365 days from now, we will be in the midst of Olympic fever, with the 2012 Opening Ceremony being played out across the globe. The hullabaloo will be felt most by London residents, especially those living in close proximity of the 80,000 capacity
365 days from now, we will be in the midst of Olympic fever, with the London 2012 Opening Ceremony being played out across the globe. The hullabaloo will be felt most by the capital's residents, especially those living in close proximity of the 80,000 capacity Olympic Stadium.
With a year to go, generally the time it takes for people to train for a marathon, we revisit the inaugural issue of AnOther Magazine from 2001, in which athlete, actor and model Aimee Mullins revealed her passion for Pilates. "I like that Pilates compromises the mind and body. It's not just about being able to run around the block a few times. It's about alleviating stress and controlling breathing. It's about being balanced. If you're an athlete and you completely focus on the body you're missing other components. Similarily, if you're trying to broaden your mind but not also being attentive to your sense of humour and your spirit, then you're not going to grow and develop so fast."
Mullins was born without fibula bones and had both legs amputated below the knees aged one. While attending Georgetown University, she competed against able-bodied athletes in NCAA Division I track and field events. She competed in the Paralympics in 1996 in Atlanta, in which she ran the 100-meter dash in 17.01 seconds and jumped 3.14 meters in the long-jump. Mullins' modelling career kicked off when she was photographed by Nick Knight for the now-iconic cover of the September 1998 issue of Dazed & Confused. A year later, she modelled for Alexander McQueen on a pair of hand-carved wooden prosthetic legs made from solid ash, with integral boots.
Knight has continued to work with Mullins, shooting her for the Pirelli 2004 calendar and including her in the SHOWstudio retrospective at Somerset House in 2009. Like Mullins, Knight also regularly practices Pilates, as does previous AnOther Magazine cover stars Christina Ricci, Julianne Moore, Nicole Kidman and Uma Thurman. Seemingly one of the most favoured sports by leading personalities, Pilates was first developed in the early 20th century by Joseph Pilates, believing mental and physical health to be inter-related. The practice is a body conditioning routine that helps to not only build flexibility, but also strength, endurance and coordination in the legs, abdominals, arms and back.
There are plenty of other sporting passions rife in the creative fields – Björk practices Shotokan karate, current AnOther cover star Mia Wasikowska enjoys surfing, Natalie Portman loves a game of football, and Pamela Anderson is prone to a game of volleyball. Previous AnOther Man cover star Keith Richards has a slightly different spin on sport: "gigs and sex are my exercise". There are plenty of fashion houses promoting the sporting cause – Chanel's ever-popular line of luxury lifestyle items (double 'C' weights and a rugby ball), Phillip Lim's A/W11 collection inspired by girls riding bicycles and brands Prada and Sunspel have both used boxers to head their campaigns.
Text by Laura Bradley
Quote from David Calhoun's interview, AnOther Magazine A/W01
