The Red Bulletin US 06/20

BEYOND THE ORDINARY

U.S. EDITION JUNE/JULY 2020, $5.99

BEYOND THE ORDINARY

RISING TO THE CHALLENGE 100 VOICES 1 MESSAGE: YO U C A N D O T H I S THE RED BULLETIN 06-07/2020

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NOW D E TA I L S

INSIDE

To those who have been cold, wet and scared.

To the unplanned bivies.

To those who have taken the fall, over and over again.

To the nurses and doctors.

To the mask-makers.

To the freelancers.

The photographers.

To the waiters and restaurants.

Coffee shops and small business hustlers.

To the mountain guides and park rangers.

To the athletes with Olympic dreams.

To the climbers.

The runners.

The skiers and the riders.

To the lifers.

To our community that has come together by staying apart.

To the mothers.

The fathers.

The families.

To those of us who know that suffering will only make us stronger.

WE’LL SEE YOU OUT THERE.

Copyright © 2020 MNA, Inc. All rights reserved.

O F TE N , TH E M O ST I M P O RTANT M O M E NTS HAP P E N WH E N WE ’ R E STAN D I N G STI L L .

WHAT AR E YO U BU I L D I N G F O R ?

150 years of engineering progress. Check it out at www.BFGoodrichTires.com/150years .

EDITOR’S NOTE

POTENTIAL ENERGY

CALL FROM SPACE

SCIENCE MATTERS

Environmentalist and author Bill McKibben touts one upside of the moment—the triumph of science.

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OUTDOOR THERAPY

Author Florence Williams explores the biological and emotional value of spending time outside. Page 32

LOUIS AREVALO

SÉBASTIEN THIBAULT (COVER)

For this issue we made a lot of calls, but none were quite like the one Tahira Mirza placed. Our photo editor in the U.K. spoke with astronauts on the International Space Station. Page 40

It is an element of human nature to solve problems.

For thousands of years, during times of hardship, humanity has creatively figured out how to view threatening situations from new perspectives and come up with inventive countermeasures. Thanks to this adaptive capability, we have survived and defeated famine, environmental shifts and illness. Along the way, many examples of this evolutionary genius have emerged from the technological, social, economic, artistic and philosophical communities. This transformative ability is a foundation of our existence.

One lesson from this history: Each of us has the power to adjust our thinking and actions to use this secret weapon. That’s the idea behind this special issue, in which 100 individuals— thinkers, athletes, authors, innovators, photographers, musicians and other artists who have insights into these processes—share personal experiences about how they’ve identified opportunities in situations of hopelessness or uncertainty. Consider it a handbook to encourage and empower ourselves, both as individuals and a community, to survive and thrive.

We stand together, we stretch ourselves, we celebrate the beauty of life. Even now.

Especially now.

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CONTENTS June/July 2020

100 Uplifting Voices Ryan Sheckler

Hilary Knight

1 BEN THOUARD 2 ALE X DE MOR A 3 NORMAN KONR AD 4 CHRISTOPH VOY 5 MICHAEL MULLER 6 JANE STOCKDALE 7 JIM KR ANTZ 8 T YRONE BR ADLE Y 9 CHRIS SAUNDERS 10 KONSTANTIN RE YER 1 1 KRYSTLE WRIGHT 1 2 TOMASZ GUDZOWAT Y 1 3 PETER RIGAUD 14 DAN KR AUSS 1 5 BILL M c KIBBEN 16 STACY BARE 17 PIP HARE 1 8 ROMAN HAGAR A 19 HANS-PETER STEINACHER 20 RHYS MARA 21 MARK SPAERMANN 22 JULIUS HALLSTROM 2 3 ANDREW MORGAN 24 JESSICA MEIR 2 5 CHRIS CASSIDY 26 ADAM YE ARSLE Y 2 7 PASQUALE ROTELL A 28 WOLFGANG Z AC 29 MA X VERSTAPPEN 30 JIMMY CHIN 31 MARK VAIL 32 L ARS FORSTER

p. 28

Bill McKibben

p. 52 Jimmy Chin

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p. 67

David Hunt

p. 68

Kate Courtney

p. 77

69 ROSALIA 70 CRISTAL R AMIRE Z 7 1 ALISA R AMIRE Z 7 2 K ATIE HENDERSON 7 3 M c KENNA PET T Y 74 VIK TORIA WOLFFHARDT 75 MA X HEINZER 76 JAMES SPITHILL 7 7 NE YMAR JR .

78 TRENT ALE X ANDER-ARNOLD 7 9 RYAN PESSOA 80 DOMINIC THIEM 8 1 FANNY SMITH 82 ALE X HONNOLD 8 3 DANITSA 8 4 MAT THIAS WALKNER 8 5 ANGY EITER 86 DAN ATHERTON 87 GEE ATHERTON 8 8 R ACHEL ATHERTON 89 ANDRE AS BREITFELD 90 PHILIPP VENETZ 91 MICHELE IMHASLY 92 DOMINIK IMHOF 93 STEPHAN DREESEN 94 MAVI PHOENIX 95 Y VON CHOUINARD 96 MIKE M c CASTLE 97 MARCEL HIRSCHER 98 THOMAS ULRICH 99 VL ADIK SCHOL Z 1 00 FR ANCK SEGUIN

p. 70

P.K. Subban, Lindsey Vonn

p. 82 NeymarJr.

Brian Eno

3 3 JUDITH W YDER 3 4 BEN STOKES 3 5 K ATSUYA EGUCHI 36 TITOUAN BERNICOT 37 TOM OHLER 3 8 REWINSIDE 39 WILL CL AYE 4 0 CORINNA SCHWIEGERSHAUSEN 41 CHARLI XCX 4 2 MARC WALLERT 4 3 JULIAN NAGELSMANN 4 4 ADRIAN MAT TERN 4 5 THOMAS DRESSEN 4 6 CYRIL DESPRES 47 MIKE HORN 4 8 GER ALDINE FASNACHT 49 ZUNA 50 HIL AREE NELSON 51 RYAN SHECKLER 52 DAVID "GR ANDPOOBE AR" HUNT 5 3 MICHAEL STR ASSER 5 4 PAROV STEL AR 5 5 JILL KINTNER 56 K ATE COURTNE Y 57 P.K . SUBBAN 5 8 LINDSE Y VONN 59 SASHA DIGIULIAN 60 HIL ARY KNIGHT 61 PINE APPLECITI 62 B-BOY JUNIOR 6 3 CEDAR ANDERSON 6 4 ED JACKSON 6 5 K ATIE ORMEROD 66 ED O’BRIEN 6 7 BRIAN ENO 6 8 JOJO

p. 61

Charli XCX

p. 32 Stacy Bare

p. 72 pineappleCITI

p. 64 Mike Horn

p. 69

Jill Kintner

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RYAN TAYLOR/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, GETTY IMAGES, MIKEY SHAEFER FÜR JIMMY CHIN, SEBAS ROMERO/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, CAMERON BAIRD/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, JESSE DEYOUNG/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, SHAMIL TANNA, MARCUS COOPER/ WARNER MUSIC, THOMAS FALCONE/REDBULL RECORDS, PHILIPPE JACOB/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, COURTESY OF LINDSEY VONN, HADRIEN PICARD/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, KENNY CHURCH, DARREN CARROLLL/RED BULL CONTENT POOL

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p. 71

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Photographer, 34, FRA. The Tahiti-based surf specialist won Red Bull Illume—the world’s largest action and adventure photography contest—in 2019.

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Ben Thouard

Into the light “This is an underwater shot of Teahupo’o, the famous spot off Tahiti where the 2024 Olympic surfing competition is due to take place. By then, all our current concerns will be just a vague memory. For me, the photo is a symbol of how we have wonderful times to look forward to again.”

Instagram: @benthouard

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Photographer, 38, GBR. De Mora specializes in portraits with impact, immortalizing rock legends—such as Slash—as well as underground artists.

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Alex de Mora

Gold standard “I photographed Goldie for The Red Bulletin in 2017.

The guy just has so many talents—he is an accomplished graffiti artist, drum-and-bass producer and also an actor who shined in a minor role in the James Bond film The World Is Not Enough. To make a long story short, he inspires me to enjoy life in every possible way.”

Instagram: @alexdemora

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Photographer, 43, GER. Konrad has won many plaudits, including the European Design Award, and is famous for his mix of surreal elements and humor.

Norman Konrad

Go the distance “I often try to question our view of normality with my pictorial compositions. This photo was originally about help within the neighborhood. But now it has taken on a new meaning. If you can’t go out to see your nearest and dearest, it becomes all the more important that you speak with them.”

Instagram: @norman.konrad

normankonrad.de

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Photographer, 48, GER. Berlin-based Voy shoots film stars, models and rock icons and has many Red Bulletin covers to his name.

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Christoph Voy

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Words of wisdom “I believe in beauty, humor and solidarity. You can find that in almost anyone in one form or another. Take this woman, for example, who caught my eye at a festival. Her tattoo—‘This too shall pass’—works for most things in life, doesn’t it?”

Instagram: @christoph_voy

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Photographer, 59, USA. Muller spends much of his time snapping Hollywood stars, but for years he’s also been an activist for shark conservation.

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Michael Muller

Sea change “When you swim with white sharks for years on end, you always come across objects attached to the animals that have no place in nature—things like hooks in their mouths and tracking devices on their bodies. But even we were flabbergasted by what we saw on the expedition that morning in the Pacific: a great white shark with a piece of plastic hanging off its right pectoral fin. One good thing about humans is that we can step up when we need to.”

Instagram: @michaelmuller7

mullerphoto.com

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Photographer, 37, GBR. The Scot has attended many huge sporting events. Her 2019 book, Watching the World Cup, captures the emotions of spectators.

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Jane Stockdale

Unbridled joy “Paris, July 15, 2018, and the World Cup final between France and Croatia is in its 65th minute.

Here, a young French fan celebrates near the Eiffel Tower as his side goes up 4-1 through striker Kylian Mbappé. This was a moment of intense emotion and energy at the end of a great tournament.”

Instagram: @janestockdale_

janestockdale.co.uk

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Photographer, 65, USA. A well-known chronicler of the American West, Krantz has won many prizes for his work, including photos for The Red Bulletin.

Jim Krantz

Life through the lens “I placed this fern from my garden in epoxy resin, laid it over a printed image of the virus and photographed it. Ferns are extremely resilient—they have grown on this planet for more than 300 million years. I can see one coiling itself around a tree trunk from my office window, so I observe life thriving under the toughest of circumstances on a daily basis.”

Instagram: @jimkrantzphoto

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Photographer, 39, RSA. Bradley was a BMX freerider earlier in his career. He now uses his natural sense of timing to take action and advertising shots.

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Tyrone Bradley

Fresh start “When I was asked to submit just one photo I had taken that shows what humans are capable of, I immediately thought of this image of my daughter Lyra being born by emergency caesarean section on December 24, 2019.

My wife and I had planned a natural birth, but nature had other ideas. Thanks to the progress we humans have made in medicine, my family are alive and well today. We’re so grateful to the all-female team who conducted the operation.”

Instagram: @tyrone_bradley

tyronebradley.co.za 18

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Photographer, 36, RSA. Johannesburg-born and Paris-based, this former fashion photographer documents culture both at home and around the world.

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Chris Saunders

Free and clear “This is Manthe Ribane, a South African musician and dancer, dancing on the roof of Bree Street taxi stand in Johannesburg. I’ve been working with Manthe for years, and she has this ability to not only thrill people with her performances but transport them somewhere else. Anyone who watches her would say she even imbues the environment with her freedom and positivity.”

Instagram: @chrissaundersphoto

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Photographer, 33, AUT. Reyer is always amid the action, whether it’s a monster wave at Portugal’s Nazaré or on assignment for The Red Bulletin.

Konstantin Reyer

Sweetness and light “I was in Cape Cod with my girlfriend shortly after my 30th birthday when a terrible thunderstorm hit.

Then, suddenly, I saw this rainbow far off in the distance. ‘No way!’ I thought, and I took this shot.

The image has stayed with me ever since as a sign of optimism, and it’s now in a frame on my studio wall.”

Instagram: @konstantinreyer

konstantinreyer.com

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Photographer, 33, AUS. This leading light in outdoor photography has followed the journeys of adventurers, researchers and tornado hunters.

Krystle Wright

Nature shows us the way “This photo was taken during a BASE-jump expedition to Baffin Island in the far northeast of Canada, when a blizzard kept us in our tents for days on end. You can imagine my surprise when I saw an Inuk and his team of dogs approaching the camp.

I just about managed to get two shots before the snowstorm devoured him. And what did I take away from my time in the camp? The fact that when nature forces us to forget all the things that might distract us, we develop extraordinary abilities.”

Instagram: @krystlejwright

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Photographer, 48, POL. The Pole, who has won nine World Press Photo Awards and visited more than 100 countries, shoots mostly in black and white.

Tomasz Gudzowaty

Falling into step “I gave this picture the title of a verse from the Tao Te Ching, a collection of sayings by the Chinese philosopher Lao-Tzu. The verse reads, ‘A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.’ For me, this image symbolizes humankind’s stamina and resilience.”

Instagram: @tomaszgudzowaty

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Photographer, 52, AUT. Salzburg-born Rigaud’s portraiture has appeared in such publications as Vogue, Vanity Fair and National Geographic.

Peter Rigaud

Relative calm “This picture from 2015 shows the Viennese geneticist and virologist Josef Penninger, who is currently working intensively with his team to research a vaccine for COVID-19. Pictures of clowns and primates hung inside and outside his office. All the interviews with him that I’ve read are full of both scientific seriousness and humor. I find his appearance and his selfconfidence during the crisis remarkable.”

Instagram: @rigaudpeter

peterrigaud.com

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Photographer, 31, USA. Formerly a photojournalist for The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, Krauss specializes in epic outdoor shots.

Dan Krauss

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Pitch perfect “This photo shows Moses Potter climbing the very tough Once Upon a Time route in the San Jacinto Mountains in Southern California. I had to wait a year to find someone who could boulder this UFO-shaped rock. For me, the shot represents the strength and self-belief an individual can draw from themselves, and the ‘golden hour’ light on the misty clouds gives a hopeful feeling, as if they’re helping to lift him.”

Instagram: @dankrauss

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Writer and environmentalist, 60, USA. McKibben has authored 17 books and is a founder of 350.org, a global climate-change movement.

Bill McKibben

Reality Matters How a tiny pathogen may finally force the world to take science seriously. It could save the planet.

T

he small, spiky microbe might as well be an armada of alien invaders: It appeared from the blue, it struck across the planet within days and it threatened us with real destruction. For once we had a truly common enemy, and that enemy called on us to define “human” in our time.

Some of the answers we came up with to that question were ugly. There have been leaders who tried to blame other countries, and people who have used the illness as a cover for their racism.

You could see that kind of nastiness almost from the start: Consider the Asian American head of the emergency department at a Manhattan hospital who went to a hardware store to try and buy

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protective masks for his staff, only to be assailed in the parking lot by three thugs on the grounds that the “Chinese” caused the virus.

But most of the time people have been— remarkable. Consider that doctor from the Manhattan hospital: His staff, like doctors around the world, had willingly gone to work even when they lacked the proper protection. From the very first physician in Wuhan, who was willing to expose himself not only to the disease but to an inquisition from local authorities, doctors and nurses have faced down their fears and done all that they could. And not just doctors, who have been trained for this all their lives. Cashiers. Guys who stock the bread shelves at supermarkets.

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GETTY IMAGES

Words BILL McKIBBEN Illustrations SÉBASTIEN THIBAULT

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Dudes on motorbikes delivering groceries to people not allowed to leave their apartments. Every last one of them knew they were taking some risk, and they also knew they were providing an essential service. So they sucked it up and got it done.

And in the process they all—by their actions, not their words—said something truly important: Science is real. Reality matters.

This sounds trite, but it’s not. For generations now too much of our society has acted as if reality was optional. We’ve watched the world through our screens. Scientists told us that the temperature was rising, that it was an emergency.

“For generations now too much of our society has acted as if reality was optional.”

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Satellites told us that the Arctic ice was melting, and oceanographers reported that the chemistry of seawater was shifting, becoming more acid. But we didn’t pay much attention.

In fact, sometimes it seemed like the only people who took the changes seriously were those (ever smaller in number) who spent serious time in the outdoors. Farmers who couldn’t plant their crops; firefighters dealing with ever-bigger blazes.

And athletes who were finding ice too crumbly to climb, skiers searching for snow during record warm winters. If you’re halfway up an icefall, relying on crampons and an ice axe to keep you alive, you need to pay serious attention to physics: The temperature of the air becomes a matter of life and death. But most of us, most of the time, didn’t feel it quite that way. We started to convince ourselves that maybe science was negotiable, that maybe physics would meet us halfway. It’s easy to retreat to a fantasy world if you spend most of your time on Facebook and Instagram.

Coronavirus ended that, at least for now. All of a sudden, we were forced to realize that biology was real. There was no way to spin the COVID-19 microbe, no way to force it to compromise. We had to change, because it wasn’t going to—and hence we started turning our lives upside down.

We sheltered in place, we kept our distance. All of a sudden, every one of us had something in common with the adventurer pulling a sled across the Antarctic or mountain-biking the Continental THE RED BULLETIN

“We talk a lot about courage when we talk about adventures: the courage to face down your fears, the courage to go into the unknown, the courage to risk your life.”

