The Red Bulletin December 2017 - UK

UK EDITION

BEYOND THE ORDINARY

WILD DRIVES

THE DAKAR RALLY AND BEYOND OUR GUIDE TO THE WORLD’S MOST EXTREME MOTOR RACING SUBSCRIBE NOW! GETREDBULLETIN.COM DECEMBER 2017 £3.50

CONTRIBUTORS

EDITORIAL

Stuart Codling

The motorsport journalist and author travelled to a dusty field in Spain to meet Dakar Rally champion Sam Sunderland.

“Racers who have encountered knockbacks are always more interesting to speak to than those who have been given everything on a plate,” he says. “Sam has had to fight for his success, and you can tell – he’s an incredibly focused and determined character.” PAGE 4 8

Miko Lim

The Los Angeles-based photographer captured Jean-Claude Van Damme in motion in Hollywood. “At 57, he still has the boyish charisma and sleek moves I remember seeing in Bloodsport and Kickboxer,” says Lim. “It would be a mistake to simply classify him as an action star – there’s something much more interesting about him. He’s a thoughtful perfectionist – and a badass.” PAGE 28

06

A desire to endure permeates the pages of The Red Bulletin this month, though our protagonists have very different priorities and approaches. Champion biker Sam Sunderland is prepping to defend his title in one of the world’s toughest and mostly deadly motorsport races, the Dakar Rally. And we bring you the ultimate guide to surviving such testing rally raid events intact.

Next, explorer Christian Clot tests the limits of the human brain in extreme heat, cold and humidity to see how well we are able to adapt (and survive) in the world’s most gruelling conditions. And in the case of eco-adventurer Raphaël Domjan, saving the environment is the focus. His planned stratospheric flight in a solar plane could revolutionise the way we travel – and help combat climate change in the process.

But up first is action hero Jean-Claude Van Damme, who realised that to avoid a straight-tovideo future he needed to reinvent himself. The actor has embraced the world of comedy, which, judging by his new Amazon Prime series JeanClaude Van Johnson, was exactly the right move.

Enjoy the issue.

THE RED BULLETIN

FLAVIEN DUHAMEL/RED BULL CONTENT POOL

Survival instinct

photo credits : Enrico Romanzi

The winter season opens the 25th November 2017

La Thuile will charm you Come to La Thuile and live a true snow experience. Free your passion with alpine skiing, snowkiting, snowboarding, cross-country skiing, heliskiing, snowshoes and please yourselves with some relaxation and some good Italian food.

www.lathuile.it

@lathuilevalledaosta

@lathuile.it

CONTRIBUTORS

EDITORIAL

Stuart Codling

The motorsport journalist and author travelled to a dusty field in Spain to meet Dakar Rally champion Sam Sunderland.

“Racers who have encountered knockbacks are always more interesting to speak to than those who have been given everything on a plate,” he says. “Sam has had to fight for his success, and you can tell – he’s an incredibly focused and determined character.” PAGE 4 8

Miko Lim

The Los Angeles-based photographer captured Jean-Claude Van Damme in motion in Hollywood. “At 57, he still has the boyish charisma and sleek moves I remember seeing in Bloodsport and Kickboxer,” says Lim. “It would be a mistake to simply classify him as an action star – there’s something much more interesting about him. He’s a thoughtful perfectionist – and a badass.” PAGE 28

06

A desire to endure permeates the pages of The Red Bulletin this month, though our protagonists have very different priorities and approaches. Champion biker Sam Sunderland is prepping to defend his title in one of the world’s toughest and mostly deadly motorsport races, the Dakar Rally. And we bring you the ultimate guide to surviving such testing rally raid events intact.

Next, explorer Christian Clot tests the limits of the human brain in extreme heat, cold and humidity to see how well we are able to adapt (and survive) in the world’s most gruelling conditions. And in the case of eco-adventurer Raphaël Domjan, saving the environment is the focus. His planned stratospheric flight in a solar plane could revolutionise the way we travel – and help combat climate change in the process.

But up first is action hero Jean-Claude Van Damme, who realised that to avoid a straight-tovideo future he needed to reinvent himself. The actor has embraced the world of comedy, which, judging by his new Amazon Prime series JeanClaude Van Johnson, was exactly the right move.

Enjoy the issue.

THE RED BULLETIN

FLAVIEN DUHAMEL/RED BULL CONTENT POOL (COVER)

Survival instinct

16 FULLY FOCUSED

For German-born actor Diane Kruger, nothing less than 100 per cent commitment will do

FEATURES

28

Jean-Claude Van Damme

We talk to the kickboxing screen legend who’s flexing his ‘Muscles from Brussels’ for laughs in his new Amazon Prime TV series

38

An ABC of rally raid

Everything you need to know about the legendary Dakar Rally and the gruelling, full-throttle world of cross-country racing

48 Sam Sunderland The British KTM rider revisits the setbacks and injuries that hindered his progress on the long, hard road to Dakar victory

56

Christian Clot

From the desert heat of Iran to the extreme cold of Siberia, the Swiss adventurer put his life in danger to test how the brain copes under duress

64 Raphaël Domjan Solar-powered travel is this ecoexplorer’s passion. He circumnavigated the globe by sea – now he plans to fly to the edge of space

THE RED BULLETIN

09

BULLEVARD LIFE

&

STYLE

BEYOND

THE

ORDINARY

His dark materials: rock provocateur Marilyn Manson is back with a new album, Heaven Upside Down

UNIVERSALMUSIC/JIRO SCHNEIDER

MARILYN MANSON “I PAINT WITH INK, VODKA AND URINE“ PAGE 12 THE RED BULLETIN

11

Marilyn Manson

E

very good story needs a villain. In the music world, Marilyn Manson has been playing this role for the past 28 years. Conservative commentators are convinced he’s the very incarnation of evil – the Antichrist – and this provocative stance has served Manson well: to date, the American has sold in excess of 50 million albums worldwide. To mark the release of his new album, Heaven Upside Down, the 48-year-old musician, artist and screen star explains why villains are thrilling, and how the UK’s Charlie Hunnam made him a better actor. the red bulletin: On the new album, you sing, “If you want to fight, I fight you. If you want to f--k, I f--k you.” Not a fan of subtle messages, are you? marilyn manson: I probably wrote down that line on a Post-It note and stuck it on my refrigerator door, like a ‘to do’ list. [Chuckles.] I mean, essentially it’s my manifesto, my resume: I write songs to fight and f--k to.

Did people get it?

A lot of people I played it to initially thought it had an implied threat. It does have a threatening sexual tension.

So I guess they got it!

Why do you feel so comfortable in the role of provocateur?

Because I just don’t care. I’ve gotten to the point where I’m not afraid to have people hate me. I don’t sit up at night and think, “Oh, nobody likes me.

People are gonna be pissed off. Should I do this?” It’s OK to be a villain to some people – I like that, and most of my favourite characters in books and movies are villains.

They’re always more exciting.

Heroes are always boring.

Is that why you agreed to play a white supremacist

12

With the release of his 10th album, the enfant terrible of rock explains why he enjoys playing the villain – in real life and on screen – and painting bodily fluids onto canvas [jailbird Ron Tully] in the TV series Sons Of Anarchy?

I really wanted to do it, because it was my father’s favourite show. Besides, I enjoyed working on Sons Of Anarchy because all I had to do was show up, they put me in an outfit, and they told me what to do. I had to deliver my dialogue in a very unemotional manner. My character doesn’t move much.

Unlike the stage presence that is Marilyn Manson…

I felt that I really stepped out of myself and became someone different. I was mostly acting opposite Charlie Hunnam, so I was able to feed off him. He would f--k with me a lot of times, like right before we’d shoot he would say something strange. There was one particular moment when I had to pull out a phone and say, “I miss my dogs.” I didn’t really know how to say it. So Charlie said, “Pretend like you’re crazy and you don’t realise it – just like in real life.” [Laughs.]

And I laughed, and then I got it. That was amusing.

Besides music and acting, you’re also known for your paintings. Your last exhibition was in 2014. Are you planning a new one?

Yeah, I haven’t done one in such a long time, and it’s my own fault. But I didn’t stop painting. I have about 65 paintings no one has seen.

Half of them were created using black tattoo ink mixed with vodka or urine.

How appetising!

I didn’t do it to be controversial, just because it was the only fluid available. I’m drinking, painting, and then I run out of water. I had piss or vodka – you pick one or the other.

Marilyn Manson’s new album, Heaven Upside Down, is out now; marilynmanson.com

IT’S BETTER THE DEVIL YOU KNOW

THE RED BULLETIN

UNIVERSALMUSIC/NICHOLAS ALAN COPE

MARCEL ANDERS

BULLEVARD

Earlier this year, Manson played a hitman in the indie crime drama Let Me Make You A Martyr THE RED BULLETIN

13

BULLEVARD

The SprayPrinter Become a graffiti artist with the innovative hand-held printer that does all the hard work for you

STREET ART JUST GOT SMART

14

T

he artistically challenged among us can now join the street-art party thanks to a gadget that’s bringing graffiti into the digital era. Created by inventor Mihkel Joala and his team in Estonia with a crowdfund of £62,000, SprayPrinter is a paint-can attachment that allows the user to ‘print’ photo-quality artwork onto any wall.

All you need is the gadget, a smartphone, a stand, a spray can and a wall. Download a template, or upload your own image, and adjust and personalise it using the app.

Then place the phone in the stand, position it a metre or so from the wall (the closer you are, the bigger the picture), hook up the SprayPrinter to the can, and away you go.

Your phone, which is connected to the SprayPrinter via Bluetooth, dictates the spread of the paint, line by line, as you move the spray can down the wall.

The SprayPrinter is available to buy for around €300 (£265) plus shipping. sprayprinter.com

THE RED BULLETIN

ARTWORK BY JUKKA_HAKANEN, SPRAYPRINTER.COM

A passer-by in Tartu, Estonia is invited to paint Kärt Einasto’s ‘Third Eye’ design onto a wall using the gadget. The firm’s founder dreamt up the SprayPrinter concept after his daughter asked for a painting of a unicorn on her bedroom wall

FLORIAN OBKIRCHER

The SprayPrinter website features templates such as this skull by Finnish artist Jukka Hakanen

cervino

visualdesigner.it

C e r v i n i a |v a lt o u r n e n C h e

SUmmEr AdRENAliNE

IDE S Y N N U S ITALIANF MATTERHORN O

www.cervinia.it

BULLEVARD

T

he red bulletin: You’ve made movies with the likes of Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds), starred in hit TV series such as The Bridge, and even spoofed Donald Trump’s controversial aide Kellyanne Conway. And now you’ve signed up to star in Forrest Gump director Robert Zemeckis’ new film.

You’re the most successful German actress working today. Are you proud of your achievements? diane kruger: I never knew what would be possible for me, so I make sure I put 100 per cent into every opportunity that comes my way. I don’t take things for granted at all. It might look like certain things come easy, but they certainly haven’t.

Can you give an example?

When Quentin Tarantino cast Inglourious Basterds, the odds were so against me. He had someone else in mind and he didn’t believe I was German.

When he finally agreed to meet me, I knew I had to bring something special to the table so he couldn’t hire someone else. I was so prepared. And it worked out.

You started out as a model.

How important are looks in your acting career?

At the end of the day, your physical appearance has nothing to do with how well you’ll do. If you’re not able to convey emotions or make a character come alive through your performance, you won’t last. I never wanted

16

Diane Kruger Despite all her success, the German star is not one for self-congratulation

“I’VE ALWAYS GIVEN 100 PER CENT” to win parts that didn’t require putting in serious work. I went to classical theatre school in France, and I started out like any other actress – in short films and some very bad TV. I didn’t skip any steps.

What would you say is your definition of beauty?

It’s an attitude to life, when you choose to see the beautiful things rather than the ugliness that surrounds us.

If I’m able to go through life focusing on something positive every day, I feel a lot better about myself and the world. But, of course, that’s easier said than done.

