While most of us aspire to be thinner, there’s something to be said for guys that never filled out, and can’t escape the snark about being one gust of wind away from a broken bone.

And while there are dozens of style guides out there for guys who have let themselves go, you will struggle to find advice for their undernourished peers. We can’t help you grow taller or stack on the muscle.

But we can teach you a few simple tricks to add to the illusion of size, especially when it’s not there in the first place. If you’re one of these guys and need pointers on how to dress like a big boy, then this is the guide for you.

Don’t Get Too Skinny

We’re well aware that slim-this and skinny-that is the order of business today. But if you’re struggling to fill out, you need to think twice about your favourite brands that do six variations of a slim fit.

Skinny guys need cuts that generate the illusion of proportional width. Clothes that sit too close to the body – besides being uncomfortable as hell – just draw attention to your predicament. Don’t make it harder for yourself than it already is.

We’re not saying you should go to the XXL rack at DJ’s and spend half your pay check on clothes designed for NFL players. But avoiding the tight-fitting, underfed runway model look is the first step on the road to a bigger and better you.

Say No To Stripes

Stripes are boss. It’s why Gordon Gekko wore them, its why every Wall Street wannabe from here to Manhattan decks himself out in a chalk stripe suit on his way up the corporate ladder. But for you, my friend, stripes are not the answer.

Sure, stripes play tricks on the eyes. They make the tall look taller, and can shave a few cheeky kg’s off blokes that desperately need it. Great, if you’re a short and portly fella who has given up on a late growth spurt or new diet.

However, the unbroken, vertical silhouette of a stripe pattern is wasted on someone that’s already skinny. It’s useful for ‘well-built’ guys who want to distract suspecting bystanders from their bad diet. But if you’re not in that category, leave it on the shelf. Try checks or florals instead if you need a pattern.

Layer Like A Slender Champion

This bit might be more relevant to our transatlantic readers that are feeling the chill, but some tactical layering – knits over shirts, scarves under coats, open shirts over tees – adds heft to a runty frame and is a great tool for playing around with texture and colour while you’re at it.

However, avoid the temptation to swaddle yourself in too many layers – besides drowning in your own sweat you’ll look a bit like an overprotected child on his way to school in winter. Use one or two extra layers, don’t walk home with the entire shopfloor.

Practice Good Symmetry

Maintaining a balanced look is key to shedding your unfair reputation as a man of unmanly proportions. If the top half of your outfit is layered or quite structured, the bottom half needs to tow the party line, and vice versa.

Suffer from chicken legs? Then don’t wear a huge parka with skinny jeans. A tight tee with straight-cut jeans will generate all sorts of confusion. Splitting your outfit into blocks like this risks looking out of proportion when the emphasis should be on looking bigger overall.  Follow the general idea of symmetry and no one will know you’re the runtiest bloke in the pack.

Embrace Big Patterns

Have you ever seen a fat bloke in a ‘fun’ shirt and wondered what he was thinking? We’re right behind you. Big patterns don’t do big beautiful guys any favours, but they can overshadow a lack of size by adding the illusion of depth. Windowpanes, a prince of wales, or even a floral pattern are great for diminutive guys that need some illusory substance on their bones. Get around it.

In saying that, we don’t endorse throwing patterns together and hoping for a transformative miracle. Our soldier’s five on the do’s and don’ts of patterns is covered here in case you need help.

Structure & Padding Is Key

If you’re struggling to find a suit that makes you look like a grown man, it’s worthwhile reconsidering your tailoring preferences. Although the trend down under has moved towards soft Neapolitan tailoring, the reluctantly-skinny guys in the crowd might benefit from a more English approach.

Broadly, this school of tailoring is all about structure: padded shoulders, thick canvas interlining, and more rigid shape. A bit of padding here and structure there can transform a chap that’s fifty-kg’s wet into something (slightly) more formidable.

The key here, gents, is to not go full 80s Miami Vice. Excessive padding will make people think you’re on the set of an American Psycho remake. 

Key Skinny Guy Items

Suits

Double-breasted and clean-lined jackets are your go-to. The Kingsmen X Mr Porter collection offer a superb light grey in check suit in English wool for that needed density; while Hardy Amies’ white grey linen blazer is a lighter double-breasted option for summer.

Trousers

Cord is a great bulking fabric. For casual cord, look to Acne’s camel jeans; while Berluti and Boglioli offer a more suave, Italian trouser for work. Pleats are supplied by J.Crew for casual trousers and for shorts, head to Paul Smith. More office-ready pleating in silk and cotton blend is yours care of Maison Margiela.

