T WO COV ERS TO COLLECT!

ISSUE 85 AUGUST 2018

S P E C I A L
SHE’S BACK!
CASEY B’DAY
EDITION
BOONSTRA OUR SEXIEST
THE GIFT THAT COVER GIRLS
KEEPS ON GIVING IN THEIR
P. 38 BIRTHDAY
SUITS

COCAINE M O T I VAT I O N

& SURFING ROCK HARD

HEALTH & FITSPO
AN EPIC LOVE STORY
P. 50 WITH DWAYNE
JOHNSON
P. 32

CYBERSEX

THE SEVEN
AUST/NZ $9.95 INC

DEADLY SINS OF GST

ONLINE DATING
PRINT POST APPROVED

F1 ROOKIE
PP 100003469

OF THE YEAR

UFC’s RED HOT WWW.MAXIM.COM.AU

FACEBOOK/MAXIMAU
OCTAGON GIRL TWITTER/MAXIM_AUS
INSTAGRAM/MAXIM_AUS
YOUTUBE/MAXIMAUSTRALIA
CONTENTS I S S U E 8 5 — AU G U S T 2 018 — S P E C I A L 7 T H B I R T H DAY E D I T I O N

12
38 59
SPOTLIGHT
TO CELEBRATE 2,555 DAYS OF
OUR EXISTENCE WE GIVE YOU
SEVEN OF OUR SEXIEST COVER
GIRLS IN THEIR BIRTHDAY SUIT

22 MAXIM TV WE CHAT TO
HOST JAMES KERLEY TO SEE
WHAT’S IN STORE FOR THE
LONG-AWAITED SEASON 2

24 MACHINES MIDUAL’S
BEST MOTORCYCLE, NOBLE’S
HAND-BUILT BEAST, THE

92
TWISTAIR AND AUTOMOBILI
SPECIALI FIRST SUPERCAR

32 HEALTH & FITNESS

FITSPO WITH DWAYNE
“THE ROCK” JOHNSON

34 BAR AGING CROATIA’S

ACCLAIMED WINES, PLUS
MOËT’S ULTIMATE BOTTLE

38 COVER GIRL MAXIM

FAVOURITE CASEY BOONSTRA
RETURNS TO HELP US
CELEBRATE SEVEN YEARS

48 THE LEADING MAN

WHY JOSEPH FIENNES’ ROLE
90
IN THE HANDMAID’S TALE IS
HIS MOST CHALLENGING EVER
SEX THE PREMATURE
EJACULATION SOLUTION, PLUS
WHY CYBERSEX IS THE BEST

50 COCAINE & SURFING

THE NO-HOLDS-BARRED LOVE
94 RELATIONSHIPS
THE SEVEN DEADLY
AFFAIR BETWEEN THE TWO SINS OF ONLINE DATING

96
PURSUITS MAKES FOR ONE BUSINESS OWNER OF THE
HELL OF A STORY NBA’S HOUSTON ROCKETS,

56 STYLE WATCHMAKER TILMAN FERTITTA, TALKS

RICHARD MILLE, THE FINEST ABOUT BUILDING HIS EMPIRE

98
TIMEPIECES FOR ABOVE AND
BELOW THE WATERLINE, PLUS
CLASSY CHIC FASHION FOR
THE DISCERNING MAN
50
24 HOURS TO LIVE
LEGENDARY AUSTRALIAN
GUITARIST AND SINGER
MARK LIZOTTE DISCUSSES

66 SPORT WHY SAUBER YOUNG HIS FINAL DAY ON EARTH

GUN CHARLES LECLERC IS THE

32
F1 ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

69 GADGETS LEATHERMAN’S
PST MULTI-TOOL DOES IT ALL

70 UFC CHAMPION ULTIMATE

FIGHTER LUKE ROCKHOLD

74 TRAVEL YOUR ESSENTIAL

GUIDE TO THE FRENCH RIVIERA

84 WOMAN OF THE WORLD

HOT UFC OCTAGON GIRL RED
DELA CRUZ IS ON THE RISE
12
8 MAXI M.COM.AU
 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Santi Pintado
(spintado@nuclear.com.au)

Phone +612-9363-1464
Mail PO Box 230,
Double Bay NSW 1360
Email maxim@maxim.com.au
Web www.maxim.com.au
facebook maximau
twitter maxim_aus
instagram maxim_aus
youtube maximaustralia

ISSUE 85 AUGUST 2018 Art Director Luke Shaddock

(lshaddock@nuclear.com.au)

TWO National Advertising

Manager
Abdul Khan
(akhan@nuclear.com.au)

COLLECTABLE Marketing Director

Managing Director
Natalie Downs
Michael Downs

COVERS Fashion Editor Adriana Dib

COVER GIRL: Grooming Editor Shonagh Walker
CASEY BOONSTRA Motoring Editor Bill Varetimidis
Gaming & Tech Writer Chris Stead
P H OTO G R A P H E D BY
N E I L D I XO N Staff Photographer Wayne Daniels

MAXIM WORLD WIDE BRAND LICENSING

Chairman and CEO, Biglari Holdings Inc. Mr. Sardar Biglari

Senior Paralegal & Rights Manager Catherine Baxter

© 2018 MAXIM Inc. The name “MAXIM” and the MAXIM logo are registered trademarks of Maxim Media Inc., and used under license by (publisher).
All rights reserved. The United States edition of MAXIM is published monthly by MAXIM Inc. 268 W. 44th Street 5th Floor New York, NY, 10036
For international publishing or licensing inquiries: maximworld@maxim.com

1 0 MAXI M.COM.AU
I N FO@MARVI SAU STRALIA.CO M .AU
SPOTLIGHT

7
MAXIM Australia’s

COVER Hap
Birt py

GIRLS
hday
to us
!

IN THEIR BIRTHDAY SUIT

To celebrate 2,555 days of our existence, we present you with seven of our sexiest
cover girls who have graced these pages over the last seven years — in all their glory…

1 2 MAXI M.COM.AU
 Nicole Trunfio
IS SU E 3 4 M AY 2 0 14
One of Australia’s sexiest supermodels
Nicole Trunfio wore very little for her cover
shoot with us in 2014. It was a case of just
a pair of knickers here and there and some
casual nudity, of course. What's more, the
concept was all her spur-of-the-moment
idea. “I love MAXIM and this shoot was
spontaneous,” explained the actress,
musician, jewellery designer and all-round
babe. “We shot it in three hours, at 6 a.m.,
before I had to catch my flight back to New
York. During the entire shoot I was really
worried I’d miss my flight, but sometimes
spontaneity is where the magic is.” We
couldn’t agree more, Nic. Thanks again.

P H OTO G R A P H E D BY N I C K L E A RY MAXI M.COM.AU 1 3

SPOTLIGHT

Ruby Rose
ISSUE 3 O CT OBE R 2 011

Long before she was making

Orange Is The New Black and
taking Hollywood by storm with a
plethora of big-screen hits, former
Aussie TV host and DJ Ruby Rose
revealed her naked ambition for us
in an exclusive 2011 cover shoot.
Posing nude in a controversial
feature for PETA, the 2017 MAXIM
HOT 100 winner donned only an
assortment of wigs while baring
all and complimenting her faultless
naked body as she showcased
her anti-fur crusade.

1 4 MAXI M.COM.AU P H OTO G R A P H E D BY C A R L O T TA M OY E

Ellie
Gonsalves
ISSUE 18 JANUARY 2 013
ISSUE 29 DE CE MBE R 2 013
IS SU E 3 1 F E BRUARY 2 0 14
After introducing the world to Ellie
with a very sexy swimwear MAXIM
cover shoot in 2013, the stunning
Brisbane beauty returned to us
for a second time, in the same
year, for an even hotter
pictorial. Known as the
“BOOM” cover, the
front page line also
read “She’s back &
she’s naked!” and her
inside 10-page feature
didn’t disappoint. If that
wasn’t enough, in 2014
Ellie became an impressive
three-time MAXIM cover girl
when she joined her fellow
popular social media influencer
mates, Renee Somerfield and
Sheridyn Fisher, poolside for
her third cover celebrating Australia
Day. It’s no suprise to us why she
has since landed gigs in L.A. with
GUESS, starred in a $10m Yellow
Tail wine Super Bowl ad and scored
a movie role alongside Dwayne
“The Rock” Johnson in his upcoming
film Fighting with My Family.

P H O T O G R A P H E D B Y W AY N E D A N I E L S MAXI M.COM.AU 1 5
SPOTLIGHT

Stella Maxwell
ISSUE 62 SE P T E MBE R 2 016
Striking the perfect balance between bombshell
and beauty-next-door, this MAXIM cover girl is
quickly becoming a global phenomenon and has
all the makings of becoming New Zealand’s next
big superstar. One year after landing a contract
with Victoria’s Secret and secretly wishing for a
pair of wings, she got a call from her agent telling
her she’d officially become an Angel. A few
months later, while in Joshua Tree, California,
shooting with photographer Gilles Bensimon
for MAXIM , she felt strongly that the images
would make the ultimate cover. As you can see,
she was right — the results speak for themselves.

1 6 MAXI M.COM.AU
P H OTO G R A P H E D BY G I L L E S B E N S I M O N MAXI M.COM.AU 17
SPOTLIGHT

Erin
Gleave
(née McNaught)
ISSUE 11 JUNE 2 012
In 2012 this former Miss Universe
Australia turned 30 and to celebrate
her milestone Erin wanted to send
a positive message to the world
letting them know that women
can still rock a killer rig no matter
what their age. And she wasn’t
wrong! In what is still one of our
favourite and strongest covers
in MAXIM Australia’s seven years,
Erin posed in her birthday suit
draping herself over silk sheets
and gold balloons. After the shoot
wrapped up at the Sydney hotel,
we headed to a bar with her for
a few hours as she downed Mojitos
and Moscow Mules like they are
going out of fashion. Great girl.

1 8 MAXI M.COM.AU P H O T O G R A P H E D B Y W AY N E D A N I E L S
 Renee
Somerfield
ISSUE 3 1 F E BRUARY 2 0 14
ISSUE 3 5 J U N E 2 0 14
ISSUE 48 JULY 2 015
ISSUE 6 1 AUG US T 2 0 16
Four-time MAXIM cover girl, and
one of our favourites, Rene has more
than impressed our readers with her
shoots. But it was her naked third
cover and feature in 2015 that had
jaws dropping. A year ago we asked
the Australian swimsuit model and
Instagram star where she’d like to be
in five years. Her reply? “I’d like to be
running a highly successful company,
travelling often and most of all being
happy. Love and happiness trumps
all things.” Today her swimwear label
Somerfield Swim continues its
upward trajectory, while, a quick
glance of her Instagram (good luck
sticking to just a quick glance) is
proof she appears to be stuck in
a happy state of perpetual summer.

P H OTO G R A P H E D BY B O N N I E C E E MAXI M.COM.AU 1 9

SPOTLIGHT

2 0 MAXI M.COM.AU
 Candice
Swanepoel
ISSUE 47 JUNE 2 015
The first time we met the outstanding and
illustrious Victoria’s Secret Angel Candice
Swanepoel was sipping champagne and making
small talk with her at the US MAXIM HOT 100
party in Los Angeles. It was 2014. A year later,
the amazing and exquisite glamazon is laying
naked on a European beach striking a pose for
her faultless MAXIM shoot (the June 2015 edition)
that would relaunch MAXIM Australia with an
all-new look and amazing cover. Thank you, CS.

P H OTO G R A P H E D BY G I L L E S B E N S I M O N MAXI M.COM.AU 2 1

MAXIM TV
COMING SOON!
Yes, MAXIM TV is heading back on air and on its way to 7mate. We have a quick chat
with host JAMES KERLEY to see what’s in store for the long-awaited Season 2…
HEY KERLS, HOW ARE
YOU FEELING TODAY
AND ARE YOU SOBER?
Great question. Here’s a few
for you – what time is it? What
day is it? Who are you and how
did you get into my house?
IT’S MAXIM. SO.... WHAT
HAVE YOU BEEN UP TO
SINCE SEASON ONE
OF OUR TV SHOW?
Ah! G’Day, MAXIM. I’ve been
back and forth from the US
and have just brought out a
nightly trivia show to Australia
called Cash Show Au – it’s
the first of its kind in Australia.
I’m like a sober Grant Denyer
mixed with more wealthy Eddie
McGuire. Kidding – I’m far from
either but we’ve already given
away $65,000 and are only
just getting started. I’ve also
been getting into motorbikes,
spearfishing and working on
the soon-to-seen MAXIM TV
Season 2 – all are labors of love.
2 2 MAXI M.COM.AU
WHAT WERE SOME OF
YOUR HIGHLIGHTS FROM
MAXIM TV SEASON ONE?
We had a lot of fun in Season
one – Garfield, the unfit ginger
ninja, isn’t so much a highlight
as just hard to remove from my
mind’s eye. We had some great
guests, some cheeky life hacks
and generally had a lot of laughs
on the job.
WHAT’S IT FEEL LIKE TO
FINALLY GET SEASON 2
HAPPENING?
Season 2 has been like that
dream girl you want to at least
have a conversation with and
maybe even date a few times,
but years go by and it’s seeming
less and less likely. Until one day
you’re both single, you’re both
out and about and then after a
couple of beverages – BANG!
You both sign a contract for
10 episodes with Australia’s
best, man-friendly network
7mate and on your way!
WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FINALLY, BEING MAXIM,
FROM THIS SEASON? WE HAVE TO ASK — WHEN
It’s an entirely different beast DO YOU FEEL SEXY?
that will see us travelling Seems like a really, creepy
between Australia and the ending to an otherwise civilised
USA, some huge guest names, chat. Where are you taking this?
plus an awesome new sponsor Let’s get out of the Hot Tub
with the team over at Ultra Tune. and answer this question
More life hacks than ever before, at the same time. 1, 2…
of course, and an unusually high
“I’M LIKE A SOBER
GPM (Gags Per Minute).
WHAT DO YOU ENJOY
MOST ABOUT WORKING
ON MAXIM TV?
GRANT DENYER
MAXIM is the best thing to
happen to men since women.
MIXED WITH MORE
This season has more cars,
legends and ladies than
WEALTHY EDDIE
anything else on Aussie TV
or the Internet — ever! We’ve
MAGUIRE.”
also got an awesome new
co-host that we can’t wait
to share with you, as well
as some of the classic
segments and some CATCH KERLS
ON SEASON 2 OF
new ones that’ll blow MAXIM TV COMING
your mind. Oooh… SOON TO 7MATE
P H OTO G R A P H E D BY C H A D B A R N I E R AT
W O R K I N C , L AV E N D E R B AY, SY D N E Y N S W
MACHINES

The
FRENCH CONNECTION
How Midual crafted one of the world’s best motorcycles...
BY KEITH GORDON

M
ost vehicle makers design their products based down 25 degrees, mounted parallel to the road, and attached
on their customers’ needs. But some companies via a chain drive. The result is a balanced setup with an output
— Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Bugatti — build to let of 106 hp at 8,200 rpm, and 93 Nm of torque at only 5,500 rpm.
their customers experience what is possible. Once Midy had created his dream engine, he needed to craft the
In the motorcycle realm, this crown is worn by chassis, a process that took at least five years. The result is a double-
French motorcycle builder Midual and its roughly US$185,000 wall aluminum alloy monocoque that serves not only as the frame
Type 1. The long-awaited offering from Midual, cofounded in but as the fuel tank as well. Suspension is entrusted to the experts
1997 by Frenchman Olivier Midy, is a new at Öhlins, while the brakes, two four-piston calipers up front and
benchmark in performance and design. a two-piston caliper at the rear, are
Midy is of the belief that brand identity sourced from industry
is first and foremost an engine, and leader Brembo.
the rest of the bike is there to serve it. The production run
A lover of big two-cylinder engines, was short — just 16
Midy was intrigued by the potential units were initially
of a flat engine, with its balance in the works —
and reliable performance. and moved fast;
In 2007 he tested his own as it is worth
flat-twin engine, tilted the price tag. ■

2 4 MAXI M.COM.AU
MAXI M.COM.AU 2 5
MACHINES
EXPERIENCE
NECESSARY
Noble Automotive’s latest hand-built supercar is not for Sunday drivers...
BY KEITH GORDON
I
f the computing power of an iPhone is
enough to send a man to the moon, the
multiple computers on modern supercars
might be able to solve the conundrums of
quantum physics. These cars’ systems are
constantly monitored and analyzed, allowing
them to adjust for maximum performance and
enhanced stability. But more important: That
technology is what allows us nonprofessional
drivers to get behind the wheel (at least those
of us with the means).
2 6 MAXI M.COM.AU
Noble Automotive will have none of that.
If you want to drive their hand-built M600,
you’ll need not only the US$281,000 it costs,
but the skills to keep the 650 horsepower
thunderbolt on the road and out of the
ditch. Noble has forgone the typical driver
assists; you won’t find stability control or
even anti-lock braking. Only traction control
has been included, but even this has been
tweaked to give drivers more freedom to push
the car and themselves. To turn off traction
control, the M600 has fittingly borrowed the
bomb-release toggle from a Tornado fighter
jet. Power can also be adjusted, from 450
horsepower in “road mode” to 550 horsepower
in “track mode,” all the way to a full 650
horsepower in “race mode.”
Turn off the already unobtrusive traction
control and you’ll really have the chance
to prove your driving abilities. The 650
horsepower pins you to the carbon-fibre seat
as the M600 accelerates to 60 mph in a mere
three seconds and to 120 mph in 8.9, topping
out at around 225 mph. The car features
Alcon brakes and a mid-engine chassis
composed of steel that features a double-
wishbone suspension for each wheel.
With an aluminum and steel space frame
and carbon-fibre body panels, the M600
weighs just 2,641 pounds.
The vehicle comes in four versions:
The standard M600 Coupe (starting
at US$281,000) is made of painted
carbon fibre; the CarbonSport version
(US$325,000) features exposed carbon-
fibre bodywork; and the Speedster model
is a roadster complete with targa top,
available in both Coupe (US$336,500)
and CarbonSport (US$380,700) versions.
Each car is bespoke (fewer than 20 workers
build each vehicle), with buyers invited to
participate in the entire process, from exterior
and interior design and option selection all
the way through production, during which
customers are welcome to visit the factory
and watch their M600 being made. ■
 TO TURN
OFF TRACTION
CONTROL, THE
M600 HAS
FITTINGLY
BORROWED THE
BOMB-RELEASE
TOGGLE FROM
A TORNADO
FIGHTER JET.

