The Red Bulletin September 2020 (UK)

UK EDITION
SEPTEMBER 2020, £3.50
BEYOND THE ORDINARY
SUBSCRIBE: GETREDBULLETIN.COM
CARNIVAL
STATE OF
MIND
How Notting Hill
Carnival became
much more than
a street party

MANY PATHS. ONE TRAIL.
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Editor’s letter
WORKS IN
PROGRESS
CONTRIBUTORS
THIS ISSUE
How to navigate testing times and, at the same
time, find positive outcomes is a challenge we’re
all facing right now to some extent. And it’s one
that many of the stars of this month’s issue of
The Red Bulletin are managing to rise to.
News that the physical celebration of London’s
Notting Hill Carnival (page 30), the biggest event
of its kind in Europe, was to be cancelled this
year for the first time left many crestfallen. But,
as our cover feature shows, Carnival is a lot more
than a street party: it’s a state of mind that those
at its heart carry into everyday life. Not only
have the organisers created something uplifting
with their digital offering for 2020, it’s estimated
that more people than ever will attend this year,
sampling Carnival culture from their homes.
Photographer Pablo Allison (page 42) had a lifechanging
experience in the unexpected setting
of a Mexican freight train. The British artist
says that, despite being imprisoned and held
at gunpoint, riding on top of these fast-moving
trains to document the journeys of thousands
of migrants is making him a better person.
Then there’s the group of the women pushing
back against economic and social restrictions in
Athens as they rediscover the city together on
roller skates (page 48), offering each other support,
solidarity and, most important of all, fun.
And Canadian cave-diver Jill Heinerth
(page 56) knowingly enters difficult waters on
her deep dives into barely accessible caves. But,
she says, the thrill of discovering the unknown
makes the risks well worthwhile.
We hope you enjoy the issue.
CHIIZII
“My relationship with Notting
Hill Carnival has always been
one of joy, freedom and
celebration,” says the
London-born visual artist
and designer, who illustrated
our cover and feature on
Carnival. “Incorporating
imagery and producing
illustrations that are true
to its Caribbean origin and
Black British progression
was not debatable.” Page 30
ALEX KING
The British journalist and
documentary filmmaker
moved to Athens in 2017.
There he met female rollerskate
crew Chicks in Bowls,
who became the subject of
a short film, and a feature in
this month’s issue. “I wanted
to show Athens in a way
outsiders haven’t seen it
before,” says King. “The
result is thanks to the girls.
They really pushed hard and
gave everything!” Page 48
CHIIZII (COVER ARTWORK) SEYE ISIKALU, ALAMY (COVER)
04 THE RED BULLETIN

CONTENTS
September 2020
6 Canyon fire: good times in the
birthplace of freestyle MTB
8 Subway surfer: skateboarding the
escalators of Frankfurt’s U-Bahn
10 Rust and play: the WWII wreck
that’s a magnet for Cuban surfers
12 Slack jaws: how one man and his
highwire stunned an Italian village
15 Comedy gold: musician and
stand-up comic Reggie Watts
on what makes him laugh
17 Making music: the machine that
lets you cut and play your own
vinyl records at home
18 The Z-Triton: is it a tricycle, or
a boat? Answer: both – and you
can have a kip in it, too
20 Chain reaction: love it or hate it,
there’s no ignoring the divisive
ebike named the Babymaker
MARK LEAVER
22 Jehnny Beth
Talking fears and fantasies with
the multitalented Savages star
24 Gaika
The electronic musician who’s
changing the world for the better
26 Jasmin Paris
Snow, exhaustion, pregnancy
– nothing stops this ultrarunner
30 Notting Hill Carnival
Six decades on, it remains
a celebration like no other
42 Pablo Allison
Highlighting the plight of Mexican
migrants in film and graffiti paint
48 CIB Athens
We tear up tarmac with the
all-woman roller-skate crew
56 Jill Heinerth
A deep dive into the Canadian
explorer’s underwater world
68 Fabio Wibmer
From motocross prodigy to
YouTube bike-trick sensation
79 Four months, 10 countries,
more than 11,000km, in
temperatures of 35°C upwards:
the epic continent-crossing
bike adventure known as the
Tour d’Afrique is a punishing
but unmissable experience
83 Graphic statement: a stack of
skateboards inspired by street art
84 Flash point: how strobe therapy
is supercharging the training
and performance of athletes
85 Worth the weight: are you ready
for the smart kettlebell?
86 Rock the block: sound-system
tech for the ultimate house party
48
Greece-ing the wheels: meet the women roller skaters who
are reclaiming the streets and skateparks of Athens
88 Drive time: watches that belong
behind the wheel
89 Glare free: this summer’s most
desirable sunglasses
90 Taking control: all you need
for gaming on the go
91 Game of life: lessons in stoicism
from The Last of Us, Part II
94 Essential dates for your calendar
98 Leaps and bounds: parkour
shenanigans in Panama
THE RED BULLETIN 05

STEPHEN SHANNON/RED BULL ILLUME
FARWELL CANYON,
BC, CANADA
Canny
valley
Shooting in Farwell Canyon – a location
he describes as “the birthplace of freeride
mountain biking” – has been a longtime
ambition for British Columbia native Steve
Shannon. Following several failed attempts,
the photographer finally realised his wish
in April last year, accompanied by local
shredder and bike mechanic Cory ‘Coco’
Brunelle. “Hiking out to the top of the line
pre-dawn, we were greeted by a beautiful
sunrise over the Chilcotin River,” he says.
“Having grown up nearby, Coco is very
comfortable riding down the chutes of
Farwell, letting out a little style as he
hurtles to the bottom.”
steveshannonphoto.com
07

FRANKFURT,
GERMANY
One step
beyond
This stunning image, shot prelockdown
by Robert Garo on
Frankfurt’s U-Bahn system, required
patience from both the Croatiaborn
photographer and his subject,
local skater Milan Hruska. “My friend
Milan works just around the corner
[from the station],” says Garo, who is
also based in the German city, “so we
made arrangements to do the shoot.
But we’d underestimated how much
traffic there is during the normal
evening rush hour. In the end, we had
to wait a few hours, until we were
almost alone, to get the final picture.”
robertgaro.net

ROBERT GARO/RED BULL ILLUME
09

WILL SAUNDERS/RED BULL ILLUME
BARACOA, CUBA
Wreck
star
Utah-based photographer Will
Saunders had been documenting a
crew of surfers and skaters in Cuba
for a fortnight when they took him
to one of their favourite spots.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Saunders says
of the rusted wreck. “This place felt
like a spot out of Tony Hawk’s Pro
Skater. We spent the entire morning
making images of this unique wave
and surfing until the swell was gone.
The game of this wave is to try to
surf under the bow of the boat while
dragging your hand along its hull
– without getting tetanus. Yojany
[Pérez, the surfer pictured] made
it look too easy.”
willsaundersphoto.com
11

MATTEO PAVANA/RED BULL ILLUME

CASTELMEZZANO,
ITALY
Crossed
lines
Regarded to be one of the
most beautiful villages in Italy,
Castelmezzano in the southern
province of Potenza is a magnet
for tourists. But here was a sight
that neither visitors nor locals
had expected to see: slackliner
Benjamin Kofler walking high above
the rooftops. “Even with the general
noise, I could hear the comments of
the crowd gathered in the Piazza
Emilio Caizzo,” reports Italian
photographer Matteo Pavana, who
took this shot. “One lady at the edge
of the square cried, ‘Oh my God,
I can’t watch those crazy freaks!’”
theverticaleye.com
13

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WHAT ARE YOU BUILDING FOR?
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REGGIE WATTS
Playing
for
laughs
The versatile US musician
and comic gives his pick
of comedy’s innovators,
past and present
He may be best known as James
Corden’s bandleader on The Late
Late Show, but US musician and
comedian Reggie Watts is an allround
entertainer. The 48-year-old
made his name performing
experimental stand-up – check out
his 2016 surrealist Netflix special
Spatial – before diversifying into
everything from voice work for
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
to launching his own app,
WattsApp, where fans can watch
exclusive content and buy his
unwanted tech gear. On a musical
note, in February this year Watts
and dance producer John Tejada
released a second album of soulful
electronica as Wajatta. Here, Watts
(pictured on the right, with Tejada)
salutes the comedians who broke
new ground and, crucially,
continue to make him laugh…
reggiewatts.com
George Carlin
Class Clown (1972)
Eddie Murphy
Raw (1987)
Whitmer Thomas
The Golden One (2020)
Eddie Murphy
Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
THE1POINT8 PIERS MARTIN
“Carlin was a philosopher
comedian. His monologue
Seven Words You Can Never
Say on Television showed me
there are other ways to think
about things. A word is a word,
but how is it said and what’s
the context, what’s its origin?
He gave me deeper realisation.
His message is deep in my
operating system.”
“Eddie Murphy invented the
rock-star comedian. When he
came onstage in the all-leather
outfit, to people screaming like
[he was] The Beatles, that was
incredible. I heard the cassette
of Raw before I saw the video –
I was 15, on an orchestra trip in
Montana. I loved it because he
was speaking freely and using
a lot of profanity.”
“I tend to avoid books and
comedy specials, because I’m
an improviser and I don’t want
to accidentally use an idea.
But I did catch this HBO special
by Whitmer Thomas. He talks
about mental health issues
and is a very earnest open
book, so it’s comedy but also
drenched in melancholia. He’s
raw and honest, and I like that.”
“That whole [early-’80s] period
for Murphy – Trading Places,
Coming to America, 48 Hours
– was insane, but Beverly
Hills Cop is a perfect movie.
I remember watching the
opening action sequence and
laughing and losing my mind.
He was so cool in his dope
sunglasses and those tight
’80s jeans that fit perfectly.”
THE RED BULLETIN 15

WIIINGS FOR
YOUR SUMMER.
WITH THE TASTE OF WATERMELON.
VITALIZES BODY AND MIND.

Go, cut
creator, go:
the mini
dubplate is
finally an
achievable
dream
GAKKEN, PENTAGRAM LOU BOYD
When Yuri Suzuki was a highschool
student in ’90s Tokyo,
he was obsessed with two
things: punk music and vinyl.
“Making a machine to create
my own records was always a
dream for me,” the 40-year-old
Japanese sound artist says.
“As a student, I tried to mend
old cutting machines from junk
sales, but they didn’t work.”
Three decades on, he has
realised his dream, inventing
a device that can cut and play
homemade records.
Suzuki’s Instant Record
Cutting Machine – created
in collaboration with Gakken,
a maker of educational toys
– features two arms: one for
scoring grooves into the vinyl,
the other for playback. “You use
your phone’s headphone jack
to connect via USB,” he says.
“It’s quite a primitive process:
the audio becomes information
in the form of vibrations, and
the stylus engraves this into the
vinyl. This project isn’t about
making super hi-fi equipment;
it sounds DIY and lo-fi.”
Some people are also using it
to create new music. “There’s
a DJ who records breaks with
the machine during live sets,”
says Suzuki. “He quickly cuts
them onto a 5in [13cm] record,
which he then uses in his set,
so the record maker is almost
a musical instrument.” Others
have used different surfaces:
“One thing I wasn’t expecting
was people cutting tracks onto
CDs. I’m sure all families have a
bunch of old CDs they don’t use
any more – now they can turn
them into unique 5in records.”
The death of vinyl has long
been touted, but with each year
interest seems to grow. “As a
teenager, I was always making
mixtapes for my friends,” says
Suzuki. “It’s that feeling that
makes people still love vinyl.
Sending an online song doesn’t
feel valuable, but a physical
record you need to place the
needle on – especially one
you’ve made yourself – that
still feels quite special.”
yurisuzuki.com/design-studio/
easyrecordmaker
RECORD-CUTTING MACHINE
Vinyl fantasy
Digital streaming killed the homemade
mixtape. But one audio buff has revived the
personal touch with his latest invention
Stylus icon: Suzuki and his IRCM (as we like to call it)
THE RED BULLETIN 17

The Z-Triton:
imagine the
Transformers
movies
remade on a
tight budget
Z-TRITON
Floating an idea
Applying the tiny-home concept to adventure travel, this amphibious
tricycle/caravan could be the answer to self-distancing holidays
A few years ago, when Latvian
urban designer Aigars Lauzis
conceived the Z-Triton – a mix
of boat, electric tricycle and
adventure van – the idea of
travelling in a self-contained
mini-cabin would have
appeared odd to most people.
But fast-forward to 2020, and
as the global pandemic stalls
the world’s travel plans, Lauzis’
invention seems prescient.
The concept came to Lauzis
during a four-year, 30,000km
cycling trip from London to
Tokyo as he pondered how to
recreate his journey as a family
experience. “I came up with
the idea for an amphibious tiny
home that is completely solarpowered
and electric,” he says.
“You can cycle, sail and be fully
immersed in nature, with a little
camper to sleep in.”
Cabin
fever: all
the thrills
of cycling
around the
world and
sleeping
under the
stars, but
without the
tent pegs
It may look like an big toy boat,
but the Z-Triton squeezes in a
lot of technology. The trike can
navigate terrain at 40kph, and
it turns into a motorboat for
freshwater sailing. The cabin
has its own lights, heating, and
cooking facilities. Out front,
there’s room for one passenger
while the other cycles, with an
extra seat available for pets.
This is far from Lauzis’ first
‘big idea’; previous projects
include a trailer that becomes a
narrow boat, and the Z-Bioloo –
an outdoor toilet that composts
human waste to feed a lavender
bed on its roof, then funnels
the fragrant floral air back in
as a natural air freshener.
Lauzis hopes the Z-Triton will
inspire a new trend in humanpowered
adventure travel.
“While it is electrically assisted,
you burn your own battery,” he
says, “I want to be fit and power
my adventures with my own
energy – to create something
fun and a bit crazy that could
tackle world problems.”
zeltini.com
AIGARS LAUZIS, GATIS PRIEDNIEKS-MELNACIS LOU BOYD
18 THE RED BULLETIN

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Go green:
there are
two models
– the PRO
(pictured)
has higher
specs
BABYMAKER
The Marmite bike
Some cyclists adore it, others absolutely despise it. Why is this
crowdfunded ebike attracting so much love and hate online?
American. “They inspired us to
make something that was fast
but would also make people
go, ‘Whoa, what is that? I want
it.’” And fast it is. With a 250w
motor and a top speed of 40kph,
the Babymaker is technically
classified as a moped in the UK
and Europe, so it requires a
driving licence, road tax and
insurance for road-legal riding.
Meanwhile, the bike
industry dismissed Rast and
Leaviss’ design, mocking
the lack of a spec sheet or
geometry chart. Other parts of
the internet took offence at its
name, but the duo say this was
merely a means of grabbing
maximum attention. It got just
that, in the form of increased
financial backing. “Any industry
is going to be resistant to
change,” says Rast, “especially
when there’s money involved
and it gets redistributed from
the guys selling $10,000 road
bikes to Pete and Rob and their
crazy $1,000 ebike.”
With fundraising closed,
the bikes will start shipping in
December. Rast is confident
people will be as in love with
the bike as he is. “The problem
with the cycling industry is,
it’s so niche that it’s no longer
approachable for the average
person,” he says. “You’re not
going to put the Babymaker
in the Tour de France. We’re
just here to have some fun.”
flx.bike
Rarely has a cycling product
divided opinion as sharply as
the Babymaker, from San
Diego-based startup FLX Bike.
The brightly coloured ebike
concept raised more than
£10 million on IndieGoGo –
the largest amount on the
crowdfunding platform this
year so far – but before the
first prototypes had even
shipped, it had received a lot of
negative feedback from inside
and outside the bike industry.
The Babymaker is the
brainchild of Rob Rast and
Peter Leaviss, who met by
chance while sofa-surfing in
China. “I was a college dropout
who bought a one-way ticket in
2009 to learn about life,” says
Rast. “I got a message from
this British guy who wanted to
rent my room out. Peter shows
up at 2am and we hit it off.”
The pair bonded over their
joint love of “bikes, speed and
adventure”, resulting in the
concept for a new type of ebike
that harnesses the power of an
engine in something as sleek as
a city single-speed. “We were
seeing all these little electric
scooters around,” says the
Baby fathers: Rob Rast (left) and Peter Leaviss of FLX Bike
STEALINGLIGHT PRODUCTIONS LOU BOYD
20 THE RED BULLETIN