Denim

Selvedge’s thickness is a great choice for skinny legs, looking to brands like Nudie Jeans, Balmain and Levi’s. Slight distressed denim with offer some distracting detail on jeans. Check out Ron Herman, The People Vs. and Michael Bastian for straight-cut fits. Acne Studios in the ultimate skinny guy jean; offering straight-up-and-down fits that are minimal and easy.

Coats 

Boxy and longer coats can overwhelm a thinner build so go for a three-quarter length mac, which cut just above the knee. The density of the shearling shawl coat from Berluti will have looking bigger immediately, and the buttons and shoulder straps on military coats will add more bulk. Duffle and pea coats, which sit just past the waist, are perfect, too. Opt for the green duffle from Burberry and the cotton canvas pea in red from Hardy Amies – avoiding slim-look black.

Shirts 

Roll and crew neck sweaters and tees are great for increasing surface area.  V-necks tend to accentuate thin necks and collarbones and button-up shirts, fastened nearly all the way up are a good way to add shape to your shoulder (compared to tees). And go for plaid and macro prints to add size. Hit up Sunspel and Officine Generale for basic and patterned tees, and Thom Browne and Club Monaco and Incotex for cool plaids. Barena and Cos do slim formal shirting that’s not too skinny.

Shop the best menswear products for skinny guys below.

The post What To Wear When You’re A Skinny Guy appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

There’s always that one person at the gym. The guy who bench presses three times your bodyweight – and they don’t even have to be big, just strong – or who squats the equivalent weight of a small car. But then there are people like Ibrahim Alshaeri who go above and beyond and perform feats none of us could ever have deemed possible.

In a video posted to his Instagram account (which has since been picked up by Barstool Sports) Ibrahim – who is a “passionate calisthenics master” from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – can be seen performing one-arm handstands that wouldn’t look out of place in the Cirque du Soleil. Rather than just perform conventional handstands on the floor, Ibrahim pushes himself up from holding onto a barbell, which itself is carefully balanced on two raised dip bars.

Check out Ibrahim’s ridiculously difficult handstand in the video below.

The sheer amount of core strength a movement like this requires, not to mention the need to have a huge pair of cojones, is beyond belief.

It’s not just us who are incredibly impressed with Ibrahim’s feat, but a scroll through the comments reveals several others are simply taken aback by his talents. Comments range from “this is not needed but still insanely impressive and props to him,” to “the most amazing part of these videos is the amount of practice these people go through to get to this point. Like how many times has this dude smacked his teeth before getting to this point?”

RELATED: Conor McGregor Reveals Pull-Up Technique Only ‘Real’ Gym Goers Use

There are even numerous users who challenge their friends to try and perform the same exercise next time they’re in the gym. We shouldn’t need to say this, but we strongly recommend you don’t try this yourself…unless you’re a calisthenics pro, of course.

What is calisthenics?

So, what exactly is calisthenics? Essentially, it’s performing resistance training using just your body weight, as opposed to weight training which uses weights to provide the resistance in order to build strength.

Some basic examples of calisthenics exercises include push-ups, pull-ups, squats and lunges. The majority of calisthenics exercises can be classed as compound exercises too, meaning they use multiple muscle groups at once. This brings several benefits, including helping you to lose body fat weight quickly and improve muscle definition. So if you’re on a quest to get yourself a six-pack, you don’t necessarily need to be hitting the weights in the gym.

RELATED: This 30-Rep Push-Up Challenge Could Give You Arms Like A Navy SEAL

If you’ve yet to try calisthenics, or if you’ve never even heard of the term before, it offers a great entry-point into the world of keeping fit and getting your body moving (it even poses fewer injury risks than weightlifting).

You never know, with a few years of training, you could reach Ibrahaim’s skill level too…

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The post Why This Calisthenics Handstand Has Left The Internet Stunned appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

Fact: Paul Newman is one of the coolest men to have ever lived. The legendary American actor, revhead and salad dressing mogul – who starred in classic films such as The Hustler, Road To Perdition, and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid – remains one of the most potent men’s style icons of all time.He’s also responsible for popularising one of the most desirable watches of all time: the so-called ‘Paul Newman’ Rolex Cosmograph Daytona. A Daytona, in any guise, is already one of the most sought-after watches from one of the most sought-after brands on the planet, but Paul Newmans take that to another level.These rare, ‘exotic dial’ chronographs regularly sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars. A ref. 6239 owned by Newman himself recently sold for US$17,753,000: making it the third most valuable watch of all time, and easily the most valuable Rolex.Of course, there’s a reason why Newman’s so closely associated with exotic dial Daytonas – he owned a bunch of ’em. But the Daytona wasn’t the only watch Newman had in his collection, far from it. Today, we’re going to shine a light on a few other watches Newman owned and wore during his illustrious career.

