimenting spicy food. It hasn’t been much of a struggle, my wife is excellent with it all. How do you ensure you’re able to maintain culinary exploration and innovation? I am quite transient. The last few years AngloThai has been on a big journey, we are moving towards a more refined, dare I say, fine dining experience. I feel like I have hit my sweet spot now where I really feel like every

dish I create has a grounding in Thai traditions whilst also utilising British produce. We have a real vision of everything, down to the smallest details. The ideal is to keep discovering new dishes whilst unearthing ancient dishes and adding a modern twist on them to bring them into the contemporary. Talk to me about your new book! So the book is my second lockdown baby, my son and the cookbook were conceived at similar times (laughs). I am not very good at sitting still, and lockdown was getting everyone down and I needed a project. The publisher had approached me prior to lockdown, so it was perfect timing. The title translates to Eat Thai and it is a topline introduction to AngloThai, how we got to this point, and then pieces on understanding taste, flavour, and methods. It has 80 recipes in it as well as four/five chapters explaining different Thai regions, the climates, and how British ingredients overlap with Thai cooking. It might be a little new for some people, but I would definitely say it is a-cook-at home book - maybe my publisher would disagree - but we believe people will find it accessible and hopefully uncover some new tastes for themselves.

@ANGLOTHAI

AngloThai utilises British seasonal ingredients in traditional Thai recipes. What encouraged you to choose this bicultural combination given your vast travelling experience?

when you are having fresh shellfish you would have something called a Nahm Jim in Thai. It is a spicy, sour, salty, condiment - a bit like a dressing really - and we take these profiles apart and apply them to British ingredients. So we used horseradish for the spice and rhubarb to provide a hint of sourness. We try to use British produce for many reasons but predominantly due to quality and sustainability.

ARAS T N

E CHA When developing new recipes, where do you find your inspiration?

JOHN K A

EE CHA

ESI

John Chantarasak, alongside his wife Desiree Chantarasak, form the catalytic duo behind AngloThai. The London-based restaurant focuses on traditional Thai recipes whilst utilising quality British seasonal ingredients to create a personal menu indicative of the heritage, history, and art that goes into every plate. I met up with John Chantarasak to talk travel, parenting, food, creativity, and innovation…

M A NS E T E

HARR L I L

H A R RI

LL M A NS E

H A R RI

In what way/ways do you ensure you're able to regularly innovate with new recipes?

What challenges does cooking seasonal ingredients present?

By doing all of the above! It keeps us on our toes, and truly the restriction of only working with what is available is an incredible feeling of freedom. We get to channel our creativity and are constantly on the lookout in the world around us for new ingredients to find and gather.

You have to keep your eye on the ball. Taste everything, every day, every element that goes into everything. Every plant tastes different, depending on where you picked it, depending on the weather conditions that preceded you picking it, depending on the day or week or what stage in the season you pick it. It's simple; things taste and smell so different and so their usage changes depending on that.

How central is a quality team in helping you and the restaurant explore as many culinary avenues as possible?

We have entire dishes that rest upon the precise truth that an ingredient can be in its prime and render the eater speechless with

the deliciousness of something they didn't think could taste so good. It happens all the time with ingredients we use in their prime. Baby turnips in a simple broth can shine, because of the tender turnip bursting with a natural umami and a delicate broth dancing with the lightness of herbs picked that day. The following week - why does the exact same broth and the turnips from the same farm just not have that special something? Well. The answer is that it just doesn't. And in that moment, you move onto the next thing. This is really the cornerstone of what and why we love what we do. We thrive on change, observing and learning from the world around us. It's quite exhilarating really, to find yourself this opportunity where you get to explore for the purpose of flavour and nourishment, and turn those ingredients into something unexpected or beautiful.

@HARRIETMANSELL

My personal cooking philosophy is about supporting local growers who put passion and heart into their produce, and harnessing the specific micro-climate, flora and fauna of our area, to surprise and delight with a combination of familiarity, unexpected flavour and thought provoking ingredients from the land.

