2020 is almost over, but we’re not out of the woods yet. With The Bat Kiss (and the economic devastation it’s heaped on us) still ravaging the world, the start of 2021 is looking to be just as uncertain as the rest of this year gone past.

While virtually all industries and sectors of the Australian economy have suffered this year, a particular loser has been the airline industry. Australia has some of the toughest travel restrictions in the world: not only are Australians virtually forbidden from leaving the country right now, but even domestic air travel has been severely reduced thanks to border closures and the prospect of hotel quarantine deterring travellers.

With Qantas’ international fleet still grounded and Virgin Australia still on shaky ground, the industry is holding its breath. Clearly, some blue sky thinking is required to help the Australian airline industry get back on its feet – and there’s one bizarre aviation story from the 90s that, if we look past its superficially absurd nature, could be a shot in the arm for Australian airlines.

In the 80s and 90s, airlines and transportation agencies around the world started seriously clamping down inflight smoking, something that previously used to be common on both domestic and international flights. Two Florida businessmen, frustrated by domestic smoking bans, decided to do something about it, and started an airline imaginatively called Smokers Express.

The airline originally intended to fly to 11 different US destinations including Houston, Las Vegas and New Orleans, and as you can probably guess, would allow you to smoke as much as you like on flights. On top of that, they even planned to hand out free cigarettes, ashtrays, headphones and lottery tickets; serve “real food for real people”, such as proper hamburgers, pizza, and steaks; and promised no screaming babies by restricting flights to only those 21 and older.

But focusing on the almost cartoonish, ‘Mad Men’-esque pitch of Smokers Express would be to miss the real genius of the airline, which was in their business model.

In order to get around the Federal Aviation Administration’s restrictions on inflight smoking, Smokers Express was intended to be a membership-based airline, technically making it a sort of travel club instead of a traditional airline. Customers would have been required to join and pay a $25 yearly fee, which would have funded the airline.

That’s the kicker: the idea of a membership model for airlines. It’s a novel concept and one that could be a gamechanger for struggling Australian airlines.

Picture it: you pay an annual membership fee to an airline in return for cheaper airfares. It’s a win-win: the airlines get money up-front (which might help them weather industry-destroying events like a global pandemic) and you don’t have to spend countless hours messing around on airfare comparison websites in order to find a cheap ticket.

So why didn’t Smokers Express succeed? In the end, they went up in a puff of smoke because they didn’t spend any money on advertising and weren’t able to secure enough membership money to get them off the ground… But if an airline that’s already properly established started their own yearly membership or subscription program – and supported it with advertising and capital – it could actually work.

 

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This sort of funding model is hardly alien when it comes to the travel industry. Timeshares have been a gamechanger for money-savvy holidaymakers ever since they became widespread in the 60s and 70s, and ridesharing businesses like GoGet also operate on a membership model. Hell, Qantas already offers an airport lounge yearly membership program. Why not do the same for flights?

Another good comparison is Costco, the world’s second-largest retailer and largest warehouse club. The lion’s share of Costco’s profit margin actually comes from their annual membership fees as opposed to on the goods they sell. It’s a business model that could work very well for airlines: keep overheads down, lock customers in, and benefit from word-of-mouth advertising.

Of course, Smokers Express didn’t succeed, but the idea could work if you focused more on cheap airfares than skirting anti-smoking laws. It’s a pie-in-the-sky idea for sure, but if 2020 has taught businesses anything, it’s that you need to be innovative.

The other idea that Smokers Express had was to offer advertising on the sides of their planes, like buses or Formula One cars. But that’s a whole other discussion…

Things are still looking grim for Australian airlines. According to Health Minister Greg Hunt, the Australian overseas travel ban is expected to be in place until 17 March 2021. Qantas has also announced that they are requiring passengers to have had the COVID-19 vaccine if they want to board an international flight – and seeing as the vaccine rollout hasn’t started yet, things are still up in the air. No pun intended.

