Issuu

A BEYOND THE ORDINARY MAGAZINE

CARISSA MOORE

BREAKING SURFING’S GLASS CEILING

FEBRUARY 2013

Do wn

t a b load i s s ulet e FO

SIR JOHN KIRWAN

‘I KNOW I CAN FIX THE BLUES’

STREET

STYLE

KINGS

On the flipside at the breakdance world championship

THE WORLD OF RED BULL

February 86

RACHEL ATHERTON Food, fitness and films are vital in the making the mountain bike World Cup champion

JAMES FRANCO How the hardestworking man in showbiz and the arts fits it all in

40 MAKING WAVES Carissa Moore is leading the first generation of women surfers capable of competing alongside men on the pro tour

COVER PHOTOGRAPHY: BRADLEY AMBROSE PHOTOGRAPHY: IMAGO, GETTY IMAGES, BRIAN BIELMANN, INTERTOPICS

WELCOME What’s harder than being a world-class sportsman? Being a former world-class sportsman. It’s no joke. And if you become a coach, fans expect you to reach the heights of your playing career from the sidelines. In an exclusive interview with The Red Bulletin this month, Sir John Kirwan reveals his plans for success as head coach of Auckland Blues. Meanwhile, sweltering in a Rio heatwave, the B-Boys at the world breakdancing finals hope to turn their passions into a career (global pop stars recruit their tour companies here). Elsewhere, pointy shoes and self-expression are helping young Mexicans escape the gang wars. All that, and much, much more. Enjoy the issue.

48 A COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN Inside info from film folk, including a nun who kissed Elvis, to help you correctly pick the Oscars this month

THE WORLD OF RED BULL

February 52 SIR JOHN KIRWAN The Auckland Blues coach reveals his masterplan for reviving the club’s ailing fortunes

WILLY MOON What would a joint album by Buddy Holly and Kanye West sound like? Willy Moon has the answer

ON THE FLIPSIDE Breakdance in Brazil at the Red Bull BC One World Final

The Red Bulletin

Tablet App

Breakdancing world finals, surfing champ Carissa Moore, MTB champion Rachel Atherton in action on video Free for Android & iPad

RIO’S CARNIVAL SAMBA SCHOOLS For those living in the city’s favelas, taking part in Carnival is a matter of neighbourhood pride

08 The month’s best images from around the world 14 Bullevard: sport, culture and more 20 Kit Evolution: biathlon rifles 24 The science of highwire 26 Happy birthday Harley-Davidson

PHOTOGRAPHY: NICK STAVELEY, GETTY IMAGES, MARCELO MARAGNI/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, JANE STOCKDALE

THE WORLD OF RED BULL

February “ I carried on

competing in pain so as not to lose my place on tour the following season ”

22 ME & MY BODY Hurdling the pain barrier, and four minutes underwater, with Australian surfer Sally Fitzgibbons

84 MUSH, PUPPIES

American dog musher Dallas Seavey, champion of the 1,150-mile Iditarod sled race, reveals the things he’ll need on his title defence in March

64 DANCING IN NARCOLAND

From small-town Mexico to big-city USA, a new dance style is offering a generation on both sides of the border respite from the drug gang wars

Body & Mind TRAVEL

WARS OF SPEED

Race hard, enjoy harder: why the Single Speed World Championships is the toughest, easy-going bike contest on the planet

BAND WATCH

Jazz-trained Alistair Deverick and his electro-pop Boycrush project

90 NIGHTLIFE

WORLD IN ACTION

Global goings-on

SAVE THE DATE

KAINRATH

MIND’S EYE

Events for the diary Our cartoonist

Russell Brown looks into the best ways to make money in music

A glamorous club, an exotic cocktail, a midnight snack, after-dark action and the best music – we’ve got everything you need to get you through ’til dawn

PHOTOGRAPHY: KATIE KAARS, MICHAEL DEYOUNG, KATIE ORLINSKY, VICTOR LUCAS

Diving to the wreck of the SS Yongala, which sank off the coast of Australia over a century ago

Epic moments from the worldâ€™s best clubs and festivals: Strobelight Anthems on rbmaradio.com

STAGE Jim Beam Homegrown Odlins Plaza

2 March - Wellington Waterfront

www.homegrown.net.nz tickets $95+bf

HAWAI I , U SA

Into the JAWS

One of the most brutal surf breaks in the world is off the north side of the island of Maui, in Hawaii. Surfers must be towed out to it (usually by jet-skis) and they must be the world’s best. The waves of Pe’ahi, or Jaws, can reach 120ft (36m) in height. Windsurfer Jason Polakow tamed them: “It’s like riding a mountain of water. Your heart is racing, but that’s exactly what makes riding Jaws so exciting.” Watch the video: www.redbull.com Photograph: Tracy Kraft Leboe/Red Bull Content Pool

sAo Pau lo, b r a z i l

shadow boxing

Sport, not crime. That’s the byword former boxer Nelson Garrido is preaching in São Paulo’s Zona Leste (East Zone). His logic being that those in the ring aren’t out breaking the law. When the kids he trains are with him, they can’t be out selling drugs. Those lucky enough to be under Garrido’s watch are also given a hot meal, with a side-order of self-belief. The motto of his boxing academy is: “Come a poor boy. Leave a proud man.” Fighters’ portfolio: www.gudzowaty.com Photograph: Tomasz Gudzowaty

C O LO R AD O, U SA

TRACKING THE PAST In 1896, members of an African-American regiment of the US Army, known as Buffalo Soldiers, rode about 2,000 miles from Montana to Missouri – the first extensive testing for bicycles in the military. Swiss mountain biker René Wildhaber named his two-week US cycling adventure in honour of those pedalling pioneers. “I wanted to find out where mountain biking’s roots come from,” he said. “The Buffalo Soldiers tried something new, just as extreme sportsmen and women do today.” Expedition video blog: www.buffalo-soldiers.ch Photograph: Christophe Margot

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Bullevard Sport and culture on the quick

BACK IN THE FOLD On paper, an industrial design genius has crafted a secret parallel career

Retro future Video games are entertainment culture’s cutting edge, but they also spawn as many sequels as Hollywood blockbuster season, as new versions of old faves prove FINAL FANTASY Seekers Of Adoulin (March 26) is the seventh add-on for the 11th game in the epic sword-andsorcery saga. Games XII-XIV exist; the latter reboots later in 2013. SIMCITY A sixth iteration (March 5) of the part-mayoral, part-megalomania city-building challenge. New this time: curved roads, proper civil engineering and a world economy. TIGER WOODS PGA TOUR Eldrick Tont Woods now has as many Major wins as variants of his golf sim: 14. Now play as old-time legends just as they did – in black and white (March 26.) TOMB RAIDER The first lady of gaming returns in her 10th full-length adventure (March 5), in which Lara Croft’s origin is revealed in an island mystery akin to TV’s Lost.

Irving Harper is one of the most feted industrial designers. Alongside another icon of modernist manufacture, George Nelson, he developed the Marshmallow Sofa – with its 18 circular cushions, still sold and coveted 59 years after it was created. Less well known than Harper’s furniture, and the coloured spheres of the Ball Clock he co-conceived, are the byproducts of long nights at his drawing board. To help relax and clear his mind during breaks, he would make intricate paper sculptures. Over the years he has made almost 300 animals, abstract shapes and statues, some of which are over a metre in height. “I’ve never designed the sculptures,” says Harper, now 95. “They’re just off the top of my head.” A new book showcases the best of his paper craft. Just don’t call it origami. www.rizzoliusa.com

Irving Harper: Works In Paper is out now

PHOTOTICKER

EVERY SHOT ON TARGET

Have you taken a picture with a Red Bull flavour? Email it to us at: phototicker@redbulletin.com Every month we print a selection, with our favourite pic awarded a limited-edition Sigg bottle. Tough, functional and well-suited to sport, it features The Red Bulletin logo.

Santiago Sun, sand and sightseeing over Chile: on the thermals with paraglider Tom Weissenberger. Juan Luis De Heeckeren

New girl power

Female musicians you’ll be hearing more of in 2013

PHOTOGRAPHY: IRVING HARPER/RIZZOLI PUBLISHING (3), LESLIE WILLIAMSON, EA GAMES, SQUARE ENIX, MAXIS/EA GAMES CRYSTAL DYNAMICS/SQUARE ENIX, GETTY IMAGES (5), GEPA PICTURES, SOUND CITY

McKurtney: Paul McCartney (right) with ex-Nirvana members Krist Novoselic (left) and Dave Grohl

Studio filmmaking He rewrote music history as the drummer in Nirvana and fills stadiums as the frontman for Foo Fighters. Dave Grohl is one of the most successful rock musicians of his day. Now the 44-year-old is trying his hand as a film director. Grohl’s new documentary, Sound City, is about the legendary Californian recording studio of the same name, where a string of musicians have recorded classic albums since it was founded in 1969. Grohl is the right man for the job: Nirvana’s Nevermind was made there. He is also one of the film’s many notable talking heads, including Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, Tom Petty, Metallica’s Lars Ulrich and Stevie Nicks. The film’s soundtrack features 11 new songs co-written by Grohl; Cut Me Some Slack has his former Nirvana pal Krist Novoselic on bass, and vocals and guitar from some guy called Paul McCartney. The trio have performed the song live. Watch it online from February 9: www.soundcitymovie.com

ANGEL HAZE The 21-year-old rapper from Detroit tells hip-hop stories with wit, power and eloquence beyond her years.

SKY FERREIRA Heralded as the new princess of electro pop, the 20-yearold’s incorrectly titled debut album, I’m Not Alright, is out this spring.

SHE HAS LIFT-OFF Aged only 17 when she won the first women’s ski-jumping World Cup last year, Sarah Hendrickson is bound for further glory Ski-jumping isn’t exactly a mainstream sport. What made you decide to devote your life to flying through the air on skis? I come from Park City in Utah, which isn’t far from the Olympic ski-jumping hill in Salt Lake City. My brother started ski-jumping at some point and, when I was seven, I got fed up of just watching him. I was hooked after my very first attempts. What exactly is it about ski-jumping that is so appealing to you? Two things, mainly: the thrill that the enormous speed on the hill gives you; and the sensation of the air cushion under your skis when you’re flying. There’s nothing like it.

DEAP VALLY This Californian duo have made fans of the likes of Jack White with their wild live shows and raw, bluesy rock anthems.

Having achieved so much at a young age, what are your new career goals? In future, I hope I’ll get to experience the same thing on the really large hills [women compete on smaller hills than men]. There are two important events coming up: the 2013 World Championships in Val di Fiemme in Italy [February 20-March 3] and the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, where women will ski-jump for the first time. I’ll be under a bit of pressure in Italy as reigning overall World Cup champion. A medal would be great. But my main dream is to compete at the Olympics. Winning at a trial event in Sochi last December was a good omen. twitter.com/schendrickson

In-flight entertainment: Sarah Hendrickson

WE HAVE A WINNER!

Anza Supercrossers Marvin Musquin and Ryan Dungey nail a highest five in California. Simon Cudby

Belgrade Montenegrin rap duo Who See command the ring at the Red Bull MC Battle. Marko Djuric

Paia Surfers respect local traditions at the

opening ceremony of Red Bull Jaws in Hawaii. Robert Snow

B U L L E VA R D

Vincent and Mia on strings Riding high: Anthony Napolitan is one to watch at Gorge Road

Puppet master

Cantabrian brothers: Nigel (left) and Nathan

Mountains to climb Of the seven groups of outdoor sportsmen and women that received Hilary Expedition grants from Sport New Zealand recently, five will be travelling to exotic locations in search of adventure. However, Nathan and Nigel Watson are bucking that trend by taking on a unique challenge on home soil. The brothers from Christchurch plan to climb all 21 peaks above 2,000m in Nelson Lakes National Park in just 21 days. “We’ve been tramping and camping in the area since we were kids,” says Nathan. “We want to show Kiwis that there are amazing adventures to be had on their own doorstep.” The expedition starts on February 10 in the Matakitaki Valley in Nelson Lakes. www.facebook.com/21peaksin21days

Bologna Alexsandr Grinchuk (car) and Chris Pfeiffer at Red Bull Speed Day in Italy. Olaf Pignataro 16

Perth

BACK FOR DIRT

American BMX star Anthony Napolitan is making one of his regular visits to NZ, with victory in his sights During the BMX Big Air event at the 2009 X Games, Anthony Napolitan became the first person to land a double frontflip – a trick launched off a huge indoor ramp, exactly as you are picturing it in your head. Since then he’s struggled with an ankle injury, but after surgery last year he’s hoping to recapture the form he showed early in his career. The 26-year-old from Ohio, USA, is one of several top riders who’ll be competing in Red Bull Roast It at Gorge Road Jump Park in Queenstown on March 2.   : Why do you come to NZ so often?  : I’d heard great things about the BMX scene here before my first visit three years ago. It’s the dirt that keeps me coming back. How did the first Red Bull Roast It, last February, compare with other competitions of its kind? Gorge Road is one of the most fun places to ride BMX. The jumps are incredible and the trails are perfectly sculpted. It’s up there with anything I ride in the States. Which Kiwi riders impressed you most last year? Jed Mildon, who won Best Trick, killed it as always and Paul Langlands – he was Best Rider – was amazing. What BMX goals do you have left? I really want to win gold at X Games. I still have a lot of life left in me. www.redbull.co.nz

Where there’s wind there’s a way: 110 set off in Australia’s longest kitesurfing race. Ian Tungsten

Tauplitz Austrian freeskier Fabian Lentsch stuck in home snow for a powder climb. Mirja Geh

WORDS: ROBERT TIGHE. PHOTOGRAPHY: DOMINIKA ZIELINSKA, NATHAN WATSON, GRAEME MURRAY (2)

Pulp Fiction and puppets may seem an unlikely mix, but it’s worked for Wellington puppeteer Jon Coddington. For Puppet Fiction, his award-winning homage to the Quentin Tarantino movie, Coddington built 17 puppets and pulls the strings with two other actors. “We’ve worked hard to get the voices right and I think we’ve created a show that stands on its own two feet.” His favourite scene? “The part where Mia overdoses. It’s amazing what you can get away with with puppets.” The show is part of the Auckland Fringe, until March 10. www.aucklandfringe.co.nz

B U L L E VA R D

WHERE’S YOUR HEAD AT?

JAMES FRANCO

With his finger in many artistic pies, one foot in Hollywood and one in indie cinema, he is the hardest working man in showbiz and the arts. Here’s how he fits it all in

‘TE D’ TO HI S FA MI LY

born in Palo Alto, James Edward Franco was to Betsy Lou, a poet 8, 197 19, il California, on Apr ping container and editor, and Doug, a ship ky teen years – roc r Afte company executive. – he went to arrests, underage boozing , then dropped lish Eng university to study , ses clas ing act e tak out to supporting himself by working at McDonald’s.

’CAUSE OF THE REBEL

After bit parts in TV and film, he won the part of James Dean in a 2001 biopic. He already looked a little like the legendary actor, but got even closer to Dean by taking up smoking, talking to Dean’s friends, and being alone, on set and off, during filming. “I wanted to feel what that felt like,” he said. Result: Best Actor Golden Globe won; career launched.

WORDS: PAUL WILSON. ILLUSTRATION: LIE-INS AND TIGERS

ARTH OU SE & MU LTIPLEX

No movie star walks the like Hollywood-indie line quite e SpiderFranco. Major roles in thre net Of The Man films, Rise Of The Pla s can be res Exp Apes and Pineapple l and The How , Milk in s turn inst set aga et film udg rob mic 1 Broken Tower, a 201 TV, he was on ly, ilar Sim d. cte dire he also ks and the in cult hit Freaks and Gee l. pita Hos l era Gen ra ope soap

ALWAYS LEARN ING

In 2006, 10 years after dropping out, Franco went back to UCLA to finish his English degree, graduating in 2008. Two years later, he enrolled in four New York graduate schools, squeezing all the study around his acting. On the set of Pineapple Express, said its director, Judd Apatow, “we used to laugh because in between takes he’d be reading The Iliad.”

HIGH ON JUNK

In a 2006 US TV comedy skit, which went viral online, Justin Timberlake sang about packaging certain parts of his body as a gift for female admirers. In a 2008 short film, Franco, also directing, plays the role of a chap, name rhymes with ‘nick doze’, with the same body parts shifted from their anatomically correct position to the centre of his face.

SPO ILE R ALE RT!

In 127 Hours, Franco played Aron Ralston, who, in 2003, had to cut off his right arm after it was squashed between a boulder and a canyon wall following a canyoneering accident. The film, said its director, Danny Boyle, is “an action movie with a guy who can’t move”. Franco, with one hand literally tied behind his back, won a Best Actor Oscar nomination.

THE MU LTIH YPH ENATE

Franco’s degree thesis was a novel. In 2010, he published a book of short stories, Palo Alto, named for his hometown, and had a solo art show in New York. In 2011, he hosted the Oscars. Next year, he will publish Directing Herbert White, a book of poems about moviemaking and the attendant fame. Put money on a catwalk collection in Paris one day.

OH , JAM ES!

