Dainese Legends December 2
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IN THE LATE 1960S, LINO DAINESE MADE AN EPIC TRIP FROM ITALY TO LONDON ON A VESPA MOTORCYCLE. IN LONDON, HE CAME ACROSS SOME OF THE FIRST 500CC MOTORCYCLES AND FELL IN LOVE WITH THEM. FROM THAT MOMENT, HE WAS INSPIRED TO CREATE HIS OWN COMPANY IN THE WORLD OF MOTORCYCLES. AND BY 1972, HE HAD REALISED THIS DREAM, FOUNDING DAINESE IN MOLVENA, ITALY. DAINESE’S AIM WAS TO HELP MOTORCYCLE RIDERS EMBRACE SPEED, MOVEMENT AND FREEDOM, BUT WITH ADDED SAFETY AND PROTECTION. SINCE THIS TIME, DAINESE HAS HELPED THOSE INVOLVED IN WIDER ACTION SPORTS SUCH AS SKIING, SNOWBOARDING, MOUNTAIN BIKING AND EQUESTRIANISM ACHIEVE THE VERY SAME. TO MARK THIS FORTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF INNOVATION, DAINESE HAS CREATED A SERIES OF FOUR DIGITAL MAGAZINES TO CELEBRATE THE FOUR DECADES OF LEGENDARY PEOPLE, PLACES AND PRODUCTS THAT HAVE HELPED CHANGE THEIR WORLD. IN THIS FOURTH ISSUE, WE EXPLORE THE 2000S. THIS DECADE WITNESSED THE RISE AND INEVITABLE CLASH OF TWO PRESTIGIOUS MOTORCYCLE RACING TALENTS, VALENTINO ROSSI AND MAX BIAGGI, AS WELL AS THE INSPIRING STORY OF OSCAR PISTORIUS AND SOME SERIOUSLY ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY. AS YOU WILL DISCOVER, LEGENDS ARE CREATED EVERYWHERE. EDITOR WORDS PUBLISHED BY ED ANDREWS ED ANDREWS, ZACHARY DRAKE, THE CHURCH OF LONDON OLIVER PELLING 71A LEONARD STREET SUB EDITOR LONDON, EC2A 4QS, UK SHELLEY JONES IMAGES ROBERT M BALL, DOM DAHER, WWW.THECHURCHOFLONDON.COM CREATIVE DIRECTOR ARIEL ZAMBELICH, CHRIS SILAS NEAL, ROB LONGWORTH DOUGLAS SONDERS THE ARTICLES APPEARING WITHIN THIS PUBLICATION REFLECT THE OPINIONS OF DESIGNER COVER ILLUSTRATION THEIR AUTHORS AND NOT NECESSARILY THOSE FABRIZIO FESTA MAGNUS VOLL MATHIASSEN OF THE PUBLISHERS OR EDITORIAL TEAM A TRIBUTE TO THE LATE MARCO SIMONCELLI, A MOTORCYCLE RACER WHOSE CHARISMATIC FLAME BURNED BRIGHTER THAN MOST. WORDS ZACHARY DRAKE PHOTOGRAPHY C/O DAINESE ARCHIVE he fi rst time the world noticed Marco Simoncelli he Sometimes, it's just someone'se's inherent beauty,beuty,y, somethinsomsomething was riding a comically diminutive minimoto. The that shines from somewhereere invisibleinsible thatthat resoundsresoun in nine-year-old racing prodigy was all elbows and people's memories.ories. It's a truismsm thatthat racera fansfan thee world overo knees, all hunkered-down stance and quick, diving like their racers to be infuseded with; a littlelitt bit of ssomethingething othother lunges. Every kid has to ride these bikes in a than pure, clinical ability.. And whateverwhate that specialal somethinsomething caricature of race style but young Marco's act was is can we call it spirit? Marcoco SimonSimoncelli hadd it in abundanabundance. somehow more dynamic, more extreme than the rest. Youu could HowH you break that spiritpirit downdown is a complexcplex nexus of sense the spirit in the boy. You could understand fromom the very attributes.attriattrib Sure, he wass devilisdevilishlyvilishlyy quick andand apparapparently way he sat on that screaming little motorcyclecycle thatat thithis waswa a fearless, esespeciallyy on tighter,tighter, technicaltechnic circuitscircuits wherew kid who could go far. He carried the splay-legged,play-legged,play wide-armedwide-arm aggressionaggr and tenacious desiree to win canan be a domindominant posture of his earliest racing careereer allll theth wayw to MotoGP.MotoGP. factor.factor He was charismatic too. He neverever mindedminded speakingspe The Simoncellielli familyy photosotos tell a story of a childhoodchildh his mindmin - and wielded the mic with aplomb,a b, pushingpusushin dominated by thee steel of a motorbikemmotorbikotorbike underneathunath him. ThThe anyan motorcycling crowd'sd's buttonbuttonss perfect perfectly.y.. Fans knknew olive-skinnedkinneded boyboy with an inninnocinnocentent gagaze surviveded in ththe heh hhadn't been mouldedulded by medimediaa trainingtraining andd corporate stretched-outstretched-outut teenagerteen andand then, asas the twenty-somethingtwething top- communicationscommuniccs strategies. Hee just loloved ridingridin fast on flight ight factoryfactoryfactory rider rider in in MotoGP.MotoGP. AtAt th thee heartheart ofof M arcMarco'so's appeal appeal w was a motormotorcycle and was obviouslyviouslviously veryery happyh to be getting thatth expansive,xpansiv, open-heartedopen-hearted honestyhonestestyy that youy cocoulduld see in hihis paid forf the privilege. Hee was just likelik they would have gaze.ga. The worldorld wouldwuld taketae noticenotice of MarcoMMarcarcoo right up to theth end.en been, in otheroth words, had they been blessed with the raw Born in 1987987 andand raisedraied just up the cocoast from Rimini on talent andan opportunities that came his way. Italy'sItay's Adriatic shore,hore,e, heh racedraed minimoto frfrom the agege of seven,sev WhenWh someone as young and full of