It took Newman a long time to settle on the Daytona, with the actor trying out many different watches before finding one that ‘fit’. The most notable of these is his Waltham Bathyscape Diver, made for Waltham by Blancpain, which he notably wore in the 1966 film Harper.Sometimes called ‘the Baby Blancpain’, this watch itself has ironically since been dubbed the ‘Paul Newman’, just like the exotic dial Daytona. A classic and capable dive watch, it’s a respectable choice – although the lack of a chronograph function might have led to the motorsports-loving Newman ditching the Bathyscape for the Daytona.RELATED: Blancpain Invoke The Nuclear Option With Latest Dive WatchNewman also owned a large flat dress watch of some description which he often wore off the movie set, as you can see above. Our inclination is that it might be a Breitling (the large white outer track resembles a Navitimer and the bracelet design seems Breitling-esque), but the lack of obvious chronograph pushers is throwing us off.

Newman also wore a few Rolexes that weren’t Daytonas: for example, in 1986’s The Color of Money, Newman wore a simple steel Datejust ref. 16200 on a Jubilee bracelet, a watch that legendary watch auctioneer Aurel Bacs has described as a “perfect” watch. “Never underdressed, never overdressed. Exactly all the watch that you need, but not a gram more.” Just like Newman himself.RELATED: $6.5 Million ‘Tiffany Patek’ Auction Proves The Watch World Has Lost Its MarblesIn his earliest screen appearances, Newman also wore an even simpler still, time-only Rolex dress watch of some description, something like a ref. 4981. Photos from his early career are virtually all in black and white, so it’s hard to tell what material it was made out of – but knowing Newman’s typically understated style, we’d bet it was steel and not gold.Newman also reportedly owned a few other watches that we don’t have any photos of, such as a Timex Ironman, as well as a bunch of other non-‘Paul Newman’ Daytonas, including a ‘Big Red’ and a modern ref. 116519. But for the vast majority of watch fans, the only Paul Newman watch is the Paul Newman – and that’s fine by us.Read Next

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The post Paul Newman Didn’t Always Wear A Rolex Daytona appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

Considered ‘the black alternative’, the grey suit is again back on the radar for men; proving to be just that little bit cooler than regular black and a touch more timeless than trendy blue.

A rather trans-seasonal colour, grey has the ability to feel summery as a pastel or more like winter’s fog in a charcoal, smoky hue. And, unlike navy or black, grey looks great for work time formalities or after hours too, launching you into Friday night drinks without needing to head home first.

Many wonderful woollen suits started out as grey; the iconic Prince of Wales check, or Gatsby-inspired windowpane, and even the very heritage tweed as a greyish textured fleck.

RELATED: A Guide To Men’s Suit Fabrics

Having purchased your grey suit, knowing what to wear – from the shirt to the shoes – needs to feel like child’s play. Otherwise, you’ll still reach straight for Mr. Black, or Mr. Blue – simply because they’re familiar territory.

Luckily, we’ve put together a selection of our favourite street, celebrity and catalogue shots that showcase the very best in grey suits. With a plethora of men working dapperly the grey suit, this Fifty Shades of Grey is the only one worth looking at this season.

Simple Rules To Follow When Wearing A Grey Suit

• A stark, white shirt and black tie looks super clean with the grey suit, especially in pastel grey or charcoal. Otherwise, light greens, strawberry milk pink, lilac and powder blue are great shirting hues, adding a bit of cheeriness to the office.
• Wear eye-catching accessories (a nice patterned tie or pocket square) with the grey to liven it up a bit. Keep the accessories the same colour as the shirt but go darker shades, leaving the shirt lighter. For example, pastel blue shirt and navy pocket square and tie.
• Silver (or white gold) work with the metallic hue of the grey suit, so opt for tie clips, lapel pins and cufflinks in these minerals and metals.
• Tan lace-ups look stunning with grey, opting for classic favourites like the brogue or monk to exploit the shoe details. Black is always a winner, or go for the more out-there burgundy, sticking to conventional shoe types like derbies or oxfords for this colour.
• Smart casual grey suiting looks best in light grey; pairing it with a crisp white or black tee and leather sneakers (retro or white) and no socks.
• Keep the charcoal for the office, opting for a luxurious three-piece a subtle check to really make a statement. Otherwise, clean, slim suit in mid-grey is super versatile.
• Grey (especially light) can get dirty easily. Do a visual once-over regularly for any stains and if so, spot clean with a damp cloth.t

Expert Tip On Wearing Your Grey Suit

“Grey is one of those colours that gets under utilised. A grey suit – both in light or in darker shades – is a must in every man’s wardrobe because of its versatility. And it brings an ease when wearing it with different colour palettes and combinations. It’s a typical Italian look: elegant and timeless.

