The Red Bulletin UK 12/21

UK EDITION DECEMBER 2021, £3.50

BEYOND THE ORDINARY

SPIDER RIDER

BMX renegade BAS KEEP’s vertical assault on urban buildings and the laws of physics

ALPINE GOAT THE INCREDIBLE TALE OF MARC-ANDRÉ LECLERC

LAGOS HIGH LIFE PARTYING IN THE AFRICAN CITY THAT NEVER SLEEPS

CASSIE KINOSHI JAZZ SAXOPHONIST, AFROFUTURIST, ACTIVIST

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Editor’s letter

CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE

EISA BAKOS

“I witnessed some of the craziest gaps done on a BMX,” says the Peckhambased photographer, who documented the production of More Walls for our cover story. High praise from a man who has been shooting bike action for a decade, runs his own BMX magazine (Endless), and happily calls Bas Keep a close friend. “Shooting him is always easy.” Page 30

EISA BAKOS (COVER), SCOTT SERFAS

MARK JENKINS

The American author and explorer has journeyed to some of Earth’s deadliest regions writing for, among others, Outside magazine and National Geographic. His experience makes his take on climber Marc-André Leclerc all the more insightful. “Live in the world of alpinism and you, or someone close to you, will die,” he says. “Michelle Kuipers deeply understood her son’s passion.” Page 46

FREEDOM FIGHTERS “A lot of us think of the things we’d like to do, but we hold back.

What would you do if you were able to overcome the things you’re afraid of?” says Michelle Kuipers, mother of climber extraordinaire Marc-André Leclerc (page 46). Few will ever successfully tap into that courage. Some examples, however, can be found within the pages of this month’s The Red Bulletin.

Cover star Bas Keep (page 30) is one of the world’s most daring BMXers, but it took most of his life to realise his greatest trick, as seen in his new film, More Walls. On the way, he discovered something more vital: fatherhood. Jazz composer Cassie Kinoshi (page 40) uses her music to speak out on issues of diversity in Britain, but what matters most is that she’s in control of her own narrative. Photographer Andrew Eisebo (page 58) wants to show a side of his home city – Lagos, Nigeria – that’s rarely seen in the media; not of crime, congestion or poverty, but of celebration.

Elsewhere, Louise Vardeman (page 26) pushed herself to the brink, cycling the route of the Tour de France in the hope it would pave the way for a women’s event – she succeeded on both counts. And smalltown boy Kofi McCalla (page 28) followed his dream of entering the hallowed halls of the fashion world and advising Drake on what to wear. Enjoy the issue!

Canadian climber Marc-André Leclerc sleeps beneath the stars. For his unique and amazing story, as shown in the film The Alpinist, see page 46 THE RED BULLETIN

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T H E

N I GH T

CONTENTS December 2021

58 Stepping out : inside the Lagos party scene

8 Gallery: whitewater wizardry in

Idaho, USA; balletic freediving in French Polynesia; skiing the perfect line in the Alps, and conquering boulder ambitions in Switzerland

15 Playlist: Music super-producer

Jack Antonoff on the pursuit of rock/pop perfection

16 Neighbourhood Skate Club: the

skating collective creating a safe space for board-riding women

18 Radiooooo: the ultra-cool music

player that transports you across continents – and back in time

ANDREW ESIEBO

21 Quiet Parks International:

protecting the planet’s peaceful places from noise pollution

22 Letters to the Future: messages

of hope crafted from recycled waste and age-old wisdom

THE RED BULLETIN

24 J esse Marsch

71 Two boards are better than one:

26 L ouise Vardeman

77 Canned heat: headphones to covet

The world-class football coach who finds comfort in chaos A tour de force in women’s cycling

why splitboarding should be your next snow adventure

78 Inside edge: the Wahoo Kickr Bike

could revolutionise your ride

28 Kofi McCalla

79 Current account: training tips from

3 0 Bas Keep

80 Flash pack: commute in style

Vlogging streetwear to the masses An urban masterclass in riding walls and flipping fear on its head from the ‘Brian Cox of BMX’

40 C assie Kinoshi

The multitalented jazz composer takes us on a voyage of exploration

46 M arc-André Leclerc

How the young Canadian changed the face of alpinism – albeit at a cost

58 L agos High Life

Whether rich or poor, partying hard is a way of life in the Nigerian city

a rising star in slalom canoeing 82 Bak to the future: innovations in

adventure gear from Vollebak 87 Goggle jocks: the best ski eyewear 88 Pitch perfect: how to master the

latest FIFA release 89 Play to win: next-level gaming kit 90 Let it go: the benefits of showing

forgiveness, and how to get there 93 Essential dates for your calendar 98 Outdoors wisdom from Semi-Rad

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BANKS, IDAHO, USA

White lies

JOHN WEBSTER/RED BULL ILLUME

LOU BOYD

“Nothing brings me more joy than nailing a shot,” says John Webster. And while this night action shot might look spontaneous, the US photographer carefully planned it, positioning a strobe in the Jacob’s Ladder rapid on North Fork Payette River, to capture kayaker Hayden Voorhees in the darkness.

The results speak for themselves: Webster, like all of this month’s Gallery images, won a semi-final spot in global photography contest Red Bull Illume. Instagram: @johnjwebster

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FRENCH POLYNESIA

Water dance The biodiverse waters of French Polynesia are teeming with aquatic wildlife: more than 1,000 species of fish, 11 types of dolphin, the humpback whale… and the lesserspotted Marianne Aventurier.

As captured in this image by her husband, photographer Alex Voyer, the French freediver can easily match her dorsal-finned counterparts for poise and grace beneath the surface.

Instagram: @alexvoyer_fisheye

DAVYDD CHONG ALEX VOYER/RED BULL ILLUME, ALBAN GUERRY-SUIRE/RED BULL ILLUME

SAVOIE, FRANCE

Alpine air line Virgin snow is to a freeskier what freshly laid cement is to a naughty child: irresistible. “I know this spot well,” says Alban Guerry-Suire, the man who shot this exhilarating act of environmental destruction, “but we never had the chance to ride it without any tracks. The clouds were moving quickly, so I told [Anthony Robert, the skier] to get ready for my signal. After 10 minutes… “Go!” He lost speed on the flat part, but he managed to catch some air. It was perfect.” Instagram: @_stonecat

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AVERS, SWITZERLAND

Magic marker

HANNES TELL/RED BULL ILLUME

DAVYDD CHONG

“Working with Giani [Clement, the 38-year-old Swiss climber, last August] during his first ascent projecting on the ‘Stil vor Talent’ [Style over Talent] line, I quickly realised that the beauty and logic of line was striking,” says German photographer Hannes Tell. The location of the complex route (difficulty rating: 8C/+) is south-eastern Switzerland, in the bouldering paradise known as Magic Wood. For this image, Tell conjured up a composite of 20 shots tracking the climb at dawn. Spellbinding. hannestell.de

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JACK ANTONOFF

Sounds sublime The world’s hottest music producer reveals four songs in rock history he wishes he’d produced

CARLOTTA KOHL

MARCEL ANDERS

When music artists such as Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, Lorde and St Vincent feel like they want to sonically break the mould, they call Jack Antonoff. The 37-year-old New Jerseyite earned his stripes as guitarist/drummer in indie-pop band Fun – biggest hit: 2011’s multi-million-selling single We Are Young – before making his name as an innovative producer. The predominance of percussive tunes with acoustic guitars and big choruses in the pop charts is testimony to his influence. To celebrate the recent release of Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night – his third album as synthpop act Bleachers – Antonoff picks four tunes that sound perfect to his ears. bleachersmusic.com

The Waterboys

REM

Fiona Apple

The Mountain Goats

The Whole of the Moon (1985)

At My Most Beautiful (1998)

Limp (1999)

San Bernardino (2008)

“One of the most perfect songs ever written. But that aside, the production of it carries so much joy; it’s so alive and bouncy. I would never have thought those sounds would match the yearning and near-rage of [the song’s protagonist], who just can’t get what someone else has – but, against all the odds, they do. It’s the hallmark of amazing production: ‘How the fuck does this work?’”

“This is a pure love song talking about counting someone’s eyelashes. The hook is: ‘I found a way to make you smile’ – such a simple lyric. And there are these chamber Beach Boys elements: tubular bells and timpani. All the magic of falling in love is wrapped up in there. How the fuck they did that I’ll never know, but they really bottled up that feeling.”

“This is from her When the Pawn… album, produced by [US singer/songwriter] Jon Brion. There’s no better drum sound and no better playing – it’s [legendary Californian session drummer] Matt Chamberlain. The outfit that the song is being held in, the darkness and rage and all of the percussion… I think there are two kits at one point, and they’re panned all crazy. It’s just a masterclass.”

“There are these pizzicato strings and then the occasional long swells. It’s the most genius backdrop to [frontman] John Darnielle telling the story.

I love it because it makes me think, ‘Jesus Christ, who thought of that?’ And I’m good at the craft. But we’re all trying something way bigger than that to capture a feeling that’s theoretically uncapturable unless some of this weird magic happens.”

THE RED BULLETIN

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Boarding pass Meet the all-woman skate crew packing out an east London park and creating more space for female board-riders When skater Sky Brown won bronze in the inaugural Olympic women’s park skateboarding final in August this year, it was a watershed moment. Not only was the 13-year-old Britain’s youngestever Olympic medallist and the youngest pro in her sport worldwide, but her achievement issued a clear message to the as-yet-uninformed: yes, women do skate.

This would hardly be news if you’ve ever strolled through Victoria Park, east London.

On any given day you’ll see 16

a crew of around 40 women weaving across the tarmac on their decks. This is the Neighbourhood Skate Club, an all-female skateboarding collective founded by marketing director Lyndsay McLaren.

The 33-year-old began teaching one-to-one skate lessons in her local park in April this year. “There was a huge demand from women who wanted to learn but felt intimidated by skateparks,” McLaren explains. But over time she spotted an increasing number of female beginners skating on their own. “It’s hard to make friends in your twenties, thirties and forties,” she continues. “So I wanted to start a community of likeminded women from different backgrounds who all want to learn.” And so the club was formed. The motto: empowering women through voice, movement and skateboarding.

THE RED BULLETIN

NINA ZIETMAN

NEIGHBOURHOOD SKATE CLUB

LIZ SEABROOK

Kick start: Lyndsay McLaren (far left) builds confidence in female skaters

McLaren first discovered the sport after moving to Miami for university in 2008. But it was only when she relocated to New York City that she found the skateboarding community for the first time.

“It took over my world. Before I knew it, my whole friendship group was skateboarders,” she recalls. She began entering competitions and spent the next two years zipping across the US, supported by sponsors including helmet brand Bern.

After moving back to the UK, it took McLaren a while to find her tribe again, but now it’s bigger than ever. The Neighbourhood Skate Club’s free workshops and gatherings draw all levels of skater, from total beginners to experienced riders, and the most recent event ended with a few laps of the park as one giant crew. “It was a head-turner,” McLaren says. “I’m used to negative experiences while skating – being catcalled, or people telling me to watch out – so it was amazing to see such big smiles on everyone’s faces.”

McLaren is determined to create a safe space for women skaters and other marginalised groups in what remains a maledominated sport. Removing the skatepark setting was key to making the club more accessible. “You don’t have to learn tricks to be a skateboarder.

There’s a simple joy that comes from just cruising around. With such a big group of women it’s really empowering.”

This is a crucial part of the Neighbourhood Skate Club: it builds confidence on the board and beyond. “I want women to take the lessons they learn from skateboarding – the feeling of strength and sense of self – and apply that to their day jobs,” says McLaren, “whether that’s using their voice to stand up for themselves or remembering that it’s OK to take up space.” neighbourhoodskateclub. bigcartel.com

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Time stream Every song is a product of its time and place.

This music player wants to transport you there In 2012, Benjamin Moreau was sitting in his father’s newly purchased 1960s sports car.

Admiring the vintage interior – leatherette seats, Bakelite wheel – the Parisian visual artist and DJ was, he says, “transported to another time”.

Then he turned the dial on the radio and was confronted by “some abominable commercial techno music”. It shattered his idyll but spawned an idea: what if we could easily access music from any era, from anywhere on the planet? What if we had a music discovery system that selected tunes from across time and space instead of by trend, genre or algorithm? That vision became Radiooooo.

Accessed via a website or app, Radiooooo’s interactive map – hand-drawn by 18

Passport to tune-isia: Radiooooo co-founder Ferst works on her musical map of discovery

co-founder Noemi Ferst, a visual artist, sound curator, and Moreau’s partner – is stacked with hundreds of thousands of songs. Users choose a location and any decade dating back to the start of the 20th century, then press play. Initially, Moreau, Ferst and a group of close friends drew from their own music collections; they had been commissioned to create a musical identity for the global Le Baron group of nightclubs so already had “a large and eclectic collection”, he says.

“We began by digging all this random and forgotten music,” says Moreau. “Once we’d put all that in, we started calling friends from different countries, then their parents began contributing music, too.

Finally, we opened it up to anyone. It’s become this huge multicultural, multi-generational project.” Today, around 1,500 people from across the world submit records each month.

The project’s gestation has its own timeline of discovery.

In 2013, the team attempted to launch it through crowdfunding

site Indiegogo, but with little success. Radiooooo finally saw the light of day in 2016, but lockdown provided the opportunity for a revamp. The map now features curated elements such as themed ‘islands’ of music, and there’s a ‘taxi journey’ function that lets you chart a journey across the globe and enjoy a playlist of tracks en route.

“The idea is to push people to share their culture and their knowledge while engaging their curiosity about what’s happening close to them,” says Moreau. “I’m a French guy, but I know American music better than Spanish or Swedish, and they’re my neighbours.”

So, where to explore first?

Modern Mexican techno is an untapped genre, Moreau says, or Korean disco from the ’70s.

“Our musical time machine is a way to make radio a cool mix of history and science fiction.

You’re travelling through time and space and understanding the story behind all the music that you uncover.” radiooooo.com THE RED BULLETIN

MAURO MONGIELLO

RADIOOOOO

LOU BOYD

Radiooooo heads: Moreau (seated), Ferst (centre) and their jet-setting, time-travelling entourage

SIGHT-001S

NINA ZIETMAN

The world is undergoing an extinction-level event. It’s happening all around you right now. Stop and listen. Can you hear it? Beyond the rumble of traffic, the hum of your refrigerator, the notifications from your phone… there’s a distinct lack of quiet. We’ve become so accustomed to the constant cacophony of daily life, we don’t even notice it.

Silence is endangered, and the situation is inflicting massive harm on humankind.

According to the World Health Organisation, noise pollution not only damages hearing and affects sleep, but it increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and cognitive impairment.