With his forthcoming roles, James Franco could not be more James Franco in 2013 – not least in This Is The End, a comedy co-directed by ss co-star Seth Rogen, in Expre pple Pinea his be Hugh which he plays James Franco. He’ll also h, the mont next from and lace, Love in er, Hefn rful. Powe And t Grea The Wonderful Wizard, in Oz www.disney.go.com/thewizard

B U L L E VA R D

SPIFFING QUIFF

WILLY MOON

What would a joint album by Buddy Holly and Kanye West sound like? Willy Moon has the answer. Firing up his time machine uncorks the freshest pop ideas

  : Did you discover old music via your parents?  : No. If that had been the case I probably wouldn’t like it now! I started listening to Buddy Holly and Bo Diddley records in Berlin when I was 19 and I got completely into them. It was a form of escapism for me. I became obsessed, imagining a bygone era in which people behaved completely differently.

Moon landing: Willy is ready to take 2013 by storm

Real Name William Sinclair Born June 2, 1989, Wellington, New Zealand Just For Fun Two years ago he was in Berlin, eking out a living doing odd jobs. He began writing songs out of boredom. His very first song secured him a record contract. Moon now lives in London. QT And Me Moon’s favourite film director is Quentin Tarantino. “He plays with genres of the past, turning them on their head to find a new perspective on them. Sort of the same thing that I’m doing with music, really.”

How did you come up with the idea of mixing rock ’n’ roll with hip-hop? It was an attempt to challenge myself. I wanted to create something that had its own identity. So I came up with the idea of combining those two worlds because it was something no one had tried before. Why do your songs have very minimal arrangements? My recording studio is basically a laptop and my guitar. I like that feeling of flexibility. I never wanted to make music that I need an orchestra to fulfil, because then, in a way, I would be trapped. Plus, putting limits on yourself fires your creativity. Look at Picasso’s Blue Period. As a magpie of different styles, which one do you like the most? I don’t want to be pigeonholed: I make Willy Moon music. In the past, there were always one or two dominant movements that young people would get behind and get involved with. You were either this or that; a punk, or

“ My recording studio is a laptop and my guitar. I like being flexible ” you were into hip-hop. The internet has changed all that – the archive of history is at our fingertips. The way in which people make art and music is something that has changed irrevocably. You can create your own style, combine things according to your own taste. That is wonderful. What’s the secret to your quiff? I start with wax and then I put gel on it – it has to be a soft gel, one that doesn’t go dry and flaky – and then hairspray once it’s combed. It’s a three-part strategy. The single Railroad Track is out now; a debut album is out in March. Preview it now: www.willymoon.com

WORDS: FLORIAN OBKIRCHER. PHOTOGRAPHY: UNIVERSAL ISLAND RECORDS, REX FEATURES

Willy Moon is a man of style. His suit is perfect. So is his quiff. He has James Dean’s cool and the seductive gaze of Marlon Brando. The 23-year-old may have fashion on his mind, but he has earned the respect of fellow performers like Jack White (of the White Stripes, with whom Moon toured England last November) with his music. Moon’s merging of the classic rock ’n’ roll sound with snappy hip-hop beats is as ingenious as it is infectious. On stage, he swings his hips and is every bit the impish crooner. His electric guitar screams, the rhythms thump. Apple made his second single, Yeah Yeah, into an anthem via an iPod advert. All of this has made his forthcoming debut album the most anticipated record of early 2013.

B U L L E VA R D

KIT EVOLUTION

Bullet Points

Biathlon is winter sport’s most demanding event: race to the targets, heart pounding as you aim and fire. But are today’s competitors helped by high-tech hardware?

SLING ON

In rainy conditions, the leather strap absorbs water and becomes heavier. Modern rifles are equipped with lighter, padded, water-repellent foam straps.

LOCK DOWN

PUSH BACK

This rifle weighs 4.7kg and is 110cm long. The butt is made of plastic. The powerful recoil of the large calibre often left biathletes with blackand-blue shoulders.

1976 STEYR MANNLICHER SSG 69 The sport of biathlon, a dual test of cross-country skiing and target shooting, developed from Norwegian army training. It made its full Winter Olympic debut in 1960. Biathletes ski laps of a course, covering up to 20km, with timed target shoots at the end of the laps. “In 1978,” says Alfred Eder, a six-time Austrian Olympic biathlete, “the sport switched from large to small [.22] calibre cartridges,” a move that opened it to a wider audience.

Alfred Eder, Olympic legend and biathlon dynasty founder (see facing page) biathlonworld.com

WORDS: ULRICH CORAZZA. PHOTOGRAPHY: KURT KEINRATH (2), MARCEL LAMMERHIRT/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, IMAGO

The trigger weight – the force the shooter applies to shoot – is 1-1.5kg. The .30-06calibre ammunition it fires has a muzzle velocity of 850m/s.

IN THE SLOT

The magazine holds five .22-calibre cartridges; spares are stored in the butt. In World Cup biathlon, maximum ammunition muzzle velocity is 380m/s.

ON THE TRIGGER This rifle’s patented straight-pull trigger action (trigger weight: about 0.5kg) allows repetition without elbow movement, which saves time and improves aim.

TAILOR-MADE

The shaft is light balsa wood, with a hardwood core to aid stability, and carboncoated to increase rigidity and protect the wood from rain, snow and impact.

2013 ANSCHÜTZ KK 1827 FORTNER Alfred Eder’s son Simon is the fastest shot in professional biathlon. His five scoring shots in 16.5 seconds is a Biathlon World Cup best. He uses a rifle much changed from his father’s day, thanks to technological advancements and the 1978 rule changes. “The anatomically adapted shaft nestles against the body, which saves a lot of time at the shooting stand,” says Eder. “Nonetheless, I still have to hit the bull’s eye myself.”

Simon Eder won Olympic silver in 2010; father Alfred did not medal in six Games www.edersam.com

B U L L E VA R D

1 SEA SENSE

Your body is on high alert as soon as you get in the water. When you’re surfing, you need to have quick reactions, excellent spatial awareness and a precise understanding of how the ocean behaves.

ME AND MY BODY

SALLY FITZGIBBONS Aged 17, the Australian became the youngest-ever surfer to qualify for the ASP World Tour. In each of the last three seasons, she has been overall runner-up. Now aged 22, she’s ready to take the title

2 IN TOO DEEP

I broke my left wrist in late 2011, surfing in Fiji, when I was flung over a reef. Six weeks of no surfing – it was the Australian summer too – was pretty uncool and almost drove me mad.

3 PAIN BARRIER GRIEF I injured my back freesurfing at the Gold Coast in 2009, during my very first event on the ASP World Tour. It took five months to heal. I carried on competing in pain so as not to lose my place on tour the following season.

www.sallyfitzgibbons.com

I’m a regular at various Red Bull training camps. Last year, on a freediving course, I learned how to hold my breath for four minutes and to keep calm in the water in dangerous situations. That can be lifesaving for us surfers.

When you’re surfing, your torso, back, legs and glutes work in harmony. That’s why I rely on holistic physical training. My thighs are perhaps my strongest muscles. I get the strength for increasingly complicated moves by doing countless squats of all kinds.

Download the free Red Bulletin Tablet edition to see exclusive videos of Fitzgibbons in action

WORDS: ULRICH CORAZZA. PHOTOGRAPHY: KATIE KAARS

5 BREATHLESS

4 (IN)FLEXIBLE

B U L L E VA R D

HARD & FAST

Top performers and winning ways from around the globe Big leap: ilabb has grown from a passion for bikes into a million-dollar company

AHEAD FOR BUSINESS

With his 45th World Cup event victory, Austrian skijumper Gregor Schlierenzauer also secured his second Four Hills Tournament title on home soil.

PHOTOGRAPHY: CLINTON TUDOR, ILABB, GETTY IMAGES, ALLI SPORTS (2), PICTUREDESK.COM. ILLUSTRATION: DIETMAR KAINRATH

Two buddies who started out designing decals could be the next global action sports brand Turning a passion into a career isn’t easy, but Matt Saunders and Seadon Baker are finally reaping the rewards of their self-belief. Last year, their motocross-inspired custom decal and casual apparel company ilabb had a turnover of $1.5 million, and the plan for 2013 is to target the global retail market for the first time. It wasn’t always this way. In 2007, when Baker and Saunders decided to turn their hobby of making decals for their motocross bikes into a business, they worked 120 hours a week and lived on cornflakes and rice. At one stage, they contemplated selling their bikes to avert a cash-flow crisis. Today, ilabb employs 12 staff in a warehouse/retail outlet/company HQ in central Auckland, and their wares are available in more than 60 stores nationwide. Baker sees ilabb (short for innovation lab) taking on established brands such as Unit and Fox. “They’re a bit darker and grungier than us, and appeal more to the bogan motorsport dude,” he says. “We create aesthetics for action sports people and people inspired by that world. Our typical customer is a young, cool, excited kid who rides a skateboard or watches the X Games.” This year, their customised decals will be available to BMXers, surfers, skate, snow and wakeboarders as well as motocross riders. “This is just the beginning,” says Baker. “By 2020 we want to be a global company with $100 million of sales. Running a big business is not for everyone, but I’m so excited to come to work every day.” Business brains (l-r): Matt www.ilabb.com

“I had the experience, so I played it cool,” said a modest Kaya Turski after the Canadian won the Dew Tour freeski slopestyle final in Colorado.

Petter Northug’s bid to become the first Norwegian winner of the Tour de Ski was boosted with victory in the 35km free pursuit cross-country race in Italy.

A Triple Cork 1440 brought Mark McMorris (CAN) big air victory at the Dew Tour in Colorado. He also took home a slopestyle trophy.

Saunders and Seadon Baker

B U L L E VA R D

WINNING FORMULA

NARROW MARGIN

BALANCING: THE NUMBERS “An object is balanced when the plumb line of its centre of gravity, CG, goes through its footprint,” says Dr Martin Apolin, 47, of the Faculty of Physics at the University of Vienna. “The challenge for a high-wire acrobat on a bicycle, is to balance in such a way that the plumb line of the CG always goes through the narrow supporting surface of the rope. If it moves away from that position, torque, M, ensues, which tilts the acrobat to one side (figure A). The formula M = Fr applies here, where F is the weight force of the bicycle, acrobat and balancing pole, and r is the normal distance of the force from the axis of rotation, which in our case is identical to the rope. “The supporting surface is small even in the case of ‘normal’ cycling, but if the rider tilts to one side, it is possible to lean to the opposite side to straighten the bicycle once more – which isn’t an option on a rope. “Newton’s second law, which determines that force equals mass times velocity, F = ma, is comparable to the formula for rotation: torque is the moment of inertia multiplied by angular acceleration, M = Iα. If you combine both equations for M, you get α = Fr/I. With the same weight and same deviation (and therefore, the same r), the angular acceleration is therefore indirectly proportional to the moment of inertia: α ~ 1/I. In other words: if you double the torque, say, the angular acceleration drops by half. “The moment of inertia indicates how difficult it is to rotate an object. It is determined by the formula I = ∑i miri², where mi is the mass of the individual parts and ri their distance from the axis of rotation. This is where the balancing pole comes into its own. It can be up to 20m long and weigh up to 30kg. The large mass and, above all, the distance from each end to the axis of rotation, raises the overall torque significantly, and since α ~ 1/I, the acrobat will tilt at a much slower rate. “What’s more, he can also compensate for variation by moving the balancing pole. So when it appears from our perspective that the acrobat is about to fall to the right, or clockwise, he also turns the pole in this direction (figure B). Thanks to preservation of momentum, body and bicycle move counter-clockwise and put him upright once more.” RECORD RIDE American acrobat Nik Wallenda achieved a distance of almost 72m during his world record tightrope bike ride, on a rope strung at a height of 41m between two cranes in Newark, New Jersey, USA, in October 2008. “I come from a family of tightrope walkers,” he says. “First and foremost: the show must go on.” www.nikwallenda.com

WORDS: MARTIN APOLIN. PHOTOGRAPHY: SAM BARCROFT/BULLS PRESS. ILLUSTRATION: MANDY FISCHER

Forget string theory: the science behind tightropes is tough enough. And there’s even less room for error when the highwire walk becomes a razor-thin ride

What a cycle path: balancing artist Nik Wallenda during his world record 72m-long ride in Newark, New Jersey

B U L L E VA R D

LUCKY NUMBERS

HARLEY-DAVIDSON The world’s most legendary motorbike is 110 years old. Its history is rich with speed records, celebrity owners, biker clubs and logo tattoos

Cal Rayborn’s 1970 world record

The largest American motorbike manufacturer came close to bankruptcy in 1981. Willie Davidson, grandson of company founder Arthur, is said to have given the following answer to the bank’s question regarding security when he sought a loan: “I’ve got the only company logo in the world that people get tattoos of.” A US$80 million loan was soon in the company’s coffers.

In 1900, in a back-street garage in Milwaukee, USA, two young engineers, William S Harley and Arthur Davidson, began development work on a two-wheeled motorcycle. A prototype was ready in 1903: a bike with a reinforced frame, a 2bhp single-ended engine and a belt drive. A certain Mr Miller was the first customer and more soon followed. By 1907, the Harley-Davidson Motor Company Inc was building and selling 150 motorbikes a year.

833

Billy Idol

Jay Leno

Harley-Davidson has always enjoyed a good relationship with American cinema. Who can forget Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper in Easy Rider, Arnold Schwarzenegger in Terminator 2, or Bruce Willis in Pulp Fiction? More recently, super-heroes have been getting in on the action with Cyclops in X-Men 3: The Last Stand and Johnny Blaze in Ghost Rider. Away from the bright lights, Elvis Presley, Elizabeth Taylor, and Jay Leno have all owned a Harley. Billy Idol famously crashed his in 1990, spending six months in bed recuperating as a result.

Harley-Davidson has an annual sales revenue of US$4.66 billion. About $274 million of that sum comes from annual sales of clothing bearing the company logo, and as much as $817 million from motorcycle parts and accessories. The 2013 Parts and Accessories catalogue is 833 pages long and contains almost 9,000 items.

427.25

The ubiquitous Harley tattoo

In 1970, facing competition from Japanese manufacturers, Harley-Davidson organised a world record attempt to prove they were the fastest. Riding the torpedo-like Streamliner, American motorcycle road-racer Cal Rayborn attempted to break Yamaha’s record of 405kph in Utah’s Great Salt Lake Desert. Rayborn crashed on his first attempt, but was sufficiently injury-free to push the record up to 427.25kph a few days later. The record stood until 1985 when another US rider, Dan Kinsey, reached 460kph on the Tenacious, a single-engine Harley.

1953 Hells Angels

Easy Rider

Hells Angels are as synonymous with Harley-Davidsons as they are leather jackets. When the bikers’ club was established in 1948, you only had to own a motorbike to join. Within five years, the Harley had become the gang’s trademark. “I still ride one today, even though I don’t like the brand at all,” says Sonny Barger, founding member of the Oakland, California chapter of Hells Angels. “I’d rather have a BMW or a Triumph.”

www.harley-davidson.com

WORDS: ARKADIUSZ PIĄTEK. PHOTOGRAPHY: HARLEY DAVIDSON, GETTY IMAGES (4), CORBIS, AIKA/DALLE

150

80,000,000

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It’s 1am in favela Vila Vintém, suburban Rio de Janeiro. The streets are packed with locals there to celebrate the final dress rehearsal by Unidos de Padre Miguel, a ‘samba school’. Carnival is set to begin

SAMBA

SCHOOL

Words: Damian Platt Photography: Jane Stockdale 28

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Unlike other samba schools in Rio, Unidos stays true to its roots â€“ the life and people of its favela. After the final pre-carnival preparations, the favela erupts into a party for all ages that goes on until dawn

Samba rehearsals for all take place on the favela streets

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io, and the rest of Brazil, comes to a halt at Carnival. It’s glitzy, glossy and slickly packaged – for those watching live on TV, or those who can afford to splash the equivalent of US$1,000 on a ticket in the spectator viewing areas in the Sambadrome, the permanent parade ground in downtown Rio. Each different element of the Carnival parade is performed by a dancing club known as a samba school. The Unidos de Padre Miguel samba school was founded in 1957. It is a small, third-tier outfit that dreams of becoming more prominent in the Carnival hierarchy. Unidos de Padre Miguel is anything but flash, far removed from the big schools. It is run entirely by locals. Everyone’s in it for love, not money. To be a part of Unidos is to experience Rio and its people in ways those from the favelas otherwise never would – not for them a Sambadrome ticket. For the school’s members, Carnival is about seeing a year’s hard work pay off. It’s an opportunity for them to demonstrate their value (and values). Unlike other schools, it doesn’t charge people for taking part, or for their costumes. All its members must do is show up for rehearsals and represent the school with pride. Funds are raised through year-round events. Unidos came second in its class at the 2011 Carnival. “It felt,” said one member, “beautiful, like we were bringing the championship title back home.”

Rehearsals take place in the streets. This way, the local community can feel part of the action, and understand that the school, ultimately, belongs to everyone

Everyone takes part for love, not money

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Throughout the year an ultra-motivated team of volunteers work to design and create the theme. From the floats to the costumes to the drums - everything‘s built from scratch.

CREDIT:

Throughout the year, dedicated volunteers work on the theme for the performance. Everything’s built from scratch – even the drums

Pascoal has lived in Vila VintĂŠm all his life. Heâ€™s one of a group of friends who have been involved in Unidos de Padre Miguel since they were kids. They are totally devoted to their samba school

ACTION

This is the moment everyones waited for. Unidos enter the Sambodrome.

