The Red Bulletin February 2014 - ZA

a beyond the ordinary magazine

february 2014 R30

BACK TO BASS Next-Gen Musos Rock Jozi

OSWALD SMITH

Fresh Prince Of Big Air

SkateBOARDING AT 120KPH CHILLING IN ALASKA’S SURF CITY

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JUST

Drive Eric Bana’s lifelong obsession and why he will never give up acting

The world of red bull

26

Alaska’s surf city

No sun? No problem. A devoted group of hardy surfers brave near-frozen water off the coast of the subarctic city of Homer

graham shearer (cover), Scott Dickerson,

Welcome

A few surprises this month: Eric Bana (it comes as no shock to learn) is putting ‘act’ back in ‘action movie’ with special forces flick Lone Survivor, but did you know he’s a committed race car driver whose favourite ride has been his pride and joy for 30 years? Then we meet the wave warriors who brave close-to-zero temperatures to surf the Alaskan coastline at the edge of the Arctic circle. And at the other end of the Americas, we catch up with the downhill daredevils who reach speeds of 120kph on a skateboard. Closer to home, rising kiteboard star Oswald Smith is one to keep an eye on, as are the next generation of hip Mzansi music talent who rocked Jozi at the Red Bull Music Academy Bass Camp. Plus: shark cage diving, new video games and how to outrun the whole world. Enjoy! the red bulletin

Eric Bana, page 42

“ As I crashed I thought, ‘Thank God we’re going in head on’”

03

february 2014

at a glance

68

Bullevard 08 Happy Birthday facebook There’s a lot to like about being 10 years old: 1.2bn users agree

like a bullet

Features

Bombing downhill at 120kph on a modified skateboard: welcome to the Downhill Longboard World Cup

26 Colden Moments

An Alaskan photographer-surfer shows off his chilling local surf spot

40 Blitz Kids

A new LP for the indie-pop quartet

42 Eric Bana

The Australian reveals how a movie career can be A-list and low-key

50 Red Bull Music Academy

50 Back to bass

A life-changing week with South Africa’s top musicians at Red Bull Music Academy Bass Camp in Joburg

08 Ten years of facebook

Mark-ing a decade of Zuckerberg’s website with a social media special. Like it, share it, whatever, but always be friends, OK?

60 Oswald Smith

Making waves with SA’s top kiteboarder

68 Downhill Racers

Up to speed with the action at the Longboard World Cup in Brazil

78 Moving Images

Amazing pics from the man with a camera as big as truck (it is a truck)

Action

60 fresh prince of big air

The rise of national kiteboarding champ Oswald Smith has so far gone unnoticed in SA. But not for much longer 04

85 night waves

Party central in Cape Town’s Aces’n’ Spades, a darkly glamorous dive bar where rock ’n’ roll meets surfing royalty

84 85 86 87 88 90 92 94 96 98

GET THE Gear A windsurfer’s kit party Get down in Cape Town travel Shark diving in the Pacific training With NFL star Reggie Bush enter now Wings For Life World Run My city Electro waltz through Vienna music James Mercer’s cherished tunes gaming Thief: back and in great nick save the Date Unmissable events magic moment An F1 hero’s final lap

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Thiago Diz, Chris Saunders, Zhu jia ‘the face of facebook’, craig Kolesky, press handout

South Africa’s up-and-coming music stars learn a lot from the legends

As seen on DStv/SuperSport

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MARTIN KAYMER 2012 NGC CHAMPION

CHARL SCHWARTZEL

2012 SA OPEN CHAMPION

HENRIK STENSON

2012 ALFRED DUNHILL CHAMPION

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN

2011 & 2012 AFRICA OPEN CHAMPION

THE NEDBANK GOLF CHALLENGE, ALFRED DUNHILL CHAMPIONSHIP, SA OPEN, WORLD GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS & MORE. WE TAKE YOU TO EVERY TOURNAMENT IN HD. SO CLOSE, YOU CAN READ THE LINE FOR YOURSELF.

UP THE MASTERS supersport.com

contributors Who’s on board this issue The Red Bulletin South Africa, ISSN 2079-4282

The Red Bulletin is published by Red Bull Media House GmbH General Manager Wolfgang Winter Publisher Franz Renkin Editors-in-Chief Alexander Macheck, Robert Sperl Editor, South Africa Angus Powers

Scott Dickerson

Marcello maragni & thiago diz “Excitingly styled and incredibly courageous” is how the two Brazilian photographers described the tribe of longboarders they encountered in their homeland.

“I was surprised how fast the riders were and that men and women raced together,” says Maragni. Adds Diz: “They thundered past so close that the draft felt threatening.” One of them got too close and torpedoed Diz’s camera bag. “I needed 10 minutes to collect my stuff,” he says. The action begins on page 68.

Robert tighe Australian actor Eric Bana “has played some really badass characters”, says The Red Bulletin’s New Zealand editor. “I was expecting him to be intense and moody. In fact he’s a mellow motorsports fanatic who hasn’t let Hollywood go to his head.” Tighe met the Lone Survivor star in his Melbourne office, near the garage where photographer Graham Shearer took this month’s cover photo and where Bana keeps the car with a special place in his heart, a 1974 Ford Falcon Coupe.

Engines are started on page 42.

06

Among the lucky few who combine their passions with their career, photographer Dickerson took The Red Bulletin on a trip surfing in Alaska. “Growing up surrounded by the wild beauty of Alaska, it’s no surprise I chose photography as a career,” he says.

“How I became so passionate about surfing remains somewhat of a mystery, even to myself. The only explanation I can offer is that some of us are just born with a love of the ocean.” See how Dickerson and his crew ride the frigid surf on page 26.

Editor Paul Wilson Creative Director Erik Turek Art Directors Kasimir Reimann, Miles English Photo Director Fritz Schuster Production Editor Marion Wildmann Managing Editor Daniel Kudernatsch Chief Sub-Editor Nancy James Deputy Chief Sub-Editor Joe Curran Assistant Editors Ulrich Corazza, Werner Jessner, Ruth Morgan, Florian Obkircher, Arek Pia˛tek, Andreas Rottenschlager Contributing Editor Stefan Wagner Contributors Lisa Blazek, Georg Eckelsberger, Raffael Fritz, Sophie Haslinger, Marianne Minar, Boro Petric, Holger Potye, Martina Powell, Mara Simperler, Clemens Stachel, Manon Steiner, Lukas Wagner Design Martina de Carvalho-Hutter, Silvia Druml, Kevin Goll, Carita Najewitz, Esther Straganz Photo Editors Susie Forman (Creative Photo Director), Rudi Übelhör (Deputy Photo Director), Marion Batty, Eva Kerschbaum Repro Managers Clemens Ragotzky (manager), Karsten Lehmann, Josef Mühlbacher Head of Production Michael Bergmeister Production Wolfgang Stecher (manager), Walter O Sádaba, Christian Graf-Simpson (app) Advertising Enquiries Andrew Gillett, +27 (0) 83 412 8008, andrew.gillett@za.redbull.com

Printed by CTP Printers, Duminy Street, Parow-East, Cape Town 8000.

Sean Christie The gonzo truant says that his interview with South African kiteboarding champ Oswald Smith was a balm at the end of a hard year. “We pine for youth publicly while privately thanking our stars that the steepest learning curves lie in the past,” says Christie. “A few minutes in Smith’s company – tap-tap-tapping his foot in the absence of wind or boosting off a wavelet to a height of 40ft – and I was like, ‘Stuff it, wipe the hard drive, send me back. Make me young.’” Story in full: page 60.

“ The longboarders thundered past so close that the draft felt threatening” Thiago Diz

Finance Siegmar Hofstetter, Simone Mihalits Marketing & Country Management Stefan Ebner (manager), Elisabeth Salcher, Lukas Scharmbacher, Sara Varming Distribution Klaus Pleninger, Peter Schiffer subscription price: 228 ZAR, 12 issues, www.getredbulletin.com, subs@za.redbull.com Marketing Design Julia Schweikhardt, Peter Knethl Advertising Placement Sabrina Schneider O∞ce Management Manuela Gesslbauer, Kristina Krizmanic, Anna Schober

The Red Bulletin is published in Austria, Brazil, France, Germany, Ireland, Kuwait, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, Switzerland, UK and 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 South Africa office Black River Park North, 2 Fir Street, Observatory, 7925 8005 +27 (0) 21 486 8000 Austria office Heinrich-Collin-Strasse 1, A-1140 Vienna. +43 (1) 90221 28800 Write to us: letters@redbulletin.com

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10 years of facebook

what are you up to?

Mark Zuckerberg

The man who did away with anonymity

shutterstock, Corbis, nasa, picturedesk.com, getty images

In February 2004, a Harvard student put a webpage online where users were expected to register with their real names and disclose their personal details. Surely it had to be a joke? Who’d be willing to do that, experts griped, and they waited for it to flop.

That sophomore was Mark Zuckerberg; he is now a billionaire and Facebook is the most popular site on the web after Google.

1 Comment

The Red Bulletin “Great pic! Mark looks like a young Machiavelli. You can see more pictures by Zhu Jia and his friends in The Face of Facebook at the ShanghART Gallery in Singapore.” facebook.com/shanghartgallerysg

We Like!

Friday Reads Every Friday, users post what they’re reading.

08

Who What Wear The trends on the world’s catwalks.

Stylefruits Great tips for her; eye candy for him.

George Takei From Star Trek to the frontier of social media.

Milky Way Scientists Interesting shots, updated daily.

Awkward Family Photos The name says it all.

Bill Nye The Science Guy explains our world to us.

the red bulletin

Best Of Retro-Future

Riddle

Who am I? He has more Facebook fans than anyone else in South Africa. Who could that be? (Answer overleaf.)

OLD SCHOOL DOCKING STATION An iPhone dock for everyone who wants to hold a real receiver. The dial comes via an app. etsy.com/shop/ woodguy32

Born:

February 20, 1984

Joined Facebook:

April 11, 2009

Fans (internationally):

1,290.000

Fans (South Africa):

1,002.000

Languages:

Zulu, English, Afrikaans, Tswana, Tonga, Xhosa, German

Friends

getprojecteo.com

Valentine’s Day

Likes

Joy and pain The songs users listen to most when they change their relationship status In a relationship

getty images (3), shutterstock, corbis, press handout (2), corbis

sonymusic, idockit.com, Instant Lab, projecteo, CORBIS, hob, shutterstock (4)

When it’s love, pick Beyoncé

PROJECTEO Choose nine of your Instagram pictures, wait a few weeks and a slide projector the size of a matchbox arrives by post.

Status

1. Don’t Wanna Go Home by Jason Derulo “No matter day or night, I’m shining” 2. Love On Top by Beyoncé “Every time you touch me I just melt away” 3. How To Love by Lil Wayne “It’s hard not to stare, the way you moving your body” It’s complicated

Status

1. The Cave by Mumford and Sons “It’s empty in the valley of your heart”

INSTANT LAB The mobile photo lab.

It converts iPhone shots into Polaroids.

2. Crew Love by Drake “This ain’t no f--king sing-along.

So girl, what you singing for?”

the-impossibleproject.com

3. A ll Of The Lights by Kanye West “Her mother, brother, grandmother hate me in that order”

I F**king Love Science Dinosaurs, space, sensational stuff.

the red bulletin

9Gag Gags and more gags. What makes Facebook laugh.

Humans Of Berlin There’s Humans of New York too.

Reef Girls Bikini models doing what they do.

24 Comments

Jamie Oliver New tasty recipes to cook up every day.

The Red Bulletin “Hmm, must be one of my friends. But then I don’t actually know all my friends.”

Grumpy Cat Laughing is infectious. So is a bad mood.

For The Record The Red Bull Music Academy’s new book.

Amazing Things In The World Pictures of the world’s wonders.

09

It’s Me

Trevor Noah The break-out comedy star from Soweto is now a hit Stateside as well as in SA, so it’s no surprise he is Mzansi’s most popular Sport

1. Cristiano Ronaldo 340,000

2. Usain Bolt 120,000

3. John Cena 105,000

2. Lil Wayne 660,000

3. Rihanna 550,000

1. Trevor Noah 1,002,000

gavin kleinschmidt (2), corbis, shutterstock, action press, picturedesk.com, universal music

Stars

10 years of facebook

Bullevard

Social Circuit

Hackers and dogs

Mary Lyn added a new photo 2 minutes ago

There are more than seven billion people in the world. Over a billion of them are on Facebook and they could all become your friends. Even if you don’t want them to

Forbidden Relations

What Facebook likes to delete

Have you ever wondered why one of your photos has disappeared?

Facebook has all content moderated by low-paid workers in countries such as Morocco and India. In 2012, one such moderator leaked a catalogue containing guidelines to the press.

Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook page, FB ID: 4 (numbers 1 to 3 are test IDs) was hacked in 2013…

Some of the things that get deleted: Naked bottoms or nipples. That includes breastfeeding women whose nipples are visible.

Men’s nipples are OK. Camel toes, as seen on those ladies with too-tight lower-half clothing.

People sitting on the loo. Sperm, drunk people or people who are asleep and have had their faces painted by somebody. Illegal drugs. The one exception: all images of cannabis are allowed.

source: facebook

Boo is more popular than Beast (1.6 million likes).

Which Beast probably couldn’t care less about, because he doesn’t wear blue Crocs like Boo, he pads around barefoot, as does his owner, Mark Zuckerberg.

corbis, REUTERS (2), picturedesk.com (2), GEPA pictures, sony music, getty images

False nipple alarm. Wow, what a huge pair of… elbows. Mistaken for something else and deleted.

Share Lock shared a new post about an hour ago

The most popular dog in the world is Boo, with his perfect teddy-bear face

The most beloved dog in the world is Boo, with over 8.5 million likes. This sweet hound’s popularity comes from his perfect teddy-bear face and positive attitude. “I am a dog. Life is good.”

