#39 / 11 / 2013
M AT U R E
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Impressum: Publisher and Management: VANGARDIST Ltd. & CO. KG Carlos Gómez & Julian Wiehl
The articles are the reponsibilty of the author and and do not necessarily represent the views of the VANGARDIST.
Editor-In-Chief: Carlos Gómez & Julian Wiehl Production Manager: Carlos Gómez Copy Editor: Klemens Gindl Fashion Editor: Mirza Sprecakovic Music Editor: Juán Danilo Zamora Editorial Staff: Ana Kaan, Klemens Gindl, Michael Neulinger, Dennis Stephan, Juán Danilo Zamora, Mario Kollinger, Andrew Ütt, Tobias Seebacher Photo Editor: Carlos Gómez Online Assistance: María José Villamil Rodríguez Photography: Julie Brass, Kidizin Sane, Brice Hardelin Correctors: Jay Bannmuller Translation: Lisa Voigt Production and Styling: Mirza Sprecakovic Graphics and Layout: Magdalena Weyrer Video Editing / Video Operator: Cristóbal Hornito Making of: Margarita Asami, Cristóbal Hornito Sincere thanks to all who, through their tireless efforts, have helped to produce this edition of the VANGARDIST. VANGARDIST Ltd. & CO. KG Mariahilferstraße 49 Top 15 - 1060 Vienna
Editorial Dear VANGARDISTS! Welcome to our “mature” issue. Like the motivational carrot dangling in front of the donkey, advertisements full of hot models between the tender ages of 16 and 26 are constantly put in front of our eyes. Equally, the exploited editorial interns of print media — whose level of life experience is just as low as their salaries — lead us to believe that youth is the golden age, which completely ignores the fact that our youthful years are usually jarred by emotional chaos, chasing after unrealistic pipe dreams, and chronic financial depravation. These days, no one dares to use the phrase “the best is yet to come”, but we do. And to all youngsters out there we’d like to say: It’s only after you’ve finished your degree and your years working as an underpaid intern, trainee or otherwise exploited young professional, and your thirtieth birthday are safely behind you that the real fun starts. That’s when you’ll be sitting in your own little home sweet home filled with designer furniture with a bank account that actually experiences a more or less regular refill and have a whole load of realistic dreams that you can slowly start to fulfil. So therefore, we say the golden years are between 30 and 60. The only question is: how do you hold on to your youthful mind and avoid becoming someone who believes in the importance of conserving certain values? In an attempt to discover the secret behind long-lasting mental freshness and a never-ending lust for life, we have interviewed the life-pro Roberto Lhotka for you. This month’s travel story talks about realising a typical male dream. Via satellite internet we got in touch with round-the-world sailor Martin Ernstbrunner who has been voyaging the world’s oceans for the past two years on a boat that he built himself. And the best thing: He offers other dreamers the chance to accompany him on his course for a few weeks! Hoping you’ll enjoy our mature issue, Julian Wiehl and his VANGARDIST team, who are all aging well
SHOOTINGS
topics facade
A coat affair
COVERY STOR
20
radar
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here comes the son
112
12
Youth is wasted on the young
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Reminiscence
A Farewell to the Milksop
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The Best Brit!
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Interview with designer Domingo Rodriguez
INDEX
EDITORIAL
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Editor's Choice
48
Style tip facade
Shopzone
98
balance
Beauty
90
Best-Of radar
How to live like a Lhotka
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Interview with the top dentist and bon vivant of Vienna: Roberto Lhotka on tour
how to survive in THe ocean
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What do I need to be able to sail? on tour
Places
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Espresso Bars vangART
listen to this!
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Recommendations for good listeners celebration
vangART
The Interbellum Berlin’s Golden Age
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Upcoming What‘s on in...?
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radar
A Fa r e w e l l t o t h e
Milksop Youth is wasted on the young
Text: Klemens Gindl illustration: Magdalena weyrer
Most people say your thirtieth birthday is your worst. It’s the date when you’re inevitably having to face the end of a youth that you were still able to maintain – albeit with increasing effort and often slightly unfair methods like relationship boycotts, feigned enthusiasm while supposedly writing your non-existent master's thesis, and the exponential increase of various party drugs – during the second part of your twenties. But then, come thirty, the easy life is suddenly over. From now on you’ll only get sex in exchange for marriage or money – for which you now actually have to work! Horrible innit?
At the ripe old age of thirty … To soothe one of your worries up front: Your thirtieth birthday most certainly doesn’t mean you’re now too old to be a progressive VANGARDIST reader. After all, we’re a men’s magazine, and to us the end of youth – whatever age you personally choose to attribute this event to – means essentially one thing: You’re finally a man. What does that mean exactly, you ask? Well, since the progression of time is a fact that we can do very little about, simply look at the beginning of manhood as the point in your life
when you can finally stop clinging to all the supposedly young stuff that you thought you needed in order to not look old, narrow-minded, and settled. Instead, you can now start permitting yourself the luxury of doing things that you have so far avoided for the abovestated reasons. And even if you don’t move into the executive suite of some prestigious company straight after you’ve cured your “big thirty” hangover, that’s no reason to worry about your gloomy grown-up future, because guess what? Thirty is the new twenty! Wise party-goers Knowing that the notion of being
granted a safe and reliable pension after forty years of hard work will most likely seem illusory by the time our generation reaches retirement age can also be seen as a privilege. Because look at it this way: At least we didn’t have to start leading grown-up lives when we were twenty – before acquiring any kind of life experience to speak of – just so we could slip into comfortable and hardearned retirement at the age of sixty. We’re gonna have to knuckle down until we’re at least seventy-five anyway. So if your age begins with the number three again and you decide to let the fun and games take a backseat to your professional development for a while, chances are you’ll have found something that more or less enthuses you within two or three years – and you’re finally going to actually get paid for doing it! After all, you didn’t just piss away your twenties but were actually having a good time while simultaneously giving some serious thought to what you actually wanted to do (and didn't want to do) with your life.
No more internships So your new situation doesn't actually suck. Not only can you stop worrying about every tenner you spend, you can also forget about one of the least pleasant aspects of your late twenties, namely, justifying how you lead your life to your “well-meaning” sponsor(s). Finally being truly and utterly independent entails a certain financial and social stability – commonly often referred to as leading a straight life – and comes accompanied by what can be seen as the best thing about being an adult man: the feeling that you can actively influence the world around you, that you’re no longer in training but can finally take relevant and significant action. Instead of being an intern who’s responsible for the quality of someone else’s coffee, you’re now a professional responsible for the quality of your own work. And the same obviously applies to aspects not linked to the exasperating topic of “your career”. Age and maturity tend to go along with a cer-
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a tosser; at forty though, it’s completely okay. The same applies to playing golf, sleeping with prostitutes, wearing bespoke suits, getting a shave at the barber shop, going to casinos where you have to wear a tuxedo, going hunting, buying art objects, sailing around the world, and wearing a Burberry trench coat. All of this means: especially regarding the beautiful and not-reallycheap joys in life, things definitely get easier from your mid-thirties onwards. Not only because you now probably have the money to buy them, but also because you’ve found the lifestyle that suits you and can start investing in long-lasting things because you know you’ll still like them a few years down the road. Ever tried on a pair of customThe good things in life made shoes? are often square The moral paragraph Maturity doesn’t just mean an increased calmness in the face of dis- There’s one hitch to the whole maturity aster, though. After a certain age you thing though, and that’s the “steady can suddenly do a whole number of personality” aspect. Grown-up confiwicked things that, as a youngster, you dence in an extreme form is precisely just couldn’t have pulled off. Driving a what freaks most of us out about getting Jaguar when you’re twenty makes you older (and it should!). Here, I’m refertain amount of equanimity in the face of a world that you’re finally beginning to understand and enable you to let things slide without being gripped by self-doubt that would’ve seemed absolutely disastrous when you were still sowing your wild oats. While things like infidelity, accidentally-fathered children, trashed BMWs or openly living an unconventional relationship are things that might have f….d you up at twenty, from about your mid-thirties onwards you’re able to ride them out pretty well – which also has to do with the fact that when you look around you, you often realize you’re not the first person these things have happened to.
