It may be inspired by fiction, but HBOā€™s The Last of Us has a funny way of making me ask serious questions about real life. And Season 2, with its Seattle setting, has me wondering: Would this city really be the best place to live out the apocalypse? Given all the zombie drama, The Last of Us doesnā€™t exactly showcase the Seattle we know, but it does seem like a decent place to spend the end times in real life. The weather is cool and rainy. Thereā€™s plenty of water. And even with climate change, the city might still be pretty comfortable given that the current average high temperature is 72 degrees in the hottest months of the year.

The risk and severity of extreme weather events that create real-life apocalyptic scenariosā€”floods, droughts, heat domes, hurricanesā€” as the planet warms, as robust has demonstrated. Plus, the a warming planet. That means that many of us could one day be searching for a more climatically stable city to flee toā€”in other words, something some have called a climate haven.

The myth of climate havens

To try to answer my own questions about the climate future, I spent some time reading about these so-called ā€œclimate havens.ā€ For the uninitiated, climate havens are places that, because of their location, seem less likely to experience the most extreme effects of climate change, like dizzyingly high temperatures, rising sea levels, severe wildfires, and floods. Examples that frequently include places like Buffalo, New York, and Ann Arbor, Michigan, for their relatively low average temperatures, distance from the threats of sea-level rise, and lack of history with extreme weather events, broadly speaking.

However, the entire concept of climate havens might be more of a clever marketing tool than a trustworthy descriptor of specific cities. Experts seem to increasingly doubt the entire idea of a climate haven or refuge because, as a put it, ā€œTo the extent that a climate refuge even exists, itā€™s not a particularly physical or geophysical phenomenon. Itā€™s social and economic.ā€ In other words, thereā€™s no zip code that in and of itself will be totally immune to the threats posed by climate change and extreme weather events. But the kind of preparation and mobility that financial capital can provide does offer a potential bufferā€”for someā€”to its worst outcomes.

And to make matters worse, the whole idea of climate havens might have just been taken out of context and used as a tool to attract transplants to invest in real estate in areas of the U.S. that have seen population and industry decline, such as, as its slogan puts it, ā€œclimate-proof Duluth,ā€ Minnesota. The aforementioned Vox story spends time unearthing the history of climate havens lingo as city council marketing tools.

Moreover, being described as a climate haven doesnā€™t mean a place is immune to extreme, devastating weather events. A heart-wrenching recent example is Asheville, North Carolina, which, before the devastating flooding in 2024, had often been described as an ideal ā€œclimate havenā€ city.

When the worst happens, where do you want to be?

Still, despite my research, I held onto hope. I thought an expert might be able to hand me the key to my apocalyptic bunker. I talked to Daniel Swain, PhD, an acclaimed climate scientist based in Los Angeles. Given his credentials, I thought he might know a thing or two about a thing or two.

After agreeing to chat with me, Swain quickly set the tone for our conversation: ā€œMy forewarning is that I generally donā€™t think the notion of ā€˜climate havensā€™ makes much sense in general (or, at least, does not mean anything close to what people tend to think they represent!).ā€ Gulp.

Still, my conversation with Swain was illuminating because it gave me the tools to think about specific locations through the lens of our climate future in a different way. In fact, according to Swain, the right map of the best locations to weather the future might actually be ā€œthe inverseā€ of the locations weā€™re used to seeing on roundups of so-called climate havens.

How does that make sense?

For Swain, the thought experiment (along with the robust data he interprets) is really quite simple. ā€œWould you rather experience a particular major disaster in a city that very rarely sees those kinds of events or in a city that sees them frequently?ā€ In other words, would you rather live in a city that does have a high and regular risk of certain types of disaster that it is increasingly prepared to manage and mitigate, or do you want to live somewhere with a lower risk but no infrastructural response for when the worst does happen? Swain would pick the former scenario. And after talking to him, so would I.

Looking at environmental apocalypses this way means that suddenly Los Angeles might seem like a better option than, say, St. Louis, if your goal is to live somewhere prepared to manage the specific disasters it may face.

Is Seattle right for the end times?

But what about Seattle? As much as I enjoyed learning about how Swain thinks about environmental risk and the ways in which the climate haven data has likely been misinterpreted, I did want to know his opinion on the specific spot that motivated the whole inquiry.

And, well, if you didnā€™t know, Seattle is at risk of a pretty major seismic event, which an objectively terrifying 2015 story in the New Yorker calls ā€œ.ā€ Seattle, along with the rest of the Pacific Northwest, Vancouver, Canada, and parts of Northern California, lies along the Cascadia subduction zone, which, based on the geological data, is poised to produce a massive earthquake and potential tsunami that could be among the worst natural disasters the U.S. has ever faced. And sea level rise fueled by climate change could than previously predicted, according to published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA.

Swain told me that heā€™s glad Seattle seems to be taking the risks of a Cascadia subduction zone earthquake more seriously than it has in the past, but he would still take Los Angeles over Seattle when it comes to preparedness. When I asked why, Swain told me that Californiansā€™ visceral collective memory of recent catastrophes, like the 2025 fires or 1994 Northridge quake, has created stronger infrastructure and preparation for managing and mitigating such disasters.

Cities like Seattle still have a fair amount of work to do to catch up. However, Seattle has started within the last decade to . And emergency alerts in cities across the U.S.ā€”including those for earthquakes and other seismic eventsā€”have improved over the past decade, too, Swain told me. Theyā€™re super fast and efficient compared to how they worked in the past, especially since most people have a direct line right in their pockets in the form of a smartphone. That means being in earthquake territory (i.e. Washington) isnā€™t necessarily worse than being in wildfire territory (i.e. Colorado) or Tornado Alley (i.e. Kansas). So, though we may not be able to predict exactly when earthquakes might hit, modern alert technology means we can react to them pretty fast. If the idea that a cityā€™s specific disaster preparedness makes it more of a ā€œclimate havenā€ than its temperate climate, then maybe Seattle really is an increasingly smart choice.

So, what’s the best option?Ģż

No place is the silver bullet to surviving our climate future. Individual preparedness, evacuation plans, information sharing, and infrastructural investment on the part of local governments are still the best options available to us.

Given that my family is about to relocate from Virginia to Seattle, Iā€™m deeply grateful for the conversation with Swain that writing this story allowed me to have. Nowhere is perfect, but now, I have the chance to prepare.

Ryleigh Nucilli is the former Director of Digital Editorial at National Geographic, and she takes extreme environmental events very seriously. She is soon to be based in Seattle.

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On February 14, 2025, the National Park Service around 1,000 probationary employees in conjunction with a White House effort to reduce the federal workforce. Although a spate of eventually reversed many of the layoffs and reinstated probationary employees to their jobs, roughly five weeks elapsed between the initial firing and eventual rehiring mandate. Those intervening weeks were chaotic for many NPS employees, who wondered what they would do for their livelihoods.

At the same time, Ali Murphy, a former marketing executive and the founder of , a new travel platform focused on creating expert-guided custom itineraries for active travelers, was in the middle of preparing to launch her company. When she heard the news of the layoffs, she quickly recognized a chance to pair individuals with deep, location-specific expertise with travelers looking for guidance on their next adventure. On Facebook, Murphy offered former rangers the chance to put their skill set to use at her fledgling company.