...by a user with FB ID 77,821,884, one Khalil Shreateh. The Palestinian web developer promptly had his Facebook page deleted. It is active again and already has more than 44,000 subscribers, but…

…Real Madrid are way more popular. The Royals have far the most Facebook fans among Palestinian sports enthusiasts at 185,056.

And they have over 44 million fans worldwide.

One of Real’s most loyal fans is none other than...

Crime

Hook, line and sinker Don’t fall for the trick-posting technique known as likejacking. Here are the five most common ruses: Win an iPad! Just fill out this questionnaire...

Click here to see the shocking video (and to share it with all your friends).

Handsome stranger! I see your profile picture.

Me in love straight away. You marry me?

Do you want to see who’s visited your profile?

Download this software! (Not a virus, honest!)

Amazing! She’s only 16 but she did this!

Rap­per Pitbull, who, with 40 million fans, is the most popular dangerous dog on Facebook, is a friend of both CR7 and J Lo.

...her Facebook friend Cristiano Ronaldo is playing. The most expensive footballer ever is also the world’s most popular sports star on Facebook, with over 65 million fans.

...Jennifer Lopez (28 million likes), who regularly jets to Spain for matches in which...

Facebook is to start charging. Pay your membership fee now!

the red bulletin

11

Bullevard

10 years of facebook

Facebook World

The light of friendship It may look like a satellite picture of the Earth, but this is a record of Facebook usage. Every line represents a connection between two people on Facebook. The only dark places are uninhabited areas like the Sahara and Siberia… and countries where Facebook is banned, such as China.

Playing Games

Proceed with caution!

Facebook games are the new Solitaire: computer games for people who don’t play computer games, and it’s very easy to become addicted.

Angry Bird hates the following games 2 hours ago 1. Candy Crush Saga The crystal meth of gaming. Your first fix is free, but then you’re addicted. The aim is to string together colourful sweets. Over 100 million players do so.

2. Pet Rescue Saga If Candy Crush Saga is meth, this game is crack with funny animals. The idea is to save them by stringing crystals together.

3. Dragon City This mix of Farmville and Pokémon is all about breeding dragons – but you don’t have to string anything together.

Don’t be fooled by pretty colours: Dragon City is a merciless time-waster

12

342 friends

That’s what the average Facebook user has. In real life we only have six.

Ann Dead shared a last post 3 hours ago

Life Event: Death

Dying online press handout, shutterstock (2)

In 50 years, will Facebook be the world’s digital graveyard?

The Facebook Zombies According to estimates, 10 to 20 million Facebook users have died since the social network was first conceived. Nobody knows how many of their profiles have been deleted and how many of these people are still haunting Face­book as ghosts. By 2065, at the latest, the number of dead users will outstrip the number of those living.

the red bulletin

The Suicide Machine This is how to delete yourself from the internet.

You log in to the Web 2.0 Suicide Machine website, via Twitter or Facebook, and that’s it. Doing so automatically deletes all your messages and friends on Facebook, blocks wall posts and make your profile private. Your last words go up as a message, namely that you are committing “web 2.0 suicide”. suicidemachine.org 12 Comments

Sign out forever “It’s no longer functioning perfectly on Facebook, but we’re working on that.”

13

Bullevard

10 years of facebook Self-help

Kainrath

To post or not to post?

Can Talk

Great photo. You want to share it with everyone. Which is fine. But remember: the internet never forgets

Can I ask you out for a drink?

Is it yours?

N

Stop, thief!

Y N

Are there people in the picture?

Are you in the picture?

Y

Is there a woman in the picture?

N

Y Does it show a sweet little kitten with adorable little eyes?

N

1 Comment

Dietmar Kainrath “Real friends give it their best shot.”

Y

How old are you again?

N

Are you alone?

Y

Y

Are you wearing clothes?

Y

N

Do you look good?

Y

N

Does she look good?

N

Y

N

Don’t do it!

Is she naked?

Y

N

Still alive and kicking

N

Y

Will it lead to protests by any of the following groups: feminists, pacifists, socialists, environmental activists, capitalists, lobbyists, royalists?

Do you want to stay with her?

N

Y

N

Y

So could we say that what you’re posting doesn’t meet all social and legal standards?

N

N Can what you’ve posted be traced back to you?

Y

Are you sober?

(Are you under the influence of any other substances?)

Y

N

Y

Are you sure it’s not boring?

If in doubt, you probably shouldn’t

Can you delete it later without a trace?

Y

N

Are you posting in work?

Y dietmar kainrath

According to several hoax announcements on Facebook and Twitter, Justin Bieber died more than 50 times in 2013.

That’s more than any other pop star. The most common cause of death was a drug overdose. The next most common was a plane crash. After that was him crashing his Ferrari. Of course, these are just attempts by Bieber’s detractors to reduce his fanbase to tears.

The traumatised devotees then spread the word without checking.

N

Is it your wife?

N N

No, you can’t

Post it!

Has anyone seen you?

Y Don’t do it

picturedesk.com

It’s a nasty old world out there, and people enjoy lying online because it’s just so easy

Y

Is it boring?

Justin Bieber

presents

THE INSIDE STORY

OF RED BULL STRATOS

W AT C H T H E D O C U M E N T A R Y E X C L U S I V E LY O N rdio.com/redbullstratos

1 YEAR

ANNIVERSARY

Like It Or Not

Boat life

Brandon

Andy

South Africa’s U23 K1 marathon world champion Andy Birkett and U23 K1 silver medallist Brandon van der Walt team up to rate their likes and dislikes.

Surfski Push-ups Yoga & pilates Facebook Theatre Idols TV show Miley Cyrus Golf Blue Bulls All Blacks Vegetables Red wine Rooibos tea Fast food Reading Clubbing Lance Armstrong European football Voting in elections

16

“Lance Armstrong?

Like! Miley Cyrus?

Double like!”

Brandon van der Walt (above right) canoephotography.com/Balint Vekassy (ICF)

Craft beer

FATE DOESN’T ASK. IT COuLD ALSO bE mE. Or yOu. David Coulthard.

13-time Formula 1 Grand Prix Winner and Wings For Life Ambassador.

SPINAL COrD INJury muST bECOmE CurAbLE. In funding the best research projects worldwide focusing on the cure of spinal cord injury, the Wings for Life Spinal Cord research Foundation ensures top-level medical and scientific progress. We assure that hundred percent of all donations are invested in spinal cord research.

your contribution makes a difference.

Donate online at www.wingsforlife.com

Free advertisement.

Bullevard

10 years of facebook

BC One

Red Bull BC One

Body rocking The world’s best breakdancers faced off to crown the ultimate champion

They can contort their bodies into poses like modern art sculptures and move muscles that the rest of us don’t know we have, far less what we could do with them. They are best breakdancers in the world and they went head-to-head in the Red Bull BC One grand finale in the South Korean capital, Seoul. It was local B-Boy Hong 10 who danced his way to victory with some incredible moves. There can only be one. One Red Bull BC One. We like!

Air Freeze shared a post 3 months ago facebook.com/redbullBCOne

18

Your friends might have long since become robots.

Or you could at least save yourself the bother of posting status updates because now there’s a website which does it for you automatically:

Romina Amato/Red Bull Content Pool, shutterstock

what-would-i-say.com

Bullevard

10 years of facebook

14 Alternatives

Up yours Is Facebook getting on your nerves? There are plenty of other ways of staying in touch with your friends

Ning If ads annoy you.

There’s a charge, but then there are no more advertising banners which know more about your consumer habits than you do.

Friendica; Diaspora If you’re afraid of Big Brother.

Both are decentralised which means that your personal details aren’t on a server, they’re stored on your own computer.

About.me If Facebook seems too much like hard work.

Your online business card. There’s no chat and there are no status updates or any other rubbish, but you do have a profile page.

App.net If you prefer to do it yourself.

It’s basically a simple short message service. Social media apps can be integrated and there is developer access.

Part two of the fourth series of The Walking Dead starts this month. Facebook’s favourite zombie serial in numbers:

51 episodes (to end of season 4) 7 main actors in the first series 3 are still alive 5.3m+ People in the USA watched the pilot episode 16.1m+ People in the USA watched the first episode

of the fourth series

38 litres of artificial blood per episode

60 pairs of zombie contact lenses for the extras

121 issues of the comic on which it is based

126 countries broadcast it on TV

2m+ followers on Twitter

21m+ Facebook likes

“ If Facebook carries on like this, it will have disappeared in four years” Eric Jackson, the founder of Ironfire Capital Forbes.com, June 2013

Pheed If you want to earn some money for your updates.

Broadcast text, pictures, audio and video live and receive money from users via subscription or pay-per-view.

Thumbs Down

We don’t like everything

EyeEm If you’re too lazy even for Instagram.

The app recognises your interests and suggests users’ photos you might like with different topics tagged. Couldn’t be easier.

Google + If you prefer to be alone.

The best social network out there… and nobody’s on it.

Though at least you can get some real peace and quiet.

Between If you’re seriously in love.

Couples can send each other messages and pictures via their mobiles. A “love story” gradually takes shape. Sooo romantic! <3 Nextdoor If you like to stay local.

Share your data with your neighbours using your postcode and address. You could, of course, go round and talk to them.

PatientsLikeMe If you’re a hypochondriac, a doctor or both.

Patients and medics can exchange opinions on ailments and illnesses and gather data for research purposes.

Gun Lovers Passions If you’re single and into guns.

A dating and social networking site for firearm enthusiasts.

A shot right in the heart. Sorry.

20

Stand: 21. 11. 2013

WhatsApp If you only use Facebook for chatting.

It looks like text messaging, but uses your internet connection to connect with people, so doesn’t show up on your phone bill.

Broken faces

Geoffrey berkshire

Snapchat If you don’t want your old photos to catch up with you.

Send pictures which automatically delete 10 seconds after they’re opened. Perfect for secret agents, sexters and the paranoid.

The Walking Dead

Let’s be frank: a lot of stuff on Facebook is no good

The glut of invitations to events, pages or groups.

Sponsored links such as: “Do you want a hot girlfriend too?

Then consider this odd trick.”

No sooner have you got used to a new layout than Facebook comes up with another update.

Messages are marked as read as soon as you open them, which puts pressure on you to reply even if you don’t want to.

That’s there’s no dislike button. But according to Facebook, the like button will also soon be history and we don’t like that at all.

1 Comment

The Red Bulletin “And what we don’t like is this constant moaning! If you don’t like it, you can deregister yourself. Even if the button is hard to find.”

the red bulletin

Cinetext, Corbis (2), Universal Music, Getty Images, Getty Images

Instagram If you’re too lazy to type.

And prefer to post retro-filtered photos instead, like of such vital things as what you had for dinner or your abs after a workout.

Rihanna

Like-button legends

This diminutive woman is the world’s most liked person.

We can go along with that For a long time Eminem and Rihanna changed places at the top, but now she’s surged ahead.

With more than 80 million likes, the singer is the most popular person on Facebook. She adds an average of 200,000 fans a week.

Chester French were the first band on Facebook.

The indie-pop duo were students at Harvard in 2004 and were friends with Mark Zucker­berg, but they haven’t made the most of their social media head start.

They’re currently at 60,000 likes.

Lil Wayne had a likeable idea in 2011: he requested that, “Everyone, please ‘Like’ this post.” His fans obliged with 588,243 likes in 24 hours.

That’s nothing compared to Obama’s “Four more years”, which got over 4 million likes in a single day in 2012.

The most popular dead person on Facebook is Michael Jackson, who has 66 million likes. He was the first to reach the 10 million-like mark, which he did in July 2009, a month after he died. Today there are even fan pages for Jacko’s favourite foods.

A Sea Of Faces

…and the number keeps increasing It’s a wonderful sight: as wonderful as all the universe, but a lot more colourful. One of those dabs of colour is you – one of over 1.2 billion. That’s how many Facebook users there are now.

And you appeared on there, just as you appeared in this world, without you realising.

Julian Broad/Farrell Music

thefacesoffacebook.com

22

This is you But you don’t know it.

10 years of facebook

Bullevard

This is Robbie Williams He turns 40 on February 13.

Happy Birthday! But maybe he’d rather mark the day alone.

His FB ID is 5,441,929,106.

Which is all wrong, of course, because he’s really No.1, or has had nine No.1 albums in the UK, at least. As a matter of fact, his latest album, Swings Both Ways, is the thousandth No.1 album in UK chart history.

Find out what number you are at: findmyfacebookid.com

Bullevard

10 years of facebook

12 O’Clock Boys

Geoffrey berkshire

‘Show your strengths’ American filmmaker Lofty Nathan financed his first work with the help of social media and crowdfunding

Henry Rollins publicised 12 O’Clock Boys on Facebook

12 O’Clock Boys will be available as video on demand from January 31, 2014

There’s More Where That Came From

SEMAPHORE Napoleon was fond of this visual version of telegraphy.

A single letter could be sent over a distance of 270km in just two minutes.

100,000 years of social media

Every era believes itself to be the height of technical achievement and that nothing better will come after it. That is probably what people thought back in the Stone Age when they first daubed red paint onto the walls of their caves. A short history of communication.

LANGUAGE “Lovely mammoth tusk!” Nobody knows when grunts evolved into full speech, but we’d definitely mastered language by the time we became homo sapiens.

Noah Rabinowitz/Courtesy of 12 O‘CLOCK BOYS (2), shutterstock (4)

Social media isn’t just about status updates and posting selfies. It can also make creative dreams a reality. Take Lofty Nathan’s debut feature 12 O’Clock Boys. The documentary follows Pug, a young guy from Baltimore who desperately wants to get in with an urban dirt-bike gang. Nathan collected money for the project via the crowdfunding site Kickstarter twice: US$12,000 in 2010 and then another US$30,000 three years later. After completing the film, he submitted it to the South By Southwest film festival where it was heralded by critics and festivalgoers alike. Musicians T-Pain, Jermaine Dupri and Henry Rollins are just some of the stars to have publicised Nathan’s Kickstarter campaign on their own social media pages.

