For those unfamiliar, what is the Hydroflyer — and how does it redefine the water sports experience?

The Hydroflyer is an electric hydrofoil personal watercraft that I often explain as being a cross between an efoil and a jet ski.

It uses an electric motor and a hydrofoil wing to lift out of the water and fly smoothly above the surface. When a look of confusion comes over their face, I usually pull up thehydroflyer.com and show them, as a picture or video does a much better job than I can.

Where did the original idea for the Hydroflyer come from, and what problem were you aiming to solve in the market?

The original idea for Hydroflyer started as a passion project of mine. I saw someone foiling in a magazine and immediately knew I needed to do this, and started building my own foils and later electric foiling surfboards.

I kept trying to make these boards smaller and lighter, but I found that the weight of the batteries, motors, and computers made them feel heavy for something I was controlling with just my feet.

I grew up on dirt bikes, snowmobiles and used to race mountain bikes competitively, so the idea of a switch to a “handlebar-based set-up” for more control made a lot of sense to me, and I built the original prototype from an old bike frame. The first day I got it working, I immediately new this was a whole new sport and to me it was better in every way.  

Hydrofoiling is a rapidly growing category — what makes the Hydroflyer stand out from traditional e-foils or boards?

Unlike other eFoils on the market, the Hydroflyer was built from the ground up to be ridden like a bike or motorcycle.

The internal structure of the board needed to be much stronger to handle the extra force that could be applied. The board shape was refined to give a seamless transition of coming on and off foil, and a dual antenna system was developed to keep the rider in control at all times.

How did you approach designing a product that feels both futuristic and intuitive for new users?

From there, the next step was to make it adjustable and user-friendly so everyone could set it up to their liking. Coming from a mountain biking background, I knew how important handlebar setup was and how different some people like it.

People also like to ride in different styles, so it was crucial to have a craft that could be adjusted to the rider’s preferences with an upper mast that moves forward and back, adjustable shims and multiple power levels that allow you to ride in a casual way or a very sporty way.

What were some of the biggest technical or engineering challenges in developing the Hydroflyer, and how did your team overcome them? 

Salt water is probably one of the most challenging environments to make a device for, so this was always at the forefront of design challenges.

Having something that both heats up and cools down in the water accentuates this problem, so the first principle was triple redundancy on all waterproofing solutions. Take, for instance, the computer on the Hydroflyer. This starts off as a water-resistant piece, is then potted in a waterproof material hidden inside a waterproof compartment with double layers of waterproof gaskets, and then sealed again from the outside.

From a business standpoint, what has been your go-to-market strategy — and how has the market responded so far?

Our original go-to-market strategy was to follow the Tesla model of releasing a high-end premium product to early adopters while we work towards a mass market model. Hydroflyer 1.0 is full carbon fiber and titanium – a top-of-the-line craft that people love but definitely isn’t in everyone’s budget.

Innovation is often about timing — why do you think now is the right time for a product like the Hydroflyer to take off?

I totally agree with the timing part, and to be honest, I think people were not ready for the Hydroflyer when we launched, and lots of people saw the handlebar-focused craft as a learning tool and not the performance machine it was.

It’s only after a couple of years of media and press that people are now seeing the advantages of the Hydroflyer.

How do you see the Hydroflyer changing the landscape of leisure, luxury, and marine tourism industries globally?

Hydroflyer 1.0 enables everyone to learn to foil safely without the fear of injury. It’s an excellent device for rental centres or anyone who enjoys spending time on the water. Our guiding principle, however, is to become the personal watercraft of the future. 

Future Hydroflyers will allow someone with zero experience to hop on and glide across the water for the first time without ever getting wet. This will introduce a micromobility aspect to all waterways, just as electric scooters have transformed city transportation.

What types of customers or communities have most embraced the Hydroflyer, and were there any surprises there?

Resorts like Club Med have been a great place to explore the Hydroflyer, as it lets guests experience learning to foil without the typical dangers associated with a regular eFoil. 

As a CEO, what’s your long-term vision for the brand — is the Hydroflyer the start of a broader lifestyle or product ecosystem?

The plan is to build Hydroflyer into an ecosystem of products. We will always have the high-performance, recreational product as part of it, but future products will be micromobility solutions for people to navigate waterways, autonomous last-mile delivery devices and tools that parties like the Coast Guard can use to explore the coast. 

Sustainability is a growing priority for consumers. How does the Hydroflyer align with that shift in values?

Sustainability has always been foundational to Hydroflyer, and we see it as a clean, quiet and green alternative to the traditional jet ski. 

Lastly, if you could sum up the Hydroflyer experience in one sentence, what would it be — and why should our readers try it for themselves?

Riding a Hydroflyer is my favourite thing in the world, it’s exciting and rewarding whether you’re getting on it for the first time or the thousandth time! 

The Hydroflyer is undoubtedly going places, and you’ll likely see one on a beach near you very soon and maybe even in a future James Bond flick one day. You can keep up with all of their news and updates by following their social channels below.

• Instagram
• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• TikTok
• YouTube

Craig Peterson

The post CRISP. Talks – Interview with Jerry McArthur, CEO of The Hydroflyer appeared first on CRISP..

Daniel Suárez is a Film Director from the Canary Islands and has been using GoPro cameras for his work for many years. He’s currently working his dream job, traveling the world to find the most beautiful places and creating content to share with the world. After winning an international video contest in 2019, he’s made a living from his trips and the content he creates with his GoPro cameras.

Which feature/setting do you use the most, and why?

GoPro cameras have many amazing features and settings, but the ones that I use the most for taking pictures are: Time Lapse in 0.5s, Photo Mode, Time Lapse 0.5s

It allows me to take multiple pictures (from 10- 100s) and then I can pick the best one later on. You get a super-smooth playback since you are capturing every moment of the event in action. You don’t miss a thing and the results are truly incredible.

What is your favourite way to capture content?

As a content creator, I’ve always been fascinated with how the camera can help to expand our vision and freeze a moment in time. However, today’s cameras can do far more than that! They can capture a long sequence of ‘moments’ that would be difficult for the human eye to really notice.

I’m always looking for real moments. The feelings. The emotions. Real-time, fresh and genuine content – I need to feel something when I see my content. As an artist, it is very important to me to make people feel something about my work. I want them to feel that they could literally be there because the content is so good. The ultimate goal is to create a connection between the audience and the photo/video. Because of this, I mostly feature a human figure in almost all of my content (photo/video) to help to create that feeling, so viewers can really see that it could be them. 

What sport/activity do you use your GoPro gear for most?

I mainly use my GoPro for capturing content whilst travelling and exploring underwater. 

For your sport/activity, do you have any top tips for the best settings to use to capture epic photos?

The image quality on a GoPro is excellent for brightly-lit outdoor shots.

Tips for the best settings:

• Always wipe your lens.
• Always shoot in natural colour – this is the absolute BEST for me.
• I like to shoot in Vertical Mode (9:16). As we’re consuming content 24/7 in vertical mode on socials it’s easier and faster to connect with your audience, you share more information and insight this way. 

If you also add some equipment to your GoPro it allows you to take epic shots from the right angles. For example: using the 3-Way or El Grande Mount to get more in your frame.

For those starting with their first GoPro, what would be your number 1 photography tip for getting the best content?