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The post Forgotten 1990s 'Mad Men' Airline May Hold Unusual Solution To Australia's Aviation Crisis appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

Australia has a habit of claiming other countries’ citizens as our own, especially when it comes to actors. Sam Neill, Mel Gibson, Hugo Weaving… But one man we’re particularly shameless about claiming is Russell Crowe, who might just be the most Aussie non-Aussie on the planet.Not only has ‘Rusty’ lived most of his life in Australia (indeed, he lives in Sydney and owns multiple properties across the country) but he’s given millions of dollars to Australian charities and owns a substantial stake in the NRL’s South Sydney Rabbitohs. He even had a short stint on the iconic soap opera Neighbours – how much more Aussie can you get?Something else that makes him quintessentially Aussie (although you could just as easily argue it’s just as much a Kiwi trait as well) is his down-to-earth nature. Case in point: this heart-warming interaction he had with a fan on Twitter yesterday.After writer and watch nut Daniel Gullotta guessed what timepiece Crowe was wearing in 2020 action thriller Unhinged – a Shinola Runwell Chrono – Crowe jumped in to confirm Gullota’s call, sparking off a wholesome exchange that’s delighted fans all over social media.

I’m not crying, you’re crying! pic.twitter.com/fF8JnSTTKo

— Daniel N. Gullotta (@DanielGullotta) December 28, 2020

Celebrity watch-spotting is an underappreciated, thankless art. To have the celebrity in question chime in and confirm one’s educated guess, as well as actually have a bit of a conversation with you, is a truly rare occurrence – and one that speaks volumes about Crowe’s humble character. He’s just a good bloke.Founded in 2011, Shinola is a Detroit-based watch and luxury goods brand that was created with the intention of reigniting the American tradition of watchmaking and bringing jobs back to Detroit. While their watches are assembled in the United States, they use Swiss movements provided by Ronda (who also provide movements for brands including Baume & Mercier, Eterna and TAG Heuer).The Runwell was the very first model Shinola ever came out with and is available in a wide variety of sizes, materials and complications. Crowe’s is a 47mm chronograph model that almost looks like Shinola stuck an IWC Big Pilot and a Chopard Mille Miglia in a blender.Unhinged tells the story of a single mum (played by Caren Pistorius) who is terrorized by a seemingly mentally-ill stranger (Crowe) following a road rage incident. Crowe seriously packed on the pounds to play the antagonist, Tom Cooper – a role that he absolutely nails, quite ironically. Ol’ Rusty used to be known for his short temper, so the fact that he’s happy to play such a role shows that he’s got a sense of humour. Very meta.Crowe is also set to appear alongside fellow Aussie-ish actor Sam Worthington (born in England!) in horror film The Georgetown Project, which is currently in post-production.

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The post Russell Crowe’s ‘Unhinged’ Shinola Watch appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

In Australia, we have the Boxing Day Test. In the US of A, they have the Christmas Day NBA game, which this year was between the LA Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks at the Laker’s home turf, the Staples Centre.While it’s been a topsy-turvy year for the NBA – the last eight games of the regular season and the entire playoffs held at a specially-designed ‘NBA Bubble’ at Walt Disney World in Florida – something that’s stayed consistent is how stylish the league’s been.Players both in and out of the bubble have been treating the pre-game tunnel walk-on like an impromptu catwalk and has been a potent source of style inspiration for fashion-starved men across the globe. Some notable outfits this year have included the Houston Rockets’ P.J. Tucker flexing full Issey Miyake, the Washington Wizards’ Russell Westbrook’s rockabilly steez or the Lakers’ Anthony Davis and his expert take on smart casual.Another thing that’s stayed consistent is LeBron James‘ prodigious basketball skill – and iconoclastic wardrobe. The Lakers phenom and candidate for GOAT status is also the GOAT when it comes to style, his Christmas Day ensemble no exception. James suited up in Tom Ford, with Lanvin sneakers on his feet and a Patek Philippe watch on his wrist, but topped off the fit with a surprising accessory: a small Louis Vuitton ‘Volga’ bag.