You’re on the record as being interested in self-improvement…

I have a real need to educate myself. The older you get, the more you realise you know nothing. So what do you do? You read. You ask more questions. You try to find out more and make up your own mind, rather than letting yourself be dictated to by other people who think they know better. instagram.com/dianekruger THE RED BULLETIN

RÜDIGER STURM THOMAS LAISNE/CONTOUR BY GETTY IMAGES

Kruger, 41, stars in a new film about real-life literary hoax ‘JT LeRoy’, set for release next year

THE RED BULLETIN

17

MANHATTAN

Lilium Jet Taxi Distance 19km Time 5min JFK INTERNATIONAL NTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

PRICING Initial £27 Near-term £10 Long-term £4.50

Distance 26km Time 55min PRICING Today £42-54

RUSH HOUR At 300kph, the Lilium Jet travels as fast as a Formula One car – this New York trip to the airport takes just five minutes

Lilium Jet

18

THE RED BULLETIN

LILIUM GMBH

ROADS? WHERE WE’RE GOING, WE DON’T NEED ROADS…

TOM GUISE

The flying car has been promised for almost as long as the earthbound kind has existed. But it turns out something far better was in the offing: the air taxi

BULLEVARD

PLANE PLAN

FORWARD THINKING

Lilium believes the service will change the way we live – cutting congestion as people commute from the country

If one of the 36 jets fails, no stability is lost, and the pilot can perform a safe landing anywhere without urgency

F

lying cars are like flying pigs: not commonplace.

We can’t comment on avian hogs, but the former moved a step closer to reality in April this year when Munich-based start-up Lilium successfully tested its aerial automobile.

To call the Lilium Jet a flying car is a little insulting.

The problem with ‘urban flying machine’ concepts is that they attempt to marry a plane with a road vehicle, offering the worst of both

THE RED BULLETIN

worlds. Lilium has rethought the idea from the ground up, with a vertical-take-off-andlanding aircraft. Its wings house a total of 36 engines, which tilt from vertical to horizontal to propel it forward.

The aircraft seats five passengers, plus luggage in the back, and can travel up to 300km at a cruising velocity of 300kph – all on a single charge, making it around five times faster than a car. And as it’s all electric, there are no emissions and little noise.

The real genius, though, is that Lilium doesn’t want you to buy one, but hail one. Using a smartphone app similar to

Uber’s, you’ll be able to call a jet, then head to the nearest landing pad to meet it within minutes. And, as with Uber, you could ride-share, making a cross-city flight cheaper than a regular cab journey.

The concept clearly has wings – Lilium has recruited executives from Airbus, Tesla and ride-hailing app Gett, and in September it raised $90million (£67m) in funding.

The objective is to have everyone hailing air taxis by 2025. There’s still no word on when pigs might fly. lilium.com

19

BULLEVARD

Square watermelon It may set you back more than £100, but this flat-sided fruit is all about the looks rather than the taste

N

o, there isn’t any Photoshop trickery going on – this square-sided watermelon is for real. Why was it created? To save space.

Or so claimed Japanese graphic designer Tomoyuki Ono when she patented the idea in the US in 1978.

Japanese farmers have been cultivating these cuboid curiosities for decades. The watermelons are grown inside

20

a glass mould for two months, which limits their natural growth and gives them some edge. Hence a large, rolling, cumbersome fruit becomes compact, flat-sided, and much easier to store in the fridge.

But all this extra effort comes at a price. Incredibly, a single die-shaped watermelon can cost well in excess of £100. And the taste suffers, too: to prevent them from

THE RED BULLETIN

@FOODAISM

Breaking the mould: the cuboid melon was just the start of the trend for unusually shaped produce

exploding in their moulds, the fruit are harvested before they have ripened. So the watermelons serve better as decoration than sustenance and are often given as a gift on special occasions. They can be kept for almost a month at room temperature.

But if this modified melon leaves you unmoved, thanks to Chinese firm Fruit Mould it’s now possible to grow all manner of oddly shaped fruit and veg – from an aubergine that looks like a heart to a Buddha pear and a Donald Trump pumpkin. Before too long, it’ll be regular fare that’s considered square. fruitmould.com

CHRISTIAN EBERLE-ABASOLO

THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME

PURE CYCLING

YOUNG HEROES BLAZERS OF TRAIL, PIONEERS OF THE OUTDOORS. AT CANYON, WE NEVER WANTED TO BUILD JUST ANY OLD KIDS’ BIKES, WE SET OUT TO RAISE THE BAR WITH TECHNICALLY ADVANCED, MODERN ENGINEERED MACHINES PACKED WITH FEATURES THAT WILL HAVE YOUR CHILD RIDING WITH CONTROL, CONFIDENCE AND COMFORT. EVERY YOUNG HERO’S STORY HAS TO START SOMEWHERE… CANYON.COM/KIDS

BULLEVARD

Shrink-wrapped: old-style spacesuits have given way to a new, leaner profile, as designed by the SpaceX team.

The suits will be used on a space mission next year

Spacesuit design tends to focus on function over form, but one space travel company’s new creation combines the best of both worlds

THE ASTRONAUT’S TUXEDO 22

SPACEX

SpaceX suit

lon Musk knows how to mix practicality with showmanship. The Tesla CEO founded SpaceX in 2002 with two aims: to lower the cost of space travel and to colonise Mars. To these ends, the company has already successfully launched and landed several orbital rockets.

Then, in August this year, Musk Instagrammed a shot of the spacesuit his astronauts will wear. And it’s stylin’.

“It needs to both look like a 21st century spacesuit and work well,” Musk said of his vision for the outfit in a 2015 Reddit AMA. Two years later, his SpaceX team has boldly achieved what no spacesuit engineers have achieved before: slim-fitting, practical astronaut attire that wouldn’t look out of place in a Daft Punk video. “[It] was incredibly hard to balance aesthetics and function,” Musk admitted on Instagram, revealing the new suit is ready for lift-off. “This actually works (not a mock-up),” he wrote. “Already tested to double vacuum pressure.”

The suit, which will be worn aboard SpaceX’s Dragon capsule to the International Space Station in 2018, has received the thumbs-up from test pilots. “Much better than the one I wore in the Shuttle.

Lots of great innovations.

I wore one today for our postsplashdown safety test,” US astronaut Garrett Reisman tweeted back at Musk.

Now all SpaceX needs to do is recruit Matt Damon for its 2024 mission to Mars. spacex.com

TOM GUISE

E

THE RED BULLETIN

BULLEVARD

W Japanese craftsmanship meets Belgian design to create the ultimate in musical immoderation

LAND OF THE RISING STRUM

WWW.TAOGUITARS.COM

“A collector wanted an updated version of our Tao model,” says Joveniaux. “So we came up with the ultimate piece as an homage to Japan’s artisan craftsmanship”

PIERRE-HENRI CAMY

Tao Guitars

e don’t make guitars, we make statements,” reads the Facebook page of Tao Guitars. To be clear, John Joveniaux and Serge Michiels do make guitars – but they’re unlike any you’ve ever seen.

For 12 years, the Brusselsbased luthiers have created instruments that look as good as they sound, inspired by classic cars and music icons.

But the overarching company ethos stems from a drawing by the artist Ohara Koson, which hung in the workshop of Michiels’ grandfather: “He considered the immaculacy of Japanese art and craftsmanship a benchmark,” says Michiels.

“That notion stayed with me.”

This influence is most evident in the Tao Kusanagi, a model named after the legendary Japanese sword Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi. The guitar took almost 800 hours to make, and its creators had to learn production techniques such as how to apply silver and work with stingray leather.

Its value: close to £16,000.

The duo’s artistry has won favour among guitar heroes including ZZ Top, but mere mortals can pick up a Tao T-Bucket for the comparatively low sum of around £2,200. taoguitars.com

24

THE RED BULLETIN

THE RED BULLETIN PROMOTION

THE FULL IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE IS HERE! CRISP IMAGES & ULTRA WIDE 3D SOUND

Photo Credit: Honor

Honor 9, Honor‘s newest flagship smartphone, not only captivates modern consumers with it‘s gorgeous design, craftsmanship and engineering – the new device‘s competitive product specs guarantee superior user experiences. Especially for people with high expectations regarding photography and sound. The Honor 9’s dual-lens camera stands out by delivering exceptional contrast and detail by pairing a 12 megapixel RGB color lens and a 20 megapixel monochrome lens.

Whether it’s a black and white photo straight out of the monochrome lens, a beautiful portrait captured with a wide aperture, or a party shot, photos taken by the Honor 9 are beautiful and ready to be shared with little to no adjustments.

Music and sound enthusiasts will love Histen, the cutting-edge ultra-wide 3D sound field technology. It enables Honor 9 to deliver a natural and vivid, discernibly superior audio performance.

Three different modes allow sound connoisseurs to fully immerse themselves in the blissful experience of soft and quiet music, a cinematic audio performance or grand concert hall acoustics. www.hihonor.com

CATCH THE LIGHT A gorgeous glass back and exquisite texture creating a metallic aurora glow CATCH THE MOMENTS The upgraded duallens camera stands out from the pack and delivers clearer and crisper images

CATCH THE VALUE 3D sound field technology: Outstanding audio performance optimized for you

SPECS

Honor 9 features outstanding technology and vibrant design for a techloving generation of consumers.

• 5.15-inch FHD display • 20-MP & 12-MP dual rear cameras • 8-MP front-facing camera • Kirin 960 2.4gHZ octocore processor • 4 GB RAM

• 64 GB ROM + microSD card up to 256 GB • 3,200mAh battery • NFC mobile payments software • EMUI 5.1 (Android 7.0)

BULLEVARD The East Japan Railway Company say its train’s light-filled front deck is intended to “infuse you with hope for the future”

It doesn’t travel that fast, and you end up where you started, but this luxury ride is all about the journey

POSHER THAN A SPEEDING BULLET Right, from top: The experience is more luxury hotel than firstclass train carriage Inside a deluxesuite bathroom with its cypress wood tub Train Suite Shikishima was designed

by Ken Okuyama, the man behind the Ferrari Enzo

26

THE RED BULLETIN

GETTY IMAGES (2), ULLSTEIN BILD (2)

Shiki-shima train

he Japanese take their trains seriously.

The Chūō Shinkansen bullet train holds the world railway speed record: 603kph on the Yamanashi test track. Yes, they have a test track for trains.

With a maximum velocity of just 110kph, Train Suite Shiki-shima won’t set any speed records. It does, however, bite the bullet in all other regards.

This 10-car sleeper can carry up to 34 passengers in a total of 17 suites. Most of these feature a bathroom with a power shower, while the two deluxe, split-level suites have cypress wood baths and come with cotton kimonos and bespoke Swarovski binoculars.

In the piano lounge, based on the theme of komorebi – the Japanese word for ‘sunlight peeking through trees’ – guests can watch the scenery through windows inspired by a forest canopy. And the futuristic front observatory imbues a sense of kizashi – ‘great things to come’ – as the track stretches out ahead. Meanwhile, butlers in the dining car serve up seasonal delicacies made by Japan’s first Michelin-starred chef, Katsuhiro Nakamura.

With a three-night round journey from Tokyo in a luxury suite priced at ¥1,425,000 (£9,500), this is a trip you won’t want to rush. jreast.co.jp

TOM GUISE

T

ADVENTURE ISN’T A REHEARSAL. PREPARE ACCORDINGLY. FindMeSPOT.com/RB

SPOT GEN3®

GLOBAL SATELLITE GPS MESSENGER

SPOT TRACE®

AFFORDABLE THEFT-ALERT TRACKING AND ASSET RECOVERY

Adventure more safely and give loved ones at home peace of mind by purchasing a SPOT Gen3 or SPOT Trace satellite tracking device. With emergency messaging and assist options, as well as out of cellular range tracking, your freedom and your limits can be stretched further.

FindMeSPOT.com/RB

Still playing for kicks Words: Nora O’Donnell Photography: Miko Lim Styling: Rasheeda Ameera 28

Eat my dust: Van Damme in action at Milk Studios in Hollywood

Thanks to stunt performers and green screens, these days it feels as if almost any actor can pull on a pair of tights and become a superhero in a big-budget studio film. All they need is a snappy character name – and a personal trainer to transform the flab into six-pack abs for that token shirtless scene. But before capes and CGI ruled the box office, there were action stars like Jean-Claude Van Damme

D

uring the early ’90s, Van Damme, with his trademark roundhouse kicks and acrobatic splits, was one of the world’s biggest stars. A highly skilled martial artist, he performed his own stunts in films including Bloodsport and Timecop, and charmed audiences – female fans in particular – with his thick French/Belgian accent and flirtatious demeanour. In the ensuing years, as Hollywood’s interest in traditional action flicks waned and comic-book franchises took over, Van Damme and his ilk were increasingly relegated to the land of straight-to-video.

Despite the demotion, the actor has maintained a devoted fanbase, and over the past decade Van Damme’s growing 30

cult status has revived interest in his career.

