SIMONE YOU’RE THE GREATEST!!!! Ahem okay I’m fine, I just had to get that out! (And also it’s true, she is the greatest.) (If the Olympics are canceled again, I will understand that choice and I will also be bummed out.) And while this cover is obviously very simple, it also doesn’t need any bells and whistles; she looks so relaxed and gorgeous and happy (and flexible). It’s so eye-catching and so good. I’d pick this magazine up at the Hudson News at the airport! (This is my litmus test for covers.)
The set-up was very simple:
The setup The shot pic.twitter.com/OK7nuG6ihL
— Ahmad T. Barber (@theahmadbarber) June 9, 2021
Also, for some reason the version of the cover that we got comes across as sort of matte; you get a better look at how it really looks in that tweet. It’s so good!
The profile is a good and snappy read, although if you follow gymnastics or Simone, you probably know most of it. I thought this was great:
Luckily, Simone’s training facility feels like home. A big part of that is because her parents, Ron and Nellie Biles, actually own the gym. Located in Spring, Texas, the World Champions Centre’s mission is to provide a safe, healthy, fun environment to develop each individual to reach their maximum potential. As a Black gymnast in a sport that was, for a long time, devoid of diversity, having parents who own a training center is meaningful. “Representation matters, and we want to inspire the next generation to pursue their passion,” Simone says. “Kids can come in and we will be training in the back, and they can see we are just like them. It helps them understand they can do it too.”
Kids probably also come in and want to watch Simone Biles flip through the air with the greatest of ease. I sure would.
Photographed by AB + DM; the July/August issue of Heath is on sale June 11th.