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James has steadily grown bolder when it comes to fashion over the years, and this small, clutch-sized bag marks another point not only in the evolution of his personal style, but in celebrity style more broadly.It’s no surprise that this bag is part of current LV creative director Virgil Abloh’s “Patchwork” Fall-Winter 2020-21 collection. Since joining the illustrious French brand in 2018, Abloh has had a huge effect on the fashion and luxury world. His tenure at LV has seen the brand go from strength to strength; his influence seeing the once-disparate worlds of streetwear and haute couture blend together seamlessly in a way that’s never been done before.RELATED: Louis Vuitton ‘Holy Trinity’ Gives Hypebeasts What They’ve Always WantedPart of Abloh’s genius has been injecting the highly masculine, po-faced world of streetwear with the levity and gender-blending impulses of haute couture. Ten years ago, you wouldn’t see an NBA player dare wear Lanvin, let alone carry a clutch into a game.Social media aren’t entirely fans of LeBron’s ‘purse’, but the fact that he’s out there taking a risk stylistically speaks volumes to his character and style – as well as Abloh’s influence on modern celebrity style. Personally, we’re all for it.Something social media have found harder to argue with was the Laker’s convincing 138 – 115 takedown of the mavericks, with James alone scoring 22 of those points.

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The post LeBron James Spotted Wearing Louis Vuitton Handbag appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

Judging people on their appearance is shallow… But we all do it. Having been raised on the James Deans, Brad Pitts, Henry Cavills and Michael B. Jordans of the last two centuries, a chiselled jawline, piercing eyes and washboard abs are hard for most of us not to aspire to.

But just because God has gifted a select few with crazy facial symmetry, does that mean their life is oh-so-perfect and that they are free from stress and daily annoyances?

And what’s to say an Average Joe can’t have a ‘perfect’ life? After all, we’ve already written about how your attachment style can affect your relationships, and even how setting up a rock-solid Tinder profile can put you ahead of others in your quest for love.

It’s a question we wanted to answer here at DMARGE and, admitting that we’re not quite in the upper echelons of handsome ruggedness ourselves, we reached out to Reddit to find out if there are any guys who have detailed the daily struggles of being a 10 out of 10.

Finding answers proved much easier than we anticipated and it appears the main ‘struggle’ of freakishly handsome demi-gods is that they can in fact suffer from similar insecurities as us ‘regular’ folk.

“I was in the Navy with a guy named Graham who had supermodel good looks, if not better”, begins one user.

“Perfect dirty blonde hair, green eyes, a permanent tan, muscular build, washboard abs… Hell, I even saw once when showering that the dude was thoroughly hung.”

“When a group of us would go out to hit up the bars, girls would just flock to Graham. He would get free drinks all night from girls. I’d never seen that.”

“At the end of the night, he would just brush them off and head home. Sometime, if one of the girls was spectacular, he would take her home…once.”

“One day, he turned to me and said, ‘Man, I really envy you.’ I looked confused and asked, ‘Why ever for?’ ‘You just have such an easy way with women.’ ‘What the hell are you talking about? They throw themselves at you!’ ‘Yeah, but I don’t know how to talk to them. You have it so easy. You make them laugh, and you make it all look so simple.'”

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Stories of women (and men) giving attractive guys unreciprocated attention are echoed by other users. “Even though he gets so many opportunities, he’s too apprehensive about taking advantage of them.”

“Eventually, they lose interest despite the initial attraction.”

“Life may be a lot better for really attractive dudes, but they still need to take the initiative if they actually want to benefit from all the perks.”

In fact, many of the struggles faced by ultra-attractive men could arguably be considered sexual harassment, if the roles were reversed, one thread argues.

“Sometimes I just want to order a sandwich without the awkwardness of being hit on. Please don’t grab my butt at the club. Please don’t grab my butt in the middle of class.”

Some men regale their stories of how they “sprouted” into good looking men. But it didn’t automatically make their lives better. One guy confesses:

“Being unattractive makes you unwanted, but being really attractive makes you seem unattainable. In both cases, the person tends to be pretty lonely unless they take steps to do otherwise.”

“Although I tend to not have huge issues initially attracting female attention, I never know what to do with it, how to act/reciprocate, and even when I try my overall awkward demeanor and shyness generally seems to cancel out any attraction – like you can literally see it drain from their faces when they realize that you’re not the charismatic, confident man they’d hoped for.”

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Another recalls his experiences, bringing to light the old adage of not judging a book by its cover.