It's so important! I feel humbled by the passion that exists in our corner of the world. The team are all so incredibly passionate and creative. My chefs desire to explore and learn as much as I do, and so we are in constant search of new information, ideas and ingredients. We love to learn from any source we can and put that into practice and bounce off one another.

H A R RI

What does your approach to cooking take shape, in the way of who and what you work with?

Typically, the word ‘seasonal’ can sound overly buzzword-ish if not used correctly. Fortunately, Harriet Mansell is one of the current leaders in the UK’s earth-first culinary scene, opting to use foraged, seasonal, and local ingredients at her restaurant Robin Wylde. Speaking to Harriet, her passion and belief shines through, in a browmopping conversation that makes one feel certain that the future of seasonal cooking is in safe hands.

M A NS E T E

HARR L I L

NIEL

EW, D

S T EV

E . AND

How do you utilise the by-products from the 40FT brewery to enhance the food you make?

Tell us how you're feeling about having your first permanent space in the 40FT Brewery and Dusty Knuckle Courtyard, London? We didn’t expect to be opening a restaurant so soon, but while we were doing a little event

STEV

NIEL I’m not suggesting that we don’t take a little inspiration from American BBQ, but we don’t cook anything like brisket, pulled pork or ribs, and in fact, most of the ‘low & slow’ stuff we cook are vegetables directly on the embers. We lead with vegetables and it’s exciting to work through the seasons with the produce.

at 40FT, Steve Ryan, the owner, showed us the space and said it was up for grabs. We jumped at the chance and within a month we had the keys. We are so thrilled to be in the yard with our old 40FT friends and our new Dusty Knuckle friends. I’ve seen the yard grow over the years and always felt it was a special place. Out of all the things you make/create, which recipe on the menu are you most proud of? The ‘char siu’ monkfish with sea vegetables and jalapeño verde is a great evolution of an old signature dish of mine that Dan has put his stamp on. Last year, during the London Fields Courtyard run, we had an excess of fermented beetroot juice, a by-product from some vegan burgers we were making for Tramshed. Dan made molasses with it, with some jaggery and vinegar. We painted it on the monkfish as it cooked, and it came out looking like Chinese ‘char siu’ pork!

@ACMEFIRECULT

We try not to be pedantic about it, but we don’t use the word ‘barbecue’ as it is a particular style from the southern states of America, which we are definitely not. We’re a live-fire restaurant, and while we use wood and charcoal as our heat source, that’s where the similarities end. I think we're more similar to a Turkish ocakbaşi or Mediterranean grill than anything else.

During the first stages of brewing, the brewers make a mash called ‘first runnings’ which are left with spent grain. We use the grain to make dog biscuits for our furry visitors, and we also add salt to the grain and blitz to a mulch, in which we bury vegetables to ferment for a couple of weeks – an idea we got from Japanese Nukazuke style pickles. The first runs are also great to reduce down to a molasses for desserts, and the brewers yeast is reduced down into a ‘marmite’ which we paint on vegetables and make an umami rich butter from. We also soak leftover bread from Dusty Knuckle in beer and then blitz into a paste, spread thinly and dehydrate, then deep fry into crispy beer crackers for our cod roe dish!

How is ACME Fire Cult changing the contemporary narrative around BBQ cooking?

NIEL

ACME Fire Cult is a live-fire concept from chefs Andrew Clarke & Daniel Watkins, where the unconventional becomes convention. Vegetables, in step with contemporary consumer demands, are taking centre stage with rare and native breed meat from regenerative farms, and dayboat fish, taking a supporting role. We caught up with Andrew Clarke to discuss their journey so far and what inspires them to continually innovate.

AND . E

COLUMN

CLEARING THE NAME OF AUTO-TUNE WORDS

EVIE FRIAR

The musical world is rife with metaphors of transportation and transcendence. Music is said to move us, sound waves are visualised as unrelenting currents and a tune is supposedly something to be carried. It is no surprise then that the history of one of music’s most pervasive tools is so firmly rooted in spatial exploration.