MAXI M.COM.AU 2 7
MACHINES

For The
AVIATOR
The Twistair might look like something from Blade Runner 2049,
but it’s actually scheduled for real-world release in early 2018.
A collaboration between design firm 2sympleks and an engineering
team from Trendak Aviation, the tandem gyrocopter comes in three
versions: one with a fully enclosed cockpit (seen here), one with the
doors removed and a model with only a front windscreen, offering
the most visceral and exposed-to-the-elements flying experience. ■

2 8 MAXI M.COM.AU
MACHINES
ZERO SUM
BY KEITH GORDON
F
or nearly half a century, Italdesign
has been the go-to consultant for the
world’s automakers — the McKinsey
of car designers. From the early stages of
brainstorming to engineering and production,
the Italian maestros have worked with brands
such as Lamborghini, Audi, and Maserati
to create some of the most celebrated vehicles
in recent history.
The Italdesign Automobili Speciali has
launched its very own vision of a modern
supercar with the Zerouno, sharing some
components with the Lamborghini Huracán
(both Italdesign and Lamborghini are
owned by Audi AG). The Zerouno boasts an
entirely carbon-fibre and aluminum chassis
and bodywork made exclusively from carbon
fibre. This is all due to a singular focus on
lightweight construction.
The Zerouno features an Audi Sport 5.2-
liter, naturally aspirated V-10, similar to the
powerplant found in the Huracán. Producing
610 horsepower, the engine is paired with a
3 0 MAXI M.COM.AU
Italdesign’s Automobili Speciali
first supercar, as fast as it is rare...
7-speed dual-clutch transmission. Despite
an output of 560 Nm of torque, the Zerouno
maintains traction thanks to the vehicle’s
AWD system, also shared by Lamborghini.
The results are epic: The car’s projected
top speed is 205 mph, with a zero-to-62-mph
time of 3.2 seconds. The Zerouno also features
integrated carbon-ceramic brakes, with
eight pistons at the front and six at the rear,
as well as a perimeter carbon-fiber turbine
to cool the brakes.
Italdesign plans to build just five units
of the Zerouno, each customised to the
buyer’s specifications. The company is also
offering the “Corsa” package, a track-only
version of the supercar with accentuated
aerodynamic features, carbon-fibre monocoque
seat frames, a racing rear wing, and a titanium
muffler to match the titanium exhaust system
that comes standard. With a starting price
of 1.5 million euros, the Zerouno offers the
supercar exclusivity that the hyper-popular
Huracán cannot. ■
INFO@PRORASOAUSTRALIA.COM.AU
H E A LT H & F I T N E S S

“WE DO TODAY WHAT THEY

WON’T, SO TOMORROW WE
ACCOMPLISH WHAT
THEY CAN’T.”

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF UNDER ARMOUR

3 2 MAXI M.COM.AU
ROCK HARD
When it comes to commitment to physical fitness there really is no better example
than DWAYNE “THE ROCK” JOHNSON. Here are 10 of his most inspirational
quotes to help you get motivated to lay the smackdown for your next gym session…

1 6 9
“I like to use the hard times of “Don’t be afraid to be ambitious “One of the most important things you
the past to motivate me today.” about your goals. Hard work never can accomplish is just being yourself.”
Johnson has stated that in 1995, stops. Neither should your dreams.” This is possibly one of Johnson’s
just before he started his incredibly You should notice at this point, best quotes. Realistically, most of
successful WWE career, he only if you haven’t already, Johnson’s us simply are not going to be as
had seven dollars in his pocket. There is no emphasis on hard work. He relates it directly successful as The Rock. He’s saying that you
doubt that he has looked back on that pivotal to your goals and your dreams. shouldn’t unrealistically compare yourself

7
moment to keep himself motivated. Everyone to others. Only you know what it means
goes through hard times and everyone can “The first step to achieving your to be at your best.

10
use those memories as motivation to pursue goal is to take a moment to respect
a better future in and out of the gym. your goal. Know what it means “Success at anything will

2
“If something stands between you
and your success, MOVE IT!
Never be denied.”
The Rock was always athletic
but, that didn’t mean it ever came
easy. In 1995, his dream of a football career
to you to achieve it.” always come down to this:
This is about goals in general but focus and effort. And we
can be easily applied to specific fitness goals. control both.”
It could be to get to the gym three times Knowing what you can
a week or going for a run every weekend. control is a key component to navigating your
Regardless of your goal, The Rock says way through life. The Rock indicates that
that the first step is to define it. focus and effort are the primary factors that

abruptly came to an end when he was cut
from a Canadian Football League team
after just two months. He stayed in the
athletic world quickly jumping to wrestling.
However, even though wrestling was in his
blood, finding success still wasn’t easy. He
had to continually find ways to impress an
audience who initially was very reluctant to
give him a chance. He argues that success
requires persistence just like working out.
8
“You don’t need directions, just
point yourself to the top and go!”
Johnson stresses the importance
of self-reliance. You don’t really
need someone to tell you exactly
what to do every step of the way through
your life. Just go for it.
we can control. In other words, only you can
control what you put your energy towards and
it directly affects how successful you will be.
When training for the movie Hercules The Rock
consumed seven meals a day, three pounds of meat,
14 egg whites and a massive amounts of veggies

3
“We do today what they won’t,
so tomorrow we accomplish
what they can’t.”
Most people won’t want to get up
today and go to work. If you can
get past this issue today, you’ll be much
more prepared for tomorrow. In other
words, don’t succumb to laziness — be the
man you’re meant to be today and you’ll be
better for it tomorrow.

4
“Grind hard, shine hard.”
This one is as simple as they
come. Rewards and recognition
are a direct and inevitable result
of working hard.

5
“There is no substitute for hard work.
Always be humble and hungry.”
Without hard work there usually
won’t be any results. The Rock
is basically saying that you can’t
expect everything to be handed to you.

MAXI M.COM.AU 3 3
BAR

SUNKEN
TREASURE The Adriatic Sea’s turquoise waters provide the perfect conditions for aging
Croatia’s acclaimed wines. Our correspondent goes diving for the best bottles...
BY JAKE E M E N

L
egend has it that there’s treasure Miljenko Grgich. As for plavac, it’s a cross reminiscent of what the ancient Greeks and
resting off the coast of Žuljana, between tribidrag and another ancient Croatian Romans used to store wine. “We have a patent
a tiny town with roughly 250 varietal. Edivo isn’t the only winery that has and protected our process.” Meanwhile,
residents located along the southern dabbled with aging wine underwater. deciding to mature wine underwater was also a
side of Croatia’s Pelješac Peninsula. And I’ve “But not with amphoras,” Mratović says of surprisingly natural fit for this family business,
come here to find it. the two-handled clay jugs Edivo deploys, inspired by the diving background of one of the
Scuba gear strapped on, I dive below the
waters and come upon a cage resting at the
bottom of the sea — the buried treasure, at last,
in the form of seashell-and coral-covered bottles
of wine. The treasured wine isn’t the remnant of
some ancient shipwreck, however. It’s been
placed there purposely by upstart winery Edivo
Vina. Because who needs a subterranean wine
cave when you have the stunningly beautiful
turquoise waters of the Adriatic Sea?
“It’s the perfect storage for the wines because
the temperature is constant for the whole year,”
says Dora Mratović, manager of the Edivo
Wine Bar in Drače, a 15-minute drive away from
the current dive site in Žuljana, and adjacent to
the actual winery in Janjina. Mratović says the
water constantly hovers around 59 degrees
Fahrenheit, and wouldn’t you know it, that’s
right in the sweet spot of the temperature range
the wine industry has long coveted for storage
and maturation.
Dubbed Navis Mysterium, Latin for Ship’s
Mystery, the wine spends between 18 months
and two years underwater before it’s ready for
release. With enough time, deeper and more
nuanced flavours develop, and rough edges are
rounded out. The wine itself is made from the
plavac mali grape, a ubiquitous varietal in and
around the Dalmatia region of Croatia, and one
that has risen in global prestige in recent years.
“Plavac is related to zinfandel,” Mratović
says. So it is that zinfandel, long the pride of
American winemakers, actually has its origins
in Croatia, where it’s known as tribidrag or
crljenak. That history wasn’t successfully
hashed out until about 20 years ago, led in part
by California-based Croatian winemaker

3 4 MAXI M.COM.AU

co-owners, Mratović’s cousin, and their
grandfather’s roots in winemaking. “The
traditions of sea and wine, with fun and
business,” Mratović says. “It’s business and
pleasure together.”
It was the pleasure side of the operation that
took charge at first, resulting in some casual
experiments before any business plan was
hatched. “We started the project in 2009,”
Mratović says. “A few bottles were sunk
The waters of the dive site
in Žuljana are a consistent
59 degrees Fahrenheit,
right in the sweet spot
for maturing wines
underwater for fun.” In 2012, the business began
producing wine in earnest, with the wine bar
opening in spring 2017.
Edivo currently partners with Diving
Centre Barbara in Žuljana to lead would-be
explorers to the dive site. There, a single cage
of wine rests about five metres below the
surface. The bulk of the winery’s underwater
production remains elsewhere, though, with
several thousand bottles maturing in several
semi-secret locations between 18 and 25 meters
below the waters of Mali (or Little) Ston Bay, on
the other side of the peninsula. Mali Ston’s
waters are known as the source of some of the
world’s most sought-after oysters, and the
nutrient-rich conditions are ideal for the wine,
too. Because with Edivo, it’s not solely about
the taste, but also its presentation.
The bottles and amphoras themselves are
covered with layers of shells, coral, and debris
— the wine can be purchased as a standalone
bottle for $110 or with an amphora for $450 —
delivering show- stopping souvenirs with a one-
of-a-kind presentation. Visitors to the wine
bar pick the specific bottle or amphora they’d
like based on its appearance; therefore, storing
the wine in the type of conditions that help
build that aesthetic is crucial.
The deeper and murkier waters at Edivo’s
main areas of production prevent novice divers
from exploring them, even with a guide, so any
other treasure hunters out there will have to
settle for the gorgeous environs of the winery’s
public site for the time being, though Edivo
isn’t stopping there. “We are also starting to
organise dives in Dubrovnik,” Mratović says.
“It will be spectacular.” ■
FOR MORE INFO GO TO
WWW.EDIVOVINA.HR/
MAXI M.COM.AU 3 5
BAR
THE
ULTIMATE
BOTTLE
A new blend by
Moët & Chandon
is the truest
expression of the
house’s range...
BY JAKE E M E N
H
idden among the estimated 100
million bottles stashed away in
Moët & Chandon’s sprawling
subterranean wine cellars is a Champagne like
no other, the hard-earned result of a project
two decades in the making. It’s what chef de
cave Benoît Gouez refers to as his “state of the
art” blend — MCIII.
He calls the release the ultimate expression
of Moët’s range, incorporating a complicated
mix of components representing three forms
of Champagne maturation: chardonnay and
pinot noir from 2003, aged in stainless steel;
Moët’s showcase 1998, 2000, and 2002 Grand
Vintages, partially matured in large oak
casks; and last but perhaps most exciting,
Moët’s 1993, 1998, and 1999 Grand Vintages,
matured in bottle and then disgorged before
incorporation.
“It’s not just a Champagne; it’s a wine from
Champagne,” Gouez says, referring to its
possession of the complexity and character
you’d seek out in the finest offerings from any
premier region. It unfolds sip by sip, layer by
layer, with Moët’s signature bright, fruity
notes complemented by a luscious and
3 6 MAXI M.COM.AU
unparalleled well-roundedness. MCIII first
appeared several years ago, but is now
available for the irst time in magnums. Gouez
always defers to the magnum if given the
chance, so much so that he refers to regular-
size bottles merely as half magnums. And the
large format isn’t the maison’s only new
offering this year, either. The 2009 Grand
Vintage, the third vintage Gouez has created
and seen all the way through to release since
assuming his current role in 2005, is now on
store shelves as well.
How is it, then, that certain years ascend
to vintage status? “A vintage needs to have
personality,” Gouez says, further describing
it as an emotional rather than rational
experience. “It’s more a matter of seduction.”
Alongside the 2009, Gouez has rereleased
the 2002 Grand Vintage, now with 15 years of
maturation as opposed to the seven years
Moët typically matures its vintages. “I consider
it to be the older brother of the 2009,” Gouez
says. So what better way to appreciate the
two than together? “They have the same
genetics. They’re diferent individuals in the
same family.”
Moët isn’t the only house making an
impact with noteworthy releases this year.
Check out Besserat de Bellefon’s Cuvée des
Moines Brut Millésime 2008, or blend of the
monks, featuring the brand’s signature
reduced-dosage winemaking technique,
which makes a bottle of its bubbly a great
mealtime companion. And just in time for
summer, G.H. Mumm has unveiled its Grand
Cordon Rosé, with an eye-catching, label-free
bottle indented with its signature red ribbon.
For another summertime staple, look no
further than Moët’s innovative Ice rendition
of its lagship Impérial, blended to be best
enjoyed when served over ice. “For me, what
makes Moët & Chandon special in
Champagne is its place between contemporary
and authentic,” Gouez says. “It’s a ine line to
be deeply rooted and to express yourself in
a unique way.”
Clearly, if anyone thought sitting at the top
of the mountain has made Moët lose its
hunger or drive, look at something like
Moët Ice Impérial or the insanely indulgent
MCIII and think again. “If you don’t change,
you die,” Gouez says. ■
COVER GIRL

The Boonstra is

BACK! Former MAXIM Australian Swimwear Model of the Year, influencer,

fitspo babe and all-round glamazon CASEY BOONSTRA returns
to help us celebrate seven glorious years. Sure, it may
be our birthday, but this is our gift to you…
P H OTO G R A P H E D BY N E I L D I XO N I NTE RVI EW BY S A N T I P I N TA D O