“We need quiet for our physical health and to connect with people and the world around us,” explains Matt Mikkelsen, a sound recordist and documentary filmmaker from Ithaca, New York.

Mikkelsen was focused on a career as a drummer when, in 2012, he met Gordon Hempton, an acoustic ecologist who has spent the past four decades recording the rapidly vanishing sounds of the natural world. He instantly became an advocate for protecting nature’s soundscapes and spent the next four years working on a documentary about Hempton and his work – 2017’s awardwinning Being Hear. In 2018, Hempton founded Quiet Parks International (QPI), a nonprofit dedicated to identifying and preserving Earth’s last remaining noiseless spaces.

Today, Mikkelsen, 28, is its Executive Director of Wilderness Quiet Parks. He and his team study the levels of humanmade noise around the globe, identifying quiet places and working to protect them.

Those spaces that meet the organisation’s standards are presented with a QPI Award and offered assistance in areas including maintenance, park guidelines, management THE RED BULLETIN

Noise annoys: Quiet Parks advocate Matt Mikkelsen is helping to protect the planet from sound pollution

QUIET PARKS INTERNATIONAL

practice, and support for indigenous communities.

It’s not only humans who benefit from quiet spaces, either. “Wildlife is just as busy communicating as we are,” says Mikkelsen, “and noise pollution prohibits their ability to do that effectively. For example, owls hunt mainly by hearing mice 100m away. Even a small amount of noise pollution halves their feeding ground.”

QPI began its work in pristine wild spaces such as the Zabalo River in Ecuador, but soon ascertained that quiet places need to be more accessible. In July this year, it named London’s Hampstead Heath the first Urban Quiet Park in Europe. These spots aren’t devoid of urban sounds, but birds tweeting and leaves rustling make them a haven for city dwellers. “You shouldn’t have to book an expeditionlevel backpacking trip to be able to find quiet. Quiet brings a lot of joy. It gives space to listen, think and feel.”

Enjoy the silence Amid the constant chatter about environmental crises, one team of ecologists believes we should all shut up a bit – it could save the world The non-profit plans to spread its message across the globe in 2022 with parks in Canada, Poland, Namibia, Sweden and beyond. Mikkelsen hopes the impact will be felt by all, and he believes that creating protected quiet spaces will also help tackle other problems such as ocean-plastic and air pollution.

“When you find a quiet place, it’s a good indicator for the overall health of an ecosystem,” he says. “By preventing noise, we’re preventing all those other sources of pollution from having an impact, too.” quietparks.org 21

Single-use plastic takes up to 1,000 years to decompose in landfill.

The perfect material, then, to make a book for future generations…

If you could write a letter to your descendants 100 years from now, what would you say? This is a question that Kumkum Fernando pondered after watching the 2016 documentary A Plastic Ocean.

“There was a part where the narrator said that every piece of plastic ever made still exists on this planet,” says the 36-year-old, Sri Lanka-born creative director.

“A plastic bag I use will still be there when my great-greatgreat-grandson is born.”

With this in mind, Fernando came up with the idea of creating a book filled with letters of advice from his friends to their far-future family. It would be made entirely from recycled plastic, preserving their messages for the next 1,000 years.

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Working in association with business partner Indraneel Guha – with whom he co-founded the Vietnambased creative agency Ki Saigon – and local ecoconscious food franchise Pizza 4P’s, Fernando cooked up a plan.

Over the next four months, letters flooded in – 327 in total, from 22 countries as far afield as France, Israel, Mongolia and Brazil, written by staff, friends of friends, even Fernando’s mum. “Most people wrote about very personal experiences,” Fernando says. “Some revealed secrets, others shared regrets. The common theme was that they wished for a happier tomorrow for their loved ones.”

No wasted words: each letter was individually hand-printed onto the page, then these were hand-bound

THE RED BULLETIN

NINA ZIETMAN

The neverending story

WING CHAN/VAIB

LETTERS TO THE FUTURE

One of Fernando’s favourites came from Heewon Moon in Korea.

“She wrote a beautiful letter addressed to her ‘soul daughter’. She said that if you’re in trouble right now, just know that everything will be OK – this will pass.”

While the letters express optimism and hope, the physical book is a reminder that single-use plastic never goes away.

According to the United Nations Environment Programme, 79 per cent of all plastic waste ever produced has ended up in landfill or the natural environment. This book is one way of recycling it into something useful, while highlighting its lasting footprint on the planet.

Each letter was printed onto a recycled plastic page made from bags, bubble wrap and cellophane found on the streets of Ho Chi Minh City. Silkscreen printing was used to preserve the handwriting of each author.

The book is a thing of beauty, a kaleidoscopic time capsule “where each page is an artwork in itself”, says Fernando.

Plans are underway to display Letters to the Future as an art exhibit in Ho Chi Minh City. However, such has been the global attention, its creators want to launch a travelling exhibition and collect more letters for future editions.

Fernando hopes that the book will make others think about their plastic consumption. “It was actually a self-realisation exercise for me. Some of the plastic we used for the book came from my house. Now, when I buy something, I remember that it will have a life of its own long after I’ve gone.” letters-to-the-future.com

Jesse Marsch

Kicking up a storm

Austrian football functioned in the winter; the ideas needed to win games on bad pitches in bad weather.

The US-born head coach of German Bundesliga team RB Leipzig explains why he welcomes chaos in his life Words CHRISTIAN SEILER Photography JULIAN BAUMANN

Jesse Marsch is an extraordinary football coach, and not only because he’s from Wisconsin, USA – a place where ‘soccer’ has a lot less history than sports such as basketball and ice hockey. The recently appointed head coach of German Bundesliga team RB Leipzig began his career as a player in Major League Soccer after graduating from Ivy League college Princeton with a history degree. He spent 14 seasons in MLS, winning three league titles, before being hired as assistant US national team coach in 2010. Following a spell with Montréal Impact, arguably his biggest break came in 2015 when he took charge of MLS side New York Red Bulls. In his first season the team enjoyed a club-record 18 victories, and Marsch was named MLS Coach of the Year.

Then in 2018, he took a giant leap into the unknown. Moving to Europe, Marsch spent a year as assistant to Ralf Rangnick at RB Leipzig before stepping up to the head role at Red Bull Salzburg. The team won two Austrian Bundesliga titles during his reign and earned acclaim with their attractive style of play in the Champions League. But in June this year the head coach’s job at Leipzig – runners-up last season in the German Bundesliga – came calling.

Now he faces his biggest challenge yet. But the 47-year-old American has built a reputation for stepping outside his comfort zone, even learning French to coach at Montréal, and German at Leipzig. Here, Marsch reveals how he embraces chaos and copes with the druck…

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the red bulletin: How does it feel to return to RB Leipzig? jesse marsch: Great. I wasn’t just assistant coach to Ralf Rangnick for a year; as New York Red Bulls coach I often came to Leipzig. I know the club set-up and the people. I have a picture in my mind of how I can take the next step forward with the team.

You’re known for thriving in unpredictable situations…

My head never works faster than when there’s chaos all around. When things are hectic and confusing, you have to come up with new solutions.

But I also understand that a lot of people here in Germany like having everything under control – a perfect schedule, all tasks clearly delegated.

How do you square that circle?

By finding a balance that suits everyone. And by instilling a mindset that we’re constantly learning. Every match has unpredictable aspects.

The player has to understand every situation while being able to react to it physically, at full speed and power.

Has that been the case in your own career – chaos, then clarity?

I’ve learned a lot when times are tough. At Salzburg we had to realise that winning doesn’t always mean progress. Everyone had to take on board that complex situations offer opportunities for self-development.

Do you mean losing matches?

In February 2020, the media were reporting we were mid-crisis. We’d won only one of our last six games and we were out of the Europa League, but that set a process in motion. I began to understand how

Have you developed a European way of seeing things?

Before I could speak German, I was at a game in Wolfsburg with [then team coordinator at RB Leipzig] Jochen Schneider. I watched an interview with a player and they used the word druck about 15 times, and so did the coach.

So I asked Jochen what it meant.

“Pressure,” he said. “As in going in hard in football?” I asked. “No, in society,” he replied. “Everyone feels they must be a success.” Pressure is relative. If you come to the ground and only talk about pressure, you can’t play football or be the coach with a clear head.

You travelled the world for six months after your first coaching gig. How did that help?

I realised that more than 99 per cent of people have zero interest in Major League Soccer. They don’t care.

People have totally different pressure – life pressure, not football pressure.

The journey taught me to set the idea of pressure and success to one side.

What have been some unexpected sources of coaching inspiration?

When I was still at college I’d speak to coaches in other sports. I learned a lot from rowing. Rowers are out on the water at 5am; they take things beyond the limit. When they cross the line, all eight rowers literally collapse. I want a football team with the same mentality.

How are you instilling togetherness at RB Leipzig?

Speaking German, for a start. It would be easier for me to speak English – most of the players are better at English than German – but we’re a German team, so everyone has to adapt. My German is good enough to be understood.

Does a sense of humour help, too?

Fallibility means being able to laugh at yourself. There are times when we’re fully focused on our work, but we should always have fun and laugh with and at each other. Yes, a sense of humour definitely helps. rbleipzig.com

THE RED BULLETIN

“My head never works faster than when there’s chaos”

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Louise Vardeman

In 2019, she cycled the Tour de France ahead of male competitors to protest about the exclusion of women.

Now, the Brit is seeing change in her sport Words JESS HOLLAND

Louise Vardeman knows how to push through hard times. When the 43-year-old from Marlow, Bucks, first took up cycling six years ago, it was because she had to give up long-distance running; the cartilage in her hip was destroyed. It was a low point. She’d been in a marriage that was falling apart, with two kids, diagnosed depression and shattered confidence. After “getting to rock bottom”, Vardeman finally decided to leave her husband. She channelled her pain into riding. Two years later, she was performing at a high-enough level to represent Britain in the Gran Fondo World Championships.

That winter, Vardeman saw a call-out online from a group of French women who, for the last four years, had been riding the Tour de France route a day ahead of the male competitors. Their aim was to raise awareness of inequality in cycling – the Tour de France was still a men’s-only event. For women, only a one-day competition had been allocated, with just one-hundredth of the prize money available.

Vardeman contacted the group, and this led to her co-founding an international branch, The InternationElles. In 2019, they met for the first time in Brussels, at the start of the Tour de France route, and set off. The 3,500km journey was gruelling, but the women persevered, attracting global press, from the BBC’s Breakfast show to The New York Times. And at the

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finish point, on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, Vardeman’s boyfriend was waiting with a marriage proposal.

The pandemic prevented The InternationElles from repeating their feat in 2020, but in May this year it was announced that an official eight-day women’s Tour de France will follow the men’s race in July 2022. Vardeman is not expecting to ride in the event itself – she’s an amateur cyclist with a day job in events management – but she took part in the 25-hour Red Bull Timelaps event at the end of October and is aiming to compete again in the Gran Fondo next year.

The campaigning was never intended for her own benefit, she says, but to inspire a younger generation: “I hate the idea that someone might think, ‘I’m a girl, therefore I can’t do that.’” the red bulletin: Were there moments on the Tour de France route where you hit a wall? louise vardeman: About three weeks in, I had a lot of doubt.

I hadn’t slept well, and I started crying at the top of one ascent.

I had to play music on a speaker to take my mind off the voices in my head telling me to go home. As we approached [alpine mountain pass Col du] Galibier, I became overwhelmed. I needed the toilet, and I was feeling too hot, but I kept pedalling until I literally just fell sideways onto the floor. I thought, “I’m done, I can’t do this any more.”

I couldn’t even unclip my feet from the pedals. But I realised that I’d never forgive myself if I got in the van on the 18th stage out of 21.

If it took all day to do this next bit,

Do you have the same determination when it comes to tackling inequality in cycling?

Yes. Cycling is so traditional, especially in France. It’s so white and male-dominated. It doesn’t help that bikes are so expensive and cycling clubs are not very inclusive.

There are so many barriers. That spurs me on.

What other projects have you been working on?

We did a lot of campaigning about [the disparities in] prize money last year, because there’s a big gap there.

For the Strade Bianche [a road race in Tuscany] in 2021, the men’s prize pot [for the top five riders] was €31,600, whereas the equivalent for women was €6,298. So we launched a crowdfunding campaign with The Cyclists’ Alliance and a fan named Cem Tanyeri. We raised just under €27,000, which took the women’s prize pot above that of the men’s.

The pros couldn’t believe it.

Have your cycling experiences given you greater confidence in other areas of life?

I wish they did. I lack confidence with every single thing I do. I want other people to know that [competing] doesn’t come naturally to me. It’s hard, but it’s so worth it.

What advice do you have for others wanting to make a big change?

You only live once, and if you’re not happy, you’re wasting your time. When it comes to making a difference, you can’t think about changing the whole world, but little changes add up. You have no idea of the ripple effect you have. And even if you only change one person’s life, that’s so important. loukew.co.uk

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JOSEPH O’CONNELL-DANES

Long road to equality

so be it. When we got to the bottom of Galibier, I felt like something was pushing me. I just felt strong, and I ascended the whole thing without any problem. At the top, we climbed the sign and took photographs. It was just incredible – I’d conquered a mountain.

“I hate the idea someone might think, ‘I’m a girl, so I can’t do that’” THE RED BULLETIN

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Kofi McCalla

The art of styling it out The fashion world is famously impenetrable, but this YouTuber went from making videos in his bedroom to waltzing into its inner circle Words EMMA FINAMORE Photography LOUIS FRY

Walk around central London dressed smartly enough and there’s a chance you’ll be approached by Kofi McCalla.

He might even ask what you’re wearing. Don’t be affronted, you’re in prestigious company. Bella Hadid, Usher and even infamously frosty Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour have all been hit-and-run by the British vlogger – the latter two at a Balmain show at Paris Fashion Week last year, where Wintour responded to his probing with a curt “No”.

But McCalla is the fashion world’s chancer, creating content through risk and gamble, and begging others for forgiveness over permission as he quizzes them on a handheld camera for his YouTube channel, The Unknown Vlogs. What began as a teenage hobby in 2014 has amassed more than 120 million views and made McCalla a leading voice in the streetwear market – a fashion subculture that mixes the skate and sportswear aesthetic with highend independent brands.

“Streetwear is a community and a form of escapism,” McCalla explains.

“When I first started, there was no documentation of streetwear on the internet. Most of the world doesn’t get it. I decided to fill that space, explain it to everyone.”

From revealing first drops of street brands such as Supreme to tracking thrift-shop trends in Tokyo and hitting runway shows for Prada, McCalla’s videos make the scene accessible and easy to understand.

In his newest video series, What Are

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People Wearing Today, he interviews style-conscious types on the street, right across the UK. “I show how the community celebrates products and designers, as well as how everyday people make their own style.”

