Interview with Duracell’s Kevin Jorgeson, first to free climb El Capitan in Yosemite National Park

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It may not rain, it may not be cold or windy…but it always gets dark. In the outdoors, light is essential. Experts trust Duracell Quantum to provide dependable power in the dark because it lasts longer in 99% of devices.

During Kevin Jorgeson’s free climb of El Capitan, he trusted Duracell Quantum to power him through the night so he could climb in the dark and be one step closer to reaching the top.

We spoke to Kevin about his epic 19-day climb, the wear and tear on his body and his partnership with Duracell.

How are your hands? I’m worried about your hands.

I wish I could say you could still see the battle scars, but unfortunatel,y they are all healed. I was actually quite sad when they healed because it was the last physical remnant and evidence of the climb, you know? Now it is literally all memory.

How did you partner with Duracell? 

I’m pretty selective on all my partnerships and I try to work with companies that I am already using their products. So that includes my climbing shoes, my harnesses, the equipment we use to stay on the wall, and that goes for batteries too. So when we started this conversation, it was a natural fit. I had been using Duracell for years, we even had them up on the wall (of El Capitan). It was something that already existed, and it just meant that now we’d be able to tell that story.

What does “free climbing” mean? Does that mean you walk up to a mountain and climb it, with nothing?

No, the word “free” kind of messes with people’s perception. Really, it’s climbing as you would imagine climbing — it’s just climbing. 99% of climbers are free climbing. Meaning we climb, but we use equipment to catch us if we fall. And we fall a lot. It took us six years to put this thing together. Six years of a lot more failure than success. It wasn’t like we just walked up and climbed this thing. We started working together on this in 2009.

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Talking Dove Men+Care Hair and Face products with grooming stud Glenn O’Brien

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Glenn O’Brien has done a ton of cool things. He was editor of Andy Warhol’s Interview magazine, and then the first Editor-at-Large in magazine history at High Times.

He produced and starred in Glenn O’Brien’s “TV Party,” which David Letterman called “the greatest TV show ever,” and he wrote and produced the film “Downtown 81,” starring Jean-Michel Basquiat. He has also worked as a stand-up comedian and an advertising creative director and copywriter.

But most importantly, Glenn O’Brien is a noted expert on YOU. He knows what looks good on you and, most importantly, what doesn’t.

We spoke to Glenn about when growing a beard doesn’t work, how to handle thinning hair with style, and the new 2015 Dove Men+Care Hair and Face range of products.

What are you doing with Dove?

They wanted someone to talk about their new line of grooming products and it’s something I know about. During the whole awards show season, we’re talking about how men can achieve the looks that one sees on the red carpet and improve their looks. I like the old sort of Renaissance Man idea, where you might not know everything about everything, but you know something about everything. It makes for a well-rounded person. And Dove is here to help you look like you know what you’re doing, even if you don’t, as far as grooming.

Out of the entire line of Dove Men+Care Hair and Face products, which is the best product? What is the one that a guy can’t live without?

For me, speaking as somebody who’s not in their 20s, I think the hydrating products are really important. Because that’s something that most men who aren’t in show business or in the public eye tend to maybe not take care of their skin. Somebody threw a figure at me, like 50% of men never wash their face. The Dove Men+Care Hydrating Face Lotion, if you do that every day, you’re going to see the results. You might see the results in a month, but you’ll really see the results in 10 years.

As a stylist and creative director at varying points in your career, what do you place more emphasis on: emulating what’s hip or cool, or embracing a natural strength?

Good style is always personal, not just trying to look like everyone else. It’s going with what you’ve got and what you want to project. That’s the way I approach it.

What’s the most common male grooming mistake you see, amongst all ages, all ethnicities? Is it a unibrow? Is it neck hair?

