A hole in the ice, a wetsuit, a rope and a shaft of light barely penetrating the 2000m deep waters chilled to two degrees below zero; these were the basic elements that confronted Christian Redl, champion free diver on the day he was the first person to free dive under the North Pole. The first dive of three took just one, adrenaline charged minute but it was 12 years in the making. In 2003 when he did his first ever dive under the ice of an Austrian lake Redl knew that one day he would have to conquer the North Pole. Just over a year ago Redl was in a position to make that dream a reality, and so began the 12 months planning it took to get to the pole. Things went up a notch six months out, with Redl’s training regime going from hard to hellish – when your only access to oxygen is a hole in the ice a few feet across, you need to be as fit as you are focused. Even getting to the pole, (from Svalbard in Norway), was a mission, involving extensive negotiations with the Russians who control the airspace, and a lengthy… Read More
INTERVIEW: 20 crazy minutes on a capsizing boat with the CEO of Edox, Alexandre Strambini
Ok, so the boat wasn’t exactly capsizing. But it was rocking. And the almost unlistenable audio of the interview confirms it was very, very windy when we interviewed the CEO of Edox Alexandre Strambini on the MV Extreme in Sydney Harbour in December of 2014. Alexandre Strambini is not the kind of person you’d forget meeting. He has piercing light blue eyes, a youthful demeanour for a CEO and – prepare yourself for this – he’s beaten Roger Federer. In tennis. Twice. But somehow, I managed it. When we met for a second time – after, apparently, shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries at Basel earlier this year – onboard the MV Extreme in Sydney Harbour I was frankly amazed that he hadn’t made a stronger impression. But that might be because the person who arranged the meet on both occasions happened to leave out the beating Federer bit. So, this time, in set two, with my facts straight – yes, Alexandre heads up Edox, yes, he played Davis Cup tennis for Switzerland, and yes, he is among Federer’s closest friends and confidantes, after acting as a ‘big brother’ figure early in his career – I was able to get the most out… Read More