This has earned him a following as diverse as those he approaches. In 2019, Canadian rapper Drake DM-ed McCalla to ask if he could appear in an episode – something the vlogger describes as a “Whoa! WTF?! moment”. But then, McCalla has a knack for looking past the image, labels and price tags, and finding the individual beneath. the red bulletin: What made you start filming streetwear? kofi mccalla: Growing up, I lived in a town that was closed-minded.

I’d visit the Supreme store in London and go home like, “Boom, check out these clothes,” but no one got it.

That’s why I first posted online – I found an audience on YouTube that was just getting into streetwear and wanted to know more.

It takes some courage to approach the likes of Anna Wintour…

When you have a passion project, you just want to show the world “this is my baby”. At that show in Paris, I wasn’t thinking about what Anna Wintour would think of me; I was thinking that I had this amazing chance to tell her about my channel and feature her in my video. I’m always thinking, “I’ve made it in here, I need to make the most of it.” Creating content has been my life since 2014, and it’s always been escapism for me, but now it’s something I live off. It’s my job to run over and try.

Did anyone try to stop you filming?

Definitely. The whole Balmain team were scared, and just before I walked up to her everyone behind the camera was telling me not to. But she’s still human, and talking to people about clothes is what I do, so I was just like, “Anna Wintour. Oh, hey, what’s up?”

What was the inspiration for What Are People Wearing Today?

Lockdown was tough for us all. As we went back outside, I wanted to show people connecting again. This video series is as much about people as about clothes. I wanted to give the feeling that you [the viewer] are the camera, finding out how people are doing as well as what they’re wearing.

How do you pick the right person to approach?

I try to feature people as diverse as possible. I look at the colour palette they’re wearing, the silhouette and what kind of shapes they’ve made with their clothes. Sometimes I recognise a random low-key designer, but once I approached a guy and he turned out to be wearing almost all Primark. It’s how you style it.

Where do you find the most interesting people?

It’s a cliché, but Soho in London.

You can wear anything there and not be judged. I’m heavily inspired by Parisian fashion. Thrifting is big there.

Gen Z are thrifting the craziest clothes.

How are Gen Z changing fashion?

They’ve brought more awareness of sustainability. Is it ethically made? Are you using real leather or not? They’re also buying more into people and less into brands. I think there’ll be a point, even with high-street brands, where influencers become creative directors.

Tell us about that Drake DM… He just messaged me out of the blue.

Of course I’m a fan, but when we met I was more “Right, let’s get this done.”

He was the one telling my friends he’d watched my videos. By that point I was already working with Balmain, Dior…

I felt I was in a position I’d earned.

Watch McCalla’s YouTube channel The Unknown Vlogs at youtube.com

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“Just before I went up to Anna Wintour, everyone was telling me not to”

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Tearing down walls Fear, stress, injury, boredom, random Domino’s Pizza scooters, the sides of buildings – these are the obstacles BAS KEEP has learned not just to overcome, but to ride to victory Words MATT RAY and TOM GUISE Photography EISA BAKOS

Bas Keep filming More Walls in Selfridges car park, Birmingham, in September 2019

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Bas Keep

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hen Sebastian Keep was 11 years old, he discovered an alien artefact near his hometown of Hastings, East Sussex, that would change the course of his life.

“I was riding an old-school Raleigh Burner BMX, looking for hills to go down as fast as I could, because that’s what we thought BMX was about,” recalls the 38-year-old today. “Then my brother and his friends stumbled across this thing and rushed home to tell us about it, so we went to check it out.”

What Keep saw blew his young mind: “There was this metal structure like the hull of a huge ship, tucked away in this work yard in some country lanes. You’d never find it, but it had been there more than 30 years. At 11, I thought I knew everything about the world, and yet this thing felt like it had been kept from us.

Why didn’t we know about it? Why wasn’t it on TV? It was like finding a UFO.” Keep and his friends had unearthed the Crowhurst Bowl. “This guy in the

village, Dennis, had built the ramp to help out local kids who had nowhere to skate,” he says. “Even without anyone doing tricks on it, it was impressive.

I don’t know if you’ve ever seen a vert ramp in the flesh, but this one was 10ft [3m] tall. It was terrifying, vertical; you couldn’t imagine people riding down it.”

He didn’t know it at the time, but Sebastian ‘Bas’ Keep had begun a journey to legendary status in BMX as one of its greatest-ever all-round riders. But, back in 1994, he recalls, “We didn’t even realise people did backflips on bikes. At that age I was bored, playing a lot of football and annoying the trolley pushers at the local Tesco. I needed something to dig my teeth into. When we found the ramp, it introduced me to something missing in my life, and to people with a common bond. These guys took us in and gave encouragement, teaching us how to drop into a ramp. The other neighbourhood kids weren’t friendly like that.”

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Keep at his practice warehouse.

“I like simple tricks done well, high, and landed smooth”

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Bas Keep

Anatomy of the wall ride “There’s a moment after you jump when you suddenly stop. It’s like being on a rollercoaster – that feeling in your stomach before it drops.” To see Bas Keep perform his signature realityfolding jump-to-vert, it seems almost effortless.

But like all magic tricks, the complexity of what’s being performed is hidden from the audience by the magician himself. Here, Keep breaks down what’s going on inside his head during each stage of this jump…

1. The launch “This is the moment where the hard part is done – the decision to let go of the fear. You can’t see underneath the level – it’s completely blind, so you look at the wall ahead and trust. It’s a massive mind game.”

2. The air “In this moment you’ll know instantly whether it’s going to be a few glorious milliseconds of flight, or to prepare for a crash landing.”

Keep and his friends began spending every spare moment at the bowl, and each evening Dennis would drive them home.

“We’d all be hungry – we didn’t have any money to buy food,” says Keep. “But he helped us out. He helped us fix the ramp and our bikes. He was a great guy.” Within a year, Keep could pull off a backflip.

“That was unheard of in the scene back then – a young kid doing a mature trick like that. I gained instant notoriety.

Then, in the early 2000s, BMX blew up.”

I

t’s 8am on a chilly September morning in 2019. Standing astride his BMX on the second floor of Selfridges car park in Birmingham, Bas Keep is staring at a short ramp leading off the edge of the storey. Beyond it is a gap barely wider than the take-off, then a concrete pillar rising from the level below. He’s in a trance, gazing into a moment where the cars are halted, chatter dies down, and the only movement comes from the flutter of the white-and-red barrier tape strung between traffic cones. Then his tyres attack the tarmac. He powers forward, committed.

“I want to put my wheels places where no one has ever been”

The ramp sends Keep across the gap.

His bike seems to fold space as he spins through 360°, simultaneously inverting to face the floor. Both tyres hit the pillar with a clap, rubber compressing into the concrete as he hangs there for a heartbeat before plummeting down the vert. At the bottom of the pillar is another ramp meant to launch Keep back out in the opposite direction. But something has gone wrong.

Suddenly, Keep is not riding at all; he’s a passenger. His bike piledrives him into the lower level like a sack of wet cement. From Mach 3 to standstill in an instant. As Keep lies crumpled on his side, the crew rush in, anxiety growing with every second he remains motionless.

“Fuck, I didn’t see that coming,” he says, pulling himself to his feet with more alacrity than expected. At first he looks dazed, but quickly his expression sharpens back into focus. A quick roll of the shoulders and a few strides around the car park and you’d never believe Keep was hugging the asphalt seconds earlier. Soon he’s chatting with his crew in subdued tones. He already knows what went wrong. “Not getting the setup close enough,” Keep explains. “It was 3ft higher than we thought, and it spat me out. I was too tense, and there was too much vert. That’s a lethal combo.”

If Keep’s assessment seems matter-offact, well, he’s been here before. In 2017, he dropped a guerrilla-style video, Walls, on an unsuspecting public. It documented

3. The vert “Once the flight has reached its apex, you start to plan for the landing by looking through the bike frame to line it up with the wall. You don’t want to be too close to the wall, but you really don’t want to miss it completely and land hard on the flat ground.”

4. Exit!

“A bittersweet moment of relief and disappointment – the job is done.”

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“As a kid, I would just huck stuff,” says Keep. “That’s why I’ve broken so many bones”

Bas Keep

Keep slyly setting up makeshift ramps around UK cities, then launching off flyovers and overhead walkways to ride down the sheer sides of buildings. No one in or outside the bike world had seen anything like it. Two years and almost 14 million views later, he’s working on a sequel – taller buildings, wider gaps, harder drops, More Walls. “People said to me, ‘You can’t do that again – there’s nothing else to do,’” reveals Keep. “I said, “There’s so much more – lots of buildings that haven’t been ridden down. I want to put my wheels places no one’s ever been.”

This wasn’t the first time the bike world decided that Keep had peaked. In December 2011, he was given a lifetime achievement award by Ride UK magazine following a decade of victories at pro BMX competitions; Keep was just 29. “It was flattering, but a bit strange,” he says.

“In my acceptance speech, I said, ‘They’re THE RED BULLETIN

“Fear is normal.

You have to understand that you can use it” just trying to get rid of me.’ The view is that when you hit 30 it’s time to step down.

It’s a shame there’s that cultural attitude.

We’re not playing in the Champions League, we’re expressing ourselves. It’s a lifestyle sport. And I’m still here.”

Keep was 16 the first time he thought of retiring: “I’d tell my friends, ‘I’m going to give up this riding stuff and get a real job.’ So I worked in a furniture factory for few years, then a BMX distribution centre. But I began getting invitations

to contests, so I decided to concentrate on riding full-time. It was a dream come true.” Then, in 2005, he become a sponsored rider for Red Bull. “I turned it down the first time,” Keep recalls. “I didn’t really know who they were. Back then, no one had drinks sponsors. Years later, they asked me again. By then, I’d been working alongside them putting on BMX events and they’d gained more respect in the scene. I was all up for it.”

Today, Keep is one of Red Bull’s longest-standing athletes. “They’ve gained the admiration of a lot of core BMX riders because of how attentive they’ve been to the sport,” he says.

“They’d come to us and say, ‘We want to help you do the stuff you’ve always wanted to do,’ and that’s so refreshing to hear. As a BMX rider, you can get stuck in your niche, but Red Bull told me to look outside the box – to translate what I’m doing to a wider audience.

“It’s a bit like Brian Cox, the scientist.

He translates what quantum theory and the universe are about in a way that we can understand. He makes it relatable to us dummies. I wanted to show people BMX. If you do a jump, it doesn’t look that big, but if you put it next to something people can relate to – a bus, in the city centre, down an alleyway – the scale has more impact. I couldn’t have come up with this concept without Red Bull.”

The year after Keep was given his lifetime achievement award, he attended a Red Bull BMX contest at the Grand Palais in Paris. It was the epiphany he needed.

“It must have been the most resources ever put into a contest course,” he recalls.

“It was beautiful to look at. Nate Wessel, a famous ramp builder, had been given free rein to realise every idea he’d ever had, so he built this ramp that jumped out, then you rode underneath, back to where you came from. That’s where I got the idea for Walls. I said, ‘I’m going to take that idea to city centres, jump off bridges, and ride down buildings next to them. I knew I could do the manoeuvre. The only thing that would be difficult was getting ramps to the spots without being caught.”

K

eep and his crew have taken a break from filming and returned to their operations base – a draughty, graffititagged, rat-infested warehouse in an industrial park southeast of Birmingham’s Chinese Quarter. Inside, creature comforts are basic: seats ripped from a Transit van, a monstrous Bluetooth speaker, sheet 37

metal safety signs with legends such as ‘Every 2.5 minutes one person is killed or injured falling at work’. Towering at the far end is the most important piece of furniture – a Walls-style jump-to-vert platform with an adjustable ramp that launches into a wooden wall. Duct tape marks the wall about 5m up, representing a crucial boundary. “Land above that line and you’re dead,” says Keep, casually.

It’s here that riding intuition meets ramp-building expertise, although Keep admits it’s less of a science and more a twisted kind of art. “None of us is good at physics – we just work things out by looking at tyre prints,” he explains.

This methodology may seem terrifyingly freeform, but the operation of making More Walls is positively militaristic compared with the grassroots techniques employed for its predecessor. “We wore hi-vis jackets [for Walls] because people don’t ask questions if you’ve got one on,” says Keep of the 2017 film. “It worked wonders. People didn’t even look at us.”

Nonetheless, the team would arrive at a location at dawn and unpack the ramps as quickly as possible. “You couldn’t take a normal-sized ramp to some of these places, so we had to scale it down, make it lighter and thinner,” Keep says. “But the sound of the drills at 7am, oh my God, it was so loud.”

For the sequel, the rider and his team have taken a more above-board approach.

“We’ve got council permissions,” he explains. “A couple of hours to be at each spot, everything done correctly. I prefer it this way because there was more stress before. When I did the Croydon gap, there was a guy on a moped. No one had thought to stop him; this is how guerrilla we were. I was in the air and could see him. As I slid down in front of him, he stopped, looked at me and just carried on. It’s nice to know I’m not going to have any collisions with Domino’s Pizza deliveries this time.”

Apart from filing council applications, Keep has found other ways to manage his stress. “I spoke to a sports psychologist,” he admits. “Going into More Walls, I was quite stressed by such a big challenge.

It’s something that all BMXers battle with – that fear of doing something that could hurt you.” A strict schedule locked to permitted filming days didn’t help, either. “‘On October 25, you’re going to be jumping off that bridge, whether you feel like it or not’ – that’s not how we ride bikes. It’s like taking a penalty – the more 38

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Bas Keep

“At 16, I told my friends, ‘I’m going to give up riding and get a real job’”

“I like the moody, grey light,” says Keep of filming it all in Britain

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you think about where you’re going to kick the ball, the more likely you’ll mess it up. You’re not going with the flow. But [the psychologist] told me fear is normal.

You have to understand that you can use it. OK, I’m scared, but I’m also excited and prepared. That helped a lot.”

It was also a process that helped Keep when forces beyond his control – namely lockdown measures caused by the pandemic – halted filming for more than a year. “I’m relaxed about it,” he says.

“You can’t waste energy worrying about things you can’t change. I’d rather spend five years getting it right than rushing it.”

The break in production also gave Keep valuable downtime to appreciate another crucial change to his life: the birth of his son, Wilson, in 2018.

“Nothing teaches you more about yourself than having a child,” he confesses. “It makes you want to preserve yourself – more so than I ever did. Now, I’m not scared to say, ‘Guys, I’m not feeling this.’

Maybe it’s taken my mind off the individual pursuit of my career. Or it makes you enjoy your work more, because you can have a mental break from it.”

Wilson has also provided Keep with many moments of introspection.

