ION
MAGAZINE ISSUE
INTROSPECTION EDIT
AUS | USA
RA SMITH
WINTER
AUTUMN, NO. 1
FEATURING CLA
776
Masthead
Editor: Kyle Lewendon
Writing: Kyle Lewendon
Illustration: Kyle Lewendon
Creative Director: Kyle Lewendon
Photography: Kyle Lewendon
Contents Page imagery:
Art Director: Kyle Lewendon
Typographic Design: Kyle Lewendon
Getty Sports
Letter from the editor
Sport is without doubt a corporate
and untold stories, the job of 776 is to talk
performance industry. Especially now— A
about the conversation and the culture that
monolith of money, advertising, boardroom
keeps sports and athletics for the everyman.
deals, and diva–like celebrities permeate all areas of professional sports. This
In this issue we explore mental health
corporatisation has led to the absolute peak
particularly in young athletes, through the
of human performance both technically and
journey of a young footballer trying to make
physically, but everything has two sides,
it to Europe. (pg. 30/32) And pay tribute
and with more polished, truly elite levels of
to a little known phenomenon of womens
competition comes a loss of something we (as
running and a pioneer of the sport. (pg.
fans) consider much more important— Soul.
36/39) and explore some of the great muses and icons of global sports. (pg. 40/50)
Despite all of this, at the top end of the spectrum, the game remains the religion
We hope you enjoy,
for so many of us, the stadium our church.
Kyle Lewendon — Editor At Large
the soul of the game will always exist, if
sometimes in flashes. This publications mission is to seek out that soul of sports and athletics, and curate it here. From authenticity in design and aesthetics, to unique and groundbreaking performances,
2
No. 1 Contributors Illustration:
Writing:
Styling:
The image of the New York
The editorial piece on Bobbi Gibb
The clothes in the editorial
Yankees baseball team caps was
and Kathrine Switzer was heavily
photoshoots were provided
appropriated from a designer and
researched through several espn
by: @pjohnson tailors
illustrator @groteskito
articles by Jen A. Miller, the book
(suiting) @acnestudios
The Boston Marathon by Tom
(coats), @Unwntdfc
The Illustration of Serena
Derderian and writing by the two
(jerseys/kits) .
Williams’ legs was appropriated
runners themselves.
from a photo found on
writing:
the instagram account @
writing:
Editorial piece and
victoryjournal and taken
Editorial piece on Kobe Bryant
interview featuring Serena
by @jodyrogac
was written and conceived by
Williams was by Aminatou
Bryan Stevenson jr. on Medium
Sow for Here Magazine.
The illustration of Kobe Bryant was done by Kyle Lewendon using a photo by Walter Iooss Jr
Writing: writing:
Editorial piece on
Editorial piece on Paul Pogba was
uncertainty was by Karan
from Victory Journal by Peter Macia
Singh for Wordform.com
3
776
PG 16 THE JOURNEY OF PERSISTENCE, ANTHONY POLJAK
CONTENTS
PG 06 261 THE LEGACY OF WOMENS RUNNING
PG 24 KOBE FOREVER
4
PG 36 SERENA WILLIAMS
PG 34 PAUL POGBA DESERVES BETTER
PG 32 TRANSITION GAME
38 THE LONG GAME 5
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Katherine Switzer,
Bobbi Gibb
6
Clara Smith
7
Model: Clara Smith @clara_smithh
This is an editorial piece and profile on the lifes and careers of two of womens running’s most iconic and influential names: Katherine Switzer and Bobbi Gibb. The first two women to ever run in the Boston Marathon, itself one of the most storied distance events around the world, also one of the first.
The profile is a dichtotomy of the legacy Switzer and Gibb created for the world of womens running and athletics, and the result of that legacy as Clara Smith begins to train to compete in racewalkig for the next Olympics in Japan.
