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Talking with Yohan Blake on Richard, Racing, and the Resolve of ‘The Beast’!
[La Bête et la Belle: the “Beast” takes on Richard with the RM059]
At this year’s SIHH Richard debuted the RM059 Yohan Blake. Much speculation preceded this year’s SIHH with what the new Yohan Blake watch would look like. Not the one that was worn at the Olympic Games in the summer (although I will come back to that); no, the one that would be a limited edition and be individual to Yohan Blake, his tastes, his style, his watch. The watch that Blake wore at the Games, and that caused furor, was basically an adapted RM038. I had seen the computer-generated mock-ups of the RM059 back in September 2012, and as seems to happen most of the time at the moment, there was quick dismissal on my part. I remember a similar reaction to the white RM038; but I ended up as a fan and still think it’s a genius watch.
[It was a Yohan Blake/Jamaica themed booth at SIHH in 2013]
But the colour scheme for the RM59 was even more extreme, even more telling and the bridges for the watch resembled the ‘clawing’ action of Blake’s hands before the 100m and 200m finals. But it’s a strange thing, seeing a watch for yourself, and actually wearing it. Only then do you know if it is a watch you would wear, would want. There is no substitute for seeing and feeling the watch for yourself. Trying the watch on, I loved the way it seemed to mold to the wrist, become part of my arm. And as trite as this sounds, a friend of mine said: “It’s the Ben10 watch!” and he’s right! He’s right, not just on the colour, but because of the way the watch seemingly molds to your wrist (just as it does for Ben10).
The man who will actually be wearing it racing, and who influenced the design, was on hand to discuss the watch. It was a genuine pleasure to sit down with Yohan Blake and talk about watches and other areas of life now that he is a Richard Mille ambassador. Yohan Blake, who at the moment is only JUST the second fastest man on the planet (I might add that Yohan was quick to state that he was soon to be the fastest man), is quiet and unassuming and who is truly dedicated to his sport. It was not always the case that Yohan thought he would be a sprinter. Like any self-respecting Jamaican boy, he wanted to be a cricketer, and then perhaps an actor. But he shifted from cricket to athletics after the headmaster of his local school saw the speed of his run-up for bowling and advised him to change. The acting career might yet be, but he found that his sporting talents lay elsewhere: on the athletics track and in the fastest (self-powered) human race on the planet. Yohan was a born racing machine.
[The furor as Yohan Blake entered the Richard Mille booth at SIHH. With Richard Mille and Laurent Picciotto]
Blake found out he was fast, and for his age, faster than any other human on the planet. He still holds the national junior record for 100 metres and is also the youngest sprinter to ever run under the 10-second barrier. Hence, when asked in 2008 who might challenge him, Usain Bolt said that Blake would because: “He works like a beast. He’s there with me step for step in training.” The nickname: the “Beast”, stuck and Yohan Blake has used it to good effect. 
[From left to right: Richard, Yohan, Debbie Gourdon, and Laurent Picciotto]
Yohan came to prominence in winning the 100 metre World Championship title in 2011. He remains the youngest to hold the title as well. Although a certain other Jamaican sprinter was disqualified, Blake proved a point by beating his team-mates at the Jamaican sprint trials in the Olympic year. It is true that Blake has come to form during a ‘Golden Age’ for Jamaican sprinting. Not only do the 3 out of 5 of the world’s top sprinters come from the small Caribbean island, but on current form (and it showed in the 4 x 100m relay final at the Olympic games) they would out run any other county on earth. I asked Yohan whether he thought the squad could go faster and without a moments’ hesitation he answered in the affirmative. 
Racing is what Yohan Blake does and I suppose it was natural that Richard at some point, looking for new arenas in which to compete, would turn to a sprinter to wear one of his watches. That Richard did it in such a dramatic fashion was typical of the man. While timing at the London 2012 Olympic Games may have been exclusively the preserve of Omega, and it was also a requirement of the Games that no athlete was allowed to endorse a brand while the games were being held (and up to three days after), Richard gave Yohan a watch to wear. No advertising or endorsement by Blake. But the Richard Mille watch design is so iconic, it was immediately spotted and the world’s media did the rest. With the toys firmly thrown out of pram, Omega went to the IOC, who complained, but Richard was firmly within the rules and within the bounds of permissible action.
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For the rest of Andrew's report in Richard Mille forum, richardmille.watchprosite.com
