Among the more perplexing trendlets we’ve scrolled past this year is “rawdogging,” the act of denying oneself all forms of entertainment for the length of a long-haul flight. No books or games or movies or naps for our rawdoggers; instead, the guys—always guys, only guys—stare straight ahead at the flight map or the seat back of the person in front of them, spending the whole time lost either in thought or in search of a good one. As with all trendlets, there’s no way of knowing whether it’s real or just six goobers on TikTok with the same dumb idea. But it gained traction because it feels real. In a year when guys tried to out-guy one another via Cybertruck purchases and diss tracks, isn’t it more plausible than ever that they’d try to one-up each other at nothing?
Relax, try-hards, and try harder. If you’re going minimalist, go all the way. Rawdog the whole trip. Go somewhere new, with no plans, no guidebook, and—this is the key ingredient—no companions. If you do this in a foreign country whose language you do not speak, all the better. Solo travel, in an unfamiliar place and with an empty itinerary, is more extreme. It is much rawer. And it is delicious.
Apparently, we’re already doing it. Sixty-nine per cent of Americans planned to take a trip by themselves this year, according to an American Express survey. The number goes up to 76 per cent for millennials and Gen Z, which suggests younger people are more comfortable in their own company or else they are more unpleasant to be around. I have found both to be true!
Either way, I believe in solo travel with the zeal of the convert.
My conversion happened this summer in Italy, a place I had only seen over and over and over again on my Instagram feed. For years, it seemed like everyone went to Italy in the summer, and it was time for me to be everyone. As luck would have it, Gruppo Montenegro, a food and spirits company, invited me to tour its amaro distilleries in Bologna and Venice. It was all the excuse I needed. After the official business ended, I extended the trip five days.
When I touched down in Bologna, it hit me that I’d done nothing to give those five days any structure. I hadn’t picked out a town to hole up in, much less a room. I hadn’t learnt any words in Italian, including those for hello, help, and Italy. I hadn’t hit up my colleagues for good restaurants to try, and I work at Esquire magazine.
The official part of the trip was packed with activities, all of which, like everything in Italy, involved wine and snacks and Select Spritzes. When it wrapped up, I was in Venice, just me and my bag with nowhere to put ourselves. I stranded myself. And I liked the way it felt.
I hadn’t picked out a town to hole up in, much less a room. I hadn’t learned any words in Italian, including those for hello, help, and Italy. I hadn’t hit up my colleagues for good restaurants to try.
I’d had a grand and vague plan to rent a car and go into the mountains, or to hop on a train and find a small seaside village to make my own, but Venice was already in front of me, dense with art and architecture and history (and snacks and spritzes), so why not stay? I rented an Airbnb in the relatively quiet neighbourhood of Cannaregio and rawdogged Venice, with nothing on the agenda but my own whims.
So I followed them. I wandered, alone. The thing about Venice is that it is so tightly packed that you don’t really see the sights until you’re right on top of them. You turn a corner and the Rialto Bridge jumps out at you. You take a left off the footbridge over the canal and a massive medieval cathedral full of Renaissance art takes you by surprise. And you are always within arm’s reach of wine and snacks. It is a barrage of beautiful sights, sounds and smells, and I immediately understood how my dog feels whenever he sticks his head out my passenger-side window.
The urge to talk to people became overwhelming, particularly after a few lunchtime proseccos. I admit I broke from the ways of the rawdogger by making ample use of the iPhone Translate app, which is how I learnt that Italian is a language with an extremely high percentage of words that are fun to say. Italian could have stopped at “Ciao!” and secured a top-three finish in this category, but it did not. “Costruzione!” I shouted upon seeing a construction site. “Ospedale!” I bellowed as I passed the hospital across from the cemetery. “Sto imparando l’Italiano moltooooolentamenteeeee!” I enthused, surely the most triumphant reading of the statement “I am learning Italian very slowly” that any of my waiters and bartenders had ever heard. Honestly, I got on my own nerves this way only three or four times.
According to that American Express survey, two thirds of solo travellers planned their trips around self-care. There is no self-care like being on your own, in a place where you know no one, where a conversation with another person is impossible unless they only want you to shout “Construction!” at them. The conversation moves inward. You decide for yourself how you feel about Piazza San Marco or Canova’s tomb or the 12th little plate of ham you just ate. When there’s nobody to talk to, you learn to recognise the sound of your own voice.
The answers you seek within your soul aren’t in the seat back. They’re out on the streets of a place you’ve never been. They’re in the overheard snippets of rat-a-tat conversation in a language you cannot understand. If you are in Italy, they’re in spritzes and snacks. They’re in the simple act of maximum self-care: answering for yourself the question “What do I want to do with this day?”
Rawdog your next trip. But don’t be a weirdo: Bring a book for the flight.
Originally published on Esquire US
It’s likely you didn’t notice the effect. But if the last time you visited your doctor they spent a little more time than usual with you, there’s a good chance you felt somewhat better afterwards. “Doctors tend to be very time-pressured these days, but even just a few extra seconds can do the work,” says Liesbeth Van Vliet, assistant professor at the Department of Health, Medical and Neuropsychology at the University of Leiden. “Just sitting down or making more eye contact can make the difference. It seems that the more you like your doctor, the more empathetic the doctor is, the better the patient feels after their consultation”.
Indeed, while doctors have long been cherished by patients for their ‘bedside manner’, Van Vliet points out that what lies behind this is something of a mysterious concept. She’s part of the team at the university’s new Center for Interdisciplinary Placebo Studies, created to research a phenomena that you may have heard of, but not quite understand: the placebo effect. That’s when there are positive healthcare results but these results are not attributable to the technical medical aspects of their care. You can, for example, give someone a pill that is chemically inert. It can’t work pharmacologically, and yet work it does.