Conversations around Auto-Tune have always come down to the issue of artistic integrity. The creation of a device that allowed anyone to appear naturally talented posed a threat to more established musicians. It’s often been condemned as deception; a vocal cloak of invisibility that allows the untrained to go undetected. However, this mythical perception of Auto-Tune doesn’t quite line up with its practical application. The first mainstream use of the device was in Cher’s 1998 single ‘Believe’, where the vocals are stretched out and manipulated in such a way that there’s no denying the presence of a digital effect. Similarly, during the mid-2000s, rapper T-Pain adopted the more extreme effects

However, as noted by music producer Ariel Rechtshaid, it took somebody discovering how to use the device incorrectly to really give Auto-Tune its enduring staying power. It is this “incorrect” use that has enabled artists to bridge the gap between such a dehumanised sound and something so inherently human: the conveyance of emotion. For example, Kanye West’s seminal album 808s and Heartbreak sees Auto-Tune act as a filter through which he could express himself following the untimely death of his mother. The result being the sound of disconnection, with the digital effect running alongside punchy 808 drum beats to create an uncanny soundscape drenched in conflict. Similarly, Bon Iver’s 2009 track ‘Woods’ hones in on Auto-Tuned vocals to depict feelings of intense isolation before spiralling into a cacophony of digitised singing often interpreted to reflect a busy mind. While it’s previously been dismissed as just a gimmick, its application today is more finely-tuned and subtle as ever. Now firmly established as a crucial instrument in any music producer’s tool belt, Auto-Tune allows for more control over the frequency range of the human voice than ever before. The result is a whole new playground for musicians, a refocus on what talent is within the studio, and a medium through which artists can explore new realms of self-expression. In a world where we’re constantly walking the line between stylised perfection and a desperate grasp for authenticity, Auto-Tune dances between the two, perfectly encapsulating the sound of a digital age.

Auto-Tune, the infamously polarising pitch-correction device, was invented by scientist Andy Hildebrand who specialised in signal processing that used sound waves to detect oil underneath the earth’s surface. With a lifelong passion for music and the seed of an idea planted by a friend at a dinner party, Hildebrand applied his knowledge of seismic data exploration to the human throat, sonically mapping out the correct formations to produce perfect pitch. It was a significant collision of two worlds, a cultural moment of underestimated proportions and a Frankenstein-esque invention that changed the landscape of music production forever. Yet its existence has proved so controversial over the last 25 years that it’s never quite shaken off its tarnished reputation despite being used so liberally today.

of Auto-Tune as his own voice, carving out a distinct musical style in order to stand out from the crowd. For a piece of technology designed to be imperceptible, its irresistible creative potential has never quite allowed it to be truly concealed.

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EXPLORING THE UKRAINIAN MEMORY WORDS

ISSY ROSS

It can be easy to get sucked into inflammatory headlines, misleading memes, and your Aunt’s hot takes on Facebook about the war in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s intentions and the disastrous impact of his crusade on Ukrainian civilians have been widely scrutinised, prompting radical displays of support and solidarity for Ukraine across the world. The head of military intelligence in Kyiv recently warned that Putin wants to divide Ukraine in two, already having claimed several territories along the eastern border. Beyond its proximity to Russia, an exploration of the existing divide within Ukraine— one that existed long before Russian troops invaded— is crucial to truly understand the conflict.

