WEBVTT - No Rules on the Riviera 0:00:01.760 --> 0:00:02.880 Causer Media. 0:00:06.760 --> 0:00:10.320 You're listening to the Away Days podcast on the ground 0:00:10.520 --> 0:00:17.279 outside reporting from the underbelly with me Jake Hanrahan. To 0:00:17.320 --> 0:00:22.040 watch Awaydays documentaries, go to YouTube dot com slash at 0:00:22.200 --> 0:00:28.639 away Days TV. This is part one, No Rules Is 0:00:28.720 --> 0:00:34.800 No Rules, Episode two. This podcast is a production of 0:00:35.000 --> 0:00:47.199 H eleven Studio and Call Zone Media. I leave the 0:00:47.200 --> 0:00:49.680 hotel at eleven pm and jump in the rental card 0:00:49.680 --> 0:00:54.000 that I've got. The guy at the desk said he'd 0:00:54.120 --> 0:00:57.240 upgraded me, given me a much bigger car for camp. 0:00:57.880 --> 0:01:00.560 Turns out the streets and can a very narrow and 0:01:00.600 --> 0:01:04.720 the likelihood of scratching a car increases significantly when said 0:01:04.840 --> 0:01:08.959 car is upgraded to being much bigger. Clearly he was 0:01:08.959 --> 0:01:11.960 looking to pocket the deposit. Let me just tell you 0:01:12.120 --> 0:01:15.280 they really hate Brits here in the south of France. 0:01:17.720 --> 0:01:20.560 I take my time driving through the night, following the 0:01:20.600 --> 0:01:23.280 map to get to the destination this victor fella sent 0:01:23.319 --> 0:01:26.880 me earlier. I drive up steep hills and I can 0:01:26.920 --> 0:01:29.400 see the sparkling lights of the harbor in the distance, 0:01:29.640 --> 0:01:33.520 where celebrity yachts bob up and down. The roads here 0:01:33.600 --> 0:01:36.640 are dark. The few street lights that are installed on 0:01:36.680 --> 0:01:40.720 this steep incline illuminate only big gates with high walls. 0:01:41.200 --> 0:01:44.319 This is a compound type community for people that make 0:01:44.480 --> 0:01:49.280 huge profits. Even in the dark. The area seems quiet, discreete, 0:01:49.520 --> 0:01:53.520 and affluent. After about ten minutes, are pulled to a 0:01:53.600 --> 0:01:56.840 stop at the location. It's a turning circle at the 0:01:56.840 --> 0:02:00.800 top of a hills, surrounded by fenced off wasteland, characteristic 0:02:00.880 --> 0:02:03.520 for the opulence of the rest of this area. A 0:02:03.640 --> 0:02:07.920 message Victor, I'm here. He's seen it. No reply, though 0:02:09.040 --> 0:02:13.600 I sit around waiting. This is surely a ruse. They're 0:02:13.639 --> 0:02:16.360 laughing now about how they tricked the nosy reporter me 0:02:16.840 --> 0:02:20.200 into traveling to can into a rich gated community. No 0:02:20.320 --> 0:02:23.639 less to see a no rules fight on concrete. I'm 0:02:23.680 --> 0:02:29.280 sure of it. I get out the car and wander 0:02:29.320 --> 0:02:32.760 around the street. Lights are dull here, but enough to 0:02:32.800 --> 0:02:37.480 illuminate the Waldorf housing compounds connected to the wasteland. It's 0:02:37.520 --> 0:02:39.840 the tail end of a wealthy street, but with a 0:02:39.840 --> 0:02:43.799 few strangely abandoned buildings on the wasteland, no doubt ready 0:02:43.840 --> 0:02:48.920 to be torn down by developers. My phone buzzes Victor. 0:02:49.400 --> 0:02:52.880 Two minutes. I head back to the car and wait. 0:02:55.280 --> 0:02:58.440 Sure enough, a small black VW pulls up the hill, 0:02:59.080 --> 0:03:00.679 headlights and blur faces. 0:03:01.400 --> 0:03:02.680 Inside. The car is full. 0:03:03.120 --> 0:03:05.240 It pulls to a stop near me, and Lad's dressed 0:03:05.240 --> 0:03:08.960 in all black hop out. They look around. They seem paranoid. 