While there is now a considerable push to find out how the placebo effect operates in clinical practice it suggests that there is more to the interplay of mind and body in the body’s healing and the patient’s experience than has long been appreciated by Western medicine. While some of those investigating the phenomena say it likely operates at some intersection of epigenetics, neurobiology and psychology, it seems to be primed by a combination of the relationship between doctor and patient, the patient’s expectation—“if we are encouraged to expect a pill to work better, it will,” says Van Vliet—and conditioning, much as Pavlov’s famed dog could be primed to salivate by the ringing of a bell, once it had been conditioned to associate the sound with being fed.
So the rituals around seeing a doctor, in developed countries at least—making an appointment, travelling for consultation, undressing for examination, being given a prescription, and so on—and the imagery that surrounds those activities—white coats, stethoscopes, clipboards, those pale green walls, that distinctive hospital smell— prompt the release of feel-good neurotransmitters with increased activity in parts of the brain related to mood and emotions, but also, more simply, ready us to feel better. It’s why, too, many of the rituals around ‘healthy living’—diet, exercise, relaxation and mental wellness and so on—may also provide a placebo effect above and beyond those behaviours’ measurable effects.
“The idea that all we take from that whole process is chemicals from pills is myopic,” reckons Kathryn Hall, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and author of Placebos (MIT Press). “That’s why I, for one, feel better the minute I make an appointment with my doctor”. Just taking a pill—even a sugar or dummy pill—has a placebo effect. Having an injection—more invasive, more ‘medical’—has a greater placebo effect than a pill. It’s been found that pharmaceutical pills can be quietly replaced with a placebo with no change in health outcomes. Indeed, the fact that prescribed drugs often have minimal pharmaceutical effect in treatment anyway—as few as one in 10 according to one study—suggests that they are in some way working in concert with the placebo effect. Now the placebo effect is limited. It won’t, for example, cure cancer or fight a bacterial infection—drugs will be required for such very bodily, biological problems. The placebo effect has no part in unscientific New Age claims that you can simply think yourself better. But studies do suggest that it’s particularly beneficial in pain management, and in those many conditions in which stress is a major part: depression, PTSD, hypertension, fatigue, IBS, asthma, diabetes, other inflammatory diseases and so on.
"We have drugs that people have done amazing testing on, demonstrated how they work, shown them to be safe to go into humans and yet turn out to be no better than placebo. We have to ask why,” Hall insists. “What is it that we’re missing?”
Unfortunately, says Jeremy Howick, there’s a strong resistance— at best a grudging reluctance— within the medical establishment to accepting the placebo effect at all. “The placebo effect just can’t be dismissed as ‘not real’ any more. In fact, we’re building sufficient knowledge about it now that, I’d argue, it’s time for a revolution in the placebo effect that sees entrepreneurs rather than academics take its potential forward into implementation,” “argues Howick, professor of empathic healthcare at the University of Leicester, UK, and author of the recently published The Power of Placebos (John Hopkins University Press).
“Placebo studies were fringe just a couple of decades ago. They were considered wacky by the mainstream,” Howick adds. “The ‘placebo effect’ still gets used by some people in a derogatory way, in part because medicine has this undue focus on the bio- mechanical idea of the body—that it’s just a very complicated machine. Studies have gradually taken it into the mainstream”.
But not quite far enough, worries Hall. “I remember my mentor saying that when he would talk about placebos there would be nervous laughter. And still, not enough people take the idea seriously,” she suggests. In part that is because, as Howick points out, “it calls into question a lot of our drug-oriented medical training”. It summons up the spirits of woo-woo, of the mystical and metaphysical—all of which medicine, with its emphasis on the scientific method, is unsurprisingly dubious about.
And, certainly, there is much about the placebo effect that is, at the moment, hard to comprehend. Howick may argue that, since most of our thoughts are subconscious, the way our body reacts to a positive experience—for example, an unhurried appointment with a genuinely concerned doctor who isn’t time-pressured or over-burdened with form-filling, as so many are—has, ostensibly, little to do with what we consciously think about it. But even he still sounds surprised by the fact that “there’s a placebo response even if the doctor tells you that they’re giving you a placebo treatment”.
To make that clear: as if the placebo effect wasn’t already weird, it works even when you know, categorically, that there’s no active drug in your treatment; that is, if you take what medical types call an ‘open-label non-deceptive’ drug, the body is nonetheless tricked into thinking it’s getting some healing effect. You can even undergo what’s called sham surgery—in which there’s no actual surgery—and improve your shoulder impingement or knee osteoarthritis.
Likewise, while belief can play a huge part in the effectiveness of the placebo effect, studies suggest it works even with sceptics. Fabrizio Benedetti isn’t quite sure why this is so surprising—that we often knowingly experience the placebo effect in our everyday lives is self- evident, he suggests—and draws an analogy with watching a film.
“Movies are powerful triggers of strong emotional responses, ranging from love and tears to heartache and fear,” says Benedetti, professor of neurophysiology at the University of Turin Medical School. “These reactions take place even though the viewer is aware that everything is fiction. Considering human evolution and biology, this is quite surprising, as these reactions are supposed to have evolved for social interaction and survival. The fact that they take place during movie viewing even though neither social interaction nor survival is at stake indicates that emotional and behavioural responses can be elicited unconsciously— automatically—by merely simulating situations of real life”.
Yet you can see why the medical establishment might be wary of leaping to the same conclusion; the placebo effect might be why some "alternative" medicines—typically marginalised as lacking in evidence for their efficacy—actually work for some people, and so maybe shouldn’t be as dismissed quite so readily.
