Behind the Cover: Chris Hadfield, November 2013

In the video below, we take you behind the scenes of Zoomer magazine’s special 5th Anniversary November 2013 cover shoot starring Chris Hadfield.

We first heard about Commander Chris Hadfield’s book, An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth, back in April. The publicist from Random House, the incomparable Scott Sellers, telephoned to ask if Zoomer would be interested in having Hadfield on a cover. Would we? And how! This was nearly a full month before Hadfield landed back on earth after spending five months in orbit commanding the International Space Station. We’d already featured him as one of our Top 45 Over 45 Canadians – but after making history as the first Canadian to command the ISS, a cover was definitely the next step.

Fast forward to August, and we’re on set. Hadfield and his wife, Helene, have arrived early and are utterly charming and warm. They joked with the crew, and Hadfield didn’t mind being interviewed on set by the online editors, even though award-winning journalist Elizabeth Renzetti, who wrote the cover story, had already asked all the tough questions during an hour-long meeting the week before.

We presented him with the custom-made Roots leather bomber jacket which he wears on the cover, as well as the witty T-shirt, designed by photographer Chris Chapman, that he dons in the Zoomer centerfold.’  Suffice to say, Hadfield is one astronaut who is down to earth.

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