I read somewhere long ago: “The best camera is the one with you.” Users need to follow their instincts and take risks – they really need to go for it! If you already have an idea in your mind or you’ve always wanted to do something different, just do it. When you see the final result in front of you and it’s better than you ever expected, you’ll be super pleased that you did. Of course, this doesn’t happen everyday but the more you try the better results you have.

Try to get close to the action. Try to make creative compositions and be an early bird. Some of my best shots of my entire career were taken very early in the morning – that’s definitely something to take into account.

Susan Thomas

The post CRISP. Talks : Photographer and Director, Daniel Suarez appeared first on CRISP..

Nice to meet you both! Can you tell our readers a little more about your business?

Antioxi is a marketplace that brings the most well documented and researched adaptogenic mushrooms and superfoods to people.

Our core values are to ensure our products have sufficient scientific evidence to back their claims, have been farmed in a sustainable manner and have been lab-tested to provide both assurance and transparency behind our processes.

It may be better to start from the top, could you tell us a bit about your background and how you both started Antioxi?

Our passion for entrepreneurship has been seeded from our distaste for the transparency within the food and health market. Not understanding the hieroglyphics written on food labels, the daily change of health trends and the transparency behind the quality of food items.

It turns out that in this world we thought to be ruled by lines of black and white, it is actually overshadowed in a system reading a 50 shades of grey novel. Point is, there is a lot of room to confuse us, customers, in thinking that what we are buying is “good” for us.

And BAAM! Antioxi was born.

After years of researching the scientific principles underpinning our understanding of health, it became vividly clear to us that there are some powerful foods found around the world that should form a part of our daily lives. Adaptogenic mushrooms being one of them.

So all that was left is to ensure that our products matched our core values:

Quality – ensuring the products meet the desired specifications of those used in clinical trials

Sustainable – ensuring our methods of manufacture are scalable and being sustainable

Transparent – by educating and providing evidence (lab tests) of our products and processes

For those just getting into Fungi, where would be a good place to learn about them?

The best introduction I can find to date is the new Netflix documentary “fantastic fungi”. It provides such a great overview of this wonderfully overlooked species inhabiting our earth.

From there the sky’s the limit to be honest, one can keep things high level and understand which mushrooms provide which benefit or you can go as deep as actually reading the clinical trials, which will make the hairs on your arm stand up!

Funny story, every copywriter or content creator we have worked with, after doing their research into mushrooms for our business, have turned into customers. Honestly, the clinical research speaks for itself…

What’s your perception of the Fungi market at the moment, do you think awareness is growing?

Oh heck yeah. From celebs, podcasts (Joe Rogan), Netflix people are starting to see the light. Daniela says I am a tad dramatic as I write this, but I do have a knack for the theatrical.

That being said, if we set the main media aside for a second, the real shift in awareness has been anecdotally by people who take these mushrooms. When you have a friend or loved one who has been struggling with an illness for some time and they start to see health improvements, well one can’t help but take notice…

We actually watched “Fantastic Fungi” on Netflix and follow Paul Stamets’teachings, what was your thoughts on that movie, did it represent the Fungi movement well?

Oh yeah, Paul is an OG (Original Gangster) of mycology. Well sort of an OG, the real OG’s existed almost 2000 years ago as seen in their documentation of plants and mushrooms and their perceived cures for various illnesses.

Either way, the clear message that we hope people take away is a logical one, much of our atmosphere is actually made up of fungal spores and you have been interacting with these spores since the day you’ve been born. In fact, the Gutenberg institute determined that with each breath you take, you inhale between 1-10 of these aforementioned spores. Crazy thought actually…

Therefore, through the various years of research, it has become clear that our body is hardwired to respond to the compounds present in the various mushrooms. Each response being different:

Turkey tail – Beta D Glucan compounds -> C-type lectin receptors -> improves the immune system

Lions Mane–> Hericenones and Erinacines -> nerve growth factor -> improves memory loss/Alzheimer’s

Hope that makes sense?

What are the benefits of taking mushrooms and how often should one take them?

This is a bit of a tricky one to answer, as each mushroom is so unique in the benefits it offers.

You’re looking at benefits ranging from immune health balance to balancing energy levels, assisting with anxiety, focus, concentration… the list goes on 🙂

Just like a multivitamin, mushrooms should be taken daily to really consistently benefit from them.

What’s different about your Fungi vs others on the market?

The difference lies within our blend of transparency, customer service and quality.

When you buy one of our products you can rely on the fact that you are buying quality that is in line with the clinical research that has been done on that product.

You also have the evidence at your fingertips in terms of lab reports available to you and if you need any help deciding we have our very own customer happiness department dedicated to ensuring you get exactly what you need.

Don’t believe us? Ask the customer for whom we Ubered a product to the airport for so that she could get it in time for her flight to Ecuador to give it to her ill father.

We genuinely care and are interested in helping our customers.

Can you tell us a bit about how some mushrooms differ from others?

Yes, this is a great question as it is 2 fold:

The production/manufacturing process

Mushroom quality differs based on the farming methods (organic, wild-grown, rice grown), use of the fruiting body or mycelium (this is the part of the mushroom), the extraction method (water vs ethanol vs dual extraction)

These are just a few of many but we have highlighted them as these are the fundamentals we want our customers to consider when making an educated choice.

The actual mushroom itself

Each mushroom has different compounds that provide different health benefits. Lion’s mane for example is famous for its components Hericenones and Erinacines (the components that promote its cognitive health abilities). Reishi’s true magic lies in the triterpenoids, Turkey tail PSK and PSP (both of which have been extensively studied in clinical trials for cancer) etc…

Don’t you just love how beautifully complicated mushrooms are?

What is the difference between taking a complex 8 mushroom vs say individuals mushrooms as powders?

The question follows the same premise as standing in a pharmacy looking at a multivitamin vs iron tablets. Are you looking for great coverage or are you looking to treat an iron deficiency?

The answer is both, get both 😉

Lastly, is it pronounced “Fun-J-eye” or “Fun-Guy”?

There is no hard rule for this one.

In fact, we both pronounce it differently – Daniela likes to call them fung-i, whereas I believe the correct term is “mushies.”

You can find out more information about Antioxi and buy all of their products directly from their website by clicking here

Follow Antioxi on Instagram here : https://www.instagram.com/antioxi.uk/

Carmen Adkins

The post CRISP. Talks : Marko Grensemann and Daniela Vogl, Co-founders of Antioxi appeared first on CRISP..

Let’s go right back to the beginning, as big fans of your product we’re really fascinated to know more about the journey. What were you doing before you started BootBuddy?

Before BootBuddy, I was at primary school where I spent most of my time playing sports with football being the one which I dedicated most of my time to.

How did the idea come about?

As a keen footballer I would train 3-4 times a week and have a game on the weekend when the season ran. I would always be training or playing matches on muddy pitches and never had clean boots! No matter how hard I tried to keep my boots clean for the next match, I was never able to keep up. I always found myself having mucky boots and so I would end up frantically cleaning them the night before Sunday matches.

This problem of always having muddy boots made me think there had to be an easier and quicker way to clean my boots. This is when I sat down and thought about what is needed to clean muddy boots and shoes in general.

The first element was a brush to scrub your boots and shoes with, and the second element was water to help wash any mud away. The third and final element was a plastic knife to remove large clumps of mud which would later become the tail shaped scraper on the back of the BootBuddy. Once I realised that the combination of these three elements helped speed up the process of cleaning boots and muddy shoes the BootBuddy was born.