My recommendation is to have fun with a grey suit and mix different shirt and tie combinations – from blues and greens, to magenta and cherry. That’s in addition, of course, to the classic white shirt and black tie look. Then, try wearing the jacket over black pants and vice-versa, giving your suit extra life by mixing it up.

I personally love a grey suit-look, maybe because it matches my hair! No, jokes aside, the grey suit is always in fashion. It goes from just being ‘in’, to being ‘king’.” – Dom Bagnato – Designer/Director, Dom Bagnato Design

Grey Suit FAQ

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The post How To Wear A Grey Suit In 2023 appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

Been on a plane lately, fellow Aussies? Us neither.Despite the fact that most of the world seems to be getting back to some degree of normalcy after two years of COVID-19 (the sizeable hiccup that is the Omicron variant notwithstanding), many of us have been hesitant to book flights, either domestically or internationally, for fear of having our plans disrupted thanks to The Spicy Cough.This hesitancy has been an absolute headache for airlines, who are struggling to entice travellers to get back on planes and travelling again. No-one wants to book a flight only to have to cancel their plans and lose a big chunk of change.That’s why Qantas, the country’s biggest airline and flag carrier, has announced a substantial revamp of their cancellation and refund policies, designed to get Aussies more comfortable with booking flights again.

First of all, you’ll now get a full refund and no cancellation fee if you choose to cancel a booking “for any reason” within 24 hours of making the booking. And before you say anything, Qantas will refund to your original form of payment – meaning they’re not just going to give you travel credit. You book with cash, you’ll get a cash refund.The refund will also cover prepaid add-ons such as seat requests, additional baggage allowances and offset flight carbon emissions. It also applies to bookings made with cash, frequent flyer points or a combination of both, Executive Traveller confirms.RELATED: Lucky Man Upgraded To First Class Just For Being TallThere are some conditions: the booking needs to have been made on either Qantas website, the Qantas app or over the phone with Qantas; the flight must depart from Australia (doesn’t matter where it’s going, though) and the cancellation has to be more than 30 days out. No last-minute mind changes.It’s a policy that’s clearly designed to entice customers to book directly through Qantas – as well as one that’s designed to address how hesitant we’ve all become about booking flights. It’s similar to policies already put in place by other airlines, including Air Canada and Air France – although Qantas’ conditions are markedly more generous. It’s a sign of the times.

Of course, we’re talking about you cancelling your own flight here. If Qantas cancels your flight and they can’t get you onto another one in a reasonable timeframe, they’ll automatically issue you a flight credit – although you can apply to get a cash refund instead.Yet another change Qantas has brought in to try and get more customers booking directly through them is that they’ve now made seat selection on all international flights free for all fares, for all Qantas Frequent Flyer members, regardless of membership status. They’ve also made it free to join the QFF rewards program if you make a booking online, which normally costs $99.50 to sign up to.RELATED: Why You Should Always Try To Board Your Flight FirstAgain, this is not entirely without caveats, as it only applies to standard seats – not extra legroom rows in economy and so on. Still, it’s a nice little perk that adds yet another advantage to booking directly through Qantas instead of using a travel agent.Speaking of perks… Check out this flight attendant’s tip for passengers who want to get “the royal treatment” on their next flight.

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The post Qantas’ Refund Policy Leaves Australians Gobsmacked appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

A tiny one bedroom shack in Sydney, listed as a ‘modern garden studio’ has been put up for rent at $375 per week. The now semi-famous studio is located in Bundeena, a remote coastal village bordering the Royal National Park on the outskirts of far southern Sydney. 

As reported by Daily Mail, listing agent Shellie Boswell says that demand for granny flats in remote areas has been on the rise as Sydneysiders, newly empowered by the new option of remote work, flee from covid restrictions in search of a more easy-going lifestyle.