I think in the general population, I think you see a lot of guys, now that we’re living in the new age of beards, you see a lot of guys trying to achieve a false jawline by trimming their beard, and thinking that is going to cover up for being a little overweight or whatever, give them a crisp jawline. Usually it backfires. And it just makes them look, like, you know, worse. It’s surprising, because you see it on a lot of sports anchors and people you think would know better because they get a lot of public exposure, but I guess nobody wants to be the bearer of bad news.

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Joe Gibbs on the return of Crispy M&M’S and the forgotten Redskins’ dynasty

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For an unknown reason, NFL history has robbed the Redskins dynasty of the 1980s and early 90s of the recognition it deserves. But the real question is, why?

NFL fans remember the Packers championship teams of the 60s, the Steelers of the 70s, the 49ers of the 80s, the Cowboys of the 90s, and the Patriots of the present day. But no one remembers the Joe Gibbs-led Redskins.

From 1982 to 1991, the Redskins appeared in four Super Bowls and won three of those games, and in each game, they won with a different starting quarterback and a different starting running back.

Not content with one of the most successful coaching careers in NFL history, Gibbs created his Joe Gibbs Racing NASCAR team in 1992. The team has won three Sprint Cup championships since 2000 with stud drivers like Bobby Labonte and Tony Stewart.

At this Sunday’s Daytona 500, the Joe Gibbs Racing Crispy M&M’S #18 car will return to the track after a 10-year absence, piloted by Kyle Busch.

We spoke to Coach Gibbs about flourishing in both sports, the upcoming Daytona 500, his relationship with Jack Kent Cooke, and why he thinks his success with the Redskins has been largely ignored. You can listen to the interview via the audio player or read the full transcript below.

Let’s talk about Crispy M&M’S making their return to the track after a 10-year hiatus, kind of like you making your return to the Skins the second time.

Just about the same; I was 11 years, Crispy’s been out 10 years. We’re excited to have them back. And on Sunday’s Daytona 500, every time that Toyota Camry comes off the corner with Kyle Busch driving it, it’s going to be bright green and it’s gonna represent the return of Crispy. So we’re excited about that and I’m excited to be part of the M&M’S team.

You’re an absolute titan in two of the biggest sports in North America, in the NFL and NASCAR. It’s almost like you’ve lived two different lives, really. What’s it been like for you?

I realize I’m one of the most fortunate people in the world. Because rarely does anybody get to have a dream as an occupation, and I’ve had two of them. It’s a thrill for me. I know how fortunate I am and I appreciate being a part of two great sports.

And what I’ve found, is they are very similar, football and racing. Amazingly, they’re almost exactly the same because it’s what? It’s people. It’s picking people, putting them on a team and getting them to sacrifice their individual goals for the goals of the team. It’s teamwork. And that’s a big part of life. I’m thrilled to be a part of the M&M’S team and it’s a thrill for us to race in a place like the Daytona 500 this Sunday.

Can you talk about (former Redskins and Lakers owner) Jack Kent Cooke and what it was like to work with him? 

Mr. Cooke I think was a great owner, and for this reason: Many times he had a strong opinion. He’d stick that finger out and say, “You need to do this.” But what he always said before I left the meeting was, “But it’s gotta be your decision; you decide.” Many times, if I did something and it turned out to be he was correct, he’d definitely let me hear about it. But Mr. Cooke always said to me,  “It’s gotta be your decision; you make the decision.”

The other thing about Mr. Cooke, he was always at his best when things were at their worst. He would come in, he would visit me, I figured he was going to be upset when we’d be going through a bad streak of losses and he would say to me, “Hey Joe, we’re going up and we’re going down together.” He had a favorite saying: “I’m going to lay down and bleed a while, and then we’re gonna get up and fight again.” He was special, I think, for me, just like Dan Snyder was the second go-around for me. I had two great owners.

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A chat with Nelly at Super Bowl XLIX for Bud Light’s #HouseOfWhatever

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We spoke to Nelly at Bud Light’s House of Whatever in Phoenix, Arizona about his career, the (endless) rise of Taylor Swift, and how he does his best work on the toilet, while some light jazz played in the background.

