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EDITOR’S LETTER
CARVE OUT
YOUR DESTINY
In 1999, 11-year-old Sheffield lad Patrick ‘Paddy’
Graham went on a school ski trip. Twenty years
later, here he is on our cover. His journey from
the dry slopes to the wild backcountry (page 34)
is one of breaking boundaries and realising the
potential we all possess. In 2013, Gunner Stahl
(page 56) picked up a friend’s 35mm camera; today,
he’s one of rap’s most celebrated photographers.
For Zambian Sampa Tembo (page 28), being a
celebrated musician in her adopted home of
Australia wasn’t enough – she needed people
to understand where she came from. Adewale
Akinnuoye-Agbaje (page 30) escaped racism at
the hands of supremacist skinheads to become
a director and make a powerful film about his
life. Vastly different stories, all linked by an
urge to reach beyond the limits forced upon
us. Perhaps one day we’ll even see Greenland
(page 66) – a frozen island nation with a one-week
football season – playing in the World Cup.
CONTRIBUTORS
THIS ISSUE
BEN READ
The British photographer
describes his work as
storytelling through details,
portraits and landscapes. He
delivered exactly that when
he returned from Greenland
after covering one of the
world’s most remote football
tournaments. “The one thing
that I’ll always remember is
half-time death metal played
through the PA system,”
Read reveals. Page 66
TOM WIGGINS
The London-based former
editor of Stuff magazine has
been playing video games
since before most of the
competitors at the F1 Esports
Pro Series were even born.
But, upon meeting them for
our story this issue, it was
clear that these gamers had
already put in more hours
of play than him. “They take
it incredibly seriously,”
reports Wiggins. Page 46
Gian Paul Lozza shoots Paddy Graham in Italy, as captured
by our cover-story writer, Hugh Francis Anderson. Page 34
GIAN PAUL LOZZA (COVER)
06 THE RED BULLETIN
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AMERICAN SPIRIT
SWISS PRECISION
CONTENTS
Winter 2019
66
“Team coach? What team coach?” Football in Greenland is strictly a grassroots affair
BEN READ
10 High water mark: a drone’s-eye
view of kayaking
12 Riding high: BMX hits new peaks
in the mountains of France
13 Dam risky: slacklining gets dark
in Tasmania
14 Deep impact: the aftermath of
a wipeout in French Polynesia
16 Sound of speed: US singer/
guitarist Brittany Howard’s
road-trip playlist
18 Fully loaded: freewheeling with
the van-life movement
20 Star mix: meet the astronaut
who DJed live from the ISS
23 Mech believe: the exo-skeleton
that turns you superhuman
24 Snuffed movies: posters for films
that were never made
28 Sampa the Great
Home truths from Zambia’s
queen of conscious rap
30 Adewale
Akinnuoye-Agbaje
The British actor/director on
rewriting his ‘racist’ past
32 Jordan Belfort
The Wolf of Wall Street on
power, prison and penance
34 Paddy Graham
The tale of a kid from Sheffield
who became freeskiing royalty
46 F1 Esports Pro Series
How virtual racing is changing
the real-life world of motorsports
56 Gunner Stahl
The man who snaps trap
66 Greenlandic football
Inside the Arctic league where
a ‘winter break’ lasts an eternity
81 First-grade kit: the best wireless
headphones, cold-climate boots,
biking tech and more
88 Slope style: all the snow gear
that’s fit to be seen in at ski
resorts this season
100 Ice breaker: The Red Bulletin
joins surfer Kyle Hofseth in
his search for the perfect wave
amid the glaciers of Alaska
105 Get my drift: what Mario Kart
can teach you about yourself
106 One part inspiration, nine parts
perspiration: ultrarunning ace
Christian Schiester has a secret
training weapon – the sauna
109 Events that are not to be missed
110 Winter highlights on Red Bull TV
134 Skate of grace: kickflipping
in the USA
THE RED BULLETIN 09
LITTLE WHITE SALMON
RIVER, WASHINGTON
In full flow
“Drones have changed the world of photography
and film by allowing people to document and
create images from places they could not
physically get to.” So says Karim Iliya, the
Hawaii-based filmmaker and photographer
behind this incredible aerial shot, taken
in slow exposure by drone as kayakers Knox
Hammack and Adrian Mattern held their
place in an eddy. “You now have a threedimensional
space where the only limitations
are your imagination and your ability to
operate the drone,” Iliya adds.
Instagram: @karimiliya
11
AIGUILLE ROUGE,
LES ARCS, FRANCE
Riding
high
BMX star Matthias Dandois steps
into his skis after completing
a world first in his sport, riding
flatland at an altitude of 3,226m
atop the snow and ice of Aiguille
Rouge, France. Photographer
Andy Parant captured not only this
moment but the entire adventure,
creating an amazing edit of Dandois’
ride above the clouds. “With a
temperature of -23°C, 62 per cent
of the oxygen you get at sea level,
and a slippery, frozen platform, it
was definitely the most challenging
shoot of my life,” says Dandois.
“But we pulled it off and I’m stoked
about the results!”
Instagram: @andy_parant
GORDON DAM,
TASMANIA
Giant
steps
It’s easy to miss Preston Bruce
Alden in this night-time shot: the
slackliner is just a small red dot
against the vast, dark backdrop
of Tasmania’s Gordon Dam. This
image of the American walking his
line 450m above the ground
earned local adventure filmmaker
and photographer Simon Bischoff
a place in the semi-final of Red
Bull Illume’s monthly Best of
Instagram competition.
Instagram: @simonbischoff
13
TEAHUPO‘O,
FRENCH POLYNESIA
Shock
wave
We’re used to seeing what happens
when surfing goes right, but what
about when it goes wrong? Here,
photographer Ben Thouard captures
a terrifying moment in March this
year when Hawaiian surfer Ryan G
had to fight against the tide
underwater following a serious
wipeout. “Things don’t always
go as planned,” said Thouard in
the accompanying caption on
Instagram. “@bigizlandryan
escaping the washing machine!”
Instagram: @benthouard
15
BRITTANY HOWARD
“As a
driver,
I’m 60%
offensive”
A drive across the US inspired
the Alabama Shakes singer’s
solo debut album. Here, she
shares four road-trip classics
Brittany Howard has been the
lead singer/guitarist of rootsrockers
Alabama Shakes since
2009. Formed at high school in
Athens, Alabama, the band went
on to record two UK Top 10
albums and win four Grammys.
Last year, following severe
writer’s block, Howard decided
to move to California and launch
a solo career. The songs on
Jaime – her debut album, on
which she displays a soft spot for
psychedelic funk and hip-hop
loops – were conceived during
a road trip from the Pacific
Northwest to Los Angeles via
Nashville. Here are four songs
that inspire the 31-year-old when
she’s behind the wheel…
Brittany Howard’s album Jaime
is out now; brittanyhoward.com
Mal Waldron
All Alone (1966)
“I really enjoy listening to this
track by [jazz pianist] Mal
Waldron when I’m in the car,
because it’s so dreamy. My
mind can just kind of float off
and wonder and think, and
that’s always nice. When
driving, I like to listen to music
that doesn’t have any words –
it’s nice to focus on just the
music and the arrangement.”
Nina Simone
Lilac Wine (1966)
“This song is so sad, but really
beautiful, too. There’s this
little [tom-tom drum] played
throughout the track that I’m
absolutely in love with. It’s
only a tiny detail, but I’m like,
‘Wow, I feel like I’m in a jungle
at dusk somewhere and
I’m depressed.’ I just love it.
I wouldn’t put it on in the Los
Angeles traffic, though.”
Betty Davis
They Say I’m Different (1974)
“I would say that as a driver I’m
60 per cent offensive, 40 per
cent defensive. In LA, you’ve
got to be, right? Sometimes
you’ve got to be an animal out
there. And you need something
kind of upbeat, so that you feel
better about sitting in traffic.
In those situations, I would
listen to this [funk] classic.
It’s a good one.”
IDLES
Danny Nedelko (2018)
“My moods change and sometimes,
when I’m feeling like a badass,
I’ll listen to some metal music.
I really like AC/DC and that English
band IDLES. I love Danny Nedelko,
because it’s perfect for our
interstates. OK, so [the law] says
you have to drive at 70 [mph], but
really you can go 80. It’s like an
unspoken [agreement], and if we
do go 80, they can’t stop us all.”
BRANTLEY GUTIERREZ MARCEL ANDERS
16 THE RED BULLETIN
this girl who told me she was
buying a van, turning it into a
house and spending the entire
summer rock-climbing, and it
blew my mind. So I got my own
used van for around $10,000
[just over £8,000] that I could
both lie down and stand up in,
and I converted it in about five
months. Most of the conversion
I did myself with my ex-boyfriend
by copying YouTube videos.”
Here, Lindsay shares five
tips on how to convert your
own adventure vehicle and live
the van life, too.
onechicktravels.com
Ventilate and seal your
van properly
“Rust and mould are the two
most damaging and difficult
things to catch and fix in a van.
Be really careful about how
you seal your vehicle when
you ventilate it.”
VAN LIFE
The road to
freedom
Surf, jam, live in a van – rock climber and
blogger Kaya Lindsay offers tips on how to
lead a vagabond adventure lifestyle…
Would you ever consider
selling your house, giving away
your belongings to charity and
starting a new life on the open
road? This is the philosophy
of ‘van life’, a movement in which
people liberate themselves from
daily constraints by converting a
vehicle into a moving home and
driving into the sunset in search
of adventure, with the aim of
living and working off-grid.
Rock climber and blogger
Kaya Lindsay has lived the
majority of the past three years
in her 2006 Mercedes-Benz
Dodge Sprinter van after giving
up her flat in California and
going freelance. Visitors to her
YouTube channel will find not
only van-conversion tips – her
time-lapse video of a full build
has had more than 1.6 million
views – but profiles of fellow
female van-lifers, too.
Of her own conversion to the
lifestyle, Lindsay recalls, “I met
Read Marie Kondo’s
book The Life-Changing
Magic of Tidying Up
“Get very specific on what
you want to bring with you.
I got rid of everything except
for three drawers of clothes
and some toiletries.”
Be flexible
“You have to be able to absorb
any catastrophe. Being resilient
and able to cope with things
going wrong unexpectedly is
an essential quality when living
in a van.”
Be respectful of the
space around you
“I see people dumping coffee
grounds in parking lots, or
spitting their toothpaste onto
the ground. You need to be
mindful of where you are and
what’s appropriate.”
Find something that
you love to do and make
that your journey
“There’s a perception that
van life is always romantic.
To be happy, however, you need
a reason to be on the road;
something powerful enough
to keep you there.”
LOU BOYD
18 THE RED BULLETIN
PROTEST.EU
INTERSTELLAR TUNES
Super star DJ
This summer, 400km above the earth, the International
Space Station treated partygoers to a historic set
“Got any Orbital?” Luca Parmitano rocks the boat in Ibiza from
the International Bass – sorry, Space – Station
Usually, when a DJ set is
described as being ‘out of this
world’, it’s in reference to the
selection of tunes or the mixing
skills of the person behind the
decks. The phrase was given
new meaning this August,
however, when Italian
astronaut Luca Parmitano
became the first person ever
to DJ live from space.
The 43-year-old worked
with well-known German DJ
Le Shuuk to create the historic
set, using specialised software
loaded onto a tablet in the
International Space Station.
Then, on the big day, Parmitano
was projected live onto a huge
screen watched by 3,000
clubbers on board a party ship
moored in the Balearic Islands.
“I’d like to welcome you on
board the Columbus module,
the European lab on board the
International Space Station,”
he said, introducing the set.
“The most amazing cooperation
of space agencies in the world.”
This groundbreaking event
was a collaboration between
the European Space Agency
and German-based nightlife
brand BigCityBeats, whose
floating electronic music
festival in Ibiza – World Club
Dome Cruise Edition – received
Parmitano’s broadcast.
“I had tears in my eyes and
goosebumps when I saw Luca
raise the World Club Dome flag
on the Space Station,” said
BigCityBeats CEO Bernd Breiter
after the performance. “When
the music started to play during
the broadcast from space,
I can’t even begin to describe
my feelings in that moment.
“This has been my dream
for many years: to create the
first club in space and, on a
much broader scale, to connect
science and music. I hope it will
inspire generations to come.”
bigcitybeats.tv
BIG CITY BEATS LOU BOYD
20 THE RED BULLETIN
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Skeleton crew: with
a pilot at the helm,
Prosthesis can hit
speeds of 30kph
SAM CARTER, JONATHAN TIPPETT LOU BOYD
This 3.5 tonne, 4m-tall, fourlegged
monster might look like
a robotic villain straight out
of a Michael Bay movie, but in
reality it’s not a robot at all.
Prosthesis, created by luxury
electronics brand Furrion, is an
entirely human-powered exobionic
skeleton that amplifies
the strength and speed of the
person inside it. “It is an ‘antirobot’,”
says its creator, Furrion
CTO Jonathan Tippett. “It is a
suit – it’s an extension of the
pilot’s body and relies 100 per
cent on their movements for
every move it makes.”
This innovative machine,
or ‘mech’, was inspired by
Tippett’s passion for action
sports. “Growing up, I derived
great satisfaction from mountain
biking, snowboarding, martial
arts and riding sport bikes,”
he says. “Much like these sports,
piloting a mech is a celebration
of physical mastery and human
skill. In this case, it takes the
form of controlling an 8500lb
FURRION
Power dresser
The world’s first exo-skeleton racing machine puts humans in the driving seat
[3,600kg], 200hp, giant fourlegged
exo-skeleton.”
The company is currently
working on the next generation
of the mech, and hopes to launch
its own X1-Mech Racing League
for a “whole new breed of
athlete” to compete in trials and
races inside the machines. “Any
moderately fit person can pilot
a mech,” says Tippett. “How
much power and strength it
takes depends on how fast and
hard you want to go. If you can
ride blue runs or pop an ollie, with
practice you could strap into one
of these beasts, tame the power
and make it do your bidding.”
furrion.com
THE RED BULLETIN 23
LOST MOVIE ART
As not seen
on screen
Illustrator Fernando Reza has an unusual passion:
he designs posters for films that don’t exist
Tim Burton’s Superman Lives,
Alfred Hitchcock’s Kaleidoscope,
Quentin Tarantino’s prequel to
Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs
– what do these three films have
in common? They don’t exist.
Cast but never made, they’re
among the forgotten movies that
didn’t make it to the big screen.
Illustrator Fernando Reza has
now created a series of posters
that imagine what some of these
lost features would have looked
like if they’d been released. “I
recall hearing rumours about all
these unfinished movies and
finding it super-intriguing,” he
says. “It was the early days of the
internet, so there was very little
information out there – a quick
line or maybe just the title – but
it sparked my imagination. I
thought it would be cool to delve
into the production history of the
films and put an image to them.”
Reza’s posters are available
online as numbered art prints,
each with a historically authentic
replica cinema ticket, and the
release of a book is planned.
“The good thing is that there
is such an interest in unmade
films,” Reza says. “There are
documentaries about Superman
Lives and Jodorowsky’s Dune,
and a book about Kubrick’s
Napoleon. There’s so much
curiosity about the ‘what ifs’ of
cinema history. I’m putting an
image to what could have been.”
frodesignco.com
Clockwise from top left: Tarantino’s
The Vega Brothers (shelved in
2007); Kaleidoscope (1967); Orson
Welles’ Heart Of Darkness (1939);
Superman Lives (1998)
LOU BOYD
24 THE RED BULLETIN
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BUILT TO BLAST
Sampa The Great
Homecoming
queen
Born in Zambia and based in Australia, the
rising star of conscious rap explains how
returning home can shape your future
Words FLORIAN OBKIRCHER Photography BARUN CHATTERJEE
In March last year, Sampa Tembo,
better known as Sampa the Great,
won the Australian Music Prize for
her mixtape Birds And The BEE9.
Winning the accolade – which,
much like the UK’s Mercury Prize,
is awarded for creative excellence
rather than album sales – is a
prestigious achievement for any
musician Down Under. The thing is,
Tembo isn’t Australian; she moved
there from her home country of
Zambia in 2014 to study audio
production. However, when the
rapper’s first release, 2015’s The
Great Mixtape, began gaining
positive attention, many Australian
magazines conveniently named her
one of their own. The topic of home
runs throughout the 19 tracks on
her official debut album, The Return,
released on UK label Ninja Tune.
Here, the 26-year-old explains why
she shot the video for her single
Final Form in Zambia, and how she
overcame her insecurities…
the red bulletin: What inspired
you shoot the Final Form video
in Zambia and feature your friends
and parents in it?
sampa the great: I’m based in
Australia and started my professional
career there, but at the same time
I’d never performed at home, never
had a song on radio [in Zambia].