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ring to the kind of self-righteous narrow-mindedness that leads some people to stop being open to new things because they’re convinced they’ve been there, done everything. This mindset doesn’t simply befall you after a certain age though and can thus be staved off. So basically, the difference between young people, who are generally open by nature and a mature man is that the latter can choose what he wants to be: a narrow-minded twat or someone who reacts to the constantly changing world around him with a broad mind. Because that’s exactly the character trait that all those mature people we admire for being young at heart have managed to preserve.
J a m e s Bond is no Bodybuilder eighter Which brings us to the aspect of physical decay. Unfortunately it’s a law of nature that we don’t exactly get fitter as we get older, but relax; the point of no return doesn’t really happen until seventy or thereabouts. Sure, after the age of thirty most people are at an increased risk of losing shape, but with a little bit of exercise it’s quite easy to keep the lid on such issues. And anyway, when it comes to physical fitness, the exact opposite applies as to classic British sports cars: For anyone in their mid-twenties who cares about their physical appearance, pronounced muscles are pretty much standard and absolutely acceptable, but after a certain age, too much un-
necessary muscle-mass becomes the worst example of a style no-go. Fit and healthy is good but don’t overdo it; Sean Connery’s James Bond is the absolute limit. And that’s definitely an attainable goal, especially if, as a kid, you were used to working on your biceps. And those who didn’t give a flying f..k about these things at twenty are probably not too bothered about getting out of shape later anyway. The same goes for sexual prowess by the way: the sexual epicures will most likely continue to have a good time at it until they’re truly mature, and those for whom sex has always been more social obligation than true enjoyment will probably not miss it very much as it gets scarcer and scarcer with age. Hang in there Compulsive youthfulness is a modern phenomenon and as such can’t just be ignored. In the past, when people’s perception of the world was still static rather than progressive, things were probably the other way round. At the end of the nineteenth century, young men – at least in continental Europe – still did their utmost to come across as staid and mature. They grew big bushy
beards as soon as their adolescent hormones let them, wore thick glasses and liked to walk around with a cane. Men were generally not considered mature enough for certain respectable high positions until well into their forties, and youth was regarded as a dangerous condition that needed to be overcome as quickly as possible so as not to endanger the prevailing social order. For today’s postmodern society to function though, we need permanent change. As a result, anyone who doesn’t think and live progressively is left behind. Discarding the old in favour of the new is basically our religion, and a pretty radical one, one might add. So our terror at getting old might also be rooted in the fear that one day we will get discarded for being out of date. Mature self-confidence is a privilege because it means not having to adapt to every little change that takes place around you. But of course, you can still question and adjust your opinions and attitude from time to time. Oh, and by the way – after a certain age, shaved genitals look nothing but embarrassing. Great, innit?
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Outfit Sophie Skach, Shoes Aldo
c oat D i e s e l
c o a t & C a p e M a g a z i n a m G e t r e i d e m a r k t , S u n g l a s s e s T o m F o r d , w a t c h T o mm
mm y H i l f i g e r
Jacket Levi’s, Scarf Viktorija Stieger
c o a t E l k a a t s i g h t. a t, s h i r t S o p h i e S k a c h
Kette Aldo
c r e at i v e d i r e c to r photography hair & make up model making of
Mirza Sprecakovic www.mirzasprecakovic.com Kidizin Sane www.kidizin.com Daniel Wutzl www.danielwutzl.com Stanislav Jakuschevskij bodyandsoul.at Margarita Asami
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pHotography: Crist贸bal Hornito editing: Crist贸bal Hornito Interpreter/ Track: Loock / 'Memories'
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Portrait n°8 – 10 Juillet 2012
VANGART
the Interbellum Berlin’s Golden Age TEXT: Andrew Ütt / photos: Erwin Olaf
Maturity can be described in a number of ways, but only appears through the passage of time. In Erwin Olaf ’s photography, we see a slow maturity over 30 years that yields some daring and pensive images. From clowns to sadomasochism, there’s not a dull moment in his enduring photographs.
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Maturity is often synonymous with time. With time comes experience, a broader vision of the world, wisdom, and most importantly, acceptance. When we look at the way that Paul Cezánne or Alfred Steiglitz matured over their artistic careers, we can see them honing in on their concepts, on their medium, and on their final product. Cezánne, or the father of postimpressionism, gave rise to a way of interpreting space, perspective, dimensionality, color, and form. But when he started, he painted much more realistically. And over 40 years of painting the same view over and over again, it becomes evident that his slow progression from realism to cubism is a result of his altered perspective on the world. For Steiglitz, the dedication to Pictorialism in photography in the late 19th century allowed him to make a tangible connection to his practice of making. Not just capturing, but actually creating an artistic object. He then focused his creations on straight photography, which allowed him to understand and contemplate the camera’s physicality and accept the destiny of the camera’s use: to capture reality. And when Steiglitz
was confronted with the idea that anyone could take a snapshot like he had done, he photographed the clouds and presented ideas rather than images. His wisdom prevailed and time proved essential to his maturity.
Bizarre ain’t got nothin’ on me In 1959, Erwin Olaf was born in Hilversum, Netherlands. He studied journalism in Utrecht where he realized that he was not interested in documenting reality. He wanted to recreate his inner world and focused his
Portrait n°8 – 10 Juillet 2012
Portrait n°5 – 9 Juillet 2012
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practice on a wide variety of photographic genres, from his personal work to fashion to advertising and more. His style became evident and remains so today. Olaf’s melancholic images have always had an air of maturity. The photographs have taken on such fantastical and odd characters as clowns, drag queens, gypsies, and the culturally sodden abnormal, deformed, and obese. Themes include visual discourses on race, class, social status, gluttony, masochism, bodily transformation, naivety, sexual orienta-
tion, sex, history, war, and aggression. Did I leave anything out? In his beginnings, Olaf focused on the sexual. His photos assumed the spirit of Mapplethorpe with beautiful black and white images of human forms – a muscular man hugging tulips that emulate his penis bouquet below – while initiating a connection with the bizarre world of Joel Peter Witkins with slight touches of masochism – the naked interactions of tied up hands and feet, leather boots, and odd horns and props that could easily be found in a Lord of the Rings movie – and blatantly announcing naked genitalia, neatly packaged in prêt-à-porter cloths.
S o m e t h i n g ’s g o t ta g i v e The masochism grew and grew until we found ourselves beside a mother with her child, both covered in latex with ball gags, clowns devouring… or raping(?) long, skinny models, full body portraits of sexy naked bodies with couture bag hats and their subsequent masters with equestrian whips.
F r e i m au r e r L o g e Da h l e m – 2 2 Av r i l
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And then something happened. (Perhaps it was when he reached his peak with mother and child sadomasochists?) Olaf matured. Instead of showing the blatant sexual prowess of our modern age, he retreated to a time when sex was common, status was obvious, and sexual harassment was accepted. Yes, the 1960s.
ment that Olaf’s work began to emit the opposite of what he was producing before: submissiveness – the awkward conversation between the lonely furniture placidly lying about a kitchen and the slightly overweight woman whose gut has slowly lost its elasticity. The expectation that something will happen or should happen between an old man and a young girl becomes a metaphor for our abrasive sexual desires.