“Suddenly your own childhood is back in your psyche. You remember how you were. Everything is new to him; the first time he saw a police car, it was like, ‘Wow,’ and that makes it exciting for me again. It makes you realise how much you can love someone, and you appreciate your own parents more, too. I’ve come full circle.”

Riding out walls, landing them, coming full circle – it’s more than just a bike trick for Bas Keep. Today, he’s still in touch with Dennis, the man who opened up this world to him.

“We’re still friends,” says Keep, fondly.

“I think he’s 70 now.” Passing on what he’s learned is important, too. In 2016, Keep formed his own bike company, Tall Order, to do just that. “We design our products specifically for ramps and transitions. It’s a niche within a niche,

because street riding is where the money is, but I’ve never really been a street rider.

“Also, other companies predominantly sponsor exceptional riders, but I wanted to sponsor normal, relatable kids who ride but just aren’t quite there yet. People are surprised to see how supportive we are of one another, and on the first day I started riding I was surprised, too. But that’s our community. If you started riding BMX tomorrow, I’d support you 100 per cent, and then you’d teach your friend to drop in. It’s exciting to see them enjoy what you’ve been through.”

There’s no better example of that ethos than a video Tall Order posted to YouTube last year. It shows Keep meeting a boy called Connor at a bike park. “He’s a great kid, and he loved riding his bike,” says Keep. “He also lives in one of the most deprived areas in the country. He was just having a good time riding, but it was a crap bike, absolutely broken. Lots of kids give up when their bikes break like that – it’s difficult to fix them and you need special tools. I saw him that day and I was like, ’We’ve got to help him out,’ so we gave him a bike. When we asked what he’d do with the other bike, he said, ‘I’m going to give it to my sister, because she wants to start riding.’”

Today, the video has almost 3.5 million views. “But I didn’t want people to think that was the only reason we did it,” Keep adds. “And I messaged his mum on Facebook to say we hoped she didn’t mind us giving him the bike.”

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ack at Selfridges car park, the More Walls crew have returned for another attempt. Keep has been riding the earlier impact out of his hip.

He comes back purposely out of breath, as if riding helps exorcise the demons of failures past. “You can’t have any doubt in your head,” he says, steadfastly.

There’s barely a pause, then Keep hits the ramp for a second time. His wheels smash into the vert with the same intensity, but he rides it out as if on rails.

A few more runs and you can see the precision dialled into his big air – the tyre marks on the vert are all grouped within centimetres of each other, like rifle shots on a range. “Once you’re doing it, you’re fine,” Keep remarks.

“It’s like muscle memory.”

To watch Bas Keep’s More Walls, scan the QR code 39

Cosmic composer Award-winning composer, jazz saxophonist and bandleader CASSIE KINOSHI blends science fiction and fantasy to construct music that tells stories about modern society and the experience of being a young Black woman in Britain today

THE MASTER SESSIONS/MQA AND BLUESOUND

Words LOU BOYD

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Space is the place: Cassie Kinoshi is taking jazz to as-yetunexplored territories

“I will always go against the urge to be boxed into any one discipline”

“I

’ve just woken up – I didn’t get back from my gig until 3am this morning,” laughs Cassie Kinoshi down the phone at the start of our early Saturday interview.

“Sorry if I sound a bit out of it.” A busy schedule is standard for the London-based alto saxophonist, composer and arranger.

When Kinoshi isn’t touring with her Mercury Prize-nominated 10-piece band SEED Ensemble, or playing as a member of the Afrobeat collective Kokoroko or female-fronted sextet Nérija, she’s composing and arranging scores for orchestra, film, theatre and dance, or creating installations for various festivals and residences. Weekend lie-ins, it seems, are not a regular occurrence.

This extraordinary work ethic has already paid dividends. At just 28, Kinoshi is among the UK’s most accomplished musicians. Since graduating from London’s Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in 2015, she has enjoyed astonishing success, including a British Composer Award (Best Jazz Composition for Large Ensemble) in 2018, and the 2019 Jazz FM Award for Breakthrough Act of the Year. Alongside band-leading and

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composing, Kinoshi also teaches young musicians and supports projects that promote music in the national curriculum.

Having grown up in the leafy suburban Hertfordshire town of Welwyn Garden City, Kinoshi moved to South London a decade ago to study music, with the aim of composing for film and television. “I wanted to be exactly like [American film and TV composer] Danny Elfman – he was my hero,” she says.

Kinoshi portrays her 18-year-old self as an enthusiastic and somewhat earnest undergraduate; she cringes at the memory of taking sheet music to a recital of Prokofiev’s Cinderella Suites at the Royal Albert Hall and reading along with the performance. From there, her influences grew more diverse, and soon she found herself inspired by composers from many different backgrounds and experiences.

“Someone who’s been really influential to me is the classical composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, who was half English and half Sierra Leonean,” she says.

“I also became inspired by the way that musicians such as Ornette Coleman and Vijay Iyer have combined their jazz and classical composition skills.”

Kinoshi’s musical expansion grew further when she joined the jazz organisation Tomorrow’s Warriors in her first year at Trinity Laban, fell in love with performing, and found her crowd.

“It was such a warm environment to learn not just about jazz but how to put yourself into your music; how to connect with other people and love the music

you make,” she says. This led her to playing in collectives alongside other revered UK jazz contemporaries including Nubya Garcia, Moses Boyd and Sheila Maurice-Grey, and becoming the bandleader of SEED Ensemble.

Whether she’s composing for a jazz collective, a film score or an orchestral project, what connects Kinoshi’s work is the way in which it starts conversations about society. Platforming and protest has been an element of her music from the very start – one of the first pieces she ever composed in school, she recalls, featured the inflammatory 1968 ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech on immigration by British Conservative politician Enoch Powell. “It’s something I always wanted to do in my work – to write about my politics and my personal experience as a black woman in the UK,” she says.

In her compositions for SEED Ensemble, the message is more nuanced, but even the creation of the band was layered with meaning, with the intent of celebrating the UK’s vibrant musical diversity and planting ‘seeds’ of awareness of underrepresented issues.

“Even though I grew up in a mostly white area in Hertfordshire, my friendship group was always different races and socio-economic backgrounds,” Kinoshi says. “SEED [Ensemble] is such a mix of people, and that’s important to me, because it presents lots of different interpretations of jazz and improvised music – and of life.”

The band’s 2019 eight-track debut album, Driftglass – named after the 1971 collection of short stories by AfricanAmerican science-fiction writer Samuel R Delany – won both commercial and critical acclaim, along with a Mercury Prize nomination. A mix of Kinoshi’s original compositions and improvisation from various ensemble members, Driftglass explores modern-day issues such as race, class and social policy using themes from science fiction, space exploration and fantasy.

“Science fiction has always been a point of escape for me – reading it, writing it, watching it, listening to music influenced by it,” she says.

Delany’s words, therefore, seemed a natural fit for Kinoshi. “I love how beautiful a lot of his descriptions are, and how abstract a lot of the themes are while still being very real,” she says.

“I just thought [science fiction] was the perfect medium and genre to THE RED BULLETIN

KEZIAH QUARCOO

Cassie Kinoshi

“Science fiction is the perfect genre to express how I feel about my own existence in the world… that feeling of otherness”

“I’ve always wanted to include my politics in my work, writing about my personal experience as a black woman in the UK”

Cassie Kinoshi

ADAMA JALLOH, KEZIAH QUARCOO

Taking root: Kinoshi (centre) with fellow members of SEED Ensemble

express how I feel about my own existence in the world. Science fiction relates closely to feelings of otherness.”

Album tracks The Darkies, Afronaut and Interplanetary Migration explore themes of identity and belonging through poetry and music, while W A K E (For Grenfell) speaks of the 2017 Grenfell Tower tragedy – where a fire broke out in a West London block of flats, killing 72 people – through the words of poet and Harlem Renaissance leader Langston Hughes. “Tell all my mourners to mourn in red,” the poem states within the track, “’cause there ain’t no sense in my being dead.” Did these inclusions on the album start the conversations that Kinoshi had hoped for? “On a small level, yes,” she says. “I think that track has allowed the issues around Grenfell and that whole tragedy to still be talked about.”

Since its release, Driftglass has widely been described by reviewers as ‘Afrofuturist’, the artistic style that explores the intersection of African diaspora culture and technology. Was that a conscious stylistic choice, or a label retroactively put onto her music?

“It’s definitely something that was put on afterwards,” Kinoshi says. “It’s something I’m still learning about myself. I didn’t write it thinking, “This is African futurism,” though I do see how some of the tracks can be read THE RED BULLETIN

“I’m really inspired by combining jazz and classical composition skills” that way.” One of Kinoshi’s greatest influences is Sun Ra, the visionary 1950s jazz composer and bandleader considered by many to be one of the pioneers of Afrofuturism. “But I feel like the way he came by it was really organic as well,” she argues. “It was just how he felt about himself and his music’s place in the universe. He also didn’t think, ‘Oh, I’d better jump into this concept of Afrofuturism.’”

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peaking on this weekend morning, Kinoshi says that while SEED Ensemble’s current tour is at its tail end, the schedule isn’t about to become any less hectic. Over the next month she’s embarking on an artist residency at the London Unwrapped festival – a celebration of the past 400 years of London culture, where she’ll present Echo, a sonic and visual installation with artist Anne Verheij; and an evening of new material with members of SEED Ensemble and the Aurora Orchestra. “There are quite

a few layers to it, compositionally and musically,” she says. “I was approached by the programme director, Helen Wallace, to use the space to explore different layers of my artistic practice.”

Filmed entirely with handheld cameras, Echo will be an immersive audio-visual triptych with London as its main character. “It’s very personal,” says Kinoshi. “It has a sort of nostalgia about London, but it’s also a very personal exploration of myself and on my own journey in coming [to the capital] and living and growing up here.” She laughs at herself: “It all sounds a bit overwhelming, so I hope people just find their own interpretation. It is quite abstract.”

Kinoshi’s evening event with Aurora Orchestra will be more traditional, however, with new original compositions performed by principal players from the orchestra and Kinoshi’s own ensemble.

“I’m really inspired by combining jazz and classical composition skills, and that is the inspiration here,” she says. “I was so happy when Aurora agreed to do it with me – I’ve wanted to write for them since university. They’re one of the most open-minded orchestras I’ve ever seen.”

Will the coming year see Kinoshi delving deeper into composition and installation, or heading out on the road now the world is open and live music is back? She shrugs. “This year, I’ve put in a lot of work that I hope will come to fruition in 2022, on every front,” she says. “I think the media will always try to put an artist in a box, because it makes them more palatable and easier for audiences to understand, but I will always go against the urge to be boxed into any one discipline.”

This suggests more music of all kinds from Kinoshi, as long as it platforms diverse voices and speaks frankly about society. “But I want the choice to always write about whatever I want,” she says.

“Not just my politics and stuff like that.

If I wake up tomorrow and decide I just want to write about cake next year, then I’ll write about cake.”

Cassie Kinoshi’s artist residency at London Unwrapped takes place throughout November and December. Echo is being presented on November 19 and 20; Aurora Orchestra with Cassie Kinoshi will be performing on November 27; and Synthesis, her curated night with three artists – Lunch Money Life, Joviale and un.procedure – is on December 10; kingsplace.co.uk 45

Beyond impossible Writer and climber Mark Jenkins ponders the audacious exploits and soulful purity of Canadian alpinist MARC-ANDRÉ LECLERC, whose story is told in the new documentary The Alpinist Words MARK JENKINS

Mountain tension: Marc-André Leclerc, shown here on Torre Egger in the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, soloed dozens of groundbreaking routes

AUSTIN SIADAK, SCOTT SERFAS

Higher calling: Leclerc, the protagonist of The Alpinist, had a deep thirst for experience that matched his outsized talents

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Marc-André Leclerc

Leclerc soloed Mount Robson without telling the filmmakers. “It wouldn’t be a solo to me if somebody was there,” he later said

In 2015, after Leclerc, then 22, made the first solo ascent of the Corkscrew route on Cerro Torre in the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, local climbing legend Rolando Garibotti called it “an ascent of earth-shifting proportions”. In the film, after Leclerc 48

solos Mount Robson, the holiest and scariest mountain in the Canadian Rockies, veteran expedition leader Jim Elzinga states that Leclerc is “redefining what’s possible”. Canadian Barry Blanchard, who pioneered extreme alpine routes several decades ago, proclaims, “This is the evolution of alpinism, and it’s happening right now in our backyard with this young guy.”

Given Leclerc’s otherworldly ability and equanimity in the face of death, The Alpinist could easily have been yet another bad outdoor documentary – headbanging punk rock laid over some superbody with a chalk bag, pulling a roof.

No wonder mainstream film critics have largely ignored the genre. For too long, documentaries in this space have lacked character development, history, a real narrative. They’ve lacked irony or hypocrisy, doubt or nuance, betrayal, hatred or all the other dark things that make us human.

I’ve waited 25 years for outdoor documentaries to grow up. A handful have transcended the genre’s action-focused limitations: Touching the Void (the 2003 documentary of Joe Simpson’s near-fatal descent of Siula Grande), even with the reenactments; Grizzly Man (Werner Herzog’s 2005 film about US bear enthusiast Timothy Treadwell), which has the grizzliest audio of any documentary ever; Meru (the 2015 chronicle of the first ascent of the Himalayas’ Meru Peak via the Shark’s Fin route), with the stunning cinematography of Renan Ozturk; 2018’s The Dawn Wall, a film that finally talks about the honour of true friendship; and of course Free Solo. These films laid the foundations for The Alpinist, which plumbs the depths of a climber’s craft and creative soul better than them all.

RICK WHEATER

“I

f you’re not young and brash between the ages of 17 and 24 you might as well shoot yourself, because that’s when people are young and brash.” So says Alan ‘Hevy Duty’ Stevenson – hula-hoop virtuoso, twinkle-eyed raconteur, and unofficial mayor of the rock-climbing community in Squamish, Canada – describing Marc-André Leclerc’s exuberant passion for climbing. “He belongs in a different era – the ’70s or ’80s, when it was wild. He’s a man out of his time.” These words capture the boundless joy and mortal intensity of The Alpinist, a film about one of the youngest, boldest and best of this breed in mountain-climbing history.

In the opening scene, we witness Leclerc soloing a vertical ridge of horrid rock and useless snow, a delicate, deathly dance. As the camera pans out, you realise the young climber is more than 1,000m from the ground, and a nauseous feeling grips your stomach. Alex Honnold, star of the Oscar-winning film Free Solo and perhaps the most famous climber in the world today, is narrating the scene: “This kid Marc-André Leclerc. Canadian guy. Hardly anyone has heard of him because he’s so under the radar.

He’s been doing all kinds of crazy alpine soloing.