charisma and winningwinnin the ItalianItalian ChampionshipCham at the age of nine.. Five yearsye talent aas Marco loses his life, a legion of fans, racers, bikers, later hhee woulduld enter theth World Roadad RacinRacing g Championships,Championshi sportsmen, family and friends are, of course, devastated. The movingmg up rarapidlypidly thrthrough the 125cc5ccc anand the 250c250cc50cc classes.cl web is full of photographic and video tributes to the young In 2008, he wonon the World 250ccc ChampionshipChamChampionshi riding for man, and the factors that caused his death have been picked Gilera andan continuedcontinued successs saw overtime and time again by them all. him step up to theth premier MMotoGP All these speculations mask what is class,cl at the start of the 2010 season, diffi cult for rider and race fans alike signingsigning for thethe Gresini HondaH team. to contemplate. It's a simple fact. ShowingSh instant,in if inconsistent, Motorcycle racing – no matter how promisepromipr on the top-end bikes, he many traction controls, innovations was widely tipped for future glory. in protective gear, circuit design Until, that is, the tragic day at and track-side medical facilities Sepang where the Simoncelli fl ame come into the sport – is still very, would be cruelly extinguished. very dangerous. And this, of course, Ok so he had the hair. He was is part of what draws us all to the young and pretty, and he could ride glory of its drama and to riders like like a demon. But how does that Marco Simoncelli who choose to account for the charismatic legacy ride that tight line between glory left by Marco Simoncelli? and destruction 4 5 WORDS OLIVER PELLING PHOTOGRAPHY ARIEL ZAMBELICH COMPETITIVE DOWNHILL MOUNTAIN BIKER, PROFESSIONAL SKIER AND SCIENCE TEACHER: ADRIENNE SCHNEIDER IS SQUEEZING IT ALL INTO A DAY'S WORK. 7 here are few people who can honestly say that every single aspect diverted by two planks. In her late teens, she made a name for herself as of their life is busy. Yet Adrienne Schneider, a self-funded competitive a professional downhill skier (as well as dabbling in ski and boardercross downhill mountain biker, professional skier (and instructor), skydiver, too) and travelled to competitions throughout the States off the back of her whitewater kayaker, part-time brand rep and full-time teacher, is, in the winnings. She even found time to work as a race coach along the way. most literal sense of the word, very busy. But at twenty years old, she moved out west and put a big slice of “I just can't sit still, the idea of boredom scares me,” says the lively thirty- her abundant energy in mountain biking. After a couple of races she was six-year-old over the phone from her home in Incline Village, Lake Tahoe. spotted by Jan Karpiel of Karpiel Bikes, who, shocked by the state of the This setting, the biggest playground in the area according to Adrienne, is bike she was riding, took her under his wing as her first official sponsor. the perfect habitat for an eager, multi-talented action sports enthusiast who “The first time I tried one of Jan's bikes, I just fell in love. It was like sees driving as downtime. a whole different sport!” says Adrienne. “Because of Jan, that's where it “We have three mountain-bike parks and twelve ski resorts within an hour,” really flourished and I realised that this could be something amazing. It's a she says excitedly. “I could ski in the morning, whitewater kayak in the different feeling to a lot of other sports.” afternoon, and still go for a bike ride in the evening. It's amazing out here.” In 2012 alone, Adrienne won five local competitions of varying disciplines No need for television then: she hasn't had one for fifteen years. and placed second in two. This year was also her first season competing in Brought up in northern Michigan, Adrienne's attraction to fast-moving the UCI Downhill World Cup circuit, taking her to races in Windham in machines started at a young age, her father bought her a motorcycle New York, Monte Sainte Anne in Canada, and Fort William, Scotland. Not when she was seven and a snowmobile a year later. “I think he wanted bad for someone who teaches oceanography at a local high school full-time. a boy,” she laughs. “But he didn't get one, so I was definitely raised to keep “This year there's been a lot of, 'Pinch me please because I can't believe up with the boys. He was always pushing me and he let me know that I'm here and I can't believe this is happening,'” she says enthusiastically. I could do anything I wanted.” “I've been having the time of my life and, you know, dreams can come true. Despite taking to two wheels early on in life, it wasn't until she was It's cheesy, but it's true. I don't have a lot of the resources that Red Bull sixteen that Adrienne first took a ride on the humble, motor-less mountain and those other brands do and I work a bunch of other jobs to make this bike.