CREDIT:

The highpoint of the year: Unidos parading in the Sambadrome. Just before, there were nervous moments when part of a float, a large guitar, got stuck under a bridge (left). But it was all smiles after it was fixed

At parade’s end, the costumes are carefully removed and stored, for possible use in making next year’s outfits. Everyone heads back to Vila Vintém for an epic afterparty

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For the Unidos samba school, Carnival is the pay-off after a yearâ€™s hard work 39

LISTEN UP, GUYS ACTION

AS SU R F I N G’S GOV E RN I N G BO DY PR E PA R ES TO REST R U CTU RE THE FO RMAT O F I TS AN N UA L TO U RI N G C O MP E T I T I O N ,H AWA I I AN WAVE R I D E R CA R I SSA M O O RE I S CAL L I N G FO R WOME N TO GE T T H E SAME PAY AND P E R KS AS T H E P RO MEN Words: Ann Donahue Photography: Brian Bielmann 40

Star of the surf scene: Carissa Moore is the youngest winner of the ASP Womenâ€™s World Tour

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C arissa Moore’s home is at the end of a cul-de-sac in the mountains above Waikiki Beach, Hawaii, surrounded by jungle on three sides. It’s a quiet place of respite for the surfer: a deck built on the back of the house leads down to a path that heads to a waterfall. It’s an impressive spread for a 20-year-old and one befitting a world champion of her sport. In 2011, Moore became champion of the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Women’s World Tour and since 2008 has won a total of six ASP tour events. Known for her agile cutbacks, Moore has been honing her gutsy surfing style since she first got on a board aged five and appeared on the cover of Surfer magazine when she was just 16, after winning a slew of amateur titles, but before she debuted on the pro tour. Then, in 2011, she became the first woman to receive a wildcard entry into the men’s Triple Crown of Surfing. Her success comes at a time when competitive surfing is in a period of upheaval. Starting in 2014, the ASP will team up with ZoSea Media – a media company run by Terry Hardy, who manages US surf star Kelly Slater and Quiksilver board member Paul Speaker – to restructure the format of the tour to increase its brand value. This includes event licensing, the potential of formalising special events like the Eddie Aikau Invitational, and administering the ASP’s lucrative media rights. For Moore, this overhaul represents a chance to address the problems she has found with the women’s tour, such as inadequate venues, pay inequality and relative invisibility to surfing fans. “I have to say that the women’s performance has been better than ever, which is exciting,” she says, “but unfortunately the state of the tour for the women is the worst it’s ever been.” 42

  : When Australian Julian Wilson won the US Open of Surfing, he earned US$100,000. The women’s winner, Lakey Peterson, got $15,000 for riding the same waves. How do you feel about the significant difference in prize money?  : I think that’s just maybe our culture, to be honest. Surfing has been really male-dominated for so many years. I honestly think it’s slowly getting better, where I think eventually men and women will be equal. But there are women on our tour who are not sponsored, and they are losing money. They have to work part-time jobs. How are they going to be at their best athletically if they have to do that? I’m so fortunate that I have a great family of sponsors. I make my living off of my sponsorship deals, not the prize money. I think the women should be respected and rewarded for what they do. It’s different for the guys. The guys definitely do charge bigger waves and they do bigger airs and stuff, but there’s a different beauty and appreciation for what the girls do. It seems that many people often fail to understand that. I think if we had better venues, and the women were really able to showcase everything they have – because in performance-based ways, the girls are so close to getting to where the guys are. But right now, with us surfing small beach breaks in cities and towns, I can’t blame them – it’s not much fun to watch. I started watching the guys’ France Pro on TV last year and one day it [the surf] was so small and so bad that I turned it off. This is what people do to the girls all the time, and I did it to the guys because I don’t want to watch it if they’re surfing crap. If

“ S URFING WIL L A LWAYS BE IN M Y BLO O D A ND IN M Y L IF E” Girl power: Moore is known for having superior core strength, a crucial attribute for battling through the ferocious ocean waves

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Moore the emancipator: “You can’t market us like the guys, it just doesn’t work”

they gave us better waves and better venues, the viewing figures would go up. What kind of venues would be ideal for women to surf? I think definitely they would be in Hawaii. There are four girls on tour now who are from Hawaii, and it would be great to have it here. I think there needs to be more of a variety of waves on the tour. To be world champ, you should be well rounded. You should be able to surf big waves and you should be able to surf powerful waves, small waves, bad waves, everything. Do the organisers think if they don’t have that easy beach access at the venues that people won’t attend? I think, especially for the girls, they put them in cities and towns because they’ll get more people to come down to the beach. Then they’ll put us on in conjunction with the men, because people will come down to watch the guys. But it’s crazy, because even when we’re on with the men, the guys get the best days. It is so biased. How so? Case in point: every year at the first event, the Roxy Pro at the Gold Coast [in Australia], surf at Snapper Rocks is best at low tide. High tide is horrible. They ran 44

“ WHE N I’M D O N E SURF I NG, I WA N T TO L E AV E BEHI ND A G R E AT L EGACY ” half a round – two or three heats of the girls – at high tide just to get to the low tide. They stopped us, then ran the guys. It was so bad. They do it every year. Do the women have any say? The organisers say, “Oh, you should have a women’s representative.” So we choose a surfer to meet with the contest director before events along with the men’s representative. But the contest director is a man, the guys’ director is a man. It’s two against one. Who is going to listen to the girl? What’s the point? It gets really frustrating. Have you ever been the representative? Honestly, I watched [Australian surfer] Chelsea Hedges. She used to be on tour and she used to be the surfers’ rep for us. I watched her come from the meetings so distraught, she couldn’t focus.

It gets argumentative, then? It does, and you get frustrated. It’s almost selfish of me to be like, “I’ve got to compete at this point.” I really do care for the state of women’s surfing. I want to see surfing for women go so much further then just me. When I’m done, I’d like to leave behind a great legacy. What would you like to see happen on the women’s tour to garner more fan interest? It just takes someone with a big sense of professionalism to market our tour. The girls are not only beautiful, but they surf well and they have great personalities. There’s something there if someone can find a way to think out of the box and market us. You can’t market us like the guys. It just doesn’t work. Women are a different market. I buy clothes: I feel bad, but I don’t look at Serena Williams and think, “Oh, I want to wear that because Serena Williams wears that,” but I like it just because it looks cute. Guys will see Kelly Slater wearing a cool boardshort and they’ll think, “Kelly performs really well in those boardshorts. I want those same ones so I’ll perform just as well as him.” It’s not the same for girls. What about TV coverage? I think with the new deal the organisers are going to try and package it and sell it to ESPN, but the hardest part about surfing is that it’s not going to be on TV like other US sports, because the surf is all about Mother Nature. In advance of next year’s big shake-up, there have already been some changes before the start of the 2013 season in March. You’re wearing a Hurley shirt, for example. This past week, I’ve migrated from Nike to Hurley, and it’s been kind of a weird time. I didn’t see it coming. At first, I was kind of like, man, I joined Nike to be part of this company that elevates surfing to a new level, and maybe puts the sport on a level of being respected among athletes like Serena Williams and Tiger Woods. Maybe I was a little sad, to be honest. But I am super-excited to be part of Hurley; they’ve never had a women’s team before, so there are three of us on there now: myself, Lakey Peterson from California, and Laura Enever from Australia. Between that and Nike pulling out of their sponsorship of the US Open of Surfing, do you

ACTION

Making waves: the 20-year-old has been surfing for 15 years

Physically? Physically and mentally, to get yourself to that same level as a guy. If you watch these guys on TV, you know what they’re capable of. I think I could have done a way better job of staying in my bubble and sticking to what I know. It’s a great learning experience for me. It was great to see how the guys compete. What’s different? I feel like the girls are really intense, but the guys push each other more. They’re not so much like, “Oh my god, you got that score, I don’t know if I’m going to get it.” It’s like, “I’m going to get the best score. I’m going to get a better score.” I think it’s a whole other level of intensity.

From top: Moore winning the Roxy Pro in Gold Coast, Australia; holding up her special winner’s cheque after the Billabong Rio Pro in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; celebrating her tour win on the podium at the Roxy Pro Biarritz in France

think there is any broader implication for the state of surfing as a business? I think there are positives and negatives to the change. Because Nike owns Hurley, I think they can do a great job in elevating Hurley to the next level. But at the same time, I think that Nike’s kind of taking a step back, and they didn’t see themselves doing well in surfing. I think it’s hard, but you can’t just go into a new endeavour for five years and expect to see a change. These companies, like Quiksilver, Rip Curl and Hurley, have been around for years, and they’re respected by a lot of people. If it’s like, OK, I want to get something that looks like a surfer, you’re not going to think of Nike. It’s hard. You were given the chance to compete with the men in two of the 2011 Triple Crown events – how was that? Two years ago, just after I won my world title, I was blessed enough to be given a wildcard into the first two events of the men’s Triple Crown. I surfed in Haleiwa and Sunset [in Hawaii]; it was such an honour. I got to surf with Sunny Garcia at Sunset – he’s a legend. I didn’t do well in either of the events – I lost in my first heat. Unfortunately, the waves weren’t that great. It is hard to even paddle with the best guys in the world. To fight for a wave, it’s pretty challenging.

How old were you when you first realised that you loved surfing? I knew that I loved it and wanted to become a world champ when I was 10. I actually remember when I told my dad. We were in the car, and I said, “Dad, I want to become a world champ, and I want you to help me get there. I want you to do whatever it takes to help me.” Where do you see yourself in 10 years? I think surfing will always be in my blood and in my life. I don’t know how long I’ll be in competitive surfing – I hope another 10 years. By 35 I would love to be going back to school. I would love to be studying to become an elementary school teacher. And hopefully have a family, be married. Have a simple, happy life. www.carissamoore.com Watch Carissa Moore show off her surfing prowess on The Red Bulletin tablet version. Download it now for free

ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES (3)

“ W H EN I WAS 10,I TOLD M Y DAD I WA NT E D TO B E WOR LD CH AM P I ON”

Is there particular element of your surfing that you want to hone? I think I’m mostly just trying to focus on my overall performance: how I compete, how I surf on a wave and how I just handle being around the contest. There’s so much going on at surf events, especially for the girls. We have a really short season, so we have events back to back to back to back. We recently had another event added in Australia, so now we have three, potentially four events – which is almost half our tour. It’s crazy. In the rulebook, it says you’re not supposed to have more than two events in any region, but we can’t really say anything because if they take away those events, then we don’t have any left.

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A COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN Which film will win Best Picture at this year’s Oscars? In the run-up to Hollywood’s annual awards, predicting the winners is the preoccupation of millions. The Red Bulletin analysed film history and spoke to past winners and nominees for insight. The results may surprise you – and help you win your Oscar sweepstake Words: Rudiger Sturm Illustration: Infomen/Carlos Coelho

FORMULA OSCAR How to win the trophy 48

Appeal to the old white guys: Best Picture is usually the story of a white man. Academy members aren’t too keen on brutality; nudity is another no-no. Lesbian psycho-thrillers or gay cowboys aren’t popular. As a rule, an Oscar-winning film should take itself seriously, which is why comedies are rarely nominated.

BASIC THEME The story of a man who stands firm against external pressures, learns something about himself and ends, at least morally, victorious.

ACTION

ollywood’s fate is sealed in Bethlehem. Bethlehem, Connecticut, that is, where 74-year-old nun Mother Dolores llives ives and prays. As one of the 5,783 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences members entitled to vote, the Benedictine nun is one of the people with the fate of countless filmmakers in her hands, with a say over who gets one of the most hyped prizes on the planet: the Academy Award for Best Picture. In theory, any film can win the Best Picture Oscar as long as it is at least 40 minutes in length and shown for seven consecutive days in at least one commercial cinema in Los Angeles County. That means 265 films are in the running for the Oscars for 2012, to be awarded on February 24. At first glance, there appears to be no logic as to which of them wins Best Picture. “You can have the best intentions

in the world, but at the end of the day, nobody has a clue who or what is going to win,” says Leonardo DiCaprio, who has played the lead role in two Best Picture-winning films – Titanic (1997) and The Departed (2006) – that couldn’t be more different. “It’s all a big game.” Jodie Foster, who won best actress for The Accused (1998) and for The Silence of the Lambs (1991), shares his view: “As you sit there at the awards ceremony, it’s like being at a tombola and you think to yourself, ‘Please, please, please let them draw my number.’” Saul Zaentz, one of the most decorated producers in Oscar history with three Best Picture awards to his name, can suggest only one recipe for success. “You’ve got to be a lucky devil. When we won for One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, we were seen as lucky assholes, after Amadeus, we were the very lucky assholes and when we won for The English Patient, we were the very, very lucky assholes.” This year, as ever, there are Best Picture favourites: Kathryn Bigelow’s

Zero Dark Thirty, on the hunt for Osama bin Laden; Argo, Ben Affleck’s Iranian-hostage rescue thriller, and Steven Spielberg’s biopic of Lincoln. Popular opinion is currently split as to which of them is most likely to win. But look hard at the history, and the Best Picture winner isn’t quite as random as it seems. Which is where it comes down to people like Mother Dolores. The opinion of the devout lady – who was formerly known as actress Dolores Hart who played opposite Elvis in 1958’s King Creole – deserves to be taken seriously. One becomes a member of AMPAS one of three ways: by receiving an Oscar nomination; by applying for membership with two other members vouching for your work; or being endorsed for merit by the Academy itself. It takes years of work – and perhaps more importantly, years of networking – to attain any one of these membership requirements. This creates something of a barrier to young film industry talent, and that is reflected in the demographics of the Academy. According to a report

Inevitably, the Oscar winner’s journey starts with the ‘man goes his own way’ basic formula. Strong acting performances strike a chord: the Best Picture victor usually also wins one acting Oscar. It takes a chunk of money, spent wisely and aggressively, to seal the deal. Get movie mogul Harvey Weinstein on your team: nobody mounts better Oscar publicity campaigns.

ACTION

Factor 1: Appeal to the old white guys

We shouldn’t be surprised when a basic theme shows up again and again in the Best Picture: the story of a man, usually white, as a rule a staunch individualist, who stands firm against external pressures, learns something about himself and ends victorious, at least morally. For example: Rocky, The Artist, Million Dollar Baby, A Beautiful Mind, Gladiator, The King’s Speech, Schindler’s List, Dances with Wolves, Braveheart, American Beauty, Kramer vs Kramer, The Hurt Locker, Platoon, Shakespeare in Love, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Forrest Gump, The Departed, etc, etc, etc. Sometimes there’s a variation on the theme. In the cases of Slumdog Millionaire and Gandhi, the skin colour changed. In The Silence of the Lambs and Titanic, it was the gender. But what would Clarice have been without her Hannibal? Rose without her Jack? In Amadeus and Rain Man, the basic theme was split between two men; in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, between a fellowship. In No Country for Old Men, the testosterone odyssey ends in bitter disaster.

Best Picture favourites 2013

Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty, on the hunt for Osama bin Laden; Argo, Ben Affleck’s Iranian-hostage rescue thriller, and Steven Spielberg’s biopic of Lincoln

So, inevitably, the journey to the Oscar begins with the ‘man goes his own way’ basic formula. This bodes well this year for Lincoln and Argo; less so for Zero Dark Thirty, which features a female – gasp! – intelligence agent bucking the system in the hunt for bin Laden. Other notable trends: older members of the Academy aren’t too keen on brutality. (See Shakespeare in Love over Saving Private Ryan for Best Picture of 1998.) Nudity is another definite no-no. (Sorry, lesbian psycho-thriller Black Swan. It’s the nomination that counts, right?) As a rule, the winning picture usually has no viewing restrictions – although as the exception that breaks the rule, Midnight Cowboy was rated ‘X’ when it won Best Picture for 1969. Yet for all the Academy’s conservatism, the films should not be reactionary either. After all, an average age of 62 means the members grew up in the flower power era and began their careers in the 1970s, when Hollywood was producing the most daring and progressive films in its history. Enlightened, liberal, socially aware, but not too provocative. Gay cowboys are not on – as Brokeback Mountain discovered when it lost to the hit-you-over-thehead-progressive attitude of Crash despite a Best Director win – because there are still the ‘steak-eaters’ to contend with, as the macho technicians and tradesmen who form a large group within the Academy’s membership are known. As a rule, an Oscar film should take itself seriously and put that across, which is why comedies rarely have a chance. “It needs to be dramatic and weighty,” says Wolfgang Petersen, the first German to be nominated for the Best Director award since 1947, for Das Boot. He means ‘weight’ physically, too. Epic films lasting over two hours are Oscar favourites, but no guarantee of success, as the 100-minute lightweight film The Artist demonstrates. (Notable for this year: Lincoln comes in at a bladderbursting 150 minutes.)

