Blog - Marlon Quinn

Comfort Buried Deep Under the Fear of Breathlessness

How do we face fear?

That rising tension in the chest, the mind tightening, the clam up of the body, the building resistance to all that is physically present in front of our eyes and the mental swirls that seem to magnify the stress of the moment.

To face our fears. Fear is such a deep seeded emotion, it’s a gift in reality, our senses interpreting the environment we find ourselves in, computing the dangers and risks, allocating resources to the assessment against all previously known instances to ascertain if we are prepared and experienced enough to face this looming situation unfolding unexpectedly in front of us, or, all around us.

Swim Wild with Leatherjackets: Winter Immersion in Port Phillip Bay

Wild Swimming Mornington Peninsula Marlon Quinn

Sunset Winter Immersion In The Abyss

In the moments it takes to view the below video clip, magic can happen in Nature beyond our comprehension.

Imagine a time drenched in the late afternoon light of the low-setting sun, immersed in the cool calm seas, bare skin alive with vigour, body suspended effortlessly moving within this free abyss.

Project Bike: Pinarello FP Quattro and Campagnolo Centaur Gravel Bike

Pinarello FP Quattro Carbon Fibre Gravel Bike at Penni Ave Distillery Mornington Peninsula

Pinarello FP Quattro Carbon Fibre Monocoque Gravel Bike Small 51.5cm equipped with Campagnolo Centaur 10-Speed Groupset.

The Italian bike-house of Pinarello is yet another example of a bicycle company born from the deep heart of a man with a passion for the simple art of bicycles. Born in 1922, Nani (Giovanni) Pinarello won his first esteemed road bicycle race at age 20, and four years later in 1946 turned professional, wearing the black jersey in the 34th edition of the Giro D’Italia in 1953.

What’s this black jersey you may ask? The Maglia Nera has particular symbolism, akin to the lanterne rouge in the Tour de France…

Nani was the last racer ever to be awarded the black jersey during its 6-year presence from 1946-1951, so it could be said its carriage is left upon his shoulders, the last man to finish the 34th Giro race and the last man to ever don the jersey.

The jersey’s story itself gives light to a whole other sense of character and playfulness, and you’ll soon learn why the Pinarello FP Quattro Gravel Bike is so fittingly displayed in the Mornington Peninsula’s Rye-based gin and vodka distillery, Penni Ave Distillery.

Swim Wild Into the Eternal Gardens: Exploring the Bass Strait Coast

Kelp of the Great Southern Reef Mornington Peninsula

The eternal gardens of the Great Southern Reef coastal shelves, nooks, hidden bays and exposed beaches of Bass Strait are an escape worthy of King Neptune’s proclamation. Sunny Spring days in September in the cool waters of the Mornington Peninsula backbeaches when the swell is low and the wind favourable are like nowhere else on Earth.

The Joy of Nothingness: A Murky Coast Swim

Sometimes it’s about the nothingness. The no way. The no doing. Non-being.

There’s an unrealistic expectation that every time you enter the water that a bewildering spectacle of marine life is right there for you to swim through.

Freediving the Bass Strait Coast on a Darker Winter Day

Underwater Mornington Peninsula Bass Strait Coast Winter

Sometimes it’s a little darker and disturbing in the water, it’s not always of our choosing.

But isn’t that what life asks of us?

To savour the light and calm, recover, energise, lift our spirits to a new plane.

Project Bike: Open Mould Carbon Frame and Campagnolo EPS

Mercier-Badged Open Mould Carbon Fibre Road Bicycle Medium 54cm equipped with Campagnolo Athena EPS Electronic 11-Speed Groupset.

There’s something about the French way, even the simplest of simplest things has an air of elegance and traditional expertise about it. The humblest of daily items, the baguette, it signifies a touch of flair, of passion, of the qualities you’d expect from artisans making bespoke incredible things. Not like our stack of pain, *cough*, sorry ‘bread’ in aisle two that resembles a cubist influenced block of white dough from a sturdy and safe stackable hard wearing rectangular tin, presented in a colourful plastic bag with a matching white square collar around its spun neck. That’s just tip top.

Gasping? So am I.

But there it is, your daily bread in France, created by an artificer flamboyantly sifting and lifting just a few ingredients; flour, salt and water. Evoking the same expertise in its production as you have upon the allure of Baccarat Crystal dining wear as you’re encompassed in the joie de vivre imbued upon you as you lift your butter knife in the restaurant bearing the same name, Cristal Room Baccarat, Paris.

How is it that this ultimate craftsmanship for a simple daily doughy icon seems so far out of reach?