Jehnny Beth
Renaissance
woman
The multitalented Savages singer says she
likes doing the wrong thing. Judging by her
latest work, that impulse is steering her right
Words MARCEL ANDERS
Photography XAVIER ARIAS
Jehnny Beth, best known as the
frontwoman of UK post-punk band
Savages, is sitting at her home in
Paris mid-lockdown, pondering
positives of the new normal. “Maybe
we need to reset our priorities,” she
says. “This might make us realise we
need to slow down a bit.”
It’s hard to imagine Beth – real
name Camille Berthomier – slowing
down. The 35-year-old is a social
animal, which she attributes to
mingling with creative types – her
parents were theatre directors – at
the family home in Poitiers, western
France, during her youth. It’s partly
why she now hosts Echoes, a chat
show on the European TV network
ARTE, for which she’s interviewed the
likes of Primal Scream and IDLES.
“I love it,” she says. “I always feel
inspired after talking to other artists
about what they do.”
Beth also hosts a radio show on
Beats 1; acts in arthouse movies;
plays in another band, John & Jehn;
runs her own label; released her
debut solo album, To Love Is To Live,
in June; and has just published
a collection of erotic short stories,
titled C.A.L.M: Crimes Against Love
Memories. Here, she talks about
the challenge of change, her love
of risk-taking, and why we should
all embrace our fantasies…
the red bulletin: You have a lot
of projects on the go. How many
outlets does Jehnny Beth need?
jehnny beth: I think it’s all down
to curiosity. When people come with
a project unlike anything I’ve done
before, I think, “Why not?” I have
no idea if I’m up to the task, but I’m
going to do everything I can to make
it work. Sometimes you do things
that are a bit out of character, but
I feel that the world is a little bit
more accepting of that nowadays.
You recently released your solo
debut. What prompted that?
It was time for me to take a risk. I
didn’t want to be the kind of singer
who is enslaved to a band. I wanted
to see what I was worth on my own.
It felt like a risk, and I was definitely
advised that it might be, but that’s
something I’ve often heard during
my career. I like the sensation of
starting from scratch, of doing the
wrong thing – it’s kind of exciting.
The album focuses on your fears
and insecurities. Was it difficult
turning the spotlight on yourself?
If I was going to make a personal
record, I had to commit to showing
every part of myself, even those
I was most ashamed of. “If you’re
going to try, go all the way” – that’s
the [Charles] Bukowski line, isn’t it?
That doesn’t mean there was no
resistance; I think every human
being fights against change initially.
But I don’t want to make art or
music that isn’t going to change me.
Was that also the allure of your
music chat show, Echoes?
[Talking to other musicians] is
something I do anyway; if I like a
new artist, I’ll write to them and say,
“Hey, I love what you’re doing.”
When I started Savages, artists like
Henry Rollins, Ian MacKaye [both
US punk icons] and PJ Harvey
would come and talk to me. Their
generosity influenced me – having
that openness to just tap someone
on the shoulder and say, “Hey, I’m
here, I see you, I see what you’re
doing, and I have questions.”
What inspired your new collection
of erotic short stories?
I’m interested in the subject of
sexuality, and in fantasies and the
part that imagination plays in them.
It all started when Johnny Hostile
[Beth’s longtime partner and
producer] and I moved to Paris
three years ago. He picked up
photography as a new medium and
took pictures of me and friends.
The images deal with the subject of
sexuality and the liberation of the
body. Suddenly, I realised people
are free to speak and share and talk
about their fantasies, and I thought
that was kind of a goldmine for
writing. Not that it’s a new subject
– erotic literature is enormous.
What were you hoping to add to
the genre?
I think young people are very
interested in finding new modes of
loving. All I’m trying to do is observe
and offer alternatives to family, to
monogamy, to this generational
inheritance that creates a form of
imprisonment. If we want to talk
about women’s liberation, we have
to talk about the liberation of the
couple, of the relationship – I think
they go hand in hand.
So we should explore our fantasies?
Why not? I don’t think there’s a
reason to oppress them – that’s
definitely not healthy. I believe it’s
better to be creative with them.
Ever considered becoming more
of a writer than a performer?
I definitely feel that I want to write
more. I’ve got another idea for a
book. I don’t know if it will get me
anywhere, but you have to try.
Which goes back to taking risks…
Yeah. You’ve just got to make the
most of life. Enjoy it to the fullest.
Jehnny Beth’s book C.A.L.M: Crimes
Against Love Memories is out now;
jehnnybeth.com
22 THE RED BULLETIN

”I don’t want
to make art
or music that
isn’t going to
change me”
THE RED BULLETIN 23

Gaika
Power is in
our hands
Gaika is a visionary musician and activist on
a mission to make the world better. Here, the
Londoner reveals how we all can take part
Words FLORIAN OBKIRCHER
For Gaika Tavares, life and art are
intrinsically linked. Some musicians
provide the listener with a lighthearted
escape from the world’s
turmoil; the South-London based
artist, director and political activist
known simply as Gaika, does the
opposite. With futuristic tunes
that blend dancehall, rap and
experimental R&B, Gaika processes
his observations and experiences
as a Black man living in the UK.
This approach has earned the
30-year-old a reputation as electronic
music’s dark prophet. On Blasphemer,
a song from his 2015 debut mixtape,
the son of Jamaican and Grenadian
parents repeats the line “I can’t
breathe”, a sentence that gained
tragic notoriety after the killing of
American George Floyd in May this
year. In his 2017 short story The
Spectacular Empire, Gaika envisions
cities shaken by demonstrations and
civil unrest over police brutality.
However, on Seguridad, the
follow-up to his critically acclaimed
2018 debut album Basic Volume,
optimism prevails. Gaika sees the
current situation as an opportunity
to make the world a fairer place.
the red bulletin: Do you think
the perception of your music as
dark and apocalyptic is fair?
gaika: I get frustrated when people
view my work that way. I don’t think
my songs are negative. I focus on the
future, like, “OK, what can we do
now?” We’re at a juncture where we
decide what happens in this new
version of the world. And that starts
with the people. That starts with
mutual aid, with looking at our
neighbours, our friends and family
and believing we have collective
power. I’ve always felt that we can
change things for the better.
Your recent Nine Nights project
[a series of live-streamed events
in aid of Black-focused charities]
seems a good example…
I don’t believe that charity is the
answer, but at the same time I have
to ask the question: what are the
real fruits of my labour, and who
does it benefit? All the money that
comes from people who want to
listen to my songs, where does it
end up? It ends up on the wrist of
some hedge-fund guy. Let’s get real,
that’s what happens in music. And
I believe our creative labour should
be used to benefit artists and the
communities they’ve come from.
But don’t you need the likes of
Spotify to increase your audience
and spread this message further?
I was signed to [renowned electronic
music label] Warp Records, and
they made their business rely on
Spotify. I didn’t agree with that, so
I’m no longer signed to Warp. It’s
that simple. Yes, I want to be heard
by a lot of people, but what’s more
important to me is actually being
able to make a valuable contribution
to our society. I speak through
platforms like Red Bull because
I think it’s important that my
message gets heard, but at the same
time I’m doing things in my life to
balance that. In that way, in some
sense we hold these entities to
account. I focus on the positive
bits I can do, rather than thinking,
“Oh, it’s hopeless.”
What if artists feel they’re too
small to have an influence?
I don’t believe market forces are
sacred. It’s only human beings who
make the decisions in these big
companies. If we can influence those
decisions, we’ve got our part to play.
Ultimately, we have the power –
we’re the ones who make the songs
that the people like. It’s just about
whether you do the harder thing
or [you’re happy] to live in this
bubble of materialism and non-stop
hedonism. I don’t want to stand in
judgement of people, but for me
it’s not a difficult decision.
Can music can be a positive force
for change in the current climate?
I don’t think it’s the only way, but it
has a part to play. I mean, what are
we doing? This coronavirus thing,
it showed we’re not invincible. Like,
humanity can get into situations
of danger. So, are we going to live
together, or will we continue to
exploit the earth and motor towards
extinction? And those of us who are
good at communicating – artists,
musicians – what are we trying to
say? What do we do with the wealth
that music generates? I think music
is definitely part of this moment.
How can consumers of music
make a difference?
I don’t aim to preach, but it comes
down to this: where you spend your
money has an impact. If you spend
your money with people who are
engaged in conscious business, we
can force bigger companies to do
the same and stop destroying the
natural environment or tolerating
racism. We’ve always been told we’ll
never be able to compete with big
businesses, but I don’t think that’s
true. People pay attention, they look
at a company’s behaviour, and they
decide if they want to support them
with their money. That is power,
and we need to make use of it.
Gaika’s latest album, Seguridad,
is out now on NAAFI, the label run
by the socially active Mexican DJ
collective of the same name;
naafi.bandcamp.com
EMMANUEL S
24 THE RED BULLETIN

“I’ve always
felt that we
can change
things for
the better”
THE RED BULLETIN 25

Jasmin Paris
Tough mother
The British ultrarunning champion on how
having a child gave her the motivation to win
Words FLORIAN OBKIRCHER
of mud; you see animals like foxes
and birds, too. I really like running
up a hill with the challenge of
reaching the top, the feeling of
acceleration, of running along
a ridge and it stretching in all
directions. And then there’s the
sunrise. I find it hard to imagine
a situation better than that.
In January last year, British runner
Jasmin Paris became the first
woman to win the Spine Race, a
gruelling 431km ultramarathon
along the Pennine Way – crossing
the hills known as “the backbone of
England” – from the Peak District
to just inside the Scottish border.
She completed the course in 83
hours and 12 minutes, smashing the
previous men’s record by more than
12 hours and beating her nearest
male rival by 15 hours. It was one
of the best moments of her life, but
not the greatest – that would be
giving birth to her daughter, Rowan,
just over a year earlier. Paris spent
her rest stops at aid stations along
the route, expressing milk for her
then 13-month-old child.
Amazingly, the 36-year-old
doesn’t consider herself a
professional athlete, despite having
achieved a number of race records
in her career, winning the British
Fell Running Championship in 2015
and 2018, and taking the crown
in the Sky Extreme category of
the 2016 Skyrunner World Series.
“I have a talent for endurance and
long-distance running, but I’m a
normal person with a full-time job,”
says Paris, who works as a vet at the
University of Edinburgh. “I just do
the thing I love, alongside work,
and with a child running around.
I eat normal food, and I drink
alcohol when I’m not pregnant.”
To compete in the Spine Race,
she had to take a week off from her
PhD in veterinary science. And yet,
it’s the narrative of Paris as a new
mother besting men at their own
game that grabbed the headlines.
Her victory in the Spine Race came
in a year that saw a number of
women triumph in previously
male-dominated ultra-disciplines
– among them, German cyclist
Fiona Kolbinger, who won the
Transcontinental Race through
Europe (4,000km in just over
10 days), and US swimmer Sarah
Thomas, who became the first
person to swim the English Channel
four times non-stop (215km in
around 54 hours).
Paris has plenty to say on why
women are more than capable of
beating men in sport, and how
her motherhood may even be an
advantage. As for her position as
a role model for sporting mothers,
she’s unfazed by it all. “I’m not
bothered about being a celebrity,
but people find it helpful,” she says.
“Running just makes me happy, and
having that time for myself makes
it easier to cope with the challenges
of work and having a small child.”
the red bulletin: When did your
passion for running begin?
jasmin paris: I’ve always been into
hill walking, and the differences
between that and trail running
aren’t huge. I discovered it when
I was working in Glossop in the
Peak District [in 2008] as a way
of getting onto the hills quicker.
Within an hour, I could be on the
hill and back again before breakfast.
That’s pretty special. Ultrarunning
was a natural progression, but trail
running is what I love.
What is it about the hills that
draws you to them?
Mountains give me a sense of
perspective – there’s a timelessness
that makes all the things we worry
about seem irrelevant. You’re
running in your own world, with the
smell of rain, the mist, the sloshing
Did starting a family change all
of that for you?
I competed in a hill race 10 days
before the birth, and I ran the park
run three days before. I ran the day
I went into labour, too. It’s my way
of life and it makes me feel good
about myself. It was just natural
that I came back to running
afterwards. The post-birth recovery
was fairly quick, then I was back
into it. I started gently jogging four
weeks after Rowan was born.
You’ve said it’s important to
have something else in your life
besides being a parent…
Being a mum is the best thing that’s
ever happened to me, but having
something I’m passionate about
makes me a better mum. Sometimes
I look at the way our society works,
with parents spending their whole
life driving their kids from one place
to the next. That’s great, because
they’re encouraging the child, but
I’m not sure it’s the best example for
the child to feel that’s the way the
world works – that everything just
revolves around them. It’s good for
them to see their parents enjoying
their own lives, because that’s what
you want for them, too – to grow up
being passionate about something
they want to be.
What was the toughest moment
of the Spine Race for you?
My main worry on the start line
wasn’t my physical fitness, or breast
milk, it was leaving my daughter for
that length of time. The first night
was the hardest, because I already
felt tired and still had more than
200 miles [320km] to run to see
Rowan. You’d think you’d get more
and more tired, but on the last day
I knew I was leading the race and
I’d see my daughter that evening. It
was actually an advantage, because
it kept me moving.
SKYLINE SCOTLAND/NO LIMITS PHOTOGRAPHY
26 THE RED BULLETIN

“The real
heroes are
the runners
at the back
of the field”
THE RED BULLETIN 27

“Having
this passion
makes me a
better mum”
Unstoppable: inclement weather is
like water off an ultrarunner’s back
for an athlete such as Paris, pictured
here en route to her record-breaking
triumph in last year’s Spine Race;
(below left) Paris poses with her
very muddy tools of the trade;
(below right) competing in the
2018 Glen Coe Skyline race, where
she took second place
28 THE RED BULLETIN