First there was JCVD, the 2008 crime drama in which he played a fictionalised version of himself. His acting was so raw and vulnerable that Time magazine proclaimed it the second-best performance of the year after Heath Ledger as the Joker in The Dark Knight. Then, in 2013, Van Damme starred in a Volvo ad in which he slowly executes “the most epic of splits” between two moving FM trucks.

The clip went viral and, to date, has 87 million views on YouTube.

Now, four years later, Van Damme is busy promoting his latest project, JeanClaude Van Johnson, a new comedy series produced by Amazon. Once again, he plays a fictionalised version of himself,

this time as an ageing action star who comes out of retirement to work as a private undercover agent. As Van Damme, now 57, reveals in our interview, his comic alter ego seems much more in tune with how he sees himself today. the red bulletin: In Amazon’s JeanClaude Van Johnson, you show off some impressive comedic chops.

What was it like being able to display another side of your talents? jean-claude van damme: It was freeing.

I was very happy to be able to open up and be more versatile. When I worked with directors John Woo and especially Ringo Lam, it really did something for me in terms of acting. They made me THE RED BULLETIN

“People know the action side of me, but will they accept me when I try to be funny? Can I be a combination of both?” believe I could do more. Many years ago, my father told me that one day I could be like [French actor] Jean-Paul Belmondo.

In his films, he could be an action guy, but he was also able to be funny like Robin Williams. But this is all kind of scary, too.

What’s scary?

It’s scary to show this other side, because I don’t know how the audience is going to react. People know the action side of me, but will they accept me when I try to be funny? Can I be a combination of both and get a good audience reaction?

The response to the pilot, which is already available on Amazon, has been very positive…

Well, we have a great team with a good writer, David Callaham [The Expendables, Godzilla], who, by the way, loves me.

Why is that?

Because his mother loved martial arts and practised judo. When he was

32

growing up, she would make him watch my movies, and back then it was like a ritual. You would go to the video store, you rented a VHS tape, and you sat back with your mum and watched some fighting. A moment of love between mother and son. I’m part of that cult of action stars like Arnold [Schwarzenegger] who inspired people like David, who then handed me a wonderful script.

The script lets you poke a little fun at yourself, which can be a healthy approach. Has your perspective changed over the years?

Yes, it has. With age, you don’t take as many chances – you tend to continue in the same direction – but I’m doing my best to avoid that. It’s cool to be able to try something different with this show, because I get to be more like I am in real life – a funny guy who is always joking around. I have my moments, of course,

but I’m always happy and smiling. I’m an old-fashioned kind of guy, too. But, sorry, the fact is I’m old. [Laughs.]

This is the second time you’ve played a fictionalised version of yourself – the first was in JCVD. Both performances are very self-aware, but also very different. Which version of JeanClaude Van Damme feels the most authentic to you?

What a good question. I think that in real life I’m very responsible towards my family. I want to make everyone feel as comfortable as possible. But I’m still a big kid when it comes to dialogue with people. I like to have fun, and that’s my attitude to life. I love to learn about everything, and to educate myself.

What have you learnt about lately?

The golden ratio in mathematics and how it applies to art and nature. For example, Mona Lisa’s face has the golden

THE RED BULLETIN

What’s the Van Dammage?

A look at the career of the ‘Muscles from Brussels’ Bloodsport (1988) In his first starring role, playing American Frank Dux, Van Damme shows off his skills as a martial artist. The film is now a cult classic.

Kickboxer (1989) Building on his breakout role, the Belgian plays a kickboxer out to avenge his brother. A reboot of the franchise came out in 2016.

Hard Target (1993) Hong Kong director John Woo made his US debut with this action film starring Van Damme as a tough Cajun with a flashy mullet.

Timecop (1994) This sci-fi thriller about a lawman who must return to the past to prevent the death of his wife was a huge worldwide hit.

JCVD (2008) Van Damme stunned critics with his raw performance in this drama, playing a washed-up action star – a fictionalised version of himself.

Jean-Claude Van Johnson (2017) In this scripted TV comedy from the writer of The Expendables, Van Damme gives a hilariously self-aware performance.

ratio. It’s a perfect measurement. So I studied the golden ratio, and I tried to divide it by years of existence.

That’s kind of deep, Jean-Claude…

No, no, I’m not deep. Right now, what really concerns me is the future of this planet. I’ve been travelling around the world for 30 years, and I’ve seen a lot of changes. I’ve got enough money, so I spend my time learning.

As someone who spends a lot of time in the public eye, is it still overwhelming, or do you take it in your stride?

It’s kind of a piece of cake. When people want an autograph or a photo while I’m eating, I’ll put my burger down and do the picture. Because without the fans I wouldn’t be able to travel, have nice clothes and a nice house, or provide food for my family. Without them, I’m nothing.

I happen to love people – and animals.

34

You support a number of animal rights organisations. Why is that cause so important to you? What do you get back from it?

It doesn’t give anything back to me, except that I believe it’s the duty of all of us to help and protect animals. It’s our job to educate people about what they can do to help. I think it’s hard to stop the system of the big boys in charge – and I don’t want to get all depressing in this interview – but I think that we can all make an effort as individuals, whether it’s by helping animals, switching to renewable sources of energy, or [making a change in] whatever is important to you. There are more good than bad people out there.

Let’s go back to the early stages of your career. At just 20 years old, you left behind a successful gym in

Belgium to travel to the US and try to make it in Hollywood. Why did you take such a risk?

It wasn’t so very risky. I had some money in the bank, and I knew that I could always return to Belgium and open another gym. I was young at the time, so I gave myself a couple of years to try and make it. Well, then two years became almost five, but I kept networking and asking people for their business cards and requesting meetings. One of those people was Kirk Douglas, who invited me to his house. When I got there, he was sitting at his dining table with his wife, eating a carrot and drinking orange juice.

He shook my hand and said, “I like what you’re doing.” I said, “Thank you, Mr Douglas. Thank you so much.” And then I left. Nothing came of it, but I got to shake the hand of Spartacus!

THE RED BULLETIN

ENERTOR insoles give you less pain, fewer injuries, shorter recovery times so you can

BREAK YOUR LIMITS

BREAK YOUR LIMITS

Used by the military and pro athletes including Usain Bolt.

PROVEN TO REDUCE FOOT & HEEL PAIN Designed by leading podiatrists to help prevent injuries technology reduces shock by 44% to protect against impact related injuries Suitable for all types of footwear

Get 25% off anything on www.enertor.com (Ending March 1st

2018).Use code ENREDBULL25

BUY NOW AT www.enertor.com

“I was the guy at school who they said would never make it. Then my parents took me to a martial arts class and I was transformed” I read how you used to put your head shot on the windscreen of expensive cars in studio car parks…

I did – I looked for all the Rolls Royces, Ferraris and Porsches, because I thought they might belong to big stars or producers.

On the back, it said something like, “If you need an actor who can kick, jump and has a French accent, please call me.

This is my number.” And because of that, I was hired for Predator and also a movie called No Retreat, No Surrender.

So it actually worked. Where did that drive come from?

I think I wanted to prove my love to my parents. Because with love you can do everything. When I was a kid, I was very skinny and kind of a disaster. I was the guy at school who they said would never make it – an idiot, a loser, an 36

outcast. So I escaped by reading comic books. My father owned a newsstand, and every week there would be new books, like The Adventures of Tintin. With Tintin, I could travel the world. I could go to Russia, Africa and America with him and his dog, Milou [named Snowy in the UK]. They were my best friends.

But then my parents took me to a martial arts class and I was transformed.

Those classes transformed you into the ‘Muscles from Brussels’. Speaking of which, what’s your workout routine like these days?

The most important thing is to stay flexible. If I end up doing a training tape, it will be for people with injuries – back problems, knee problems, you name it.

To be in great shape, the first thing you have to do is learn how to maintain

yourself through good posture. You have to know how to walk and bend properly before you try to lift anything. Otherwise it’ll be, “Oh! My back!”

So self-maintenance is important, both physically and mentally…

As a human being, you have the right to be both body and mind. Your physical form pays the bills, takes care of the family, the children, the friends. But with your mind, your thoughts, you can create your own story. And sometimes when you really set your mind on something, it happens. People are attracted to your good will.

Jean-Claude Van Johnson is available on Amazon Prime Video from December 15 Grooming: Lisa Zimmitti Photographer’s assistants: Denise Dorado and Jibril Jackson THE RED BULLETIN

VERSATILE WARMTH WITHOUT THE DOWNSIDE

NEW ICARUS JACKET The Icarus Jacket is a world first. Innovative new ThermoPlume synthetic insulation technology from PrimaLoft mimics the low weight, loft, warmth and compressibility of down, but with all the wet-weather performance benefits of synthetic insulation.

INTERNAL TECHNOLOGY PrimaLoft ® ThermoPlume

montane.co.uk

Masters of survival The rally raid ABC – or how to cover long distances off-road at high speed and live to tell the tale Words: Werner Jessner 38

FLAVIEN DUHAMEL/RED BULL CONTENT POOL

Genre classic: a Peugeot 3008DKR Maxi roars across the dunes at speed

Where even the world’s best drivers are stretched to the limit Rally raid, also known as marathon or crosscountry rallying, is a multiple-day challenge for drivers on two or four wheels. It’s the perfect blend of racing and adventure, consistency and improvisation, athleticism and driving skill

A

is for Africa

Africa will always be the spiritual home of cross-country rallying, even if the prestigious Dakar Rally has been held in South America since 2009. There are still several smaller races that take place on the continent, such as the Rally of Morocco and the Africa Eco Race, which retraces the original route. And that will have to do: for political and economic reasons, it looks unlikely that the Dakar will return to Africa.

BENJAMIN CREMEL/DPPI/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, FLAVIEN DUHAMEL/RED BULL CONTENT POOL

B See S for Silk Way Rally The Moscow-to-Asia route varies from year to year. This July, it ended in the Chinese city of Xi’an via Kazakhstan; in 2016 it was Beijing. Launched in 2009, the rally is on home ground for Kamaz Trucks, multiple winner in its category.

The title-holder in the car race is Cyril Despres (pictured) in a Peugeot.

is for bivouac

Drivers, co-drivers, mechanics, engineers, strategists, journalists, photographers, doctors, cooks, timekeepers and everyone else in the retinue sleep, live and interact in a tent city. It’s set up every evening and then disappears again in the morning – kitchens, toilets, showers, medical unit, media centre and all.

It’s not just drivers in the huge Dakar retinue

41

C is for Coma Spanish driver Marc Coma has five Dakar bike wins to his name and, for a whole decade, was only seriously challenged by French racer Cyril Despres. Coma retired from the sport two years ago, and since then he has been in charge of planning the route through South America. He’s a man who knows how to combine sport and spectacle with security.

J

is for Jutta

German driver Jutta Kleinschmidt is still the only woman to have won the Dakar Rally. Her victory came in 2001, for Mitsubishi. Kleinschmidt’s fiercest rival at the time was her then-boyfriend, Jean-Louis Schlesser.

D is for Dakar Senegal’s capital was the original destination of the rally adventure, which was launched in Paris in December 1978.

Until it decamped to South America in 2009 for security reasons, the Dakar only failed to include the city on two occasions.

Kleinschmidt started out on bikes, but won in a car: she’s the only woman with a Dakar victory

E is for elements G is for GPS points

I is for Iritrack

The finish line is not your sole goal. On every stage, there are a number of specific points that drivers must locate and pass within a certain minimum distance – usually a few metres. Otherwise they face point penalties or, in the worst-case scenario, disqualification.

All vehicles are fitted with a tracking system that uses iridium technology to ensure no driver gets lost. It can accurately pinpoint a vehicle’s position, even in areas with no mobile reception.

Iritrack also serves as an emergency detector that can record speed at any point and send it back to the Dakar headquarters in Paris in real time.

F is for finish line Unlike in the WRC, in rally raid only the drivers who make it to the finish score points. So the competitors do everything within their power to somehow drag themselves to the end, even if they’ve had serious accidents.

What would usually take seconds can stretch to minutes – and often hours.

H is for hydration Drivers take on up to five litres of liquid during the special stages alone: the physical exertion, sun and – more than anything else – altitude in South America can create huge problems for the body.

Rally raid is an extreme sport, whatever you may be driving.

K is for KTM The Austrian motorbike manufacturer’s 16 victories in the Dakar Rally make it the most successful brand in the history of the race, and it hasn’t been beaten since 2001 – a unique record. Russian truck maker Kamaz is up to 14 wins, and Japanese firm Mitsubishi has 12 titles to its name.

