GQ UK 02.2022

GQ World
WRautbcrhiecs

FEBRUARY 2022 GQ 47

PREVIOUS PAGE LEFT OMEGA SEAMASTER 300 LOUNGE CHAIR BY GARDNER LEAVER
Bronze is everywhere in the watch world right FOR STEELCASE, US (1970s)
ZENITH now – and for good reason. Omega’s new Steelcase was one of the furniture makers
CHRONOMASTER Seamaster is clad in a custom bronze-gold behind the coolly functional mid-century
Zenith’s El Primero, alloy that will, like your favourite leather American office, and artist Gardner Leaver
originally released in chair, develop a gorgeous patina over time. created this, the company’s most coveted
1969, changed C-suite lounge chair.
watchmaking forever Seamaster 300 in bronze gold on
by introducing the leather strap, £9,960, by Omega. £2,640 for pair, from 1stDibs.
first automatic
chronograph calibre.
It also just looks killer
–thankfully, Zenith
have introduced
this extremely faithful
tribute to the original.

Chronomaster
Revival El
Primero A385
on ladder
bracelet, £7,100,
by Zenith.

LOUNGE CHAIR BY
WARD BENNETT
FOR BRICKEL
ASSOCIATES, US
(1960S)
Largely self-taught,
Ward Bennett
designed more than
150 chairs in his
lifetime. Stylish
clients such as Gianni
Agnelli were drawn to
his simple forms
and obsession
with comfort.

£7,550
for pair,
from 1stDibs.

PREVIOUS PAGE RIGHT

TAG HEUER
MONACO
The square-faced
timepiece has been
forever associated
with motor racing ever
since Steve McQueen
wore a Monaco in
1971’s Le Mans.
Reintroduced in
titanium, it looks as
fast and futuristic
today.

Monaco with
silver dial in
titanium on
alligator strap,
£6,550, by Tag
Heuer.

SERIES 8600
CHAIR BY HANS-
ULLRICH BITSCH,
GERMANY (1982)
With his steel-and-
woven-metal chairs,
German designer
Hans-Ullrich Bitsch
updated tubular
Bauhaus aesthetics
for a new era.

Chair and
ottoman £1,360,
by 1stDibs.

48 GQ FEBRUARY 2022

GQ World
Watches

AUDEMARS PIGUET ROYAL OAK MIRRORED SIDE TABLE BY JACQUES
Karl Lagerfeld’s favourite watch, the Royal Oak, GRANGE, FRANCE (1975)
has been given a royal upgrade in this Interior design legend Jacques Grange has
gold-and-money-green chronograph edition, worked with a who’s who of fashion royalty:
of which only 125 were made. Yves Saint Laurent, Valentino, and Lagerfeld, to
name a few. Who knows what this disco-ready
Royal Oak Selfwinding Chronograph mirrored table would say if it could talk?
in yellow gold, £68,100, by
Audemars Piguet. £2,800 for pair, from 1stDibs.

FEBRUARY 2022 GQ 49

ROLEX EXPLORER TRI 15 CHAIR BY ROBERTO
The Explorer is one of Rolex’s GABETTI & AIMARO ISOLA
most traditional watches, so the FOR ARBO, ITALY (1968)
sceptics started clucking when Italians Roberto Gabetti and
the Crown put out a new Aimaro Isola first partnered in
two-tone model. But who says 1950 to start an architecture
a watch designed for mountain practice, then branched off into
climbing – like this one – can’t lighting and furniture – like this
be flashy too? lounge chair – that spoke the
same language.
Oyster Perpetual
Explorer in Oystersteel £4,080 for pair,
and yellow gold, £8,700, from 1stDibs.
by Rolex.

50 GQ FEBRUARY 2022

GQ World
Watches

FEBRUARY 2022 GQ 51

GQ World
Watches

PIAGET POLO SKELETON MANDARIN CHAIR BY ETTORE
This Piaget Polo’s case clocks in at a beefy SOTTSASS FOR KNOLL, ITALY (1986)
42mm in diameter – all the better to show off Ettore Sottsass led the Memphis Group, the
the skeletonised interior. But unlike similarly Italian collective responsible for colourful,
show-offy watches, it’s an ultra-skinny zany, and eventually Instagram-devouring
6.5mm thick. design. In his hands, even sober dining chairs
feel whimsical.
Polo Skeleton with blue movement
in steel, £24,400, by Piaget. £4,300 for six, from 1stDibs.

52 GQ FEBRUARY 2022

GRAND SEIKO SBGY007 ALUMINIUM DINING CHAIR BY AMOS
Leave it to the ever elegant wizards at MARCHANT & LYNDON ANDERSON FOR
Grand Seiko to craft a dial that takes ALLERMUIR, UK (1996)
inspiration from God’s Crossing, as the Cast aluminium is often used for kitchen
rippling frozen-over surface of Japan’s pots and pans, but designers Amos Marchant
Lake Suwa is known. and Lyndon Anderson used it to give these
chairs a space-age quality.
SBGY007 on crocodile strap,
£7,770, by Grand Seiko. £2,500 for six, from 1stDibs.

FEBRUARY 2022 GQ 53

GQ World
Watches

CARTIER TANK COFFEE TABLE BY
MUST J WADE BEAM
In the ’70s, Cartier FOR BRUETON,
began releasing its US (1970S)
iconic Tank in No ’70s shag pad
era-appropriate was complete
funky colours. Four without one of
decades on, the J Wade Beam’s
richly coloured Must cantilevered gems.
collection is back. Same goes for a
tastefully appointed
Tank Must with 2022 loft.
red dial on
alligator £5,740, from
strap, £2,410, 1stDibs.
by Cartier.

