Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2015 - January 2016 i Maxim

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro wakes up every day in a compound of a home in Madrid. A Mercedes, a Bentley, a Lamborghini, and a Rolls-Royce are parked outside. A closet of designer shirts are ready to accentuate his perfectly toned figure. A private jet sits on standby. And he tells himself something that would sound pompous if it weren’t, well, completely true: “I’m the best,” he says to Maxim a few days after he’s won his fourth Golden Shoe, the award for the most prolific goal scorer in Europe. “That I am the best is why I continue to improve. This is why I achieve so many great things.” The world knows him simply as Ronaldo, who wears #7 for Real Madrid. Ronaldo is everything that personifies a great…

There are three reasons you’d need a scope: You’re a hunter, a competitive shooter, or a military sniper. And take it from Corey Clancy, a guy who spent five years as a sniper in the Marines and another six for various government agencies: If you’re just a hunter, don’t go shooting from a mile away, even with the best scope. “Typically, hunters are going to stay within 500 yards of their target,” says Clancy, now lead instructor at the GPS Sniper School in Arizona. Anything longer than that, he says, and you’re unlikely to get that kill shot. Clancy helped vet our selection, which is aimed squarely at hunters. FLIR RS64 Assuming you aren’t a poacher, hunting at night means you’re probably hunting hogs. This thermal scope gives you four…

The plan was to make jack-o’-lanterns. John Tiegen and Mark Geist have brought their families out here, to the scraggly wilds of Tiegen’s 40-acre Colorado property, so the kids can carve pumpkins while the men hunt small game. But the guns prove more appealing to everyone, so the plans converge. “Cover your ears, guys,” Tiegen says as he slaps a 14-round magazine into his NEMO Watchman, the Ferrari of semiautomatic precision rifles. To his right, Geist stares through the scope of his custom AR-15. Then they light up the pumpkins. Orange guts explode. The kids cheer. The men move on to the animals. “Want me to skin that?” Geist asks, pointing to a rabbit with a bullet in its head. Geist’s family settled on the eastern plains more than 100…

Monaco is a beacon of intrigue that will draw you in like the green light that initially drew Jay Gatsby to Long Island Sound. The French Riviera—a.k.a. Côte d’Azur, a name coined by French writer Stéphen Liégeard—runs along the Mediterranean coastline on the southeast corner of France. The jewel in the crown of the French Riviera is the sovereign state of Monaco. The Principality of Monaco is one of the world’s smallest independent states, second only to Vatican City. It is separated into four quarters, the most famous of which is Monte Carlo, founded in 1866 and named after then-ruling Prince Charles III. It’s been ruled by the Grimaldi family since 1297. Monaco is a principality governed under a form of constitutional monarchy, with Prince Albert II as head of…

“Our future lies with the sea,” said Prince Rainier III when the Yacht Club de Monaco (YCM) was born. Half a century later, the quote still applies— because no matter how well-known an institution seems to sailing pros and aficionados, the Yacht Club continues to look toward the future. The YCM has recently moved into its luxurious new home—an instantly iconic building fronted by a glazed atrium, framing Monaco’s sterling coastline. It has a mind-boggling 42,883 square feet of terraces, restaurants, and meeting space. It also serves as a destination and dock for crafts of all kinds, including the überexcellent, luxurious superyachts. One interesting place within the YCM is the Riva Aquarama Lounge. The room was designed to resemble the very essence of a Riva Aquarama, with distinctive elements of…

“Roger Moore is coming!” Danish-Swedish socialite Kristina Tholstrup heard it but didn’t believe it. She’d already been fooled once at the dinner party that night: Someone claimed Sammy Davis Jr. was coming, but they were joking about a house cat named Sammy. Then the door opened and in walked Roger Moore—the man, the legend, still dapper as ever. The two soon fell in love. She lived in Monaco; he wanted to join her. And that’s how Moore came to live in the setting that would glamorize James Bond films. When Sir Roger Moore moved to Monaco, it was when the set they called jet partied all day, all night. Monaco was the playground for the moneyed, the models, and the mavericks. “Now,” he says, “it’s very much my home. There’s…

HUBLOT CLASSIC FUSION CHRONOGRAPH BRACELET Hublot’s Classic Fusion collection is a tribute to the company’s first timepieces—but its updated case materials and exquisite finishing will never go out of style. The rounded case features a bezel attached with exterior screws; the letter H is embedded in the screw heads. And it’s topped off with a sublime opaline dial with rhodium-plated appliqués. ($9,825) CHANEL J12 CHROMATIC Chanel has serious expertise in the world of ceramics, and it shows in its J12 collection. Adding titanium to the ceramic case material provides a level of durability not found in traditional steel watchcases. The result is a beautiful and functional automatic that is extremely scratch resistant and won’t oxidize. ($6,150) “Some brands have been around for centuries but are still pushing the boundaries of…

“The most important aspect of my personality, as far as determining my success goes, has been my questioning conventional wisdom, doubting the experts, and questioning authority. While that can be very painful in relationships with your parents and teachers, it’s enormously useful in life.” —Larry Ellison This is all kind of surreal,” Larry Ellison once told me over lunch. The man has a $48 billion fortune, and is the owner of the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament, an America’s Cup–winning sailing team, the 288-foot superyacht Musashi, an Italian Marchetti jet, a sprawling Japanese-style estate, a large swath of Malibu beachfront property, the Hawaiian island of Lanai, and a Hawaiian airline. “I don’t even believe it now. Not only did I not believe it when I was 14, but when I…

