NOT FOR EVERYONE: THE FACES OF OUR CAMPAIGN

The stories of the five protagonists featured in the hero video to help launch our new international media campaign

Five protagonists were selected to be part of our video. These are people who have managed to accomplish great things in different fields thanks to the bravery, sacrifice and tenacity they’ve shown.

OMER
Milan is his city, his home, but above all his greatest inspiration. Omer is one of the most innovative street artists in Milan and one of the most promising in Italy.

Federico Unia – his real name – was born in Milan, a city that strongly influenced his personal and artistic development. This is reflected in his words: "This city is like a beautiful woman: fascinating, intriguing, ravishing." It’s precisely this wonderful and damned metropolis, confounding and dazed by heterogeneous advertising, that provides the framework through which he can express his unique and inimitable language.

After graduating with honours from the Brera Academy, he began to collaborate with the artistic group TheBagArtFctory in 2004. In 2007, he joined the TDK Crew, a historic Milanese group which is recognised as one of the most well-established entities in the Italian art scene.

Omer's artistic identity stems from the collective experimentation of Pop Art and the reflection over disrupting New Dada's ideas. He draws inspiration from the reinterpretation of poster art carried out by Nouveau Réalisme’s affichistes (first and foremost Mimmo Rotella), from Rauschenberg’s combine paintings and also from Andy Warhol and Roy Lichenstein’s reworkings of popular icons. The end result is a unique modus operandi and a hybrid Urban-Pop creation, something which emphasises his ability to mix different styles and techniques and expresses an impressive creative insight.

Omer's life involves climbing walls, both real and imaginary, in order to let his creativity run free and express what he calls “visual emotions”. This certainly isn’t an ordinary life, this is a life which is Not For Everyone.

AIRTON COZZOLINO
For him, surfing is not just a sport, but an attitude, a religion, a way of life. Growing up with a surfboard at his feet, the waves have always been in Airton Cozzolino Lopes’s destiny.

He was born in 1994 in Ilha Do Sal, a small island in Cape Verde off the coast of West Africa, a paradise for the world's greatest kitesurfers due to the strong winds of the Atlantic.

Airton was just four years old when he came into contact with a surfboard for the first time. He spent his teenage years surrounded by surfers, from whom he learned the art of riding the waves, and he’s managed to refine his skills through the years and many trips out to sea. In 2010, he was adopted by the Italian Libero Cozzolino, who moved to Capo Verde to become a kitsurfing instructor. It’s a passion that brings father and son together, so much so that they’ve founded two kitesurfing and surfing schools – one in Capo Verde and one in Chia, Sardinia.

But Airton's life is not limited to teaching. Cozzolino has taken part in many international competitions since 2011, when he won the kitesurfing world championship in the wave category. Three years later, he organised his own competition (Red Bull Unfastened) and achieved further success at the GWA Wave & Strapless Freestyle Tour. In 2016, he won the Kitesurfing Pro in Tarifa, while he took home another World Kitesurfing title in 2017.

Kitesurfing, surfing and competitions aren’t enough for someon like Airton, however, an athlete who is always on the lookout for something that reflects his life, a life that is not for everyone. This is why he has designed a special surfboard equipped with a special foil fin that allows him to literally fly over the water. Through this, a new sport comes into being, one which – by using a very similar principle to that of a plane taking off – requires no waves or wind to glide over the water’s surface, irrespective of whether that water belongs to a stream, lake or river. A discipline which requires strength, persistence and perserverence, a discipline which is Not for Everyone.

STERMY
Two names are in play here: one tells the life of a man from Liguria and an adopted Londoner, the other a story of success in a virtual world, a world full of adversaries where it’s becoming harder to break through as each day passes. In 15 years as a gamer, Alessandro Avallone, who is more widely known as ‘Stermy’, has recorded numerous international wins in ten different games or, as he calls them, ‘disciplines’. While he dreamed of becoming a professional footballer when he was young, over time he discovered that he could become a winner in the world of online gaming.