Nathan’s advice to wannabe filmmakers also hoping for help from online funding? “The most important thing is to have a trailer which shows your strengths.” There can be surprise benefits, too: “I met my girlfriend through Kickstarter.”

Pony Express The ‘horse mail’ was discontinued within 18 months of opening. There were no upgrades, it was inflexible and just too slow.

Papyrus It’s light and easy to carry, advantages which the Vatican didn’t do away with until the 11th century.

Cave painting Back in the Stone Age, coal drawings of buffalo were state of the art.

Now such attempts would be seen as vandalism.

The telephone “Das Pferd frisst keinen Gurkensalat” or “Horses don’t eat cucumber salad”. It was one of the first things anyone ever said on the phone.

April 3, 1860-October 22, 1861 Pony Express

1793-circa 1850 SEmaphore 150BC- 1890 smoke signals

3000BC-1100 Papyrus 4000BC-100AD INSCRIBED TABLETS 30,000-4000BC CAVE PAINTING 100,000

80,000

60,000

40,000

20,000

10,000

8000

6000

4000

2000

100

200

300

400

BC

= 1,000 years

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500

600

700

800

900 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500 1600 1700 1800 1900

0-1900

= 100 years the red bulletin

Fast love

One of the fastest-growing apps for Facebook is Tinder; its a simple online dating tool which puts you in touch with people near you. You’re shown a picture of a potential match, use swipe actions to rate it hot or not, and then you hook up. Easy. gotinder.com

Facebook Facts

Numbers please!

Deutsches Museum, shutterstock (2), sony

dietmar kainrath

Facebook isn’t just ones and zeros: there are a tonne of other figures powering the social network

727,000,000 People actively using Facebook on a daily basis.

Kainrath

Persons who visited Facemash, Facebook’s supposed forerunner. Mark Zucker­berg’s version of Hot or Not was shut down within days. But 22,000 votes had already been cast and he had to go before Harvard’s administrative board. The story is told in 2009 movie The Social Network.

Am I in it?

119 %

94,025

Postcode for Menlo Park, Facebook’s home. The complex also just happens to be surrounded by a circular street called Hacker Way.

Percentage of the population of Monaco using Facebook; only 0.05 per cent of China does.

That puts the principality in first place for number of Facebook users per population and China in last. There are way more Chinese people using Facebook (60 million) than there are people in Monaco (30,000; over 36,000 Facebook users are registered there).

500

Dollar value of prize awarded by Facebook if you can hack into the site.

Carrier pigeons Heroes of the air, up until the end of World War II, at least. A memorial in the French city of Lille honours over 20,000 fallen, cooing warriors.

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59/90/154

RGB colour code of Facebook’s dark blue. Why is the website blue? Mark Zuckerberg has a red-green sight defect.

Mobile phones Early models weighing 1.1kg (10 times heavier than an iPhone) could also be used as nutcrackers or dumbbells.

Tube mail It was conceived as a way of transmitting messages and is now experiencing a revival.

The system is popular in hospitals.

From June 2011 Google+ From November 2010 diaspora From March 2006 twitter From February 2004 facebook

TWITTER We became more succinct in 2006, getting our points across in 140 characters or less.

From July 2003 myspace From June 2003 second life From March 2002 friendster From 1973 Mobile telephone From 1964 XEROX FAX MACHINES From 1962 Paging From 1861 LANDLINES

SECOND LIFE More than 36 million avatars are on Second Life; about a million are still active.

1853-1965 TUBE MAIL 1847-2005 TELEGRAMS From 1837 MORSE TELEGRAPH From 1605 NEWSPAPERS 400BC-1980 Heliograph 2000BC-1945 CARRIER PIGEONS From 2400BC letters

“Horses don’t eat cucumber salad”

HELIOGRAPH Communication using reflected sunlight. Last used by Rambo and the Afghans as they fought the Soviets.

From 100,000BC human language 1900-1910

1910-1920

1920-1930

1930-1940

1940-1950

1950-1960

1960-1970

1970-1980

1980-1990

1990-2000

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

1900-2000

= 10 years the red bulletin

2000-the present day

= 1 year

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alaska’s surf city During the long winter in Alaska – eight months of cold, up to 20 hours of dark every day – surfers get their thrills in the icy waters off the subarctic city of homer. local Photographer Scott Dickerson is a master of the shivery swell Words: Ann Donahue Photography: Scott Dickerson

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“Because we live in a coastal town, it doesn’t really get super-cold very often – I mean super-cold by Alaska standards,” says photographer Scott Dickerson. “We occasionally end up surfing when it is around zero degrees, and if it’s below zero, that’s a really cold day for us to be out on the water. We never go surfing except for fun, so whenever it’s not fun anymore, we go home. It’s not something we do to prove it to ourselves; it’s not some sort of macho challenge. It’s something we enjoy doing.”

“The guy on the left is Kyle Kornelis, and that’s in Homer during a particularly cold winter. This shot is really cool because of the ice on the beach, and just because he’s a burly-lookin’ Alaskan dude. The tide changes on average about four or five metres – it goes up and down twice a day – so the ice extends way out into the water underneath. At low tide it’s all exposed and freezes, and then the tide comes in and covers it up, so you have this big ice bank that goes out into the water. The above picture is from a trip I did with a heli-ski organisation. They had a down day: they couldn’t be out skiing because of the snow conditions, so I showed up with some surf gear and we took a couple of the more adventurous customers out.

We flew them out, landed on the beach and gave them a surf session. They loved it.”

A

L

A

S

K

A

Home

r

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;We wear the warmest hooded wetsuits available with 7mm-thick gloves and boots. We surf all waves, from knee-high to as big as it gets, which is about 10ft.

Waves are generated 70 miles away from the beach, so the wind has to be blowing extremely hard to get a good swell going.â&#x20AC;?

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“This guy’s name is Iceman. he’s the original surfer in this area – he started surfing Here in 1984”

“We take a lot of people out who travel the world surfing and they are always super-stoked to be up here because of the wilderness experience.

It does this sort of unexplainable thing where everything is so much more amazing when you’re in the water. It’s like you jump into the scenery.”

“It’s like surfing anywhere: sometimes we’ll surf as often as five days a week, and then we could go three or four weeks without a single surfable wave. It’s really unpredictable. We have our whole lives structured so we’ll stop whatever we’re doing and go surfing if the surf’s up.”

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the red bulletin

“I don’t know why I got so into surfing.I’d never seen anybody surf in my life when I started playing around in the water”

“This is a typical day for us. The waves aren’t any good, but we’re out there anyway because it’s all we’ve got. It’s so cool to be in such a beautiful place and then jump in the water. The thing everybody says is, ‘You’re in Alaska, it’s got to be so cold,’ but honestly, I’m warm. When I get out of the water I’m hot, and I’m like, ‘Ugh, get this wetsuit off.’”

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“I want to get in the water. I guess you’re just born to do something”

“Mainly, the thing about surfing in Alaska is that it is just so incredibly remote. There is nobody out. It’s just you and your buddy surfing.

And that’s what the shock is when you go somewhere surfing is popular. You go to the beach and there are 50 people in the water.”

“If you’re cold after a session, you fill your suit with hot water from the tap and lay down; we call it the personal hot tub. It floats around and covers your whole body in hot water. Once you are laying on the snow, though, the warmth doesn’t last very long. After about 30 seconds you think, ‘OK, I need more.’”

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the red bulletin

“after people get a few sessions in, they love it. They get really excited”

“Hawaiian surfer Ian Walsh visited Homer with sibling snowboarders Jon and Eric Jackson while they were filming their travel series, Brothers On The Run. We took them out on the MV Milo, the 58ft boat we use for surf trips. The boat is great for exploring the coastline — it’s all about discovering waves and facing the elements.”

“ T his was taken in homer in the middle of a snowstorm. A lot of times we surf where we can drive to the waves”

“ The surfer sitting down is Kristi Wickstrom, and I believe that’s her dog. John Langham, on the right, is in his early 50s. It’s funny seeing a bunch of old guys up here surfing.

They’re tough old guys, for sure.”

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the red bulletin

“One time, it was too stormy in Homer, so we drove up the road for 40 minutes into the Cook Inlet. The storm was so big that there were 10ft faces on the waves and the beach was covered in huge chunks of ice about three metres wide. The above picture shows local surfer Mike McCune getting the gear out of the truck, and the shot on the right is of him filling his suit with hot water using the outdoor taps at Iceman’s house near the surf spot in Homer.” twitter.com/ScottDickerson

the red bulletin

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Blitz Kids

They Are Alright How do you top your best year ever as a band? For Blitz Kids, it means cracking on with new music and cracking open a cold one (or three) Words: Ruth Morgan Photography: Phil Sharp

After a year that included a headline tour of the UK, signing to Red Bull Records and appearing at festivals including Download, Cheshire pop-rock four-piece Blitz Kids are keeping up the pace in 2014 with the release of their new album. But despite their success, they still find time for the important things in life: bad anagrams, DIY body art and 6am sightseeing. the red bulletin: Did you always know you’d make it? joe james: We always wanted what we’re achieving now, but we didn’t realise it could actually happen until recently. We just did it for fun. Then we got to the point of deciding to get a real job or keep going. Me and Jono went out one night, and I was like, ‘That’s it, I’m not working for another day in my life in a job that isn’t music from this moment on.’ So I quit my pub job, and that was three years ago. I’ve literally not worked a day in my life since that point. jono yates: He’s begged, borrowed and stolen. He’s been a huge burden on society. jj: I am a taxpayer’s worst nightmare.

Why Blitz Kids? jj: We took the name from a little gang my granddad had when he was a kid in London. During the Blitz, he and his mates would sneak out and kick a ball around and spray graffiti when they were supposed to be in the shelter. It was a cool punk rock attitude, so we took it. It’s how we treat life, essentially, in a very reckless manner. jy: It’s also an anagram of Zinedine Zidane. jj: No it’s not.

You’ve played together since you were 15. How has your sound evolved? jj: We used to play heavier music. We were young and rebelling. jy: Now, musically, it’s popular rock. jj: We get called pop-punk a lot too, and it’s a weird term.

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jy: Yeah, pop-punk’s not a thing. It’s like saying, ‘I’ll have a vegan steak please.’ jj: We get described in all sorts of ways, but essentially we just love pop music. We’re not a band you come to observe while standing still. When you leave our show, you’ll be sweaty, tired, drunk and happy.

Even if it’s everyone else that gets you moving. No one wants to stand still in a room while strangers rub up against them. nic montgomery: That’s a good Friday night for me.

What should people expect from your new album, The Good Youth? nm: In a word: better. jj: It’s very different to what’s come from

“It took us a while to realise you can get a job that you love” us before. We never thought in terms of what we want to say as a band with an album, and my lyrics used to be very negative, hard for people to relate to. This is a positive album. I was trying to inspire people and make them happy because there’s a lot to be sad about, isn’t there?

The title is an underlying message, telling kids something we never heard, which is you can get a job you love. It took us a while to realise that, and I don’t want anybody else to waste that time.

Were there a lot of songs that didn’t make the cut? jy: We listened to a lot of radio when we were making the album, and songs were scrapped because they could have been written by Ed Sheeran or One Direction. jj: There’s a song on the album called Pinnacle which is hugely influenced

by Take That, because we love those guys. They’re awesome.

Did you start getting tattoos before or after the band formed? jj: The band came before the tatts, as we weren’t old enough to get them when we started. Then one of you gets one and the next thing you know it’s out of hand. jy: I’ve got ‘Never Die’, the title of our last EP, and ‘To The Lions’, the first track on the new album, which we recorded at Red Bull Studios. One of the biggest is my tattoo of Omar Little from The Wire. nm: I’ve got a Blitz Kids tattoo on my leg that Joe did. Terribly.

Do you have the rock ’n’ roll lifestyle to go with the ink? jj: We’re animals for beer. jy: Too much. jj: We’re referred to by friends as ‘the drunk band’. jy: We’ll aim to go and see a mate’s gig, then end up all walking around Westminster at 6am looking for Big Ben. nm: Me and Ice Man [Matt] are the kings of 9am. matt freer: It’s always bad news when the rhythm section comes to town.

What’s the secret of long friendships? jy: Choose your band members wisely. We are all on a wavelength and love music, and we’re well into football. Except Nic. nm: I’ve learned just to let it wash over me. I’m very Zen. jj: We’ve been friends so long that everyone has found their role, like the Spice Girls. I’m the bossy one. It just works, there’s no tiptoeing around. We get up and it’s ‘Morning, fancy a beer?’ jy: The pulse of this band is alcohol! mf: It does hold us together… jy: [Laughing] …And tears us apart! nm: Who’s thirsty?

The Good Youth is out Jan 20: redbullrecords.com the red bulletin

The line-up Joe James – vocals Jono Yates – guitar Nic Montgomery – bass Matt Freer – drums Discography The Good Youth (2014) Never Die (EP, 2012) Vagrants & Vagabonds (2011) Scavengers (EP, 2010) Decisions (EP, 2009) Name game The Blitz Kids was the original name of the New Romantics, a fact not lost on the band. “We found out after we’d chosen the name,” says Yates. “We announced it then went on Google and were like ‘Wait, who are these lot?’ Hopefully it’s obvious there’s no connection.”