Styling: Pants: Issey Miyake. Shoes: Nike, Socks: Uniqlo, top: 2XU
Styling, photography & writing by: Kyle Lewendon
THE LEGACY OF WOMENS RUNNING
776
O
On April 19, 1967— Katherine Switzer was almost tackled from the course of the Boston Marathon
women’s
particularly
rights, in
advocating
athletics
and
running. She went on to win the women’s division of the New York Marathon and come second in the Boston Marathon with her best time of 2:51:37. She also successfully lobbied for the women’s marathon to be included in the Olympics, then won an Emmy for her commentary performance on the same event. Switzer continues to write and speak about her experience and remains one of the most influential figures
in
women’s
sports.
by none other than one of it’s
Only a year prior to Switzer’s
own race officials because he was
legendary
of the belief (and not alone in
contrary to some poorly researched
thinking) that women, not only
news reports and books, it is
were not capable but should not
important to recognise that Switzer
even be afforded the opportunity
was the first woman to register
to race long distance. And when
for the Boston Marathon, but
I say people thought they weren’t
not the first to ever run it. Bobbi
capable— I mean that, the real
Gibb is mentioned in Switzers
medical
for
memoirs and has an equally
women’s distance running in the
amazing story about how she
60’s suggested that
made it onto the Boston Marathon
over their
recommendation
1.5
miles
ovaries
distances
would fall
performance
and
make
track in 1966, as well as what
out.
she went on to accomplish after.
Not only did Switzer retain all of her body parts, but the following day she was on the cover of almost every paper, as the first woman registered to run the Boston Marathon. From there she became a very public and well recognised face
8
of
9
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10
The Boston Marathon it seems, has been the
run back, the high tide she noticed, no longer let
proving ground for some of the most remarkable
her run along the beach, past the barbed wire— and
figures to ever grace the sport of running. From
the US customs officers also noticed and detained
Geoffrey
the
her. Gibb had run about 25 miles, straying across
Marathon world record in a time of 2:03:02:00, to
the border into Mexico, and without ID, it took a
Switzer who was not only a champion herself, but
call to Ewing Mitchell (an actor and family friend)
moved mountains for women’s distance running.
to verify her identity before they could let her go.
Bobbi Gibb is no exception. Somewhat of an
Accidentally running into a different country would
athletic phenomenon, Gibb had recently married
usually be the highlight of any running either
a Navy man and moved with him to San Diego,
training or event. But this was 1966. Women didn’t
from her native Massachusetts. Running there was
run, and definitely not long distances, for obvious
a new and somewhat jarring experience for her.,
aforementioned reasons. Gibb says: “The thought at the
“I was not a competitive runner, but I felt connected
time was that women weren’t capable physiologically”
to the earth and air and sky,” she says. She
So when her application to run that year’s Boston
was fascinated with the “silvery white” of that
Marathon was rejected, she still showed up realising
beach after coming from the New England cold
that her run “was going to become more of a statement
and snow. “I was completely lost in the day.”
than just my personal satisfaction” she says.
So she didn’t think much of it when she settled into
She dressed in a black bathing suit, her brother’s
a long run on the beach, at low tide. Only on the
Bermuda
Mutai
Who
(unofficially)
broke
shorts
and
boys’
running
shoes.
legal
it, pulled it back and covered her head with a blue
artist and sculptor, while also studying and
work
hoodie. She hid in the bushes, and when half the pack
assisting
went by, she stepped into the race and joined them.
neurodegenerative
the
turned
to
University
become of
diseases
a
successful
Massachusetts such
THE LEGACY OF WOMENS RUNNING
She’d clipped her hair shorter than she usually wore
as
in
ALS.
The rest is history. Sort of. Both of these women paved the way for female athletes Kathrine switzer who finished the race with a
globally in distance athletics and running. One such
number the year after, went on to a much longer
athlete is the model in this editorial: Clara Smith is
and more publicly influential career afterwards,
currently training for the 2024 Summer Olympics
and the photo of her being attacked by an official is
in race walking for the Australian national team.
a searing one. Gibb is much more representative of
She is now sponsored by companies that wouldn’t
a typical runner, a solitarian, and a shy soul. Tom
know about her, in an event that wouldn’t exist, for
Derderian, author of “The Boston Marathon” says:
a distance that people thought wasn’t physically
“She had a rhythm and an athletic ease that not
possible— because Bobbi Gibb and Katherine Switzer
many people have, but that champions do”. “Had
chose to step out onto a cold stretch of road in Boston
there been an olympic marathon at the time, she
to do what they loved, what they trained for and
would’ve been an olympian”. Although Gibb never
what they knew they could, leading the way for so
did become a professional she still runs every day,
many of the next records and barriers to be broken.
