Think summer cocktails and your mind will most likely gravitate towards a margarita. But, while it may be a cocktail that is simple to make and even easier to drink, it’s about time you educated yourselves a bit more and tried something new.

Australia is known as a nation that finds any excuse to have a drink. This is especially true come summer time, when the sun shines bright, the temperature increases and the mood Down Under shifts to one that’s far more positive.

And, while you can enjoy Australian summer on a rooftop bar in the city, we reckon the best way to party is at home with your own personal cocktail recipe book. Of course, you have the usual choices of the aforementioned margarita or lychee martinis, but have you ever considered using other spirits such as whiskey or rum?

The post Best Summer Cocktails To Savour This Australian Summer appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

They say Red Bull gives you wings, but for 30-year-old Mark Mateschitz, it is has also given him a 49 per cent stake in the company and the title of Europe’s richest ‘millennial’.

Mr Mateschitz’s father, Dietrich, was the co-founder of Red Bull in the 1984, building the company up to become the superpower it is today, becoming a billionaire in the process.

Dietrich Mateschitz passed away at the age of 78 three weeks ago, leaving half of the Red Bull empire to his son, including the caffeine-fuelled beverage company – the largest energy drinks brand in the world – and two Formula One racing teams.

The rest of the shares belong to the family of Thai businessman Chaleo Yoovidhya, who founded the company with Dietrich Mateschitz back in the 1980’s.

According to Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Mark Mateschitz is now worth $15.7 billion (AU $23.4 billion) and is currently the wealthiest European in the millennial age group (people born 1981 to 1996).

His inheritance also leaves him as the fourth richest millennial in the entire world, behind founder of TikTok’s parent company ByteDance Zhang Yiming, Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg and heir to Walmart Lukas Walton.

As of November 14th, he is also the 94^th richest person in the world and Austria’s richest person.

A shake up at Red Bull

Mark Mateschitz was previously in charge of Red Bull’s organic division, which looked at drinks made from natural resources.

After the death of his father, he announced he would be stepping down from his role in a decision that “did not come easy” given that the initiative was “a project very close to [his] heart.”

Unlike his father, who was involved in the day-to-day leadership of Red Bull, Mark Mateschitz plans to divvy up the management of the company amongst a number of its executives.

Speaking of the shake up, he said, “I do not believe one should be both an employee and a shareholder of the same company.”

He continued, “I will concentrate on my role as a shareholder, and I will interpret this and express myself in a way that makes sense to me and as I find necessary.”

Who is Mark Mateschitz?

Mark Mateschitz, an only child, studied business at the University of Applied Sciences Salzburg. He often accompanied his father to Formula One races before he was a teenager. Hopefully with him as one of the lead investors, Red Bull can continue to flourish as an F1 team, as it has done under his father.

Mr Mateschitz was also a shareholder in an Austrian property business and launched his own beverage business which make beer and lemonade from one of Austria’s oldest springs.

It is still unclear whether he will be inheriting other assets from his father – including a Fiji island, castles and villas in Austria and a £32 million (AU $56.4 million) property in London’s Knightsbridge – but judging by his bank balance, he probably doesn’t even need them.

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The post Mark Mateschitz, Europe’s Richest Trust Fund Kid Inherits Half Of Red Bull Empire appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

Dave Chappelle recently hosted Saturday Night Live for the third time and during his opening monologue, the American comedian used the majority of his 15 minutes to discuss Ye, the artist formally known as Kanye West for the rapper’s recent antisemitic comments. Like much of Chappelle’s other content, it received backlash, but we’re pretty sure most people will find it hilarious.

Dave Chappelle has never been one to mince his words. Regularly on the receiving end of backlash from a raft of critics, he is a man who believes firmly in artistic expression and the fact comedians should be able to say what they want without the woke brigade getting involved.