Stermy began his career as a gamer in 2001, when he took part in the World Cyber Games, more specifically the Quake III Arena tournament. At the age of just 15, he qualified for the finals in South Korea and became one of the world's most highly acclaimed professional Quake III Arena players. He then turned his attentions to Painkiller and continued to be successful. In 2005, he came third in the final championship event and also took part in the World Series of Video Games, through which he gained international visibility. From shooting games to stategic games, he became the first professional player to get involved in the Championship Gaming Series (CGS) as a FIFA player, competing as part of the Francisco Optx team for two seasons.  As captain, Stermy led the team to second place in the CGS world finals. Since 2009, Stermy has primarily specialised in Quake Live, finishing in the top three at the QuakeCon tournament from 2009 to 2011 and winning the Dreamhack Summer and Winter events with his team in 2011. In 2012, he took part in Shootmania Storm, winning every tournament he competed in, including two world titles in the Electronic Sports World Cup and IGN Pro League. In 2017, he switched to new ID Software title Quake Champions and finished second at QuakeCon. In 2019, he claimed his most recent title, winning the European edition of Twitch Rivals.

Becoming a professional gamer is like an obstacle course, you take it game by game. You have to make a name for yourself and demonstrate on a daily basis that competing in the virtual world can be tougher than in the real world. Not everyone succeeds, it's something that’s Not for Everyone.

JESSICA KAHAWATY
Life as a model doesn’t just consist of catwalks, dresses and parties. Continuously travelling from one country to another, from one continent to another, allows young girls to experience different cultures, languages and beliefs on a regular basis. It also allows them to change the way they see things. This is why Jessica Kahawaty can’t just simply be labelled as a model.

Jessica is an ambassador for some of the world's top brands, from IWC Watches to Louis Vuitton, and she’s appeared on the covers of pubblications such as The New York Times, Vogue Worldwide, Elle, L'Officiel, Conde Nast Traveler, Harper's Bazaar and Marie Claire. She has also presented television programmes. But this was never enough for her. Jessica has chosen to go down a path which is not for everyone, using her name to shine a light on issues of global interest and encourage young women to reach their full potential through education and the arts. Her background in Business Finance and Human Rights Law has allowed her to work with international NGOs and humanitarian organisations. Through these, she has encountered very different realities, from the largest refugee camp in Syria through to observing the Rohingya crisis after visiting Bangladesh with the United Nations.

Jessica is not just a model. Jessica is a philanthropist, an ambassador, a missionary. An Australian with Arabic origins, she’s united her two souls and managed to take advantage of being under the spotlight and her name, which became well-known globally in a short amount of time, to spread a positive message, to spread a different message, a message that says: Not for Everyone.

DUAN JINGTING
Dare to dream. This is the inspirational and rousing message sent out by D. LAB Dance, the dance school founded and directed by Duan Jingting – a dancer, a choreographer, an artist.

After graduating from the Shanghai Dance School, she won the Special Jury Prize in the Shanghai International Ballet Competition, became the "Best New Ballerina" of the 20th Varna International Ballet Competition in Bulgaria and came third in the seventh National Taoli Cup Dance Competition of Junior Group. She became part of the Shanghai Ballet and Hong Kong Ballet, playing all the major roles in the great classical ballets.

In 2014, she moved behind the scenes and founded the D.LAB DANCE, a school dedicated to both professional and beginner dancers, to children and adults. Many different dances are practised, ranging from classical and modern dance through to traditional Chinese dances. All of this has led to it becoming one of the most well-known schools in Shanghai.

She takes part in a number of television programmes dedicated to dance, from ‘Street Dance of China’ through to ‘Shake it up’, while she also creates the choreography for the show ‘PhantaCity’. Her grace and elegance – traits that not everyone possesses – make Duan Jingting one of the most sought-after artists for fashion magazines. Her face tells the story of hard work, effort, the necessary perseverence to succeed in the world of dance – a world of strong and determined butterflies. A world that is Not for Everyone.


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NOT FOR EVERYONE | FC INTERNAZIONALE MILANO BRAND CAMPAIGN

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