Formally, the images changed entirely. They adapted a slight filter evocative of the Mad Men days – a thick layer of lacquer applied to Danish modern furniture, or a light haze of smoke from a cigarette that had been left burning in its tray the night before. Clothes retained light pastel shades with abstract flower patBut a boy standing in an terns on women’s dresses. ice cream parlor with a dripping ice cream cone? Characters became less emotive. He named his How did we get from series Rain, Hope, Rouge, Grief, Dawn, Dusk as if overt sexual tendencies the scenes, all constructed within his massive stuto this? dio, only existed to be defined by a single word. Facial expressions were of tired souls whose life Perhaps it was in this mo- had been inhabited by extreme emotional sacri-
Portrait n°8 – 10 Juillet 2012
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fice. Images were domestic and often included subdued interactions between their participants, and when alone they expressed a desire to be accepted and interacted with by you, the spectator.
The n e w d e c ade In this decade, the 2010s, Olaf returned. Having spent 10 years creating shrewd separations between his characters, sex came back. In Hotel, his subjects have just completed their fucking. They’re wiped out, not only from the exhaustive exercise, but because they now realize they have to return home to their husbands and wives with the stench of musky sex mixed with bed linens that have lived longer lives than they. And then Keyhole, from 2011, reverses the gaze toward that little fantastical hole in the wall that allows you, the voyeur, to join in Olaf’s exploits. Finally, we get to Berlin, his most recent pièce de résistance. He has now left his studio and embarked on a new level of maturity. He must accept his circumstances – the daylight that bleeds in, the unadjustable settings, the inevitable history of his stage. He
states, “I wanted to get out of the studio anyway, for the dead simple reason that I couldn’t move the camera any further back here. The space is too limited. I wanted more space and architecture.” In 2011, Olaf won the Johannes Vermeer prize, both a symbol of excellence and a hearty cash allowance of €100,000 that would allow him to develop his next project, which was to take place in the city of Berlin, adopting various sites for his productions – the Masonic Lodge, the Ratthaus (scene of JFK’s “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech), the Olympic Stadium, and Clärchens Ballhaus in Mitte. The series is intended to present the “interbellum” of Germany. A time in the 1920s when the socio-political development was in a state of flux where something imminent was on the horizon. Olaf relates this period to our modern times when there is a sort of exhaustion with the state of things in Europe or in the United States. And with Germany acting as a financial centre for Europe, they have retaken their place of power, just like in the lead-up to WWII. Obviously,
S ta d t b a d N e u kö l l n – 2 3 Av r i l 2 0 1 2
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today there is no Hitler, but there are signs of the times, comments on race, social status, and a return to his clowns, this time, defeated rather than in an exuberant array of sexual deviance. The images are solemn, reminiscent of an antique time where fine tastes were the norm and light hid around corners that contained more elaborate decorations than the walls beside them. Olaf’s characters are no longer timid, nor are they engaging. They float within the haze waiting for their eventual end, accepting the long walk up the mountain of stairs toward an opening that leads to another set of stairs leading back down into the darkness.
Berlin is currently on display at Galerie Rabouan Moussion in Paris until November 23.
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Facade
Editor‘S Choice:
style
TIP
denim jacket by Replay
gloves by Bally
boots by Damir Doma
Impossible Instant Lab
bag by JOOP!
bag by Bottega Veneta at AMICIS
watch by Omega
bangle by Giles & Brothers
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sunglasses by Gucci
watch by Podvaal
shirt by Burberry Prorsum at AMICIS
shirt by Brooks Brothers
Tribute necklace by Diesel
leather case by Bally
stylE
TIP
suit by windsor
suit by windsor
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on tour
Text: Tobias Seebacher photos: nicole Yeary
According to one popular saying, sailing is like standing fully-clothed under a cold shower, tearing up hundred-dollar bills. It can be assumed that people who describe their hobby in such a way feel they belong to a very select circle. Once a man has spent a certain number of years tweaking his professional and social standing, he’ll invariably get to a point in his life where he feels he needs to do something real. And when that happens, a sailing trip around the world might just be the perfect challenge – and not just for your wallet. But what exactly do you need to do to become a member of that illustrious circle of people who actually live this kind of adventure and let their lives be directed by the wind and the waves?
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Off to new shores… The marina is a hive of activity: pushcarts heavily loaded with suitcases, beer crates, and several weeks worth of food supplies all trying to avoid collision without spilling their valuable loads into the harbour basin. Around these carts, people befittingly clad in blue and white sailing attire are industriously rushing around, children are waving the departing ships goodbye, and seagulls are swerving around swaying masts whose wire ropes produce a constant clicking noise that sounds like the urgent call to set sail. On the terrace of the yacht harbour café, last-minute preparations are still underway, as maps are studied, crew lists checked, and weather data analysed. If you’re sitting under one of these straw umbrellas letting your gaze wander back and forth between the horizon and the afterdeck of your own personal “set of sails” then you’ve probably got it pretty much made. People here have stopped dreaming about the Caribbean and have instead
decided to actually go there. From now on they won’t be hoping and praying for the end of their strenuous and nerve-wracking sixty-hour work weeks, but for fair sailing and a hand’s width of water under their keels. Just accept it: we’re no landlubbers So is it the yearning for distant shores that makes men become sailors? Definitely, but there’s more to it. For the past couple of millennia, a desire for freedom, independence, and adventure has incited countless men to become explorers, conquistadors, warriors, and soldiers of their own fortune. Herman Melville, who in 1851 gave the world an amazing adventure novel in the form of Moby Dick, once said “there never was a great man yet who spent all his life inland”. To set out on a boat is a primary male instinct that in many of us produces ballsy maritime fantasies rich in quaint details like coconuts, palm trees, rum, canons, and perfectly choreographed sabre duels à la Jack Sparrow that persist
throughout our whole lives. What’s interesting though is that this kind of longing and desire is mostly associated with sailboats, and that all other types of seafaring cannot quite satisfy our thirst for adventure in the same way. Sure, a 200 horsepower motorboat with a sun deck somewhere off a tax haven beach might be your perfect choice for a laid back cruise from Monte Carlo to Ibiza or from Santo Domingo to San Juan, all under the mellowing influence of several colourful cocktails adorned with little paper umbrellas. But even though that’s certainly not the worst way to spend your time, if you’re looking for real adventure, a sailboat railing to climb over is a must. There’s no other place where you feel as close to the elements and as one with the wind and waves around you as when you're yelling orders like “hard-a-starboard” or “reef mainsail” at your petty officers. The ordinary way How does one become a captain?
