Toby Young Toby Young

Status anxiety | 20 December 2008

I discovered the true meaning of Christmas dressed as a gladiator in a Chicago park

issue 20 December 2008

It is the closest I have ever come to dying. It was 22 December 1995 and I had flown to Chicago from New York to spend the weekend with my friend Matias before returning to London for Christmas. The day started well: Matias was having a fancy-dress party and in the course of helping him shop for canapés I fell into conversation with a sexy, mischievous girl who worked in the local delicatessen.

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