3 8 MAXI M.COM.AU
MAXI M.COM.AU 3 9
CS OP OV ET LR I GGHI RT L

4 0 MAXI M.COM.AU
H
ello Casey, what have you been
up to since we last saw you in
MAXIM in April 2017?
Hey, guys, it’s so good to be back! Oh
my goodness, where do I start? This last
year has been the craziest year of my
life. I travelled the world for eight months
visiting 13 countries including America,
Mexico, Croatia, Indonesia… the list goes
on. I finished last year competing in the
Swimsuit USA International Model Search
which actually landed me a job in the US,
and I’m moving to L.A. later this month on
a three-year working visa! Crazy times!
What’s the craziest or embarrassing
thing that happened on your travels?
There was one week in Croatia that truly
tested me. I managed to drop two new
phones in the ocean, step on a sea urchin
and have spines lodged in my foot for
weeks and I slipped over and knocked
myself out resulting in five stitches on my
chin. To top that off, I then sat on a baby
cactus and got prickles in my butt which
I couldn’t get out for about six weeks.
It’s safe to say that it wasn’t my best
week but at least I can laugh at it now.
This is your fourth cover for MAXIM.
How does it feel?
Wow! It’s honestly unbelievable. Never in
my life would I have thought I’d be lucky
enough to have had four MAXIM covers.
I feel so incredibly grateful that I’ve had
this opportunity — thank you guys so much,
you’re the best. I don’t know how you’ve
put up with me for so long but I’ll take it!
What did you love about this shoot?
The location! We shot it in Newcastle,
NSW, at these incredible sand dunes
which almost looked like we were in
the middle of the desert. It was a bit of
a mission to get there but it was worth
every bit. But it was extremely windy that
day – one moment we are shooting and
thinking everything is going great, the next
minute I’m looking like crumbed chicken.
Body oil and sand are never a good mix.
What are you thinking about
during a sexy shoot like this?
Honestly, probably what I’m going to
eat afterwards. I usually don’t eat a lot
before a swimwear shoot and am usually
starving by the end. Food is often on
my mind. Don’t they say, “Find a girl
“FIND A GIRL
WHO LOOKS AT
YOU THE WAY
SHE LOOKS
AT HER FOOD,
BECAUSE THAT
IS TRUE LOVE.”
who looks at you the way she looks
at her food, because that is true love”?
When do you feel your sexiest?
When I’ve been looking after myself, Status
kicking goals, eating healthy, training hard
and feeling content with where I’m at. This
Update
is when I truly am the best version of me. NAME:
Casey Boonstra
You’ve been a MAXIM girl since HOMETOWN:
winning the MAXIM Australian Cronulla, NSW
Swimwear Model of the Year in BORN:
Sydney, NSW
2015. What are some of your
HOBBIES:
fondest memories with us? “Travelling, adventuring,
I only have fond memories! MAXIM, for reading, keeping fit
me, has turned into family. We have been and eating sushi.”
to South Korea for the Asia Model Awards GIRL CRUSH:
“Jennifer Anniston.
in Seoul, travelled to many parties to
She is such a babe.”
attend huge events like the MAXIM
DREAM
HOT 100 and we’ve even judge a few BIRTHDAY:
MAXIM Australian Swimwear Model of “I’d love to
the Year competitions together. The list is go somewhere
beautiful with
endless! You guys are the best and I look family and friends.
forward to continuing to create amazing Whether it’s an
memories with you. So much love. adventure down the
coast or somewhere
tropical, as long as
Being our 7th birthday cover girl, I have great company
what’s been your best birthday? and I’m just doing
something fun, it
HAPPIEST BIRTHDAY TO YOU, MAXIM! sounds dreamy to me.”
You’re still so young and vibrant! Some
INSTAGRAM &
of my best birthdays were probably from SNAPCHAT:
when I was about seven. I’ve got some @caseboon
great memories of sleepover parties,
jumping castles, ice cream cakes and
dress ups... I think that takes the cake.
What’s been the craziest birthday
you’ve ever had?
It has to be my recent 25th. We started
the month in Mexico with all our closest
friends for a crazy weekend where I ended
up crowd surfing – twice! The following
weekend I headed to a festival in Las
MAXI M.COM.AU 4 1
COVER GIRL

BIKINI, LENNY NEIM EYER;

C U F F, P L U M A J E W E L R Y ;

“ONE MOMENT WE
R I N G S , A . V. M A X X

ARE SHOOTING AND

THINKING EVERYTHING
IS GOING GREAT,
THE NEXT MINUTE
I’M LOOKING LIKE
CRUMBED CHICKEN.”

4 2 MAXI M.COM.AU
MAXI M.COM.AU 4 3
COVER GIRL

BIKINI, LENNY NEIM EYER;

C U F F, P L U M A J E W E L R Y ;

R I N G S , A . V. M A X X

“TO TOP THAT OFF, I THEN SAT

ON A BABY CACTUS AND
GOT PRICKLES IN MY BUTT.”

4 4 MAXI M.COM.AU
Vegas with some of my girlfriends and
then, the weekend of my actual birthday,
my friends threw me a surprise party and
yet another trip to Vegas! On the final
weekend to wrap up my birthday month,
I came home to see the family and friends
back in Australia. It was such a crazy,
crazy month to say the least.

What’s the worst birthday present

you’ve ever received?
Pretty sure it was from an ex-boyfriend.
As far as I’m concerned it’s still coming in
the mail and the anticipation is killing me.

So, where are you taking us out for

our birthday and what present will
we be receiving from you?
Well, if money isn’t an issue, I’d probably
double up on the two — get you a present
that’s taking you somewhere to celebrate.
MAXIM has definitely taken me to some
pretty cool places, so how does the
Greek Islands sound?

Boom! Lock it in. Now, you’re single

at the moment right? How can a guy
win his way to your heart?
I don’t know if “win” is the right way to
phrase it – it might take a bit more than
luck. So therefore, I’d say be brave,
thoughtful and honest. Having a good
sense of humour and a love for puns
will also get you a long way.

Describe your ideal date.

Something simple – cheese platter, wine,
a nice view and good conversation. Easy!

What would it take for you to say

“yes” to dating one of your social
media followers?
Hmmm, I don’t know how to answer this
one, but probably no cheesy DMs and a
bit of wit and some character goes a long
way. Ideally, we would have mutual friends,
however if they can catch my attention
in the right way I could entertain the
idea and see where it goes.

Finally, where would you like to be

in seven years?
Who knows! If you asked me this question
seven years ago I’d never have thought I’d
be where I am today. With my current job
at EDGEtv I’d love to continue to work on
my presenting skills and be in a kick-arse
TV presenter role. Somewhere down the
track I’d love a family but what will, be
will be. As long as I’m happy and living
a fulfilling life I have no complaints. ■

MAXI M.COM.AU 4 5
CS OP OV ET LR I GGHI RT L

“I DON’T KNOW HOW

YOU’VE PUT UP WITH ME
FOR SO LONG BUT
I’LL TAKE IT!”

4 6 MAXI M.COM.AU
MAXI M.COM.AU 4 7
THE LEADING MAN
Joseph Fiennes
GETS DARK Why the British actor’s turn as the sadistic Commander Waterford in
The Handmaid’s Tale is the most challenging role of his career...
T
he nice thing about filming
The Handmaid’s Tale in
Toronto is that, should the
United States actually manage
to slip the Constitution’s surly
bonds and morph into an authoritarian
theocracy like Gilead, the show’s fictional
setting, at least you’re already
north of the border. When
Joseph Fiennes initially signed
on for the show’s first season,
such a possible future timeline
seemed at least a little less
believable than it does now.
But if Hulu’s Emmy-winning
mounting of Margaret
Atwood’s distaff dystopia was
relevant when it debuted early
last year, then at this point the
only thing on TV that’s more
timely is the news.
Fiennes plays Commander
Waterford (a.k.a. the somewhat
less ominous-sounding “Fred”)
—the sadistic, self-pitying
master of the house who enjoys
torturous power plays and
impromptu Scrabble matches
with his handmaid June Osborne, a.k.a. Offred,
played by Elisabeth Moss. Fred is one of the
show’s few male leads and, more than any
other, represents the brittle masculine
hypocrisy of a world in which fertile women are
forced to serve as indentured wombs to the
powerful and childless. Having exhausted the
novel’s original narrative, the second season
starts by stitching its own material. And while
there are still some elements of the book’s rich
universe to explore, like the land of exile known
as the Colonies, the show is diving into terra
incognita with its characters.
Luckily, Fiennes, 47, says getting back into
Fred’s headspace was like slipping back into an
old coat — albeit one that’s unpleasantly grimy
and chafing. “We’re all contradictions, but his
contradiction is especially abhorrent,” says the
4 8 MAXI M.COM.AU
BY K E I T H S TA S K I E W I C Z
actor, “which is why at the end of the day I can’t
wait to get away from him and take a nice, hot
shower.”
Fiennes originally burst into public
consciousness in 1998 playing famous 16th-
century Englishmen in a pair of Oscar-winning
films: Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, in
Fiennes sees his character Fred as being especially relevant
today as Hollywood reckons with men’s abuse of power
Elizabeth and Will Shakespeare in Shakespeare
in Love star. Since then he’s taken on the
mantle of a surprising number of real-life
figures, from Martin Luther to T. E. Lawrence
and, most recently, gold-medal runner Eric
Liddell. But for Fiennes, inhabiting someone
fictional like Fred feels no less tangible than
playing a figure from history, especially in the
current social climate. “He’s just as real as any
of those other characters, as Shakespeare or
Dudley or Liddell,” Fiennes says. “And Fred is,
for me, just as relevant in light of what we are
seeing throughout my industry and others
across the world, and what we know is going
on with men and power.”
This isn’t Fiennes’ first time doing TV —
that would be the post-Lost enigma machine
FlashForward — but he’s never before gotten
the chance to return as a character. “This is the
first time I’ve done a second season, and now
I understand what a shame that was,” he says.
“There’s so much that we did last season in
terms of character investigation, it’s all there for
the audience and it’s all there for the actors.
So just the flick of an eye or a nod or a pause is
loaded with so much subtext.”
Add to that the dump
trucks of subtext that have
rolled up from outside the
confines of the series. It’s hard
not to see some neon-bright
parallels in The Handmaid’s
depiction of institutionalised
sexual abuse and gross power
imbalances.
Those excruciatingly tense
office and hotel-room scenes all
hum at a throatier frequency
now that people are showing
up at real-world protests
dressed in the Handmaids’
iconic outfits. “It’s amazing
how powerfully Margaret
Atwood and Offred have been
seared into the public
consciousness,” says Fiennes.
“There is now this very evident totem of the red
and white, and it’s brilliant to use in protest.”
Although he considers it an honor to be
involved with something beating in such tempo
with the general pulse, Fiennes understandably
still can’t wait to take off that unpleasant coat.
Spending all this time in a patriarchal
nightmare just makes him want to get back
home to his wife and two daughters, tout suite.
“My young girls are just getting switched on
to all that women have gone through and are
going through,” he says. “All the most important
people in my life are women. I need to get back
and balance out my awful Gilead experience.”
And if the post-episode behavior of guilt-ridden
male viewers of The Handmaid’s Tale can be
taken as any indication, maybe pick up a few
extra chores around the house. ■
 “FRED IS, FOR
ME, JUST AS
RELEVANT IN
LIGHT OF WHAT
WE ARE SEEING
THROUGHOUT
MY INDUSTRY
AND OTHERS
ACROSS THE
WORLD, AND
WHAT WE KNOW
IS GOING ON
WITH MEN AND
POWER.”

MAXI M.COM.AU 4 9
L I T E R AT U R E

5 0 MAXI M.COM.AU
Cocaine
Surfing
In his latest tome ex-war
correspondent and surfer
CHAS SMITH takes
readers on a wild ride in
an outrageously honest
expose of surfing culture
and cocaine use...

T
here is an allure about surfers — they
look like clean, bronzed athletes who
love nature and tread lightly on the
earth. But there has always been a
darker side to surf culture. In his new
book, Cocaine & Surfing, Chas tells the no-holds-
barred love affair between the two — and it makes
for one hell of a story. Of cocaine in the surfing
world Chas says, “It is cherished far more than beer.
Far more than maybe anything, except surfing. The
two pursuits have become more or less synonymous.
Cocaine and surfing, surfing and cocaine.”
Surf trade shows in the 1980s were flooded in
cocaine. The surf tour of the 1990s had virtually
every competitor racking rails with the judges
and the media before paddling out for heats. And
in the new 21st century it has become completely
untethered. There have been overdoses, bar fights,
murders and cover-ups fuelled almost purely by
cocaine. Its place in surfing’s past is mythic. Its
place in surfing’s present is undeniable. Its place in
surfing’s future is certain. There is something all
too similar in riding a wave and smashing a bump.
The rush is intense and beautiful and all too short.
For this book Chas interviewed everyone who
matters and dug into the vibrant history to create
a ride through surf culture that is enthralling,
hilarious and utterly fascinating. Here’s a snippet…

MAXI M.COM.AU 5 1
L I T E R AT U R E

Coca has been a part of South America since at

least 3000 BC, pretty much the same day as surfing.
The tree, short and stubby with fiery-red berries and
electric-green leaves, grew natively at the base of the
majestic Andes in what we now call Ecuador, Peru,
Bolivia, and Colombia, and has been a continuous part
of coastal ancient life throughout the northern part of
the continent for literally ever. Depictions or actual
carbon traces of coca are found in art, mummies,
sculpture, ceramic pots, and little satchels.
There is no definitive scientific theory about how
it got there, but Amerigo Vespucci, the Italian explorer
for whom the whole land is named — both North and
South — spotted it straightaway on his first visit in
1499 and wrote: We descried an island that lay about 15
leagues from the coast and decided to go there to see if
it was inhabited. We found there the most bestial and
ugly people we had ever seen: very ugly of face and
expression, and all of them had their cheeks full of
a green herb that they chewed constantly like beasts,
so they could barely speak. Each one carried around
his neck two gourds, one of them full of that herb and
the other of a white powder that looked like pulverized
plaster. They dipped a stick into the powder, and then
put the stick in the mouth, in order to apply powder
to the herb that they chewed; they did this frequently.
We were amazed at this and could not understand its
secret or why they did it.
And since at least 3000 BC, these pre-Incans, these
Valdivians, had been toying with their dopamine levels.
They had been using the coca leaf for all manner of
reasons, both mundane and sacred. It is even suggested
that coca was the very first plant to be cultivated in
the Americas. These earliest men would use the leaf
to stave off hunger, to keep altitude sickness at bay, to
give energy, and to cure disease. Priests would use
coca, ritually, to protect from curses, change bad luck,
predict the future, and make offerings to Mother Earth
— whom they called Pachamama.
The Spanish, when they first began establishing
colonies in this new world, for example, brought their
Catholicism with them and the Catholic priests did
not like this coca-chewing ritual offering to Mother
Earth or any of its attachment to the pagan gods. They
thought it would be better if the plant were eradicated
altogether but understood its value in keeping the native free and docile and happy even a million feet
population working. Local traditions had it that buying underground and very close to hell. They were mining
and selling coca was blasphemy, frowned upon by the
gods, but the Spanish overrode that with the Church’s
silver and gold, digging deep into that Mother Earth,
sending the riches across the seas to masters they had “IT IS
blessing. They did not care what lowercase ‘g’ gods never met nor heard of. They worked torturous hours CHERISHED
wanted, and so they seeded the world’s first large-scale
coca plantations, paid the natives in coca, and became
with wives and children starving outside but with
relaxed faces and relaxed spirits. FAR MORE
the New World’s first proper drug dealers.
A Spanish contemporary is noted saying in
Relaxed faces and relaxed spirits.
Surfing and cocaine have truly come to look like
THAN BEER.
Colombian professor Jorge Bejarano’s New Chapters each other in the same way that a longtime dog owner FAR MORE
on Cocainism, ‘Our fair-minded masters do not want
the poor to recognise their tragedy, and wish instead
will begin to resemble his mutt, and maybe because
there they were together in Peru. Mingling for three THAN MAYBE
that they should die without realising their hunger and
their ignorance; that the bitter taste of coca might dull
thousand, four thousand years before anyone even
peeked in on them. Dancing some early, partially
ANYTHING,
the instinct to rebel, and that they might live in an
artificial paradise.’ The chewers, thus, didn’t need as
forgotten dance. Belonging to each other from the
very beginning. There is an ancient creation story about
EXCEPT
much food and were kept warm and altitude-sickness- coca that the tree was once the most beautiful woman SURFING.”
5 2 MAXI M.COM.AU
 ABOUT
THE
AUTHOR
Chas Smith is a regular
contributor and editor
at large at Surfing
Magazine, and has also
contributed to Vice,
GQ, Blackbook, Stab,
The New York Times T
Magazine and BeachGrit.
com. The first to surf
on Earth, so gorgeous that all the wave-riding fishermen the aesthetic turnoff was great enough for conquistadors
mainland Yemen, Osama
fought over her. Since not everyone could have her, the to find no real interest in it outside of suppressing the
Bin Laden’s ancestral
elders turned her into a plant so she could be enjoyed by native masses. Whatever the reason, the coca bush
homeland, directly after
everyone equally. But then, like in any great love epic, was left alone until 1855. But then the world cracked.
9/11, he’s written about
the two were split. Torn apart by forces out of their Scientists had begun to isolate compounds in
fashion in Somalia,
control. Surfing went to Polynesia. It was embraced plants, pulling them out and allowing them to pop
debauchery in Azerbaijan
by the Tahitians then really embraced by the Hawaiians. in full. Morphine in 1804, caffeine in 1819, codeine in
and terrorists in India. In
It was changed and reordered and reset and remade. 1832, cocaine in 1855. The German chemist Friedrich
2006, Smith covered the
And coca went to Europe. Gaedcke isolated the specific cocaine alkaloid and
conflict between Israel
Those early Spanish settlers busily exported new published his findings in a journal read by another
and Lebanon and was
and fascinating plants they discovered back home. German chemist, Friedrich Wöhler, who in turn
kidnapped by Hezbollah.
Coffee and its future Starbucks, tobacco and its asked a colleague on an Austrian boat travelling
His first book, Welcome
Marlboro Red, chocolate and its Hershey’s. The Old around the world to bring him loads of coca leaves.
to Paradise, Now Go to
World fell in love with these fabulous products and the The colleague agreed, and Wöhler passed the leaves
Hell, was published in
magic properties they contained, but somehow the most on to his German chemist friend, Albert Niemann,
Australia in 2013.
magical of these stayed behind. It has been hypothesised who then fixed the purification process and wrote
that coca chewers looked like cows munching cud and his University of Göttingen dissertation titled