0:03:09.440 --> 0:03:12.240 A few of them are wearing black face masks. One 0:03:12.320 --> 0:03:16.840 has sunglasses on. Past midnight. I exit my car wearily 0:03:16.919 --> 0:03:19.720 and greet them. They nod, say hi, and then two 0:03:19.760 --> 0:03:23.200 of them tell me their names. It's Victor and Leon. 0:03:24.040 --> 0:03:27.880 Thank god, it's not a scam. I'm not allowed to 0:03:27.919 --> 0:03:31.440 record at this point, but in thick French accents, they 0:03:31.480 --> 0:03:33.920 explain in English that they just wanted to meet me 0:03:33.960 --> 0:03:37.600 before the fight tomorrow. They seem more nervous than I am. 0:03:38.360 --> 0:03:41.080 But the fight is actually real and it will be 0:03:41.200 --> 0:03:44.040 taking place in one of the abandoned buildings behind the 0:03:44.120 --> 0:03:47.480 spiked fence of the wasteland. Honestly, I can't think of 0:03:47.520 --> 0:03:50.920 a worse place to hold an illegal underground fight. But 0:03:50.960 --> 0:03:54.640 they explain that not everything in can is Rolex and Hollywood. 0:03:55.720 --> 0:03:59.000 The palm trees, the yachts, the red carpets. That's all 0:03:59.040 --> 0:04:02.559 the rich folk to and can into a playground for themselves. 0:04:03.440 --> 0:04:06.600 They say there's another side to the city. Though that's 0:04:06.600 --> 0:04:10.720 where these guys are from. Lower income, drugs and inequality. 0:04:12.360 --> 0:04:14.560 Due to the ultra wealthy buying up the land and 0:04:14.600 --> 0:04:18.719 the luxury bricks and water can property prices rise even 0:04:18.760 --> 0:04:22.159 for those living below the breadline. The richest ten percent 0:04:22.200 --> 0:04:25.159 of people in France owe nearly half of all the 0:04:25.240 --> 0:04:29.080 money and property in the country. As you can imagine, 0:04:29.120 --> 0:04:32.040 the beauty of the southern French coast is a huge 0:04:32.040 --> 0:04:38.120 magnet for this abundant wealth, and so Leon and Victor 0:04:38.200 --> 0:04:40.880 explained to me that there's a deeper reasoning for them 0:04:40.920 --> 0:04:46.080 to hold an illegal, violent exit society type event inside 0:04:46.080 --> 0:04:48.839 the belly of the Beast. They tell me that this 0:04:48.960 --> 0:04:52.680 is their way of taking back their city. Gentrification and 0:04:52.720 --> 0:04:55.120 movie stars might push them out of their own homes, 0:04:55.200 --> 0:04:57.400 but they won't stop them turning up and taking over 0:04:57.440 --> 0:05:00.360 one of their abandoned buildings for a no rules fight. 0:05:01.240 --> 0:05:04.280 There's some defiance to this, as they explain it, their 0:05:04.320 --> 0:05:09.039 focus isn't necessarily political. It's just a very straightforward fuck 0:05:09.080 --> 0:05:11.800 you to a society that's happy to abandon them. 0:05:12.120 --> 0:05:12.920 I'm not gonna lie. 0:05:12.960 --> 0:05:16.600 I quite like these lads already taking back something unavailable 0:05:16.640 --> 0:05:19.760 to them due to hyper plutocracy, even if just for 0:05:19.839 --> 0:05:23.119 a moment, is quite appealing. I've seen my own town 0:05:23.200 --> 0:05:26.680 back in England become more and more expensive while conditions 0:05:26.720 --> 0:05:30.800 get worse and worse. Why because rich yuppies from London 0:05:30.839 --> 0:05:33.160 are able to buy a nice but cheap houses near 0:05:33.200 --> 0:05:36.320 the train station and commute one hour into the city 0:05:36.360 --> 0:05:39.480 for work. Problem is they spend next to no money 0:05:39.480 --> 0:05:41.880 in our town and simply use it as a place 0:05:41.920 --> 0:05:44.520 to sleep. We got all the negatives of a dying 0:05:44.640 --> 0:05:49.520 town and none of the questionable positives of gentrification. It's 0:05:49.560 --> 0:05:53.359 not exactly the yuppies fault, but it's nonetheless excruciating to 0:05:53.400 --> 0:05:56.120 see the council try to rebrand the shitthole as a 0:05:56.160 --> 0:05:59.960 business hub while working families from the area get poorer 0:06:00.200 --> 0:06:03.760 and poorer. I like the idea of Leon and Victor's 0:06:03.839 --> 0:06:06.320 fight club. I agreed to head back in the morning, 0:06:06.720 --> 0:06:09.520 very early in the morning, though, they said like in 0:06:09.640 --> 0:06:12.320 four hours. They want it to be low key before 0:06:12.320 --> 0:06:14.919 the rich folk wake up. I head back to my 0:06:14.960 --> 0:06:34.640 hotel and set about ten alarms. After a few hours 0:06:34.640 --> 0:06:37.720 of trying to sleep, my first alarm goes off. 0:06:39.160 --> 0:06:39.440 Great. 