Preparation for the Afterlife
Often in the in-between moments of his 18 seasons in Formula 1, Lewis Hamilton has found himself in rooms with legends. Some from other exotic industries: movies, music, fashion-all worlds Hamilton has felt increasing affinity for while becoming the winningest F1 driver in history. And many from other major sports. What he'd noticed was that eventually, particularly with these aging athletes just on the other side of retirement, the conversation would loop around to the subject of preparation for the afterlife.
Not death, exactly. But life after sport. "I'd spoken to so many amazing athletes, from Boris Becker to Serena Williams, even Michael Jordan," Hamilton, now 39, says. "Talking to greats that I've met along the way, who are retired-or some that are still in competitionand the fear of what's next, the lack of preparation for what's next. A lot of them said: 'I stopped too early. Or: 'Stayed too long. "When it ended, I didn't have anything planned. 'My whole world came crashing down because my whole life has been about that sport."
"Some of them were like: 'I didn't plan and it was a bit of a mess-up because I was really lost afterwards. There was such a hole. Such a void. And I had no idea how I was going to fill it. And I was in such a rush initially to try and fill it that you fill it with the wrong thing. And you make a few mistakes. And then eventually you find your way. Some people took longer. Some people took shorter. But it just got my mind thinking about: Okay, when I stop, how do I avoid that? And so I got serious about finding other things that I was passionate about."
Esta historia es de la edición April - May 2024 de GQ US.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición April - May 2024 de GQ US.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
MEET THE WILDEST CHARCTER IN THE WORLD'S MOST INFLUENTIAL MUSIC SCENE
Right now, to be the most important new voice in Afrobeats means you might just be the most important new voice in global music, period. That title currently belongs to Asake, a Nigerian singer with bonkers style and a penchant for making speaker-melting hits.
MARNI'S FRANCESCO RISSO WILL NEVER GROWUP
The eccentric Italian designer is proving that the very serious business of fashion doesn't have to be very serious at all.
WELCOME TO LAUREN HALSEY'S NEIGHBORHOOD
The red-hot 36-year-old artist has achieved global success with a very local approach: applying imaginative, laserlike focus to a few square blocks of her hometown. In doing so, she renders and reflects what it's actually like to live and work in-and never, ever leave-South Central Los Angeles.
DARK KINGDOM
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross-best friends and Nine Inch Nails bandmates-found unlikely creative fulfillment (and a couple of Oscars) by reassessing what they had to offer as musicians. Now they're thinking even bigger, and imagining an artistic empire of their own making.
INSIDE BANNY MCBRIDE'S LOWCOUNTRY COMEDY COMMUNE
After taking big screens and HBO by storm with his macho-lampooning humor, comedy hero Danny McBride uprooted his life in Hollywood to build his dream production studio in Charleston, South Carolina-away from the stifling industry, and alongside his closest friends and collaborators. That's where he's been unlocking a blistering new creative gear-and plotting his best work yet.
QUEEN of the YOUTH
Hunter Schafer has built a career by saying yes: to activism, to modeling, and then to acting, where Euphoria made her a star. Now, with a budding movie career and big plans in just about every field you can imagine, the Gen Z icon is figuring out exactly what sort of creative life she'd like to lead.
LEWIS HAMILTON IS CHANGING LANES
The seven-time F1 champ says he still has a world title in him-maybe this year, his final one at Mercedes; maybe next year when he joins Ferrari, a shocking move he tells us he manifested. But it's his passionate work outside of racing-in fashion, in film, in music-that's setting him up to keep making moves after the checkered flag drops on his racing career.
The New Gold Standard in Tasteful Watches
Piaget's Polo 79 once again marks the end of the steel sports watch's reign-and the start of something much more fun.
Captain Mbappé
We met him as a teenage prodigy. Now, with his PSG teammates Messi and Neymar gone, and a new job as French national team captain, Kylian Mbappé is reckoning with the responsibilities and privileges that come with being the man.
The full Ricky
Twenty-five years after becoming one of the most staggeringly famous men on the planet, a wiser, more assured Ricky Martin is taking another run at being a star. While also being himself, this time.
