TITLE: A ROAD TO VICTORY

Sumo Wrestling - A subject of unusual and profound interest of mine from an early age. I remember seeing short mentions of it on tv and would catch myself hypnotised by something so different and distant from my reality - At that stage, that was as far as the significance for that interest reached. Two opportunities to visit Japan almost 30 years later served as my immersion into the Sumo culture, unveiling unconscious interests behind my early childhood "sumo hypnosis".

Not a single research was done about the sport before the photographs where made - The "blind" immersion into the Sumo world kept a conditioned mindset away, taking the photographs into a more instinctive and sensitive path.

2 months into the immersion, in between photographing training and championship routines, a significant part of the early hypnosis was revealed. "Tattooed" into the essence of those human beings, are years of intense delivery of their (and their ancestors' ) dedication to athleticism and spiritualism in search of enlightenment - A powerful combination that translates into legitimate demonstrations of their internal balanced feelings . A balance between determination, respect, focus, concentration, humbleness, strength and other things - and because they are considerably big people, all their representativeness scales up the impressions they have upon us.

The photos in this serie - The Road to Victory - try to reflect a little of what was said above, through instinctive moments of humble attempts to connect with their deliveries during their daily routines. The B&W touch to the photos was used to bring an old/ ancestral feeling to the photographic results - A dedication to the importance of living the present with reflections and considerations of the past, towards a meaningful future. A ROAD TO VICTORY.

AUTHOR: Thiago Diz (Brazil)

Sports, lifestyle and travel photographer from Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.

For Thiago Diz, born in Rio de Janeiro but raised in 6 different countries from the age of 4 through to 15, photography became a way for him to create memories of the constantly changing people, cultures and places in his life. Now specialized in Action/Adventure Sports Photography, you will find him in the most unusual places always carrying as much equipment needed to ensure that the envisioned shot is made! His belief that one is a reflection of his own experiences, sets him on a personal and professional goal of meeting, learning, participating , sharing and photographing other adventurous souls during their moments of powerful and unforgettable experiences. This mindset has taken him around the world and his pictures to publications in several magazines around the world. Go Live Life!