The secret to Usain Bolt’s success could have been scoliosis?

Russell Sheldrake

What is Time+Tide doing writing about Usain Bolt’s scoliosis? It’s just one of the many things Bolt and Andrew McUtchen talk about in the first episode of our podcast series, Watches And. In this new series, Andrew will be sitting down with all kinds of people, many of them not watch collectors, but all with a watch in their story, giving us a glimpse into these varied lives through the story of a timepiece or two.

To start us off with a (big) bang, we have the fastest man ever recorded, and still the world record holder for the 100m, 200m, and 4 x 100m relay, Usain Bolt. A man whose talent and charisma shot him to global fame as a young Jamaican sprinter, and after becoming the first man to win Olympic gold three times in the 100m and 200m, he cemented himself as the GOAT of sprinting. With the Olympics currently dominating front and back pages around the world, we thought there was no one better than the long-time Hublot ambassador with whom to begin this new podcast series.

In this episode, Bolt and Andrew sit down on the deck of a boat, just off the Ibiza coast, both fittingly sporting their Hublots. They cover all of the big topics in life, such as losing watches, Bolt’s new music career, and what it feels like to hit top speed.

Now 37 years old, Bolt has very much hung up his racing spikes, and admits to Andrew: “Doing nothing is a real joy. I started to work out more because all I do now is drink beer and hang out.” After watching his documentary, I am Bolt, I think we can all agree he deserves a bit of a break now his racing career is over.  Coincidentally, Bolt still watches his documentary from time to time, clearly enjoying the nostalgia of looking back on those winning memories. But there was one thing he realised when it first came out, and he saw the reaction from it. “A lot of people don’t know how hard we work behind the scenes to get where we are.”

Of course, we weren’t just there to reminisce with the sprinter, we still wanted to talk about watches. Whether it was the time he lost (and later recovered) a Hublot in a hotel room, or how he started working with the brand in the first place. “I did a lot of charity work with [Hublot] around the world when I first started” he says. “And that was one of the main reasons I joined with them.” While he still keeps up with his charity work, Bolt has found a new purpose in life – music. “I’m still new to the game, I’m still fresh” he admits. But he knew he needed to find a new source of motivation, and fell in love with producing music with his best friend, manager, and now singer, NJ.

Listen to the full interview now on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and find out how Bolt feels when he hits top speed, and how he could manage to forget his Hublot in his hotel room!