All of a sudden, I’m being played on
the radio in Australia, doing live
shows there, and people are calling
me Australian. And Zambians
are like, “How come she never
performed here in front of us?”
How did it feel going back?
It was like coming full circle, that the
place I grew up in could eventually
experience me as an artist. I have
no qualms about people saying I’m
Australia-based, but it’s only half
the truth. My friends at home are
like, “We know where you’re from,”
and I say, “I’m not controlling this!”
So it felt important for me to tell
people the story of who I am, rather
than having other people create this
narrative for me.
What does returning home
mean to you? Does it make you
feel more grounded?
The way we were raised, there was
no space to be big-headed. As soon
as it happened, my parents were
like, “Cut that down.” Going home
reassures your growth. It’s like, this
is where you came from and this is
what you’re doing. That’s important,
because sometimes we forget to look
back and see how much we’ve grown.
How have you grown in the
past few years?
The assurance within myself has
grown a lot. I’m doing what I know
I was born to do. In the beginning
there was so much doubt, because
no one in my family had attempted
a career in music. Now that I’m
doing it – and enjoying it – there’s
a bigger sense of assurance. Within
the process, confidence and self-love
have grown as well. And also the
willingness to learn and work on my
weaknesses, instead of just being
like, “Yeah, nah!”
How did you overcome any doubts
you had?
Definitely though conversations with
people. The one thing that creates
insecurity is the feeling that you’re
going through something alone.
Whoever I meet, I always want
to converse with them about life,
because it helps you to appreciate
that we all share many fears and
insecurities. When you see these
are common things that people
struggle with, you know that it’s
OK to feel that way and to seek
knowledge to get better.
You once said a good student
not only tries to master the things
they’re good at, but also the things
they’re really bad at. What have
you attempted to master while
working on The Return?
So many things. For time’s sake, I’d
say perspective. With The Return, it
was like, “Oh, I can’t get to go home,
because of this and that.” I was
consumed by it, until I met people
in situations where they couldn’t go
back home so they had to create
a new one for themselves. I had to
step back and see that the small
discomfort and displacement I was
feeling was nothing compared with
theirs. My perspective of how I’m
blessed was definitely challenged.
Did you take any action as a result
of that realisation?
I asked myself the question: “What
do you do with this privilege?” For
me it’s like, if I have an opportunity
to go home, I’m going to share what
I know. If I have the opportunity,
I’d like to teach Zambians who’ve
never been there about our home
and culture. It’s that perspective of
knowing that you have something
someone else doesn’t, that they
would [gain] value from. It feels like
a duty to the diaspora, being able to
teach these things.
Sampa The Great’s debut album,
The Return, is out now on Ninja Tune;
sampathegreat.com
28 THE RED BULLETIN
“It felt
important to
tell people
the story of
who I am”
THE RED BULLETIN 29
“There’s
always hope
if you never
give up”
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
AUSTIN HARGRAVE/AUGUST
Second
skin
Life was hell for the British actor/director
as a self-hating teen in a racist gang. But he
found the strength to rewrite his story
Words JESS HOLLAND
How does a black kid growing up in
1980s Essex become a member of a
white supremacist skinhead gang?
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje provides
an answer in his big-screen directorial
debut, Farming. The film tells the
story of the actor/director’s own
upbringing as a kid fostered – or
“farmed out”, hence the title – by
Nigerian parents to a white family in
a rough port town where brutal racist
violence was rife. Ignored and unloved
at home and targeted on the streets,
Akinnuoye-Agbaje was forced by his
foster father to fight back against
his attackers, and this earned him
a measure of recognition from his
oppressors for being unafraid to
fight. This tiny taste of validation
was enough reward for him to join
the gang, who alternated quasitoleration
with abuse.
With some luck, hard work,
and the intervention of educators,
Akinnuoye-Agbaje escaped the
hopeless path he was on and earned
a law degree. He then underwent
further transformations, moving to
LA to become an actor and appearing
on TV shows such as Oz, Lost and
Game of Thrones while figuring out
how to tell his own story. Few people
get the chance to write and direct a
feature film of their own life, but then,
as Farming shows, few people are
like Akinnuoye-Agbaje. Here, he tells
The Red Bulletin how he overcame
the self-loathing instilled in him and
learnt to believe in his own future.
the red bulletin: Farming
shows how powerful a sense
of belonging can be, even when
it’s found in a dangerous and
degrading environment…
adewale akinnuoye-agbaje: In
this story, young black children
are placed in an environment that’s
alien to them, where they are the
only black children there. Their
exposure to African culture really
came through the media, whether
it was Tarzan, Alf Garnett or Jim
Davidson – these people regularly
spewing racial slurs. When you’re
constantly being exposed to that
kind of language and then you’re
physically abused on the street
as well, and you don’t have any
positive cultural references or role
models, you begin to identify with
the derogatory images.
When my own father sent me
out to stand up against the bullies,
when I took that advice and started
to fight back, I suddenly started
to get noticed for something other
than my colour. And that became
a lifeline, because all of a sudden
people were actually calling me
by my name. It gave me a sense of
validation. Don’t get me wrong,
I was by no means accepted in the
gang: you were always considered
a tool, an asset that was useful in a
fight against other gangs, and you
were quickly made aware of who
you are and what you were. But,
still, it allowed you to be able to
at least walk a little more freely
on the street. That’s how you end
up in that situation.
How did you alter this path?
The pivotal point was the passing
of my first exam. It wasn’t a great
grade – a C or C-minus – but it was
the fact that when I applied myself
I could achieve something; I’d always
been told that I couldn’t do that. It
was an epiphany for me. But it took
time, coming out of that environment
and being in a more multicultural
environment; having my first
girlfriend of colour was huge as well.
It was a torturous and arduous
process, because there was so much
self-hatred, self-doubt and low selfesteem.
Once, I was trying to solve
this legal problem and I just couldn’t
do it. I would smash up the furniture
because it was so frustrating and I
felt helpless and incapable. A friend
gave me this pill that he used to take
to stay up late, so I took it and we
stayed up all night and solved the
problem. At the end, I asked what it
was, and he said it was just a vitamin
tablet and [the remedy] was all in my
mind. Little lessons like that started
to help me see my own ability.
Do you have advice for anyone
who feels trapped?
The only thing I can say is that
there’s always hope if you never give
up. You have to believe in yourself
and trust that if you survive that far
you can always keep going.
There are other transitions you’ve
made since: from lawyer to actor
to writer and director…
And from self-hatred to self-love.
It’s all about empowering yourself
through your own accomplishments,
not seeking out validation, but
validating yourself.
Your story shows an extraordinary
ability to adapt and survive…
My upbringing in Tilbury [Essex]
has given me a fearlessness about
life and [the sense] that nothing’s
impossible. You just get on with it.
I’d never written a screenplay before,
but it became award-winning. I’d
never directed before; it became
award-winning. The key is just to be
fearless and go and do it, because
you never know unless you try.
Farming is on limited release at
cinemas across the UK;
hanwayfilms.com/farming-1
THE RED BULLETIN 31
Jordan Belfort
Soul
trader
How the Wolf of Wall Street
realised that an old dog can
learn new tricks
Words TOM GUISE
What changed you?
The first epiphany was when I got
sober, in ’97. I’m not saying I’ve never
done a drug or had a drink since – I’m
no saint – but I don’t abuse anything
any more. The next was when I got
indicted. The biggest epiphany
wasn’t jail – it was writing my book.
I had to examine all the things I’d
done. It allowed me to become the
man my parents had first sent into
the world. I was always a good kid –
I just took a left turn at Albuquerque.
In September 1998, Jordan Belfort
was arrested by the FBI for moneylaundering
and securities fraud. You
know the story. Maybe you’ve read it
in his 2007 autobiography, The Wolf
of Wall Street, adapted into a feature
film by director Martin Scorsese and
starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Belfort.
It’s a vigorous account of the pitfalls of
excessive greed and vice; a cautionary
tale or a glorification, depending on
who you ask. “‘Glamorises’ is a better
word,” says Belfort himself. “Because
let’s not mince words: it’s glamorous.
But that doesn’t make it right.”
In the early ’90s, Belfort’s New York
brokerage firm, Stratton Oakmont,
fleeced investors of hundreds of
millions of dollars in a penny stocks
‘pump and dump’ scheme. He spent
22 months in prison and had to pay
restitution. “My only regret is that
I lost people money,” he says today.
“Everything else, that’s my life.”
At 57, Belfort is now peddling a
different stock – motivation – and
making comparable dough (“$20,000
for a one-hour speech”). “When
I was young, I didn’t use that power
responsibly. As an older – hopefully
wiser – man, it’s important that my
message, grounded in ethics and
integrity, brings value to people.
Used benignly, it’s a wonderful thing.”
the red bulletin: You founded
Stratton Oakmont at 27. What was
the world like to you at that time?
jordan belfort: Smaller, a preinternet
age – you only knew what
you saw on the news. I wasn’t born
rich; I thought I should act the way
characters in movies did. ‘Rich’ was
Dallas, Dynasty, Gordon Gekko…
It’s different to what kids value now
– everything’s Instagram.
At Stratton Oakmont’s peak, how
much money were you making?
A day? About a quarter million
dollars, $30,000 an hour, $5,000
a minute. It wasn’t just me, it was
everybody. I had all these kids that
had no business earning more than
minimum wage, all making a million
dollars a year. It was a free-for-all.
Moral judgement aside, you clearly
possess a talent. What is it?
Not being scared to be wrong. I act
on my ideas, sometimes to my own
detriment. When you’re looking for
niches, you see the world in a
different way. It’s like a muscle you
develop. Most people have the ability
to come up with amazing ideas, but
they don’t let them blossom, because
they know they’ll never act on them.
DiCaprio likened your speeches at
Stratton Oakmont to Braveheart…
I was blessed with the ability to be
a motivator. But if you just say to
people, “You’re capable of greatness,
go out there,” it’s probably bullshit.
Most people don’t have a natural
ability to do extreme things; I found
a system that made them master
communicators. I’d say, “I don’t care
what you did in the past, or if you’re
a loser… I’ll show you how to be
infinitely more effective as humans.”
Could you have done things
differently?
Many times. When I first took
a bag of money, I rationalised that
everyone was doing it. The biggest
mistake was smuggling money into
Switzerland. I thought, “It’s not
going to end well.” That’s when the
drugs started to cloud my judgement.
I lost control somewhere around ’93.
You wrote it in prison, right?
It was more teaching myself. I ripped
up the pages and rewrote the whole
thing when I got out. My cellmate was
Tommy Chong, from [stoner comedy
duo] Cheech and Chong. I’d never
have done this if it wasn’t for him. He
gave me one piece of advice: if you’re
going to write about your life, choose
the craziest and the saddest parts – no
one wants to read about the mundane.
Now they’ve made an immersive
show of your story…
Like when I lost control of Stratton,
the story has grown beyond me. I’m
glad people can look at my life and
find enjoyment and empowerment.
I’m not involved in the show – I sold
the rights and I wish them well – but
I’m doing a deal on Broadway that
would be a different take, a musical.
We imagine you’re effective at
negotiating royalties…
I’m pretty good. But most important
is having a great product – if it sucks,
you’re not going to make any money.
As a different kind of speaker
today, give us a pep talk…
I’ll give you three tidbits. One, delay
your gratification – good things take
time. Two, you can’t be half-pregnant
when it comes to integrity; either
you’re ethical or not, because your
line starts to move. And three, learn
to communicate and influence; it’s
a skill that will change your life.
Will you be going to heaven or hell?
I’m going to heaven. I’m very proud
of the way I live today. I think I’ve
paid off my debt, but things probably
don’t work that way.
The Wolf of Wall Street immersive
show is on now; immersivewolf.com
JULIEN MIGNOT/CONTOUR BY GETTY IMAGES
32 THE RED BULLETIN
“I was making
$30,000 an
hour, $5,000
a minute”
THE RED BULLETIN 33
King of the wild frontier
How a city kid from Britain’s industrial north helped
shape the future of backcountry skiing
Words HUGH FRANCIS ANDERSON
Photography GIAN PAUL LOZZA
34
Stelvio glacier, Italy, 2019:
Paddy Graham in his element
– the mountain air
Paddy Graham
“I learnt to ski on
dry slopes, which
is a lot different
to growing up on
snow like most of
my competition”
On Japan’s
north island of
Hokkaido lies
Mount Kariba.
In winter, its 1,520m peak becomes
blanketed in dense snow. This is
Shimamaki snowcat country, so-called
because only these big-tracked
snowmobiles can take skiers to the peak
for some of the world’s deepest powder
skiing. If you had journeyed to the top
in January, you would have witnessed a
mesmerising sight: skiers exploding from
the thick drifts, launching through giant
balls of pow nested in the trees, and
blowing cold smoke in their wake as they
carved, buttered and jumped through this
untouched backcountry, all sporting the
same unmistakable blue-and-orange skis.
These guys are ski-film collective
Legs of Steel, and you can marvel at
this majestic moment in their latest
production, 121, named after the
revolutionary ski they’re all using. One
of the film’s stars, Italian Markus Eder,
wore the ski to become this year’s
Freeride World Tour champion. It seems
like destiny – his Red Bull profile page
reads: “Like every little kid from the
smallest town in the mountains, he
learnt to ski right after learning to walk.”
For another of the film’s protagonists,
it wasn’t quite so preordained…
“I learnt to ski on dry slopes, which is
a lot different from growing up on snow
like most of my competition,” says Paddy
Graham in his gentle, fading Sheffield
accent. “Coming from a nation that
doesn’t have skiing in the back garden
was a struggle at first,” the born-and-bred
Yorkshireman readily admits. But Graham
has demonstrably proven otherwise. Over
the past decade, he has ascended to the
pinnacle of his sport, becoming Britain’s
number-one freeskier and co-founding
Legs of Steel. Today, Graham shreds
mountains with the best of them.
It’s October and the snow season is still
months away, but Graham has been
shooting The Red Bulletin’s cover story at
Prinoth X Camp, a year-round ski resort
3,450m up the Stelvio glacier in northern
Italy. He fires up his old Land Rover
Defender and, as the afternoon light and
deep mountain shadows filter through
the windscreen, we descend the highest
road in the Eastern Alps, the Stelvio Pass.
Moustachioed, with tufts of dark hair
emerging from beneath his sun-faded
Red Bull cap, Graham’s face wears a
cheeky, ever-present smirk.
“My girlfriend gave me that cat,”
he says, pointing to a small figurine on
the dashboard. “And that’s Chad,” he
chuckles, this time pointing to a miniature
36 THE RED BULLETIN
Snow patrol: Paddy
Graham, an adrenalinchasing
multiple
champion, is Britain's
top freeskier
Game-changer: Paddy’s
Revolt 121 skis have been
developed by the skiers
with the R&D team at Völkl
Paddy Graham
plastic lifeguard doing a pull-up on his
rear-view mirror. “They’re my mascots.”
Paddy Graham’s life, as we’ll discover,
has been filled with mascots.
It wasn’t until the age of 11, and a
school trip to the USA, that the notion
of skiing first presented itself to him. “I
wanted to go because I’d seen pictures of
my dad skiing when he was younger, but
obviously I had to go and learn,” Graham
recalls. “I was always active as a kid, but
was never into playing football. Every
summer, my parents would send me and
my brother to sports camps to keep us off
the streets, but I never had that one thing
that I really liked, so my parents took me
to the dry ski slope to see if I actually
liked it.” That was the famed Sheffield Ski
Village, one of Europe’s largest artificial
ski slopes, which included a freestyle park
equipped with a half pipe, quarter pipe,
kicker, hip jump and grind rails before
it burned down in 2012. “I saw people
doing airs and tricks and I was like,
‘This is sick, I want to do this.’” By the
end of the three-day beginner course,
he was hooked.
Graham dedicated himself to
practising on the dry slopes; slight
and sure-footed, he took to park
skiing quickly. By 13, he’d attracted his
first sponsor, US manufacturer Line Skis,
and joined a local team of fellow British
skiers – a feat made more impressive by
the fact that at this point Graham had
only ever skied snow on that US school
trip and a summer holiday at France’s
Tignes glacier. “I was tiny and just skiing
around. I didn’t have any race training.
The others, who’d all done racing, were
like, ‘Oh God, we need to teach you how
to ski.’ We called ourselves the Kneesall
Massive, after the [Nottinghamshire]
town that one of the guys, Andy Bennett,
now a coach on the British team, came
from,” Graham laughs. “My coaching
came from skiing with these guys.”
“I was tiny and
just skiing around.