Jasmin Paris
MICK KENYON, PETE AYLWARD, JAMES KIRBY
What’s it like in those moments of
absolute exhaustion?
I was hallucinating. Shapes morph and
change. In a way, it was an interesting
distraction. When I was getting close to
the very end, it looked like there were
people at the side of the road. It was
only trees, but your mind starts
showing you things you want to see.
Your main rival, Spanish runner
and 2013 men’s champion Eugeni
Roselló Solé, quit just 6km from the
finish. What would have been going
through his mind?
When you’re trying to win a race like
the Spine, sometimes you overstep the
mark. Eugene was chasing me all
through the night before, and I think
he pushed himself to the limit. I was
wearing every item of clothing I had
– six layers, three pairs of leggings –
but it’s difficult to stay warm when
you’re not moving fast. He had less
gear than me. That’s part of your
decision-making – how much weight
you’re carrying, how fast you’re moving
– and ultimately it didn’t pay off [for
him]. That night, it started snowing
and the temperature was way below
zero. If you’re getting too cold and
you’re moving too slowly, it’s a vicious
circle. I’m just glad he was rescued and
safe in the end.
There’s been a lot of talk about
women outperforming men in ultra
events. What’s your take?
I get this question a lot. I’m not a
scientist. I mean, I am a scientist, but
this is not my area of studies. I’ve found
that the longer the race, the more
competitive I can be with men. If you’re
running a short race, it comes down
to strength and aerobics. With long
distances, stamina is obviously
important, but 50 per cent of it is in
your head – in a 24-hour race, you’ll go
through bad stretches, but it’s about
learning that you’ll come out the other
side feeling better again. It’s meditative.
In my experience, the women who turn
up at long races, even if they’re just 10
per cent of the field, are usually better
prepared. They’re less likely to have
this macho attitude of “how hard can
it be?” At the Dragon’s Back Race in
Wales, I was told that if you’re a man
you have a 50 per cent chance of
finishing; if you’re a woman, you have
a 90 per cent chance.
How can we change sport so more
women get involved?
At races, especially the bigger ones,
a readjustment in terms of gender
equality is due. There needs to be
equal prize money and equal trophies
for women. It doesn’t matter if there
are fewer women taking part – that’s
not an excuse. It has to start with
everything being made equal, then
more women will join.
Your success in the Spine Race drew
attention to mothers in sport…
I’ve had so much positive feedback
from people telling me their own
personal stories and how they’ve
been inspired, including lots of mums,
some of them in breastfeeding groups.
It’s just this message about women,
about mothers, doing sport. I do my
best to support that. Like with This
Mum Runs, a volunteer-led company
dedicated to getting more women out
running. It is a real problem – a lot
of women think they can’t do sports,
and some have issues with their body
image. I hope that people like me will
help to change that, so this movement
is aimed at getting mums running
together as a social thing. Regardless
of your gender, sport shouldn’t be
about being good – it should be about
taking part and enjoying it. Sport
in schools shouldn’t be about the
competitive element.
Who inspires you?
There are certainly some women
I admire a lot. [British fell runner]
Helene Diamantides raised the profile
of women in the early days of the
sport. And [Scottish skyrunner]
Angela Mudge. But they didn’t make
me start running – that came from the
love of it. It sounds corny, but I feel
more inspired by the people at the
back of the field. They generally run
twice as long as those at the front.
I’d finish in eight or nine hours and
have time to rest, eat, relax and sleep;
they’re running 16-18 hours a day
with six hours to eat, sleep, change
clothes and set off again. They don’t
have the promise of winning and
fame, and the aid stations are
depleted of the best food by the time
they reach them, yet the spirit they
show… They’re the real heroes. I get
most of my motivation from them.
Twitter: @JasminKParis
THE RED BULLETIN 29

AND THE
BEAT
GOES ON
In the six decades of its existence,
NOTTING HILL CARNIVAL has faced challenges
from many quarters. But this annual celebration
of Caribbean culture has prevailed. This year,
although the traditional live event has been put
on hold, the story continues…
Words GEORGIA CHAMBERS
Artwork CHIIZII
FLORIAN OBKIRCHER (ADDITIONAL WORDS)
30 THE RED BULLETIN

Notting Hill Carnival
“Carnival is a
reminder that
it’s possible
for people to
be together
and unite”
his summer has been a quiet one
for fans of live music because of the
pandemic. But there is one festival
that has, in its rich history, often
managed to find opportunity when
faced with setbacks. When, in 1959,
activist Claudia Jones staged the
celebration of Caribbean culture
that would become the Notting Hill
Carnival, it was a reaction to race
riots in the neighbourhood, a call
for peace and unity within the local
community. Over the past six
decades, the event has grown far
beyond anything Jones could have
imagined. Carnival is now the world’s
second-biggest street festival, with
40,000 volunteers and more than
a million visitors each year, adding
£93 million to the UK economy.
In 2020, the live event has been
cancelled, but Carnival is far from
over. Organisers are busy creating
its first digital edition, where, over
August Bank Holiday weekend, mas
bands, steel bands, sound systems,
dancers and DJs will be streamed
live to the world, giving millions
a deeper insight into what Carnival
culture is all about. Because Notting
Hill Carnival has always been more
than a street party; it’s a living
history. Here, eight people involved in
different aspects of Carnival explain
how it has helped to shape their lives.
nhcarnival.org
MATTHEW
PHILLIP
CHIEF EXECUTIVE
OFFICER, NOTTING
HILL CARNIVAL
Matthew Phillip doesn’t
remember his first Carnival.
At the age of just two years
old, he witnessed the
festivities from his buggy.
Such an early introduction
isn’t surprising when you
learn that he’s the son of
Notting Hill Carnival veteran
Clive Phillip (see page 35).
Matthew’s first Carnival
memories are as an eightyear-old.
“I would wear a
costume and sit on a float as
it went around the parade,”
he remembers. “Rather than
there being a set route, the
band would be based on All
Saints Road. There would be
music playing, and when the
steel band felt like it they’d
get on the float. There were
no trucks pulling the floats
– people would push them.
It was ultimately very
environmentally friendly!”
Needless to say, presentday
Carnival is a very
different affair, with more
than a million visitors each
year (making it second only
to Rio in the big league of
street festivals) and more than
25,000 performers, 15,000
handmade costumes, 250
food stalls, 70 bands and 35
sound systems. And Matthew
is the man who makes the
spectacle happen. The
48-year-old is humble when
32 THE RED BULLETIN

discussing his role, however.
“I try to make sure everyone’s
voices are heard, to steer the
event in a way that everyone
can buy into and feel that
they’re part of it,” he says. “If
there was somebody leading
and saying, ‘OK, this is what
we’re going to do,’ that
wouldn’t be what Carnival
represents. Carnival has
grown organically.”
Notting Hill Carnival has
deep roots in London and
beyond. As a reaction to
the Notting Hill race riots
the previous year, in 1959
Trinidadian journalist and
human-rights activist Claudia
Jones staged an indoor
Caribbean Carnival at
London’s St Pancras Town
Hall. Seven years later,
community activist Rhaune
Laslett took the idea
outdoors and created the
first Notting Hill Carnival,
which was attended by 500
people. The aim of the event,
originally organised for
children, was to promote
integration and cultural
exchange through the
involvement of local residents
who had emigrated to the
area from the West Indies.
It’s this 54-year legacy that
has made the cancellation
of the 2020 Carnival – the
first in its history, as a
consequence of COVID-19
restrictions – all the more
painful. “If you’d asked me a
year ago, I would have said
there was nothing that could
ever cancel Carnival,” says
Matthew. “But in the interests
of safety, and particularly
the way [COVID-19] has
been affecting the Black
community, there was
nothing else we could do.
It wouldn’t have been wise
to continue.”
Rather than accept defeat,
however, Matthew and his
team decided to turn this
difficult situation into a new
opportunity – the chance to
take Notting Hill Carnival
global for the very first time.
At the time of our interview,
Matthew and a crew of
around 30 directors, camera
operators and others are
preparing to shoot the trailer
for what will be Carnival’s
first digital edition. “We plan
to show people around the
world what Carnival is about,
and what it has to offer, in
more detail than you’d be
able to see if you came in
person. You’ll be able to see
performances and also get an
understanding of the history
behind the costumes, the
steel pan and the artists.”
For Matthew, giving
people an insight into
Carnival’s roots and processes
is an integral part of his work
towards greater tolerance and
an anti-racist society. “Recent
events have shown that
actually we haven’t come as
far as we would hope,” he
says. “Racism today is much
more subtle; it’s behind
closed doors, it’s systemic.
Carnival is a reminder that all
this diversity can exist in the
same space and we can be at
ease with each other; that it
is possible for people to be
together and unite, no matter
the colour of their skin.”
THE RED BULLETIN 33

“I love telling
stories with my
costumes”
CLARY
SALANDY
COSTUME DESIGNER,
MAHOGANY CARNIVAL ARTS
Clary Salandy came to England from
Trinidad as a child. It had always been
her intention to study music, but when
then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
raised university fees for overseas students,
art was the less expensive option.
“I applied to do theatre design at
the Wimbledon School of Art,” Clary
remembers. “In my interview, they asked
me, ‘You don’t know anything about
theatre – why are you applying?’ So
I said, ‘I’m from Trinidad and we do
this street theatre thing.’ I was able to
turn that interview into a discussion
on Carnival, and they took me on.”
Today, Clary is one of the UK’s most
accomplished costume designers. She
has taught at the renowned London art
school Central St Martins and created
costumes for prestigious events including
the Olympics opening ceremony in 2012
and the Queen’s Golden Jubilee. It all
began with a passion for Carnival. In
1989, she formed Mahogany, a Carnival
arts organisation that became known
for its spectacular costumes, some of
them 15ft high. Mahogany lends its
talents to events worldwide, but there
will always be a special place for
Notting Hill Carnival because of its
importance to the community.
“A lot of people who started with us in
1989 are still with us, and their children
are doing it now, too,” says Clary. “That’s
what we want: a culture that has a
future, and where these skills and values
get passed on and on. That’s really
important because it, too, is a tradition
in African oral history – you take the
tradition and you pass it on – so we hold
true to that. So, anybody who comes in,
their family must come in, too.”
In Trinidad in the late 18th century,
slaves were banned from joining in the
celebrations of the European settlers, so
created their own version of Carnival –
Canboulay – in defiance. Homage is
paid to this history throughout Clary’s
costume designs. “If you were a slave
and put on a costume for Carnival, you
wouldn’t just be dancing,” she says. “You’d
be looking back and commemorating.
You’re standing your ground for what
happened to you – it’s a protest. Carnival
is an art form that has been handed
down to us from that horrible journey
where people died to enable us to be free
and walk on the street.” With the
Carnival outfits she makes, Clary says,
people commemorate their ancestors’
struggle in a similar way to those who
wear the remembrance poppy.
“I love telling important stories with
my costumes, so the passion is there,”
she says. “Whatever I intend to do, I’m
going to do it well. Carnival is a loud
voice for the Black community, because
there really isn’t anything so big and
recognised as a Black art form. All those
things channelled me into becoming
this Carnival woman.”
STEPHEN RAMDEEN, ROBBIE JOSEPH/PANPODIUM
34 THE RED BULLETIN

Notting Hill Carnival
CLIVE
‘MASHUP’
PHILLIP
COMMUNITY ACTIVIST,
FOUNDER, MANGROVE
STEELBAND
When Clive ‘Mashup’ Phillip
came to the UK from Trinidad
in 1961, Notting Hill was very
different from how it is today.
Like many in the Windrush
generation, the then 19-yearold
had answered the call
from the British government
for help in rebuilding the
country. But those who
arrived in search of a new life
were greeted with signs that
read, ‘No dogs, no Blacks, no
Irish,’ and were forced to live
in almost slum-like conditions.
In 1958, a mob of around
400 White people, inflamed
by right-wing groups, chased
Black residents through the
streets and attacked their
houses in what would
become known as the Notting
Hill race riots. “Notting Hill
was a bombsite,” remembers
Clive, now 78. “Race relations
in the area were terrible.”
At the time, he was
residing on All Saints Road,
opposite the now infamous
Mangrove restaurant, a hub
for local Caribbeans that was
also frequented by famous
faces including Bob Marley
and Marvin Gaye. “It wasn’t
just a building, it was a
community,” says Clive. “The
police were determined to
terrorise Black people. This is
when we stood up and fought.
We started doing things like
building homes for our elders
and supporting ex-offenders
leaving prison. What the police
didn’t realise was that they
were making us stronger.”
In 1980, this activism
led Clive to start Mangrove
Steelband. “To me, it was
something for the youths,
to keep them out of trouble,
because a lot of youth clubs
were closing down,” he says
of the band, now a big name
in their field. “They enjoyed
playing pan because it gave
them confidence.”
The steel drum (or pan)
has long been a symbol of
defiance. In 1877, enslaved
Trinidadians were banned by
the British from playing hand
drums, so turned to beating
bamboo tubes. Then, after
“What the
police didn’t
realise is
that they
were
making us
stronger”
WWII, the island was awash
with oil drums that had been
left behind by the US forces,
so the Trinidadians began
experimenting with these.
“The development of the steel
pan began in different stages,”
explains Clive. “First one
note, two, three, then scales.”
Mangrove Steelband
are now synonymous with
Notting Hill Carnival, but
their longevity has not come
without struggle. Clive recalls
police in the ’70s and ’80s
making repeated attempts to
scupper their involvement.
“One year, they’re blocking
the roads and won’t let us
pass, so [steel bands] Ebony
and Eclipse decide that if they
don’t let Mangrove [through],
nothing will move. Eventually
the police said we could join.
We could hear people say,
‘Mangrove is coming!’”
Carnival became an excuse
for the targeting of Black
people by the authorities. In
1976, with tensions high due
to the ‘sus’ law – police could
stop, search and even arrest
any person they suspected of
criminal intent – there were
clashes between police and
some in the Black community.
Anticipating trouble, as many
as 3,000 officers had turned
up to Carnival – 10 times the
usual number. “Carnival was
like a battlefield,” Clive says.
“We were playing on All Saints
Road when a fight started on
Portobello Road. The police
came, smashed everything up.”
Despite an unfair portrayal
in the media as a hotspot for
crime, today’s Carnival has
around the same number of
arrests per 10,000 people as
Glastonbury, which is often
praised for its low offence
rate. For Clive, it’s important
to remember the past. “A lot
of people don’t know the
history of Carnival or slavery,”
he says, “so it’s important
that people understand why
they’re attending Carnival
– to learn and experience
culture, not just to party.”
THE RED BULLETIN 35