Divide: The real world was calling the shots. We were going to have to dance to its tune, not to our own. For many people nothing in their lives had prepared them for this moment. They’d grown up in cities or suburbs where the natural world was buried under layers of engineering. (Do you know where your water comes from? Where your sewage goes?) And all of a sudden nature was setting the rules: You have to stay 6 feet apart. You have to wash your hands 10 times a day. You have to stay in your home. Break the rules and you might well die.

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ne of the most noticeable features of physical reality is time. It matters. If you’ve got three hours of oxygen in a tank, you better be headed back to the surface at 2:45. If the forecast says the storm will hit the mountain at 5, your turnaround time better be calculated to let you get back to the parking lot, or at least below tree line, before the lightning starts. If you’re in a race, there’s a clock ticking. But in the abstract world of politics, time gets suspended: You can literally have the same debate for years and years and years, from one election to the next. Think how long Americans have been fighting over health care, or Europeans over their union. It never ends.

That’s one reason questions like climate change have been so hard for political systems to deal with. Because these physical troubles are based in concrete reality, they demand timely action: If you do nothing, they get steadily and irrevocably worse. The carbon dioxide molecule can’t be spun, or persuaded, or forced to compromise. Physics and chemistry don’t negotiate; they just do. If you pour x quantity of carbon into the atmosphere, the temperature will rise y degrees; it’s no use arguing that it shouldn’t. It’s like telling an avalanche it shouldn’t slide: If the angle and the snow are right, it’s going to go. Your only choice in the matter is whether you’re standing in the way.

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o say we’d taken the warnings of scientists seriously 30 years ago, when they told us that we were raising the temperature of the planet and that it was going to be disastrous. We could have made some modest changes and we would have gotten through the worst of the climate crisis by now. A small tax on carbon and the supertanker that is our global economy would have been knocked a few degrees to starboard— and as any sailor knows, that 3 degrees soon multiplies. Eventually you’re sailing into a whole other ocean. But we didn’t do that—we went straight ahead, and now we’re in big trouble, facing massive change that, even if we take it, won’t forestall all the trouble. It’s always easier for the powerful to keep doing what they’re doing; inertia is profitable and forceful. So we ended up living in a fantasy, and we decided to live in that fantasy because it was easier for all of us not to change.

The coronavirus pandemic throws this problem into high relief. Those countries that took very quick action—testing patients, shutting down larger gatherings—dealt with some disruption and took a hit to their economies. And then the worst was past. Those countries that delayed— that decided to wish and hope their way past the trouble—ended up with far more lives lost, far more money wasted, far more fear and anxiety.

The point is, reality can’t be evaded. A world used to living via screens forgets this. If something goes wrong in a video game, you can reset and start over. But if something goes wrong in the real world, you have to deal with it. If you don’t deal with it quickly, or you make the wrong call, trouble quickly cascades. Forgetting to take a feed leads to dehydration leads to foggy-headedness leads to a serious bonk; choose the wrong descent down a couloir and find yourself at an overhang that can’t be negotiated. In the real world there’s no cheat code.

We talk a lot about courage when we talk about adventures: the courage to face down your fears, the courage to go into the unknown, the courage to risk your life. But it’s possible that the ultimate courage simply involves facing facts, and not trying to fool yourself. There’s nothing good about the pandemic that’s consumed this year—that’s consumed so many people. But most of us didn’t die, and that which doesn’t kill you should at least make you smarter. In this case smarter means understanding that reality isn’t optional. Bravery means grappling with the world you live in, not the world you’d like to be living in. It means getting very real, very fast.

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Adventurer and advocate, 41, USA. Bare co-founded the Great Outdoors Lab, which studies the biological and emotional impact of spending time in nature.

Stacy Bare

The Healing Power of Nature

In a time of uncertainty and stress, spending time outdoors may seem like a luxury—but in the long run, it could be a lifesaver. Just ask Army veteran Stacy Bare, who found that wilderness adventure calmed his PTSD. A growing body of research suggests that adventure therapy has genuine medicinal value. Words FLORENCE WILLIAMS 32

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“Climbing saved my life—and skiing sustains it,” say Bare, a veteran who initiated research to measure the benefits of adventure therapy.

KENNY CHURCH

W

hen Stacy Bare returned home after fighting in Baghdad, he wasn’t sure who he was anymore. His girlfriend hadn’t waited for him, his hometown friends couldn’t relate to him, and he felt disillusioned with the U.S. military he had once so admired. He’d experienced a mild traumatic brain injury when his Humvee got hit by a roadside bomb. Despite receiving a Bronze Star and then making it through graduate studies in urban planning, he was suffering from nightmares, survivor’s guilt and post-traumatic stress.

“I lost close friends,” says Bare. “I saw Iraqi people maimed and killed by our own bullets, and for whatever reason certain people’s deaths sit with me harder than others. It’s the memories of a

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little girl, or seeing a dog eating out the neck of a bloated dead man under a pile of trash.”

To feel better, he drank heavily and used cocaine. “I was an asshole,” he says.

By 2010, a few years after his tour, Bare just didn’t see the point in staying alive. That’s when an old Army friend invited him to climb in the mountains outside of Boulder, Colorado. Then they went again.

Slowly, something shifted for Bare. The vast Rocky Mountain landscape gave him perspective.

The technical demands of climbing sharpened his focus. It was also easier, thought Bare, to get along with people when you’re sharing an experience outside. Soon he was skiing, rafting and camping all over the American West.

“Climbing saved my life,” says Bare, now 41, “and skiing sustains it. When I found skiing, that level of freedom and joy for me surpasses even climbing.”

Wanting to help other veterans experience the healing power of nature, Bare became the director of a program to do just that within the nonprofit Sierra Club. But after six years there, Bare has come to appreciate just how common trauma is, whether it’s derived from dysfunctional relationships, violence or some other circumstance—say a global health crisis— that makes us feel physically and psychologically vulnerable.

These days his message has more resonance than ever, with people all over the globe experiencing not just post-traumatic stress from a pandemic and cascading economic collapse but a kind of pre-traumatic stress as well. People are experiencing new levels of dread, fear and anxiety.

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The world as we knew it is different. When the ground shifts, says Bare, “you’re trying to figure out who you are. There’s a lot of pain.”

We need tools of resilience, a way to calm our nerves and gain strength from the metaphors of the natural world to help sustain us. What Bare understood early on, however, is that his ideas of finding comfort outside needed the weight of evidence. Frustrated that outdoor and adventure therapy weren’t taken seriously by doctors, psychologists and health insurance companies, Bare helped the Sierra Club partner with the University of California, Berkeley, to form the Great Outdoor Lab in 2014. One of the first studies it published measured stress, mood and well-being in veterans and underserved youth before and after two-day whitewater rafting trips on California’s American River. The results showed an average 27 percent decrease in PTSD symptoms after the trip.

As part of a recent event called Silk Road Freeride, Bare and two other guides led a ski and snowboard competition in Kyrgyzstan.

On a trip organized by the Great Outdoors Lab, military veterans raft the south fork of the American River in California's Sierra Nevada Mountains.

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I could see why when Bare invited me to join him on a rafting trip with veterans down Lodore Canyon on the Green River in 2017. That time, Bare teamed up with researchers from the University of Utah, who took measurements of participants’ brain waves over the course of the four-day trip. The scientists wanted to look specifically at theta waves in the midline prefrontal cortex, as well as alpha waves in the back of the brain. These, explained doctoral student Rachel Hopman, indicate how “present” someone feels versus feeling cognitively overwhelmed during emotionally upsetting times. The data from the trip showed a gradual drop in theta and an increase in alpha. “People are being more mindful of their environment and aren’t ruminating on”—for example—“what they have to do the next day.”

Indeed, “most people perceived they had less stress at the end of the trip,” says Hopman, now a postdoctoral researcher at Northeastern University in Boston.

As participant Aaron Wolf put it one night around the campfire, “I feel like I’m taken care of when I’m outside. It’s a reminder of where we come from as humans. I find that when I’m outside my brain is firing on all cylinders. I feel fresh, smarter and more capable intellectually.”

A former Marine corporal who struggled with panic attacks upon his return home, Wolf was so inspired by Bare and his own experiences that he started an Asheville, North Carolina-based adventure-guiding company that works with adults and troubled kids.

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KENNY CHURCH, COURTESY OF STACY BARE (2)

Bare, shown here with a group of climbers in Utah, is working to solidify scientific evidence that teases out the therapeutic benefits of outdoor adventure. “I think most people have trauma,” he says.

Perhaps this shouldn’t have been a surprise. For thousands of years, soldiers have been returning from the trials of war in need of a slow, natureladen transition back to community life. George Mallory tried to walk off his psychic wounds on Mount Everest. Odysseus sailed around the Aegean (OK, he met with a few more trials there) for years. “Odysseus is trying to figure out who he is after all these battles,” says Bare. “At the end of the day, that’s the exact same framework for what we’re trying to do, which is get yourself out of the situation, put yourself in a new situation and see who you are.”

Today, when so many people are facing unprecedented levels of both collective and individual stress, it’s comforting to know that much of the new research focuses not on wilderness but on local, nearby nature. Large-scale epidemiological studies from around the world indicate that people who live near or spend regular time in green space are mentally and physically healthier.

One U.K. study of 40,000 people found lower mortality rates, and a Dutch study mapping 340,000 health records found a lower incidence of 15 diseases, including heart attacks, strokes, anxiety, depression and certain cancers, all mediated by stress. The data suggests that when our nervous systems can get a break from stress, our health improves and so do our immune systems.

This is good news for those of us who live in cities—we now make up over half the world’s population—and can’t get around as much as we’d like. But how much time outside do we need? Last summer, researchers from England’s University of Exeter Medical School looked at the habits and

Doctors around the world are taking note and prescribing time outside to their patients. health of 19,000 people. They found that people who spent two hours a week in nature were 59 percent more likely to report good health and high well-being, and that was after adjusting for income, age and occupation. Most of the people in the study found their nature within 2 miles of their homes.

With evidence mounting, doctors and psychologists around the world from Nicaragua to New Zealand are taking note and even prescribing time outside to their patients. “Being in nature is like a pop-off valve,” says David Sabgir, Medical Director for Cardiac Rehabilitation at Mount Carmel Health System in Columbus, Ohio, and the founder of the international “Walk with a Doc” program. “It lowers anxiety, lowers adrenaline and THE RED BULLETIN

Bare served six years in two stints in the U.S. Army, including a wartime deployment in Iraq in 2006-07, for which he earned a Bronze Star.

lowers blood pressure, and all that stuff has a direct effect on the heart.”

It’s still a bit of a mystery why being outside makes us feel calmer and healthier. Bare and his lead research partner at UC Berkeley, psychologist Dacher Keltner, posit that one of the main reasons is an opportunity to experience positive emotions like awe. Studies have found that awe makes us feel less lonely, more connected to the world around us and more connected to each other.

Nature, it appears, is not only good for civilization, but our best capacity to act civilly depends on it.

No longer just working with veterans, Bare is turning to filmmaking and ski diplomacy in an effort to spread his message wider, to the parts of the world torn apart by war, strife and poverty.

Understanding that exotic adventures may not be easy to access right now, he has also launched a new program, Adventure United, that incorporates virtual campfires and exercises for finding awe and beauty in your local neighborhoods.

“I think most people have trauma,” says Bare.

“And it sucks, but getting outside is the only routine success that I know.”

Florence Williams is the author of The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative, as well as the audio book The 3-Day Effect, which dives more deeply into the Lodore Canyon river trip and other science looking at the mental health benefits of being in wilderness.

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Sailor, 45, GBR. Later this year, Hare will aim to become the eighth woman to navigate the world unaided, in the Vendée Globe race.

Pip Hare

“Bad weather doesn’t last forever” With her yacht-racing preparations on hold due to lockdown, Hare looks back on the hours that made her a sailor.

As told to JESSICA HOLLAND

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RICHARD LANGDON/OCEAN IMAGES

V

ery early in my ocean-sailing career, on my way from the Canary Islands to the U.K., I found myself upside down in a boat as it slid, mast first, down a wave.

It was terrifying. The waves were more than 40 feet high—above mast height—and there were hurricane-force winds in excess of 70 knots [80 mph]. When you’re in the trough of a wave, it blankets out all the wind so it’s utterly still, eerily silent. And then, as you rise up to the top, you hear the rumbling and feel the vibrations of the wave breaking—it’s like a freight train approaching. When it hit, it was like being rammed from the side by an elephant. I was thrown around. I was helpless.

I couldn’t be on deck or I’d have been thrown over the side or broken bones, so all I could do was hide down below during the six-hour peak of the storm. When the boat rolled, I fell onto the ceiling.

Everything that wasn’t tied down rained down on top of me. A couple of glass jars of chili sauce fell from the fridge and smashed; there was glass and chili sauce everywhere. I can still remember that smell 20 years later.

When the storm eventually subsided, I was left with a boat in tatters, but I was alive. The experience should have put me off sailing forever—

Hare sails out from her home port of Poole and into the English Channel on a training day.

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it’s still the worst weather I’ve ever seen—but it taught me a lot. You don’t really understand how strong you are as a person until you get put in those situations, and even though I was frightened, I just carried on doing what I needed to do. I learned that I can rely on myself in an emergency.

It also taught me that weather doesn’t last forever. There are terrible storms—and lightning still scares the bejesus out of me—but you have to accept the fact that there isn’t anything you can do to change those situations. Sometimes all you can do is take all the sails down and wait— there’s always something on the other side.

A

mong the feats I’m proudest of are my solo mast climbs. The first time I climbed the mast while the boat was sailing was terrifying. It was on my first single-handed transatlantic race, to Brazil, in this 21-foot boat. They’re capable of speeds in excess of 20 knots [23 mph]—crazy little bullets, with masts around 40 feet high.

There are no satellite comms, no contact. I’d been racing about two weeks and I was physically drained. I’d lost a lot of weight; I was exhausted.

I was in the middle of the Atlantic, the furthest possible point from help. There was a bad storm, and a piece came loose at the top of my mast. It got wound around the mast, and the boat would have been in danger if I hadn’t fixed it. I realized I’d have to climb to the top under full sail and sort it out.

I’d practiced solo mast climbs while docked but not when the boat was sailing. One of the biggest dangers is swinging out, away from the mast.

When you swing back, you accelerate toward it and you could either hit your head or break a limb —and, because there’s no one to help, you’d be stuck up the mast, just swinging like a pendulum.

It was so hard to stop my brain going through all the things that could go wrong. And the amount of adrenaline coursing through you is ridiculous.

My hands were shaking, I could hear my heart in my ears, and my brain was just going over and over things. Plus you’re completely reliant on autopilot—this machine­—not to change direction or have a problem while you’re up there. But this is the sport that I choose to do, so these are positions that I put myself in voluntarily. It’s like grabbing yourself by the lapels and giving yourself a big shake and saying “This is the person I want to be.”

The start of the Fastnet race, off the Isle of Wight, last July.

“WE ALWAYS UNDERESTIMATE WHAT WE ARE CAPABLE OF.” 38

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MAXIME HORLAVILLE

B

ecause I’d lost so much weight and my upperbody strength had improved so much, once I got halfway up I just kind of dragged myself to the top with my arms. When I got there, I thought, “Wow, I didn’t know I could do that.” It’s amazing what you can do when you’re scared, though. I managed to fix it, take the all-important selfie [laughs] and make it back down. After you’ve done something like that, you get an incredible feeling of pride and endurance. It makes you feel a lot stronger as a person, and it gives you huge confidence that you can deal with whatever is coming.

Most of the time, the thing that limits us is ourselves: We underrate what we’re capable of.

We tend to be cautious, to want some sort of positive guarantee that we’re going to be able to do something before we’re prepared to try it. Actually, it’s just giving yourself the permission to have a go.

When you’re on your own in the middle of the ocean, you don’t have a choice­—you have to push yourself beyond the limits of what you’re capable of.

It might be something that terrifies you, that you are not sure you can physically deal with, that you’ve never done before, but there’s no other option.

There’s no one else who can help you; you can’t bail out; you can’t say no. It’s a feedback loop that continues to help you grow and become stronger.

When I’m solo sailing, I am the best version of me.

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Sailing crew, AUT/AUS/SWE. This team of multiple Olympic medalists and European and world champions sail an ultraquick foil catamaran in the GC32 Racing Tour.

Red Bull Sailing Team

18 Roman Hagara

Skipper, 54, AUT.

20

Five ports in a storm the chips are down. Of course there needs to be a team leader—the port in a storm—but if it weren’t for the crew, he’d be fighting a losing battle. Especially when, like us, you’re sailing through the ocean at 45 mph with no brakes.” redbullextremesailing.com

Trimmer, 29, AUS.

Hans-Peter Steinacher

Tactician, 51, AUT.

21 Mark Spaermann

Trimmer, 25, AUS.

22 Julius Hallström

Bowman, 23, SWE.

SAMO VIDIC/RED BULL CONTENT POOL

ALEXANDER MACHECK

“Together we stand!” skipper Roman Hagara says. “My whole career has been having success as part of a team. True solidarity is what counts in good times and bad. I’ve learned the most from setbacks and the races I have lost. That’s the only reason we’ve ever ended up winning. My motto is: Never give up—and don’t be there for each other only when things are going well. People need to be able to rely on each other, especially when

Rhys Mara

19

The Red Bull Sailing Team: (from left) Mark Spaermann, Roman Hagara, Rhys Mara, Hans-Peter Steinacher and Julius Hallström

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23 – 25

A habitable satellite in Low Earth orbit, the International Space Station always has three to six crew members on shifts that usually last about six months.