I didn’t have any
race training”
Airs and graces: Graham
caught the skiing bug early
THE RED BULLETIN 39
Up in the air:
“Freeskiing is all about
enjoying the mountain,”
says Graham
40 THE RED BULLETIN
Paddy Graham
“There are no rules
and no one can tell
you what to do or
how to do it”
With these comrades, who Graham
affectionately names Bungle, Noddy and
Slave Monkey, a community was born.
Another trip to Tignes ensued and, once
he hit 16 and his GCSEs were done and
dusted, a season in the French ski resort
of Serre Chevalier beckoned. “My
learning curve accelerated, since snow’s
easier and more forgiving than plastic
matting. I learnt how to jump on 20m
kickers rather than 5m ones, doing cork
720s, 900s and the half pipe,” he says.
“As I got older, I started powder skiing
rather than cheeky runs next to the slope,
so I had to really concentrate on my style
and technique.” Meanwhile, back home
during summers, he was making ends
meet collecting trolleys at Asda and
landscape gardening in a local caravan
park. “I strived to outgrow the UK scene.
People took me more seriously when I
came second in slopestyle at the Austrian
Open – it was one of the biggest events at
the time and the whole scene was there
watching, so that made some noise.”
At this time, Graham appeared on
Christian Stevenson’s Channel 5
show RAD and Discovery’s Snow
Patrol; it was the perfect moment for him
to start making films himself. “When I
started spending more time on snow, my
friends and I would always go filming. To
get standout shots, you have to venture
further than the terrain park,” he says.
“We’d always ski powder, small lines, in
the streets and urban spots. I realised the
park had boundaries that the rest of the
mountain did not – taking tricks into
powder and hitting natural features
created a new challenge.”
He wasn’t the only one coming to
this realisation; it was a moment of huge
change in the skiing community. With
the development of powder skis – wider
and more capable of tackling deep
backcountry snow – a new discipline was
born. “Freeskiing is all about enjoying the
mountain,” says Graham. “There are no
rules and no one can tell you what to do
or how to do it.”
Graham’s newfound freedom on the
slopes demanded a lifestyle to match – he
THE RED BULLETIN 41
Paddy Graham
REVOLT 121
SKIS
“When you see
the ski being
made, it’s like
a big puzzle:
all these layers
of material go
into a big press
that bakes
them together”
Paddy Graham
MULTILAYER
WOOD CORE
Durable, hard beech
at boot area; lighter
poplar surround
TIGHT RADIUS
AT CENTRE
For short,
aggressive turns
ARCHED FOR
POP AND GRIP
Underfoot camber
adds edge-hold
when carving
TOUGH CASING
Core is wrapped in
a composite and
fibreglass sheath
WIDE-RADIUS
TIP AND TAIL
For long arching
turns at high speed
needed to find bigger sponsorship to go
full-time. “We always had a photographer
with us on trips; brands liked this as we
could create content for them,” he says.
“When I was 18, I got picked up by Völkl
and never looked back.”
With the German ski manufacturer’s
support, in 2009 Graham moved to the
Austrian town of Innsbruck and, with
fellow skiers Bene Mayr, Thomas
Hlawitschka and Tobi Reindl, co-founded
Legs of Steel. “We were filming for
another European movie at the time, but
wanted to do our own thing so we could
go on the trips we wanted and have the
music we wanted.” Their first film, The
Pilot, was released in time for the 2010-
2011 season. “There was a lot of powder
skiing and backcountry, then we
organised our own crazy park jump to do
something special, which has become our
trademark,” says Graham. Numerous films
followed, including 2015’s multi-awardwinning
Passenger. But it was 2017’s Same
Difference that left a particular impact on
Graham. “I just wanted to make a jump
where I was in the air for longer than four
seconds,” he says, matter-of-factly, of his
attempt to achieve the longest-ever air
time off a freestyle jump.
It’s May 12, 2017, and Graham is
staring down the face of his creation.
First conceived on a piece of paper the
year before, the monolithic mountain of
snow before him in Livigno, Italy, is twice
the size he originally envisioned – the
largest freestyle ski jump ever built.
Working 24/7 over four weeks, a fleet
of diggers and snowcats moved some
100,000 cubic metres of snow into
position; so much snow, in fact, that the
locals called the police, fearing it would
slide down and destroy the village.
With conditions perfect and speed
checks complete, Graham rockets towards
the jump at a blistering 117kph, landing a
tantalising 3.8 seconds later. He attempts
it again, this time launching too fast.
After 4.5 seconds of air, he falls almost
30m to the ground. “I ruptured my ACL
and meniscus, and broke my ankle on the
other foot,” he recalls.
ROCKERS FOR
DEEP SNOW
Tip and tail contact
points float
through powder
“We organised our own
crazy park jump to do
something special. It’s
become our trademark”
42 THE RED BULLETIN
FEELING
GREAT
FROM
THE
INSIDE
OUT
#ZEROEXCUSES
odlo.com
Paddy Graham
It puts Graham out for the rest of the
season. “I’m going to get back up and I’m
going to get back out there, no matter
what,” he said at the time. “With skiing
and everything in life, you want to do it
the biggest and best you can.”
Today, Graham is at the peak of physical
fitness. His 1.85m frame is slight, save for
robust tattooed thighs, primed for the
upcoming season – the result of a summer
spent cycling through the Tyrol mountains
that surround his home. “You’re always
your fittest at the beginning of the season,”
he says as we cross the border into
Switzerland. The scent of winter lingers in
the air, the chime from a cow’s bell drifts
on the crisp breeze and the setting sun
paints the mountains mauve. Graham
smiles. “Just look at these mountains.
I’ve never seen them like this before.”
Still on the rise:
at 31, Graham
believes he’s at
his physical peak
“I hope I’ll still be
skiing when I’m 80,
but I’ve got a lot more
to do before then”
A short while later, Graham’s Land Rover
pulls up outside the house of Jean-Claude
Pedrolini, product and team manager
of Völkl and a man Graham fondly calls
Schinkä (Swiss German for ham).
Graham is here to collect a van to drive
the team to 121’s premiere at the Leo
Kino Cinematograph in Innsbruck. The
two immediately embrace and Schinkä
welcomes him into his home, where
Graham hugs his wife and children.
Paddy is almost part of the family –
for 13 years, since he was a teenager, he’s
been with this team. They’ve grown up
together, and now they’ve created a child.
This season, Graham and his teammates
have produced a revolutionary new ski
with Völkl: the Revolt 121.
“Schinkä said, ‘What we want to do
is make a new powder ski for the riders,
and who’s going to design it? The riders
themselves,’” recalls Graham. The idea
was to build a single ski that would work
across multiple disciplines; the result (see
explanation on page 42) is the evolution
of a mode of human transportation that’s
existed for about 6,000 years. “It handles
big mountain freeride, deep powder,
backcountry freestyle jumps, ski touring
and also slope skiing,” he explains. “It’s
a game-changer.”
With teammates Markus Eder,
Fabio Studer, Colter Hinchliffe,
Ahmet Dadali, Tanner Rainville,
Sam Smoothy, Tom Ritsch and Völkl’s
lead engineer Lucas Romain, Graham
rode numerous iterations of the ski last
season before the final version was
perfected. “We tested it in so many
different conditions, we knew it was going
to be good,” he says. “These skis make me
feel happy when I look down at them.”
The film is more than merely a
celebration of a product. At its premiere,
hordes of ecstatic beanie-wearing
freeskiers watch on as Graham and his
teammates traverse the globe finding the
best lines, all with Revolt 121s affixed to
their boots. The movie, like the ski, like
Paddy Graham himself, is the culmination
of not just one person’s passion, but the
dedication and continual refinement of a
brilliantly talented team. Graham would
humbly agree. “At the premiere of Same
Difference, my parents came over to watch
and got all dressed up. They could see
where I’d come from – the little kid who
they took to the ski slope, now hosting
this big event. That was really nice.”
While filming 121, Graham turned 31,
something he ruminates on. “Everyone’s
saying, ‘Oh, it’s downhill from here.’ I was
like, ‘No way.’ I went out with a chip on
my shoulder to show people that I’m still
an athlete. The performance I was able
to put down this year was one of the best
feelings. I hope I’ll still be skiing when
I’m 80, but I’ve got a lot more to do before
then. Skiing has let me see the world
while doing something I love,
accompanied by my best friends.
“There’s so much more exploration
to be done.”
121 is available to stream for free from
November 18 at voelkl.com/watchtogether
44 THE RED BULLETIN
RIDER: PADDY GRAHAM
PHOTO: GRANT GUNDERSON
BUILT
TOGETHER
THE NEW REVOLT 121 - INCREDIBLY VERSATILE
LENGTH (RADIUS): 177 (17.4), 184 (19.2), 191 (21.7) SIDECUT: 143_121_135
VOELKL.COM/EN/BUILTTOGETHER
»BUILT TOGETHER« results from the impassioned
teamwork of our best athletes, skilled engineers,
renowned artists and product management team.
»Incredibly versatile« - that‘s one of the most
often heard comments from people riding the
Revolt 121. This is made possible due to the 3
radius construction and a specially shaped tip that
works great for nose butters and drift turns in soft
snow. The Multi Layer Woodcore makes the ski
strong enough to go where dedicated freeskiers
dare to go.
Two-time F1 Esports world
champion Brendon Leigh at this
year’s first event in London
CHASING
DREAMS
Welcome to the Formula One of
esports: actual racing teams going
head-to-head in state-of-the-art
simulations. The prize money may
be only a fraction of the $30
million won at the Fortnite World
Cup, but for these competitors
the stakes are higher: the chance
to shape the motorsport itself
and realise their goal of becoming
a real-life racing car driver
Words TOM WIGGINS
Photography JANE STOCKDALE
47
F1 Esports Pro Series
“The link between
sim racing and
real life is without
question”
he Baku City Circuit is renowned in
the world of Formula One for a number
of reasons. It takes an F1 car roughly
one minute, 41 seconds to traverse
its length – a 6km loop around the
Azerbaijan capital’s most famous sights
– at a top speed of 360kph, making the
street circuit one of the world’s fastest
and most chaotic. It was here, in 2017,
that Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel infamously
side-swiped Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton
for brake-checking him. The following
year, Red Bull Racing teammates Daniel
Ricciardo and Max Verstappen collided,
eliminating themselves from the race.
Then, this year, Haas F1 Team driver
Floris Wijers locked his brakes on turn 15,
losing his rear end and launching off a
high kerb, flying into a wall.
If this last story seems unfamiliar, it’s
because the crash didn’t take place on the
actual streets of Baku, but on a computer
simulation, streamed live to the world.
Wijers is very much a driver for Haas,
however, competing against human
counterparts from the other F1 teams,
strapped into racing rigs and battling it
out for a shared bounty of $500,000. This
was a heat in the F1 Esports Pro Series –
the motorsport digitally recreated in all
its drama, heartbreak and triumph. And
it all took place at the Fulham Broadway
Retail Centre in southwest London.
The shopping mall might not look or
sound like a place where dreams come
true, although it can boast branches
of Nando’s and Boots, and it’s located
above a Tube station. Sharing space with
the cinema on the upper levels of the
building is the Gfinity Arena, the UK’s
first dedicated esports venue, where,
this July, 18-year-old Lucas Blakeley is
struggling to hold back tears as his dream
of driving for an Formula One team
comes true. Tonight is the series’ Pro
Draft. By the end of the day, 30 finalists
will be whittled down to 10, each
representing a proper F1 team.
48 THE RED BULLETIN
Clockwise from above: the wheel and pedals used – the Fanatec CSL Elite F1
Set – allow the driver to adjust their car set-up on the fly, and some did this
on almost every corner of every lap; Haas F1 Team’s Floris Wijers; Gfinity
Arena’s aesthetic is The X Factor meets Sky Sports News
THE RED BULLETIN 49
Anyone can apply for a place in the
draft: all you need is a copy of F1 2018
– the video game by Codemasters – and
a PlayStation 4, Xbox One or PC to play
it on. More than 100,000 entrants
attempted to qualify online for this year’s
competition by firing up the game at
home and driving lap after lap on the
designated tracks. Two months later, the
fastest have assembled in a studio that
comes across like an ambitious hybrid of
The X Factor and Sky Sports News – all
illuminated perspex, giant touchscreens
and a trio of pundits, including current
McLaren driver and esports advocate
Lando Norris, perched behind a desk,
ready to break the news to the lucky few.
The domino effect
This year’s Pro Draft wasn’t Blakeley’s
first attempt to make it into the F1
Esports Pro Series – he qualified
in 2018, too, but was left disappointed.
“Being in the draft last year was the
50 THE RED BULLETIN
F1 Esports Pro Series
Anyone can
apply: all you
need is a copy
of F1 2018 and
a console or PC
teammates online, only meeting up at
headquarters a few days before each
Pro Series event. All are supplied with
kit from official F1 Esports hardware
supplier Fanatec: a steering wheel with
realistic feedback that allows the drivers
to feel how the car’s behaving, and a set
of pedals with a pressure-sensitive loadcell
brake – these are so precise, the drivers
race in their socks.
Just as in actual Formula One itself,
Mercedes has dominated the Esports Pro
Series in recent years – its 20-year-old
British driver Brendon Leigh won both
the 2017 and 2018 championships – but
this has nothing to do with any technical
superiority. Teams are allowed to tweak
elements such as suspension set-up, brake
bias and aerodynamic settings, but
performance-wise the cars are identical.
All that sets them apart are the liveries.
“People who love Formula One as a
sport are crying out for something that’s
a bit more even, and that’s exactly where
F1 Esports fits in,” says Paul Jeal, F1
franchise director for Codemasters. “We
can make sure that all the equipment
and machinery is exactly the same, so
it’s literally a ‘Who is the best driver?’
competition.” The use of advanced
simulator controls doesn’t only deliver
a higher degree of precision, it makes
the sport instantly relatable, even to
those unfamiliar with esports.
And that’s what sets the F1 Esports
Pro Series – and racing esports in general
– apart from games such as Fortnite or
FIFA. Those two may offer larger prize
funds and draw the biggest crowds –
both in arenas and online – but watch
someone play FIFA competitively and
you won’t see the same patterns or
rhythms as the football you experience
with the Premier League. Likewise,
only the chemically enhanced would
recognise Fortnite’s technicolour world
as being anything like real life. But
watching these guys play F1 2018 is
remarkably close to the authentic
motor-racing experience, albeit with
only 25 per cent of the race distance
and none of the danger.
“You can’t compare MsDossary, the
world's best FIFA player, with Lionel
Messi,” says Matt Huxley, a former
professional Counter-Strike player and
Gfinity esports manager, and now a
lecturer at Staffordshire University's
Digital Institute London. “One is using
a controller, the other’s actually kicking
the ball. The advantage with racing
catalyst for getting to this point,” he
explains a few weeks later as he prepares
for Pro Series 1, the first event in the F1
Esports calendar. “I know it sounds weird
to most people, but I was treating esports
like a proper job – always practising and
doing league races at the highest level.”
Life has changed significantly for the
young Scot since his selection by the
SportPesa Racing Point team. Blakeley
has left home for a start, so rather than
spending five hours on the game every
night after school, his days are devoted to
practising with his two teammates. “You
wake up and it’s straight on the sim,” he
says. “Everything is about improving as
much as we can. We bounce off each
other like a domino effect of progress.”
This year’s F1 Esports Pro Series is the
first to feature all 10 Formula One teams
– débutantes Ferrari Driver Academy were
the last to join – but not all of them set up
their drivers under one roof; others
remain at home and practise with their
Clockwise from far left: the
Williams Esports team hang
out; the drivers rev their
engines in the shiny-floored
Gfinity Arena; Williams Esports’
Isaac Price in race mode
THE RED BULLETIN 51
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F1 Esports Pro Series
titles is that they emulate the inputs that
a professional driver is giving.”
It’s for this reason that a high
proportion of drivers on the esports grid
have a background in racing karts. Like
many others, Blakeley had to quit karting
due to spiralling costs, but he credits his
experience on the track for his success
in esports. “It has absolutely helped me,”
he says, citing general racecraft and a
knowledge of how to drive in wet weather
as two advantages he has over those
without a real-life racing background.
“The link between sim racing and real
life is without question. Every F1 team
has a simulator – how much further do
you need to look than that?”
Game-changers
Isaac Price was 15 when he had his
accident. A successful kart racer at
national level, the Brit would spend his
summer holidays travelling the country
to race. Then, one day, during a practice
lap, the steering column of his kart
shattered, pinning the throttle open
and sending him hurtling helplessly into
the wall at high speed. “It took 10-15
minutes to untangle me, because my
ankle got wrapped on the spring of the
brake,” he recalls. “I was airlifted to
hospital and they took a few hours to
put me back together.”