His latest skit, a 15-minute opening monologue during a recent stint hosting Saturday Night Live for the third time, following the United States mid-term elections – his other two appearances came on the back of the 2016 and 2020 US Presidential Elections – has also received some backlash, for his comments on Kanye West.

WATCH: A Compilation Of Moments From Dave Chappelle’s SNL Opening Monologue

West took to Twitter in October to claim he was going to go “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE.” His comments seemed to have come out of the blue, and he genuinely believed he could say what he wanted and not face any consequences. However, Adidas, the producer of his Yeezy line of footwear, has since terminated his contract.

Dave Chappelle opened his monologue by unfolding a piece of paper and reading aloud, “I denounce antisemitism in all its forms. And I stand with my friends in the Jewish community.’ And that, Kanye, is how you buy yourself some time,” which received laughs from the audience.

He added, “Early in my career, I learned there are two words you should never say together. Those words are… ‘the’ and ‘Jews.’ Never heard someone do good after they said that.”

Chappelle also used Brooklyn Nets Point Guard, Kyrie Irving, who is currently serving a 5 game ban, as further fodder for his skit. The basketball player recently landed himself in a spot of turmoil after he tweeted a link to an Amazon listing for a film that the Anti-Defamation League claims has antisemitic messaging.

The comedian said: “I know the Jewish people have been through terrible things all over the world, but you can’t blame that on Black Americans. You just can’t.”

It would be argued that Irving didn’t get a suspension for his comments because he’s a Black American, but because he made the comments full stop. He’s a high-profile figure with a large fanbase and following on social media. For him to then promote antisemitic content is something that should have consequences.

Dave ended his monologue by sort of acknowledging the criticism he received for his stand-up comedy special The Closer, the fifth of 6 specials released on Netflix, by saying “It shouldn’t be this scary to talk about anything, it makes my job incredibly difficult.”

“I hope they don’t take anything away from me, whoever they are.”

In The Closer, Chappelle made comments about the trans community, which resulted in several Netflix staff members walking out and asking for the special to be removed from the streaming platform.

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos defended his decision to leave it up, claiming that he didn’t believe the content would actually cause any real-world harm. Sarandos sent out a company-wide email that said, “[w]ith The Closer, we understand that the concern is not about offensive-to-some content but titles which could increase real world harm (such as further marginalizing already marginalized groups, hate, violence etc.)”

“[w]hile some employees disagree, we have a strong belief that content on screen doesn’t directly translate to real-world harm.”

Watch Chappelle’s full skit here.

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The post Dave Chappelle Drags Kanye & Kyrie In Hilarious SNL Appearance appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

Daniel Craig recently starred in a Belvedere vodka advertisement that had the Internet in stitches. But not only did his gentle air humping leave some in hysterics, but his appearance in the commercial also had some fans asking where his muscles had gone.

Daniel Craig played James Bond from 2006 until 2021. During this time, Craig’s rippling pecs and bulging biceps provided a comforting bulwark against all the evils of the world. Insecure men were able to sink into his barrell-like chest and indulge their fantasies of being saved from bad guys, while delusionally-confident men were able to imagine they, too, were, muscle-bound saviours of humanity. Ah, good times.

RELATED: Who is Daniel Craig? The Greatest James Bond Ever?

But time ticks. Now, not only has Craig started riding shotgun on mopeds (much to the dismay of a stodgy, tradition-loving many) and moving on to comedies like Knives Out (which was really very good) but he – according to the eagle eyes of some Instagram commenters – isn’t as built as he used to be in the days of Casino Royale and co.

Not that this should be a surprise, but still: The Internet picks up on everything. Case in point: the comments on Belvedere Vodkas’ promotion of Craig’s latest commercial on Instagram.

WATCH: Daniel Craig stars in hilarious vodka commercial

Rather than praise Craig’s Eastern European getup (or the humourous way in which director Taika Waititi pulled off the advertisement), some commenters took the chance to remark on the 54-year-old’s physique.

