In 2009, I travelled to Rio de Janerio with Pirelli North America. It was a glitzy affair with a week at a posh hotel in Cobbacobana. But my heart was in seeing the Favela Rochina - the slums of Rio. When the glitz was over, I met this tall, white German named Max who showed me around - no tours, no bullshit - just the authentic look of everyday life from a local.

…and I’ll never forget what he told me, wearing his gleaming golden necklace in what’s considered one of the “the world’s most dangerous places”: “If I was on the Cobbacobanna right now, I’d get robbed. Here, nobody will touch me.”