In demand in Hollywood yet ignored by the paparazzi, Eric Bana proves that a movie career can be A-list and low-key. His new film is a true action tale â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the perfect fit for a man who enjoys real-life adrenalin w o r d s : R o be r t Ti g he p h o t o g r a p h y: G r aha m Shea r e r

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E Bana’s obsession with his Ford XB Falcon was the subject of his 2009 documentary, Love The Beast

ric Bana’s office used to be a chocolate factory. Now it is home to a global skate brand, a barbershop and the kind of café that’s popular with fixed-gear bike fanatics and dedicated followers of fashion. Like his home, it’s in Melbourne, the hipster capital of Australia and the city recently voted the world’s most liveable for the third year in a row.

Bana grew up in suburbia, just a few minutes from Melbourne Airport. In his 20s he worked a series of menial jobs before trying his hand at stand-up comedy. That led to his own television sketch show in the 1990s and his movie debut in low-budget Australian film The Castle. His next role, in 2000, as

infamous Australian criminal Chopper Read, changed his life. Bana’s intense performance in Chopper landed him a part in Ridley Scott’s Black Hawk Down.

Since then, the 45-year-old father of two has featured in blockbusters like Troy, Hulk and Star Trek, and delivered mature, measured performances in Munich, The Time Traveler’s Wife and Hanna.

Bana’s movie career has taken him around the world, but he has never been tempted to live anywhere else.

He’s a true blue Aussie bloke and proud of it. He supports St Kilda, his local Australian Rules football team, and in 2009 he made Love The Beast, a film about the other love of his life, a 1974 Ford XB Falcon coupe he bought when he was just 15 years old.

Bana has described his dad’s garage, where he worked on the car as a teenager, as his ‘cocoon’, his refuge from the world.

His office, a loft-style space he shares with a producer/director friend, seems to serve a similar role in his life today.

When he’s not making movies, Bana spends four days a week in the office, running his production company Pick Up Truck Pictures, a lean operation staffed by Bana and his personal assistant. One day week he heads for the hills to get away from it all.

“Success to me equates to time,” says Bana. “I jump on a bike or in one of my cars and go for a drive in the country to clear my head. I know I’m very fortunate to be in a position to do that. I don’t take anything that I’ve achieved for granted, not for a second.” the red bulletin: One review of Hanna argued that your character gets a raw deal in many of your movies. It said: “Bana is consistently cast in roles in which he doesn’t get the girl, doesn’t finish the job, doesn’t save his planet and usually winds up six feet under by the time the credits run.” Do you feel hard done by? eric bana: I think that’s a bit harsh and not entirely accurate. Let’s look at some of the movies I’ve been in: I died in Troy, I died in Star Trek, I died in Hanna, and I died in Deadfall. I survived in The Time Traveler’s Wife, well kind of – I died and came back. I didn’t die in The Castle, I didn’t die in Chopper, I didn’t die in Black Hawk Down, I didn’t die in Romulus, My Father, I didn’t die in Funny People.

I didn’t die on screen in The Other Boleyn Girl and not only did I get the girl in that movie, I got two of them, Natalie [Portman] and Scarlett [Johansson].

So come on, I’ve done OK.

â&#x20AC;&#x153; Success to me means time to jump on a bike or in a car and drive in the country to clear my headâ&#x20AC;?

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Your next movie, Lone Survivor, out this month, tells the true story of a failed Navy SEAL mission to capture a Taliban leader in Afghanistan.

What attracted you to the role?

I read the book [by Marcus Luttrell] twice and I’ve always had an affection for the Special Forces community going back to Black Hawk Down. I play a small role, but when the director Peter Berg rang me and asked me if was I interested I said, “Absolutely.” To get the chance to contribute to telling Marcus’s story was really special.

War movies like Zero Dark Thirty and The Hurt Locker have stirred up a lot of controversy in recent years. Do you expect Lone Survivor to attract similar criticism?

I don’t like the soapboxing that certain movies attract, where people use a film to voice their opinion on something.

I remember when Black Hawk Down came out in 2001 and people asked for my opinion about 9/11 and George Bush, and I was like, ‘What are you talking about?’ I prefer people to focus on the film and the story and not make it about themselves and their political views. To me, Lone Survivor is the most incredible survival story. It’s impossible to read the book and not come away thinking‚ ‘We’re all capable of so much more than we think.’ I hope people take that out of the movie and don’t turn it into an argument about whether the SEALs should have killed the goat herder.

The backlash against Lone Survivor has already started with questions about the accuracy of the book.

Then they can go knock on Marcus Luttrell’s door and take it up with him.

We had Marcus on the set, we had Navy SEALs on the set and I know the filmmakers went to a lot of effort to make sure the details were accurate.

Is Lone Survivor an important movie for you, given that your last big blockbuster at the box office was Star Trek in 2009?

Big movies don’t have the impact you might think and it’s really dangerous

“ As I crashed I thought, ‘Thank God we’re going in head on.’ We were lucky to walk away from that” 46

to chase those movies, because if you don’t deliver a great performance in a big movie that’s not good for your career either. I chase roles that showcase what I can do because that’s what’s going to keep getting me work. For me, it’s all about the work and what’s interesting. I’m still sent interesting parts and I’m still knocking back roles that other people would kill for.

You haven’t done many comedies since starring in your first movie in 1997, The Castle. Is that by choice?

Early on I avoided comedy deliberately. It wasn’t hard, because no one in Hollywood knew about my stand-up background. I’d be open to it if the right role came along, but I tend to get more serious stuff.

Like Beware The Night?

I’ve just finished shooting that on location in New York. It won’t be released until the end of 2014 or early 2015, but I’m really excited about it. It was directed by Scott Derrickson, who did The Exorcism Of Emily Rose and Sinister, and it’s a bit of a mash-up. It’s in the horror vein, but it’s

Bana has competed in the Bathurst 12 Hour Enduro, the Targa Tasmania Rally (where he crashed out), and the Australian Porsche GT Championship

character-driven; it’s not a slasher film.

I play Ralph Sarchie, a police officer who investigates cases concerning demonic possession and exorcism.

He was just an unbelievable character to play, a real powder keg.

Is it getting harder to find good roles and movies?

Over the last five years it’s been getting harder for everyone because everything is going bigger – bigger concepts, bigger budgets, bigger movies – and the more intelligent, interesting movies have been harder to get off the ground. The movies I’ve made recently are not movies that people rush to see on opening weekend.

Yes, it can mess with your head because you can question yourself and wonder how to find the right balance, but no one really knows the answer to that.

I do know that bigger isn’t always better.

Does the dumbing down of the movie industry concern you?

It does concern me in the sense that even if it wasn’t a dumbing-down, even if some of the bigger movies were smarter, it’s still dangerous because there are so many small stories that deserve to be told that aren’t being told. That type of filmmaking is getting extremely hard.

Would you prefer to tell your own small stories?

I’d like to direct another movie, but I’m not busting my chops at this stage to find that story. I’ll do it at some point and it will probably be a narrative next time rather than a documentary. It would be a real luxury to be able to tell people where to go and what to do and not have to put myself in harm’s way.

Your first film as director was Love The Beast, about your Ford Falcon Coupe. Has your relationship with the car changed over the years?

I should hope so. I bought the car when I was 15, so I would hope I’ve moved on since then, otherwise I’d be a pretty tragic human being. There are periods when it sits under a tarp for a year and other times where I drive it every day. There have been times when it’s in bits and pieces and I curse it, but I’ve got an immeasurable amount of enjoyment from it. I don’t want to sound like a wanker, but the car brings people a lot of joy. It puts a smile on people’s faces.

What do you remember of the crash in the Targa Rally in Tasmania that features in Love The Beast?

As we hit the tree I remember thinking, ‘Thank God we’re going in head on.’

The worst thing to do is to go in sideways because the car sucks around the tree. We were lucky to walk away from that crash.

Bana bought the Falcon when he was 15 and has been working on the car ever since

The coupe didn’t fare so well, though.

It needed a full rebuild, right?

It was in celebrity rehab for quite a while, but it’s even better now than it ever was.

I’ve retired it from racing because I’ve put too many man hours into it.

What else is in your garage?

I’ve got a Yamaha 450 motocross bike I ride in the bush. I’ve got a BMW 1200 GS, a Ducati 851 SP3, an old Ducati Monster, and a Ducati 748 RS race bike, which is just for the track. I’ve also got a 1955 Porsche Pre-A Speedster, which is my only serious investment car; I bought it 11 years ago and it’s probably doubled in value in that time.

Apart from being able to indulge your love of motorsports, what other things does success allow you to do?

It means jumping off the hamster wheel whenever I choose. Early on in my career I realised I could work pretty much non-stop or I could make it work for me.

If I wasn’t married and didn’t have kids I might have done things differently, but by the time I had any sort of success I was already married with kids.

Has success changed you?

I started working in the movie business when I was 22 and I’m 45 now, so of course I’ve changed. I’d like to think I’m a more evolved version of the species.

Still, on any given day I can beat the crap out of myself or feel pretty good about myself, like all of us. The key is to make sure you don’t wrap up too much meaning in your work and having outside interests helps you keep that balance. I’m happy with my life now, but then I wasn’t miserable 20 years ago when I was stacking shelves, pushing trolleys and doing stand-up comedy.

Steven Spielberg once said of you: “He’s got all his priorities straight…

If he never acted another day in his life, he’d be a very happy man.” Agree?

That’s interesting. I think I’d be a bit frustrated. It’s a lovely compliment, but I’d have to disagree. I love living in Melbourne, I love being a parent and I love carving out time to do the things I want to do.

What’s coming up for you?

Right now I’m reading scripts, but I haven’t got a clue what I’m doing next and I love that. I rarely walk onto a film set knowing what my next movie is going to be. I don’t want to be thinking about that next movie while I’m in the middle of one. Sometimes that means the gap ends up being too long, because it might take you a while to find something.

Is it true you have a rule about not doing back-to-back movies? the red bulletin

It’s the way I like to work rather than a determined effort to seek a work-life balance. I could do more movies, but if I did I’d be doing movies I don’t really like that much. The reality is it’s really hard to find a good movie. How many good movies are there every year? Not many, and you need to be very lucky to be in one of them. If you can be in one half-decent movie every five years you’re doing well.

“ I could do more movies, but it’d mean doing ones I don’t really like that much.

The reality is that it’s hard to find a good movie and you need to be very lucky”

Have you had to turn down roles because you live in Melbourne?

Living in Melbourne has made no difference to my career. The difference is I’m able to hide easier here.

So you’ve never been stalked by the paparazzi?

They’ve never been interested in me.

They tend not to hang around the same places I do. I think the paparazzi like to live pretty glamorous lives themselves, so if you stay away from all the cool, trendy places, they stay away from you.

How do you handle press junkets?

They’re a novelty for me. If I go on a junket, it’s a week out of my year and it feels weird and flattering at the same time. It’s fine when it’s not every day.

And if you could only do one of motorsports and acting?

Ouch… that’s tough. I’m not an idiot, I know that acting enables my hobbies and my motorsports, but I could never not indulge my love for my cars and bikes. That’s a lose-lose scenario. twitter.com/EricBana67

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to

A life-changing week of lectures, recording sessions and late-night partying awaited South Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 30 most talented, up-and-coming musicians at the recent Red Bull Music Academy Bass Camp Words: Kwanele Sosibo

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Tyrone Bradley, chris saunders

Bass

Bass Camp is about lectures and studio work, but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s also about taking the music to the people

you didn’t make it to the sweat-soaked gigs, like the night at Bassline where Crosby’s session was cut short by an on-edge ragga night host just as he was cranking up the intensity, then the real spirit of Red Bull Music Academy Bass Camp Johannesburg 2013 could be found in the chaotic makeshift studios set up all over the Alexander Theatre.

In any given room, music was being painstakingly created by continually varying combinations of participants.

making music From top: the Alexander Theatre in Braamfontein played host to Red Bull Music Academy Bass Camp 2013; vocalist Moonchild; legendary producer and DJ Francois K on the decks

spreading the gospel Hugh Masekela (below left) holding court, and Jullian Gomes (below right)

Tyrone Bradley (4), chris saunders (2)

If

Passersby, however, were only privy to fleeting snippets at a time. At one point, electronic dub producer Satori cued in a ‘Timba­land-esque’, deep bass track with marching band drums she and MC Lex Lafoy had christened ‘Marcher’ or ‘Macha’ (money). “I learnt it from these laaities,” Satori explained a few bars in, before the tune went all swampy, its footing replaced by some spacey chanting from Moonchild.

In an adjacent studio, Johannesburg deep house producer Jazzuelle was so in love with the stop-start, four-four skeleton of the beat he had programmed with Thibo Tazz in the wee hours of the previous night, he was rocking out hard, clutching the lapels of his denim jacket as if he were about to throw it off.

Somewhere upstairs, Fever Trails was playing with a vocal track from Bra Sol who, in a departure from his normal hyper-active cadence, seemed to be trying out a languid, Asap Rocky impression. The problem, perhaps intentionally so, was that his vocals came in off-beat every few bars, a glitch that Fever Trails was trialling a few options with. Beside him, Shane Cooper played a few silent chords on a moog synthesizer, earphones plugged in to cocoon himself from the beautiful noise.

The fragments brimmed with promise, especially when one considered the tricky circumstances of too many heads (30) and too few studios (five).

Producer and Bass Camp convenor Richard Rumney said the list of artists was workshopped between the Red Bull Music Academy in Germany and

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Take the shit we doing here, and you put it with that shit from your home... shiiit!â&#x20AC;?

Miles Davis to Hugh Masekela

The energy at Bass Camp gigs was palpable throughout the week.

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“Category puts blinders on people.

If you listen to everything music will take you to the world” Hugh Masekela

M

asekela gave a fascinating, sometimes controversial, talk that referenced his autobiography Still Grazing.

“I got my first trumpet at 14, but by then I’d been a musician for nine years,” he said. To lay his hands on that first piece of brass, Masekela had sidled up to archbishop Trevor Huddleston, a chaplain at St Peter’s Secondary School (now St Martins High School) where Masekela was enrolled.