On February 20, 2025, a week after the initial layoffs, Murphy put out a call to all those affected: ā€œThis is devastating,ā€ she wrote in her post. ā€œBut your knowledge is still incredibly valuableā€¦ If you want to keep sharing what you know, weā€™d love to have you.ā€

Right now, you can book a call with an Outdoorable expert for $60, and Murphy told me the experts themselves take home $45 of that. Thatā€™s a pretty sizable cut. While there are other adventure and gear concierge services out thereā€”like ā€™s trip-planning service, or Backcountryā€™s popular ā€”Outdoorable seems to fill a pretty distinct niche when it comes to trip planning and prep.

Here at ¹ś²ś³Ō¹ĻŗŚĮĻ, we saw Murphyā€™s post and wondered: what happened next? Did NPS folks actually get in touch? We reached out to understand a little more about Outdoorable and its missionā€”and what the response to her post has been like.

How Outdoorable Is Tapping Into Ranger Talent to Improve Outdoor Acesss

OUTSIDE: What happened when you put out that call to former NPS employees? What was the response like?

Murphy: I think I had 70 people apply to Outdoorable from that one post. I pretty much cried after every call. I was so jazzed because people were enthused, and it gave me the chance to tell them that what they know is valuable.

So, what exactly is Outdoorable? What makes it different from other travel sites or chatbots?

I think the travel industry largely ignores the people who are in need of the most guidance. We make false assumptions that people have networks or they know what to look for or they even know where to go. What if you could talk to a former national park ranger? Some people are going to AI for travel advice these days, but there are certain things AI cannot do. AI can’t look you in the eye and say, ā€œHoney, you’re not crazy. You can do that hike.ā€ Or, ā€œTalk to me about your knee. Are you better on uphill or downhill?ā€

How does Outdoorable plan to address representation and access deficits that can make it harder for some folks to envision themselves in the outdoors?

At the start of this, I had an interesting conversation with James Edward Mills, who kind of wrote the book on inclusion spaces. I called him and told him that it’s really important to me that Outdoorable becomes a place where people of all backgrounds can go, and that they feel comfortable getting outside. That conversation was really illuminating because Mills said, ā€œIt’s all about representation.ā€ For example, if you’re a queer traveler trying to do van life, you want to talk to a queer traveler if you can. And just seeing someone who looks like you or who has had a similar life path to you can help you envision yourself chasing that dream. Weā€™re working on getting a diverse panel of experts on the platform so people can have that experience.

Okay, letā€™s say Iā€™m a traveler. After I fill out the intake form and get paired with a guide on your website, what can I expect?

Your guide will read your form and know all about you before the call. They’re excited to talk to you. You can expect someone who has a wide range of knowledge to the extent that they can ask you questions you hadn’t thought of, almost like trip therapy. So you might be saying, ā€œHey, I’m doing a road trip around Utah’s national parks. I’m going to go to five parks in seven days.ā€ Your guide isnā€™t going to be afraid to push back if they need to. Theyā€™ll say, ā€œNo youā€™re not,ā€ or, ā€œHave you thought about this? Or looked at it this way? What are you actually trying to accomplish on this trip?ā€ Or, on the other hand, if youā€™ve shared about a trip youā€™re uncertain about, they might reassure you that that trip is well within your ability. You can expect a real thought partner.

Sounds like Outdoorable is for everyoneā€”but who do you see using the platform most often?

Iā€™d say the biggest use case we’ve seen so far has been for casual recreationists. They want to get out, they’re outdoorsy, they’d love to do a hike, but they’re not in the Reddit forums. They don’t own all the Osprey packs. The outdoor travel industry forgets about this segment of people, which is most people.

This interview was edited for length and clarity.

The post When National Parks Laid Off Rangers, This Company Started Hiring appeared first on ¹ś²ś³Ō¹ĻŗŚĮĻ Online.

There are a nearly infinite number of battles on the Internet, but we at ¹ś²ś³Ō¹ĻŗŚĮĻ get fired up over some more than others. The latest? The recent debate about whether sweatpants are poised to replace leggings, ye olde Millennial staple, as peak athleisure wear.

Itā€™s a tale as old as time. The up-and-coming generation on whom the nation seems to be focused rejects the clothing of the generation that preceded it, choosing their own style that makes whatever came before seem hopelessly lame and outdated. In this case, Gen Z is opting for looser, baggier clothingā€”even at the gym.

For the uninitiated, take Billie Eilishā€™s plaid sweatpants as the paradigm of whatā€™s cool right now. Then read , where redditors debate getting rid of their black leggings forever.

So, are leggings actually out? Who works out in sweats anyway? Because we at ¹ś²ś³Ō¹ĻŗŚĮĻ pride ourselves on asking the big questions, we put two staffers head-to-head on the issue. Hereā€™s what they had to say.

Sweatpants Are Definitely the New Leggings.

First, an admission: leggings do have a place in my life, and itā€™s a really important one. They are the only pants that allow me to actually maintain tree pose when I do yoga. More billowy bottoms create a situation where, no matter how firmly I press, my heel continuously slides and I spend the whole pose resetting my foot with my hand. So, thank you for your service, leggings.

That said, I certainly do not spend my days in leggings. I do not believe theyā€™ve earned the leisure half of their purported athleisure status. I donā€™t like to have anything suctioned to my skin for an entire day. When I realize I have unwittingly spent a lot of time in a pair of leggings, I peel them off as quickly as possible and can practically feel my legs sigh in relief.

I also feel like I bring the wisdom of experience to this debate. Iā€™m a dyed-in-the-wool Millennial (a fine 1988 vintage, in fact), so I came of age at the peak of the leggings frenzy and thus spent years hanging out and exercising in them. It took a lot to finally admit that I just didnā€™t like leggingsā€”even when they were considered the go-to sportswear.

These days, I spend most of my non-exercise time in jeans and barrel-style workwear pants. I donā€™t mind structured fabric (in fact, I like it), but I donā€™t want anything tight on my lower half. My legs like some room to move in their clothing cocoons. That said, I have really gotten into the matching sets game, and I have a few pairs of joggers with matching sweatshirts. These serve me extremely well because they can easily transition from ā€œput-together mom at drop offā€ to ā€œI am actually now going to do a quick plyometric workout.ā€ I know the whole ā€œbusy momā€ routine might read as boring or tired (we wonā€™t get into the whys of that), but when you are a parent trying to accomplish some subset of the endless tasks assigned to you in the course of a day, an outfit that can do more than one thing is valuable. A certain masculinity comes with a matching sweats set versus a leggings and sweatshirt outfit, and our culture gives a little more graceā€”or at least less excoriationā€”to the masculine.

Then, thereā€™s the actual feeling of working out in sweats. When I exercise in sweatpants, my joints feel a greater range of motion. When I run in sweats on a cold-weather day, they keep my legs cozier and they allow me to work up a bigger sweat. Iā€™m like a wrestler. Iā€™m Rocky running up the stairs. I like that.

And what if I got dressed for the day with every intention of doing an afternoon workout that didnā€™t come to fruition? Well, in that case, I got to spend the day in sweats instead of leggings. Thatā€™s a win, too.