Mud is just one of many rally raid hazards

42

THE RED BULLETIN

GETTY IMAGES (2), FRANCK FIFE/AFP/PICTUREDESK.COM

Rally raid drivers have two forces of nature to contend with in addition to negotiating the sand and gravel. Torrential rainfall can turn a route into a mud bath in minutes. And on mountain passes more than 4,000m above sea level, the altitude means drivers’ lungs need to work as hard as the engines.

L is for liaison

M is for motorbike

N is for needing help

Between the special stages of the rally are liaison stages, which take drivers through regular traffic for sometimes hundreds of kilometres a day. For these routes, there’s a strict speed limit that is fastidiously monitored via GPS, and every breach is penalised with a fine of several hundred euro.

To date, only three drivers have succeeded in winning the Dakar both in a car and on a bike: Stéphane Peterhansel, Hubert Auriol and Nani Roma. Peugeot factory driver Cyril Despres, a five-time winner on his bike, has what it takes to become number four on the list.

If a competitor suffers a serious crash, their fellow drivers are obliged to come to their aid. Once the emergency beacon has been deployed, the first responders leap into action, and the driver – now out of the competition – is rescued, usually by helicopter. Those who provide first aid are credited for their lost time.

O

is for orientation

Alongside “How fast can I go?”, “Where am I going?” is the decisive factor when it comes to rally raid success. The drivers have three things to help them: their roadbook, GPS, and a good old-fashioned compass.

They haven’t gone off-course, it’s an overtaking manoeuvre. If you get lost here, it’s usually by several kilometres

THE RED BULLETIN

43

P

is for Peterhansel

They call him ‘Mr Dakar’: 52-year-old Frenchman Stéphane Peterhansel has won the race six times on a bike and seven in a car. The reigning title-holder will be the hot favourite again for 2018. His toughest opponents are Peugeot team-mates Carlos Sainz, Sébastien Loeb and Cyril Despres.

‘Mr Dakar’: Peterhansel has 13 wins to his name

Q is for quads

MARCIN KIN/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, DUHAMEL FLAVIEN/RED BULL CONTENT POOL

These four-wheeled mini-vehicles, also known as ATVs, have been in the Dakar starting line-up since 2009. Argentina’s Marcos Patronelli holds the record for the most wins, with three.

R is for roadbook

See

K

for KTM

The list of KTM Dakar winners reads like a who’s-who of rally raid: Fabrizio Meoni, Richard Sainct, Nani Roma, Cyril Despres, Marc Coma, Toby Price and, last year, Sam Sunderland (pictured).

This is a scroll of paper (or a book) showing all the turn-offs, danger points etc along the route. Swotting up with the roadbook the night before a race is important.

Experienced drivers use fluorescent markers to keep track of their route at a glance if they come under pressure.

S is for Silk Way Rally This two-week summer event is viewed as the mini-Dakar. The last two car races were won by Cyril Despres in a Peugeot. In the truck category, Kamaz are unbeaten since 2012. Bikes don’t participate in this competition.

45

T

is for trucks

The dominant vehicles on the rally raid scene come from the city of Naberezhnye Chelny in Tatarstan, a three-hour flight from Moscow.

The drivers on the Kamaz Trucks team are regular staff at the vehicle plant and work as mechanics or engineers when they’re not winning races.

U is for UTV

W is for World Cup

The UTV (utility terrain vehicle) is the cheapest route into the world of rally raid. Standard buggies with barely 100hp and rear-wheel drive won’t set you back much more than £18,000. The 2017 winners were Brazil’s Leandro Torres and Lourival Roldan.

The World Cup covers 11 events of differing lengths and on different terrains. The current overall champion is Qatar’s Nasser Al-Attiyah in a Toyota.

Y is for youngsters V is for Volkswagen V The dark-blue Race Touareg was the first vehicle to demonstrate that you could dominate rally raid with a diesel engine; in 2010 and 2011, VW scored a 1-2-3 finish in the Dakar – and then retired from the sport.

X

Baja events in Europe and Dubai are ideal for novices. Morocco, Qatar and Kazakhstan are good for those wanting to take the next step up.

Z

is for zapping

Zap your way over to redbull.tv for round-ups of the 2018 Dakar Rally; redbull.com/dakar

is for 4×4

MARCELO MARAGNI/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, FLAVIEN DUHAMEL/RED BULL CONTENT POOL

Is it 4x4 or rear-wheel drive? That’s the big question when it comes to rally raid cars.

All-wheelers like the Mini or Toyota have more traction, whereas rear-wheel drives like the Peugeot 3008DKR Maxi have greater design scope. The Peugeot concept has won out the last two years.

Not the standard SUV you might have in your garage. Dakar cars are huge. The Peugeot 3008DKR Maxi is 4.3m long, 1.8m high and, at 2.2m across, too wide for the fast lane of the motorway

47

SAM SUNDERLAND After five hard, pain-filled years of trying, British rider Sam Sunderland finally conquered the ultimate test of skill and endurance, winning the 2017 Dakar Rally.

But victory, it seems, doesn’t earn you a break – the 28-year-old is back in the saddle and heading to South America in January, risking serious injury and even death once more to defend his title

King of the desert 48

Sunderland, the first Brit to win the Dakar, on the KTM 450 Rally he rode to victory

Some people climb mountains just because they’re there to be conquered. When John F Kennedy declared that America would put a man on the Moon, he said the reason for going was “not because it is easy, but because it is hard”. It’s this same impulse to overcome the seemingly impossible that drives a small band of racers to pit themselves against the Dakar Rally each year, risking death or injury while crossing some of the most inhospitable terrain on the planet.

The Dakar Rally no longer goes anywhere near Dakar. It doesn’t have to; some challenges transcend mere geographical ties. The Dakar has moved continents – from Europe and Africa to South America – yet retained its status as the undisputed king of the rally raids, the most extreme off-road enduro on two wheels and four. This year’s twoweek, 12-stage event was billed as having the toughest itinerary yet – for the first time, it featured Paraguay as well as Bolivia and Argentina – with six days at 3,000m above sea level and some stages exceeding 500km. You might risk frostbite when emerging from your tent in the morning but be racing in temperatures touching 45°C by midday.

It’s that kind of race.

To finish the Dakar, let alone win it, is a feat in itself. Sam Sunderland knows that as well as anyone – from his 2012

Words: Stuart Codling Photography: Greg Moss

debut until he won it this year on his KTM 450 Rally, the British rider had never made it past the fourth day. On two occasions he didn’t even make the start, having been sidelined by serious injuries: shattered wrists in 2013, and a broken femur last year.

“The dynamic of the race has changed a bit, with some of the older riders moving to cars, and a new generation coming in who are a little bit crazy,” he says. “It can sometimes feel more like 12 one-day races than a single event. People are pushing things to the maximum every day; it’s not as strategic as it once was.

Twenty years ago it was an adventure race through Africa, but now it’s just really fast. You’re not backing off to save the bike – you’re all-in, all day.

“You try to stay safe and in control, but the pace is incredibly fast. The bikes are smaller and more nimble than they used to be – the idea of having a 450cc limit was to slow the race down, and maybe the top speeds have changed, but we’re pushing harder everywhere else.”

Today we’re getting the tiniest flavour of what the Dakar entails, meeting Sunderland and KTM team manager Jordi Viladoms at one of their testing venues, a field an hour outside Barcelona, accessed via a quiet, twisting road. The blazing heat of late summer has baked the surface of the field into a lunar patina

Sunderland honed his motocross skills as a teenager growing up in Dorset

50

“The bikes are smaller and more nimble than they used to be, but we’re pushing harder everywhere else”

HOW TO SURVIVE THE DAKAR Eat what you like “You have to eat, because the challenge with the Dakar is the accumulation of days. If you spent just one day out in the heat and didn’t eat much, you’d feel tired and a bit rough, but you’d be all right, whereas here you’ve got to do it all again the next day and the day after that. We’re fortunate because the team has a chef, so you don’t have to rely on what the race organisers are laying on – stuff you might have to queue for, and that might be some distance away, and also might not be available when you want it. On the bike, you need food that’s bite-size but high in calories – things like nuts and dates. I prefer having food I enjoy, rather than gels or other goo.

So I’ll have a Red Bull before I start a stage, then at the refuels I might even have something like Haribo sweets or a Nutella sandwich, because I enjoy them.

These fancy energy bars with I-don’t-know-what in them melt in your pocket and can taste pretty grim, especially by day four or five. Plus, gels can disagree with your stomach – that’s the last thing you want.”

“I lay in a river bed, waiting for the chopper to arrive” of dust and rocks – it’s 38°C according to the car’s dashboard.

In stark contrast to the uniform of shorts and flip-flops sported by most bike riders in this milieu, Sunderland and Viladoms are in full race-spec Cordura kit and armour. The pair are replicating desert conditions as best they can to evaluate the 2018 KTM 450 Rally alongside Sunderland’s 2017 winner.

The 2018 bike is almost completely new – so much so that we are not yet allowed to photograph it – with a focus on getting as much of the weight as low down as possible. Even the navigation tower is now carbon fibre rather than aluminium.

Sunderland has had an unlikely journey from teenage motocross star to becoming the first British winner of the Dakar. Born in Poole, Dorset, he was still honing his skills on the domestic MX scene – “I was 15 or 16, coming up to my prime as a rider, as that’s when kids get 52

signed to teams” – when he crashed on a tabletop at a UK event and broke both legs, knees and ankles, and his pelvis.

He ended up in a wheelchair for a year, a setback that not only put him behind his peers in terms of experience but also made him unavailable to any professional teams who were talent-scouting.

“When I started to ride again after a year off, it wasn’t so serious – it was about getting back to having fun,” says Sunderland, now 28. “I had the opportunity to move to Dubai with my aunt and uncle, working for them in their shop during the week and racing with KTM at weekends. That arrangement didn’t last long – I didn’t enjoy working in the shop – so I ended up riding a lot more, doing training schools and taking people on tours in the desert.”

What started out as a bit of fun – freeriding in the desert, hitting jumps and exploring – became Sunderland’s path

Don’t drink the bike water “There are some mandatory requirements, such as having a water reservoir fitted to the bottom of the bike in case you get stuck in the middle of nowhere.

But I don’t think I’d ever want to drink the water – you never know how long it’s been there. I have two Camelbaks: a small one containing liquid food, and a 2.5-litre one for water, which I top up at the refuelling stops.”

Answer the phone

“You used to have to carry emergency flares, but the technology has moved on. We’re monitored all the time now, and if they see you’ve stopped they can phone the computer on the bike. If you don’t answer, they’ll send out the emergency services.

And if it’s a mechanical issue, you can tell them.”

An accident in his teens put Sunderland out of action for a year and hindered his progress as a rider

“You’ve got 160kg of bike under you, pulling you around” back into the racing scene as he began to enter and win local events. That led to the offer of a contract with a works rally raid team, and victory in the Dubai Baja series.

It was as if he’d never been off the bike.

“With any injury,” he says, “you’ve got to accept what you did wrong and try to learn from it. Riding is my passion. Even if it wasn’t my job, I would still have a bike and I’d ride it as much as I could, just because I enjoy it. The injury didn’t affect the passion at all.”

Dakar is a brutal experience, from the bleakness of the terrain to the extremes of temperature – especially in the desert and the hinterlands of the Andes (where, as depicted in the 1993 movie drama Alive, survivors of a real-life plane crash in 1972 had to resort to cannibalism in order to avoid starvation). Added to this, there’s the inflexible tick-tock of the schedule; this race waits for no one. If you’re delayed in the stage and arrive late at the overnight ‘bivouac’, you don’t get to lie-in the next day. Competitors often have to roll out of their tents at 3am to get ready for the start. And if you only arrived at midnight – tough.

“It’s difficult to explain to people why I spend so much time training in the gym or on the bike,” Sunderland says. “They’ll say, ‘Why do you need to train? You’ve got an engine.’

“In terms of cardio, it’s up there with the toughest sports, like boxing. Even in a 30-minute motocross race, your heart rate would be up past 170 the whole time. It’s so, so physical. On the Dakar you might not be working at the limits of your heart rate all the time, but you are on the bike for 15 hours a day. You might ride 200km before you even get to the start of the stage.

“You’ve got 160kg of bike under you, moving around. It’s pulling you, you’re pulling it; there are the forces of engine power and braking… This last Dakar, I lost 7kg.”