Notting Hill Carnival
JAMES WATKINS/BBC
“Carnival
boosts your
confidence”
CARMEN
LONDON
DJ, DISYA JENERATION
SOUND SYSTEM
Many of us remember our first club night
as a transformative moment, a feeling
of entering a forbidden world. But for
Carmen London it was more than that.
When she entered the Union Club in
Vauxhall, south London, at the age of
18, it was life-altering for two reasons.
Firstly, she had never been in a crowd
of LGBT people of colour before – “I was
like, ‘Wow, I never knew that there are
others like me’” – and secondly, as she
watched the DJ controlling the crowd,
she found her purpose in life.
Carmen was raised on a broad diet
of musical styles by her Jamaican parents
– from reggae to country – so the south
Londoner quickly appreciated that there
are hidden gems in every genre. This
turned her into a music collector very
early on, so by the time she witnessed
the DJ at the Union Club, Carmen was
ready. Within a year she had played
LGBT events in London, soon followed
by club bookings across Europe.
And yet, when she was asked by a
fellow DJ to play Notting Hill Carnival
in 2015, despite all her experience it
didn’t feel like just another gig. “For
a DJ, playing at Carnival is one of your
big goals,” says the 32-year-old. “It was
like a dream come true.”
The sound system she was asked
to play for, Disya Jeneration, is one
of Carnival’s biggest, entertaining
thousands of dancers on a tightly packed
Powis Terrace with a mix of hip hop,
house, dancehall and more. “It can be
scary at first,” she says of her first time.
“It’s so different from a nightclub gig;
the crowd is huge, and a lot of people
don’t know who you are, so you need to
read the crowd, find out what they like
and keep the energy level high.”
Disya Jeneration is run by Carnival
board director Linett Kamala, who, in the
early ’80s, became one of the first female
DJs to play at Carnival and has subsequently
provided a platform for others like her.
“Linett has been a mentor to me,” Carmen
says. “When she passed me the baton
[to help curate the sound system’s DJ
line-up], it was a big deal.”
Through her work with Disya
Jeneration, scouting for up-and-coming
DJs has become an important part of
Carmen’s life. Being given the chance to
DJ at Carnival was a career-defining
moment for her, so she wants to provide
other young people with the same
opportunity. “A Carnival gig is great for
your CV,” she says, “but, most important
of all, it boosts your confidence. And that
helps you in all areas of life.”
This August Bank Holiday weekend,
Carmen and her sound system crew will
evoke Carnival vibes from their homes
via livestreaming. As a radio presenter
– Carmen hosts shows on BBC Radio 1Xtra
and Pulse88 Radio – the idea of DJing
in a studio is something she’s used to.
“I’ll miss all the people screaming and
shouting,” she says. “But we’ll give the
crowd the same music and the same
energy we always do.”
HASAN
DE FOUR
CHEF, PURE LIME
CHOCOLATE MAS
“For the past 15 years, I’ve
looked after the catering for
Pure Lime Chocolate Mas,”
says Hasan De Four. “I
remember when it started,
with 20 people coming out
covered in chocolate, everyone
was like, ‘What is that about?’
But it was something that was
missing in the UK Carnival
scene: there was no J’ouvert.”
J’ouvert is a Carnival
tradition in Hasan’s home of
Trinidad that dates back to the
emancipation from slavery of
the Caribbean islands in 1838.
Before the ‘Pretty Mas’ where
dancers parade in feathers
and sequins, revellers daub
themselves in oil, paint and
mud – the ‘Dirty Mas’. Of
course, being a chef, Hasan
prefers chocolate; the 43-yearold
is open to progress as well
as respectful of tradition.
In 1995, an 18-year-old
Hasan came to London to live
with his mother and his
grandparents – members of
the Windrush generation who
arrived from the Caribbean
between the late ’40s and
early ’70s. “I got here the
week before Carnival,” he
says. “It was different to the
Carnival at home. [Veteran
hip-hop DJ Tim] Westwood
was playing! I headed to the
Trini float to get my soca on
– that was my introduction.”
Hasan found his passion
in catering and championing
Caribbean food. “I was like,
‘Why isn’t our food recognised?’
People say London is the
original melting pot, but we’ve
been doing it longer. Our
food comes from the native
Arawaks; from the British,
Spanish and Portuguese
colonists; from African slaves;
from Chinese and Indian
labourers – it’s a real fusion.”
Opportunities soon came
Hasan’s way, including a stint
THE RED BULLETIN 37

Notting Hill Carnival
as Gary Rhodes’ sous chef
on TV, and the launch of
Singapore’s first Caribbean
restaurant, Lime House. “On
the first day, we mirrored
Notting Hill,” he says. “We
called it Lime Hill. But because
we were new, we didn’t get to
block any streets.” He also
pitched cuisine to UK clubs
and festivals. “I was like,
‘Why don’t you have food
inside the parties?’ They were
like, ‘Sure, go ahead.’”
And then there’s Carnival.
“I cater more than 2,400
meals,” Hasan says. “Breakfast
is fried eggs, dumplings,
saltfish, plantain; callaloo
[a thick stew made with
spinach-like greens] for the
vegans. Lunchtime is pelau
– Trini chicken, peas and
“Food and
culture are
like bread
and butter”
veg in one pot – soaking up
the fuel intake for Carnival
weekend. Trini corn soup,
that’s the reviver,” he laughs.
The chef says his favourite
moment is shortly before the
revellers arrive. “On the Friday,
I leave the kitchen, walk
through Ladbroke Grove, and
feel the change in the air.
They’re dropping the barriers,
the steel pan is testing. It’s
the last Bank Holiday of the
year, and you know that the
following week it’ll get cold.
It’s the last celebration before
we go into that dreary time.”
This year, things may be
different for Carnival, but Hasan
is excited by the potential.
“We’re doing cooking sessions,”
he says. “People can go to this
one spot and be educated by
myself or a mixologist doing
rum punch. And it’ll be
broadcast internationally.
“It’s going to be different
but still fun. You can still
enjoy your own space, turn
your music up, and invite
your neighbours to eat some
jerk chicken. Let’s create our
own vibe in-house.”
MIKEY
DREAD
SELECTOR, CHANNEL
ONE SOUND SYSTEM
Some people learn how to
operate a sound system –
others, like sound-system
veteran Mikey Dread, inherit
it. “From the youngest age,
we’ve always known sound
systems; it’s basically in the
blood. That’s how we
started,” he says, recounting
his father arriving in the UK
from Jamaica in the late ’50s
with a sound system in tow.
Having taken over the
running of their dad’s set-up in
1979, Mikey and his brother
Jah T began performing at
local venues and adopted the
name Channel One. In 1983,
the siblings pitched up at a
spot on Acklam Road and
played their first Notting Hill
Carnival – and they’ve been
bringing reggae and roots
rhythms to listeners young
and old ever since.
“We go to Carnival for
the people,” says Mikey. “It’s
great to see old faces you’ve
known for 25 years, as well
as new faces just enjoying
the vibe. We don’t play any
music that incites violence or
negativity – that’s not what
people come to Channel
One’s Carnival for. They
come for spiritual healing.
A lot of people could have
been experiencing problems
during that week, and they
will come to Carnival and
dance for a couple of days
and go back a better person.
That’s what reggae and roots
music is all about.”
GETTY IMAGES
38 THE RED BULLETIN

“They
come
for
spiritual
healing”

Channel One is now one of
the UK’s best-known reggae
sound systems, with a loyal
fan base, but Mikey and his
brother have walked a long
and arduous road to reach
this level of success.
“In the ’70s and ’80s, a lot
of venues wouldn’t let us
take our sound system in,
so we ended up in backstreet
community centres and things
like that,” he says. “We’ve
gone through all this fight to
pave the way for younger
sound systems.”
Mikey’s experience echoes
history. When the sound
system arrived in England
from the Caribbean in the
’50s, they often had to be
set up in basements and old
warehouses, away from
Britain’s more mainstream
pubs and social spaces which,
for many Caribbean people,
could feel like a hostile
environment. The sound
system created a more
welcoming space. For Mikey,
honouring this history is
important: “Black people have
taken a lot of shit throughout
the years. That’s why I keep
the sound system going – it’s a
Black entity, it’s a Black unit.”
Mikey and Jah T don’t
plan on turning down the
volume any time soon. In a
time when you can buy huge
sound systems that are almost
ready-made, in their eyes
it has become even more
crucial to pass on traditions
– and part of sound-system
culture is building the set-up
from scratch.
“If you really love sound
systems and reggae, you’re
in it for the long haul,” says
Mikey. “The music itself is
very important in my family’s
life, because that’s what we’ve
grown up with. Pops isn’t here
any more, but my mother is,
and she was the backbone of
our family when it comes to
music. So it’s very important
that we keep it together and
people know we’re trying to
keep it going.”
RHONA EZUMA
DANCER, PARAISO SCHOOL
OF SAMBA
On a typical Monday during Carnival,
more than 70 bands parade the streets
of Notting Hill, with in excess of 25,000
dancers in flamboyant costumes
decorated with feathers and tassels. As a
roadside spectator, you’re lucky to catch
10 minutes of each band. So what you
don’t get to see is that many dancers are
moving to the Carnival rhythms for six
hours a day.
“It’s very long, but some Carnivals
are more gruelling than others,” says
30-year-old fashion stylist and THIIIRD
magazine editor Rhona Ezuma, recalling
the intense summer heat of last year’s
“Carnival is
a space to
celebrate
your body”
event. “Despite the weather, I feel it’s my
responsibility to push joy out there!”
Rhona first started parading with
the Paraiso School of Samba in 2015.
A big inspiration for her was seeing the
confidence of the women participating
in the first Carnival she attended, at
the age of 15. This was one of the things
that made her fall in love with it.
“Carnival is a place where you can be
the largest woman or the smallest, show
as much as you want or as little as you
want,” she says. “And no one is telling
you that you can’t be who you are.”
What’s so special about Carnival,
Rhona says, is that it creates a safe space
for Black women’s bodies in particular,
which have historically been subject
to scrutiny. “Even today, when having
a big bum and big lips is in fashion, these
are features that Black women were
previously ridiculed for. And now, in the
mainstream, they’re celebrated more on
White women than on Black women.”
The freedom and confidence Rhona
and many revellers feel at Carnival is
intrinsically linked to dancing. “At
Carnival, I make use of my hips, the bits
that move and jiggle,” she says. “That’s
DINITA MOORE
40 THE RED BULLETIN

Notting Hill Carnival
what makes it such a powerful space for
women to celebrate their bodies.”
Samba has influenced Rhona’s work
beyond the dance moves. Although it’s
known today as a Brazilian brand of
dance, the roots of samba can be found
in the semba, a style that originated
in Angola, south-west Africa. When
Portuguese slave traders transported
Angolans to the state of Bahia in northeast
Brazil in the early 17th century, the
slaves maintained this tradition. With
the abolition of slavery in Brazil in the
late 19th century, those who had been
freed settled in the favelas of Rio de
Janeiro, where they developed their
own form of samba. “Being around those
stories has inspired certain headpieces
and accessories I’ve made,” Rhona says.
“There’s a recognition of those stories
in the garments I create.”
On a personal level, the sense of
achievement Rhona feels post-Carnival
lives on long after the floats have passed.
“I’m knackered by the end of it, but that
same feeling of ‘Wow, this is what I’ve
done…’ lives on,” she says. “I think I’ve
learnt to treasure that a lot more. I think
that’s made me a more secure person.”
LEONE
BUNCOMBE
PRODUCTION
MANAGER, MANGROVE
MAS BAND
Leone Buncombe designs
and creates more than 200
costumes for Carnival each
year, but on the big day you’ll
find her in jeans and a T-shirt.
“It’s funny,” she says. “I’ve
never been the kind to dress
up. When I was younger, I’d go
to Carnival with my mum, who
was a seamstress. She wasn’t
a costume person either.”
However, as production
manager for Mangrove Mas
Band (short for masquerade
band), one of Carnival’s most
historic costume troupes,
the 36-year-old is passionate
about her creations. “It’s
the spectacle of costume,
starting with an idea, going
through the design process
and creating something
“We try to
get young
people into
creative
industries.
Carnival
is a great
route in”
unexpected,” she says. “You
can go anywhere with it.
Creating costumes for
Mangrove Mas Band is a
year-round job – work starts
almost as soon as Carnival
finishes. “It’s like, ‘We’ve
finished. What are we doing
next year?’” says Leone with
a smile. “In July and August,
it’s all hands on deck. You
have 15 people a night at the
mas camp, all volunteers
working until the early hours.
Around 200 costumes equals
tens of thousands of gems,
hundreds of metres of fabric,
and at least 1,000 glue sticks.”
The community effort is
part of the appeal for Leone,
who has been with the mas
band for 14 years. “If you
don’t have community, it
becomes a lonely world,”
she says. “Carnival has taught
me to ‘free up’, as we call it –
not to take life too seriously.
You walk into the mas camp
and there’s music playing,
people giggling and catching
up. It doesn’t feel like work.”
In her day job, Leone
is service manager for the
Rugby Portobello Trust,
a charity that helps young
people find education and
employment. “It’s about
getting people through doors
they might not be able to
walk through themselves.
We have a creative arts
project called Amplify, which
Mangrove is attached to. We
try to get young people into
creative industries, and
Carnival is a great route in.”
Leone and her team are
making 15 ‘utopia’-themed
costumes for a catwalk show
that will be part of this year’s
digital offering. She believes
that being online will help
spread a deeper knowledge
of Carnival. “You’ll be able
to see every element for
what it is, and get a better
understanding of the history.
You couldn’t usually see it
all on foot in a day. It’ll give
people a chance to see the
bigger picture.”
THE RED BULLETIN 41

Taming the beast
During his work on the Mexican migrant trail,
photographer and graffiti artist PABLO ALLISON
has been imprisoned, robbed and held at
gunpoint. But he’s never considered quitting
Words RUTH McLEOD
Photography PABLO ALLISON
Chasing a dream: (from top, left to right) migrants risk a ride on top of a lorry en route from Oaxaca
to Veracruz; a mural painted by Allison in Shoreditch, east London; after 15 days of travelling across
southern Mexico, many board a freight train in Oaxaca; a tribute to the ‘Brave Migrants’; riding atop
‘The Beast’ after more than four weeks crossing central America to northern Mexico; tyres, plastic,
wood and anything else flammable is burnt for warmth at night; a graffitied message of hope; David
from Guatemala, stranded in the state of Sonora with the aim of reaching the Mexico-US border

43

“Graffiti has been
a great educator for
me. I’ve never seen
it as destructive”

Pablo Allison
Writ large: the message in Allison’s graffiti and his photography is clear – love conquers fear
GEORGE MARSHALL
I
t’s midnight, and Pablo Allison
is clinging to the top of a fastmoving
freight train as it speeds
south through the Mexican
desert. Heavy rain batters his body;
it’s freezing cold. The train shakes as it
rushes noisily on at 100kph, meaning
Allison can barely adjust his grip during
what will be a 10-hour journey, for fear
of falling off into the darkness.
Travelling illegally on this industrial
network is fraught with dangers – it’s
also common for these vast trains to
derail, or for criminal gangs to come
aboard – but it’s still the safest of the few
travel options open to migrants moving
across Mexico. And photographer and
graffiti artist Allison has been doing
these trips with them for more than
three years now, to document and better
understand the experiences of some of
the tens of thousands of migrants who
pass through the country every year
on their way to the United States.
Allison began riding these trains in 2016
with the aim of shooting the inaccessible
landscapes along Mexico’s private train
routes. “But I realised I couldn’t turn my
lens away from the migrants I met,” he
says. “I’m fascinated by the perseverance,
the strength, how people do these
extraordinarily difficult journeys. The
motivation people have to escape, to
seek a better life, is astonishing.”
Most migrants Allison meets are
escaping poverty, violence or both.
There are men, women, children, young
and old, from all sorts of backgrounds
and situations, from all over the world,
battling the odds and often treacherous
conditions to make a new life. “People
come from as far as Iraq, Syria, Iran
Bangladesh, and find themselves in
South America,” he says. “Then they
embark on a journey through various
countries, cross the notorious lawless
jungle of north-west Colombia, the
Darién Gap, and then somehow get to
Panama. Once they get to Mexico, they
still have so much to do… Those of us
living moderately comfortable lives
should learn from these people, rather
than demonising or criminalising them.”
When Allison meets The Red
Bulletin, he’s far from Mexico.
It’s a rainy February day in
Hastings on England’s south
coast, and Allison – dressed in a red
T-shirt emblazoned with the slogan
‘FUCK TRUMP’ – is in the UK to run a
workshop on migration at a street-art
event and spray-paint a wall in town
with a poem by a Guatemalan migrant
he travelled with. In recent years, Allison
has taught workshops in several countries,
in art galleries and refugee centres,
using his skills in both photography and
graffiti to reach a range of audiences.
A book of some of his photographic work
comes out later this month. But Allison
isn’t pushing a political agenda.
THE RED BULLETIN 45