ā€” Ryleigh Nucilli, columnist and former digital managing editorĢż

My Leggings Will Never Be Replaced.Ģż

I get it, Gen Z: sweatpants look cool and casual. You can sleep in them and then go straight to the gym, where it may appear to any passerby as if you just wandered in off the street and began working out by happy accident. Thatā€™s a kind of cultivated nonchalance that Iā€”as a type-A, semi-professional, wannabe athleteā€”only dream of one day possessing. But, let me tell you, whippersnappers: I, too, was once hesitant to board the leggings bandwagon. ā€œLeggings arenā€™t pants!ā€ my mother would chide in the early 2010s. ā€œVisible panty lines are unseemly!ā€ my high school friends would gasp. But you know what? Leggings are goddamn practical, and Iā€™m never going back.

For one thing, the stretch is unmatched. If Iā€™m climbing, I want to be able to hike my leg up by my face without having to adjust the crotch of my pants first. If Iā€™m running, I want to maximize my stride without fighting fabric. I love being able to stick a phone in a thigh pocket without feeling like itā€™s going to bounce around and whack me in the leg with every step. And, as a very sweaty person, I like the thinness of the material and the sense that I have a second skin rather than some cumbersome exoskeleton with a fat waistband and cloyingly fuzzy interior.

Leggings are also practical outside of sports use. Theyā€™re stretchy enough that I can sit criss-cross applesauce in my office chair or high-step into my van to put groceries away. They take up very little room in a suitcase, and they double as a base layer on ski trips and ice-climbing outings.

It is true that leggings leave little to the imagination, and, as such, not everyone finds them sufficiently versatile for post-exercise use. However, I believe that stigma is rooted in the sexualization of womenā€™s bodies and on a . Shaming people for wearing leggings in public is an unfortunate misogynistic offshoot that shouldnā€™t stop us from dressing in ways we find practical and comfortable.

All that said, what people think of my leggings is neither here nor there. Iā€™m wearing them for athletic pursuits first and foremost, and I donā€™t do sports for the aesthetics, or to feign only casual interest. I do sports to clear my mind and push my limitsā€”and Iā€™ll be damned if I let my clothing get in the way, even in the name of convenience or fashion. And if I end up wearing my leggings home afterward, or to the grocery store, or to lunch with friends? So be it. Hot take, mom: leggings are pants. And Iā€™ll keep wearing mine until the day I die.

ā€” Corey Buhay, interim managing editor

The post Are Sweatpants the New Leggings? Two Editors Debate. appeared first on ¹ś²ś³Ō¹ĻŗŚĮĻ Online.

Have you ever thought about quitting the rat race, becoming free from rent or a mortgage, and hitting the open road?

Whatever your answer to that question, a lot of people do. For years, Instagram has showcased beautifully aesthetic versions of a more simple life on the road with the hashtag , which is populated with nearly 18 million posts. And the subreddit r/VanLife has almost 300,000 members who discuss the ins and outs of their experience and share pictures of their setups and views.

After spending some time talking to vanlifers and lurking in vanlife spaces on the internet, the most important thing Iā€™ve learned about vanlife is that there is no single version of vanlife. The moniker, I think, refers more to a state of mind that corresponds with a way of beingā€”a freedom ontology that can be achieved through life on four wheels. Remove the tethers that bind you to a specific place (and the costs associated with them) and experience a more real autonomy and the ability to wander. There is no monolith, only your unique experience.

In many ways, itā€™s not surprising that this mode of existence exploded in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic when lockdowns and remote work created competing senses of containment and openness. At the same time indoor experiences became less likely, a lot of work could be done from anywhere. For many, it became the right time to take to the road and experience the outdoors from a new, built-out, moveable home.

Philosophy and aesthetics aside, there are also more material considerations that drive some to consider vanlife. As ¹ś²ś³Ō¹ĻŗŚĮĻ has reported on, the cost of living in mountain towns has steadily increased over the last several years, and American cities, broadly speaking, arenā€™t getting any cheaper.

Is #vanlife the answer?

I spoke to two vanlife pros at different points on the cost, build-out, and lifestyle spectrums to get a more thorough understanding of the expenses, benefits, and unexpected realities of living out of a van.

Bruce Dean, Ph.D., is a Wavefront Sensing Group Leader at NASAā€™s Goddard Space Flight Center. In that role, he helped develop one of the flight algorithms as a key component in aligning the James Webb Space Telescopeā€™s mirrors. Heā€™s a lifelong runner and endurance athlete, holds 14 U.S. patents, and currently lives in his van in Colorado. Heā€™s been fulltime in his Mercedes Sprinter van since 2021. He also has a business founded on vanlife, build-outs, and life coaching called .

William Gayle spends summers working for the Parks Service in Yosemite, California, and the ski season in Mammoth Lakes, California. He has spent a number of his years in Mammoth living in a converted minivan that he built out with pull-out drawers and a platform bed.

The Realities of #Vanlife

Both Gayle and Dean offered me a window into their own unique vanlives.

The Cost of Insurance

For Gayle, the most terrifying moment of vanlife came when his vanā€”with all of his earthly possessions inside itā€”was stolen. Though he insures the vehicle with homeowners insurance, Gayle says it didnā€™t really hit him that his van is a moveable and stealable container of his life until he was walking around with only the clothes on his back. Thankfully, it was recovered within 24 hours, but Gayle never shook the worry that it created.

Dean also mentioned insurance as one of his most significant expenses.

General Expenses

Gayle told me that the daily cost of dining out added up quickly. His minivan didnā€™t have kitchen facilities, so for at least one ski season, he ended up spending somewhere between $40 and $80 a day on food and drinks. Although Gayle only used his vans for winters in Mammoth, that daily food cost annualizes to somewhere upward of $15,000. For context, the financial website that the average American household spends around $9,985 per year on food.

Dean hasnā€™t paid an electrical bill since 2021. He also told me he pays very little for water, and most of the time can refill at campgrounds for free. Many gas-stations are OK with letting him fill his water tank if they happen to have a water tap outside. The only housing related bills that he has every month are for Starlink (mobile satellite internet, currently $165 per month), gas, and insurance. He told me gas costs can vary widely depending on if you travel a lot. He has a full kitchen and cooks every night. He also runs every day and installed a shower so he can shower every night.

Romantic Relationships

When I asked Gayle if there were any elements of vanlife that surprised himā€”and heā€™d want readers to know aboutā€”he mentioned relationships, specifically romantic ones. ā€œIt made romantic relationships hard,” he said. “People want to get out of their own house; they donā€™t necessarily want to come hang out in your van where you canā€™t even sit up.ā€

Builds and Fixes

Gayle said his build-out was relatively inexpensive. Modeling his design after truck-bed campers heā€™s seen, he completed his first version of a platform bed with underbed pull-out drawer storage in 2018 and modestly iterated from there, completing most of the work before the cost of lumber skyrocketed during COVID.

Dean is handyā€”and can do most repairs and improvements himself. ā€œIt pays to install the best components available, to help avoid problems later,” he said. “But these can be expensive, most notably, the batteries, solar panels, a refrigerator, and electrical components, these can really add up. That said, you would have anyway if you lived in a conventional home.ā€

Gas and Tolls

Dean told me that a surprising part of vanlife, at least the way he does, has been the sheer number of toll roads and pay-to-cross bridges. ā€œTheyā€™re more inconvenient than costly,ā€ he said.