54 GQ FEBRUARY 2022

FEBRUARY 2022 GQ 55

Thou shalt not, not drink.

Top: Golding GQ World
enjoying a Watches
pre-red-carpet
meal wearing
a Cartier Tank.
Middle and
bottom: Showing
off his “flashy”
Patek Philippe
Nautilus 5711.

Watches to wear that watch. If you’re going
Worthy to these big meetings with CEOs,
of aLeading your watch is a statement. But
Man taste in watches is much more
powerful than the price of a watch.
Actor Henry Golding, who So for me to rock up to these crazy
blew his first big salary on hedge fund guys and I’m wearing my
a Cartier Pasha, is looking Nautilus, I feel like it garners more
for the next excuse to add attention than having a blinged-out,
to his collection. diamond-studded crazy thing on
your wrist.
By CAM WOLF
You also have a Cartier Tank, which
O S T W A T C H enthusi- is arguably one of the classic designs
of all time.
M asts get creative when The Tank goes with everything.
they have to travel with You could wear it casually or you
their timepieces. On a can wear it with a tuxedo – it’s just
recent afternoon, Henry timeless. This one I got for the Crazy
Golding took his growing collection to Rich Asians premiere. I’d always
a Californian coffee shop rolled inside wanted this particular watch and
ankle socks, which were stuffed in a an occasion to wear it. It’s not too
Tumi toiletries case tucked inside an audacious, it’s not too in your face.
Arc’teryx tote bag. Not entirely sur- It’s a gold watch, but it doesn’t say,
prising, considering the 34-year-old “Hey, look at me. I’ve got a gold watch
actor was once a travel-show host on.” It’s classic.
whose timepieces had to hold up to
treks up the Mekong. In fact, the host What do you think about how a lot
gig fuelled his nascent watch obses- of men are now wearing steel sports
sion – Golding spent an entire sea- watches to formal events such as on
son’s salary on his first luxury watch, a red carpet?
a Cartier Pasha. “I wasn’t too proud of Yeah, that’s a big no-no. There are
that at the time,” he says. And then he only a couple of sports watches
got his big break, a starring role in the you can get away with wearing to
2018 box-office hit Crazy Rich Asians, a fancy event.
and bought a Cartier Tank.
So, you’ve got the holy grail of
You have a very Cary Grant–esque watches covered with the Tank,
persona, and all of your watches a Rolex GMT, and a Nautilus.
strike me as leading man watches. To be honest, these are the ones that
Were you conscious of that when you want.
building your collection?
PHOTOGRAPHS: COURTESY OF HENRY GOLDING You know what that is? It’s classiness. And then you have a relatively
We’re talking about a day and age accessible watch in the Tudor Black
where leading men were stoic, brave, Bay. What’s the story there?
manly, but not toxic. Refined. Then, It’s one of my favourites because my
in terms of the watch choices, these wife gave it to me on my wedding day.
are the ones that will stand the test At the time I was still a travel host,
of time, that I will still be wearing in so I needed something that I could
30 years. I mean, the flashiest watch go through jungles with, I could go
I own is the [Patek Philippe] Nautilus. diving with. This was six months
A lot of people see that and are just before Crazy Rich Asians, so this
like, “Eh.” But the watch collector is reminds me of a time when things
like, “Oh, shit.” were somewhat simpler, in a weird
way. This represents another lifetime
Do you have to think about the for me. So whenever I wear it, it
connotations of wearing a Nautilus grounds me and takes me back.
before putting it on in the morning?
It’s really bad to say this, but You consider trudging through the
sometimes it is a power move jungle to be a simpler life?
You would imagine it wouldn’t be,
but it was very different.

FEBRUARY 2022 GQ 57

MEET THE
SIX WINTER
OLYMPIANS

FROM
AROUND
THE WORLD

WHO ARE
INJECTING
THE GAMES
WITH FRESH

ENERGY.

GQ World
Olympians

shorts £460
Prada

Pause Wellness
Studio, West

Hollywood, California

PHOTOGRAPHS BY AARON SINCLAIR

This February, snow will fall on The Teenage Freeskier the first athlete of Chinese
mountains, ice rinks will be cleaned Who’s Landing Tricks No descent to take home gold
and smoothed by a Zamboni, and Woman Ever Has Before at the US’s annual extreme
athletes from all over the world will sports event X Games, she
descend upon Beijing for the 2022 EILEEN GU signed a modelling contract
Winter Olympics. The competition with IMG and has graced the
will feature no shortage of CHINA cover of Vogue Hong Kong, and
ambitious youngsters who are she recently got accepted at
looking to become household Last year, when freeskier Eileen Stanford University – all before
names, as well as familiar icons Gu became the first woman to she turned 18 last September.
with their eyes on redemption. land a double cork 1440 – four Gu says she picked up skiing
Here, we highlight some of the most full 360s incorporating two from her mother, a Chinese
gifted international athletes we off-axis rotations in mid-air – immigrant who moved to the
could find: the kind of heroes who she wasn’t surprised by what US in the ’80s and took to
remind us that while the Games she felt. She had imagined the sport at the same time
are more global than ever, at their the sensation of nailing the she was studying for an MBA
heart, there are always wonderful trick that morning, while at Stanford. In a way, Gu is
and uniquely personal stories brushing her teeth. “That’s just retracing her mother’s
that feel universal. a really big thing to me,” she footsteps. “[My mum] has
says, “visualising tricks by always been a leader,” she
the rhythm of the wind in my says. “When she first arrived
ears.” When she actually did from Beijing, she went to
it, she realised “that nobody Alabama and led a student
– no other girl before me – has union protest for housing
experienced that rotation in equality.… she never felt that
the air.” To immortalise the she was less than or not part
moment, she posted a video of.” By skiing for her mother’s
on Instagram, choosing to ancestral home, Gu is hoping
soundtrack the milestone that she can open a dialogue
with “Gosha” by the rapper and “promote common
$not, which includes the understanding” between the
lyrics: “You can’t hang. US and China. While the move
This is not your game.” has been met with criticism
Gu, who was born in the US from a small contingent of
and lives in San Francisco, fans – and celebration from
will be representing China many others – she’s gracefully
at the Games. But that’s just manoeuvred through the
one piece of her increasingly conflict and is thinking about
diversifying portfolio. She’s her future from a global
perspective. “It’s really
important to me to be able to
keep it cross-cultural,” she
says. “No matter what I do.”