He just goes out and climbs some of the most difficult walls in the world. The most challenging that anyone has ever climbed.”

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Hard act to follow: Leclerc became best known for his audacious alpine ascents, but his skills on rock were also off the charts

The Alpinist does what all great films do: it tells a story. The story of a driven young man drawn inexorably to climb immense, ice-plastered peaks.

Yes, we watch him solo unimaginable lines, ropeless and as preternaturally calm as the clouds beneath his boots, but we also see him as a dorky, gangly kid enraptured by the outdoors. We see him lost and loaded on acid, tripping into a world he barely escapes (and only then because of his girlfriend).

We see his boyish visage covered in blood after a big fall. We see him living in a stairwell like a proper dirtbag. We see him shy and inarticulate under the spotlight of nascent fame. Most importantly, we see Leclerc through the voices of others: his girlfriend, renowned climber Brette Harrington; his mother, Michelle Kuipers; and a host of famous Canadian alpinists. Even the greatest mountaineer of the 20th century, Reinhold Messner, has a few portentous words: “Solo climbing on a high level is an expression of art. Maybe half of the leading solo climbers of all time died in the mountains.

This is tragic and it’s difficult to defend.” In The Alpinist we get to know, if not fully understand, not only a climber but a human being – his strengths, weaknesses, desires and derangements.

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SCOTT SERFAS

O

ne of the first things you learn about Leclerc is that he’s deeply camera-shy and doesn’t give a fuck about fame. He truly is a throwback, as Hevy Duty says, to an earlier age. Believe it or not, there was a time when top climbers didn’t tell their followers what they had for lunch. Pre-social media, you shared your stories with your actual friends, preferably around a campfire. On an expedition, you spent time with your team discussing life, logistics and the weather.

On my last few big trips, my teammates, with the modern magic of a satellite modem, spent their evenings sending images of themselves that masterfully massaged their public personas and completely misrepresented their actual feelings.

Leclerc couldn’t give a shit. He’d solo something heinous and not tell a soul.

His disregard for the media was problematic for the film’s directors, Peter Mortimer and Nick Rosen.

A perfect example is when Leclerc solos Mount Robson without telling them. When they finally get him on the phone, he explains, “It wouldn’t be a solo to me if somebody was there.” It ain’t easy to make a film about a man who doesn’t care what the world thinks. He’s like an Olympian who performs in his own gymnasium, without a single spectator, doing moves no other human can.

If Leclerc’s cavalier attitude towards their film frustrated Mortimer and Rosen, they also admired him for his singularity of vision. “Marc was out there every day since he was a teenager,” Mortimer says in a phone interview. “To look at his climbing résumé, you’d think he must be 75 years old. He can’t resist the pull of the mountains. When a weather window opens, he has to be out there. He was on a vision

Nature boy: The Alpinist shows Leclerc the super-gifted climber, but also the dorky, gangly kid enamoured with the outdoors

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Marc-André Leclerc

“We were capturing Marc-André when his potential was becoming his reality”

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Gripping the moment: only a handful of elite climbers can free-solo hard rock routes, but free-soloing alpine routes is even tougher

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Marc-André Leclerc

JONATHAN GRIFFITH

Leclerc did his solo ascents ‘onsight’ – on routes that he’d never even sunk his ice axes into before

Hitting his peak: Leclerc atop the famed Northeast Buttress of Mount Slesse in British Columbia

Marc-André Leclerc

“Some of the climbs he did were changing the face of alpinism” quest. It was pure. He didn’t have time or interest in thinking about the media or our film. We were capturing Marc-André when his potential was becoming his reality.”

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CLARK FYANS, MARC-ANDRÉ LECLERC

eclerc typically kept only three people in the loop: his mum, sister Bridget, and Harrington.

They understood who he was and why. He’d text them from the summit of one peak after another just to let them know he was safe. “Some of the climbs he did were changing the face of alpinism,” says his mother. “He was enough of a climbing historian to know that, but he had a total lack of interest in being famous.”

Talking with Kuipers provides an insight into how Leclerc became who he was. Growing up, money was tight. “But it’s all about perception,” she says. “There are an endless number of things you can do without money; you just have to activate your imagination.” Without a car, the family walked everywhere. When it was raining and cold, Kuipers would create a story that imagined the children as intrepid explorers escaping someplace dangerous, or on their way to rescue a friend.

Leclerc was a voracious reader, and from the age of four he knew the tale of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay’s pioneering 1953 summit of Everest. “He had a fascination with mountains from the beginning,” says Kuipers. Home-schooled from third to sixth grade – “Marc-André would drive his

Strong hold: Leclerc on the south-west ridge of Baby Munday Peak in British Columbia THE RED BULLETIN

sister crazy by talking in rhymes all day” – before skipping seventh, Leclerc was intellectually and physically precocious, but socially awkward. Aged 14, he worked in construction with his dad to pay for his climbing gear. At 15, he screwed eyebolts into the beams in his basement bedroom and began hanging from his ice tools.

As a youth, Kuipers says, “he spent a lot of uncomfortable nights out in the mountains, alone”.

He became competent in how to deal with difficult situations. In the film, we see Leclerc trapped in a snowstorm in Patagonia but keeping his head and downclimbing to safety. We see him soloing the stunning Stanley Headwall in the Canadian Rockies, hanging precariously but precisely from his tools, the picks hooked on mere millimetres of rock. His sangfroid is spellbinding.

But then so is his love for his girlfriend. From the earliest days of their relationship, Harrington and Leclerc were inseparable. They lived in the stairwell together, in the woods together; they climbed and climbed and climbed. “Marc is interested in intense experiences, living to the fullest,” Harrington says laconically in the film. When I speak to her by phone, she acknowledges that she was the same way, and this mutual need for life in extremis explains, at least in part, why they fell so deeply in love. “We matched in intensity,” she says. “The most meaningful experiences of my life are the climbs I’ve done in poor weather, in extreme places. I like that sort of thing.”

Leclerc was the same. “He arrived in this world enraged to be in the body of a helpless infant,” says Kuipers. “He needed to start moving immediately. As soon as he could crawl, we were both a lot happier.”

Notably, however, when Leclerc became a climber, this wilful rambunctiousness didn’t translate into a disregard for hazards like avalanches and icefalls.

Leclerc would study every aspect of a mountain to determine the safest possible line. He would check the weather incessantly, calculating the exact number of hours before the next storm and how many it would take him to get up and down. As he says in the movie, “You can control what you’re doing, but you can’t control what the mountain does.” Kuipers recalls how one day Leclerc bicycled to Mount Slesse, soloed it three times by three different routes, but then called to get a ride home because he didn’t want to cycle across a narrow bridge during rush hour. “He was not a casual risktaker,” she says. “He was very clear on how much he disliked objective risk. Overhanging seracs, bad weather – he preferred not to take those chances.”

Both Kuipers and Harrington feel the film does an excellent job in capturing the irrepressible spirit of Leclerc. Still, Harrington believes The Alpinist doesn’t fully express his technical mastery. “Marc put his whole life into rock climbing,” she says.

“More than 90 per cent of the time we were climbing with a rope. Marc valued all aspects of climbing – aid climbing, ice climbing, alpine climbing – and wanted to be really well-balanced.” It wasn’t just about mixed 55

Marc-André Leclerc

“We matched in intensity,” says Brette Harrington, shown here on a climb with her partner Leclerc

climbing or soloing: “Marc could climb 5.13 slab.”

Kuipers agrees. “Yes, Marc-André came into climbing with a lot of natural skill, but to get to where he did took years of single-minded dedication. I remember him practising clipping a carabiner over and over.” Leclerc practised his craft hour after hour, week after week, year after year. As he pulled off bolder ascents, people expressed dismay at the juxtaposition of his age and ability – most alpinists take decades to get that good – but his mum wasn’t surprised. “What is it that they say, 10,000 hours? Marc-André did that.”

This is self-evident watching him climb in The Alpinist. Whether he’s rock climbing, ice climbing or mixed climbing, Leclerc’s movements are graceful and fluid. No jerky jumps, no too-long reaches, no desperation. There’s an almost sloth-like slowness, like a modern dancer performing a difficult manoeuvre. (I remember a mentor of mine telling me that to climb fast you must climb slow.)

Experience creates confidence; confidence creates a calm mind; a calm mind creates a calm body; a calm body is capable of astonishing climbing.

Y

ou can see Alex Honnold climbing with this kind of self-possession in Free Solo, but there is a deep chasm of difference: Honnold is climbing on solid granite, whereas Leclerc is on the most fickle of substances, ice and snow, and beneath this fragile layer is the kitty litter they call rock in the Canadian Rockies. If free-soloing hard rock routes is only for a handful of the most skilled climbers, free-soloing hard alpine routes – with the constant risk of avalanche, serac collapse,

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changing conditions, and little chance of retreat – is in the welkin of the gods.

Furthermore, Leclerc did his solo ascents ‘onsight’ – on routes he’d never even sunk his ice axes into before. Honnold practised the route he soloed on El Capitan for Free Solo again and again with a rope; Leclerc would show up below a massive mountain face and set off into the unknown. Would the ice be sticky and ‘thunker’ or hollow and treacherous? Would the snow be ‘styrofoam’ or bottomless mush? Nothing had been practised, nothing was wired or dialled. Onsight free-solo alpine climbing is the absolute tip of the arrow in the variegated world of climbing. There’s no margin of error, no net – there’s nothing but you. Imagine you’re an archer and you must hit the bullseye with every arrow or be executed.

This is onsight alpine free-soloing.

The casual viewer might see Leclerc as an adrenalin junkie. This is the misconception of most non-climbers. In truth, adrenalin is the enemy of good climbing. If you’re frightened, your ‘reptilian’ amygdala – one of the most primitive parts of your brain – takes control, and your cerebral cortex is left out of the decision-making. This is when you do stupid things. A large part of climbing is learning to control your fear. The very best climbers shut off their fear like flicking a light switch.

Right before the very end of the film – the actual coda is a tragic plot twist best left unsaid here – as we witness Leclerc pulling onto the summit of an ice- encrusted tower, alone, we hear the voice of his mother. “A lot of us live our lives thinking of the things we’d like to do, or the adventures we’d like to have, but we hold back,” she says with hope and pride. “That’s what really stands out to me about Marc-André’s journey. What is it that you would do if you were able to overcome the things you see as limitations, or the things you’re afraid of? What would you do?”

The Alpinist leaves you dumbfounded by Leclerc’s prowess and nerve – climbers will be talking about this movie for years to come – but, unlike other good outdoor films, this is not the heart of the story. It is the portrait of an artist as a young man. Like Stephen Dedalus, James Joyce’s literary alter ego, Leclerc allows us to witness an awakening – physically, intellectually and emotionally – of the human spirit. Through ardour and intensity, he becomes who he dreams of becoming, right before our eyes.

The Alpinist is showing at cinemas nationwide and available to stream later this year; thealpinistfilm.com THE RED BULLETIN

MARC-ANDRÉ LECLERC

In The Alpinist, we get to know not only a climber but a human being

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The high life Lagos, Africa’s most populous city, is home to almost 15 million people. Among them are some of the biggest names of the fast-growing music genre known as Afrobeats, making for a party scene like no other. But for revellers in this Nigerian hub the wealth gap is vast. From the gated compounds to the shantytowns, photographer Andrew Esiebo has captured it all…

Words and photography ANDREW ESIEBO

“I attended this party in a neighbourhood called Lagos Island. At the end of each year, they have block parties playing loud, heavy music; they’re full of energy but also tension, because everyone wants a space in the crowd. Everyone is in groups with their own tables, sitting with others from their street. I try to be invisible to my subjects, but this woman was posing in such a way that she wanted to be seen. Her body language is empowered, even though she’s not giving eye contact.”

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Lagos high life

“Lagosians love to party hard” Andrew Esiebo is internationally renowned for his photography examining gender politics, sport, culture and social struggles within Africa. But the 43-year-old Lagosian learnt his craft by capturing the people of his hometown more than two decades ago.

“Lagos has been, and maybe still is, notorious for crime,” says Esiebo. “When I see stories about the city, they focus on that, or congestion and infrastructure. I rarely see the global media highlighting the vibrant culture, tradition and nightlife.”

Esiebo was inspired to document Lagos’ parties after one night at a DJ set in the city. “It made me aware of the power of DJs and Afrobeats,” he says. “With the arrival of democracy [in 1999, after decades of military rule], and as the economy keeps booming, there’s more money in the hands of people.

One way to express this wealth is through parties – and Lagosians love to party hard.” More than merely celebrating Lagos’ nightlife, Esiebo’s photos show the effect of rapid urban development on its people. “There’s a growing middle class and more opportunities for young people, but the bid to improve their lifestyle has led to a high level of inequality.

Some parts of Lagos feel like totally different cities. But whether rich or poor, people want the same things. Even a guy who has no money wants to buy champagne.”

Right: “We drink a lot of champagne in Nigeria.

In 2016, Lagos was the world’s second biggest consumer of champagne after Paris. I see people at parties holding their champagne bottles till the very end of the party, even though they’re empty. This guy with a big bottle is in Ikeja – not really a poor neighbourhood, but also not one of the richest.

In this VIP section, the more expensive the bottle you bought, the more privileged the space they gave you. I find people do this more often at working- and middle-class parties because it’s an aspirational act – they want to be like the big guys. The upscale parties actually don’t consume as much.”

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BAPTISTE DE VILLE D’AVRAY

“This is the entrance to the club/restaurant Spice Route in the upscale area of Victoria Island. I took this photo because I loved the door – it has this ethnic design, and it showcases some of the city’s aesthetic. I also wanted to capture these doormen. It used to be that only high-end clubs had bouncers, but now I go to places and find there’s always someone at the gate. They’ve become a more typical element of parties across the city, and I wanted to show that.”

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“Jimmy’s Jump Off is an annual party supporting hip hop music in Nigeria.

Before the explosion of Afrobeats, hip hop and reggae were the most popular styles of music here, and at that time hiphop DJ Jimmy Jatt made his name. Now he continues the spirit of the genre through this party. This is a photo of DJ Nana. It’s important to me because the DJ space in Nigeria is very macho; there are not many women at all – of the top DJs, there are no more than four or five. I wanted to show how women are breaking into that space.”

Lagos high life

“Felabration is a week-long festival that celebrates the late Fela Kuti, founder of Afrobeat [the West African music genre born in the 1960s, not to be confused with Afrobeats]. It takes place every year at the New Afrika Shrine, a warehouse-like music space set up by his son. It’s intense, with thousands of people. Sometimes you can’t even get in, so they put large screens outside for people on the street.

Crowds are an important element of Lagos life; everything we do is always in a mass of people. To understand the true scale and energy, whenever you look at a photo of someone partying in Lagos you need to remember that they’ll be part of a much larger crowd.”