and became no less of an inspiration than Switzer. She
became
a
lawyer
and
after
years
of
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THE LEGACY OF WOMENS RUNNING
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14
THE LEGACY OF WOMENS RUNNING
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16
T E
J
H U
Y
17
E
OF PERSISTENCE
O
N R
by Kyle Lewendon Anthony Poljak
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Professional athletes are often thought of as superheroes because we only ever see them when they’ve reached the peak of their careers. But the reality is— no one was born on the
Nothing else really ever interested me, except sports, and football.
top of the mountain. And although there are exceptions, i’m a romantic at heart, so to me: regardless of religion, class, race or upbringing, sports remains the great equaliser. All that matters is ability, technique, and mental strength— things that anyone
I dont know what else I would do.
can possess. That’s what makes it so enchanting, is that anyone at any time can achieve greatness if they do the work, and get some luck of course. However something that is seldom seen in sports is the story told from the perspective of halfway on the journey. Someone who hasn’t made it to the top. Yet. Anthony Poljak was born in Split, Croatia. A European football hotbed, known for producing world class international talent such as current stars such as Luka Modric and Mario THE JOURNEY OF PERSISTENCE
Mandzukic. Understandably his passion and hunger for the game was instilled at a young age, so when his parents moved him and his sister to Brisbane, Australia as children, this passion for football, along with a natural charisma, is what helped him fit in, and make friends in his second home. As he says “If I didn’t have football I genuinely don’t know what else i’d do, nothing else ever really interested me except sports”. Fast forward to highschool and Poljak has become one of the best football players in Queensland, his footwork, finishing quality and incisive runs in behind, drawing the attention of the academy of Brisbane Roar. The European-esque blueprint for this academy being to develop players, in order to provide a platform for them to move into the first team and professional football. However anyone familiar with the domestic football situation in this country will quickly tell you that the Australian player development leaves a lot to be desired. Whether justly or not, Poljak was cut from the Roar academy program at 16 and suffered his first real setback to a professional career.
19
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20
21
776 A period of time he doesn’t like to talk about “It was
there was replaced, and the club no longer interested.
the first time i’d really been told no, and at the time
“That was fine, it happens all the time, and I still had
it was hard to take, my confidence became lower,
other place to go. That was one of the first places i tried
but in the long run i think it made me tougher,
anyway” he says of the three week stint at the club.
and a better person, so i don’t regret it”. However disappointing,
him
From there Poljak went on to Italy, where he wasn’t
towards something even more challenging. After
this
experience
propelled
exactly received with open arms. The environment in
graduating highschool Poljak decided to, like so
Italy especially in the Serie B is particularly ruthless,
many others before him, go to Europe and try his luck
staying alone on his team mate’s couch, in a small
in the most elite footballing continent in the world.
town, with little to no Italian, he would have to wait till he got to training to be able to eat every day.
He got himself an agent. And, at the age of 17, flew
Walking to the bus he would see players in his team
to Europe, alone, to begin trials with some of the
being driven right past him, not a second thought
biggest clubs on the continent. First up England. To
about offering a lift, because the less competition
understand the world of professional sports, you also
the better. “Italy was definitely one of the lowest
need to understand how political it is. Football clubs
points, I couldn’t even talk to anyone, for months.
are essentially large businesses— to stay afloat they
And no one wants to help you, because they’re afraid
need to be profitable, and like all businesses staff
you’ll take their place. It was a solitary life over
move in and out, often at the mercy of executives. At
there man”, he says those months in Italy affected
Wolverhampton Wanderers, just west of Wales, he was
his mental health the most, and who’s wouldn’t.
promised a contract, before the director of Football
22
His agent came back to him and told him that they
movies on his laptop. But in his mind he was there to
couldn’t agree terms. Okay fine, let them negotiate a
work, and so he powered through “All i was thinking
bit more it can’t be that hard right? Wrong. At the end
about was that i had to play well, that’s all there was to
of the five months, the club’s sporting director was
think about, otherwise you get in your own head and
replaced and the new one wasn’t interested in a kid
that’s never good”. The italian journey came to a climax
from Croatia, much less Australia. Another dead end.
when at the end of three months the team decided
“Yeah Spain really hurt me, especially at the time
they didn’t need him, it was both good and bad news.
