Lee runs fast, very fast, 100m in 10 and a half seconds fast
He also trains hard, very hard, box jumps, skipping, hurdles, track sessions, squats, weights, calisthenics, sprint training and just about any other exercise you can think of, twice and thrice a day everyday. If he is not training he most likely be eating or sleeping.
Lee was kind enough to let me into a couple of training sessions at his local athletics club in Croydon
"I am going to make Wayne Gretzky's head bleed for super fan no 99 over here..."
I fell in love with ice hockey at a young age, growing up watching "The Mighty Ducks" and playing NHL 94 on my sega mega drive. Still now I have a love for the fast paced, action packed, violent sport!
In the summer I made a trip to France to photograph some of this aggressive puck chasing on ice...
"I wish I was a little bit taller
I wish I was a baller
I wish I had a girl who looked good, I would call her
I wish I had a rabbit in a hat with a bat
And a six four Impala"
Hazel Kari Marimba is one half of the DJ/Singer girl duo 'BahiaHaze', the girls have recently hung out at 'Rinse FM', performed at Horizon festival and was selected by Gig Wise as one of the top 6 acts to see at this year's 'Meadows in the Mountains' - a bespoke true hippy fest high up in the mountains in Bulgaria!
Thorbergur Ingi Jonson, or Tobbi as he is called, was one of the big surprises in the 2015 World Trail Championships in Annecy. Running in a trail race for the first time outside of Iceland, he finished 9th, less than 6 minutes behind the eventual 2015 UTMB winner Xavier Thévenard. And in July 2015 he smashed the course record of the 55km Laugavegur Ultra in Iceland, in an improbable 3:59:13. So it‘s been quite a year for the reluctant trail runner Tobbi.
For the past 3 months I have been allowed to be a fly on the wall for Seb's hardcore 6 day a week training programme. I have been documenting his sessions with both his coach, training buddy, on the track, in the gym and out on the hills.
I was commissioned to photograph former GB tennis pro Jade Windley to launch the new 'Adidas by Stella McCartney' collection. It was a warm summer's day at a court in Holland Park, West London, during the build up to Wimbledon.
For two weeks every summer London goes tennis mad, the city is buzzing with excitement at SW19, blurs of white, strawberries and champagne, and despite the inevitable spells of drizzle, droves of tennis mad fans necks are warmed up and ready to look left to right to left to right to left...FAULT THIRTY LOVE
Eddie needs no introduction, a world famous stand-up comedian, actor, writer, activist, transvestite and possible future London Mayor.
In 2009 Izzard completed 43 marathons in 51 days for Sport Relief, running more than 1,100 miles in 7 weeks. Izzard trained only 5 weeks prior and had no previous history of long-distance running, a remarkable feat to say the least.
I had around 5 minutes to photograph Eddie for the Join In Trust, we spent 4 minutes talking about running until I was politely reminded by the producer we needed some pictures taking and less than a minute left on the clock!
It was an honour to meet such a professional, humbling, inspiring and hilarious individual.
Bemidji is a city in Beltrami County, Minnesota, United States. Surrounded by three indian reservations and many lakes with the Northernmost lake feeding the Mississippi River. It's deemed the Curling Capital of the US and home to an oversized Paul Bunyan statue.
After a long flight and little sleep my Father decided the best way to see Bemidji would be to run round it early morning. Despite the jet lag I followed him with my camera...
Beep Tests, Burpees, Skipping, Stretching, BPM, BMI, Sprint training, HIIT, Boulders, Cheap Reps, Cardio Bunny, Cutting Up, DOMS, Gains, Vascular, Reps, Sets, Cicuits, Pecs, Lats, Traps, Quads, Hams, Crossfit, Gym Rat, Spin Head, Weekend Warrior, Dips, Deadlift, Clean and Jerk.....
The list goes on, new words, new training methods...When I was young it was seriously uncool to wear running trainers, I remember being embarrassed at my old man wearing his 1990 Mizuno trainers on family days out - fast forward quarter of a century and its now bang on trend - who knew my father was cool before his time!
Now everyone has their own personal goals to live a healthier more fulfilled and clean life - just don't ask 'them' why and never admit that you dont actually like the taste of kale and spinach in a smoothie. Honestly it's a positive change to the 90's when it was cool to smoke Marlboro Red's and wear as much Denim as possible
The Health Club and Spa at Chelsea FC, Stamford Bridge commissioned me to create all its new imagery in conjunction with launching their new club sponsor Nike. We shot in the club with Crystal and Jack from W Models along with some of the centres PT's and staff.
The Health Club and Spa at Chelsea FC, Stamford Bridge commissioned me to create all its new imagery in conjunction with launching their new club sponsor Nike.
The Chelsea Health Club & Spa features one of the best swimming pools in a private health club in London. The pool is 25m long and 10m wide, it is ozone-treated and maintained at a constant temperature of 29°c.