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Lagos high life

“This is a picture of aspiration.

The guy’s T-shirt looks like a Versace, but you can tell it’s a knock-off. Still, he’s confident. On one hand, this shot is talking about fashion – people want to wear Versace, but it’s not affordable, so the one way to feel like you‘re wearing the label is by having a fake. On the other hand, the guy’s gaze and the way he’s holding his body have a sense of connection, and there’s a feeling of power emanating from him.”

“Cigars are not a common commodity that you’d find on the street, but people smoke them because they aspire to be what they see on TV and in hip hop. You see Jay Z and others blunting the cigar, and guys [in Lagos] like to reenact it. I’m drawn to documenting this.

For me, this guy smoking the cigar talks not only about consumption at parties but also how people reimagine themselves socially.”

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Lagos high life

“This photo was taken at a party on Ilashe Island, a neighbourhood that’s popular for beach houses.

A lot of luxury drinks companies sponsor high-end parties, and this one was courtesy of [cognac maker] Hennessy. It was called the All White ‘Privilege Party’ – you took a boat from the island, the theme was privilege, and you had to dress all in white. It was not a party for the poor people. I wanted to show the people there; the dancing and the tensions between them.”

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Lagos high life

“This was the earliest stage of my work on this project when I was first trying my hand at this theme.

These women at the Jimmy’s Jump Off party were twins, and they looked like they were wearing a party uniform. The matching clothes, the high shoes — their style was so unique. People in the city will dress like this, with bright colours, patterns and accessories, but I’d never seen them matching it before.”

“I don’t usually do wedding photography, but I wanted to explore these spaces for the project.

Nigerian weddings are huge and super over-the-top, and [the top photo] is a high-end example of this.

I love that it shows how people get into a state of ecstasy through music and dance. People wear traditional clothing at weddings as well as to church. Some offices let you wear it to work on Fridays.

Nigeria is a multicultural society, and Friday is the day to express all our different cultural identities.

“Wedding parties in Nigeria are also known for people spraying money all over the dancefloor [bottom photo]. They want to express that they’re rich and anyone who comes to the wedding can do it. Annoyingly, the government are trying to enforce a new law to stop it – they say it’s abusing the currency. This photo shows a small example compared with what a lot of people do at these parties.

Sometimes the whole dancefloor will be covered in money.”

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ANDREW MILLER

MATT RAY

Sierra Nevada, USA

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VENTURE Travel “Riding serious lines is an intimate conversation with nature.

Being present, not having an ego and accepting what the mountains are saying is critical”

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follow into the thick parts of the range.

And with a coastal snowpack that’s less complex and usually safer than in Colorado, Utah or Wyoming, it’s a splitboarders’ paradise.

Splitboarding allows you to ‘split’ your snowboard in half and use it like skis for climbing. This is faster and more efficient than walking in snowshoes.

Add in a tent, a sleeping bag, and food for a few days, and I can get deeper into the mountain range, where there’s a vast ocean of peaks that see little-to-no people in winter. For me, it’s about getting past the guidebook, and I’ve burned millions of calories in the backcountry here.

What happens when I walk deep into the mountains and set up a winter camp is that I’m presented with what I call ‘the wonderful problem’. I hit an objective I’ve been dreaming of for years, only to stand on top of the peak and see five more dream lines. This is what the wonderful

ANDREW MILLER

W

e live in a crowded world, but with the power of your own two feet – and a bit of knowledge and creativity – it’s still possible to walk upon untouched mountains, without seeing any other person, and ride the best snowboard lines of your life.

I knew by the age of 12 that I would end up living in the mountains. Growing up in New England, USA, I’d started snowboarding at nine; by 16, in 1991, I’d gone pro. After racing for a few years, I switched to big mountain freeriding, doing first descents of the steeps in Alaska and beyond. Since then, I’ve been in 50-plus movies on snowboarding.

Today, my home mountain range is the Sierra Nevada on the US West Coast, which I’ve explored for more than a decade. The Sierra is in excess of 640km long and 100km wide, running north to south, with more than a dozen major drainages that you can easily

MATT RAY

Jeremy Jones, US pro snowboarder

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VENTURE Travel

A brief history of splitboarding The splitboarding revolution began in the 1990s when Utahbased firm Voile released its DIY Split Kit, which allowed snowboarders to convert their boards – by sawing them in half. Since then, brands including Burton and Jones Snowboards have broken new ground, joined by emerging names such as Swiss maker Korua. In 2020, Burton reported that splitboards were selling faster than regular boards as lockdown restrictions prompted increased interest in the backcountry.

Splitboards have a reputation for being heavier, stiffer, and harder to ride on hard-packed in-resort snow, but new refinements are bringing allmountain versions. Jones has spent years testing and refining ‘The Solution’ splitboard. “The board is evolving, but the goal remains the same,” he says. “It rides like a normal snowboard that’s lightweight, but it’s still stable and durable.”

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VENTURE Travel problem means – the more you do here, the bigger your hit list gets.

Splitboarding took over my life for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, I realised that we can only take snowmobiles and helicopters to about five per cent of the mountains. These areas, as well as the areas you could hike to from the resort’s lifts, have become more crowded. If I wanted to get away and ride new lines, I needed to discover how to walk for long periods and live deep in the mountains. This realisation coincided with my awareness of the effects of climate change on the mountains, and how much CO2 I was burning when I went snowboarding.

It’s the reason I started Jones Snowboards. The better the product, the further I can go. So when I improve a design, it’s a huge quality-of-life increase, because I spend so much of my life with a splitboard attached to my feet. This has unlocked so much new terrain in my backyard. And when I’m walking in the mountains, my mind is awake – it’s pretty much where all my ideas come from, which is why I always carry a notebook in my pocket.

A key part of splitboarding is transitioning between walk mode and ride mode. When walking, we use skins stuck to the bottom of the splitboard.

It’s important to align these when you fit them, but also to keep them dry and warm between uses, stashed in a pocket, because if they get wet or frozen they lose their adhesiveness. Glide by sliding your feet forwards, rather than lifting them up, and keep a constant rhythm. It’s also surprising how warm you get, so the mantra ‘Go bold, start cold’ applies. Add a layer when you stop to transition, but remove one when you start moving again.

Alaska – the location of my latest film, Mountain Revelations – has so many peaks that look perfect for snowboarding, but finding one that’s safe to ride and walk up is tricky. When hiking, I’m on the mountain for hours – as opposed to minutes if you’re dropped by helicopter – so I need to ensure there’s not a big cornice or a serac that can fall on me. Then I figure out if the snow is stable. Having a clean outrun is also critical. This means if you fall or get swept away in an avalanche, you won’t be pushed over a cliff or into a crevasse.

Riding serious lines is an intimate conversation with nature. Being present, not having an ego and accepting what the mountains are saying is critical.

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The Jones Solution Splitboard “The Solution is like my third kid,” says Jones.

“I put real energy into freeride shapes that no other company wanted to at the time.” Stockist: snowboard-asylum.com The split is closed with a bridge that eliminates the need to drill bolts through it. “This makes for a way tighter connection,” explains Jones.

Jones recently reduced the carbon footprint of his company’s boards by almost a third: “We’re constantly testing new materials that have fewer impacts on the environment. Our factory has gone 100-per-cent solar.”

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VENTURE Travel Steel edges carve the snow better and give harder bite when side-stepping uphill, says Jones: “And when the board is connected, traction tech gives added structure.”

SPLITBOARD SOLUTION, ANDREW MILLER, ALAMY

MATT RAY

Solid snowboards use 3D contouring to ‘spoon’ the nose for better performance, but no splitboard has had that until now. “It took five years,” says Jones, “and at times I questioned if it was possible.”

I read their subtle signs and understand their moods, because splitboarding is a zero-mistake game. The mountains can change fast, and I need to be hyperpresent to see those changes. Still, I’ve experienced rolling down an unrideable, rock-strewn face where I shouldn’t have, which almost cost me my life. My mistake that day was overconfidence – I was in a rush and not present. Since then, I’ve developed a backcountry mental checklist.

First, “mountains speak, and wise men listen” is a [19th century US naturalist] John Muir quote I live by. Am I present enough to read the signs? Next [on the checklist] is patience. Your agenda needs to be thrown out the window – the mountains don’t care that your only day off is Saturday. I don’t say, “I’m going to ride X,” rather that, “I’m going to look at X”. I don’t become mentally attached to a line until I’m dropping into it.

Look for reasons to back down, and anticipate that the turnaround point may be at the top of a line you just spent hours hiking to. Late Norwegian snowboard legend Tommen Bjerknæs summed it up best: “Tomorrow is good, too. Ride for tomorrow.”

Jeremy Jones is a US pro snowboarder and the owner of Jones Snowboards; jonessnowboards.com. He’s also the founder of Protect Our Winters, a nonprofit working to reduce the effects of climate change; protectourwinters.org THE RED BULLETIN

NEVA

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San Sierra Francisco Nevada Mountains Las CA LI Vegas FO RN L.A. IA

Riding the Sierra Nevada Although the mountains are a backcountry splitboarding paradise, the best place to learn may be in resorts such as Mammoth Mountain and Palisades Tahoe, which, on average, get 10m of snow per year. You can hire mountain guides to take you through the process of walk mode and transitioning into ride mode. Also, next door to Palisades Tahoe is Alpine Meadows, which is known for its wide-open, off-piste bowls. All these resorts are accessible with the Ikon Pass, which covers a host of resorts across the US and Europe.

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YOUR WORKOUT, RELOADED

The Compex Mini offers up muscle stimulation and pain relief in a pocket-sized package

New Year is traditionally followed by a ‘new you’ and an annual reboot of your workout routine.

Going to the gym is tough on your muscles, though. From your warm-up to your cooldown, you stretch, strain, contract and extend your body in ways that you simply don’t do when sat behind a desk in everyday life.

It’s understandable if you want to push yourself during the limited time you do have to work out, maximising every minute to reach your targets and goals as quickly

as possible. But for every extra lift you do, or kilometre you run, there’s an increased chance of muscle tension, DOMS, and, at worst, injuries from overtraining.

The Compex Mini solves all these common problems and more, enabling you to warm-up more efficiently, train harder and recover more quickly. The pocketsized muscle stimulator is perfect for use on the go, in the gym or at home, and is clinically proven to enhance your fitness – whether you’re an all-out bodybuilder or a lean-and-mean endurance athlete.

Muscle stimulation works by sending safe electric pulses to your muscle’s motor nerves, creating low-level vibrations that oxygenate the muscles, or slightly more intense contractions that usually take place when performing cardio or weightbased workouts. The strength and intensity of the pulsations determine the type of muscle reaction, allowing the same bit of kit to be used to simulate lifting weights during a bodyweight-only session, flush your muscles of toxins post-workout, or give you deep-tissue pain relief in those extra-sore spots.

The Compex Mini’s small stature makes it an ideal bit of kit for those who slot their workouts into an already jampacked schedule. The system is super-easy to control via an accompanying smartphone app, and there are six different modes to choose from, which can be modified and tweaked to suit your abilities and training progress.

It comes complete with two wireless stimulator pods, six snap electrodes in varying sizes, long and short snap lead wires and a charging cable, all in an easy-totransport carry case. If you’re completely new to using a muscle stimulator, the app also provides guidance on electrode placement for the best results.

For more information on the Compex Mini, or to view the full product range, visit compex.com/uk

MARK STANLEY/COMPEX INTERNATIONAL

PROMOTION

VENTURE Equipment

JBL Under Armour Project Rock wireless noise-cancelling headphones, uk.jbl.com

EPOS H6PRO Open Acoustic Gaming Headset with detachable mic, eposaudio.com

RAZER Opus X wireless headset with active noise cancelling and internal mic, razer.com

SKULLCANDY Crusher Evo Sensory Bass with Personal Sound, skullcandy.co.uk

IMMERSE

Wall of sound TIM KENT

“If music be the food of love, play on,” said the Bard. Clearly he’d have appreciated these professional headphones, whether gaming, training, or penning a sonnet

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VENTURE Fitness RIDE

Rolling revolution Indoor cycling is great for a home workout. In fact, the makers of this turbo trainer claim it will give you results as good as – if not better – than your real bike

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TOM GUISE

point system will generate the perfect fit. Likewise, gear shifters can be matched to your bike, or replicated from brands including Shimano, Campagnolo and SRAM. Up- and downhill gradients and riding resistance can be automated via compatible apps such as Zwift. And enjoy the reassuring simulated ‘clunk’ when you’re shifting gears. wahoofitness.com

DAVID EMMITE

Turbo trainers have exploded in popularity over the past few years, but for dedicated cyclists these machines raise one question: how do they compare with the real thing?

As far as the Wahoo Kickr Bike is concerned, the answer is: pretty damn well.

Upload your body measurements, or a photo of your bike, to the Wahoo app and the Kickr’s five-contact-

THE RED BULLETIN

VENTURE Fitness

ABHI THAKER/RED BULL CONTENT POOL

JEN SEE

I

t takes Evy Leibfarth 90 seconds to paddle a slalom course. During that time, she’ll thread through gates, using her skills and fitness to navigate whatever the water throws her way.

“I paddle on whitewater six days a week,” says the 17-yearold US competitive canoeist.

“I love the adrenalin I get from racing.” Her approach has paid off; in 2019, she came fourth in the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships in Spain and won bronze in Slovenia – the youngest woman to take a medal at a World Cup event.

Then, in July this year, she made history as the first US female slalom canoeist to compete at Olympic level, in the women’s event debut at the Tokyo Games.

Slalom canoeing is a mix of skill, strength and daring in which athletes must become adept at reading the water.

“While we do paddle difficult whitewater sections, so much of it is technique,” says Leibfarth, whose father is a former US Team kayak racer and instructor. As a young girl growing up in North Carolina, Leibfarth would sit on her parents’ laps as they paddled easy waters, and soon she had her own boat; she entered her first race at the age of six.

“I love the feeling, using the water to carry you places,” she says. “It’s not a sport where you just have to be fast or be strong; it takes core strength, flexibility and technique.”

Here, the Olympian reveals the training needed to develop that perfect balance…

The acid test

“I often do two sessions on the water each day. I get onehour time slots and enter the water about 30 minutes before a session. To warm up, I usually do four 10-second sprints and a lot of turns – just circling around and pivots. On the days I’m doing a lactic workout, I’ll do 60-second sprints, which gets the lactic acid flowing before my interval workout.”

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PADDLE

Rapid results America’s first female Olympic slalom canoeist reveals her training techniques for whitewater success

Emulating exhaustion

“I simulate being really tired in a race. Often in competitions there will be difficult moves at the bottom of the course that I have to paddle when I’m already tired. I do halfand full-length efforts on the practice course; also loops – just paddling down and around the course for about an hour at an aerobic heart rate, which for me is 155 to 165bpm.”