ISS Crew

-0:45

Close encounters of the fun kind With the world turning to video chat as one of the best ways to communicate, two people logged on for a conversation.

Only one of them was on Earth.

Words TOM GUISE

A

s Jessica Meir prepared for her flight back to Earth from the International Space Station this April, she was set to return to a changed world from the one she had left on September 25, 2019, when her rocket blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. But, as an astronaut, Meir has always viewed the world differently from most of us.

There’s even a phrase for it: “the overview effect.”

When you first lay eyes on Earth from space, there is a transformative moment as you see it for what it truly is: a tiny, fragile ball of life without national boundaries or human conflicts, hanging in the void, protected by the mere skin of an atmosphere.

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Within that atmosphere, on April 10, one of those lifeforms excitedly readied herself to talk to Meir. Tahira Mirza, a London-based photo editor for The Red Bulletin, has been a fan of space ever since she saw footage of the moon landings as a child. Having organized a photo shoot with former NASA astronaut Mike Massimino a few years back, Mirza could be considered our resident astronaut correspondent, and now came another opportunity she wasn’t going to pass up. “Many people don’t get the chance to speak to astronauts, let alone when they’re aboard the ISS—I felt so privileged and humble,” she says of the invitation to speak to Meir during the crew’s final press conference before departing the space station.

As the three astronauts—Meir, Andrew Morgan and Chris Cassidy—huddled in front of the view screen onboard the ISS, 220 miles above the Earth, Mirza waited on the phone, watching the livestream from her home.

“The ride was amazing,” said Cassidy, who had only arrived at the space station the day before. “No matter how many times you ride on a rocket to space, it never gets old. You strap in and the thing lifts off and you feel this immense power pushing you and pushing you.”

“Living in isolation is something we’re very good at, and everyone on Earth is experiencing THE RED BULLETIN

NASA

Jessica Meir, flanked by Morgan (left) and Cassidy, fields a question from The Red Bulletin on April 10.

23 Andrew Morgan

NASA flight engineer, 44, USA. The former physician in the U.S. Army Parachute Team became an astronaut in 2013.

His recent mission aboard the ISS lasted nine months.

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25

Jessica Meir

Chris Cassidy

NASA flight engineer, 42, USA. On October 18, 2019, Meir performed the first all-female spacewalk with her American counterpart, Christina Koch.

NASA flight engineer, 50, USA. Formerly with the U.S. Army and Navy SEALs, Cassidy joined astronaut training in 2004. Currently aboard the ISS for the second time.

Meir (photographed by colleague Christina Koch) during a spacewalk to upgrade the power systems on the ISS during her recent expedition. Below her is the Pacific Ocean off the coast of New Zealand.

“One practice that applies to the situation on Earth right now is thinking about how our actions affect others.”

Andrew Morgan Measuring 358 feet long and 240 feet wide, the ISS orbits Earth at an altitude of 220 to 250 miles every 90 minutes, at a speed of more than 17,000 mph. It experiences 16 sunrises and 16 sunsets every day.

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Outer limits: (clockwise from top left) Cassidy looks out of the ISS’s Cupola (observatory module); Morgan jogs while attached to an external-resistance treadmill; Meir trims mustard leaves for space agriculture study.

A

t 15:27 UTC that day, Mirza’s opportunity finally arrived. “Tahira, it’s now your turn,” came the go-ahead from the Mission Control Center in Houston.

Mirza: “Hello. Thank you for taking my question. How can we [on Earth] learn in a positive way from the challenges we’ve been given at this current time?”

Meir: “For us, adapting to change and unanticipated obstacles is a part of our everyday job. That’s one of the things we prepare astronauts for. There are many terrible sides to what’s happening now [on Earth], but I hope there are some positive outcomes to all of this. What we can do is try to find those silver linings, and one is fostering connections with loved ones. People have been corresponding more than they were before this pandemic, reaching out to family members more regularly. Bringing out a little more of that

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“We can find a silver lining.

One is fostering connections with loved ones.”

Jessica Meir

innate human element, reminding people of what is truly important … hopefully we can cherish that, move forward and continue to treat each other a bit more humanely, even after we come out the other side.”

And with that, the ISS continued arcing through space on its trajectory. Mirza’s question had made it into space, and the message she got back was one all about forging connections. While people were rediscovering or deepening their own social connections through their screens across the globe, two people—one orbiting the sun every 365 days, the other circling Earth every 90 minutes, both in isolation for different reasons—connected across the gulf of space.

Watch the full space conference on the NASA Video YouTube channel.

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NASA

that in a new way now,” said Morgan, who was now into his ninth continuous month aboard the orbiting satellite. “One of the most important things is to live by routine. We have a schedule and we follow it to the T. Our exercise, personal hygiene, sleep—everything is scheduled. Another practice that applies very well to the situation on Earth right now is being a good crewmate, thinking about how your actions affect others.

We’re constantly evaluating to make sure we’re respectful of each other.”

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Psychologist, 48, AUS-GBR. Yearsley co-developed the Red Bull Wingfinder test (wingfinder.com) to help you analyze your professional strengths.

Adam Yearsley So you’re working from home ...

MEANING “I’ll learn something from this”

Everyone reacts differently to change, but these phases occur time and again

MOOD

DENIAL “This won’t affect me that much”

SHOCK “I can’t believe this is happening”

FRUSTRATION “This is tougher than I thought”

RESISTANCE “I want this to be over”

EXPERIMENTATION “I want to try something new”

ACCEPTANCE “It is what it is”

SANDRA SCHARTEL/DIE-PHOTOGRAPHIE

ANDREAS ROTTENSCHLAGER

FARGO CIRCLE STUDIO/TOBY LEIGH

TIME

Home improvement

A psychologist explains what working from home has in common with going into space, and how the crisis will help us understand our colleagues better. the red bulletin: What’s the greatest challenge of working from home for weeks on end? adam yearsley: Interestingly enough, if we work from home for months at a time, we have to solve similar problems to astronauts on long space flights: how do we get our work done alone or with a few people in a confined space?

How do we adapt to the change curve as we go on the journey?

You’ve developed a 10-point plan for working from home— what do you advise?

Two of the most important recommendations are to create your own separate working area, even if it’s small and means partitioning off part of the room.

And always get dressed for work in the morning.

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Why is that important?

Because we’re all creatures of habit. Behavior triggers reactions in our brain. You think differently when you’re wearing your work clothes. Over time, you typically won’t achieve the same mindset if you work in your pajamas.

So you’d advise dressing as you would for work, even when not going into the office?

Exactly. And then change back into jammies in the evening when you’re done. That way you’re sort of “mentally going home.”

Working from home has become increasingly important.

Now that we’ve all had plenty of practice, what can we take away from this experience?

Best case: greater trust from management. Managers, in turn, should make sure their staff can always see the meaning of what they’re doing. And, just generally, that we listen to each other better.

Do you mean in video chats?

Or when colleagues see each other back at the office?

Both. A good tip is to always put the other person first. Before discussing the topic at hand, take a minute to ask your colleague how they are. We all experience the change curve in different ways.

For 10 strategies for working from home, go to redbulletin.com

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Music promoter, 45, USA. Rotella’s company, Insomniac, produces Electric Daisy Carnival, the premier EDM festival in North America.

Pasquale Rotella

Can’t stop the party A world in lockdown, a rave guru with a plan, and the story of how a moment of global self-isolation became the catalyst for a planetsized dance party without borders.

Words LOU BOYD Photos WOLFGANG ZAC

Two weeks after Beyond Wonderland, Wolfgang Zac captured these shots from Insomniac’s HARD Summer Staycation Virtual-A-Thon, directing the subjects through his computer screen. “Disinfecto [bottom right] was super-busy,” says Zac. “He came up to clean the phone’s screen and that was the shot for me.”

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THE RED BULLETIN

Zac: “It’s weird to jump through the internet into the universe of someone else—like knocking on their door. I can’t recall who [the woman pictured] is, but she has 50,000 Instagram followers.

I called her on FaceTime and was immediately in her room. She wasn’t that easy to shoot, because she knows exactly how to pose. I asked if she had something to drink and she picked up this big glass of white wine.

That was my shot.”

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F

riday, March 20, 2020, was set to be the start of the hugely anticipated Beyond Wonderland festival in Southern California. But as a global emergency conspired to shut down summer in the Northern Hemisphere, EDM fans became anxious.

On March 19, California enforced a statewide lockdown: The festival was surely over. But the next day, 3.5 million partygoers came together for what may be the largest music gathering in history— except none of them were there in the physical sense. Beyond Wonderland’s founder, Pasquale Rotella, saw the chance to do something special, transforming the weekend into the world’s first virtual rave. The party lasted for two days.

As CEO of music promoter Insomniac, Rotella hosts many events, including the largest EDM festival in North America, Electric Daisy Carnival.

This was a different challenge. “It’s not a big or crazy idea, but we were the first to set it up on the level that we’ve done,” he says from his L.A. home.

“It was very natural: ‘OK, we’re going to have to postpone and do a virtual rave-a-thon.’ I don’t know why the word ‘rave-a-thon’ came off my tongue, but the team didn’t hesitate. They were like, ‘Of course, we’re going to do a virtual rave.’ ” The Beyond Wonderland Virtual Rave-A-Thon streamed live on Twitch and YouTube, with the

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“Casey [top left] is the girlfriend of Brian [in the heart-shaped glasses on page 49],” recalls Zac. “He was dancing around his flat and she popped up.” Ducky (bottom), poses after her set at the Virtual Rave-A-Thon.

artists originally booked for the festival playing their sets in a remote rave space. As attendees posted photos and live videos of themselves “at the party,” the hashtag #virtualbeyond began trending and the traffic spiked. Electric Daisy Carnival has been known to host 400,000 attendees; the RaveA-Thon drew nearly nine times that. If it had been a physical event, the crowd would have filled the Rose Bowl 40 times over.

“I didn’t know it was going to be that big,” says Rotella. “It was about satisfying our community who’d bought tickets, but it reached far beyond.

We’ve always been a very California-based event, so to have people joining from China, Korea, Australia, everywhere around the globe, was special.”

Through the screen, familiar festival sights could be spotted. “People were busting out glowsticks, dressing up in outfits, dancing with totems—it was mad,” laughs Rotella. Partygoers spun LED hula hoops and got on their friends’ shoulders, arms in the air. What was unfamiliar was how the lasers were lighting up living-room walls, toddlers were staring up at raving parents in wonder, and sleeping dogs could be seen on sofas behind three-person mosh pits—festival freedom captured in millions of separate homes. A message ran across the bottom of the screen: “Stay home. Stay safe. Stay positive.”

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Photographer, 52, AUT. L.A.-based Zac dubs himself a “creator of snapshots. I use little equipment: no lights or reflectors, just a strobe on my camera.”

Wolfgang Zac

“I liked Devault [DJ, left] very much,” says Zac. “His music style is underground, dark, different from the others. I wanted to see his music in my shot. I was walking him around the Insomniac office.

The lighting was by accident—greenish on his forehead from an exit sign. For me, it describes his music.”

Through the looking glass How our snapper broke the fourth wall and gatecrashed the rave.

Unable to return to L.A. from Berlin during the lockdown, Wolfgang’s Zac’s wife and creative partner, Claudia, devised the “screen shoot” used to capture the party as it happened (shown below).

“We were thinking, ‘How can we beat the isolation and stay creative?’ ” he says. “I got motion sick looking through my camera into someone else’s phone lens through my computer’s screen. I’m fascinated at how intimate these pictures are, even from screen to screen.”

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“Gerhard and Uschi are Austrians living in London,” recalls Zac. “I shot this on their terrace. “I was surprised at their outfits because it was already morning and cold in their time zone.

They’re hardcore ravers.”

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“The image of @_sriacha [below] is one of my favorites. She was with her dog, surrounded by beer cans—a kind of star child drinking beer. I shot Pasquale Rotella [far left] right at the end. He was looking for the afterparty.”

For Rotella’s team, the experience was equally as unique. “At first, we’d scheduled it at one of our venues, and then thought, ‘People see those as places where they gather, so we can’t do it there.

We’re doing social distancing—everyone is going to wear masks and gloves.’ So we did it in our office.”

A crew of seven people transformed the reception area into a world-class DJ stage with lasers, animations and digital effects. “We had a corporatelooking lobby—rave flyers on a table, a TV playing our videos, a nice mural on the wall—but it wasn’t the fantasy world we’ve turned it into. We can never go back to our normal lobby ever again.”

Rotella safely sat 6 feet to the side of the decks in a thronelike chair, looking like a mad king enjoying his own private show. “We were hyperfocused on doing this without sending the wrong message; yes to entertain, but also to encourage our audience. I felt a lot of them weren’t taking the situation seriously— maybe because of the age demographic; like, ‘I’m not going to be affected by this’—when everyone is affected and we want you to stay home.”

Every person on the set had to be at least 6 feet apart, face masks were worn by DJs, and between sets, a mysterious figure in a full hazmat suit sanitized the decks. “He’s not just any guy; he’s Disinfecto,” says Rotella. “People have been buzzing THE RED BULLETIN

about him. We don’t allow the artists to get on the decks without him cleaning everything off.”

Signs told ravers to “Put your sanitized hands up,” and headliner Kill the Noise’s samples shouted, “Stay inside your fucking house.” Rotella explains, “The last thing we wanted is people thinking we’re throwing a party because we’re not taking this seriously. The dance community we’ve built is about being your best self and doing the right thing. There are enough negative distractions out there; we push for positivity.”

Following the success of the first Virtual Rave-AThon, Rotella has kept the online party going every week: “We’re setting up different genre events so everyone can choose what they want to attend.”

It’s the oldest story in the book—that in the face of adversity, people innovate, create and adapt— but it took a moment when everyone was told to stay apart to bring millions of people together to party without borders.

“It’s been unbelievable,” adds Rotella. “People within our community are more connected now than they were prior to this, and that’s beautiful.

I’ve been getting a huge response asking for us to continue doing it. One. Hundred. Percent. We’re definitely going to keep it going.” socal.beyondwonderland.com/livestream 49

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Formula 1 driver, 22, NED. The Aston Martin Red Bull Racing driver is also an avid fan of sim racing and esports competitions.

Max Verstappen 13:00 UTC, Friday, March 13

The race is announced

Going off grid

How Max Verstappen turned the canceled Australian GP into the most-watched live esports race in history.

Words TOM GUISE

M

ax Verstappen started the year intent on racing, but when the first Grand Prix of the 2020 F1 season—due to take place in Melbourne—was canceled a day before qualifying, the odds looked slim. On the other side of the planet, in an office near the Silverstone Circuit in the U.K., Darren Cox weighed up those odds. An esports race organizer, he relished a challenge, having previously turned ordinary gamers into real-world race drivers with PlayStation’s GT Academy. His plan?

To create a high-profile esports race within a three-day window.

And few profiles are higher than Verstappen’s. “I’ve always had a simulator at home, but when I got into F1 I didn’t do any,” says the Red Bull Racing driver. “But a year ago I started up again.” This was the race he was looking for. Here’s how those 72 hours unfolded.

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dc: We needed at least 10 drivers.

We already had António Félix da Costa, who’s leading the Formula E championship, and Rudy van Buren [winner of World’s Fastest Gamer in 2017]. He committed early and asked, “Have we got space for Max?” mv: A friend asked me if I could do that race. It was all last-minute. dc: There wasn’t a tense negotiation with his management.

He offered himself up. It was all about whether he could get home from Australia in time. mv: I had to get a flight back home to Monaco. I didn’t know if I’d make it.

14:50 UTC, Saturday, March 14

Verstappen is confirmed 11:30 UTC, Thursday, March 12

The idea darren cox: I woke up, read the news and thought, “We’re not having a race on Sunday.” max verstappen: McLaren had pulled out—not a good sign of continuing the weekend. In the afternoon, all the teams made their decision to not race. dc: I got on a call with my team and formulated a plan. We didn’t have any commentators, studio or drivers signed up. We didn’t know what cars or tracks to use, but in 72 hours we were going live. mv: I started planning my free time. Between [the dates on] my F1 calendar, I have simulator duties at Red Bull, but back home I drive my own simulator. It’s not as advanced as Red Bull’s, but it’s good enough for racing games. I use a custom F1-style Playseat, adjusted for less flex in the frame; a Bodnar SimSteering motor; a Precision Sim Engineering wheel; Heusinkveld and Simtech pedals; and four monitors—three for driving, one for fuel calculations and team comms.

dc: There are debates about which is the best sim-racing software: iRacing or rFactor. We chose rFactor.

Five years ago F1 teams used a version as their factory sim tool. It’s a very advanced model that can be adapted as if it’s the real world. mv: I do more iRacing, and switching is not ideal if you want to be competitive. It takes time to adjust. I’d have liked more prep. dc: We looked at what people like to watch and went for 15-minute heats [the rallycross approach—if one is boring, go watch another] with a 20-minute final. mv: They wanted more realworld drivers than sim drivers to draw the viewers. I’d raced some of them back in F3, go-karting or F1—quite a few big names. dc: We had drivers in the U.K., Europe and America, and some had never used rFactor. You don’t just plug it in and go; seven guys ran a help desk to show them how to use it. One did 48 hours straight. mv: The top eight [from each of the three heats] got into the final.