“Where’re [sic] his muscles?” one commenter, @jessefriimann, wrote, to which another user wrote: “literally! He seems so thin.” While others lavished him with praise, a third commenter dug the knife in even further, making an unsubstantiated and cruel allegation, writing: “he’s off the steroids…”

RELATED: Daniel Craig’s Bond Workout Reveals How You Can Be Just Like 007

While there was some love for the ad and outfit (see: “He looks super Polish here” and “Best vodka commercial ever”), there were also a couple more criticisms. One Instagram user said: “are y’all trying to market to boomer moms?!?” while another wrote: “Oh god not a vest.”

“‘Shaken, not stirred’ comes to mind.”

Instagram user @holtomkins

However smooth you like your spirits (and vodka-drinking models), I think we can all agree that Craig looks good, muscles or no muscles. Now excuse me while I go and pour myself a lunchtime martini.

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The post Daniel Craig Belvedere Ad Has Internet Asking: Where Are His Muscles? appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

It seems every week there is a new hybrid sport being discovered, and the latest is footpool. Also known as soccer billiards or snookbool, footpool is as its name would suggest, pool but played with your feet.

Clearly not something you can play inside your local pub or hotel, footpool is a game that requires plenty of space. While footpool has been played in Australia, it’s fair to say it hasn’t quite yet taken off in the same way as other mash-up sports such as pickleball or teqball.

So what exactly is footpool, how is it played and perhaps most importantly, where can you play it? Read on to find out.

What is footpool?

Footpool, which is also known as soccer billiard or snookball in some countries, is a game that combines the format of pool, but uses larger soccer balls that you need to kick with your feet. It’s proven to be a big hit so far in Europe, and is slowly but surely making its way into Australia.

UK Footpool claims to be the inventor of the game, and operates as an entertainment-for-hire company. UK Footpool says footpool is played on a table that is 12ft by 8ft. We have seen other versions of footpool that use more balls and a larger table, too.

The design of a footpool table closely resembles that a standard pool table, only it is much larger to accomodate the larger balls, and the fact you have to walk on it in order to kick the balls.

It might sound easy to play because the balls and the playing surface are large, but footpool does still require a fair amount of skill. You may think you’re somewhat of a Cristiano Ronaldo when it comes to footballing skill, but you’re at the mercy of other players taking their shots, and the cursed situation when the cue ball ends up landing right on a cushion.

How to play footpool

Footpool is played in an incredibly similar way to the standard game of pool. To start a game of footpool, the player or team flip a coin to decide who breaks first. You need to kick the white cue ball into a coloured ball, to pot it into one of the six pockets. A footpool table has the same pockets as a standard table, i.e. one pocket in each of the four corners and one on either side, in the middle of the table.

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A game of footpool uses 10 balls: four yellow, four red, a black and a white cue ball. The eight coloured balls, plus the black ball, are racked at one end of the table. The black ball should be placed on the black ball spot.

Some versions of footpool use a full set of 15 balls (spots and stripes, known an 8 ball game). Any game using this many is played on a larger table.

The white cue ball is then placed on or behind the white ball line at the other end of the table. The player, or a player on the team that won the coin toss, then kicks the white cue ball at the racked balls. If the player doesn’t pot a coloured ball, or a coloured ball doesn’t hit any of the side cushions, then the balls are re-racked and the other player or team takes a turn.

If, however, the starting player does play a legal turn and pots a coloured ball, they continue the game using that designated colour. If a player hits both a red and a yellow ball into the pockets from a break, then they can nominate which colour they wish to continue the game with.

If somehow the black ball is potted from the break, then all balls are re-racked and the same player restarts the game without a penalty.

If a player fails to hit their designated coloured ball, hits their opponents ball, pots the white cue ball, or kicks the ball off of the table, then they forfeit their turn and the other player gets to make a play.

If a foul shot is committed, then the opposing player is allowed to play the white cue ball from anywhere on the table, and can kick it in any direction.