Here at CRISP. We’re big fans of simplicity and design, how many attempts did you have at getting this design just right.

Getting the design of the BootBuddy just right took a few attempts. Once the final BootBuddy design was chosen I had the help of a family friend who works with 3D prototyping; they created a 3D printout which helped us nail down a design. Even now, with any new products we launch, it takes time to get the design just right.

We’re intrigued to know, what did the original design look like?

The original design of the BootBuddy was a smaller water bottle which had a dishwashing brush taped to the side and a plastic knife taped to the back end of the bottle.

Can you tell us a bit of the process from taking this to idea to a concept? What was the hardest part between the idea and having a prototype made?

I started off with concept drawings that I showed to our family friend who specialises in 3D prototyping. Once we had our printout, we researched manufacturers and spoke to a vast range of companies until we found one which best suited BootBuddy. The hardest part was having the confidence that the design I had chosen was the correct one as at that stage, you don’t know how it will perform until it is brought to life.

How did the opportunity to go on dragons den come about?

We got a phone call out of the blue one morning from someone who claimed to be from Dragons Den, and we thought someone was playing a prank on us. But it turned out to be true and I have to say that at first, the process felt surreal as there were multiple auditions and preshow checks before going into the Den. I think the moment we realised we were really going to pitch to the dragons was when we were in the famous lift waiting to enter the den!

Did you have a game plan in mind or a particular dragon you wanted to work with before you went in?

We hadn’t gone in with a specific game plan. The main thing we focused on was making sure we knew the numbers, remembered all the USPs of the BootBuddy and to make sure we kept our cool! In terms of the Dragons there wasn’t an outright favourite as we could see how much value each Dragon brought to the table.

Was there a particular moment when you realised BootBuddy was a success?

We measure success through how many lives we change. Right at the start of our journey two stories, in particular, stand out to me.

The first was when I was out in our local park and noticed that some of the boys and girls who were playing football were cleaning their boots at the side of the pitch using a BootBuddy. The second story was when a customer had written into us explaining how she used the BootBuddy not only to clean her shoes after a family walk, but she also used the BootBuddy to clean the wheels of her child’s wheelchair. Previously she wasn’t able to go out on these walks with her child as the wheels were too tricky to clean but the BootBuddy offered a portable solution to this problem! This story really meant a lot not just to me but the whole team as BootBuddy was not just a product to offer convenience to its users but in this case to promote the whole family going out together and creating new memories.

What does your day-to-day look like now you’re across multiple retailers?

The day to day working with retailers can be stressful but that tends to be when organising the transportation of stock from us to different retailers, this is mainly due to the fact that each retailer has their own requirements for delivery so it can sometimes be tricky but thankfully we have a team who knows what each retailer requires.

What effect has the Pandemic had on your business if any?

The pandemic has allowed us to reach a new audience of consumers that may not have considered the BootBuddy pre-pandemic. This audience mainly consists of people that use their BootBuddy for activities other than shoe cleaning.

What is next for BootBuddy and what is next for you?

BootBuddy will be looking to widen its product offering and move into new territories. We have exciting plans to launch a new product that will join the BootBuddy family before April this year.

For myself, I will be finishing off my university degree as I am currently in my 2^nd year and then I’ll be looking to start a few more businesses in the future!

What advice would you give young budding entrepreneurs?

To simply throw yourself into a new project and give it your all as the best way to learn is to try new things and even fail! From personal experience, the failures always offer new knowledge on how to tackle tasks. Another thing to do is ask for advice, I think that entrepreneurs are often shown to be these independent workers, but this often isn’t the case. Boot buddy is a key example of this as without our team we wouldn’t be able to carry out tasks efficiently, for example, asking a family friend to help with a 3D prototype led to us having the confidence to push the BootBuddy not just as a product but as the brand that we see today.

I’d also urge them to continue to innovate and find ways to further improve their existing idea. For example, BootBuddy began with only 1 product but now we have different colours, sprays and new products in the pipeline.

Outside of work, how do you like to wind down and relax?

Before the current times, I would enjoy going out to see friends and family however this has changed. I now find myself further pursuing my hobbies, one of them being watches. This would involve further learning how to take a watch apart and put it back together or collecting watches for special occasions which hold many different memories and stories.

If there was one other innovative product over the past 5 years you would have wished to call your own, what would it be?

I would have to say peloton.

You can watch Arminder and his family in the Den below. Well done to you all!

Boot Buddy 2.0 - The Original

$18.99

BUY NOW

Bootbuddy.com

The evolution of the Original Shoe Cleaner From Dragons' Den.

A must-have item for anyone playing sports such as Football, Golf, Rugby or who loves the great outdoors and hiking.

A complete shoe care solution using minimal effort, water and time.

Carmen Adkins

The post CRISP. Talks : Arminder Dhillon, Founder of BootBuddy® appeared first on CRISP..

Tell us a bit about yourself!

I’m a creative soul. As far back as I can remember I have always been interested in making things, crafting and using my hands to create something from scratch.

From making paper flowers when I was nine to making clay vases in my early teens. More recently, I’ve been enjoying doing DIY for some larger projects around the house, like a coffee table and a floor-to-ceiling window mirror.

I’m inspired by being creative and it brings me so much joy. And of course, I love flowers, orchids in particular. It made so much sense to unite my love for crafting and orchids and, voilà, The Orchid Muse was born.

How did you discover your talent for flower arranging?

It was really a natural transition borne through my love for home décor. I enjoy creating things and in the summer of 2020, in the middle of the pandemic which has changed life as we know it, I had the idea to create my own orchid centrepiece for a decorative focal point for my dining table.

Not only was it so much fun to create, but it turned out so beautiful and garnered so much interest from friends and family that I was inspired to try my hand at recreating it to market. Mixing business with something I enjoy doing is a dream come true, and doing something so creative is a complete 180 from my analytical job in Financial Services.

What is it about the orchid as a flower that’s so compelling to you?

Fresh orchids are absolutely magnificent. Even with my centrepieces comprising artificial stems, they still look so lifelike.

Their beauty isn’t lost in their faux form. The shape of the stems also makes them versatile. This lends itself to being easily manipulated into the various beautiful and unique arrangements for my centrepieces.

Do you have a signature style?

When it comes to my flagship pieces, more is definitely more!

Constructing my centrepieces with an abundance of orchid stems and a fusion of foliage and succulents makes for a very opulent arrangement. I have just launched a new Exquisite Collection which will be made to order. These centrepieces are bold and luxurious with a hint of whimsy for that unique touch.

What’s the most elaborate arrangement that you’ve made?

My creativity is ever leading me to new designs.

But I find when I arrange the stems in a way that is deliberately unusual to how they might grow in the wild makes for a most elaborate and striking centrepiece. Embellishing the vase lavishly with fern leaves, a string of pearls or moss rocks adds to that luxury aesthetic.

What’s lockdown been like for you?

I think like most people it initially took a while to adapt to lockdown life. I found myself with a lot of spare time and not necessarily being as productive as I could be to begin with.

But I soon embraced the new norm of being at home all the time. From there I pushed myself and decided to use that time to work on little creative projects to lift my spirits.

Essentially, the lockdown lent itself to developing my creativity and pushing the boundaries of what I could do with vast amounts of free time when I put my mind to it. In addition to starting The Orchid Muse, I have been enjoying doing some mini creative DIY projects in the house. I honestly feel so blessed that I am in a position to make the most of the standstill brought about by the lockdown.