Gayle used his van in Mammoth Lakes in winter, and he didnā€™t have heat. Driving around to heat up his vehicle ended up being a more significant expense than he expected.

How Does Vanlife Compare to the General Cost of Living in the U.S.?

To get a better understanding of renting in major cities and outdoor destinations, I used , and I picked a few desirable places to stack up against the average cost of vanlife that I discerned from the folks I interviewed for this story. There’s one important caveat I need to note about Forbes’s calculator when it comes to the cost of rent: the calculator uses the median of rent across all rental sizes, which means that itā€™s hard to say what square footage youā€™ll get for your buck using the calculator. Iā€™d like to believe that any apartment is going to have more livable square footage than a van, but at one point my now-husband and I inhabited a 400-square-foot studio apartment in Los Angeles, California, so I donā€™t think I can comfortably make that claim.

Without further preamble, here are a few relevant rental scenarios:

Asheville, North Carolina: $1,554 median monthly rent

Denver, Colorado: $1,899 median monthly rent

Morgantown, West Virgina: $995 median monthly rent

Portland, Maine: $2,582 median monthly rent

St. George, Utah: $1,627 median monthly rent

The Forbes calculator summarizes other relevant cost of living expenses in the pages it creates for individual cities, but it was difficult to discern overall cost with a single number using its capabilities.

That said, itā€™s almost definitely cheaper to live in a van if youā€™re conscientious about the additional lifestyle costs youā€™ll need to consider. How will you eat? Kitchen or dining out? Where will you shower? Whatā€™s the plan for accessing water? Is your van paid off, or will you have a monthly payment? How much of a build-out do you really need?

Answer these questions, and you could be on your way. After all, as Dean told me, in a van, ā€œyou have the added benefit of waking up in a different location every day, and having coffee in the morning overlooking some truly great landscapes. In fact, when I wake up in the morning and drive away from some location, it feels like I got away with something!ā€

The post How Vanlife Compares to the General Cost of Living in the U.S. appeared first on ¹ś²ś³Ō¹ĻŗŚĮĻ Online.

Social media is filled with people promising that returning to an earlier state of human existence will have physical and mental benefits. Whether itā€™s eating raw organ meat, getting into sourdough starter, or moving like primates, you donā€™t have to scroll around much to see what Iā€™m talking about. Some of these influencers have been publicly discredited; while others have started movements and begun lucrative businesses on the social media brands theyā€™ve built. Obviously, thereā€™s no one-size-fits-all profile that could ever capture the diversity of these individual people, but I did wonder what talking to one of them might be like.

So I talked to a primal movement influencer, 35-year-old Victor Manuel Fleites Escobar, the ā€˜Tarzanā€™ behind the million-follower Instagram account. If youā€™ve seen any of Escobarā€™s videos, you might assume our conversation focused primarily on the ins and outs of tree climbing or the subtleties of primate locomotion. After all, individual videos on his account showing Fleites Escobar climbing trees and running on all fours have hundreds of thousands of views. One post, for example, promises his ability to teach gorilla, orangutan, and gibbon skillsā€”all of which have three levelsā€”for interested participants. shows Fleites Escobar using his big and second toes to grip a rope as he propels himself forcefully upward with the caption ā€œYes it hurts , but it can also take more than half of your body weight while going up .ā€

View this post on Instagram

Itā€™s no secret that Fleites Escobar appears to be in incredible physical shape (watch any of the aforementioned Instagram reels if you donā€™t believe me), but his movement and physical fitness seem to spring from a desire to live in a more a more intuitive, embodied wayā€”one that addresses how his body is feelingā€”than they do from a specific desire to see fitness gains.

Fleites Escobar joined our conversation virtually from a sunny Barcelona apartment. We ranged across topicsā€”from the philosophy behind Tarzan movement to his own daily habits, and I was struck by our repeated return to the themes of observation, openness, and play, which are at the core of the animal philosophy heā€™s been developing.

Do you want to liveā€”and lookā€”like Tarzan?

Well, according to Fleites Escobar, thatā€™s a journey that begins within.

View this post on Instagram

An Interview with the Creator of the Tarzan Movement

OUTSIDE: How did this journey start for you? What brought you to primal movement?
FLEITES ESCOBAR: Earlier you mentioned that you feel like we are bringing people outsideā€¦ As a matter of fact, I’m doing the opposite. I’m trying to bring people inside where there’s a whole universe. For me, the fundamentals start with your own understanding with your own body. How do I deal with thing? How do I feel with myself? [When I asked myself those questions], I was able to validate the things that open my heart, the things that felt more natural to my animal background. That was my journey into the trees, into silence, into doing nothing.

Are there specific part of modern life that made you want to turn inward? Or is it just the general contradictions, stresses, and artifices that we all face everyday?
It’s not just modern life. You can trace ā€˜modern lifeā€™ back a long way because even agriculture was modern for people at a different time. So I trace modernity all the way back to where humans moved away from having natural demands put on them by the environment. Animals have natural demands in their day to day that shape their lifestyles and keep their bodies in shape. Itā€™s like kids.

How so? Your website mentions the value of play a lot. Is that where being kid-like comes in?
I feel like for many kids they are just constantly learning. In the park, if you allow them to run free, they take their shoes off, then they run and find some friend, and eventually they play with whatever they have. They have trees, they go up in the tree. They have balls, they play with balls. It doesn’t matter. What is constant is the way they are learning. The learning process there is not targeting a certain goal.

OK, so being present, open, and playful are as important as looking inward. How do you recommend a person cultivates this practice amid the hustle and bustle of everyday life?
I don’t think you can grab so much. Youā€™re going to grab the perfume of the flower. Youā€™re going to see it closely. You’re going to remember this smell, and it’s going to have an impact of your life. But itā€™s not going to be enough because we have to go to the root of the tree, the root of the problem. People should begin by looking beyond the physical aspect of this primal movement practice by being courageous enough to observe every single day, to recognize the things that they don’t really resonate with inside themselves, and take action. They need to ask themselves: what are these things that are fundamentally important for me because they keep the balance of the animal and the human together?

Introspect, observe, play, Iā€™m getting it. What does a typical day look like for you?
I donā€™t think there is a routine. I wake up with some coffee. I like to read. I go for a walk to the beach. And then I do some work. I see my friend who manages the social media. We talk a little bit about work. Then we go for breakfast. Then at some point lunch, and then we go to do something outside like going to the park and hanging around with people or going to the forest and spending a few hours climbing trees. I can also go many days without doing any climbing and just feel like being quiet. When I feel inspired, when I feel motivated, I go out and I do things.

I have the feeling like I live for the day more than for the week or the year. But there are certain things that really take more than just following the flow, and I do take care of them. You have to pay your bills.

Is there anything else youā€™d want readers to know?
Fear is something that limits most humans. I feel we are all exist in houses. The perception of the human with fear is that the ceiling doesn’t move. Thatā€™s all. So they move around in the house horizontally all the time. Once in a while, when you have the courage to check the ceiling and observe it, it actually moves and you discover another floor.

Iā€™m not going to lie. I went into my conversation with Fleites Escobar somewhat cynical. As a student of history, I know that our species tends to be drawn to ways of being that seem or feel more natural or simple just because theyā€™re something from the past. Iā€™m skeptical of ideas that fall prey to the naturalistic fallacy, which is the idea that just because something occurs in nature, that means itā€™s better or right.