0:06:40.040 --> 0:06:43.440 I couldn't sleep. Honestly, I'm pretty buzzing to see my 0:06:43.520 --> 0:06:47.320 first properly organized no rules fight club, as opposed to 0:06:47.400 --> 0:06:50.839 just two lads meeting up like Joey and Bashtid. I 0:06:50.880 --> 0:06:53.839 get ready, first down about a pint of coffee, and 0:06:53.960 --> 0:06:56.159 drive up to the gate community where the fight will 0:06:56.160 --> 0:06:59.800 take place. As the sun rises, the beauty of the 0:07:00.320 --> 0:07:03.320 is visible from every corner of the winding roads up 0:07:03.360 --> 0:07:06.240 to the fight area. The view alone must add an 0:07:06.240 --> 0:07:09.240 extra fifty grand to the house prices here must be 0:07:09.240 --> 0:07:10.520 incredible to wake up to that. 0:07:10.600 --> 0:07:11.480 Every morning. 0:07:13.320 --> 0:07:16.080 Drive up the hill and the total and complete contrast 0:07:16.200 --> 0:07:20.480 dawns on me, the safe, sanitized, wealthy neighborhood and the 0:07:20.680 --> 0:07:24.920 organized ultra violence that's about to take place. It's perfect. 0:07:25.400 --> 0:07:29.840 No rules is more than just fighting. I pull up 0:07:29.840 --> 0:07:31.720 to the wasteland and I can see it all now. 0:07:32.240 --> 0:07:35.640 A few broken down buildings behind, a spiked iron fence, 0:07:36.080 --> 0:07:40.760 overgrown shrubbery in every direction, a huge concrete water tower nearby. 0:07:41.200 --> 0:07:43.800 It's a strange mess at the highest point of what's 0:07:43.880 --> 0:07:47.960 otherwise a beautiful place to live. One of the lads 0:07:48.000 --> 0:07:51.120 steps out from the makeshift fight venue, all in black, 0:07:51.240 --> 0:07:55.680 head to toe, balaklava hood up emotions for me to 0:07:55.720 --> 0:07:57.960 come through a bent out gap in the railings. So 0:07:58.000 --> 0:08:00.200 I jump out the car and off I go up. 0:08:03.480 --> 0:08:13.000 How are you doing? No bad? Three? The gap is 0:08:13.040 --> 0:08:17.920 the arena fight over here. 0:08:18.000 --> 0:08:24.080 Yeah, it's a crazy view. 0:08:31.080 --> 0:08:33.920 There's a lot of people who around here. No worry 0:08:33.960 --> 0:08:38.680 about the police. You didn't catch that. 0:08:38.760 --> 0:08:41.240 I said that, you're not worried about the police, and 0:08:41.320 --> 0:08:46.600 Victor said, we're gonna say proper delinquents. As for the building, 0:08:46.840 --> 0:08:50.400 it's a crumbling concrete block with two floors. It's maybe 0:08:50.440 --> 0:08:54.240 an old observation post. Everything is covered wall to wall 0:08:54.320 --> 0:08:57.480 with random graffiti. All the windows are put through and 0:08:57.559 --> 0:08:59.959 some of the stairs are falling down the floor though, 0:09:00.000 --> 0:09:03.880 oh it's spotless. Whilst I was trying to sleep, this 0:09:03.920 --> 0:09:07.320 group of young French terrorways spent last night getting the 0:09:07.320 --> 0:09:10.320 place ready. They swept out the broken glass and piles 0:09:10.360 --> 0:09:13.000 of rubbish and what the concrete ground till it shined. 0:09:13.400 --> 0:09:16.200 They're very proud of it. This is their first proper 0:09:16.240 --> 0:09:19.679 event as the recently formed No Rules Fight Club, which 0:09:19.760 --> 0:09:25.920 now has a name FPVS. What FPVS stands for is 0:09:26.160 --> 0:09:30.920 hard to translate properly into English, but it basically means this, 0:09:32.040 --> 0:09:34.559 don't come around here. Trying to suck our dicks when 0:09:34.600 --> 0:09:38.440 we get big. No, I am not joking. That is 0:09:38.480 --> 0:09:43.120 about the clearest interpretation you can get. Two lads who 0:09:43.160 --> 0:09:47.600 founded FPVS. Victor and Leon are both twenty years old, 0:09:48.000 --> 0:09:50.640 and they look it. Neither of quite grown into their 0:09:50.640 --> 0:09:53.439 frames yet, and they're hardly the typical street fighters you 0:09:53.559 --> 0:09:56.640 might think of. But they're lean, alure and they hold 0:09:56.679 --> 0:10:00.280 themselves in a way that shows they're probably prone to mischief. 