Just Do It – DOWNTOWN-Issue #011 Is Here!

My horse is fighting. It’s sinking into the mud. I can see the panic in its eyes. It gives up. Panic starts rising inside me too. Fuck, what the hell have I done? Why didn’t I take the other route – or at least stay on track?

My race diary for Pass Of Tears – one of the toughest horse races in the world – couldn’t have started any worse. It’s Day 1, and the only thing running through my head is: don’t give up now – keep going.

I had the audacity to take my very first riding lesson just seven months before this ten-day race through the wildest corners of Patagonia. Which gave me exactly seven months not only to learn how to ride, but also everything else an adventure like this demands – sleeping outside in the snow, surviving on my own, reading maps and using a compass, and figuring out how not to suffocate from my own smell while wearing the same T-shirt for days. The fact that it all became way crazier than I could ever have imagined? You’ll read about that in this issue.

And with that, we’ve already arrived at the theme of this issue. Most things in life are impossible to be ready for. You simply have to do them. At DOWNTOWN, we like being beginners. If you find yourself asking, “How the hell am I supposed to pull this off?” you know you’re on the right track. I’ve asked myself that question more this year than ever before – while throwing myself into all kinds of adventures.

The goal? Not just to learn new skills and gain new perspectives, but to develop one of the most powerful abilities of all: mastering the unknown, uncertainty, and discomfort. Once you learn how to deal with that, you can achieve almost anything. That’s where you keep going while most people stop.

No question: first times usually suck. Chester, an American Airlines pilot, is sitting casually beside me. We’d met less than 30 minutes earlier, chatted briefly, and without asking for ID or anything else, he stuffed me straight into a Cessna 172 S. I had never sat in a small airplane before, and I had absolutely no clue how these things even fly. And Chester clearly had no intention of explaining it to me either. The moment we take off from Auburn Municipal Airport in Northern California, he hands me the controls and says in his deep American voice: “Alright Robin, you’re flying to Marysville Airport now – and that’s where you’ll practice your first three landings. Alone, of course. I’m here if you need me. But you got this.”

I desperately wait for more to come through the Bose headphones. Nothing. Radio silence. I try to stay calm. My girlfriend is sitting in the back seat. Brave, I think to myself. That she’s actually doing this. Later she tells me I looked surprisingly calm. And somehow I was – even though cold fear sweat was running down my back. Because the truth was: I had absolutely no idea how I was supposed to pull this off.

I don’t know whether it’s the wind or my shaking hands pushing the airplane sideways during approach. I slam down onto the runway. The Cessna bounces back into the air like a rubber ball before touching down again 50 meters further ahead.

“Awesome, you did great!” Before I can even feel relieved, Chester pushes the throttle forward again – and we take off. For the next round.

Scene change: California to Finland. “Fuck. Again.” All I can see is my windshield disappearing into the snow. “Stoooop!” I quickly grab the walkie-talkie and, for the seventh time that day, call out: “I’m stuck.”

I had signed up for an ice rally training with German rally champion Armin Schwarzer. Not polished Porsche driving on wide open tracks, but tight technical courses with elevation changes, brutal chicanes, and rally spikes mounted on modified Toyota GR Yarises. It’s Day 2. Yesterday, I honestly had no clue what I was doing. Fabio – Armin’s son and active WRC2 rally driver – gives me instructions over the radio: “You have to drive the corner before you actually reach it. Position the car the way you want to exit the corner.” I feel completely overwhelmed. How the hell am I supposed to do that? A corner is a corner.

And even though he tries explaining the theory to me, I simply can’t imagine how it’s supposed to work. So he jumps in, drives it himself, lets me feel it, see it, experience it – and then switches to the passenger seat to coach me. One day later, it finally clicks.

You can read all the books you want. Buy all the online masterclasses you want. Some things simply have to be experienced to be understood. The best theory in the world means nothing if you can’t apply it.

There are so many dreams. Often connected to products we dream about – or products we’ve been told to dream about. A car. A bike. An espresso machine. A rooftop tent promising freedom and fulfillment. But what matters far more than owning those things is what you actually do with them. Because honestly – who wants to be the “all-the-gear-no-idea” guy?

Of course, this issue is also packed with comparison tests – from espresso machines and a new generation of rooftop tents to turntables and personal favorite products. And those matter. A lot. Because there’s only one thing more frustrating than spending your hard-earned money on the wrong product: not using it at all – or not using it properly.

And that’s exactly the point for me: the best products are only as good as your ability to use them.

Learning new skills takes more effort, more courage – and often comes with fear. And that’s a good thing. Because that discomfort is the clearest sign that we’re leaving our comfort zone instead of getting stuck inside it.

And magazines shouldn’t stand still either. Especially not in a time where AI produces more content every single day while everything simultaneously becomes more generic and interchangeable.

Most brands sell products. Some even sell dreams. But only very few actually help people live them. That’s exactly where we see a massive gap – and the next big opportunity that seemingly nobody wants to tackle. Not with more stuff. Not with more content. But with unique experiences that change skills, mindset, perspective, and confidence.

For a long time, classic luxury meant ownership. The next car. The next watch. The next object symbolizing success. But what people truly value is changing fundamentally. Not just things anymore – but skills. Memories. Experiences. The feeling of mastering something that once seemed impossible.

In the past, luxury was about owning things others didn’t have. Today, it’s increasingly about experiencing things others wouldn’t dare to do. That’s exactly why we’re currently building something new. Not another traditional consumer brand, but a platform designed to help people grow beyond themselves – in curated collaborations with the best outdoor brands. If you want to be part of it, drop me a line at robin@41publishing.com

Because in the end, every product is only as good as the life you live with it. And that’s where we want to take DOWNTOWN: away from pure consumption and toward what all of us actually want deep down – doing cool shit and live our dreams.

We could also wait forever until all doubts and fears disappear or until we finally feel “ready.” But then we’d never do anything. The art is doing it anyway. That’s what adventure is. And the more you practice it, the better you get at it.

As you can see: life is meant to be lived. So what are we waiting for?

Words: Robin Schmitt Photos: diverse