SLEEK #89 'Play' Issue: Publisher's Letter on Rediscovering Play
Christian Bracht, publisher and CEO of SLEEK magazine, introduces issue #89 themed 'Play'. He reflects on how modern life has replaced play with optimization, monetization, and measurement, arguing that play is not the opposite of seriousness but its highest form. The issue profiles three individuals who embody this philosophy: poker player Fedor Holz, who quit after winning over $50 million when the game stopped feeling like play; NFL player Kenny Moore II, who started football late and attributes his success to playing without a fixed destination; and Chinese artist Cao Fei, whose work questions assumptions between real and imagined cities. Bracht cites Nietzsche's quote about the mature man rediscovering childhood seriousness. The issue is a response to the loss of play in contemporary life, advocating for letting go without knowing where you will land.
Key facts
- Christian Bracht is publisher and CEO of SLEEK magazine.
- SLEEK #89 is themed 'Play'.
- Fedor Holz won over $50 million in poker tournaments.
- Holz stopped playing poker when it stopped feeling like a game.
- Kenny Moore II played for the Colts against the Falcons in Berlin in 2025.
- Moore II did not play football until his final year of high school.
- Cao Fei is a Chinese artist whose work explores real and imagined cities.
- Bracht quotes Nietzsche: 'The mature man has rediscovered the seriousness which he had as a child at play.'
Entities
Artists
Institutions
- SLEEK magazine
Locations
- Berlin
- Germany