0:10:01.120 --> 0:10:04.040 Despite being up all night getting things ready, they're still 0:10:04.080 --> 0:10:07.559 full of energy or cocaine or a mix of both. 0:10:08.280 --> 0:10:10.480 Either way, they cannot wait for the chaos. 0:10:10.840 --> 0:10:12.280 What is it about fighting that you love? 0:10:12.880 --> 0:10:17.319 Sodri and Alindra, You don't have any another problem or 0:10:17.360 --> 0:10:20.599 you're just think to fight, concentrate and we love comportation 0:10:20.760 --> 0:10:21.839 and see who's the best. 0:10:22.440 --> 0:10:25.839 Leon has an air of old school French arrogance about 0:10:25.880 --> 0:10:28.240 him when he speaks, he's quite a lot like the 0:10:28.280 --> 0:10:31.760 guy that upgraded me with the big car. He's aloof 0:10:32.000 --> 0:10:35.520 shrugs a lot, that's just him. Victor is the opposite. 0:10:35.920 --> 0:10:39.000 He can't help but be friendly and candid. They were 0:10:39.040 --> 0:10:43.679 not duo, but it works. Both are well organized, highly motivated, 0:10:44.200 --> 0:10:47.160 and they both love fistfighting in a world that thinks 0:10:47.200 --> 0:10:47.800 they shouldn't. 0:10:48.080 --> 0:10:51.920 I can express myself nothing, the fact to help people, 0:10:52.080 --> 0:10:55.320 in the fact of extra vertin energy inside me. The 0:10:55.360 --> 0:10:59.199 society always you always be counted by people you can't 0:10:59.360 --> 0:11:01.920 really explore. And when there is no one, no rule, 0:11:02.040 --> 0:11:04.600 and no glove, you're just free, like you're just one 0:11:04.640 --> 0:11:09.319 and one, No no knife, no, just and one and one. 0:11:09.360 --> 0:11:12.000 And we see like it's the greatest thing. I think 0:11:12.040 --> 0:11:13.520 it's the best you. 0:11:13.520 --> 0:11:16.000 Feel like you said that, like society is always telling 0:11:16.040 --> 0:11:18.240 you like calm down, calm down. Do you think there's 0:11:18.280 --> 0:11:21.720 something inside you that, like inside everybody that can't always 0:11:21.760 --> 0:11:22.079 do that? 0:11:22.200 --> 0:11:25.760 I think, yeah, I think it's really important because here 0:11:25.800 --> 0:11:28.600 it's in a city where they want to show to 0:11:28.679 --> 0:11:31.800 people who they are. But there are nobody, you know, 0:11:32.000 --> 0:11:34.120 there is rich people in front of the beach. 0:11:34.360 --> 0:11:35.079 There nobody. 0:11:35.160 --> 0:11:40.200 You can't explode, you can't express way hourly inside of you. 0:11:40.400 --> 0:11:44.480 So do you do you prefer it? There is a level? Yeah, 0:11:44.559 --> 0:11:45.640 I think I think. 0:11:46.040 --> 0:11:49.440 I think it's it's grown adrenaline. You know, it's more magical, 0:11:49.640 --> 0:11:51.880 like you see when it's legal, like you need to 0:11:51.920 --> 0:11:55.000 add two A lot of foul, a lot of nile 0:11:55.640 --> 0:11:58.120 of paper. You need to do this to do this. No, no, 0:11:58.200 --> 0:12:00.680 we do what we want, what we want, we do. 0:12:00.720 --> 0:12:03.120 We don't have any restriction. 0:12:03.600 --> 0:12:05.320 We like our. 0:12:05.000 --> 0:12:08.920 Activities, we like our art, and this art it's much 0:12:08.960 --> 0:12:11.600 important if it does right away. 0:12:11.960 --> 0:12:15.040 So you see this as like art. You think this 0:12:15.080 --> 0:12:17.440 is art. Yeah, that's really interesting. You know. 0:12:18.440 --> 0:12:20.520 I don't know the definition of art. But when it's 0:12:20.559 --> 0:12:23.400 beautiful and you like it, you're crave it a little bit. 0:12:24.480 --> 0:12:28.520 You see it, you're happy a little bit. It's it's 0:12:28.640 --> 0:12:30.920 it's a shock for if you want to see people 0:12:32.160 --> 0:12:33.800 the body, but it's art. 0:12:34.080 --> 0:12:37.160 It's I don't like the castle. I like this. You 0:12:37.280 --> 0:12:37.800 like fighting. 