Well, one possibility would of course be to get a degree in nautical science, for which you could, for instance, move to Northern Germany and study at one of the technical colleges in Elsfleth, Flensburg, Leer, or Wismar that are renowned for this type of course. To be suited for the job you have to have solid English and math skills, be in excellent physical condition, and be able to work well under pressure. Contrary to most people’s romantic notions of this type of career though, most captains end up working on big container ships. So if you’re dreaming of defying weather and wind and being able to see the whole world, this might not be your way. The individualist's way The basic requirements for this approach are solid sailing skills, a bit of blue water experience (sailor’s slang for ocean sailing), and a near coastal license that authorises you to control a sailing yacht within 200 miles of certain countries’ territorial waters. Not
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© Jamie McCaffrey
to worry though—all you need to do to acquire one is take a short sailing course at a sailing club near you then go on some sailing trips and you’ll be ready to obtain the license. One slight drawback is that the whole procedure, including training and one obligatory night trip at high sea, will set you back a couple of hundred euros. A good place to get your license would be Croatia, due to its beautiful sailing locations and comparatively low prices. Once you’ve fulfilled the prerequisites, you’ll be itching to perfect your sailing skills on your first cruise. For this, renting a charter yacht is a very smart option, and if you divide the cost between all crew members, it’ll probably move the price to the region of an affordable holiday. The Yacht Before you can finally embark on the grand tour though, you'll need what distinguishes the little man on the mast from le capitain: a yacht. It should of course be spacious enough to fit in your whole qualified crew, because undertaking a trip around the world on your own is best left to the extreme athletes and their young stars. And if you want to avoid drowning
and deem insurance fraud immoral, seaworthiness should obviously also be fairly high up on your checklist. You probably also want to ensure a certain level of comfort. After all, you're planning a voyage on a yacht through the seven seas and not a camping trip to Lignano. Cosy bunks, more than one bathroom (otherwise it might get a bit claustrophobic after a while), a lounge with a sofa, a map table with radio transmitter and GPS, an autopilot system for longer passages, solar cells and a wind generator for the environmentally friendly recharging of all electronics on board, life jackets, binoculars, and a boatswain's whistle are just some of the essentials on a yacht cruise. A fridge with enough room to store the obligatory "mainbrace" ("splice the mainbrace" being the order traditionally given aboard naval vessels to issue the crew with a drink after difficult repair actions. Nowadays it has become a euphemism for issuing a celebratory drink on ships) is also definitely a plus. And if you want your cook to be able to fill remote mooring sites and tropical bays with the mouth-watering scent of a lovely roast even during heavy seas, then make sure your gal-
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ley is equipped with a gas cooker installed on a gimbal joint. Once you've collected all these little life-savers, you can move on to simpler matters like packing your duffel bags and finding a temporary tenant for your flat, getting your bank matters in order so that things continue to run smoothly during your long absence, and getting your last extensive medical check-up. And then it's so long and ship ahoy, see you in a few years. Only for loaded pensioners? So far so good, you say. But there's just one problem: I'm not a fucking millionaire! Well relax, because nowadays you don't need to be rich any more than you have to beg some king to grant you the privilege of an expedition and obtain a letter of marque. Everyone who familiarises themselves a bit with the market for used boats will quickly notice that there's a substantial number of yachts on offer that can definitely meet the expectations of the modern-day world traveller – not at bargain prices, but definitely
not at such astronomic heights as to instantly scare you off if you belong to an average income bracket. Meaning, if you're able to live fairly economically for twenty to thirty years, during which time you consistently ignore the latest sports car models and avoid costly relationships, then you should be able to save up the small fortune that you'll need for your sailing trip around the world. With a bit of luck or the right career, you could of course shave a few years off the average saving-up period. And if you're impatient ... For everyone who's not willing to wait two to three decades until they can finally round Cape Horn or call into Shanghai Harbour, there is an alternative option! Numerous skippers sailing the world's oceans are willing to take adventure- and sailing-loving people along as members of their crew in return for a small contribution towards expenses. You can find information on such offers on networking sites like “handgegenkoje.de�. One of these
skippers is the 39-year-old Austrian Martin Ernstbrunner who has already managed to realise his dream of the grand tour around the world. After a brief sabbatical and two successful Atlantic crossings in 2003 and 2004, he returned to his job in Austria. After only a few years though, he felt so homesick for life on board that, in 2008, he started to build his own cruising catamaran, which he named The Wild One. Since March of 2010, the smart skipper has been cruising around the world's oceans and so far there's no end to his journey in sight. “We're not a charter yacht,” Martin remarks, explaining how things work on board The Wild One. “People who want to sail with us can't come along as guests; they have to live and work as members of the crew. We're very active and like to explore different countries and meet the people there, but of course we're also willing to adapt to the individual preferences of our travel companions. The nice thing is that we actually spend some time living in the countries that we travel instead of just going there
on holiday.“ His comfortable cruising catamaran is equipped with diving, surfing, and climbing gear, and also caters to the needs of speed fetishists, as this six-ton lightweight can reach a top speed of 20 knots (about 37 km/h). Right now the crew is mooring in Kiribati in the Pacific; next, it's headed for Kosrae and planning to sail on to Micronesia in mid-November. So if you're looking for some sailing adventures, get in touch with skipper Martin on alive.cms4people.de and book yourself a bunk! It’s absolutely possible So you see that you don't have to be Scrooge McDuck to enjoy the strong sea breeze on the deck of a luxurious sailing yacht. With a bit of patience and long-term planning, there's a fair chance you'll be able to set sail on your own boat one day. If your lust for adventure is already so pressing that you feel you can't wait another day though, then stop dreaming and get sailing! You can always become a proper captain later.
ja cket b y Fr an c e sco S MA LTO, s hi r t by Z ar a Me n ha t b y Za ra Me n , t u r b a n & jewe l l er y at In d i a n s h o p s, h a n d ke rc h i e f b y S m a l t o
T h e h e r i tag e o f British colony in m o d e r n a r i s t o c r a c y.
wa ist co at , sh i rt & t i e b y S ma l t o st r as s n e ck l ac e b y Za ra In d i an b i n di
th re e - p i ec e su i t b y Zar a Me n sh i rt & ti e b y S m al t o ha n dke rc hi e f b y Sm a l to jewe l l e r y a t In d i an sh op s
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com p l et e l ook b y S m al t o exc e pt s ca rf & n e c kl a ce b y Z ar a
eve n i n g tu xe d o & sh ir t b y S m a l to In d ia n Pas hm i n a wi t h C a sh me re p att e r n by B o u t i q u e d e s M u s ĂŠ e s d e Fr a n c e n e ck l ac e b y Za ra
photographer
Brice Hardelin www.bricehardelin.com
style Pauline Ducruet & Margaux Fouchere make up & hair Angie D www.angie-design.com mo dels Sasha Marini @ Joy Milan www.sashamarini.com Bryan @ Marilyn / M GM Paris AurĂŠlien Muller @ New Madison Paris. S hot in location @ Studio Contrepoint Paris.
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The best Brit!
An interview with designer Domingo Rodriguez
Text: Ana Kaan photOS: collection Domingo rodriguez
Elected one of the “7 Brilliant Brits� by Esquire Magazine, Domingo Rodriguez makes designs that reflect his fascination with muscles and the shape of the male body. Over the last couple of years the young designer has matured and is now making fashion for men who like beautiful materials and bodyfitting forms.
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INterview:
Vangardist was able to speak to the nice man behind the label and learn a bit about his world. And of course we also talked about his current spring/summer collection, which has impressed everyone with its clear lines, beautiful details, and somewhat Amish feel. V: You specialise in menswear. What’s the special attraction of male fashion for you? D: Designing menswear seemed like the natural next step for me. While studying fashion, I started out with womenswear and couldn’t really connect with it. But as soon as I applied my ideas to menswear, everything started to come together and feel right, and I’ve not looked back since! V: What are your key influences and sources of inspiration? D: My collections are usually based around the architecture and lines of the male body. From these, I try to develop modern, progressive pattern cutting. Basically, my collections are contem-
porary interpretations of classic male fashion. V: We’ve heard you’re a big fan of Egon Schiele’s, which, of course, aroused our curiosity. Can you tell us a bit more about your admiration for him? D: I’ve always admired his work. His long, lean, stylised forms reflect and accentuate the body, something I try to work into my pieces. V: Choosing the right materials is a kind of obsession for you. What are your favourite materials? D: I’m crazy about softness. I’m not a designer who goes for strong colours or very extravagant looks, which is why I place great tactile emphasis on materials. For my SS14 collection, I worked a lot with silk georgette and sheer fabrics; I layered the silk with jersey and elaborately quilted it to create the “muscle lines”. In addition, we used a great technique called enzyme washing on our leather to make it soft, tarnished, and worked with beautiful croc and python patterns.