MAXI M.COM.AU 5 3
L I T E R AT U R E

Über eine neue organische Base in den Cocablättern the isolation of cocaine from the coca plant did
or On a New Organic Base in the Coca Leaves,
which he published in 1860.
something far greater. Tom Feiling, a Colombian
hip-hop documentarian and cocaine scholar, wrote, “THE TWO
Dr Niemann’s first description of this newly
isolated and purified alkaloid was less than poetic.
‘This isolation was not only a chemical process: it also
sheared psychoactive substances from their specific
PURSUITS
He simply wrote, “Its solutions have an alkaline cultural context. They could now be packaged as HAVE BECOME
reaction, a bitter taste, promote the flow of saliva
and leave a peculiar numbness, followed by a sense
commodities, and sold to anyone with the money
to buy them. Since these substances were no longer MORE OR LESS
of cold when applied to the tongue.’ He named his
alkaloid cocaine, borrowing ‘coca–’ from South
dispensed by healers, or reserved for special ceremonies,
people had to learn how to take drugs all over again.’
SYNONYMOUS.
America and ‘–ine’ from the stylistic way of describing And there went cocaine from Peru to Europe, COCAINE AND
local anaesthetics of the day.
Coca–
getting isolated and purified and freed from its cow-
like cultural context. And there went surfing from SURFING,
–ine. Cocaine. Peru to Polynesia, standing up and getting nude and SURFING AND
And it all seems very cleanly scientific, no? Very
‘modern man extrapolating into the future’, except
becoming a full, wild obsession. Like The Princess
Bride. Remember? The very pretty farm girl, COCAINE.”
5 4 MAXI M.COM.AU

Buttercup (played by the gorgeous Robin Wright pre-
Penn), and the handsome stable boy, Westley (played
by the dashing Cary Elwes), fell in love as poverty-
stricken youth. Semi-weird/not sexy in the farm/barn
context. Cow shit and fetching water from the well and
feeding goats and collecting eggs and discordant power
situation, etc. Circumstances took them away from each
other, though, and while they seemed rough at the time,
Buttercup was made a radiant princess and Westley
a pirate wearing the best black blindfold that has maybe
ever been worn, or at least the best one that has been
worn by someone other than John Galliano. They both
turned gorgeous.
And what if Buttercup and Westley had never been
separated? I’ll tell you what. They would have gotten
married and had kids, voted for populist candidates,
The surf tour of the 1990s had virtually every competitor racking
rails with the judges and the media before paddling out for heats.
And in the new 21st century it has become completely untethered.
eaten hot dogs, and lived on the farm surrounded
by cow shit and goats and chickens. Their children
would have fetched water from the well and eggs
from the chickens and would have fed those goats,
but no. That is not a real love story. A real love
story transcends. Buttercup and Westley both
transcended and were able to overcome the Fire
Swamp, Prince Humperdinck, André the Giant,
a priest with a speech impediment, and death in THIS IS AN EDITED
order to swing from the most glorious heights. EXTRACT FROM
Surfing and cocaine needed to be separated COCAINE & SURFING
from each other to find their best selves, or at BY CHAS SMITH,
PUBLISHED BY
least their truest selves. But nothing can keep
HACHETTE AUSTRALIA.
true loves away, and the very alluring, albeit AVAILABLE IN ALL
dull, cocaine and the very obsessed surfing GOOD BOOKSTORES
were sure to reconnect. ■ AND ONLINE NOW
MAXI M.COM.AU 5 5
STYLE
Passion and
TIME
Watchmaker RICHARD MILLE, who carved his first design from a bar
of soap, draws inspiration from tennis greats and Formula 1 racers alike...
W
hen Rafael Nadal won the
U.S. Open to mark his
16th Grand Slam title,
it was also a victory for
watchmaker Richard
Mille. Only 16 years after he released his first
timepiece in 2001, French-born Mille has
already come to be regarded as one of the
all-time great watchmakers, producing pieces
like the US$725,000 tourbillon Nadal wore
when he defeated Kevin Anderson in the
men’s final at Flushing Meadows.
Nadal is Mille’s most high-profile
brand ambassador, and his feats on
the court while wearing Mille’s
incredibly lightweight watches
have helped earn Mille, who
carved his first watch design out
of a bar of soap, worldwide
renown. Mille, who calls Nadal
“a born winner, and a great
guy to work with,” says the
relationship with the Spanish
tennis sensation is more than
merely a financial arrangement.
“I don’t believe in just
paying people to wear one of
our watches,” he explains.
“It has to be real love and
real passion; otherwise it’s just
fake.” In fact, Nadal has been
instrumental in developing the
high-performance pieces he wears.
“We learn a lot when a timepiece is
really on the court in the heat, on the
racetrack, golf course, or cockpit,”
Mille says. “We can then analyse its
shock resistance, functions, its comfort
factor during a swing or under high
g-forces, and many more real-life conditions.”
Tennis is just one area of interest for Mille,
whose passion for automotive excellence led
5 6 MAXI M.COM.AU
BY J A R E D PA U L S T E R N
him to found the Chantilly Arts & Elegance
Richard Mille in France in 2014; it has quickly
become one of the world’s preeminent classic-
car events. He lives and works at his own 18th-
century château, which also houses his personal
car collection; it includes a Porsche 917 that
was raced at Le Mans, a pair of Lancia Stratos
rally cars, and classic Formula 1 cars.
Famed F1 driver Felipe Massa first
introduced Mille to the idea of using the high-
tech, lightweight materials for which Mille is
now famous. Massa “threw down the gauntlet
to see if I could make a watch so light that he
would not be distracted by it on the racetrack,”
Mille says. “You have to remember that under
extreme g-forces, even light objects can feel
very heavy.” The result was Mille’s first
light tourbillon: the RM 006 Felipe
Massa, weighing in at just 48 grams,
including the strap.
Mille, who has a partnership
with McLaren’s F1 team and
has been the presenting sponsor of
the Le Mans Classic since its
inception, says he gets inspiration
from cars “in every way
imaginable. A watch is not
fast like a racing car,
but the requirements in
terms of stability, shock
resistance, longevity,
friction, and capacity to
function under extreme
situations are exactly the
same for both in regards to
technical design and execution.
In terms of the purely visual
aspects, the connections for
inspirational design concepts are
everywhere as well… Inside a car,
I find a beautifully finished and crafted
engine can be as sexy as any piece of
erotic art, and for me the same applies to
a beautifully thought-out and executed
watch movement. The only real difference in
aesthetics between a car and a watch is that
one is bigger than the other.”
 “THE ONLY REAL
DIFFERENCE
IN AESTHETICS
BETWEEN A CAR
AND A WATCH
IS THAT ONE IS
BIGGER THAN
THE OTHER.”

Mille has had a long love affair with automobiles. He has a partnership
with McLaren’s F1 team and founded the Chantilly Arts & Elegance
Richard Mille, one of the world’s premier classic-car events

Chantilly Arts & Elegance, with its

unmistakably French panache, allows Mille
to indulge his love for both cars and design.
“For me, at any rate, great racing cars are the
same as great works of art, architecture,
fashion, or sculpture,” he says. “Since I really
hate the artificial boundaries we set up
between all these areas, I wanted to be involved
in an endeavour that simply unites all these
areas: incredible cars, incredible architecture,
art, fashion, history, great food — all within an
artistic atmosphere at a very high level.”
Mille prides himself on exacting precision,
and his product is priced accordingly.
“The extreme pricing of my watches fascinates
people because it is so high,” he explains.
“Yet the pricing is directly based on the actual
cost of production and research. Our quality admit he’s onto something. As for future plans, guaranteed to be in even higher demand now
control is the strictest in the business… Almost “Apart from some fine-tuning, why change a that the Spanish ace is ranked world No. 1
90 percent of the parts we use, even movement winning approach?” Mille asks. “We plan to again. “When we first met, Rafael was still
and case screws, are specially manufactured to continue doing what we have been doing for coming out of the period after his injury, and
our specifications. [The] cost of the research almost 20 years now. Our clients have no honestly speaking, no one knew how that
and studies we undertake is astronomical. complaints about what we have achieved to was going to resolve itself,” Mille says. “At the
I will never cut corners in a way that might date, and even today we still cannot fulfill all time, I was simply deeply impressed with his
compromise this production philosophy.” the orders we receive each year.” personality and willpower; I was convinced he
Nor does he need to. Even those who still That includes Nadal’s watch, which was was going to go very far.” And Mille is someone
consider his designs overly avant-garde have to produced in a limited run of just 50 pieces, who would know. ■
MAXI M.COM.AU 5 7
STYLE

DIVE
TIME
The finest timepieces
for above and below
the waterline...
BY KEITH GORDON

F
rom sailing watches to diving watches,
the world’s finest timepieces have long
been designed with the ocean in mind.
Two of the most striking recent examples
include these options from Audemars Piguet
and Breguet, each of which is capable of
tackling the sea’s most diicult conditions.
Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak Concept
Flying Tourbillon GMT (US$173,700)
features an asymmetrical design inspired by
contemporary architecture. Ensconced in a
sandblasted titanium case, with glare-proof
sapphire crystal and a black ceramic bezel,
the Royal Oak includes a fully visible lying
tourbillon and can descend to depths of
100 metres. Breguet’s Marine Royale 5847
alarm wristwatch (US$46,300) is made from
18-karat rose gold, with a rose gold–gilded
dial hand-engraved onto a rose engine. Able
to withstand pressure down to 300 metres, the
watch’s self-winding movement supplements
the 45 hours of power reserve. It’s a fine
balance of technology and aesthetics, the
perfect luxury watch for land, water, or the
deck of a yacht.

5 8 MAXI M.COM.AU
SPACE &
TIME
Top horologists conquer
gravity itself with their
tourbillon watches...
Ulysse Nardin Marine Grand Deck
Tourbillon in 18k Rose Gold
Arnold & Son TEC1
Tourbillon in 18k Red Gold
Jacob & Co Astronomia Tourbillon in 18k Rose Gold
T
he world’s elite horologists are
obsessed with precision. Their
creations strive for perfection not
only in appearance but performance, and cost
becomes an afterthought in this pursuit.
Even forces of nature have proven no match
for the relentless march toward the ultimate
timepiece, ever since 1801 when Abraham-
Louis Breguet conquered gravity with his
invention, the tourbillon.
When a watch remains in the same position
for a period of time, gravity will actually alter
the movements of the fragile mechanical
pieces within it. To counter this phenomenon,
Breguet — and countless watchmakers
in his footsteps — created a mechanism in
which the escapement and balance rotate
throughout the day, distributing gravity’s
force from all angles to cancel out any
impairment of timekeeping accuracy. Over
the years, these designs have become more
complex and more beautiful, culminating
in the jaw-dropping varieties offered by
the world’s leading horological craftsmen
today, with price tags that can approach those
of a luxury yacht.
MAXI M.COM.AU 5 9
 STYLE
No. 3
No. 4

BLACK TIE
No. 2

REQUIRED
Make it a night to remember with No. 3

these pieces fit for a high roller...

No. 1

No. 4

No. 5
No. 6

No. 7

No. 8 No. 9

No. 10

No. 11

1 . V E LV E T B O W T I E , F A V O U R B R O O K ( A V A I L A B L E A T M R P O R T E R . C O M ) ; 2 . F R A G R A N C E , B Y R E D O ; 3 . V E LV E T T U X E D O J A C K E T , T O M F O R D

( AVA I L A B L E AT M R P O R T E R . C O M ) ; 4 . C U F F L I N K S , T R I A N O N ( AVA I L A B L E AT M R P O R T E R . C O M ) ; 5 . H A N D K E R C H I E F, T U R N B U L L & A S S E R ;

6 . T R O U S E R S , K I N G S M A N ( A V A I L A B L E A T M R P O R T E R . C O M ) ; 7. E V E N I N G S H I R T , B R I O N I ; 8 . T H E N I G H T B E F O R E B A F T A B O O K , A S S O U L I N E ;

9 . M E TA L M O N E Y C L I P, C A R T I E R ; 1 0 . B L A C K P AT E N T E V E N I N G S H O E S , S H O E PA S S I O N . C O M ; 1 1 . C A L AT R A V A W AT C H , PAT E K P H I L I P P E

6 0 MAXI M.COM.AU
FIRST CLASS
No. 2

UPGRADE
High-flying style for the timeless traveller...
No. 3

No. 1

No. 4

No. 5

No. 6

No. 7

No. 8 No. 9

No. 10

No. 11

1 . B L A Z E R , I SA I A ; 2 . PAS S P O R T CAS E , T U M I ; 3 . H E A D P H O N E S , AU D E Z E ; 4 . SX-70 CA M E R A , P O L A R O I D ; 5 . C U F F L I N KS , H E R M È S ;

6 . W A T C H , C A R L F . B U C H E R E R ; 7. C O C K T A I L K I T , W & P D E S I G N ; 8 . Y V E S S A I N T L A U R E N T : A M O R O C C A N P A S S I O N B O O K , P I E R R E
B E R G É ; 9 . S U I TC A S E , S A D D L E B A C K L E AT H E R ; 1 0 . S U N G L A S S E S , C U T L E R A N D G R O S S ; 1 1 . M O C C A S I N S , E R M E N E G I L D O Z E G N A

MAXI M.COM.AU 6 1
STYLE

I, SPY No. 1

Gadgets, gear and

No. 2
a great tux for the
secret agent look...

No. 3

No. 4

No. 5

No. 6

No. 8

No. 7

1 . S U N G L A S S E S , C U R R Y & PA X T O N ( AVA I L A B L E AT M A S O N A N D S O N S . C O M ) ; 2 . W AT C H , J A E G E R L E C O U LT R E ; 3 . C U F F L I N K S ,
T H O M A S S A B O ; 4 . D I N N E R J A C K E T, A N T H O N Y S I N C L A I R ( AVA I L A B L E AT M A S O N A N D S O N S . C O M ) ; 5 . E A U D E TO I L E T T E ,
V I K T O R & R O L F ; 6 . C A M E R A , S O N Y ; 7. V E LV E T L O A F E R S , D E L T O R O ; 8 . A L L I G A T O R D U F F E L , F R A N K C L E G G

6 2 MAXI M.COM.AU
CLASSIC NOIR
Supersleuthing never looked so good...