The winner of footpool is the first player to pot all their coloured balls, followed by the black ball. If, however, a player pots the black ball and the white cue ball, they lose and their opponent wins. A player can also lose a game of footpool if they pot the black at any time throughout the game.

Where to play footpool?

You can play footpool in Australia, where it is known as snookball, in Sydney and Adelaide via Snookball Australia. The company works on a hire basis, so you can hire a footpool table for an outdoor event. But, Snookball Australia also has locations in Breakfast Point and Balmain in Sydney where you can try your hand – or rather, feet – at playing a game.

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The post What Is Footpool? The Life-Size Pub Game Winning Over New Fans appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

2022 F1 World Champion Max Verstappen defied team orders at the Brazil Grand Prix this weekend, by refusing to let Red Bull teammate Serio Perez past him, in a move replicating previous F1 winners.

The Dutch driver, who has already won this season’s championship at October’s Japanese Grand Prix, finished in P6, one spot ahead of his teammate ‘Checo’.

Verstappen was told by the team to let Perez past on the final lap, should he not be able to overtake the car in front. After being unable to get past, Red Bull urged the 25-year-old to move aside, which he – rather selfishly – refused to do.

Perez is currently in a hotly contested battle for second place in the Driver’s Championship with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, with both drivers sitting on an equal 290 points after this weekend. Finishing in P6 would have given ‘Checo’ a slight lead heading into the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi this coming weekend, November 18th – 20th.

When asked by Red Bull why he did not move aside, Verstappen replied:

“I told you already last time. You guys, don’t ask that again to me. Are we clear about that? I gave my reasons and I stand by it.”

Max Verstappen

Perez, was rightfully frustrated by the move. Speaking on Red Bull’s team radio, he succinctly stated,

“Yeah it shows who he really is.”

Sergio Perez

The Mexican driver has helped Max Verstappen out in races on a number of occasions, most notably in Verstappen’s maiden championship victory at Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in 2021. Perez held off a surging Lewis Hamilton to bring Verstappen back into contention, which the Dutchman won in controversial circumstances.

Why did Max Verstappen not give up the position in Brazil?

Speaking after the race, Perez said he had “no idea” what reasons Verstappen had for not giving him P6, saying, “Maybe you should ask him about it.”

Reflecting on how much he has helped the young driver in the past, ‘Checo’ added:

“Nothing to say really. After all I’ve done for him, it’s a bit disappointing to be honest. I’m really surprised.”

Sky Sports F1 Commentator and former Formula 1 driver, Martin Brundle thought that the incident may relate back to the Monaco Grand Prix earlier in the year. Verstappen was denied pole position after the Mexican driver crashed in qualifying, ending the session early.

Brundle said, “That’s a very powerful radio message from Max. That is, ‘I’m in charge around here I call the shots.’

“I’m pretty sure that goes back to Monaco.”

According to Red Bull Team Boss Christian Horner, ‘Checo’ and Verstappen have shaken hands and are already focused on that next race.”

But with Perez signing a new deal this year which keeps him at Red Bull until 2024, it is hard to imagine this will be the last incident between both drivers.

Déjà vu?

Verstappen’s brattish behaviour is not too dissimilar from F1 champions in seasons past. Team orders to give up places when world championships are at stake have often led to infighting within teams.

Perhaps the most infamous example is during the 2013 Malaysia Grand Prix, when four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel refused to give first place back to Australian Red Bull teammate Mark Webber, despite team orders to do so. The ‘multi-21’ radio call, which was Red Bull’s codeword to tell Vettel to give up the place, is etched in the memories of F1 fans across the globe.

Seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton also refused to give up a position to teammate Nico Rosberg in the 2014 Hungarian Grand Prix, despite Rosberg leading the championship at that point.

Both Vettel and Hamilton went on to win the Championship the season they defied team orders.