“Huddleston got me a trumpet and a trumpet teacher… soon we had the Huddleston band (which featured the likes of Jonas Gwangwa). By the time he was deported, we had a proper band.”

Ever the raconteur, Masekela highlighted moments from his American sojourn. Upon meeting Miles Davis, the acerbic fellow trumpeter had felt the need to help ward off any impending identity crisis with a few sage words, telling the awe-struck South African,

54

Finding i n s p i r at i o n Above: The party at Bassline. Right (from top): Fever Trails (left) and Cassper Nyovest (centre) engrossed in the studio; Lindelo Mangesi on the sax, recording in studio; Bass Camp euphoria at one of the gigs

“Take the shit we doing here, and you put it with that shit from your home… shiiit!”

Of course, Bra Hugh had some wise words of his own too. “It’s OK to be hip, but it’s been done for so long,” he said, encouraging modern-day musos to aspire to a healthy lifestyle.

Affirming the iconoclastic spirit of the gathering, he said, “I don’t have the problem, first of all, of category.

Category puts blinders on people. If you listen to everything, music will take you to the world, but you don’t get an award for blinkering yourself into a category.”

Judging by what came up in casual conversation, the lecturers made a huge impression on the participants.

Tyrone Bradley (4), chris saunders (3)

Red Bull South Africa. “There has been a massive conversation back and forth, but what we have is a nice cross-section of South Africa: a South African version of Red Bull Music Academy,” he explained.

“We don’t try to impose any structure.

It’s more like, ‘Here’s a studio. Off you go.’ If you choose the right people who are open-minded and you put them in a studio, they create magic.”

Helping the process along in inspirational (and often imperceptible) ways was a selection of lecturers who spoke throughout the duration of Bass Camp. This year’s line-up included New York-based electronic producer and DJ Francois K, South African house music producer and DJ Jullian Gomes, and South African jazz legend Hugh Masekela.

magic moments Clockwise from top: David Thorpe in introspective mood, Francois K engages with his audience, and Satori rocks out

From top: drum ’n’ bass maestro Icarus; dj low; photographer Tyrone Bradley; Hlasko working hard

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“Computers pushed away all the live musicians. I have nothing against computers, but it’s hard to compare that to a real band” Francois K “To me a remix is a not a reproduction,” he told his audience. “I wasn’t changing the songs just because I could.”

He, as well as Bra Hugh for that matter, had some heavy food for thought to offer the Bass Camp participants about technology’s incessant, headlong march, and its effect on production quality.

“As computers became popular, they pushed away all the live musicians,” said Francois K. “It presented people with shortcuts – pre-made sound libraries, pre-made files… I have nothing against technology, but it’s hard to compare that to a real band, real live players with the red bulletin

Tyrone Bradley (2), chris saunders (2)

sights & sounds

Jullian Gomes’s message of fobbing off scavenging record labels became Bra Sol’s mantra. Kid Fonque’s cautionary tales of manoeuvring the industry had also burnt a map in the hip-hop MC’s skull: “Don’t collaborate and think it’s all buddy buddy; take care of the paperwork.”

In the public lectures, where all were welcome to soak in the institutional memory of gurus like Vinny da Vinci and Christos, Black Coffee planted similar seeds about knowing your worth, as he narrated a story of a Macy Gray remix he was initially offered only $600 to do. He eventually collected a $10,000 pay cheque.

Others, like Francois K, were simply larger than life in terms of their reach and individual success. Since leaving Armenia for New York in the early 1970s, Francois K has turned bass culture on its head.

From his early manual splicing experiments that appeared to run concurrently with Lee Perry’s Black Ark innovations, to helming some of the biggest remixes in dance music, Francois is his own man who, through his innovative club nights, continues his studies into the DNA of all things bassy.

w o r k a n d p l ay From top: more partying at a gig night; Moonchild keeping it real; Black Coffee working his magic.

Below: Crosby working the crowd at the Great Dane

“For me, the lesson was to not be selfish.

I learnt lots, like to be open-minded to other genres. I also learnt that there are no rules in music” Crosby

Town, excitedly shared how her collaboration with Durban’s best-kept secret, Vistor Da Kreator, was helping her emerge from her shell. “For me as a female doing a gqom track is exciting because the genre I have been doing is related to it, but it’s also very different at the same time. Now, it’s not about that, it’s about music.”

G

iven to extended swings of philosophy, Satori described the previous five days as like swimming in the “Oros” [ie, a concentrated distillation] of the music scene. “There’s that Durban vibe, that trap shit. I was struck by what is happening musically – there were all these sounds I didn’t know were there. It got me up to date. Listening to different cats sharing their vibe… it’s affirming to know that you’re on point.”

Gugulethu’s globetrotting sing-jay Crosby said, “Seeing people like (Afrohouse duo) Black Motion, who had just started [in the music industry] take their business seriously, for me that meant a lot. As someone who’s running a label and grooming artists in Gugulethu, I just want to pass that on to my colleagues so they can pass it on too. For me, the lesson was to not be selfish.”

As for production techniques, he added: “I learnt lots, like to be openminded to other genres, in terms of being generous and working with producers from all kinds of backgrounds. I also learnt that there are no rules in music.

On the first day, we met the other participants and we played recordings to introduce ourselves. I came across styles that were a fusion of everything from dubstep to drum ’n’ bass to trip-hop to trap music – all these styles. Previously, all my beats were four-four, whereas here I was hearing beats that had threefour time signatures. There were just all these dynamic ways of producing. “ At the Bass Camp wrap party at Chaf Pozi in Soweto, the vibe was less like the end of an epoch than the beginning of one. Aided by the seamless blends from Black Coffee, Vinny da Vinci and Christos, everyone was acting as if they’d known each other forever. Maybe that was bound to happen after a week of making magic and partying together, but in a few months those snippets thumping out of the Alexander Theatre’s cramped studios will be turned into songs – songs that not only define the vibe of that week in November, but also the shimmer of South Africa’s new generation. redbull.co.za/basscamp

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Tyrone Bradley (2), chris saunders (2)

arrangers: a whole team of professionals who are gifted and skilled. A software program doesn’t measure up to 40or 50-year-old songs by Otis [Redding], Marvin [Gaye] or Stevie [Wonder].

Where is the Stevie of today?”

While Francois K’s provocation is probably best left for another debate, by the penultimate day, there was a sense that participants were taking stock, reflecting a little bit more, and with the clear understanding that they were learning just as much from their peers.

Yolanda, a kwaito vocalist from Cape

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The meteoric rise of national kiteboarding c h a m p i o n O S WA L D S M I T H h a s s o fa r g o n e unnoticed in South Af r i c a . B u t n o t for much longer wo r ds : S E A N C H R I S T I E p hoto g r a p h y: C r ai g Kolesk y

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hen it comes to ensuring that his name achieves maximum traction online, South African kiteboarding champ Oswald Smith faces a dilemma. If he goes by the surfy-sounding contraction “Ozzie”, which is what his mates call him, his profile will fall within the long shadow of Ozzie Smith, the American baseball hall-of-famer. His full name, on the other hand, competes only with the late Oswald J. Smith, a Canadian preacher best known for composing the hymn There is Joy in Serving Jesus.

Choosing which name to launch would seem a no-brainer, but “Oswald” does have a Harry Potter-esque ring to it, hardly suited, some might argue, to an emerging extreme sports pin-up.

“Dude,” says the 17-year-old Smith, “like I can afford to worry about that stuff at my age! At the moment I’m all about being out there on the water 62

as much as possible. The rest will look after itself, I think.”

This refreshingly relaxed attitude in an age of obsessive self-promotion could explain why Smith is largely unknown in South Africa, despite the fact that he has dominated local competition across all kiteboarding categories in 2012 and 2013, and has ascended several podiums in his first year on the Professional Kite Riders Association World Tour (PKRA).

Let this mark the beginning of the end for that slightly embarrassing national blind spot. Oswald Smith turns 18 on March 25. He stands 1.75cm in his socks, has rock-star-thick brown hair, and it’s hard to tell what colour his eyes are because they practically disappear when he smiles, and he’s always smiling. He lives in the vineyard-locked university town of Stellenbosch in the Western Cape, where he attends Paarl Roos Gymnasium, a school renowned for producing nationalist prime ministers and burly Springbok rugby players. At junior school Smith excelled at traditional sports too, but his parents met while windsurfing and have remained devotees of the south-easter ever since, so his ultimate athletic fate was sealed.

“Nowadays I kite, wakeboard, surfski, surf... anything with a board, I guess,” says Smith, sitting in the lifesavers’

“Fear is the ultimate handbrake and Ozzie knows how to take down that handbrake” Sébastien Cattelan

Home from home: Strand Beach is where Smith learned to kite, and where he continues to perfect his craft

“ T his one guy was picked up and smashed against the buildings” clubhouse on the imaginatively named Strand Beach (strand is Afrikaans for beach), which is located on the Indian Ocean side of the Cape isthmus. It was here that Smith’s father, Stefan, having picked up the sport himself the year before, taught his 11-year-old son the rudiments of handling a kite.

“It came fairly naturally to him,” says old 64

man Smith, which is an understatement, because after just three months, Oswald won his first competition.

Later that same year, Smith joined his parents on a well-timed trip to Namibia.

French kiteboarding pioneer Sébastien Cattelan had just had a trench dug on the edge of Lagoon 2 on the outskirts of a wind-shocked fishing town called Lüderitz, and was hosting the second and most important instalment of the now-renowned Lüderitz Speed Challenge.

Smith decided to have a pop, alongside legends of the sport like Cattelan, Alex Caizergues and Rob Douglas – all of whom would break the 50-knot barrier for the first time in sailing history. The problem was that Smith weighed only 35kg, and the minimum weight for competitors had been set at 38kg.

“He had to exaggerate a little in order to be allowed to compete,” recalls his mother, Gustaveé. “It all turned out well, because as an 11-year-old he set the Under-18 course record, which still stands today.”

Cattelan has not forgotten the plucky whippet who took on the legendary Namibian south-easter. “Fear is the ultimate handbrake when you’re going for speed and Ozzie showed at a young age that he knew how to take down that handbrake,” says Cattelan.

Smith remains a speed demon, perhaps first and foremost. At age 15, it was his complete dominance of the slalom category at South African kiteboarding meets that gave the young athlete the confidence to believe that “this was something I could do, full time”.

In 2013, he won the Langebaan Down Wind Dash, South Africa’s biggest and best known kiteboarding competition, and although he spends most of his time on the water practising aerial moves, it was his performances in the slalom events that earned him his two PKRA World Tour podium positions in 2013: at Feurteventura in the Canary Islands and Istanbul, Turkey. At the close of his first year on the tour, Smith was ranked third overall in the slalom category.

“At the moment, my racing is paying for my freestyle, definitely,” Smith admits, although Red Bull rider and five-time world champ Aaron Hadlow says it was Smith’s freestyle abilities that first caught his attention.

“Basically, he’s just an incredibly well-rounded kiteboarder – strong at wave riding, racing and freestyle – plus he’s young and still improving in all three disciplines,” says Hadlow.

A

fter six years of wrestling the wind, Smith has the musculature that comes from obsessive enjoyment rather than programmatic training. He can seem a little ungainly doing basic terrestrial stuff like walking, running or, as an online video captures him, crashing a car and streaking to win a bet. Out on the water, it’s clear what his sinews are really for. He makes other professional kiteboarders look tubby.

But even the most honed body isn’t immune to the dangers inherent in kiteboarding. In 2009, Smith was on the water at Lagoon Beach, a stone’s throw from the international kiting the red bulletin

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All-rounder: Smith is talented enough to dominate South African kiteboarding while still swotting at school

location immortalised by the 2013 Red Bull King of the Air competition, when a squall blew in off the ocean.

“The wind speed lifted from 20 to 50 knots in seconds and we all dropped our kites, except for this one guy, who was picked up and smashed against the buildings. He died. We all learned a lesson in humility before the ocean that day,” recalls Smith.

Be that as it may, Smith has a standing monthly appointment with the chiropractor. “The chiro comes to the house,” Gustaveé observes wryly.

But what of the mind and the heart, the two true constituents of greatness?

Hadlow reckons that as the average age of kiteboarding continues to fall, “you can usually tell whether a rider has what it takes to succeed when he is still at school. Any rider who fails to manage the extreme juggling act of schoolwork one week and pro competition the next is unlikely to kick on.” Hadlow, who turned pro aged just 14, ought to know.

The toll kiteboarding takes on Smith’s studies is an ever-present domestic concern. “Ozzie’s the kid who would never get out of the pool, times a thousand,” says his mother, adding that her son sometimes stays out on the water so long she’s had to have 66

“Any rider who fails to juggle school and competition is unlikely to kick on” him hooked up to an intravenous drip afterwards. “Typically he falls asleep in the car on the way home, but then he’ll be up at 5am, doing his homework.

Fortunately for us, he’s a self-motivator.”

Smith’s mother and father have been model supporters, pushing him to realise his potential in that critical first year and joining him on the water as often as they can. But they’re clearly also adherents of the deep-end approach to parenting.

“When I joined the tour, my parents allowed me to travel on my own, which was great, though initially I was lost.

Airports can be so confusing. I missed three flights last year,” says Smith, grinning ruefully because they were paid for with his own money.

Back in the Cape for his end-of-year exams, Smith was waiting expectantly for the event most dread, the return

– in summer – of south-easterly winds so fierce that the 16th-century Portuguese poet Luís de Camões gave them the mythological form of Adamastor, a hideous god who took the shape of storms to prevent the passage of ships around the Cape.

It would be interesting to know what Camões would make of the insolent uses to which Smith and his kite buddies Carl Ferreira and Oscar Armstrong put his terrible god, criss-crossing between various sites on the Atlantic and Indian seaboards to practise signature “tweakedout Shifty 5s” and “front blind mobes”.