“I might be a f**kin mess wrapped up in a nice package but I’m still a f**kin mess. So kindly quit asking me why I’m still single or why I ain’t rich and/or famous yet and please quit telling me how super successful I’d totally be in w/e field you happen to think I should work in. I realize this probably sounds like I’m just whining but honestly.. sometimes it sucks to hear stuff like that because after a while you start asking those kinds of questions yourself and that’ll ultimately lead you to just one question ‘What the hell is wrong with me?'”

So, while it could be argued that the ‘struggles’ experienced by attractive men are ones other guys would give their life for, when they’re being experienced on a daily basis, it’s not unfair to hear they can become an annoyance.

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The post Attractive Men Reveal Struggles Of Being Ridiculously Good Looking appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

Forging a successful career and earning enough money to live more than comfortably is a goal shared by millions around the world. How we achieve that goal will differ greatly from person to person: some will develop a lightbulb business idea while others will study hard, secure an entry-level position and work their way up in a company to the point where they’re running it.The time you devote to achieving said goal will also come down to the amount of fulfilment you get from your job and in certain careers, there will inevitably come a time when you have to question “is it really worth it?”.Case in point: Finance.While a career in finance presents the chance to earn more money than you could ever fit in a suitcase, the hours required from you to invest coupled with the numerous condescending lecturers from managers give a new meaning to the term ‘Viking mentality‘.Speaking of old school thinking – check out the following confession from a young investment banker. Recently posted on the Wall Street Confessions Instagram page, it reads, “My girlfriend of five years who works in tech just got a top VC offer. It’s fucked up, but I’m finding it difficult to be genuinely happy for her when my PE plans have fallen through. I can’t believe I’m now that selfish asshole who can’t even celebrate the one person who has stuck with me through everything.”

 

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Reflective of a broader cultural hangup seen all across society? Sure. But it’s also reflective of the outrageous competitive nature which is particularly fostered in the investment banking sector.But don’t just take our word for it. There are countless published stories from people who used to work in finance, thinking it was their dream career, only to eventually find out they couldn’t be more wrong. Alice Fulwood, a former investment banker turned journalist for The Economist, who recently provided an account of her time on the trading floor, which could be a wake-up call for anyone wishing to live a life of suits, after-work drinks and zero-hours of sleep.

 

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Whilst Alice admits her main reasoning for starting up a career in finance was because it was easier than “[pursuing] a ‘dream career’ in something like theatre or politics, where failure looms large. My passion was for being successful.”“In my experience, finance is a career for those with fierce ambition, ill-defined goals – and an aversion to risk,” she claims, “It is risky to follow your passion, to try to become an artist, an academic, an actor or an astronaut.”

“It is not risky to become a banker. Show up, work hard and don’t break the law: this is all that is really required for you to become inordinately rich.”

Going on to confirm that connotations that the world of banking is a ‘dog eat dog’ kind of world, where only the hungriest, and those who are willing to step over others will win – “One of the most important attributes you can have is a sharp-elbowed willingness to do whatever it takes” – but also that, some nights, you will be willing to barely get an ounce of sleep – “after leaving the nightclub, I would go to the 24-hour gym next to the office, have a shower, then go back to work, I’d clunk in my heels across the trading flor to fetch a change of clothes from my desk, then head over to my favourite toilet cubicle and lay my black Zara coat down like a picnic blanket.”

“The commitment to show up on time, regardless of fatigue, drunkeness or personal hygiene is the price of admission to the hallowed halls of an investment bank.”

Investment banking presents other challenges to women specifically, in the form of sexual harassment. “On my internship, a commodity trader asked me to go for a drink to ‘discuss my options.’ On our way to the bar, he said: ‘I’d like to hire you. Well, actually, I’d like to marry you – but failing that I would hire you.”“It turned out he had no power to offer me a job.”Alice isn’t the first – nor will she be the last – to realise what it truly takes to work as an investment banker (or to have a general career in finance). A 2014 article from The Atlantic recounts the experiences of Jeremy and Samson (fake names) two fresh-faced Ivy League graduates who secured jobs at Goldman Sachs.

 

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“Quickly, their enthusiasm had been buried underneath massive piles of work, gruelling hours, and unforgiving bosses.”