The sim-driver field was tough, so they were put in their own heats. dc: We knew if we put the sim and physical racers in the same heats, the physical guys wouldn’t qualify.

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dc: The collision damage was dialed down to 50 percent. We didn’t want everyone coming into the pits after one lap, but we also didn’t want everyone trying to bash into each other at the first corner.

13:03 UTC, Sunday, March 15

The race begins dc: About 72 hours after we hatched the plan, the lights went green. mv: I won my heat, mainly against other real-world drivers. But the real competition was in another group. [Verstappen started the final in ninth place out of 24.] dc: Ten minutes in, we had 52,000 viewers—the most-watched stream on any platform at that time. One headline said more people watched our show than actual F1 races on Sky Sports. Overall, more than 500,000 people watched the event.

14:47 UTC, Sunday, March 15

The final

Verstappen in his home sim rig. “It’s definitely a good time for gaming.

People are watching.”

VERSTAPPEN.NL, RED BULL RACING/GETTY IMAGES

11:00 UTC, Sunday, March 15

Max gets home two hours before the race begins dc: The track was the Nurburgring.

The car was based on a 2012 F1 model—some of the physical drivers found it difficult, because it was edgy. mv: It’s the first time I drove it.

Even if you’re good in real life, you don’t just jump in the simulator and be automatically quick. The sim guys had more knowledge of how to drive it.

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“I won my heat, but competition in the sim-driver field was tougher.”

Max Verstappen

mv: I got taken out at turn one, putting me last. My race was basically over, but I didn’t quit.

I just tried to overtake as many people as I could. [He ended in 11th; Van Buren was third.] dc: Against other physical drivers, in a simulator or a game, Max is probably the best. But he’s not on the sim 12 hours a day. All Rudy does is go fast on rFactor. If Max put his mind to it, within a couple of weeks he’d be up the front. mv: I like sim racing, but I love real racing more. Maybe at one point I’ll combine them in my schedule, but I’ll never swap it. dc: In just 72 hours, we had guys in Holland running the game, in London running the broadcast, off laptops and servers in people’s spare bedrooms, and 46 drivers around the world trying to log on.

If you’d told me three days earlier that a racing game would be in the top 20 most viewed on YouTube or Twitch at any one moment, I’d have told you to go shut the front door.

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Mountaineer and filmmaker, 46, USA. The co-director of the Oscarwinning film Free Solo has climbed (and skied) Everest.

Jimmy Chin

Chin has organized and led mountaineering and climbing expeditions in China, Nepal, Argentina, Greenland, Pakistan, Borneo, Tanzania and other countries around the world.

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THE RED BULLETIN

Peak Isolation

Mountaineer and filmmaker Jimmy Chin knows plenty about riding out a storm.

North Face athlete, photographer and adventure filmmaker Jimmy Chin has helped lead teams to big things, but he knows plenty about isolation. After all, the route up 8,000-meter peaks often involves days on end with just a few people in the confines of a tent.

During an April conversation, Chin was holed up with his film partner and wife, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, and their two kids in their home near Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Here, in his own words, Chin shares his thoughts on social distancing in small spaces.

Surround yourself with good people

“There’s so much trust required on high-stakes mountaineering expeditions, so choosing the right people is critical. Generally, I choose people who can not only stay calm in tough situations but who step up and thrive in them.”

Pass the time together

“What better time than when you’re locked down to play cards, tell jokes and have deep discussions? We’ll talk about books we’re reading (recent favorites: Jon Krakauer’s Missoula and Sebastian Junger’s Tribe), personal dreams and day-to-day logistics. If there’s nothing to talk about, you just stop talking. You get over that quickly.”

Move when you’re stuck

“When you’re confined for a long time, you have to move your body. Otherwise you’ll stiffen up. There are many exercises you can do in a tent. I do push-ups, sit-ups, planks, Supermans and lots of stretches.”

Keep calm and carry snow

TRACY ROSS

“Staying positive in a situation you can’t control is a mental game. You don’t want to let fear or anxiety take over, so you assess your situation, think about potential outcomes, game these out and be productive.

Proactively taking care of others is also strangely calming. No one wants to go out and get the snow to melt for water. But if you get up, put on all your shit, go out into the storm and come back and make everyone hot drinks, you wind up feeling useful and good.”

Don’t lose sight of the long game

CHRIS FIGENSHAU, MIKEY SHAEFER

“Something we talk about is how storms pass. It’s how you weather them that counts. I’ve been traveling pretty much nonstop for the past few years. So having this moment to slow down, spend time with my family and get outside in a place I love—I’m grateful.”

THE RED BULLETIN

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Subsistence lifestyle advocate, 62, USA. Since 1987, Vail has been living off the land, on his own, in a rugged, frost-ridden corner of Alaska.

Mark Vail

Solitude is old hat for Mark Vail. For 33 years, he has lived alone in a small cabin he built on 10 acres in the Alaskan bush, right on the edge of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. Vail, who lives more than 300 miles from the closest big grocery store, has created a neartotal subsistence lifestyle—in the past year, he has trekked to the city only twice, for staples such as coffee. During summer, when McCarthy—an old mining town turned tourist spot—swells from 33 fulltime residents to 150, Vail interacts with humans once a week. But come winter he’s happily solo. Here he offers advice on living the good life alone.

Get closer to nature

“By being here alone, I get to experience incredible things. The other day, 40 redpolls [birds from the finch family] were chittering all around me. And every day for eight years I’ve been visited by the 54

Own your routine

“My schedule varies in different seasons, but it’s always decided by me. Right now, I get up with the sun, drink coffee, check the internet, then head outside to collect water and keep the woodshed full. Then I’ll exercise—I’ll ride my fatbike, ski or hike. Moving through nature is the best way to dissipate anxiety.”

Eating is empowering

“I eat food that I’ve grown, gathered and preserved myself. I eat salmon I caught in the Copper River, and when I put it in my mouth, I become part of the place where I live. I feel successful testing myself against the economy.”

Stay (partially) connected

“I have the internet, and I hate it—it’s one of the worst things that ever happened to me. I spend way too much time on it, and that time is essentially wasted. But it has given me a bit of connectivity with people remotely. And now mail order has become super easy.”

THE RED BULLETIN

TRACY ROSS

After decades living alone in the Alaskan wilderness, Vail has elevated social isolation into an art form.

NATHANIEL WILDER

Free, solo

same woodpecker. I’ve also learned that the best time to see wolves come off the mountain is when the frogs begin to croak in April.”

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Mountain biker, 26, SUI. The MTB ace was riding bikes before he could walk. No wonder he only really feels comfortable in the saddle.

Lars Forster

Judith Wyder

PHUL GALE/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, JAQUES GROBLER

WOLFGANG WIESER

Searching for Freedom on Two Wheels

Lars Forster meditates before leaping into the saddle of his mountain bike to cycle over hill and dale.

“I picture the best-case scenario,” he says.

Forster is still meditating now, even though he’s not able to get out on his bike every day. “I think of good moments in the days and weeks ahead and that helps me to stock up on positive energy,” he explains.

Does this positivity come from cycling, or was he born with it? “I’ve been cycling ever since I was small, so it’s hard to say,” says the Swiss rider. “I think it must be a combination of both.”

Forster is spending these days at home with his girlfriend and on his bike: “Going out to train is allowed, so I’m out a lot.”

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Orienteering and trail runner, 32, SUI. Here, the world-champion orienteer—also a physiotherapist—explains how she pushes herself to the limit.

The MTB champion has also been pondering the important questions that people should be asking themselves right now, such as, “What does freedom mean for me?”

His answer is simple: “Getting on my bike and riding through the beautiful nature we have here.”

For Forster, freedom is just another word for cycling.

“I notice time and again while training how the body puts up resistance and balks at the strain. You can’t quite put it into words, and you certainly can’t quantify it —it’s just a feeling you get.

But it also shows me that I’m taking things close to the limit. At those times, I work very intensively and give myself pep talks to gain fresh motivation.

“What do I actually say to myself? ‘You’ve got this.

Embrace the challenge. Enjoy it. You’ll definitely get on top of this situation.’ ”

larsforster.ch

Wyder running cross-country. For motivation during particularly tough challenges, she tells herself, “You’ve got this. Enjoy it!”

THE RED BULLETIN

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Cricketer, 28, GBR. The ICC Cricketer of the Year led England to World Cup victory in 2019.

“Sport is never the most important thing going on in the world; there’s always a bigger thing happening to other people,” says the cricket star of a summer that’s shaping up markedly differently from 2019’s, when he snatched a last-second World Cup triumph and scored what has been called “the greatest Test innings of all-time.” The all-rounder is now applying his adaptability on 56

THE RED BULLETIN

GREG COLEMAN/RED BULL CONTENT POOL

The all-rounder

the pitch to a life at home as well: “I’m a PE teacher for my kids—45 minutes a day.” He has also joined the F1 season via an online simulator.

“I came in last,” he says of his debut.

“But I’ve always learned from bad experiences; they make me a better player.” And he has taken up a new hobby: “Understanding stocks and shares. History has shown us that every time everything drops, it always comes back up.”

TOM GUISE

Ben Stokes

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Games developer, 55, JPN. For Nintendo, Eguchi worked on Super Mario World, Star Fox and Wii Sports, but his most famous game is Animal Crossing.

Katsuya Eguchi

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Diver and conservationist, 22, PYF. The French Polynesian founded Coral Gardeners—a project to restore and conserve coral reefs—four years ago.

Titouan Bernicot

Company Man more than 300 miles to work at Nintendo’s Kyoto office as a 21-year-old: “I’d left my family and friends behind. Being able to talk and play with them was important.” He devised gameplay that later, when he was a father, let his children know he’d visited while they slept: “The kids could play it after school and I could play when I got home at night; be a part of what they were doing while I wasn’t around.”

The game has struck a chord with celebrities, with the likes of Chrissy Teigen and Brie Larson posting their Animal Crossing musings on social media. As British comedian Stephen Fry reflects, “Is it a metaphor for life itself?

I hope not, for I may have pitched my tent ill-advisedly.”

animal-crossing.com

NINTENDO, BEN ONO

TOM GUISE, PATRICIA OUDIT

On March 27, panic shook the world: the Nintendo Switch was sold out. A week earlier, a new Switch game, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, had been launched alongside a limited edition of the console featuring images of its characters. Now you could only buy one on eBay, at twice its retail price.

The game’s popularity, prompted by people seeking distraction while stuck at home, also connected on a deeper level. Your character lives on an island where they can pick fruit, fish, decorate their house, and—most vitally—go to other players’ islands, with time zones and seasons matching their location. It’s a tonic for those missing the company of friends and family they can no longer visit.

Released in 2001, Eguchi’s original game was inspired by his experiences of moving

Animal Crossing: New Horizons on Nintendo Switch. It’s all about “family, friendship and community,” says Eguchi.

THE RED BULLETIN

Reef relief: Bernicot is saving the underwater world.

The Coral Campaigner Today, 40 percent of coral reefs are gone. But Titouan Bernicot fights on to regenerate and save the remaining 60 percent. It’s essential.

“Half of the earth’s oxygen comes from the oceans, and the coral reefs are the lungs,” he says.

“We must protect the reefs if we want to continue breathing. The chief aim of my Coral Gardeners project is to educate the public about the importance of the coral reefs by spreading the word in schools and online campaigns. Our program is original: We’re asking people around the world to adopt a reef. I planted my first coral when I was 16 and saw it triple in volume and swarm with crabs— all in the space of just a few months!

“If we do this at scale, our lagoons will be reborn. Bringing the coral reefs back to their former splendor might seem utopian—some think the reefs are finished—but I want to dream up ways of saving them. Some corals are incredibly tough and resilient—like the Red Sea reefs, which are highly resistant to extreme heat.

“Deep-sea corals are another cause for optimism as scientists examine how they reproduce and produce larvae to reseed the shallow-water reefs that are more vulnerable to the effects of global warming. If we drastically reduce our carbon footprint in the future, there is still hope.” coralgardeners.org 57

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Trials rider, 36, AUT. The multiple world champion has buckled many a bike with his riding style—but not for long.

INNER TUBE

Tire-changing spoons You have to remove that stubborn tire to change the inner tube. Here is the easy trick to do it

Tom Öhler

1

How to fix your bike—in the kitchen Is your chain rusty? Are your wheels wobbly and losing air? Here’s how to knock your bike back into shape using things you already have in the kitchen cupboard.

CHAIN

Anti-rust candles Paraffin prevents a squeaky chain and makes for smooth gear changes

Lay a wheel on the floor and press down on the middle of the tire. Place two spoon ends between the rim and tire, a hand’s width apart.

2 Press down on both spoons at once.

The tire should pop off the rim.

If this doesn’t happen, try again with the spoons a bit further apart.

3 Turn the wheel upright, then press the tire off all the way round. Now you can remove the punctured inner tube.

SPOKES

1 Scrub the chain with a cloth to get rid of any dirt and oil.

Anti-wobble butter knife Centering a bent wheel is less arduous than you might think

1 Remove the tire and the rim tape beneath.

(You can usually take off the tape with your bare hands.)

2 You have to remove the rear wheel. Turn the bike upside down and open the quick release lever.

4 Having reattached the rear wheel, be sure to wipe away any excess wax with a cloth.

And you’re done!

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“WHEN PUSH COMES TO SHOVE, YOU’LL FIND EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO GET MOVING AGAIN IN THE KITCHEN.“ THE RED BULLETIN

WERNER JESSNER

3 Candles contain paraffin, a component of many bike chain lubricants. As it hangs loose in the frame, pass the chain through a saucepan of premelted wax.

ARMIN WALCHER/RED BULL CONTENT POOL

3 Increase the spoke tension at unmarked spots, turning the screws clockwise with a butter knife.

SASCHA BIERL

2 Tape a pen to the frame so that it just touches the rim.

Turn the wheel to see where the rim doesn’t get marked by the pen.

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Video game streamer, 27, GER. Sebastian Meyer, aka Rewinside, keeps millions of young people entertained. But he can help when times are tough, too.

Rewinside

“MY FANS MIGHT JOKE AROUND WHEN WE CHAT, BUT THEY CAN ALSO SAY WHAT MOVES THEM. RECENTLY THEY HAVE TALKED ABOUT THEIR FEARS, WHICH HAS HELPED. I’VE BEEN UP STREAMING TILL 4 A.M.”

Will Claye

“Dreams Don’t Die”

The Olympian pens a song dedicated to athletes around the world who qualified to compete in the postponed Summer Games.

It’s like a million scenarios in my cranium 20/20 vision all I see is packing the stadium Pride in my chest, steam in soul, medal round my neck They gon’ see around the globe Four years straight my eyes been on the prize Medal on my neck, see tears in my mamma’s eyes It’s a lesson when dealing with Father Time I know it’s coming, the dream is never denied Dreams don’t die, they multiply over time As long as you keep in mind to never settle your grind Some see a 6, I flip it and see a 9 That’s 3 more shots in my chamber I get to fire

JOHANNES MITTERER, NORA O’DONNELL LEO ROSAS/RED BULL CONTENT POOL

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Track and field athlete/musician, 28, USA. After winning three Olympic medals (two in 2012, one in 2016), Claye added a second career as a rapper.

Tap in with the squad ’n’ tell ’em don’t get complacent Get it how you get it, we trappin’ up out the basement Mamba mentality fueling the separation The grind beats talent, when talent don’t hit the day shift Buildin’ up a spaceship, Elon Musk Diamonds grow under pressure, we don’t bust When they hit my line I’ll be taking it to the sky, Ain’t nothing on site that we gon’ leave untouched Dreams don’t die, they just multiply I’m built tough, I can’t stop my grind Rewinside’s fans watch him play and comment on games on his channel: twitch.tv/rewinside. In the online chat, they can swap ideas with him and each other.

THE RED BULLETIN

To watch Claye’s music video, scan this barcode.

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40

Hang-gliding athlete, 48, GER. The five-time hang-gliding world champion says that a bird’s-eye view helps her in a ground-level crisis.

Corinna Schwiegershausen

A different point of view

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SAMO VIDIC/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, GETTY IMAGES

MARC BAUMANN

“If I get into danger while hanggliding, I keep emotion out of the picture as much as possible.

What helps me is processing the facts, making a plan and putting it into effect. I’ve come through a lot of crises. I got thrown by a camel in Jordan and broke a hip. Getting injured in the desert teaches you how to ask for help— first from a female tourist who happened to be a medic, and later from my team doctors. I have flying to thank for the most beautiful moments in my life but also the worst. My fiancé crashed and died shortly before I planned to move to Australia to live with him. I learned that life has a plan B for you, and you can be happy with that. I feel like a little fly when I’m high up in the sky.

The quiet in the air, just living in the here and now—many people have forgotten how to do that.”

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Singer, 27, GBR. Discovered after posting songs to MySpace in 2008, the Los Angeles-based star has written, sung and produced worldwide hits.

Charli XCX

“I’M MAKING IT USING ONLY THE TOOLS I HAVE AT MY FINGERTIPS, INDICATIVE OF THE TIMES WE’RE IN. WE CAN MAKE A SICK ALBUM.”

MARCUS COOPER/WARNER MUSIC, PRIVATARCHIV WALLERT

PETER PRASCHL, TOM GUISE

Charli XCX announces to 1,000 fans—via Zoom on April 6—that she has postponed her current project and will create a new album “from scratch, [using] things in my house, people I can reach online,” with fan input on everything from lyrics and beats to album art. “I want to open the entire process to all of you.” How I’m Feeling Now debuts on May 15.