With Verstappen’s most recent showing in Brazil, is ignoring team orders when it matters an indicator of what it takes to become a world champion? Maybe.

However, the key difference between Verstappen’s incident and those of the past, is that Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel were actively competing for world championships at the time, while the Dutchman is not.

Whatever the reasons for his actions, the Brazilian Grand Prix has left Max Verstappen looking very self-centred and has clearly rubbed a lot of his fans up the wrong way.

His attitude may be what it takes to make you a world champion, but it certainly will not win you any friends in the process.

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The post Max Verstappen’s ‘Dog Act’ Standard Behaviour For Formula 1 World Champions appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

Sydney is home to its fair share of incredible restaurants, but while they may deliver exquisite food and exceptional service, there appears to be one common complaint of Sydney diners that falls on deaf ears.

Have you ever been seated at a dining table, unable to properly hear what those across the table from you are saying, due to the music being blasted around the dining room? It’s all very well a restaurant trying to create an ambience, but when it crosses the line from relaxed atmosphere and into Ibiza levels of rave cave, it can be enough to put you off your food.

Loud music in Sydney restaurants appears to be a common complaint among the city’s restaurant clientele, as pointed out in a tweet by user @zoecabina. Zoe doesn’t target her frustration at Sydney directly – instead projecting her views onto Australia as a whole – but her complaint of our nation’s incessant desire to get diners dancing holds true with another Twitter user, Paul Cogan.

There’s a “restaurant” in the CBD that has needlessly loud music that is always, always terrible: cheap jazz standard covers that belong on the boomers’ deck of a cheap cruise ship. The wall art is like a Year 9 exhibition. Food overpriced and dull too. And somehow people go https://t.co/dPv6yn8E4L

— Paul Colgan (@Colgo) October 26, 2022

Paul doesn’t name and shame the Sydney restaurant in question, but he does point out that “cheap jazz standard covers that belong on the boomers’ deck of a cheap cruise ship” can spoil your evening, in his opinion, in Sydney.

It’s not just Paul who has noticed restaurants in Sydney turning things up to 11. This Reddit thread, posted 10 months ago (at time of publishing) was started by a Spanish man who had moved to Sydney. He too found that some bars and restaurants, “where the point should be have a beer and talk…[have] music levels [that require you to] literally shout or speak in the ear of someone to have a conversation.”

One user, ‘BrainNo2495,’ explained his beliefs as to why music is played so loudly, “Loud music makes the restaurant seems more lively then it is.”

“This leads to a vicious cycle where competitors notice that people are being attracted by the music and they also will play loud music.”

He also suggested music was played loudly so that customers would actually leave soon after they arrive, “They don’t want people sitting in restaurants and having a nice long chat. They want them to order their food, eat as quick as possible and leave so they have the table free for the next set of customers.”

But, there could also be another reason at play, and it doesn’t necessarily relate to giving off a more inviting image or to help maximise profits. Instead, it could be our incessant need to Instagram everywhere we go that is to blame.

A 2019 article published on Good Food says “Sound engineers and restaurateurs say the trend towards hard-surfaced fitouts caused sound to bounce around dining rooms with nowhere to be absorbed.”

And yet, while said restaurants will claim their decision to have exposed concrete walls and air conditioning ducts is because it’s on-trend, those in the know say it’s actually more down to economic reasons.

“If you acquire a building with exposed concrete walls and don’t have to do anything to them, and then don’t have to put a suspended ceiling in, you can save an awful lot of money,” restaurant advisor Tony Eldred told the publication.

“Fit-outs cost millions of dollars these days, so corners are cut, and acoustic costs are often the first to go.”

There is research that also suggests the sound levels in a restaurant or cafe can actually affect the taste of your food and drink. A 2020 study looked into the “general effect of auditory noise control in individuals’ eating and drinking experiences,” for example, which ultimately found a cup of the same coffee, when consumed in quieter conditions, tasted better.

