Smith Journal – Volume Fifteen

Take Bruno Zaghis. He’s spent the last forty years single-handedly building an amusement park in the middle of an Italian forest. The idea started as a simple playground but eventually spiralled out of control. David Kirke is in the mix, too. The Oxford graduate was the driving force behind the Dangerous Sports Club, a group of thrill-seeking toffs who staged outlandish stunts in the name of nonconformity. His biggest claim to fame: completing the world’s first bungee jump (which he did in a top hat and tails). We also visit Chris Robinson, a former art director at Facebook. He constructed a wooden tsunami-proof boat after seeing freak waves devastate Japan in 2011. A lack of boatbuilding experience did little to lessen his enthusiasm – or the scale of his design. As well, we examine sumo’s current crop of Mongolian superstars, learn the secrets of competitive whistlers and ask Robert Crumb to name the comic books that shaped his career.