No. 1
No. 2
No. 3

No. 4

No. 5

No. 6

No. 7

No. 8
No. 9

1 . WATC H , B A U M E & M E R C I E R ; 2 . B O U R B O N , B U L L E I T ; 3 . H AT, S T E T S O N ; 4 . D O U B L E - B R E A S T E D O V E R C O AT,

K I N G S M A N ( AVA I L A B L E AT M R P O R T E R . C O M ) ; 5 . P I P E , D AV I D O F F ; 6 . G LO V E S , P E L L O L O N D O N ;
7. B L A C K M A I L E R , H A R D C A S E C R I M E ; 8 . M O N E Y C L I P W A L L E T , S M Y T H S O N ; 9 . S H O E S , C H U R C H ’ S

MAXI M.COM.AU 6 3
STYLE

SHARP
No. 2

SHOOTER
Billiards-inspired kit for the ultimate hustler...

No. 1

No. 3

No. 5

No. 4

No. 7

No. 6

No. 8

No. 9

1 . S H I R T, D S Q U A R E D 2 ; B L A Z E R , G A B R I E L E PA S I N I ; 2 . T H E B A R O N A L B U M , J O H N N Y C A S H ;
3 . W H I S K Y, H I L L R O C K ; 4 . L I G H T E R A N D A S H T R AY, I N S T Y L E D E C O R ; 5 . P I N K Y R I N G , D AV I D Y U R M A N ;
6 . P O C K E T W A T C H , P A N E R A I ; 7. C U E , C A V I C C H I ; 8 . S L I P - O N S H O E S , S A N T O N I ; 9 . P O O L T A B L E , M I T C H E L L

6 4 MAXI M.COM.AU
 THE
PERFECT
PAIR
The storied football club AS Roma
is partnering with Italian luxury
shoemaker Fratelli Rossetti...
BY TH O MAS FR E E MAN
I
P H O TO : C O U R T E S Y O F F R AT E L L I R O S S E T T I
n Italy, two national obsessions — fine footwear and
il calcio, a.k.a. soccer — finally come together: Members
of AS Roma will be kicking off their muddied cleats for
leather dress shoes from Fratelli Rossetti. The Lombard
shoemaker synonymous with Italian elegance was recently
named the formal shoe partner of the famed Rome soccer
team. Players will receive customised shoes with their
name inscribed on the soles, which they will wear off the field during
all official appointments.
“We are proud of the partnership with AS Roma, a name that
represents Italy all over the world,” managing director Luca Rossetti
said in a statement. “The idea is to link the brand with the world of sport,
the first love of our father Renzo. Not everyone knows that it was with
technical sports shoes that Fratelli Rossetti [actually] took its first steps
in the world of footwear.”
Both Rossetti and Rome have long been champions in their
respective fields. AS Roma was founded in 1927 as a merger of three
of Rome’s top soccer clubs, an alliance that led Roma to win the
Coni Cup in the 1927–28 season, its first title win. Renzo Rossetti
began his footwear brand a quarter century later, in 1953, and it became
the first Italian fashion label to set up shop on Madison Avenue in
New York City in 1979.
“This collaboration not only provides our main team with elegant,
quality shoes,” said Umberto Gandini, the managing director of
AS Roma, “it will also allow us once again to express our concept
of style, both on and off the pitch.” ■
MAXI M.COM.AU 6 5
SPORT

6 6 MAXI M.COM.AU
ROOKIE
OF THE
YEAR
He’s from Monaco, races
F1 cars and is 2018’s most
exciting prospect. We catch
up with Sauber young gun
CHARLES LECLERC…
I NTE RVI EW BY S T E WA R T B E L L

Swiss F1 team Sauber’s
rookie driver, Charles Leclerc
in Barcelona earlier this year
I
n Formula 1, the “next big thing” is only ever a season
away. A long line of young guns always ready to make
the step up from the junior series — and take the fight
to the establishment. But as ex-F1 driver and Sky Sports
commentator Martin Brundle will tell you, it’s 100 times
harder than you think to get to F1, and 500 times harder
to stay there. So the majority arrive, drive and jet off to
either sportscars or Formula E. Every so often, though, a special
talent arrives — one complete with breathtaking natural speed,
supreme dedication, and razor-sharp moves; one destined to be
a world champion. And they stand out immediately. Think Max
Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, Michael Schumacher, or Ayrton Senna.
The latest ‘special one’ is Swiss F1 team Sauber’s rookie driver,
Charles Leclerc (pronounced ‘Sharl Le Clare’), a Ferrari protégé
with talent so bright he’s being spoken about as a replacement for
monosyllabic Finn, Kimi Räikkönen when he hangs up his helmet
at the Scuderia. It’s understandable, because Leclerc is the real deal.
He took fourth place in the 2015 European Formula 3 title, but was
then picked up by Ferrari for its Driver Academy the following year.
He followed that with the GP3 and Formula 2 titles back-to-back,
seven wins in his F2 campaign a huge x-factor statement.
But, the 20-year-old isn’t thinking about that plum Ferrari seat just
yet. “It’s an honour for me to read an article where Ferrari and Leclerc
is written in the same sentence, but on the other hand it doesn’t quite
seem realistic for me,” he says humbly. “I first need to prove to everyone
what I’m capable of at Sauber and then we’ll see after that. But, I’m
taking it step by step and I think it’s the right approach.” And this is
where most drivers fail, in terms of proper preparation.
The test not just physical, but mental too, with razor-sharp reflexes
required — and not just for racing wheel-to-wheel, but consistent lap
times, and making corner-by-corner setup changes on the smartphone-
like steering wheel that might have up to 35 knobs, buttons, switches
and dials to be used in a specific order at a moment’s notice. It’s
PlayStation times 1000. There’s also the challenge in working with a
much bigger team of people, F1 squads fielding hundreds of people at
the factory and track. Mercedes is the biggest, with 1,500 people across
its two British bases. “Driving these type of cars always feels amazing,”
Leclerc says. “There’s a lot more speed compared to the junior series,
a lot more aerodynamics and a lot more people also involved in the

MAXI M.COM.AU 6 7
SPORT

performance of the car.” race so really looking forward

To get up to speed, Leclerc
dovetailed his F2 campaign
last year, with eight F1 Friday
free practice sessions, shared
between American team Haas
and Swiss squad Sauber — both
of them Ferrari customer teams
— before joining Sauber’s line-
up as a race driver for this year.
His biggest challenge,
though, will in keeping a lid
on expectations with Leclerc
already outclassing his more
experienced teammate, Sweden’s
Marcus Ericsson, across the first
nine races.
But experience counts and
Leclerc is not underestimating
the Swede’s racecraft or
connection with the team’s
owners. “The main thing for me
is that I do a good job, that the
engineers are happy with my job
and myself,” he says. “Obviously
I have my teammate here who is
the only one who has the same TOP: Leclerc rounds the Fairmont hairpin at the famed Monaco Grand
car as myself on the grid. So I Prix back in May; ABOVE: With his race engineer in Sauber’s garage
have to make sure I am in front
of him or competitive at least. It’s
not going to be easy but yeah as I said I think
I really need to do step by step, try to learn
and race him as quickly as possible.”
Leclerc is already showing his huge
potential, having scored points at five of the
last six races up to and including Austria —
scoring 12 to Ericsson’s three. And he’s shown
the way over one lap in qualifying as well, with
7-2 in Leclerc’s favour — making it to Q3 for
the first time at the French Grand Prix at Paul
Ricard. But it’s a different kind of challenge,
with the Monégasque used to racing and
winning in previous years. “It’s just change
of mentality, because when you arrive in the
junior categories, and anytime you change
category you are going for the win,” he says.
“But in F1, everyone has very different cars
so you really need to calm down and just be
realistic. This is hard to change, but you just
focus on yourself more than your opponents
because everyone has a different car and the
difference between cars are a lot bigger than
it was in the junior formulas.”
A bigger test is ahead, though. More
specifically, in September, at the Formula 1
Singapore Grand Prix. “I like city tracks,”
says Leclerc, “They are my favourite. So I’m
looking forward to Singapore, and it’s a night
to that also because this will be
new to me.” For the fans, it’s an
unbelievable experience, like F1’s
version of the Superbowl — with
racing under lights and the top
international artists on stage, all
against the stunning backdrop
of one of the world’s great cities.
This year’s revealed 11th
edition entertainment line-up
is also epic, with headline acts
including Martin Garrix, The
Killers, Liam Gallagher, Jay
Chou, Dua Lipa, Simply Red,
The Sugarhill Gang, Björn
Again, Sekai No Owari, Young
Fathers and more. For the
drivers, it’s a completely different
experience as a brutal test of
fitness and endurance, given
the need to withstand cockpit
temperatures reaching 60
degrees Celsius at racing speeds,
made only worse by three layers
of fireproof clothing and a
helmet. That’s before you add
between 5-7G in the corners
and under braking, or actually
go wheel-to-wheel with anyone.
So it’s no surprise drivers will lose up
to 3kg in fluid over a two-hour period —
with most immediately replacing that in the
aftermath of the race, just as the trackside
parties and concert take proceedings to the
next level. “We will use some heat training for
Singapore,” Leclerc says. “Just to get used to
the heat, and I will probably go as early as
possible just to be ready for the climate there.”
For now, Leclerc is just focusing on learning
as much as he can and taking the fight to
Ericsson. If he continues to do this and
deliver on the enormous hype, you can bet
a Ferrari promotion will be on the table. ■

2018 F1 CALENDAR HIGHLIGHT:

FORMULA 1 2018 SINGAPORE AIRLINES SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX
Trackside parties, F1 racing under lights, epic live music performances, brilliant weather, and some
of the world’s best shopping and dining options, a trip to the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix has
it all. For F1 fans, the event just couldn’t be better timed — with Singapore the first race after the
end of the European season, when the world championship battle is just heating up, and every
point won or lost makes a difference. And it’s a short flight away from most Australian capital
cities, so easy to get to. There’s plenty of action on-track, with F1 and other exotic machinery
threading the barriers at up to 320km/h. While off-track, there’s plenty a lot to see and do – with
interactive race-themed family activities, support paddocks to peruse, and parties galore all
surrounded by the event’s iconic lanterns. The event can be done on any budget with single-day
walkabout tickets starting from just S$78 (approx. AUD$78), single-day grandstand tickets starting
from S$108 (approx. AUD$108), and three-day grandstand tickets starting at S$298 (approx.
AUD$298). There’s also plenty of affordable accommodation, both in and around the city.

The FORMULA 1 2018 SINGAPORE AIRLINES SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX

6 8 MAXI M.COM.AU will be held from September 14-16, with more information at singaporegp.sg.
GADGETS

POCKET ROCKET
Leatherman Celebrates it’s 35th Anniversary with
Revival of Original Pocket Survival Tool...
In 1975, recent college After eight years of toiling in his
graduate Tim Leatherman garage and multiple rejections,

The ity,
and his wife Chau set off on a the Pocket Survival Tool (PST)

lic nd
roadtrip throughout Europe. was born. In their first year of
p Along the way, the unreliable car business, Tim and his co-founder
sim ity, a ty the newlyweds had purchased for hoped to sell 4,000 tools;
l
uti tabili a
$300 required multiple roadside instead, they sold 30,000. Over
fixes. Tim had the right know- the next decade, they would

por kes it
how, but not the right tools sell over one million PST
to fix it. He returned home multi-tools. This year, on the
ma assic! with an idea for a multi-tool brand’s 35th Anniversary,

cl
to tackle life’s unexpected Leatherman is continuing
challenges. He asked his Tim’s legacy of unwavering
wife if she could support perseverance, ingenious design,
the family while he and commitment to quality with
pursued his idea. the revival of the Limited Edition
He thought it PST. Made from 100% stainless
would take him steel, it has 14 tools in one
a month to including: Needlenose Pliers,
develop a Regular Pliers, Wire Cutters,
prototype. Hard-wire Cutters, 420HC
Knife, Wood/Metal File, Phillips
Screwdriver, Large Screwdriver,
Medium Screwdriver, Small
Screwdriver, Awl, Ruler (20 cm),
Can Opener and Bottle Opener.
Each PST is stamped with Tim
Leatherman’s signature and
comes with an American-made
leather sheath, emblazoned
with a diagonal wordmark
in gold foil, a throwback
to the original.
A perfect gift or
collector’s piece. ■

www.leatherman.com.au
RRP: $349

MAXI M.COM.AU 6 9
SPORT

COOL
HAND
LUKE
Champion fighter LUKE ROCKHOLD “I SEE MYSELF
won over UFC fans with his steely resolve
and deadly submissions. His movie-star AT THE VERY TOP.
looks didn’t hurt, either...
I DON’T THINK I’VE
EVER BEEN BETTER
BY TH O MAS FR E E MAN

A
s mixed martial arts, once maligned as “human cockfighting” by
Arizona senator John McCain, has been accepted as a more THAN WHERE I’M
AT NOW.”
mainstream sport, its most ferocious fighters have become
household names. But it is Luke Rockhold who could become MMA’s
best-known face. Raised in a surfing community in Santa Cruz, California,
the 33-year-old Rockhold speaks with the nonchalance of a West Coast
beach bum, but his track record reveals an unrelenting determination to
be at the top of his sport. After training in judo as a kid and in Brazilian
jiujitsu after high school, he made his MMA debut in 2007, at the age of
23. He became the Middleweight Champion of the Ultimate Fighting
Championship (UFC) in 2015 after defeating previous titleholder Chris
Weidman in a fourth-round technical knockout. “I was always driven,
and I was passionate to achieve and to be the best,” Rockhold tells
MAXIM. “I never thought I would ever be second best in anything.”
It was not only MMA fans who took notice of the rising UFC star.
Modelling agent Jason Kanner, founder and CEO of Soul Artist
Management, saw potential in Rockhold’s 192cm stature, rugged good
looks and fortunate lack of cauliflower ear (an all-too-common side effect
of his sport) and he approached the handsome fighter about a potential
side hustle modelling. The fashion world had unofficially given MMA
its blessing, but Rockhold was hesitant. “I was just more focused on
my career at that point,” he says of his early trepidation. “At a certain point,
when I had achieved the pinnacle of the sport, won multiple world titles,
I didn’t think it could hurt.”
Before the UFC, Rockhold was one of the top-ranked fighters in the
now-defunct MMA organisation Strikeforce, earning the most wins by
submission in its history. During his nine-fight win streak, he defeated
PHOTO: COURTESY OF ADIDAS

Ronaldo Souza to become the middleweight champion, a title he

defended twice before the organisation folded in 2013.
Rockhold was among the few Strikeforce alumni to be taken in by the
UFC, the largest MMA organisation in the world. It was a windfall for
the then 28-year-old fighter, but his start was not an auspicious one. At his
debut in May 2013, he was defeated in the first round by Vitor Belfort
with a swift head kick — a loss Rockhold later attributed to high emotions
leading to a lack of technique. He quickly redeemed himself, winning his