What’s a ‘faux’ orchid made from?

I source only high quality, real touch stems which aesthetically speaking are made to mirror fresh orchids.

Without getting too technical, the flowers are made from a woven silk fabric which are wonderfully smooth. The innermost part of the petals – usually mottled in colour – are also made from fabric.

The inside of the stems are reinforced with wire to ensure they stand upright, yet are malleable enough to twist and turn into the perfect arrangement. This all makes for a robust flower that ensure the longevity of my centrepieces. Unlike live orchids, the worry of the petals eventually falling off are not a concern!

Have you always been inspired by home decor?

Absolutely. Growing up I was always so excited to watch home makeover shows and interior design is still a huge passion of mine.

Watching a home renovated into a truly beautiful yet functional space really fed my budding passion for home decor. More importantly, I remember the impact the transformation had on the guests on the show.

How they felt walking into that new space, drawing positive energy from the beautiful surroundings was so strongly conveyed across the screen and it really spoke to me.

With that in mind, I create my pieces with the intention that they become a focal point in a room, drawing your eyes in and enticing you in, thereby making your space more inviting. My aim is for my centrepieces to curate happiness in the homes they live in.

Whose home would you love to furnish with an arrangement?

It would undoubtedly be Kamala Harris. Knowing one of my pieces is furnishing the home – or even office – of the first female vice president of the United States and the first woman of colour to hold that position would be an incredible honour!

I couldn’t think of anyone who better represents such a powerful symbol of hope and change to a lot of people today. Sadly, I know given her status she is not allowed to accept gifts so that will have to remain an unattainable dream!

What are your plans for the brand moving forwards?

I would love to collaborate with a luxury homewares retailer to launch a limited collection. I’m not in a volume business and my centrepieces are not mass-produced. Each centrepiece is hand created to perfection, no matter how long it takes.

I want my centrepieces to feel special to its owner so having a limited collection reinforces that, whilst partnering with an established retailer to make the orchids more accessible can help my long term goals for growth.

But for now, I’m happy with the exposure I’m receiving through social media since launching my Instagram and more recently my website. At the end of the day, I’m ready to put in the work to grow The Orchid Muse and I’m excited for the journey ahead, whatever it entails.

Check out more about the Orchid Muse at her website, check out the latest arrangements on Instagram! 

Max Boker

The post CRISP. Talks – Annie Ifeonye of The Orchid Muse Talks Crafting Luxury Centrepieces, The Power of Faux Flowers appeared first on CRISP..

Hi Winston, thanks so much for taking the time to speak to us today. Thought we’d start with a broad one, what sets the Mate 40 apart from competitors in the space?

It’s a good question. I think it’s a couple of things, and I think actually it’s a testament to the devices that have gone before that actually the Mate 40 was quite a tough device to bring out.

We’ve introduced super-charging in the Mates over the years, we’ve introduced incredible night photography so thinking back to the Mate 20, when we grow that in the way we integrate AI and the way that created the night mode…it just kind of blew everyone away.

And actually, it’s good because the industry has responded and now a lot of people have a ‘night mode’ and a lot of people have supercharging, and that’s okay, we’re here to move the industry on a bit.

So in terms of still photography, I’m not going to say we’ve […] come to the zenith of smartphone photography, but it’s pretty good, and I think it’s good enough for most people to use as their everyday camera already – so some of the optimisations we’ve made are pretty good, but video was the thing that for us was an opportunity, something that we’re all using more and more. 

So we just did our first Tiktok campaign, which was weird and wonderful and we enjoyed it, but it’s not just TikTok.

It’s Instagram Stories, it’s Snapchat, and actually it’s not just about sharing the great photo of your breakfast, it’s about – particularly at the moment – “what are you doing?”

What do you want to do? What is your fitness routine, what’s your exercise? What are you seeing out of your window – all of the small things you can see in video, you can convey a lot better, so video was the big focus, and that’s where – if people are living their lives and […] showing the world their life through video, we had to work on it.

So we did a huge amount of work on it, […] and now bringing in this nice kind of integration, the synchronicity of…we’ve had beautiful optics for years, Leica for four years now, the optics are amazing, but actually, it is partnering that with the AI to do things like the tracking shots, image stabilization, the AIS and OIS working together in there, that becomes really exciting to see. 

And then, behind that, the power is of the chipset, so…it’s a pretty powerful piece of kit, again, we’ve been investing a huge amount in developing that Kirin chipset for 10 years, they’re certainly in recent years, the Kirin chipsets have gone beyond where the rest of the industry is, this latest one obviously is beyond where the competition is now, even on the 5nm wafer.

That innovation is incredible, so that gives us the ability and the confidence to push out the rest of the innovation further. So yeah, we’re pretty excited about it.

And the Mate series has always been where the innovation lay in Huawei releases, does this continue with the Mate 40 / Pro?

Yeah, it really does. And it’s really interesting, obviously, before this year, I’d go to China three or four times a year, and you’d see just a different perspective over there of what Huawei does.

JD is a big online retailer, they’ve just sold 100 million devices, they tell us they’ve just done a big light show about it with drones, and so it makes the big deal there.

Here [in the UK], it’s kind of a bit more…P and Mate, similar sort of price point and the same sort of innovation, but actually for the wider business, because we always introduce that Kirin chipset innovation, generally just before at IFA…which we haven’t been able to do this year, but it’s still an incredibly popular release.

The display – can you talk a little bit about that? That screen-to-body ratio is becoming quite ridiculous…

Yeah, it’s getting big, but it’s interesting, again, it’s putting it in context of the Mate Series and also the industry – so we started bringing in the curved display a number of generations ago on the Mate 20, on the Mate 30 Pro, which I know didn’t introduce here until a bit later, […] but the screen on that almost felt like it kind of curved off the edges around the back, incredibly immersive but that also was a bit weird in terms of functionality […] so it was a beautiful thing to look at, but..the actual usability was tricky. 

So I think we found the perfect balance with this now, and I think 88% [screen-to-body ratio] is down a little bit from where it was. You still use everything fine, it works beautifully as well as the gesture control, that’s a big thing with it.

So it’s just, again, small innovations, but just kind of tweaking and perfecting where we can get the model to.

How important do you feel that 5G is today to consumers, and going to be moving forward?

I think it’s interesting, I think there was so much hype about 5G and we almost did ourselves a disservice a little bit because we made it become something in consumers’ minds, it’s almost something more than what it is, which is just really fast mobile telecommunication.

So it’s become the buzzword or all sorts of stuff that is obviously nothing to do with the basic functionality of just using the phone really well. 

I think actually, the truth will be when we get…as we saw with 4G and 3G is when you get that critical mass of early adopters on board, and then they start to do just the very simple thing of just showing their mates […] and that’s when it becomes quite interesting and it’s not far off.

Pretty much every device we released this year has been 5G. Obviously, from next year, the same will be the case. The experience is pretty good. It works great.

I think it’s just going to take that little bit of time to get consumers up to speed and just really working at what they need it for.

The other factor that’s going to accelerate it is lockdown because I find it difficult working from home, but […] if you’ve got five of you in a shared house all sharing in the same Wi-Fi hotspot, that’s pretty miserable.

So actually with 5G coming on board, I’ve been away for different parts of this year and just used 5G because WiFi’s rubbish, I say we’ll see that a lot more.