During his recovery from a broken
ankle, Price passed the time by taking
part in online races on the PC game
Live for Speed. That was 10 years ago,
and after competing at a high level
on leading motorsports simulation
iRacing and winning the game’s GT
World Championship in 2017, Price went
full-time, existing on savings from a job
in data entry and any winnings he could
bank from his victories online.
That same year saw the launch of
the F1 Esports Pro Series – a real gamechanger
for Price. “I wasn’t really playing
the [Codemasters] games at the time,
but if Formula One was getting behind
esports, it was inevitable that it would
become the pinnacle of sim racing,”
explains the 25-year-old. “That made my
decision for me.”
After making it to the finals of
McLaren’s World’s Fastest Gamer
competition in 2017, then a failed Pro
Draft appearance the following year,
Price raced at other events for Williams
Esports, putting himself in the driving
seat for a place in the team’s F1 Esports
line-up. “I’ve shown what I can do and
This could be the
first step to a
career in actual
motorsports
I fit into the dynamic that they already
had, so in that way it all made sense,”
he says after being selected. “As a team
I think we can be confident; we’ve got the
potential to do really well.”
Fast friends
Not all esports drivers have a karting
background to draw on, however: Floris
Wijers from the Netherlands has no
For Scottish 18-year-old Lucas Blakeley, the F1 Esports Pro Series
transformed an after-school gaming hobby into a full-blown career
experience in actual motorsports, but
began playing racing games when he
was just four years old.
Wijers bought his first proper steering
wheel in 2017 and, along with Blakeley,
failed to be drafted by an F1 Esports
team the following year, but the pair
quickly became friends and spent the
next 12 months racing together to
prepare for this July’s Pro Draft.
Balancing esports with college and an
internship in media broadcast operations,
20-year-old Wijers dedicates between
four and eight hours a day to sim racing
at home in Soest, near Utrecht. “Luckily
I don’t need a lot of sleep, so I practise
until midnight or 1am and just get up
late,” he says. Having performed well in
the qualifying events, beating first-pick
THE RED BULLETIN 53
F1 Esports Pro Series
In Baku, Rasmussen takes the chequered
flag for Red Bull Racing, with Naukkarinen
just three seconds behind. A thrilling
finish sees Tonizza’s Ferrari cross the line
neck-and-neck with Williams Esports’
Álvaro Carretón, only to have third place
gifted to him after the Spanish driver is
served a five-second penalty for speeding
in the pit lane.
A bird’s-eye view of the drivers in their cockpits. Note their shoeless feet.
You wouldn’t catch Max Verstappen doing that…
David ‘Tonzilla’ Tonizza in his heat,
Wijers was drafted by Haas. When the
season starts, though, he and Blakeley
will be rivals, not teammates.
Race night
On the day of Pro Series 1, Blakeley isn’t
where you’d expect him to be. Each event
consists of three races and he hasn’t been
picked by his team to compete in any of
them. “I was told a couple of days ago,”
he reveals as he watches his teammates
practise from the cinema-style seats at
the Gfinity Arena. “Obviously, as a driver,
it hits you hard: if you’re not disappointed
about not racing, you’re really not doing
it right. But I understand the decision,
and I know that I’ll be driving at some
point. I will get my time.”
At Williams Esports, Price is given the
go-ahead for the first two races, but his
teammate, 19-year-old Finnish driver Tino
Naukkarinen, will take over for the livestreamed
event that evening: 13 laps
of the Baku Street Circuit. This allows
Naukkarinen to focus on the one track.
Price only manages 17th on the Bahrain
circuit and 14th in China, attributing his
dearth of points to a poor qualifying
performance, a lack of confidence with
his rig, and bad luck – but he doesn’t feel
far off the pace. “There are drivers who
aren’t racing here, because they haven’t
outpaced other drivers in their team, so
in that sense it’s an achievement,” he
explains. “Last season, I was racing in
online leagues and competing with the
“People who love
F1 as a sport are
crying out for
something that’s
a bit more even”
guys who are winning races here, so there
is no reason why I can’t [win] as well.”
Unlike Price and Blakeley, Wijers starts
in all three Pro Series 1 races. But after
solid performances in both Bahrain and
China, finishing ninth in the former and
seventh in the latter, the Dutchman
experiences disappointment in Baku.
As Naukkarinen and Red Bull Racing’s
Frederik Rasmussen attempt to stop the
Italian Tonzilla from winning his third
race of the day, Wijers struggles to get
to grips with his medium tyres and
fights it out at the back of the pack with
Blakeley’s SportPesa Racing Point
teammate Daniele Haddad.
It’s on lap six that Wijers misjudges
turn 15, his contact with the wall forcing
an unscheduled early pit stop that costs
him dearly – he eventually finishes 18th.
It’s a disappointing end to Pro Series 1
for the Dutch driver. “I was happy with
those [earlier] results, but I could have
finished sixth or maybe even fifth in
China,” he says. “Hopefully this is the
only bad race we have.”
Eyes on the prize
With nine races left, including the grand
final on December 4, Blakeley, Price and
Wijers all have plenty of chances to put
aside their disappointment. (There’s also
the small matter of the inaugural Chinese
edition of F1 Esports Pro Series next year.)
For some of these drivers, this could
be just the first step to a career in actual
motorsports. Three members of the
current line-up – Brendon Leigh, McLaren
Shadow’s Enzo Bonito and Cem Bolukbasi
of Toro Rosso – have been handed the
keys to real-life racing cars off the back
of their esports performances. Bonito
even beat 2016/17 Formula E winner
Lucas di Grassi and 2012 IndyCar victor
Ryan Hunter-Reay at the Race of
Champions in January.
Current Toro Rosso Formula One
driver Pierre Gasly, who was also racing
that day, admits that he plays F1 games
between races to get into the rhythm
of the next track on the calendar. “One
of my friends, Jann Mardenborough,
who took part in the Gran Turismo [GT
Academy] programme with Nissan,
actually participated at Le Mans,” he says.
“It’s clearly possible to go from gaming
to real life, but it takes a lot of practice to
get on top of driving proper cars.”
They’re not the only ones who have
had a taste of the real thing: former
McLaren development driver Rudy van
Buren won the job through World’s
Fastest Gamer, while the winner of this
year’s competition will get a seat racing
Aston Martins for R-Motorsport at some
of the world’s most famous circuits.
But the ultimate reward for many of
the drivers is putting themselves in the
shop window. “Sim racing is fantastic,
don’t get me wrong,” says Blakeley. “But
if there was an opportunity in the future
to go from esports to real life, I’d take it
in a heartbeat.” You can only imagine the
tears he’d shed on hearing that news.
The F1 Esports Pro Series final will be
streamed live on December 4 from Gfinity
Arena to Facebook, YouTube and Twitch;
f1esports.com
54 THE RED BULLETIN
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When trap shook off its
illicit origins, becoming
the dominant force
in rap music, it needed
an aesthetic to match.
Meet the fresh young
photographer who takes
unfiltered images of the
scene’s biggest stars
Gunner Stahl
Shooting
from the hip
YOUNG THUG
The Atlantan is one of Stahl’s
“all-time favourite rappers”,
a pioneer for the new wave
of trap artists. Following six
acclaimed mixtapes, his
debut studio album So Much
Fun topped the US Billboard
200 chart this August
57
Jonathan Simmons earned the name by
which he’s best known – Gunner Stahl –
from a character in the classic ice-hockey
comedy movie The Mighty Ducks, released
in 1992, the year he was born. Eighteen
years later, he bought his first camera from
a friend at a party. Despite having failed
in his photography class, the Atlantan felt
compelled to capture his lifestyle on
camera at school, parties, concerts, and
in his local park. This would shape both
his life and the trap music scene rapidly
emerging in his US hometown at the time.
Trap – the strand of hip hop comprising
lyrics and melodies quickly sketched-out
over a canvas of rattling snares, hi-hats
and sub-bass 808 drums, then uploaded
immediately for streaming – has become
a dominant force in music. And 27-yearold
Stahl’s intimate portraits channel that
raw energy. From hanging out with rapper
Future and superproducer Metro Boomin
at Paris Fashion Week to shooting cult
icon Gucci Mane on tour, Stahl has carved
his niche capturing unfiltered snapshots
of trap’s biggest stars, his reputation
growing as their own stories evolve.
Stahl’s devotion to shooting on 35mm
film brings another dimension to his
sought-after aesthetic, making his work
even more unpredictable and of-themoment
in an ever-digitised world. But it’s
a medium he stumbled upon by accident:
while preparing to document Kanye West’s
Yeezus tour in Atlanta in 2013, Stahl’s
camera broke, and the replacement
provided by a friend turned out not to be
digital, necessitating a visit to the drugstore
to buy film. Stahl has since dismissed the
photos as “trash”, but he continued to
shoot with the camera and soon fell in
love with the rawness of the process.
It wasn’t until around 2014 that Stahl
stumbled into music portraiture. Many
of his friends were musicians, and he’d
even been made a member of local rap
collective Two-9 for just hanging out
with them in the studio. Stahl began
documenting their recording sessions and
collaborators: early shots on his Instagram
feed include one of Two-9’s DJ Osh Kosh
alongside fashion designer Virgil Abloh,
“If I’m not passionate
about the person,
I’m not shooting it”
as well as photos of a purple-haired Wiz
Khalifa when he dropped in to record
with the collective.
Stahl’s familiarity with the studio
setting, along with his relaxed, confident
persona, helps create an incredibly candid
view of rap culture. He isn’t intrusive of
the creative processes of those around
him, meaning that in return he’s afforded
the respect and freedom to do his thing.
Where celebrities are used to magazines
and album covers depicting them styled,
posed and retouched like dolls, Stahl’s
pictures provide a necessary disruption.
They feel closer to reality, offering fans
a glimpse of their favourite artists in
their natural habitats. “I only work off
relationships to get this look,” says Stahl.
“If I’m not passionate about the person,
I’m not shooting it.” But the credibility
of his work has inevitably transcended
his hometown heroes, granting him an
audience with global megastars including
Ed Sheeran, Drake, Kanye West, Kylie
Jenner, Post Malone, Miley Cyrus, Lana
Del Rey and even Adam Sandler.
Stahl’s habitat today tends to be hotels:
he lives the majority of his life moving
from place to place in search of the best
picture. This also gives him a deeper
empathy for his subjects and their lives on
the road. His portraits are shot between
studios, backstage areas, and temporary
accommodation, yet the images feel livedin.
One of his most iconic photos, the
cover of Playboi Carti’s self-titled 2017
mixtape, sees the fellow Atlanta native
slumped comfortably between two models
at a Los Angeles Airbnb.
Through his work, Stahl shares with
his viewers the access-all-areas pass he
has earned for himself, building his own
fanbase in the process. In 2017 he created
a capsule clothing collection for Puma,
and a gallery show entitled For You, Mom
– a tribute to his mother, who passed away
from breast cancer. Last month, Stahl
released Gunner Stahl: Portraits, a new
book packed with his favourite unseen
photos from the past three years, with
contributions from Swae Lee of trap duo
Rae Sremmurd, and celebrated ’90s rap
photographer Chi Modu. The book has
been showcased at galleries in three cities:
New York, Los Angeles and, of course,
Atlanta. But as his star has grown, Stahl,
like his photography, remains grounded.
“Be yourself,” he says. “People gravitate
more towards you being yourself.”
Gunner Stahl: Portraits (Abrams) is out
now; Instagram: @gunnerstahl.us
58 THE RED BULLETIN
PLAYBOI CARTI
“I love the eyes. Eyes tell the
whole picture,” says Stahl.
With this image, however,
the photographer proves
his ability to create an
intriguing moment by doing
the exact opposite. The eyes
of his subjects – rapper
Playboi Carti and model
Justine Mae Biticon – are
out of shot, which arouses
curiosity and stimulates
the imagination.
Gunner Stahl
LIL UZI VERT
Photographed at Rolling
Loud festival in New York
in 2016, the Philadelphia
native is best known for his
massive viral hit XO Tour
Llif3. “I’m in the backstage
area, waiting,” said Stahl of
the moment. “Next thing I
know, he’s walking through
security, We’ve hung out, so
I’m used to his personality.”
Gunner Stahl
AMINÉ
The Portland rapper
expresses himself as much
through the surreal humour
of his visuals and brightly
coloured aesthetic as he does
the reflective lyrics and selfdeprecating
punchlines in his
music. It’s unsurprising that
he’s developed a relationship
with Stahl, a self-confessed
fan of mumblecore comedies.
61
LIL BABY
AND GUNNA
The fastest growing artists
to emerge from Atlanta in
the past few years, the pair
maintain a strong work
ethic, individually releasing
multiple mixtapes each year,
as well as channelling their
natural chemistry into last
year’s mixtape Drip Harder.
62
LIL YACHTY
A recurring subject in
Stahl’s work. Atlanta’s selfdeclared
‘King Of Teens’
was a polarising figure
when he first emerged with
his bubblegum melodies
and whimsical lyrics, but
he’s doubled down on
pleasing his cult fanbase
and become a fashion icon
in the process.
Gunner Stahl
NIPSEY HUSSLE
The Los Angeles rapper,
entrepreneur and activist was
murdered outside his store,
The Marathon Clothing, in March
this year – a huge loss to his
family, friends and the global
hip-hop community. Stahl pays
tribute with some unseen
photographs from his archive.
64 THE RED BULLETIN
Gunner Stahl
PLAYBOI CARTI
After shooting the iconic
cover of his debut mixtape,
Stahl has continued to
document Playboi Carti’s
rise to prominence. Here,
the Magnolia rapper grabs
a moment backstage with
his mentor, A$AP Rocky.
65
The Arctic Cup
A housing estate looms
over fans on the
cliff overlooking the
Sisimiut pitch
Greenland’s one-week football season
Words TOM WARD
Photography BEN READ
67
Greenland has ambitions of stepping onto football’s
world stage, but with only three snow-free months
of play per year, the odds are stacked against it.
For one week, however, the players capable of making
that dream a reality gather in remote Sisimiut
to compete in the country’s only annual tournament.
Above: B-67 players gather in their customary pre-match huddle. Opposite: G-44 superfan Helga cheers on her beloved team from Qeqertarsuaq
68 THE RED BULLETIN
Greenlandic football
Forty kilometres above the Arctic Circle,
an important football match is taking
place. On a three-quarter-sized pitch in
the town of Sisimiut on the west coast of
Greenland, two teams – B-67 and N-48
– are competing for a place in the final
of the country’s national tournament,
Grønlandsbanken Final 6, held every year
since 1971 in the narrow snow-free window
between mid-June and late August.
The synthetic-grass pitch is horseshoed
by the 784m-high Nasaasaaq mountain
range and the town’s traditional brightly
coloured wooden houses that perch
haphazardly on outcrops of Greenlandic
bedrock. Fans watch from the Craggy
cliff overlooking the pitch, blasting air
horns. There are families with fold-out
chairs, drunken older fans chanting in
Greenlandic and Danish, a television
camera balanced precariously. Sled dogs,
chained to rocky outcrops outside nearby
houses, lend howls of support. To the
west, the waters of the Davis Strait can be
glimpsed. On a clear day, you’ll see the
spume of bowhead whales hunting for fish.
But today all attention is on the pitch.
B-67 – a team from the capital, Nuuk – are
seen as Greenland’s answer to Real Madrid,
having won the week-long national
championship 13 times. (Like many
teams in Greenland, B-67 are known by
an abbreviation of their full name, which
references the year they were formed:
Boldklubben af 1967.) With 10 victories,
N-48 (Nagdlunguak 1948), from the
western town of Ilulissat, are their nearest
rivals. Today’s match, then, is fraught
with historic bad blood. Should B-67 lose,
it’ll be the first time they have failed to
reach the final since 2009.
However, competing more than 320km
from home with a team of players mostly
Qeqertarsuaq
Qaqortoq
GREENLAND
Sisimiut
Nuuk
Ilulissat
Greenland is the world’s largest island
– at 2,166km 2 , it’s the size of the British
Isles, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and
Austria combined – with a population
of around 56,000. Eighty per cent of the
country is covered in the Greenland
Ice Sheet, and its northernmost point is
just 740km south of the North Pole.
THE RED BULLETIN 69
Greenlandic football
brought up from the under-19 team, B-67
are not expecting this match to be a
pushover; a local Facebook poll puts their
chances of winning at just 30 per cent. If
they crash out now, barring the thirdand
fourth-place play-off, their one-week
football season is over for another 365
days. When you inhabit the world’s least
densely populated landmass – one that’s
80 per cent covered in ice and gets
snowfall seven-and-a-half months a year
– footballing opportunities are slim.
For B-67, there are no snow-capped
mountains, no whales hunting in the
just-glimpsed sea, no howling sled dogs.