It’s claimed louder environments reduce our ability to notice sensory attributes of food; sweetness, bitterness, saltiness etc.

Indeed, the Good Food article references a 2011 study published in the British journal Food Quality and Preference, which asked 50 participants to taste potato chips, cheese, biscuits and pancakes. Participants tasted the foods in a room with music set to 50 decibels and then in a second room with sound levels at 80 decibels (similar to being inside an aeroplane cabin).

“Participants rated the salty foods as significantly less salty and sweet foods as tasting less sweet under conditions of loud background noise,” the study concluded.

Russell Keast, an associate professor of food and sensory science at Deakin University, says the loud music funnelled into our ears creates a “crowned-out” effect, whereby the brain doesn’t have the ability to focus on the flavours of the food we eat at the same time as it processes the music.

Does this imply loud Sydney restaurants think their food tastes like s**t and so blast out loud music as part of some elaborate illusion?

Food, quite literally, for thought.

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The post Sydneysiders Beg Restaurants To Stop Playing ‘Needlessly Loud’ Music appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

There’s consistent awareness encouraging men to open up more about their feelings with others, specifically with other men. But, for the men that have found the benefits of speaking more openly, it seems as though they feel more comfortable talking with women. But, judging by a Reddit thread, women don’t always want to play therapist.

A sub-reddit on the AskWomen Reddit thread, asks the question “When has a guy opened up to you about his mental health and how did it make you feel?” in support of November being Men’s Health Awareness Month. But it appears from the comments that, while some men have been willing to open up to their female friends, it either hasn’t always been with the best intentions, i.e. they haven’t fully understood what it means to be emotionally intelligent, or they simply haven’t considered how their trauma dump affects the other party.

The first comment on the post responds to the second part of the question, how it made them feel. The user, ‘MidnightFireHuntress’ says “Nervous, because it almost always ends in them confessing to me or asking me for sex.” She wasn’t alone, as another user added the man only opened to them as “a ploy to get me to come over.”

Whilst there is nothing wrong with having a casual relationship with someone, it’s a whole different board game to bait a woman into sex, believing that being open and expressing feelings makes you instantly more attractive.

Other women have commented on the thread saying they don’t want to be used as a therapist. One user, ‘TraditionalMethod955’ says, “Hot take – men should open to each other about mental health.”

“Men need to normalise talking with men.”

TraditionalMethod955 (Reddit)

“A lot of men don’t have close, solid male friends. This makes them rely on women for the emotional support. I don’t let men use me as a therapist.”

“Let’s not fall into the trap of making it women’s responsibility. We already take on a lot more than half of the emotional and mental load, and this month should be about men learning how to care for each other, seek help, and be in healthy reciprocal relationships.”

“This month should not subtly or unsubtly suggest that women are the primary resource for men’s health.”

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This reliance on women for emotional support is something Lifestyle & Mindset coach, Blake Worrall-Thompson has spoken about too. Taking to Instagram recently, Blake said, “One of the most common themes we are seeing is the struggle for blokes in their 30’s and beyond to make new friends and even more so than that, friendships with any real depth.”

“Blokes are lonely. Most won’t admit it… So who is suffering? We know blokes are, because they are killing themselves.”

Blake expanded upon this to DMARGE, saying, “This is massive. Loneliness is killing more people than anyone is prepared to talk about. Research shows that males have a lot less friends after 30 than women. And more important than quantity is quality.”

“People are likeminded, people that have you feel seen, heard and understood. Because you can be in a room of 100 people and not feel any sense of connection, and you could also be in a room with 2 people and feel incredible from having a proper connection.”

Indeed, Lifeline recently published some statistics that said 8.6 Australians die by suicide everyday in Australia and 75% of these are men.

Speaking to men who are in heterosexual relationships, Blake continues, “It’s the partners who are carrying a heavy load. The sole provider of proper connection, the sole provider of emotional support. And then she has to be the emotional rock for the kids as well.”