Do you still have that support from the networks?

Yeah, we do, and […] it’s been really interesting this year because we brought the P40 in, and actually we had a couple of networks on board at launch, but some of the others were struggling a bit and there they weren’t quite convinced about HMS and about the App Gallery and about how this would work, and some of the networks are really cautious and that’s just the way they are. 

Some of those guys then saw what we brought in – things like Petal Search in particular helped – just the simplicity of just to be able to go into one thing and get what you need. 

That was important for them, and then after six weeks to two months we had all the networks on board with P Series, and then actually they all started to see that people get it, particularly early adopters.

So when we started talking to the networks about Mate 40, they pretty much just said, “Look, we’re in. That’s good.” We started pre-order with a couple of them, we’ll have a couple more coming on board as well, but…yeah, it’s been a good journey. 

I’ll be honest, there was a bit of doubt…was a bit of a challenge, but with all of the networks now biting your arm off for the latest phone. That’s pretty good. That’s where we want to be.

You touched on Petal Search a little bit – it would be really good to understand the efforts to grow integration and the development of the App Gallery.

Petal Search is amazing, and it’s one of those things that actually…you almost don’t realise how amazing it is until you get it and you start playing around with it, and then they talk to you about it, and then you kinda go “oh, I get it, so it’s actually not that, it’s actually this.” So to build that from the ground up in pretty much a year to 18 months is pretty good.

I think now the nice thing is we’re already starting to see kind of the way that Petal Search can integrate itself into our gallery, obviously all the apps in App Gallery are surfaced in Petal Search anyway, so they’re all cross-compatible, but it’s nice to be able to go into the market for the consumers and say, “pretty much whatever you want, it’s there.”

Also to be able to go to developers, content providers and say, “Look, we would love to have you on board. There are hundreds of thousands of apps already on board, you want to be in there, but… Actually, what flavor do you want?”

Do you want to come in with full HMS integration, you want to come in through quick apps, which is something in Petal Search…

And that’s why a lot of them want to do so, it just gives us options at the moment…this year is all about resourcefulness and flexibility, so we’ve been playing every option we’ve got.

Are there any apps that still prove elusive or that you really want to get on there?

There’s not many others actually, and there’s not many that you can’t get any experience, so the huge amount of apps you can get through Petal Search is amazing. 

I think some of the banking apps, we recognize that’s a bit of a challenge now, or a lot of those you can get the online experience through Petal Search, but understandably, with the amount of back-end security and then of all of the rigour that those guys have to go through, that’s a challenge.

But actually that’s why we’ve started looking very deliberately at Starling Bank and Curve, and we’re looking at the moment, to Revolut and Monzo say with those guys, because actually for them, they have a lot of security actually, they’re pretty similar in that way, but they’re just more open to it because if you perhaps a stack developer, then you get it…

But yeah, it’s lots of progress that we’re talking about it every day on the banking stuff, that’s, it’s coming together pretty well.

Moving a little bit on from solely mobiles, what’s the ‘1 + 8 + N’ strategy with Huawei devices expanding beyond that focus? How does it differ from other manufacturers moving into connected appliances?

I think there’s a couple of things we’re different to the other Chinese OEMs, but I think we’re also different… Look at Samsung, they have been amazing in this field, they’ve done a huge amount of connected living stuff.

Apple are a bit more focused and a bit more closed off, and they are very concentrated on what they can do and how they can do it, and that’s a different approach as well. 

I think we’ve brought elements of all of that, but also kind of our own way, we are deliberately being really open, particularly with the ‘+ N’ and so…there’ll be very little, if any Huawei technology necessarily going into a lot of that, as I say, and it’s really just going to be the convenience and connectivity and a bit of the benefits you saw, the toothbrush which will be on sale on the Huawei Store. 

So that’s a good example of where we can get to right now, but yeah. That’s kind of exciting.

Also the kind of deals we’ve got coming up with Samsonite and Karsher, these kinds of guys globally, that makes it really exciting and they’re being completely fully integrated and open will be good.

I think the other thing that I’d like to think for our ‘+ 8’ in particular, we’re really focusing on the stuff that we can do really well. I think we’re very conscious that certainly now, once you put the Huawei name on the side of something, it probably means something, particularly to Huawei owners.

It’s got an intrinsic value when you expect a certain level of performance, so we’re really going to bring in things – particularly in the ‘+ 8’  space that we feel are going to be up to our standards. 

The stuff we’re bringing in, whatever it is – the over-ear headphones are a really good example – terrifying market come into by actually in years and years ago in my back of my PR agency world, one of our clients has Bose, I loved it, and I spent months and years talking about the innovation, the R and D of Mr. Bose, and it’s awesome.

And then you certainly find yourself going up against it… You’ve got to be good, you’re going to be fairly focused, and we’re going to really focus on some of the things where you can make a difference and the things that will be as good as the other stuff we brought to market.

What do you think the key growth opportunities are going forward, do you think it’s very much geared around this strategy?

Yeah, I think it is. I think actually the biggest great opportunities are probably not only in hardware, because I think certainly the plus and is a massive great opportunity, but also in software and services.

So we’ve brought in Huawei Music, Huawei Video – it’s bundled into the latest devices, the P40 and the Mates, it’s all on there, which is great, and you can just sign in and then get your free trials. 

We’re not driving that really commercially yet, it’s not the right time. I think we’ve got a big install base, and I want to make sure they get familiar with it and start to understand it, and back to the Freebuds Studio (picture above) example, coming into the global music market, and that’s all a kind of tough, but again, we’ve done it in a way that is we think the best experience. 

So we looked at various different ways of trying to do it, almost do it ourselves, and then we realize that’s totally not what we do, where it’s also not feasible. 

So we went to Universal and Sony Music and Warner Brothers and just said, “this is what we want to do.” And they said, “Yeah, okay, come on board.”

That’s going to be massive. I think then we’re going to be very careful about the way that we commercialize it and bring that to market, but I do think that building the install base we’ve already got, that’s a great opportunity to provide some proper differentiation as well.

Finally, what’s the most exciting thing for you coming out of Huawei in the next couple of months?

Yeah, actually yesterday was the last day I talked about the ‘Golden Weekend’. The traffic to our Huawei site has been awesome, we’ve only been going six months and got hundreds of thousands of people a day. It was up about four times on what we’ve ever seen before. 

Coming in not just to get deals, but also just to see what else is available, so that gives it a huge amount of confidence in where we can get to. 

So that’s a bit of it. I think the other bit is going to be how we drive out more of this ‘+8’, because we’re just beginning the journey with stuff like Watch Fit (above), it’s the one we put on TikTok with Holly H.

Yeah, that’s been really good. And actually, that’s also quite a new audience because obviously, we’ve had lots of devices in the lower end of our smartphone tiering, but actually as a proper value or wearable offering, never had anything like the Watch Fit, so that’s going to be exciting. But that will be the CRISP., cool thing for Christmas.

Thanks Winston!

The Huawei Mate 40 Pro is now available to buy from the Huawei Store.

Max Boker

The post CRISP. Talks – Winston Eavis, UK Marketing Director for Huawei appeared first on CRISP..

Bambookidd is an interesting name, where did it come from?

Bambookidd came from school, because I was very tall and lanky, and a bit skinny. Plus I was double-jointed and had this ability to twist my hands and limbs in ways not many people can which freaked out my friends, leading them to say I’m ‘like bamboo man, you just bend and don’t break’.