“There are quacks, of course,” Howick insists. “But perhaps the fact is that ‘alternative’ medicine practitioners are just better at evoking the placebo effect. Their philosophy aligns more with the science of placebos. It’s not that they’ve used crystals. It’s that they have given more time, attention and consideration to their patients and that has a positive effect. All this calls into question a lot of the fundamental tenets of modern medicine”.
There are also what Elissa Patterson, assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Michigan, notes as being more political reasons why the placebo effect is still pushed back out to the margins—not least that powerful pharmaceutical companies are not overly keen on the idea that we could be using fewer drugs, despite our current over-use of them, with all of their side-effects to boot.
“People in medicine are really nervous about the placebo effect because they want ideas to be evidence-based. [The general public] tend to want to align with what’s scientific, too, because of that fear of snake oil salesmen,” she says. “I’ve seen people who get better and then hedge because they’re embarrassed, even ashamed by it being explained by the placebo effect. There’s the cultural belief that those who respond to it are weak or foolish. But evidence is often marketing material from pharmaceutical companies, so there’s no big push to champion anything that doesn’t make money, and the placebo effect doesn’t”.
The placebo effect has no part in unscientific New Age claims that you can simply think yourself better. But studies do suggest that it's particularly beneficial in pain management, and in those many conditions in which stress is a major part: depression, PTSD, hypertension, fatigue, IBS, asthma, diabetes, other inflammatory diseases.
As Kathryn Hall puts it, “Nobody wants to rock the boat”. That’s even though regulatory bodies won’t sanction a new drug unless, as is the gold standard for drug testing, it outperforms a placebo—sugar pills and the like—in blind trials. That can not only mean that certain drugs, long known to be of benefit in ameliorating certain diseases, can’t actually be used to this end, but also that some pharmaceutical companies are no longer trying to develop treatments for the likes of chronic pain and depression—two of the most widespread and debilitating medical issues—because beating the placebo effect is too expensive and too taxing.
Indeed, as Hall points out, the very fact that the placebo effect is built into drug trials makes such trials ineffective—as expectation promotes a placebo response whether the test subject is taking an active pill or an inert one. “We have drugs that people have done amazing testing on, demonstrated how they work, shown them to be safe to go into humans and yet turn out to be no better than placebo. We have to ask why,” Hall insists. “What is it that we’re missing?”.
The implications of further research—answering the many questions being raised about the placebo effect—would likely be profound, says Patterson, bringing broad institutional change, from the way pharmaceuticals are created to the nature of doctor/ patient interactions.
“We might even just save a lot of money by giving doctors the [freedom] to administer placebos when they feel there is benefit in doing something [other than just prescribing ineffective or potentially harmful drugs] when the best course of action is to get out of the way and let healing happen,” she says. “We need to start seeing the brain’s power to heal yourself as a kind of super-power”.
What comes to mind when you think of British cuisine? Let me guess—sausages, baked beans, maybe some toast? If that's all you've got, you might be missing the mark on what's truly 'quintessentially British.'
Despite the criticism British food often receives, there are some dishes they're exceptionally great at—take the Sunday Roast for example (if I weren't just a broke university student, I'd have it every Sunday without fail.) Picture your choice of meat paired with crispy roast potatoes, veggies, and drenched in warm gooey gravy, mmmm. Though it's traditionally a Sunday meal, 21 Carpenter will be serving Sunday Roast all-day, everyday at Kee's a neo-bistro and bar, where guests can finally discover that British cuisine goes far beyond sausages, baked beans, and toast.
At the boutique hotel, indulge in a succulent Butter Roasted Chicken served alongside green olives, coriander, and tangy pickled red onions. This centrepiece is complemented by a Citrus Kale Salad that balances the dish with a refreshing crunch, a side of Potatoes au Gratin crisped to perfection, or the Basil Pesto Orecchiette offering a hearty, herb-filled pasta option. For the cherry on top, sip on The Tempest, an innovative twist on the classic Bloody Mary. This cocktail features bacon-infused vodka, with crispy maple bacon and rimmed with spiced bacon salt, it's mixed with tomato juice and a splash of Tabasco. That's a whole lot of bacon—I'd say it's "quintessentially British" certified.
I like to think of this as a two-in-one package deal, diners are invited to take a dip at the Rooftop Infinity Pool & Lounge, where they can sip on Kee's signature cocktails while soaking in the stunning views of Singapore's skylines and vibing to lively beats (Infinity Pool at MBS, who?) This spot brings a whole new level of relaxation and fun.
For more information or to make a reservation, visit 21carpenter.com.sg
It's common for birthdays to be a day all about yourself. I mean, no shame, after all it's the day when everyone gathers to celebrate you. But what if there's better way to mark the occasion? What if a birthday could go beyond the traditional and actually make a difference? That's exactly what Preeti Nair (previous Esquire SG’s Women We Love and Singapore’s TOP Everything) has planned as she steps into a new chapter of her life. To celebrate her big day, she will be throwing a party with a purpose—one where all profits will go to Love Aid Singapore, a non-profit organisation providing essential aid to people in Palestine.
She's calling it her 'Dirty 30 Swamp' birthday party, a fun Shrek-themed birthday where guests are encouraged to dress in their most 'swampy' and delightfully ugly outfits. There will be vibey tunes and exciting acts by @shakthiyas, @lycheebye69, and @candiceteosh. It promises to be a night filled with laughter, love and doing good. The first 100 guests will even receive special 'swamp goodies', making it an occasion that you don't want to miss.