Nothing exists but the pitch, the ball
and the next 90 minutes.
Four days earlier, B-67 coach Jimmy
Holm Jensen gives The Red Bulletin the
official tour of the team’s makeshift HQ
in Sisimiut: a requisitioned elderly people’s
social club. “It smells like death,” he quips.
It’s hard to argue that there isn’t a certain
worn-in aroma of comfortable chairs, tea
and biscuits. For the next week, however,
this compact collection of rooms will be
home to 20 young players, plus Jensen
and assistant coach David Janussen.
Sleeping bodies still litter mattresses
in the makeshift dormitory as early risers
take part in a game of Olsen, a Nordic
card game also known as Crazy Eights.
Rap music plays in the background. The
hallway is littered with trainers and
football boots, the backyard strung with
drying football shirts, and the kitchen
transformed into an industrial-scale
pasta-making operation. Elsewhere in
this, Greenland’s second-largest city
(population: 5,524), other teams are
sequestered in sports halls that have the
look, if not the aura, of disaster relief
centres with mattresses and makeshift
beds crammed against the walls.
“We have fun, try to keep the energy
high,” explains 25-year-old team captain
Patrick Frederiksen as he moves between
the card players and those just beginning
to wake up, checking in with everyone.
“The music is always on. People are
having a lot of fun, singing and dancing.”
Arsenal supporter Frederiksen became
B-67 captain in 2018 and this tournament
is his first opportunity to prove himself.
“It’s really important – it’s like the World
Cup,” he says. “It’s our chance to show
Greenland that we have the best team
and work hard to reach our goals.”
Until recently, football was never the
main focus in Greenland. Thanks to the
all-encompassing winter season, the
window for outdoor matches is limited –
it’s difficult to play on a pitch covered in
a metre of snow, after all. Indoor sports
such as table tennis, badminton and
handball are popular alternatives, the
latter on a par with football in terms of
appeal. But the success of one particular
Nordic neighbour encouraged
Greenlandic footballers to dream big.
In 2014, Iceland reached the World
Cup playoffs for the first time (before
losing to Croatia). Two years later, the
Icelandic team reached its first major
tournament, UEFA Euro 2016, defeating
England 2-1 in the knockout phase and
When B-67’s
registered number
3 was injured,
his replacement
used tape to
change the shirt
number to 31
so he could play
70 THE RED BULLETIN
“Football connects
everybody
in Greenland”
Spectators watch the
match from their
high perch on the cliff
in Sisimiut
Greenlandic football
The B-67 players get pumped
up before a match by listening
to Greenlandic rock music.
Their makeshift headquarters
is normally used as a social
club for elderly people
73
Greenlandic football
B-67 players negotiate stubborn onlookers and children on bikes during their pre-match warm-up
“We have fun,
try to keep the
energy high”
facing France in the quarter-finals (then
losing by a respectable score of 5-2). And
in 2018 they became the smallest nation
ever to qualify for a World Cup tournament
(though they went out at the group stage).
Theirs isn’t a track record to worry the
majority of European teams, but Iceland’s
efforts showed Greenland’s players it was
possible for small, ice-besieged island
nations to compete on the world stage.
Greenland’s international football
dreams date back further – to at least
1999, when then national team manager
and former West Germany squad member
Sepp Piontek says he applied for UEFA
membership (the Danish Football
Association disputes this ever being done
officially). One barrier to Greenland’s
international recognition is its status
as an autonomous territory within the
Kingdom of Denmark. Another is its lack
of FIFA-compliant playing surfaces and
stadiums. But times are changing: in 2010,
FIFA president Sepp Blatter approved
Greenland’s first artificial-grass pitch, in
the town of Qaqortoq. Nuuk got one in
2015, and B-67 now share this full-sized
outdoor pitch with three local teams.
There are no stands – again, fans watch
matches from a rocky outcrop, and the
changing rooms are little more than
wooden shacks – but it’s a step-up from
the dirt pitch they previously played on.
Then, in 2016, Nuuk’s national stadium
was treated to some FIFA two-star
artificial turf – the highest-rated synthetic
surface for UEFA competitions.
Frederiksen is certain Greenland could
one day play in the World Cup. “It would
take some years, but I think we could
reach it,” he says. “Iceland inspired us.”
But while Iceland can boast new covered
pitches heated by geothermal currents
that facilitate year-round training,
Greenland has few warm geothermal
vents and no budget for covered pitches.
“Money is hard to find. FIFA has come to
Greenland a few times, and we also have
some companies that are helping.”
“There is a problem with funding,”
agrees Jensen, who played for B-67
as a kid before joining his family’s cardealership
business, and who this year
took over as the team’s new coach,
following the exit of his extremely
successful predecessor, Tekle Ghebrelul.
“We use 95 per cent of our funds for
travelling,” Jensen says. “It’s so expensive
to travel in Greenland. Right now, we’re
on a limited budget for food. We don’t get
paid, it’s just pure interest at heart.”
A lack of funds hampers Greenlandic
football at almost every turn. En route to
the tournament from east Greenland, one
74 THE RED BULLETIN
Former B-67 player
Hans Brummerstedt
before leaving
the sports hall that
has been his home
for a week
“We use 95 per
cent of our funds
on travelling”
Greenlandic football
Above, clockwise from top left:
the diminutive Man of the
Match trophy; an Ek’aluk-54
training top with the logo
of sponsor Faxe Kondi – a very
popular soft drink in Greenland;
the official corner flags failed
to arrive, so replacements were
made from yellow cloths and
metal broom handles bought in
a local hardware store; assistant
coach Janussen talks tactics
at B-67 HQ. Opposite: The
Sisimiut pitch, surrounded by
the rocky terrain that is almost
symbolic of Greenlandic towns
of B-67’s star players was stuck at an
airport without his ticket. With no money
to buy a replacement – and no roads
linking remote towns – the team had to
send him back home. Even when finally
assembled, B-67 became stranded at
Kangerlussuaq airport, the remote stopoff
between Nuuk and Sisimiut. After
calling all his contacts, including members
of the Greenlandic FA, Jensen eventually
secured passage for the team on a boat.
Six hours later, they arrived in Sisimiut
– had it been in service, the plane would
have had them there in 30 minutes. To
avoid extortionately priced internal flights,
another team, G-44 from Qeqertarsuaq –
an island town to the west – had to book
passage on a weekly ship circumnavigating
Greenland, which got them to Sisimiut
a gruelling 22 hours later.
Until Greenland earns the significant
investment needed to capture the attention
of the global football community, the
Grønlandsbanken Final 6 tournament is
the most important – and only – event on
the football calendar. “Outdoor football is
difficult as we don’t have more matches,
but there’s a lot of raw talent,” Jensen
says. “We had the Pan-American handball
tournament recently and it brought the
whole country together. We’re not used to
that; it’s always been this town against
this town. Sports can really unite us.”
Later, Lars Petersen, head secretary
of the Greenlandic Football Association,
offers his analysis via email. He believes
that despite the sport’s economic troubles,
Greenlandic football is on the up. “It’s
important to have this tournament,” he
says. “We’re working on [getting more
funding] but, in the meantime, this
tournament helps show football is
important and that there’s an audience
for it. We have ambitions to further
develop our tournament, and a proper
league with a first and second division.”
At 42, Jensen, youthful with just a streak
of grey in his hair, also has to contend
with a depleted team. When previous
coach Ghebrelul left, many of the older
players departed for greener pastures in
Denmark. “I don’t think it’s a problem
that people want to go to Denmark,” says
Jensen. “When we started the youth
department, one of our goals was that in
10-15 years we’d like a Greenlandic player
to be playing for one of the best Danish
clubs. If someone was successful there, it
would shine a light back on football here.”
Mikki Brønlund, B-67’s 25-year-old
left-winger, has first-hand experience of
Danish football. “A lot of us study there
and compare ourselves to Danish players,”
he says. “We are far better than them
technically, but it’s the football IQ that is
lacking, because we can only play inside
for the majority of the year.”
Faced with a depleted squad, Jensen
and assistant coach Janussen were forced
to dip into the under-19s. In many cases,
Jensen had to write to the school
principal to ask for special dispensation
so the teenagers could play in the
tournament. Yet he’s hopeful that some
of these newcomers will make their mark.
Before the match against N-48, Jensen,
THE RED BULLETIN 77
Greenlandic football
“We could reach
the World Cup.
Iceland inspired us”
Frederiksen and Janussen huddle around
a picnic bench in the garden. Beneath an
unexpectedly warm sun, they plan the
starting 11. Jensen enthuses about an
offensive midfielder, Kristian Evaldsen,
who is just 18. “He’s one solid muscle,”
says Jensen, grinning. “He kayaks in the
old Greenlandic way, and he’s very small
so he has this amazing centre of balance.
He’s so fast, he looks like a cartoon
character when he runs.”
Another player also earns a special
mention: a short, stocky figure with a
shaved head permanently ringed with
a Nike sweatband, 16-year-old Henning
Bajare has earned the nickname ‘Fat
Mbappé’ for his resemblance to the Paris
Saint-Germain striker. “He’s like a
bulldog,” Jensen laughs. “We put him on
in our first match and he was charging
around, then running over shouting for
‘Water! Water!’. He was exhausted,
because he isn’t used to playing matches
of this length.”
Despite the minuscule football season
and their relatively young years, none of
these players is a novice when it comes
to competitions: B-67 are renowned as
champions of futsal, the five-a-side
variant of football that was popularised
in South America and has become one
of Greenland’s most popular games
during winter. Played indoors, futsal is
more frantic and kinetic than ‘outdoor’
football; the fast, skilful passes of the
Brazilians and Argentinians owe a lot
to its influence.
“Futsal helps because it teaches us to
use faster passes, instead of dribbling,”
says Frederiksen. “A lot of younger
players aren’t so strong – they can’t
control the ball in the air without getting
pushed around by other players – so we
try to keep it on the ground.”
Planning completed, it’s time to head to
the pitch. There’s no bus, so B-67 walk,
Frederiksen hoisting a boombox onto his
shoulder as the team march past the
town’s ancient church and houses that
proudly display reindeer antlers outside –
mementos of last year’s hunting season.
The majority of B-67’s tournament
matches kick off at 5pm. In summer, it
doesn’t get dark in Greenland until after
11pm, but the games end in a strange
permanent semi-twilight. As we wait for
the match to start, an older man wanders
over and offers that “Greenlandic football
is better than English football. It is like a
community: everyone knows everyone”.
78 THE RED BULLETIN
He talks about his favourite UK teams,
Liverpool and Manchester United, before
offering the parting prediction that
“[Greenlandic players] could come to
Europe and win games”.
The B-67 players warm up outside the
caged pitch as another match takes place,
then pile into the changing room – two
goalposts pushed together with a tarp
over the top – at the final whistle and
await the start of their game. “I like
football, but I only watch it during the
tournament,” says a fan in his early
twenties as the players line up. “Football
is really popular in Greenland right now,
and more support means maybe our teams
Players from the triumphant
N-48 rush onto the pitch to
celebrate becoming the 2019
Greenlandic football champions.
Left: ‘Fat Mbappé’, aka 16-yearold
Henning Bajare, in action
will get better and we’ll get a chance at
some international tournament.”
The semi-final match is not one B-67
will want to remember. Five minutes in,
their keeper parries a free kick, but in the
resulting scramble N-48 score the first
goal. Later in the first half, the goalie is
forced into action again, charging down
a shot from an N-48 player who has
stormed into the B-67 box.
In the second half, B-67 make a
triple substitution. A short while later,
Frederiksen comes off with his arm
bleeding, having opened up an old
wound. He bandages it and runs back
on. With less than 30 minutes to go, it’s
clear B-67 aren’t dictating the game.
A third N-48 goal in the 88th minute and
a fourth in injury time seal B-67’s fate.
For the first time in a decade, they have
failed to qualify for the final.
The next day, N-48 go on to beat G-44
in the final by the only goal of the match.
For their final game, B-67 play IT-79
in the play-off, but, disheartened by
yesterday’s defeat, suffer an ignoble 2-0
defeat. Frustrated or victorious, for
the Greenlandic players the season is
over for another year.
Back in Nuuk two days after the final,
Jensen invites The Red Bulletin to his
home overlooking the fjord, where
icebergs float against the broken-tooth
backdrop of the 1,210m Sermitsiaq
mountain. As he cooks up reindeer steaks
on his barbecue, Jensen offers a balanced
analysis of the team’s performance.
“These younger players are good, but it
will take two to three years to get them
to where we want to be, playing the final
and hopefully dominating outdoor
football again,” he says. “It takes time.”
For now, the hunting season has just
begun, and coach and players alike are
looking forward to getting out into the
wilderness. The futsal season will follow,
then training for outdoor football will
start up once again in the spring. While
this young B-67 team have suffered shortterm
disappointment, the standard of
play in the Grønlandsbanken Final 6
tournament suggests that Greenlandic
football could hold its own on the
international stage, and maybe even
equal Iceland’s success one day.
Patrik Frederiksen has seen his fair
share of victories and defeats. While
the younger players lament what must
feel like a stolen opportunity, he offers
a more optimistic approach. Losing that
tournament may sting, but ultimately
Greenlandic football has been the victor;
with more eyes on the sport, it just might
receive more funding, and maybe the
fabled covered pitches that would allow
them to play year-round and raise a team
to rival anything Europe has to offer.
“Football is in development in
Greenland,” Frederiksen says. “It connects
everybody. The audience appreciates it
and encourages us to do better. We want
to show that even though we’re a little
nation with so few inhabitants, we can
play football at a high level.”
Thanks to Visit Greenland for its help;
visitgreenland.com
THE RED BULLETIN 79
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MOUNTAIN OF WORK?
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F R E E A S S E S S M E N T
Equipment
Your guide to gear born with purpose, engineered
to achieve, and built with style
PERFORM
Goggles of the
snow giants
Red Bull Spect Magnetron
The Red Bull logo is usually
reserved only for pros, but, like
Prometheus stealing fire from
the gods, this expert eyewear is
now within the grasp of mere
mortals. It’s named not after one
of the Transformers, but after
the magnetic interchangeable
lens system, which allows users
to quickly swap between a highcontrast
visor for bad weather
and a mirrored lens using one
hand, without even removing
the goggles. The visor provides
increased peripheral vision and
features anti-fog, anti-scratch
and guaranteed awesomeness.
redbullspecteyewear.com
Photography TIM KENT
THE RED BULLETIN 81
Equipment
REVIVE
Hammer your pain
Hypervolt Plus
In 2011, a year after founding
his sports therapy business,
Hyperice owner Anthony Katz
embarked on a unique publicity
campaign – turning up at
sporting events and trying out
his products on athletes. It’s a
technique that has earned him
the endorsement of some of
sport’s biggest names, from
Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud
and four-time World Cup ski
champion Lindsey Vonn, to NBA
legends Kobe Bryant and LeBron
James. Katz’s ideology is simple:
training is only part of the path
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is just as vital. His latest
invention is the epitome
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faster warm-ups and recovery
time. The Hypervolt Plus
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– ball, bullet, flathead, fork
and cushion – to treat every
muscle group, and offers 30
per cent more intensity than
its predecessor. Powerful,
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Mjölnir of massage guns.
hyperice.com
82 THE RED BULLETIN
Equipment
IMMERSE
Lost in music
Wireless on-ear headphones
Sound quality uncompromised by
portable convenience. From top:
Momentum Wireless by Sennheiser
(sennheiser.com) feature active
noise-cancelling (ANC) and
ambient hearing for listening to
your surroundings; Wireless
Concert One by Vonmählen
(vonmaehlen.com) take inspiration
from the superior sound of the
Elbphilharmonie concert hall in
Hamburg; Crusher ANC by
Skullcandy (skullcandy.co.uk) let
you customise sensory bass, and
come with ANC and personalised
set-up from the smartphone app;
TOUCHit by Danish design
company Sackit (sackit.eu) bring
ANC and a 22-hour battery to an
award-winning design; and the
A9/600 from Kygo (kygolife.com)
build on a reputation in sound that
has earned the Norwegian DJ
3.7 million Instagram followers.
THE RED BULLETIN 83
Equipment
GLIDE
Drivetrain
deconstructed
SRAM XX1 Eagle AXS
If the greatest invention was
the wheel, the drivetrain is a
close second – the mechanical
organs that deliver power from
your legs to said wheels. Now
that has been reinvented. The
12-speed XX1 Eagle AXS uses
electronic shifting, wirelessly
connecting the handlebars to
the drivetrain flawlessly. After
micro-adjusting the chainline
trim on first set-up and waking
up the moment you grab your
bike, just a tap of the handlebar
paddles shifts gears; keeping
your thumb pressed cycles
effortlessly through the gears.