“They’d started calling Goldman’s downtown headquarters ‘Azkaban’, after the prison in the Harry Potter series where inmates’ soul are sucked from their bodies.”

On America’s world-famous Wall Street, workers can often find themselves working “the ‘banker 9-to-5’, defined as 9 a.m. until 5 a.m. the next day”, and even then, the pay might not be (initially) what you’d expect.“After [the financial crash of] 2008, the golden pathway began to splinter. New regulation, meant to prevent another financial crisis, made banks less profitable, and the struggling markets meant that even young bankers were at risk of losing it all.”A BBC article adds “In the first year out of university, new hires can expect to make £74,000. Six years later, as senior associates, they can expect to make £225,000.”“To any 20-something labouring in a less lucrative industry on, say, £35,000 a year and intoxicated with the idea of banking riches, Sarah Butcher, global editor of the banking careers site eFinancialCareers adds, ‘First, you will work a lot harder in an investment bank. Think 80-plus-hour weeks, late nights and some weekends.'”

“Second, only the brave survive.”

For all its glamour – fine dining, drinking at the best bars in the world, owning a flash house and car – it’s not uncommon to find the people living those lives aren’t the happiest they could be.While it could be said the CEOs and managers etc are able to kick back and relax, the worker bees on the floor have to be resilient enough to stab their colleagues in the back if they’re ever to ascend to similarly high levels.It’s not a career for us, but we’ll let you make up your own mind.

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The post The Truth About Working On Wall Street appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

Shakespeare may have written King Lear in quarantine but we bet he didn’t build quads like Daniel Macpherson. The Australian actor and Logie award winner may have been impressive in Neighbours, but we’re even more impressed by his commitment to working out.

Macpherson recently posted the following photo of a hotel quarantine sweat session, after having just made it home to Australia. This comes after various other individuals have spoken about the challenges of working out (and simply getting through) quarantine.

 

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Inspired, we asked – how exactly does one keep fit in hotel quarantine? Is it two weeks of hell, or (in some ways) a blessing in disguise? Macpherson told us, for him, “Workouts were governed by space and equipment. I had 2 x 14kgs kettlebells, 2 x 20kg dumbells, an ab mat and eventually an Aussie Strength Assault Bike at my disposal.”

“I started the 14 days with heavier daily sessions broken down into chest and back, legs, and shoulders and arms. After a few days of this, I realised a couple of things – I didn’t have enough weight or space, I was sick of pushups, and most importantly – for sanity’s sake – I had to work out every day for 14 days, so I couldn’t miss a day because I was too tight or sore. Full-body workouts became the norm.”

Macpherson also shared his three main workouts, which any ‘stuck-in-quarantinees’ looking to stay sane and get a decent workout in would be well advised to check out.

Assault Bike Plus – medium intensity, longer duration

• Bike: two minutes easy, two minutes medium, one minute hard
• Every five minutes jump off for 20 pushups, 20 ab mat situps, 20 kettlebell swings
• As many sets as you like; I hit 10 sets with a 10 min bike cool down
• Duration: 60 minutes

888 – 8 exercises, 8 rounds 8 reps

• After a 10 min warm up on the bike I’d mix this up sometimes to focus on more legs one day, or say shoulders the next.
• Kettlebell front squats
• Pushups
• Kettlebell deadlifts
• SA DB clean and press
• Situps
• Kettlebell swings
• Kettlebell bent over rows
• Finish with two sets of tabata cycling (20/10 x 8 is one set)

Croatian Hardcore

“A friend from Croatia sent me this,” Macpherson told us. “I’ll be honest I only did it once. Partly because the neighbours hated it, mostly because it hurt like hell.”

• 60 crunches
• 40 X double unders (the space made this extra hard)
• 20 x kettlebell man makers
• 10 x Turkish Getups (again, space)
• Repeat all of the above for five sets

Macpherson then told us he would follow one of the above up in the afternoon or evening with something a little lighter: “Second workout of the day was usually just a 20-30 minute blast – tabata intervals on the bike or a 20 minute EMOM all core.”

As for the most challenging aspect to staying fit in hotel quarantine, Macpherson told us, “It’s hard to stay motivated to train when you can stay in bed and watch tv all day, but I made sure I got in at least one, sometimes two workouts a day, to burn off any extra energy or anxiety from being locked up.”