Even though I carried my skepticism with me as I chatted with Fleites Escobar, I had a recurrent thought as he walked me through his way of being: naturalistic fallacy or not, this person is taking the time to scrutinize their interiority and the way they interface with the world, and theyā€™re not afraid to be outside-the-box in their approach to feeling good and helping others do the same. I like the idea that openness, play, and directly addressing fear can help us unlimit our potentials. I donā€™t know if Iā€™ll be scaling any trees soon, but I can certainly question the things Iā€™m holding onto that arenā€™t serving me and try to experience more daily joy.

The post The Founder of the Viral Tarzan Movement Instagram Account Wants You to Embrace Play appeared first on ¹ś²ś³Ō¹ĻŗŚĮĻ Online.

On Sunday February 9, 2025 the Philadelphia Eagles will take on the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX. Travis Kelce will be there. Taylor Swift will no doubt be cheering him on. Kendrick Lamar is slated to perform the halftime show. Thereā€™s a lot to look forward to.

Here at ¹ś²ś³Ō¹ĻŗŚĮĻ, we are still thinking about an infographic published by the in the fall of 2024, which charts, of all things, the sheer volume of Uncrustables being consumed by the NFL. Yes, thatā€™s right, if you havenā€™t heard, professional football players eat an ungodly amount of the pre-packaged, crust-cut-off, frozen peanut butter and jelly sandwiches sold by Smuckers and available in virtually every grocery store. According to the Athletic, NFL teams are tucking into somewhere upwards of 80,000 Uncrustables a year. And thatā€™s just among the teams that chose to respond to their inquiry.

For their part, Smuckers has made the most of playersā€™ love of their iconic sammie, with teams like the Ravens and players like the Kelce brothers.

Now, I donā€™t claim to be a nutritionist, but I do devote quite a bit of rent-free space in my brainā€”and quite a bit of my timeā€”to reading about and researching the latest science on diet and nutrition. And I try to reasonably modify my own and my familyā€™s diet in response to evidence-based things that I learn.

Alcohol is connected to higher risks of at least seven types of cancer,? Alrighty, Aperol Spritzes only on special occasions moving forward. ? Never going to buy a can without BPA-free on the label! And on down the line to microplastics in kitchenware. You get the gist.

So I think what surprises me most about Uncrustables as professional athlete fuel is my perception that they fall into that most contemporary of negative food categories: ultraprocessed. Although the research on the effects of ultraprocessed foods is still emerging, early , among other potential downstream health considerations. So I guess I would assume they are, broadly put, something to be avoided, especially in the context of peak athletic performance.

But letā€™s challenge my assumptions, starting with my broad brush view of ultraprocessing. As a recent article published on our sister site , ā€œSports nutritionā€ requires ultraprocessing in order ā€œto create fast-digesting carbohydrates in the form of gels, chews, and beverages to keep your muscles adequately fueled.ā€ The ultraprocessed factor of certain specially manufactured foodstuffs, arguesĢżTriathlete, ensures their capacity to meet nutritional needs in a unique way for endurance athletes. Again, as a total non-nutritionist, that feels like a fair point in their favor.

Peanut Butter and Jellies Are Pretty Amazing Workout Calories

And we do know that PB&Js are a great workout option.

¹ś²ś³Ō¹ĻŗŚĮĻ writer Michael Easter put it simply in a 2018 story he wrote on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as the unassumingā€”but ultimateā€”adventure fuel: ā€œA basic PB&Jā€”sliced white bread, Jif, and grape jellyā€”contains 350 calories and 16, 45, and 11 grams of fat, carbs, and protein, respectively. Thatā€™s roughly equivalent to a Peanut Butter ProBarā€”a favorite among endurance athletesā€”with its 380 calories, 20 grams of fat, 43 grams of carbohydrates, and 11 grams of protein.ā€ And, according to his estimates, they ā€œ[clock] in at roughly 25 cents each.ā€

Kelly Jones, a registered dietitian, certified specialist in sports dietetics, and owner of and told me that if she were my nutritionist, sheā€™d recommend making my own PB&J or peanut butter banana sandwich ā€œout of whole grain bread and having half or a full one depending on the timing before activityā€ to net out greater nutrient density.

Uncrustables arenā€™t that far off a typical homemade PB&J in their caloric content, coming in at around 210 calories with 28 grams of carbs, 6 grams of protein, 9 grams of fat, and 8 to 10 grams of added sugar. On Amazon, , which makes the cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $2.75 per sandwich. And thereā€™s definitely something to be said for the convenience of an Uncrustable when it comes to the per-unit price breakdown.

So I guess my first assumptionā€”that peanut butter and jelly sandwiches arenā€™t the best thing to eat when working outā€”is pretty far off the mark. That said, making one at home is definitely a better bang for your buck and probably has denser nutritional value.

But who wants to make 80,000 homemade PB&Js in a year?

What Do Nutritionists Say About Uncrustables?

To get more perspectiveā€”and to test more of my assumptionsā€”I reached out to , a nutritionist and certified personal trainer based in Denver, Colorado. Carmichael runs her own nutrition and fitness company, Team Humble Yourself, where the mission is to educate and empower women to take responsibility for their habits within nutrition and fitness.

Carmichael gave me some really helpful food for thought. She said she likes ā€œto think of nutrition as paralleling finance. Like a budget, you can spend your money on whatever you want, but long term, all the short-term gratification spending (like consistently eating a highly processed diet) will not lead you to an early retirement or a life full of financial freedom because of small choices that were made daily.ā€

As such, an Uncrustable here or there is totally fine, but ā€œwhole foods are elite,ā€ as she said. ā€œIt takes less energy to digest ultraprocessed foods. It takes more energy (calories) to digest and process whole foods, so relying on more of a processed item for recovery isnā€™t something that should be habitual.ā€

Jones added another layer of complexity to my thinking about ultraprocessed foods as a part of athletic training and recovery. She noted that ā€œrather than label all ultraprocessed foods as unhealthy, we should recognize they fall on a spectrum from low to high nutrient density. Athletes who burn 1,000 calories or more per day participating in their sport may have more flexibility to choose foods such as Uncrustables in their diet versus the average American just working to fit in three workouts each week.ā€

To emphasize that spectrum of ultraprocessing in food, Jones noted that Oreos may be an obvious example to most people, but few recognize canned beans or Greek yogurt as ultraprocessed foods. In fact, I think most of us would agree that the latter examples fall into our idea of healthy eating.

Other Post-Workout Snack Options

Carmichael gave me a whole list of great ideas for post-workout fuel that she believes can help replenish your bodyā€™s glycogen storage, repair and rebuild muscle, and enhance metabolic function. She suggested, ā€œpost workout, if youā€™re not ready for a bigger meal, a large bowl of yogurt or cottage cheese paired with a fruit and honey, or even a slice of toast with some turkeyā€ are all great options.

From Carmichaelā€™s perspective, itā€™s all about moderation. ā€œMake a whole food snack or meal after a workout more of a habit, and have something like an Uncrustable when you really want it,” she said. “Moderation is key for everything!ā€

Even Uncrustables.