Also – and not many people know this – but ‘Kidd’ is a small homage to Jason Kidd who used to play for the New Jersey Nets, one of my favourite ballers of all time. 

How long have you been doing art?

I’ve been drawing my entire life, really. I can’t remember a time that I wasn’t drawing. But when I started doing it seriously when I was leaving college and moving into Uni. University helped me brush up on the practice I already knew, and add some new skills and stuff like that. I studied visual communications, so it was more graphic design.

It was more theory rather than a lot of practical work, like why we are drawn to certain designs and why certain things stand out. At the time I was a little annoyed because all I wanted to do was produce art, but in the long run, what I gained on the other side, like understanding the visual language has benefitted me immensely.

This has been great because it has allowed me to really envision somebody else’s idea, and that helps when doing commissioned pieces.

What did you do after University?

I did a bit of part-time work and freelance photography. Photography was a side passion. I didn’t really take it too seriously, but then I saw a few cool opportunities becoming available. I had a friend who did nightclub promotions and special events, and needed some pictures taken to catch the vibe or ambiance for publication or promotion.

This was semi-regular work for a while which I enjoyed and was getting paid for. It not only helped me refine my work but gave me a chance to meet people that liked my work, and things kind of snowballed from there. 

“It’s my truth, it’s my ‘honesty’ like it or not, I’m still gonna do it.”

What was your favourite photography project?

I worked on a project called the Africa Express where African and Western musicians combined and went on a train tour all over the UK, and I was one of the official photographers hired to capture professional and candid photos of the tour.

That was an experience as I went on tour for a few weeks taking pictures but also I got to be around talented musical artists like Damon Albarn, Bashy, Kano, and Amadou (from Amadou & Mariam, a well know African Musical duo).

Off the back of Africa Express I had the opportunity to document the 2012 Olympics, which I loved. I was at the Olympic village every day seeing plenty of the Olympians just being normal people in-between these huge events.

I didn’t really know who a lot of the people were, and there was so much going on that it was a little overwhelming, but fantastic experience for me.

So photography was going well, but you parked that for a minute to do more art?

I eventually got to a point where I wanted to get back into my art and engage my own creativity, so I started with some traditional stuff like painting and graffiti (street art), which I would document. Then I was like ‘ I got all these pieces, what should I do with them?’ and started putting them online, Myspace and Facebook were the thing at the time.

I didn’t really see that much love then. But got a few requests from it like ‘can you do me a logo, can you do my family as characters?’ – and most of the time these requests were for digital prints. I saw digital was the future and then started tailoring my style to suit. 

“I don’t really draw noses or ears and I draw one big eye and one small eye, that’s my signature.”

What hardware do you use now compared to what you started with?

Now I use an app called ProCreate on the iPad which is excellent and does everything I could want, but Photoshop on the laptop was my starting point.

I didn’t really feel comfortable with it though because a mouse and a cursor just didn’t marry up with the fact that at the time I was still very traditional and very much appreciated physical drawings on paper or canvass. I actually didn’t like the idea of digital drawings and couldn’t confidently display my work because I was unsure of it myself.

That kind of changed once I saw a David Hockney exhibition, and he did an entire series on his iPad and it was brilliantly received, everyone loved it, and it helped change my opinion on digital art and its value, and from there I started to focus more on it.

It’s ultimately the same principle but you have so much more in terms of colour palettes, brush sizes, and strokes.

Has using technology hindered your ability to draw things?

Not at all! It’s the other way around, technology had it all, I just didn’t know it was there. 

How did social media affect what you produced?

Instagram was where exposure was best for me.  I followed the trends at the time of drawing celebrities, hoping they would see it maybe get a few likes off the back of that. I have a handful of celebrity followers which is great, they support the movement which is enough for me.

They have given me some traction, a bit of exposure and some more followers, which is always nice. But deep down I wasn’t really happy with the art and its creative direction (or lack of). It was only when I started to share stuff I wanted to do that I really started to find my voice and grow into the artist I see myself as.

Do you have a signature style? 

I do have a particular style, I don’t really draw noses or ears and I draw one big eye and one small eye, that’s my signature. It’s based off a character I created when doing street art back in the day, and it’s become my style to this day.

Have you had any pieces go viral?

The first real sort of viral moment I had, I drew Kanye West when he was first doing his Sunday Service.

Personally I thought it was a beautiful moment, a beautiful scene and I got the vibes, so I drew that scene in my signature style, and before I knew it, it went viral and was picked up by Complex and some other online magazines that were nice enough to contact me and legit ask if they could share it. It was seen by tens of thousands of people, which gassed me man! It was amazing.

I do love the love, but for me the best part is the process, finding an idea, getting myself ready, sketching, the whole process is art. Sometimes, once completed, I take a step back and yes I gas myself, I have to be a fan of my own work.

Have you had any exhibitions of your work?

Yes. As 2020 started I had a couple of exhibitions that I was working on, which were thankfully well received. I was focused on these leading up to lockdown, so, unfortunately, haven’t been able to do any more this year.

What was lockdown like for you?

Lockdown was a really uncertain time for me. Just like many others I felt scared, I felt confused, I felt all the emotions during that spell.

I’m an over-thinker and it was a bit overwhelming to the point that I said to myself ‘you need to get active again’. So I got back into the art to express myself the best way I know how.

I combined pop-culture imagery with current events, and every day I’d find another image that I felt represented what I wanted to say. It also kept me busy, gave me routine and kept the mind active. If I didn’t have art I could have easily fallen into bad habits in an attempt to numb the pain.

What kind of imagery came through during that time?

My inspiration is taken from everything going on around me and interpreted through my eyes. It’s my truth, it’s my honesty. Like it or not, I’m still gonna do it. It’s kind of like a diary.

One day I can sit down with my children and show them what that moment in time was like. 2020 has been a year with plenty of inspiration and has given me a chance to big up the health service, shed some light on the effects of isolation, embrace my African heritage, and share my truth as a Black man that grew up in London.

I am a strong person but have a sensitive soul, and when I see such a massive injustice happening, it really hurts and of course bleeds out into my work.

So George Floyd and the BLM movements among other causes filled me with thoughts, feelings, and imagery I wanted to draw.

How has your recent work been received?

People seem to like what I do and believe my truth, and it’s incredibly humbling, it’s a beautiful feeling. Really cool.

However the problem with social media, you can never please everyone. I am careful with the images I use or promote, the positioning of items, or even the caption I use because I do want to be sensitive to people’s feelings and opinions.

I’m just trying to have a conversation,  some of my creations are hard-hitting but I’m not trying to offend just open up a conversation and possibly inspire.

I truly believe in ‘you being the change you want to see in the world.’ 

What kind of things are you looking at going forward?

Currently, I’m not posting much stuff but have been working on quite a few commissioned pieces. Everything I’m earning doing these would go straight back into buying more and better equipment.

I’m doing some artwork for a children’s book, still drawing logos. I’m working on doing various merchandising designs, which is exciting for me – high-quality prints, frames, personal logos.

I am working on a website but that is on the backburner for now. Instagram and Facebook have been serving me very well giving me the exposure I want and also providing business links and partnership opportunities.

I going to try to transition into paint, and use oils & acrylics. The dream is to be able to live off my work, keep collaborating, keep being able to put up shows and exhibits, maybe have my art on the side of a building!