Sunderland made his Dakar debut with Honda in 2012, but retired at stage three with an electrical problem. He missed the 2013 event after breaking both wrists in testing, then won a stage in 2014, but he had to drop out the next day when his engine failed. Joining KTM in 2015 should have been a passport to success, but the rider suffered another enormous setback, injuring himself 80 days before the 2016 event.

“I’d won the Rally of Morocco, which is the biggest race outside of the Dakar, and that was the highlight of my career 54

1

3

THE KTM 450 RALLY IN DETAIL

2

1 INSTRUMENT PANEL

Electronically displays the map and directions

2 MICHELIN DESERT RACE 140/80 TYRES 3 THREE FUEL TANKS

Two in front of the rider, one at the rear, with a capacity of 34 litres and a range of 150km

4 TUBULAR CHASSIS

Based on the road version of the KTM 450

5 SINGLE-CYLINDER 450CC ENGINE 6 SIX-SPEED SEQUENTIAL GEARBOX 7 EXCEL TAKASAGO WHEEL RIMS WITH WP 250 FORKS THE RED BULLETIN

until that point,” he says. “Then, three days later, I broke my leg and that was it – three months off.

“I lay in a river bed for 45 minutes before the chopper arrived. You feel miserable. In this sport you have to look after yourself, but at the same time you really have to push if you want to win, and the risk is there.

“You lose your independence. It was miserable on the sofa, watching the rest of the race, seeing all the people I’d beaten a couple of months earlier taking all the glory. It sucked!

“I did everything [to speed up the healing process]. I bought myself an electric ultrasound machine. I spent my time doing different things each day in physio and rehab to try to get better.

Watching your fitness drop after all the sacrifices you’ve made to prioritise training – that also sucks.”

1

3

7

4 5

6

THE RED BULLETIN

S

underland’s misfortune gave the 2017 Dakar added importance. He took the lead on the fifth of the 12 stages – a 447km test from Tupiza to Oruro, 3,700m up on the Bolivian Altiplano (“The variety of terrain makes this stage one of the most demanding,” noted the programme with glee) – and won by 32 minutes.

“It was an incredible feeling to win after missing the last one,” Sunderland says. “It was almost a sense of relief. You work for it every day of your life.”

And that’s why he’s here, sweating in full armour under the pitiless Spanish sun, finessing his new ride, determined to prove that victory in the 2017 Dakar wasn’t just a one-off. KTM has taken the honours in the event every year since 2001, so expectations are high.

“You have to accept responsibility when you get things wrong,” says Sunderland. “I know when I’ve made a mistake, and I try not to do it again.

So, was it a surprise that I won? Maybe.

But I had the best people around me.

All I really had to do was ride the bike.” redbull.com/dakar

55

H O W D O E S O U R B R A I N R E A C T I N E X T R E M E S I T U AT I O N S ?

E X P L O R E R C H R I S T I A N C L O T T R AV E L L E D T O T H E F O U R MOST DANGEROUS PLACES ON EARTH AND RISKED HIS L I F E – A N D M I N D – T O D I S C O V E R J U S T T H AT W O R D S : PAT R I C I A O U D I T

P H O T O G R A P H Y: L U C A S S A N T U C C I / Z E P P E L I N

ADAPT OR DIE

58 IRAN

°C

SUCH EXTREME REGIONS ARE A PARTICULAR STRESS TEST FOR RESEARCHERS, SAYS CHRISTIAN CLOT. BUT, HE ADDS, “WE’RE PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES AND THAT FURTHERS KNOWLEDGE“ 56

A

ugust 2016: the temperature in eastern Iran’s Dasht-e Lut desert is 58°C with three per cent humidity. For five days, Christian Clot has been cowering beneath a tarpaulin that affords him scant protection from the scorching sun. He’s incapable of lifting his arms and too sapped of strength to read a single line of text.

“So as not to be gripped by the panic that was gradually taking hold of me, I just kept counting to myself,” recalls the Swiss author and explorer. Clot knows that abstruse things can happen in this seemingly endless expanse where nothing lives or grows: “Brain cells can die off very rapidly, and death occurs within minutes. Total isolation becomes mental torture.”

Clot has subjected himself to this torture willingly as part of his Adaptation project; these five days of planned dehydration will tell him whether a human can survive on just five-and-a-half litres of water a day. The ultimate goal of this life-threatening project?

The first comprehensive report on the brain’s ability to adapt in crisis situations.

After the blistering heat of the Iranian desert, Clot braved the humidity of Patagonia and the Amazon rainforests, and the cold of the Verkhoyansk mountain range in eastern Siberia. Never before has one person surrendered themselves to such divergent climatic conditions in such a short time frame – four months of successive expeditions to death zones with temperatures at the extremes of 58°C and -58°C, and humidity ranging from three per cent to 100 per cent, from the wide open space of the desert to the clammy claustrophobia of the jungle.

Bar a couple of weeks’ break in between expeditions, there are at best two hours a day when his body isn’t subject to the stress of exercises intended to aid decision-making, memory and spatial awareness.

“It’s like a computer game where I have to find my way through a maze that changes over the course of the day,” Clot explains.

One of the first abilities you lose is your sense of direction, he says. “I spoke to my camera a lot to compare the reality of the moment

58

MAPPING THE MIND

“The brain is malleable. We know that it creates new connections, new neurons, new abilities.

But we know virtually nothing about how all these processes occur, especially in environmental situations that are complex. To measure these processes, I used ‘lenses’ to gather data on my condition – such as my body temperature and heart rate – and I conducted tests and exercises to that end. Between the individual expeditions, I also underwent 18 MRI scans to ‘map’ the brain and identify any potential changes.”

with the impression you have of it in hindsight.” He also speaks to his hat to prevent himself from losing his mind: “An absolute necessity for us social animals.”

Adaptation is no ordinary exploration project; comprising thousands of kilometres of unaided travel, copious data gathered on location, and a succession of cognitive, psychological and climatic tests, it’s a true open-air laboratory. When Clot talks about it, questions and answers come pouring out of him. He holds out his fingertips to demonstrate the occasion on which he lost all feeling in them. Clot explains that the normally straightforward act of taking blood becomes more difficult in certain environments: “In Patagonia or Siberia, your blood doesn’t flow, it drips. Whereas in Iran it comes gushing out like a geyser.”

Clot now knows more than arguably anyone else in the world about how the brain behaves in extreme situations. At night in Siberia, where temperatures drop to -58°C, it’s important to warm the air before breathing in, to prevent your lungs from

THE RED BULLETIN

IRAN AUGUST – SEPTEMBER 2016

58

°C

H U M I D I T Y: 3 % Clot walked 180km, pulling a handcart weighing 150kg and surviving on a daily intake of just 500 calories.

“The sun didn’t burn my skin in Iran – that’s a phenomenon still to be researched.” He was prevented by the intelligence services from completing this stage of the project.

As an expert in adapting to extreme conditions, Clot finds dry heat “bearable”

60  

H U M I D I T Y: 9 8 %

OCTOBER – N OVEMBER 2016

Clot travelled 410km by kayak. “Sudden changes in the climate and a 12-day storm were the challenges here.

Every stroke required concentration, and that severely reduced my speed. Not to mention the 130kph wind barrelling along.”

P ATA G O N I A

- 7

°C

At the start of every Adaptation expedition, Christian Clot spent three days with scientists to ensure they were on the same page when it came to keeping records.

burning. In Patagonia, his kayak capsized for 17 minutes and he had to fight so as not to drown in 4°C waters. Clot set out in tip-top condition with just seven per cent body fat; he returned home exhausted and with 15kg less muscle. His body didn’t forgive him for the climatic shock.

“I thought I knew what cold was, but my experiences in Siberia showed me I’d been wrong,” Clot recalls. “I was – and this also happened in Iran – close to giving up. It was the degree of mental suffering that tortured me there; a level of suffering that normally kicks in when you’ve gone beyond your physical limit. At times like those, you feel utterly helpless.”

But what makes one want to become an explorer, especially when our primary school education tells us pretty much everything has already been discovered?

Clot has an explanation. Born in the Swiss canton of Jura, by the age of four he was already spending time in the woods and making his way ever further afield into pastures new. “A trip to Quebec with my parents was the catalyst. I could see forests from the aeroplane that were bigger than I could ever have imagined. I went back there when I was 16.”

The teenager’s journey into the wild by canoe and on foot fuelled his fascination, and Clot returned home with a thirst for adventure.

He took up BASE-jumping, extreme kayaking and skydiving, and became a stuntman. Clot 62

had found his vocation in life: being among nature and relating his experiences to others.

In 1999, he travelled to the extreme west of Nepal and discovered that the area had not yet been mapped. “I met people there who had never seen plastic or glass,” Clot says. “And I thought to myself that we were still a long way from discovering all of our planet’s secrets.”

Over time, Clot became aware that while scientists were interested in the data he was bringing back from the regions he visited – such as the Cordillera Darwin mountain range in Chile, and the Southern Patagonian Icecap – they couldn’t, at that point, analyse the extreme situations he had lived through.

So, in 2012, he decided to develop an allencompassing project in which scientists would take into account all the psychological, cognitive and ethological factors involved.

Even then, many had reservations about the idea. “The first person with the courage to work with me was Etienne Koechlin, an expert in decision-making processes at the ENP [École des Neurosciences de Paris Îlede-France],” Clot says.

Subsequently, other scientists have come on board. And to some extent they have corroborated Clot’s research hypotheses; namely that the brain, once confronted with borderline situations, has the ability to adapt within a short space of time. His bold, Darwinian exercises, which he undertook without any safety measures, prove that in such conditions it’s not about the survival of the fittest or the most intelligent, but those best able to adapt. Or, as Clot puts it, “You can only adapt to a new system when you find something you like about it. Without any appeal, or hope, or that second of bliss that was always there, I would have given up.”

But giving up is the last thing on Clot’s mind. The explorer is already planning to return to these hostile regions, accompanied this time by a group of 10 men and 10 women, all of them ready to adapt. christianclot.com

S I B E R I A FEBRUARY – MARCH 2017

SUFFERING IN THE NAME OF SCIENCE

- 58

°C

H U M I D I T Y: 6 0 % Clot walked 180km on skis, dragging a 100kg pulk (sled).

“I did everything in mittens and used a pen instead of a computer, and the sleepless nights increased.” Constantly having to smash holes through the ice of the frozen river for water used up valuable energy.

T H E A M A Z O N DECEMBER 2016 – JANUARY 2017

44

°C

H U M I D I T Y: 1 0 0 % Clot travelled 280km through the rainforest on foot and by dinghy.

“It’s a ‘green hell’ where you can only proceed in baby steps, covering just a few kilometres a day,” he says. Massive rainfall, often lasting days at a time, also slowed his pace.

Clot’s passion for adventure was fuelled by a childhood trip to Quebec, he says

SOLAR FLAIR FROM AN AIR BASE IN SWITZERLAND, AN ECO-ADVENTURER IS EMBARKING O N A M I S S I O N T H AT C O U L D C H A N G E OUR PERCEPTION OF SOLAR POWER – A N D I T S C A PA B I L I T I E S – F O R E V E R W O R D S : N I N A V E T T E R L I -T R E M L 64

ZEPPELIN

R

aphaël Domjan knows what it’s like to have your sanity questioned. In September 2010, the Swiss eco-adventurer set sail from Monaco on an 20-month mission to circumnavigate the globe in a solar-powered vessel. Boat builders and skippers alike strongly advised him not to take on the challenge. It was a hopeless task, they said; the flimsy trimaran with its 536.97sq-m of solar panelling wouldn’t survive more than 48 hours on the high seas.

“But their doubts only gave me more energy,” says Domjan, 45. “After all, if everyone assumed a project was going to succeed one way or another, it wouldn’t be much of a challenge.”

PlanetSolar, to give the project its name, turned out to be more than challenge enough for Domjan as 110kph winds pushed man and boat to the brink. Illness and technical difficulties plagued the four-strong crew. In the Gulf of Aden, they even needed military assistance to protect them against pirates.

But all these setbacks only succeeded in further motivating the indomitable Domjan.

“One night, when we were sailing across the Pacific, I looked up at the stars and decided that if this mission was successful, I would have a crack at a solar-powered flight to the stratosphere,” he recalls. “I also dreamed of being able to see the stars by day.”

