It’s an early winter evening in Manhattan, and Kendrick Sampson and I are settling into a quiet if antiseptic corner of the James hotel lobby. Despite working on a single hour of sleep, Sampson (who turned 34 last month) manages to look warm and cheerful in a pair of black sweats and a grey mask. Then just as we’ve dispensed with the small talk and are on the verge of getting to the good stuff, a white woman in a silver dress begins setting up shop not six metres from us. A lounge singer! She turns the volume up and warbles that a scrub is a guy that can’t get no love from me. Blessedly, when Sampson talks, it’s impossible not to listen.
You may know him from How to Get Away with Murder, The Vampire Diaries or, most recently, as the perpetually-trying-to-improve-himself Nathan on Insecure. Maybe you’ve heard about BLD PWR, an organisation he co-founded that wants to train a new generation of entertainers and athletes to liberate communities from police violence, racism, structural inequality, the oppression of sexism, transphobia, capitalist violence and the places where those intersect. Even if none of this rings a bell, you probably remember when, in 2020, cops shot him seven times with rubber bullets at a protest over the police killing of George Floyd.
Denne historien er fra April 2022-utgaven av Esquire Singapore.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Denne historien er fra April 2022-utgaven av Esquire Singapore.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
THE MILD HANGOVER
Hangovers get a bad rap. We know. If you’ve gotten this far in the magazine, you’ve surely divined that we’re mildly hungover most of the time.
AN ELECTRIC FUTURE
Polestar, the minimalist electric Swedish car brand, turns the voltage up on its competition.
LET'S GET REAL (ESTATE): LUXURIOUS LONDON
Royalty, shopping, the best tea and scones the world has to offer, and a lifestyle worthy of what you're working for. Here's why London is ripe for your next investment
NEXT UP....ZARAN VACHHA
As Co-founder of the events and talent agency Collective Minds and Managing Director of the Mandala Masters, Zaran Vachha is definitely not new to the culture scene, but he's certainly shaping what comes next.
WHAT I'VE LEARNED...
I DON’T WEAR SOCKS except in January.
The Body Is a Language
A bad handshake is such a turnoff; we feel irked when someone rolls their eyes at us; we can't stop pacing when we're nervous-ever wondered how certain body language has the power to change how we feel instantly? We explore why.
EYE OF THE TIGER
Hailing from Singapore, Japan and Brazil respectively, Evolve Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) athletes Darren Goh, Hiroki Akimoto and Alex Silva are proof that the ring demands as much from mind as it does from matter.
THE ADONIS COMPLEX
With the rise of superhero culture making a return and bringing with it the celebration of the classically ‘masculine’ body type, can men really overcome the pressure to conform when culture keeps getting in the way?
FUNNY BUT TRUE
A comedian, an iconic Singaporean, and now a man much evolved. After overcoming two years of pandemic limbo, unlocking career milestones one after another and undergoing a life-defining physical transformation, Rishi Budhrani is ready to emerge into the world renewed-and anew.
LIKE NO OTHER
With its horological triumphs, Hermès has truly come into its own as a watchmaking maison. In this exclusive interview with Esquire Singapore, CEO of Hermès Horloger, Laurent Dordet sheds some light on his timepieces' rising stardom and the importance of being different.
