Race to the Top

Seems like only yesterday that Race Imboden was a kid.

This video is a great review of his early years (complete with parents' perspective on raising a fencing prodigy). 



It reminds me, when fencing the skinny kids dorking about at our club, that any of them might be whupping my butt in a few years.

My how fast they grow up. I just got back from Dallas where I got to see Imboden take gold in Div 1, beating Alexander Massialis 15-12. 

Besides being a kick-ass fencer, Race has joined the ranks of fencers in professional fashion, along with fellow Olympians Miles Chamley Watson and Tim Morehouse. Frankly, it's hard to sex up a fencing uniform, but here he manages quite well, thank you.

Image by David Needleman on Visual Tales

(Um, Race? Yellow card for no plastron.) 

Here is an interview he did on fencing, and DJing (yet a third vocation) with Models.com.

Photo by Greg Vaughan for models.com

It's been particularly interesting to watch the evolution of his hair, from a relatively straightforward comb-back

Photo from Wikipedia

To sexy tousled mop

By Greg Vaughan for Daily Male Models

To a truly imposing pompadour. 

Photo by Larry Schwarz

Notice how restrained I have been in not describing these shots as "racy."  Whoops, slipped. My bad.

Here is perhaps the only "voyeuristic" art film ever made about fencing (but do please tell me if I'm wrong. And send links.)


Race Imboden: Balancing Act on Nowness.com

In this interview for The Journal Race flaunts his fashion chops in an interesting mix of fencing and street wear. 

(He's just making up for not wearing a plastron in that first shot, right? Right.)

Now Race has started his own blog, Have Foil will Travel, where you can keep up with his thoughts on fencing, fashion and music.  

I've added it to my bookmarks, and look forward to following Race's careers as a fencer, model and disc jockey.