Come celebrate Preeti’s birthday, one that truly does good. For those who can't attend tonight’s shindig but still wish to support the cause, donations can be made via PayNow to 87745281.
To get your tickets, visit preetidirty30.peatix.com
The New York experience—it's a dream many of us share. From the iconic New York pizzas, to mesmerising city lights to a Central Park stroll, there's no denying the magic. But let's face it, the night life is the real star. After all, some of the world's most famous cocktails were born right in New York—Cosmopolitan, Appletini, Martini and, of course, the legendary Long Island Iced Tea. (I could go on but I'm not paid by the word.) If a travel to the Big Apple is a bridge too far, there's an easier way. You'll find that New York-ness at Manhattan Bar. But if you venture into the bar's back room, you'll find an experience that's reminiscent of Andy Warhol's Silver Factory; an intimate 12-seater gastro-cocktail bar called East47.
Don't think rack your brains around the whole "bar-within-a bar" concept, East47 (named after the street where Warhol's Silver Factory was held at), draws inspiration from the avant-garde culture of the 1960s. Step inside and you're instantly transported to another realm—it feels almost like entering a portal, think the shimmer in Annihilation.
The space is wrapped in silver foil-like wallpaper, with undulating stainless steel elements that echoes Warhol's studio. Bold colours, reflective materials and striking details like the black mirrored ceiling and sleek stainless steel bar.
To match the vibe, we naturally need the drinks—an ever-evolving menu that pushes the boundaries of mixology and cuisine. The cocktail and culinary program is expertly crafted by Head Bartender Antonio Donato, alongside newly appointed Assistant Bar Manager Riccardo Lugano, formerly of London's Connaught Bar, and Chef de Cuisine Carolyn Or. That's when you know there's some seriously good shit here.
Their debut menu, Volume 1: High Low, pays tribute to iconic figures, artworks, and rivalries of Warhol's world. But let's get to what's offered, the Cosmo Marilyn, a vibrant Cosmopolitan-inspired drink, blends Orientalist Vodka, Ocho Tequila, and milky oolong tea with passion fruit and pecan nuts, reflecting Warhol's "Marilyn Diptych". It's paired with Chawanmushi, a tea-infused egg custard topped with fresh Hokkaido uni.
Miss Brown is a sophisticated twist on the Espresso Martini (the drink pays homage to Warhol Superstar Tally Brown. It comes with duck, featuring a foie gras torchon glazed with sake balsamic on a brioche bun.
THE LAST OFFERINGGGG: SBAAAAAM!! mixes bourbon fat-washed with yoghurt and popcorn, inspired by Roy Lichtenstein’s comic strip-style pop art. This cocktail is paired with Wagyu, a rich combination of hanger steak, Béarnaise, and pickled onions, delivering a mix of savoury, smoky, sweet, and buttery flavours. All cocktails and dishes are available à la carte or as part of a tasting experience with three pairings.
For more information or to make a reservation, visit conradsingaporeorchard.com
You have been sweating buckets this past month, as have most of us on this part of the world. But all that sweat dripping off your face, back and pretty much everywhere else isn’t an indication that your skin is well moisturised.
Yes, sweating has moisturising benefits, in addition to killing off harmful bacteria on the surface of the skin. It’s when those sweat glands get clogged that the adverse effects outweigh the benefits. You’re losing water, oil and dead skin through your pores, so keeping that balance right after a heavy bout of sweating from gym time or walking out for lunch is necessary.
Cleansing, moisturising and sun-protecting—the holy trinity of a good skincare routine—have become increasingly essential with global warming. While cleansing and adding sun protection are pretty straightforward, finding the right moisturiser can be a doozy. They can sometimes be too thick or rich for a tropical climate, or comedogenic (pore-blocking) for blemish-prone skin.
Like your favourite scent, the right moisturiser is also personal depending on your skin type and needs. The five that we have curated aren’t flawless guarantees to well-moisturised skin, but they are easy-to-adopt selections that promise to retain that moisture, all day (and night) long.
WATER BANK BLUE HYALURONIC GEL CREAM, LANEIGE
LANEIGE’s Water Bank line has been sought after for its moisturising capabilities since its launch in 2002. An impressive 17 million units have been sold to date, and the line has gone through multiple reformulations to cater to the changing skincare needs owing to evolving environmental stressors. Its latest is fortified with Blue Hyaluronic Acid.
Water Bank is already known for its quick absorption. Blue Hyaluronic Acid amplifies it further for deep, long-lasting hydration. Regular hyaluronic acid goes through a double fermentation process with fucoidan—a moisturising agent extracted from brown algae. It then undergoes a 10-step microfiltration refining process resulting in Blue Hyaluronic Acid.
Designed for combination and oily skin, the Water Bank Blue Hyaluronic Gel Cream is the most lightweight formulation out of the trio in the new series. The gel formulation helps with the oil-moisture balance of the skin (thanks to mint leaf extract) while introducing a refreshing hydration feel. The hydration effect is instant with embedded skin-cooling capsules that cool the skin by around 16 per cent, making this perfect for those with sensitive miens.
PROTINI POLYPEPTIDE CREAM, DRUNK ELEPHANT
We are not saying that the Protini Polypeptide Cream by Drunk Elephant will shave years off of your face. However, the potent combination of ingredients promises to revitalise the state of your skin, at the very least. It’s a protein moisturiser consisting of signal peptides, growth factors, supportive amino acids as well as pygmy waterlily stem cell extract (a source of antioxidants and nutrients to replenish the skin to its youthful state). This proprietary formula works almost instantly. Lines, wrinkles and signs of sun damage will appear reduced, and most importantly, the skin will feel strengthened and moisturised.