– RAYMOND ANG

The Star Skier Who “I know that I have more in the tank, but I the pond to ski for Team GB instead. GUS KENWORTHY: GROOMING, THEA ISTENES USING KEVIN MURPHY.
Switched Allegiances am very much nearing my expiration date,” Kenworthy, born in Chelmsford, Essex,
Gus Kenworthy says with a world-weary has dual citizenship, and said he started
GUS laugh. Though only 30, in freestyle skier thinking about making the switch two
KENWORTHY years that means he’s about due for his Olympics ago. Back in 2014, he qualified for
bus pass. Kenworthy first broke out at the both slope-style and half-pipe skiing, but his
UNITED KINGDOM 2014 Sochi Games, where he nabbed the spot for the latter event was given to Torin
silver for Team USA but made headlines for Yater-Wallace. “It was just so cut-and-dried
60 GQ FEBRUARY 2022 adopting a family of dogs that included two the way they did it. I think that they didn’t
puppies. Shortly afterwards, he came out take into consideration that I’m a human
as gay – a rare admission in the bro-ified being [who’s] spent his whole life basically
world of extreme sports but one that he to get that spot,” he says. “Even if they were
says led him to have the best season of his going to make that decision – which is
career. “I had this weight off my shoulders ultimately their call – I still feel like they
and I was free,” he says. Kenworthy has could have handled it a lot more gently,
since become considerably more famous because it was hurtful.”
than your average skier, starring in a season
of American Horror Story, appearing in a He’s looking forward to a fresh start.
Prada campaign, and regularly posting thirst “I’m so appreciative of the sport, because
traps for his 1.2 million Instagram followers. it’s really given me this life,” he says. “But I
also realised that there is just so much more
This will be his final Olympics, and they’re to life than skiing and sport and winning or
notable for another reason: he jumped losing.” – G A B R I E L L A PA I E L L A

GQ World
Olympians

EILEEN GU: GROOMING, EVANGELOS TZIMIKAS.

PHOTOGRAPH BY DIRK BRUNIECKI Stubaital, Austria

his own The Russian Hockey Team
pullover Looking for Redemption
and trousers
ALEXANDER
Nike OVECHKIN, ANDREI
watch £6,700 VASILEVSKIY,
MIKHAIL SERGACHEV
Omega
RUSSIA
Great Park Ice &
Fivepoint Arena, At first glance, Russia’s Olympic hockey
Irvine, California team feels like a centrepiece of a dramatic
sports film just waiting to happen:
for over half a second and completing a Alexander Ovechkin, the most gifted goal
scorer of his generation – maybe of any
punishing four revolutions, a freakish generation – has yet to win an Olympic
medal. The last time the US National
athletic feat that Chen can do better than Hockey League’s star player suited up for
Russia at the Games was eight years ago on
The Brainy Figure anyone else in the world. If Chen lands home ice in Sochi. It ended with Ovechkin
hanging his head at a press conference,
Skater on a Remarkable all of his quads cleanly, he’ll be hard to solemnly apologising to his country.
beat in Beijing. But, when you’re
Hot Streak With tufts of grey hair peeking out from
spinning at 400 revolutions per minute, beneath Ovechkin’s helmet, some fans
suspect this could be his final shot at gold
NATHAN that’s a big if. In his Olympic debut in even though, at age 36, he’s still, well,
CHEN 2018, he stumbled on several jumps in Ovechkin. Through the first 22 games of
his short programme – figure skaters are the 2021-22 season, his 17th in the league,
he clocked a preposterous 19 goals for the
USA judged on both short and long Washington Capitals – on target for his
programmes. Physically, he was there. best performance ever. “I mean… the way
he plays now?” says Andrei Vasilevskiy,
“Mentally, I was blocked,” he says. In his Russia’s 27-year-old goalkeeper. “I think
he’ll be able to play at another Olympics
long programme, he landed six quads, in 2026.”

Long before he was the US’s next great jumping from 17th to finish fifth. Then he And while the Russians have never
lacked scoring prowess – “Brazil at the
figure skating hope, Nathan Chen was won the next 15 events he entered. 1994 football World Cup” is how Ovechkin
describes the team’s brand of hockey –
just a three-year-old boy hoping to play The youngest of five, Chen has two this time they have a sturdy defence too. RUSSIAN HOCKEY TEAM: GROOMING, TONI JO PERUZZI.
Vasilevskiy and 23-year-old defender
hockey. Goalie, specifically. “I didn’t older brothers, who work in finance and Mikhail Sergachev, both first-time
Olympians, have lifted back-to-back
know anything about hockey, but I aerospace; one of his sisters is at Apple; championship trophies together with
Florida’s Tampa Bay Lightning. These guys
thought the gear looked supercool,” he the other is co-founder of a biotech know how to win. “It’s a new tournament,”
Sergachev says. “None of us are looking at
says, now 22. His mum took him skating company. Chen says they’re a “huge the past and saying, Oh, we lost.”

