Luta: Brazilian Fight Club

I’ve never been a fan of boxing (I don’t understand the point/attraction of trying to beat someone to a pulp), but I am a fan of Luke Dowdney. In 1995 he was British Universities Light-Middleweight boxing champion and five years later founded Fight for Peace in Rio, an international not-for-profit organisation that aims to bring young people out of poverty, crime, drug dealing and armed violence through boxing, martial arts and education. In 2004, Luke was awarded an MBE by the Queen for “services to the prevention of child exploitation and violence in Brazil”. His latest project is LUTA, a fashion label which gives half of its profits to Fight for Peace, and last week, it launched here in the UK.



LUTA, which means "fight" in Portuguese, is inspired by Rio’s favelas, and it looks good. The collection ranges from technical clothing (for boxing and martial arts) to more fashion-led, streetwear pieces. I particularly like the graphic T-shirts (pictured below). The LUTA logo was inspired by “pixação”, a form of graffiti art native to São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Apparently, many pixação artists compete to paint their designs in the highest and most inaccessible buildings by free climbing or abseiling. Brazilian artists Os Gêmeos are inspired by the technique.



LUTA is an impressive business model, too, with a great transactional website that shows off the product perfectly, provides detailed “frequently asked questions” (which covers everything from sourcing to delivery) and links to its social networking pages and blog. Its first UK stockist is King’s Road Sporting Club in London.
Like so many young entrepreneurs I’ve written about that link Brazil to the UK, Luke does so with a business model that goes beyond personal profits. One of the first posts I wrote was about the Luciana, a handbag created by a Brazilian women’s collective for the charity Bottletop, run by Cameron Saul, the son of the founder of luxury brand Mulberry. My most recent post on FB Collection showed the importance of sustainability behind this Brazilian-British brand. And pretty much every student or young businessman who contacts me for help on projects are concerned with social or environmental issues in Brazil.
Are you involved with any social or environmental projects that link Brazil to the UK, or vice versa? Or do you know of any? I’d love to hear about them.

Fashion and games from the beaches of Brazil

When I was about 10, my sister and I, together with a few of our neighbours, used to play tennis on our cul-de-sac in Bristol. There was no net; we simply used a visible strip of tarmac on the road to divide the two sides and adopted a rather honest – if unscientific – approach to decide when the ball was hit at a level deemed too low (i.e. if it were a real tennis court, the ball would have hit the net). We also didn’t use tennis rackets, at least not to begin with. Instead, we played with Frescobol bats. These are similar to the standard bat and ball people tend to play with on the beach, but they’re sturdier, cooler and slightly heavier – they’re Brazilian. So, it was all a bit nostalgic when I received an email from Harry Brantly, the co-founder of London-based FB Collection, a company that makes Frescobol bats in Brazil and sells them worldwide, including the UK.

Harry was born and brought up in Rio to a Brazilian dad and English mum – they met during Carnival. Since the age of 11, he attended school in the UK, returning to Brazil for holidays. So, like me, he is “bringing Brazil to the UK”. What started as a weekend hobby turned into a full-blown business in 2009, when Harry left his job as a banker to launch FB Collection in earnest with a friend.
Harry said he’d “have to kill me” if he told me where he made the Frescobol bats (so I didn’t push him on it), but he admitted that it was in the north of Brazil. “But we’re selling more than we can produce at the moment, so we’re looking to move production to Curitiba,” he explained. “We’re on track to double sales this year.”
The brand is sold in about 40 stores across the world, including two of my favourites in London – Selfridges and super-cool indie Wolf & Badger in Notting Hill, which is brilliant at nurturing up-and-coming brands.
Like a lot of my favourite types of entrepreneurs, Harry promotes sustainability in his business, making the Frescobol bats from left-over bits of wood originally destined for things like furniture. As a result, each bat is different and beautifully crafted.
Harry’s vision is to create a luxury beach brand, so in addition to Frescobol, the business sells men’s trunks and linen beach towels, with further brand extensions in the pipeline. Like the Frescobol bats, the same attention to detail has gone into the quality and design of the trunks and towels. Harry commissioned Brazilian artist Caio Locke to design the prints for next year’s swimming trunks. “Rather than just sitting in a studio drawing dolphins, he travelled to Rio to be inspired by the Carioca scene,” Harry said.
Anyone for Frescobol?

Living in São Paulo

I’ve recently been asked where the best neighbourhoods to live are in São Paulo and how to go about finding rental accommodation there. So I thought I’d share my findings with everyone, in case anyone else was looking for advice.

If you’re going to live in São Paulo, for whatever period of time, the two most important factors to consider when looking for accommodation is its proximity to work and to a metro station. Traffic can be truly horrific in São Paulo and a 20 minute journey can quickly turn into two hours. But unlike London, there aren’t metro stations all over the city.
Some of the best areas to live in, according to friends and colleagues who live in São Paulo, are:

Jardins – a wealthy residential neighbourhood that also houses some of the city’s most expensive and fashionable restaurants and shops. If you can afford to live there, do. It’s chic and safe.