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V: The look of your SS14 collection is very minimalist, a bit sporty, and a bit reminiscent of the Amish aesthetic. What’s that about? D: The collection‘s definitely minimalist. I constructed the cuts so that a lot of seams would no longer be necessary. The silk pieces are all doubled and two-tone, meaning a bit of black shines through the navy and vice versa. It’s a grown-up collection with a sporty touch and wearable shapes. I wanted it to attract more men and be easier to wear. V: Your label has grown substantially over the last few years. You started your career as a recent graduate and now you’re managing an upcoming company. What kinds of challenges come with that?
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D: During your studies, the only things that matter are acquiring the necessary skills, finding your own style and trademark look as a designer, and learning the basics of construction and pattern making. Actually getting your designs produced for commercial purposes then presents you with a whole different set of challenges. Since graduating, I’ve learned how to liaise with factories. At the beginning, dealing with the whole business side of things was tough, but I’ve built up a solid network of manufacturers, and we’re starting to get into the swing of things. V: Speaking of commercial purposes, you designed one collection for the online retailer ASOS. What was this collaboration like for you? D: Working with ASOS was a very insightful experience; my first taste of what creative work in such a big company is like. We created some truly innovative and special pieces that I’m very proud of. And working on a level that’s both creative while also accessible to a broader market was a lot of fun. V: Your hometown of London has become an important point of reference for up-and-coming designers. In your opinion, what makes it such a special place?
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D: I think the reason London’s such a hotspot has to do with all the universities and many aspects specific to the city itself. You have the traditional tailors on Savile Row, the club kids in the East End, and everything that’s happening in between. V: What are the key pieces in your personal wardrobe? D: My personal favourite is the white t-shirt, which I own in endless variations. It’s one of the most versatile clothing items to have. At the end of the interview, Domingo offers us a glimpse at his designs for the AW 2014/15 collection that he’s currently right in the middle of sampling and promises: “You can look forward to muted colours like Black Oily Skipper, Red Antique Buffalo, and Milled Olive.“ But for those of you who first want to look forward to next summer and now fancy one of Domingo’s gorgeous designs, you can find more information and a link to an online shop at: www.domingorodriguez.co.uk.
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g n i r a e W n e M Sharks
Text: Ana Kaan photOs: kollektion eska
In winter, they are the essential accessories for men with character. Yes, as secondary benefits they also keep you warm and protect you from the impact of environmental hazards, but they’re primarily worn because of their aristocratic noblesse. You might have guessed it — I’m talking about gloves! When choosing the right gloves, the same rule applies as for shoes: for a man of taste they must be top-quality and handmade. We decided to study the history and future of this well-loved fashion item, and for this purpose we were invited to have a peek behind the scenes at Eska, a glove-making factory with a long and rich tradition.
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Definitely not all fingers and thumbs
I
t’s easy to forget how much symbolic power gloves have. When you throw down the gauntlet, for example, this usually results in war (or at least a duel), or if, on the contrary, you want to be careful not to offend someone, you handle them with kid’s gloves. Our hands are not only essential tools for work but they are also a means of communication. Touching things or people creates intimacy, whereas those who want to keep a bit of distance put some fine leather between their mitts and the rest of the world. In ancient Egypt, gloves served as a symbol for a man’s power, influence, and position in society. Inside Tutankhamen’s tomb for example, twenty-seven pairs of the noble accessory were found. In other ancient cultures, gloves were also a kind of alternative to cutlery, as they were used for the handling of hot food. Back then they were still shaped like little bags though; the thumb didn’t get its own dedicated compartment until much later. By the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the French had become masters of glove-making, and, under Napoleon, their skills and techniques were also exported to Germany, the Czech Republic, and Austria.
Pure craftsmanship Even today, making a well-fitted glove is something that requires great precision and skill. One millimetre of seam allowance doesn’t leave much room for mistakes, so every stitch has to be perfection. To ensure this, the Austrian glove-making factory Eska relies on close cooperation between their design room and the workshops where actual prototypes are made. After the first few drafts (which, depending on what line they’re intended for, are either created by hand or on the computer), the designs are passed on to the workshops, together with the proper materials. The ensuing process is extremely workintensive and requires enormous precision, which is no surprise considering that one pair of gloves can consist of up to seventy-four individual parts.
Shark fins & camel humps During its hundred-year history, the Eska glovemaking factory has witnessed some quite amazing changes. “It’s difficult to imagine that in 1920 women’s hands were approximately as small as children’s hands today," Eska boss Regina Loos, who represents the third generation of her family to run the company, tells us. “The types of leather used throughout the long history of glove manufacturing have also varied greatly. The most unusual ones that were used were shark, sturgeon, and camel hump leather.” In the designs for this year’s winter collection, these leather types, predictably, didn’t feature at all. Instead, the designs currently impressing audiences at fashion shows from New York to Paris are based on soft croc leather in warm shades of brown or cool combos of pony skin and smooth leather. According to Regina Loos, colours are also going to be a trend this coming winter and she encourages men to be open to them “because a little colour highlight underneath a grey winter coat would certainly not be amiss.” What we should definitely expect this coming season in terms of colour is claret (dark burgundy red) and light blue tones, which, as already seen from Prada, often come combined. But with or without colours, one thing is certain: during the cold season, no elegant gentleman should go without a pair of well-fitting gloves.
Dos & Don’ts We’ll leave you with a few pointers as to what, according to Frau Loos, you should bear in mind when buying gloves: 1. The seams should be strong and run straight, and the distance between seams and glove edges should be identical all around. 2. You don’t just want your gloves to look luxurious, but also feel that way, so pay attention to the quality of the glove lining, which should preferably be silk, cashmere or some soft, warming fur. 3. Most men don’t know their exact glove size and need expert advice to make absolutely sure they fit you well. Always try your gloves on at a shop. 4. If you want to avoid looking odd, try to lose them by the pair … For information on where to purchase top quality Eska gloves go on www.eska.at.
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BALANCE
Beauty We are not kids anymore. Years and experience are reflected not only in our attitudes, but also by our bodies. That’s why we need extra help to fight the side effects of getting older while always making sure that we have the best products and the best results. Here is a list of awardwinning products that satisfy every gentleman's needs in getting that polished look we all want.
text: Juรกn danilo zamora
Bumble and Bumble Sumo Tech Everyone agrees: this hair paste is the best in the market. Hold, control, and style without that stiff texture most waxes leave on your hair. Due to its quick action and long-lasting effect, this product is perfect for those who like to try new looks. Rub your hands with a small amount of paste, shape your hair the way you want it, and show everyone who the boss is.
Clinique Scruffing Lotion 4.5 A very strong formula for those who want a deep cleansing. If you want to remove dead skin cells, this product is for you. With a nice scent, this lotion has an exfoliating effect that will leave your skin free of oil and acne. This is perfect if you are traveling to a hot weather destination or if you want to control oiliness.
