British GQ August 2019

One of the highlights of the British season, which begins in April with the Boat Race and finishes at the end of August with Notting Hill Carnival – taking in Glastonbury, the Cartier Polo, London Fashion Week Men’s and both the V&A and Serpentine summer parties on the way – is without doubt the Hay Festival. The sun-kissed (sometimes) smorgasbord of intelligentsia that takes place every summer on the border between England and Wales, at the very end of May, is not only the greatest literary festival in the world (slam dunk, no contest), but it’s also one of the few places where you can access world-renowned expertise for less than the price of a decent Panama hat (there are a lot of Panamas at this time of the year…

On set with cover star Raheem Sterling Behind the scenes of the Manchester City forward’s powerful cover shoot looks. Summer suits Stay cool this season and make sure you’re prepped for every wedding eventuality. Come rain or shine, these are the best suits to shop now. Wimbledon is here Stay up to date with the best-dressed visitors and read exclusive interviews with the players. The best books to dip into over the holidays Put down the remote and spend some quality time with the recommended literary classics on our definitive list. Feel-good 45-minute workouts Check out our regular personal training videos – your body (and wallet) will thank you. Photographs Hamish Brown; Getty Images…

Alastair CAMPBELL For this issue’s cover story, GQ’s arch interrogator interviewed Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling, who has become a vocal critic of racism in football and the sporting press. “I was immediately struck,” says Campbell, “by the sense that there was a lot more to him than many modern footballers. I’m also interested in people who endure a lot of abuse and come out stronger. He’s in that category.” Hannah BLACKLOCK GQ’s new Social Media Editor will be following all the major events of the summer across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, including a fortnight of tennis at Wimbledon. “Covering sporting events is always a bit of a whirlwind,” says Blacklock. “You have to try to strike the perfect balance between engaging fans and promoting healthy debate, which is by no means an…

The scene is called “I Am Jack’s Smirking Revenge”. Somewhere near the early third of David Fincher’s screen adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club (1999) we find ourselves with Edward Norton (“The Narrator”) in his boss’ office. Norton is in the throes of quitting then blackmailing his boss into keeping him on the payroll as “an outside consultant”. Trouble is, the boss – who Norton blames for repressing him day in, day out, in a life that he loathes – isn’t buying it: “Who the fuck do you think you are, you crazy little shit?” As the boss stands to call security and have Norton ejected from the premises, our narrator clenches his fist and decides to channel the person he so desperately wishes he was (spoiler: that’s Tyler Durden, Norton’s…

Henry Smith lived a typical life, working his way up the corporate ladder. Straight out of university, he had found a contracting job in IT services in his hometown of Sydney, Australia. The money was good, but soon the mind-numbing work and long commutes took their toll. He desperately wanted a way out – and he found it in a dubious-looking finance blog called Mr Money Moustache. The site assured retirement years ahead of the norm to those who could follow a set of principles set forth by its founder, self-styled finance sage Peter Adeney. With no desire to keep at his dull career for another four decades, Smith (whose name has been changed at his request) quit his £70,000-a-year fulltime job in 2016 at the age of 31 with no…

Eeddy Elsey tried many routes to enlightenment before settling on shamanism. “It turns out there’s not enough yoga in the world to make me feel OK,” says the 28-year-old ex-actor, smiling at the 15 men (plus me) who have gathered for a “masculinity workshop” at Aho Studio, a “shamanic healing space” in Hackney Wick, East London. Elsey is the founder of streetspirituality.com and a podcast of the same name, aimed at bringing shamanism and spiritual practice to a new male audience through men’s groups and workshops. “It’s needed, because many men today feel shame and confusion around their masculinity and feel like there’s ‘something missing’ in their lives.” This Saturday afternoon workshop is emblematic of a wider movement: interest in mysticism has been booming recently, especially among millennials. Last year, Americans…