7 0 MAXI M.COM.AU
MAXI M.COM.AU 7 1

next four fights and steadily pushing his record
to its current 16-3. Of his UFC victories, seven
have come from submissions and eight from
knockouts, including his first-round TKO, of
Costas Philippou, at UFC Fight Night 35 in
2014 in Duluth, Georgia, his first UFC victory.
In November 2014, he faced Michael
Bisping at UFC Fight Night 55 in Sydney,
Australia, setting off his famous rivalry with the
bullish Brit. Bisping preceded the headlining
bout with his typical trash-talking, which
prompted Rockhold to issue fighting words
of his own: “I am going to make him suffer.”
It was no empty threat. Rockhold took Bisping
down in a second-round head kick, but he
did not relent. He followed up with a guillotine
choke, forcing Bisping to submit for the first
time in his career. “Some fighters deserve to
be trashed,” Rockhold says. “There’s a certain
level of respect when you get into that cage
and you share that space with somebody.
When people break that code, I don’t think
they deserve any respect.”
A world away from the ring, Rockhold’s
first major modelling coup came in September
2016, when he appeared on the cover of
independent men’s fashion magazine At Large.
In February 2017, his work for boot company
Frye’s Spring/Summer campaign alongside
supermodel and MAXIM girl Devon Windsor
7 2 MAXI M.COM.AU
was met with some jeering on Twitter.
“Are you starring in Zoolander 3?” one UFC
fan wrote. “How about you focus on getting
back into the cage?” another scoffed.
The online derision came after Rockhold’s
biggest career setback: a stunning loss to his
old foe Bisping at UFC 199 in June 2016
that stripped him of his championship.
“You’re always going to have haters,” Rockhold
says. “You can’t lock me down in a gym 24-7.
Doing some fun stuff in the modelling world,
going to tropical locations and shooting with
beautiful women, is fun. It reinvigorates me
to get back into the gym and learn more.”
Ralph Lauren found Rockhold’s cool
resolve to be a perfect embodiment of Polo
Blue, its top-selling cologne, which evokes the
calm and power of the sea. He asked Rockhold
to serve as the face of Polo Blue and the new
Polo Ultra Blue, a lighter, citrusy interpretation
of the scent. Rockhold described shooting the
campaign, in which he is straddled by Victoria’s
Secret model Romee Strijd (yet another
MAXIM star) on a sailboat in Montauk, New
York, as unexpectedly gruelling.
“These were intense. I haven’t had a
problem with many shoots that I’ve done,
but we started at the crack of dawn and ended
at dusk. It was almost five days,” Rockhold
says. “I can torture myself all day and still have
“SOME FIGHTERS
DESERVE TO BE
TRASHED. THERE’S
A CERTAIN LEVEL
OF RESPECT
WHEN YOU GET
INTO THAT CAGE...”
energy in the gym, but it absorbs a lot of energy
when you’re posing and running back and forth
between different shoots and looks.”
He has since rebounded. While promoting
Polo Ultra Blue last November, Rockhold
spoke with unmistakable enthusiasm about his
fight with Aussie middleweight champion
Robert Whittaker at UFC 221 in Perth, only
for Whittaker to pull out of the match-up.
Rockhold ended up facing Yoel Romero and
was dealt a devastating end to his title run.
Instead of a match up with the real champion,
Rockhold wound up getting violently knocked
out in an interim title match.
Rockhold spent much of the past year
convalescing from a knee injury and bad-
mouthing Michael Bisping from the sidelines,
notably calling his title reign “the worst in UFC
history.” But he insists he does not dwell on his
setbacks. “It hurts, but that’s part of life,”
Rockhold says of his title loss. “If you just won
all the time, you wouldn’t know what that
feeling was like. I’m very focused on being the
best that I can be.”
An endorsement from Ralph Lauren has
surely lent the fighter fresh confidence. “I see
myself at the very top. I don’t think I’ve ever
been better than where I’m at now,” Rockhold
says. “I’ve always said, ‘Look good, feel good,
fight good.’ It’s part of the program.” ■
TR AVE L

The

CÔTE D’AZUR For decades, the French Riviera has been the world’s greatest
luxury getaway — and it’s only getting better. Here’s your
ultimate guide to the best of the best in food, drink and leisure...
BY S Y LV I E B O U R G E O I S H A R E L

A
dreamlike seaside route connects
Monaco and Saint-Tropez, studded
with palaces and bastions featuring
imposing architecture, gigantic rooms,
luxurious gardens, and enchanting terraces.
Together, they relect a past deined by the
pursuit of elegance and the art of good living.
Back then, artists, millionaires, and royalty
discovered and fell in love with the French
Riviera, which at the time was known mostly
for its sea bathing and thermal spas. Soon,
the area became a regal getaway famous
for sun-drenched Mediterranean beaches,
gourmet cuisine, and world-class hotels.
Today, the road that connects the towns
of the Côte d’Azur is dotted with references
to its past. It’s a region of romance and
charm, luxury and authenticity, one that has
captivated artists such as Picasso, Matisse,
and Chagall, and writers including Aldous
Huxley, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Edith Wharton,
and W. Somerset Maugham.
After World War II, the French Riviera
became the playground of the wealthy. Palaces
overlowed with visitors. Belle epoque villas
and seaside properties were scooped up as
even more extravagant residences were built.
It became the rendezvous of the jet set and
Hollywood stars. The Cannes film festival,
first held in 1946, acquired an international
reputation as one of the most important
celebrations of cinema in the world.
The Côte d’Azur remains the domain
of the global elite. Plan to stay a minimum
of a week. Avail yourself of a roadster, a Riva
yacht, and a helicopter — and also some good
walking shoes in which to wander through
the high-lying villages of the backcountry.

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THE NAPLEONIC ROAD
The historic route starting near the Riviera is a driver’s dream
When Napoléon escaped from exile on Elba and returned to France
in 1815, he arrived on the coast of the French Riviera before heading
north into the countryside. While this route led Napoléon back to
a short-lived second reign as emperor, today the same route can
be conquered with horsepower instead of on horseback.
The Route Napoléon boasts some of the finest driving roads
in all of France, not to mention the nearby high-altitude mountain
passes. The über-wealthy who lock to Saint-Tropez, Cannes, and
Monte Carlo head up to the beautiful scenic roads to put their
supercars and grand tourers to the test. Other sections of road near
the coast include stages from the Monte Carlo Rally, including the
infamous Col de Turini, perhaps rallying’s most celebrated stage.
According to supercar tour operator Mark Heather, owner
of Ultimate Drives, just as important as choosing the right car
(a Porsche 911 GTS Cab for comfort, performance, and four-wheel-
drive security or a Lamborghini Huracán Spyder just to show of in
the best possible way, Heather suggests) is choosing the right time
to visit. “Rule number one is to avoid July and August; the coast
roads are packed, so it’s more of a supercar crawl,” Heather says.
“Plan the trip for late April or early October and you will have the
roads almost entirely to yourself.”
While Heather’s company offers trips of varying length, three to
four days of driving is ideal. And always try to end your trip in Monte
Carlo on a Friday, because “there is always a party — or two dozen
— going on in Monte Carlo when you finish your drive,” he says.
A few laps around the F1 road course in Monaco is an appropriate
climax to your drive as well.
From Cannes, check out Parc Naturel Régional du Verdon,
where it’s possible to drive along an epic gorge dubbed the
“French Grand Canyon.” The mountain roads and tight turns are
a great platform to show of in a supercar or grand tourer. Ultimate
Drives offers an organised trip incorporating all of these routes —
prices range from around US$5,000 for a Porsche Boxster S to
US$14,000 for the top-end Lamborghini Huracán or Ferrari 488.
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SAINT-TROPEZ JEWEL OF THE RIVIERA

BELOW: Tucked away within the

historic town of Saint-Tropez, Hôtel Le
Yaca offers incredible levels of luxury
convenient to the city’s port and beaches

WHERE TO STAY

Hôtel Byblos
Luxurious yet accessible, and just steps from
the Place des Lices market, Hôtel Byblos
represents the mythical Saint-Tropez vibe of
the 1970s. Inhouse options include exquisite
dining at the Alain Ducasse restaurant Rivea
at Byblos, or an evening of revelry at nightclub
Les Caves du Roy. With a mere 91 rooms,
and only open from April through October,
vacancies are rare and highly sought after,
so plan your stay well in advance.

7 6 MAXI M.COM.AU
 Port Grimaud with Bay of
Saint Tropez background

Pan Deï Palais
Staying at the centrally located Pan Deï Palais,
an oasis of Zen-like calm in Saint-Tropez, has
been described as something akin to relaxing
at a friend’s elegant mansion. This friend,
however, charges rates starting at US$310 a
night. Most guests say it’s worth every cent.
Hôtel de Paris Saint-Tropez
Saint-Tropez’s only hotel with a rootop pool,
the Paris is a mere three-minute walk from
both the Vieux Port and the Place des
Lices. If you need a brief respite from your
vacation, the on-site Clarins spa has you
covered (with luxurious plant extracts
and aromatic oils, primarily).
Hotel Sezz
The Sezz is located a few minutes from town,
providing an escape of sorts from often-
crowded downtown Saint-Tropez. Set in a
bucolic landscape among mature olive trees
and palms, guests can de-stress in the Payot
spa — or at the Dom Pérignon bar, which also
works well. There’s a free shuttle to town and
to the beach clubs at Pampelonne, though
you likely won’t want to be anywhere else.
actress in the world at the time, arrived just
outside of town on Pampelonne Beach to
film her next feature. A young boy, Patrice
de Colmont, and his ethnologist filmmaker
parents, lived in a house near the beach and
took in the cast and crew for lunch and dinner.
And by sheer coincidence, the world’s most
celebrated beach club was formed, named for
its founding year. Today, Patrice de Colmont
owns and operates Le Club 55, still the
premier oceanfront destination for the world’s
elite, and those wishing to rub elbows with
celebrities, business titans, and royalty.
He has worked hard to maintain Le Club 55’s
reputation for excellence, but instills his own
laidback personality into the property. More
than 1,000 people a day can flock to the
hot spot during the peak summer months,
so early reservations are a must.
Biglari Café
Luxury, elegance and charm can be found at
this glamorous spot at the centre of the port.
Ideal for drinking Dom Pérignon Rosé or a
great vintage with a cheese plate, or enjoying
an artisan burger, the café serves food that is
only rivalled by its style: a classic, clean design,
tables made from Riva wood, and a sharply
dressed staff, outfitted in Bijan couture.
La Vague d’Or
At Résidence de la Pinède’s gastronomic
restaurant, Arnaud Donckele, the youngest
French chef currently in business with three
Michelin stars, has managed to make his
cuisine the Riviera’s most popular by
celebrating the seasonal flavours of
Mediterranean cuisine.
La Réserve Ramatuelle
In nearby Ramatuelle, with a winning
combination of luxury, simplicity, and
surrounding nature, La Réserve is a main
hotel and 14 villas in a quiet setting. At its
restaurant La Voile, Michelin-starred chef
Eric Canino offers light dishes that are a
celebration of Mediterranean flavours. —SBH

Château de la Messardière
For when you absolutely, positively must
stay in a 19th-century castle. There’s an
ornithological reserve on the grounds, and
Tropézina beach is a short distance away
(or simply stare out at the Bay of Saint-Tropez
from the property’s semicircular swimming
pool). Alain Lamaison, the new chef de
cuisine, arrived at the Château this year;
try his signature sea spider in three services.
—Justin Rohrlich

WHERE TO EAT, DRINK & PLAY

Le Club 55
In 1955, cinematic glamour came to the French
Riviera. Brigitte Bardot, perhaps the hottest

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The old coastal village

and fortification of Antibes
on the French Riviera

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 ANTIBES
THE MEDITERRANEAN’S
PARADISE ON THE BEACH
WHERE TO STAY
Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc This legendary palace,
the most elegant address on the Riviera, is
a delicate combination of sophistication and
cool. Order lunch at Eden-Roc Grill, followed
by a swim in the Mediterranean, before
choosing either one of the two in-house
restaurants for dinner. —SBH
WHERE TO EAT, DRINK & PLAY
Eden-Roc Restaurant
Eat elegantly at the Eden-Roc Restaurant,
where tables on the seafront veranda ofer
sweeping views of the lush Lérins Islands
in the distance. (A 15-minute ferry ride will
get you there if you feel like exploring; boats
leave from the dock in Cannes and Juan-
les- Pins.) The timeless menu includes Steak
Diane, lambéed tableside (58 euros), roasted
blue lobster (86 euros) and 50 grams of fresh
Beluga caviar, served with buckwheat blini
(540 euros). Or let executive chef Arnaud
Poëtte decide (tasting menu, 190 euros).
The dress code is listed as “formal,” which,
in practice, means long sleeves, long pants,
and no sandals.
BELOW: Even on the French Riviera, where
luxury is king, Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc stands
unrivalled; the property earns its reputation
as one of the world’s premier exclusive hotels
Piano Bar Fitzgerald
After dinner, head to this 1930s-style bar at the
Hôtel Belles Rives for a nightcap. The Black
Nail — Glenmorangie, Drambuie, Macallan,
and honey — is the head barman’s specialty
(20 euros), and the eclectic playlist could
include everything from Dizzy Gillespie’s
“A Night in Tunisia” to “Chan Chan” by
Compay Segundo and a cover of the Police’s
“Walking on the Moon” by Roseaux featuring
Laguna Hills, California’s own Aloe Blacc.
—JR
Jazz Festival
If the name Jazz à Juan, or as it’s known to
most of the world, the International Jazz
Festival at Antibes Juan-les-Pins, sounds
familiar, check your music collection. Among
the legendary albums recorded here are
Mingus at Antibes, Miles Davis’ Miles à
Antibes, and John Coltrane’s Live in Antibes,
1965. The festival, which began in 1960, now
includes popular music as well, with acts
ranging from Carlos Santana to Norah Jones
and this year’s headliner, Lenny Kravitz.
Hard-core jazz fans can still get their fix from
the world-renowned acts that perform each
year. The festival’s real magic is found in the
spontaneous moments that occur throughout
the city during the concurrent fringe festival.
Musicians organise impromptu jam sessions;
talented amateurs might play with their idols;
and the streets of Antibes are captured by the
festival’s unique energy. —Keith Gordon
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MONTE
CARLOLUXURY BY THE SEA
WHERE TO STAY
Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo
Steps away from the Casino de Monte-Carlo,
this gem will be totally renovated starting
in early 2019 — the hotel will remain open
during the renovation. The hotel is a Monaco
institution, with its historic facade, wine
cellar, and the restaurant Le Louis XV
— Alain Ducasse à l’Hôtel de Paris, where
chef de cuisine Dominique Lory and chef
Alain Ducasse take inspiration from the
flavours of the Riviera.
Hôtel Hermitage
Hôtel Hermitage has all the old-fashioned
charm for which the principality is famous.
The dome and the winter garden veranda
were designed by Gustave Eifel. Côte d’Azur
specialties, such as barbajuan and socca, are
served at cocktail hour.
Monte-Carlo Beach
A fixture of Monaco high society since the
1930s, the Monte-Carlo Beach is located in
spectacular Roquebrune-Cap-Martin. Dine
fabulously at the Michelinstarred Elsa, which
is now 100 percent organic, and work it of
tomorrow in the Olympic-size pool.
Hercules Port situated
on one of the many piers
in Monaco, Monte-Carlo
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Hôtel Metropole Monte-Carlo
Mere steps from the casino and the
Boulingrins Gardens, this sumptuous Belle
Époque property in Monte Carlo has the
obligatory ultra-luxury spa and two Michelin-
starred restaurants. But the Metropole’s
“GoldenEye Experience” may be the pièce
de résistance: a chopper light over the
principality; a ride along the Riviera in an
Aston Martin; a couples massage in your
room; a private dinner by worldrenowned chef
Joël Robuchon; and a private butler who will
provide you with everything you need for your
excursion to the casino, including a cigar and
gaming chips at the end of dinner. A tuxedo
will be provided for the gentleman; an evening
gown for his date.
The Monte-Carlo Casino,
Port Palace gambling and entertainment
Right on Port Hercule, the Port Palace boasts complex in Monte Carlo, Monaco,
spectacular views and some of the biggest Cote de Azul, Europe includes
a casino, Grand Theatre de
yachts you’ve ever seen. The glass-and-steel Monte Carlo and office of
design is a more contemporary take on luxury Les Ballets de Monte Carlo
than Monaco’s grandes dames, but equally
reined, with rooms by Leïla Menchari, the
window design director of Hermès. The bar
looks out over, among other things, the port-
side stretch of the Formula 1 circuit. —JR WHERE TO EAT, DRINK & PLAY
Yacht Club de Monaco
Yacht Club de Monaco’s newest building,
designed by renowned architect Lord
Norman Foster, opened its doors in 2014
and has become a must-visit for lunches and
dinners. For prime access, consider becoming
a member (which requires two existing
members to sponsor your application).
Don’t forget to follow the extremely
speciic dress code. —SBH
DON’T MISS…
The Royal Red Berries Mojito is a house
specialty at Hôtel Metropole’s elegant lobby
bar; try one of head bartender Khalid El
Hajraoui’s Malaysian Juleps at the timeless
Le Bar Américain, at the Hôtel de Paris.
Brasserie de Monaco is known for its Bière
de Monaco; don’t miss the pissaladière, a sort
of Provençal pizza topped with caramelised
onions, anchovies, and black olives. Boldface
names including Lionel Richie and Pink
have been spotted at über-trendy Jimmy’z
Monte-Carlo; the jet set can also be found in
their natural habitat at Flavio Briatore’s Twiga
Monte Carlo, which ofers Italo-Japanese fare
and transforms into a proper nightclub after
1 a.m. For a “normal” hangout spot, head to
the Monte Carlo Bar — its moderately priced
brasserie fare, with a handful of beers on tap,
is a good option for mingling with locals,
who know this place as MCB. —JR
a racecar. Overtaking is nearly impossible on
the circuit, and drivers could theoretically reach
out and touch the guard rails. The Grand Prix
is a gathering place for the global elite, who
arrive on their enormous yachts for days of
exclusive partying. It’s the pinnacle of luxury in
a city known as… the pinnacle of luxury. As for
The Grand Prix
of Monaco —unlike
any other race on
the F1 calendar
the racing itself, the added emphasis on a good
qualifying result means that the excitement is
spread over Saturday and Sunday. For drivers, the
race is equal parts trying to win and trying to get
your car across the line in one piece. For a chance
to behold the rare skill of a Lewis Hamilton or
Daniel Ricciardo, there’s no better place. —KG

