International Mankini Challenge

On December 8th 2008 the International Mankini Challenge was launched. By Christmas it was still in its infancy with only France and Brazil having been Mankinied leaving a list of 16 countries(ish) left to do. Now, a year on, 15 countries in total have been visited by Mankini Malph with a further two, Australia and England, completed by you guys. So what is the Christmas message for 2009?

While you’re at home ripping open the wrapping paper hoping for the STA Travel vouchers you wanted, the new backpack or the Merrel walking boots, spare a thought for me as I sit with my new travel friends in Buenos Aires (Argentina) hoping one of them has had the forsight to buy me a new Mankini.

The old green lycra number with its loose threads, questionable stains (not my doing, a symptom of being stuffed in a backpack with random other stuff) and perishing elastic has seen better days. Travelling in my backpack and going through numerous hot washes at local Lavanderias has not helped matters. However it’s done me proud and no doubt will continue to hold its own (and mine) during the festive period, but like everyone, it needs a break at some time.

And so as you start to think about making your New Year’s resolutions for 2010 please could you please promise me one thing… that you’ll either actively join the revolution that is the International Mankini Challenge, bringing a smile (although more often it’s a grimace) to others’ faces, or that you’ll encourage others to take up the challenge by buying them a Christmas Mankini (there’s a link on the site for you to be able to do this – you’d be amazed at how often I’m actually asked where you can get one)?!

At the end of the day there are 172 countries left to do, and unlike Santa I can’t get around these all in one night and so need your help. Remember, we’ll both benefit. I’ll get the satisfaction of completing a very difficult challenge and you’ll get to see the pictures that always raise a smile on those hard days in the office.

Happy Christmas to you all and thank you so much for all your support and comments. Find below a taste of what will be happening in San Telmo, Buenos Aires this Christmas as it was last. These mankini pictures were taken at Hostel Clan in Buenos Aires in 2008 as I was acclimatising to the mankini.

So this has nothing to do with the International Mankini Challenge, but more with the funny things you see when you´re travelling – so please bear with me.

As you´ll all no doubt have seen, a lot has been written in recent weeks about Tiger Woods and his infidelity. Most recently, and following his announcement that he is to take an indefinite break from playing golf, attention has been focussed on his sponsors and whether they will continue to support him. With a reported $100m of Tiger´s income coming from sponsor endorsements and ‘only’ $23m coming from golf tournaments, their decisions are important ones to the world´s number one golfer as he looks to repair his public image and to a far lesser extent, maintain his income while out of professional competition.

This focus has sharpened in the last week with the news that Gatorade is to drop a Tiger Woods-endorsed product (though they say the decision to do this was prior to recent events), Gillette are to limit his role and Accenture are to drop him altogether.

It´s not all doom and gloom for Tiger though as sponsors including Nike, Tag Heuer, TLC Vision, Electronic Arts and Netjets have publically stated they´ll continue their sponsorship of Tiger. Although in saying that, while Tiger currently seems to be enjoying support from the majority of his backers, US media figures show `the last prime-time advert featuring the 33-year-old golfer was a 30-second Gillette item on 29 November´.

So while the majority are backing Tiger Woods verbally, sponsors don´t necessarily seem to be following that up in the way they’re using him publicly. However having seen this Accenture billboard advert in San Francisco airport on December 4th, he may well be better off without their backing at all!

If you can´t read the strapline at the bottom it says “We know what it takes to be a Tiger. Talk to us to see how we can help.” Obviously this offer isn´t now open to Tiger himself. Indeed if Tiger is to follow Accenture´s example, running away may seem the best option. And so I would beg to differ with Rick Burton, a professor of sports management at Syracuse University, who told the Associated Press “(Accenture) had tied everything in their campaign to Tiger Woods. If he’s not golfing, those ads don’t make sense.” I don´t know about you, but it seems to make sense to me!

The beaches of Tulum, diving in Cozumel, the colonial towns of Merida and Campeche, the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza (one of the modern wonders of the world) and Palenque, the waterfall of Aqua Azul, Canyon Sumidero near San Cristobel, the Mexican pipeline in the surfing mecca of Puerto Escondido, the Day of the Dead festival in Oaxaca, the massive cactus fields near Puebla, Lucha Libre (Mexican wrestling), Frida Kahlo’s House, Mexico City’s Zocalo and the Azteca Stadium were all good options to Mankini in Mexico. However the winner was the ancient Aztec city of Teotihuacan, home to the third highest pyramid in the world (after Egypt’s) and the most visited of Mexico’s archaeological sites.