Ryleigh Nucilli is °æ³Ü³Ł²õ¾±»å±šā€™s columnist for the Pulse. Once her dad, Rob, wanted to try eating Uncrustables on a long road trip, but her sister insisted he eat the homemade varietyā€”served on hot dog buns.

The post Uncrustables Fuel the NFL. Are They Actually Good for You? appeared first on ¹ś²ś³Ō¹ĻŗŚĮĻ Online.

Mick Jagger is 81 years old and on the Rolling Stones’ ā€œHackney Diamondsā€ tour. The shows run somewhere between two and two-and-a-half hours long. Jagger is running, gyrating, singing, and dancing at each one. I couldnā€™t help but notice that Jagger is in incredible shapeā€”for a person at any age. How does he do it? And what would it feel like to work out like him?

How to Work Out Like Mick Jagger

Jagger has worked with the Norwegian personal trainer Torje Eike for many years, and cite yoga, dancing, strength training, sprinting, and meditation asĢżthe types of workouts that Jagger tends to do five to six days each week.

Using these online sourcesā€”along with videos Jagger has shared and interviews he has givenā€”I put together a five-day Jagger workout plan that incorporates each of his core fitness practices.

And then I tried it.

Day 1: 1 Hour of Vinyasa Yoga to Start the Day

I decided to start my Jagger week in my comfort zone with a form of physical activity we both seem to love: yoga. I practice vinyasa two to three times a week and have done soĢżon and off for a decade.

Todayā€™s class started with a dash of kismet, though. The instructor at my usual studio, ,Ģżasked if anyone in the room was familiar with Rick Rubin. Surely she canā€™t be talking about the record producer, right? I thought to myself as I tentatively raised my hand. But Rick Rubin, the unparalleled American producer of albums ranging from The Beastie Boysā€™ 1984 License to Ill to Mick Jaggerā€™s 1993 Wandering Spirit,Ģżwas exactly who she was talking about. She used Rubinā€™s thoughts on creativity to ground that dayā€™s practice, which ended up going pretty heavy on the chair poses if you ask me.

Mick, are you here with us in the room right now?

Day 2: Transcendental Meditation and Strength Training

Iā€™m not going to lie; I was dreading the meditation component of Jaggerā€™s routine. will tell you that meditation is one of his major habits. Except, and this is important, I have spent at least 15 of my 36 years on the planet very aware that meditation might help quiet my usually screaming mind. But I’ve always refused to do it because it sounds a little too quiet. And 15 minutes sounds like a very long time.

So, since Iā€™m a meditation avoider and thus a total novice, I did some cursory research on Transcendental Meditation before I sat down to try it. From what I , picking a mantra, one that consists of sounds vs. meanings, and repeating that mantra throughout the practice serves as step one. Step two is sitting for 15 to 20 minutes twice a day, choosing a comfortable position, and repeating the mantra until the end of the allotted time.

Obviously, I went for the 15-minute option. I chose the classic Sanskrit ā€œOmā€ as my mantra and settled into a comfortable position in my office and guest room. As the minutes ticked by, I resisted the urge to check the remaining time on my phone and to focus on the meditation.

And, honestly, it was kind of great. The time passed much faster than I expected. I assumed I was around the five-minute mark when the timer went off to signal 15. Repeating the mantra made it easier to push out intrusive thoughts, and I felt myself settle into silence in a way that is usually pretty elusive to me. I think I might keep meditating even after my Jagger week.

Oh, I also did strength training on Day 2Ģżbecause Jagger gets in a few good gym workouts each week, and weight training is already part of my regular routine. I performed bench presses, shoulder presses, tricep extensions, flys, concentration curls, medicine ball twists, incline bench with dumbbells, and kettlebell shrugs.

Not bad.

Day 3: 1+ Hour of Vinyasa and Sprints

Most places I looked online included a striking detail about Jaggerā€™s purported regimen: in the past at least, heā€™s done sprints to keep in shape. A lifetime ago, I, too, regularly did 100-meter sprints, and I was actually very good at them. I was a high school soccer player who set the all-time scoring record for the sport at my high school because, in addition to a strong right foot, I was just really, really fast.

But then,Ģżclose to 20 years elapsed, and I became a sedentary knowledge worker and had a baby. I canā€™t say sprinting is part of my week unless weā€™re talking about hustling behind my child after she darts toward the street in front of our house.

So sprinting hurt, and I went relatively easy on myself since it had been a while.ĢżI opted to do four 100-meter sprints with a ten-minute warmup consisting of a short jog, leg swings, and some stretching. I tried to be reasonable, too, and get some negative splits going by starting at around 70 percent of my already diminished sprinting capacity. I was huffing and puffing by the end, but I made it through, which was my singular goal for this exercise.

I should note that I also did an hour and 15 minutes of vinyasa yoga in the evening. Iā€™m not sure if Mick Jagger combines workout types across his days, but I have to imagine that if heā€™s feeling up to it, he does.

Day 4: Dance Workout

No Jagger workout week could exist without at least one . (And in one , Jagger said he does two dance workouts a week.) I kept it simple and found a , though Iā€™m certain Jagger must be able to dance for much longer stretches.

Dancing isnā€™t at all part of my regular regimen, and it was hard. It required coordination and speed, and I had to keep my eyes on the screen to be able to follow the instructions with any semblance of proficiency. I think the cardio component of this workout is great, and I totally get why it makes sense for someone performing “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction” on the regular, but Iā€™m not sure Iā€™d subject myself to this particular form of training again. My dancing is best saved for family wedding receptions.

Day 5: Strength Training

On my final day of Jagger Week, I repeated my strength training circuit from Day 2. This is my regular lifting routine, and it makes my arms and back feel strong and pliable. I figured I would end the Jagger week in my own comfort zone.

Should You Work Out Like Mick Jagger?

I spoke with , a former Division 1 athlete, SoulCycle instructor, and certified personal trainer, to get her take on the workout plan I put together, as well as what she would suggest for anyone who really does want to get started working out like Jagger.

Gaines told me it would be best to ease into the Jagger-style workout if youā€™re a relatively sedentary person. She recommends working out two to three times per week for the first month, building up to four times per week in month two, and maxing out at five to six times per week in month three. “For the first month, I would suggest strength training two times per week and cardio once a week,” she says. “Strength training will help prevent injuries and will give your muscles the foundation to take on other activities, such as dance or yoga.ā€

If my week as Mick Jagger taught me anything, itā€™s that a diversified workout plan and a focus on mindfulness feel really good. If I were to habituate some of what I tested out this weekā€”and move beyond the initial sorenessā€”I think I would feel really balanced and strong.

And, as Gaines reminded me, the most important thing to remember when starting any routine is to take it easy on yourself. “Have patience in building a program that works best for you, but also patience in getting the results you are looking for, she says. “The best way to build a Jagger-style regimen would be over time, so patience is key.ā€

Ryleigh Nucilli is the former Director of Digital Content at National Geographic and the former Digital Managing Editor at ¹ś²ś³Ō¹ĻŗŚĮĻ Online. Sturgill Simpson is her favorite musician, but sheā€™s not sure what he does to stay in shape.

The post I Worked Out Like 81-Year-Old Mick Jagger for a Week. Hereā€™s What Happened. appeared first on ¹ś²ś³Ō¹ĻŗŚĮĻ Online.