“That’s not fair.”

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A post shared by Samantha Rothenberg (@violetclair)

“You can’t be reliant on ONE person ton meet all your emotional needs. And if you’re doing that, don’t be surprised if your partner is exhausted and if they’re honest with you, maybe even a bit resentful and a little turned off.”

“Find a mate or a brotherhood that can support you and you can be accountable to. You owe it to yourself, your partner and your family.”

Blake Worrall-Thompson

Blake further told DMARGE, that the practice of men unloading on their partner is “super common, from what I’ve seen. The biggest problem is their partner is their one and only outlet, which isn’t healthy.”

To remedy this, Blake says there are a number of other outlets men can find, even if it isn’t their mates.

“I think if you feel you don’t have mates that can ‘hold’ you in that, maybe it’s a therapist that you speak to regularly. It’s not great for your relationships to constantly have your partner as the dumping ground. Even though they love you dearly, it still starts to wear thin on your partner either way.”

“Your partner, too, can also find themselves guilty for starting to build resentment towards you.”

If it is your mates you’re wanting to open up with, but you’re still unsure as to how to go about it, Blake has previously presented an olive branch which he calls a ritual of connection. This, says Blake, is an activity that requires time to be dedicated to it, and revolves around connection questions. These can be super simple questions such as, “how are you doing this week?”

RELATED: How To Ask A Mate, “R u ok?” Without Making Things Awkward

The idea of setting aside time to ask these connection questions can help guys to create a safe space, even if it’s just one hour a week, with no fear of judgement.

In Blake’s view, it’s not that men don’t want to talk, but it’s more of a case of they don’t feel they have a safe enough environment to do it. It makes sense, then, that men are most likely to turn to their female partners, but if they can start turning to their closest male friends instead, the same results can be achieved.

As for the partners bearing the emotional brunt, Blake offers some tips for how to tell the man they don’t have the space to listen to their problems.

“It’s a great skill to be able to check in with each other and see if each other has the ‘capacity’ at the moment to hold space for each other, it’s so rare but it’s such a good skill, even with friends.”

“It might look like messaging them before you call them to say, ‘Hey XXX, do you have the capacity/bandwidth at the moment to hold space for me?'”

“And for each other be ok with saying no and that not influence the relationship. Also, very few people have the skills to self soothe. Maybe if your partner doesn’t have the bandwidth for you at the moment, then you can self sooth knowing you’re not going to die from having to wait a few days to communicate your problems with your partner.”

Jamie Gonzalez, mentor, self help coach and founder of Limitless Living, has touched upon this subject with DMARGE before. He said that men “can be amazing at hiding how we are really feeling out of embarrassment and our own self judgment, but added, “When I have asked a mate how he’s really doing it has always worked out for the better; if anything it made our friendship even stronger.”

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The post Men, Stop Using Women For Your Emotional Support Needs appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

Airbnb has been hanging around the Australian housing market like flies round s**t. Its premise of offering holidaymakers the chance to stay in unique places, away from inner-city hotels has been lapped up to the tune of hundreds of thousands of stays around the country. But when will we say “enough is enough?”

Despite calls for holidaygoers and staycationers to return to hotels (after people started getting sick of having to clean up after themselves), Airbnb’s psychological hold over the Instagram generation – “guys, look at how AMAZING my Airbnb is!” – continues to make the property rental service prolifically popular. This is true for both holidaymakers and property owners, the latter knowing they can make a quick buck for their place – even if said place is absolute garbage.

For the housing market, however, there has been a constant battle, as many Airbnbs aren’t always booked out, so remain vacant for much of the year. This of course was especially true during the global pandemic.

And with rental prices constantly on the up, partly due to lack of supply, it’s no wonder wannabe tenants and current tenants in apartment blocks that have been turned into Airbnb hotels, are getting royally p****d off.

Case in point, this photo posted to the r/Australia thread on Reddit.

