Daniel “Spinz” Forrest Talks Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team, and Challenging the Status Quo
SHARP & Mercedes-AMG
Mercedes-AMG is built upon a passion and obsession to innovate, drive performance, and challenge the status quo. As the world of F1 descended on Montreal, SHARP partnered with Mercedes-AMG to highlight motorsport personalities who are breaking boundaries, challenging the status quo, and using their influence to create an inclusive culture within motorsport. Canadian-raised Daniel “Spinz” Forrest is someone who embodies the maverick mentality.
In the space of a decade, the Formula One experience has transformed from secretive and exclusionary to an all-access pass. Its fanbase has exploded, multiplying with the speed of a viral social media post, reaching an audience that is younger and broader. Kicking down those doors takes an outsider’s eye and a maverick mentality, and right in the middle of F1’s renaissance, his finger on the pulse of the crowd and culture, is a Canadian whose journey kicked off in a basement in Oakville, Ontario.
You can spot Daniel Forrest — better known as Spinz — on the latest season of Netflix’s Drive to Survive, but only if you look carefully. He shows up on Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team driver, Lewis Hamilton’s Instagram posts all the time, but you probably don’t notice when he’s the guy holding the camera. Spinz is a producer, a creator, and a creative problem solver. He came to F1 from the worlds of music and fashion, and his experiences there allowed him to help F1 change direction.
Moving to Ontario from Kingston, Jamaica, when he was just ten, Forrest found himself part of the Caribbean diaspora that has influenced modern music so much. “Sound system culture is one of the most prevalent things down there — from a tiny little island, it’s been so impactful globally, and I was always in love with reggae music as a kid. I used to spend a lot of time listening to music with my dad at his bar and watching the DJ and I grew a fascination with DJ-ing.”
He made that dream happen while still in high school. “One day a friend asked me to DJ at their house party, and I ended up doing a really good job there so that led to a friend of mine and me starting a sound system in Oakville which, as you can imagine, there’s not many of those in Oakville!”
Renting out halls on his mother’s credit card and putting together dance parties, Spinz showed an entrepreneurial side early. He made a name for himself, learned music production at university, and was soon producing beats for artists like Drake, Lil’ Wayne, Wale, and Big Sean. That’s when Spinz met Lewis Hamilton.
“I remember getting an email from him asking me to come and work with him on music.” It was the start of a long friendship, and opened the doorway into the world of motorsport at the highest level. As with his love of music, F1 was already a passion Spinz shared with his father: the pair’s favourite driver was the brilliant Ayrton Senna.
When Formula One’s ownership changed from the old school touch of Bernie Ecclestone to Liberty Media, the new management wanted change. As a creative and brand consultant for Hamilton, and later in a broader creative role for F1, Spinz harnessed his maverick mentality and broke boundaries in a world of tradition by bringing fresh new ideas to F1.
“I started with putting together the first ever fashion partnership, which was with A Bathing Ape, a Japanese streetwear brand, which is also the first ever streetwear partnership that’s happened in motorsports.”
Bringing in influential names from the worlds of fashion and music expands the reach of Formula One to new audiences. They bring their fans along with them, taking us backstage. At the same time, the drivers themselves have active social media profiles, interacting with fans and opening up the doors to race weekends. Lewis Hamilton was a pioneer here, the first driver to take a selfie in his F1 car.
Agility, adaptability, and trust are all part of Spinz’ formula. A formula that sounds simple in theory, but when you consider how monolith in storytelling and representation F1 has been for decades— coming from where he comes from, this level of autonomy is no small feat. Spinz isn’t one to be in the spotlight, some of that comes from his personality and who he naturally is — but equally, it is because he is busy fostering relationships and thinking outside the box to connect dots nobody would even think of. This requires a high level of trust. Take Will Smith for example who came to learn to drive a F1 car with Lewis Hamilton for the Bucket List TV series, Spinz worked across creative, ideation, managed multi-level logistics, and a wild curveball.
“We came up with the idea of having Will kidnap Lewis. Since he had the race suit, and he could get in the car, we knew he could pretend that he drove the car away to win the race. While we were filming that, we got a knock on the door and it’s Michael Bay. We ended up filming Michael directing the skit.”
With the 2023 Canadian Grand Prix now in the rear-view mirror, Spinz is focused on the road ahead. As always, Spinz is seeking to break boundaries and challenge the status quo of F1 to make it more diverse and inclusive.
While many of F1s traditions are what we appreciate most about the sport, Spinz is applying his maverick mentality to build on that legacy and help the sport evolve by creating new norms and traditions.
“Formula 1 is an incredible sport, rich with tradition and heritage. What excites me is the possibility to support its continued growth by introducing new voices and audiences to the sport I love.”