0:12:38.080 --> 0:12:42.199 This is art. I don't like Pocasso. I like this 0:12:42.720 --> 0:12:46.000 for young lads like Leon No rules is a kind 0:12:46.200 --> 0:12:50.560 of art. The two lads who will be fighting for 0:12:50.720 --> 0:12:55.000 FPVS today in can I named Louis and Warren. The 0:12:55.120 --> 0:12:58.640 FPVS guys leave me up the stairs to meet them. 0:12:58.760 --> 0:13:01.040 The boys in the early twenty and are up on 0:13:01.080 --> 0:13:04.800 the remains of the abandoned structure's outdoor patio area, the 0:13:04.960 --> 0:13:08.400 shadow boxing, amidst piles of broken glass and concrete debris. 0:13:09.120 --> 0:13:11.520 From here I can see the perfect blue of the 0:13:11.559 --> 0:13:15.079 French Riviera's coastline. In the near distance, the sun has 0:13:15.160 --> 0:13:18.319 risen into a cloudless sky. The famous yachts at the 0:13:18.360 --> 0:13:22.560 harbor are twinkling, reflecting the light from the sun. Directly 0:13:22.600 --> 0:13:25.240 in front of me, though, on the patio, two thrill 0:13:25.280 --> 0:13:27.680 seeking lads are preparing to knock fuck out of each 0:13:27.720 --> 0:13:31.360 other as part of an underground fight scene. Even amidst 0:13:31.400 --> 0:13:34.600 the beauty of the court Desore, the unapologetic ugliness of 0:13:34.640 --> 0:13:39.320 pre arranged violence is most compelling. Several FPVS members, of 0:13:39.360 --> 0:13:41.959 which there are around a dozen, help the two fighters 0:13:42.000 --> 0:13:44.920 get in the zone. They wrap their hands, hold pads, 0:13:45.040 --> 0:13:49.119 g them up. Warren is black, about six foot two, muscular, 0:13:49.440 --> 0:13:51.120 lean and as a fighter's gait. 0:13:51.960 --> 0:13:53.920 Louis is white, about five. 0:13:53.840 --> 0:13:57.960 Nine, skinny, fat, and honestly seems out of his depth. 0:13:58.400 --> 0:14:01.280 I ask Louis why he came here, why he's decided 0:14:01.320 --> 0:14:03.120 to fight in such a hard core manner. 0:14:04.040 --> 0:14:07.360 Why are you going to do this myself? 0:14:07.600 --> 0:14:11.439 To be about the concrete floor, You're not worried about that. 0:14:11.520 --> 0:14:25.560 It's quite dangerous, I know. Luck As for Warren, it 0:14:25.600 --> 0:14:30.840 looks fine, confident, ready to go. Not nervous, Yes, no, 0:14:31.520 --> 0:14:33.400 not nervous. 0:14:34.640 --> 0:14:37.040 First time. Good luck. 0:14:38.240 --> 0:14:41.240 From where I'm standing, the odds don't look great. And 0:14:41.320 --> 0:14:43.480 let me tell you, as a teenager, I got my 0:14:43.560 --> 0:14:47.760 head kicked in plenty of times. I'm speaking from experience. 0:14:48.360 --> 0:14:52.160 This doesn't look great. Warren is shredded head to toe 0:14:52.280 --> 0:14:57.200 and Louis looks entirely uncoordinated without any real conditioning. It's, 0:14:57.240 --> 0:15:00.440 of course true that muscles don't win fights. With no rules, 0:15:00.480 --> 0:15:03.840 anything can happen. But still I feel a bit worried 0:15:03.880 --> 0:15:06.360 for Louis. I asked Leon what he thinks about the 0:15:06.400 --> 0:15:10.480 clear size difference. Indifferently, he just tells me they weigh 0:15:10.560 --> 0:15:13.000 the same. He shrugs it off and reminds me that 0:15:13.080 --> 0:15:17.440 Louis put himself here. He contacted the FPVS guys via telegram. 0:15:17.680 --> 0:15:20.400 He told them he wanted to fight, so now he's 0:15:20.440 --> 0:15:23.120 here to fight. If you can find the right people 0:15:23.160 --> 0:15:26.200 and are genuine about fighting, it can be that simple. 