“I’m always careful not to be preachy
about social or political issues,” he says.
“Everyone has an idea of what migration
means, and I don’t dictate. I show them
my experience as I’ve documented it,
and we have a conversation. This project
is primarily about me understanding the
complex reality of people who have to
escape very difficult situations. The real
objective has always been for me to
become a better person.”
Allison’s passion for this subject
started when he was young. Born in
Manchester, Allison moved with his
family to Mexico – the birthplace of his
mother – when he was three. Allison
was curious, his parents liberal. “My
mum’s only rules were that I couldn’t
take drugs or join the Nazi party,” says
Allison, now 38. So he started exploring
’90s Mexico City. “At 16 or so, I’d take
my parents’ camera and photograph
graffiti. I’d go to train yards on the
outskirts of the city to paint trains.
I’d notice people travelling on the tops
of these trains, which run between
Mexico, the US and Canada.”
Allison’s own journey has been
anything but straightforward. He’s
been imprisoned in both the UK and
the US, and held at gunpoint in Mexico
– distressing episodes that have informed
and shaped his current work. “Having
my liberty taken from me made me
realise how important being creative is,”
he says. “Art is freedom. I was free even
then, because I was able to use my head.”
Allison was first sent to prison in 2012,
a decade after returning to the UK to
discover the graffiti scene and study
documentary photography. “London’s
energy was inspiring,” he says. “Graffiti
belongs to urban environments, and I was
seriously into it. It’s the adrenalin, the
rebelliousness, the creativity, the curiosity.
Graffiti has been a great educator for me.
I’ve never seen it as destructive.”
But, in the run-up to the Olympic
Games, London police were
cleaning up. Allison was given
a 19-month jail sentence – six of
which would be served in HM Prison
Wormwood Scrubs – for tagging trains.
“I don’t see graffiti as a criminal act,”
he says. “But I always knew that
prosecution was possible. It was about
completing the sentence so I could
leave and start a new life.”
While he was inside, Allison
collaborated with his photographer
sister, Roxana, on a creative project
about the experience. He read, wrote
and drew. “I just wanted to be locked in
my cell,” he says. “I had so much to do.
I didn’t want to waste time.”
Allison says he left more serious,
more solitary and less restless. He
stopped doing graffiti. He ran a lot. He
continued to work on projects around
migration and identity, while working
several different jobs in London,
including roles at charities Amnesty
International and Action Aid. His idea
for the project in Mexico began to form.
“I realised I wanted to go back,
to apply my knowledge from those
charities,” he says. “I was very motivated
to start from scratch there.” In 2016,
he moved back to Mexico City to begin
photographing the landscapes visible
to migrants when they travel by train,
a single project he thought would be
done within a year, but which has now
morphed into two projects across three
countries, which are still ongoing,
almost four years later.
Allison soon experienced first-hand
the vulnerability of the people travelling
these routes. “One train won’t take you
from south to north,” he says. “You have
to understand the route you’re taking,
you have to get on and off. These freight
“We should celebrate migration and understand it not as
a problem but as a phenomenon. Trump’s idea that they’re
all criminals, it’s rubbish”
Brave statement: a tribute to the Migrantes Valientes. The tombstones display the names of some of the migrants’ countries of birth
46 THE RED BULLETIN

Pablo Allison
GEORGE MARSHALL
“People who embark on any journey
as a means to survive appreciate life…
they’re optimistic, resilient”
trains carry thousands of dollars’ worth
of goods to the US or Canada. Banditos
regularly steal grain, TVs, whatever. So
travelling this way is seriously risky.”
He has witnessed violence, been
robbed, and was almost killed two years
ago by a criminal gang while travelling
with two friends. “We were held at
gunpoint on a train,” Allison says. “I
prayed for my life. We were lucky to
escape alive.” Yet he was back at work
the next month, armed with his camera,
travelling on foot and by train with
a caravan of around 7,000 people.
“Somehow, you brush it aside,’ he says.
“After all, I’ve chosen to do this.”
Then, last year, Allison’s resolve was
tested again. After he was refused entry
to Canada, US agents noticed Allison
had overstayed the visa he’d been issued
to attend an exhibition in New York a few
months earlier. He was detained by US
Immigration and Customs Enforcement,
and imprisoned in Tacoma, Washington
State. “I had no idea,” says Allison. “It
was an admin error! But they locked me
up. I ended up being in jail for almost a
month – I believe because of my previous
conviction. I’d done nothing wrong,
but I was handcuffed, leg-cuffed. I wore
a prison uniform. On the way to jail,
I remember seeing these huge murals
showing great American scenes like the
Grand Canyon, which felt pretty ironic
as those were the landscapes I’d wanted
to photograph.”
Allison threw himself into his writing
and drawing. He got fellow inmates to
pose for portraits. “Again, being creative
was crucial in an environment like that,”
he says. “Imagine, you wake up in a cell
with 85 other people. You have two
widescreen TVs showing CNN all day
long in a confined environment. The
food’s terrible. You’re forced to go to
sleep at 11pm. Then all through the
night there’s noise.”
But somehow Allison also managed
to find positives thanks to the other
inmates – mostly people classed as illegal
immigrants, awaiting deportation. “We
gave each other nicknames, joked about
our situation,” he says. “I laughed so
much. It was so much therapy to me.
I realised that I didn’t need to be in
Canada, I needed to be in that prison.
That’s where the work I’ve been doing
passionately for the last few years had
to lead me, to the detention centre that
I’d heard stories about from migrants.
Before this, I’d always had the option to
opt out, to go back home. When I was
locked in that jail, I was treated like
any other prisoner. That was the first
moment I could feel like a non-privileged
person working on this topic.”
After Allison was cleared to leave, he
waited in a holding cell. “Most people in
there with me were being deported and
losing everything they had; some were
still wearing their work uniforms, others
didn’t have their own clothes so were still
wearing their prison uniform. But it was
a party. We were still locked up, but it
was a celebration of freedom.”
Although, like most, Allison
recently endured yet another
unforeseen period of lockdown
during the COVID-19 pandemic
– the time was spent in Manchester
with his sister – he’s back on the migrant
trail in Mexico again. “People always
try to escape bad conditions,” he says,
“so migration doesn’t stop.” How does
he see his projects ending? “The moment
it doesn’t stimulate me, is the moment
I’ll stop. But despite the dangers, it still
makes me feel alive.
“I’ve seen people find the strength
to move forward. People who embark
on any journey as a means to survive and
live – and maybe a bit more than that,
too – appreciate life. People are pretty
optimistic, resilient and enthusiastic.
They crack jokes. I’m fascinated by that.
We should celebrate migration and
understand it not as a problem but as a
phenomenon. Trump’s idea that they’re
all criminals, it’s rubbish. There will
always be exceptions, but all the many,
many people I’ve become friends with
are hardworking people.”
It’s this idea of positivity in the face
of hardship that inspired the name of
Allison’s forthcoming book, The Light
of the Beast. “‘The Beast’ is a name that
migrants have given the train over the
years,” he says. “It’s dangerous, and
there’s the roar of the engine. It’s like
a huge monster that people have to
jump on the back of. The light is the
hope that it represents, too.”
The Light of the Beast is out on
September 2, published by Pavement
Studio, and an exhibition of Allison’s
work will be at Make Your Mark Gallery
in Helsinki from September 2-30;
pabloallison.co.uk
THE RED BULLETIN 47

Ready
to
roll
In the historic city of Athens, these young
Greek women are reclaiming space, navigating
uncertain futures and pushing for progress.
And they’re doing it all on roller skates
Words ALEX KING Photography MARK LEAVER

Suzana Bakatsia
skates across the
battered tarmac of
the old Hellinikon
Airport on the
Athens coastline
49

CIB Athens
“A huge part of roller skating
is about reclaiming space. It’s
about feminism and being
empowered as a woman”
W hen you approach Athens’
old Hellinikon Airport, sun-bleached road signs direct
you towards Domestic Arrivals and International
Departures. But nothing has taken off here in
decades. Old planes sit eerily silent next to the
perimeter fence, and the control tower gazes out over
a runway with grass breaking through its cracks.
This afternoon, a group of female roller skaters
have found their way into the old departure lounge.
They cruise around, exploring its forgotten corners
and slaloming between its battered pillars. As the
sun begins to set over the runway outside, its rays
stream in through the dirty glass windows and
bathe them all in an otherworldly golden light.
For many of these women, skating here has always
been a dream. Some glide effortlessly around the
space, jumping and spinning, while the other
women freestyle, laughing and joking as their
wheels kick up clouds of dust.
As Athens tentatively emerges from a decade of
economic chaos, young female roller skaters are
fighting for space in their city. This generation of
Greeks grew up with few opportunities, but that
taught them a valuable lesson: if you want to follow
your passion, you have to make it happen yourself.
While support and infrastructure for young people
fell victim to Greece’s historic economic crisis,
Chicks in Bowls Athens are using roller skating to
Nothing has taken off at Athens’ Hellinikon Airport since 2001. The site
has sat empty for years, waiting to be redeveloped
50 THE RED BULLETIN

(Left to right) Stefania
Malama, Suzana
Bakatsia and Sofia
Argyraki skate through
the airport’s empty
terminal building

“Roller skating honestly
helps us get out of what is,
for most people, a really
tough reality”
52 THE RED BULLETIN

CIB Athens
Below: the crew
cruise and freestyle
around the empty
car park near
the summit of
Athens’ Mount
Lycabettus, just
before sunrise.
Opposite page:
(left to right)
Suzana Bakatsia,
Constantina Xafi
and Lydia Panagou
wait for the sunrise
on top of Lycabettus
after skating
through the night
create their own community, express themselves
and forge a new relationship with their city. Day in,
day out, they’re showing up at male-dominated
skate spots, demanding respect and inclusion.
“All skateparks here are male-dominated,
however you look at it,” says Constantina Xafi, 28.
“We all roll, and it’s OK for all of us. Whatever level
you are and whatever type of person you are, you
deserve space at the skatepark.” Xafi is one of the
group’s driving forces. She works in theatre, founded
her own screen-printing business, and volunteers as
a teacher with Free Movement Skateboarding, who
offer free skateboarding lessons to young Greeks
and refugees. Xafi is working towards her dream of
creating a skatepark full of bowls suitable for roller
skaters but open to all. However, of all the types of
rider who call skateparks home – on skateboards,
BMXs, scooters or inline skates – roller skaters are
almost always women. And building a strong
community has been game-changing.
“After I started roller skating, I began to imagine
rad girls conquering the city on their skates,”
remembers Chicks in Bowls Athens co-founder Sofia
Argyraki, 31. In January 2015, Argyraki went to skate
the now-demolished DIY BMX ramp in Vrilissia,
a town in Athens’ northern suburbs, with friends
Christina Rodopoulou and Akylina Palianopoulou.
The trio spent the best part of the afternoon
attacking the ramp together, encouraging each
other to push harder. Stoked after their high-energy
session, they created a group to encourage other
women to share their passion for ramp skating.
Today, Argyraki’s dream has come true: the group
has grown to around 30-40 female roller skaters
who link up regularly to skate their favourite parks
and explore new corners of the city together.
The ancient metropolis of Athens is no skater’s
paradise; it’s a chaotically planned and densely
packed city, scattered across many steep hills.
It’s also home to numerous potholes and
broken pavements, which are particularly hazardous
for the small urethane wheels on roller skates.
If you want to skate ramps in Athens, there aren’t
many options; the city doesn’t have lavish municipal
skateparks or an administration particularly tolerant
of DIY spots. Some suburbs have small parks, but the
best spots have been built by skaters themselves,
whether it’s the sprawling DIY park in Galatsi or
Athens’ only bowl, the experimental skate/art space
Latraac in gritty Kerameikos. But, despite less-thanfavourable
conditions, the city is home to an
increasingly vibrant community of skateboarders,
BMX riders and, most recently, roller skaters.
“It’s nice to explore the city on skates, but it’s not
ideal, not easy,” Xafi says. “Once you start hanging
out with people and skating regularly, they tell you
about new spots that are nice to skate, so you can go
and check them out and discover new places.”
Lydia Panagou, 23, who has become one of the
group’s most accomplished skaters, agrees. “The
thing I like most about roller skating is that it brings
me together with others,” she says. “We organise
meet-ups, we have our music, and we travel around
the city to our favourite spots. Each person moves
and dresses however they feel. It’s important to be
one with your skates: the style, the aesthetics, the
rhythm. That comes out when there’s a harmony and
you feel comfortable with yourself and the people
around you. Your friends encourage and uplift you.”
Panagou introduced her childhood friend Suzana
Bakatsia, 22, and the pair now skate whenever they
can. “I tried with Lydia’s skates and it was strange
and unfamiliar at first, but then I really felt a rush
of adrenalin,” Bakatsia says.
Anyone can hit up Chicks in Bowls Athens on
Instagram and join one of their regular skate sessions,
from first-time skaters to visitors keen to find a local
crew. “Having a community is really important,”
says artist and architect Foteini Korre, 29. “Many
spots are far away, which puts you off going alone.
But when we travel and skate together, we help and
support each other, and you feed off that energy.”
Before she joined, Korre had grown increasingly
intrigued by the roller-skating scene she saw
emerging in Athens and around the world, but
didn’t know how to find her way in. Eventually, she
discovered Chicks in Bowls Athens on social media.
Two years later, she looks back fondly on her first
session, outside the Athens Conservatoire, a historic
performing arts centre. Its long expanse of smooth
marble, mercifully shaded from the beating sun, is
where many Athenian skaters take their first steps
THE RED BULLETIN 53

CIB Athens
– or rolls. “I enjoyed falling over all the time and
pushing myself,” Korre says. “I loved that I was doing
new things with my body and I felt so supported by
the girls. There was a big sense of achievement.”
Skating isn’t something Korre, or the other girls
she knew, did during childhood. “My generation of
girls didn’t have the opportunity to skateboard,” she
says. “We were expected to play with dolls, or stay at
home and do chores, while our brothers played in the
streets. I started roller skating at 28, and I wish I had
the chance when I was six. It’s hard when you realise
in your twenties you want that wasted time back.”
Male-dominated skateparks aren’t unique to
Athens, of course. Around the world, huge
efforts have been made in recent years to
make skate culture more inclusive, but it
remains largely a boys’ club. “To go into that space
as a female when the majority of skaters are male
creates this automatic divide,” says Chicks in Bowls
founder Samara Buscovick, aka Lady Trample.
“Whether it’s intentional or not, there’s a feeling
that all eyes are on you. It can be really intimidating,
especially if you’re new. The majority of interactions
I’ve had in parks have actually been really positive,
but there’s still a sense that you’re an alien in their
space – you have to prove you belong.”
The sprawling concrete jungle that is the Greek capital, as seen from
the top of Mount Lycabettus
Originally from Auckland, New Zealand, and now
based in Kremmling, Colorado, roller derby pro
Lady Trample was introduced to bowl skating by her
friend Michelle ‘Cutthroat’ Hayes back in November
2012. It immediately became an addiction. During a
group session a few weeks later, a friend exclaimed,
“It’s so cool to see all these chicks in bowls!” – and
the name stuck. Seven years after Trample began
building this inclusive community, Chicks in Bowls
(now CIB) has more than 300 chapters worldwide.
“One of the beautiful things about CIB is
connecting with your local chapter and not feeling
so isolated on that journey,” says Trample. “A
cultural shift has taken place; there’s now greater
representation of both females and quad skaters in
the parks – they have become safer spaces to enter.”
Yet there is work still to be done, particularly in
Greece, historically one of Europe’s most socially
conservative countries, where patriarchal attitudes
die hard. For the women of CIB Athens, there are
sometimes frustrating reminders that the city is still
playing catch-up. “Public space is mainly occupied
by men, and that’s a fact,” Korre says. “You see it on
the streets: if there’s only space on the sidewalk for
one person, a man will just walk straight and you’re
expected to move. It’s the legacy of women being
shut in their homes for so many years with no rights.
Women here were only given the vote in 1952.”
Greece’s skateparks reflect the situation in wider
society, which is moving slowly forward, but not fast
enough for many. “I know I’m far from a pro skater,
but some young men in the park have completely
disrespected me,” Korre says with a sense of
exasperation. “A huge part of roller skating is about
reclaiming space. For me, that’s political on its own
– it’s about feminism and being empowered as a
woman. Most people in the skateparks are cool,
but you sometimes have to deal with sexist and
misogynistic behaviour. The more we show up
where people skate, the more accepted we get. Now
most have started facing it that we’re here to stay.”
For the city’s young female skaters, there are so
many more reasons why having an Athens chapter
of CIB – and the community it helps to build – is so
important. “The truth is that I love Greece, I love
Athens, and I love the place where I’ve grown up,”
Panagou says. “Somehow we’ve got used to living
like this, but things are difficult for young people.”
The Greek debt crisis erupted in late 2009 and
became the worst economic disaster in European
Union history. Young people were hit particularly
hard, with youth unemployment peaking at more
than 60 per cent. After years of austerity and cuts
to spending, many of the services that young people
rely upon – schools, universities, sports facilities
– are in urgent need of repair and investment.
Politicians have announced repeatedly that the
crisis is over, yet Greek young people have seen little
improvement in their prospects. Most available jobs,
usually in tourism, are poorly paid. This leaves the
likes of Panagou, who is about to finish her degree
54 THE RED BULLETIN