– where he put on a pair of figure skates. chess family” and tries to apply the One common criticism of Ovechkin is
he often seems like a different player on
He was hooked. At worst, he figured it’d lessons he’s learned from the game international ice – less assertive, less joyful
– but he’s ready to lead by example and feed
be a unique enough extracurricular daily: how “being in a highly emotional off the loose, youthful exuberance of his
teammates. “He’s become more mature on
activity to get him into college. (He’s state” won’t help solve the problem; the ice,” Sergachev says. “He’s reading the
game, he’s back-checking, he skates like
studying at Yale University.) And then he how even when things don’t look great the wind. I want him to win, obviously, as
a fan of his since I was a kid.” Even if this
became a three-time world champion on the board, you figure out the best isn’t Ovechkin’s final chance at a medal, it
might well be his best chance. “The most
and Olympic medallist. way forwards. And where does he rank important thing is winning,” Ovechkin
says. “And when you win, you have the best
By the time he was ten, Chen was in the Chen family chess league? “Oh, memories and you have the best time.”
Maybe there’s a sports film in here after all
competing in the US Figure Skating dude, I’m at the bottom,” he says. No – the warm and fuzzy kind. – YA N G -Y I G O H

Championships. At 15, he landed his first matter: he might soon be the only one PHOTOGRAPH BY ZAMAR VELEZ

quad, which requires hanging in the air to own Olympic gold. – C L AY S K I P P E R

62 GQ FEBRUARY 2022

From left: Mikhail Sergachev, GQ World
Alexander Ovechkin, Olympians
and Andrei Vasilevskiy.

Amalie Arena,
Tampa, Florida

PHOTOGRAPH BY YSA PÉREZ FEBRUARY 2022 GQ 63

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What You GQ World
Can Learn Fitness

From the
Ageless
Athlete

A wellness revolution
in professional sport

has allowed stars
such as LeBron James,

Tom Brady, and
Novak Djokovic to
continue to dominate
into (relative) old age.
GQ fitness columnist
Joe Holder breaks
down the moves you
can steal for yourself.

LC ER BE RD IO TN CJ RA EMDEIST: CORL EDDE IRT, CR RO ECDKIYT WC IRDENDEI TR /CNRBEADEI/TG EC TR TE YD I ITM CA RG EE DS I; TY O U N G E R , S T E V E G R A Y S O N / W I R E I M A G E ; H A N D S , G A R Y D I N E E N / N B A E / G E T T Y I M A G E S .

FEBRUARY 2022 GQ 65

GQ World
Fitness

T ’ S A F A C T of life that our KEEP IT MOVING

I bodies slowly decline as Tom Brady has ruled the NFL into
we get older – Father his 40s by obsessing over his
Time is undefeated. muscles, but not in the
But a new wave of way you might think:
ageing pros competing and not pumping iron
winning at the highest level is for the strength to
showing how you can age not throw 65-yard bombs
just gracefully but masterfully. but by stretching and
I’m thinking of Cristiano foam rolling to stay flexible
Ronaldo (36), and Lionel and mobile. In other words, the
Messi (34), American football’s same work that keeps his body
Tom Brady (44), basketball supple enough to absorb a tackle
star LeBron James (37), US from a 23st opponent can help you
golfer Phil Mickelson (51), F1’s bend over and tie your shoes without
Lewis Hamilton (37) and Serena groaning. Because even though
Williams (40), and Roger Federer you aren’t in danger of being
(40) in tennis. And I could go on: it’s not just one sacked, you, too, are getting
sport or veterans moving into supporting roles. older and tighter. (Especially if
It’s a sport-wide revolution.
And you may have heard about the out-there things you’re reading this while sitting.)
Functional mobility is
they’re doing to maintain their bodies:
NFL quarterback Brady has so important if you want to play
optimised his nutrition that he tries five-a-side without pulling
to avoid coffee and even tomatoes. something, but it’s also crucial
LeBron reportedly spends more for life – lifting your children
than a million dollars on his body or grabbing your
annually, on everything from bag from the
cryotherapy to pedicures. But overhead locker.
beyond the expensive equipment The ability to
and the sometimes dubious move isn’t
latest science, something bigger simply about
is happening: the greatest our muscles –
athletes are realising that you often we lose
can’t play your way into shape; flexibility
performance is a no-days-off, because
year-round lifestyle. It’s the our brains
commitment to fundamental are no
routines that amateurs like you longer
and me can learn from. The asked to
moves pros are using to delay work
their twilight by just a few through full ranges
years can help the rest of us of motion. We often hear the phrase
feel and live well for decades “use it or lose it” and apply it to
– without giving up tomatoes. strength, but the truth is that you only
have to work on strength one or two
times a week to see results. It doesn’t
have to be much, but flexibility and
mobility need work every day,
whether it’s a circuit in the gym,
Pilates, yoga, or just a quick stretch
session before bed.

Opening page: GQ World
LeBron James in Fitness
high school at 18
and this season with
the Lakers at 36.

These pages,
clockwise from top

left: golfer Phil
Mickelson, now 51,

Serena Williams
(40), Lewis Hamilton

(37), the NFL’s
Tom Brady (44),
Tiger Woods (46),

and Cristiano
Ronaldo (36).