Ms Boswell said that the price of this humble studio was fair, as tenants could take advantage of the landlord’s generous offering of free electricity and water:

“If you’re paying for all the electricity and water, and there’s wear and tear, if you’re going to put a tenant out there, you’ve got to make a profit… Otherwise, what’s the point?” she said.

The backyard studio’s incredible location is also another major factor in the relatively high price. Situated less than 20 metres from the beach and just a few minutes walk from Bundeena’s shops and wharf, the shack does have a lot to offer.

Also, given the prices of similar-sized studios in somewhat comparable places (closer to the city) like the Eastern Suburbs, Cronulla, and The Northern Beaches, the price actually looks quite reasonable. So maybe those complaining are missing the point?

Let’s see what they had to say.

When pictures of this particular Bundeena shack reached the ever-watchful eyes of Reddit, it was met with a stream of mockery:

“I legit thought it was a kids cubby house” said one user.

“My two-year-old would love to play with this. Can I get one delivered from Bunnings?” said another.

Internet sarcasm aside, stories like these serve as constant reminders of the housing affordability crisis in Australia. As city dwellers flee lockdowns, an increasing number of regular Aussies in rural areas are being priced out of their local markets, with a shocking number of people now being forced to live in their cars.

Australia’s Most Expensive Shacks

Early last year, DMARGE stumbled across a dilapidated tin shack on the far south coast of New South Wales which had been listed for sale at a stunning $3.25 million. 

Victoria hasn’t escaped the price absurdity either. In November last year, a “beach box” with ocean views of Melbourne’s Mornington Peninsula sold for a whopping $650,000.

The value of the surrounding shacks doubled overnight.

While these prices may be a good thing for those lucky enough to be in possession of prized real-estate, they’re more than just something to be laughed at on Reddit. Ever soaring prices in an essential asset like real estate are alarm bells for an overheating market that threatens the livelihoods of millions of Australians that have been doing it tough during a global pandemic. 

With this being said, not all backyard studios and ‘great escape’ shacks are just opportunistic cash grabs. Down in Tasmania, this fully off-grid cabin will only set back a lucky buyer $150,000. The option for electricity is possible, but in order to be truly authentic, guests have to stoke the fire for the stove, gather eggs from the chickens and go fishing down in the nearby stream.

Let the great escape begin…

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The post Why ‘The Great Escape’ Is Providing Regional Australian Homeowners With A Lucrative Opportunity appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

It’s hard to imagine Martin Scorsese — the Oscar, Golden Globe, Emmy, and BAFTA-winning director, who’s been behind some of the best films of all time, such as Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, Cape Fear, and Gangs of New York, just to name a few — was ever an aspiring filmmaker attending art school.

But alas, in the 1960s, a young Scorsese was just a student at New York University’s School of the Arts (now known as the Tisch School of Arts) studying his craft. During his time there he created his first ‘official’ short film, What’s a Nice Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This? which he both wrote and directed.

The film is a comedy-drama and follows a writer as he purchases an unimpressive picture of a boat on a lake but then becomes so obsessed with it, living a normal life becomes hard. Despite Scorsese himself describing the film as “nine minutes of visual nonsense” in the 2011 book, Conversations with Scorsese, critics note that What’s a Nice Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This? has clear connections to most of his later — and critically acclaimed — films, including Goodfellas and The Wolf of Wall Street.

Scorsese does admit, albeit with another dig, that the short film was enjoyable to make and was the reason he could continue to study filmmaking.

“It had no depth at all, but it was a lot of fun. And it won me a scholarship, so my father was able to use it for the tuition for the next year.”

Martin Scorsese

While What’s a Nice Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This? was Scorsese’s first ‘official’ short film, it wasn’t the first film he ever directed. In his final years of high school in 1959, he made a miniature epic set in Ancient Rome called Vesuvius VI. Later, in 2016 during an interview with IMDb, Scorsese called that film “juvenile”. So, it seems that Scorsese — like many of us — is embarrassed by the things he created in his youth.

But you can make the decision yourself on whether Scorsese’s early works are good or not; he — again, like many of us — is known to be a tad overly self-critical of himself and his films. He famously told The Guardian in 2003, “when I’m making a film, I’m the audience.”

While Vesuvius VI isn’t publicly available, you can watch What’s a Nice Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This? in its entirety below:

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The post Watch The Embarrassing Short Films That Kicked Off Martin Scorsese’s Impressive Career appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

Joe Rogan became the number one podcaster in the world by interviewing freaks, funny people, and contrarians.