The Protini Polypeptide Cream is also completely vegan (not all of Drunk Elephant’s products are) and contains no essential oil, silicone or fragrance, making this a good option for anyone prone to skin sensitivity. The brand recommends that the cream be used day and night for optimum effects. As with most moisturisers, concentrate on the nighttime portion if your mornings are typically rather rushed.
BIO-GOLD 24K GOLD SKIN ELIXIR, BIO-ESSENCE
Bio-essence’s Bio-Energy Complex is an energy booster for skin cells, designed specifically to change their state from inactive to energised so that they are better able to take in vital bio-ingredients. This complex powers every single product in the brand’s arsenal, including its latest Bio-Gold 24K Gold Skin Elixir.
The name might be a mouthful but the product does live up to its promises. Infused with Moroccan argan oil, the formula maintains the balance of the skin’s moisture for up to 24 hours. It’s also clinically proven to instantly increase skin moisture by 140 per cent just from one application. There is a strengthening aspect to the elixir too, with strong antioxidant protection against the harmful effects of UV rays. And if you’re intent on getting rid of stubborn spots, the elixir also minimises pigmentation.
BONG2 BOUNCE CREAM, THEN I MET YOU
Don’t discount the product because of its cute moniker. The Bong2 Bounce Cream by Then I Met You is a new lightweight moisturiser that’s suited for all skin types. If you didn’t know, the brand was founded by Charlotte Cho who has been credited for introducing Korean skincare into the US.
The Bong2 Bounce Cream’s hero ingredient is the vitamin C-rich Hallabong tangerines that are grown only on Jeju Island. Hallabong extract used in the cream works to hydrate the skin and can help to improve its elasticity and firmness. The formulation is fortified with plant-based squalane, and ceramides—both aiding in maintaining and retaining moisture as well as strengthening the skin’s lipid barrier.
Then I Met You considers this lightweight moisturiser—it’s a cream with a gel-like consistency—as the antithesis of thick creams while offering the same (if not better) level of protection and moisture-retaining capabilities. It’s also free of artificial colouring and synthetic fragrance so there is little need to worry about irritating dry skin.
THE MOISTURIZING FRESH CREAM, LA MER
For oily skin, La Mer’s latest The Moisturizing Fresh Cream is your best bet at keeping skin plump and moisturised. Its signature Miracle Broth ferment is enriched with a new 3D technology that transforms the gel consistency into a cream upon application. This creates a moisture cushion that boosts the radiance of the skin and infuses it with healing moisture. The result is a visible reduction in the appearance of lines and wrinkles, while keeping skin moisturised and hydrated throughout the day.
How impressive is The Moisturizing Fresh Cream? Clinical testing (on 132 Asian women who used the product twice daily for four weeks) resulted in all subjects displaying visible volume improvement in their skin in just two weeks. Aside from its hydrating properties, the cream also calms the look of redness for a more even skin tone.
Do you ever think if farmers from a century ago could see what we call a workout these days, they would genuinely be so confused? When they tirelessly endure a full day of manual labour to get paid, but we pay to do pretty much the exact same movements? There is literally a station called Farmer's Carry in Hyrox.
Not to incur the infamous defensive wrath of CrossFit fanatics, but the fitness competition is ultimately a first-world privilege. Sure, it’s a fun bonding activity and a novel personal challenge. Yet if you can’t picture pitching the concept to developing nations; where they are required to purchase not only participation, but training at gyms that specifically provide a dedicated programme (yeah, look it up), then the debate settles itself.
It’s just how the times have fashioned our attitudes. We do crash diets rather than cultivate healthy eating choices. We take pills to sleep rather than incorporate plans to fix terrible bedtime patterns. We shell out thousands for Botox rather than inculcate a lifestyle that actively resists aging.
The only reason why cure looks sexier than prevention is because the latter involves time and effort. And the modern age has convinced us that those are things we can’t afford. Whereas it is certainly much easier to throw money to achieve a quick fix, despite the cost of meagre durability.
For a people who are barely willing to get up to switch the light on and would much prefer telling their robot assistant to do it for them, let’s not be too ambitious. For a society that outsources feeding pets with automatic dispensers, let’s not get carried away.
What self-help books are right about is how we would naturally give up when the time taken to reach the goal is too short; and necessary actions are subsequently big to bridge the gap between where we are and where we want to be.
If we could simply reframe our expectations from overnight success to small building blocks that set us up for lasting benefit, we might realise that tiny adjustments can eventually ripple larger effects. As psychology proves—what we mistake for willpower is often a hallmark of habit.
90 days of lifestyle modification may seem daunting, but repetition in minute doses usually isn’t. Whether it is using streak-based motivation AKA the Duolingo method, or tying it to an existing daily routine, we have to trust that these little shifts will attain results should we have the patience to see them through.
The greatest impetus is that even if you avoid starting now, the time passes all the same. So why waste three months of what could be foundational moments of helping your future self? Perhaps if we embark on a long-term, balanced way of living, probably then we wouldn’t need to engage in a race to tell us how fit we are for only that particular chapter of life.
If someone tasked avant-garde filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky with creating an opulent desert palace, drawing inspiration from Star Wars and the Royal Family, we imagine it would look something like Erth, Abu Dhabi. ERTH, meaning “legacy” in Arabic, is an architectural behemoth of a resort, and even to the most initiated globetrotter, this sun- soaked haven is an indelible feast for the senses.
Previously the home of the Armed Forces Officers Club & Hotel, ERTH has been re-imagined as a unique destination for the ultimate Emirati experience, providing authentic cuisine and activities located in the heart of Abu Dhabi.