“Apart from the lack of space, I’d say it’s finding the creativity in your fitness. In a 14 day period that is literally the definition of monotony, I had to make sure I was continually creative with my workouts and my space. Google and Instagram were my friends. I tried a stack of KB flows and workouts and learnt a bunch of new skills.”

“The stopwatch became the most efficient motivator for me, I did loads of 40 second work; 20 second rest interval workouts, with just 2 or 3 exercises for anywhere between 20-40 minutes.”

That all said, there were some advantages: “You can workout in your buddy smugglers. You can take as long on the equipment as you like. You literally have ALL DAY to get your session done. You can sit on the couch and order food delivery for as long as you like afterwards, guilt free!”

Finally, Macpherson shared his top “quarantine tips that worked for me.” These were:

• Mediation: I made a goal to meditate twice a day for 20 minutes while I was in there. It helped massively. If it’s something you’ve ever wanted to try, 14 days of self isolation is a good time to explore it.
• Don’t count the days: I stopped counting the days. After about day 3, I made a decision that it was helping. It was just ‘today’, tomorrow was ‘tomorrow’, and I was getting out next Tuesday.
• Routine and Goals: I made a list of things I wanted to tick off while I was in there. Everything from areas of mobility and stretching that I’d neglected for too long, shows I wanted to finish, scripts I wanted to read, and something I wanted to learn. For me that was a guitar tutorial on pentatonic scales, but just having that new creative outlet was great for my brain. Whenever the monotony kicked in, I’d take a look at the list and off I went.
• Eating loads of fruit, vegetables and water: especially [during] week two, keep those vitamins in, especially when the sunshine and fresh air is at a minimum.

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The post Daniel Macpherson’s Hotel Quarantine Workout Routine Will Destroy You appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

Hidden in broad daylight, adults-only resorts offer couples the chance to truly indulge, all the while enjoying time away from home and work, usually in the confines of five-star hotel walls, numerous pools, fine dining and views to die for.These erotic zones of paradise are already showing signs of recovering from 2020, with Google searches for “adults only resorts” seemingly on the rise and resorts such as Jamaica’s Hedonism II – whose mantra is “be wicked for a week,” – reopening their doors to those starved of love during the global lockdown.If you’re someone – or a couple – who has had their interest piqued by the idea of being able to frolic around in the nude, becoming truly comfortable with your own body, and to perhaps inject some spice into your relationship, but aren’t too sure exactly what to expect after you check-in, this first-person report from Popsugar will open your eyes just a little.Love and Sex Editor Hilary White describes her own experience when she and her partner visited the Desire Riviera Maya and Desire Pearl couples-only resorts in Mexico. While she doesn’t provide any account for how they navigated the current global landscape and The Bat Kiss, she begins by talking about what made her book a visit in the first place.“Clothing optional? Great, no more tan lines. Couples only? My boyfriend was very down. Sexy shows every night, great food, and sensual experiences geared toward turning up the heat in your relationship? Sign us up,” she begins.Explaining that these resorts allow you quite literally escape society and its public indecency laws, you can pretty much do whatever you please, with the only real rule being “no means no.” The result? If you try to retain a little modesty, you’re the one who looks like the odd one out.“This isn’t a nudist resort where people mostly keep to themselves. This is a full-on sex resort, with public rooms decorated with round pink and black leather beds dedicated to group sex, massive hot tubs where couples and groups can go at it to their hearts’ desires, and where (in my case) attempting to casually rock a bathing suit bottom made me stand out among the sea of bare butts.”

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However, despite considering herself to be “open-minded, sexually adventurous, totally fine with nudity”, Hilary soon found her and her boyfriend were “were in way, way over our heads”.

“We rolled with it, to an extent. But it wasn’t exactly the experience we expected. For the first time in my adult life, I felt incredibly naive and unprepared — and it was pretty hilarious. For the most part.”