Itaim Bibi – a mixed commercial and residential district, Itaim Bibi has also become an elite night-time hang out, according to Wallpaper Magazine’s city guide. You’d feel pretty safe walking around there at night.

Pinheiros – one of São Paulo’s up-and-coming districts, Pinheiros also houses both commercial and residential outfits and is a great place for socialising. Like Itaim Bibi, you’d feel safe there.

Moema/Campo Belo – a residential neigbourhood in the centre/south of São Paulo, it has a useful website, which includes rental information.

Frustratingly, renting in São Paulo – particularly on a short term basis – can be difficult and one friend described the system as “archaic”. But, she says there is a really great alternative called “apart-hotéis”, a sort of hotel-cum-apartment where the flats are serviced with different facilities, including gyms and swimming pools. There are plenty of these apart-hotéis in the neighbourhoods listed above, for all different budgets. A quick Google search will bring up lots of options.

Do you live in São Paulo or know the city and can offer advice? Where you would recommend someone to live?

An English girl in Brazil

She might miss a decent cup of tea if she were to leave the UK for Brazil forever, but London-based Lindsay Stocker fell in love with the country after her recent trip to Salvador (for carnival), Morro de São Paulo and Rio. Sounds like the Brazilian boys fell in love with her too… Here’s what Lindsay had to say about her trip.

What made you decide to go on holiday to Brazil?
Brazil has always been one of those places that I was pretty sure had to be seen to be believed...throw carnival into the mix and I seriously wasn't wrong.

Where did you go?
Because we were just going for a holiday (rather than travelling) we wanted to mix a bit of relaxing beach time with sightseeing and the famous carnival. A bit of a mean feat but we started in Morro de São Paulo (one of five villages on the island of Tinharé in Bahia), hit carnival in Salvador and then went to town on the sightseeing in Rio.

What did you think of it?
The three were VERY different places. Morro was an absolutely beautiful, relaxing sleepy little island. We had been told some horror stories about Brazil in general and how to keep safe but this really was a very safe and touristy little place. Absolutely gorgeous.
For Salvador, the only word I can use to describe it is INSANE! I couldn't tell you what it is normally like but for the week of Carnival it is absolutely electric everywhere you go! I'm talking about Baha really; Pelourinho had a much more old town vibe and almost felt European - it was a lovely little place and although still mad, was a nice place to go to take a little bit of a step back. I have never been so scared, excited, amazed and shocked in all my life!
This continued through to Rio. Unfortunately we weren't there for long enough but what I saw, I loved. Whereas in Salvador, it felt a bit more scary as the rich/poor, safe/dangerous areas were all mixed up together, in Rio it was much easier to navigate your way to the safer areas –unless you include the ridiculous amounts of shopping in Rio in the dangerous area category…

What were the highlights and lowlights?
The highlight was just being in Brazil. Seeing Christ the Redeemer in Rio was amazing, but the absolute highlight was being in a “Bloco” (samba band) in Carnival. Dancing with the float until I actually wore through my shoes absolutely couldn't be beaten!

Did you see and do any Samba?
Yes. Samba can be a little bit daunting as I am convinced that the Brazilians have very different hips to us...mine sure don't move like that! Saying that, they love a tryer and it is so much fun you have to fully embrace it.

What was your favourite part of the trip?
Samba Samba Samba!

If you were to live in Brazil, what would you miss about the UK?
I'd miss my family and friends more than anything but if I was to live in Rio, I'm not sure there would be a lot missing from there. It seemed to be a bit like London so I reckon you could stumble across most things you need there. A good cup of tea might be hard to find?!

What did you eat and drink there?
Unfortunately one of the girls I was with was a vegetarian so that ruled out the major meat buffets but we had things from the beach, like the cheese they sell which some of us actually began to crave (so good, a bit like haloumi but better!), a very nice bit of sushi and good seafood (on Morro).

What did you think of the Brazilians?
Brazilians on the whole were the friendliest people. Sometimes too friendly ;-)

What were some of the main cultural differences between Brazil and the UK?
This goes back to the previous answer… let's just say, especially during carnival time, the Brazilians are not backwards in coming forward! Some of the matrix/dance moves we pulled out the bag to avoid those situations were legendary!

If you were to go again, what would you do differently?
I'd spend longer in Rio and I'd like to see Salvador when it isn't Carnival...it arrives with a bang and there is no escaping it.

What would your advice be to other tourists who want to visit the area?
Keep your wits about you but don't let all the scary stories make you paranoid. Don't take anything out that you don't want to lose (during Carnival at least). I think we were too on edge at times so just enjoy all the happiness that comes with being in Brazil!

If you could describe Brazil in three words, what would they be?
Fun, Flirty and Frenzy.

Which other parts of Brazil would you like to visit?
I'd love to go to Florianopolis purely because everyone has told me that if I liked Rio and Salvador, I will love it there.

Have you been to different parts of Brazil? What did you think? Are there any areas you'd like to know more about?