STRIKE BACK AGAINST GYM BOREDOM
Aldo Kane is an ex-royal Marines sniper who now rigs stunts for Marvel’s Avengers. Bring a sense of adventure to your workout
It’s impossible not to warm to Aldo Kane – his bearded grin and Scottish brogue are infectious. It is somewhat startling to learn, then, that he is a trained assassin.
Before setting up Vertical Planet, a company that provides logistical support and security for film crews working in extreme environments around the world, Kane was a Royal Marines commando sniper. Having enlisted at 16, it was there that he laid the foundations for his battle-ready body with the corp’s punishing physical regimen. “I spent over a decade doing heavy-duty stuff in horrible places,” Kane recalls of his time serving in Afghanistan, Iraq and Northern Ireland.
After leaving the military, he found that with a little tweaking, the lessons he’d learned – discipline, meticulous prep, problem solving – could be applied to film production. He also expanded his repertoire and armoury: “I became a kayak instructor, learnt to skydive, skied in Norway and worked on stunt rigging in South Africa.” The investment paid off both physically and professionally. Kane has been in TV and film ever since, working as an advisor on BBC and Hollywood productions, including Avengers: Age Of Ultron.
His global travels are documented by pictures of Kane furiously skipping in a Chinese car park or pistol squatting above an active African volcano on his Instagram page (@aldokane). The caption “No gym, no excuse” is indicative of his training outlook. When you’re busy hopping continents you fall back on simple training protocols and rigid mental discipline to maintain your fitness.
“It sounds like a cliché but your mind is the most powerful part of you. If you can get your head right, everything falls into place. That’s true of physical fitness, too.” In 2016, he proved this point when, with no ocean-rowing experience, he was part of a five-man team that crossed the Atlantic in 50 days. His routine for those seven weeks at sea? Row for two hours, sleep for one, eat, repeat.
With that sort of experience behind him, it’s clear we have a lot to learn from Kane. Fall in line.