0:15:26.960 --> 0:15:30.080 Warren and Louis are still warming up with the FPVS crew, 0:15:30.400 --> 0:15:33.560 Deryl Mail and all around eighteen to twenty five. There 0:15:33.560 --> 0:15:35.960 are a mix of several different races, and each of 0:15:36.000 --> 0:15:38.560 them is dressed in a black tracksuit with various different 0:15:38.560 --> 0:15:42.760 brands of trainers. They're a blur of night tear Can, Balenciaga, 0:15:42.920 --> 0:15:46.520 Berbery and EA seven. Some of them have specially printed 0:15:46.720 --> 0:15:51.080 FPVS hoodies and T shirts. They mill around helping fighters, 0:15:51.160 --> 0:15:53.840 chatting and rolling splits. So the kind of lads the 0:15:53.920 --> 0:15:57.200 upper class of the Riviera probably crossed the road from 0:15:57.640 --> 0:15:59.680 They seem jovial enough to me, though when I get 0:15:59.720 --> 0:16:02.920 on well with them. Now, I'm obviously an outsider in 0:16:02.960 --> 0:16:05.160 this world, but they're all pretty chilled about it. No 0:16:05.200 --> 0:16:07.640 one has a real issue with me being there. I 0:16:07.680 --> 0:16:09.520 sit chatting to one of the guys as he holds 0:16:09.520 --> 0:16:12.680 pads for Louis, who is throwing wayward punches here and there. 0:16:13.560 --> 0:16:16.560 The FPVS guys cannot wait for the violence to start. 0:16:17.400 --> 0:16:19.840 Then we hear a shout from downstairs. 0:16:20.400 --> 0:16:21.040 It's time. 0:16:27.040 --> 0:16:30.120 Leon gathers the fighters and everyone heads down the half 0:16:30.160 --> 0:16:33.560 collapsed stairs into the main area where fights take place. 0:16:34.720 --> 0:16:36.680 There were two pillars in the center of the room. 0:16:37.000 --> 0:16:39.800 Red and white caution tape is wrapped around them loosely 0:16:39.840 --> 0:16:41.920 as a means to cordon off the area where the 0:16:41.920 --> 0:16:43.040 crowd now stands. 0:16:43.400 --> 0:16:44.040 On the floor. 0:16:44.080 --> 0:16:47.480 In the center, the FPBS logo is spray painted onto 0:16:47.520 --> 0:16:51.200 the concrete. A wolf with red eyes. The air smells 0:16:51.240 --> 0:16:54.960 like weed, smoke and stale sweat. Everyone inside is buzzy. 0:16:55.600 --> 0:16:59.040 Some are Warrent's friends, some are FPBS, and others are 0:16:59.120 --> 0:17:02.240 unaffiliated who guns and street fighters who've just come to 0:17:02.320 --> 0:17:07.600 watch the show is on. Louis looks nervous. Warren calm. 0:17:08.240 --> 0:17:10.600 He cracks his neck and bounces on his toes. Ready 0:17:10.600 --> 0:17:13.080 to go, Louis picks up the wraps on his wrist 0:17:13.160 --> 0:17:14.160 and clenches. 0:17:13.760 --> 0:17:16.720 His hands tight. He looks extremely uncomfortable. 0:17:17.520 --> 0:17:19.959 Leon walks into the center of the concrete room and 0:17:20.000 --> 0:17:23.159 signals that everything's ready. The two fighters join him on 0:17:23.200 --> 0:17:26.080 each side, and before the balling starts, everyone in the 0:17:26.160 --> 0:17:29.560 room sings the French national anthem with their handheld on 0:17:29.640 --> 0:17:38.520 their heart, an unexpected show of unity amidst this underground scene. 0:17:39.000 --> 0:17:43.280 He goes on and on and on. Everyone in the room, 0:17:43.320 --> 0:17:47.320 both masked and not sings along. Everyone but me, of course, 0:17:47.480 --> 0:17:50.040 I am British. I want to be sick now, many 0:17:50.119 --> 0:18:06.840 joking a bit la masse ends. Finally, the two fighters 0:18:06.840 --> 0:18:09.280 bump fists and head to opposite corners of the room. 0:18:09.720 --> 0:18:13.040 Leon signals by nodding at Victor. Victor gives the go ahead. 0:18:13.200 --> 0:18:14.520 It's on. Fight. 0:18:15.440 --> 0:18:18.399 Two fighters meet each other in the center. Louis throws 0:18:18.440 --> 0:18:21.200 a badly timed roundhouse kick. The bounce is clean off 0:18:21.200 --> 0:18:24.800 of Warren's leg. Warren throws two jabs straight into Luis's face, 0:18:25.080 --> 0:18:26.720 catching his chin, his day. 0:18:27.040 --> 0:18:27.840 His guard drops. 