I recently saw a Reddit thread that started with a deceptively simple question. On the subreddit r/bitcheswithtaste, : ā€œAre we wearing Uggs this year? I wanted Uggs so badly in high school and never had them but after seeing them come back last year I am considering getting a pair for this fall. Are they back in style for good? Or was this just temporary?ā€

To understand this questionā€”and all the weight it carriesā€”we might need a short history lesson. In the early aughts, socialitesĢżParis Hilton and Nicole RichieĢżruled the small screenĢżon The Simple Life. The slender, flippable Motorola Razr phone reigned supreme (sorry, Nokia brick) and found its place in the back pockets of teenagers the nation over. Trucker hats, dresses over jeans, Juicy Couture tracksuits, hair scrunched with so much Aussie mousse that it continuously looked crunchy and wet: this was the aesthetic of many a millennial in their prime. I would know. I was there.

Circa 2007, Uggs were expensive and hard to get your hands on. I remember scouring the aisles of a Nordstrom Rack in the Cleveland suburb of Westlake, Ohio, until I finally foundĢża pair of mint green, size 6 Uggs. I, too, could participate in the trend. And at a discount!

And then, like so many other artifacts of the increasingly fast-fast fashion cycles that we inhabit, Uggs were out and branded as ā€œcheugyā€ by the late 2010s. The shoes remained relegated to the margins of fashion until 2023, when model in a pair of tiny white shorts that resembled menā€™s underwear and a pair of Ultra single-handedly reviving the aughts staple. .

But thereā€™s another response to the Redditorā€™s question that flitted through my mind as I read the original post. Did Uggs really ever go away? Or were they always there, lurking unfashionably, stalwartly serving practical purposes for outdoor enthusiasts? Iā€™d been happily packing Uggs for car camping trips for well over a decade by the time Bella Hadid performed the resurrection. And I knew from talking to other folks at ¹ś²ś³Ō¹ĻŗŚĮĻ that they found all manner of uses for Uggs in the adventures they were having.

So, what gives? Did Uggs die? Or had they just been hiding in the woods?

The Original Departure of Uggs

To be fair, the initial rise and fall of the Ugg boot wasnā€™t solely driven by changing aesthetic preferences, although they played a big part. Delving into recent history suggests that concerns over the production of Uggsā€”along with some high-profile celebrity campaignsā€”brought legitimate skepticism to the animal welfare component of their production. One such highly memorable non-endorsement came from Pamela Anderson who, after wearing Uggs on the set of Baywatch and subsequently learning they were made of sheepskin, told in 2007: ā€œI feel so guilty for that craze being started around Baywatch daysā€”I used to wear them with my red swimsuit to keep warmā€”never realizing that they were SKIN! Do NOT buy UGGs!ā€

The animal welfare group PETA has long campaigned for that uses real hide, and theyā€™ve taken Uggs to task over the years for their use of real sheep.

The Ugg brand states on their website that, for them, ā€œit is essential that all animal-based materials we use are sourced from animals that have been raised humanely using sound animal husbandry.ā€ To ensure this, they say they ā€œuse an internationally-accepted welfare standard for livestockā€ called the .

And, Uggs actually do come in vegan options now, which .

But What If They Never Really Went Away?

I never got rid of my Uggs despite being told by my much-hipper younger sister that they were no longer cool, because, well, I wasnā€™t wearing them to be cool anymore. My once-cutting-edge mint green Uggs had gone the way of the minivan: their functionality usurped their image. I didnā€™t don them for an early morning dog walk on a snowy day to impress my friends and neighbors with my sartorial sensibility. I wore themĢżbecause they were warm, and I didnā€™t need to worry about socks. I could go directly from slippers to Uggs with little friction.

I asked my colleagues at ¹ś²ś³Ō¹ĻŗŚĮĻ to share a little on their relationship with Uggs if they had one, and it seems Iā€™m not the only person who has worn them regardless of the trend cycle.

Fellow millennial Abigail Wise, digital director of ¹ś²ś³Ō¹ĻŗŚĮĻ, told me: “For years, my climbing partners have made fun of what we call my ‘approach Uggs.’ But even the relentless teasing couldn’t stop me from slipping on my favorite crag shoes. They’re easy to pull on between climbs, which gives my toes a break from restrictive climbing shoes, and they keep my feet warm on chilly mornings without having to bother with tying lacesā€”or even socks.ā€

Mary Turner, senior brand director for ¹ś²ś³Ō¹ĻŗŚĮĻ, has also been letting Uggs keep her feet toasty for adventure. ā€œI live in my ankle-height Uggs all winter. No socks needed, just slide ’em on and head to yogaā€¦ Makes life so easy!ā€

And, Teaghan Skulszki, social media editor and a card-carrying member of Gen Z, says that she first started wearing Uggs in elementary school.Ģżā€œAs a little girl, I remember going to school with everyone matching their Uggs, instantly creating a connection and community. Today, that community has transitioned to my friends in the outdoor community. With all of the different styles that have come outĢżrecently, Iā€™ve been able to accommodate my different pairs of Uggs to different versions of myself. I have my comfy slip-ons that I throw on after a long hike to relax or my thrifted knee-high leather UGG boots that have survived several Coachella festivals. Uggs are reflected in all different areas of my life and match all of my different personas and styles. They are timeless and adapt and grow as I have.ā€

So there you have it. We may not all be wearing platform Uggs with menā€™s underwear, but weā€™re wearing them. And we have been for some time.

Ryleigh Nucilli is a digital consultant and The Pulse columnist who started her love affair with Uggs in a steeply discounted pair of mint greens. Now, she owns some Baileys for outside and some Cozy Slippers for indoors. Sheā€™s writing this bio wearing said slippers. They are cozy.

The post An Ode to the Outdoorsy Ugg appeared first on ¹ś²ś³Ō¹ĻŗŚĮĻ Online.

Earlier this fall, GQā€™s Global Style Director, Noah Johnson, wrote an obituary for gorpcore: ā€œ[gorpcore] as a trendā€¦ is dead. Let it be known.ā€ For the uninitiated, ā€œgorpcoreā€ uses an acronym for trail mix (ā€œgood old raisins and peanuts,ā€ although that meaning is $5,000 canvas ā€œbarn coatsā€ (that look a lot like regular olā€™ Carhartts)? Why are outlets like theĢżNew York Post still breathlessly ? Why did a collaboration between break the internet for a day? Why did the iconic ski brand Salomon set up a aimed at courting a new, high-fashion consumer base?

In reality, the title of the GQ piece, “,” is a bit deceptive. When Johnson eulogizes gorpcore, he doesnā€™t mean that you wonā€™t be seeing men and women from Brooklyn to the Harperā€™s Ferry headquarters of the Appalachian Trail in the North Face, Marmot, Salomon, and Patagonia. Instead, he argues that the style has become so ubiquitous it shouldnā€™t be considered a new trend anymore.

So where do $1,000 fleeces fit in?

To make sense of some of 2024ā€™s most outlandish high-end outdoor wear, I talked to , the internetā€™s foremost menā€™s fashion historian, who helped me put the year’s key pieces into a broader context.