66

“ O N E N I G H T, W H E N WE WERE SAILING ACROSS THE PA C I F I C , I L O O K E D U P AT T H E S TA R S A N D D E C I D E D T H AT I F T H I S M I S S I O N WA S SUCCESSFUL, I’D H AV E A C R A C K AT A SOLAR-POWERED FLIGHT TO THE S T R AT O S P H E R E ” THE RED BULLETIN

ZEPPELIN

Man with a mission: it’s all about the challenge for Domjan

THE RED BULLETIN

67

ZEPPELIN

“ E V E R Y O N E I N V O LV E D I S D O I N G E V E RY T H I N G THEY CAN TO MAKE THIS AS SAFE AS POSSIBLE. IF THERE WA S N O R I S K AT A L L , W E C O U L D H A R D LY TA L K O F I T A S B E I N G AN ADVENTURE”

68

THE RED BULLETIN

SolarStratos has a wingspan of 24.9m with 22sq-m of solar panelling

THE RED BULLETIN

69

Domjan has brought together an international team of aerospace experts. Clockwise from top left: inspecting the tail fin; Domjan in the simulator; testing the electronics

P

ayerne Air Base sits amid small villages and farmland on a fertile plain near Lake Neuchâtel in Switzerland. Its hangar is home to around 20 SolarStratos team members, 30 international partners, and the plane that is key to the mission. The 8.5m-long two-seater – unveiled in December 2016 – looks at first glance like a conventional glider, albeit one with a massive 24.9m wingspan covered in 22sq-m of solar panelling. This charges the plane’s 20kWh lithium-ion battery, which in turn powers the propeller via a 32kW electric motor.

The project’s success hinges on the efficiency of the propulsion generated by this motor, and also on its reliability at temperatures as low as -70°C. Of equal importance is the weight of the plane, which must be kept as low as possible for Domjan and his team to have a shot at success.

To that end, the fuselage has been made from carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic. The team have

“THE MESSAGE I S N ’ T, ‘ W E H AV E T O STOP USING FOSSIL F U E L S , ’ B U T, ‘ W E H AV E A D R E A M A N D W E H AV E T H E T E C H N O LO GY TO MAKE IT COME TRUE. WE CAN REMAIN OPTIMISTIC!’” 70

even dispensed with a pressurised cabin in order to keep the overall weight down to 450kg. As a result, Domjan will need to wear a spacesuit – the world’s first solar-powered spacesuit – and shed 10kg in body weight. “I have to lose at least that amount,” says the Swiss pilot, although he doesn’t appear to have any to spare. “Every gram costs you three feet of altitude.”

This year, in addition to extensive equipment checks, pressure chamber tests and simulator training, there are plans for several short test flights, designed to collect vital data and set records in the process. First, Domjan wants to break the solar-plane altitude record of 9,101m alongside his co-pilot, fellow Swiss adventurer Bertrand Piccard, who set the benchmark in July 2016 while circling the globe in his own aircraft, Solar Impulse 2. Further down the line, Domjan has plans for a parachute jump – the first from a solar-powered plane.

The SolarStratos team plan to head for the edge of space no later than 2019. Domjan should be able to ascend to an altitude of around 24,994m.

Flight time will be about five-and-a-quarter hours: two for the ascent, 15 minutes in the stratosphere, then three hours for the descent to Earth.

T

he germ of Domjan’s big idea may date back to that long, arduous 2010 voyage, but his interest in renewable energy goes back further. In 2004, during a trip to Iceland, he came across a lake that just 11 years earlier had been a solid glacier.

“I realised how dramatic climate change is, and not just from reading about it in a newspaper,” he says. “I understood that just bringing the issue to people’s attention and warning them about it wasn’t enough. The message isn’t, ‘Hey, people, we’ve got a problem and we have to stop using fossil fuels,” but, ‘We have a dream and we have the technology to make it come true. We can remain optimistic!’ ” A childhood fan of the adventure stories of Jules Verne, Domjan worked in search and rescue early in his career before deciding to become an explorer. Following the circumnavigation by boat in 2010, he headed north in 2015 to complete

ZEPPELIN

By the time the PlanetSolar crew sailed back into Monaco in May 2012 to a jubilant reception from thousands of people, Domjan was already focusing on his next project. His plan involved the transformation of the boatyard into a hangar and PlanetSolar becoming SolarStratos. Domjan had just circumnavigated the globe using the energy of the sun – now he wanted to use that same energy to fly to the edge of space.

THE RED BULLETIN

THE RED BULLETIN

71

“DOING SOMETHING T H AT N O B O DY H A S DONE BEFORE SENDS OUT A SIGNAL. BEING THE FIRST TO DO SOMETHING SENDS OUT A STRONG M E S S A G E T H AT R E AC H E S E V E RYO N E : POLITICIANS, ENTREPRENEURS, THE GENERAL PUBLIC” 72

THE RED BULLETIN

a kayak crossing of the Northwest Passage to test solar technology in extreme conditions.

Despite all this, Domjan abstains from using the term ‘adventurer’ to describe his line of work.

Rather, he sees himself as a campaigner using his adventures as a way to reach a wider audience.

“Doing something that nobody has done before sends out a signal,” he says. “And being the first transmits a message that reaches everyone: politicians, entrepreneurs, the general public.”

W

ZEPPELIN

December 2016: SolarStratos is officially unveiled to 300 guests at Payerne Air Base in Switzerland

THE RED BULLETIN

hile there are now thousands of electric cars on the road, there’s not yet a single electric plane in the air, much less a solar-powered one. As a result, there’s a lack of experience for SolarStratos’ designers to draw upon. And there’s no one to say how it might fly at 24,994m, beyond the clouds and away from any turbulence, but at only five per cent of normal air pressure.

Domjan is unfazed by this. He spends too much time in the air for that. He was flying gliders by the age of 15, got his pilot’s licence at 17, and has flown a number of aircraft and helicopters since then, even electric ones. “It’s unusual how quiet it is at takeoff, because normally planes shudder and make noise,” he says. “But as soon as you’re up in the air, an electric plane flies like any other.”

If anything, he worries about the 30kg spacesuit that limits his movement in the cockpit and could make all the difference between life and death at such a high altitude: “If the spacesuit’s systems fail in the stratosphere, blood blisters will form and I’ll be dead within seconds.”

Mercifully, there’s still a bit of runway before Domjan is confronted with that possibility in flight. Helping him sleep at night is the fact that the suit’s construction is being handled by the same company that outfitted Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first human in outer space.

“Everyone involved is doing everything they can to make this as safe as possible,” says Domjan.

“And if there was no risk at all, we could hardly talk of it as being an adventure.”

If everything goes to plan, he wants to commercialise the project, take on staff and “do something for both the solar industry and the environment”. Domjan is also considering passenger flights and solar-powered drones, which are currently being designed by large IT firms to replace satellites. But that’s still several years – and one giant leap – away. First comes time in the simulator, and more fundraising – he’s already secured $5m (£3.7m) but needs another $5m to assure SolarStratos’ success.

And once Domjan sees the stars twinkling in the cold light of day, 24,994m from the Earth’s surface, who’s to say what they might inspire? solarstratos.com 73

Breaking Frontiers Open Innovation Transformative Technologies 500 Decision Makers More Information: pioneers.io/mobility

#mobilitypioneers

guide Get it. Do it. See it.

75 kph

YOUR NEXT ADVENTURE

LLOYD IMAGES/EXTREME SAILING SERIES/RED BULL CONTENT POOL

This is Brit Adam Piggott, bowman on the Red Bull Sailing Team’s high-speed catamaran.

If you have the stomach for fast-paced thrills on the high seas, you can join the crew as they do battle in the Extreme Sailing Series. Turn the page and kiss dry land goodbye…

THE RED BULLETIN

75

GUIDE

Do it

Journey off the beaten track

THE RED BULLETIN: What should anyone going on this trip expect?

HANS-PETER STEINACHER: They should expect to see every aspect of sailing, from planning in the morning to crew feedback in the evening, and more besides. How do we work together as a team? How much of our work is in the details? It’s not enough to just get on the boat and sail off. The highlight will be their being on board with us for the Extreme Sailing Series regatta.

What qualities will they need to bring?

Stamina. It won’t all be fun and games – there’s a lot to do. They’ll need a clear head, too! They’ll be confronted with a lot of things they won’t know from their daily routine.

They’ll need to be able to process all that.

What will they learn on the trip?

A sailing race basically works the same way life does: there are low points and conditions that may or may not be to your liking. You have to fight your way through whatever is thrown at you, accept success and failure, and get yourself out of every mess you’ve got yourself into. Conversely, you can’t be too euphoric after you’ve won, but you should take motivation and flow from it.

Is there anything else they’ll need?

Flexibility, or the ability to react quickly and improvise. You can take that into your day-to-day life and use it to your advantage.

76

WANT TO SEE YOURSELF IN THIS PICTURE?

Cheering on stars from the sidelines is so yesterday.

These exceptional talents take you right into their world

HUGO SILVA/ RED BULL CONTENT POOL

W

ant to surf with Björn Dunkerbeck, fly with the Red Bull Air Racers, or party backstage with your rap heroes? With Destination Red Bull, inspiring personalities are granting access like never before. You won’t be cheering on your heroes during these trips; you’ll get under their skin. But what does that actually mean? We asked two-time Olympic sailing gold medallists Hans-Peter Steinacher and Roman Hagara, co-hosts of a unique four-day sailing trip.

THE RED BULLETIN

Destination Red Bull

Absolutely not a cruise: a four-day trip with Roman Hagara and Hans-Peter Steinacher, Olympic gold medallists in 2000 and 2004

THE RED BULLETIN

77

Do it

JOURNEY OFF Discover the fascinating

Experience the unforgettable as you rub shoulders with your sporting idols. Celebrate events from a vantage point normally reserved for the pros.

These are journeys that take you well off the beaten track. Welcome to Destination Red Bull.

1

EXTREME SAILING WITH HAGARA AND STEINACHER

Experience the elements in a whole new way with the two-time Olympic champions.

2

RED BULL AIR RACE ABU DHABI

Make your flying dreams come true inside a Red Bull Air Race cockpit.

4

RED BULL BATALLA DE LOS GALLOS WORLD FINAL

Go front row and backstage with the best Spanish-language rappers at this cult event.

78

For further info and booking details, visit: destinationredbull.com

3

RED BULL CLIFF DIVING WORLD SERIES POLIGNANO A MARE

Hang out with, learn from and be amazed by the world’s best cliff divers as they take the plunge.

5

WINDSURFING WITH BJÖRN DUNKERBECK

Explore the wind and the waves with the 42-time world champion.

THE RED BULLETIN

GUIDE Destination Red Bull

THE BEATEN TRACK world of Red Bull up close

10 7 1 4

8

8

3

5

6

8

2

8

6

ADVENTURE WEEK WITH SOFIA MULANOVICH IN PERU

Learn to surf the world’s longest left-hander with the Peruvian pro.

7

RED BULL CLIFF DIVING WORLD SERIES AZORES

RED BULL CONTENT POOL

Spend time with the cliff-diving elite and brave a leap into the Atlantic with expert tuition.

9

RED BULL BC ONE WORLD FINAL

Go behind the scenes at the breakdance battle of the year (venue to be announced).

THE RED BULLETIN

8

WINGS FOR LIFE WORLD RUN

Run for those who can’t at this unique global event and rub shoulders with your idol.

10

SPEND TIME WITH SKI CHAMPION AKSEL LUND SVINDAL

Discover Norway’s mountains by bike and Oslo by night, courtesy of the snowsports star.

79

GUIDE

See it

BIKES, RHYMES AND LIFE

Who’s slickest on the slopes? Deadliest on a dirt track? Ruler of the rap roost?

Find out this month on Red Bull TV…

WATCH RED BULL TV ANYWHERE

Red Bull TV is a global digital entertainment destination featuring programming that is beyond the ordinary and is available any time, anywhere. Go online at redbull.tv, download the app, or connect via your Smart TV. To find out more, visit redbull.tv

80

3 December

LIVE

RED BULL BATALLA DE LOS GALLOS

Last year’s World Final was won by Malaga-born rapper Skone

It’s time to wreck the mic. Having qualified at the respective national finals, freestyle rappers from Spanishspeaking countries across the globe will gather in Mexico City for the World Final of Red Bull Batalla de los Gallos (‘Battle Of The Roosters’). The 11th edition of this ultimate rap contest promises to be the best yet, so tune in to Red Bull TV to see the MCs spit their most brutal bars.

THE RED BULLETIN

November/December

Hear handpicked music and interviews with influential artists.