0:18:28.000 --> 0:18:30.959 Warren shifts in, grabs Louis, picks him up, drops him 0:18:31.000 --> 0:18:34.480 down to the concrete. Louis tries to throw some defensive punches, 0:18:34.480 --> 0:18:36.879 but Warren is all over him like a dog. He 0:18:37.000 --> 0:18:40.840 rains down elbows into Louis's face. Louis goes feetle covering 0:18:40.920 --> 0:18:43.639 up his head. Leon moves in from the sidelines, ready 0:18:43.640 --> 0:18:45.840 to see if the fight needs to be ended. The 0:18:45.880 --> 0:18:49.800 crowd is wild with excitement. They want blood. Warren continues 0:18:49.880 --> 0:18:53.280 dropping elbows. A few miss, a few smash into Louis's 0:18:53.280 --> 0:18:56.439 forehead and temple. Louis throws up his hands and taps 0:18:56.480 --> 0:19:00.840 the floor. He's done. Leon grabs warr pulls him off 0:19:00.880 --> 0:19:01.400 of Louis. 0:19:01.560 --> 0:19:02.840 The fight is over. 0:19:05.880 --> 0:19:09.040 Louie is helped up offer the concrete by FPVS lads. 0:19:09.560 --> 0:19:13.040 Wilt's bruises and bumps already pat in his face. He's 0:19:13.040 --> 0:19:15.919 got blood at his lips. He's well and truly beaten, 0:19:16.280 --> 0:19:20.440 but he's smiling, so is Warren. The two fighters embraced sincerely, 0:19:20.760 --> 0:19:26.960 and the crowd cheers even Louder win or lose respect 0:19:27.000 --> 0:19:28.400 in this world is essential. 0:19:31.280 --> 0:19:31.920 You're brave man. 0:19:33.440 --> 0:19:36.880 The fight lasted about one minute total. Louis got battered, 0:19:37.119 --> 0:19:39.360 but I'm not sure the outcome really mattered that much 0:19:39.359 --> 0:19:41.800 for him. He showed up, which counts for a lot 0:19:41.840 --> 0:19:45.720 when you consider the stakes. That's part of the notoriety 0:19:45.760 --> 0:19:49.560 of this. There's something uniquely daring about no rules. You 0:19:49.600 --> 0:19:53.680 could end up permanently disfigured, brain damaged, or dead, way 0:19:53.760 --> 0:19:58.040 easier than every other combat sport. No rules isn't sport. 0:19:58.920 --> 0:20:02.200 Ask Louis how he's feeling in as makeshift fpvs. Medics 0:20:02.359 --> 0:20:05.760 whoever's holding the plasters an antiseptic tend to his wounds. 0:20:06.359 --> 0:20:08.639 He tells me he feels good. He says he lost, 0:20:08.680 --> 0:20:10.760 but that's part of it. He's got blood in his 0:20:10.800 --> 0:20:13.280 mouth and knuckles of graze the skin around his eyes. 0:20:13.640 --> 0:20:16.119 Bit will live. Could have been a lot worse. No 0:20:16.520 --> 0:20:20.120 serious damage. I'm joking. I asked what his family might 0:20:20.160 --> 0:20:23.040 think when he comes home with his face backstop. Louis 0:20:23.040 --> 0:20:26.399 pauses for a second, then he laughs and says, don't 0:20:26.400 --> 0:20:31.080 tell my mother. In contrast, Warren is completely unscathed, not 0:20:31.320 --> 0:20:34.600 a mark, He's barely even broken a sweat. He tells 0:20:34.640 --> 0:20:37.320 me he traveled overnight for this and months to fight again. 0:20:38.160 --> 0:20:40.960 He's an ice lad. That both are pretty normal other 0:20:41.040 --> 0:20:44.960 than this, outside of the chaos of clandestine fighting. Warren 0:20:45.040 --> 0:20:47.639 works as a laborer on a building site, and Louis 0:20:47.720 --> 0:20:50.640 is a waiter in a restaurant. These violent young men 0:20:50.680 --> 0:20:56.440 build homes and serve food. They keep the world turning. 