Along with a super clean pool they have their own SWIMTAG, more than just a lap counter, SWIMTAG is a motivational tool, encouraging you to reach your goals. With each use, you have the ability to view accurate data online, allowing you to tweak your technique and work on any weaknesses in your stroke.
Rampage is an invite only free ride mountain bike event held in Zion National Park, Virgin Utah. It first began in 2001-04 until it was cancelled due to the increasing risk competitors were taking. After a three year hiatus, Rampage returned in 2008 and this years will mark the 12th edition of this insane event.
Riders turn up with a 2-person build crew and are welcome to the event site for three days of strictly building and then four additional days with their bikes in advance to carve out their lines in preparation for one of the biggest tests of skill, nerve and guts in the world.
I was invited along in 2010 to document the event for RedBull, my initial impression of Rampage is its not just any competition, these guys are like a brotherhood! Although they are competing, they build together, party together and ride together….huge respect to the guys riding the ridge at rampage!
John Wilton-Davies a business consultant from the south-west of England plans to complete 'The Last Great Challenge', an attempt to be the first to complete an unsupported return journey from the edge of Antartica to the South Pole and back again!
I photographed John at a studio in Devon and built a South Pole inspired set from old paper backdrops. We spent the afternoon taking pictures and John told me all about his previous attempt and plan for the next expedition, an inspiring individual to say the least!
In 2010 my 7 month old niece Cara Rose was diagnosed with a terminal disease named Type 1 Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), this tore my sister and her family apart, their resilience despite the situation has inspired me ever since.
Whilst Cara was still with us we spent a weekend in the summer of 2010 running up the three highest mountains in Scotland, England and Wales. Led by my brother-in-law (Cara's father) and his fellow Royal Marine friend our team of 9 lads along with our token female driver completed the Three Peaks Challenge in under 24hours.
Despite having a vehicle that was resticted to 55mph, with thanks to Lindsay's rally'esque driving we finished at 5am Sunday morning after climbing Snowden through the night and had enough time to recover with a pint ready for work again on Monday morning - a great way to spend a weekend raising money for a very worthy SMA charity and more importatnly awareness about this truly horrific disease.
Xavier Thévenard
In the summer of 2013 I spent some time in the French Alps, based in Morzine I was only a couple of hours round to Mt Blanc so after speaking with Asics I decided to make my way over to Chamonix to catch the finish of the UTMB (Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc)
Les Lindarets is a hamlet high up in the Alps en route to Avoriaz, its more commonly known as "Goat Village" as a herd of over forty goats live there in freedom over the summer months. In the summer of 2013 I shot this story for Asics.
Boxing 's reputation isn't great, violence, blood and broken noses - yet some say its not as black and blue as its usually painted. Calculated risk, conditioning, co-ordination along with instinct play a big part in each bout. Some will view it as a disgusting sight to see two grown men go blow to blow however others view it in the same way as a well choreographed dance, between two athletes at they're peak of fitness moving gracefully around the ring trying to outsmart each other.
This is my study into the sport, I was kindly allowed to document some of the IBC's (Islington Boxing Club) amateur fight nights at the Tufnell Park Dome.
A story I shot in East London for an independent fashion brand who wanted a skateboard-esque look for their new A/W range
The UK's first SwimRun event (albeit in a very unofficial and informal sense) I was asked to join in and bring along my camera, it was a great way to spend a Saturday morning in November, running a half marathon with my SLR and a couple of swims in between!
Inspired by the John Cheever short story and Burt Lancaster film, The Swimmer is a relaxed half-marathon journey through London’s finest outdoor pools, parks and ponds.
Starting in Hampstead we ran across the heath to the natural Highgate ponds, then onto Parliament Hill Lido, running then south towards the Serpentine for our 3rd dip via Primrose Hill and Regents Park. From here onwards some people chose to turn it into a triathlon and got some Boris Bikes out to get down to South London while the rest of us ran via Battersea Park, Clapham Common and onto Brockwell Park for our final swim in Brockwell Lido.
The Swimmer London takes place the second Saturday of every month from Autumn to Spring even when the temperature in the pools drop into single figures. It really is the most social and friendly running event in London, nobody cares for times or trying to outperform anyone and you wont be judged if you want to skip a swim or jump on a bike for part of it.
<a href=" ">http://www.theswimmer.org/</a>
Huron were an English thrash metal band formed in Plymouth in 2007, the band had a cult following and were highly regarded for their live performance's. Before they went on an indefinite hiatus Huron played one last kick-ass gig headlining Download Festival's boardie takeover stage. I was invited along by the band to document the biggest gig of their career...
It was 9pm on a mid summers eve and Huron were about to walk out to a completely packed out tent to headline the night...I followed them onto the stage to capture the performance shooting on my old mans 1979 Nikon, there is nothing quite like shooting fast paced loud and heavy music in a sweaty tent in the height of summer!
Some guns, a BBQ, a load of beer and meat, archery, some smoke grenades, a couple of axe's, a discovery and a defender along with 12 men in an off grid welsh bothy half way up Mt Snowdon are the ingredients for a very dirty boyish weekend...