Taken by user ‘kbugs’, it shows 13 key safe combination locks attached to a fence panel outside of an apartment block. The original poster says each safe holds a key to an Airbnb apartment in their building, adding, “It’s a supply issue they say! Airbnb’s in 1 inner city apartment block – 30% of the building.”

The top comment on the post reads, “Maybe instead of all the locks they should pool their resources and hire a receptionist. Could also share cleaners for efficiency. Maybe even do a complimentary breakfast. Give the building a name by which people recognise it for its excellent service.”

Another user quite rightfully responds with, “Hotels are an insane thought…”

But, other users have taken the image more seriously, and are quick to chime in with their similar experiences, “My entire floor except for us in our apartment building is AirBnBs. Kind of defeats the purpose of living in and paying for a secure apartment building with a concierge when there’s new people in and out every week. Noisy fucks too!” says one.

Another, meanwhile, puts forward a suggestion that could kibosh Airbnb’s stronghold, “AirBNBs (that aren’t owner lived in) should be charged the same amount of local council rates as a hotel and should have to pay the same taxes as a hotel because basically they are a hotel. I bet people who own them will then find it’s no longer worth it and put the properties back on the rental market.”

Airbnb itself says it is committed to supporting statewide registration schemes (which currently only exist in New South Wales and Tasmania, in Australia) where were introduced in November 2021. The new scheme requires any host of short-term rental accomodation (STRA) to register their property with their state government.

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Once registered, owners of STRA must also abide by a Code of Conduct, which in NSW, means they are liable for any anti-social guests that use their property. NSW Fair Trading says “there can be amenity impacts on residential neighbours resulting from inconsiderate or anti-social behaviour by some short-term rental occupants. It is important to ensure that our laws continue to support local economies while ensuring residential neighbours can enjoy the amenity of their homes without unreasonable disturbance.”

“This code of conduct responds to this need by establishing behavioural obligations for short-term rental accommodation participants.”

Airbnb also understands and admits there is a housing issue in Australia, and adds it is fully onboard with helping to find solutions.

“Housing affordability is a challenging and complicated issue. The causes differ from place to place, with legacy factors – which often pre-date the founding of Airbnb by decades – ranging from the supply of new homes, the ratio of public housing, the number of empty dwellings and rooms, interest rates and broader economic conditions.”

“However, as a company with housing affordability and cost of living needs in our roots and origins, we want to play our part in proposing meaningful solutions that can help tackle these problems and help make a positive contribution to this important issue.”

The company doesn’t exactly say what those meaningful solutions are, or could be, but it does highlight the fact more and more people are turning to hosting their property or properties to help ease their personal financial burden brought on by the cost of living crisis.

Indeed, Australia, along with many other countries, is experiencing a housing crisis. At least, the rental market is wild anyway. The property sales market saw a surge in pricing in 2020 and 2021, largely due to the falling interest rates, which encouraged more home buyers to borrow. With the demand for housing increasing, so did the prices.

But as Forbes says, “in recent months, property prices have begun to fall, dramatically in the case of some markets,” meaning it could soon be a good time to think about buying. But, for those wanting to move out of rental accommodation and into their own home, chances are they won’t be able to afford to anytime soon, because of the increase in weekly rent.

As 9News says “rental stock [has] hit its lowest level in almost two decades,” according to a recent PropTrack report, “as rents continue to soar because of high demand which is predicted to escalate further.”

One of the reasons for the low level of rental stock? Those pesky Airbnbs, sandwiched between an influx of foreign workers and international students who have been gagging to get into Australia since travel restrictions were imposed due to the spicy cough.

Unfortunately, however, this influx isn’t likely to slow anytime soon, so perhaps the only thing Australians can do to boot Airbnb out of the country is to fall in love with hotels all over again.

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The post Australia’s ‘Airbnb Problem’ Summed Up In One Photo appeared first on DMARGE Australia.