Factor 2: Winning other awards pre-Oscars

Hollywood is, at its core, a union town. The Screen Actors Guild handles contracts for actors, while the Directors Guild of America, The Producers Guild of America and the Writers Guild of America handle the behind-the-screen talent. It is estimated that almost one quarter of the Academy members are card-carrying actors, with another 15 per cent made up of directors and producers. The results

21%

of the members are actors, past and present, one of whom is a nun

THE VOTERS of the end-of-year awards for these individual guilds are a good indication of the mindset of the overall Academy. In 2012, the little-film-that-could Oscar momentum for The Artist started with the guilds. The SAG nominated the film for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture, the best correlation for the Best Picture award from the Academy. Bérénice Bejo was nominated for female performance in a supporting role and Jean Dujardin won for male performance in a leading role. Director Michel Hazanavicius won the DGA’s award for outstanding directorial achievement in motion pictures and producer Thomas Langmann won the PGA’s motion picture producer of the year award. When awards season was said and done, The Artist received 10 Oscar nominations and won five, including Best Picture, Actor and Director, as well as Costume Design and Score. This year, SAG nominees for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture were: Argo, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Les Misérables, Lincoln and Silver Linings Playbook. It’s not for nothing that the Best Picture victors usually also win one acting Oscar. (That applies to 16 of the 25 pictures mentioned above.) “Strong acting performances strike a chord with people, so you can build a whole film around them,” says Robin Swicord, an Academy member who was nominated for an award for the screenplay for

PHOTOGRAPHY: WARNER BROS, DREAMWORKS/TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX, ANNAPURNA PICTURES

in the Los Angeles Times that roiled progressive-kumbaya-affirmative actionliberal Hollywood, the average age of Academy members is 62, with only 14 per cent of them under 50; 94 per cent are Caucasian and 77 per cent are male. This, then, leads us to the first factor when it comes to winning Best Picture.

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77%

of the members are white men; only two per cent are African-American

14%

of the members are under 50. The average age overall is 62

5,783 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences members are entitled to vote for one of the most hyped prizes on the planet: the Academy Award for Best Picture The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. The honourable CGI creatures in Avatar never had a chance.

Factor 3: It’s not who you know, but the money you spend on who you know

Appealing to men and the unions still isn’t enough for the Best Picture win. This is where Oscar campaigning gets down and dirty: it takes a chunk of money, spent wisely and aggressively, to seal the deal. Anyone who wants to get their film nominated should be willing to cough up US$2 million on average. Movie mogul Harvey Weinstein has raised this third factor to an art form. Even his most dogged opponents have to concede that nobody mounts a better Oscar publicity campaign. Films made by Miramax – the company he founded and used to work for – have had 249 Oscar nominations and won 60 times in various categories, including three times for best picture. He has struck the jackpot in recent years with The King’s Speech and The Artist. That is partly because he has a nose for the right films, but also because he is dogged in his attempts at winning over every voter. He calls the Academy members at home to ask if they have seen his films, and he spends plenty of money on mailing campaigns, ads, screenings and parties. If Oscar voters are too old and infirm to head out to screenings,

he makes sure they get DVDs at home. It is said he spent US$15 million to help Shakespeare in Love sneak past Saving Private Ryan for the ultimate Oscar glory. (And when one of Weinstein’s films wins, he rewards his loyal voters well with one of the most-sought after, luxuriant post-Oscar parties in town.) If you haven’t got Weinstein on your team, you can still learn from his aggressive tactics, as the producers of the relatively low-grossing The Hurt Locker did in their successful David-and-Goliath campaign against the hugely popular Avatar. Producer Nicolas Chartier ran afoul of Academy rules forbidding derogatory communications during awards season by penning emails imploring voters to vote for Locker instead of the “US$500 million film”. He was barred from the ceremony, and so wasn’t able to see his picture win the top prize – or to see director Bigelow besting ex-husband James Cameron in the directing category. There are those who turn their noses up at this. “The Oscars are to be won purely on the basis of popularity,” says veteran Mike Medavoy, who was studio

“It’s a real election campaign where you even get to kiss babies. I felt dirty afterwards” George Clooney

manager for films like Rocky and The Silence of the Lambs and has been nominated as producer for Best Picture three times. “It’s a real election campaign where you even get to kiss babies. I felt dirty afterwards,” George Clooney has complained. Perhaps not too dirty; he’s a frequent presence on the Oscars scene, having been nominated five times and winning Best Supporting Actor for Syriana (2005). But for the Best Picture winners it’s worth it. A nomination increases box-office earnings by, on average, 22.2 per cent. If your film wins, these tend to go up by a further 15.3 per cent. Last year’s winner, The Artist, saw its weekover-week box-office tally increase by 34 per cent after its victory. The only question is whether that is reward enough. The Oscar doesn’t hold its sheen for long, both in terms of career – many actor Oscar winners never repeat their peak achievement – and literally. “They’re just sitting there gathering dust,” Meryl Streep says of her three statuettes. “I had to pack mine away to stop the sea air corroding it,” Halle Berry remembers. The only person to have found an exciting use for his is Dustin Hoffman. “I take both my Oscars to bed with me every night,” he says. “I hold them, kiss them, make love to them, which is allowed, because they don’t have a penis. And my wife doesn’t mind.” He is, it is fair to say, an old white guy. www.oscars.org

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ALL THE RIGHT MOVES In the hottest spot during the hottest week at the height of the Brazilian summer, elite B-Boys battle for the honour of becoming breakdancingâ€™s world champion at the Red Bull BC One World Final. Who can keep his cool and win?

PHOTOGRAPHY: MARCELO MARAGNI/RED BULL CONTENT POOL (2), DEAN TREML/RED BULL CONTENT POOL

Words: Cassio Cortes

Colombian B-Boy Arex Opposite(from left): Vicious Victor (USA), Lil Zoo (Morocco), Issei (Japan), Sunni (UK) and Klesio (Brazil)

Hotting up: the finalists hone their moves at a preview event in searing Rio heat

T he Maze guesthouse is at the top of the Tavares Bastos favela, in the heart of Rio de Janeiro’s south side. It’s owned by Bob Nadkarni, an Englishman and former BBC cameraman, who built it as a house about 15 years ago after falling in love – with the favela, with his soon-to-be wife and with Rio. From the terrace here, there’s a great view of Sugarloaf Mountain, but tonight, all eyes are looking down, to where 24 samba musicians, four curvaceous samba dancers and the world’s 16 best B-Boys are jamming on a tiny concrete soccer pitch, surrounded by makeshift favela 54

houses seven storeys high and the nine storeys of The Maze guesthouse. The B-Boys dance and drip sweat under an ungodly sun. A record heatwave grips Rio for the week of the Red Bull BC One World Final 2012. During this Wednesday-night demonstration ahead of Saturday’s final proper, planting hands on scorching concrete, which happens a lot during the breakdance and street dance moves that are the stock-intrade of a B-Boy, is causing blisters. In spite of the 40°C temperature and 80 per cent humidity, reigning Red Bull BC One world champion Omar Delgado Macias, 20, known as Roxrite – every B-Boy goes under a short nickname, like a graffiti artist or an online gamer – wears a nylon vest over his baggy shirt. He is staying extra-warm to aid the recovery from a muscle injury in his lower back. “It hurts, but it won’t stop me once my body gets warm,” says the 30-year-old Mexican-American. “I want to be the first B-Boy to win this twice in a row. Some of the other former champions think they’re above battling after they’ve won the big belt, but not me. I’m not

afraid of getting down to the ground and facing the other guys again.” Among the 15 other guys Roxrite will have to face in order to retain his belt is Klesio, the only Brazilian in the competition, who earned his finals spot at the Latin American qualifier held in Mexico City. In sharp contrast to Roxrite’s short, muscular build, Klesio is a lanky 22-year-old kid from a shanty town outside Brazil’s national capital, Brasília. You would be forgiven for thinking that skinny Klesio is no match for powerful Roxrite in the physically demanding pursuit that is breaking, but once the samba musicians pick up their drumming pace, Klesio opens his bag of tricks, which includes his inimitable Brazilian swing. “Any Brazilian kid who grew up experiencing the joy of samba brings that joy to breaking,” he says. “That joy defines my style.” Klesio is one of six B-Boys who took the hard road to Rio by winning their respective regional qualifiers. Morocco’s Lil Zoo triumphed in the Middle East/ Africa region. Shorty Force from Korea is here as winner of the Asia Pacific event. France’s Mounir earned his way in via the Western Europe qualifier; Bulgaria’s Slav from Eastern Europe. DOMKey is one of three representing the USA flag after victory at the North American regional. Nine other competitors were picked because they didn’t have to prove they were among the world’s B-Boying elite: Hill (Mexico), Arex (Colombia), Sunni (UK), Issei (Japan) – aged 15 and the youngest in the tournament – Differ (South Korea), ExacT, (Russia), Vicious Victor and Kid David (USA) and legendary Frenchman Junior, returning to the World Final stage seven years after his last appearance. His one-of-a-kind style has earned him a second nickname, The Extraterrestrial. Defending champion Roxrite completes the line-up. The final proper is taking place at Fundição Progresso, a former cast-iron stove foundry built in the 19th century, which closed down in 1976 and reopened as a cultural centre in 1987. That this building was once a birthplace of stoves and ovens seems appropriate. The remodelling of the interior to create a breaking arena that can hold 3,000 spectators did not include air conditioning. “The average human being radiates about 80 watts of heat per hour,” says Red Bull BC One production director Hello Haas, in the run-up to the event. “You can do the math. And make sure to hydrate.” At 8am on Saturday, exactly 12 hours before the action gets under way, a group

PHOTOGRPAHY: MARCEL MARAGNI/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, DENIS KIERO/RED BULL CONTENT POOL

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Breaking good: a closely contested quarter-final saw crowd favourite Klesio (above) lose out to on-form Frenchman Mounir (below left)

of teenagers waving the flag of the state of Amazonas, over 4,000km away from Rio, has arrived at the Fundição’s main entrance, even though the competition will be broadcast live on TV in 10 countries, including Brazil and on the internet. “We want to be the very first to get in,” says one, an amateur B-Boy from Manaus, the Amazonas capital. The mercury peaks at 42°C at about 2pm, and has subsided only slightly three hours later, when the judges arrive at Fundição. It’s an impressive panel featuring local hero and 2010 Red Bull BC One winner Neguin, now earning his bucks as Madonna’s lead dancer, plus renowned B-Boys Storm (Germany), Taisuke (Japan), Moy (USA) and Niek (Netherlands). At 7pm, the gates open, and 3,000 B-Boy-mad youngsters swarm in to fill the Fundição. All that human wattage means that, when Hill and Slav take to the stage for the first round of the night at 8pm sharp, they’re already pouring with sweat. The former admits 55

Battle-hungry in Brazil: 3,000 people packed into the Fundição Progresso cultural centre in Rio (above) to witness Mounir (below and above right) take the Red Bull BC One belt after the final, in which he beat Korean Differ (far right), one of the favourites to win next year's event on his home soil

to being slightly nervous before opening the big show: “I like this feeling of butterflies in the stomach. When the nerves before going on stage have disappeared, it’s because you don’t like what you do as much anymore.” Drips of sweat make the dancing surface slippery, but Hill, arguably the quickest and most agile of the competitors, is surefooted in his victory over Slav, and goes on to beat Vicious Victor in their quarter-final, the American having prevailed over Japanese teen Issei. Hill falls in his semi-final against Differ. The Korean won the crowd over during his first battle, thanks to his funfilled style, which included a homage to his countryman Psy, of Gangnam Style fame, and his support only grew after his surprise upset of Roxrite, perhaps hampered by his back injury, in the quarter-finals (in dominant fashion; Differ wowed the judges and won 4-1). With the champ out, it becomes anyone’s tournament. “It’s part of the game, 56

anyone can lose a battle,” says a visibly frustrated Roxrite, backstage immediately after his defeat. “Nobody is invincible.” The other semi pitches Mounir against Junior, whose unrivalled upper body strength lets him pull off moves the others can only dream of. Earlier on, Mounir won no favours from the partisan crowd when he beat a visibly tired Klesio, the Brazilian having previously beaten ExacT with ease in the first round. Falling in the quarters isn’t as frustrating for Klesio as it was for his fans, however. “I’m not sad,” he says. “I came here to do one thing and one thing only, which

THE CROWD ERUPTS, HALF SUPPORTING AND HALF CONTESTING THE RESULT

PHOTOGRAPHY: DEAN TREML/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, MARCELO MARAGNI/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, DENIS KLERO/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, ROMINO AMATO/RED BULL CONTENT POOL

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was to show what I got for the entire world to see, and tonight I did just that.” So it’s Mounir versus Junior, France versus France, under the watchful eyes of another Frenchman, Lilou, Red Bull BC One’s only two-time champion (2005 and 2009), who has been tweeting frenetically from the stands all night. It’s a battle as even as can be, and though some feel Junior deserves a win after so many years away from the competition, Neguin’s decisive vote gives the duel to the underdog Mounir, 3-2. The crowd is similarly split and erupts dividedly, half

supporting and half contesting the result. “Mounir was so self-confident, and that’s the key,” says Neguin, later, clarifying his choice. “He showed us he was comfortable being himself, and that’s the main thing in B-Boying.” Differ enters the grand final as favourite, but backstage in the warm-up room, a soaking-wet Mounir seems to have spotted a chink in his rival’s armour. “I’ve never been more tired in my life as in the moments before the final,” the Frenchman admits afterwards, “but when we got to the stage, I could see that Differ was even more tired than I was.” Unlike in the previous rounds, when the B-Boys take it in turns to do their thing for 60 seconds three times, in the final each B-Boy takes five minute-long turns instead of three. Mounir’s perfect execution of aerial moves, the sheer craft of his fancy footwork and extended freezes, and Differ’s exhaustion, mean the outcome is a no-contest. At 28 years old, Monnir Biba, aka B-Boy Mounir, finally takes the Red Bull BC One World Champion belt at his third attempt, after failures in 2008 and 2011. “For the past four months, I have been training non-stop, full-time, every day,” Mounir says, still glowing from his win. “I really fought my way this time. I did the whole trip. I won the cypher [local qualifier, before regional] and the regional qualifier to be here, so I came to Rio to win. Winning the Red Bull BC One World Final had been my dream for a long time, and now it’s finally reality.” “Mounir was consistent, didn’t make mistakes with the heat and was always in tune with the music,” says judge Niek. With an approving roar from the fans, Mounir takes centre stage to receive the champion’s belt, but as a Muslim he politely declines the customary celebratory champagne. When the Frenchman talks to the media backstage, a smiling Differ comes to offer his sweaty embrace in recognition of his rival’s superior performance. “I can’t complain,” says the Korean. “It was a nice battle, and this event for me will always be a good memory.” The champ remains humble. “Next year, it’s yours,” he says, looking at his Korean friend and pointing to the big shiny belt. On home turf in South Korea, for the 10th anniversary Red Bull BC One World Final, who would bet against it. www.redbullbcone.com

Watch the B-Boys in action on The Red Bulletin tablet version. Download it now for free

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Ahead of the 2013 Super Rugby season, new Blues coach Sir John Kirwan talks to The Red Bulletin about fear, failure and getting fans back on side John Kirwan wants people to love the Blues again. He knows the team broke supporters’ hearts last year by having their worst season ever, losing seven games in a row, before two of their best players, Ma’a Nonu and Tony Woodcock, walked away from the franchise in the off-season. Despite all this, Kirwan wants fans to come back and give the Blues a second chance. They’ve really changed this time, honestly. “When I watched the Blues back home in Italy last year I was throwing things at the TV,” says Kirwan. “I’m passionate about the Blues and I’m passionate about this city and this region. We live in the greatest rugby town in the world, we’ve got the biggest stadium in the country and it deserves a great rugby team. We need to have 50,000 people turning up to Eden Park every game and having a party.” The challenge of getting bums on seats isn’t made easier by the fact that the 2013 Blues squad is an underwhelming mix of Super Rugby rookies, journeyman professionals and, in Keven Mealamu, Ali Williams and Piri Weepu, a trio of ageing All

blue ROMANCE Words: Robert Tighe 58

photography: getty images

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SIR JOHN KIRWAN Born December 16, 1964, Auckland Try hard Kirwan scored 35 tries in 63 All Blacks tests. The number 14’s score in the opening game of the 1987 World Cup, weaving past eight or nine Italian defenders the length of the field, is considered an all-time great try. Time out “I need my soul food. I read. I surf. I swim in the ocean. I’ve taken up the guitar recently and, although it sounds like I’m killing a cat, I enjoy it.”