The Prada Barn Coat, a Cool $4,900

First up: Pradaā€™s canvas barn coat, which the fashion blog In the Groove named The coat, which apparently became the , looks like something Kevin Costnerā€™s Yellowstone character might wear while taking a rideabout on the family ranch. That, plus the Prada triangle logo. Its price is listed at $4,900. (Thereā€™s also a cropped version, which sells for $3,700.) The Prada site describes it as ā€œborrowed from menswearā€ and ā€œenhanced with a distressed effect.ā€

ā€œDistressed effectā€ really stayed with me. Isnā€™t there something a little ironic about a $4,900 pre-worn-out jacket that is trying to mimic the type of coat that someone would actually distress over time while wearingĢżit, typically at work? I grew up in a small West Virginia town in the late nineties and early aughts. The men I knew wearing barn coats (Carhartts, specifically) definitely didnā€™t purchase them pre-distressed, and they certainly would have something to say about anyone who did.

But, according to Guy, something like the Prada canvas coat can really be seen as a celebration of the values associated with its original uses. From his point of view, all fashion choices are the result of the cultural values of the period from which they emerge.

Think about it: What other pop culture or trends might suggest that Western-adjacent, work-worn clothing would be having a moment right now that signals that culture is interested? Yellowstone is a great example. So are the insanely popular videos. Even in recent years. And what are the cultural values associated with ranching? Hard work, fortitude, honesty, independence, self reliance, connection to the land, and traditional masculinity are a few that come to mind. These values are also tied deeply to at least one version of the general American ethos.

Guy says that when different groups become culturally respected and reflect societal values, their style choicesā€”even if theyā€™re initially made for technical functionalityā€”end up influencing the broader population. Consider the fact that Marmot, Patagonia, and the North Face all have their own version of the canvas barn coat. (I love my Marmot prairie jacket that I bought a few years ago, and the only time Iā€™ve been on the prairie is when I drove through it.) And itā€™s likely that none of those more traditional outdoor brands started with a vision of creating aesthetic rancher-style workwear coats. They likely also didnā€™t have a core customer base of ranchers and farmers looking to upgrade their jackets. The brands created these garments to meet emerging consumer taste.

Still, does close to $5,000 for a pre-distressed coat make any sense? ā€œThe reason we celebrate these things, but then also create absurdly expensive versions is becauseā€¦ individuals also seek status,ā€ says Guy.

When there are enough versions of a beloved item to meet various individualsā€™ price points, one way to separate yourself from the rabble is to buy the really, really expensive one.

So ranching-farming-barn culture is having a moment. People are motivated to show status. Iā€™m still good with my dadā€™s vintage Carhartt from the eighties, though.

$1,000 Fleeces

If people generally aspire to the life and values that go with the barn coat aestheticā€”so much so that weā€™re now seeing super expensive luxury versions of the stapleā€”how do thousand-dollar fleeces, like the ones , fit in?

The answer is pretty simple. The values associated with outdoorsy lifestyles are also aspirational for many, even if they donā€™t have imminent plans for a long thru-hike in their . And what are those values? Hopefully theyā€™re familiar to anyone who considers themselves an outdoors lover: adventurousness, self discovery, environmental stewardship, physical prowess, community, self sufficiency, and technical expertise to name a few. These values, plus the promises of escape and leisure that a trip to the wilderness can provide, roll up into gorpcore style choices. Add in the basic human desire to flex status, and it makes sense why you wouldĢżend up with inaccessibly expensive all-wool fleece pullovers.

Hasnā€™t Outdoor Gear Always Been About Status?

My dad is a consummate outdoorsman. When I was young, he hiked and hunted. He taught me to identify North American trees and walk quietly through the woods. I have vivid memories of watching him and my uncles process a buck that theyā€™d killed up a snowy run in West Virginia and then lugged back over the miles to a humble camp that served as their base. And they did all of it in Coleman gear.

It wasnā€™t until I went to college at an elite Southern university that Patagonia Synchillas entered my consciousness as a marker of status. The kids in the right sororities and fraternities all knew that you paired your Synchilla with Chubbies and artfully worn out Sperries. Those of us who didnā€™t come from quite the same backgrounds had to quickly make sense of the way core outdoor gear fit into the social hierarchy. I bought my first Patagonia fleece (not quite a Synchilla but close enough) at a steep discount as part of a bulk order my cross-country team made. I felt myself relax as I settled into its cozy heft on campus. Now, I think I own upwards of a dozen Patagonia, Marmot, North Face, and Cotopaxi fleeces and jackets. When I had the chance to signal my values and status, I seized it in the way Guy helped me understand.

Does that mean Iā€™m going to start spending a grand on Austrian-made fleeces anytime soon? Iā€™d like to say no, thatā€™s a bridge too far, but consumer desire can be a funny thing. Even my own is a little bit unscrutable.

The post How the Outdoors Became the Ultimate Status Symbol appeared first on ¹ś²ś³Ō¹ĻŗŚĮĻ Online.

December 8, 2024, marks the day that Taylor Swift ends her record-shattering Eras Tour. It lasted 22 months, spanned over five continents, and earned more money than any tour that had ever come before it, grossing more than $1 billion in its first year alone.

At ¹ś²ś³Ō¹ĻŗŚĮĻ, we wanted to pay homage to Swiftā€™s Eras achievements through the lens of distance traveled, which, we realized, must also be superlative. And to be clear, we arenā€™t referencing the controversies surrounding her . We wanted to know: HowĢżmuch ground did Swiftā€”herselfā€”cover over the course of her 149 performances?

To get an answer, we devised a nifty method to calculate how many steps she might have taken at each of her shows. We reviewed three different concerts from the tour, one from its , , and . Within each of the selected concerts, we watched ten randomly chosen one-minute intervals, and countedĢżthe number of steps taken each minute. This allowed us to calculate her average steps per show and to create a rough total of steps across all her performances.

An average Eras Tour concert runs for about 3.5 hours, which is 210 minutes. We based our numbers on that average show length.

Taylor Swiftā€™s Eras Tour by the Numbers

Hereā€™s where we landed on Swiftā€™s Eras Tour distance.

Miles Covered

Between dancing and walking across the stage, Swift took somewhere in the neighborhood of 657,090 steps throughout the durationĢżof the Eras Tour. Thatā€™s the equivalent of 329 miles walked across the stage.

Races Completed

It also equates to roughly 12.5 regular-length marathons, 6.5 50-mile ultramarathons, and 3.3 100-mile .

Calories Burned

Using the average number of calories burned per mile walked (which is 100), Swift expended something like 32,900 caloriesā€”just in steps. That number is to say nothing of the other dancing, squatting, gyrating, and guitar-holding she did onstage, which burned additional calories, too.

Distance Traveled

Letā€™s put her steps on a map. Looking at the globe, Swift walked a distance longer than the length of Scotland or the state of Massachusetts. She completed the extent of the John Muir Trail, plus an extra 100 miles.

And she did most of it in thigh-high-heeled boots.

Our guess is that Swift is probably more impressed with the fiscal records she shattered during Eras or the meaningful interactions she’s had with her legions of fans. But weā€™re not going to lie, 6.5 ultramarathons are pretty cool, too.

Ryleigh Nucilli is not a self-described Swiftie, but she’ll admit to listening to “The Man” on repeat. When she’s not calculating musical superstars’ step counts, she’s reading, writing, and consulting for digital brands.

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