In 2005, Victor Yushchenko was elected, and the Ukrainian national identity took a sharp anti-Russian turn. Former Soviet or Russian influences were purged from Ukrainian cities, as Ukrainian diplomacy looked towards the West instead. The next ten years were a doozy. Consider Ukraine’s relationship to Russia a pendulum that oscillated violently from one extreme to another under each presidential term. President Viktor Yanukovych, elected in 2010, rapidly distanced Ukraine from Yushchenko’s pro-Western strides, and re-established the Ukrainian connection to Russia as a loyal ally. He appealed to older voters, with fond memories of and

Immediately following Yanukovych’s term, Petro Poroshenko vehemently rejected Russian influence. He embraced Ukrainian nationalism, decommunisation, and capitalism to bring Ukraine in line with the rest of Europe. His decommunisation laws banned the use of communist symbols, and stripped communist parties of their right to participate in elections. It was under Poroshenko’s leadership that the war in Donbas began, as pro-Russian separatists protested the Ukrainian government. It is this conflict that sets the stage for Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. This brings us to the current Ukrainian President, the much-memed Volodymyr Zelensky. Zelensky won his presidential campaign by appealing to the Ukrainian youth. Largely untethered from memory unlike his predecessors, Zelensky uniquely looks forward: following the release of the 2019 election's exit poll results, Zelensky stated, “We’re young people. To be honest, we don’t want to see the whole past in our future." While his election— winning a sizeable majority— showed a clear preference from the Ukrainian youth to forge a new national identity transcendent of Russian influence, the country remains divided. Pro-Russian sentiment still dominates much of the east, and Putin is exploiting these fault lines of memory to advance his influence. It can be tempting to essentialise the Ukrainian population for the purpose of opposing Putin’s state-sanctioned violence, but exploring its deep and complicated history can only enrich our understanding of the traumatic conflict.

Ukraine became independent from the former Soviet Union in 1991. Despite enjoying its new independence, Ukraine did not immediately condemn nor separate entirely from the new Russian state. Instead, under the leadership of Leonid Kravchuk and later Leonid Kuchma, Ukraine stayed close to its former occupier, reluctant to untether its national identity from Russia’s.

nostalgia towards the Soviet Union. These voters, often Russian-speaking, resided along the Russian border (where the Russian army now occupies).

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THE FINALITY OF FRONTIERS WORDS

CAMERON ROBSON

Our desire to endeavour, explore, and expand is one eternally coded into our psyche. The earliest homo sapiens left the African continent 100,000 years ago on foot, and it took us about the same amount of time to place them on the moon. These represent moments in our history that reflect true collectivity. Glimpses of togetherness, where our desire to explore, surpassed the inherent dangers. One such example came back in December 2021. On the coasts of French Guiana, the James Webb telescope successfully launched on its 1.5 million kilometre journey into space.

Meanwhile, Putin’s invasion of Ukraine shocked the world and the European continent experienced the horrors of a savage and vicious expansion. World law shattered as Putin passed beyond the boundaries of Russian land and attacked the Ukrainian people. Aggression in turn prompted by the Ukrainian’s desire to explore a world free from the confines of Russian influence. Putin’s actions undoubtedly reinforce in our minds the dangers of humanity’s desires; our ability to waste and destroy to satisfy selfish ambition, to cause harm and ruin when boundaries arise. However, the James Webb telescope reminds us of our true, honest drive for exploration. Our ability to surpass frontiers, not for personal gain, but for collective success. In fact, for the scientific community, the James Webb telescope may deliver a glimpse of answers to some of our oldest questions.

The sun shield, 1/1000th of an inch thick, has silently and precisely unfolded, and now protects the telescope from the heat of the sun. This is because the telescope must be kept extremely cold (-223*c) in order to see around 13 billion lightyears from earth. This is a distance so great, that the images transmitted back to us by James Webb will be 13 billion years old. Offering us a glance at worlds that may have flowered with life and yet still have long gone extinct, before the earth even existed. The images that the James Webb telescope return will possibly hold answers to questions about life before ourselves, and perhaps, what awaits a civilisation like ours in the future. Whether we can decipher those answers will be another challenge. Our tendency to destroy in order to expand is a powerful one. Putin and Russian atrocities will continue to dominate the headlines and likely define the future of geopolitical relations, and space exploration, for many years to come. As such our explorations in space will, unsurprisingly, fly under the radar for now. Yet, James Webb is an example of the hard work and dedication of many. As with all other examples of solidarity, collaboration, and sympathy, we must remember to champion such testaments to our humanity in the face of depravity. Even in smoke and chaos, we endeavour, explore, and expand.