Blacks. Walking past the wall of fame outside Kirwan’s office at the Blues HQ, it’s impossible not to look at the photographs of former greats and wonder what Kirwan would give to have a player like Carlos Spencer or Nick Evans or Luke McAlister in his squad. “Those kinds of players will jump out if we play to our potential,” says Kirwan. “We’ve got to create the next generation. I believe there are two or three players in this team who could become superstars, but for us to survive this year and finish the season with the respect we deserve, all of us have to step up.” Of the 32-man squad announced by the Blues at the end of October, 16 were new to the franchise, 11 had no Super Rugby experience and the average age 60

was just 23. So is it fair to say that Kirwan is taking a punt on some of these players? “Well, I’m a punt,” he says. “We all are. I’ll get some selections right and I’ll get some wrong. Player recruitment is a bit like horse racing. You can look at a horse as long as you want, but until you actually jump on it you won’t know if it’s capable of winning a race. What we all decided early on was to try and pick great young rugby players we think can be All Blacks; the next Nonu, the next Woodcock.” Kirwan may be lacking established star power on the field, but he’s surrounded himself with legends off it. Wayne Shelford, Joe Stanley, Eric Rush, Michael Jones, Gus Collins and Craig Innes are a few of Kirwan’s former team-mates and friends who have volunteered their time to mentor the players and give him advice. Shelford’s involvement comes as a surprise, considering how critical he was of Kirwan’s appointment to the role last July. The former All Blacks captain told Radio Sport that Kirwan’s international coaching experience with Italy (2002-05) and Japan (2007-11) wasn’t enough prepare him for the weekly grind of Super Rugby. “Buck made some valid points,” admits Kirwan. “When I went for the job, I knew that was a weakness of mine. So I reached out for help and in the interview I promised to deliver a great coaching staff.” Before he got the job, Kirwan wanted Sir Graham Henry to be part of his team, but couldn’t approach him as he was on the panel interviewing him. Once Kirwan was appointed, he spoke to Henry and the All Blacks’ world-cup winning coach agreed to come on board as mentor/ technical advisor/defensive coach. Having Henry as his right-hand man is a coup for Kirwan, who is hoping to contradict the sporting cliché that great players rarely make great coaches. In his autobiography, Running On Instinct, Kirwan wrote, “I’m not a good watcher of rugby. To me, rugby is not a subject to be studied, analysed, debated, hashed and rehashed. I just love to play the game.” “I never enjoyed watching myself play,” he clarifies, “but I enjoy watching

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES, ACTION IMAGES, NIC STAVELEY

“In the interview I promised to deliver a great coaching staff”

The former All Blacks winger has also coached The Barbarians and Japan (below)

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the game. The hardest transition I had to make was going from being a player to a coach. I mean, why doesn’t every number eight play like Zinzan Brooke and kick drop goals from 50m? Well, because not everyone is Zinzan Brooke. My job is to help these young men be the best they can be, to mentally and physically prepare them for games by recreating that pressure every day in training.” Considering all the heartache and misery the job heaped on his predecessor, Pat Lam, Kirwan knows those sceptical of his Super Rugby coaching experience will be watching how he copes under the spotlight. He spoke candidly in his book, All Blacks Don’t Cry, about his battle with depression while he was a player, and last year he was knighted 62

Sir John Kirwan’s backroom staff at the Blues includes Rugby World Cupwinning coach Sir Graham Henry (top right), who acts as a technical advisor and works alongside assistant coaches Mick Byrne (forwards and kicking) and Grant Doorey (backs and skills). Kirwan also calls on the experience and tactical acumen of a wealth of current and former players, including (clockwise, second row, from right) Michael Jones (retired flanker; 55 All Blacks caps), Joeli Vidiri (retired Fijian winger), Wayne Shelford (former All Blacks number eight; 22 caps), Craig Innes (retired centre; 17 All Blacks caps), Eric Rush (legend of rugby sevens, retired in 2005), Joe Stanley (retired centre; 49 All Blacks caps) and Gus Collins (former Blues forward). Kirwan is new to high-level club management, and these wise men of rugby will be invaluable to him as he looks to improve the Blues fortunes this season.

Kirwan was in charge of Italy between 2002 and 2005

“Success for me would be to get people loving the Blues again” for his services to mental health. “For me, depression was all about fear and my biggest fear was failure,” he explains. Is he afraid of failing with the Blues? “Those emotions are out of my life now,” he says. “Yes, I want to be successful, and I’m concerned that might not happen, but I’m not afraid of it.” Yet there must have been moments during his the first six months with the Blues when he wished he were back home in Italy with a nice bottle of red. “An Italian friend of mine said to me, ‘You left a Venetian villa to come here. What are you doing?’ But this is what I love. Rugby has given me a life; rugby has given me everything. Yes, it’s still the honeymoon period – we haven’t played yet – but I reckon this is the best job in the world. I know the industry and some of the things I’ve seen at the Blues, I know I can fix. Once that’s done, we should start getting some results.” The Blues’ first game of the season is away to the Hurricanes on February 23. After that they face the Crusaders and Bulls at Eden Park, followed by away trips to the Waratahs and Chiefs. It’s a tough start to what promises to be a tough season. Not surprisingly, Kirwan is reluctant to make public any expectations he may have of his team’s performance levels this year. “That would be like shooting myself in the foot,” he says, “but a successful season for me would be to get people to loving us again. I need to put a team on the field that will fill the stadium.” It’s an ambitious goal, especially considering how far the Blues have fallen in recent years, but Kirwan’s enthusiasm is infectious, and he wants to pass that on to Blues fans old and new. He tells the story of driving down Auckland’s Queen Street and watching a “6ft-something transvestite” crossing the road. “I saw him and I thought to myself, ‘I love this town!’ I want all kinds of people coming to watch us. Everyone in Auckland should be thinking, ‘I’m not going anywhere this weekend, there’s a Blues game on.’” www.superrugby.co.nz

PHOTOGRAPHY: PHOTOSPORT.CO.NZ (4), GETTY IMAGES (3), ACTION IMAGES (1)

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elcome to Matehuala” reads the monumental cement arch that greets visitors. Truth is, this autumn morning, there’s little to welcome you to this mournful city. There are two inns – El Trailero (The Truck Driver) and Las Infieles (The Unfaithful Ones) – as well as junkyards, old tyre yards and mounds of rubbish that an old farmer sorts through so his goats can get to the thin slivers of grass that sprout from the cracks in the pavement. Before the droughts a little over two years ago, when it was still peaceful here, journalists from as far as Brazil, Argentina, Germany and the Netherlands travelled to this city in San Luis Potosí, a state in northern Mexico. Their cameras focused on a colourful musical extravagance: Los Parranderos, Los Socios and other groups of teenagers who had popularised a genre of music called tribal guarachero – a mix of electronica and traditional South American music – with dances held at private clubs. Along with the music, one of the scene’s most appealing characteristics was the dancers’ pointy boots, the tips of which, up to 2m long, were used in intricate choreographies. But now, such anthropological/funny stories coming out of Matehuala have to compete with news steeped in misfortune, as is common in Mexico. On the morning of August 12, the city’s newly elected mayor, Edgar Morales, left a wedding held at the Club de Leones. He was intercepted by armed men and murdered. 64

DANCING IN

NARCOLAND From small-town Mexico to big-city USA, a new dance style is offering a generation on both sides of the border respite from the ongoing drug gang wars. The Red Bulletin goes into the clubs and onto the streets with the pointy-booted guaracheros Words: Aníbal Santiago Photography: Katie Orlinsky

“ONE DAY I WAS GOING TO PLAY A GIG, BUT I DIDN’T MAKE IT BECAUSE DRUG DEALERS HAD BLOCKED THE ROAD WITH A BUS”

‘THIS IS OUR HIP-HOP’

Down the desolate La Dichosa Road, south of Matehuala, is where you’ll find tribal guarachero quintet Los Parranderos (The Partiers). Under a furious sun, a blue Dodge Grand Caravan Truck, old and run-down, veers off the road, raising a cloud of dust before stopping. When Pascual Escobedo, the leader of the group, opens a window, the car’s stereo booms with Mexican accordion, the chun-ta-ta of the drums and a refrain that goes: “You make me feel butterflies in my stomach when my cell phone rings and I see it’s you.” The members of Los Parranderos step out of the car. Pascual, Miguel, Jonathan, Erick and Luis are standing front of 66

Mesquit Rodeo, an imposing club in the middle of the desert where three years ago, dressed in identical blue skinny jeans, T-shirts, pointy boots and hats, the band, who were the first to break out with choreographed tribal dance in northern Mexico, won their first tribal disco contest. From that night on, they were tempting fruit for hordes of women who gather to watch them perform at fairs, discos and rodeos across the region. That’s why they don’t bat an eye when two girls approach (who knows how they found out that they’d be here for a photoshoot). Lucy Méndez, an outgoing 30-year-old from Texas poses for pictures with her idols, showing off the curves formed by her revealing

black top. “For Mexicans in the US, tribal is our hip-hop,” she says, gazing raptly at Los Parranderos as she whispers with the other fan. Mayra Rivera, 23, wearing Bermuda shorts and a white smile, sneaked out of her job as a shop assistant just to catch a glimpse of the band. “They look tough but they’re sweet, and with those tight pants, I get excited,” says Rivera, blushing as she surreptitiously checks out each Parrandero, decked out in black and pink pointy boots and T-shirts stamped with pictures of giant beer bottles. Like veteran cowboys, Los Parranderos walk alongside the bar, the dry ground crunching under their feet. They pose for the picture, hooking their thumbs over the pockets of their jeans, with tough-guy faces, laughing at their own banter and looking at the camera sideways, like TV heart-throbs. “Women,” says 18-year-old Erick Castillo, hair spiked with gel, “look

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Left: Los Parranderos (from left, Luis Puente, Jonathan Castillo, Erick Castillo, Pascual Escobedo and Miguel Hernández) make a point of showing off their shoes. Above: Jonathan Castillo practises at the Mesquit Rodeo. Below: Miguel Hernández motors around his hometown

for us in hotels all the time.” “They kiss us, they hug us, they grab at us – you don’t know how to get them off you,” adds Escobedo. But soon, the dream of dance, music, dames and money – the dream of a better life – could disappear. Drug gang violence is severely curtailing nightlife across the region. Pushed north along with others in search of shelter, the tribal movement has crossed the Río Bravo to plant roots in Texas.

‘I LIKE YOUR BOOTS’

With his trousers clinging to his meaty thighs and a golden cross hanging around his neck, Joel carefully watches the packed dancefloor at Kalúa, a disco in northern Dallas. He’s serious, unflappable, oblivious to the dozens of women twirling around him on the prowl for macho men. His gaze is brusque. His boots are black, shiny and pointy. He is wearing them for good reason: “It’s because the girls say, ‘I like your boots.’” His three feather-hatted friends, nod as if this were a universal truth. “Let’s hear it for Tamaulipas… Zacatecas… Chihuahua!” a voice shouts over the PA, and the mainly Mexican Saturday night crowd answers with loud screams every time they hear the name of their town. Up in the sound booth, the DJs lower the volume of romantic Mexican singer Julión Alvarez to push up a mix of DJ Tetris and 3BallMTY, the group that put tribal music on the map. This trio of DJs popularised tribal guarachero, becoming one of the most popular acts in Mexico, and even garnering a Latin Grammy nomination in 2012. Six years ago, Erick Rincón, Sheeqo Beat and DJ Otto played at parties for teenagers in their northern Mexico hometown of Antiguo de Monterrey. In 2011, the local scene dimmed. “One day,” says Rincón, “I was going to play at the Arcoiris bar, and I couldn’t 67

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make it to the gig because drug dealers had blocked the road with a bus.” Now a path is opening up for them thanks to the video for their song, Inténtalo. 3BallMTY (short for Tribal Monterrey) have performed at Staples Center in Los Angeles, Worldtronics in Berlin and El Zócalo in México City: their ticket out of the violence that surrounded them. Back in the club, women are clinging to men’s necks and unlock their hips to continue their ritual tribalero dance. The couples then leave the dancefloor and gyrate counterclockwise around its perimeter. They advance slowly, elbows bent, a Corona with lime wedge in hand. They take tiny steps, so as not to disturb with expansive moves the addictive flow of the music through their bodies. “Regional Mexican music was oldfashioned; tribal modernised it,” says DJ Nando, his hands over the console. “With tribal, women are more forward,” adds DJ Shaggy, watching the crowd, sweaty from the dancing and the beer. There are eight million people of Mexican origin in Texas, 30 per cent of the state’s population, and it doesn’t take much to attract throngs of Tex-Mex teenagers to tribal contests from Dallas and the suburbs. The rotation goes on. No one laughs, no one shouts, no one loses form. Once in a while, a young man with an image of the patron saint of Mexico, Our Lady of Guadalupe, embroidered on the back of his shirt, ambles to the centre of the floor and takes a couple of dance steps. Yet although the ambience is Mexican, the law is American. At 2am, the party ends.

‘THIS IS WHAT I SOWED’

During the day, the F-150 Ford, Ram 1500 and other flashy trucks that pack disco parking lots at night, prowl down dusty Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas’s busy Mexican shopping street. They often stop at number 11253, Gómez Western Wear. “So, you’re the one with the emails?” asks Vladimir Gómez, the young owner from Michoacán, after introductions are made. “I deleted them. Everything that comes from Mexico I delete,” he says. “The way things are there, you never know who you’re dealing with. Every inch of the store’s walls, shelves and floor is packed with products designed to make Mexicans dress, says Gomez, “like Mexicans”. In two words: boots and hats. On a thin shelf, 40 pairs of pointy boots form a tower of colour, the only bright spot in a store dominated by brown leather. There are purple, silver, 68

“IF YOU SPEND YOUR TIME DANCING, THEN YOU THINK LESS ABOUT ORGANISED CRIME”

Right (from top): The Erika shoe shop in Matehuala, Mexico, where pointy boots are made; different shapes are customdesigned for men, women and children

red and blue pointys, made of satin and sequins, with lights, golden hooks, rhinestones and fake diamonds. Gómez worked as a waiter until 2000, when he started selling pointy boots. Each pair is made of only the best materials, and the quality is evident in two ways: on one side, he uses tanned calf leather, which makes the point firm and flexible; on the other, he uses calfskin, making the shoe ductile and comfortable. The length stretches as far as the imagination: “I’ve made them up to six feet in length,” he says, “so you can grab the tips without leaning down. The American Dream Mexican can have what he would never have in Mexico: a good truck and a good pair of boots. When you wear them, you’re saying: ‘Look, this is what I sowed.’”

‘YOU HAVE THE STYLE’

Three years ago, Los Parranderos began weekly rehearsals in the dusty streets of their neighbourhood. They were getting paid to do wedding gigs and quinceañeras (15th birthday parties),

and soon became known in and around Matehuala. In 2011, 3BallMTY’s Rincón wrote them a message on Facebook: “Guys, I want to do a video with you. América Sierra and El Bebeto will sing. You have the style.” A few days later, Los Parranderos travelled to Monterrey. Producer Toy Selectah gave them a new look for a sexy video for Inténtalo, which has now been watched more than 32 million times on YouTube. Things exploded: together with 3BallMTY, Los Parranderos packed out bull rings across Mexico. “Tribal in the street, tribal in the stores, tribal on radio, tribal on TV,” says Escobedo. “And girls would only look at you if you were wearing the boots,” adds Rincón. Tribal has since travelled to Central and South America, where 3BallMTY have performed live. “These people all get our music via Twitter, Facebook and YouTube,” says Rincón. “It’s interesting: They feel a new calling for traditional music, because we blend in styles from Central America and Argentina. They see themselves reflected in tribal and they get hooked.”

Above: Tribal dancers take a walk around one of the main streets of Matehuala. Left: Pascual Escobedo, frontman of Los Parranderos

‘WE WANT OUR VISA’

The sounds of the pointy boots echo loudly inside the huge, dimly lit Mesquit Rodeo, but there’s no party atmosphere as Los Parranderos get ready to rehearse. They’re serving as a musical diversion in the midst of the drug gang war that has wounded San Luis Potosí, flagbearers for a fad that has brought joy to a terrorised community. “If you spend your time dancing, you think less about joining organised crime,” says Escobedo. And though local radio stations play tribal music every day, the number of live shows has dropped dramatically. “We go out scared,” admits Escobedo. “No one drinks alcohol. We’re always together; we always travel on main streets. We hear about murders, bodies and we think, ‘What if something happens during the show?’ You live in uncertainty.” The atmosphere in Matehuala is subdued. To escape the fear, you have to drive 340km north to the new tribal guarachero paradise of Texas. In the last few years, 160,000 people from San Luis Potosí have taken that route. “In one 69

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YouTube video,” says Miguel Hernández, of Los Parranderos, “someone says, ‘Leave these guys alone. They’re from my country, Matehuala, and thanks to them, Matehuala is doing better.’ We want our visa. People are waiting for us on the other side.”

A BLUE LAMBORGHINI

On the steps of Club Rio in Dallas, snow cones, tacos and tortillas are selling well. A Sunday afternoon tribal party full of children. Even so, the host, Don Pepe, a big man with a red shirt and a double chin, can’t help taking a dig at Mexico’s drug culture: “The band that’s playing today doesn’t have a Grammy nomination, but a gram nomination, ha ha ha.” He lifts his beer towards a cowboy with a black hat, sideburns, and giant medal of folk hero Jesús Malverde on his chest. “Boys, until cirrhosis do us part,” Don Pepe says. The cowboy lifts his beer in reply and laughs. In this ring in Arcadia Park, the five Dallas cops patrolling the area don’t bat an eye at what they see or hear: “At 17, he already organised his army in school, he already had his first BlackBerry, he’s backed by El Cheyo, bullet against bullet, the brain behind the bills/your homework is his name and his nickname,” are the words to La Plomería, a song that plays minutes before the sun goes down. Like every Sunday, dozens of youngsters listen to tribal on the 70

dancefloor inside the enormous hangar. They can do one of two things: play tag or practise their dance steps. With not much in the way of grip on their boots, the kids often lose their footing on the slippery floor, bumping their heads or hurting their knees. But they’ll never lose their hats, which they immediately grab and put back on as soon as they start to fall. A tribal kid must look the part. Take Carlos Zaragoza, nine years old and six-time winner of the Kiddie Tribal contest. Even though he’s a little overweight, he can still dance with the agility of a cat, pick up prize money here and there to make his dream come true: “I’m saving my money so I can grow up rich and buy a blue Lamborghini,” he says.

