Interviews
Jamaican Speedster Yohan Blake
Interviews
Jamaican Speedster Yohan Blake
One of the most charming, funny and accommodating gentlemen you could possibly wish to spend time with, Blake remains focused on being the very best for as long as possible. I have always been fascinated by the mindset of people who become elite in what they do. I’ve had this conversation with musicians, athletes and business leaders and was fascinated to get Blake’s view.
“To get to the top is very hard and to stay there is even harder,” he said, “and when you fall, you fall faster and land harder the higher you’ve climbed. It has always been really important to me that I have guys that I can talk to who can mentally help me, especially when I’ve been injured during my career. So I spend time talking to guys like LeBron James and Steph Curry. When I find somebody that can get inside my head and fill it with positive thoughts, I will call them every day. You need to fill your mind with energy from good people.
It clearly works, as Blake is one of the greatest sprinters of all time, eclipsed only by his record-smashing former Jamaican teammate Usain Bolt – who gave Blake the “Beast” nickname for his running style, as well as his ferocious commitment to training. Blake’s beastly gift for speed became obvious by his mid-teens. “I started pretty late in life. I was 16 and I was running on the road, racing against cars. And I was staying with the cars, although I could accelerate pretty quickly and the cars took a little longer. My father would watch me and he kept on pushing me. I began to take it very seriously and within a couple of years I was running for my country.”
At the age of 18 Blake set the fastest junior time ever in Jamaica for the 100m and from then he went from strength to strength. And it’s pretty clear that he still loves it now.
Blake has always loved watches, too. “I didn’t have a lot of money growing up. I wasn’t born with a silver spoon in my mouth. In fact, I used to love buying cheap fashion watches – that was my jewelry when I was younger. I always wanted fancy watches but I couldn’t afford to buy good ones.” He got his chance to start wearing serious timepieces in 2012 when Richard Mille approached and offered him the opportunity to wear one of his watches. It was the year of the London Olympics and Mille wanted somebody to wear a new prototype at the games.
That moment was significant for the brand, as the media attention on both Blake and his Jamaican-flag-colored watch was massive. The prototype was based on a RM 038 Tourbillon, but with changes made specifically for Blake to keep it as featherweight as possible. The model that ultimately became Blake’s own was the RM 59-01 Tourbillon Yohan Blake. However, it was the prototype that made the splash and Richard Mille donated it to the Only Watch sale in 2013, where it achieved a sale price of €350,000.