It’s all the work of an 80,000
RPM motor coupled to
a miniature gearbox inside the
derailleur, plus two clutches:
one for regular shifting and
another that reacts on impact
– disengaging the gearbox to
let the derailleur move freely
and intelligently re-engaging
it afterwards. This isn’t a
drivetrain, it’s a goddamn gearshifting
robot. sram.com
84 THE RED BULLETIN
Equipment
WEAR
Walking on
thick ice
Danner Arctic 600
Side-Zip
Charles Danner first made
footwear for loggers in the
wilds of America’s Pacific
Northwest almost a century
ago, when durability, comfort
and warmth weren’t just
a requirement, they were a
survival necessity. These boots
are overkill even by those
standards. Made from durable
suede, they’re 100 per cent
waterproof with a Vibram
rubber sole moulded from an
Arctic Grip compound that
delivers the most advanced
traction on ice and frost.
Heavily insulated with Primaloft
Gold thermal microfibre and
comfort-lined with a removable
Ortholite insole, there’s also a
side zip for easy removal
without unlacing. Something US
pioneers Lewis and Clark never
had in their day. danner.com
THE RED BULLETIN 85
Equipment
CAPTURE
Camera evolved
iPhone 11 Pro
In 1822, French inventor Nicéphore
Niépce captured the world’s first
permanent photograph on glass
coated with bitumen. Things have
come a long way. This, the most
powerful smartphone yet, shoots
nine images each time, using three
12MP lenses (wide, ultra-wide and
telephoto). Eight are taken before
you even press the shutter button,
followed by one long exposure.
The iPhone 11 Pro then fuses the
photos, sifting through 24 million
pixels for an optimal image. It is, in
effect, the first machine-learning
camera in a phone. apple.com
86 THE RED BULLETIN
THE RED BULLETIN PROMOTION
SKULLCANDY CRUSHER ANC
BEYOND
THE BASS
Three premium features combine
to create more immersive –
and personalised – audio than
you’ve ever heard before
I
n 1910, an engineer in
Utah named Nathaniel
Baldwin invented
headphones to help him
better hear Mormon
sermons. More than a
century later, Skullcandy
is reinventing headphones
in Utah, but the only religion
is Supreme Sound.
Skullcandy’s flagship
Crusher ANC headphones
are the first in the world to
mix adjustable haptic bass
with active noise cancellation
and personalised sound
calibration, delivering the
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experience yet.
It all starts with the
Skullcandy app, which allows
Crusher ANC owners to take
a three-minute audio test.
The immediate results create
a unique Personal Sound
profile that is stored in the
headphones so that music
or other audio from any
device is custom-tuned to
the owner’s hearing.
“Time and volume take
a toll on everyone’s ears,
which means everyone’s
hearing is unique,” says
Jason Luthman, head of
product development at
Skullcandy. “And it doesn’t
matter how perfect your
music is if you can’t hear
all of it. That’s why
Skullcandy’s Personal Sound
is so revolutionary.”
Skullcandy also improved its
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it’s three state-of-the-art
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In other words, the sound
is greater than its parts.
£249.99; available now at
skullcandy.co.uk
The headphones are
available in black and
deep red (pictured)
THE RED BULLETIN 87
Snow wear
Deep
cover
Chopped up or chokable,
packed or pow-pow fresh –
however you like your snow,
here’s the essential gear
you need to cruise or carve
through it. Winter really
is coming. Meet it head-on
Photography DAVID CLERIHEW
Snow wear
HELLY HANSEN North
Sea Ridgeline beanie,
hellyhansen.com;
OAKLEY Clifden
sunglasses, oakley.com;
BURTON Frostner
jacket and Backtrack
gloves, burton.com;
OAKLEY Alpine Shell
3L Gore-Tex pants,
oakley.com; HAGLÖFS
Skrå 27 backpack,
haglofs.com; RIDE
Warpig snowboard
and Revolt bindings,
ridesnowboards.com
89
Snow wear
Snow wear
Opposite page:
MARKER Convoy+
helmet, marker.net;
OAKLEY Fall Line
XM Factory Pilot
Whiteout snow
goggles, oakley.com;
VOLCOM Fern
insulated Gore-Tex
Pullover jacket,
volcom.co.uk; DAKINE
Jamie Anderson
Women’s Team Heli
Pro 20L backpack,
dakine.com
This page:
HELLY HANSEN
Ridgeline beanie,
hellyhansen.com;
ZEAL OPTICS Portal
XL goggles, zealoptics.
com; FRISKI The Flo
2.0 technical riding
hoodie, friskiwear.
com; THE NORTH FACE
Purist Futurelight
jacket, thenorthface.
co.uk; JACK
WOLFSKIN Exolight
Mountain pants, jackwolfskin.com;
SCOTT
Celeste III boots,
scott-sports.com;
BURTON Free Range
gloves, burton.com;
VÖLKL Secret Flat
skis, voelkl.com
THE RED BULLETIN 91
Snow wear
This page:
OAKLEY MOD1 helmet
and Fall Line XL snow
goggles, oakley.com;
SKULLCANDY Vert
Clip-Anywhere
wireless earbuds,
skullcandy.co.uk;
PROTEST Gutter Camo
jacket, protest.eu;
VOLCOM Guch Stretch
Gore-Tex pants,
volcom.co.uk; THE
NORTH FACE Patrol
Steep Series gloves,
thenorthface.co.uk;
SCOTT Scrapper 105
skis, scott-sports.com
Opposite page:
MARKER Convoy+
helmet, marker.net;
SWEET PROTECTION
Interstellar goggles,
sweetprotection.com;
HAGLÖFS Edge Evo
Kurbits unisex anorak,
haglofs.com; SCOTT
Explorair 3L pants,
scott-sports.com;
THE NORTH FACE
Thermoball mitts,
thenorthface.co.uk;
OSPREY Kamber
16 backpack,
ospreyeurope.com;
LINE Pin ski poles,
lineskis.com;
K2 Mindbender
88 Ti Alliance skis,
k2snow.com
92 THE RED BULLETIN
Snow wear
Snow wear
Snow wear
Opposite page:
SCOTT Track
Plus helmet and
Vapor goggles,
scott-sports.com;
WEARCOLOUR
Wear anorak,
wearcolour.com;
HELLY HANSEN
Sogn cargo pants,
hellyhansen.com;
QUIKSILVER Travis
Rice Natural
Gore-Tex gloves,
quiksilver.co.uk;
VÖLKL Revolt 121
skis, voelkl.com
This page:
PROTEST Girlfriend
beanie, protest.eu;
FRISKI The Flo
2.0 technical riding
hoodie, friskiwear.com;
JACK WOLFSKIN
Exolight pants,
jack-wolfskin.com;
SCOTT Celeste III boots,
scott-sports.com;
BURTON Free Range
gloves, burton.com;
VÖLKL Secret Flat skis,
voelkl.com
Hair and make-up:
SUSANA MOTA
Models: CONNAGH
HOWARD, ANNA
SALOMAA @ W Model
Management
Photographer’s
assistants: CHRIS
PARSONS,
LISA BENNETT
THE RED BULLETIN 95
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guide
Get it. Do it. See it.
RACE FOR LIFE
You may view it as
merely a video game,
but Mario Kart is
deeper than that
PAGE 105
FITNESS COALS
Ultrarunner Christian
Schiester has a unique
way of sweating it out
during training
PAGE 106
DATE OVERLOAD
Unmissable events,
from Spartan racing to
an immersive Stranger
Things experience
PAGE 109
SCOTT DICKERSON
CHILL WAVE
Crumbling icebergs
hold no fear for surfer
Kyle Hofseth – they're
all part of the thrill of
catching waves in the
frozen waters of Alaska
PAGE 100
THE RED BULLETIN 99
G U I D E
Do it
Watching icebergs is essential for glacier surfing – it’s how you predict the size of the resulting waves
GLACIER SURFING
BREAKING THE
ICE IN ALASKA
Most people take shelter when they witness a massive
glacier calving – but surfers in Alaska approach them.
Kyle Hofseth explores the last frontier of the surf world
Adeafening growl, an
explosion of raw energy.
I’ve got to catch this one
wave. Nothing else matters. I’ve
been fighting hypothermia all
day, but none of the ice lingers in
me now – I’ve never moved faster.
Deep in the throat of this fjord is
a massive, groaning glacier. Many
metres of flaking ice rise vertically
above the seawater, and a frozen,
house-sized monolith has just
broken free, creating the moment
I’ve been waiting for.
I frantically paddle on what
feels like a kamikaze mission to
Passionate surfer and travel writer Kyle Hofseth
100 THE RED BULLETIN
Alaska
TRAVEL TIPS
THE LAST FRONTIER
Kyle Hofseth reveals why Alaska is the
ultimate hotspot for adventurous surfers,
and why the place requires a slightly
different packing list
Alaska has almost
55,000km of tidal
shoreline. The best surf
occurs during spring (April)
and autumn (September)
As the glacier calves, ice drops into the water and waves form below the frozen cliff
ALASKA
USA
Canada
Anchorage
Homer
Kenai Fjords
SCOTT DICKERSON, GETTY IMAGES (MAP)
On their trip on the M/V Milo in 2017, Hofseth and Dickerson explored the Kenai Fjords
meet the result of this explosion:
a perfectly shaped, ice-filled wave.
Turning my board as it crests,
I feel my fins catch on chunks
of ice, and I pull hard through
golfball-sized shrapnel as the
wave picks me up for the ride of
my life. Nothing about this wave
is normal – and the adrenalin it
creates is off the charts. I surf it
for 100m as it peels down a gravel
bar before surging onto shore.
My mind is blown.
This monster of a glacier in
Alaska’s Kenai Fjords is so large
it creates its own weather, and
it straddles the Kenai mountain
range. But in this isolated place
the glacier’s silent majesty seems
reserved for me alone. Except I’m
I’m given a helmet
and told, “Bring
a board you don’t
mind destroying”
not here on my own. I pull down
my wetsuit hood and hear Scott
Dickerson shouting to me from
the nearby skiff, saying he got
a great shot of my ride.
Dickerson runs Surf Alaska
and captains the M/V Milo, an
exploration vessel converted from
an almost 18m fishing boat.
Operating out of the coastal city
of Homer, centrally located in the
EXPLORE
HOME BASE
Scott Dickerson’s travel agency, Ocean Swell Ventures,
has its base in Homer, a picturesque fishing town with
around 5,700 residents. From the harbour, glaciers can
be seen clinging to the Kenai Mountains across the bay.
THE TRIP
From its dock in the bay, the M/V Milo has access to the
Gulf of Alaska, the Kenai Fjords and the Aleutian Islands,
which stretch out towards Russia. The coastline is
rugged; the shorelines are home to bears and moose.
Orcas, humpback whales and otters are frequently
spotted among the islands and channels.
SURFING GLACIERS
FOUR TIPS FOR TAKING ON THE ICE WAVES
1. Bring a deep coffinstyle
board bag. You will
need it on the beach. Climb
inside with a thermos of
coffee and a warm water
bottle to warm up
between waves.
2. A motorcycle
helmet isn’t a bad idea.
Bring something to protect
your head – there’s a lot
of ice in the water.
3. Speaking of ice in the
water, I dinged all of my
boards. Consider bringing
something older that’s
seen some wear and tear.
4. Get a wetsuit that’s
at least 5mm. I’d highly
recommend 7mm booties
and 7mm mittens, too.
The water was 1°C, and the
icy wind chill coming off
the glacier was brutal.
THE RED BULLETIN 101
G U I D E
Do it
Alaska
SHIP AHOY
WAVE HUNTING
ON THE MILO
The M/V Milo, a retired 1966
commercial salmon-fishing boat with
a diesel engine, was converted into
an exploration vessel by a couple of
surf-crazed Alaskans in 2009
Length
17.68m
Main engine
380hp
Crew
Five or six passengers,
one skipper
SPECIFICATIONS
Staterooms
Two
Equipment
4m RIB (inflatable boat),
fishing gear
Cruising speed
Eight knots
Catch of the day: on the M/V Milo, you source your own dinner – Alaskan halibut
ROCK THE BOAT
BELOW DECK
Dedicated wetsuit removal and drying room in the
converted fish-hold. Sleep in surf-themed state rooms
below the water line in the hull. Join the captain or crew
for a midnight wheel watch in the top house, and watch
a summer sunset become a sunrise in just 30 minutes.
ON DECK
Enjoy the outdoor hot shower. Place the handheld shower
head in your wetsuit, lay on the deck and fill up. Soon you
will have a personal hot tub – perfect for recovering from
a surf session in icy waters. And bring a fishing rod with
heavy line – it’s not uncommon to catch 50kg halibut.
Trips are often a week long, so the M/V Milo’s chest
freezers are stocked with local game and vegetables
crook of the Gulf of Alaska,
Dickerson has spent more time
exploring, documenting, guiding
and photographing the vastly
uncharted surf potential of North
America’s largest coastline than
anyone else on earth. I’ve seen
his photos of adventurers surfing
all manner of waves against a
backdrop of stunning mountains,
crystalline blue ice and epic
Alaskan ruggedness.
His trips have an element of
raw exploration that it’s simply
impossible to find in crowded,
established surf spots. And today’s
more than most: it’s Dickerson’s
first with the sole intention of
paddle-surfing glacier waves; that
is, waves created solely by the
ice fall from this glacier. This is
no joke, as became clear on the
very first night I showed up in
Alaska, when Dickerson handed
me an old motorcycle helmet
as protection against flying ice
chunks. His instructions? “Bring
a board you don’t mind destroying
– this trip is going to have icebergs
in the line-up.”
If there are waves, we’re going
to surf them, whether or not
body-sized chunks of glacier are
flying overhead in a barrel or have
to be dodged with a carefully
timed duck-dive. To add to the
uncertainty of this expedition,
there’s no mobile phone reception
out in the wilds of Alaska, often
no villages for hundreds of
kilometres, and so not much in
terms of a safety net.
It becomes critical to predict
when and where along the glacier
face the ice will fall, and how much
will be falling at once: a housesized
mass of ice can create a 2m
surfable wave. But we must keep
an eye out for signs of larger
sections readying themselves to
fall… and be ready to make a
swift exit. Our week on the M/V
Milo consists of these unique surf
sessions and plenty of fat and
protein-heavy meals (butter,
bacon, freshly caught fish) to
replace what our bodies are
tearing through in the 1°C water.
Sleep is short; the Alaskan
summer light beckons us to
explore, paddle the fjord and all
it has to offer. We surf through
ice-filled grey waves on the back
of the release of ancient energy
from this frozen giant, and it fills
us with a true sense of adventure,
and of survival.
To explore the wild coastline of
Alaska aboard the M/V Milo, go to
oceanswellventures.com
SCOTT DICKERSON
102 THE RED BULLETIN
ALPHATAURI.COM
G U I D E
Do it
Gaming
NINTENDO TOM GUISE
Nintendo’s Shigeru
Miyamoto, creator of
legendary games series
such as Mario and The Legend
of Zelda, employs a philosophy
when making games, known in
his homeland of Japan as kyokan
– an empathic experience
between the developer and the
player that translates as ‘feelone’.
“As long as I can enjoy
something, other people can
enjoy it,” he says.
When Miyamoto created
Super Mario Kart for the Super
Nintendo Entertainment System
in 1992, the kyokan was strong.
Putting the moustachioed mascot
(and his friends and frenemies)
into go-karts spawned the kartracing
genre – franchise
characters speeding across
cartoon landscapes collecting
and unleashing power-ups. Much
copied, but never bettered (see
Crash Team Racing or the
horrendous Garfield Kart), the
Mario Kart series has remained
among the most popular games
in the 27 years since its inception,
with its latest iteration, Mario
Kart Tour, released on mobile
recently. But what is it about the
game that resonates so strongly
with players? We asked gaming
psychologist Jamie Madigan…
CHARACTER BUILDING
What does your Mario Kart character of
choice say about you? In a 2016 article
in Portland newspaper Willamette Week,
therapist and psychology professor
Dr Karen Chenier postulated that players
chose characters based on relatable
traits: Luigi is shy and neurotic,
Yoshi the dinosaur a clown, Bowser
a narcissist. Miyamoto has said he
considers Mario a “blue-collar hero”.
For Madigan, it’s simpler: “People
likely pick the character that offers
the mechanics they want, or the one
whose design is most appealing.”