FOOD IS FUEL TAKE A TIME-OUT SHARPEN YOUR GOALS

PHIL MICKELSON: BRIAN ROTHMULLER/ICON SPORTSWIRE. SERENA WILLIAMS: ADAM PRET T Y. LEWIS HAMILTON: DAN ISTITENE. Last year, at an ancient-for-tennis 34, For LeBron, 37 years old and 19 I’ve noticed that as the greatest
TOM BRADY: JIM ROGASH. TIGER WOODS: WARREN LITTLE. CRISTIANO RONALDO: CLIVE ROSE. ALL: GETTY IMAGES. Novak Djokovic had the best season seasons into his career, staying athletes age, they often get more
of his career, coming within one healthy means not overdoing it single-minded about their goals.
match of becoming the first man to during the regular season. Which is Usually it’s
complete the Grand Slam since 1969. why he sometimes takes games off to realising that
He credits his longevity in large part rest. Superstars have learned that all that
to overhauling his diet: in 2010, he they need to manage the toll they matters is
eliminated gluten and dairy and are putting on their bodies in the titles (as
sharply restricted sugar. That’s an months leading up to the most opposed to, say,
extreme example, but the days of important games. That doesn’t just watching a
athletes eating whatever they want in mean playing fewer minutes but highlight blow up
the close season or finding a few sometimes sitting out games or on Instagram, or
beers in their locker after games are not travelling with the team at scoring a hat-trick in
long gone. all. It’s a sport-wide trend that a mid-table match on a
you may have heard referred to Tuesday). What’s that goal
You don’t have a close season, as “load management.” going to be for you? Maybe
but the point is the same: Creating it’s running half marathons
a healthy – and, most of all, We can apply this mindset to our for the next 20 years, or maybe
consistent – approach to food is more lives: it’s OK to take breaks. People it’s getting through a working day
powerful than supplements are running out of steam from having without back pain. I like to think
or on-again-off-again dieting. It can to always be on – look no further of lengthening not my life span
be tempting to think of food as a than the record rate at which but my health span – my time on
reward you get for working out. But people have quit their jobs over the earth in good physical condition.
it’s better to treat food as an integral past two years. I’m not saying we Whatever it is, use that for
part of your larger wellness picture. should never be stressed. In fact, motivation to get to the gym, to do
Figure out what you want your food elite athletes are experts at using those stretches when you wake up,
to do for you and design an eating stress to their advantage – because to steam some vegetables instead of
strategy around that. Here’s a place to they know it’s stress plus recovery ordering takeaway. Because when
start: try to simply minimise food that creates growth. So put in some you’re, say, taking holidays abroad
that makes you feel bad. It might not big sessions and close that deal – but in your 80s, or, better yet, dashing
be gluten or dairy for you, but I’m then tell your boss through an airport to make a tight
betting you eat something that makes that if LeBron connecting flight, I promise you’re
you feel a little off the next day. Pay takes breaks, so going to feel like a champion.
attention to that. can you.

FEBRUARY 2022 GQ 67

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The brilliantly
innovative BMW
i Vision Circular
concept car is made
from 100 per cent
recycled material,
and it’s 100 per cent
recyclable, too

BMW Comes
Full Circle

In the future, not only will the BMW Group be focused on using more
responsible production methods to build its EV range, it’s also looking
at ways to take its cars apart and recycle them afterwards .

70 GQ FEBRUARY 2022

A DV E RT I S I N G F E AT U R E - G Q PA RT N E RS H I P

OW ABOUT THIS for an idea: The next-gen ideas Having launched the iX3, the iX and
behind the BMW i i4 in 2021, the BMW Group will have a
H for its futuristic i Vision Vision Circular total of six electric cars in its range next
Circular, BMW has cre- include a steering year, and 12 by 2023. And in 2025, it
ated a concept electric car wheel 3D-printed will introduce its much vaunted “Neue
that is made from 100 per from wood powder, Klasse” generation of cars.
cent recycled materials that could be tyres made from
disassembled and recycled again when sustainably grown Rumoured to be starting with a
it reaches the end of its life. Clever and natural rubber, 3-Series, the New Class will have three
innovative, it is the ultimate interpre- and body panels key aims. Electric First will produce
tation of sustainable mobility. And for held together better EV drivetrains, improve battery
the record, BMW has no intention of by detachable range, and develop the electric manu-
putting it into production – not because connections so facturing platform. Digital First will see
it doesn’t believe in the car, but because its components can a redefined IT experience for drivers
this concept is all about next-gen ideas, be easily reused alongside new software architecture.
design language, and the founding prin- And Circular First will cement its sus-
ciple of the circular economy. create something more enjoyable that is tainability commitment by using more
By now, we all understand the impor- almost completely sustainable.” recycled materials. The Neue Klasse will
tance of the reduce, recycle, reuse, and also include producing new Series vehi-
repair manufacturing model that However, BMW isn’t hanging all of cles with hydrogen fuel cells to market.
BMW is endorsing here. By using more its good intentions and big claims on a
responsible materials and developing 2040 concept, or its long-term target of “Cars get a lot of criticism,” concludes
production methods that are less waste- reaching carbon neutrality by 2050. As Dukec. “By taking responsibility, as we
ful and more resource-efficient, the end we all know, change has to happen now have demonstrated with the i Vision
result should be a car that is finally com- (if not yesterday) and giant strides are Circular, the car can have a future.”
patible with having a social conscience, being made in the short-term as well.
that ticks all our future inner-city trans- To find out more, visit bmw.co.uk
portation requirements, as well.
On the surface, the i Vision Circular
concept car is a simple solution to
part of the ongoing threat to our envi-
ronment. It is a five-door, four-metre
long, fully electric mission statement
that offers a compelling argument
that the modern automobile may have
a future after all. The wheels, seats
and instrument panels feature quick-
release fasteners rather than adhesives.
3D printing is used to save weight and
reduce waste. The lights and the kidney
grille have been reimagined as a single
digital surface. A glass roof and large
glass panels all around give the cabin a
refined, light and airy ambiance. Even
the BMW badges are lasered on.
As for the dashboard, instruments,
and centre console? Well, forget every-
thing you assumed was the norm.
There’s a 3D-printed crystal “body”
iDrive system that responds to hand
gestures and is flanked by naturally
treated wood and gold-bronze metal
elements. The information usually
found in the central display is now pro-
jected on to the windscreen. It doesn’t
need to be painted, and even the bat-
tery can be recycled.
“BMW has always known how to
resolve apparent contradictions in its
products,” says Domagoj Dukec, head of
BMW Design. “With the BMW i Vision
Circular, we have set ourselves the chal-
lenge of designing a 100 per cent circular
vehicle, while at the same time meeting
– and in some respects exceeding – our
customers’ self-evident expectations
when it comes to lifestyle and luxury.”
Dukec continues: “This isn’t about
teaching people that their lives have
to change and that they must give
something up. It’s our responsibility to