Out of the water

“I do three weight workouts a week: weighted pull-ups, leg lifts, that kind of thing. And I take two [bodyweight training] straps everywhere so I can do ‘T’s, Y’s and I’s’, creating those letters with my hands. I also do two weekly aerobic workouts: a 45-minute ride or 20-to50-minute run, depending on whether I’m working on training or recovery.”

Crashing the foam

“I foam-roll my back and do a lot of yoga for mobility. I’m not super-great at it, but I’ll pull up and try to follow a class on YouTube. I stretch every day. I love the seal stretch, where you arch your back to stretch it out. My favourite stretch is one where I lie down and bring my knees up over my head.”

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VENTURE Equipment

Clockwise from top left: MAC IN A SAC Origin Packable Waterproof Jacket in White Camo (and packed jackets in Black Camo, Ocean and Yellow), macinasac.com; RAZER Blade 15 gaming laptop, razer.com; APPLE iPhone 13 Pro in Sierra Blue, apple.com; BANG & OLUFSEN Beoplay EQ adaptive noise-cancelling wireless earphones, bang-olufsen.com; YETI Rambler 36oz (1,065ml) double-wall vacuum stainless-steel bottle with Chug Cap, yeti.com; TOPL Series 1 Regular 12oz (354ml) reusable coffee cup, toplcup. com; MOLESKINE Smart Writing Set (includes Paper Tablet A5 Smart Notebook, Smart Pen with pen-tip ink refill, USB cable, and Volant XS Starter Journal), moleskine.com; APPLE iPhone 13 Pro; apple.com Opposite page, left to right: STUBBLE & CO The Roll Top 20L backpack in Urban Green and Tasmin Blue, stubbleandco.com

COMMUTE

Working wonders Recruiting the best gear for your rush-hour ride is like building a team – trust is key. Delegate roles to these hard workers and you’ll breeze it 80

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TIM KENT

VENTURE Equipment

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VENTURE Equipment

Fabric of space Getting ready for your manned flight to Mars?

Here’s what you’ll need, from the workwear brand making garments for every possible future…

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“What is that you’re wearing?” enquires US chat-show host Jimmy Fallon from behind his interview desk. Comedian Jon Glaser is sitting in the guest’s chair. “It’s a Relaxation Hoodie,” Glaser says of his impossible-to-ignore, taramasalata-pink top. “It’s specifically designed for relaxing, down to the fabric, the aesthetics… You zip it all the way over your face, put your hands in the pockets and just… relax. And Jimmy, I got one for you.”

The studio lights dim and both men zip their hoodies up over their faces and hug themselves. “Jimmy, I’m so relaxed right now,” says Glaser, “and one thing I like

to do when I’m relaxed is sing opera. Is that OK?” “We had no idea he was going to get Jimmy to try one on,” says Steve Tidball, who co-founded experimental clothing brand Vollebak – creators of the Relaxation Hoodie – with his twin brother Nick in 2015, the year before its appearance on Fallon’s show. “Glaser is a gear-obsessive and a big fan of ours. After that, our business really took off.”

By their own admission, this first iteration of the hoodie – which is now available in sell-out black, navy (pictured above) and electric blue – was a wacky attention-grabber, not least THE RED BULLETIN

SUN LEE/VOLLEBAK, JAMES DAY/VOLLEBAK

WEAR

ALEXANDRA ZAGALSKY

Do not disturb: the Relaxation Hoodie is inspired by isolation tanks, allowing solitude in any situation

VENTURE Equipment

Full Metal Jacket Waterproof, windproof and... disease-proof? To some degree, yes – thanks to it being made from 65-per-cent copper. “The milling stage turns the copper into microscopic rope,” explains Steve Tidball. “Each strand is actually 25 miniature strands, so if you were to unpick it, it would stretch 11km. Copper hasn’t received the same hype as silver. It’s a magic material with antimicrobial properties that naturally conducts heat.”

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VENTURE Equipment

The Mars Jacket “The outer shell is ballistic nylon, originally used in jackets worn by World War II airmen to shield them from shrapnel,” says Steve. “The fabric also recalls the look of original spacesuits – their functionality led the aesthetic. We knew our Mars uniform would require multiple pockets with Velcro, including an anti-gravity one that opens upside down. In fact, there are pockets everywhere, because in space a pocket near your shoe is as important as one close to your chest. We’ve also added a horizontal fly [to the pants], as seen on fighter pilot suits, as well as a vomit pocket, which is just a bit of fun.”

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VENTURE Equipment

Two heads are better than one: Vollebak co-founders Nick (left) and Steve Tidball

because it came with its own “pink soundtrack” to help athletes achieve a meditative state before a big race. But then, blue-sky thinking is a speciality at Vollebak, where super-strength metals, fibres and nanomaterials more frequently found in the aerospace industries than in the world of fashion are used to create sustainable, highperformance adventure-wear.

The Tidballs’ latest invention is less blue sky and more red dust. Conceived to actually be functional on a deep-space flight to the Red Planet, the Mars Jacket and Pants have been through two years of R&D and numerous prototypes. “We’re space super-fans, and we felt it was our job to design workwear for Mars now,” says Steve, “because when space tourism takes off, we want to be at least 30 iterations in, not at the nascent stage of development.”

The idea was that those same features should be eminently practical on Earth in the meantime, however. “If you design for extraordinary circumstances, you’re inevitably going to discover amazing things along the THE RED BULLETIN

way,” says Nick. “Memory foam was invented because of the Apollo space mission.”

This intersection of objectives is integral to the thinking at Vollebak. Perhaps it comes from the melding of their twin 42-year-old minds; the same DNA yet different.

Steve has a degree in art history, and Nick studied at The Bartlett School of Architecture, University

“Getting lost in a rabbit warren of research is what we do”

College London. Before founding Vollebak, the pair worked as creative directors at TBWA – an advertising agency renowned for its disruptive ideas – during which time they masterminded campaigns for the likes of Adidas. However, both felt the opportunities for innovation were often stifled by the bureaucracy of big business.

“We worked on brands that weren’t run by their founders, but by some old person in a suit in an office in New York,” explains Nick.

That changed in 2015, when the brothers created the famous ‘floating house’ for Airbnb, sailing a habitable 70-tonne cottage down the River Thames. “We were dealing directly with [Airbnb’s] originators, Brian [Chesky], Joe [Gebbia] and Nathan [Blecharczyk]. Working with a trio who were our age [and were] fearlessly taking on the hotels was inspiring. We realised that businesses are actually inventions, dreamt up by people with vision.”

Along with the Airbnb trio, the Tidballs drew inspiration from other entrepreneurs, including Yvon Chouinard of ethical clothing brand

Mars-a-slacks: the Mars Pants (left) feature external Velcro strips for attaching tools (in space or on Earth). The Vomit Pocket (right) has a ziploc for safely storing anything (including bodily fluids)

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VENTURE Equipment Patagonia, Apple’s Steve Jobs, and chef Heston Blumenthal.

“Here was a man [Blumental] with exactly the same food ingredients as everyone else, and yet somehow he creates these amazing dishes,” Nick enthuses. “It was science, it was exciting,” Their own interest in sport also played a pivotal role.

“We were taking part in ultramarathons and had a vested interest in sportswear, but how do you create a space in between giants like Nike and Adidas?” says Nick.

The brothers often felt their performance and recovery was marred by the inadequacy of their kit, which was rarely engineered to an appropriate standard for endurance challenges in the Arctic, Amazon, and Namib Desert.

“We saw it as our Ithaca – a journey full of adventure,” says Steve, citing Constantine P Cavafy’s 1911 poem inspired

by Homer’s Odyssey. “Vollebak is addressing challenges we will face a century from now.

Our entire climate will change, and we can’t ignore that. The last time we faced something this epic was 50,000 years ago, when humans migrated out of Africa.

“If we know the weather is going to change and diseases will spread, let’s design for those things. The world is not waiting for another waterproof jacket or white T-shirt.”

The Red Bulletin: What inspires you to create these unique garments?

Nick Tidball: As a former architect, I was taught that all the materials in the world are yours to play with, and once you discover things like meta-aramid and para-aramid fibres, such as those used in our Garbage Sweater [derived from recycled firefighter suits and bulletproof vests], why wouldn’t you use them to make something totally different?

Getting lost in a rabbit warren of research is what we do.

If we can’t find the answers, it’s our job to supply them.

“The world is not waiting for another white T-shirt” What are you looking for the answers to?

Steve: The three questions we ask are: can you get nature to grow you stuff? Can you make stylish, resilient things that last longer than a human being? And what can you do with the stuff that’s already out there?

Nick: We’re also reliant on other industries to create recyclable ‘loops’ we can attach to – we can’t be sustainable on our own.

Electronic waste is polluting our planet, but it’s rich in gold, copper, silver and palladium.

However, it’s still currently cheaper to mine for those materials using traditional methods. Someone has to pave the way for change; we want to be at the forefront.

Reverse engineered: one side of the Graphene Jacket is made from graphene – a superstrong layer of graphite one atom thick – the other is nylon. Wear it either way around

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Your clothes undergo many years of R&D, but how do you cope when things don’t go to plan?

Nick: When we visit factories, we chuck water on things, rip them up, set fire to them…

I get interested when experts say no to our suggestions, because it means that they haven’t done these things before, which often leads to new discoveries.

Steve: One thing you’re trained to do in advertising is recognise that your idea might be terrible and you may have to abandon it, no matter how attached to it you are. The key is to exhaust all possibilities. Our Graphene Jacket is a case in point. The challenge with this material [which is 200 times stronger than steel, lighter than paper, and won its inventors, professors Andre Geim and Kostya Novoselov, the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics] is that the nanoparticles are scattered over the surface like tiny Rubik’s Cubes. Only the material doesn’t behave the way you want it to – sometimes these carbon atoms cluster together, and if they’re not evenly distributed, the jacket won’t store heat the way it’s intended to. The Italian mill that supported us with this project is the same one that created the material for [US swimmer] Michael Phelps’ ‘speed suit’ for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Now that you’ve made clothing fit for Mars, will you be giving Elon Musk a call?

Steve: Actually, two years ago we rented a huge billboard outside his office [in Hawthorne, California] for a couple of thousand dollars. We’d just released our Deep Sleep Cocoon, for hibernating in deep space.

The poster read: “Our jacket is ready. How is your rocket going?” Elon didn’t get in touch, but NASA did.

So we’re talking to them now.

vollebak.com THE RED BULLETIN

VENTURE Equipment PROTECT

Shades of glory Blinding rays, biting winds, stinging snow – all nemeses of a skier’s eyeballs when on the piste. Keep out the lot with these protective ski goggles

TIM KENT

From top: DRAGON NFX2 Kimmy Fasani Signature goggles with Lumalens Violet lens, dragonalliance.com; SPY Marauder Elite Matte Colorblock 2.0 Happy Blue goggles with Happy Bronze and Light Blue Spectra Mirror lens, spyoptic. eu; RED BULL BY SPECT Solo 05 goggles, specteyewear.com; SWEET PROTECTION Interstellar RIG Reflect goggles, sweetprotection.com; POC Zonula Clarity Comp goggles in Uranium Black with Spektris Blue lens, pocsports.com

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VENTURE Gaming Go on the defensive

Thanks to faster hardware in the new PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S consoles, the virtual player AI in FIFA 22 makes six times as many decisions as before. This is particularly noticeable in defence, where players work as a unit, moving around the pitch like an Arrigo Sacchi-era AC Milan tribute act. “Consider defenders the bedrock of a long-term titlewinning project,” says Pessoa.

“It’s tempting to favour big names, but a mix of youth and experience is best.”

Start a club

In FIFA 22, you control a virtual squad of footballing heroes. Master it and you could become a legend of the game yourself The football season in Europe may kick off in August, but for millions of sports fans around the world it doesn’t truly begin until the new FIFA game drops. What began in 1993 as a simple but excellent football sim has grown into the biggest-selling sports video-game franchise of all time. FIFA is a technological and licensing juggernaut that cuts deals with virtually every governing body in the sport, and for which an entire 11-vs11 football match is recorded with players wearing Xsens motion-capture suits. All this ensures that when one of your players executes a move, 88

Connect the dots

Ask any lower-division footballer what it’s like to face Premier League opposition and they’ll talk about the

“Don’t just buy Messi, Mbappe and Neymar” Ryan Pessoa

precision of the passing. In previous iterations of FIFA, passing was too easy, with the ball zipping around as if on a string, but now only the best players can successfully pull off those raking 40-yarders.

“Premier League fans should look to young stars like Phil Foden and Mason Mount for their midfield,” recommends Pessoa. “I’m trying Martin Ødegaard now he’s signed permanently for Arsenal.”

The common theme here?

Amazing passing stats.

Remember to look after number one

Goalkeepers play a mostly passive role in FIFA. You don’t control them in the same way as outfield players, and they either do their job or they don’t. FIFA 22 changes the way they behave, reflecting personal styles and levels of the sport so a world-class sweeper keeper is discernible from a pure shot-stopper. “It’s worth getting PSG’s Gianluigi Donnarumma,” says Pessoa.

“He won Euro 2020 with Italy and is a remarkably complete goalkeeper for 22 years old.”

Take it easy

The most popular way to play FIFA is Ultimate Team – the digital equivalent of collecting Panini stickers, where fans buy ‘packs’ of players to build a squad worthy of competing in an Elite Division and real-life esports tournaments such as the ones Pessoa plays in. But all that is irrelevant if you can’t hold it together. “Take a break after a loss,” says Pessoa. “Go straight into another match and you’ll still be playing the last opponent in your head.

Come back even a few minutes later and you’ll play a lot better.”

And the best new Ultimate Team feature? You can turn off the opposing team’s goal celebrations so you don’t have to watch them gloat.

FIFA 22 is out now on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, PC and Nintendo Switch; ea.com THE RED BULLETIN

TOM BRAMWELL

Career goals

they look exactly like their real-life counterpart, right down to their hairstyle and the angle of their feet when they strike the ball.

But for some devotees, such as Ryan Pessoa, it’s more than a game; the Man City esports pro and Red Bull player has made a career from his FIFA skills. Here are Pessoa’s tips on getting the best out of the most realistic edition to date, FIFA 22…

ELECTRONIC ARTS, LUIS GALLO

SUCCEED

Career Mode gives you control of a club throughout a full season, but if your favourite team disappoints in real life, why play as them and extend the agony? This year, you can create your own club, customising every detail – but plan for the long haul. “Don’t just buy Messi, Mbappe and Neymar,” says Pessoa. “Look for young players with high potential. A solid midfielder or wide player can keep you going for years.” We hear Red Bull Salzburg’s Karim Adeyemi is a bit handy in front of goal...