because i couldn’t understand why they didn’t want
THE JOURNEY OF PERSISTENCE
All he would do is play football then go home and watch
me, when i was playing so well and getting told by the So on to Spain, his agent tells him that he’s secured
coaches that they liked me ”. Of course the confusion
him a 5 month trial with one of the top clubs in
was replaced with anger and disappointment when he
spain— LaLiga giant, Athletic Bilbao. The first few
finally found out that the reason the contract wasn’t
months went well. Exceedingly well, actually, he had
signed in Bilbao was because his agent was asking for
friends in the team, a group of african players that
too much money from the club. “I dropped him the
had been brought over by the club, he was better
next day, i was so upset” So agentless he left for his
at Spanish than Italian too. Most of all, the coaches
home city in Croatia, finally getting to see his family.
liked him, and he was playing out of his skin, which
And eventually back home to Australia at the end of
saw them offer him a professional contract. The
the year. And after the toughest year of his life, having
reason he was here, it had finally come through.
to crawl back with his tail between his legs, Anthony’s
Anthony Poljak was finally going to be a professional.
outlook is still overwhelmingly positive. “It was
And at one of the best teams in Spain no less.
definitely tough having to come back without having
All that was left was for his agent to sign
done what I wanted, but there are other ways into the
the paperwork. Or so he thought.
professional game and I’m okay with that.
23
KOBE FOREVER
KOBE FOREVER
776
8
winners,
24
but never been more heart.
architect of the modern day
Never
been
crossover.
a
better
Better
gave more to me, personally. We’ll forever know him as the basketball ceiling, vaulting as it
Never been a better offensive
might be, but fashioned a lot like
threat. There have been players
the Sistine’s, in that his artistry
more suited for the long haul,
stood out of reach but always
but never quite the inspiration.
projected downward. We know
And
guy:
what captivating is, because Kobe
Never been a better hooper.
“Bean” Bryant showed us. We
Better
never
talk a lot about his misses and his
been someone more exciting.
mistakes. Fine, noted. We also talk
these
Yeah, that’s right. Kobe Bryant is
about the accolades and the rings,
cross-generation games, and
the most exciting player to ever
as a counter-argument. But those
instead cling steadfast to our
lace them up. The most exciting.
binaries fade and give way to the
Vinces and our AIs and our
Kobe was the absolute best at
ultimate truth about legends: we
T-Macs and our Kobe Bryants.
finding what made our heads
only remember the highlights.
And to the basketball era of
turn and our eyes wide and
The Remix. The best era of
crafting an entire game around
And put anyone else’s list of
the best wing players ever.
that. His will to get better was
highlight
Ultimately, the moment where
proportional to our will to want to
my
man
I fell in love with basketball.
see more. In fact, those two ends
find
a
Words by: Bryan Stevenson Illustration and design by: Kyle Lewendon
Let’s
stop
playing
then
there’s
players,
this but
plays Kobe, more
up you sizzling
against won’t reel.
are functions of one another. Kobe Because,
26
real:
was responsible for guiding my
There’s never been a better dunker.
to
be
100%
generation on a tour around the
No one does it like that anymore,
There are better “leaders”, but
Basketball Innovation Museum.
let alone in one player.
never been more brash bounce.
No one gave us more. No one
27
776
Because,
expensive.
And that’s winning. Winning is the definitive “most
Awe is expensive. I contrast this notion of
to
be
“exciting”
is
exciting” artifact we love to sit around and gawk at.
most exciting with Michael Jordan as the
It’s also the most undisputable. It’s what we want
game’s most artful, its most graceful, and
for our idols, in any industry. It’s what we all want
hands down its greatest and most incredible
for our lives. We end up truly loving players because
player. Kobe was not that, he was different.
they use their tricks of captivation to ascend; to
Kobe specifically balked at efficiency in search of
catapult their narrative into mattering to all of us.
the path less traveled. The path less traveled to
For what it’s worth, Stevie Franchise was a bad dude
make a shot. The path less traveled to make the
at one point, too. And Chris Webber was one hell
right play. Essentially, the wrong play. The path
of a player. Man, Jamal Mashburn was kinda real,
less traveled to get some extra rings. He usurped
too. And come to think of it, Jason Williams was
our day-to-day definition of “difficult”, on the day-
the best-show-in-town. Yet, in all their splendor,
to-day. He straight up ransacked our notion of what
they have a way of melting from our memories.
was even noteworthy. And it seemed he sought it
The
out, because he wanted us to know he could do it.
ticket into those cross-generation discussions.
winners,
however,
have
a
permanent
KOBE FOREVER
Kobe’s double decade, high-wire hoop act was equal parts mounting his own drama, and equal parts
Kobe will always be there, as a winner, and
overcoming it. Kobe wielded his own existential
as a basketball monument to my generation.
hype. And I would never be the same because of it. No one ever took more difficult shots on a
basketball
court.