0:20:56.840 --> 0:21:00.960 The clandestine FPVS event was success. News of the fight 0:21:00.960 --> 0:21:05.159 club is spreading fast across France, already all across Instagram 0:21:05.200 --> 0:21:08.159 and Telegram. Afterwards, I head down to a pub in 0:21:08.200 --> 0:21:11.200 the city with Leon and Victor, out of one world 0:21:11.280 --> 0:21:14.560 into another. Hours ago we were in the bando watching 0:21:14.600 --> 0:21:18.320 two fighters try to incapacitate one another. Now we're in 0:21:18.359 --> 0:21:22.320 central can amongst Rolex shops, PALMDI or Smam and the 0:21:22.400 --> 0:21:27.679 ugliest Italian sports cars ever built of Aguinness. The FPVS 0:21:27.760 --> 0:21:30.159 lads tell me how they're different to cots and that 0:21:30.240 --> 0:21:33.480 they never pay anyone to fight. No one involved gets 0:21:33.480 --> 0:21:37.200 a penny. If anything, they're in a deficit after preparing 0:21:37.200 --> 0:21:42.359 it all. It's just for sport, they say, somewhat ironically. However, 0:21:42.480 --> 0:21:45.159 Leon and Victor explain to me that whilst they're different 0:21:45.200 --> 0:21:49.000 from Cots, they are of course inspired by them. All 0:21:49.080 --> 0:21:52.480 of the new Noruls fight clubs across Europe wouldn't exist 0:21:52.560 --> 0:21:55.480 if it wasn't for them. All roads lead to King 0:21:55.520 --> 0:21:57.560 of the Streets. 0:21:59.320 --> 0:22:01.000 Before they start King of the Streets. 0:22:01.119 --> 0:22:03.800 Hype Crew was one of many active football who look 0:22:03.800 --> 0:22:07.080 in firms in Europe. They'd meet mostly in the fields 0:22:07.080 --> 0:22:10.600 and forests of Scandinavia, fighting their rivals in pacts of 0:22:10.640 --> 0:22:15.520 ten against ten, six against six, fifteen against twelve, twenty 0:22:15.560 --> 0:22:20.159 five against twenty five, whatever was agreed on between organizers. 0:22:21.080 --> 0:22:24.760 This kind of activity takes place in secret all over 0:22:24.800 --> 0:22:29.760 the continent every single weekend. It's nothing new. Hype Crew, though, 0:22:30.240 --> 0:22:33.600 was when they started fighting. They were unique from the 0:22:33.640 --> 0:22:36.920 get go. They were a football who look in firm without. 0:22:36.640 --> 0:22:38.040 A football team. 0:22:38.280 --> 0:22:42.280 They're just all about the violence. This is not as 0:22:42.359 --> 0:22:46.600 unusual as it sounds amongst the seeing. It's an open secret. 0:22:46.600 --> 0:22:49.320 The plenty of football who logans in Mainland and Europe 0:22:49.520 --> 0:22:50.920 don't actually care that. 0:22:51.040 --> 0:22:52.359 Much about the football. 0:22:52.880 --> 0:22:56.360 It's the aggression, camaraderie, and sense of belonging that they love. 0:22:57.440 --> 0:22:59.760 Football is a base to gather for young men looking 0:22:59.800 --> 0:23:03.320 to be part of something the world over. For hooligans, 0:23:03.359 --> 0:23:06.720 the fight and sets that in stone. No matter how 0:23:06.840 --> 0:23:11.480 advanced or progressive or civilized life gets, it will always 0:23:11.520 --> 0:23:15.320 be true that there is something primordally special about forging 0:23:15.359 --> 0:23:19.240 bonds of friendship through fighting together. People might say they 0:23:19.280 --> 0:23:22.240 have your back, but do they. Perhaps your best friend 0:23:22.280 --> 0:23:25.600 remembers your birthday every year, calls you when you're lonely, 0:23:25.880 --> 0:23:28.960 and supports your endeavors. But would they stand and fight 0:23:29.000 --> 0:23:32.160 if you were attacked? Would they run? Would they abandon 0:23:32.200 --> 0:23:35.360 you to get your head kicked in the first majority 0:23:35.359 --> 0:23:37.960 of people will never have to find out and probably 0:23:38.000 --> 0:23:40.200 don't even think about it. And that's a good thing, 0:23:40.240 --> 0:23:43.560 I guess. But things like this don't matter until they do. 0:23:44.400 --> 0:23:48.120 For hooligans, they already know their friends would stand and 0:23:48.160 --> 0:23:51.880 fight every single time. This is the foundation of their 0:23:51.920 --> 0:23:55.080 bond from the get go. It's almost like the course 0:23:55.080 --> 0:23:59.040 of a friendship in reverse. The most literal form of 0:23:59.280 --> 0:24:02.840 backing your friends is what they begin with. Anything else 0:24:03.000 --> 0:24:06.960 is a bonus to your average law abiding citizen. This 0:24:07.119 --> 0:24:10.320