Comprised of six restaurants, a blue-flag certified private beach, swimming pool, indoor and outdoor recreational hub, fitness centre and a gym, a recently added ballroom, and offering 237 rooms, 42 suites and 13 villas, you’ll be lucky if you don’t get lost, but our instincts tell us that you secretly might want to.
Let’s be honest, we’ve all been to those hotels that claim to offer a fitness centre, but upon arrival one is quickly disheartened to find all but one treadmill and perhaps a few free weights that don’t exceed 10kg. ERTH makes no such empty promise. If you’re looking to hit a new PR on the bench press, or attempting to eclipse Michael Phelps as the fastest man in the water, then the Olympic-sized swimming pool or the plethora of gym equipment will quench all your fitness needs, and then some. Gym, beach, food, is the order of activities we’d humbly suggest.
For those looking for a tranquil escape from their daily routines, the serene and rejuvenating ERTH resort will leave you wanting more, if not extending your stay for just a few extra days.
As Jerry Seinfeld once said, “there’s no such thing as fun for the whole family,” and although that may be true more often than not, in this instance, we’ve finally proved him wrong.
Originally published on Esquire ME
We've long been accustomed to Western and European influences dominating pop culture and fashion. However, in recent years, Asian cultures have made profound impacts. They have steadily carved out their own distinctive niches. K-pop and anime have exploded in popularity, showcasing the nuanced aesthetics of traditional and contemporary Asian design. Chinese social media platforms like Douyin (Chinese TikTok) and Little Red Book (Xiao Hong Shu) are also driving this cultural shift, further amplifying Asia's influence. These platforms are shaping global trends and influencing consumer behaviour.
As you explore this list of Asian menswear brands, you'll find yourself immersed in a new world of fashion. There's no mere mimicking of Western styles; instead, it is a pioneering of unique and innovative approaches ripe for exploration and appreciation.
Post Archive Faction (PAF), a South Korean brand founded in 2018, is known for its utilitarian garments made from performance-specific materials. However, labelling it simply as an outdoor brand would not do it justice. PAF offers more than practical clothing, which likely led to it being shortlisted for the LVMH Prize in 2021.
The brand has showcased at Paris Fashion Week and launched a collaboration with Off-White, partnering with the late Virgil Abloh. Its "left, right and centre" approach to collections stands out the most, inspired by South Korea's political system. Each collection features a numbering system, indicating updates to previous models and designs.
Established in 2021 by Kartik Kumar, Kartik Research is an artisanal brand based in New Delhi, India. With a mission to "reintroduce humanness into clothing," it counters fast fashion's overproduction by prioritising craftsmanship and quality. Its collection showcases a human touch, with handcrafted shirting and quilts dyed using plants and herbs. Each piece bears hand-stitched embroidered details, embodying uniqueness and imperfection. Kartik Research strives to revive forgotten Indian craftsmanship, offering a blend of heritage and contemporary aesthetics.
Each collection draws inspiration from a subculture within India's heritage. The latest Autumn/Winter 2024 collection titled "Delhi-Jodhpur", explores the fractured dialogue of India. The collection blends emotional connections to India's past with optimism for its future. Shot at a sandstone mine in Jodhpur, it symbolises this dialogue, juxtaposing the aesthetic utopia of the past with the realities of modern commerce.
After graduating from Central Saint Martins in London, Taiga Takahashi moved to New York to hone his skills. Starting with cloth and textile, he expanded his practice to include sculpture, architecture, installation, and performance. Takahashi's work embodies a philosophy inspired by the ancient Japanese sense of beauty, refined through time and historical relics.
Describing himself as a "sartorial archaeologist," he draws inspiration from his extensive archive of American garments spanning the 18th to 20th centuries. In his designs, he transforms elements from these archives with each garment telling its own unique story.
In his art, cloth serves as a canvas where craft, design, history, and art converge seamlessly. This concept drove him to found his label T.T Gion in New York in 2017, and later established an integrated Kyoto-based art space and Tea Ceremony in December 2021.
Unfortunately, Takahashi passed away unexpectedly in the spring of 2022. His team continues his legacy, designing garments that draw from the past, are made for the present, and will endure into the future.
Doublet, the streetwear brand founded by Masayuki Ino in 2012, won the LVMH Grand Prize in 2018. Its debut Spring/Summer collection was unveiled in 2013, featuring casual daily wear infused with a sense of uniqueness. The novelty and unique details enhance the avant-garde and distinctly Japanese character of its designs.
The brand has showcased its collections at Tokyo Fashion Week and, as of summer 2022, Paris Fashion Week. Doublet has 25 stockists worldwide including Dover Street Market. Despite the fast-growing presence of the brand, it manages to maintain its relatively underground presence.
In 2016, Liu Dan Xia (Dan) and Shan Peng Wong (Shan) founded Danshan. The design duo strive to disregard gender archetypes and instead explore what is beneath the façade of machoism and strength. Danshan delves into the nuanced aspects of contemporary male existence, dissecting the evolution of male body language and investigating methods to imbue a masculine silhouette with femininity, all while respecting the traditional boundaries of menswear.
Growing up during the era of the "Single Child policy" in China, where sons were often favoured, Dan was raised as a boy by her family until the age of 12 due to societal pressures. Her unorthodox upbringing profoundly influences the brand's ethos, manifesting in garments crafted from "softer" fabrics traditionally associated with femininity.
Launched in 2021 by designer Hung La, Lựu Đạn emerged during the George Floyd protests and Stop Asian Hate movement. The brand delves into the intricacies of Asian identity, symbolised by its name, which combines "pomegranate" and "bullet" in Vietnamese to signify a "dangerous man." Embracing rich-coloured palettes, nostalgic prints, and bold silhouettes, Lựu Đạn pays homage to heritage while celebrating new legacies within its community. Celebrities like Billie Eilish, Justin Bieber, K-pop idols such as Felix (Stray Kids) and Heesung (Enhypen) have been spotted wearing Lựu Đạn.
