On 22 February, Tyson Fury ended Deontay Wilder’s five-year reign as WBC heavyweight world champion in Las Vegas. Wilder, unbeaten and making the 11th defence of his title, had already been knocked down twice, before his corner threw in the towel in the seventh round to concede defeat. That Fury would win the most eagerly awaited fight in years was unthinkable a few years ago as he battled the depression, weight gain and despair which seemed to have ended his career.

Behind the mask is his autobiography, but it is far from your typical sports autobiography. Fury has been a professional boxer for 12 years and is unbeaten in 31 fights. In July 2015, he came to prominence when, against the odds, he defeated Wladimir Klitschko to become the undisputed World Heavyweight champion. Following that, he was involved in contractual wrangles and suffered mental health issues, resulting in him not boxing again for two and a half years. He fought Wilder in 2018, and seemed to have won but the jud...

If you bumped into Simon Walker in a bar, you’d never guess the calibre of his adventure CV. Unimposing and modest, you have to really probe to find out that he is a celebrated sailor of the highest ilk. Having sailed the ‘wrong way’ around the world twice, Simon now sails through the sky in his spare time, and his adventures on land, sea and air have taught him things that have set him up for all aspects of his life, including his successful business ventures.

In 1989, Simon Walker was watching British adventurer Sir Chay Blyth on the BBC, talking about a yacht race he was promoting, the BT Global Challenge. A group of twelve 72-foot racing yachts, crewed by ordinary people, would sail around the world ‘the wrong way’, against the prevailing winds, and Blyth was looking for volunteers. Despite the fact it would mean he would be away from home for ten months, would need to raise £30,000 and wasn’t much of a sailor, the race sparked something in Simon. It wasn’t long before he had si...

Jacob Stockdale is a rising star in Irish Rugby. Aged 24, he already has thirty caps to his name, and rugby is in his blood. His father and grandfather played, and he told me: ‘I started playing mini rugby when I was about four or five and I have never stopped playing!’ He progressed from a local club to professional rugby with Ulster. It was all a smooth and easy progression: ‘When I signed for Ulster I went into the academy. In terms of helping people to transition from school into senior rugby, the academy is pretty perfect. You learn how to be a professional athlete, how to gym properly, how to eat properly and that sort of thing. They certainly give you every opportunity so that you’re definitely ready to play senior rugby when the opportunity arises.’

The smooth progression continued when he was given his first cap for Ireland in 2017, in New York of all places. His main memory of the game is a surprising one: ‘The one thing that absolutely stands out is that it was absolutely...

Hailed as a future Hollywood megastar ever since his indie breakthrough – John Boyega’s talents have placed him front and centre in one of the biggest film franchises in history. But the path to fame wasn’t easy, and the young Londoner isn’t one to make exceptions…
 

In John Boyega’s latest and biggest cinematic appearances – as the modern Star Wars trilogy’s Finn – the Peckham-born star plays an Imperial stormtrooper who comes to reject his ideologies and instead joins the freedom-fighter Resistance.

It’s not just that this representation of Boyega appears in a galaxy far, far away. The casting off of beliefs is a concept far, far removed from the 27-year-old actor’s real-life core message. ‘I come from a family that has strong faith, and you realise that life is transient, and nothing is more important than inner peace,’ he smiles. ‘I pray and meditate a lot. Money and fame do not have enough power over me to change my personality.’

In spite of being propelled via the ...

‘It was the worst of times, it was the best of times, it was the winter of despair, it was the spring of hope, it was the season of darkness, it was the season of light.’

With my apologies to Charles Dickens for first daring to plagiarise and then adding insult to injury by rearranging his famous opening line! However, as Rahm Emanuel, the former Major of Chicago, once declared, ‘Never let a serious crisis go to waste… it’s an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.’

COVID-19 has shaken our foundations – and this strange virus has drawn out some of the very worst, but also the very best in humanity.

It has shown us the selfishness of some of our attitudes and behaviours for what they really are.

It has given birth a new generosity of spirit and countless acts of self-sacrifice.

It has left the world’s poorest and most vulnerable least protected, again.

It has demonstrated there are things that matter far more than the pursuit of constant economic g...

Siku is a graphic artist, responsible for the dramatic artwork in books such as the Manga Bible. We asked graphic designer, illustrator and author Ben Mears to find out more.

Who are your inspirers? Who has influenced your creativity and the way your artistry has developed?

I have had the same crop of visual art influencers for all of my professional life, right from the days of art college till now. They tend to serve specific dimensions of visual art for me: Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, although I am really a Michelangelo-acolyte rather than a ‘Da vinci-ite’. I go for Michelangelo for power; he is a muscular painter and sculptor.

Secondly, Moebius (Jean Giraud); conversely, Moebius is not a power but finesse artist. [He’s] the consummate designer with a rare awareness of his artistic sensibility which stretches beyond visual storytelling into what I would describe as ‘total story telling’ (in the sense of ‘total football’).

Thirdly, Simon Bisley. He was a f...

Tom Kerridge is the Wiltshire-born chef best known for television programmes such as Saturday Kitchen, Sunday Brunch and Great British Menu, where he graduated from competitor to judge. He’s chef patron of The Hand and Flowers in Marlow, which is the only UK pub with two Michelin stars – and he’s struggled with his weight, reaching around 30 stone at his heaviest. Now, at least 12 stone lighter, Tom extols the virtues of a healthy lifestyle. The success of his BBC series Lose Weight for Good led to Fresh Start and most recently Lose Weight and Get Fit. With a book of the same name, packed with lower calorie recipes and exercise suggestions, we asked Tom for tips on how we can all shed the pounds for summer…

How difficult was it for you when you first went on a diet?

When I first lost weight I was on a lower carbohydrate diet, and my trigger moments were around roast dinner and freshly baked bread. Those were the things I missed the most, because the lovely smells evoked the feeli...

Major General Paul Nanson CBE serves as Commandant of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and General Officer Commanding Recruiting and Initial Training Command. With more than 30 years spent in the British Army, Nanson has served in the Troubles, the Gulf War, the Bosnian war, the Iraq war, and the war in Afghanistan. His book Stand Up Straight shares the lessons we can all learn from Sandhurst, where officers in the British Army are trained to take on the responsibility of leading their fellow soldiers. We found out more…

What inspired you to join the Army?

I wanted to join the Army from a very early age. I was brought up with a taste for it because our next-door neighbour, when I was very little, had served in WWII, and he regaled me with stories of derring-do. His sons were joining his regiment, so when they came back on leave, I chatted to them about Sandhurst and about being an officer, and it just lit a spark with me. I wanted to go to this amazing place, but I failed my ...

Founder and chairman of national charity Care for the Family, Rob Parsons is also a trained lawyer, an accomplished speaker and a prolific author, whose books have been translated into many languages. His latest book, The heart of communication, tells you everything you need to know 'to really connect with an audience.'

The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle suggested that the art of public speaking is essentially the art of persuasion, and that there are three distinct elements which should be at the heart of every speech: ethos, logos and pathos. Let’s consider them in turn.

Ethos

Ethos is a Greek word meaning ‘character’. In the context of public speaking it answers the question, ‘Is this person worth listening to?’ or ‘What right do they have to give this talk?’ In other words, it refers to your character, ethics and believability. If you speak to the same group of people every week, you probably don’t need to remind them each time why it is ...