In winter, the friends travel to places like Mauritius and Brazil, where they continue to push their personal boundaries. It’s a taxing, but charmed existence, and Smith’s future plans are for more of the same.

“Step 1: pass final school exams at the end of 2014. Step 2: join the World Tour full time in 2015. Step 3: become world champion,” he says.

Hadlow reckons Smith has what it takes: “He’s super-motivated and every time I see him, he’s improved in leaps and bounds. Plus, he’s good-natured and has exactly the right kind of family support. So yeah, watch that space.”

Watch Oswald Smith at redbullkingoftheair.co.za

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THE MOST INSANE SPORT YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF INVOLVES BOMBING DOWN HILLS AT 120kph ON WHAT IS ESSENTIALLY A MODIFIED SKATEBOARD. WELCOME TO THE DOWNHILL LONGBOARD WORLD CUP, WHERE THE TRACK SURFACE IS UNEVEN AND THE PARAMEDICS ARE ON STANDBY

BULLET

words: Fernando Gueiros photography: Marcelo Maragni & Thiago Diz

The stance is simple: one arm back, knees still, eyes on the road

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T

he world’s fastest skateboarding hill is a long, winding piece of road stretching a little over a mile, riven with bumps and cracks and bearing the unlikely name of Harmony’s Downhill.

In three days of competition at the Downhill Longboarding World Cup, 230 riders will speed down its uneven terrain. The hay bales and crowds on the sidelines make way for ambulances four times during the three hours of qualifying sessions on day one alone.

“There’s only one way to go down here, and that’s the fastest possible,” says Brazilian Carlos Paixão, who hit 119kph, a record, on the first day.

“If you’re tough you keep the pressure on and don’t slow down. But the most important thing is to always keep your arm back and your knee still; keep your chest and your chin on your front knee and look straight down the way you’re going, not staring at the floor.”

This tutorial is helpful for the small band of longboarders worldwide committed to donning leathers and a helmet and bombing down hills in the name of an adrenalin rush and glory in a nascent sport. As it happens, the best in the business (and a few bold wannabes) have gathered here from 15 countries near the quaint southern Brazilian town of Teutônia, which boasts the legendary hill and very little else. This is only the second time in the 10-year history of the Downhill Longboarding World Cup that the event is being held here. In 2013, as previously, all you had to do to take part was bring approved security gear (leather clothing, helmet, gloves) and pay the entrance fee. But that will change in the future, presumably to save on medical bills. “From now on,” says Alexandre Maia, race director and member of the excellently named International Gravity Sports Association, “we’ll give priority to the ranked elite.” After all, riders here reach speeds of close to 120kph for a duration of 15 to 20 seconds. And all this over a stretch of track a third of a mile long.

“I used to ride at Pikes Peak, in Colorado,” says defending champion Kyle Wester, “and there I go as fast as 95kph. But here we ride at about 100-115kph for a long time. There’s nothing quite like this in the world.”

School buses ferry the downhill competitors, including Brazil’s Carlos Paixão (left), to the top of longboarding’s most feared track

“I talk towhile myself riding, trying to be relaxed”

Competitors hit speeds of up to 120kph on Harmony’s Downhill, a race to the bottom that favours the bold

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U

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Credit:

From top: Most of the accidents occur on the first day, when the less experienced crowd the field; the riders’ passion is very real – and more than skin deep; how else do you explain spending the night in a church on the top of a hill?

nder a baking sun and temperatures as high as 30°C, the riders wander around the top of the track, leathers open. Nearby is a small church and a rustic shed where meals are served and people camp during the three-day event, which, this year, will feature 230 riders.

Day one is when most of the accidents happen. The track overflows with competitors. Marshals are on hand to space out the start of each rider’s practice run to five-minute intervals.

When the crowd – assembled along the side of the road on the grass – hears the whirr and scrape of approaching riders, their expectation is audible.

“Ooohhh!” they murmur as a skater shoots by, adjusting his path along the track. From the riders’ perspective, it’s all about… well, perspective.

“I talk to myself while I’m riding, trying to be relaxed and make sure I’m having fun,” says Kyle Wester, whose time was good enough for third place.

“At the main corner, if you can hold the pressure at high speed, there’s a better chance at winning. Finding the right path on this road takes a lot of concentration.”

Four school buses ferry competitors back to the top, and organisers close the track every now and then to let cars or ambulances through. One patient was 19-year-old Debora de Almeida, who lost

“it’s all about

cold blood and a clear head”

German Matthias Ebel finishing his run.

“You can’t slow down here,” he says. “It’s like a roller coaster”

73

74

finding the

right path takes a lot of concentration”

Most longboard courses allow competitors to reach speeds of about 90kph, but Teutônia’s long finish features almost half a mile of uninterrupted downhill.

Brazil’s Carlos Paixão set a course record of 119kph

At high speeds and close quarters, crashes are inevitable. The track was closed four times during the three-hour qualifying session on the first day to allow ambulances access to fallen competitors

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her balance after the main corner and was thrown from her longboard, crashing on the tarmac in a fall reminiscent of the worst MotoGP has to offer. “I wasn’t sure whether I was going to stay in the right or the left lane when I ran over a bump,” she says. “It was impossible to not fall down since I was going at top speed.”

She slid more than 25 yards on her stomach and suffered a twisted ankle and a dislocated shoulder and knee, as well as some bruises. In order to ease the pain, a doctor on the scene took more than five minutes to remove her racing leathers before sending her to the hospital.

Was it worth it? “Yes, of course,” says de Almeida two days later, an ice pack on her ankle. “The will to drop is very intense. Teutônia is different from everything; it’s pressure all the way down, and there’s always a surprise.”

B

y the final day, as riders’ technique improves, the less good have been eliminated until there are only two men remaining: record-holder Carlos Paixão and his countryman Max Ballesteros.

At the foot of the hill, on the finish line, the announcement of the main event echoes out of the tannoy while the crowd clusters closer to the track. It’s impossible to see the finish line from the top, where the race starts. You can only hear, far away, the sound system.

The start is quiet, almost empty. A dozen locals drink beer and share the

“when they get to teutonia they freak out. they ask:

is this real?”

space between a shed and the starting line. At the race marshal’s words – “Riders, set… Go!” – Ballesteros and Paixão push off and start down the hill, vanishing at the first bend. Paixão is first.

The speed ticks up pretty quickly – 40kph, 50kph – through the portion of a track called the ‘toboggan’, where the road has yet to drop, and a slight left is followed by a right turn.

Ballesteros remains close, looking for space, but when the speed reaches 88kph, he spreads his arms to slow down at the beginning of the main curve.

Paixão decides to go full throttle – his body leaning forward, the G-force punishing his muscles and dictating the precise movements of his hips, ankles, and knees. This is the most important corner of the track, where the athletes enter the final and fastest stretch.

The speed increases while the wheels start to chatter over the rough and uneven road surface. The surroundings – small properties and a cemetery on the side of the main corner – whizz past.

After one minute and 20 seconds, Paixão crosses the finish line first, to the cheers of the crowd, and etches his name into the history of the feared track and the young sport celebrating it.

“I guess the most important thing isn’t the strength or technique; it is all about cold blood and a clear head,” he says. “Some people have a lot of technique, but when they get to Teutônia, they freak out and ask themselves if this is real. And there’s not much we can say, right? That’s what it is: this is Teutônia.” igsaworldcup.com

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Magical Realist

Ian Ruhter’s mobile camera is not like yours – and the photos from his converted truck are even better than the real thing Words: Caroline Ryder Photography: Shaun Roberts

Moving images: Ian Ruhter uses a converted delivery truck as a camera

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In the early 1860s, photographer Carleton Watkins made huge 18in x 22in negatives of Yosemite, in California, that convinced Abraham Lincoln and Congress to sign the 1864 bill designating it as America’s first national park. Ansel Adams came along 100 years later, with his brooding landscape images that elevated environmental photography to an art form. Today, Ian Ruhter is here with what may be the most unusual equipment these granite slopes have ever seen. His camera is as big as a truck: it is a truck, in fact, and its mechanism is the humans inside.

“I’m pretty sure it’s the biggest camera that has ever been in Yosemite,” says a local man who goes by the name Yosemite Steve. It’s nighttime, the bear patrol is circling and rangers are making noise to scare away any wandering beasts. A few metres away from a barely smouldering campfire, Ruhter’s pale-blue camera truck looks less like a camera and more like somewhere to buy ice cream or burgers.

Yosemite Steve, also a photographer and a videographer, is a fan of Ruhter and his remarkable camera, which uses a lens the size of a beachball to create images on huge aluminium wet plates, resulting in iridescent, finely detailed silver impressions of the world outside.

Ruhter’s camera is a supersized version of the one Watkins used, with the same “wet-plate collodion” technique. “Except 79

Carleton made negatives and Ian is doing positives,” says Yosemite Steve.

“I want to make one-off things, like a painting,” says Ruhter. “Especially in this age where everything is massproduced, mass-reproduced. I really like just one. That’s all it takes.”

Ruhter speaks in cryptic Yoda-meetsthe-Cheshire Cat riddles. When asked what time he plans to shoot tomorrow he replies, “between noon and noon fifteen. Or two to two thirty. Or five to six. Or you can show up whenever you want. I can’t guarantee I will be there.”

There are giggles to his left from Ruhter’s mellowed-out protégé Will Eichelberger, a 23-year-old photographer and selfconfessed “art nerd” from Casper, Wyoming.

Two years ago, shortly after his father died, Eichelberger met Ruhter, sat in the camera truck, cried, and decided he was going to go on the road with Ruhter and join his so-called American Dream Project, a sort of travelling oral and visual history of the nation, all images captured in the magic truck. Eichelberger even has the camera truck tattooed on his left arm.

Wandering around the camp is Lane Power, also in his 20s, a photographer, filmmaker, and welder. He helped Ruhter customise the truck, a former delivery vehicle that Ruhter bought in Los Angeles in 2011. Lane is the clearest communicator of the trio, and helps fill in some gaps in his mentor’s biography.

Originally from South Lake Tahoe, Ruhter was a sponsored snowboarder

Ian Ruther (2)

‘‘In this age where everything is massproduced and massreproduced, I really like just one photograph.

That’s all it takes’’

Picture this: following in the footsteps of Carleton Watkins and Ansel Adams, Ruhter creates photos of Yosemite National Park

who took up photography at the age of 26 after retiring from the sport.

His aunt had given him an old 35mm Nikon SLR film camera and he studied photography at community college, getting a part-time job at a local casino so he could buy a better camera.

He then moved to LA and established a successful career as a commercial and magazine photographer, but found that he resented the pace of that life.

He did not like having to shoot digital, he hated retouching and airbrushing.

So he quit, left LA for Lake Tahoe and poured his life savings into a big, pale-blue truck. Now he’s happy.

“I had heard about this guy who was building a giant camera in Lake Tahoe,” says Power. “I am really into building and fabricating, so I just started showing up where he was working on it. To me, Ian had this Wizard of Oz magic about him, like the man behind the curtain. I kept asking to help until one day, he let me.”

At that point, Ruhter had yet to shoot a plate that he was happy with. Each plate costs around US$500 to make.

The first time Lane went out with Ruhter, to an abandoned silver quarry in Nevada, was the first time that Ruhter successfully captured an image. “I had never seen wet plate before, and I was blown away by the silver highlights and the way it looked,” says Power. That was in September 2011. And what’s the end goal of all this? “To do what we want when we want to do it,” he shrugs.

After that, Power, Ruhter and Eichelberger started travelling, Power filming their trips for an online documentary series that includes the remarkable Silver & Light, a short film that has helped elevate Ruhter from ‘that guy with the crazy camera’ into a photographic alchemist, with a growing cult following around the US. The whole analog vs digital point is moot though, as far as Ruhter is concerned.

He Instagrams, he’s on Facebook and has an iPhone. He sees himself as a contemporary photographer, building a bridge between past and future.

“Come here,” says Ruhter the next day, pulling back the black tarp on the back of the truck. Inside it is pitch dark except for a ghostly, upside down moving image on a plate. It’s Yosemite Falls and Cooks Meadow, waterfall flowing, in real time. The image is black and white and unbelievably crisp, a hypnotic living scene that is somehow more beautiful than the real thing outside. How can that be? “Because we are creating it,” he says.

For Ruhter, 39, who suffers from dyslexia, these photographs are the only way he knows to clearly and confidently express himself. “My photos are my voice,” he says. “This is how I show people how I think and feel, and this is how I see things.

Upside down and the wrong way round.”

Inside the truck, Ruhter shifts the plate back and forth, focusing the image.

“Right now, we are the camera,” says Ruhter. “We are the gears. Trippy, huh?”

When he is ready to make a photograph (he prefers the term “make” to “take”) he pours silver nitrate over the plate. It’s the silver that makes the plate light sensitive, and gives it its eerie reflective quality.

Later, to celebrate, he poses on top of a precipitous rock overhang, grinning above a 1,000m drop. He hands his iPhone to one of his team – “I just want a picture of me standing on this rock, you know?” – and then shares it on Instagram.

“Now that’s what’s up,” he says.

Follow @ianruhter on Twitter and ian_ruhter on Instagram

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WINGS FOR EVERY TASTE.

CRANBERRY. LIME. BLUEBERRY. AND THE EFFECT OF RED BULL.

Where to go and what to do

Into watersports? Then wear this, because time and tide wait for no man GET THE GEAR page 84

ac t i o n !

T r a v e l / G e a r / T r a i n i n g / N i g h t l i f e / M U S I C / p a r t i e s / c i t i e s / c l u b s / E v e n ts Bite club: join big fish fans off Isla Guadalupe

Ernst Koschier

Behind bars

It is possible to view a great white shark up close without it being the last thing you see.

