Best friends with Hamilton - the man 'ruffling feathers' in fencing

TL;DR

Miles Chamley-Watson, an American fencer, recalls his surreal experience at the Met Gala sitting next to celebrities like Madonna and Rihanna, alongside his best friend, Lewis Hamilton. This moment marked his introduction to the world of celebrity stardom.

Key points

Miles Chamley-Watson is a London-born American fencer.
He attended the Met Gala nine years ago.
He sat next to celebrities like Madonna and Rihanna.
Lewis Hamilton is his best friend.
Chamley-Watson felt amazed to be among such famous personalities.

Mentioned in this story

Miles Chamley-WatsonLewis HamiltonMadonnaRihanna

Miles Chamley-Watson still remembers the moment he arrived at his Met Gala table nine years ago and surveyed the world's most glamorous fashion event.

With Madonna to his right and Rihanna on his left, the London-born American fencer was the unexpected filling in a pop royalty sandwich. Also on his table was seven-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton, who has since become Chamley-Watson's "best friend".

For someone whose primary vocation lies in one of the Olympics' most niche sports, it was an unlikely position to be in.

"I was like: 'Wow, what am I doing here?'" recalls Chamley-Watson. "It was wild – I'd watched these people and grown up listening to them, and I was at the same table.

"You realise everybody here is the best at what they do. It was really, really cool. That was my first taste of celebrity stardom.

"I was probably the one person at the table where everyone was like: 'Who the hell is this blonde, 6ft 5in guy that fences?' After that, things changed for me."

Chamley-Watson, 36, has been one of the world's leading fencers for more than a decade.

He has competed at three Olympics, winning team bronze in 2016, and became the first American male to win an individual world title when he claimed foil gold in 2013.

His latest dream is to take the sport mainstream with this week's launch of his World Fencing League.

But it was a move into fashion modelling after his Olympic debut at London 2012 that propelled him into an entirely different public sphere – a world of fame and private jets not often associated with fencing.

Over the past year, Chamley-Watson has launched his own Nike trainer, partnered with a raft of luxury brands, and appeared in a campaign alongside supermodel Claudia Schiffer.

He describes Hamilton as a "brother", and his 450,000 Instagram followers are regularly treated to images of the pair enjoying themselves together around the world.

The man with the social media handle @fencer has become disproportionately bigger than the sport itself.

"My life is so insane," he admits. "I want to tell my team-mates and want to talk to them about it, but it's just so unrelatable. Even for me, it's really nuts."