Born and raised in Taiwan, Peng Tai graduated from the London College of Fashion in 2017 and moved to Paris. His eponymous brand actively explores the relationship between nature, humans, and cities, featuring two distinct lines: the main line and the "meditation room." His design philosophy, deeply rooted in the ancient Chinese principles of yin-yang and the five elements, seeks a precise balance.
Incorporating the five elements—earth, wood, metal, fire, and water—Peng Tai aims to achieve harmony through balanced design. The meditation room line leverages the power of Chinese medicine, using fabrics dyed with Chinese herbal medicine to blend traditional wisdom with contemporary fashion.
Established in 2019 by Danish streetwear enthusiast Tobias Billetoft and Korean designer Sangchan Lee, HGBB STUDIO seamlessly blends regional influences, reflecting their shared ideals. The collections are rooted in utilitarian shapes, enhanced with stylistic flourishes in fabric and detail.
HGBB STUDIO aims to transcend the "visual expression" of established brands by addressing rapidly changing trends and catering to a trend-oriented generation. They strive to carve out a unique identity through diverse projects and collaborations with independent partners.
Phyn Studio epitomises contemporary streetwear with its effortlessly cool vibe and a focus on gender fluidity, crafted by designer Phoenix Tan. Recently, the brand partnered with Levi’s for an upcycle denim workshop, transforming old denim into unique accessories. Tan also curates projects like Morph by Phyn, which deconstructs and reconstructs objects into new forms. Additionally, Phyn Studio collaborated on a capsule line for the 2022 Hennessy x NBA partnership.
Josh Tirados, a Filipino-born, Singapore-based designer and multidisciplinary artist, debuted his gender-neutral label last year with the collection 01-Anino. Working with deadstock fabrics, Tirados handcrafts nearly all his garments. His creations are often characterised as romantic workwear with subtle sensuality, influenced by his background in the Japanese dance form Butoh. They showcase neutral earthy tones, meticulous tailoring, and rustic textures. Alongside his clothing line, Tirados also designs his own jewellery and accessories.
It is generally bad practice to take sitcom theme songs at their word. But ever since Cheers debuted, our culture has normalised the idea that sometimes we want to go where everybody knows our name. As a lifelong extrovert in his 50s, I must be clear: Your general outlook about wanting to go where everybody knows your name will change once they know your name at Walgreens. My pharmacist and I have known each other by name for some time, but now whenever I approach the counter, she just says, “The usual?” (Statins, for the record. Neat.)
Sometimes you want to go where there is zero chance anyone will even ask your name, and if there is Skee-Ball at this place, all the better. This is why in the year 2024, I have adopted my dumbest habit yet, and I am a grown man with a favourite scratch-off ticket. I now go—no more than once a week but also no less than once a week—to Dave & Buster’s for a weekday lunch. By myself. And I love it.
To paraphrase Ray Parker Jr: Dave & Bustin’ makes me feel good. The whole thing began with Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way, a 12-week “spiritual path to higher creativity” I’ve been doing with a Zoom accountability group. One weekly assignment is to take yourself on an “artist date,” to find an activity nourishing to the artist within. I was having trouble coming up with ideas, and after I took my inner artist to see Saltburn, our relationship was strained. I closed my eyes, and my soul spoke in images: That familiar blue-and-orange logo came into focus. Oh, so you are an idiot, I whispered to my inner artist. Thank God.
I’d always imagined Dave & Buster’s as Chuck E Cheese for grown-ups, and my assessment wasn’t far off: It’s Pac-Man and Super Shot and shoot-’em-ups where you take out zombies with full-size rifles tied to the console. There is no animatronic band of anthropomorphic vermin, but there is plenty of the indistinct pop music one typically hears only inside an Uber, so it evens out. It’s a carnival midway that never moves to the next town, and it has a bar in it. There’s a lot to love is what I’m saying.
The unfortunate fact about grown-ups is that some of them will choose to have children, and those children will need a place to celebrate birthdays. So after school and on weekends, Dave & Buster’s becomes Chuck E Cheese. These times are to be avoided. Let them have the run of the place on a Saturday afternoon.
Your time to Dave & Bust is at 1am on a Tuesday. You’ll be one of no more than eight people—always male, always unaccompanied. As you roam, you will struggle to avoid eye contact with these men, and they with you. You will be united by a common shame and a common quest for digital points to be accrued on your Power Card. The floor of Dave & Buster’s feels like the cruising area of a public park but without the faintest possibility of sex. It is a blinking-light district. You will have found your people, and you will know they are your people because they don’t want to talk to you either.
I was immediately drawn to Super Shot, which I now consider the only acceptable way to play basketball. To shoot hoops in a gym is to risk being asked to join a pickup game, and I must ball in a space where there is no chance of accidental team sports. If I’m going to do badly—and I am—I need it to be in a place too full of distractions for anyone to notice. (There’s also a hybrid of Super Shot and Connect Four, so I can ponder my lack of athletic ability and strategic thinking together, in noisy peace.)
My Dave & Buster’s—in the already tragic heart of already tragic Hollywood—is capable of legitimate visual poetry. By the front door, there’s a DoorDash rack. So this means either there are people in LA who actually crave the Dave & Buster’s 14oz rib eye outside the arcade, or there’s a Dave & Buster’s chef in LA who maintains hope that such a person exists. I don’t know which makes my heart ache more. Though it’s a trick question, because neither makes my heart hurt more than the double-pepperoni flatbread on the Shareables menu.