Just enter the cage and drop 10m into the ocean travel page 86

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EASy BREEZy

get the Gear

Three things to improve your windsurfing

Lightweight At 3.37kg, this is an ultra-light Kevlar-coated sail suitable for all wave and wind conditions

Mormaii Lycra shirt Indispensable if you’re on the water a lot, this quickdrying shirt protects against wind and sun. mormaii.com.br

superglue Used – carefully – to close gashes and cuts, and a couple of drops can also be rubbed over palms, making a blisterpreventing film.

Wind power: Robby Naish squeezes every ounce of performance from his equipment

Board level windsurfing Robby Naish, the don of world windsurfing back in the game aged 50, also makes top-class kit

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Wave-breaker The Naish Wave 85l, designed for ocean waves, is relatively long and narrow at 240cm, but still easy to turn

Rip Curl ultimate titanium oceansearch Keeps track of tidal movements and wind direction on over 500 beaches worldwide. ripcurl.com

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getty images

Power and speed are the two things that Robby Naish needs to excel on the waves.

Since the late 1970s, he’s been making his own equipment, with his father, Rick. R Naish Jr, now 50 and back competing in windsurfing’s top tier, after returning to the PWA Tour last November, uses larger sails and longer boards compared with most of his peers. When picking your set-up, he says to “factor in your own weight, ability and the prevailing wind and wave conditions. And never go for a board that’s too small.” naishsails.com

Action !

party

Roll with it: Cape Town rock band BEAST

Making moves homegrown musical talent on the up

Markus Wormstorm

Dark-noir electronica master who did the score for Four Corners, South Africa’s official Oscars entry. facebook.com/ fourcornersdrops

Night waves

Aces ’n’ S pades, Alan van Gysen, press handout (3), Sydelle Willow Smith, Hélène Flament

cape town Rock ‘n’ roll meets surfing royalty in a darkly glamorous dive bar What surfer doesn’t want to own a rock ’n’ roll bar? Big-wave chaser Grant ‘Twiggy’ Baker jumped at the chance when a boyhood friend, Reg Macdonald, returned to South Africa after running hot clubs in Hollywood, including the Nacional, Tokio and the Ivar. The fruit of their collaboration is Aces’n’Spades, a self-titled ‘good bar where bad things happen’, and a magnet for the A-list of surf (John John Florence, Mick Fanning) and film (Orlando Bloom and Kevin Spacey). There’s a vast selection of whiskeys and around 10 different beers on tap from local breweries. Wednesday is live music night, on Tuesdays and Thursdays the inner-city suits drop by for predinner drinks, and on weekends the place rocks out. “It was meant to be a quiet bar,” says Baker. “It was never really meant to be a place to dance, but between 12 and 2am pretty much the whole place is a raging dancefloor.”

Aces’n’Spades 62 Hout Street Cape Town, South Africa acesnspades.com

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th i rsty wo r k

DJ Spoko

From a township outside Pretoria, his jive-funk take on Afro-house appeared on an album by Mandela actor Idris Elba. twitter.com/ ghostship8

How the surf stars kick back

Grant Baker

Favourite Drink? “Don Julio tequila on the rocks, with a splash of water. Drinking cheap tequila is like drinking cheap whiskey. It should never be done.”

Favourite Song? Add It Up by Violent Femmes

Jordy Smith

Red Bull Vodka Rockin’ in the Free World

by Neil Young

Pioneer Unit

Frank Solomon

Brewers and Union’s Beast of the Deep beer All Along The Watchtower by Jimi Hendrix

Jordy Smith’s new surf film, Now Now, premiered at Aces

Record label behind vernacularlanguage spazahop act Rattex now showcasing cutting-edge local hip-hop via multimedia. pioneerunit.com

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Action!

Travel

And anoth er thing when you (San Die)go

Swell town With 70km of Pacific coastline, San Diego is a surfing mecca (if you can bear to get back in the water without a cage). sandiego.org

S hark Diving A close encounter with a great white is no zoo trip. Out in the pacific ocean, deep in predator territory, you face the beast The best place on Earth to go shark diving is Isla Guadalupe, a remote Pacific island about 260km off the Mexican coast. “Nowhere else are there so many white sharks in such crystal-clear waters between August and November,” says underwater photographer Ernst Koschier. Despite the reassuring prospect of a sharkproof cage, it may still take a while for your brain to accept this as a leisure activity. “You still have to face your fear,” says Austrian journalist Andreas Wollinger, “but that disappears when you enter the cage. The large metal bars are reassuring, plus there’s the calm of the sea.” Lead weights worn around the hips keep you stable on the cage floor.

You breathe through a diving regulator supplied with air from the surface, so that movement isn’t limited by carrying air tanks. The cage, lowered like a lift, remains 10m under the surface for 45 minutes.

Attracted by a bag of fish scraps dangled in the water, the sharks quickly appear. “There were three or four, as big and heavy as cars, their A week aboard the teeth bared, circling the cage,” says Nautilus Explorer Wollinger. “But they’re a lot slower boat, leaving from than you think, with elegant San Diego, California, and economical movements. and including They are relaxed, and thankfully three diving days, not in the least bit interested starts at US$3,000. nautilusexplorer.com in the people in the cage.”

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Face your fears: up close to Jaws, minus the scary cello music

Bunk down Dry-land adrenalin: head out, in a military jeep for a night in the Borrego desert wilderness, home to coyotes and mountain lions. california overland.com

Advice from the inside Stick to thick “The water is a pleasant 20°C, but you’re not moving around much, so that can soon get cold,” says Koschier.

“I’d recommend a wetsuit which is at least 7mm thick, plus boots, gloves and diving goggles – and definitely take a camera that clips onto you, so both hands are free.”

What no cage?

Some scientists have permits to swim freely with the sharks. Mauricio Hoyos has one. “When diving, it‘s important to understand a shark’s body language,” says the Mexican. “Never approach quickly or make sudden movements. That awakens a shark’s hunting instinct. And that usually turns out very badly.”

Roll out You could just leave the country: the San Diego light rail system’s San Ysidro line ends right next to the delights of Tijuana, Mexico. sdmts.com

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ernst koschier (2), shutterstock (3)

Cage with a view

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workout

Roar strength: Reggie Bush, Super Bowl winner and Detroit Lion

Building a winner’s body american football Without power below the belt, NFL star Reggie Bush doesn’t have a leg to stand on “Football has a 100 per cent injury rate”, says Reggie Bush. “It’s not a matter of ‘if’ you’re going to get injured, it’s a matter of ‘when.’” The Detroit Lions running back is one of the physically fittest NFL players; he can run the 100m in 10.45 seconds. “The right training helps to limit the injury risk and to withstand the tackles. My workout routine includes muscle development in the weight room, motor skill training under stress and training on the treadmill.”

t r e a d m i l l d r i l l : n f l s ta r s o n ly “Even under stress, your motor skills need to work properly,” says Bush. “On the treadmill, you learn to automate rolling over at high speed and train motor skills, which helps me play the game under stress.”

1

Jeremy Deputat/Red Bull Content Pool, james westman

Heri Irawan

Leg work: Reggie Bush trains up his money-makers Run forward on a horizontal treadmill.

Dive, roll in motion, over the training ball.

Roll over, get up, keep running.

Repeat four times.

iron man wearing a 9kg weight vest

2

Leg Strength

Run backwards on the incline, keep the ball in your hand.

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Run backwards and put the ball on the holder.

Move back to the start position.

Repeat four times.

“My legs are precious, but they also my opponents’ target,” says RB the RB. “Therefore, strong leg muscles are essential.

This weight vest is filled with sand and iron and speeds up leg muscle development.

I wear it when I do an overall workout, sprint sessions, knee bends and jumping power training.”

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Action!

world run

See how you run Fitness freak, reluctant runner or middling middle-distancer?

Take our test to find out what kind of runner you are, then download the training plan that suits you best

my training and I’ll have to make up for it as quickly as possible.

B Withdrawal symptoms.

I start getting fidgety.

C It’s the normal state of affairs.

1 I run because…

A I want to improve my performance.

B I want to feel good.

C I still need to find out why.

2 When I’m running, the main thing I focus on is…

A My heart rate and split times.

B The weather and the world around me.

C Chatting to my running partner.

4 My Body Mass Index (BMI) is…

A 18-25 B 25-40 C My Body what now?

5 I get overtaken when running in the park.

My reaction is...

3 A few days of no running means...

A What is this ‘being overtaken’ you speak of?

A That I’m behind with

B I don’t react. I just carry on doing my laps.

C It goads me on. I’ll get back past them!

D A friendly wave.

of training, such as weights.

B Go cycling or swimming.

C Take a break!

6 The most important elements for me about running are…

8 After running, I immediately...

A A good time, good opponents, a good result.

B Good organisation.

C Hmm. It’s not like there’s money on it.

A Start planning my next training run.

B Enjoy the endorphins.

C Think about the beer I’m going to have and the aches and pains I’ll have tomorrow.

7 I’ve been plagued with foot pain for days. So I… A Do some other kind

How did you do?

Work out your final score by adding up your points per questions. For every answer A, you get 10 points; a B is worth five points; EACH C is worth 1 and for A D, you add nothing to your total

The Would-Be Athlete

8–14 points

The Keep-Fit Enthusiast

Your goal:

Your goal:

The Reluctant Runner Your goal:

Improved performance

Firm calves and the feel-good factor

For starters, 3km in less than 18 minutes

You’re looking to test your limit almost daily. You like to outperform others on a competitive basis.

You train several times a week and invest time and effort in your health and quality of life.

You only run irregularly, and when you do, it’s only to remind yourself: “God, I used to be fitter than this.”

Your motto:

Your motto:

Your motto:

‘Push myself to the limit every day’

‘First work, then pleasure’

‘Conquer your weaker self’

We recommend:

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Training plan A

Training plan B

Training plan C

Get a personalised training plan: redbulletin.com

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the red bulletin

sascha bierl

15-70 points

Sebastian Marko/Red Bull Content Pool

71-80 points

enter

n ow

an d get training

TIPS FROM A PRO RACE DIRECTOR COLIN JACKSON’S running CHECKLIST

FOOTWEAR “There’s got to be life left in your shoes.

But never ignore that moment when they’ve become loose and worn out, because you won’t be running economically.

Definitely get new ones after 1,000km!”

NUTRITION “On competition day, eat what you normally eat: that’s what your body is used to.

Different foods send your body’s whole energy system into disarray and you could end up worse off for it.”

LIQUIDS “Your body is smart. If you don’t drink enough, it will take more liquid from your food. Always drink enough to prevent yourself ever getting thirsty. It’s important to take on drinks containing sodium and potassium.”

MUSIC “Calm for when you’re in the flow; harder for tougher sections.

Personally, I prefer to run without music and listen to my body instead, and those who like to run as part of a group won’t need headphones.”

“By the time you’re thirsty, it’s too late” Colin Jackson, two-time sprint hurdle world champion

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Global gathering W ings For Life World Run A starter’s gun on six continents.

The first worldwide running race in sporting history gets under way in May next year. Anyone who wants to race against the rest of the world can take part. Here are the details: 1. THE WAY IT WORKS

4. THE RESULT

In 35 countries, 37 races will all begin at 10am UTC (Co-ordinated Universal Time; 10am GMT) on May 4, 2014. ‘Catcher cars’ will start reeling in the participants 30 minutes later. The last person in the world to be caught wins.

The last man and last woman running will be crowned global champions and win a special roundthe-world trip. Each country will also record its national winners. All runners will be able to check online to see how they did. “Who in the world ran further than I did?”

2. THE CHASERS The ‘catcher cars’ will gradually increase their speed at predetermined intervals. Once a runner is caught, or passed by a car, he or she must drop out of the race and the distance run at that point is automatically recorded.

5. THE PARTICIPANTS

3. THE COURSES

6. THE MISSION

They fall into five global categories: coastal runs, river runs, city runs, nature runs and runs with a view.

The event’s homepage (wingsfor lifeworldrun.com) gives you the latest weather reports, detailed course info and a distance-time calculator.

The Wings for Life World Run motto is: Running For Those Who Can’t.

All of the money earned will go to the Wings For Life Foundation, which supports worldwide scientific research programmes looking for a cure for spinal cord injury.

You can find more information at wingsforlife.com.

Beginners, hobby runners, top athletes and stars, such as former Formula One ace David Coulthard. The aim is to cover as much of the course as you can to help cure paraplegia.

Compete against the rest of the world in the Wings For Life World Run. You can register online until April 20, 2014, at wingsforlifeworldrun.com

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City Guide

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Top five our vienna tips

Anna Müller: waltzing around Vienna

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The Vienna Climbing Hall offers bouldering and climbing spaces and a slackline course.

Climbing heaven for beginners and pros. kletterhallewien.at

3 St Josef Mondscheingasse 10 “Have lunch with a clear conscience: this place is healthy, organic, regional and the people are incredibly nice. And it all tastes great. If you don’t like the lentil dhal, you’re beyond help.”

FUTURE WAR

When HVOB formed in early 2012, Anna Muller and Paul Wallner wanted to make electronic music that you could both listen and dance to: ooontze-ooontzeooontze with intelligence. With Müller composing and singing and Wallner doing production they got their wish. After uploading a couple of snippets to SoundCloud, things started to happen very quickly.

Performances at Europe’s biggest festivals, an invitation from designer Elie Saab to soundtrack his Paris Fashion Week video, an EP, an album, another EP and, not least, record sales. They will be playing live at the SXSW festival in March in Austin, Texas (they love playing live, for which a duo becomes a trio with the addition of a drummer). If you can’t make it to America, seek out Lion, HVOB’s new EP. If you can make it to Vienna, seek out Müller’s must-visits. hvob-music.com

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“I know no better shop in Vienna. Big, wide, open white spaces. Wonderful vintage items, especially the old clothes.”