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Resilience trainer, 47, GER. Wallert was kidnapped by terrorists while on a diving vacation in Malaysia in 2000.

He now uses the experience in his work.

Marc Wallert

Jungle camp: Wallert in captivity in Malaysia in 2000.

“How I survived 140 days in captivity” Marc Wallert lived through more than four months of being held captive by terrorists alongside his parents and other tourists.

Here he explains how he coped with such an extreme situation.

I kept busy

I embraced the challenge

I helped others

“My first thought after we were kidnapped was that we’d still be free if we hadn’t decided not to go on the night dive. It was a human but pointless way of thinking. You can’t turn back time, but you can make the most of a situation. You need energy for that and shouldn’t waste it.”

“Swapping ideas, consoling others or just having fun will make any situation more bearable. I looked after my mother, who was sick. That gave me the motivation to carry on.

People needed me, after all.”

I kept a happy ending in my mind “When times were hard, I imagined a positive outcome and thought of myself sitting in a café back home, drinking a cappuccino. That gave me emotional strength.”

THE RED BULLETIN

“When you’re forced to sit around waiting, there’s nothing more useful than doing stuff. We built rain shelters in the jungle or wrote down what was happening to us.”

I saw opportunities “Every crisis also gives you the opportunity to recalibrate your life. I asked myself, ‘Who am I? What do I still want to do with my life? What can I do without?’ It taught me to value my life more.”

Marc Wallert’s book, Stark durch Krisen [Tough in a Crisis], is out now.

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Manager of RB Leipzig pro soccer team, 32, GER. Although his playing career was cut short due to knee injuries, Nagelsmann found his stride as a coach.

Julian Nagelsmann

At 28, Nagelsmann was at the helm of Hoffenheim (above). Now he’s the manager at RB Leipzig (left).

the red bulletin: You were 20 when your dream of becoming a pro soccer player was shattered. How did you deal with that? julian nagelsmann: Making bold and clear decisions has always helped me. Back then, I decided to draw a line under things after multiple injuries. I didn’t want to wait for a doctor to have to make the decision for me.

So you started training to be a coach and, at 28, became the youngest manager in the Bundesliga [German pro league]. Have you always taken active control of your life?

I realized early that I would have to tackle things head-on if I wanted to get anywhere. I’ve gradually been taking more and more responsibility for myself ever since I was young, like moving by myself to Munich when I was still young or quitting business administration studies to pursue sports science 62

As the manager you bear a lot of responsibility for other people. How do you handle the pressure?

I prepare well and give it my all. That way I have nothing to reproach myself for. It’s also important for me not to think I’m infallible and openly admit when I’ve made a mistake. I’m always aware that even though there’s a lot of pressure on me to succeed, my life wouldn’t be fundamentally altered if I were to cease to be a Bundesliga manager tomorrow. I’ve learned that I can always go after new goals.

As a leader, how do you deal with a crisis?

Firstly, analyze how we got here and then work on the specific problems instead of concerning myself with the situation for too long. When I took over at Hoffenheim at age 28, they were fighting to avoid relegation [dropping to a lower division]. But I never called it that. Instead, I focused on giving the players specific things they could improve on so that we could escape that fate. Thankfully, it worked.

THE RED BULLETIN

ALEXANDER NEUMANN-DELBARRE

The pro soccer coach on taking responsibility, tackling issues head-on and the language he’s careful to avoid.

instead. Or, ultimately, to take the opportunity to become a Bundesliga manager when it arose at such a young age.

GETTY IMAGES, IMAGO/EIBNER

Game Theories

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Kayaker, 24, GER. The Heidelberg native is used to taming wild waters, but the toughest test he’s ever faced was being robbed in 2018.

Adrian Mattern

PANTHERMEDIA, DANE JACKSON/REDBULL US ATHLETE , ENNO KAPITZA, GETTY IMAGES (2) MARC BAUMANN, NICLAS SEYDACK

When I lost all my gear except this cable . . .

“I was in Chile on a kayaking adventure when thieves cleaned out my car: cameras, laptop, phone­— everything was gone except for my charging cable. As a professional sportsman, I live off my videos.

But without any of my equipment, I couldn’t produce any. It was a disaster. But then I said to myself, ‘Look what you’ve already achieved —you’ve made it out of Heidelberg and become a professional kayaker.’

This positive look back gave me courage. I’d worked on building sites and as a bouncer before, so I did that again until I could afford new stuff. Within a few months, I was back out on the water.”

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Skier, 26, GER. After his amazing 2018 World Cup win at the Hahnenkamm Downhill, Dressen suffered a bad fall. Help came from unexpected allies.

Thomas Dressen

“MY RIVALS’ WORDS GAVE ME THE STRENGTH I NEEDED FOR MY COMEBACK.”

Dressen had to miss a season after a crash at Beaver Creek in 2018. “Lots of my rivals wrote to me while I was still in the hospital,” he says. “Reading about how they had dealt with similar situations gave me strength.” The following season he finished second in downhill at the World Cup.

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46

Rally driver, 46, FRA. Despres won the Dakar Rally five times on a motorbike, then switched to cars.

He has known Mike Horn for 12 years.

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Cyril Despres

Adventurer, 53, RSA. The world-famous Horn has been around the globe dozens of times, but until this year he’d never done the Dakar Rally.

Mike Horn

The Art of Getting Back on Your Feet

After barely escaping a tough Arctic trip, Mike Horn jumped into the Dakar Rally.

Cyril Despres tells a story of resilience.

“It’s the end of October 2019, and I don’t have a codriver for the Dakar Rally. Immediately, I think to myself that Mike is the only person who could do this on the spur of the moment. When I manage to get through to him in early December, he’s in a tough spot, backing up and cutting across the ice on an expedition to the Arctic [from which he was subsequently rescued]. But he says yes there and 64

then. The idea of the desert really motivates him, because he always wants to learn new things.

“I pick him up in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, at 6 a.m. on January 3. By 11 a.m., he’s on my right in the buggy where we’ll be spending 12 hours a day in just two days’ time. Physically, Mike has just been through one of his toughest-ever expeditions. He still hasn’t recovered, or seen the sun in four months. He’s very thin and covered in blisters. Despite his exhaustion, he sleeps under the stars in zero temperatures, and takes in two months’ worth of data in 48 hours. In the car, his energy makes me excel and go faster.

“When we’re forced to retire from Dakar 2020 to give our engine to the Red Bull Motorsports team, he reacts quickly and positively. I remember a very emotional moment when one of the young drivers who’d given up hope of finishing in a good position was almost in tears. Mike told him that the most important thing was how quickly he got back on his feet. He always has incisive things to say, and when he sensed the team was tired he made a speech: “If we hang on for two more minutes and make one mistake fewer, we’ll be stronger.” There’s one thing I’ll take away from this Dakar Rally spent by his side: Mike isn’t a superman; he’s superhuman.”

Instagram: @cyril_despres; @mikehornexplorer

THE RED BULLETIN

SEBASTIAN DEVENISH, FLAVIEN DUHAMEL/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, PHILIPPE JACOB/RED BULL MEDIA HOUSE PATRICIA OUDIT

Last October Horn was cutting across the ice in the Arctic (left) when he agreed by text to join Despres in the Dakar Rally.

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Freeride snowboarder/wingsuiter, 39, SUI. Lausanne-born Fasnacht knows a thing or two about patience—she waited six years to achieve one dream.

Géraldine Fasnacht

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Rapper, 26, GER. Music has always been a source of strength, even on Zuna’s hardest journey.

Zuna

Waiting for Verbier

@DIESERBOBBY, UNIVERSAL MUSIC, SÉBASTIEN BARITUSSIO, GETTY PREMIUM WOLFGANG WIESER, DAVID MAYER, SIMON SCHREYER

No slope could ever be too steep for her, and it always had to be quick. In 1995, Fasnacht wanted to compete in the Xtreme Verbier, Switzerland’s wildest freeride event, but the organizers wouldn’t let her.

At 15, she was too young and the competition too dangerous. She was bitterly disappointed but remained resolute. “I trained hard, competed in a lot of events and won most of them,” she says. Six years later, in the autumn of 2001, her phone rang.

It was Verbier calling. Géraldine went on to win the event, and it became the start of her life as a professional snowboarder.

50 Cent inspired Zuna to forge a career of his own.

HOW RAP HELPED A REFUGEE FIND HIS CALLING Ghassan Ramlawi—better known now as Zuna, one of Germany’s most high-profile rappers—was 15 when his family fled Lebanon. They were turned back at borders many times. Their odyssey through Africa, France, Belgium, Switzerland and Germany finally ended in Dresden, where they were given leave to remain. What gave Ramlawi strength during this time? “I listened to 50 Cent on headphones whenever I could,” he says.

“Knowing that someone had worked his way up from the very bottom to achieve

50

success gave me hope. I couldn’t wait to take control of my life in the same way.”

Soon after arriving in Dresden, he met Granit Musa and Ali Rihilati, and later Yassine Baybah. The four now make up one of Germany’s most successful rap crews, the KMN Gang.

Three songs that kept Zuna going during his family’s flight: “21 Questions” – 50 Cent (2003) “ Hate It or Love It” – The Game feat. 50 Cent (2005) “Changes” – 2Pac (1998)

Extreme skier/ski mountaineer, 47, USA. The Colorado native is now captain of the North Face Athlete Team. And, surprisingly, she’s scared of heights.

Hilaree Nelson “Whenever I’m on a steep, exposed mountainside somewhere in the world and I’m at risk of suffering an attack of vertigo, I’ll deploy the following tactic: I just don’t look down. Visually speaking, I’ll focus fully on the relevant meter-and-a-half that is right in front of me. The effect is a bit like putting on invisible blinkers.”

She snowboards in the deep, too. Géraldine Fasnacht on the move in Verbier.

THE RED BULLETIN

In 2017, Nelson skied down the Peak of Evil in the Indian Himalayas.

Then, in 2018, she descended the 27,940-foot Lhotse through its dreaded couloir.

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Skateboarder, 30, USA. The three-time X Games gold medalist is also the creator of the Sheckler Foundation.

Skateboarder Ryan Sheckler has adapted to self-isolation with home workouts and by skating the furniture—like his coffee table.

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“My training program has changed weekly, as the recommendations have. First I was in the gym, training by myself and wiping down all the equipment. Then I moved to doing more training at my house and the skatepark, plus surfing. Now they’ve put up chain-link fences to block all access to the beaches, so it looks like I’ll be focusing the majority of my time at home. When this all started, I definitely hit up a lot of the local spots we were barred from skating normally. I hit a few of the places on my bucket list, for sure. You can’t blame me, really—the parking lots and buildings were empty. Now I’m laying low and social distancing. I have a lot of respect for the people who are out there on the front lines battling this virus.

It’s been a lot of fun creating skate spots around my house with my furniture. I skated my coffee table recently; there was a push-up challenge and a kickflip challenge going on Instagram, and I just upped the fun by skating the furniture in my house. Totally spontaneous, for sure.

The coffee table actually looks great, all things considered. I see a lot more of that in my future.

After last year’s 10th Anniversary Skate for a Cause tour, I was looking forward to expanding my foundation’s reach. I have a lot of ideas, and now, with this pandemic, there will be so many more areas where we can help.”

THE RED BULLETIN

SABAS ROMERO/RED BULL CONTENT POOL(2), COURTESY OF RYAN SHECKLER

WFH like a pro

JEN SEE

Ryan Sheckler

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Video game streamer, 35, USA. Better known as GrandPOObear, Hunt is one of the world’s best, most theatrical speedrunners.

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David Hunt

Professional cyclist, 37, AUT. In 2018, Strasser rode across the Americas in a record-breaking time. Now he’s hosting Instagram workouts set to music by Stelar.

Michael Strasser

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DJ and producer, 45, AUT. Stelar, aka Marcus Füreder, is co-creator of the electro-swing genre. In 2018, he topped the U.S. electronic charts with “The Sun.”

Parov Stelar

Sound Strategy Get in the Game

CAMERON BAIRD, JAN KOHLRUSCH, CRAIG KOLESKY, SAMUEL RENNER

JEN SEE, CHRISTIAN EBERLE-ABASOLO

A popular streamer reveals how you, too, can find instant community online.

After Hunt was seriously injured snowboarding, he wondered how he would replace his favorite sport.

A lengthy recovery period meant long hours at home alone. One day, a friend invited Hunt to watch him play Halo via an online stream. To Hunt’s surprise, he was hooked immediately.

Instant friends “It’s like suddenly having a lot more friends.

Whatever your passion is—whether it’s video games or shit-talking Harry Potter or One Direction pornographic fan fiction. There may be only 50 people in the world who like what you like, but they’re there on the internet! That’s what’s great.”

Find your people “Let’s say you’re really interested in Fortnite. Go on Twitch in that category and look for people that you think look cool. It’s like, ‘I’d probably hang out with that person.’ You can kind of tell, right?

Then, if you enjoy them, THE RED BULLETIN

Michael Strasser cycled 14,000 miles from Alaska to Patagonia in 84 days, 11 hours and 50 minutes.

What kept him going through 60 mph gales in Peru?

Music and constructive words, sometimes from the same person, as the chat excerpt below shows:

see who they interact with. With a lot of my favorite streamers, I’ve found them because they’re my friends’ favorite streamers.”

Dear Michael, this is Marcus. You probably know me better as Parov Stelar. I hear that you have really thrilling, exciting times ahead of you.

So first off, my deepest respect. I think it’s wonderful that there are still people who show others all the things that are possible.

Start your own stream “Nobody’s that great at anything right when they start. It’s really hard to play a video game and talk to 2,000 people at the same time. Especially in gaming, you need to be a part of the community.

You can’t just be your own community at first. The first 10 viewers, those are the hardest viewers to get.

Get into it to have fun.”

It reminds me of when I was starting out in music. Everyone was always telling me all the things that were wrong with the music business.

But I think you’re a fighter, too. And if you really want something enough, you’ll achieve it. So, with that in mind, I wish you all the best for the adventure you have planned. And if my music gives you the strength to go the extra mile here and there, then of course I’m delighted to hear that, too. Good luck!

Be yourself “Don’t feel like you need to be like someone else.

You’re always better off appealing to your niche.

It’s impossible to please everyone. I don’t know if you have ever been on the internet, but it’s not the nicest, most rational place! Understand what niche you’re in and rock out that niche. And enjoy it. Chances are, if you’re having a good time, so are other people.”

Thanks, Marcus! Your words have motivated me through 11 countries now. Hi from Peru!

Oh, and by the way, Mambo Rap alone on loop kept me going for 1,200mi.

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Professional cyclist, 38, USA. The world champion and Olympic medalist has made a career as a highly versatile mountain biker.

Jill Kintner

True Colors 56

In addition to her talents on two wheels, Jill Kintner has a background as an illustrator. As people began self-isolating around the world, Kintner started sharing adult coloring posters to print and download at home. At right, relax and get creative with a coloring sample from her latest Red Bull project, Bandit Hill, a short film that combines her fanciful animated creatures with live action of Kintner racing through a crowded forest. jillkintner.com

Professional cyclist, 24, USA. In just a few years of competing at an elite level, Courtney has already won national and world championships.

Kate Courtney

Finding Hope

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THE RED BULLETIN

NORA O’DONNELL

stood on opposite sides of the road and shared our fears, our struggles to stay motivated and a desperate desire for riding to feel normal again. I’ve found myself laughing uncontrollably at “dinner” with my parents over FaceTime. I’ve traded workouts on social media and shared rides on virtual platforms. Everyone is reaching out generously with their gifts. Moments of grace like these remind me that we are all in this together.

The Olympics are a celebration of the human spirit. They are about striving in the face of uncertainty, about relentless competition and global unity. They are a test of resilience, an opportunity to grow and transform by doing hard things. This is a hard thing.

For now, my only solid plan is to look inward, keep my head down and focus on taking the next right step. I have to keep believing that, on the other side, I will stand on that Olympic start line.

Hope and heartbreak can live side by side.

DARREN CARROLL/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, JESSE DEYOUNG/RED BULL CONTENT POOL

The following is an excerpt: Some moments, I am overwhelmed by love and connection, grateful for the opportunity to create and learn in a world that has slowed to take a deep breath. Other times, I feel heartbroken and discouraged by a timeline that demands constant reworking and mounting fear over just about everything. But as my mind rages against the possibilities, my heart whispers tiny messages of hope. All will be revealed. This too shall pass.

While we wait patiently for the revealing and the passing, the best thing I think we can do is to be kind to each other—and gentle with ourselves.

There have been silver linings. Amid the social isolation, I have never felt more connected. I am in touch with people around the world coping with this crisis. The cycling community feels strong and united.

Recently, I planned to ride in the opposite direction as a training partner and friend— just so we could wave at each other as we passed by. We

JILL KINTNER

In an essay for The Wall Street Journal, the cyclist shared her views on Olympic postponement.

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Ice hockey defenseman, 31, CAN. Subban currently plays for the New Jersey Devils. He won a gold medal with Team Canada at the 2014 Olympics.

P.K. Subban

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Retired alpine skier, 35, USA. As the greatest female alpine skier of all time, Vonn counts three Olympic medals among her many accomplishments.