Kobe
packaged
the
inhumanely difficult into something seemingly mundane.³ He’s the basketball fan’s bridge to the impossible, and to the wildly dexterous. No player has made you say “Oh, shit.” more. Even aside from the hypotheticals, there’s nothing short of legendary about what Kobe actually
did
do
on
the
basketball
court.
Because an addendum to this notion of “exciting” is what just so happens to trump everything else.
28
KOBE WILL ALWAYS BE THERE, AS A WInnER, AnD AS A BASKETBALL mOnUmEnT TO mY GEnERATIOn. 29
ICONS,
776
Basketball,
30
Baseball,
PaulPogba,
SerenaWilliams
Basketball,
Baseball,
PaulPogba,
SerenaWilliams
31
A SERIES OF SHORT ANECDOTES ABOUT PLAYERS AND GAMES WE LOVE
AND MUSES
776
32
It’s no surprise that basketball’s shift from an all-white game into one dominated by African-Americans evolved alongside the implementation of Civil Rights. Athletes engaged with selfexpression and actualization, changing both the game and the culture at large. In 1968, Sports Illustrated sent artist Howard Kanovitz to college campuses to photograph the country’s best NCAA players. The resulting hyper-realistic, life-size painted sculptures, rediscovered by Adam Shopkorn and shown alongside work by Richard Avedon, Lorna Simpson, and Lucien Smith, made up the April 2014 exhibition Transition Game. Staged at the New York City gallery Salon 94, and curated by Shopkorn and Bafienne Stephan, the show deftly explored the connections between basketball and Civil Right in the 1960s. This series of photographs explores the impact of some of those players, that affected the game so much that they are identifiable, just by their personal affects.
33
M
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Stare at the ceiling. Stare at the screens. See Paul Pogba dab along to Stormzy, publicity
stunting
for
Adidas.
See
Paul Pogba social network with Zlatan Ibrahimovic,
fellow
summer
transfer.
Pogba continues to be a player who demands and rewards your attention. In his favored role, freely roaming from box
Most of the last 24 days have been the same: wake
to box, whether he has the ball or not, he
up, get out of bed, crutch to the living room, lie
appears to be carried along on the wires of
on the couch, elevate left leg, knee on ice. The
Yuen Woo-Ping, his long legs not so much
apartment is small, my view either the bedroom
moving for locomotion as for dramatic
ceiling, the living room ceiling, the television
effect. His feet seem to coax the ball from
screen, the laptop screen, or the iPhone screen.
the pitch’s earthly surface so that he may
Alternate between these views from 7am until 9 or
grace it with a series of touches that are as
10pm, or whenever it becomes too tedious to lie
unpredictable to spectators as they are to
in one position any longer. then move back to the
nearby defenders. And while he has been
bedroom to lie in a similar position until dawn.
criticized for not consistently collecting these touches into a masterful body of
Fully blown anterior cruciate ligament, grade 3 medial
work (trolls call him a “Vine player,”
collateral tear, and a lateral meniscus that was, in my
implying he’s all style, no substance),
orthopedic surgeon’s expert words, “totally trashed,” all
Pogba is still only 23 years old, an age
because I thought I could still be my Sunday beer league
when many top players are just breaking
team’s complete center midfielder. Subsequent surgery
into the starting XI. The overwhelming
proved otherwise. Patellar autograft, meniscectomy,
feeling has always been that, in time, the
vertical and mattress sutures, anchors, etc. Absurd
mastery will come, and Pogba will stand
leg brace and crutches for months. Muscle atrophy.
alone as the ultimate post-millennial
Brain atrophy. Stare at the ceiling. Stare at the screens.
complete center midfielder. Until then, we are privy to his playful, prodigious studies.