Vinyl toys, dioramas, cartoons, video games. I’m happy I not there yet because I have places to go. 

Check out more pieces on Brian’s Instagram – @bambookidd_

Byron Simpson

The post CRISP. Talks: London Digital Artist Bambookidd on Viral Success and Inspiration During Lockdown appeared first on CRISP..

Hi Ingo/Rainer, Thanks for taking the time out to speak with us today.

Let’s go back to the beginning, before Vice Golf, what were you doing and how did you meet?

It is not the everyday story. We actually met while surfing at the Eisbach in Munich, a really unique artificial wave in the centre of the city.

We were both in different sectors – Rainer worked for an international consulting firm, I worked in business development for an international sports brand. We both share the passion for entrepreneurship, starting our own business – the fact that we started Vice Golf together was clearly not certain the day we met.

At what age did you get into Vice Golf?

We started off gradually and did not leave our well-paid jobs right away. First research was done when I was 29 and Rainer was 35, the company was founded when I was 30 (Rainer 35).

How did the idea of Vice Golf come about? Can you tell us a bit more of the early days of the brand?

We were pretty inspired by a German University professor (Prof. Guenther Faltin) who got successful with a direct to consumer model for tea.

Simultaneously, you´d see all the Warby Parkers, Dollar Shave Clubs and Everlane starting out – challenging the established firm with innovative distribution channels.

Rainer and I were on a consulting project in Asia for a golf ball manufacturer and learned about the value chain of golf balls and how much margin would be added through all the middlemen until the ball would be sold to the poor golfer who´d pay for all of this.

This is where the idea initiated and when we started to really think into this. We started off from my basement and I remember the first shipment of golf balls arriving and Rainer saying “We will never be able to sell these, our friends and families will have golf balls for the rest of their life.” Thankfully, things went differently.

How did the name come about?

Only very few people know that we started off the brand under the name “Flake”.

After one year, we internationalized into other European markets and learned about the meaning of “to flake someone” – clearly not what we wanted to be perceived as.

That´s why we came up with a rebranding in 2012 and started with “Vice” – one reason being that many different generations do relate to the term “Vice” in some way (Miami Vice in the ’70s, but also GTA Vice as video games for the younger generation) Also, per definition, “vice” can also be understood as a moral failing of a bad habit and ironically, we oftentimes see golf being our Vice.

You play terribly poor but the next day, you´re out on the course again trying to beat yesterday.

For our readers, can you tell us what Vice Golf means as a brand?

Vice Golf´s mission is to bring the highest quality, top-performing golf balls to all golfers around the world for a fantastic price. Vice Golf aims to combine this approach with a modern style and a positive and modern vibe. That´s why we mean what we say with our slogan: “Embrace Your Vice”.

We’re big fans of your products and use your golf balls every round, can you tell our readers a bit about your business model, why are the balls so well priced and why others are so expensive?

We´re a digitally native company and started out by selling online only, bypassing the middlemen, thereby cutting costs and offering a high-quality product at an exceptional price.

When we started with Vice Golf, online was the perfect channel to offer high performing products at a significantly lower price by cutting out the middleman.

After years of steady growth and popularity, we have now reached a size which enables us to produce even better golf balls at the most competitive prices.

Selling our products to those who plan ahead and order online is still key, but we want to move on and also offer them to those who go to the shop on short notice. A presence in retail gives our brand even broader visibility and customers can directly compare quality and prices.

A lot of readers often look to buy lake-balls as a cost-effective solution, Care to tell us why that’s a bad idea?

Lake balls are always a bad idea.

After just twelve hours in the water, the outermost layer of the golf ball allows water to enter into the ball. This is mainly because modern layers of multi-layer golf balls (such as Urethane and UPC) are usually constructed to be extremely hydrophilic in order to prevent adverse affections due to weather. But if golf balls sit in the water for longer periods of time, permanent damage will be the result.

While invisible from the outside, this damage will clearly affect the driving distance off of the tee. This means a change in characteristics of the ball, less control, less consistency.

read more about “forgetting lake balls” on the Vice Golf blog here 

Just how good are your Golf balls compared to others on the market?

We prefer others to judge but we´ve received a Gold Medal for our premium models in 2020´s Golf Digest Hotlist which is the biggest independent testing conducted annually.

We were rated 5 stars in performance and innovation which gives us the feeling that we do something right. This is not the first award we have won but national and international awards date back to 2015, which underlines the passion and work we dedicate to developing and testing top performing golf balls

How are the Golf balls tested?

We follow a fairly simple procedure for prototypes. First off, they are tested by chosen golfers using tracking technology to get an understanding of playability, feel and performance.

If the golf ball is worth looking into in more detail, we ship them to San Diego Golf Labs, the gold standard of the industry where multiple other manufacturers also test their prototypes and have the ball tested with their golf robot. This is the ultimate testing to get objective results.

When it comes to putting, What makes a good golf ball and why do vice excel here?

Good putting is defined by straight roll mainly which relates to the dimple pattern.

All our golf balls also feature an adapted KIL-putting line for better visual perception of alignment when addressing the ball. The extra-long and highly visible “Keep In Line” (KIL) putting line with sharp edges has been developed in collaboration with amateurs and teaching professionals to meet the highest putting and alignment needs.

How its made – Video

Craig Peterson

The post CRISP. Talks : Ingo Duellmann and Rainer Stoeckl, Founders of “Vice Golf” appeared first on CRISP..

He has worked with athletes and the general public in a clinical setting since 2004, and holds a BSc honours degree in Nutritional Therapy from the University of Westminster.

Michael is also the head of Training and Technical support for Sun Chlorella UK.

What Is Chlorella?

Chlorella is a single-celled species of green algae that grows in fresh-water. It is one of the earliest forms of life, with scientists believing it to be approximately 2 billion years old.

The name comes from the greek word ‘chloros’ meaing ‘green’, and the Latin word ‘ella’, which means small. There are over 30 different species of chlorella, but just two are mainly used in supplements – chlorella Vulgaris and chlorella pyrenoidosa. Sun chlorella use the chlorella pyrenoidosa strain.

Can you give us a brief background on how it’s used worldwide, other cultures etc?

Although it has existed for billions of years, chlorella has only been consumed by humans since the early part of last century. The Japanese were some of the first to start consuming chlorella as a supplement and millions of people there use it today. Chlorella’s use has now spread to Europe and America where its popularity is growing rapidly.

What are the key nutritious properties?

Sun Chlorella is a true superfood and is densely packed with phytonutrients, including vitamins A, D, E, K, C, B complex, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, calcium, iron, zinc and biotin. It is over 50% protein, containing essential amino acids, along with essential fatty acids.

What are the health benefits?

Chlorella has been extensively researched and it is thought to have many benefits. Just some of them are…

Body fat – A study in Japan¹ found extracts from the algae appeared able to reduce the increase in the size of animal fat cells normally seen when consuming a diet high in fat.

Gut microbiome – some types of algae are thought to be able to support our gut microbiomes² (the micro-organisms that inhabit our digestive system). Research in this area is ongoing, but healthy microbiomes have been linked to everything from supporting weight loss and immune function to boosting our energy levels.

Exercise – Studies have shown the freshwater algae could help with improving the efficiency of the body’s energy production and lactate removal systems³, by improving VO2max⁴  (a measurement of the maximum amount of oxygen a person can utilize during intense exercise) and reducing the impact of intense exercise on the immune system⁵.