Though it started off interesting but fairly non-political (think: Bigfoot, aliens; ancient advanced civilisations), in recent years Rogan has come under fire for talking less about psychedelics and more about right-wing talk points.

Worse: sometimes he rehashes these talking points with confidence, before backtracking and calling himself a moron (and by extension, those who take him too seriously as even bigger morons…).

But is it a cop-out, or a fair reaction, from someone who is just creating dialogue for you to listen to?

Before we get into that, first, here’s a little context.

Rogan has got himself into hot water recently for continuing his “curious puppy” approach to dissenters during a pandemic. In the process, many argue, he has been irresponsible – giving a platform to people who are undermining public health.

Others, like Australian journalist Josh Szeps, take a slightly different view, questioning why we would hold Rogan – a comedian and UFC commenter – to the same journalistic standards as, say, The New York Times. Other supporters of Rogan say that people are smart enough to decide who’s off the rails for themselves, and enjoy the process of figuring it out (even if the price of that is that some people don’t ‘figure it out’ and fall down a wormhole of bad influence).

This debate over whether people can decide for themselves what is quality news, what is shooting the shit, what is a grey area (and what is totally f*cked up but still interesting to listen to, even if you don’t agree with it) was interestingly hashed out recently on The Briefing.

Szeps, who has spent more of his adult life working in America than Australia, recently appeared on The Briefing – an Australian daily news podcast – with Tom Tilley and Katrina Blowers, to give them an insight into why Americans are so perplexed by Australia’s response to COVID, and also to discuss his recent appearance on Rogan’s podcast, which went viral due to a to-and-fro they had on the topic of vaccines.

So: is Rogan is merely a curious puppy who shouldn’t be expected to clean up his own mess (and who is a saving grace in an era of polarization, and patronizing media outlets), or is he a calculated businessman who has veered into the right lane of politics (or simply has chosen to interview controversial figures, regardless of where they sit politically) in order to score a shitload of cash and who needs to be held to account? We can’t say for sure (and neither can Szeps, Tilley or Blowers). But we sure feel a little more enlightened after hearing their conversation.

The first topic they cover is the reputational bash on Australia which has occurred over the past six to eight months in America. Szeps claimed on The Briefing that this isn’t limited to opportunistic right-wing pundits but is felt throughout much of America (even his Obama-voting aunts and uncles). Why? In part, Szeps claimed, it’s “because of the misalignment of the way our [Australia’s] COVID experience mapped onto the American experience.”

“They had a very front-loaded crisis that then sort of just petered out into successive waves of somewhat normal infection. Not to say the infection rates aren’t very high over there but it’s become a backdrop to normal life.”

He added: “When Delta hit here [in Australia] and we had our big lockdowns over winter there was a lot of bafflement in America about why our police were being so strict… What I wasn’t expecting [with Joe Rogan] was any conversation about myocarditis and the side effects of vaccines. I wasn’t at all prepared for that but it was a three-hour conversation. These sorts of things come up and he mentioned something and I knew it was a right-wing talking point and I knew it was something he was concerned about. But the ‘Josh Szeps slaps down Joe Rogan’ moment that went viral was frankly a fluke.”

Obviously I have no idea what is right, but the article I posted was what I was referring to. I’m sure I’ll stumble again in the future, but I honestly do my best to get things correct.

— Joe Rogan (@joerogan) January 14, 2022

The Briefing host Tom Tilly then said: “So this is a classic case where you can misuse information to scare people about increased risks from the vaccine but not contextualise it properly and you were able to call him out on this. So I wonder – he doesn’t really have many arguments left about the vaccine so it was really interesting to hear you do that.”

Szeps responded: “Joe gets a lot of criticism for being an anti-vaxxer or a spreader of vaccine misinformation. My take on him is that he’s a comedian, he’s an ultimate fighting commentator, he’s just a nice bloke who sort of is interested in having conversations with people from all across the aisle and is interested in having conversations with people specifically who contradict conventional narratives or who question what everyone else believes. So in the context of vaccines there are skerricks of truth – he’s not a person who is pumping out vast quantities of knowingly false material.”

He added: “There actually is an issue with myocarditis. This rare heart condition that can come from taking vaccines, especially for younger males to such an extent that the EU I believe has just suspended Moderna specifically for under 40 males. My point was just that you can’t look at that data point in isolation – without also looking at all the other bad things that happen from catching COVID.”  

Video: Szeps calls out Rogan’s myocarditis claim live on air

In the above video, Szeps calls out Joe Rogan for claiming that vaccines have a higher risk of myocarditis than COVID itself for young men. Szeps claims you have an eight times higher risk of myocarditis from COVID itself than from the vaccine. The pair then look up a study that backs up Szeps, and contradicts Rogan.