This month’s pick is…

The world’s best Spanish-speaking MCs will go headto-head in Mexico

THE RED BULLETIN

RENZO GIRALDO/RED BULL CONTENT POOL (2), JOSH LETCHWORTH/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, JAANUS REE/RED BULL CONTENT POOL

20

November

PREMIERE

SAME DIFFERENCE

Alpine racer Felix Neureuther, freeskiers Fabian Lentsch and Sven Kueenle, and slopestyle ace Paddy Graham feature in this exciting new documentary by the award-winning crew behind Legs Of Steel.

DIGGIN’ IN THE CARTS

17 17

November

PREMIERE

BLOOD ROAD

Join endurance mountain biker Rebecca Rusch on her emotional 1,200-mile journey along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Her destination: the site where her USAF pilot father was shot down during the Vietnam War.

November

LIVE

15

November ON AIR

Hosted by writer and musician Nick Dwyer, this show explores Japanese videogame music. Diggin’ In The Carts delves into the history of the bleeps, bloops and melodies that have soundtracked the lives of gamers worldwide. Over eight episodes, there will be interviews with legendary videogame composers, as well as special guest selections from some of the most forward-thinking artists on the planet.

WRC AUSTRALIA

This year’s World Rally Championship comes to a close in Coffs Harbour on the New South Wales coast. See the action unfold on the winding roads and rugged forest tracks of the Kennards Hire Rally.

LISTEN AT REDBULLRADIO.COM

81

GUIDE Edited by Gisbert L Brunner

Get it

BELL & ROSS BR V2-94 BELLYTANKER

Flying colours After WW2, car nuts salvaged fighter-plane fuel tanks for use in racecars. This watch – inspired by the satin-polished steel look of the Mustang P-51 – is a tribute to these ‘bellytankers’. bellross.com

Face from the past: the enamel dial of the Presage is a Seiko classic

RACE AGAINST THE CLOCK

When Seiko was announced as official timekeeper of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, it sounded a starting gun. The Japanese watch giant had zero experience in making sports timers, and so, with the clock ticking, 172 engineers went to work. They sailed triumphantly over the finish line, creating 1,278 devices in time for the opening ceremony, including digital scoreboards, electronic stopwatches linked to the starting guns, and the world’s first portable quartz clock. Appropriately, the Games took place beneath banners emblazoned ‘Scientific Olympics’, and it heralded the dawn of quartz timepieces that would change the watch industry for ever.

82

CHOPARD MILLE MIGLIA CHRONO

SEIKO PRESAGE AUTOMATIC CHRONOGRAPH

History in the making

Alongside the Tokyo Olympics, 1964 proved a fruitful year for Seiko in another way: it launched the first Japanese chronograph.

The 2017 Presage Auto Chrono owes a debt to that historic timepiece, but its roots go even further back to the enamel dial of Seiko’s first wristwatch – the Laurel from 1913. Seiko’s enamel craftsman, Mitsuru Yokozawa, has applied 40 years of mastery to glazing and firing these watchface coatings. The Roman numerals are an homage to Seiko’s 1895 Timekeeper pocket watch and each one is hand-painted 10 times to raise the markings. Protecting this craftwork is something a little more modern: a double-curved, anti-reflective sapphire crystal glass. Quite literally a time capsule. seiko.co.uk

Classic design

Each year, the Mille Miglia vintage car rally carves along Italy’s open roads and Chopard builds a watch to commemorate it. This year’s has numbers inspired by racecar decals, and a rubber strap based on a Dunlop tyre. chopard.com

TAG HEUER CARRERA CALIBRE HEUER01 RED BULL RACING SPECIAL EDITION

Team spirit

This F1 season, the entire Red Bull Racing Team is wearing this TAG Heuer chronograph, and fans can share the experience with a ceramic model in the team’s colours. tagheuer.com

THE RED BULLETIN

c a r b i n e

//

p r o

b u i l d

R R P

£ 6 3 0 0

i n t e n s e c y c l e s . c o m

GUIDE

Do it

November/ December

27

November to 5 December

GORILLAZ HUMANZ TOUR

After a seven-year absence, Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett’s cartoon collective returned in style this year with a new album, Humanz, and a storming performance at the Demon Dayz festival in Margate.

You can catch that show on Red Bull TV, but if you want to go one better, Gorillaz’ world tour arrives in the UK this month, with a finale at London’s O2 Arena – Demon Dayz saw De La Soul, Vince Staples, Little Simz and more join them on stage.

Across the UK; gorillaz.com/tour

Royal Albert Hall, London; championstennis.co.uk

84

THE RED BULLETIN

TOM GUISE

This year saw a big-screen re-enactment of one of the greatest-ever tennis matches: Björn Borg’s victory over John McEnroe in the 1980 men’s singles final at Wimbledon.

At the time of going to press, those two champions are yet to make a showing at this gathering of greats, but other past masters will appear, including Pat Rafter, Tim Henman and Celebrity Masterchef semi-finalist Henri Leconte.

TIM EDWARDS

30

November to 3 December Champions Tennis

SUBSCRIBE NOW!

THE RED BULLETIN BEYOND THE ORDINARY

1 year for £20

getredbulletin.com

GUIDE

Do it

2

to 10 December Spitalfields Music Festival Music festival season may have wrapped up for the year, but no one relayed the message to London’s East End. This urban gathering of global and local artists began as a classical music festival 40 years ago, and has grown into a unique celebration of sound, where art, theatre and spoken-word acts rub shoulders with orchestral, electronic and experimental music performances.

Various locations in East London; spitalfieldsmusic.org.uk

16

November/ December December Skream at IN:MOTION Oliver Jones is one of the progenitors of dubstep, but in 2011 the London-born DJ/ producer better known as Skream changed tack, playing more house and disco in his sets and eschewing big arena shows for intimate club sessions. This set will reflect that, he says, “Starting at 100bpm and ending around 130bpm.” Motion, Bristol; motionbristol.com

14

15

Nov to 14 Jan Skate at Somerset House With just over a month to go until Christmas, it's time to get your skates on as the courtyard of this 18th-century palace on the Strand becomes a 900m2 ice rink, which itself transforms into a nightclub on ice after dark. Treat yourself to posh eats and drinks from Fortnum & Mason pop-up cafés.

Somerset House, London; somersethouse.org.uk

December

CELEBRATE STAR WARS

There’s been an awakening in the Force – have you felt it? It’s all to do with some space movie coming out on this day. Warm up for The Last Jedi at Coventry Comic Con (The Box, FarGo Village) where, on December 9, 40 years of Star Wars will be celebrated with guest appearances from actors in the saga. Follow it on December 27 with Star Wars and Beyond, a rousing evening of John Williams’ film scores at London’s Barbican.

to 16 November Alice Cooper on tour

2016 LUCASFILM LTD, RAPHAEL DIAS/GETTY IMAGES

11

TOM GUISE

Various locations in the UK; starwars.com; coventrycomiccon.uk; barbican.org.uk

The ‘Godfather of Shock Rock’ inadvertently earned the title in 1969, when he threw a chicken into a festival crowd mistakenly assuming it would fly away. Forty-eight years later, Cooper is still rocking and shocking in his trademark gothic horror make-up.

No chickens will be harmed on this world tour as Cooper brings hits including Poison and School’s Out to these shores, starting at Leeds before travelling the country and finishing up at Wembley Arena.

Across the UK; alicecooper.com/tour-dates

86

THE RED BULLETIN

1

tech Clockwise from left:

BEATS SOLO3 WIRELESS Extreme comfort and crystal-clear sound are standard among Beats headphones, but this cordless pair stand out with their 40-hour battery life and Fast Fuel charging mode (a five-minute charge = three hours of playback). £249.95; beatsbydre.com

SUUNTO SPARTAN TRAINER WRIST HR The Spartan Trainer has a preset mode for almost every sport you could name – 80 are installed – and the wristmounted heart-rate sensor makes chest straps obsolete. £219; suunto.com HUAWEI HONOR 9 The Honor 9 has a super-fast processor, dual-sensor camera, 4K video recording, and a surprising degree of customisation, from adjustments for your headphones of choice to settings that improve readability in bright sunlight. £379; hihonor.com

LIFEPROOF AQ10 Waterproofing won’t save your tech if it sinks to the bottom of a lake; the AQ10 Bluetooth speaker isn’t only resistant to water but it floats, so it won’t be lost for ever if you knock it over the side of the boat. And the built-in drybox keeps your keys, cash and cards dry. £174.99; lifeproof.co.uk

CANON POWERSHOT G9 X MARK II Canon crams a host of features – including a 20-megapixel processor, time-lapse, slow-motion video capture, and built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth – into a compact, visually pleasing exterior. £418.99; canon.co.uk

88

GUI D E

TRULY GIFTED Genius presents you’ll want to keep for yourself Words: BILLY BROWN Photography: DIMITRI NEWMAN

GUIDE

2 style

Clockwise from top: BURTON ANALOG AFT KAIDEN HOODED FLANNEL A winter upgrade from your trusty old wear-it-anywhere flannel, with a water-repellent coating and quick-dry lining. £95; burton.com/uk JACK WOLFSKIN WHITE ROCK 40 PACK This backpack will carry everything you need for a day in the wild. It has seven compartments to keep your gear organised, attachments for your skis, and even an insulated tube duct so the straw of the hydration reservoir doesn’t freeze. £160; jack-wolfskin.co.uk MAMMUT XERON COURIER 25 A pack that takes outdoor components such as load-control straps and integrated back panels and crams them into a design that will work for your daily commute. Around £80; mammut.com VANS ULTRARANGE HI MTE With its reverse waffle lug outsole for great offroad traction, sock-fit bootie construction to reduce hot spots, and its clean, classic Vans look, the UltraRange Hi MTE is a seamless blend of sharp-looking lifestyle shoe and rugged, all-terrain hiking boot. Around £70; vans.co.uk JACK WOLFSKIN ARGO SUPREME You’d be hard-pressed to find a jacket with a better warmth-to-weight ratio than the 320g Argo Supreme. The tough, lightweight Pertex shell holds 800-fill goose down insulation, which V-shaped fill chambers prevent from slipping and creating cold spots. £240; jack-wolfskin.co.uk SMARTWOOL PHD OUTDOOR MEDIUM PATTERN CREW SOCKS Finally, a pair of socks that you won’t be disappointed to see under the tree. The dual elastic construction provides a snug and comfortable fit, while the virtually seamless toe means no irritation on long hikes. Bonus: merino wool is naturally odour-resistant, so you can wear these socks for days on end without washing them (if you’re into that sort of thing). £22.99; smartwool-socks.co.uk

90

THE RED BULLETIN

3

grooming

Clockwise from top: LAB SERIES DAILY MOISTURE DEFENSE LOTION This light, fast-absorbed product keeps your face safe with SPF15 protection, while liposome-released antioxidants smooth your skin and reduce the build-up of dead skin cells. Plus, it goes on without feeling greasy or leaving white residue. £29.50; labseries.co.uk MÜHLE R89 SILVERTIP FIBRE SHAVING SET Disposable plastic razors are for kids: the rose-gold handles make this kit as much a decorative piece as a part of your morning routine. The silvertip badger-hair brush builds a dense, frothy lather and the classic blade razor gives a precise shave. £150; muehle-shaving.co.uk GILLETTE ALL-PURPOSE STYLER Four different clipper settings and a connector for Gillette blades make this a versatile styler, and the swappable battery means no waiting for a recharge with half a beard if it dies mid-trim. £20; gillette.co.uk L’OCCITANE CADE SHAVING OIL Not only does this provide a slick, moisturising shave, but for non-shavers the blend of sandalwood, cedarwood and rosemary oil keeps beards soft (and fragrant). £22; loccitane.com JACK BLACK FACE BUFF ENERGIZING SCRUB The first thing you’ll notice is the scrub’s strong peppermint aroma, which snaps you awake as you exfoliate. The ultra-fine bamboo powder gently removes dead skin cells, while the allantoin leaves your face feeling fresh and hydrated. £16.50; getjackblack.com AESOP THE INTREPID GENT KIT Forget the complimentary hotel soap: Aesop’s Amazing Face Cleanser, Moroccan Neroli Post-Shave Lotion and Coriander Seed Body Cleanser will make the most low-rent hotel feel like a high-end spa (at least while you’re in the shower). £65; aesop.com

GUIDE

4

outside

Clockwise from left: MYCHARGE ADVENTUREULTRA Your new camping generator fits in your back pocket. This monster charger packs a whopping 13,400mAh of battery capacity and a maximum power output of 45W – enough to charge a laptop or run a 42in television for three hours via the AC power port. Around £100; mycharge.com LEATHERMAN SIGNAL This 19-in-one multi-tool has a plethora of camping-specific features including a fire-starting ferro rod, a removable knife sharpener, and even a hammer for pounding in tent stakes (or fighting off the occasional bear). £149.95; leatherman.co.uk VICTORINOX SWISS CHAMP WOOD How do you improve on a classic pocket knife; one that packs 29 different tools into an 185g package? Cover it with walnut wood. Not only does this add a touch of class but it provides added grip and feels great in your hand. £105; victorinox.com

92

THE RED BULLETIN

ST. MORITZ The most g lamorous a lpine dest inat ion in t he world

STYLE, ELEGANCE AND HIGH CLASS

TOP EVENTS

St. Moritz is the most glamorous mountain resort in the world, and the British were the first winter tourists, who discovered a whole new world: the white winter holiday.