THE KING OF TRIBAL

Payasos, Plebeyos, Alterados, Socios… Matehuala is a breeding ground for tribal groups. Between police sirens and the silent fear of its inhabitants, the booted ones defend their right to do great things with their long, coloured feet. Today, for example, Fernando Martínez, leader of Tribal Matehuala, has parked his black convertible Pontiac in the middle of the city. “Can I take a picture of you on the hood?” asks the photographer when she notices him walking by with his muscular thighs, pungent aftershave skin-tight T-shirt and fluorescent pointy boots. He grumbles, but agrees to do it with

Above: At the Kalúa Club in Dallas, Mexican-American tribal fans make the traditional rounds of the disco floor. Right: Dancers wearing pointy boots are searched before they enter the club

Left: There are almost eight million people of Mexican origin living in Texas. Each week, hundreds crowd the Dallas clubs where tribal has become king on the dancefloor

a nonchalance that quickly disappears. From the crowd that forms to see him pose, out steps Karla, a black-eyed beauty wearing tight trousers. She looks at him flirtatiously, and he responds by inviting her to pose with him. She smiles and collapses into his biceps. “With my boots and this,” he says, slapping the car, “they can’t resist.” Martínez and his group are different. “The original look of shirt, feathered hat and pointy boots is gone. Let them criticise us. That makes us famous,” he says. Martínez refuses to wear hats, often swaps his boots for “tribal sneakers”, while his group includes two women, which refutes the taboo that only men can dance tribal. Martínez, like Los Parranderos and other local bands, are survivors not only of the musical genre, but also of the violence and lack of opportunities that afflict northern Mexico. What they do is link to a more normal life, far from drug lords and danger. At least while they dance.

A few blocks from here, where earlier 30 armed policemen were on the alert, Los Parranderos meet for a photoshoot. The corner of Juárez and Cinco de Febrero is like any other, lonely and adorned with dry trees. Three young boys, brothers Ángel, Isaac and Itzel, leave their house and are surprised to find the group putting on their boots. “It’s Los Parranderos,” whispers their mother from her doorstep. A minute later, as the dancers pose in front of a graffiti-painted wall, one of the boys, three-year-old Ángel, is watching a video on a smartphone. “Look how you dance this rhythm/with a foot here and there/with these long boots, that’s how you dance, dance tribal,” goes the song by El Rey del Tribal, featuring Los Parranderos. Dirty and snot-faced, the boy looks over and starts to gyrate with his arms and feet. He wants everyone to see that he, too, dances tribal. Pointy-boot pointers: twitter.com/3BallMTY

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

Above: Riders began 100m away from their bikes before sprinting to them and cycling around in a pen, waiting for a gate to be opened and the race to start. Below: Bikes are also pieces of art here, such as these handmade titanium-framed Black Sheep models built in the US. They are super-light and very quick uphill

outh Africans can be a serious bunch. It’s not surprising: South Africa is a country that bites. Look beneath the fading Rainbow Nation veneer and you’ll find people toughened up by the geography, wildlife and social demands. You can see it in the politics, the chewy dried meat, even in the approach to riding a bike. Bicycle races – especially mountain bike races – are becoming increasingly popular, and not just the 60km, 70km or 80km races either. South African bike racing is now embracing multi-stage epics lasting upwards of five days. This is hardcore. The toughness extends to the type of bicycle, too. More and more South 74

Africans are saddling up on single-speed mountain bikes. Some of these bikes go even further in terms of back-to-basics toughness – they have no suspension. Hard tail. Rigid fork. The only way to be even more uncompromising would be to swap inflated tyres for solid ones. If the Spartans rode mountain bikes, they would be on single speeds. The venue for the 2012 Single Speed World Championships was therefore an appropriate one. Held on and around Spioenkop, a rocky hill, known as a ‘koppie’, near the Kwa-Zulu Natal town of Winterton, it was the site of a fierce Boer War battle in 1900. The race route featured an energy-sapping climb, straight up the koppie, before it snaked back around a long, flowing downhill course cut into its side. As any great warrior will tell you, strength is only half the battle – one also needs brains to triumph. Up on Spioenkop, several of the riders realised that months of slogging

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Above: Being an extrovert helps. Lurking in this line-up is the streaker (Mr Y-Fronts) and former US single-speed champ Dejay Birtch (second from right). Below: Lycra is generally frowned upon in the world of single-speed racing, as are wellies and forks with any kind of energy-sapping suspension

uphill on a single-geared bike was only going to get them so far in the competition. Advice from battle-hardened veterans was needed to complete their race preparations. Fortunately, among the bulging calves in the tented race village at the Winterton Country Club were a few wise heads. The home nation riders were looking in particular to the foreign riders: single speeding is a decade-old race discipline in Europe and the USA. Leaning against his bike was Dejay Birtch. Wearing a sleeveless denim jacket and a handlebar moustache, Birtch absolutely looked the part of a singlespeed rider. The carbon bike he was leaning against was made by US company Niner, as high-end as singlespeed bikes get. Anyone with a weapon like this must be a pro. Turns out Birtch is a former US national single-speed champ and a sponsored Niner rider. “My strategy for the race? I don’t have one,” he said. “I’m just going to 75

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Left: Among the French maids and Zulu warriors were a handful of unicyclists – perhaps the ultimate single speeders on show Bottom: This brave soul left very little to the imagination in his patriotic Speedo. His fellow riders instantly dubbed him ‘Mr South Africa’, which they loudly chanted at every opportunity Opposite, top: The heat took its toll on wig-wearing entrants. Opposite, bottom: Burry Stander (left), with a broken saddle-post bobbing millimetres from his crotch, passes Macky Franklin on the line to claim the 2012 crown

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

ride it. The course looks great – I’d be happy to ride it every day – and these South Africans have really put on a great event. One thing though: there is no free beer, man! There’s one thing you need to have at the singlespeed worlds and that’s free beer!” Beer? Perhaps what was needed was advice from someone a little closer to home. Where the Spartans live. A guy like Grant Usher. The Johannesburg native and his partner had recently finished the 900km of the Joberg2C multi-stage race on single-speed bikes in eighth place. On paper, the sinewy Usher was an ideal dispenser of advice. “Look, you’re never going to be in the right gear. You’re going to be walking up some of the climbs and spinning out on the flats. You just have to learn to surrender yourself to the terrain and to Mother Nature.” Surrender? “Yes, that’s your pace now, not your gears or your fitness,” he explained. “It’s about not taking it too seriously either, because there’s nothing you can do about the gear you’re in. That’s the biggest thing for riders to grasp. It’s not about being a hero. Don’t worry about it. Just go out and have fun.” Fun? These mixed messages were driven home together at the compulsory pre-race briefing the night before the race. Until then, no details of the race route had been revealed. Most riders knew about the trails around Spioenkop – some had even scouted them the day before – but the actual race route would only now be divulged. Course designer Gary Green appeared on stage and finally talked everyone through the route. Not that it helped everyone. He spoke in Zulu.

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

A 30-SECOND HEAD START WAS GIVEN TO ANYONE WHO STRIPPED; THERE WERE TWO TAKERS There were serious talents on this yearâ€™s entry list, including 2010 winner Garth Weinberg from New Zealand, Dejay Birtch and fellow American Macky Franklin, the 2012 Single Speed Stage Race World Champion, and Burry Stander, the South African, who, on the day of the race, was in third place in the UCI world cup crosscountry mountain bike rankings. Despite all the start shenanigans, when the riders had completed the first kilometre of the 38km course, it was these guys who were at the sharp end of the field, sticking close through the initial 12km loop along a fast, sinuous riverbank single-track course. On the second loop, the frontrunners were strung out with an additional steep climb that appeared to head straight up the koppie. Even Stander, running an easier gear ratio than the others, was forced to get off and push. The reward at the top was the first compulsory beer stop and, fighting 77

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

SINGLE SPEED ESSENTIALS

The bike

FRAME: This steel Cotic frame epitomises single-speed bikes. It’s hardy, light and stiff, but compliant enough to soften the terrain a little. WHEELS: Big 29in wheels provide more traction and help soften the effects of zero suspension. FORK: Rigid carbon-fibre. But many riders opt for a suspension fork. Choose whatever is going to make riding more fun for you. GEAR RATIO: Opt for a ratio that will suit the trails you ride. This is a 32:18 combo (front chain ring has 32 teeth; rear sprocket has 18).

The kit

LYCRA: Roundly discouraged. Shorts and a T-shirt are sufficient. FANCY DRESS: Dressing up is encouraged. The Red Bulletin’s, Steve Smith (left), aptly wore his 1982 Liverpool FC jersey: due to its steep nature, the famous Spion Kop terrace at the English Premier League club’s Anfield home was named after the Boer War battle that played out on the same soil where this year’s Single Speed World Championships took place.

the effects of a mug full of frothy brew, Stander made his break, putting 30 seconds between himself and Macky Franklin. It wouldn’t last too long. On the descent, an errant spectator caused Stander to cartwheel his prototype Specialized bike, and in the process snap the saddle clean off the seat post. This was no deterrent to his continuing in the race. Stander was hauled back by Franklin after about 5km of riding without a saddle, and the two scrapped it out until a surprise final beer stop 20m from the finish line decided it. The South African managed to down his drink and get across the line an inch ahead of Franklin. As is tradition in single-speed racing, the winner doesn’t get a trophy, but a tattoo. Right there at the finish, amid the buzz of the needle inking his first-ever tattoo, Stander explained why he was here: “For me it’s about changing things up. It’s a fun way to keep things fresh. What’s cool is that this race felt a bit like back in 1998 when I started racing; it’s the same spirit and camaraderie.” For the rest of the field, final finishing places were incidental, to those riders and to the ethos of the event. Although most of the pack, which was mainly the South African riders, rode hard as expected, the satisfaction of physical exertion was as equally rewarding as 38km spent riding with mates, whooping down the longest, most sublime singletrack descent most had ever ridden, and enjoying the free beer along the way. So, after months of training, conditioning legs to deal with the stand-up grind of the climbs, the clamping of teeth for the rattling descents, gleaning a little tactical nous from the experienced rides, it turned out that the real lesson of single-speed racing was something none of the South African rookies had foreseen. A good many mountain bikers that day had their attitudes influenced by their Spioenkop experience. They spoke of why they loved riding a bike in the first place. When the reasons for riding a bike were simply wanting to; because they loved to; because it represented a certain freedom; because it was a fun thing to do. Ride hard – there’s benefit and satisfaction in that – but appreciate the trail, the surroundings, and the company on the way. Even if sometimes you have to stop and get off your bike to do it. On January 3, 2013, Burry Stander was killed when he was knocked off his bicycle during a training ride in Shelley Beach, in South Africa. www.burrystanderfoundation.org

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Cold comforts: how do you make hot food for you and 16 huskies at -40°C? Find out on page 84

Inhalt

80 REISE-TIPP Red Bull X-Fighters

82 GET THE GEAR Ice-CrossDownhill 84/85 KULINARIK Daniel Humm, „Coda alla vaccinara“ 86 TRAINING Tao Berman, Christian Schiester 88 HANGART-7 89 THE STROKES 90 CLUB & CD 91 TAKE 5 Jamie xx 92 TOP-SPOTS 94 SAVE THE DATE 96 RED BULL TV-FENSTER bei ServusTV 98 KOLUMNE mit Christian Ankowitsch

Ent in velisit lor in utpat. In exercidui te dolor senibh er si bla feummod ea covmmy nullan ut augait et, quat.

Contents 82 TRAVEL Diving down to a shipwreck off Australia 84 GET THE GEAR The trekking tools of the world’s best dog sledder 86 WORK OUT How to train like a mountain bike champion 88 THE SOUNDS OF 2013 Boycrush’s perfectly pitched pop 90 NIGHTLIFE Everything you need to get you through ’til dawn

96 SAVE THE DATE Events for the diary 98 MIND’S EYE Russell Brown makes music pay

PHOTOGRAPHY: DDP/AP

94 WORLD IN ACTION What’s coming up in sport and culture

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Deep impact

AWAY DAYS SPECTACULAR TRAVEL ADVENTURES

TOWNSVILLE, AUSTRALIA

Man meets nature at the resting place of the SS Yongala, which sank off the coast of Australia over 100 years ago and is now one of the world’s best dive sites 1. The place Mention the SS Yongala

Dive time: you can get to the wreck in just 30 minutes

Barrier Reef, the wreck is far enough from any other coral beds to make it a haven for marine life in the area. 3. Final voyage The Yongala, named after a small town in southern Australia and meaning ‘good water’ in the language of the indigenous Ngadjuri people of the region, transported freight and passengers between the goldfields

One off a century: the SS Yongala passenger ship sunk off the coast of Australia on its 99th voyage in 1911

of western Australia and the eastern ports of Sydney, Melbourne and Cairns between April 19, 1903, and March 23, 1911. On its 99th voyage, from Brisbane to Townsville, the Yongala was caught in a cyclone and sank without trace, taking all 122 people on board down with it. 4. Get in line The wreck was discovered in 1947 by a navy ship sweeping for mines, but it wasn’t formally identified until 1958, when two local divers salvaged a safe from the ship which confirmed the wreck’s identity. Dive companies began organising regular dive trips in the 1980s, and the Yongala now attracts up to 6,000 divers each year. 5. ‘Murder’ mystery In October, 2003, the Yongala made headlines around the world after Tina Watson, an American woman on her honeymoon, died while diving the wreck with her husband of 11 days, Gabe. He was an experienced rescue diver; she was a rookie. Gabe was accused of her murder and eventually pleaded guilty to manslaughter in an Australian court, although a criminal case in Alabama was dismissed for lack of evidence in 2012. 6. Big fish “What makes the Yongala special is the quantity and size of the marine life on the wreck,” says Heather Batrick of Yongala Dive. Everything

WORDS: ROBERT TIGHE. PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES (3), DDP, QUEENSLAND MUSEUM

to any experienced scuba diver and watch their eyes light up. The shipwreck has acquired legendary status among divers with good reason. The hull of the 110m-long steamship is still largely intact and the coral that grows on the wreck attracts an incredible diversity of marine life. Lying 33m below the surface on a sandy seabed, the Yongala is not a difficult dive in good weather, so even if you’re a novice you can still enjoy its underwater charms. 2. The location The wreck of the Yongala lies 80km south-east of Townsville, in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. Although located within the Great

Shore leave: Magnetic Island, the perfect place to relax post-dive, just a 20-minute ferry ride from Townsville

Most dives depart from Townsville (above) or Ayr

The shipwreck is a haven for marine life

there is of the giant variety: giant Queensland gropers, giant marble rays, giant trevally, giant sea turtles; as well as sea snakes, tiger sharks, spotted eagle rays, schools of mangrove jack, batfish and barracuda. Other, more unusual species that frequent the Yongala include whale sharks, bull sharks and the occasional shark ray. 7. Look, don’t touch The Yongala is a no-penetration dive, which means entering or touching the wreck is strictly prohibited. The restrictions were put in place to maintain the integrity of the wreck, as air bubbles from divers’ oxygen tanks speed up the deterioration of the iron structure of the ship. 8. Tiptoe around locals Most of the marine life on the Yongala is harmless, but will react if provoked. Paul Crocombe of Adrenalin Dive tells the tale of a Swedish diver who almost ended up as fish food. “He started clowning around with a 1.4m-long Queensland grouper, which was already being a bit aggressive towards the divers,” says Crocombe. “When they started going up the line, the fish grabbed the Swedish diver by the head and gave him a bit of a shake. When he got to the surface, one of our instructors described him as ‘good-looking when he went in, but not so pretty when he came out!’” That’s the diver, not the fish. 9. Cyclone central A cyclone was responsible for sinking the Yongala in 1911, and the ship still takes a battering in storm season. When Cyclone Yasi hit the Queensland coast in 2011, it stripped most of the coral from the wreck, right back to bare metal. Thankfully the storm didn’t scare away the marine life and divers can appreciate the wreck itself before the coral grows back to cover it.

DIVING OFF AUSTRALIA The journey Adrenalin Dive in Townsville and Yongala Dive in the small town of Ayr (about an hour’s drive from Townsville) organise regular trips to the Yongala. It’s only 30 minutes to the wreck from Ayr, compared with a three-hour boat trip from Townsville. When to go Peak season is from September to January, when good weather and good visibility of 10-15m make for pleasant diving conditions. From June to September the weather can be more unpredictable, but visibility increases to 20-25m and there’s a good chance of spotting a pod of humpback whales. Back on shore You can also experience the natural wonders of the Great Barrier Reef at Reef HQ on dry land in Townsville. The world’s largest living coral reef aquarium is a treasure trove of information on the creatures that live in one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world. www.yongaladive.com.au www.adrenalindive.com.au

SS Yongala Townsville

AUSTRALIA Brisbane

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GET THE GEAR

Mush, puppies

A PRO’S ESSENTIALS

Last year, aged 25, American dog musher Dallas Seavey became the youngest winner of the Iditarod sled race, covering 1,150 miles of Alaska in just over nine days. This is what he’ll need on his title defence in March 1. Sled dogs At the start, I have 16 Alaskan huskies. When a dog gets tired, you can leave it at one of 20 checkpoints and continue racing with one dog down. Vets at the checkpoints regularly check the animals. 2. Dog sleds I build my own sleds. So they’re as light and robust as possible, I use carbon-fibre ice-hockey sticks, high-strength aluminium and ultra-high-molecular-weight plastic. A sled weighs about 20kg, and you can use up to three of them in a race. 3. Critterwoods brake hook You stop the sled with a foot brake, and to keep it stationary, use this hook made of rustproof steel, anchored in the snow or ice. 4. Dog food cooker A device of my own creation. Using alcohol-based fuel, I melt snow for drinking water, and to add to the dry ingredients to make the thick meat stew for the dogs. 5. Aluminium ladle With temperatures as low as -40°C, each dog burns between 8,000 and 12,000 calories a day. I use this ladle to divvy up the dog food. 6. Integral Designs sleeping bag For a power nap – I only rest for 30 or 40 minutes per day – I slip, fully kitted, into this sleeping bag. 7. Bungee section The blue-black rope is a custom design. In the event of abrupt

braking manoeuvres, it functions like a shock absorber between the dogs and the sled. 8. Taiga harness This harness, made from waterproof lightweight fabric, has minimal pressure points, is specially fitted for each dog and is designed for long-distance racing.