A perfectly decent body destroyed for fun makes one reconsider many life decisions and reassess many long-held a
assumptions.
contemplative
exercise,
Convalescence especially
becomes
when
said
convalescence falls in the void of late summer, when there is little soccer on television for vicarious enjoyment.
34
While he was with Juventus, Pogba was easy to appreciate. He could only hurt my club, Arsenal, in the Champions League, and even that seemed fairly unlikely as my club annually flamed out of the competition before his club rumbled through the bracket. Juventus also tended to play its league matches later in the day than the Premier League, meaning that, depending on Arsenal’s result, I could watch Pogba either as a victorious apertif or drown my sorrows in his Bianconeri competence. Even the transfer windows brought a brief glimmer of unsubstantiated hope that my club would put in an unprecedented bid for Pogba, and my adoration for him could then be fully realized. On international duty with France, he was the burgeoning talent who would soon follow in the midfield footsteps of two of my all-time favorites, Zinedine Zidane and Patrick Vieira. It was all so uncomplicated. His prodigal return to United changed everything. • Manchester United is not only the dominant club
PAUL POGBA
of the Premier League era, it is the dominant club of the post-Premier League era. It is rich beyond competition. It is worth billions and publicly traded, a brand whose value could not even be damaged by the team’s on-field mediocrity of the last few seasons. In the transfer market, United is often the only buyer. With Pogba, the fee seemed to have been calculated primarily to break the world record as there were no other clubs capable of matching it. That this was all done as part
DESERVES
of the recruitment campaign of United’s new manager and evil genius, Jose Mourinho, only made it hurt that much more, but on August 8, 2016, day 10 of my convalescence, it was done. Words by: Peter Macia
BETTER
35
A
WILLIA WILLIAMS
SERENA 776
SERENA
SERENA
SERENA
SERENA
Serena Williams, tennis champion, sits down with tech entrepreneur and podcast host Aminatou Sow to discuss home, travel, and redefining success.
AS: I want to switch gears a little bit and
WILLIAMS
talk about how you are defining success. I’m curious how you define success for yourself and how it felt for you when you
AS: As you’ve built your career and really
realized that you had found it.
established yourself as a champion, were there particular challenges that you faced
SW: I don’t think about success like that.
because of your gender or because of your
I think I try to continually just be humble
race?
and I can’t tell you when I found it, so I don’t think I’m the right person to ask.
For us fans, I think that we’re having an
WILLIAMS
ongoing conversation about how you are AS: Are there really not days where you
portrayed in the media or how different
wake up and you’re like, okay, the thing
outcomes are affected because of your
that I was born to do, maybe I’m doing
gender and your race. But I’m curious what
it right now? Without bragging, like, I’m
your read is on the situation.
doing exactly what I was born to do and I am throwing all of my resources and my
SW: I understand where the world is and
mental energy and my physical energy
I understand where the world needs to go
towards doing that thing.
and I understand that they’re not there
WILLIAMS
yet. You just have to continue to strive
WILLIAMS
A
SW: Uh-huh… Yeah… Nope. [Laughs.] I just
and hopefully they’ll be there for the next
work very hard at what I do. I don’t think
person that looks like me.
that I’m in a position to say I’ve made it. There are so many things I’m still working on and want to do.