Hellinikon’s dusty,
long-neglected
terminal building
is a roller-skating
playground for the
CIB Athens crew
– a place to hang
out and try out new
freestyle moves
in Art Theory and the History of Art at the Athens
School of Fine Arts, with an agonising choice: “It’s
hard for anyone my age with hopes and dreams for
the future. To find work in the arts, I’ll probably
have to go abroad. But I’d love to find something
to keep me in Greece and be part of the change.”
With its economy so dependent on tourism,
Greece is predicted to be severely affected by the
COVID-19 pandemic. This city of seemingly endless
summers has financial storm clouds circling over
it once again. While Panagou tries to focus on
finishing her studies and working out what she’ll do
next, roller skating provides a much-needed release.
“It’s not just studying – I feel stress and pressure
from the city and the rhythm in which we live,” she
says. “Roller skating helps me get away from all
that. Going out with friends to do our thing, landing
tricks, or just laughing and talking about random
stuff – it all feels good. It honestly helps us get out
of what is, for most people, a really tough reality.”
“It’s important to be
one with your skates:
the style, the
aesthetics, the rhythm”
Xafi and fellow roller skater Eva Balasi, 30,
have linked up for an evening session at the
Vyronas mini ramp, nestled in the forest
beneath Mount Hymettus. After burning
through all their energy, they’re catching their
breath at the foot of the big concrete ramp.
“Most ramps in Athens are built for skateboarders
and are tall, slippery and dangerous for quads, like
this one,” says Balasi, who broke her shin in two
places after falling here in March last year. Yet, even
with a 34cm titanium rod in her bone marrow, two
screws in her knee and two more in her ankle, the
fashion photographer couldn’t stay off her skates –
six weeks after the operation she was skating again,
despite being told to rest for six months. “Skating is
about falling,” Xafi adds, philosophically. “When you
fall, you have to get up and stand back on your feet.”
She continues, “For me, feminism is about
spreading equality; I don’t see borders in roller
skating. When you see boys and girls supporting
each other, that’s where the magic happens. There is
no need to say who does and doesn’t belong to this
place – everyone belongs to wherever the fuck they
want to belong, wherever they feel free. In Greece,
we don’t have the infrastructure or opportunities for
young people. But that’s the beauty of DIY: we have
streets and we can come together to build whatever
we want. We can be the change we want to see.”
Watch the CIB Athens crew in action in the short film
Athena Skates at redbull.com
THE RED BULLETIN 55

Beyond
fear
More people have walked on the Moon
than have visited the underwater
worlds explored by Canadian cave-diver
JILL HEINERTH. What the 55-year-old
does may be incredibly dangerous, but,
she says, it’s also life-affirming
Words ANDREAS WOLLINGER
Photography JILL HEINERTH

The deepest desert
Dan’s Cave, located deep beneath
South Abaco in the northern Bahamas,
is believed to be 350,000 years old.
The underwater cavern is of particular
interest to climate researchers, as
deposits of sand blown by the wind from
the Sahara and across the Atlantic have
been found here. By researching the
cave’s stalagmites, it’s been possible
to determine when our planet has
experienced periods of drought.
57

Jill Heinerth
Left: Heinerth at
the Wookey Hole
caves in Somerset.
The UK’s first-ever
underwater cave
dive took place
there, in the cavern
known as Swildon’s
Hole, in 1934
J ill Heinerth didn’t get
to live her childhood dream of becoming
an astronaut. Instead, the Torontonian has
dedicated her life to exploring a different
sort of alien landscape: the world of
underwater caves. Heinerth gave up her
day job as a graphic designer before she
turned 30 so she could devote all of her
time to exploring almost inaccessible and
undiscovered environments. Now 55, she
has dived the world’s longest, deepest and
narrowest caves, including an iceberg in
Antarctica – a list of achievements that will
see her inducted into the International
Scuba Diving Hall of Fame this year.
It’s incredibly risky squeezing your way
through narrow, pitch-black underwater
caves. The slightest mistake could end up
costing you the ultimate penalty – in an
average year, as many as 20 cave divers lose
their life. But Heinerth says the counter to
that risk is exhilaration. “There’s no greater
thrill than diving at a spot where no one else
has ever been,” she says. Heinerth admits
that even with years of experience she still
gets scared, “but you can’t let it take over,
or else you’ll use up too much air”.
So, how does she cope with high-risk
situations? “Take a deep breath when you
come face to face with danger,” Heinerth
says. “Then take a step-by-step approach
to what you need to do to survive.”
To read more about Heinerth’s diving projects,
visit intotheplanet.com
SUUNTO UK
58 THE RED BULLETIN

Hidden wonderland
Visiting this bizarre underwater
landscape off Bermuda requires a
special permit, as the cave has been
out of bounds for 40 years on safety
grounds. “I have always been utterly
spellbound by the beauty,” Heinerth
says. “I think this cave is one of the
most amazing things I’ve ever seen.”
THE RED BULLETIN 59

Jill Heinerth
Divine light
A ray of sunlight penetrates
the darkness of a cave in
Mexico, bringing to mind the
Mayan belief that these karst
caves were home to the gods
of the underworld. “I call this
picture from Yucatán ‘Beam
me up,’” laughs Heinerth.

Safety selfie
Heinerth tests a
rebreather – a device
that recycles the
diver’s air, enabling
longer explorations.
THE RED BULLETIN 61

Jill Heinerth
Strange brew
The waters of the Santa Fe
River in northern Florida
are stained this brownishred
colour, which resembles
tea, because of tannic acid
released by decaying
cypress trees.
63

Jill Heinerth
Tight squeeze
Moments of claustrophobia such as
this are par for the course for cave
divers. To get through them, Heinerth
says, you must “strike a balance
between fear and self-belief”.
Towing the line
Heinerth’s dive partner secures the safety line
at the entrance to the Devil’s Eye Spring in
Florida. This is the only way to ascertain where
you are, should dislodged silt suddenly reduce
visibility to zero, which is pretty common.
64 THE RED BULLETIN

Deep history
This French ship was sunk
by a German U-boat off Bell
Island, Newfoundland, in
November 1942. The wreckcum-artificial
reef is now home
to a plethora of marine life.

American underworld
The Floridan aquifer is a network of
underground channels that branch
out in all directions and provide
groundwater to 60 per cent of the
state’s population. It also has a
magnetic pull for fearless cave divers
from all over the world. This is the
entrance to the Sunshine State’s
Orange Grove Sink Spring.

Jill Heinerth
Call of the unknown
In 2000, Heinerth had an accident
in this cave – the Pit, far below the
Mexican peninsula of Yucatán –
that almost brought her career
to an end. But the Canadian says
that the thrill she gets from
diving outweighs any risk.
THE RED BULLETIN 67

PEAK
PERFORMANCE
Having started out alone in a field in rural Austria,
FABIO WIBMER now entertains millions with bike
skills that have to be seen to be believed. Here, the
25-year-old discusses the secrets of his success
Words ALEX LISETZ
Photography HANNES BERGER

NON-CONTACT SPORT
Cycling on the jetty at Austria’s Lake Hall statt is technically
forbidden. Wibmer’s solution: no touching the ground
69

Fabio Wibmer
FLIPPING THE SCRIPT
Wibmer is in complete harmony
with his environment in this
mountainous playground
Overlooked by Patscherkofel
mountain on a bright
day in rural Tyrol, just a
few kilometres from his
Innsbruck home, Fabio
Wibmer is about to start
riding. And when the
Austrian pro gets on his
bike, the world watches. Most recently,
the downhill and trials bike rider wowed
millions online with his video Home Office,
made in response to lockdown. In the
film, he transforms his house in ways that
few would imagine possible – jumping
off his roof on his bike onto a mattress
perched in a tree, netting a basketball
with his back wheel, and binning a bag
of rubbish using a homemade catapult.
Wibmer’s tricks have a sense of humour.
They’re also insanely difficult to pull off.
These sorts of unique moves are
exactly what the 25-year-old has
been training for almost all of his life.
Wibmer, it would seem, has a more vivid
imagination than most of us. And it
makes the world his playground.
“I look at the absolutely normal things
around me from a different perspective,”
the Austrian says. “I think of using them
in ways that could be a good idea. And
then I put those ideas into practice.”
Wibmer makes it sound so simple, and
for him, in some ways, it is. “You don’t
need a budget or a chic location to make
the most of your creativity,” he says.
“Sometimes you even have better ideas
when your opportunities are limited.”
Simple, maybe. But not easy.
The rider grew up in a mountain
village in East Tyrol – not the greatest
springboard to worldwide fame.
“I love Oberpeischlach,” he says, “but
there was absolutely nothing to do
there. We didn’t as much as a piece of
even ground. You could play football
for five minutes and then the ball would
roll off downhill.”
Wibmer was six when he realised
something important: a meadow and
a fallen tree can actually offer hours of
fun if you think creatively – and get
yourself the right tools. A meadow can
be a moto cross route, and a fallen tree
can be part of a trial obstacle course.
70 THE RED BULLETIN

“I look at totally
normal things
around me from
a different
perspective”

Diver
BRANCHING OUT
When planning his tricks,
Wibmer looks to other disciplines,
including skateboarding and
parkour, for inspiration

Fabio Wibmer
BALANCING ACT
In his YouTube videos, the Austrian executes tricks
that are not only audacious but also funny
“If I can do a
trick within
30 seconds,
I’m not
interested”
After a family day out at the Motocross
World Championship in southern
Austria, Wibmer and his cousin Gabriel
begged their parents to buy them mini
motocross bikes. From that moment,
his uncle’s field went from being a bad
football pitch to becoming the perfect
motocross course. And the forest at the
back of the house became an adventure
playground with endless inspiration for
daring stunts and heroic feats.
STAY CURIOUS
Fast-forward to today and Wibmer is
now his home country’s most successful
YouTuber, with more than five million
subscribers; total views of his videos
number somewhere in the hundreds of
millions. His success is, of course, down
to his ingenious skill on both trials and
downhill bikes, but the extra element is
creativity. Wibmer’s videos tell a story.
His tricks are surprising and funny. To
devise them, he says he thinks like his
six-year-old self. He examines everyday
objects from his surroundings and uses
them to create unexpected ideas.
The best example of this is Fabiolous
Escape, the video that gave Wibmer his
breakthrough five years ago. “Fabiolous
Escape was originally my entry for a
video competition where the aim was
to film a sleek line in a single take,” he
says. “I thought to myself, ‘Why not tell
THE RED BULLETIN 73

Fabio Wibmer
Wibmer’s
guide
to the
perfect
ride
1
2
3
4
5
1. POC helmet
“It’s important to buy
a quality helmet and
find one that fits you
well. I really trust in
the protection I get
from this one. If you
do have a serious
crash with a helmet,
you need to get a
replacement. I actually
haven’t been through
too many, which is
either skill or luck!”
2. Magura MT5
brakes
“Brakes are almost
the most important
part of my bike – I use
them in almost every
step I do. And when
you’re standing
somewhere 6m off
the ground, you need
to know that your
brakes won’t let you
down. If they did, it
wouldn’t end well!”
3. Canyon
bike frame
“This is the first trials
bike from Canyon –
it’s been specifically
made for my riding.
It’s a prototype, and
we’re constantly
making small changes.
I’ve been riding it
since the beginning
of this year – it’s the
bike I rode it in Home
Office. I like to have
it kind of short and
compact, with a higher
handlebar so that it’s
easier to get your front
wheel up.”
4. Crankbrothers
pedals
“The pedals are where
you and your bike meet.
Having a good pedal
with a lot of grip is
really important. These
have nice pins that go
into your shoe so you
stick to your pedal and
don’t slip.”
5. Continental
tyres
“Tyres are the
connecting point
between you and the
ground, so having
a tyre with a lot of grip
and resistance can
make the difference
between crashing and
not. Danny MacAskill
developed these tyres
specifically for trials
a few years ago, and
they make a big
difference to my
riding as they’re
a little bit wider and
the grip is better.”
a story, actually, and get the whole
village involved?’”
Wibmer’s ‘escape’ from the somewhat
blundering village policemen takes him
over rooftops and dining tables, and is
peppered with front flips, drops, and
a balancing act on his handlebars. The
result: he won the competition, and the
video has now had more than 60 million
views. “I take things that everyone knows
and give them a new twist,” says the
former sports marketing student on the
success of his concept. “Like in [his 2017
video] Urban Freeride Lives, where I leap
down stairs. Anyone can imagine that
– unlike with a ramp that has dimensions
the viewer can’t gauge so easily.”
“I watch skaters
and try to repeat
their moves”
Ideas constantly pop into Wibmer’s
head when he’s out and about: “I see
a wall and think how I could ride on it
or jump over it.” On one occasion, he
was scouting for locations in the Malta
Valley in Carinthia, a region in the
Eastern Alps, when a 200m-high dam
wall with a security rail on top caught
his eye. “I saw the handrail and
thought to myself that if that thing
was only 10cm off the ground, I’d
be able to ride along it, no problem.
So then I just had to blank out the
knowledge that there was a 200m
drop next to me.”
A couple of days later, secured with
a rope, Wibmer cycled along the rail
– the width of one of his wheels – from
one end of the dam wall to the other,
with the yawning abyss just to his left.
“It was an indescribable feeling,” he
says, “especially afterwards.” Mere
mortals might want to have a can of
deodorant close at hand after watching
the YouTube video, titled Riding a Bike
on a 200m High Rail.
74 THE RED BULLETIN