Lindsey Vonn

“It will light us up again”

lindsey: The Olympic spirit is something that is really incredible and can have a major impact on the world. It will light us up again, just not this summer. I wish the athletes all the best and for everyone to stay

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NORA O’DONNELL

healthy, so wash your hands, practice social distancing, and we’re looking forward to cheering on the athletes next year. p.k.: It’s tough for those athletes who have trained over the years preparing for it. It’s gonna happen, and it sucks, but obviously we’re thinking of bigger things. We’re thinking of all the families, kids and people out of work, people who are sick.

COURTESY OF LINDSEY VONN

When the IOC announced that the Tokyo 2020 Games would be postponed until next year, retired alpine ski racer Lindsey Vonn and professional hockey player P.K. Subban, both former Olympians, together delivered a message of encouragement. This is an excerpt from that conversation:

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Rock climber, 27, USA. DiGiulian is a world and three-time national champion. Fun fact: The first climber emoji was based on her likeness.

CARLO CRUZ/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, ALEX GRYMANIS/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, GETTY IMAGES (3), RYAN TAYLOR/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, NETFLIX NORA O’DONNELL

Sasha DiGiulian

“I WANT TO REMIND YOU ALL THAT MOTHER NATURE IS BEAUTIFUL. WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER. [NOW] IS A GOOD TIME FOR ALL OF US TO REFLECT ON HOW WE CAN MOVE FORWARD AS A SOCIETY AND BE MORE RESPONSIBLE TOWARD OUR ENVIRONMENT. NOTHING IS A GIVEN, AND THAT IS CERTAINLY CLEAR NOW MORE THAN EVER.”

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Ice hockey forward, 30, USA. As an Olympian, Knight won silver in 2010 and 2014, and gold in 2018, for Team USA. She’s also an eight-time world champ.

Hilary Knight

Show of Force How Olympic hockey players used their binge-watching of Netflix’s Love Is Blind to create a workout game.

Since its premiere earlier this year, the Netflix reality series Love Is Blind has become an addictive guilty pleasure to binge-watch while the world is on hold. But for Olympic hockey players and Team USA teammates Hilary Knight and Hannah Brandt, it was an opportunity to create an at-home workout challenge while wearing their Myzone fitness trackers. Here’s their creative way to get off the couch:

1. Choose an episode of Love Is Blind.

2. Body work: When a cast member says “I love you,” do 10 push-ups, sit-ups or V-ups.

3. Cardio: For the rest of the episode, jump in place, do imaginary jump rope or air squats.

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Rapper and songwriter, 27, USA. New Jersey’s Brittany Dickinson is known for her edgy flow and positive message.

pineappleCITI

Triumph in tragedy was for [R&B singer] Kelly Rowland. I was more into rap, but I took it on as a challenge. I remember writing this song for her and singing it in the studio as she walked in. She was like, ‘This sounds great.

You should sing more.’

Her just saying that changed my perspective.

I started working on my singing. You can hear the confidence that Kelly gave me on my new single, “Recognize.” There’s always triumph through tragedy. What seemed like a temporary fix helped me with my own career.”

redbullrecords.com

THOMAS FALCONE/RED BULL RECORDS

FLORIAN OBKIRCHER

“In 2016, I gave up my teaching job in order to pursue music full time. I released my first album, my single went viral, everything was going crazy. Then my car crashed into a tree. When I woke up in the hospital, I knew instantly that my life was changed: I wasn’t able to walk [for two years], which meant I couldn’t perform my music. I was devastated.

When my label suggested to write songs for other artists, I thought of it as a step down. But I realized that it was an opportunity to channel my talent during a time when my career was on hold. One of my first songwriting jobs

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Breakdancer, 39, FRA. Junior Bosila Banya could barely run as a child. Today, the French-Congolese is one of the world’s best breakdancers.

TYRONE BRADLEY/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, LITTLE SHAO/RED BULL CONTENT POOL

FLORIAN OBKIRCHER

B-Boy Junior

“I learned how to play to my strengths”

The breakdancer didn’t have an easy childhood. But his philosophy helped him turn his disability into a superpower.

“I contracted polio when I was 3 years old.

The difference between me and the other kids became evident when I realized that I couldn’t run as fast as them. But I’ve never given in. I focused on sports like table tennis and boxing, and when I played soccer I was the goalkeeper.

Whenever people would make me feel like I couldn’t do something, I worked extra hard to prove them wrong. I have always tried to turn my disability into an advantage.

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“The best example is dancing. When I was little, I would dance along to Michael Jackson videos. To compensate for moves I couldn’t do, I came up with my own mix of gymnastics and martial arts; moves I could do on my hands.

When I was 12, I saw some street dancers on TV, and, to my surprise, their moves were quite similar to mine. I realized that I’d been breakdancing before I even knew what it was.

From then on, I trained really hard; I had found my thing. Soon, kids stopped seeing me as the little guy who was disabled—I became the guy with the crazy moves. Sure enough, two breakdance teachers discovered my talent and took me under their wings.

“What has always helped me through difficult times is my way of thinking. I try to think about what I have and what I want, instead of what I don’t have and what I miss.”

Instagram: @bboyjuniorofficiel

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Beekeeper and inventor, 40, AUS. Anderson lives near Byron Bay in New South Wales, where he still makes prototypes in his garden.

Cedar Anderson

Plan Bee

FLOW

RACHAEL SIGEE

How one Australian inventor’s backyard creation has revolutionized modern apiculture.

“One of the most dangerous things to our world is believing that somebody else is going to fix it,” says Cedar Anderson. The Australian started fixing problems at age 8, when he built a go-kart to drive to school.

Today he drives a car he adapted to run on used vegetable oil, or he flies to work using a self-built electric paramotor. But most notably, this belief is what led him to invent a revolutionary beehive.

“As a kid, I didn’t have TV, so we’d go into the workshop and make stuff,” says Anderson, who was raised in a New South Wales community built around nature and sustainability. “We were pretty poor, so we had to be inventive. We were encouraged to just have a go. So when I found harvesting honey was an incredible amount of hot, heavy, messy work, and that you can’t help but squash a bunch of bees in the process, I thought there had to be a better way.”

After 10 years of working on the problem with his beekeeper father, Stuart, he found a solution: the Flow Hive. The honeycomb cells in each frame split vertically instead of horizontally, so honey can be extracted by turning a tap, causing the bees zero stress.

“It was wild,” says Anderson. “One day we’re inventing and living in a shed; the next, we’ve launched a crowd-funder that hit $1 million worth of orders in two hours!”

Today there are more than 75,000 Flow Hives being used in 130 countries, and the invention has attracted tens of thousands of new beekeepers to the trade. “Agriculture and honeybees go hand in hand,” says Anderson. “A single hive can pollinate 50 million flowers a day. No other species can achieve that. For us, it’s this sense of being able to have a positive impact on the world.”

Despite his success, Anderson remains a true backyard inventor. “I think many of us have great ideas,” he says, “but only a few of us really act on them. One essential trait is stubborn persistence, and that’s something I carry. I don’t give up easily.”

Above: The Flow Hive is laser-cut from sustainable woods, including western red cedar and araucaria (bees not included). Right: Honey man Cedar Anderson

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Former professional rugby player, 31, GBR. Paralyzed from the neck down by a diving accident in 2017, Jackson amazed doctors as he battled to regain significant mobility.

Ed Jackson

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Snowboarder, 22, GBR. In 2018, Ormerod broke her right heel bone in two during training. After 18 months of tough recovery, she’s back winning medals.

Katie Ormerod

The Power of Positivity Since becoming quadriplegic in 2017, Jackson has kept a daily diary chronicling the highs and lows of his incredible journey. From a starting point of almost total paralysis, intense focus and tireless work has meant he’s now not only able to walk but has climbed mountains, including Snowdon and Mera Peak in aid of his charity, M2M. This is from day 289 of his diary:

SYO VAN VLIET/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, MATT KELLY

RUTH MORGAN

“It didn’t take me long to realize humor is a great way to lighten even the darkest times. It’s hard to explain, but most rugby players will understand when I say that there’s something incredibly comforting about getting abused by your mates. It’s one of those strange things that you get so accustomed to,

you actually miss it when it’s gone.

“It didn’t take long for the piss-taking to start. The first present I was brought in the hospital by one of my mates—who knew full well I couldn’t move from the neck down—was some juggling balls. He dropped them on my chest and said, ‘Here you go, pal. I thought seeing as you’re gonna be in here a while, you might as well learn a new skill.’ Some may call that insensitive; I thought it was hilarious.

In fact, it was the best I’d felt since the accident. It was a bit of normality.

“From that day, I realized the importance of being able to laugh through all the crap —a skill I carry forward to this day. And I’ve still got the juggling balls: They helped improve my grip strength, so I had the last laugh!”

September 2018: Jackson climbs Mont Buet, near the French/Swiss border, to raise money for Restart Rugby, a charity for injured players.

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In March this year, Ormerod was crowned World Cup slopestyle champion—the first British snowboarder to win the title.

“The dark times made me a better athlete” “Recovering from that injury was the toughest time I’ve ever faced.

[Ormerod was injured when she came off a rail too early, just three days before she was due to compete in the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.]

I remember it like it was yesterday. I couldn’t move from my sofa for three months. I wasn’t sure I’d ever snowboard again.

I couldn’t walk, I was in constant pain, and I needed seven operations.

“There were such dark days. I just kept reminding myself that it’s OK to feel down sometimes, that I’m human, and that I was going through something I’d never faced before.

Even when it all felt impossible, I had to tell

myself that I would get back on my snowboard.

I wouldn’t have believed it back then, but going through that dark time has made me a better athlete today.

“My whole mindset changed. Before my injury, I was very resultsfocused; now I just feel thankful to be able to get on a board, to be up in the mountains. Now I know that if I do the best run I can, the results will come.

“That mindset is what helped me win the overall World Cup title this year, which was just the best feeling ever. This was by far the best season of my whole career. Knowing what I went through to get here makes it even more special.”

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Guitarist, With his band 52, GBR. Radiohead, guitarist O’Brien, With Radiohead, 52, has performed O’Brien hasinplayed stadiums all over in stadiums the world. worldwide—but His place of inspiration, his place though, of inspiration is far from is far the from sound the crowds. of the crowd

Ed O’Brien

“Birds are like naturalborn opera singers”

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MARCEL ANDERS

“In 1998, I wasn’t happy with the way things were going with the band. We were touring [multiplatinum-selling third album] OK Computer and it was simply too much. I was exhausted, depressed and I drank too much.

I couldn’t cope with the sudden success and all the media exposure.

“When I returned home, I found solitude in long walks in nature. It was the best way to get my head clear and to overcome that darkness.

And listening to birds and watching them was part of it. My granddad loved bird-watching. One of my earliest memories is being on holiday in Cornwall and him having his binoculars and showing us birds. He marveled at them. I didn’t really appreciate it that much when I was younger, but the older I get, the more I marvel at them, too. One of the things I love most is being amid nature, among the trees, with all the bird life.

“It’s fantastic, the sounds they’re able to make, considering the size of their bodies. The vocal

range some of them have—they’re like naturalborn opera singers. And to hear them perform in that blue hour of the early morning when they’re competing with each other to find a mating partner—that’s really beautiful. It’s got such a happy, vital, uplifting vibe. It’s life-assuring to us as humans; it’s good for our psyche. It makes us realize that we’re alive and that there’s all that beauty right on our doorstep. They represent freedom and independence, big time.

“Wales [where O’Brien wrote the music for his debut solo album, Earth, out now] is bird heaven. The bird population there is so varied it’s unbelievable. There are chaffinches, yellowhammers, goldcrests, kingfishers, swallows and species you wouldn’t find anywhere else in the world. I particularly love the aquatic warblers. They’re extremely rare, but they’re wonderful creatures, and their singing is phenomenal. It’s a real thrill to watch them do their thing.”

Listen to Birdsong Radio at rspb.org.uk

UNIVERSAL MUSIC, NATURE PHOTOGRAPHERS LTD/ALAMY

Whenever he’s feeling empty and exhausted, the Radiohead guitarist finds happiness in birdsong.

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Musician, 71, GBR. Eno is the man who launched Roxy Music, inspired David Bowie, reinvented Coldplay and pioneered ambient music.

Brian Eno

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Singer, 29, USA. After chart-topping success at an early age, JoJo fell out with her record label and was barred from releasing music for 10 years.

JoJo

“Repetition allows your brain to be inventive” In 1975, music visionary Brian Eno and artist Peter Schmidt published Oblique Strategies—a box of 113 cards that aimed to help artists break creative block.

The likes of David Bowie, R.E.M. and Coldplay have used Oblique Strategies to explore new avenues of creativity.

One of the cards reads “Repetition is a form of change,” and explains how to find inspiration when life feels like a loop; how to focus when life seems stagnant.

“Repetition allows your brain to become inventive. It allows you to become a composer,” Eno says.

“There’s a 1959 essay by [cybernetician] Warren McCulloch titled What the Frog’s Eye Tells the Frog’s Brain. What was discovered is that the frog’s eye stays totally still. Stare at something and gradually what you’re looking at will disappear, because the rods and cones in your eye saturate and you no longer see the thing. That’s how a frog’s eye works. The frog sits there, saturates, and then, when a fly passes, that’s the only thing it sees. When you get absorbed in a loop, you focus on details you wouldn’t otherwise notice.

So if life feels like a loop, don’t despair. Repetition is a useful exercise. It is what people who do mantras discovered many thousands of years before I did!”

“Life is a marathon”

FLORIAN OBKIRCHER SHAMIL TANNA, SOME WONDERFUL OLD THINGS/ALAMY, WARNER MUSIC

Joanna “JoJo” Levesque’s 2004 debut, “ Leave (Get Out),” hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Top 40 chart when she was only 13.

In the late ’70s, David Bowie used Oblique Strategies to create his legendary “Berlin Trilogy” of albums, including Heroes.

“For 10 years, I didn’t own my own voice. It was horrible. How do you get through those times? There’s no easy way. You’ll have good and bad days, but it’s important to have a support system that will see you through it, even when you’re not seeing a next chapter. I would focus on what I could control and take one step at a time, remembering life is a marathon. It’s like on the treadmill: You run your ass off for three minutes, slow down for the next two. In those two minutes, you recover and prepare yourself so you can face the next sprint fully charged.”

JoJo’s new album, Good to Know, is out now on her own record label, Clover Music; iamjojoofficial.com

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Singer, 26, ESP. Rosalía’s mix of flamenco and urban sounds has won widespread acclaim, and her willpower has inspired her many fans.

Rosalía

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SONY, ROGER KISBY/REDUX/LAIF

The Red Bulletin writer Marco Payan remembers his interview with the then up-and-coming singer in early 2019: “By the time I left, I was changed. Her answers had a more significant impact on me than her six Grammys. She’s stuck to her rules all along: hard work, intuition, vision. She had such clarity on what she wanted to achieve. Rosalía backed up what she told me with her determination and actions, even after she became internationally famous.

‘There’s no plan B,’ she told me. ‘I gave my life to music. I’m not playing around—I’ve been serious since the beginning.’ ” Weeks later, she was on her way to becoming a star.

Instagram: @rosalia.vt

MARCO PAYAN

Meeting a future star

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Indie-pop band, USA. The Aces‘ 2016 debut, When My Heart Felt Volcanic, was described by music mag NME as “nothing less than bloody brilliant.”

The Aces

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Cristal Ramirez

Lead vocalist/guitarist, 24.

Cristal started her first band with her sister Alisa when she was only 8 years old.

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Alisa Ramirez

Drummer, 22.

Alisa directed their music video for “Daydream,” the first single from upcoming album Under My Influence.

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Katie Henderson

Guitarist, 24.

Katie was the last member to join the Aces, in 2008.

She’s also the band’s tech and studio whiz.

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“ ‘Let it happen’ is my mantra” When she started out in music, the Aces’ Cristal Ramirez found inspiration in a rock song. “I’ve always been a massive fan of Paramore and [vocalist] Hayley Williams,” she says, “and I listened to one of their songs, ‘Last Hope,’ a lot when it came out in 2013. I was on the brink of graduation from high school, and I was determined to pursue a music career, but of course there were doubts: ‘Am I doing the right thing?’ It was ‘Last Hope’ that inspired me to follow my dream.

“I love the chorus: ‘Gotta let it happen, so let it happen’— I find it really powerful. She’s admitting she isn’t in a great place,

but you’ve got to be calm and let things play out. It’s that idea of ‘focus on the things you can control and don’t waste your energy on the things you can’t.’

It’s like a little mantra in that sense.

“It has been a companion over the years whenever I need motivation in times of change. It helped me when we moved to L.A. and hadn’t yet signed our record deal. It comforts me, because it reminds me of joyful times, and times of self-discovery that were important for me.”

Paramore’s self-titled fourth album, which features “Last Hope,” was certified platinum.

The Aces’ new album, Under My Influence, is out on June 12 on Red Bull Records; theacesofficial.com

McKenna Petty

RED BULL RECORDS

FLORIAN OBKIRCHER

Bassist, 24.

Like the other members, McKenna grew up in Utah.

Cristal calls her their “yoga/cooking/social media guru”

The Aces: (from left) Cristal, Katie, Alisa and McKenna

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Canoeist, 25, AUT. While her Olympic debut is on hold, the 2018 European slalom-canoeing champion has been taking some tips from her brother.

Viktoria Wolffhardt

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Épée fencer, 32, SUI. Heinzer has been in the top 10 of his sport since 2009. His Swiss team won gold at the World Fencing Championships in 2018.