SERENA 36
SERENA
SERENA
SERENA
SERENA
A
37
776 Another year, another Opening Day, and with it another, this time even more insistent, public push by the baseball commissioner to speed up America’s pastime by urging or instituting rule changes: a pitch clock, limiting the use of relief pitchers, eliminating the need to throw actual pitches to intentionally walk someone; and even starting extra innings with a runner on second base. Words by: David Hollander and Robert Gurland
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Why? Because, the commissioner believes, the young people are disinterested. The “pace of play,” league brass assumes, has to mimic the pace, content and quality of Millennials’ digital habituations. The next generation’s field of dreams is content on demand! Yet recent trends in consumer behavior demonstrate the commissioner is wrong. The kids, it turns out, want exactly what baseball is and has always been. Slowness, the kind that baseball offers and inherently demands, is the relief from digitalism, a need state so widely recognized that content makers and game developers are embracing it in digital formats. To anyone who thinks seriously about it, baseball’s inherent virtue of slowness is really its greatest marketing asset. Marketing is, in large part, about making your product memorable, making it stand out. In Slowness, Milan Kundera writes: There is a secret bond between slowness and memory, between speed and forgetting. A man is walking down the street. At a certain moment, he tries to recall something, but the recollection escapes him. Automatically, he slows down. Meanwhile, a person who wants to forget a disagreeable incident he has just lived through starts unconsciously to speed up his pace, as if he were trying to distance himself from a thing still too close to him in time. In existential mathematics that experience takes the form of two basic equations: The degree of slowness is directly proportional to the intensity of memory; the degree of speed is directly proportional to the intensity of forgetting. MLB’s constant marketing of baseball as anti-slow and digitally accessible (buy the convenient AtBat app, hail the commercial supremacy of Major League Baseball Advanced Media, also called “BAM tech”) may be the reason why it’s becoming a forgotten game for the generation its executives so badly want to court. Baseball’s very identity, what makes it not only marketable but an indelible part of American memory, is the feel of going to the park and experiencing something pastoral, summerlike, indifferent to time, a sanctuary from the constant bleat of digital updating. That’s the game’s value proposition which should be marketed, not bludgeoned or masked or shunned.
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ONE HUND
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iction can be a positive influence. trad
Visuals, design and photography by Kyle Lewendon
• Written by Karan Singh
A short editorial piece on how uncerta inty
DRED PERCENT CERTAIN
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• combining sports, tailoring and film photography
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Uncertainty is bad, or so we’ve been taught. Our ideals are built upon the idea of certainty and the lifestyle it facilitates; comfort and security. It’s an idea we’re taught young and one which is positively reinforced as we grow. Certainty is a stitch in time. Certainty is not counting your chickens before they hatch. Certainty is a degree, a job and a house. Certainty is power in numbers and is an idea which is tried and tested. Sometimes it’s an obligation to others, sometimes it’s because we feel we don’t have a choice, but mostly it’s a formula we call upon in the hope of reassuring
• Suiting by P.Johnson Tailors, Shoes are models own Nike Jordan VI, football jersey by Unwnted
ourselves when dealing with the unknown.
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This isn’t necessarily a bad idea — but I don’t believe it’s the only idea. Perhaps our attraction to security is out of a sub-conscious acceptance that the world is uncertain, or maybe we’re just control obsessed and are afraid of leaving things to chance. But not all uncertainty is bad. When I began working for myself, the absence of a secure and regular income was a necessary evil. In retrospect, finally committing to full-time selfemployment was more about making peace with the uncertainty than the creative freedom which accompanied. I liken it to pushing away from a floating pier in the middle of the ocean in the middle of the night. It was a little terrifying. However, through embracing a new found freedom, laced with a heavy dose of panic, this uncertainty compelled me to act. It challenged me to experiment in order to solve problems in ways I had never considered before, as a matter of survival.
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Initially, mistakes early on only punctuated my
but in more consequential ways such as relocating
concerns, but they soon began to subside as I grew to
cities on multiple occasions. Admittedly, I don’t
accept that despite my best efforts, things will always
necessarily do any of these things with more confidence
go wrong. These mistakes epitomized uncertainty but
than before, they still scare me. But assigning to that
shifted its sentiment from a negative to positive light.
fact that unpredictable things will happen regardless
Instead of being disregarded, they were celebrated
of what I did made these decisions easier to make.
and in many instances became trophies themselves. The idea of imposing control over every facet of a Allowing for this has since been factored into my
process robs us of spontaneity, so why do we impose this
process because its role evolved from a fear, into a tool.
on our day to day lives? We thrive on the unpredictable and I believe that allowing for uncertainties allows us to
All of this culminated in developing a better
grow. The older I grow, the illusion of certainty pales in
understanding of the world around me, of myself,
comparison to the vibrancy of uncertainty because it’s
and how much or rather little power I had over
something I struggle to prove exists. The reality is it’s
circumstances. It dawned on me that these ideas
not necessarily a question of our belief in certainty and
actually transcended the boundaries of my professional
whether it exists, but instead if you’re comfortable with
life into aspects of everyday life such as relationships
accepting that it doesn’t. Sure, accepting uncertainty
and travel. It encouraged me in trivial ways such as
isn’t necessarily for everyone but by no means do less
walking down a street I had never been down before,
unpredictable things happen to more certain people.
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