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Fabio Wibmer
SCREW UP
But even for a rider so experienced
in creating something from nothing,
success isn’t guaranteed. Wibmer says
many of his ideas end up going nowhere,
“because in reality they didn’t turn out
like I saw them in my head. Or they end
up being totally lame, even though I’d
imagined they were ingenious”.
However, according to the Austrian,
that doesn’t matter. Part of being truly
creative is allowing for mistakes and
potential humiliation, and being prepared
to do stuff that might end up being
useless. In fact, Wibmer says, it’s often
the very ideas that seem the most
hopeless that are most worth pursuing.
“There are people who give up on
a trick if they haven’t managed to pull it
off after 30 goes,” he says. “If I can do a
trick within 30 goes, I’m not interested.
It can’t have been hard enough. I’m only
excited by a trick if it takes me 200 or
300 goes to do, like in the Home Office
video where I flick a basketball into the
basket with my rear wheel.”
“Ideas and
stress don’t
mix. You have to
find what helps
you switch off”
When tenacity alone isn’t enough,
Wibmer still won’t give up. On those
occasions, he falls back on his creativity
to find a workaround that will help
bring a good idea to fruition. “Once,
when I was in the garage, a bike that I’d
turned upside down for repair caught my
eye,” he says. “I thought, ‘What would
it be like to jump onto a bike in that
position and create a mirror image?’”
His first attempts left him battered
and bruised. “Then I had the idea of
fixing the lower bike to the spot and
locking the brakes.” And the trick
worked. You can see it now in the
Home Office video, along with the
basketball sequence.
GET INSPIRED
“I’ve always been inspired by what other
people do,” says Wibmer, “and then
I’ve made it my own.” This is what made
a spring day in 2009 the most important
of Wibmer’s life. The rider, then aged
14, was searching the internet when
he happened across Inspired Bicycles,
a video by Scottish trials-bike titan
Danny MacAskill. “I knew right away
that I wanted to do something similar,”
he says.
Wibmer immediately switched his
motocross bike for a trials bike and used
MacAskill’s videos to teach himself
tricks. He began to post videos of his
progress, too, and gradually built up
a community of his own. He first met
his idol in 2012 at a Red Bull Wings
Academy workshop. “I was so nervous
I couldn’t speak,” says Wibmer. “He’s
such a big inspiration.“
They stayed in touch, and MacAskill
ended up making Wibmer an offer.
MacAskill was looking for people to
join him on a show tour, as part of his
professional street trials team, Drop and
Roll. Wibmer accepted. He’s now the
youngest member of the team of four,
who perform live across Europe, turning
fans’ heads with flips of all kinds off
ramps, down ladders and over bespoke
obstacles. It’s all a far cry from the
meadow in Oberpeischlach.
FIND SOLUTIONS
When it comes to seeking inspiration for
his next challenge, Wibmer doesn’t limit
himself to the bike community. Over the
years, he’s learned the value of looking
further afield. “I’m interested in how
other communities or sports approach
a problem,” he says. “Sometimes I
watch skateboarders and try to repeat
their moves. In Home Office, I jump off
the roof and onto a tree, then slide
down it sideways. I got that idea from
parkour videos.”
Once an idea is set, the Austrian gears
up to test it out. “Ideas and stress don’t
mix,” says Wibmer. “If you want to be
creative, you need something to help you
focus. You have to find the one thing that
helps you switch off and come into your
own.” Clearly, Wibmer has found his.
Watch Fabio Wibmer’s videos, including
Home Office, at youtube.com
76 THE RED BULLETIN

spectral:on
With its plush suspension and 150 mm of travel, the new
Spectral:ON e-MTB exists to crush technical descents and nail
fast turns. We could tell you all about the new carbon frame,
fully-integrated battery, and modern, agile geometry. But to
truly get it, you need to try it yourself. Test the Spectral:ON at
selected events this spring. We’ll let the bike do the talking.
canyon.com

ALPHATAURI.COM

VENTURE
Enhance, equip, and experience your best life
ROAD TO
DISCOVERY
The Tour d’Afrique
TDA GLOBAL CYCLING
79

VENTURE
Travel
“You really get to
know yourself like
never before”
Canadian PE teacher Jérôme
Blais on the four-month
11,000km Tour d’Afrique
M
y head was about to explode. Too
much sun and not enough fluids.
Everything was just dust, heat, sweat and
exhaustion. It was a brutal day. But when
I arrived at the camp, I saw it wasn’t just
me who felt that way – it looked like a field
hospital. All I could see were emaciated
faces. The doctor was running from one
tent to the other. Some of my colleagues
were lying flat with drips in their arms.
Hard to believe this was just a biking trip.
That said, it did cover the whole of Africa,
from Cairo to Cape Town, passing
through 10 countries, multiple climatic
zones and the Equator. And we were still
in Sudan, only a fifth of the way through.
Why was I doing this to myself? I had
never been to Africa, so the trip seemed
perfect, the ultimate challenge, one you’d
remember your whole life. I teach PE, so
I’m pretty fit. I’d also done several solo
bike trips around North America, each
lasting months at a time. But I wasn’t
prepared for what awaited me here.
The idea is very simple: you can cycle
the whole way – more than 11,000km in
four months (33 others just as crazy as
me also went for that option) – or join for
shorter stages. A truck transports the
equipment, tents, spare parts and food,
and we’re in the saddle, on set routes, for
between 80-200km a day. A team from
TDA Global Cycling, a company that
developed out of an NGO for used bikes,
came up with the idea. It used to be a
race. Some of the participants still see it
that way. But for most – me included –
it’s not about times but the experience.
The start of the tour, in Egypt, already felt
odd. We set off in January [2019], so our
bodies were in winter mode, but here we
were, struggling our way through 35°C in
the shade – except there wasn’t any on
the road, sadly. Plus you’re riding as part
of a military convoy. As a cyclist, you’re
an object of curiosity on Egyptian roads,
which isn’t an advantage when it comes
The heat is on: Jérôme Blais in the saddle on the 2019 Tour D’Afrique
to safety in traffic. So we were escorted
by trucks and armed soldiers. It was
a strange feeling: both oppressive and
reassuring at the same time.
Our experiences during the tour soon
made us forget those moments. We saw
the Sphinx in Egypt and cycled along the
Nile to Luxor, Aswan and Abu Simbel,
then into the Ethiopian Highlands, through
lonely deserts in Kenya and Namibia,
safari hotspots in Tanzania and Botswana,
and finally arrived at Table Mountain in
Cape Town. You travel much more slowly
on a bike. You really earn these places.
And the experience is so much more
intense when they’re right there in front
of you. You’re guaranteed goosebumps.
But we had to work for it. I didn’t find the
physical strain the greatest challenge –
what’s much more difficult is having no
control over your schedule. What I’m
talking about here is gastrointestinal
viruses. Everyone gets struck down,
whether you like it or not. If you’re lucky,
you’ll get hit on a day off. I wasn’t – we
were mid-stage. If I’m riding on my own,
I take a break and get well again. Luckily,
the supply truck drove me part of the way.
But we weren’t the only ones to suffer;
our equipment did, too. Sand, dust, filth,
never-ending dirt tracks – no bike can
stick that for long. I didn’t get a flat until
Malawi, more than 7,000km in, but after
I’d had 11 more I stopped counting. I had
80 THE RED BULLETIN

VENTURE
Travel
TDA GLOBAL CYCLING FLORIAN STURM
Scenic route: Blue Nile Gorge in the Ethiopian Highlands has dramatic views
Lifesaver: the supply truck carries vital
equipment, tents, spare parts and food
Crossing the
continent
Start: Cairo, Egypt
Finish: Cape Town, South Africa
Official distance: 11,222km
In existence since: 2003 (the first outing
broke the Guinness record for the fastest
crossing of Africa under one’s own steam)
Countries traversed: Egypt, Sudan,
Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi,
Zambia, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa
Areas passed through: the banks of the
Nile, the Ethiopian Highlands, Lake Malawi,
the Victoria Falls, the Kalahari Desert
Duration: 115 days (86 on the bike,
25 rest days, four travel days)
Price: US$17,400 (£13,800)
Africa
Cairo, Egypt
Cape Town, South Africa
THE RED BULLETIN 81

VENTURE
Travel
Riding out
trouble
Got a flat tyre in the
Ethiopian Highlands, but
no tools? All you need is
a shoelace and a field
1
Remove the
outer tyre and tube
from the rim
2
Tie a shoelace tightly
over and next to the spot
with the puncture. Don’t
go easy on the knots
Head for the hills: the riders pass through Kenya, almost halfway into the tour
the most problems in Namibia, as less
than 10 per cent of the road network there
is tarmac. At least I’m now an expert at
patching up holes by the side of the road.
The team spirit that comes about on a
tour like this is great. When you’re on the
bike, you may be fighting just for yourself
against the heat, the potholes, the climbs
and the headwind, but as soon as the
others see you’re in difficulty and might
even want to give up on that stage, they
urge you on until you’re pedalling again.
Some of your teammates become real
friends as you sit around the campfire in
the evenings; I’m still in touch with them.
I had to fight against exhaustion, heat
stroke, diarrhoea, and dips in motivation.
But even if the tour really took it out of
me, I never considered retiring. You really
get to know yourself like never before. I’ve
been much more relaxed and open in the
way I live since the adventure came to an
end. I’ve realised what a good life I have,
and that many of our problems aren’t
really problems at all. Pretty amazing
what a bike tour like this can do to you.
The next Tour d’Afrique runs from 15 Jan
to 8 May 2021; tdaglobalcycling.com
Stop and gape
Make a detour to visit these three marvels
City of the Dead
(Cairo, Egypt)
It is estimated that around
half a million people live here
among the graves, family
mausoleums and lavishly
decorated burial sites.
Devil’s Pool
(Livingstone, Zambia)
A natural pool (pictured)
with a stunningly good view
on the edge of Victoria Falls,
the world’s largest waterfall.
Leper Tree
(Liwonde, Malawi)
A hollowed-out baobab that
became a final resting place
for lepers, who, as recently
as the 1950s, couldn’t be
buried in Malawi.
3
Fill the outer tyre
with as much grass
or as many leaves
as you can before
replacing the tube
4
Pump up the tyre
and carefully continue
on your way until you
find a colleague with a
professional repair kit.
Items that Jérôme Blais
advises you pack for the trip:
Baby wipes
Essential to combat sweat,
sunscreen, and a lack of showers
Stretcher bed
Forget roll mats and air mattresses –
they get soaked when heavy rain hits
Clothes brush
Being able to brush the filth from
your clothes from time to time is
surprisingly re-humanising
CLICK PICTUREWORKS AFRICA LTD, ALAMY SASCHA BIERL
82 THE RED BULLETIN

VENTURE
Equipment
SKATE
Artful
dodgers
The flipside of board design
Design by US artist
Tallboy (@tallboy666),
whose work is influenced
by legendary cartoonists
Robert Crumb and
S Clay Wilson
Once, skateboards sported
designs on top. Then came grip
tape. But the art lives on below
deck. Pioneers like VC Johnson
for Powell-Peralta (‘Flame Face’
1980s reissue, top left), and Jim
Phillips, creator of Santa Cruz’s
‘Screaming Hand’ (remixed
bottom right), inspired future
generations of inkers. Clockwise
from top left: POWELL-PERALTA
Claus Grabke board, powellperalta.com;
BANZAI Speed
Seal wheels and trucks,
banzaiskate.com; SANTA CRUZ
Winkowski Dope Planet VX and
Echo Chamber Preissue boards,
santacruzskateboards.eu;
VANS Sk8-Hi shoes, vans.co.uk;
KROOKED Zip Ziiiiiiinger board,
blacksheepstore.co.uk; ARBOR
Martillo Legacy board,
arborcollective.com
The Martillo
(Spanish for
hammer) is
so-named because
of its blunt tip.
Arbor also makes
a bullet-nosed
Pistola and
a spoon-tipped
Cucharon
TIM KENT
THE RED BULLETIN 83

VENTURE
Fitness
IMPROVE
In the
mind’s eye
Most glasses enhance your eyesight.
These exercise the brain
In 2012, Carlin Isles earned
himself the tag of “rugby’s
fastest player”. The US star’s
speed is undeniable: at the
time, he could cover 20m
0.22 seconds faster than
Usain Bolt. But Isles sees it
from a different perspective
– for him, it seems the world
has slowed down. And this is
down to a technique he uses:
strobe training.
For this, athletes in
training wear stroboscopic
glasses with liquid-crystal
lenses that flicker between
transparency and opacity, as
if under a strobe light. Being
momentarily blinded might
seem counterintuitive, but it
actually exercises the senses,
forcing the brain to work
overtime to fill in the gaps in
visual information, improving
spacial awareness and
reaction times. This ‘blindness’
can be set to anything from
100ms to more than a second;
the longer the athlete is in the
dark, the greater the brain is
challenged. Studies show that
it enhances peripheral vision,
eliminates the dominance of
one eye, and helps the inner
ear track objects.
An app is used to set the duration
of the ‘blindness’ phases as well as
the difficulty level of the session
The technique can be traced
back to basketball legend
Michael Jordan’s time with
the Chicago Bulls in the ’80s
and ’90s, when he trained
under strobe lighting to adjust
to camera flashes on court.
His mind, essentially, had to
compensate for being blinded
continually during a game.
Today, this is a recognised
sports science, and US firm
Senaptec’s Strobe glasses
are used by athletes in
various disciplines, including
the US shooting team and, of
course, Isles, who wears them
for 15 minutes several
times a week. “My
hand-eye coordination
has greatly improved,”
says the 30-year-old.
“Neither the pace nor
distractions bother me.
It’s almost like the ball is
approaching in slow motion.”
senaptec.com
“Now, it’s almost like
the ball is approaching
in slow motion”
Carlin Isles, 30, rugby player
Lightning
responses
Senaptec CEO Joe
Bingold on how to
improve coordination
even without strobes
FAST TURN
“Turn your back on your
partner and stand 5m
apart. When your partner
throws, they shout, ‘Go.’
Only then do you turn and
try to catch the ball.”
UP THE ANTE
“Make the exercise more
difficult by reducing
distance, using a smaller
ball, or closing your eyes
before turning around.”
GOING SOLO
“Mask one lens of your
sunglasses or close one
eye, then try some basic
running drills.”
Quick start: prior to taking up rugby in 2012, Ohio-born Isles was a
talented track-and-field athlete with college records to his name
MARV WATSON/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, SENAPTEC.COM FLORIAN STURM TOM MACKINGER
84 THE RED BULLETIN

VENTURE
Equipment
TRAIN
The not-sodumb
bell
JaxJox KettlebellConnect
The kettlebell is one of the
earliest pieces of modern
gym equipment – ancient
societies including the
Greeks are known to have
used handled weights.
Today’s version derives
from the Russian girya,
a block of cast-iron that
was used to weigh crops in
the 18th century and was
subsequently toted by
circus strongmen. Its
design and methodology
have remained much the
same over the years: with
the centre of gravity below
the handle, exercises such
as ‘the swing’ and ‘clean
and jerk’ work the whole
body, building usable
strength. Now, this
dumbest of bells has been
given 21st-century smarts,
connecting to your phone
and loading six ‘bullet
weights’ – from 5.5kg to
19kg – from a stack in its
charging station. All of
which will prevent your
home from becoming as
cluttered as an Imperial
Russian farm. jaxjox.com
TIM KENT
THE RED BULLETIN 85

VENTURE
Equipment
LISTEN
Champion
sound
Our edit of the best
house-party tech
Virtual festivals, concerts
inside video games, a digital
carnival, professionally made
cocktails delivered direct to
your home – 2020 was the
year the house party evolved
to the next level. Though
born of unhappy necessity,
this situation has shown how
resourceful we humans can
be when looking for ways to
share good times. Society
may now be slowly emerging
into the new normal, but the
state-of-the-art house party is
here to stay. Here’s what you
need in your home set-up…
Clockwise from left:
FOCAL Aria 926 floorstanding
speakers feature cones woven
from flax for a natural sound
and tight bass; focal.com. The
NAIM Uniti Star is a complete
music centre that streams
from services such as Spotify,
wirelessly connects to your
music player via AirPlay,
Chromecast and Bluetooth,
and has a CD drive to rip tunes
or export them to the built-in
hard drive; naimaudio.com.
The PIONEER DDJ-800 pro DJ
controller has jog controls, a
mixer and performance pads
in a club-style layout, plus a
feedback reducer to prevent
microphone ‘howl’ if the
MC gets to close to the
speakers; pioneerdj.com.
The URBANISTA Brisbane
Bluetooth speaker gives 10
hours of play time; urbanista.
com. SKULLCANDY Crusher
noise-cancelling headphones
(shown in black and deep red)
offer a personalised audio
set-up via an app; skullcandy.
co.uk. URBANISTA London
wireless earphones with
active noise-cancelling allow
you to filter out ambient
noise; urbanista.com. The
PIONEER XDJ-RR all-in-one
DJ system has an LCD screen
for monitoring BPM and
waveforms; pioneerdj.com.
TIM KENT
86 THE RED BULLETIN

