Well… the cat’s out of the bag now. Or more appropriately, B.H. Magazine’s inaugural cover star has been officially revealed. And it’s Australia’s two-time UFC Featherweight Champion:
Alexander Volkanovski.
At an after-hours event hosted by our good friends at Hublot Australia, unified women’s bantamweight boxing champion Cherneka “Sugar Neekz” Johnson, Last King of the Cross star Lincoln Younes, Sean Sagar (Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant. NCIS: Sydney), and plenty more esteemed guests flooded the watch brand’s King St boutique for an evening to remember.
There, the curtains were physically pulled back by Volkanovski himself on B.H. Magazine Volume 5’s cover – conceived by Editor-in-Chief James Want and executed to perfection by photography extraordinaire/serial B.H. collaborator Charles Grant.
“Nothing beats the cover, I think that shot is definitely my favourite,” remarked Alexander Volkanovski.
“It was quite fashionable,” he went on to admit in regards to the sheer breadth of “looks” styled on him throughout that six-hour shoot. Guy Ritchie-esque flair, leather kilts, and all.
“At the start, I was like, ‘These probably won’t be my everyday clothes.’ Then I would see the photos throughout the day, and I’d go, ‘Oh wow, they look incredible.’ So I was quite pumped to see how it turned out… It was a great experience, really enjoyed it. You guys were great to work with. Always great to work with Hublot as well, so it’s been unreal.”
A major theme of the cover story involves the moment he reclaimed the featherweight title at Miami’s UFC 314 after a rollercoaster 18-month journey instigated by consecutive knockout losses. Staring down the barrel of the camera with the conviction of a man reborn, Volkanovski proclaimed, “Adversity is a privilege.” A marketer’s dream if there ever was one.
“It was something that I just thought of on the spot, but I mean, that was through all the experiences through my whole career,” he explained.
“What gets me through that is all the adversities in the gym, all the adversities of the other fights that I’ve had, all them experiences… and me having to push through them is the reason why I can get through adversities in the fight. And that’s why you can see me get back on top and take that win.”
“We’re not going to like the adversities when they’re there, but at least we know once we get through, we’re going to be stronger.”
Alexander Volkanovski continued when prompted about his professional evolution: “If you asked me 10 or 15 years ago, while I was chasing the dream or even while I was just going through my career, I wouldn’t have thought I’d be in a position where I would be sponsored by Hublot, or on the front cover of Boss Hunting. It just shows you how far I’ve come, you know what I mean?”
“A lot of people ask me, ‘What’s your greatest accomplishment?’ And I’d probably say that I was able to be me through the whole process, and that’s worked out so well, because now you get the loyal support and all that. I’ve been in a position where people like you want to work with me… So it’s all paid off.”
This unique profession of ours has afforded us many an opportunity to interact with the endlessly accomplished. Titans of their respective fields that, if we’re being entirely honest, we probably have no business being in the same room with.
But B.H. Magazine Volume 5 was an even rarer privilege – profiling somebody we admire so deeply (beyond an objective level of respect); somebody who exemplifies the greatest aspects of modern masculinity; and most of all, a man who makes us proud to be Australian.
How bloody good.
Order your very own copy of our latest issue to read the profile itself and subscribe to B.H. Magazine for future editions via the link below.