The debate (on The Briefing) then turned to how much responsibility Rogan should take for repeating information without properly contextualising it (like he did in the above video), with co-host Blowers asking Szeps: “What interested me is I’ve heard this debate before and I’ve heard it debunked before. I would have thought that would have been put in front of him [Rogan] before, did that surprise you?” This is also something various people on Twitter have brought up too.

You had Sanjay Gupta on a few months ago and he told you the exact same thing about myocarditis risk in vaccines vs COVID multiple times during that episode. Did you seriously forget what he said or did you just straight up not believe him?

— Hutch (@hutchinson) January 14, 2022

To this, Szeps responded: “I’m a bit conflicted to be honest Katrina about this idea that because you become popular all of a sudden you have to have the same standards of journalism as the highest journalistic institutions in the world. Joe is Joe. Joe got popular by being Joe. At what number of listeners is he suddenly forced to no longer be Joe but to suddenly become The New York Times.”

Joe Rogan for his part on Twitter, wrote: “That video is cringey, but it’s what happens when you stumble in a long-form podcast when you didn’t know a subject was going to come up and you wing it.”

Tilly answered Szeps with: “I would argue that it’s when he does a massive deal with Spotify, and Spotify has a policy about misinformation and this is what this massive group of medical professionals [the group of 270 physicians and scientists that recently wrote an open letter to Spotify asking them to pull Rogan for spreading misinformation] are pointing out that his podcast isn’t even adhering to Spotify’s own policy. They just want Spotify to implement their own policy.”

Szeps countered: “Do we want to live in a world Tom where big mega-corporations get to decide what the correct point of view on critical issues is. And then all of us are required to take the point of view of 22-year-old software engineers riding skateboards in Silicon Valley who work for Twitter and Facebook and Spotify, and that world view is going to be the authoritative one, and if you dare question that with any alternative research you’re no longer allowed to have a platform? I’m not sure.”

Tilly replied: “That’s a really good argument and you’re right – the sort of subcultures of certain companies could then dictate all kind of rules and stuff that we don’t want to sign up to… but I guess that debate has really been tested during the COVID era because it’s life and death, it’s not a hypothetical.”

Szeps then said: “I agree these are grey areas and if someone was a persistent and aggressive firehose of nonsense then at some point you would want them to appeal to basic standards of logic, decency and fact. But as I said earlier I think in this particular instance what you’ve got is someone who is interested in having conversations with dissenters – and in my case he just bumped up against someone who is not a dissenter on this particular question of vaccines.”

“What’s important for Aussies to understand when they think about these moments is the fundamental difference that’s going on between the world views of Australians and Americans here. I don’t want to speak on behalf of all Australians. I’ve been called an authoritarian bootlicker nazi, and so on, who is just an apologist for a fascist regime in Australia – many of these [comments] are from Australia so there’s definitely a minority of people here who think it’s totally ridiculous the extent to which the police have been enforcing arcane rules about contact tracing and isolation.”

“They think it’s ridiculous that any individual would be forcibly detained or incarcerated in a quarantine facility simply for being a close contact of someone with COVID, and they think that that’s gone off the deep end and all over the states from so many people would speak to me as if I just lost a loved one – my aunts and uncles who are solidly Obama voting anti-Trump people would hold my arm and look at me deeply in the eyes and say: ‘I’m so sorry about what you guys have been through. I can’t believe you’ve had to endure that level of government intrusion.'”

“In the US it is really fundamental to think that the government is basically broken and the government is basically antagonistic towards you and it’s sort of your duty to make sure you oppose government overreach at every step and the idea that government would – beyond what is absolutely critical to prevent a public health emergency – that once you’ve got reasonable rates of vaccination and reasonable hospital capacity and ICU bed capacity, the idea that the government would continue to nitpick and micromanage your life with QR codes and isolation and so on is anathema to Americans.”

“So I think it would be a mistake for example for us to characterise the American narrative about Australia as wholly similar to QAnon or capital rioters on January 6th of last year or something like that. It is a widespread general perception that at this point it’s ridiculous for places not just to be living with COVID.”

The Briefing then ended with Blowers saying, in regards to whether Rogan should be held to a high standard of fact-checking: “Yeah he’s not a journo, but he is purporting these statements as facts not opinion so therefore he should check them before he tells it to the whole world.”