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I. Cee. U. Firming Anti-Aging Eye Gel Eyes are the window to the soul, and if you want to keep puffiness and dark circles away, try this product. Perfect for those executives who have tight agendas and like to stay busy all while maintaining their good looks. This formula’s magic ingredient is Hydrocotyl extract, a powerful antioxidant that helps retain a youthful look. Apply it every morning and after a few days you’ll notice a fresh and renewed appearance.
Kiehl's Facial Fuel Energizing Face Wash This is the easiest way to feel renewed and full energy. Perfect for starting the morning, before a meeting, for when you feel tired after a long day at work, after the gym, or after a trip across continents. This product leaves an amazing feeling on your skin and the cleansing effect clarifies your pores. You can find it in travel size, too, so you can take it with you wherever you go.
Kent Shaving Brush The ultimate indulgence for the perfect gentleman, this tool will look perfect in your bathroom while also turning your daily shave into a glamorous routine. These brushes are part of a long company tradition and are made with the finest materials, such as silver and ivory. Feel like a king while you enjoy the gentle touch of this brush on your skin.
Clarins Men Super Moisture Balm Weather, pollution, and shaving are some daily facts that affect our skin in a big way, so we need extra protection to fight the negative effects they may cause. This product is a powerful combination of exclusive ingredients that help to prevent dryness, leaving the skin smooth and soothed. Apply it after shaving to feel the energizing power it leaves on your skin.
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Beauty
Brush stroke techniques This stuff turns real
men into fluff
After endless experimenting, every man will eventually go back to good old-fashioned wet shaving — something that’s especially sexy when, instead of ordinary shaving cream that comes out of a spray can, you work up the lather like a real man. To select the right tool for this, we asked shaving specialist Esbjerg for advice. And it’s a good thing we did, because only fools believe that the matter of choosing the right shaving brush can just be brushed off!
Why use a shaving brush anyway?
A good brush not only makes it very easy to work up a good lather, it also massages your skin and has a gentle exfoliating effect that provides optimal preparation for the perfect shave. For real connoisseurs, there are only two options: shaving brushes made of badger hair or the latest generation of vegan brushes with all the top qualities of natural bristle. Both brushes can retain a lot of water, which is important for producing a rich lather. But don’t be fooled: even for something seemingly so simple, there are a lot of things to consider.
1
Der vegane Rasierpinsel Für jene, die echtes Tierhaar prinzipiell ablehnen, bieten sich folgende Qualitäten an:
Silvertip Badger
2
3
The vegan shaving brush The following qualities are available for those principally opposed to using animal hair:
Best Badger
Black Fibre [4] Black Fibre [4] purely vegan quality especially diese Silvertip rein vegane Qualitätiswurde speziell für die This Badger the most expensive Best Badger hair iswas a bit more developed robust nassrasur entwickelt. in ihrer dunklen Färbung und for wet shaving. The darker color and softness of the andähneln rare die type of badger hair;dem due than Silvertip and also slightly It fibers is similar to natural hair darker. material and Weichheit synthetischen Fasern na-to synthetic properties that are just as good. In this regard, türlichen Haarmaterial und haben ebensoagute Ge- features its water retention capacity, Silvertip is machine-processed, cut when needbrauchseigenschaften. dabei erweisen sich die Fasern the fibers even prove to be somewhat more robust and brush can produce well-formed shav- possibly ed, and retains slightlySome lessusers water than even more durable. prefer this als etwas robuster und eventuell noch langlebiger. material not only due to its vegan characteristsics, but Manche Anwender bevorzugen dieses Material nicht ing lather quickly and easily. The sil- the Silvertip. nur aufgrund seiner veganen eigenschaften, sondern also because it allows for the application of an espevertip’sweil characteristic features are lather. Badger Hair auch deshalb, sich damit besonders cremiger Ra-its cially creamyPure sierschaum aufschlagen lässt. shimmering silver colour and the black Silvertip Pure Badger is slightly darker than Best Fibre® [5] ® stripe running through the bristle. Sil- The [5] high-quality fibers are a massage global innovation: Silvertip Fibre Badger, butartificial has a stronger efdie hochwertigen kunstfasern sind eine weltweite Synthetically produced, the material properties are on vertips are handcrafted and never fect due to its firmness. This hair is also innovation: synthetisch produziert, sind die Materi- par with those of the precious Silver Tip made of nataleigenschaften analog zu cut, der des naturhair. Some users even claim that its the vegan brush have their tips askostbaren these tips are ural machine-processed, and colours haares silberspitz dachszupf. Manche sagen sogar, surpasses the brush made of natural hair. Silvertip Fiprecisely what silvertip make them sosind valuable. range brownish-green to black. dass es dieses übertrifft. Fibres® spür- bres® are from noticeably soft and especially durable. In bar weich und besonders langlebig. im täglichen Ge- daily use, they are slightly less sensitive than natural brauch sind sie etwas unempfindlicher als naturhaar, hair as they let water roll off and dry faster. Compared da sie Wasser abperlen lassen und rascher trocknen. to natural hair, the vegan fiber is a bit easier to use, as
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Vegan shaving brushes
All progressive men who are opposed to using animal products as a matter of principle can simply choose a 100% vegan brush instead. The synthetic fibres are of similarly dark colour and are just as pliable as natural bristle. They possess all the same qualities as animalsourced brushes, yet they are slightly more robust, perhaps even lasting longer. Some users not only prefer this material because of its vegan characteristics, but also because it’s perfect for working up a rich, creamy lather.
Silvertip Fibre These high-quality synthetic fibres are a worldwide innovation because even though they’re artificially produced, their material properties are an analogue to those of the rare and expensive Silvertip, with some users even claiming that they’re superior. Silvertip Fibres® are noticeably soft and particularly durable. Because they’re waterrepellent, they dry faster, and as a consequence, are more resistant to daily use than natural bristle. In addition, as the all-vegan fibres form an especially rich abundant lather from just a small amount of shaving soap or cream, it is slightly easier to use than natural bristle and helps save on shaving products.
After the shave is before the shave To ensure that your new most prized possession will last you a few years, let us provide you with some simple rules of conduct:
} ALWAYS rinse out the brush im-
mediately and thoroughly after each shave.
} NEVER leave the brush with cream
on it for long periods of time, as the soap can be especially harmful to the finer badger bristle and significantly reduce the brush’s lifespan.
} THOROUGHLY shake the brush dry with rapid shakes of your wrist.
} MAKE SURE you leave the brush
hanging in a ventilated place (not a closed cabinet).
} A WOODEN HANDLE should be dried off separately with a towel.
Š Esbjerg/Mato Johannik.
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shop zone
shoes
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radar
h ow t o LIVE like a L h ot k a Text: Michael Neulinger illustration: Magdalena weyrer
We live in a world where both media and advertising constantly reiterate the importance of keeping your face and ass looking young and fresh whereas the truly golden years rarely ever get a mention. As a counter to this phenomenon, VANGARDIST editor Michael Neulinger visited the young-at-heart “master of maturity� life pro Roberto Lhotka at his home in Vienna and interrogated him about all the big topics in life.
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L i v e ly
chic!
Lhotka’s flat is situated in an elegant part of Vienna’s third district. I’ve hardly rung the bell when the buzzer sounds. My host is already waiting for me in the reception area, where we exchange greetings. I’m told I can leave my shoes on, but decide I’m too well-mannered for that. A quick look around establishes the following: it’s a big highceilinged flat in a solid and nice old building, and the flat’s owner is clearly a lover of art because I see paintings, photographs, delicate sculptures, and even a golden diving helmet. I’m offered a drink in the kitchen. Two of Lhotka’s friends are waiting for us at a long, white table. One is the Viennese film producer Karin Novotny, the other is Josef Fischnaller from Berlin, wellknown for his Renaissance-type paintings – quite an illustrious gathering. We move the interview to a comfortable sofa in the next room.