What makes Sun Chlorella different to other brands on the market?

Chlorella in its true form is indigestible as it is protected by an extremely tough outer cell wall. This cell wall needs to be processed to release the active constituents from inside, otherwise it remains indigestible.

Typically, chlorella’s cell wall is either cracked, broken, or dried, which Independent research has shown offers a bioavailability yield of between 50 – 55% of the active constituents. Sun Chlorella are the only company in the world that uses Dyno Mill technology to ‘pulverise’ the cell wall, which the same independent research has shown produces a yield between 85 – 90% of the active constituents.

This is one of the main reasons that separates Sun Chlorella from all other brands currently on the market.

What medical and scientific studies have you done and with whom, what did they show?

Sun Chlorella have conducted studies with many universities and research centres from around the world. For a breakdown of the research: http://lab-sunchlorella.com/report/index.php

How should one take or supplement Chlorella?

It can be taken in either tablet or powder form, and both are popular. The tablets are convenient when you’re on the go, whilst the powder can easily be added to shakes and smoothies, or sprinkled over food.

How quickly can users start seeing results and what type of results can they see?

This varies from person to person, but many people notice they feel more energized from taking chlorella within just a week, after which some of the other effects, mentioned above, can begin to be felt.

What makes Chlorella a super food?

There are three main reasons:

1. It’s nutrient density – vitamins, minerals, protein and essential fatty acids are all present
2. Chlorophyll – it is a very rich source of chlorophyll. It contains 5 times more than spirulina. 7 times more than barley grass and wheatgrass. Chlorophyll has shown to have a number of health benefits and is one of the main reasons why greens are included in so many juices and smoothies.
3. Added benefits – in addition to the nutrients it contains, studies point towards chlorella having a host of other potential benefits.

Carmen Adkins

The post CRISP Talks : Michael McInerney From “Sun Chlorella” appeared first on CRISP..

This conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity.

It would be good to understand what sets the P40 Pro+ apart from competitors, as well as the original P40 Pro?

Anson Zhang: The P40 series is a new generation of smartphone; we have been doing very well with the P series in past years, especially in the UK.

It has already been received as our flagship device, which includes major camera innovation and intelligent technology. Not only that, but we have also introduced a series delivering 5G with our own chipset to provide faster connectivity.

We have also brought an iconic and original design with varied colours – it has always been a luxury device.

Our AI chipset will also help you very easily control functions whether you are taking a picture or taking a video, we also like to say it can translate or recognise objects automatically by the camera.

[In the P40 Pro+] we majorly upgraded the camera functions and the battery durability.

How has the P40 Pro performed to date?

AZ: Pretty good, it’s been received as a top phone in the market and you can find it in all channels in the UK.

And there is also strong evidence to show continued demand from people. Many people using the P20 I think are very eager to try the latest device coming to the market, and that arrives in the form of the P40 Pro+.

The P40 Pro’s camera has already won an array of awards for being the best on the market so far in 2020.

How is the Leica relationship continuing? Is it still instrumental in imaging quality on Huawei devices?

AZ: We have been working with Leica for years, the P40 Pro+ will feature the Leica Ultra version, offering the latest camera capabilities like capturing content through a choice of 100x super zoom array, ultra-wide, or 3D depth sensor cameras.

With general market concerns around smartphone durability, why did you decide to go with a glass-backed device?

AZ: It is actually a metal-with-glass technology, and we utilise our own tech. If you have it in your hand you can truly feel it is not plastic.

The materials are strong and clean with minimum fingerprint collection, and a low-profile design. I remember when we introduced the P20 in 2018 – which was one of the top-selling mobiles in the UK – we released the twilight edition which was very well received because normally smartphones were only black, white or grey. We were surprised at just how popular this model was!

In 2019 we released the ‘aurora’ colourway or we called it the crystal version, and this year have introduced the latest versions and colours – another one of the selling points of the P40 Pro+.

I think we have five different colours – Ceramic Black, Blush Gold, Deep Sea Blue, Ice White and ‘Silver Frost’.

What about the front of the device? Have there been meaningful developments there?

AZ: There is a dual camera on the front screen and a fingerprint scanner.

With the P40 Pro+, it is equipped with a 32MP front-facing dual camera and auto-focus which can provide the best portrait picture quality.

The design we have insisted on for many years is trying to provide the biggest screen ratio, whilst keeping the phone feeling ergonomic in the hand – a slightly curved screen maximises this.

Is there anything to gain in making the P40 Pro+ display bigger?

AZ: Increasing the screen by 1 or 2% may not seem like a lot, but still requires a high standard and stability for the hardware design – keeping it compact in a small body.

We do not sacrifice any battery life. We use our own battery system, and our chipset has exceptionally low energy consumption.

You can see online that one of the most attractive aspects from users of the P20, P30 and P40 series is the long battery life and the fast charging technology. For example, I can charge a P40 Pro to 50% in just 15 minutes with a wired charger.

Our latest wireless charger can provide nearly 40 watts of charging.

How did Huawei prepare its approach to the advent of 5G?

AZ: 5G is the new generation of network tech that can allow the user to have a fast connection and data transfer without latency.

We do believe 5G and AI together are the two core capabilities to drive the next generation of the technology revolution.

That is the reason we have been investing heavily in these areas for many years and why Huawei is a 5G leader – we have the biggest share of 5G equipment globally and we were the first to use the 5G smartphone chipset with all in one solution (AI).

We believe very strongly and invest heavily in research and development every year – and have done so for over 20 years – hence we can produce our own chipset.

[We have] a chipset that is compatible with all networks, but we want to explore what these combinations can deliver in the coming 5 to 10 years.

What are the key growth opportunities going forward?

AZ: We are aware that most consumers know the Huawei brand due to our smartphones, we are the global number two player.

We also know smartphones are the most used device for people every single day. A vision is to keep the phone as the hub and provide a full portfolio of devices to work with it – from PCs to tablets, TV and audio, IOT, smart glasses and so on.

5G can provide the data transfer quickly without latency, but AI can help to deal with data automatically, faster, and with more functionality.

We would like to provide a Huawei full ecosystem strategy. Smartphones are just one part of the strategy.

Huawei Mobile Services will allow Huawei devices, phones, PCs, and tablets to communicate seamlessly and paired with a second hardware ecosystem called ‘Hilink’ we are developing, which will allow for different manufacturers’ peripherals to communicate with Huawei devices also.

Our PCs and tablets have been available for years now and have been well-received globally, we want to focus more on these going forward and integrate them into our ecosystem, but there is still a lot of work to be done.

The reason we want to create this ecosystem is to upgrade on the user experience, it is an ideal a bit different than other big players like an Apple or Google for example.

We want to offer our ecosystem to any other partner to feel free to join us. We endeavour to provide the technology to serve people first.

Finally, over the next 12 months, what is Huawei’s primary focus?

AZ: We want people to understand that Huawei is the full provider, not just smartphones, but the suite of devices I mentioned before. We call it the ‘1+8 Strategy’ which encompasses the ‘Hilink’ and Huawei Mobile Services ecosystem.

We have been doing a lot of ‘alphas’ with our business partners from different industries, be that gaming or financial.

And eventually, you will see more new devices like the P40 Pro+ and new functionality for sure over the next twelve months.

The Huawei P40 Series devices are available now, with the P40+ ready to buy from the 25th of June.

Byron Simpson

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