It’s been a good year for Michael Keaton, and it’s about to get better. It started with his Golden Globe win and Oscar nomination for Birdman—his most high-profile and critically acclaimed movie role in more than a decade. And now he’s back with yet another cinematic gem, Spotlight, about the Boston Globe reporters who exposed widespread child sex abuse in the Catholic church. The movie is already getting Oscar buzz. We called Keaton in L.A. to see what he’s planning next. When Pope Francis visited the U.S. in September and spoke publicly about sexual abuse in the church, was there a part of you that hoped he’d throw out a plug for Spotlight? I was holding out for it. I tried to get some Spotlight T-shirts to him. I had…

Ferrari 488 GTB The Ferrari 488 GTB is the first turbocharged production model since the limitedproduction 288 GTO of 1984–86. Ferrari engineers toiled to preserve the company’s signature engine sound, despite the 488’s turbochargers. Numbers don’t lie; the 488’s 3.9-liter twin-turbo V-8 engine makes 661 horsepower, compared to 597 hp for its predecessor, the 458 Speciale. Significantly, the 488 dominates the older model in torque, 561 lb.-ft. versus 398 lb.-ft.…

Gorgeous women dressed to kill, men with dangerous intentions—all gathered together for the best party in the world. Sass is Rick’s Café relocated from Casablanca to Monaco. A new, heightened energy ripples across the patio: Is it Bono taking his favorite spot in the corner of the patio? Is it Brad Pitt, or George Clooney back for another night out? Is it Lady Gaga or Elton John on one of their regular visits? The last time Will Smith was here, he relieved the cabaret singer of her mike and helped the assembled guests to perform an impromptu concert. By the time tonight’s new arrival, Michael Jordan, sits down and lights a cigar, his neighbors have returned to an ebullient equilibrium, talking and table-hopping as per usual. Indeed, if the energy…

Cast your eye over Port Hercule in Monte Carlo, one of the most iconic marinas in the world, and you’ll be instantly struck by the view of large superyachts; it’s a stunning reminder of the type of visitor to the principality and the prestige associated with docking in Monte Carlo. However, the Riva has been the chariot of choice for the great and the glamorous when ferrying about Monte Carlo. The boat is ever-present along the Riviera and an integral part of Monaco’s modern maritime history, but the brand also embodies key elements of the allure of the place, combining history with innovation, style with engineering, artisanal expertise with mass production— a sweetly packaged object of desire that promises la dolce vita. When George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin were married…

1963 Chevrolet Corvette Split-Window Coupe The 1963 Corvette featured the first all-new chassis for America’s Sports Car after the initial car’s debut in 1953. The year marked the arrival of independent rear suspension using a single transverse leaf spring for both rear wheels, a design the Corvette employs today. The sole engine available was the 327 cubic-inch small block V-8, with four different levels of tuning that peaked with the 360-horsepower fuel-injected version. The coupe’s rear window was split by a vertical bar, creating an appearance that evoked aircraft hatches of the day. The next year, the Corvette switched to a conventional single-pane rear window. Slowly, deliberately, she peels off layer after layer of clothing, letting her hands wander across her body. She waits, her pulse quickening, imagining how his…

Master & Dynamic MH40 This striking over-the-ears pair is all about full-day comfort, with buttery-soft lambskin ear cups and exposed stainless-steel articulation that conforms to your head size. $399 Bang & Olufsen BeoPlay H8 How does B&O justify the H8’s price when noise cancellation and Bluetooth can be had for half the money elsewhere? With booming, merciless bass and a design that makes good use of high-end leather and lambskin. $499 HIFIMAN HE-560 With its new planar magnetic driver design, the HE-560 offers the pure, unblemished audio you expect from reference headphones—which aren’t meant to leave the home or studio—but at a noticeable reduction in weight. $899 Break in your new headphones with these tunes, recommended by metal men-in-the-know: David Castillo of Saint Vitus Bar in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, suggests: “Empty…

Cillian Murphy cracks up when I hand him a reeking, hexagonal gift from his native Ireland—a small piece of cheese, as olfactorily challenging as it is oleaginous— called St. Killian (pronounced just like his name). “I fucking love cheese,” he says, delightedly. “Especially when it’s got my name on it. I’ll be eating this tonight with some nice red wine.” I’ve traveled from Ireland to interview the actor in London, where we meet in a rented townhouse. It’s no wonder he’s got food and drink on the brain, considering the starvation diet he underwent as shipwrecked sailor Matthew Joy in Ron Howard’s whaling epic, In the Heart of the Sea, based on the true story that inspired Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick. It’s a remarkable transformation for Murphy, 39, who has lent…

In addition to having one of the greatest names ever, actor Max Martini happens to have one of the greatest faces—handsome, strong, and the kind that can easily disappear into almost any role. He’s made a name for himself playing tough guys, notably in Saving Private Ryan and Pacific Rim, and now he continues the streak with Michael Bay’s 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi. In the movie, Martini portrays Mark “Oz” Geist, one of the security contractors who risked his life defending the diplomatic compound in Libya. “Most men fantasize about being heroic,” the actor says. “I know Hollywood paints me to be a badass, but Mark is the real deal. His bullets were real—mine aren’t.” How did you first get involved in 13 Hours? The opportunity to…