9. Prairie Bilt Sleds runner plastic Rather than washing the runners, you fit a plastic cover over them. There are different plastic types, depending on the consistency of the snow. The runners are changed every 80-120km.

4 3

10. Black Diamond lamp During Iditarod, we travel many hours in darkness. I use this brand of headlight because it is very reliable. 11. Wiggy’s mittens In extreme cold conditions, I put these huge mittens over my thin, functional gloves. Sometimes I use them as a pillow in my sleeping bag. 12. Wiggy’s Joe Reddington mukluks Most of the time, I run alongside the sled, or push it with one foot and a ski pole. These boots, made from thick foam, with thick rubber soles, are designed for temperatures as low as -45°C. I can put them on over my light, insulated running shoes during the race. 2013 race starts March 3: www.iditarod.com

9 Doggy bag: Dallas Seavey’s huskies consume about 900kg of food during the Iditarod race. Dried food, made into a hot stew with melted snow, is carried on the sled and replenished at race checkpoints

WORDS: ULRICH CORAZZA. PHOTOGRAPHY: MICHAEL DEYOUNG

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Gearing up: Rachel Atherton has upped her training regime in preparation for the new MTB downhill season

TRAINING WITH THE PROS

Work, rest, press play

RACHEL ATHERTON Food, fitness and films are vital elements in forging the reigning downhill mountain bike World Cup champion

Without a tough training regime, Rachel Atherton wouldn’t last long in the world of competitive downhill racing. “Downhill is a short, intense event,” says Atherton, 26. “You feel the burn after 30 seconds. Training helps us develop a high lactate threshold, so your body can process more lactic acid and ease that Rachel burn. Then you’ve got to have a strong upper body, legs Atherton and core, because your body’s taking such big impacts from the drops. When you crash at these speeds you have to be strong to hold yourself together, so we do a lot of weight training to help protect against injury.” But there’s an upside to taking the hard knocks. “ I pretty much eat what I want,” she says. “Some cyclists have to stay light, but in downhill a bit of extra weight helps you take the hits. I’d change sports if I had to be too strict.”

TOP TIP

The science of sleep

“Getting enough rest is something I struggle with. If I’m resting, I feel I’m not doing enough. But it’s also my secret weapon, and essential to good training. I’ve seen so many riders keep going until they eventually burn out or get injured. Your body needs a chance to recover, so you get the most out of your next session. For that reason I make sure I do it. Out of season, October to March, I do a morning session, then rest for a few hours so I’m fresh for an afternoon one. The time between winter workouts is all about watching movies and sleeping.”

UPHILL TASK Atherton does her off-season training at the North Wales home she shares with her brothers, Gee and Dan, both pro riders. This is her weekly regime through to the season-opener in March MONDAY & THURSDAY 9am: Gym workout. Warm-up, using a foam roller 10am: Circuit session with oneminute bursts. Repeat five times: • Lunges, holding a medicine ball overhead between steps • Press-up plank with a Bosu ball • Press-ups • Press/pull-ups using wall strap 11am-2pm: Rest 2-5pm: Cross-country bike ride TUESDAY & FRIDAY Weight-training day at the gym 9am: Upper body. Fifteen reps of the following: • Overhead presses • Flat bench-presses • Bent-over row with dumbbell 10.30am: Core work. One-minute bursts of front plank, side plank, Russian Twist with medicine ball 11.30am-2pm: Rest 2pm: Lower body. Foam roller warm-up for 15 minutes, then 15 minutes low intensity on the rowing machine. One-hour workout using a 5060kg barbell or squat bar. Fifteen reps each of squats, lunges, dead

lifts. Repeat set three times 3.30-6pm: Rest Evening: Yoga session, 1-2 hours WEDNESDAY & SATURDAY Skills day 9am until dark: One, or a combination, of downhill sessions, dirt jumps and riding motocross SUNDAY Morning: Yoga session, 1-2 hours

Rachel Atherton trains under the guidance of brother Gee

Check out Rachel Atherton in action in The Red Bulletin tablet version. Download it now for free www.athertonracing.co.uk

WORDS: RUTH MORGAN. PHOTOGRAPHY: SVEN MARTIN (2), YORICK CARROUX/RED BULL CONTENT POOL

WORK OUT

1913-2013 Join us as we launch our Centenary Year.

edenpark

openday‘13 Sunday 10 February 10-3pm Come celebrate our first 100 years with The Blues, Blackcaps, Auckland Aces, Vodafone Warriors, NZ Football, Northern Mystics, Auckland Hockey See the Webb Ellis Cup, Bledisloe Cup, Investec Rugby Championship Trophy, Steinlager Series Cup, Ranfurly Shield, Dave Gallaher Trophy, St John, Food Market, Buskers, Auction, Raffles, Field Access, AB’s Changing Rooms, Bouncy Castles, Ferriswheels, Slides, Marching Bands, Bollywood Dancers, Egg and Spoon & Sack Races and much more........

Entry: Gold coin donation via Entry E or H

THE SOUNDS OF 2013 #2

Spanish debut: Alistair Deverick first performed as Boycrush in Madrid while taking part in the Red Bull Music Academy

Pop tart

BOYCRUSH Alistair Deverick studied jazz in Auckland, but his music owes more to electro pop than Duke Ellington

Greed is good: Boycrush’s first EP, Everything All The Time

“I was tired of being a band slut,” says Alistair Deverick, by way of explaining why, after playing with more than 20 bands since high school, he’s launched his first solo project, Boycrush. The clean-cut, well-spoken 26-year-old is still getting used to stepping out from behind the drum kit to take centre stage. “I don’t have huge aspirations to be a charismatic frontman,” he says. “That’s not me. I just want to write songs I like, that people connect with. I enjoy the creative control that comes with singing my own songs, but I don’t aspire to be like Justin Bieber or Drake or Madonna, even though I like all those artists.” For someone who went to jazz school, Deverick is proud

to be pop and, as Boycrush, he makes music for fun-loving party people rather than chin-scratching intellectuals. “I had a pop liberation after I left university,” he says. “Pop is considered taboo in jazz school and I think I was quite repressed, but now I’m not ashamed to say I listen to pop music.” Deverick has been a jobbing musician since he started playing drums in high school. He gives lessons a couple of days a week to help pay the bills, but he’s essentially been a drummer for hire for about seven years. His first band at university, The Shades, was influenced by D’Angelo and The Roots. He was also the beat behind The Hot Grits, a 13-piece funk

combo. He played with The Good New Sundays (“Everyone thought we were a Christian band”) and Fast Crew. Can that be the same Fast Crew responsible for the 2003 Kiwi novelty hip-hop, I Got? “Yeah that’s true, but I’m sorry I mentioned it now,” says Deverick, laughing. “I was around for their second album, in 2008. I guess I play in so many bands because I simply enjoy playing. Coming from a jazz background I never thought it weird to be a session musician who played in different groups. It was a choice I made, but a few years ago I decided to be a bit more selective.” A trip to Scotland in 2010, to visit an uncle who works as a mixing engineer, gave Deverick

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the time and space to play around with professional music software and record his voice for the first time. The music that emerged from his noodling was not what he expected. “Singing was obviously new for me, and while I don’t like my voice that much there are lots of singers who are technically not that good. Sometimes it’s not about the singing itself, it’s about getting to do it how you want. You own a song if you sing it.” Despite being self-conscious about his voice, he played the tracks to his uncle and his positive reaction encouraged Deverick to apply for the 2011 Red Bull Music Academy. He was stunned to be invited to Madrid for two weeks of music workshops and lectures, and played his first gig as Boycrush in a Spanish nightclub. His track, Camp Song, was included on that year’s Red Bull Music Academy compilation album. There’s a playful quality to his lo-fi, mid-tempo, synth-heavy sound, reminiscent of Hercules and Love Affair and Hot Chip. His lyrics range across all aspects of the modern human condition.

WORDS: ROBERT TIGHE. PHOTOGRAPHY: SCOTT SINTON (2), BOYCRUSH

“I find it difficult to focus all my energies on one project. I get bored and look elsewhere for inspiration” The song Everybody All The Time, for example, is “about ‘FOMO’, the fear of missing out, and wanting to be everywhere at once and do everything,” says Deverick. It could also be seen as symbolic of Deverick’s musical wanderlust. He plans to spend most of 2013 drumming with Auckland indie-pop band The Ruby Sons, as well releasing the first Boycrush album towards the end of the year. “I do find it difficult to focus all my energies on one project,” he says. “I get bored and need

Centre stage: Deverick did session work for seven years before going solo

to look elsewhere for music inspiration. It’s nice to be able to play drums with The Ruby Suns, and collaborate with different people, but it’s also good to focus on Boycrush. If I get bored of Boycrush, I can make it a bit different and mix it up. It’s a moniker of mine. It is a creative vehicle for me and my music.” It seems the former band slut might be ready for commitment.

Need to know THE LINE-UP Alistair Deverick – vocals, vocal effects, drum pads, production Boycrush’s live band includes: Ryan McPhun – keyboards, samples, vocals Chelsea-Jade Metcalf – vocals, drum pads, keyboards Hayden Eastmond-Mein – synth bass, keyboards, vocals DISCOGRAPHY Everybody All The Time (EP) – 2012 Pfft (single) – 2013 album TBC – 2013

The story so far Alistair Deverick developed an eclectic taste in music from an early age. Michael Jackson was among his first musical heroes; living in his mother’s hometown of Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1996 exposed him to Blur and Oasis. That same year, an Australian singer called Gina G was a highlight of the 1996 Eurovision Song Contest with Ooh Aah…Just A Little Bit, which became a cheesy pop classic and another of the 10-year-old Deverick’s favourites. He learned to play the drums at Avondale College in Auckland, where he joined his first band, Velez. They played David Bowie covers

and Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana (“It’s compulsory for every high-school band to play that song,” says Deverick). In 2003, his school jazz band toured the US, playing the Monterey Jazz Festival and meeting jazz legend Herbie Hancock. That trip inspired Deverick to study jazz at university in Auckland, where he also immersed himself in the city’s music scene. In 2010, he returned to Scotland and started making music under the moniker Boycrush. His first gig as Boycrush was at the Red Bull Music Academy in Madrid in 2011 and he released his debut EP at the end of last year.

www.boycrush.bandcamp.com

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Nightlife Whatever gets you through ’til dawn

DO IT

City-centre ice racing SWISS OPPORTUNITY: On March 2, the ice cross downhill world championship, Red Bull Crashed Ice, will be making its first stop in Lausanne, Switzerland, since 2009. TAKE YOUR MARKS: At 7pm in the city’s Place Saint François, the starter’s gun will propel the first four competitors along the 440m frozen track, purpose-built for this event. Entry is free. FAVOURITES: It’s hard to look past Canadian ace Kyle Croxall, who won the season-opener at Niagara Falls. The Swiss crowd will be pinning its hopes on homecountry boy Kilian Braun, who finished third behind Croxall in Canada.

OUT NOW

The atomic underdog Jamie Lidell He lives in the home of country music, married soul to electronica and now what? The funk His 2005 album Multiply brought soul back into the pop consciousness, a year before Amy Winehouse sparked a full-on soul revival with Back To Black. But a ride on the bandwagon is not something the 39-year-old Englishman enjoys: he is too much of a contrarian for that. On his new, eponymous album, he is reinventing funk, using the toolbox of electronica that has forged all of his music to date. If Prince was 20 years younger and embarking on his mid-career today, his music would sound like Jamie Lidell’s. You recorded your latest album in Nashville, the capital of country music. So how did it turn out so electronic?

The New York apartment I used to live in was too small. I have a big studio in Nashville, where I live now, and there I can finally use all my synthesisers. Do you look back on the soul revival of the mid 2000s and feel part of it? When I delivered Multiply to my record label they didn’t understand at first. A soul album? They were expecting something more electronic, but there was electronic stuff on there too. Amy Winehouse really pulled off the Motown thing, whereas I felt more comfortable in the role of the abstract soul guy. What music inspires you? You spend a lot of time listening to the radio in your car in Nashville. There’s one great radio station. Its anthem is Atomic Dog by George Clinton. They play the song at least once a week. I love it. I've even been calling myself ‘Atomic Underdog’ ever since.

Jamie Lidell (Warp) is released on February 18. Samples, and tour dates, at: www.jamielidell.com

WISE WORDS

“ Night is the other half of life, and the better half ” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, writer (1749-1832)

WHAT SUP

Umhlanga Sling

WORDS: FLORIAN OBKIRCHER. PHOTOGRAPHY: PICTUREDESK.COM, JOERG MITTER/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, GREEN VALLEY (4), FOTOSTUDIO EISENHUT & MAYER

Kelly John Bauwer is the star behind the bar at the five-star Oyster Box Hotel in Umhlanga, a city a few clicks south of Durban on South Africa’s east coast. He has concocted the Umhlanga (pronounced ‘umshlanga’) Sling, a fresh and fruity refreshment, with a hint of mint. Bauwer is raising this glass with a nod to the legendary Long Bar at the Raffles Hotel in Singapore, from where the Singapore Sling went global. Perhaps its South African cousin will follow.

CLUB GREEN VALLEY

INGREDIENTS Crushed ice 8 mint leaves 1 part cachaça 1 part mango juice 1 part pineapple juice Pineapple and mint to garnish

METHOD Muddle the mint in the ice in the glass (as you would for a mojito). Add the cachaça and the juices. Garnish with pineapple and mint.

GREEN VALLEY Rua Mamoré, 1083, Rio Pequeno, Camboriú, Brazil www.greenvalley.art.br

CLUB

“We give the DJ a dry ice bazooka” Green Valley Superstar DJs like Erick Morillo and Steve Angello agree: the best club in the world is in the middle of the Brazilian rainforest Our name refers to… The location. You will find us in a valley in the middle of the rainforest, surrounded by lakes, about 1,000km south along the coast from Rio. There are hardly any walls; the club is basically an open area. At Green Valley we celebrate the harmony of technology and nature.

The place holds... Up to 10,000 people. We've had that many in: our record crowd was for a David Guetta show. The average attendance is about 4-6,000. The best parties happen... During the summer season in Brazil, which runs from December to the carnival in February. Then, the club opens at 11pm and closes at 7am. Things really get going when... The four fire machines send huge flames into the air. The DJ is also equipped with a bazuca de CO2 – a dry ice machine gun – which is aimed and fired into the audience. If you get hungry, there’s food in... In our very own pizzeria. It has a lounge with sofas, and a fantastic view across the lakes. Superstar DJs agree that... Green Valley is the best club in the world. Ask any of them: Erick Morillo, Armin Van Buuren, Steve Angello. They will all tell you that. Interview: Eduardo Philipps, co-owner

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YELLOW SUBMARINE (1966) “At first, the track seems like a children’s song, with a catchy melody and simple lyrics telling the story of a man who sailed to sea. Listen closely, though, and you’ll discover a fantastic audio drama built with the sounds of breaking waves, a submarine and a brass band. To me, it’s the sonic equivalent of a Vermeer painting where you can see a painting on the wall: a picture within a picture.”

TAKE 3

All you need is computerlove Karl Bartos The electro-pop legend, now releasing a fourth solo album after 15 years in Kraftwerk, acknowledges the influence the Fab Four had on the German giants of electronic music

When Kraftwerk introduced electronica into pop music’s bloodstream in the mid 1970s, it was Karl Bartos who programmed the rhythms of songs such as The Model and Computerlove. Bartos, a classically trained percussionist, joined the group in 1975, just as their futuristic sounds, iconic imagery and socialist ideals fused into something special. He left in 1990, going on to write and record music (with former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, among others) and teach auditory media design at Berlin University of the Arts. For his new album, Off The Record, he delves into his archive of Kraftwerkera home recordings to fashion nostalgic electro. Drawing on memory is a key element in his career, and, in turn, the development of electronic music. When he first heard A Hard Day’s Night by The Beatles, aged 12, in 1964, he thought he’d been struck by lightning. “I was drawn deeply to the music of the ’60s, particularly The Beatles, and eventually became a musician,” Bartos says. “Without the work of the guys from Liverpool, my contribution to the so-called ‘electro sound’ would not have been possible.” www.karlbartos.de

TOMORROW NEVER KNOWS (1966) “With its 128bpm, this track predates the dancefloor sound by 30 years. This is the genuine beat played by Ringo Starr: a constant drone over which John Lennon sings, his voice fed through a Leslie speaker cabinet, quoting from Timothy Leary’s The Psychedelic Experience. Then you hear loops flying in and out like UFOs or psychedelic dreams.”

BEING FOR THE BENEFIT OF MR KITE! (1967) “By using different meters and music, such as that of the Victorian era, this song evokes the perfect circus soundscape. The most striking part is the steam organ solo. The tape recordings were made from historic steam organs and then cut into snippets and pasted together in a different order to avoid melodic connotations. This recontextualisation opened the door for all of us.”

NIGHT SNACK

Cape Town Gatsby

What inspired South Africa’s favourite street food sandwich? F Scott Fitzgerald’s decadence? Robert Redford’s flat cap? Or an empty fish and chip shop?