The telescope is too big to fit onto any rocket, so it was designed to be delicately folded upon launch. Once successfully in space, the telescope quietly began one of the most crucial and delicate stages of its deployment; the origami-like unfurling of its sun shield.

The most powerful telescope ever launched into space, James Webb is a masterpiece of engineering and a beacon of hope for the scientific community. Its greatly improved infrared resolution and sensitivity to light will allow it to view objects too old, distant, and faint for the Hubble Space Telescope.

COLUMN

EXPLORING INNOVATION:

FASHION HOUSES & AUTOMOBILE DESIGN WORDS

JAMES BLAKE

We have seen cross-disciplinary collaboration of fashion houses and established car brands recently in the works of Daniel Arsham for Stone Island and Porsche, as well as Hermes for Bugatti, and Dsquared² for Mini. Creative collaboration is vital for new avenues and ideas to be explored, and history tells us, the idea sharing between fashion houses and automobile companies often stimulates design for a future world. In 2014 Mercedes sub-brand Maybach rebranded themselves as the epitome of luxury and comfort. Entering the luxury market, they have found underwhelming popularity against established competitors

such as Rolls Royce, arguably the luxury car brand. The Maybach project ushered in a new way of thinking and innovating with car design. Since then, a new age of fully electric and environmentally conscious luxury cars is on the horizon. Ultimately, the goal is to produce designled, earth-first automobiles. Through the cross-disciplinary collaboration between the late Virgil Abloh and Gorden Wagener, Chief Design Officer at Mercedes, the Project Maybach was born. The outcome of which is that the notion of luxury has been reconceptualised for Mercedes Benz. Maybach, a brand typically associated with the metropolis,

has created a daring concept car unlike anything Mercedes-Benz have developed previously. The project aims to embrace exploration in any terrain. Styled in a boxy, apocalyptic aesthetic, the 19ft off road vehicle is fitted with an exterior roll cage, roof rack and large solar panelled glass bonnet, Project Maybach is unapologetically radical. Exploration is celebrated throughout the vehicle with the inclusion of exploration tools such as the analogue compass in the dashboard or the Maybach branded emergency axe being included as standard. Seats recline fully to take advantage of the glass roof for stargazing, however, a unique twist in the cars design allows owners to fully remove each seat to place round a campfire. When discussing Virgil Abloh’s role in this collaboration, Gorden Wagener stated "Virgil was a huge car enthusiast, and he brought in interesting new perspectives; a 'question everything' approach, which he will most definitely be remembered for.” Despite his seismic impact on the world of fashion and design, Virgil Abloh is one of many designers working alongside car companies, all aiming to innovate their way to the future. The way we live and think needs to alter if we are to adapt to the major issues facing humanity in the contemporary world. Designers are at the frontier of conceptual exploration, automobile design is just one of many fields that have relied on the innovative thinking of fashion houses. As a global community, these collaborations are incredibly important if we are to build a sustainable, and aesthetically beautiful future. The collaboration between fashion houses and automobile designers is just one example of many that proves inclusive collaboration between people from a variety of backgrounds stimulates the highest quality of innovation. We have always had the urge to explore the unknown. Exploration is innate, rooted in our natural curiosity, but why should curiosity kill the cat? Without curiosity, the unexplored remains exactly that. Curiosity kept the cat alive.

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ISSUE 63 - Adventure & Exploration

Articles inside

SOLOVAIR // 27-31 THRUDARK

MISSONI // 38-39 JÖTTNAR // 40-41 VOLLEBAK

HOLLY BUDGE // 58-66 ALDO KANE

ED STAFFORD // 50-54 MARK BILLINGHAM

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