Swine flu aside, Mexico has a lot to offer a traveler, be they backpackers or vactioners, with an array of both natural and man-made wonders. Unfortunately many visitors don’t get out of the all inclusive resorts in Cancun or Playa del Carmen. But those travellers who have enough gumption to do so will be duly rewarded.

I was in Mexico for 5 weeks and missed a lot of what it had to offer, such is the vastness of the country and the diversity of activities it offers. Eleven months into my trip I have to be honest and say I was a little travel weary. I had volcano, waterfall, hot spring and ruin fatigue to mention a few, so spoilt have I been. But Mexico surprised me and revitalised my enthusiasm by offering things that were different to what I’d seen and done before in Central and South America.

With so much to see and do I looked for something fresh to add to the Mankini gallery. Arriving at my final destination in Latin America, Mexico City, and seeing the Lucha Libre adverts and the people’s love of the sport I knew it had to be this. Mankini in a mask Nacho Libre style, Jack Black would be proud. And so it was on a Friday night that and my merry band of men and I set off to Arena Mexico having purchased an array of suitable masks to get into the evening. Following the mask-clad masses we had no trouble finding the stadium and posed for pictures before climbing the stairs to the arena that was to witness a Lucha Libre outfit that the world had never had the pleasure of experiencing before. But then disaster struck ….

Security in all of Latin America tends to be heavy on the vision, but light on the action if you get my drift. However this was all about to change. Upon getting the pat down at the entrance the Federal Policia found my camera. Pulling it out and sealing it in a plastic bag they gave me a ticket explaining I could collect it at the end of the show – no pictures here sir! Nooooooo!

Feeling a sense of despair it was relieved when my Aussie mate Mei said they hadn’t found the camera in her bag! Joy oh joy! That was ’til she tried to turn it on and the battery immediately died! The Mankini God who had looked down so fondly on me now seemed to be frowning. However with little lycra to wipe the tears away I put a brave face on things and resolved to find something even better than pantomime wrestlers to grace the Mankini with.

After a long weekend of walking tours, bakery visits, museum viewings and a couple of cactus based beverages with NotInc Tours I decided to take on the biggest of Mexico’s archaeological sites (both in size and the number of visits it receives, which is saying something considering the number of ruins in this region) – the pyramids of Teotihuacan, an ancient Aztec city (though they didn’t build it, but rather they found it. No one really knows who constructed this impressive city). The only issue was who was going to be my photographer? All the people I had met had left, and I was leaving on Wednesday!

I had two choices, fail at the penultimate hurdle and my 18th location, or grow some balls and hit the site solo and convince some generous soul that taking a picture of a strange skinhead in a small piece of luminous green lycra really was a good idea and that I wasn’t weird at all! Really this was no choice, I had to go and see what happened!

Teotihuacan is known best for its two big pyramids, the Pyramid of the Moon and the Pyramid of the Sun (the third largest in the world at 65 metres after those in Egypt). For me it was go big or go home! There’s a great view from the Pyramid of the Moon over to the Pyramid of the Sun. The only problem with this was that there was also a man from the Federal Policia who had a handgun and who looked pretty angry with how cold and windy it seemed to be. However what this view also afforded me was the luxury of scouting some other possible locations, and from what I could see there may well be another option!

Having met an artist collective called The Black Heart Gang from South Africa, who were over in Mexico to talk at an art conference before heading to LA to shoot a commercial, I broached the requirement I had. After wiping the tears from their eyes (I’m not sure if that was because of the wind or my request) they agreed to use their keen professional eye to help me complete my challenge – awesome! And so craftily using a couple of temples as shields from prying eyes, we got the shots required! While it was pretty damn cold and late in the day, this probably worked for me by minimising the number of other tourists. Let me tell you though, relieved is not the word as to how I feel and I can’t thank the guys of the The Black Heart Gang enough in helping me get within reach of completing my challenge!

So 20 hours later and I was headed to the airport for my final destination, and the home of the Mankini, Los Angeles! Would Sacha Baron Cohen’s agent reply to my email request of a picture with Sacha?

You can also follow my exploits on twitter by visiting http://www.twitter.com/mankinimalph

See the Mexico pictures here.