How so?After being asked several times if they were “lifestylers” – a new way of saying ‘swingers – and finding a sex-swing drilled into their hotel room ceiling within the one hour period they’d stepped out (the Desire resorts offer fantasy menus, packages that you can pick and choose from to help spice things up a bit), they soon realised the couple they’d made friends with were likely seeking more than just some chat about politics over a bottle or two of red wine.“Nope. It was the erotic preamble to what would’ve been sex with my boyfriend — guided by a beautiful (and amazingly sweet) woman decked out in black lace and silk. But (due to my own obliviousness) it turned into the preamble for what was essentially a foursome — since I’d invited our newfound friends along for the (literal) ride. I guess the rose petals on the bed should have been my red flag?”With crisis averted, Hilary and her boyfriend (and the other couple) laughed off the whole ordeal and continued their night in a rather more PG fashion. And, upon reflection of their stay, Hilary adds,

“We got closer not only because of our admittedly awkward roller-coaster ride, but also because the resorts really do foster a sense of eroticism and sexual openness that was entirely contagious. Did we know what we were getting ourselves into? Absolutely not. Did we have exciting sex in places and ways we never have before? Yup.”

And if you’re still unsure as to whether a couples-only resort could be the thing for you and your partner, Hilary says,

“Bottom line, going to an erotic couples resort got my partner and me out of our comfort zones, but more importantly, the resorts allow others who visit to truly be in their comfort zones, whatever those may be.”

Indeed, Vice‘s Alex Temblador has been one of those fortunate to have visited Jamaica’s famous Hedonism II, and spoke to the resort’s social engagement manager Michelle Facey. Facey says “[It’s] very important that people coming here have a basic understanding of what the resort is about so that they have the correct expectations; Hedonism II is not for everyone.”But, speaking of her own experience, Alex adds, “As a single, 28-year-old woman, I found Hedonism II invigorating and empowering. I felt sexy playing naked volleyball and dancing with the Men at Large models, and empowered in conversation with the BARE retreat women.”“I even connected positively with guests of my parents’ and grandparents’ age. They looked me in my eyes, even when naked, and provided useful insight on the resort. They wanted me to enjoy Hedo, just as they did.”Other journalists who have visited “sexy resorts” include Anna Davies who, now a single-mum, visited the Temptation resort in Cancun, Mexico, wholly expecting to feel out of her comfort zone and to hate the whole experience. She could not have been more wrong.

“For me, while I welcomed motherhood, I assumed it meant certain things were out of my life forever. But it took Temptation Resort to remind me there’s no reason I can’t go solo to a foreign country, that I can’t be the sexy, independent, try-anything-once woman I used to be.”

“Is Temptation Resort cheesy? Yes – but that’s exactly the point. What I hadn’t realized just a week earlier when I was earnestly buying lingerie online to try to fit society’s expectation of sexy is that the people who went to Temptation, and came time after time, were all ages, shapes, and sizes, and they didn’t come for an Eyes Wide Shut bacchanal—they came to shed expectations and just enjoy the moment.”

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The post What Really Happens At A Couples Only Resort appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