WHAT SHOULD A GATSBY BE ABLE TO DO? First and foremost, fill you up. Which a Gatsby really has no problem doing. A Gatsby is a huge sandwich that can have all sorts of fillings. You cut the bread and cover it with lettuce. Then come the various fillings: masala steak, chicken, polony, frankfurters, fish, even calamari. But for it to deserve the name Gatsby, it also has to have a ton of French fries, and sauces like Thousand Island dressing or achar, an Indian chutneylike condiment of pickled fruit, such as mangoes.

WORDS: FLORIAN OBKIRCHER. PHOTOGRAPHY: KATJA RUGE, FOTOSTUDIO EISENHUT & MAYER

PROBABLY THE TRUE STORY OF WHERE IT CAME FROM... There are several versions of how the Gatsby came about. The boring version is people simply took whatever they found in the fridge and stuffed it between two pieces of bread.

...THE ONE THAT ALMOST CERTAINLY ISNâ€™T TRUE, FEATURING A MAORI CHIEF... This far-fetched version of events says a Maori tribal chief was the great Gatsby maker. A lover of French food, he is said to have taken a baguette and cut it in half. Then he put in some polony, put the two pieces of bread back together and took a bite. In the 1980s, the chief is said to have shown off his invention at a rugby match in South Africa. The people of Cape Town liked it.

... AND THE ONE ABOUT ROBERT REDFORD, WHICH COULD BE The third creation myth. One day in 1976, fish-and-chip proprietor Rashaad Pandy ran out of fish, prompting him to come up with a type of sandwich, to feed a bunch of day labourers, which contained everything Pandy could get his hands on. The first Gatsby was made using a loaf of bread as round as the flat cap Robert Redford wore in The Great Gatsby, which was showing in a cinema close by.

WHERE CAN YOU GET THE BEST GATSBY? This is the subject of much debate in Cape Town. Ottery Farm Stall, in the south-east of the city, tops many lists. Some people prefer Golden Dish, near the Royal Cape Golf Club. Super Fisheries, in Athlone, the shop belonging to the supposed inventor, Rashaad Pandy, also has its followers. SIZE MATTERS A Gatsby is enough food to feed a family, so in times of people paying greater attention to what they eat, you can now find a Half Gatsby or a Quarter Gatsby on many menus.

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World In Action 8

February/ March 2013

5 6 1

Sport 20.2-3.3.2013, VAL DI FIEMME, ITALY

Nordic World Ski Championships The Fiemme Valley is the venue for the 49th Nordic World Ski Championships and, as the name suggests, athletes will be strapping two planks to their feet to compete in events including ski jumping, cross-country skiing and Nordic combined skiing. If 2011 is anything to go by, the competition will be dominated by Norway and Austria. Norwegians Petter Northug and Marit Bjørgen won seven golds and three silvers in the cross-country events, while the ski jumping belonged to Austria, with Gregor Schlierenzauer, Thomas Morgenstern and Daniela Iraschko taking gold.

2-13.3.2013, GOLD COAST, AUSTRALIA

ASP World Tour It’s already one of the busiest surfing locations in the world, but Australia’s Gold Coast is going to get a whole lot busier with the start of this year’s professional surfing season. The area is home to a 2km man-made ‘super bank’, which creates some of the longest waves in the world – perfect for competition. Local champions Stephanie Gilmore, who has already won four times on the Gold Coast, and Joel Parkinson will be looking to defend their respective Roxy Pro and Quicksilver Pro World Champion titles.

2 Stephanie Gilmore in the Gold Coast waves 3-10.3.2013, CHILE

Petter Northug was way out ahead in 2011

Atacama Crossing

2-19.3.2013, FUKUOKA & TOKYO (JAP), SAN JUAN (PUR), PHOENIX, MIAMI & SAN FRANCISCO (USA), TAICHUNG (TWN)

Part of the notorious 4 Deserts series, this ultra-marathon will see 200 hardy souls drag their aching bodies 250km across the world’s driest desert. The Atacama ‘enjoys’ just 0.5mm of rain per year – that’s 50 times less than Death Valley in the US. Lack of moisture isn’t the only thing the self-supporting runners will have to deal with: the huge fluctuations in temperature between day (40°C) and night (5°C) and the altitude (up to 3,000m) combine to make their job a lot harder, which makes last year’s winner, Vicente Juan García Beneito’s new record of 23 hours and 46 minutes all the more impressive.

World Baseball Classic This is the only tournament of its kind to feature professional players from all the major leagues around the world, including US Major League Baseball. Pitting the world’s 16 best teams against each other, the final is on March 19 at the AT&T Park in San Francisco. The previous tournaments, held in 2006 and 2009, saw Japan victorious both times.

Will Japan win its third World Baseball Classic?

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16.2.2013, OKAYAMA, JAPAN

Hadaka Matsuri

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No, Spencer Tunick isn’t putting together an installation in Japan. Rather the 9,000 half-naked men wandering through the streets of Okayama are taking part in a Japanese ritual that dates back to 767BC. The point of this anarchic clothelessness is the absolving of the men’s evil deeds by Shin-otoko, the spiritual head of the festival. The spectacle attracts tens of thousands from all over the world, but don’t worry, the participants’ modesty remains intact. Well, you wouldn’t want to be totally naked in sub-zero temperatures, would you?

12.2.2013, NEW ORLEANS, USA

Mardi Gras

Since 1857, New Orleans has been making the most of the run up to Lent with Fat Tuesday. Up to a million people, many in fancy dress, take over the city’s French Quarter, as brass bands and brightly decorated floats make their way through the streets. Traditions such as the throwing of beaded necklaces into the crowd, and the scoffing of barbecued treats, have made the celebration renowned the world over, but despite what may have heard, public nudity is still illegal, so cover up to enjoy the party.

5-10.3.2013, VOSS, NORWAY

FIS Freestyle Skiing World Championships

For the first time ever, the Freestyle Skiing World Championships are to be held on Norwegian snow. The competition will take place 100km east of Bergen and spectators can enjoy athletes being judged on aerials, moguls, dual moguls, ski cross, halfpipes and slopestyle. This year’s contest is the 15th; the last was held in 2011 at the American resort of Deer Valley. There, the Canadians dominated with a team including Jennifer Heil and Alexandre Bilodeau taking no fewer than eight out of 12 gold medals.

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES (3), TODD GLASER, PICTUREDESK.COM, ICE ALASKA KAREN H. CLAUTICE

Berlinale

If you think your local cinema has long queues, spare a thought for the 430,000 filmgoers attending the Berlinale, the world’s largest public film festival. This 63rd edition is showing 400 films over a 10-day period with a prize, the Golden Bear, being awarded at the end. This year, the jury will be presided over by Chinese director Wong Kar-wai (Chungking Express, In the Mood for Love). Claude Lanzmann, the French director best known for his nine-anda-half-hour Holocaust documentary Shoah, will receive an honorary lifetime achievement award.

26.2-31.3.2013, FAIRBANKS, ALASKA, USA

World Ice Art Championships The chainsaw was not made with creativity in mind, yet every year the world’s biggest ice art festival brings together the best ice-sculptors from 30 countries and lets them loose on blocks of frozen water. Ornate mythical creatures, delicate palaces and huge statues attract 50,000 spectators into the temporary open-air museum. Teams taking part in the Single Block Classic competition are each given a 40-tonne block of ice that they have two days to turn into art. No shortage of ice cubes, either.

Culture 7-17.2.2013, BERLIN, GERMANY

Not a lot on in Okayama

New jury president at the Berlinale: Wong Kar-wai 15-16.2.2013, REYKJAVIK, ICELAND

Sónar Reykjavik

Known for a somewhat sunnier festival experience, the team behind Sónar are heading north to the Icelandic capital for a weekend of eclectic electronica. With more theatres per capita and more successful musicians – notably Björk, Sigur Rós and Emiliana Torrini – than any other city of its size, Reykjavik is Europe’s chilly creative centre. International stars including James Blake, Squarepusher and Modeselektor will be performing alongside Icelandic artists such as GusGus, Ólafur Arnalds and Retro Stefson.

Icely done: the World Ice Art Championships

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Save The Date February & March 2013 FEBRUARY 23

Farm boys

UNTIL FEBRUARY 17

Island art

Sculpture on the Gulf is New Zealand’s leading outdoor exhibition of contemporary sculpture and this year marks its 10th anniversary. Thirty sculptures will be exhibited along the 2.5km walkway on Waiheke Island, with spectacular views of the Hauraki Gulf an added bonus. New for 2013 is the Waiheke Experience at the Pavilion at Matiatia Bay, a showcase of the island‘s food and wine, music and art. www.sculptureonthegulf.co.nz

FEBRUARY 13 -17

Bowled over With sister events in Sydney and New York, Vans Bowl-A-Rama in Wellington is in good company. The skateboarding festival, now in its sixth year, celebrates the art, music and culture of the sport. The Bowl-A-Rama final will see top international skateboarders battling it out with the locals for a prize purse of $30,000. www.bowlarama.com.au

Sing when you’re winning: Homegrown has cracked the festival formula MARCH 2

Classic rock, Kiwi style It’s no surprise that Wellington, New Zealand’s capital of cool, has put its own spin on the tried-and-tested music festival format. Since 2008, the windy city has hosted Homegrown, a fest with a difference. Instead of bringing fans to a big field in the country, Homegrown is held in the heart of the city, with six stages dotted along Wellington’s waterfront. The other thing that sets Homegrown apart is clued in the name: it features only indigenous music. This formula has paid off in spades, with tickets for each of the past five events selling out. One of this year’s highlights promises to be the Red Bull Sound Lab stage, where some of New Zealand’s best musicians, DJs and MCs will be jamming, collaborating and creating fresh new music. Other headline acts include Shapeshifter, Ladi 6, Shihad, Homebrew and The Black Seeds. www.homegrown.net.nz

FEBRUARY 8 – 17

Saddle up Rotorua has long been recognised as the home of mountain biking in New Zealand, so it’s about time it got its own festival celebrating all things two-wheeled. Of course, MTB activities feature heavily at the first week-long Rotorua Bike Festival, but there are plenty of other events like bike speedway, bike polo and the downhill Redwoods Coast (no pedalling allowed). The festival also features a criterium (short road race), BMX jump jam, MTB orienteering and several child-friendly activities. www.rotoruabikefestival.com

Get in gear: a new bike festival in NZ

WORDS: ROBERT TIGHE. PHOTOGRAPHY: SHAUN JONES, NICK LAMBERT, CHRIS PEACOKE

A modest sheep farm in Southland may not sound like the ideal place to stage a highprofile event, but it’s perfect for Farm Jam. First held in 2007 as an informal AGM for the Southern Freeriders club, it has grown into an internationally renowned freestyle motocross, BMX and mountain bike competition. Brothers Dan and Brett Frew have constructed a dirt playground on the family farm and every year they invite some of the best and bravest riders on two wheels to come and have a go. www.southernfreeriders.blogspot.co.nz

ILLUSTRATION: DIETMAR KAINRATH

K A I N R AT H

his time last year, no one could have known that the global pop music phenomenon of 2012 would come in the person of a chubby Korean rapper. But Psy’s Gangnam Style and, in particular, its mad, memorable video, bestrode not just pop music, but popular culture. Gangnam Style was both vigorously novel and rooted in one of pop’s most venerable traditions: the dance craze. It’s half a century since the Western world’s teenagers started doing the Twist (a move based on traditional West African dances) along with Chubby Checker. As 2012 closed, our Prime Minister could not be reached for comment on the sensational departure of his Secretary of Education. He was, we discovered, busy performing the Gangnam Style dance at a radio station. That anyone – even the Prime Minister – can have a crack at a silly dance is also at the heart of Psy’s roaring success. For years now, it has been common for fans to pay tribute to a favourite tune by filming themselves miming along to the words, and possibly dancing, and sticking the clip on YouTube. So-called ‘YouTube karaoke’ didn’t always go down well with the songs’ owners. Major record labels would exercise their copyrights and require YouTube to take down the clips. Psy knew that every Gangnam Style parody was his friend. Some news stories about Psy claim that his success came after he surrendered his copyright, but that’s not what happened. Instead, YouTube’s sophisticated content detection system would spot yet another crack at Gangnam Style, and Psy’s people would be duly notified. Instead of ordering that the tribute clips be taken down, Psy and co took the other option – leaving them up and claiming the share of Google advertising revenue accruing from clips that used his song. This happens more than you think. Television New Zealand, for example, will generally, as it says, “claim and monetise” when it is told one of its programmes has

Mind’s Eye

Psy Ops With credit card at hand, Russell Brown buys into the music industry’s newest moneymaking model (clue: it’s the oldest) been placed on YouTube without permission. When the TV producer Screentime was informed, in 2009, that a clip from its Police Ten 7 reality show had turned up on YouTube, a junior staff member did what she had been told to do and requested it be taken down. All hell broke loose. The clip, itself three years old at the time, had suddenly become a social media sensation. Screentime’s management scrambled to restore the banned clip. And thus we all learned, in the words of the cop in the clip, to “always blow on the pie”. The difference with Psy is one of scale. Four-and-a-half months after the release of Gangnam Style on July 15 last year, not only did he collect on 880 million views of his own video (as The Red Bulletin went to press, the counter had ticked past 1.1 billion), but on millions more views of a staggering 33,000 clips identified as containing Gangnam Style. But even that unprecedented reach didn’t earn Psy a million bucks. His half share of revenue

from ads accompanying the song on YouTube came to about US$870,000. More modest YouTube hits are likely to deliver their owners some hundreds of dollars a year. Internet advertising has become such a buyer’s market that it earns only a tiny amount for each view. By comparison, commercial radio advertising, an agreed share of which, in New Zealand, goes to songwriters via the rights agency APRA, is still a much more bountiful source of income for individual musicians. And yet Psy wouldn’t have been a global phenomenon if he hadn’t been on YouTube. The lucrative deals he did to appear in TV ads were a direct result of his global internet presence. And of course, music videos are still advertisements for the songs they illustrate. In the US alone, three million copies of Gangnam Style sold via iTunes earned Psy about US$2.6 million ($3.11 million), or 70 per cent of the revenues. On the other hand, he received only a fraction of a fraction of cent for each time the song was streamed (rather than downloaded) on South Korean internet music services. But the $73,000 he made from that was still more than his share of domestic CD sales revenue. Not every artist is like Psy, but what they all have in common is a declining living from retail sales of music. These days, it pays to be the songwriter, and thus receive publishing revenue. It also pays to be able to perform live. My credit card took a hammering late last year, as I bought concert tickets for this summer: Elvis Costello, Neil Young, Pretty Lights and more. Our household spent perhaps 20 times on live music what it will spend on recorded music this summer. So while we marvel over all the new places that money for music comes from, it’s worth remembering that it is increasingly in the oldest means of musical work there is: playing it live for an audience. Russell Brown is a media commentator and blogger living in Auckland

THE RED BULLETIN New Zealand, ISSN 2079-4274: The Red Bulletin is published by Red Bull Media House GmbH Editor-in-Chief Robert Sperl Deputy Editor-in-Chief Alexander Macheck General Manager Wolfgang Winter Publisher Franz Renkin UK & Ireland Editor Paul Wilson Contributing Editor Stefan Wagner Chief Sub-editor Nancy James Deputy Chief Sub-editor Joe Curran Production Editor Marion Wildmann Chief Photo Editor Fritz Schuster Deputy Photo Editors Ellen Haas, Catherine Shaw, Rudolf Übelhör Creative Director Erik Turek Art Director Kasimir Reimann Design Martina de Carvalho-Hutter, Silvia Druml, Miles English, Kevin Goll, Peter Jaunig, Carita Najewitz Staff Writers Ulrich Corazza, Werner Jessner, Ruth Morgan, Florian Obkircher, Arkadiusz Piatek, Andreas Rottenschlager, Robert Tighe Corporate Publishing Boro Petric (head), Christoph Rietner (chief-editor); Dominik Uhl (art director); Markus Kucera (photo director); Lisa Blazek (editor); Christian Graf-Simpson, Daniel Kudernatsch (App) Head of Production Michael Bergmeister Production Wolfgang Stecher (mgr), Walter Sádaba Repro Managers Clemens Ragotzky (head), Karsten Lehmann, Josef Mühlbacher Finance Siegmar Hofstetter, Simone Mihalits Marketing & Country Management Barbara Kaiser (head), Stefan Ebner, Johanna Jenewei, Elisabeth Salcher, Lukas Scharmbacher, Peter Schiffer, Julia Schweikhardt, Sara Varming. The Red Bulletin is published in Austria, France, Germany, Ireland, Kuwait, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, Switzerland, the UK and the USA. Website www.redbulletin.com. Head office: Red Bull Media House GmbH, Oberst-Lepperdinger-Strasse 11-15, A-5071 Wals bei Salzburg, FN 297115i, Landesgericht Salzburg, ATU63611700. UK office: 155-171 Tooley Street, London SE1 2JP, +44 (0) 20 3117 2100. Austrian office: Heinrich-Collin-Strasse 1, A-1140 Vienna, +43 (1) 90221 28800. Printed by PMP Print, 30 Birmingham Drive, Riccarton, 8024 Christchurch. For all advertising enquiries, contact Sales Manager Brad Morgan or email brad.morgan@apn.co.nz or adsales@redbulletin.co.nz. Write to us: email letters@redbulletin.com

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