White Turf 4/11/18 February 2018 The annual White Turf event, a tradition dating back to 1907, is no longer „merely“ a horse-racing meeting. It stands for thundering horses hooves on spraying snow. Thrilling flat and trotting races, com-plete with betting offices. Courageous men and intrepid women on skis pulled along at high speed by unmounted horses at the only skijoring race in the world. A veritable feast for all the senses and a social highlight of the season.

It all started in 1864, summer tourism was already flourishing, when the first British tourists spent the winter in St. Moritz. Today guests from all over the world enjoy the stylish, cosmopolitan ambiance, top-quality restaurants, hotels that set new standards in luxury at every level, and packed calendar of top-level international events.

Of course, the quality of winter sports on offer in St. Moritz is also outstanding: Snow-covered slopes sparkling in the sun, the legendary Cresta Run or the world’s only natural-ice bobsleigh track.

The facilities leave nothing to be desired, the pistes are largely snow-sure, and variety is guaranteed: skiing in Engadin St. Moritz means winter sports at the highest level. Fifty-eight lifts operating between altitudes of 1,716 and 3,303 meters transport up to 65,000 people per hour. allegra@estm.ch, www.engadin.stmoritz.ch Engadin St. Moritz, CH-7500 St. Moritz, T +41 81 830 00 01

St. Moritz Gourmet Festival 12-20 January 2018 Delightful prospects for gourmets and foodies: the 25th Anniversary of the St. Moritz Gourmet Festival will offer more time to visit favourite legendary epicurean events and exciting new ones. Discover the culinary master strokes of ten top-class guest chefs and the multiple award-winning master chefs from our partner hotels in the Upper Engadine.

GUIDE Clockwise from top: GOAL ZERO LIGHT-A-LIFE MINI QUAD USB LIGHT SET Thanks to its ability to chain together with additional sets, this string of USB-chargeable 110-lumen LED lamps (four per set) can light up anything from a tent to a back porch. For a bigger space, you can link up to eight. About £70; goalzero.com YETI HOPPER FLIP 18 Think of it as the ultimate adventure lunchbox. The Hopper’s closed-cell rubber foam insulation keeps stuff cold, while the waterproof high-density rubber exterior makes it the toughest soft cooler around. £241.19; intl.yeti.com JBL BOOMBOX This waterproof, portable Bluetooth speaker is loud – very loud – but with no sacrifice in sound quality. It weighs just over 5kg and has a 20,000 mAh battery that lasts 24 hours on a single charge, so you can party on all day and night. £399.99; jbl.com NEMO STARGAZE RECLINER LUXURY The most comfortable camping chair ever: swinging freely from its aluminium frame, it rocks back and forth as you lean back into the full-length headrest. Prepare to fight over it with your campmates. Around £165; nemoequipment.com

94

THE RED BULLETIN

THE RED BULLETIN PROMOTION

SOUTH TYROL A n u n d is c ove r e d w i n te r wo n d e r la n d

Experience sun, snow and la dolce vita on the slopes of South Tyrol.

South Tyrol, Italy’s most northerly region, is set amid the jaw-droppingly beautiful Dolomite mountains, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the area boasts some of the world’s best ski and snow sport runs. Add 300 days of sunshine a year, and a snow guarantee from December to April, and it’s clear that this is the place to be for discerning snow enthusiasts.

Home to the famous Dolomiti Superski and Sellaronda, South Tyrol offers excellent downhill and cross-country, with options for skiers and snowboarders of all levels, plus 63 ski schools catering for beginners. And it’s not only the landscape and the snow that make a visit here so rewarding; the region’s blend of cultures – Alpine and Mediterranean – influences everything from its food and wine to its spa tradition, all of this adding to South Tyrol’s eclectic and unique character.

For more details, visit suedtirol.info

GUIDE

Check it

THE RED BULLETIN WORLDWIDE The queen of US ice hockey, creativity from Mexico, and peak perfection in the Swiss mountains – just some of our highlights for December

UNITED STATES HILARY KNIGHT The best ice-hockey forward in the States talks about the fight for equality in her sport

MEXICO VIVA LA IMPROVISACIÓN! Mexico’s opinion leaders reveal their creativity tricks

FRANCE DOING IT FOR

THE THRILL Equal parts misfits and astonishing endurance athletes, the bike messenger community is thriving even as the digital age is upending their business. Once a year, the North American Cycle Courier Championships is where they gather to compete, carouse and commiserate. Words: Seth Gruen Photography: Thomas Chadwick 44

UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICAN CYCLE COURIER CHAMPIONSHIP Wheels, tattoos, alcohol and moustaches: inside Milwaukee’s battle of the bike messengers 96

JEAN-CLAUDE VAN DAMME Legendary splits, iconic fights: JCVD was in great shape when we shot him in Hollywood for the French cover

“WITH ANY INJURY, YOU’VE GOT TO ACCEPT WHAT YOU DID WRONG AND TRY TO LEARN FROM IT” UNITED KINGDOM SAM SUNDERLAND The British rider who fought his way back from serious injury to triumph at the Dakar Rally. See page 48 THE RED BULLETIN

December

GLOBAL TEAM UNITED KINGDOM

RAUF MIT DIR!

Text: Christine Vitel

Morgenlauf in 1500 Meter Seehöhe. Rémi Bonnet beim Training über Charmey (FR).

DAMIEN ROSSO/RED BULL CONTENT POOL

Berglauf-Genie Rémi Bonnet über die Faszination der dünnen Luft.

Und was du bergauf über dich selbst, deinen Körper und das Leben lernst.

56

SWITZERLAND RÉMI BONNET The iconic Swiss mountain runner explains his fascination for thin air, and tells us what you can find out about yourself in extreme situations

AUSTRIA MARCEL HIRSCHER In our exclusive interview, the top skier reveals his source of strength, how he motivates his team, and what success has taught him

The Red Bulletin United Kingdom, ISSN 2308-5894 Editor Ruth Morgan Associate Editor Tom Guise Music Editor Florian Obkircher Deputy Chief Sub-Editor Davydd Chong Sub-Editor Olivia Rosen Publishing Manager Ollie Stretton Advertisement Sales Mark Bishop, mark.bishop@uk.redbull.com Printed by Prinovis GmbH & Co KG, Printing Company Nuremberg, 90471 Nuremberg, Germany UK Office 155-171 Tooley Street, London SE1 2JP Tel: +44 (0) 20 3117 2000 Subscribe getredbulletin.com

Editorial Director Robert Sperl

Editor-in-Chief Alexander Macheck Creative Director Erik Turek Art Directors Kasimir Reimann (Stv. CD), Miles English Head of Photo Fritz Schuster Photo Director Rudi Übelhör

Production Editor Marion Lukas-Wildmann Managing Editor Ulrich Corazza Editors Stefan Wagner (Chief Copy Editor), Christian Eberle-Abasolo, Arek Piatek, Andreas Rottenschlager Design Marco Arcangeli, Marion Bernert-Thomann, Martina de Carvalho-Hutter, Kevin Goll, Carita Najewitz Photo Editors Marion Batty, Susie Forman, Ellen Haas, Eva Kerschbaum, Tahira Mirza Commercial Director Franz Renkin Advertising Placement Andrea Tamás-Loprais Creative Solutions Eva Locker (manager), Martina Maier, Verena Schörkhuber, Edith Zöchling-Marchart Country Management and Marketing Sara Varming (manager), Magdalena Bonecker, Kristina Trefil, Stephanie Winkler Marketing Design Peter Knehtl (manager), Simone Fischer, Alexandra Hundsdorfer Head of Production Michael Bergmeister Production Wolfgang Stecher (manager), Walter O. Sádaba, Friedrich Indich, Michael Menitz (digital) Repro Clemens Ragotzky (manager), Claudia Heis, Nenad Isailovi c,̀ Maximilian Kment, Josef Mühlbacher

„ICH RAPPE 150 TAKTE OHNE PAUSE.“

Office Management Kristina Krizmanic

SAMY DELUXE: Rapper, Musiker, Maler, Produzent: Das Hamburger Multitalent gilt als einer der Urväter des deutschen Hip-Hop.

IT Systems Engineer Michael Thaler „GEBT MIR EIN MIKRO. DANN WIRD DIE BUDE ABGERISSEN!“

AFROB: „Reimemonster“, „Get Up“, „Ich lebe für Hip-Hop“: Der Stuttgarter hat Hits für zwei Karrieren im Gepäck und beeindruckt mit explosiven Live-Gigs.

„DIE JUNGS KÖNNEN SICH WARM ANZIEHEN. MIT SCHAL UND WINTERJACKE.“

EKO FRESH: Der ehemalige BattleRapper toppte 2013 mit seinem Album „Eksodus“ die Charts. Mittlerweile ist der Kölner auch als Schauspieler aktiv.

Samy Deluxe, Eko Fresh und Afrob gegen Crack Ignaz, Soufian und LGoony: Beim Red Bull Soundclash treffen zwei Genera­ tionen deutschen Hip­ Hops im Live­Wett­ streit aufeinander. Wir haben die Rap­Stars nach ihren Erfolgs­ rezepten gefragt.

Text: Jan Wehn Fotos: Christoph Voy 55

GERMANY RED BULL SOUNDCLASH Local rap legends Samy Deluxe, Afrob and Eko Fresh prepare to enter the ring for a rhyme rumble

THE RED BULLETIN

Subscriptions and Distribution Peter Schiffer (manager), Klaus Pleninger (distribution), Nicole Glaser (distribution), Yoldaş Yarar (subscriptions) Global Editorial Office Heinrich-Collin-Straße 1, A-1140 Vienna Phone +43 1 90221-28800, Fax +43 1 90221-28809 Web www.redbulletin.com Red Bull Media House GmbH Oberst-Lepperdinger-Straße 11–15, A-5071 Wals bei Salzburg, FN 297115i, Landesgericht Salzburg, ATU63611700 General Manager and Publisher Andreas Kornhofer Directors Christopher Reindl, Andreas Gall

97

GUIDE

Action highlight

On the outskirts of Madrid, two generations of motorsport talent battled it out on the carcross track to answer the crucial question: who’s faster? Drifting is in Formula One ace Carlos Sainz Jr’s blood, but this time around he had to eat his rallydriver father’s dust. The rivalry was settled – for now at least.

To see the video, go to: win.gs/SainzVsSainz

98

“Time for a race?

Always. And we go to the limit every time” Spanish F1 driver Carlos Sainz Jr on his gas-fuelled relationship with his father, rally legend Carlos Sainz Sr

The next issue of The Red Bulletin is out on December 12

THE RED BULLETIN

OSCAR CARRASCOSA/RED BULL CONTENT POOL

Cebreros, Spain

Makes you fly

ADVENTURE starts here

E X O L I G H T

RANGE high performance / waterproof and breathable / flexible for mobility / snow sports features

Outdoor performance with modern style.

jack-wolfskin.com

USE DISCOUNT CODE SKI5 WWW.SCOTT-SPORTS.COM Terms and conditions The Editor of this voucher is SPORT NETWORK SOLUTIONS AG, Route du Crochet 17, CH – 1762 Givisiez, Switzerland. By receipt of this voucher, the following terms and conditions are automatically accepted: Employees from SPORT NETWORK SOLUTIONS AG resp. from its affiliated companies may not participate.

The voucher may be redeemed with purchase of goods on www.scott-sports.com with indication of the discount code. Only one voucher applicable per order.

The voucher is strictly personal and may not be assigned.

A cash payment is not possible. The voucher may be redeemed until 10, 11, 2017.

The right of offset shall be expired after this date. All legal actions are excluded.