FEBRUARY 2022 GQ 71

From superstar sportsmen and unicorn-level business leaders to Hollywood hotshots and
magic musicians; Britain’s great and good decamped to Soho Farmhouse for the annual

GQ Heroes summit last October and it was as big, bold, and brilliantly boujie as you’d expect.

BY TEO VAN DEN BROEKE

Images photographed by Gavin Bond and Darren Gerrish on a Google Pixel

Photography partner Payment partner Business partner

GQ World
Heroes

TOM DALEY
“My husband said to me:
‘Today may not have been
the day you were going
to win a gold medal,” an
emotional Tom Daley,
27, told Elizabeth Day of
his Olympic heartache
at Rio 2016, “‘but maybe
your child is meant to see
you win an Olympic gold
medal.’ Five years later my
son got to see me win one.”
Photographed by Gavin
Bond on the Google Pixel

FEBRUARY 2022 GQ 73

GQ World
Heroes

Who’s Your Hero?

ET’S NOT BEAT ABOUT RIZ AHMED
“Being in deaf culture
L T H E B U S H , the world felt enriching,” Oscar-
is a pretty scary place nominated Ahmed, 39,
right now. The climate is explained to interviewer
imploding, Covid’s still Ciaran Thapar on his
lurking and social media is as addictive preparation for the hit
as ever (sorry, did you say something? film Sound of Metal. “It
I was looking at my phone). In fact, you didn’t feel like a lack or
could go so far as to say that we’re in a loss of anything. It felt
need of a hero or two. like I was more in touch
The good news is that there were with my body. The deaf
plenty to be found deep in the most community taught me the
glamorous recesses of the Oxfordshire meaning of listening.”
countryside, at British GQ’s annual
Heroes summit at Soho Farmhouse.
A balls-to-the-wall, fur-to-the-
floor celebration of the brightest and
best talents this country has to offer,
the three-day event, powered by
headline sponsor BMW and our other
key partners Google Pixel, Klarna
and Vodafone Business, featured
discussions, talks, and speeches from
musical icons, fashion designers,
influencers, comedians, politicians,
authors, film stars and activists; as well
as an unprecedented line-up of CEOs,
digital disruptors and industry leaders
from the world of luxury and beyond.
Olympic diving champion Tom
Daley discussed his emotional journey
at Tokyo 2020, Oscar-nominated star
of Sound of Metal Riz Ahmed mused
on the nature of deafness, and Schitt’s
Creek co-creator Daniel Levy waxed
lyrical about the importance of queer
representation on screen.
Elsewhere, Olly Alexander shared
his thoughts on the impact of the AIDS
epidemic after his turn in Channel
4’s hit series It’s a Sin, while Thierry
Henry compared the end of his football
career to a kind of “death”.
And that wasn’t all. Brit award-
winner Griff performed a live set at
the gala dinner! Adriene Mishler did a
yoga class! Jazz singer Gregory Porter
made everyone fall in love with his
honeyed tones! Jamie Dornan looked
impossibly handsome on stage!
They say you should never meet your
heroes, but in this case we strongly
advise that you do, and over the next 14
pages, you can.

74 GQ FEBRUARY 2022



THIERRY HENRY
AND BEN WINSTON

WHAT OUR JAMIE DORNAN
GUESTS
BMW i4
TOOK HOME
PERONI
Burberry
Hero Fragrance

Urbanista Lisbon
Wireless Earphones

Plus GREGORY PORTER
Body Wash
GUY BERRYMAN AND MEL KEYTE, SOPHIE CHIAPPE,
TEO VAN DEN BROEKE MARK BURTON, EMILY LATHAM
AND CHARLIE DALGLISH
76 GQ FEBRUARY 2022



THIERRY HENRY
AND BEN WINSTON

WHAT OUR GREG WILLIAMS
GUESTS

TOOK HOME

American Crew
Forming Cream &
Daily Shampoo

Multivitamin
Gummies

HATTIERS RUM MICHELLE ROBERTS
AND OLLY ALEXANDER
Klarna
makeup bag containing DANIEL LEVY AND
JACK GUINNESS
Fussy Sustainable
Deodorants, Wildtree
Skincare Organic Body
Scrub Melts and electric

toothbrush heads
from Booheads

Best Wishes, GUY BERRYMAN
Warmest Regards:

The Story of
Schitt’s Creek

78 GQ FEBRUARY 2022

GQ World
Heroes

YAHYA ABDUL-
MATEEN II
In a sprawling
conversation, Yahya
Abdul-Mateen II
discussed taking on the
mantle of Morpheus in
Matrix Resurrections.
“If the previous Matrix
was a warning of what
the world could be,”
said Abdul-Mateen, 35,
“then the new Matrix is
about what the world has
become, and whether
there’s a possibility of us
being able to do anything
about it.”