POWER-UPS ARE TOTEMS
Likewise, could the power-ups have
deeper significance than mere in-game
artefacts? Perhaps a banana skin
symbolises bad luck, the homing red
shell maliciousness, a speed-boosting
mushroom vigour, and the invincibilitygranting
star confidence. This is
somewhat borne out by Mario Kart 8
director Kosuke Yabuki’s philosophy
on the controversial blue shell, which
Pushing buttons: your
Mario Kart character of
choice could say a lot
about your personality
MARIO KART ZEN
THE CIRCUIT OF LIFE
Playing Mario Kart might make you a better driver. And a better person, too…
only takes out the player in first place.
“Sometimes life isn’t fair and that’s
frustrating,” he said on the game’s
Switch release in 2017. “But when we
tried the game without the blue shell,
it felt like something was missing.”
OPTIMISM BOOST
Good video games encourage a player
to keep going with the feeling that they
always stand a chance. With Mario Kart,
that incentive system is called rubberbanding.
Power-ups are graded to help
players in different positions: those at
the back get speed boosts, in the middle
they get weapons, and the person at the
front gets a measly banana skin to drop.
“Games such as Mario Kart encourage
feelings of competence and mastery,”
EXPERT
PROFILE
JAMIE
MADIGAN
GAMES PSYCHOLOGIST
The author of Getting
Gamers: The Psychology
of Video Games and
Their Impact on the
People Who Play
Them also has a podcast
series and blog at
psychologyofgames.com
that examine the
motives behind player
behaviour and why
games are made.
says Madigan. “Rubber-banding ensures
victory – or at least improvement – is
always within grasp.”
IMPROVED MOTOR SKILLS
Perhaps literally, as in driving capability.
In 2016, university researchers in
Shanghai and Hong Kong subjected
players to sessions of Mario Kart and
Roller Coaster Tycoon (an amusementpark
creation game) and found that the
former group demonstrated “improved
visuomotor skills” (the coordination
between the eyes and hand movements).
Madigan is cautiously optimistic:
“Playing Mario Kart might help you on
a driving simulation, but I’m not aware
that it’s shown to improve ability in
driving an actual car.”
EVERYTHING IS AWESOME
At least if you play Mario Kart regularly.
A study by researchers at the University
of Queensland found that participants
forced to take maths tests until they
failed, followed by two rounds of Mario
Kart, demonstrated lower comparable
stress levels and increased happiness
after the latter, more so than if they’d
won the race. “Any enjoyable activity can
reduce stress and elevate mood, but
video games have an edge because they
give a sense of progression, mastery and
control,” says Madigan. “They satisfy
basic psychological needs that other
parts of life typically don’t.”
THE RED BULLETIN 105
G U I D E
Do it
Fitness
At the age of 20, Schiester was a heavy smoker and drinker, but on his doctor’s advice
he turned his life around. Within two years, he had run the New York Marathon
MENTAL TRAINING
FULL STEAM
AHEAD
Christian Schiester is one of the world’s top ultrarunners.
His secret to beating the Sahara Desert? A trip to the sauna
Heading to the sauna after
working out is wonderful:
muscles relax, the circulation
gets going, thoughts melt away.
But what if the sauna becomes
the gym? That’s the reality for
Christian Schiester. Whenever the
Austrian ultrarunner was training
for his desert runs, he would put
a treadmill or exercise bike in the
wooden shack, heat it to 60°C,
then reel off the kilometres for the
next three hours. “I’d drink up to
15 litres of water and make sure I
was never in the sauna alone – you
never know what might happen,”
the 52-year-old explains. But
then, he was already supremely
fit thanks to a disciplined training
schedule. “I trained in the sauna to
simulate in my mind the conditions
in the desert,” he reveals.
And it worked: as he ran over
the dunes in the 2003 Marathon
des Sables – a six-day race across
the Sahara – the thermometer on
his watch showed 60°C. “I felt
absolutely awful,” he recalls. But
suddenly he heard his inner voice
saying to him, “Don’t be like that,
Schiester. You can do it. It was this
hot in the sauna, too, remember?”
The dip in motivation was
suddenly behind him and he
crossed the finishing line in 12th
place, having run more than
250km through the desert.
christian-schiester.com
“I would drink
up to 15 litres
of water and
make sure I was
never in the
sauna alone”
Christian Schiester,
Red Bull ultrarunner
KNOW-HOW
MIND OVER
MATTER
Faster, higher,
further? Here’s how
your mind can help
urge your body on
to high-level
performance
TALK TO YOURSELF
Organise and control your
thoughts both before and
during crunch time. Anyone
who puts their inner voice to
good use – by, for example,
deploying positive key words
– has a better chance of
achieving peak performance.
SET GOALS
Forget the bigger picture for
a moment. Focus instead
on important individual
elements that you’ve already
mastered. This will boost
your confidence.
VISUALISE
Picture – in the most vivid
way possible – completing
each individual part of the
challenge ahead. The more
authentically you can
visualise it, the better
prepared you’ll be if
the going gets tough.
Schiester’s motto: “Punish your body before it punishes you!”
PHILIP PLATZER/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, HARALD TAUDERER/RED BULL CONTENT POOL FLORIAN STURM
106 THE RED BULLETIN
THE RED BULLETIN PROMOTION
URBANISTA ATHENS
TRAIN
WITHOUT
LIMITS
Meet the company that
has designed next-level
headphones to accompany
your workout, no matter
what your sport
Urbanista Atlas true
wireless headphones:
tailor-made for sport
I
t’s true what they say: music does
push you that extra mile in your
workout – it allows you to focus, to
keep to a beat, and it distracts you
from the pain involved in smashing
that new personal record. It’s the
ultimate workout companion.
With its new Athens headphones,
Urbanista has ensured you can
train without limits – these true
wireless sport headphones were
created for those looking to hit
the gym, track or trails, and take
their workout to the next level.
Wireless freedom
IP67 rated, Athens headphones are
fully waterproof, meaning you can
take full advantage of whatever
wet conditions you put yourself in,
without interruption to the music
that keeps you focused.
Sound that pushes
you that extra mile
Athens headphones’ in-ear bud
design provides maximum comfort
and sound isolation. With a bassorientated
sound designed
specifically for sport, they provide
an audio experience that will drive
you on to reach your targets.
Convenient and stylish
The headphones come with a stylish
case that provides three additional
full charges, each lasting up to
eight hours, providing an incredible
32 hours of total playing time.
The case itself can be quickly and
easily charged with the included
USB-C cable.
Stay connected
A Bluetooth 5.0 connection to
your iOS or Android device
allows you to access your voicecontrol
assistant at the touch
of a button, while the built-in
microphone lets you make and
receive phone calls in stereo,
adjust the volume, and play,
stop and skip tracks. Want to
listen in to the outside world
temporarily? Athens offers the
freedom to use the left or right
earbud independently while
still being able to make and
receive calls with the built-in
microphone in each.
€129, urbanista.com
THE RED BULLETIN 107
1 YEAR
getredbulletin.com
£20
BEYOND THE ORDINARY
The next issue is out on Tuesday 12th November with London Evening Standard.
Also available across the UK at airports, gyms, hotels, universities and selected retail stores.
Read more at theredbulletin.com
AARON BLATT / RED BULL CONTENT POOL
G U I D E
Do it
13
November
SECRET CINEMA PRESENTS STRANGER THINGS
Didn’t get enough horror at Hallowe’en? The best is yet to come. What
better subject for Secret Cinema – the immersive theatre company
that has transformed blockbusters including Alien, Back to the Future,
Ghostbusters and The Empire Strikes Back into real-world experiences
– than the hit Netflix supernatural sci-fi drama that pays homage to the
movies of the ’80s? Details are top secret, as is the exact location, but
expect a trip to the US Midwestern town of Hawkins; encounters with
characters such as Hopper, Joyce, Dustin, Mike, Lucas and Eleven; and
a trip to the alternate dimension of the Upside Down. November tickets
are already sold out, so you’ll need to move faster than the Demogorgon
to get your fix. Until February; secret location, London; secretcinema.org
Flayers gonna flay:
join Eleven, Max
and co in Hawkins
Nov/Dec/Jan
11
January
Hatsune Miku
Expo 2020
Hatsune Miku, who kicks off her European tour with
this London gig, is a music sensation in her native
Japan. Which is impressive when you consider she’s
not real. This virtual teen pop star (her name means
‘future sound’) is actually a voice bank of Japanese
phonemes (phonetic word parts) spoken by actress
Saki Fujita and channelled though a Vocaloid voice
synthesiser. Anyone with the software can play her
utterances through a music keyboard – Lady Gaga
chose Miku as the opening act on her 2014 artRAVE:
the ARTPOP Ball tour, and Pharrell remixed Last
Night, Good Night, her song with Japanese electro
band Livetune. Miku will be appearing on stage as
a 3D anime projection, accompanied by a live band.
O2 Academy Brixton, London; mikuexpo.com
Virtual insanity:
Hatsune Miku live
ALAMY
12 8
November
Touching the
Void
In 1985, Brits Joe Simpson and
Simon Yates survived a near-fatal
climb of the 6,344m-high Siula
Grande in the Peruvian Andes.
Simpson detailed the ordeal in
his 1988 book Touching the Void,
which became a documentary in
2003. And now it’s a play, directed
by War Horse’s Tom Morris and
using an ingenious moving stage
to simulate the mountain faces.
Simpson recounts his experiences
in our next issue. Until 29 Feb;
Duke of York’s Theatre, London;
thedukeofyorks.com
23
November
Spartan Stadion
the only event was the Stadion, a
sprint so epic that the arena was
named after it (this later became
then, that the Spartan – the
present-day race inspired by the
strongest of the Ancient Greeks –
At the very first Olympics in 776AD,
the Latin ‘stadium’). It’s only fitting,
should honour this competition at a
series of modern ‘stadions’. This
5km race at Twickenham features
20 obstacles including winding
corridors and a clamber up the
stadium’s stairs. Twickenham
Stadium, London; spartanrace.uk
December
UVA: Other
Spaces
The art collective United Visual
Artists merges traditional media
such as painting and sculpture with
audio-visual technology to challenge
perceptions. In other words, get
ready for some mad shit. This
installation in an iconic Brutalist
building delivers such dizzying
delights as mechanical lights
dancing to the music of Mira Calix,
and the animal recordings of
‘bioacoustician’ Bernie Krause as
spectrograms. 180 The Strand,
London; 180thestrand.com
THE RED BULLETIN 109
G U I D E
See it
November/December
Off the rails: Finnish
freeskier Antti Ollila
A WORLD
WITHOUT
LIMITS
Skiing as a state of mind;
the wildest of mountain
bike rides; all-areas access
to the stars of enduro –
you’ll find all this and more
on Red Bull TV this winter…
WATCH
RED BULL TV
ANYWHERE
Red Bull TV is a global digital
entertainment destination
featuring programming that
is beyond the ordinary and is
available anytime, anywhere.
Go online at redbull.tv,
download the app, or
connect via your Smart TV.
To find out more,
visit redbull.tv
25
November FILM
THE COLLECTIVE
Shot on location across the world, this film transports the
viewer from the peaks of the Bernese Alps to the deep snow
of Hakuba, Japan, to the winding Powder Highway of British
Columbia, Canada. Filmmakers and top freeskiers including
Will Berman, Cody Cirillo, Caroline Claire, Mac Forehand,
Mathilde Gremaud, Alex Hall and Sarah Höfflin join forces to
explore the individual goals – but common purpose – of this
diverse group. The message: skiing is collective.
12
November ON DEMAND
ROB WARNER’S
WILD RIDES
Former MTB World Cup winner and commentator
Rob Warner joins the world’s best riders in search
of virgin terrain where they can test their limits.
Be warned: mountain biking is about to get wild.
4December ON DEMAND
WESS DIARIES:
SEASON FINALE
This year’s World Enduro Super Series came to a
close at the famous Getzenrodeo. Go behind the
scenes in Drebach, Germany, and meet the elite
riders who made the 2019 season so unmissable.
STEPHAN SUTTO, LUKAS PILZ/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, FUTURE7MEDIA/RED BULL CONTENT POOL
110 THE RED BULLETIN
Our exclusive seamless liner
makes the S/PRO the most
comfortable boot ever.
Ski
Switzerland
Where adventure
is a lifestyle
DAVID BIRRI
THE RED BULLETIN PROMOTION
Slope and glory:
the picturesque ski
resort of Adelboden-Lenk
has more than 200km of
pistes and hosts the
annual FIS Ski World Cup
113
01 Arosa
Lenzerheide
The ski area of Arosa Lenzerheide comprises two
resorts linked by the Urdenbahn – a cable car that was
installed in 2014, creating a whole new world of winter
opportunities. Skiers can now get from the Hörnli in
Arosa to the Urdenfürggli in Lenzerheide via a fiveminute
ride over the Urdental valley. Together, the
resorts offer 225km of stunning ski runs. The views
from the Weisshorn peak in Arosa are remarkable,
while the 360° panoramas from the top of the
Parpaner Rothorn in Lenzerheide look out over more
than 1,000 Alpine summits. Arosa Lenzerheide boasts
an enviable number of sunny days, too, and Swiss
tennis ace Roger Federer even has a chalet in the
hamlet of Valbella on the outskirts of Lenzerheide.
Switzerland is a country
covered in mountains.
The Swiss Alps make up
a remarkable 65 per cent
(26,835 sq km) of the
nation. Not the worst
ratio for adventure, we
think you’ll agree.
Skiing and snowboarding
Where steep means steep
Thanks to Arosa Lenzerheide’s
225km of pistes, there’s a little
bit of everything here. For
beginners, there are wide pistes
and rolling hills aplenty; for
those who prefer to spend their
holiday up in the air, or jibbing
boxes and rails, there are four
terrain parks spread across the
resort; and experts can enjoy an
impressive 28km of pisted black
terrain. The crown jewel of all
this is the Silvano Beltrametti
World Cup slope. Starting at the
Mottahütte and ending in the
village of Parpan, it measures
2.45km, dropping 727m in the
process. With an average
gradient of 31 per cent – and
slanting by as much as 65 per
cent at points – the thigh-burner
is one of the steepest courses on
the downhill World Cup circuit,
and one of the toughest pisted
runs on the planet. For the less
vertically inclined, special nighttime
skiing options give the
resort a starry-eyed edge. On
nights when there’s a full moon,
skiers can get a sundowner and
dinner at well above 2,500m
before skiing down beneath the
Alpine moonlight – watching out
for snow werewolves, of course...
STUART KENNY
114 THE RED BULLETIN
Ski Switzerland
Light show: an aerial
view of the Lenzerheide
valley from the Rothorn
THE RED BULLETIN 115
Winter hiking
Sun, serenity and
crackling snow
Crunch. Silence. Crunch.
Silence. Crunch. Silence. This
is the sound of hiking in Arosa
Lenzerheide: pure serenity,
where the only noise is your feet
crossing the prepared tracks in
the snow. If you want silence in
your hike, there are more than
140km of marked and prepared
trails for winter hiking here.
Some run almost alongside the
resort’s pistes, while others go
right through the snow-covered
woods and countryside, away
from the hustle and bustle of the
ski slopes. The Heidi & Gigi Trail
is a particularly popular 9km
option, connecting Arosa and
Lenzerheide and affording
endless panoramas.
On the trail: visit Innerosa’s old houses and the Arosa Bergkirchli chapel, circa 1493
Curl power: it’s not all about the skiing in Arosa Lenzerheide
Mountain
adventures
The day doesn’t
end when the
lifts shut
There’s a mix of emotions at the end
of a day’s skiing. On the one hand,
there’s disappointment that the ski
day is over; on the other, if all has
gone to plan, you’ve had a damn
good day on the mountain and now
you get to take off your ski boots. In
Arosa Lenzerheide, the adventures
don’t end when you step back into
your regular shoes. Grab dinner,
then head to the Scharmoin halfway
station and restaurant and you’ll be
able to spend the evening eating
Swiss cheese fondue, drinking
mulled wine and sledging speedy
downhill runs. If getting out of the
snow but still gazing at the views is
more your style, you have plenty of
options, too. You can even jump in a
snow groomer and head around the
mountains, looking back on Arosa
and Lenzerheide lit up in the dark.
Fear not, the melted cheese will
still be there when you return.
NINA MATTLI (2), FREDHEIN FOTOS
116 THE RED BULLETIN
Ski Switzerland
Nearest airport:
Zürich (154km)
Elevation:
1,229m–2,865m
Total piste
distance:
225km
Longest run:
4.5km
Difficulty:
49% blue (110km);
39% red (87km);
12% black (28km)
Number of lifts:
43
More info:
arosalenzerheide.
swiss/en
Perfect pistes: Arosa Lenzerheide has something for everyone, from beginners to black-run addicts
THE RED BULLETIN 117
Ski Switzerland
02 Bern
region
The colossal peaks of Eiger, Mönch and
Jungfrau dominate the Interlaken-Jungfrau
region, which has been at the centre of skiing
and mountaineering for more than 200 years.
