Post by Alvaro Ybarra Zavala

Having the opportunity to photograph the world of sport from a different perspective is one of those experiences that reminds me why I became a photographer in the first place. For years, we have consumed great athletes through competition, headlines, endorsements, and results. Yet behind every iconic figure lies a much deeper story: one of daily effort, quiet discipline, sacrifice, the people and places that sustain the journey, and the truth that exists beyond the public image. That is precisely the challenge of this project: to approach the athlete through their humanity, moving beyond the product inevitably built around their figure and getting closer to the person. Their path. Their environment. Everything that rarely occupies the center of the frame. For that reason, it is a true privilege to have the opportunity to immortalize Ilia Topuria, one of the most compelling figures in contemporary sport, through this lens. It is also a privilege to share this journey alongside Pedro Dols , Íñigo Pérez Tabernero, José Antonio Esteban and Estudios Durero Together, we share the ambition of bringing sport back into the realms of culture and art, reclaiming its human, narrative, and visual power through a figure as iconic as Ilia. What I am sharing today is only the first step. The first chapter of a much larger project that begins now and will continue to take shape over the coming months. A project conceived with a global vision, which will be unveiled in its entirety during the final quarter of 2027. Until then, we will continue observing, listening, and building a narrative that looks beyond victory and seeks to understand what makes it possible. Because the most meaningful stories do not happen under the spotlight, but along the long road that leads there. https://iliatopuriaart.com