Turning your hobby into a career
Already at the tender age of twelve, Lhotka wanted to be a doctor. At first his fascination was plastic surgery, but then he settled on dental medicine, which wasn't actually that much of a difference because the high-precision skills involved in both areas are basically the same. Lhotka soon starts gushing about his job: “Not once have I not wanted to go to work – I just love it.” So one prerequisite for a good life is having fun at what you do, which makes sense because with all the responsibilities we deal with on a daily basis, this kind of solid foundation is essential if you don’t want to constantly waste your energy on self-motivation. The advice Roberto has to offer is: “Don’t respect hierarchies too much. And never be impressed by people who have a lot of money. Sucking up is no good; that never gets you anywhere. You have to
L be able to look people in the eye, work on par, whatever it is you do.” He’s not saying that money’s irrelevant though. On the contrary, it’s probably one of the main premises for the kind of mature unflappability that is just impossible to have at thirty. He tells me that at the moment he’s doing up his summer house in East Styria. It’s quiet there, the weather’s always nice, and it’s just the right distance from Vienna. “And when I don’t go there, I go to London or Paris”, he says. Okay, so the regular change of scenery makes a difference. “For a fulfilled life you always need new projects which come up as a side-effect of life anyway. You just have to be reasonably open and not ignore the opportunities. Ideas just pop up on their own – all you need to do is realise them.” It seems that what for many people is fairly hard to do is the fun part for
Roberto, who says: “What matters is the process of getting somewhere, not the actual result, because as soon as it’s done it stops being interesting. When things get boring, action has to be taken – and fast. You have to learn to recognise the point at which things stop being good.” And that’s an art form. N e v e r m i s s an o p p o r t u n i t y !
Being open to everything is the basic rule for a fulfilled existence – you've got to have a wide range of interests. “Just keep going, stagnation is not an option” is another piece of Lhotka's advice. Lhotka himself has tried many things in life, like being a waiter in New York and at the Kaktus Bar in Vienna, working at the Oktoberfest, and serving as a tour guide in Rome (all of this when he was a university student), but he’s certainly not saying that you have to do everything while you’re young
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L
L L
L
L
L L L
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in order to save the rest of your life for playing the well-to-do bon vivant. It is, however, a fact that his first five years as a student in Graz were a neverending party, one which usually started early in the morning; forty people at the breakfast table in a three-person shared flat was the order of the day. He reminisces: “The guests usually stayed till the evening, and then everyone hit the clubs. If it got too much you went and sat by yourself in the garden. With all of this going on, real life had to take a backseat; you had to come up with ways to work around it. In our flat there was always a note beside the phone for our mothers, who would call to check on us any time of the day or night. So whenever the telephone rang, everyone had to shut up and be quiet. But I wasn’t at home very often, because I was always off to Rome or Paris or whatever. And so on the note it said: 'If Roberto’s mum calls, tell her he’s at uni.'”
Roberto is living proof that this kind of easy-going attitude can actually survive beyond the age of forty, especially if you renounce a conventional middleclass lifestyle, and he admits: “Once you have responsibility and children, your life obviously changes. For single men like me who are happily skipping around the world and don’t have these kinds of responsibilities it’s easier to stay childish.” The lesson learned here: Don’t take life too seriously, take things as they come, and don’t be afraid or closed-minded. Once you’ve left university, you’ll start living an independent life, and with a regular income you’ll also gain new opportunities. There’s a world out there that wants to be discovered, and suddenly you can afford things, including the freedom to develop new interests. Sometimes it’s good to be critical of your choices though. Roberto knows this from experience: “Whatever you do purely for the mon-
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ey is doomed to fail. You’ve got to find something you really want to do. After that, everything will fall into place. Enthusiasm can literally move mountains. You need to have dreams and always have a goal in sight; otherwise you’ll end up being constantly frustrated.” N e w Y o r k an d t r an s v e s -
t i t e s c an o p e n y o u r e y e s
For Roberto, more than anything else, travelling is what has kept things in perspective: “It’s like a lesson you teach yourself, a reminder that you must never be dissatisfied with what you’ve got.” And he’s right, many petty problems can stop being relevant in light of certain experiences. Roberto’s time abroad made him a
tolerant person and broadened his horizon: “I come from a small village, so the first time I saw transvestites in the streets of New York, it completely changed me, just to see that there are people out there who lead such a completely different life” – which just goes to show how much freer we’d be without the conservative boundaries most of us grow up with. For Lhotka, understanding this also meant accepting that he could live openly as a gay person. This can be a long process, but accepting yourself is always the crucial first step. The fact that Roberto started to live his gay sexuality fairly late also had a positive side though. “Indirectly,” he says, “being in the closet so long saved my life because that was exactly the time when HIV started spreading. I went to San Francisco one year and when I came back the following year, everyone had died – all the bars were empty. And whenever I go back to America now, I
notice that there are very few gay people my age.” The doorbell interrupts our conversation, and I’m informed “that must be Vincent with the food.” We decide to take a break right away, even though sushi can’t get cold. At the long white table we dip fish into soy sauce and make our eyes water with wasabi. Everyone’s relaxed and there’s a lot of laughter. At that moment I can feel the openness Roberto preaches. The brittle forties
says, “relationships tend to go downhill. Everyone feels too old. But then things start looking up again. Suddenly everyone wants to marry you, but now you’ve stopped wanting them to do so.” According to our master in the art of living, the best things to do with your forties, is to dive through them. They mark a time in your life when you’ve already managed to make something of yourself and achieve things, and now you have nothing left to do but keep up the good work. That’s exactly why it’s so important to have a job you enjoy. You constantly need to re-motivate yourself, especially when facing the prospect of another thirty years of the same old routine or perhaps "with children who cause constant little explosions in your life.”
Back on the sofa under dimmed lights, it’s on to the middle years: the time when you start making plans, try to establish yourself, and form relationships that actually have a chance of survival. “And then you have to move in together, preferably in your own flat, and that’s Life is too short usually followed by the first real slap in t o d r e s s b a d ly ! the face.” So is Roberto a cynic? No, Roberto has always been dressed to kill, he’s just lived a lot. “In your forties,” he even back when he was in school. “I’ve
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always dressed to the nines. One of my female friends once said to me ‘you’re the only person I know who mops the floor dressed in a Versace suit’,” he tells me. And it’s true that no one dresses up anymore, even though fine clothes should be one of the best aspects of arriving at a mature age, and not just because you now have money to afford them. Once you’ve found your style and know you’re going to stick with it, you can start investing in high-quality things like a nice pair of tailor-made shoes! At work, instead of the typical white coat, Roberto wears a white suit because, as he says, “the white coats have always annoyed me. I’ve always been slightly odd in that respect.” Being established in his job, he now feels secure in life, and the quality of his work is good proof that he’s doing exactly what he’s always wanted to do. His last comment on the matter: “The
best thing that can happen to you is to feel like you’re on the right track.” Then the dictaphone’s battery dies, so we head back over to the white table for a nice glass of wine. For a while longer, we chat with the illustrious guests about the necessity of installing heating in your summer home and about job-related things like “tomorrow I’m fitting Moretti with vampire teeth. I’m quite curious what exactly he’s after.” Wine bottles are emptied and cigarettes shared until it’s finally time to go home. And when we head out, we’re all looking forward to the good times ahead.