In order to obtain muscles much larger than you can ever imagine, you need to dedicate some serious hours to the gym, and plenty more to the kitchen where you need to consume huge quantities of calories to help your body recover and build muscle.Some bodybuilders, however, like to take extra supplements to aid their muscular quests. And, while we’ve already covered the topic of taking steroids, debunking the myth that guys with extreme vascularity are (not necessarily) on them in the process, some bodybuilders turn to other supplements with a more positive image to help them flourish.Case in point: Jo Lindner.The modern-day Schwarzenegger has an enviable physique that is the result of sweat and determination, along with a killer nutrition plan. Though the German muscle mountain has admitted previously in a YouTube video that he did, in fact, take steroids when he was beginning his fitness and bodybuilding journey (a dangerous move he encourages no-one to mimic, which risked ruining his life) that’s not what we’re here to talk about.We’re here to talk about Lindner giving one Instagram user the keys to his supplement stack castle, in the comments underneath one of his recent videos. Lindner recently revealed to the fan that he takes EAA, Creatine, Omega-3 and Magnesium.EAAs are Essential Amino Acids. There are nine of them, and your body can’t produce them by itself but instead, needs the assistance of supplements or food. Without these EAAs, your quest for large muscles will be far more difficult, as they are “the building blocks of protein and are crucial in the synthesis of muscle growth”, according to sports supplement specialist Myprotein.If you’re already on a calorie surplus meal plan that works around a solid training regime, you won’t gain many benefits from taking EAA supplements, as you should be getting them from the foods you eat instead. However, those who wish to train to build muscle while shedding body fat – and those who are putting themselves through an intermittent fasting diet – can most certainly benefit.Omega-3 is a nutrient taken for various reasons, as it promotes numerous health benefits. With regards to strength training, it’s claimed that it can aid with muscle activation, which essentially means you can perform more reps of whatever exercises you’re doing. It doesn’t take a genius to notice Jo is clearly a fan of bicep curls and tricep dips, such is the size of his arms.If you’ve ever looked at or consumed sports nutrition products such as protein bars and powders, you would have likely seen Creatine emblazoned across them. Creatine is huge within the weight training industry, being a key supplement for helping achieve lean muscle mass and to help your muscles recover more quickly following a training session. Although be warned, it may not work for everybody.Finally, magnesium is another essential nutrient the body needs to remain healthy. It helps the body to produce protein and can aid with muscle regulation. No surprise that Lindner takes it on the regular, then.While the use of supplements can always be a tricky area to navigate and one you should always seek medical advice on before pursuing, the ones used by Lindner are everyday nutrients and vitamins, and so could be considered a relatively easy way to help you achieve next-level gains. Still: checking in with your doctor or nutritionist is always a good idea.Lindner also admits to taking very small levels of steroids to keep his testosterone towards “the higher end of normal” (DMARGE does not endorse taking steroids at all) even now, so don’t feel bad if you don’t find yourself looking anything like him. This video is an interesting and by all appearances honest account of the dangers of juicing, and why Jo continues to do it, even if at much smaller levels than he did in the past, for those interested.

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The post Jo Lindner’s Diet Reveals Nutrition Secret That Could Boost Your Gains appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the most successful teams in NBA history.

They’ve won 17 NBA championships, tied with their fierce rivals the Boston Celtics for the most in NBA history, and are the fourth most valuable sports team in the world according to Forbes (beaten out by the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys, the MLB’s New York Yankees and fellow NBA team the New York Knicks, although the Knicks don’t even come close to the Lakers when it comes to wins).

Part of the Lakers’ success and popularity comes down to the sheer star power of their roster. The team has been home to some of the sport’s biggest names, like Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the recently departed Kobe Bryant.

These days, their roster is similarly star-studded, boasting players like LeBron James, Kyle Kuzma and of course, Anthony Davis.

Davis, unlike some of his teammates, isn’t quite as flashy and doesn’t court headlines in the same way. Despite this, he’s just as dominant as a player – and just as fashionable, it turns out, as this recent outfit of his reveals.

 

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The 6ft 10in 27-year-old looked particularly dapper in his pre-game outfit ahead of the LA Lakers vs. LA Clippers game on the 22nd, wearing a Todd Snyder x L.L.Bean sweater; Tom Ford pants and sneakers; and what appears to be his Richard Mille RM11-03 with a new purple rubber bracelet – an appropriately Lakers-themed colour combination.

While it’s not exactly a cheap outfit, it’s definitely more understated than the looks some of his teammates have been spotted in this year. And that’s where Davis’ personal style shines: he’s more subdued; more classic; arguably more thoughtful about the way he dresses. If you want to pull off smart casual and still flex on people, take a leaf out of Davis’ book.

RELATED: How To Wear The ‘Smart Casual’ Dress Code For Men

The Lakers wrapped up a stellar 2019-2020 NBA season in October, with Davis and his teammates beating Miami Heat in the finals to nab their first NBA championship in a decade. It was a strange season for the NBA, with the last eight games of the regular season and the entire playoffs being held at a specially-designed ‘NBA Bubble’ at Walt Disney World in Florida.

But their fortunes might be set to change in 2021. Their game against the Clippers resulted in a narrow 109-116 defeat for the Lakers, a disappointing loss in their first game of the 2020-21 season. Their next game will be on Christmas Day against the Dallas Mavericks, also at the Staples Centre in LA.

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The post Anthony Davis Delivers Masterclass On Smart Casual Fashion appeared first on DMARGE Australia.