I’ve struck up exactly one conversation at Dave & Buster’s, and it was a short one, because we didn’t speak the same language. “I visit from Stuttgart,” said the stranger next to me cheerfully as he housed his all-American cheeseburger. “Ok!” I replied. We nodded at each other for a while, and that was pretty much that. I came away happy for him. He’d shown himself the real America. An enclosed space, dense with bright things for us to stick our money into. All of us using our talents to get more and more of a currency that is worth less and less. All of us too distracted by the shiny logos to pay attention to any one thing for too long. At least here the guns don’t have bullets in them.
After a few weeks, I earned enough points on my Power Card to buy a travel tumbler with the D&B’s logo and the words “DING DING DING.” Even when inanimate, Dave & Buster’s is deafening.
We’re living in a time of maximum stupidity, and sometimes the answer is to surrender to it. Feed your inner artist warm pretzel sticks with your choice of dipping sauces. Then come back to your regular (and maybe equally noisy and stupid) life refreshed. Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your shame. That’s Dave & Buster’s by yourself at lunchtime on a weekday. Hey, it’s no dumber than being a Disney adult.
Originally published on Esquire US
What began as a simple e-commerce venture has now expanded into over five stores in Singapore, with branches reaching Japan, the Philippines, and most recently, Thailand. Beyond The Vines makes its debut in the country's capital with the opening of the Beyond The Vines Design House in CentralWorld Bangkok, a milestone that marks a significant step forward in the brand's ongoing evolution and global expansion.
This new 3,500-square-foot space in CentralWorld Bangkok is not only the brand's first Design House but also its largest store to date. Staying true to its signature style, the store features playful geometric shapes, bold colours and clean lines. The Design House presents an elevated concept, utilising innovative materials and interactive elements that embody the brand's forward-thinking ethos.
The space exudes a modern and dynamic atmosphere, blending industrial elements like brushed stainless steel and original concrete walls. It also explores a variety of materials, including EPDM, raw plywood, and glossy tiles for flooring. The brand's signature use of clear polycarbonate twin wall sheets add depth and texture, enhancing the overall design.
This milestone coincides with the launch of Beyond The Vines' latest iteration of its popular Dumpling bag. First introduced in 2019, the Dumpling bag is crafted to perfectly balance style and functionality. The new Denim Dumpling bag maintains the classic silhouette while introducing a new material for the series for the first time since it was launched. The Denim Dumpling bag is available in two distinct finishes—wash and foil—for a truly new take that sets it apart from the rest.
The Beyond The Vines Denim Dumpling bags are now available in all stores and globally online.
It just feels so wrong. you take a single, gorgeous amaro—which probably has a semi-secret recipe perfected and handed down through generations—and shake the absolute hell out of it with ice in a cocktail tin. Isn’t that a sin against the liqueur gods? These bittersweet liqueurs, primarily from Italy, should be sipped room temperature or slightly chilled following an epic dinner and used in fancy aperitivo cocktails, right?
The original shakerato, the caffè shakerato, has been a fixture in Italy for decades. A bit of coffee, sugar, and ice, shaken and strained, results in something like an NA precursor to the espresso martini. At the historic bar Camparino in Milan, this same technique is applied to the classic amaro Campari. The method has slowly taken off in the United States among cocktail nerds, and it coincides with the broader rise in popularity of amaros. It’s easy to see the appeal: They typically have a lower ABV than whiskey or tequila, and Gen-Z loves a less boozy or NA cocktail. Plus, they’re authentic. If White Claw is practically digital, nothing feels more analogue than an amaro. And amaro labels look cool, dude.
Can you really call an amaro shakerato a cocktail when a cocktail has, by most definitions, at least three ingredients? Well, when you think about the make-up of amaros— mixtures of various sweet, bitter, and herbaceous ingredients—that’s pretty much what cocktails are. They are, in many ways, the original bottled cocktails.
What happens when you shake an amaro is the same thing that occurs when you shake any drink with sugar content: You dilute and chill the drink while everything aerates, emulsifies and integrates. The most important aspect to making a successful shakerato is the aeration. You need to shake it harder than you’ve ever shaken anything before and with less ice (or no ice). That is what will give you your fluffy head.
The technique works differently with every amaro—generally speaking, the higher the sugar content, the foamier the crema. We’ve tested a bunch and picked a few of our favorite amaros to shake (at right). You can experiment with drinks that blend two amaros together, like, say, the Ferrari—a combination of Fernet- Branca and Campari, more commonly served as a shot but, we think, much better in shakerato form.
Perhaps you’ve never liked amaros. Some people find them syrupy, almost medicinal. Chances are, though, that you’ll be won over by the shakerato. The technique softens and lengthens the amaro’s flavours to create an altogether different taste profile—one that provides a refreshing surprise. Love Negronis and espresso martinis but want something different? Again, the shakerato is the answer. It may never be as popular as those drinks, it might never become a TikTok trend, but being an under-the-radar classic has more cachet anyway.
There is no one way to make a shakerato, but there are some guidelines you can use to get the aeration and emulsification right. I find that the simplest thing to do is to shake the amaro with just a few cubes. This makes it easier for the air to mix into the drink. Use a Boston shaker or a martini shaker. And shake it hard. Like as hard as you can, for about 10 seconds. Do it enough and you’ll know when it’s got the right consistency. Then strain it into a glass.
A lot of pros do something called a reverse dry shake, which will give you a more robust crema. After you strain, return the contents to the shaker, shake some more, and then pour it into a coupe. It’s a simple enough cocktail for your party guests to shake on their own, too.