FEBRUARY 2022 GQ 79

BILLIE PIPER
In a frank exchange, Billie
Piper, 39, reflected on the
lack of complex roles for
leading women and the
impact her early career
had on her mental health.
“There’s so much that
triggers me about my past as
a pop star,” she said.
Photographed by Gavin
Bond on the Google Pixel

80 GQ FEBRUARY 2022

ROSS EDGLEY AND
ADRIENE MISHLER

GQ World
Heroes

WHAT OUR
GUESTS

TOOK HOME

Argentum
La Potion Infinie

MATT HAIG
AND NIHAL
ARTHANAYAKE

SLINGSBY GIN OLLY ALEXANDER Benedict Raven
AND PAUL FLYNN white Lounge T-shirt

John Bell & Croyden
MYO Pre Workout Ginger

and Lavender
Sleep Sprays

BMW iX MATTHEW MOULDING

FEBRUARY 2022 GQ 81

GREGORY PORTER BEN FRANCIS,
STEVEN BARTLETT AND

PAUL HENDERSON

WHAT OUR
GUESTS

TOOK HOME

FROM LEFT: ALEXANDRE MATTIUSSI, HARRY LAMBERT, Myprotein
PRIYA AHLUWALIA, AJ COYNE AND ANGELO MITAKOS hand towel

Hotel Chocolat
Everything H Box

ESPA
Fitness Bath Salts

LUSCOMBE Augustinus Bader
The Lip Balm
RUSSELL TOVEY AND
ROBERT DIAMENT Pickett
Leather Folio
RIZ AHMED AND CIARAN THAPAR

82 GQ FEBRUARY 2022

GQ World
Heroes

GRIFF
Arguably the breakthrough
star of last year, Griff has
certainly made her mark.
The 21-year-old singer
told GQ: “Music is a form
of worship and it’s a form
of connecting with God.”

Photographed by Gavin
Bond on the Google Pixel

FEBRUARY 2022 GQ 83

GQ World
Heroes

DANIEL LEVY
Speaking to author and
presenter Jack Guinness,
Schitt’s Creek co-creator
Daniel, 38, observed: “I’d
seen Ross and Rachel
kiss 1,000 times on TV,
but I couldn’t tell you a
moment where two men
kissed casually.”

84 GQ FEBRUARY 2022

WHAT OUR
GUESTS

TOOK HOME

John Bell & Croyden
Epsom Salts

JORDAN HENDERSON

ANDREW STEVENS, NISHMA ROBB
AND JORDAN HENDERSON

Montblanc
Notebook

Zena SEIGNETTE COGNAC
Earrings
CHRIS WARREN AND
GEMMA STYLES, NICKI SHIELDS OZGUR KIRAZI
AND JASON BARLOW

LUCY OSBORNE, HANNA JESS PHILLIPS AND
FLINT AND SIRIN KALE HADLEY FREEMAN

GREG WILLIAMS
AND JACK GUINNESS

JACK GUINNESS

LUE ELIZONDO WHAT OUR
DJ FAT TONY GUESTS

TOOK HOME

TOM DALEY AND Rhythm 108
ELIZABETH DAY Dark Cocoa Orange bar

Burlington
Argyle socks

Sarah Chapman
The Facialift Sculpting

Facial Massager

TOM DALEY AND
OLLY ALEXANDER

GQ World
Heroes

OLLY ALEXANDER
Years & Years frontman
Olly, 31, star of Channel
4’s barnstorming AIDS
drama It’s a Sin riffed
on the subject of queer
representation, but he
also had plenty to say to
our interviewer Paul Flynn
on the subject of fashion.
“Obviously Kylie can rock
anything and she’ll
look fabulous,” he said.

Photographed by Gavin
Bond on the Google Pixel

FEBRUARY 2022 GQ 87

GQ World
Heroes

GUY BERRYMAN MAKEUP AND GROOMING BY TOM FORD BEAUTY
Of his new fashion line,
Applied Art Forces,
Coldplay bassist Guy, 43,
told GQ: “If we can
resonate with people and
become a bit bigger over
time that’s great, as long as
that’s never at the expense
of the quality, the ideas
and the passion that
goes into this.”