4 Propaganda Stubenring 20

“There’s no excuse for a bad haircut when you’re in Vienna.

The city is home to Wolfgang ‘Jackson’ Steinbauer and his tiny salon with a huge picture of Marilyn Manson on the wall.”

2 zimmer 37 Am Karmelitermarkt 37–39

“This market is a bit boho, but that doesn’t matter. At Zimmer 37, a mother-anddaughter team make wonderful, wonderful food. It’s the best place to sit in the sun and eat, or just have a coffee, anywhere in Vienna. Close by, you also have the Schöne Perle and Pizza Mari restaurants.”

laserfun-vienna.at

FLY AN AIRBUS 5 Pratersauna Waldsteingartenstrasse 135

“Vienna’s best club is loved all over Europe. It has the best bookings, the best garden and the best pool. We’ve worked with the best and most dazzling VJs from the Pratersauna.”

Practise take-offs and tell cabin crew to take seats for landing on a flight simulator.

Simulated engine failure is heck of a thing. viennaflight.at

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albert Exergian, silvia druml

v ienna Electro princess Anna Muller on nightclub swimming and the (hair) do’s and don’ts of her hometown

1 burggasse 24 Burggasse 24

shutterstock

Capital time

One of Europe’s finest laser tag arenas. Pursue your opponents in a misty maze and unleash Arnie one-liners in his home country.

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

Action!

AWARD WINNING INFO

MUSIC

Insider knowledge ahead of the 54th Grammys, on January 26

James Mercer is a busy man. The 42-year-old from Hawaii is lead singer of The Shins, whose playful, psychedelic indie songs have been conquering charts and critics’ hearts for a dozen years. Since 2009, he has also been involved in Broken Bells, with his friend Danger Mouse (one half of Gnarls Barkley, and producer of The Black Keys and Norah Jones). As a duo, they proclaim their love of obscure pop and understatedly odd dance music, which sounds strange but works splendidly: Broken Bells’ debut album sold 700,000 copies in the US. A second album, After The Disco, is out now. Here, Mercer reveals what inspired him as he was working on it.

Playlist BROKEN BELLS SINGER JAMES MERCER AND FIVE of the best records you’ve never heard

brokenbells.com

1 Throwing Muses 2 Smith Westerns Not Too Soon

Varsity

“To me this song sums up everything that the ’90s were about.

Throwing Muses were a girl band, which was a cool thing back then and they were also one of the first bands I ever saw live back when I went to high school in England. Not Too Soon is a classic power pop song. It may sound very 1991, but it’d still be successful in any era.”

“They are young new indie band.

They have this song called Varsity, which is the title track of their current album.

I love it. It sounds like a classic ’80s radio song. It’s very easy to listen to.

I love their lightheartedness. We were trying to get them to tour with Broken Bells three years ago, but unfortunately they were busy doing something else.”

4 Fruit Bats

5 Blur

“You’re Too Weird was written by my buddy Eric Johnson from the band Fruit Bats. It’s a love song he wrote for his wife. Well, maybe not exclusively for her. But it’s beautiful and brilliantly written. I met Eric 15 years ago touring when he was playing in his former, highly underestimated band Califone and we just became good friends.”

“Blur released their first new song since 2003 on their website as a free download on April 1 three years ago. Almost no one paid it any attention – at least not in the States. Which is insane!

I thought Fool’s Day was great: one of Blur’s best songs ever. I hoped at the time that the track would herald a new album, but I’m still waiting.”

You’re Too Weird

Fool’s Day

3 Apples In Stereo The Golden Flower

“I learned a fair amount about how to write songs listening to this one. It’s a strange song with strange chords. It was a 7-inch that came for free when you bought the Tone Soul Evolution album on vinyl. It was this thing that would fall out when you opened the sleeve.

Really annoying, but what can you do?

It’s one of my favourite songs ever.”

Stevie Wonder In Nigeria on the night of the 1976 ceremony, he appeared via live satellite link-up.

Host Andy Williams asked, “Stevie, can you see us now?”

It was Williams’ last Grammy appearance.

M O U N TA I N G R O OV E M eta l to the p eda l?

SETTING THE RHYTHM Music to fill your leg muscles with lactic acid by: all tunes-loving mountain-bikers should have one of these Bluetooth speakers, with a 10-hour battery and rugged all-terrain performance, in their bottle holders. scosche.com

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The Hungarian conductor, who died in 1997, is the most-Grammyed, with 31 trophies to his name. He could be overhauled by bluegrass musician Alison Krauss, who, aged 42, has 27 awards.

Sinead O’Connor The only person ever to refuse a Grammy is the Irish singer, protesting the increasing commercialisation of the awards. Milli Vanilli had to return theirs because of a ‘fake vocals’ controversy.

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florian obkircher

Overlooked anthems

Georg Solti

Getty Images (2), Corbis, universalmusic, press handout

Double-time: James Mercer is the singer and guitarist in two bands

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games

Criminal behaviour: stealing to survive and surviving to steal in Thief

Make Millions Making Gam es Biggestearning titles on crowd-funding website Kickstarter

Torment: Tides Of Numenera US$4.18m More than 70,000 people chipped in for a sciencefiction RPG set about a billion years in the future.

It’s a steal “Let me tell you about this city,” says one Thief character, of the game world. “If it were my mother, I would say I was adopted.” This place is dark and dirty, the setting of an eagerly awaited instalment in one of video games’ most influential series.

The first Thief was one of three 1998 games that defined and popularised the sneak-’em-up, or firstperson stealth adventure, for modern gamers, along with the classic Metal Gear Solid and the ninja-rich Tenchu: Stealth Assassins. Without them, there would be no Assassin’s Creed or Splinter Cell and it’s with those two games in mind that gamers will approach the rebooted Thief, released worldwide in February.

They will find a vast game world, missions, objectives: the standard stealth set-up. But the atmosphere, thick with steampunk urban stink and a genuine sense of grubby dread, makes Thief worth taking. Available for Xboxes One and 360, PlayStations 3 and 4, and PC. thiefgame.com

Thief: eyes on the prize

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o u t n ow

Sensaitional

We can’t stop playing Clumsy Ninja!

He looks like an escapee from Cartoon Network, but the ninja’s ultra-realistic movement makes training him – the game’s sole purpose – an addictive iPhone delight. He feels real and you feel his progress, and that’s what keeps you coming back. Level 77 next…

Project Eternity US$3.97m Another RPG, from the makers of Star Wars and Fallout games, with a Game Of Thronesish setting.

naturalmotion.com

You will obey Hot game of Cold War intrigue

Many of us play games to escape from the daily grind of modern bureaucracy: Papers Please, uniquely, plunges you into exactly that.

As a border guard of a fictional Soviet state, you wield the power over those who would enter your country. Unsettlingly thrilling. For PC and Mac.

level5ia.com

Mighty No. 9 US$3.85m Japanese-style robot fun. Four fans paid $10k each to dine with maker Keiji Inafune, creator of Mega Man. Find and fund new games on kickstarter.com

the red bulletin

paul wilson

Thief watch out! this game might run off with every minute of your spare time

p ro m ot i o n 1 Garmin VirB ElitE VIRB Elite is a true HD 1080p action camera with enhanced HD video recording for up to 3 hours, Wi-Fi capability and advanced GPS functions. Featuring a built-in 1.4” Chroma colour display that stays on when the camera is on. The display allows you to setup/ preview/playback video and adjust menu settings without detaching it from its mount.

With video enhancement features like Digital Image Stabilization and Lens Distortion Correction the footage looks great, even before you start editing. R5 199.

Must-haves!

1

www.garmin.co.za/virb 2 BElVEdErE Citrus First Super Premium Maceration in South Africa. Maceration is the proprietary artisanal process Belvedere uses to create the world‘s best super premium flavored vodka. It‘s a process using only real fruit, delicately drawing out the vibrant flavours from fruit peels, juicy whole fruits and flowers combined with the finest super-premium Belvedere vodka and technical expertise. Now available in leading liquor stores in South Africa. NOSE — Fresh, pure and green fragrance of crisp citrus with bright lime aromas. PALATE — Complex and well-balanced. Crisp, clean and inviting with the lemon and lime notes seamlessly integrated. FINISH — Clean, with lively acidity.

R299.

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www.belvederevodka.com 3 OGiO rEBEl Until recently, they were the preserve of students, hikers and geeks. The backpack’s relaxed and rugged style is well and truly back. American lifestyle brand Ogio, leads the pack with the Rebel - the ideal everyday crossover bag for the man on-the-go. Features: A padded, fleece lined interior laptop compartment that fits most 15” laptops.

Padded iPad™/tablet/e-reader sleeve Large main compartment for books, binders and files. Padded back panel with moisture wicking air mesh. Dual side water bottle/ accessory holders. Dual utility straps for overflow storage. Top zippered fleece lined valuables pocket. Padded grab handle. R899.

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www.luksbrands.co.za/ 4 duEl New and Improved Duel Shaving. Duel is here to guide you on your path to smoothness.

The Duel range of quality foams, gels and razors deliver a smooth shave quickly and easily. Freshly designed and sleeker than ever, they‘re ideal for go getter guys who crave high performance at a pocket friendly price.

Duel have recently launched new Rehydrate Gel and Foam with special moisturisers to combat the drying effects of shaving. Duel - Get smooth for less!! Duel Rehydrate Gel R31.99. Duel Rehydrate Gel R19.99.

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5 slOw-maG CapsulEs Slow-Mag, the market leading magnesium supplement by Merck Consumer Health, has recently launched its new pack design.

The convenient new packs for Slow-Mag Capsules, Tablets and Fizzies still all contain the same trusted product. In addition to efficacy, supplementation is also about convenience. The product range now includes Slow-Mag capsules in blister packs, for improved portability and ease of use. A single capsule daily can provide a sufficient dose of magnesium. Also available in packs of 100s, 60s and 10’s.

Slow-Mag 30’s – Approx. R110.

www.slowmag.co.za

Action!

save the date

format Competing over four rounds are 24 riders, who will be judged on their ability to land extreme big air moves with style and power.

January 25-February 9

Who will be crowned king?

Watch out for…

Hawaiian defending champion Jesse Richman headlining the field. “Big Bay is possibly the best kiteboarding arena I have ever seen,” says the man who last year piloted a kite down from a height of 265m after being towed up by a speedboat. “The place is made to send us flying. King of the Air is kiteboarding at its highest level of extreme! I am really pumped to see how far we can push it past the limits.”

In 2013, the legendary Red Bull King of the Air kiteboarding competition was resurrected with Big Bay – on Cape Town’s Atlantic seaboard – chosen as the venue.

“It was sick, unlike anything I’ve ever done before,” says Oswald Smith (pictured), the reigning South African kiteboarding champ in all disciplines. “Everything was extreme that day. The wind was howling, the waves were incredible, and the competitors were on fire.” redbullkingoftheair.co.za

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the red bulletin

Kolesky/Nikon/Red Bull Content Pool, Alan van Gysen, press handout (2), Getty Images, Sydelle Willow Smith/Red Bull Content Pool

Window period King of the Air is a one-day event, and will take place in the best wind conditions during a twoweek waiting period.

February 1

January 30-February 2

Ultimate X

No paddle required

South Africa’s finest BMX, FMX, MTB, skate and wakeboard athletes get together when the biggest extreme sports event in the country happens at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town.

Look out for skaters Moses Adams and Jean Marc Johannes, BMXer Buddy Chellan and wakeboarders Matthew Buys and Shaun Faccio. Check out the official afterparty at the main stage, with Van Coke Kartel. ultimatex.co.za

Three stages, four days, 30 bands, top comedy acts and one broad river – the jol never stops at Up The Creek music festival. Retro rockers Springbok Nude Girls and Wonderboom will lead the charge; The Plastics, Shortstraw and Black Cat Bones won’t be far behind. upthecreek.co.za

don’t miss ink these dates in your diary

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february

Well met The 37th running of South Africa’s biggest horse race, the J&B Met, takes place at Kenilworth Racecourse. The dress code is “Made to Conquer” – dress victorious. jbmet.co.za

January 25

Eight-Man Classic Held at Llandudno Lifesaving Club, teams of eight enter, with each member drawing straws for the event in which to compete. It’s a great summer’s day out with the infamous Llandudno SLC afterparty to follow. www.lifesavingwp.co.za

12 february

February 7-9

City beats The Cape Town Electronic Music Festival is special, not only because it’s one of the very few electronic music fests located entirely within city limits (ie no camping, and no temporary ablutions!), but also because it is totally dedicated to showcasing and advancing the SA dance and electronic music scene. That’s not to say a couple of high-profile international guests won’t drop in, though… ctemf.com

aussie baiting Old rivalries resume when the Proteas take on Australia in a three-Test, threeT20I series through February and March. The Aussies’ Test form is building, but SA are No.1 in the world. espncricinfo.com

23 february

swim bike run

February 15

Battle resumes The last time a South African team won the Super Rugby competition was four years ago. The Saffas’ 2014 campaign gets underway with a Lions vs Cheetahs derby in Bloemfontein and a big Sharks vs Bulls clash in Durban. The Stormers start with a bye. superxv.com

the red bulletin

The top off-road triathlon pros throw down at XTERRA Grabouw, but the XTERRA Lite race will be packed with weekend warriors.

Two trail runs cater for the wheel- and waterchallenged. stillwatersports. com

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magic moment

November 24, 2013 What Mark Webber did on the slow-down lap after his 217th and last Formula One Grand Prix carries a penalty: he took off his helmet. The Australian, who will race a Porsche in the World Endurance Championship this year, escaped punishment and was also able to blame the airflow for his farewell tears.

“I spent half a lap trying to get it off... it’s bloody noisy with no helmet on, I know that much” Getty Images

Mark Webber

The next issue of the Red Bulletin is out on february 11 98

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