Issue 113
April 2014
The usually untalkative Icelandic welterweight opens up to FO to reveal what gets him excited and why he’d employ Conor McGregor as a fashion adviser.
Are you a follower of fashion or trends?
“Fashion? This is a question that would be more suited for Conor McGregor, I think (laughs). I’m practical not fashionable.”
What do you think of Conor’s fashion sense?
“I think he is a man of good taste. Would I let him dress me? I probably would, yes; he has spent more time thinking about this stuff than I have so I could probably learn a bit about style from him (laughs). I am not too interested in clothes beyond what I wear for training. My sponsors, Jaco and Tenacity, make nice things so I just wear that.”
Conor enjoys some trash-talking, but how about you?
“Conor does his own thing, and he’s good at it. I am not a big trash talker but he does get involved with it sometimes. I think he mostly talks about what he believes in, and that’s important.”
VIDEO GAMES
Do you play video games?
“Yes, I play them sometimes. The last one I played was Diablo on the PlayStation 3. Me and my friend played it together. I do sometimes get into games, as they can be fun and a good way to relax.”
Do you own any consoles?
“I have a PlayStation 3 from my sponsors, CCP, in Iceland. But if anyone wants to give me a PlayStation 4 I’d be excited about that (laughs). I’d also try an Xbox One as well.”
What are your favorite types of games?
“I like adventure games where there are a few of you together and you go on missions; your characters gain experience and get more stuff, better swords or whatever it is. Role-playing games and such. My favorite was the Lord Of The Rings game where you are in this ‘fellowship’ and go on a quest together.”
MUSIC
What music are you into?
“Music has always been a hard question for me to answer. It’s like when somebody asks what kind of girls do you like – and I have a girlfriend, so I have to be careful here (laughs) – but it isn’t about what kind, it’s about the person.
“If you like the person, you like the person. If you like the song, you like the song. It doesn’t matter if it is hip-hop, rock, reggae, blues, jazz or classical. That’s about all I could say.”
Is there any type of music you don’t like?
“I never could listen to very heavy metal music, I believe they call it death metal. I never could get into that, it was never pleasant to listen to. Or very hardcore techno or rave music, that kind of absorbs and drowns everything around it. I could never get into that either.”
FLICKS
What is the last movie you enjoyed?
“The Wolf of Wall Street was a good movie. I liked it. I thought it was an interesting story. Does he lead a similar lifestyle to me? Not really (laughs)! That is pretty far from my lifestyle, which is why I found it interesting. I don’t know how accurate it is but it was interesting to see.”
So, how does your lifestyle compare to that of a millionaire playboy stockbroker?
“It doesn’t. My lifestyle is pretty simple: eat, train, hang out, sleep. That is pretty much all that happens. But I am a very open-minded person in general so if anybody does want to set me up on a yacht to party with supermodels, well, I’m always open to new experiences (laughs). I’d definitely like to be on a yacht.”
Is a trip to the movies your favorite way to relax?
“It’s definitely one of them. I usually just hang out with my friends, or think about things which are going to get me somewhere, things I enjoy, things I like. Positive things, solutions, then I work on them. I also like being outside, hiking.”
CARS
What car do you drive?
“I don’t have a car. My girlfriend does though. I only live two minutes from the gym and five minutes from my favorite restaurant, so what do I need a car for?”
That didn’t stop you getting into a crash which nearly cost you your life last year.
“True. We had a car accident in November. We were on our way to a volcano park, the road had been cleared the whole way apart from this one particular turn. The water from the river had washed up to the road and had frozen over. So when we were halfway into the turn the car started to slide and then we rolled down the hill into the river.
“We rolled about four times and luckily we landed on the wheels, in the shallow part of the river. Nobody got hurt and we got out the car safely. That was pretty intense. We were pretty lucky.”
Did your facial expression change when you were rolling downhill?
“(Laughs) I don’t know, I wasn’t looking in the mirror. I think I lifted one eyebrow – maybe!”
Have you seen The Many Faces of Gunnar Nelson meme online, where your face remains the same in all situations?
“I’ve seen that; my friends don’t quite understand it. I am actually very good at pulling faces. I can understand that I come across as a pretty cold human being at times. I don’t know, maybe because when I concentrate I don’t really have too much facial expression.”
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