Be A vAng Artist
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122 on tour
Origo Coffee Shop by Lama Architectura Bucharest, Rumania
Text: Mario Kollinger
www.lama.ro/home
Exactly 276 coffee cups dangle from the ceiling of the Origo coffee shop in Bucharest, Romania, where you can en-
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joy freshly brewed espresso, cappuccinos, and latte macchiatos during the day and delicious cocktails at night. The white cups seem to float like clouds above the bar, and carefully placed spotlights create a dramatic contrast between the
light and dark elements inside the bar which creates massive cup-shaped shadows on the walls.
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UNGER und KLEIN im Hochhaus by BEHF Corporate Architects Vienna, Austria
www.behf.at / www.imhochhaus.at
The wine and espresso bar “UNGER und KLEIN im Hochhaus“ was brought into being by Austrian architects BEHFO in a
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filigreed circular room in Vienna's Herrengasse which was originally designed as a showcase room. A shelf structure out of polished stainless steel, the cognaccoloured leather coverings, and unique pearl bamboo latticework hanging from
the ceiling create a timelessly elegant atmosphere, and the particular shape of the cylindrical glass interior makes the boundaries between the inside and the outside seem blurred.
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Truth Coffee Headquarters by Haldane Martin Cape Town, South Africa
www.haldanemartin.co.za
Furniture and interior design studio Haldane Martin is behind the stunning, Victorian-era fantasy interior designs of Truth Coffee’s cafÊs and headquarters in Cape Town. A newly acquired 3 ton Probat roaster serves as the core of their
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HQ’s space. The leather top main bar, clad in pressed tin ceiling panels, is located in front of the giant roaster. Vintage French worker chairs, blue leather Chesterfield couches and Cape Town’s longest communal table, made of industrial
pipe and malleable castings, carry the visitor away to a wonderful Steampunk world where he or she can enjoy the city’s best coffee.
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Fourbarrel Coffee by Boor Bridges Architecture San Francisco, USA
www.boorbridges.com
Š left: Bruce DaMonte / right: Boor Bridges Architecture
In cooperation with its owner Jeremy Tooker, Boor Bridges Architecture hasn't just created a mere San Francisco espresso bar serving excellent coffee, they created a place for pure human interaction — strictly without Wi-Fi-access or sockets to plug
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in your laptop. The sales area is dominated by stuffed pig-like creatures, the surface of the bar is made of a special type of concrete that was made exclusively for this purpose, and the massive tables were constructed out of re-claimed wooden beams.
Š left: Bruce DaMonte / right: Boor Bridges Architecture
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VANGART
listen to this! dations n a m o c e r ic Mus eners t s li d o o g r o f
Mark Ronson RECORD COLLECTION
Gotye MAKING MIRRORS
Mr. Ronson is the new James Bond of the music scene. Famous for being Amy Winehouse’s producer, Ronson has broken the boundaries, exploring retro sounds and making them a new trend. He has worked with brands like Gucci and foundations like PETA showing how music and fashion can mix to bring awareness on social matters. Bang Bang Bang, The Bike Song and Somebody To Love Me make up part of this album.
The international success of Somebody That I Used To Know made the Australian singer one of the most popular artists on the charts. Gotye confessed that during the writing process he had to fight with depression, and the only way to free his feelings was through composing. The album, with its mellow melodies and nostalgic lyrics won a Grammy Award, a positive result to a traumatic experience. I Feel Better, Eyes Wide Open, and Save Me are samples of his talent.
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go to amazon
Text: JuĂĄn D. Zamora
Frank Ocean CHANNEL ORANGE Macklemore & Ryan Lewis He has been called a poet and a masTHE heist ter. Mr. Ocean has changed the music industry not only because of his disA singer and a producer are the per- tinctive sound, but because of the way fect combination to make a successful he made a landmark in the progress to defeat homophobia. In an open letduo. With Thrift Shop they became famous, but their intentions were deeper ter published in 2012, he thanked the guy he fell in love with when he was than about creating a smash hit. Same 19 for his influence in his composing, Love became an anthem for the gay community, giving it a voice on de- a brave act that opened a debate on fending same sex marriage. Macklem- how supportive the hip hop world may be with gay singers. He gave hope ore and Lewis are now part of a moveto a community that lived in fear. His ment that needed support, and with The Heist they are not only serving up debut album is full of sexy sounds and good music, but a direct message to strong lyrics. Thinkin about you, Pyrasociety. Check out the catchy sound of mids and Sweet Life are the highlights of this album. Can’t Hold Us and Wings.
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go to amazon
140 CELEBRATION
UP Coming ?! . . . n i n o ' t a Wh
// madrid Kluster / November 16, from 12 p.m. Changó Club Calle de Covarrubias 42, 28010 Madrid If you happen to be around Spain in November and don’t fancy sharing the dance floor with milksoppy twinks, we recommend what is currently Madrid’s hippest scene event. For 15 euros, you’ll get to party with guys who are predominantly in their thirties and know that a beardless man is like a shoe without its counterpart – completely useless. klustermadrid.blogspot.com
// Berlin N≠E (NOT EQUAL) / November 29 Berghain Am Wriezener Bahnhof, 10243 Berlin For the next edition of the N≠E series, industrial pioneers Godflesh will encounter a younger generation of sound artists who have seamlessly taken up the Brits’ legendary sound and, using their own individual styles, developed it further. Pharmakon, These Hidden Hands, Shapednoise, and Helena Hauff will sling electronic beats onto the dance floor and scratch waves of white noise into a hypnotically beautiful crescendo. Featuring as a support act to the crème de la crème of the international party scene will be N≠E resident DJ Opium Hum. www.berghain.de
// Zurich BLACK PARTY WEEKEND / November 1 – 3 Volkshaus Club Stauffacherstr. 60, 8004 Zurich The time has come. So far, two powers, black and white, have always danced in perfect balance at the Volkshaus in Zurich, but this weekend the scale will finally tip towards the dark side. From November 1st to the 3rd, the angels at this enchanted round of parties will once again be asking you to let yourself go, break taboos, and unleash your most lustful desires on the dance floor. Three nights, three parties, three valleys of sin. CHAINED: BLACK OPENING will kick things off, followed by BLACK PARTY 2013:UNCHAINED and the earth-shattering finale in the form of the OFFICIAL BLACK AFTERHOUR. Party apocalypse has never felt this close. www.angels.ch
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// bremen Gay Candy / November 16 Club Moments Vor dem Steintor 65, 28203 Bremen Not everything that’s creamy, sticky, and sweet is candy ... This Saturday will once again witness “the North’s sweetest party”, also known as Gay Candy. And that’s not all. For its upcoming appearance, this evergreen of the party circuit is going to present itself in a new guise which includes a brand-new logo, more sweetness, and hopefully an even more exuberant mood. For music, be sure to expect lots of charts, house, and trash. Sweetness without the tooth decay – that’s exactly how we like it. www.candy-party.de
// miami White Party Week / October 26 Soho Studios 2136 NW 1st Avenue Miami, FL 33127 In the beginning there was darkness … and then there was light. Inspired by the legendary annual White Party in various New York gay clubs in the 80s, the Miami version will take place under the same name on five consecutive nights. That adds up to eleven perfect events full of creatures in tiny shorts on hot sandy beaches with tons of glittering guests. And to top it all off, various scene giants like Offer Nissim, Joe Gauthreaux, Abel, Danny Verde will be musically polishing your mood to a spotless sparkle. The obvious dress code: white as snow, glamorous, and – for heaven’s sake – make it sexy please! www.WhiteParty.org
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