Here are a few highlights.

On “Country Grammar” and the line, “Get a room in Trump Tower just to hit for three hours/kick the bitch up out the room ’cause she used the word ‘Ours'”:

“It came from real life. It was cool. But you’re talking about lines that were said in 2002. I was a young, thriving Nelly. Hopefully, when you get in this game, you build your own type of fan base and actually have fans that appreciate what you do and grow with you. It’s funny, because it’s a double-edged sword. You hear so many people say, ‘I wish you would do another album like Country Grammar.’ And I say, ‘You were in school when Country Grammar came out, right. You can’t get that feeling back. The reason Country Grammar meant something to you is because you were in school at that time. It was the buddies that were around you, the moment for you. It was your theme music to what you were going through in that life.’ You can’t make that. You don’t think Michael would love to make another Thriller? You think he wasn’t tryin‘? You can’t, because it was that moment. It was music that was unheard at that time. And you can never get all of those elements back again.”

On making new music:

“I don’t chase [past success]; I just make music. Music is creativity, it’s a career. You up, you down, you up, you down… You can’t have a career without an up and down. Nobody is consistently up. Well, probably Taylor Swift. Taylor Swift is probably the only one I see that is like, ‘Yo, she’s just gonna keep going (up), huh? Just gonna keep fuckin’ goin’.”

On when he’s the most creative:

“Songs pop up at the weirdest moments. You can be in a hotel, sittin’ in a room, being in a club, bein’ on the shitter. That’s my office. I can think, I’ve got the phone on the wall, set the laptop up on the dirty clothes hamper; I feel my freest.”

On what motivates him:

“I don’t do that anymore. When people are like, ‘Yo, what do you want to do?’ It’s not about that no more for me. Succeeding is not what drives you. I think what drives you is knowing where you don’t want to be – I know where I don’t want to be. That’s the motivation to keep going. Because as long as I keep going, I’m not gonna be there. Because to say what I want to do, I’ve accomplished so much and I’m steady going, I just don’t know, I just keep it movin’. But I know one thing that never changes; It’s where you don’t wanna be.”

On what makes Nelly, “Nelly”:

“It was everything. When you get counted out so many times, you look for a sense of, ‘Where am I going to channel and put this energy that I have to succeed?’ Some kids take it and take it the wrong way. Some kids work hard, they study, they go to school, they graduate and become something. Some kids do it through sports. But again, being a product of who you are, it can be a fuel. Sometimes, too much fuel can blow you up. But majority of that time, if you take that fuel and use it right, you can go to the moon.”

“You’re not content. If you’re content, you’ve already started the giving up process. This is a game of creativity, being competitive, it’s a ‘dog eat’ and I love it.”

  

Video interview with Stephen Curry on All-Star Weekend, John Wall and Degree’s “Battle of the Game Changers”

Stephen Curry and John Wall had a heated Twitter exchange over the weekend, leading to a showdown on Saturday, February 14th, during NBA All-Star Practice where Curry and Wall will go shot-for-shot in the Degree Battle of the Game Changers.

We spoke to Steph about his career, how to shoot 90% from the free throw line and how to impress babes by slathering your entire body in Degree DrySpray.

Fans will help play a role in determining who is crowned the Ultimate Game Changer by voting on one of the shots the two All-Stars will attempt in the battle

Starting Monday, February 9 fans can vote at Twitter.com/DegreeMen.

While Curry and Wall are sinking shots on the court, they’ll be protected by the new game changing Degree Dry Spray Antiperspirant, the new way to get superior protection. It goes on instantly dry for a cleaner feel without visible residue.

Using the Degree signature MOTIONSENSE Technology, Dry Spray provides the superior 48-hour odor and wetness protection that these competitors will need throughout NBA All-Star Weekend.