VENTURE
Equipment
LCD displays on the
dials of the Pioneer DDJ-
800 are customisable
to show everything from
BPMs to hot cues and
loop points
The aluminium/
magnesium tweeter at the
top of these Focal speakers
is suspended in Poron – a
memory foam that greatly
reduces sound distortion
THE RED BULLETIN 87

VENTURE
Equipment
Any decent driver’s watch
should ideally feature a
chronograph (stopwatch)
and tachymeter (numeric
bezel for calculating fuel
use, distance and speed);
some degree of motoring
heritage is a plus, too.
Crucially, it must look
great when you’re gripping
the wheel. From left:
TISSOT Alpine On Board
Automatic Chronograph,
tissotwatches.com;
BREMONT Jaguar MKII
White, bremont.com;
ZENITH Defy El Primero
21, zenith-watches.com;
ORIS Movember Edition
2019, oris.ch
WEAR
Speed
dials
Your quick guide to
identifying a good
driver’s watch
TIM KENT
88 THE RED BULLETIN

VENTURE
Equipment
PROTECT
Shades of
greatness
Sunglasses that are fun glasses
TIM KENT
From prehistoric times,
Arctic tribes have worn
slitted walrus ivory over
their eyes to block out
the sun. Emperor Nero
would watch gladiatorial
battles through cutemerald
lenses. Today’s
shades are more hightech
and easier to
obtain. Clockwise from
top: DRAGON Renew
shades with Lumalens,
dragonalliance.com;
SPECT EYEWEAR Fly
Mirrored shades,
specteyewear.com;
RAY-BAN Nomad shades,
ray-ban.com; MELON
OPTICS Layback shades,
melonoptics.com;
OAKLEY Frogskins 35th
Anniversary shades
with Prizm lenses,
oakley.com; SPEKTRUM
Anjan Black shades,
spektrumsports.com
THE RED BULLETIN 89

VENTURE
Equipment
The Razer Blade 15 is
the world’s smallest
gaming laptop – as
thin as 18mm, and just
over 2kg in weight
PLAY
Open-world
adventure
Engage in pro-level gaming on the go
Whether you’re taking part in
manoeuvres in Call of Duty:
Warzone’s fictitious city of
Verdansk or swimming around
Battle Royale Island in Fortnite,
it’s possible to traverse the
vast real world at the same
time. Clockwise from top left:
HYPERX Cloud Earbuds
gaming headphones with mic,
hyperxgaming.com; RAZER
Blade 15 gaming laptop, razer.
com; ASUS ROG Strix Impact II
mouse and ROG Ranger BP3703
modular gaming backpack,
asus.com; OMNICHARGE Omni
20+ charger, omnicharge.co;
HYPERX Cloud Flight S
wireless gaming headset,
hyperxgaming.com; NINTENDO
Switch Lite, nintendo.co.uk
TIM KENT
90 THE RED BULLETIN

VENTURE
Gaming
CONTEMPLATE
The logical
approach
Video games often help us escape
reality, but here’s one that might
enable us to see it more clearly
SONY INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT MATT RAY
To say 2020 has been a tough
year is an understatement, but
video gaming has provided
some light relief, with even
the World Health Organisation
– which previously warned
against gaming addiction –
recommending it as a way of
coping with lockdown.
One of the year’s biggest
games, The Last of Us Part II,
is all about coping when
everything goes to hell. In this
survival-horror adventure,
set in a post-pandemic world,
main character Ellie must
demonstrate calm, resilience
and self-reliance – qualities
we might all learn from, and
key traits of the philosophy
known as stoicism.
“The core idea is that your
wellbeing is dependent on your
mental state, your character,”
says stoic philosopher John
Sellars. Rather than worrying
about external factors beyond
your control, develop a clearer
perception of what is within
your power to affect, and take
rational actions based on this.
In short, it’s not all doom and
gloom. Here are five stoic
lessons from the game that
you can apply to your own
everyday challenges…
Don’t buy into fear
One of the enduring images
from early lockdown is of
panic-buying. The Last of Us
Part II takes this to its logical
conclusion as survivors battle
not only zombies, known as
‘the infected’, but each other.
“How much stuff were people
buying that they didn’t need?”
asks Sellars. “It’s an immediate
emotional response, rather
than one that’s been thought
Strings of life: stoicism is one of the many traits that Ellie depends upon in The Last of Us Part II
through. None of that external
stuff directly contributes to
our happiness. Slow down,
adopt a wider perspective.”
Keep calm, carry on
A common trope in postapocalyptic
games is the
resilient survivor drawing on
an internal well of courage.
This, says Sellars, is stoic.
“[Roman Emperor] Marcus
Aurelius, in his Meditations,
describes his ‘inner citadel’ –
that bit inside his control that
nothing can damage unless he
lets it in. If you judge a situation
to be terrible, it will generate
fear, and that can result in bad
judgements.” Instead, realise
that while you cannot control
the circumstances, you are
in charge of your response.
Stay positive
Pulling through seemingly
unsurvivable situations
requires optimism. “[Roman
stoic philosopher] Seneca
the Younger said, ‘Disaster is
virtue’s opportunity.’ Some
people step up, like Captain
Tom [Moore, the British WWII
Army veteran who raised £32
million for charity] and people
clapping for the NHS or
looking out for vulnerable
neighbours. In adverse
circumstances, you discover
what people are really like.
There are always positives.”
See the bigger picture
In The Last of Us Part II,
Ellie is estranged from the
protagonist of the original
John Sellars
A philosophy lecturer at Royal
Holloway, University of London, and
research fellow at King’s College
London, Sellars has written widely
on stoicism. His book Lessons in
Stoicism is out in paperback on
October 1. johnsellars.org.uk
2013 game, her father figure
Joel, which is something that
many family groups can
relate to after recent months.
Stoicism, however, views our
interconnectivity on a much
grander scale. “There’s a
concept of cosmopolitanism
– that everyone is a fellow
citizen of a single, global
community,” says Sellars.
“It downplays trivial
differences [such as tribalism
or nationality] and focuses
instead on the fact that we
are all social human beings
with shared rationality.”
Appreciate life
Unlike most video games,
The Last of Us Part II delivers
an empathetic view of death,
even of your adversaries.
“That we constantly reflect
on our own mortality is
important,” says Sellars. “Part
of that is just being realistic,
but it’s also to stress the value
of our own time. We only have
a limited amount – the more
we understand that, the better
we can prioritise the things
that are most important.”
THE RED BULLETIN 91

10 ISSUES
getredbulletin.com
£20
BEYOND THE ORDINARY
The next issue is out on Tuesday 8 September with London Evening Standard.
Also available across the UK at airports, universities, and selected supermarkets and retail stores.
Read more at theredbulletin.com
TYRONE BRADLEY/RED BULL CONTENT POOL

VENTURE
Calendar
13
August to 19 September
DRIFT MASTERS EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP
The sporting calendar was sent into a spin earlier this year – but, for one returning competition,
spinning is what its athletes are relishing coming back to. Drift racing involves drivers precisely
manoeuvring around custom-built circuits by over-steering and counter-steering at speed round
the turns. Since the launch of the European Championship in 2014, the series has rapidly grown
in scale and popularity to become today’s multi-region European race schedule. These three
livestreamed weekends see the doyens of drift head to Bikernieki Circuit in Latvia (Aug 14-15),
PS Racing Center in Austria (Sep 5-6) and Mondello Park in Ireland (Sep 19-20). redbull.com
11
August to 6 September
WAVELENGTH
DRIVE-IN CINEMA
Every August, the Boardmasters
sport and music festival is staged
on the cliff-tops at Watergate Bay in
Cornwall. Following the cancellation
of this year’s event, however, the site
will instead host a series of classic
movies. There’s surfing in the line-up,
in the form of 1991’s Keanu-vs-Swayze
action epic Point Break and 1995’s
Blue Juice, as well as skate classics
Dogtown and Z-Boys and Back to the
Future. wavelengthmag.com
11
August to
9 October
BREATH IS
INVISIBLE
June 14 was the threeyear
anniversary of the
Grenfell Tower fire.
Three weeks later, the
works of artist Khadija
Saye, who died in the
fire, were exhibited
less than a mile away.
This public art project,
which aims to address
social injustice,
continues with pieces
created by artists
Martyn Ware, Zachary
Eastwood-Bloom
and Joy Gregory in
collaboration with
the local community.
236 Westbourne
Grove, London;
breathisinvisible.com
9
to 15 September
OPEN CITY
DOCUMENTARY
FESTIVAL
Last year, more than
5,000 people attended
this annual curation of
some of the best works
in documentary and
non-fiction filmmaking.
This year, the event
will be a digital edition,
with the 24 selected
films available as
video-on-demand,
including pre-recorded
Q&A sessions, and a
web-based tour of the
popular Expanded
Realities audio-visual
art installations.
opencitylondon.com
94 THE RED BULLETIN

VENTURE
Calendar
11
11
August onwards
AROUND
THE WORLD
JORDAN BUTTERS/DMEC/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, ALAMY, TOYIN OJIH ODUTOLA,
DEAN TREML/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, CHRISTIAN PONDELLA/RED BULL CONTENT POOL
August to
24 January
TOYIN OJIH
ODUTOLA
Odutola is a Nigerian-
American artist whose
work – created with
drawing materials
and, most famously,
black pen ink – has
drawn acclaim for
challenging notions
of skin colour and
‘Blackness’ in society.
Her latest exhibition, A
Countervailing Theory,
is an imagined ancient
myth set in a surreal
landscape inspired by
the unique geology of
Nigeria’s Plateau State
and told in 40 drawings
created in pastel,
chalk and charcoal.
Accompanied by a
soundscape from
music producer Peter
Adjaye (aka AJ Kwame)
and a publication from
author Zadie Smith,
it was set to debut at
the Barbican in March,
but then lockdown
took effect. Now, we
can examine the work
– unfurled across the
90m gallery space of
The Curve – through
the lens of a year that
has reframed our
perceptions of society,
racial identity and
cultural mythology.
The Barbican, London;
barbican.org.uk
In recent years, the popularity
of freestyle football – the
balletic art of ball control
through tricks, dance and
acrobatics – has exploded in
popularity. This documentary
showcases the dexterous sport
in dazzling detail, following
10 freestylers from different
cultures and backgrounds as
they independently set off on
a journey that could bring
them all together at a single
destination – the Red Bull
Street Style World Final in
Miami, Florida – where only
one can claim the sport’s
most coveted title: World
Champion. It’s a tale full of
emotion, adventure and,
most important of all, epic
freestyle tricks. redbull.com
9September
THE LAST
ASCENT
Canadian Will Gadd is one
of the world’s greatest ice
climbers, but it’s a pursuit
of diminishing returns. In
2015, he scaled Mount
Kilimanjaro only to find the
ice structures he’d seen in
photographs had shrunk.
Between 1912 and 2011,
85 per cent of glacial ice on
the mountain in Tanzania
had melted, with all of it
predicted to disappear by
2020. This documentary
follows Gadd’s emotional
return to Kilimanjaro’s
peak, one made all the
more deadly by the ice’s
rapid melt. redbull.com
THE RED BULLETIN 95

Imprint
GLOBAL TEAM
THE RED
BULLETIN
WORLDWIDE
The Red Bulletin
is published in
six countries. This is
the cover of our Swiss
issue for September,
which features cyclocross
and cross-country
mountain bike rider
Lars Forster…
For more stories
beyond the ordinary,
go to: redbulletin.com
The Red Bulletin UK.
ABC certified distribution
153,505 (Jan-Dec 2019)
Editor-in-Chief
Alexander Macheck
Deputy Editor-in-Chief
Andreas Rottenschlager
Creative Director
Erik Turek
Art Directors
Kasimir Reimann (deputy CD),
Miles English, Tara Thompson
Head of Photo
Eva Kerschbaum
Deputy Head of Photo
Marion Batty
Photo Director
Rudi Übelhör
Production Editor
Marion Lukas-Wildmann
Managing Editor
Ulrich Corazza
Copy Chief
Andreas Wollinger
Design
Marion Bernert-Thomann, Martina de Carvalho-
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96 THE RED BULLETIN

PROMOTION
RAZER
SOUND OF
VICTORY
Razer’s BlackShark V2 gaming headset
gives esport gamers the edge
Players at the pinnacle of esports
are a unique animal: their reaction
times, spatial awareness and ability
to make decisions on the fly operate
at an instinctual level. Heightened
sight, touch and sound can make
the difference between victory and
defeat. This is where Razer’s latest
gaming headset, the BlackShark V2,
delivers the competitive edge.
Optimal gaming performance
starts with a lightweight stainlesssteel
headband with breathable
padding for marathon sessions.
Memory-foam ear cushions give
maximum comfort, advanced passive
noise-cancelling, and are a perfect
sound chamber for Razer’s TriForce
Titanium 50mm audio drivers.
Featuring titanium-coated
diaphragms, these drivers provide
exceptional clarity across the full
audio-frequency range – from
powerful bass to rich trebles and
a crisp high-end for clear voice
communication, all of which can be
custom-tuned. Add the immersion of
THX Spatial Sound with 7.1 Surround,
and players can pinpoint sounds
precisely around them. Controls
including volume and mic mute can
be accessed direct from the ear cup.
In team gaming, clear two-way
communication is critical. The Razer
BlackShark V2 features a HyperClear
Cardioid Microphone with lowfrequency
sensitivity to accurately
capture a player’s voice. The open
design provides superior voice pickup
while rejecting external noise. It’s
bendable to the optimal position at a
player’s mouth, and fully removable
for regular headphone use.
The Razer BlackShark V2 headset
connects to games controllers via a
standard 3.5mm jack and includes a
USB Sound Card for PCs. This audio
enhancer includes in-line controls
such as Mic Boost, Voice Gate,
Volume Normalization, Mic Equalizer
and Ambient Noise Reduction, to
carry vital commands clearly across
noisy battle arenas. These are, in
short, the only headphones that
pro gamers need to be the best.
razer.com/blackshark-v2
RAZER’S
EDGE
The BlackShark
V2 headset
delivers accurate
positional audio
thanks to Razer’s
co-development
of the THX Spatial
Audio app, which
creates a 3D
soundfield from
the two TriForce
Titanium 50mm
audio drivers.
razer.com/thxspatial-audio

Action highlight
All flip, no flop
In case you couldn’t tell, Dimitris Kyrsanidis loves the beach. “The San Blas
islands [in Panama] were one of a kind,” says the Thessaloniki-born freerunner.
This parkour project, shot on the tropical coast of central America in February
this year, was titled From the Office to the After Office. Fortunately, Kyrsanidis’
line of business doesn’t require a suit. Watch him in action at redbull.com.
The next
issue of
THE RED BULLETIN
is out on
September 8
EDUARDO VASQUEZ/RED BULL CONTENT POOL
98 THE RED BULLETIN

2020
READY TO JOIN
THE CHARGE?
OTL
The aston martin red bull racing
official teamline 2020 has LANDED.
available worldwide now at
redbullsop.com / redbullshopus.com
and in the red bull world stores in
salzburg and graz.