Max Heinzer

All in the Family

“Making my Olympic dream come true will have to wait. Right now I’m working out at home instead of doing my usual training. But it gives me time to prepare and try out new things, like training with my brother. Maxi is a handball player, so he trains differently: He does coordination exercises with a ball, stabilizes his neck, works on strengthening his legs and does long stretches. How is that beneficial to me? No idea! Only Tokyo will tell. But there’s no harm in trying something new.”

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Fine swordsmen: Heinzer training at home.

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RDB/BLICKSPORT/BENJAMIN SOLAND, VALERIANO DI DOMENICO/RED BULL CONTENT POOL

Sporting siblings: Viktoria and Maxi Wolffhardt do the Koala Challenge, a climbing and strength exercise.

Whenever Max Heinzer grabs his épée at his home in the Swiss village of Küssnacht, near Lucerne, his sparring partner is always en garde.

That’s because his opponent is an artificial arm attached to a wall and holding a fencing sword of its own.

This one-limbed adversary has been doing Heinzer an invaluable service since 2011. “I knocked it together after I got injured, so that I could train at home, too,” he says.

“It’s a chromium steel skeleton covered in insulation material, foam and plastic wrap, hanging from a height-adjustable shower rod.”

Given the current situation, Heinzer is especially indebted to his patient training partner. “He’s my toughest opponent,” says the champion fencer.

WOLFGANG WIESER

“My silent partner improves my game”

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Yachtsman, 40, AUS. Spithill dreamed of an America’s Cup win from the age of 4. At 30, he became the youngest skipper to take the trophy.

James Spithill

BRETT HEMMINGS/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, LUNA ROSSA/CARLO BORLENGHI

RUTH MORGAN

Spithill’s Luna Rossa team loses the mast of its AC75 foiling monohull in choppy waters during America’s Cup training off the coast of Marina di Capitana, Sardinia. Thankfully, there was no major damage to the mast and no injury to the crew.

“Champion teams are able to respond to tough times” Victory is everything to the two-time America’s Cup winner. But to get there he’s learned how to embrace failure, too.

“Sport is rewarding and fulfilling in so many ways,” says yachtsman Jimmy Spithill. “One of the best things it can teach you is to get back up again after a tough setback. The America’s Cup has been the most brutal yet honest platform for me. There’s no second place—the podium isn’t celebrated.

Anything short of victory is failure.

“That pressure pushes engineering, design and construction to the limit, to breaking point. The fact is, if you don’t have a few setbacks along the way it’s likely you’re not pushing the envelope.

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“In this environment, you don’t get to really know someone when you’re winning; you learn what they’re made of in tough times. You see who’s able to be honest and learn from it and, more importantly, grow stronger. That’s where leaders are made: They use it as an education and an opportunity to make themselves better people and teammates.

“I’ve seen it in every campaign I’ve done, famously during the San Francisco round of the America’s Cup [in 2013, when Spithill’s Oracle Team USA staged an incredible comeback, winning eight consecutive races to go from 8-1 down to a 9-8 series win]. I’ve seen it during this current America’s Cup campaign, when structural failures meant [current team] Luna Rossa dropping the mast and ripping the front of the boat off. In both cases, our mistakes didn’t make us weaker or cost us the trophy; it brought us together, forced us to learn.

It made us stronger as a team. Champions and champion teams are able to respond to tough times.

“Right now, the entire planet has a real fight on its hands. If we look at lessons learned from sport, we can use this as an opportunity to be candid, honest, and come back stronger and smarter for the future.” lunarossachallenge.com

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Soccer player, 28, BRA. The striker for French Ligue 1 club Paris SaintGermain and the Brazilian national team is seen as one of the best soccer players in the world.

Neymar Jr. Inbox: RISING TO THE CHALLENGE ISSUE Re Re

Thoughts in these times

To To

The Red Bulletin

From Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior <neymar@xxxxxxxxxx>

From a friend in Brazil As everyone across the world experiences a shared moment in time, a special email landed in our inbox.

Friday, 10 April, 2020 at 09:57

Olá Se eu pensar só em mim e na minha equipe, o PSG, pergunto a você: Tinha momento mais inadequado para os campeonatos pararem ?? Mas acho que agora é hora da gente cuidar do planeta, de salvar vidas. É hora dos especialistas e governantes tomarem as decisões mais corretas possíveis para salvar o maior número de vidas. Os dirigentes de clubes e federações terão as respostas adequadas para esta questão. Eu vou continuar treinando, todos os dias, esperando o retorno aos gramados porque eu sei que o esporte voltará. O esporte é muito importante na vida de cada ser humano e voltará ainda mais forte, tenho certeza.

Eu passei um bom tempo em reclusão, isolamento em razão das lesões que sofri em 2018 e 2019.

Foram momentos muito difíceis mas que me deram um aprendizado muito grande relacionado a manter foco, me recompor e recuperar a autoconfiança. Então este momento, individualmente, eu conheço bem e sei exatamente o que fazer para pra manter a cabeça boa. A grande diferença é que agora não e uma questão individual. Essa pandemia parou o mundo e não sabemos quando nem como as coisas ficarão depois que isso tudo passar. Não é só uma questão de “manter o foco”, mas de preocupação com as nossas famílias, com as pessoas que amamos e com o planeta.

Vamos ficar em casa, cuidando uns dos outros e esperar esse momento passer São três cães, o Poker, o Flush e o Truco. São meus zagueiros neste período.

Hahahahhaha Eles moram no Brasil e é muito bom passar esse período com eles, sempre gostei muito de cachorros. E não tem muita técnica pra treinar com eles não, é só jogar à bola e correr q eles vêm todos juntos pra me desarmar...

E vou te falar, eles dão trabalho pra mim.... hahahahah Eu que tenho que melhorar pra enfrentá-los. Hahahahhahahahah Valeu, um abraço Neymar Jr

TRANSLATION:

If I were thinking only of myself and my team, PSG, I’d ask you: has there ever been a more inappropriate time for the championships to stop? But I think that now is the time for us to take care of the planet, to save lives. It’s time for experts and government officials to make the most correct decisions possible to save as many lives as possible. Club and federation officers will have the appropriate answers to this question. I’ll continue training every day, waiting to go back to the pitch, because I know the sport will come back. Sports are very important in the life of every human being, and I’m sure that sports will come back even stronger.

I was injured in 2018-19, so I spent a long time in seclusion, isolation. It was a difficult time for me, but I was able to learn a lot about staying focused, healing, and regaining selfconfidence. So, personally speaking, I know what’s happening now very well, and I know exactly what to do to keep my head on straight. The big difference is that it’s not an individual issue now. This pandemic has stopped the world and we don’t know how things will be after all this is over. We don’t even know when it will be over. It’s not just a matter of “staying focused” but of concern for our families, the people we love and the planet.

Let’s all stay at home, taking care of each other and waiting for this moment to pass.

I have three dogs, Poker, Flush and Truco. They’re my opponents these days.

Hahahahhaha! They live in Brazil, and it’s so great to spend this time with them. I’ve always loved dogs. There’s not much to do with technique when I train with them.

I just play ball and run around and they all come together to steal the ball. And I’m telling you, they make me work... hahahahah!

Neymar Jr. with his current “practice squad” at his home near Rio de Janeiro.

I’ll have to improve to face them! Hahahahhahahahah!

Cheers, take care Neymar Jr 82

THE RED BULLETIN

HADRIEN PICARD/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, COURTESY OF NEYMAR JR.

TOM GUISE

Hello,

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Soccer player, 21, GBR. The Liverpool and England ace is considered to be one of the best right-backs in the world.

Trent Alexander-Arnold

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Ryan Pessoa

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Match commentary TOM GUISE

With the Premier League temporarily frozen and the FIFA esports season canceled, two stars of the respective soccer worlds logged on for a game of Friday-night FIFA.

GREG COLEMAN/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, MARK ROE/RED BULL CONTENT POOL

We mere mortals may not be able to jog out onto the hallowed turf at Anfield, but we can all play as Liverpool’s number 66—Trent Alexander-Arnold—in FIFA, a video game that meticulously maps the skills of real-life soccer stars. But does Trent think the game does him justice?

Ryan Pessoa found out as he interrogated the Champions League-winning right-back during their live match-up on Twitch. The final tally? Two wins to Pessoa and a draw.

But how did Trent score on answers? ryan pessoa: Who is faster in real life, you or [Liverpool midfielder] Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain? trent alexander-arnold: I am. He got the injury that took a bit off his pace.

Did FIFA do you dirty with your pace?

Yeah, massively. That’s the one attribute [player stat that influences performance] I was gutted about. Maybe passing, too.

THE RED BULLETIN

Esports athlete, 22, GBR. The 2018 FIFA world No. 1 on Xbox is signed to Manchester City’s esports team.

Who are you isolating with?

It’s just me and my mum. I have two dogs and they’re keeping us sane.

Same with me. It must be different for you, because you’re used to being out training and playing most days, but it’s my job to just sit here and play games.

My life hasn’t changed too much either.

I’m always just chilling at home or trying to recover from games.

Would you say that you’re good at playing FIFA? I spend a lot of my time in hotels—two or three nights per week—and play FIFA maybe five or six hours a week. I’m decent for an amateur. I’m quite good at defending, quite patient.

You see, your skills do transfer from real life to the game.

We had a FIFA tournament a few years ago at England, and [Eric] Dier won that one. He’s decent.

What was going through your head when you took that quick corner [which led to the winning goal against Barcelona in the Champions League]?

Er, take the corner quickly? Ha! No, I just spotted an opportunity. I saw they weren’t switched on. It was just in the moment— seeing an opportunity and taking it. twitch.tv/ryanpessoa_ 83

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Tennis player, 26, AUT. Thiem is currently third in the ATP world rankings, having lived the highs and lows of his sport since the age of 6.

Dominic Thiem

Master of the curve Tennis ace Dominic Thiem uses his 2020 Australian Open final against Novak Djokovic to explain how he deals with mental pressure.

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Narrow loss: Thiem and Djokovic

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5 First set

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“Losing the first set hurts. And it hurts even more against a great player like Djokovic.

The break at the end of the set helps. I take a few deep breaths and analyze: It was close, and I’m still in this. I immediately feel momentum. ­I can’t change the conditions.

But I can make the most of the slightest thing and latch onto it.”

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Second set

“Now I’ve got Djokovic where I want him. He’s berating himself, not playing well. This is when I have to stay calm, play with full concentration and keep him in the same situation for as long as I can. I try to behave as calmly as possible when he makes errors, even more than when I do.

I don’t want to get him riled up.”

Third set

Four th set

3 “I’ve been in the zone for the last set. No noticeable dips in level.

All just tennis. I might play the odd bad game or make a mess of two or three points, but none of that bothers me. I know what my strengths are, and they’ve got me this far.

You forget errors quickly. I’m just looking for my opportunity to win the next point.”

Fif th set

4 “I’ve been on court for more than three hours.

It’s really lonely down here. Thankfully, I can always turn to my box.

My coach and family are there. I see faces and people I trust, who have faith in me. Their energy gives me an enormous boost. The worse things are going, the more often I look up at them.

Then everything’s better again.”

Af ter the match

5 “That’s it. I’ve lost.

And now? There’s a feeling of total emptiness. The trophy presentation. Press conferences. Duties.

None of it nice. I feel awful for five days.

But then I can put it all into perspective: I played incredibly against the eight-time champion. And there will definitely be another opportunity ...”

THE RED BULLETIN

PHILIPP PLATZER/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, GETTY IMAGES

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CHRISTIAN EBERLE-ABASOLO

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Elite freeskier, 27, SUI. What does the professional freeskier do when forced to take time off at home?

She preps skis for her friends, of course.

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Fanny Smith

Climber, 34, USA. In 2017, Honnold became the first human to climb El Capitan—the 7,569-foot-high face in Yosemite National Park—without a rope.

Alex Honnold

“THE CRUCIAL QUESTION IS NOT HOW TO CLIMB WITHOUT FEAR, BUT HOW TO DEAL WITH IT WHEN IT CREEPS INTO YOUR NERVE ENDINGS.” Honnold’s strategy to overcome fear consists of methodically breaking down a problem into sections, then working on each part diligently until he feels safe.

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Danitsa

Smith enjoys working on skis, sharpening the edges and waxing the running surfaces.

RAINER HOSCH, STELLA KNUCHEL QUOTATION FROM THE MOVIE FREE SOLO

WOLFGANG WIESER, SIMON SCHREYER

Premium service Fanny Smith is in her garage and she’s in a good mood. She’s prepping skis, one pair after another.

First she does her family’s skis, then those of her friends. She’s already done more than 20 pairs.

If the weather is good, Smith works outdoors. If it’s bad, she does it in the garage. Once she’s done, she puts the skis outside the door to be collected.

The freestyle skier, who won overall gold at last year’s World Cup and silver this year, is using the break to keep her hand in as much as possible (and her champion-level service is free, of course). There’s an added glimmer of hope—the wax Smith uses to protect skis during the off-season can be stripped off whole, to get skiers on the slopes quickly when the next season begins. “It’s a sign I’m betting on everything being totally back to normal by then.” fanny-smith.com

Singer, 25, FRA. The soul star is spreading positive vibes by releasing a new song and iPhone video every Friday on Instagram: @danitsa_m

W E E K LY P L A N N E R Saturday

Song selection Sunday

Working with a producer on the Remix or original composition

Monday

Rehear sal + moodboar d for the music video with my art director s

Tuesday

Recor ding in my brother’s home studio + mixing

Wednesday

Shooting the mini music video on the Iphone with my sister

Thursday

Editing Friday

Release of the mini music video THE RED BULLETIN

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Rally raid biker, 33, AUT. The 2018 Dakar Rally winner has a motto: “Don’t play the hero. Try to be one.” For him, planning and attention to detail are key.

Matthias Walkner

The power of small things “Hurtling over dunes at full speed may look dangerous, but we train for it. What’s far deadlier is sloppy thinking, like not following the roadbook instructions, or getting lost, or failing to wash your hands, or showering in the bivouac with your mouth open (and swallowing contaminated water). That will throw you and your body off course. It’s the small, unremarkable things that can either screw the whole thing up or help you succeed.”

Angy Eiter

The joy of listening to your body “Food science wasn’t really part of my training at the start of my career. The wisdom at that time was: the lighter you are, the better you’ll climb.

I wanted success, so I kept eating less and less. I halved my intake, and it got to the stage where I was hardly eating at all. I had slipped into anorexia.

“When my trainer realized what was going on, he snapped and forbade me from any more climbing until I was eating normally again.

I couldn’t understand his reaction—I had always had these skinny models paraded

Eiter in Kiparissi, Greece, in 2015. The climber christened this route “Gloom of Triumph.”

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in front of me, and now I had to feed myself up.

“I unraveled that knot when I realized that starving myself hadn’t made me a better climber. I was failing to build up the muscle mass that was required to perform complex climbing moves; I was no longer mentally resilient and couldn’t concentrate that well.

“When I put a bit of weight back on and noticed I’d gotten stronger, my sense of selfworth improved, too. I was lucky my entourage reacted to my losing weight so early.

“My message is: pay attention. Listen to the signals your body is sending—it’s trying to get through to you.

If it rings, pick up.”

THE RED BULLETIN

PHILIPP CARL RIEDL/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, KFOTO-KOCO MONCADA/KTM, BERNHARD HÖRTNAGL/ASP/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, LUKA FONDA/RED BULL CONTENT POOL WERNER JESSNER, SIMON SCHREYER

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Climber, 34, AUT. A successful competitive climber before her retirement in 2013, Eiter was the first woman to conquer a 9b route (in 2017).

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Dan Atherton

Downhill MTB rider, 38, GBR. The eldest sibling is a downhill racing pioneer who never tires of digging challenging new trails.

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Gee Atherton

Downhill MTB rider, 35, GBR. The two-time world champion and multiple World Cup winner has tried rally driving, too.

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Rachel Atherton

Downhill MTB rider, 32, GBR. Winner of six World Cups and five world championships, Rachel is a downhill racing legend.

DAN WILTON

RUTH MORGAN

Stronger together It’s no coincidence the sibling stars of downhill MTB live close by in Wales, belong to the same racing team and have launched a bike company together. It’s knowing they’ve got each other, says Rachel Atherton, that’s helped them reach new heights. “Growing up with siblings who do the same sport, I’ve never been alone in it.

THE RED BULLETIN

Clockwise from front: Rachel, Dan and Gee Atherton

There’s always been competitiveness, which has pushed us in the best way. When I was still a kid, Dan told me, ‘You could be the best in the world if you put in the time and effort.’ That’s given me my whole career, having their faith. Knowing that your family loves you no matter what allows you to really try; if you fail, you’re not defined by it.

In this age of social media, having that real connection with people means a lot, maybe more than ever. Facebook and Instagram, that stuff’s not real. My family, my team, are the people who really see me. They’re there whether I win or lose.”

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Biohacker, 46, GER. Breitfeld knows how to hack your body to improve your health, fitness and performance.

Andreas Breitfeld

Write a diary in the evening

An insanely powerful tool. A way to get a head start digesting the experiences and emotions of the day. It helps your brain take better advantage of your deep sleep and REM phases for recovery.

Turn off your Wi-Fi at night

Sleep strengthens our immune system, makes us more resistant to stress, repairs cells, heals wounds and transforms what we’ve learned over the course of the day into knowledge. My sleep is sacred. The basics when it comes to improving your sleep are: a cool and pitch-black bedroom, and turning off the bloody Wi-Fi at night! Sleep deprivation is a real stressor.

