The Battle of the Nations Total Recall marathon turned into a large-scale and interesting project. There were a lot of people, hundreds of stories and thousands of smiles. Thanks to the live streams that were part of the marathon we could see and listen to exciting and touching stories of the HMB community members. Gavin Stewart was the live stream host and HMBIA News asked him to tell us about his personal impressions. His story is funny, touching and extremely true. So, here’s what he told us. 

“We started with the Battle of the Nations Total Recall interviews, which were based on sharing a bit of nostalgia of that incredible event, and Buhurt League held a number of interviews in different languages with top fighters. Of course, the Marshal and Authenticity Committees gave extremely important live streams to keep the HMB world up to date with the latest developments, but the BotN and BL interviews were of a different nature.

Coronavirus has hit HMB hard this year, and the interviews were an initiative to pull the community together in some small way while tournaments and even training was not possible. The format was simple: keep it relaxed and free. It was not a formal presentation, but a relaxing chat about past editions of BotN and the success of Buhurt League, and the participants had the chance to be themselves and share their stories and views.

It was an honour to interview these amazing people, and even though I knew them all very well, I also learned some great things from fighters in Russia, France, Ukraine, USA, Hungary, Germany, Serbia, Brazil, UK, Moldova, Denmark, and Australia. All were exceptional guests, but there were a few moments that really stood out for me. For example, I remember the passion and drive of Lillis Nelson Meeh (USA) and Jo Booth (GBR) when talking about their most challenging moments and what representing their countries means to them. It was like time stopped and they shared their souls with the audience – it’s something I’ll never forget.

Another epic interview was with Adam Ujvari (HUN) and Aleksandar Uroshevic (SER). These guys could keep people entertained all night and it was a pity to end the interview, but you really understood the essence of what it means to be a good captain from listening to what they had to say. Hungary and Serbia are lucky to have such phenomenal captains, and I would interview them again any day. Of course, some interviews didn’t go all according to plan!

Before each interview, I remind the guests not to use bad language – this is fine, unless you are interviewing Mathias Sojborg (DEN) and Artem Savanovich (RUS)! These guys are so passionate that you simply cannot expect them to be careful with their vocabulary, and they were so much fun to interview.

I’ve only done two Buhurt League interviews, which are valuable for two reasons: 1) beginners and learners get to hear about what happens behind the scenes and what it takes to be a Buhurt League fighter; 2) everyone can get an insight into why this sport is so incredible and how we can get over this difficult time. So there is a universal benefit for watching these interviews, and you can take it from the most important element of our sport: the fighters”. 

These interviews are really worth watching. So, if you missed out on the interviews as they went out live, don’t worry – you can still see them all. Go to the Battle of the Nations official YouTube channel: (https://www.youtube.com/user/battleofthenations) and enjoy them!