The 4,158m-high Jungfrau was first climbed in
1811, which kick-started tourism in the Swiss
Alps. Almost 150 years on, Heinrich Harrer
released The White Spider, his legendary book
describing the first successful ascent, in 1938,
of the North Face of the Eiger – nicknamed
‘Mordwand’ or ‘death wall’. Sir Arnold Lunn
organised the first ski slalom race in the village
of Mürren in 1922, while the first men’s World
Cup downhill took place in Wengen in 1967. The
region now draws 30,000 spectators every
year for the FIS World Cup’s Lauberhorn races,
one of the best-attended events on snow.
Winter sports
in Interlaken
Viewpoints
from the top
of the world
There are some ski resorts you
visit where the add-ons – the
extra stuff you can do when not
on skis – are a bit half-baked.
This is not the case in Interlaken.
The region boasts an abundance
of temptations to draw you off
the slopes for the day, or at least
a few hours. Top of Europe ICE
MAGIC is a little winter paradise
sandwiched between mountains
and lakes, which consists of six
icefields connected by winding
paths. There’s skating ahoy, and
you can try curling and ice hockey
on the fields. For an adrenalin
hit, the paragliding and skydiving
options are extensive, too. But
perhaps the pick in Interlaken is
the winter kayaking on Lake
Brienz. Think air as crisp as it
can get, and reflections of snowcovered
mountains on the water.
Nearest airport:
Zürich (133km)
Elevation:
800m–3,454m
Total piste
distance:
266km
Longest run:
14.9km
Difficulty:
38% blue (101km);
48% red (128km);
14% black (37km)
Number of lifts:
54
More info:
jungfrau.ch/en;
interlaken.ch/en
Skiing in the Jungfrau region
In the shadow of legendary mountains
Don’t let the history scare you.
The Jungfrau region may have
seen some of the most gnarly
mountaineering since humans
began climbing, but the ski slopes
offer something for everyone.
The resorts of Grindelwald and
Wengen are linked and great for
beginners and intermediates,
but Wengen also has the 4.5km
Lauberhorn – the pick of the
expert pistes and the longest
downhill World Cup race on the
circuit. There’s tough skiing in
Mürren, too, including the 14.9km
Schilthorn to Lauterbrunnen run.
It hosts the annual ‘Inferno’ event,
the world’s biggest amateur ski
race, with downhill racing, giant
slalom and cross country.
Float on: take a break from the slopes and paddle across Lake Brienz
Forty-eight of the Alps’
82 four-thousander
peaks (higher than
4,000m) are in
Switzerland, as well
as many of the most
famous summits in
the world, from the
Matterhorn and the
Dufourspitze to the
legendary Eiger.
118 THE RED BULLETIN
Ticket to ride: the
train from Wengen to
Lauterbrunnen cuts
through picturepostcard
scenery
Icing on the cake:
a thick covering of snow
is guaranteed in the
Bernese Oberland region
Ski Switzerland
Adelboden-Lenk-
Kandersteg
More drama than
you can dream of
More than 200km of pistes make
the resorts of Adelboden-Lenk
and Kandersteg a joy. But it’s
the niche activities that stand out.
In Kandersteg, the 14km crosscountry
Höh panorama trail is
a beauty, and some of the crosscountry
routes are floodlit at
night. The brave can even try the
exciting 3.5km downhill sled run.
Meanwhile, the Gran Masta Park
in Adelboden is a winter base
camp with more than 30 kickers,
rails and obstacles, making it one
of the Alps’ best parks. Lenk hosts
the Europa Cup Ski and Snowboard
Cross, while in January thousands
of people attend the FIS Ski World
Cup at Adelboden’s Chunisbärgli.
And if you take a winter hike to
the UNESCO-listed Oeschinen
Lake, you might just fall in love
with the entire region.
Nearest airport:
Zürich (190km)
Elevation:
1,072m–2,200m
Total piste
distance:
210km
Longest run:
7.5km
Difficulty:
46% blue (93km);
47% red (98km);
7% black (15km)
Number of lifts:
55
More info:
be-welcome.ch;
adelboden-lenk.
ch/en; kandersteg.
ch/en
Big air: Gran Masta Park is a highlight in Adelboden-Lenk
Glacial in Gstaad
Snow-sure skiing
through the winter
DAVID BIRRI, RUEDI FLÜCK
Peak Walk by Tissot in Gstaad: the world’s only suspension bridge that connects two peaks
The only glacier ski area in the
Bernese Oberland region, the
Glacier 3000 has 30km of varied
slopes (14.5km blue; 5.5km red;
10km black) as well as stunning
freeride options with descents
of around 2,000 vertical metres.
There are Freeride Days every
spring to show skiers the ropes
and the options available.
There’s more to Gstaad than just
the glacier, though. Nearly 40km
of black runs are accessible on
a ski pass, and the largest resort,
Rinderberg/Saanerslochgrat/
Horneggli (try saying that after a
few glühweins), is a 90km dream
for beginners and intermediates.
The Eggli/La Videmanette resort,
meanwhile, is home to a 7.5km
stretch that drops 1,160m
through the valley.
Nearest airport:
Bern (80km)
Elevation:
1,000m–3,000m
Total piste
distance:
200km
Longest run:
7.5km
Difficulty:
60% blue (120km);
28% red (56km);
12% black (24km)
Number of lifts:
47
More info:
gstaad.ch/en
THE RED BULLETIN 121
Ski Switzerland
03 Engelberg
A 30-minute drive from the city of Lucerne
is the freeriding heaven of Engelberg-Titlis,
based around the mighty 3,238m-high Titlis
mountain. Sticking strictly to the pistes,
Engelberg is a resort more accommodating to
intermediate and advanced skiers than it is
beginners, even though there are plenty of
routes for all, and the little circle of blue runs at
the top of the Jochpass chairlift is a veritable
playground for skiers of all levels. What really
brings powder fiends – and international
freeride teams – to Engelberg, though, are the
vast opportunities beyond the boundaries...
Switzerland’s
powder
playground
World-famous
freeriding without
the crowds
Walk this way: hire a mountain guide to get the most out of Engelberg
Nearest airport:
Zürich (100km)
Elevation:
1,000m–3,020m
Total piste
distance:
66km
Longest run:
12km
Difficulty:
29% blue (19km);
57% red (37.5km);
14% black (9.5km)
Number of lifts:
19
More info:
engelberg.ch
You can reach Engelberg’s
recommended powder runs,
known as the ‘Big 5’, without
ever removing your skis. The
most famous of these, the Laub
– a huge mountain face visible
from Engelberg village – is
steep, fierce and an absolute
blast to ski. Also one of the Big
5, the Galtiberg run consists of
a huge descent from 3,020m to
1,020m, via cliff-edge traverses.
Needless to say, hiring a
mountain guide in Engelberg is
near-enough a must if you’re
a powder hound, but you’ll be
rewarded for the expense as
you lay new tracks all day. Once
you feel the legs begin to tire,
it’s worth one last trip up the
mountain to traverse the Titlis
Cliff Walk, which is the highest
suspension bridge in Europe at
3,020m and has panoramas
of mountaintops on every side.
Come for the powder lines,
stay for the views.
JOHAN AXELSSON
122 THE RED BULLETIN
Field of dreams:
Engelberg is a
powdery playground
for local freeskier
Olof Larsson
Ski Switzerland
Land of the giant:
skiing in the shadow
of the Matterhorn
in Valais
VALAIS/WALLIS PROMOTION – PASCAL GERTSCHEN
04 Valais
This is a stunning region of more than 40 ski areas and 2,500km of slopes;
of 45 mighty summits above 4,000m, including the famous, pyramid-shaped
Matterhorn; of glorious panoramic views; of 50 grape varieties (best enjoyed
chilled in a glass on one of the region’s many sun terraces) and one UNESCO
World Heritage Site. When the first thing you say about a Swiss ski region
isn’t the fact that it’s probably the most snow-sure in a country pretty reliable
for its snow, you know it’s got a whole lot more going for it. Valais is one of
the most spectacular ski regions in all of Europe. visitvalais.ch/ski
125
Ski Switzerland
Région Dents du Midi
The gateway to Les Portes du Soleil,
where Switzerland meets France
The Région Dents du Midi
comprises six charming
villages – Champéry, Morgins,
Troistorrents, Les Crosets,
Champoussin and Val-d‘Illiez
– nestled at the foot of
the iconic Dents du Midi
mountains, and makes up
the Swiss side of Les Portes
du Soleil, one of the largest
ski networks in the world. It
encompasses 12 resorts
between Mont Blanc in France
and Lake Geneva in Switzerland
and covers more than 600km
of pistes, offering a huge variety
of skiing. This vast skiing
paradise has some demanding
slopes, not least the 2km-long
Didier Défago run, named after
the 2010 Olympic Downhill gold
medallist and world champion,
who hails from the area. The
runs can get marvellously tricky
in Les Crosets as well.
Some pistes are so steep
they’re graded black. Others
are so steep they’re just plain
scary. One goes beyond all
that to ‘legendary’ status.
The infamous mogul field at
Chavanette fits that moniker
comfortably – but that’s the
only comfortable thing about
it. The run, known as the
‘Swiss Wall’ because it starts
on the Swiss-French border,
is reachable from Avoriaz in
France, Champéry or Les
Crosets, and then plummets
back into the latter. The slope
not only has continuous
moguls but starts on a narrow
passage with a 40-degree
gradient. It opens up a little
after the first 50m, but this
is one strictly for expert skiers
or snowboarders. It lasts
a whole kilometre, dropping
331m on the way, and has
been judged so challenging
in the Swiss/French grading
system that it surpassed
a black grading and received
the notorious orange rank.
Did you even know there
was an orange rank? Yup,
it’s that hard.
Nearest airport:
Geneva (90km)
Elevation:
767m–2,276m
Total piste
distance:
600km
Longest run:
10km
Difficulty:
12% green
(38 slopes);
44% blue (131);
34% red (105);
10% black (32)
Number of lifts:
195
More info:
regiondentsdumidi.
ch/en
LITESCAPE MEDIA
126 THE RED BULLETIN
Big fun: Les Portes
du Soleil is one of
the world’s largest
ski networks
THE RED BULLETIN 127
Ski Switzerland
High point: view
from the top of
the gondola of
the Mont-Fort
128 THE RED BULLETIN
Nendaz 4 Vallées
The ski resort
in the heart of
the enormous
4 Vallées
AROLLE
Nearest airport:
Sion (15km)
Elevation:
1,350m–3,330m
Total piste
distance:
410km
Longest run:
10km
Difficulty:
33% blue (24
slopes); 52% red
(39); 14% black
(10); plus seven
yellow slopes
(freetracks)
Number of lifts:
80
More info:
nendaz.ch
Nendaz is the lesser-known
neighbour of the snow sports
powerhouse Verbier – the cliffdropping,
powder-puffing venue
of the Freeride World Cup.
Nendaz is linked with Verbier,
Veysonnaz and Thyon, making
4 Vallées the biggest ski resort
that’s solely in Switzerland, with
more than 400km of pistes. You
can easily hop between resorts
whenever you like. The terrain
in Nendaz is similar to its
neighbour – sublime. It caters
to all abilities, sure, but where
Nendaz really excels is in the offpiste,
freeriding fun. It has seven
free tracks: secured, unprepared
routes. And the fact that Verbier
is so close by means that when
the fresh stuff does fall, you’ll
be a lot more likely to ride fresh
tracks all day in Nendaz, because
the crowds are in Verbier. All the
snow, all the terrain, but without
the queues.
The seven freeriding areas
in Nendaz are the big pull for
expert riders. The runs on Mont-
Fort, in particular, attract a lot
of attention from accomplished
skiers and snowboarders. On the
front face you’ll find steep riding,
while on the backside you’ll find
a far-flung valley run made for
adventurous backcountry
dreamers. Gentianes is a 3.5km
freeride run which is incredibly
physically demanding, and if you
make it out to the challenging
freetrack L’Eteygeon, further
from the lifts than many of the
other options, you’ll be staring
into a great white wilderness.
Beware, though, this is expert
skiing. Book yourself a mountain
guide and they’ll no doubt show
you the best of the mountain.
There are 300 days of sunshine
a year here, so you should be
able to top up your goggle tan
as you float along the powder.
THE RED BULLETIN 129
One of the world’s
most beautiful
ski destinations,
Zermatt offers
endless runs for
all grades of skier
130
Ski Switzerland
Time to chill: aprés-ski drinks at Cervo Mountain Boutique Resort in Zermatt
Zermatt
Powder lines beneath one of the
planet’s most remarkable mountains
PASCAL GERTSCHEN
The resort in the shadow of the
mighty Matterhorn mountain,
one of the most distinctive rock
formations in the world, Zermatt
is often rightly lauded as among
the planet’s most beautiful ski
destinations. And it’s safe to
say the piste map matches the
scenery. Connecting to Breuil-
Cervinia, a resort on the Italian
side of the Matterhorn (or
‘Cervino’, as it’s called across
the border), the combined
360km of pistes – 200km in
Zermatt and 160km in Italy –
offer endless runs of all grades,
and nearly always look on to
either the north, east or south
face of the Matterhorn. As a
result, Zermatt is incredibly
photogenic. The views from the
top of the Monte Rosa glacier are
particularly special, with frozen
mountain lakes visible beneath
the peaks. Just make sure you
don’t miss the last lift home if
you do go to Italy, as it’s a three-
and-a-half-hour drive round the
mountain to get back once the
lifts stop for the day.
The option of heading into
Italy for an espresso and a bowl
of pasta for lunch isn’t the worst
add-on for a ski resort, but
what’s great about Zermatt is
that the hefty 200km of pistes
situated in the resort itself are
enough to keep you comfortably
entertained for a week-long stay.
There are three main areas in
Zermatt: Rothorn, Gornergrat
and Matterhorn glacier paradise.
The glacier delivers what it says
on the tin: it’s a paradise. And
the cable car trip to get you
there will sit nicely on your
Instagram. It reaches the highest
cable car station in Europe at
3,883m. If you want something
a bit more off the beaten track,
then Zermatt also has a full
36km of freeride slopes, denoted
with yellow markings, just
waiting for your tracks.
Nearest airport:
Sion (80km)
Elevation:
1,620m–3,899m
Total piste
distance: 360km
Longest run:
25km
Difficulty:
20% blue (76km);
62% red (220km);
18% black/yellow
(64km)
Number of lifts:
54
More info:
zermatt.ch
131
THE RED
BULLETIN
WORLDWIDE
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Bulletin is
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cover of December’s
Austrian edition,
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skateboarding image
from Red Bull Illume,
the action sports
and adventure
photography contest
For more stories
beyond the ordinary,
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132 THE RED BULLETIN
THE RED BULLETIN PROMOTION
SWISS
THE SKIERS’ AIRLINE
Jet to the Alps with the specialist airline and your ski and snowboard equipment flies free
Every skier or snowboarder knows the pain of checking in
their favourite equipment with all the other luggage at the
airport as they embark on their snow holiday. Having gear
that’s in good working order can make or break a week in the
mountains, so it’s vital to travel with an airline that you can
trust with those all-important boards, skis and boots.
Being the skiers’ airline of choice, SWISS transports your
first set of skis/snowboard and boots free of charge, in addition
to your standard free baggage allowance of 23kg in Economy
Class* or two 32kg pieces in Business Class. SWISS connects
UK and Switzerland with more than 160 weekly flights
from London Heathrow, London Gatwick**, London City,
Manchester and Birmingham to Zurich, Geneva and Sion**.
SWISS’s classic fare from London Heathrow to Geneva –
gateway to the Alps – starts from £82 in one direction and
includes free ski and snowboard equipment carriage.
swiss.com
*Free ski carriage is not applicable for travel on our Economy
Light fares. **Seasonal flights only
THE RED BULLETIN 133
Action highlight
Flipping the script
Brazilian Felipe Gustavo originally wanted to follow in the footsteps of his country’s
footballing heroes – players such as Pelé and Neymar. But then he swapped the ball
for a board, and the rest was street skateboarding history. In the video All On Me,
the 28-year-old journeys through New York, musing on his life in the US and the
decisions that took him to the top of his sport. Watch All On Me at redbull.com
The next
issue of
THE RED BULLETIN
is out on
January 14
JONATHAN MEHRING/RED BULL CONTENT POOL
134 THE RED BULLETIN
GIVES YOU
WIIINGS.
ALSO WITH THE TASTE OF COCONUT & BERRY.
NEW
C.C. FILSON CO. | UNFAILING GOODS
9 & 13 NEWBURGH STREET, LONDON, W1F | FILSON.COM
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