VENTURE Gaming PLAY

Level up

Bad kit equals game over.

Whether it’s Valorant on PC, Half-Life in VR, or Halo Infinite on Xbox, this gear will put you in beast mode

TIM KENT

Clockwise from top: EPOS Sennheiser GSP 601 Closed Acoustic Gaming Headset, eposaudio.com; RAZER Kishi Universal Gaming Controller for smartphones, razer.com; HTC VIVE Pro 2 VR headset and controllers, vive.com; RAZER Wolverine V2 Wired Gaming Controller for Xbox Series X, and Huntsman V2 optical gaming keyboard, razer.com; LOGITECH G Pro X Superlight gaming mouse, logitechg.com

THE RED BULLETIN

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VENTURE How To not wanting to forgive. It’s a dialogue between the higher, noble part of yourself that might want to forgive and the gut feeling of hurt. The more honest you are, the more this will help reconcile the two parts of your mind.”

Think of the benefits

“Imagine you’ve completely forgiven the person – what would be different? Maybe you’d get peace of mind or feel you could be friends again. It can be a tangible benefit. You might forgive your boss, which could lead to you performing better at work and getting a promotion. Adding a benefit provides motivation, which can help shift your mindset.”

LEARN

Rinse, repeat

William Fergus Martin has given more thought to forgiveness than most. Not because he carries around a list of names longer than Arya Stark’s in Game of Thrones, but because one day the idea that we could all benefit from being more forgiving just happened to pop into his mind.

“I was writing an article for a dating site, along the lines of ‘How to make yourself happy rather than try to find someone else to make you happy,’” says the Glaswegian author, “and the idea about forgiveness came to me unexpectedly.

The next day, I sat in front of my computer and another set of ideas sprung to mind.

The material became enough for a book.”

Forgiveness is Power: a User’s Guide to Why and How to Forgive was published in 2013. Martin followed this by setting up a registered charity, The 90

Global Forgiveness Initiative, to provide information and workshops to those wanting to let forgiveness into their lives – whether that’s dealing with gaslighting, self-esteem issues, or the current polarising topics of the day.

“There’s the whole vax/ anti-vax issue – people get angry at those who wear masks, and vice versa,” says Martin. “The situation is bringing out the best and worst in people. Everything benefits when we’re more

“Everything benefits when we are more forgiving” William Fergus Martin

forgiving. It brings peace of mind, freedom, happiness.”

Easier said than done?

Perhaps not. “People have fears around forgiveness, often because no one has shown them how to do it.

I define it as letting go of pain from the past.” Here, he explains how to do it…

Make a list

“The first thing I ask is, ‘Why would you not want to forgive this person?’ Maybe you’re afraid because then you’ll have to put up with them. Write a mission plan: ‘I want to forgive X for Y.’ You might be unsure you actually do, but it’s like trying on a jacket that you’re not sure you want to buy – you’re just getting a feel for it.”

Connect with your emotions

“What are your current feelings? Maybe you’re vengeful, or afraid of conflict.

Perhaps you feel guilty about

Consider next steps

“I can teach people how to let go of the pain, but reconciliation is a separate step. Forgiveness can include ‘goodbye’ – you can forgive them, but they might be too abusive to have an ongoing relationship with.

You might have no contact with them, but getting rid of heavy feelings can make it clearer what to do next.

Forgiveness is unconditional, but reconciliation isn’t – perhaps you could go to a councillor together.

That’s a different process.”

Martin’s publications, including the ebook Four Steps to Forgiveness, are available at global forgivenessinitiative.com THE RED BULLETIN

TOM WARD

In an age when tempers are frayed and we’re quick to write each other off, forgiveness has never been more relevant…

“Now go back to step one and see if there’s anything else you want to add. Maybe you need to rephrase what you want to forgive them for, or perhaps your feelings have changed. Keep working through these steps until there’s a shift in attitude. It has astonished me how little catharsis often needs to happen before people are ready to forgive.”

GETTY IMAGES

To bury the hatchet

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PROMOTION

The iconic Italian brand 3T is celebrating its 60th anniversary in style, giving you the chance to own a piece of history

T

urning 60 brings to mind slowing down, putting your feet up, and getting into things like gardening.

Not for 3T. Although it’s entering its seventh decade, the Italian cycling manufacturer is just getting started, launching fresh and new concepts that tap into its history and heritage of continuous innovation and the drive to be first.

Founded in 1961 as Tecnologia del Tubo Torinese (Turin Tube Technology),

STEFANO MONTI

SIX DECADES OF DREAMING BIG

the Italian manufacturer has built a reputation for designing light, strong and eye-catching products – from record-breaking handlebars used by the likes of Eddy Merckx, to boundarypushing road bikes with World Tour status. Its limited-edition Dreambox, marking the big six-0, is the latest in a string of iconic releases.

The centrepiece of the Dreambox is a specially created 3T Exploro RaceMax Italia.

The world’s first aero gravel bike on release in 2020, the Exploro RaceMax offers riders the speed of a road bike, but on unpaved paths. The Italia edition marks the start of 3T producing frames in Italy – a process it began exploring back in 2018.

The carbon-fibre frameset is engineered and produced at the newly opened 3T factory in Lombardy before being painted in Veneto. Assembly is also done in-house, and in collaboration with Campagnolo, Pirelli, Fizik, Elite and Carbon-Ti, 3T has pieced together a bike that is the pinnacle of high-end Italian design.

It doesn’t end there, though.

The Dreambox is a fully stocked cycling gift box, and comes with a completely custom and colour-matched wardrobe of kit – including Castelli jersey and bib shorts, Kask helmet, Koo sunglasses, Fizik shoes and Elite bidons – while Campagnolo’s Big Corkscrew could come in handy after a long day in the saddle.

The Dreambox itself is a piece of art, too. A solid 200kg construction, the motorised bike garage opens and closes at the click of a remote control button, and provides a state-ofthe-art storage solution for the bike and all the additional gear.

Limited to 60, the Dreambox is available now for €19,610. Find out more at 60thanniversary.3t.bike

VENTURE Calendar

9

November to 15 January THE SHARK IS BROKEN Detailing the behind-the-scenes dramas of Steven Spielberg’s 1975 blockbuster thriller Jaws – including feuds between its principal actors and the perpetual malfunctioning of its biggest star, the mechanical shark – this West End play has battled crises of its own, having been postponed since May 2020 due to lockdown. But finally the production is setting sail, written by and starring Ian Shaw (son of actor Robert Shaw, aka shark hunter Quint in Jaws), who portrays his father with an uncanny resemblance, as seen below.

Ambassadors Theatre, London; theambassadorstheatre.co.uk

9 NICK DRIFTWOOD, LORENZ RICHARD/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, NATE LAWRENCE/RED BULL CONTENT POOL

November onwards ANNA GASSER – THE SPARK WITHIN At the age of 15, Anna Gasser decided she’d had enough of her sport. That sport was gymnastics, and she hasn’t looked back. Today, the Austrian athlete is better known as a pro snowboarder who has won two Winter X Games, the 2017 Snowboard World Championships, took the inaugural Big Air gold at the 2018 Winter Olympics, and became the first woman to score a Cab Double Cork 900 and a Cab Triple Underflip.

Now, at 30, Gasser is expanding her horizons once again, this time with backcountry riding. This film tracks the legend and shows her amazing ability to succeed. redbull.com

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November onwards RECKLESS ISOLATION What to do when you’ve been preparing to achieve perfect scores in the upcoming World Surf League Championship Tour only to find the season cancelled due to a pandemic? For Californian pro surfer Kolohe Andino and his friends in 2020, the solution was to score perfect waves of a different kind, heading to remote Indonesia to ride gorgeously empty swells and reconnect with the essence of what surfing is all about. redbull.com THE RED BULLETIN

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VENTURE Calendar

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to 31 December BACKYARD CINEMA The Troxy has survived tough times. Having opened in 1933 as the UK’s biggest cinema, this east London venue closed in the ’60s, later becoming a bingo hall. So it’s fitting that, after a perilous period for cinemas, the Troxy is hosting a festive film extravaganza including Elf, Love Actually, and a live ‘Story of Christmas’ pre-show

by George the Poet. The Troxy, London; backyardcinema.co.uk

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to 20 November CRIPTIC PIT PARTY Jamie Hale is a queer/crip poet, actor, playwright, and the director of this showcase of music, dance and spoken-word performances.

Presented by a collective of disabled and D/deaf artists. the event aims to inform, celebrate and challenge preconceptions about their lives. Hale opens proceedings with Not Dying, their thought-provoking personal tale of living with progressive disability.

Barbican, London; barbican.org

PALLY LEARMOND, BECKY BAILEY

November onwards LONG DAYS The beauty and elegance of freeskiing has been perfectly captured through countless highproduction snow films. Sometimes perhaps too perfectly. For this one, Austrian director Fabi Hyden wanted something more real; the title references the intensive hours that go into making one of these films. “Some days, the crew starts touring at 1am to ski lines at sunrise,” Hyden says, “or stays out till dark to shoot sunset sessions.” Long Days features pro riders from the Legs of Steel ski collective, including the UK’s own Paddy Graham, with each athlete individually mic’d up, and the real-time 4K footage features zero slow-mo.

The result, says the filmmaker, is “raw and back to the roots of freeskiing”. redbull.com 94

THE RED BULLETIN

GLOBAL TEAM

THE RED BULLETIN WORLDWIDE

The Red Bulletin is published in six countries. This is the cover of our US ‘Heroes 2021’ edition for December, featuring Olympic gold-medallist and five-time World Surf League champion Carissa Moore For more stories beyond the ordinary, go to: redbulletin.com

The Red Bulletin UK. ABC certified distribution 145,193 (Jan-Dec 2020)

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Head of The Red Bulletin Alexander Müller-Macheck, Sara Car-Varming (deputy) Editors-in-Chief Andreas Rottenschlager, Andreas Wollinger (deputy) Creative Directors Erik Turek, Kasimir Reimann (deputy) Art Directors Marion Bernert-Thomann, Miles English, Tara Thompson Designers Martina de ­Carvalho-Hutter, Kevin Faustmann-Goll, Cornelia Gleichweit Photo Editors Eva Kerschbaum (manager), Marion Batty (deputy), Susie Forman, Tahira Mirza, Rudi Übelhör Digital Editors Christian Eberle-Abasolo (manager), Marie-Maxime Dricot, Melissa Gordon, Lisa Hechenberger, Elena Rodriguez Angelina Head of Audio Florian Obkircher Special Projects Arkadiusz Piatek Managing Editors Ulrich Corazza, Marion Lukas-Wildmann Publishing Management Ivona Glibusic, Bernhard Schmied, Melissa Stutz, Anna Wilczek Managing Director Stefan Ebner Head of Media Sales & Partnerships Lukas Scharmbacher Head of Co-Publishing Susanne Degn-Pfleger Project Management Co-Publishing, B2B Marketing & Communication Katrin Sigl (manager), Mathias Blaha, Katrin Dollenz, Thomas Hammerschmied, Teresa Kronreif (B2B), Eva Pech, Valentina Pierer, Stefan Portenkirchner (communication), Jennifer Silberschneider Creative Services Verena Schörkhuber-Zöhrer (manager), Sara Wonka, Julia Bianca Zmek, Edith Zöchling-Marchart Commercial Management Co-Publishing Alexandra Ita Editorial Co-Publishing Raffael Fritz (manager), Gundi Bittermann, Mariella Reithoffer, Wolfgang Wieser Executive Creative Director Markus Kietreiber Senior Manager Creative Elisabeth Kopanz Art Direction Commercial & Co-Publishing Peter Knehtl (manager), Erwin Edtmayer, Simone Fischer, Martina Maier, Andreea Parvu, Carina Schaittenberger, Alexandra Schendl, Julia Schinzel, Florian Solly, Dominik Uhl, Sophie Weidinger, Stephan Zenz Subscriptions and Distribution Peter Schiffer (manager), Marija Althajm, Nicole Glaser, Victoria Schwärzler, Yoldaş Yarar Advertising Manuela Brandstätter, Monika Spitaler Production Veronika Felder (manager), Friedrich Indich, Walter O. Sádaba, Sabine Wessig Repro Clemens Ragotzky (manager), Claudia Heis, Nenad Isailović, Sandra Maiko Krutz, Josef Mühlbacher Finance Mariia Gerutska (manager), Klaus Pleninger MIT Christoph Kocsisek, Michael Thaler Operations Alice Gafitanu, Melanie Grasserbauer, Alexander Peham, Thomas Platzer Assistant to General Management Sandra Artacker Project Management Dominik Debriacher, Gabriela-Teresa Humer Editor and CEO Andreas Kornhofer Editorial office Am Grünen Prater 3, A-1020 Vienna Phone +43 1 90221-0 Web redbulletin.com Published by Red Bull Media House GmbH, Oberst-Lepperdinger-Straße 11–15, A-5071 Wals bei Salzburg, FN 297115i, Landesgericht Salzburg, ATU63611700 Executive Directors Dkfm. Dietrich Mateschitz, Dietmar Otti, Christopher Reindl, Marcus Weber

THE RED BULLETIN United Kingdom, ISSN 2308-5894 Acting editor Tom Guise Associate Editor Lou Boyd Chief Sub-Editor Davydd Chong Publishing Manager Ollie Stretton Editor (on leave) Ruth McLeod Advertising Sales Mark Bishop, mark.bishop@redbull.com Printed by Quad/Graphics Europe Sp. z o.o., Pułtuska 120, 07-200 Wyszków, Poland UK Office Seven Dials Warehouse, 42-56 Earlham Street, London WC2H 9LA Tel: +44 (0) 20 3117 2000 Subscribe getredbulletin.com Enquiries or orders to: subs@uk. redbulletin.com. Back issues available to purchase at: getredbulletin.com.

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PROMOTION

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I

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Semi-Rad Adventure philosophy from BRENDAN LEONARD

“One time, I was trying to prepare for an ultramarathon that was 160km long, with 7,300m of elevation gain. Where I lived, it was the middle of winter, so my trail options were pretty limited. I ended up deciding to do 12 laps on a road that climbed to the top of a mountain near town, to equal roughly 3,600m of elevation gain over the course of 80km. Most people might think that sounds ridiculous and maybe borderline psychotic. It’s both of those things, but in my mind also necessary. When a hiker who had seen me three different times in the span of two hours asked, ‘What are you training for?’ I replied, ‘Something way worse than this.’”

The next issue of THE RED BULLETIN is out on December 14 98

THE RED BULLETIN

Noise Canceling Wireless Headphones

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