MONACO GRAND PRIX

This race is unlike any other on the Formula
One calendar. Public roads are shut down,
and a racetrack is carved into the narrowest
of streets. The claustrophobic-tight turns
are better suited to a small hatchback than
TR AVE L
CANNES
GATHERING PLACE OF THE STARS
WHERE TO STAY
InterContinental Carlton Cannes
With a century-plus history, the 343-room
Carlton is where American actress Grace
Kelly was staying when she first met her future
husband, Prince Rainier III. Oscar-winning
actors celebrate their Palme d’Or victories
on the seventh loor, where the elite suites are
found. Some of the most famous jewel heists in
recent history have taken place at this storied
property — close to a combined US$200
million of jewels stolen in two separate heists.
World-class dining is available at two in-house
restaurants, and the Carlton Bar is the best
place to people-watch in the city. —KG
WHERE TO EAT, DRINK & PLAY
Shop
Ultra-luxe high-end shopping — Chanel,
Gucci, Prada, and the like — can be found
along La Croisette. For a more local
experience, check out Rue Meynadier.
Or do as the locals do and stock up on pâté,
8 2 MAXI M.COM.AU
fresh seafood, and artisanal charcuterie
at the airy Marché Forville.
Eat
Table 22 features Provençal favourites,
perfectly prepared by Alain Ducasse–trained
chef Noël Mantel. Aux Bons Enfants has
been turning out homey yet sophisticated fare
since 1967. And for the best small plates you’ve
ever had in a former garage, check out Au Pot
de Vin. The famed Michelin guide calls the
dining room “lovely retro,” and points out its
“fair prices.” Which, in Cannes, usually means
something a little bit diferent than it might
elsewhere (meals run US$45 to US$65).
Drink
During the Cannes film festival, the stars
hang out at the Carlton Bar. But you can get
a Red Carpet Martini any time of the year.
You’ll find Côte d’Azur institution La Chunga
right across the street from the famed Hôtel
Martinez, which is home to its own legendary
watering hole, the Gatsby-esque (and aptly
named) Martinez Bar. Grab one last cocktail
at Le 72 Croisette, which always seems to ABOVE: The front entrance of the famous
stay open lafter than everyone else. —JR Carlton International Hotel situated on the
croisette boulevard in Cannes
ODE TO CANNES
In its 71st year, the world’s most famous film festival faces the future
For about 10 days in the middle of May,
the sun revolves around the Earth. Or so
it would seem at the Cannes Film Festival,
the centre of the universe for lovers of
cinema. Situated on the French Riviera,
Cannes is a place where the air feels
charged with luminescence and stars like
Gosling, Theron and Clooney, posing for
paparazzi steps from the Mediterranean,
glow like celestial beings. Cannes also
benefits from impeccable timing. With many
of the attendees just emerging from long,
cold winters, the festival pumps with an
undeniable sense of spring awakening.
“Everything about the future of film
starts in Cannes,” says marketing guru
Ryan Werner of Cinetic Marketing. “It sets
precedent and it makes history. You have
top-of-their-craft filmmakers and artists
being watched and judged by top-of-their-
craft critics and industry people from around
the world. Nothing compares to getting
a movie noticed there.”
Indeed, Cannes can lay claim to having
launched some of the greatest films of all
time into the world. Taxi Driver, Apocalypse
Now, Pulp Fiction, and The Tree of Life
are among the winners of the festival’s top
prize, the Palme d’Or. Every year, 20 or so
titles compete in the main competition —
each receiving a lavish red carpet premiere
and a screening at Grand Théâtre Lumière,
arguably the most magniicent movie venue
in the world. These are the pictures eligible
for awards, announced at a glamorous
closing-night ceremony. Hundreds of other
films screen out of competition (spectacles
like Mad Max: Fury Road and Up) or in
sidebar and retrospective lineups.
The main competition slate is judged
by an elite nine-person jury of filmmakers,
authors, and actors. Past jury presidents
have included Quentin Tarantino (who
awarded the Palme d’Or to Michael Moore’s
Fahrenheit 9/11 in 2004) and Steven
Spielberg (he picked the explicit lesbian
drama Blue Is the Warmest Colour in
2013). This year, Cannes’ top judge was
actress Cate Blanchett, who embodies all
the talent and elegance the festival desires
while also standing as a champion for the
current cultural moment. Only four of the
past 20 jury presidents have been women.
Cannes knows how to react to the times.
The event was conceived by the French
in 1939 as a response to the Venice Film
Festival, which at the time had become
a propaganda megaphone for Mussolini
and Hitler. In a twist of history, the Cannes
grand opening coincided with the exact day
that Germany invaded Poland. Only The
Hunchback of Notre Dame was screened
on the Riviera before the festival was called
off. Two days lafter, France and Great
Britain declared war against the Nazis.
The fest remained dormant during the
war years but was relaunched in 1946 and
hit its stride in 1955, when the realist drama
Marty won the Palme d’Or and then the
Best Picture Oscar. That same year, Cannes
was pampered with the happily-ever-after
mythos when American actress Grace
Kelly was introduced to Prince Rainier of
neighbouring Monaco during the festival.
Less than 12 months lafter, she had retired
from acting to become his royal wife.
In 1959, Cannes inaugurated its Film
Market, which transformed the festival into
a bonafide industry, with buyers and sellers
descending in droves to score distribution
deals. In 2017, the Market drew a record
12,324 accredited participants. Cannes
operates the website Cinando, an immense
film industry database and networking
platform, and also publishes a robust market
guidebook (insiders have dubbed the
guidebook, featuring head shots of all
the wheeler-dealers — mostly men —
the Serial Killer Guide).
Fifty years ago, during the 1968 festival,
France was shaken by massive student
protests and worker strikes. In solidarity
with the social movement, a gang of French
New Wave filmmakers, led by the always-
agitating Jean-Luc Godard (Breathless),
appeared onstage and demanded the
festival’s cancellation. Five days before
it was set to end, Cannes shut down — and
would never be quite the same again.
Bella Hadid
at the 71st
Festival de
Cannes
The following year, the festival joined the
counterculture by premiering Easy Rider.
A year lafter, Robert Altman’s subversive
antiwar comedy M*A*S*H took home the
top prize. Cannes has had its hand on the
throttle ever since. Last year’s Palme d’Or
winner, The Square, a brutal satire about the
art world, scored an Oscar nomination.
Godard, who’s still kicking at 87, is
outmatched in the provocation sweepstakes
by Lars von Trier, Cannes’ most infamous
enfant terrible. The Danish director once
won a technical award and publicly tossed
it in the gutter. He also accepted a
runner-up prize by slamming jury president
Roman Polanski as “a midget.” Von Trier
won the Palme d’Or in 2000 for his grim
Björk musical Dancer in the Dark, but was
banned from the festival in 2011 after he
spoke favourably of Hitler and the Nazis
during a press conference for his sci-i
drama Melancholia. However, von Trier was
back at Cannes this year with his most
recent eyepoke, The House That Jack Built.
His much-anticipated return resulted in
predictable controversy when a screening
of the film, about a murderer of women,
was met with mass walkouts.
“I can’t tell you how many great films
have been booed — too many to count,”
says Werner. In 2013 the Brooklyn
Academy of Music even programmed a
retrospective called “Booed at Cannes,”
which included David Cronenberg’s Crash
and David Lynch’s Twin Peaks: Fire Walk
with Me. Last year, however, was especially
unique: Netlix made inroads with films in the
main competition (including Bong Joon-ho’s
Okja) and critics heckled the company logo
before one movie even began.
But booing because an online streaming
service has cracked into a festival ostensibly
celebrating film is rather petites patates
compared to another dilemma Cannes has
to face. This year was the first Cannes since
the #MeToo movement — and the festival
was not keen on political correctness at the
expense of glamour. Or gluttony. Some of
the grisliest sexual assault charges against
Harvey Weinstein are alleged to have
occurred during the festival. In a statement,
organisers condemned Weinstein’s acts
(he denies the accusations). It will be
curious to see if the festival adopts a shift
in tone moving forward: For 70 years, it’s
reigned supreme as the dazzling nucleus
of the international movie industry. Can
Cannes deal with a cloud dim? ■
MAXI M.COM.AU 8 3
C OOVMEARN GOI RF LTSH E W O R L D
W

RED HOT
Since landing a gig as an Octagon Girl, and being the first-ever
Filipina to do so, stunning model RED DELA CRUZ is fast
becoming one of the hottest ringside properties in the UFC…

P H OTO G R A P H E D BY H A R R Y H AY E S I NTE RVI EW BY S A N T I P I N TA D O

8 4 MAXI M.COM.AU
MAXI M.COM.AU 8 5
WOMAN OF THE WORLD

8 6 MAXI M.COM.AU
H
ey, Red, tell us a bit
about this shoot?
I’m so excited about this
shoot because it’s my first
magazine feature with MAXIM Australia.
We shot this at Clovelly Beach in Sydney
and it was such a beautiful location —
not crowded at all. I fell in love with it.
How long have you been modelling?
I started modelling when I was 17 back
in the Philippines. I was doing a lot of
beauty pageants but then realised it
wasn’t for me because most of the girls
are over six foot tall and I’m only 5’5”.
Height is a big difference in the modelling
world. I then did some local TV shows and
got introduced to a modelling agency.
When do you feel sexy?
When I’m at the gym. Every time I look
at myself in the mirror I can see all of
the hard work I’ve put in.
What is your best asset?
Probably my abs.
What would people be most
surprised to know about you, Red?
Hmmm… I have five Persian cats!
You were the first-ever winner of the
inaugural Octagon Girl Search in
Asia. Why do you think you won?
It was nerve racking at first. I mean, there
are 100 girls that auditioned and I was
the chosen one. I think I won because
of my fans – they supported me all the
way until the end and I am very thankful
for them. Winning it was one of the best
moments in my life.
Describe what your life is like
as a UFC Octagon Girl.
I’m very lucky to be part of the UFC
— it’s the biggest Mixed Martial Arts
organisation in the universe. And as one
of their many Octagon Girls I get to meet
a lot of different people while travelling
around the world. It’s definitely opened
a lot of doors for me and I get to do
things like this feature shoot for MAXIM
and also a lot more TV commercials.
Who is your favourite fighter?
Holly Holm – she always ends her fights
with respect and professionalism.
You live in Australia now, right?
Yes, I’ve been living in Australia for over
two years and I’m loving it – the culture, the
people, the professional — and the food is
very good, too! There’s more opportunities
here than in my homeland the Philippines.
What’s the freakiest thing someone
has sent you via social media?
Do you really want to know?! Naked pics!
Haha… I just delete them straight away.
What do you find sexy in a man?
I like a romantic, honest and respectful
man, with a good attitude, who is preferably
tall and good looking. Oh, and I find beards
attractive too.
What’s next for you?
I just finished up in Vegas for UFC
International Week and there’s more in
Asia and Australia this year. Stay tuned! ■
MAXI M.COM.AU 8 7
WOMAN OF THE WORLD

8 8 MAXI M.COM.AU
Status
Update
FULL NAME:
Red Dela Cruz
BORN:
October 9, 1992
HOMETOWN:
Quezon City,
Philippines
LIVES:
Sydney, Australia
FIVE-WORD SELF-
DESCRIPTION:
“Kind, patient, loving,
social and hot!”
SCHOOLED:
“I’m currently studying
business and finance.”
HIDDEN TALENT:
“I can sing and dance.
I’ve got many moves.”
PHOBIA: “Snakes
and cockroaches!
They look totally
creepy to me.”
HANGOVER CURE:
“Going to a spa and
having a massage.
Relaxing!”
LIFE MOTTO:
“Dream for the
impossible. It just
might happen!”
INSTAGRAM
& TWITTER:
@red_delacruz

HAIR & MAKE-UP

AMAN DA
ZACHAR EWICZ
SW I MW EAR BY
MESHKI
M E S H K I.COM.AU
& ARK SWIMWEAR
ARKSWIMWEAR.COM

MAXI M.COM.AU 8 9
SEX

THE PE
SOLUTION
For many men premature
ejaculation (PE) can be a serious
problem, but what exactly do we
mean by serious? Let’s assume
your tendency to abandon ship too
early is not caused by some medical
condition, but you’re in the category
where far too often the excitement
is all too much for you. So, what
causes this and more importantly
how can it be addressed? Read on…

BY GUY QUICK

S 1 2 3
ure your partner may be lying back EDGING: This KEGEL OFF-THE-
frustrated while all you want to do is not only helps with EXERCISES: SHELF HELP:
roll over and go to sleep, but one thing PE, it also has the That’s right, While you’re
to consider is that not all couples are the added reward of pelvic floor working on your
same. One couple’s marathon may be a being quite pleasant muscle exercises aren’t techniques there are
quick sprint for another. Some women may be satisfied — but you will have to just for women. Kegel also many propriety
with just a few minutes, while others may need a few put some time aside. exercises for men are products you can buy.
hours! However, one thing you will know for sure is The idea is that you a great way to increase These are generally
if you are leaving your partner hanging. masturbate as normal your ability to last in the form of numbing
So, why do so many men have these issues? I don’t and when you get longer in bed but also sprays, which you apply
know about you, but for me between the ages of 14 to close to climax you have the added benefit to the penis a short time
19 was one long period of self-satisfaction — or to be stop completely. Wait of improving the overall before sex, and usually
more accurate, possibly thousands of short periods of a few seconds until the health and strength of contain lidocaine or
self-satisfaction. Often, due to lack of privacy, these feeling subsides. Then your penis — win-win! a similar compound.
“alone moments” would last less than a minute — a repeat the process, Here’s a quick rundown Although effective,
great bit of recreational fun, yes, but not really a great coming to the brink as on one easy routine... they do make you numb
way to condition yourself for an adult relationship. many times as you can a) Find your PC muscle which obviously dulls
The second thing to consider is evolution. Our until eventually you just — it’s the one you use your enjoyment as well
ancestors didn’t really have the luxury of long, lush can’t help yourself. to stop yourself from as your pleasure. The
sex sessions and for those who tried it they were By using this technique peeing; b) Clench the best product we have
most likely eaten by a passing mountain lion. In order you will slowly learn muscle and hold the found is Edge™ – Delay
to keep your genes in the pool your best bet was to and help recondition contraction for as long Gel for Men (pictured
pop as soon as you could. This means that because your body so that you as you can — you might left), which is all natural
of survival of the fittest — or in this case survival of have more self-control. only manage a couple and non-numbing, long
the fastest — the chances are we have evolved from of seconds at first, lasting and, believe it or
ancestors who had to be very quick in the bedroom but hey, that’s what not, is made in Australia.
department. It was only later when we had the exercise is for; The product can be
advantages of safe shelters and food on hand, that c) Squeeze and release applied long before
recreational sex would develop. After all, with no 10 times. Gradually, that special moment
Internet or TV what else was there to do on those you can build up Kegels and it does not contain
long dark nights? These are just a couple of possible until you can hold each lidocaine or benzocaine.
causes, but you’re probably more interested in finding one for 10 seconds. How good is that? ■
a solution. You’ll be pleased to know that all is not
lost — here’s our top three options to get you started: FOR MORE INFO AND HELP GO TO WWW.SENSUOUS.COM.AU

9 0 MAXI M.COM.AU
SEX

CYBER LOVE
Cybersex, also known as virtual sex or cybering, is sexual arousal or
orgasmic climax via computer technologies. Here are seven reasons
why it’s “da bomb” and why you should participate regularly...