No phone first thing in the morning

The first half hour of the day is analog: no mobile phone, no computer, no news, just light, air and the cool of morning. I have a large glass of filtered water, look up at the sky and feel the elements. Let the crocodile in your head sleep in and it’ll be more chill the whole day.

Cuddle

Difficult situations can take our brains back 500 million years, according to Germany’s top biohacker. But these simple everyday hacks keep him present.

“Stress triggers danger warnings in the oldest part—from an evolutionary point of view—of our brain: our 500-million-year-old reptilian brain,” explains Andreas Breitfeld. “And it’s not called that for nothing: We’re neither smart nor creative in our reptilian brains. Up there, it’s all about bare survival: breathing, heartbeat, digestion, hunger, reproduction—and fear.”

He says the reptilian brain isn’t all that smart, but in exceptional situations it becomes the boss.

“There’s nothing wrong with that in principle, but it’s important that we can also effectively immobilize the little crocodile in our head.

That way we’ll think better, sleep more deeply, recover more quickly and get to grips more easily with pathogens of whatever sort. Adopt a few hacks. It’s not rocket science.”

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Meditation and infrared light

Nothing brings greater structure to my thoughts than daily meditation. I also take advantage of the time I’m meditating to shine infrared light on myself. I use professional devices (currently, I’m using devices available from theflexbeam.com), but even a simple infrared lamp will activate your cells and boost your energy level.

Stay hydrated

Drinking water—filtered, of course—is a must.

You need 0.3 liters (10 oz) per 10 kg (~20 lbs) of your body weight.

Go outside

Fresh air is always better than recycled air, and natural light is always better than the artificial version.

Breathe through your nose

Your mouth is there for talking, eating and kissing. But for breathing you have your nose.

Breathing through your nose will change your life for the better. breitfeld-biohacking.com

THE RED BULLETIN

STEFAN WAGNER

How to outsmart stress

ANDREAS BREITFELD

Seeing red: Breitfeld bathed in infrared light.

Another way to relieve stress in the mornings is to bathe in oxytocin. Oxytocin is the so-called cuddle hormone and works as an antagonist to stress hormones. If you live with your family, start the day with some TLC. (It’ll work with a cat, too.) But if you don’t have family or a pet close by, get an echobell [a handset that emits sounds and vibrations]. Those things work!

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Air Zermatt was founded on April 1, 1968. To date, more than 50,000 helicopter rescues have been carried out by its highly trained crew.

Air Zermatt

“Give every idea a shot”

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Philipp Venetz

Michèle Imhasly

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Dominik Imhof

Stephan Dreesen

Doctor, 44, SUI. “The rescued girl bore almost no sign of injury,” says Venetz, the team’s medical director.

Flight paramedic, 28, SUI. This is one mission Imhof says he will never forget: “It sent shivers down my spine.”

Transport paramedic, 40, SUI. Imhasly runs the Air Zermatt Training Center and has documented the mission.

Pilot, 47, SUI. Dreesen’s team were there in no time: “We tried every idea to carry out the rescue.”

A Swiss helicopter rescue team on an extraordinary mission. How a young girl was rescued after an intense 13-hour battle.

TERO REPO, PASCAL GERTSCHEN, CHRISTIAN PFAMMATTER

WOLFGANG WIESER

The crevasse in the rock in the Swiss municipality of Riederalp was just 8 inches wide. But on this day in October 2017 it had swallowed up a 2-year-old girl who had tripped while playing. It took almost 13 hours to get her out, safe and sound.

“An unforgettable experience for everyone who was there,” says Philipp Venetz, medical director of helicopter rescue team Air Zermatt.

Over the course of those hours, they tried everything to rescue her from about 20 feet down in the crevasse. “We gave every idea a shot,” pilot Stephan Dreesen says.

That included a suggestion from experienced paramedic Michèle Imhasly to have the 2-year-old rescued by another secured child.

But it turned out they couldn’t put that plan into effect—the gap in the rock was too narrow.

In the end, the rescue workers dug an emergency exit with picks, shovels and a mechanical digger.

Experts finally split the one last rock separating them from the child.

At 2 a.m. it was all over and the little girl was flown by helicopter to a hospital in the Swiss capital of Bern.

THE RED BULLETIN

Air Zermatt on one of its spectacular missions against the backdrop of the Matterhorn.

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Mavi Phoenix

Living my truth

“I should have been a man. I’ve known that for a long time. But there was always this thought that I’m a woman and there’s nothing that could be done about it. I made the decision to start living as a man when I was recording my album. Everything was going haywire at the time, and I was being totally creative. No one around me had a clue what was going on. YouTube videos by trans men helped me. Just seeing them as normal, healthy, happy people took a lot of the fear away. I still need to have a good think about how to proceed. Hormone treatment would change my appearance and voice.

That’s the real crunch. But I’m glad to have taken the first step.”

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Adventurer and businessman, 81, USA. Avid climber Chouinard fashioned his first pitons in 1957 and founded outdoorclothing brand Patagonia 16 years later.

Yvon Chouinard

“There’s not really any difference between a pessimist who says ‘It’s no use.

There’s nothing we can do,’ and an optimist who says ‘We don’t need to do anything.

It will all come good by itself.’ In both instances, nothing ends up happening, whereas the best treatment for depression is activity.”

Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard as a young man, working at his Little Giant forge hammer. He would go on to sell the pitons he made here out of the trunk of his car in Yosemite.

Mavi Phoenix’s long-awaited debut album, Boys Toys, is out now on LLT Records; maviphoenix.com

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THE RED BULLETIN

MAŠA STANIC, GETTY IMAGES, IMAGO/AURORA FOTOS SEBASTIAN FASTHUBER YVON CHOUINARD QUOTATION FROM THE BOOK “SOME STORIES: LESSONS FROM THE EDGE OF BUSINESS AND SPORT”, PATAGONIA PUBLISHING

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Musician, 24, AUT. Having made his name as a female rapper, Phoenix has lived as a trans man since 2019.

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Strongman, 32, USA. McCastle holds the world record for the number of pull-ups done in one day: 5,804. And he was wearing a 30-pound pack at the time.

Mike McCastle

How to Work Out in Your Living Room

CAMERON BAIRD, GETTY PREMIUM

WERNER JESSNER

Strongman Mike McCastle is working out at home now, too. With a few simple tricks, he has turned his lounge into a gym. One clever motivational trick: Do each exercise for a specific person.

“WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH, I THINK OF MYSELF TAKING ON SOMEONE ELSE’S HARDSHIP.”

THE RED BULLETIN

Triceps extension

Suitcase hammer curls

Back extension

What you need Bedsheet, door frame How you do it Tie a knot in the end of the sheet and wedge it in the door. Grip the sheet and hold it above your head. Stand on tiptoes with your heels against the door panel. Now bend both arms, bring them behind your head and then stretch them out again. Remember to keep your back straight.

What it does Works triceps, shoulder girdle and body tension Reps 15 to 20; perform multiple sets

What you need Towel, heavy suitcase (30 to 50 lbs) How you do it Thread the towel through the suitcase handle, then grip the ends from below.

Keeping a straight back, raise both arms to chest height, then let them drop all the way down.

What it does Strengthens shoulder girdle and arms and shapes biceps Reps 15 to 20; perform multiple sets. If you like, increase the weight between sets

What you need Chair, cushion How you do it Put the cushion on the backrest of the chair.

Lean on the chair with your hips and put your feet against a wall. Fold your arms in front of your chest. Slowly bend forward until your upper body is at a 45-degree angle, then straighten again, tensing your buttocks. Don’t forget to keep breathing calmly.

What it does Strengthens lower back Reps At least 15; perform two to three sets 91

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Alpine skier, 31, AUT. Hirscher retired in 2019 with eight World Cup titles, two Olympic gold medals and seven world championships.

the oddballs. I was. They’ve found a pace they can work at, which they’re going to have to keep up their whole lives. As an athlete, I only had to live with the tempo I’d set myself for 10 years. You can’t run your whole working life at a sprint. No one can survive that. It was a learning process to see that it wasn’t a very good idea to try to transpose elite sport 1:1 into daily life. Unless you want to make a huge effort to be the best at something.

Marcel Hirscher

“Now I’m all about less, not more” After the whirlwind success of his ski career, Marcel Hirscher reflects on adjusting to civilian life and finding new ways to recalibrate.

Words DANIEL WINKLER Photography FELIX KRÜGER

the red bulletin: As a sportsman, you were always asked this, but at times like these it seems more appropriate than ever: How are you doing? marcel hirscher: I’m good.

Everyone’s healthy. So very good.

Structure and making to-do lists are very important right now.

Does that apply in your case, too?

Not anymore, really. I was a walking to-do list while I was a pro athlete. It all had to be systematic.

I proceeded step by step in my quest to reach the desired goal.

I’m extremely happy that that’s no longer what it’s all about. It

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worked for 10 years. No question.

But it doesn’t have to be that way anymore, because now I’m all about less, not more.

Is it working?

It was terrible to start with. It really was very, very hard, especially because as an athlete you think you’ve got to make the most of every single day. But in my daily routine now there’s no justification for that approach. And over time it can get pretty tough.

Tough for whom?

First and foremost for the people I come into contact with on a daily basis. Service providers, tradesmen, workers, people just doing their jobs. I soon noticed in my dealings with them that they weren’t actually

Are you now recalibrating your day-to-day routine?

I’m right in the middle of that process now. Maybe only at the very beginning of it, actually. It’s probably going to take a lot of time for what I’ve trained my whole life to do to change. Which is a type of training in itself, only now I’m giving myself a bit more time for it.

It’s midday. I’ve been working in the garden since 7:30 in the morning and I notice that it’s a glorious day.

I think to myself, you don’t have to get it all done today. In the past I always lived by the motto not to put off till tomorrow what you could do today. Let’s do another two runs because who knows what might happen tomorrow! Let’s test the boots out today because who knows what might happen tomorrow! That was right for sport but isn’t much good for everyday life. I still have to learn that.

There were learning curves when you were an athlete, too, like when you broke your ankle in August 2017.

At first the injury came as a relief.

The downtime was so bitter, so painful, so devastating, just as much as it was about recovery. And there were plenty of tough moments during those weeks of rehabilitation.

But ultimately it was a gift. It meant I could ski at that level for another two years. Otherwise I would have had to retire earlier.

That doesn’t sound like downtime—more like a reboot.

It was six weeks where I could finally slow down physically. I don’t mean I did nothing, but the level of intensity was different and I couldn’t take the strain anymore.

THE RED BULLETIN

But soon enough my inner clock started ticking again. I can’t say I was patient. At that point, I’d won six World Cup titles in a row. That was a blessing and a curse at the same time. The pressure had already increased after I won my second overall World Cup. Every year I won another trophy, the greater the pressure got and the more unattainable the next goal seemed.

It didn’t matter me knowing it was doable. It always became more of a mega-undertaking. Overall victory suddenly stopped being a burden after I broke my ankle. But the clock was ticking, and then there was the Olympics to think about, too.

Did you feel people’s appreciation for you, regardless of your results?

Now I feel it more than ever. I’ve never been more aware of it than I am now. That appreciation from others never changed, but my level of receptiveness to it has. Now I’m aware of it and can accept it.

I always found that difficult when I was competing because victory today means absolutely nothing tomorrow in the world of ski racing. I always thought things had to be better.

So do you really have to burn the candle at both ends to be successful?

That was my approach, at any rate. I wanted to be right up at the top for another two or three years

“Every new day means development.

Constancy is boring.”

THE RED BULLETIN

rather than take it easy and be further down the field. It was either my third or fourth overall World Cup win. Of the 21 days before the finals, we were out racing on the piste for 18 of them. The other three days were travel days. It didn’t really matter if I keeled over after the World Cup finals.

So have you sort of slammed on the brakes internally since you retired in 2019? Do you still feel a sense of shock at being a retiree?

[Laughs.] I can understand any retiree who feels they’re lacking something, especially if that’s a sense of structure and content.

But once you find those and reintegrate them in your life, it’s a pleasure. I was very happy to discover ski-touring last winter.

The night before I pack everything in readiness for the next day, and then I wake up early all excited and happy because I know that soon I’ll be heading off to the mountains.

The nicest thing about ski-touring is that you can take a more individual line on the way up and back down than in the summer.

That was a turnaround. I noticed I was passionate, fascinated and enthusiastic about it.

Let’s go back to the Hirscher roots, to the young boy growing up in a mountain hut at an altitude of 5,000 feet.

My peaceful childhood. That’s the tranquility I like to look back on. It’s a privilege being able to enjoy nature. When my life was at its most stressful, I once had over 100 telephone calls in a single day.

I happened to count them somehow and I was horrified. They weren’t long conversations. They would have been about things that were relevant during the skiing season.

Logistics, who’s fetching what, who’s bringing this or that. And then all of a sudden there were days when nobody would ring. As cool and handy as a mobile phone is, I now know what a gift it is if it doesn’t ring for a couple of days.

To start with you might think something’s a bit off, but you’re not actually missing out on anything.

That was the main change for me in my first year of retirement from the sport.

“You can’t run your whole working life at a sprint.“ Since October 2018 there’s been another taskmaster in your life.

What is Marcel Hirscher the father learning from his son?

Patience is definitely a mission in life when you have children. I did say after he was born that the real adventure was only starting now— and that’s turned out to be spot on.

Everything’s been lovely so far, but now it’s really getting interesting.

Now it all counts!

What does?

The realization that every new day means development. Constancy is boring.

What do you dream of?

I hope the takeaway from all the madness we’re currently experiencing will be us drawing the right conclusions and gaining insight for how to make positive change.

What would you say today to the driven racer Marcel from back then?

Do you want to be successful right off the bat or could you accept a couple of overall World Cup wins fewer? I’ve often thought now that it would have been good to have taken a break, to have lifted my foot off the pedal. But would I have won eight overall World Cup victories if I had?

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Adventurer and photographer, 52, SUI. Leads exclusive expeditions for small groups to challenging destinations, including the North Pole.

Thomas Ulrich

Living on thin ice

Marooned on an ice floe for four days, the adventurer learned that there’s strength in staying calm.

Top: Saying goodbye to his companion Christine Kopp at Cape Arktitscheski in the Arctic Ocean. From there, it was another 615 miles to the North Pole. Above: The tent where Ulrich held out for four days before being rescued. In this picture, the ice is still intact. It later broke up into small floes.

floe for four days. At first he panicked, but then the sea, bobbing up and down, provided an almost meditative calm. He had a revelation. “Life may not be secure, but change doesn’t have to mean catastrophe.” By the time a helicopter came to rescue him, he had learned—literally—how to walk on thin ice. “I now know how to stay calm in a crisis. Upheaval hasn’t made me panic since then.”

THOMAS ULRICH, ULI WIESMEIER

WOLFGANG WIESER

The man fighting through icy seas in a bright orange waterproof suit in the picture below is Thomas Ulrich. He’s an old hand when it comes to adventures in the Arctic, and he’s understood that strength only comes from staying calm. That’s exactly why he’s still alive now. The story, which shapes him to this day, takes us back to 2006, when Ulrich wanted to make a solo trip across the Arctic from Russia to Canada. He set off and found himself for a week at the Arctic Cape—a forbidding place. “I lost patience. An error.” Plus, the ice that year was thin, in some places just 6 inches thick.

Within just a few miles, the expedition had turned into a disaster. A storm pushed the ice sheet up against the land and it broke. “A crack appeared a meter away from my tent, and then on the other side there was another, and then a third and a fourth,” Ulrich recalls. He was marooned on the

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Skateboarder, 31, GER. Scholz is famous for his amazing videos. But before he could show the world his talents, he had to deal with the fallout of a misdiagnosis.

LORENZ HOLDER/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, JONATHAN MEHRING/RED BULL CONTENT POOL

MARC DECKERT

Vladik Scholz

Flying high: Street skater Scholz has made a name for himself with his elegant style.

“I decided to see the positive in small things.

And everything suddenly got going again“ When living on the breadline and not off kickflips, Scholz’s biggest trick was learning to think differently.

THE RED BULLETIN

“I tore a ligament in my left foot when I was 23.

Normally that takes a couple of months to heal, but the doctor missed some cartilage damage, the joint became inflamed and I was going to be out for who knew how long. My then sponsor backed out and I was living off 300 euros a month. But I found that your body’s driving force kicks in most when you’re at rock bottom. Within a few weeks, something was stirring inside me, and I decided to see the positive in small things. Going up and down stairs on crutches?

A good workout. I enrolled at university. I read books.

One year and three operations later, I started fresh.

The last video material I had helped me secure new sponsors, and all of a sudden I was back on the road and shooting videos. Everything got going again.”

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The Red Bulletin is published in six countries. The cover of this month’s UK edition showcases a rarely-seen perspective of Hawaiian pro surfer Anthony Walsh, shot

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Photographer, 50, FRA. Beyond his work as the photo editor for the French sports newspaper L’Equipe, Seguin is widely known for capturing breathtaking images underwater.

Franck Seguin

Beauty is truth

The next issue of THE RED BULLETIN is out on July 21.

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THE RED BULLETIN

L’EQUIPE, FRANCK SEGUIN

“We all have the responsibility to take care of the creation that we inherited,” says Seguin when asked to explain his underwater work. “This is not our property—we will have to hand it off to future generations. As a person and a photographer, I modestly try to testify to others about the beauty of the world to make them want to protect it.”

ALPHATAURI.COM