Photographed by Gavin
Bond on the Google Pixel

88 GQ FEBRUARY 2022

ANGELA SCANLON AND
RICHARD OSMAN

JORDAN HENDERSON GQ World
AND PAUL HENDERSON Heroes

WHAT OUR JAMIE DORNAN
GUESTS BOLLINGER

TOOK HOME FEBRUARY 2022 GQ 89

REN
Ready Steady Glow Daily

AHA Tonic

Philosophy
Purity Cleanser

GRIFF

ESPA
Fitness Shower Oil

Swell
Water Bottle

Apothem
Defence CBD Drops

GQ PARTNERSHIP

How Small Businesses their digital skills. Having helped more
Can Conquer The than 50,000 businesses so far, courses
Future of Work cover everything from digital market-
ing to cybersecurity. Awad attended
The challenges of an interconnected world often mean that two business.connected workshops,
companies need to adapt, quickly. Vodafone’s upskilling which focused on SEO and social
initiative, business.connected, is helping them do just that. media – and both had an immediate
impact. “The digital tips I picked up
ID-PANDEMIC MAY NOT Lockdown restrictions meant The UK’s small from the programme have improved
Awad’s business couldn’t trade out of business owners my social media engagement, which
M seem like the obvious a physical shop, so she optimised her are entering a new has increased my sales,” she explains.
time to start a business, online business instead. Looking for phase of digital
but that didn’t stop resources to help her digitally “upskill” engagement – and Awad is one of many small business
Milgo Awad. At the end – learning how to embrace new tech- Vodafone’s owners to make the leap into the digital
of the UK’s first COVID-19 wave, Awad nology and best business practices – business.connected realm as a result of the pandemic. They
set up her eponymous jewellery brand she discovered business.connected. and V-Hub offer are not only the lifeblood of the econ-
in Anerley, London, selling designs major advantages in omy – at almost six million, they make
inspired by her Somali heritage. Like Launched in May 2021, business. up around half the private sector in the
all good businesses, the pitch was sim- connected now aims to help 150,000 a global marketplace UK – but they also act as crucibles for
ple, but attention-grabbing. “Behind small businesses by summer 2022. A creativity and innovation.
each creation,” Awad explains, “there joint venture between Vodafone and
is a unique story, which focuses on cel- Enterprise Nation, it provides free One champion of business.con-
ebrating ethnicity with a modern flair.” training to owners to help them boost nected is entrepreneur Steven Bartlett,
who founded social media market-
ing company, Social Chain, from his
Manchester bedroom at 21, eventually
growing it to a valuation of £450m.
Among his many business ventures,
Bartlett now hosts a podcast called
“The Diary Of A CEO”, in which he
interviews CEOs and business figures;
he says that the feedback from business
leaders is that flexibility and a willing-
ness to upskill are among the most
essential tools in a founder’s skillset.

“When the pandemic happened, it
showed a lot of businesses how import-
ant it is to be ready for change and to
have a philosophical attitude towards
change that is optimistic,” he explains,
adding that the relative lack of infor-
mation for business owners is some-
thing that needs to be addressed more
widely – and he sees Vodafone’s busi-
ness.connected as the best means to do
so. “There are probably 10 sentences
that someone could have said to me,
when I started my business, that would
have made it five times more successful
in a fraction of the time,” he says. “And
so much of the work that I want to do
with business owners in offering advice
and support is making sure that they
don’t have to learn those hard lessons
themselves. I can impart that [advice]
through Vodafone’s initiatives.”

Meanwhile, you don’t have to look far
to find examples of business.connected’s
impact: Awad’s jewellery shop continues
to thrive and grow. “There is so much to
learn,” she says. “A platform like busi-
ness.connected is priceless.”

Search V-Hub by Vodafone

90 GQ FEBRUARY 2022 FEBRUARY 2022 GQ 90

STORE

Timeless, yet modern, prints from
the world’s most iconic photographers

condenaststore.com
Use code CNS25 for 25% off

Mary E. Nichols, May 15, 2017, Architectural Digest

This is Winter.
This is Wales.

Land of epic adventure.
visitwales.com

TWENTY TWENTY-ONE WAS the year we GQ
tentatively tiptoed out, dipped one World
foot in the water, stuck to the tried
and tested (if we travelled at all). Travel Guide 2022
Let 2022 be the year we get back into
the great, wide world. Our thinking?
Head for the places with sun, with
serenity, and, above all, with soul.

Places to Disappear

The Coolest to This Year

PHOTOGRAPH, YIANNIS RIZOMARKOS. Edited by
DAVID ANNAND
Set on the Greek island of Antiparos, The Rooster brings design-led cool
to an otherwise wild (and wonderfully underpopulated) destination.

FEBRUARY 2022 GQ 93

GQ World lush tropical gardens. It’s adult only,
Travel which guarantees squeal-free serenity,
and the food is knocked up from the
• The Rooster on-site organic garden. It’s a wellness-
• F Zeen focused place – with outdoor gym and
sprawling spa – but it isn’t po-faced: sun
Greece loungers abound and there’s a decent
cocktail list to help you wind down after
a day working out in the sun.

Most recently, in June 2021, the
under-the-radar little island of
Antiparos joined the major players with
The Rooster, a hotel built seemingly of
rough-hewn hunks of Cycladic stone
and driftwood, albeit with alfresco
showers and private pools for its 17 resi-
dences. The island has no airport and so
feels kind of wild, with properly empty
beaches. Ask the hotel and they’ll pack
you upscale picnics to eat by the sea.

The Rooster, from £550 per night.
theroosterantiparos.com. F Zeen,
from £180 per night. fzeenretreat.com

Yes, the
Greek Islands
Have Upped
Their Game

Mykonos is great. But happily there’s a whole other galaxy
of Grecian wonders gunning for the crown.

N T I L R E C E N T L Y , Greek From top: Kefalonia’s wellness-focused F Zeen is set in verdant tropical gardens; F Zeen’s views PHOTOGRAPHS, THE ROOSTER.
of pool and Mediterranean; The Rooster’s 17 residences have helped put Antiparos on the map.
U Island holidays divided
fairly predictably into
two kinds. There were
those with beautiful
beaches, terrific little tavernas, lovely
bays lapped at by the warm-as-a-bath
Aegean. But the hotels were only ever
OK. For anything architecturally inter-
esting, you had to head to Mykonos or
Santorini, gorgeous islands both, but
overrun in the high season and you feel
like you’ll run up a Harry Maguire-sized
bar tab every time you go out.
In the last few years, though, the other
islands have upped their game. First,
in 2016, the Casa Cook group opened
its first hotel in Rhodes, marrying
the sunny utopianism of midcentury
Californian architecture with the rough
stone and tumbleweed aesthetic of the
local countryside. Then, in 2019, came
Domes Zeen in Crete, a low-slung but
sharp-cornered resort in concrete and
timber that seems designed to re-create
the wildest parties of the 1970s.
Now Kefalonia has got in on the
action with the recently expanded
F Zeen, a resort that sits discreetly in

94 GQ FEBRUARY 2022

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