BY VA N E S S A D E L A R G I E

Cybersex can include porn, webcam, skype-sex, virtual adult games, Internet chat rooms,
sexual instant messaging, sexting and the use of virtual reality equipment to have a good ol’ shag.
Many prudes, PC-police and spoilers-of-fun are against cybersex — they believe it destroys
intimacy, inspires adultery and is addictive and dangerous. They’re the same mob who also think
sex robots are going to destroy the human race — need we say more.

MONOGAMY IS NOT EXPLORATORY SEX

A NATURAL STATE OF BEING
Much like porn gives the masses a buffet
of dick and vagina without participating
in coitus, cybersex gives the masses the
opportunity for sexual arousal with others
without participating in coitus. It relieves
a pressure valve thus saving marriages,
long-term relationships and preventing
adultery. Monogamy is obviously not a
natural state of being, it’s a forced structure
created by humans. We are still animals and
cybersex quenches our natural primal urges.
YOU WON’T CATCH CRABS
As fun as sex is, the excitement promptly
descends when we get an itch in our pants
or a foul-smelling secretion leaking from
our anatomy. Cybersex is like a bulletproof
condom – there is no STD getting through
this f—ker, it’s 110 percent safe sex.
YOU DON’T HAVE TO
WORRY ABOUT PREGNANCY
It’s virtually (pardon the pun) impossible
to get preggers via cybersex. So much of
the worries that come with sex have to do
with procreation and this certainly takes
the problem out of the equation.
SEXUAL CLOSENESS
Cybersex can make people feel more
comfortable than they would in a real-life
scenario. This can be due to social issues,
physical issues, health issues, mental issues
and disabilities. It can allow them to have
a sexual experience with someone that
perhaps they never would have the chance
to in reality, which can lead to healing and
build sexual self-esteem.
Many people are unable to explore certain
sexual fetishes in their day-to-day lives for
a multitude of reasons. Cybersex allows one
to explore rape fantasies, BDSM and, on
the far end of the scale, incest — if they so
desire. It allows them to role play the sexual
scenario in a non-judgmental environment
with likeminded individuals without causing
harm or insult to anyone.
LONG DISTANCE RELATIONSHIPS
Often, due to work, study or life events, there
will be times when we are geographically
distant from our sexual partners. Cybersex
allows sexual intimacy for couples who are
physically apart, which can help sustain the
relationship and keep it in-check during
long periods of non-togetherness.
FLYING SOLO
There is something to be said for the
“instant gratification” in cybersex. Much
like self-pleasuring or watching porn, then
switching it off, we have complete control.
I believe all humans, to an extent, crave this
within our sexualities. Cybersex gives us
something that is “our own”.
I am a great believer in sexual technology
and think it benefits society in so many
positive ways. Cybersex can be a welcome
addition to a healthy sex life when used
in a conscious and balanced manner. ■
Vanessa de
Largie is an
Australian actress,
sex columnist and
freelance journalist
based in London

9 2 MAXI M.COM.AU
MAXI M.COM.AU 9 3
R E L AT I O N S H I P S

The

SEVEN
DEADLY SINS
of Online Dating
If love is a battlefield, then online dating is the weapon of choice. Apps and websites
have transformed the way we date and hook-up, but just like with other weapons, sometimes
we need a little training to use them correctly. Because the online world of dating seems
unmeasurable and training someone might take too long — and let’s face it you have
more swiping to get back to — let’s, instead, look at what you might be doing wrong…

Dr Nikki Goldstein is a
Sexologist, Relationship
Expert, Author and host of
the podcast SEX & Life
on Podcast One
PRIDE
This and self-confidence is not a bad thing —
it’s actually the opposite — but it’s when there
is too much of it that it gets in the way. Let’s
start with your photos? Topless selfies? Flashy
cars? Unless you only want to be judged for the
physical and superficial things in life, try for
images that at least show something about
who you are beyond your gym regimes and
cash. Whilst these images might attract
a certain breed of female, not being liked for
who you are is exactly where this over
confidence and supposed pride could have
come from in the first place. Don’t worry, we
all have insecurities and try and masks these
with false confidence, even the girls you are
swiping and chatting to. So why not try and be
a little more open with who you are?
ENVY
We all understand what it means to be envious,
but let me put it in a modern day term you
might understand — FOMO! Yes, it is a fear
of missing out on something but it’s also a way
to envy what someone else has. And thanks to
filters, angels and PR firms, we all now know
that much of what we are initially feeling
FOMO over, especially online, isn’t even real.
Social media is now like porn — it looks real
but there is so much that goes on behind the
scenes that we are not aware of. Are we
showing envy towards something that is fake?
And what does this have to do with online
dating? Being envious of others distracts and
sees us all not living in the present. When you
are not living in the present you are not able to
truly see what you do have or even who you are
forming a connection with. Take things slow,
minimise your FOMO and be present with
those you are chatting to. You just might see
something or someone that otherwise you
would have missed.
GLUTTONY
How many girls are you talking to at one time?
How many different apps and sites are you
currently on? There is such a thing as online
dating greed. It might see fun to be able to
choose from a sea of women, but these
multitudes of conversations must be
distracting, not allowing a state of being
present. Do you even remember what the
conversations are you are having with each
one? It’s not to say that “hello” means you’re
the only one I’m talking to, but try and limit
your conversations just down to a few.
LUST
Sorry, but for me this one is not so much of
a sin. As a sexologist, lust is important in life,
it’s just who we lust over can get sometimes
complex. Just make sure you have your online
dating intention rights. Are you there to find
a date or just wanting a lustful good time?
Even though you can find both on the one site
and be looking for both at the same time,
ensure that you outline to the person at the
other end if you have limits. For example,
if you are there for a hook-up, just say that you
are looking for some casual fun. Trust me,
there are girls out there who are looking for the
same but those who want romance might only
then get their hearts broken if the intents don’t
match up. If you are going to be lustful, at least
be nice to those that are not.
ANGER
Well, nobody wants to date (or bed) Mr Angry
but it’s a more subtle anger that is infiltrating
the online dating world… not being replied to
quick enough. After the obligatory “hi” has
been swapped, if someone doesn’t’ reply soon
enough, anger can often see that person being
given the flick. I won’t lie, women do play
games but also women these days have busy
lives and don’t just sit on their phones waiting
for them to buzz and ring. Are you dismissing
a really great girl because she hasn’t gotten
back to you soon enough? What even happened
to a little bit of waiting? She might be playing
games, or she might be busy, or she dropped
her phone in the loo, or she lost both hands to
a shark and can’t text back. There are so many
reasons as to why the response might not be as

9 4 MAXI M.COM.AU
quick as you would want, so let you anger
calm down and give a girl a chance, at least for
longer than a few minutes.
GREED
The battle to finding love (if that’s what you
are after) in the online world, can feel like a
never-ending game of swiping left and right.
But this could be due to greed getting in
the way. When there are too many choices, we
can get greedy. We want the best and we will
keep going till we get the best. But it’s this
endless swiping, constantly looking for that
perfect one that sees so many continually
SLOTH
One of the biggest problems with online
date but not focus on one. If it is love you
dating in the crazy times is that it has made
are looking for, consider reassessing what it is
you want in a person. Are you being too greedy
you very lazy. With all these options out there
and so many women at your fingertips online,
and looking for perfection (which doesn’t exist)
effort doesn’t seem to be a word that’s included
or should you be looking for a real connection,
in dating vocabulary today, but it’s the effort —
intimacy and someone you can share your life
even just a thoughtful text — that can see
with. But, if you are just wanting to hook up,
someone go from a maybe to a sure thing.
keep swimming and swiping my friend, there
Remember: No-one likes Mr Lazy, even if it is
are plenty more fish in the seas and more
just for some casual fun. ■
options to go fishing with.
BUSINESS
The
HOUSTON
ROCKET TILMAN FERTITTA talks to MAXIM about building his
business empire, his commitment to customers and his most recent
acquisition — a star-studded NBA team with stratospheric ambitions...
BY B I LL SAP O R ITO
T
ilman Fertitta is a relentlessly civic-minded businessman
and TV celebrity who could probably win the mayor’s job
in Houston if he wanted it. But why downgrade? Fertitta
owns the new Post Oak tower going up and the luxury hotel and
Rolls-Royce showroom that will reside there. He owns the city’s
aquarium. He owns the Kemah Boardwalk amusement park south
of Houston. He’s chairman of the University of Houston System
Board of Regents. His company, Fertitta Entertainment, owns more
than 500 restaurants both locally and nationally, including Landry’s,
Mastro’s, Rainforest Café, Morton’s the Steakhouse, and Bubba
Gump Shrimp Co. And in his spare time he stars in his own reality
TV show on CNBC, Billion Dollar Buyer.
The show’s title became even more fitting when Fertitta wrote
a check for a reported US$2.2 billion to buy the Houston Rockets
of the NBA, the highest price ever paid for a
basketball team. He bought the Rockets because
he’s a lifelong fan. And because, well, he really
wanted to own them. “I knew where the ballpark I THINK THE BEST
FRANCHISE TO OWN
[was],” he says, referring to the other bidders.
“And I knew this is what it was going to take
to buy it. I was going to buy this basketball
team and that’s it, period.”
Buying the Rockets was even more satisfying
IN AMERICA TODAY
for Fertitta considering that he was outbid when
the team came up for sale almost 25 years ago.
He wasn’t going to come up short again, even if
IS AN NBA TEAM.
he had to spend an extra US$100 million or so to
win. “You gotta remember the New York Yankees sold for
US$10 million in [1973] and the Cowboys sold for US$140 million in
the [late ’80s],” he explains. In other words, major sports franchises
never go down in value. Still, he reasons, baseball is history — and the
NFL is now iffy. Basketball is youthful and global. “If you try to look
into the future 10 years, 20 years, 50 years,” he says, “I think the best
franchise to own in America today is an NBA team.”
Fertitta brings to the Rockets his rare mix of determination,
skill, and work ethic. His company — restaurants, hotels, casinos,
amusement parks, an aquarium, and other assorted assets — will bring
in almost US$4 billion in revenue. He’s also an active philanthropist:
He recently donated US$1 million to a Hurricane Harvey relief fund,
and in 2016 he gave US$20 million to the University of Houston to help
9 6 MAXI M.COM.AU
transform its basketball arena. Fertitta was in some ways born for
business. He grew up in the restaurant his father owned, learning
from the ground up. Although he could do everything from peeling
shrimp to loading in the fish order, he realised he had a head for
numbers. By the time he was a teenager he knew he could run
the family business. His ambition was bigger, though.
After dropping out of business school (he says it didn’t have
much to teach him), he borrowed US$6,000 to invest in a seaside
hotel in Galveston, Texas. A few years later, the savings and loan crisis
hit Texas-based banks extra hard and leveled the real estate industry.
Fertitta took the opportunity to buy out his partners. “When the world
fell apart in Texas in the ’80s,” he says, “when I bought my partners
out, I said, ‘I think I will start building restaurants — since you won’t
be building any.’ ” It would become a pattern that served him well.
When the economy tanked, Fertitta would
be on hand to soak up risk as if it were Gulf
sunshine. “When things are really good, we
forget they’re ever going to be bad again,” he says.
“And when things are really bad, we forget they’re
going to be good again.” And in 2008 and 2009,
things were really bad. By then, Fertitta’s outfit,
Landry’s Inc., was a public company, and the
stock, like many others, had been hard hit.
Increasingly, CEOs had been subject to close
scrutiny under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Fertitta
had had enough. “You’re the majority owner of
the company still, even as a public company, and
all the auditors wanted to do was look at my American Express bill,”
he says. “It just didn’t make any sense, and I just said, ‘This is ridiculous.’
The stock had fallen. And I said, ‘I’m just gonna take it private and own
it 100 percent again.” So Fertitta bought the company back to become
sole owner, winning a lengthy battle.
In addition to building more Landry’s locations, Fertitta continued
to acquire struggling restaurant companies: Joe’s Crab Shack in 1994;
Crab House restaurants in 1996; Rainforest Café in 2000; Muer
seafood restaurants, Chart House, and Saltgrass Steak House in 2002.
There would be a lot more over the next decade, including high-end
places such as Morton’s the Steakhouse, Vic & Anthony’s Steakhouse,
Brenner’s Steakhouse, Grotto, and La Griglia. Last year, he bought
New York City’s BR Guest restaurants.
Fertitta’s company — which includes restaurants, hotels,
and casinos — brings in almost US$4 billion in revenue
Fertitta made a big leap in 2005, buying the Golden Nugget
Casino in Las Vegas. The logic is simple: It’s the big-box theory.
“If you’re gonna do 50 restaurants that do US$5 million each, that
make a million each, you gotta go out and find 50 general managers,
50 locations. Takes a lot of corporate support. You go out and you do
one casino, it’s one general manager that does it and it does US$250
million and it makes US$50 million.” And you can also install your
US$5 million-a-year restaurants in them. He would expand Golden
Nugget to five locations, including Atlantic City, where he bought
out the struggling Trump Marina casino and turned the property
into a thriving Golden Nugget.
There are no spare customers. This is the mantra by which
Fertitta operates and the essence of his management style. You are
either gaining customers or losing customers, so everything you do as
a business has to be focused on them. As a manager, Fertitta continues
to be obsessed with details. “You teach the culture — there’s no spare
customers — and you pay attention to the details, and you set a strategy
and a culture for your company. But you can’t micromanage when you’re
this big. I’m not out over there picking out the fish,” he chuckles. The
same will apply to the Rockets, who have one of the best operations in
the NBA but also the misfortune of being in the same division as the
league champion Golden State Warriors. Last season the Rockets
added standout guard Chris Paul, who joined the NBA’s MVP James
Harden in the Rockets’ backcourt. “It’s nice to have a James Harden
and a Chris Paul,” says Fertitta. “This is a superstar league. If you don’t
have a superstar, you’re not getting to the playoffs and you’re not getting
past the first round of the playoffs.”
And if the Rockets should sign a third superstar to get them up to
championship level, they know the guy holding the chequebook will
add another zero if he has to. Because in 10 years fans might forget
whatever it is that Fertitta spent to get the team, the players, and the
arena. But they always remember the championships. ■
MAXI M.COM.AU 9 7
24 HOU RS TO LI V E
DIESEL
Besides a collection of
your best tunes over your
illustrious career, how
would you best describe
your new album Diesel 30
— The Greatest Hits?
A large jar of memoirs.
How do you want to
leave this world?
Smelling good.
Do you have any
deathbed confessions?
I drank straight out of the
bottle from the fridge at 3am.
What’s your last meal?
Risotto with roast pumpkin
and sage. It’s comfort food.
Are you going to Heaven
or Hell?
If it’s about doing diabolical
things then I think I’m going
to “Harp City” – Hell would
be too hot for me as I run
hot all the time.
9 8 MAXI M.COM.AU
What do you say to God
when you get there?
“What time is soundcheck?”
Which legendary people
will you want to hang
out with in the afterlife?
Jimi Hendrix, Prince and
B.B. King, to name a few.
Of course, I’d like to jam with
them but I’d be happy to guitar
tech for either of them as well.
What’s the greatest Diesel
song that never saw the light
of day and why didn’t it?
“Time Has Brought A Change”
– probably because I didn’t
think the world needed
another “slow jam”.
To whom on Earth do you
owe an apology?
The old lady whose chips I once
knocked out of her hand at the
shopping mall after school –
early teenage rage.
Legendary Australian
guitarist and singer
MARK LIZOTTE
discusses his final
day on earth…
What would you like to What’s written on your
be reincarnated as? tombstone?
A giraffe – my vanity wants THIS IS NOT A SELF-
their exquisite, unique looks. CLEANING TOMBSTONE
– PLEASE LEAVE THIS
Other than family, what’s AREA AS YOU FOUND IT.
your greatest achievement
during your time on Earth? Got any last words?
Making people forget about stuff “Are you my Uber
with music. Music = medicine. driver?” ■
What’s the dumbest
thing you ever did? “IF IT’S ABOUT
Getting behind a car
on a skateboard and DOING DIABOLICAL
towed to 50km/h.
THINGS THEN
What are you glad you’ll
never have to do again? I THINK I’M GOING
Look at algebra in a stifling-hot
demountable classroom. TO ‘HARP CITY’.”
What are your mates
saying over your casket?
“Man, that guy smelt good.” DIESEL 30 — THE
“Yeah, and he sure could GREATEST HITS
clean a counter, too” is out August 3
I N T E R V I E W BY S A N T I P I N TA D O