Tilly then added that he reckons you should take responsibility (for your words) if what you’re saying can hurt people, while conceding Szeps made a good point about “who is enforcing the standards if it’s private companies.” 

So, it appears Rogan isn’t quite a modern-day Plato (as some Redditors like to joke). He has his own dumb, ill-thought-through opinions which he sometimes has unwarranted confidence in (like all the rest of us who are not scientists and doctors and so on), which is perhaps why he resonates with so many people.

To his credit, he does keep an open mind to wildly different kinds of people, with profoundly different philosophies, and brings them to his listeners. But we shouldn’t be too quick to assume there isn’t some sort of filter – everyone, no matter how curious of a puppy they are, has some kind of bias. Also: sometimes he does stray into dangerous territory, and presents his opinions with more authority than they deserve (and only calling himself out for it after the fact).

We don’t know Szeps or Rogan personally, so we can’t really judge to what degree Rogan is telling his audience what they want to hear to make money (or the degree to which Szeps is incentivised to have a good relationship with Rogan because it might be good for his career). On the flip side: it could be argued it would be good for Szeps’ career to not come to Rogan’s defence as he has done.

One thing we can say is that Louis Theroux (one of the best ‘make up your mind for yourself’ journalists out there) currently follows Szeps on Twitter. So that makes us more inclined to trust Szeps’ judgement on Rogan. But who are we to talk? Listen to the podcast (see: the Aussie journalist who fact-checked the world’s biggest podcaster) for yourself and make up your own mind.

Another important point to remember when thinking about whether Joe Rogan is a force for good, or bad, is that – though Rogan’s rhetoric around mainstream media going to sh*t is certainly not based on nothing (the digital revolution has meant that even more objective, legacy outlets now have to elbow for space on your screen among a sea of bias and clickbait to get your attention, leading to what many see as a decline in standards) – the mainstream media isn’t one giant entity (not to mention it suits Rogan for people to distrust the mainstream news and listen to podcasts instead).

But some (or as the case may be, many) bad outlets shouldn’t give ‘journalism’ as a whole a bad name. In fact, there is a theory that the world’s gone mad precisely because of this loss of trust in institutions, lazy thinking, and because of the weaponisation of conspiracy theories.

A conspiracy theory behind a conspiracy theory. We wonder what Rogan would think of that…

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The post Is Joe Rogan A Public Health Menace Or A Modern Version Of Plato? An Investigation appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

When Kimi Räikkönen announced that 2021 would be his last year in Formula One – and potentially his retirement from motor racing all together – it came as a shock to fans around the world.The unflappable Finn, who won the Formula One World Championship with Ferrari in 2007, is one of the most popular F1 drivers of all time. Known as ‘The Iceman’ thanks to his blunt and cool disposition (as well as his nerves of steel on the track), Kimi’s curmudgeonly attitude and playboy tendencies have made him a fan favourite. He will be sorely missed.If you want something to remember Räikkönen by, however, you’re in luck: Kimi’s selling off his very own custom Ferrari F12tdf… Although you’ll need deep pockets, as he wants US$2 million for the car.Produced from 2012 to 2017, the F12 was Ferrari’s flagship V12-powered grand tourer. That 6.3L, naturally-aspirated motor is good for 544kW and rockets the car from 0-100km/h in 3.1 seconds with a top speed of 340km/h. The tdf, a track-focused version of the F12, makes an additional 30kW and does 0-100km/h in 2.9 seconds. Only 800 tdfs were ever made.

Kimi’s personal F12tdf, which is being sold by Swiss luxury car dealer Carstar, features a livery that pays homage to his 2007 title win, with his number 7 painted on the roof and seatbacks that feature his signature logo.Naturally, it’s a one-off, and therefore incredibly valuable: the F12tdf sold for $621,000 back in the day, but good examples in 2022 regularly go for over $1 million. This car’s personal connection to Räikkönen and its rarity make it even more valuable.RELATED: What It’s Like To Drive A Formula One Car For The First TimeRäikkönen’s not the only former F1 World Champion selling a cool car at the moment. Jenson Button, who won the title in 2009, is also auctioning off his immaculately restored 1970 Ford Bronco with Collecting Cars. It’s a little more affordable than Kimi’s ride, with the current highest bid sitting at $90,500.But is Jenson’s Bucking Bronco as cool as The Iceman’s Prancing Horse? We’re not so sure…Read Next

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The post Kimi Räikkönen Gives Fans The Chance To Buy His Ferrari… For $2 Million appeared first on DMARGE Australia.