Letter from the Editor November 2014

So last Thanksgiving, my cousin Danny’s pants caught on fire.

Got too close to a propane heater near the buffet line. His corduroys went up like the Hindenburg.

Thankfully, my stepmother was behind him in line and, in one deft movement, undid Danny’s belt and pulled his pants to the floor.

Danny had a few light burns, but he was fine. My father was impressed.

“Son,” he told me later, “I haven’t seen your stepmother take off a man’s pants that quickly in years.”

And so. With Thanksgiving coming up, we’ll be publishing our next Gentleman’s Handbook on holiday etiquette next week. How to host, what to drink and how to care for cousins en fuego. Keep an eye out. And don’t stand too close to propane heaters.

Meanwhile, it’s been an incredible few weeks. Lots to tell you about. Let’s get to it.

First up: our NY Editor and Style Director, Danny “The Neon Cat” Agnew, went three mano-a-mano rounds in the ring at Haymakers for Hope last Thursday.

Short story short, he won. And he raised $10,000 for cancer research.

You can see some photos from his bout here.

Danny, what was it like in the ring?

“I don’t think it’s any secret that boxing is an intense sport, but nothing can prepare you for what it’s like in that ring. Everything is turned up to eleven. The lights, the crowd … it’s borderline overwhelming. My opponent, Daniel Drabkin, was a helluva fighter — we battled for three solid rounds, and while the decision ultimately went my way, I can say that I sure as hell didn’t come by that win the easy way. I salute that guy. Now if you’ll pardon me, I’m gonna take another Tylenol and go back to bed.”

Sleep well, my friend.

Danny is a personal inspiration to me — man knows how to dress, man knows how to take (and throw) a punch. He’s got heart and style. Good work, sir.

Oh, and if you want to know how Danny trained, meet his coach: Eric “The Bad Man” Kelly. I promise you that click is worth it.

Now, over to Big Sur, where I recently had the opportunity to go camping with our man on the ground in LA, Reuben Brody.

Reuben, what was on your packing list?

Well, we were at Fernwood right off the 1. Highly recommended. They’ve got a bar and a little merchant store on site. Not exactly roughing it, but pretty sweet.

For tents, we took the Ticla TeaHouse 2 — easy to set-up, and comes with a removable top cover for stargazing. For bedding, we took Ticla’s sleeping bags and their Tsubo air pads. The bags are stuffers, and the pads are easy to roll up.

For cooking, we used a Lodge Cast-Iron Skillet to pan-fry our flank steak. I recommend the Snow Peak Miner’s Headlamp to keep yourself hands-free. It was a little rainy, but Patagonia’s new Nano Jacket kept me warm. Steve, I feel like you just wore a jean jacket, which is ridiculous.

Thanks, Reuben. You’re ridiculous, too.

After camping, Reubs and I — in an attempt to cover as much diverse geography as possible — drove to Palm Springs, clambered into a 2015 Toyota Tundra, and drove across the Mojave Desert to Las Vegas.

Our guide: Ivan “Ironman” Stewart, the Off Road Hall of Famer who has won 17 Baja 500s, eight Mint 400s, four Parker 400s, three Baja 1,000s and four SCORE World Championships.

You may also recognize Ivan from Super Off Road, an early ‘90s Nintendo game which I may or may not have ceaselessly played to my parents’ neverending chagrin.

And finally, a little housekeeping.

We recently launched our new mobile-friendly website, insidehook.com. It now plays well with others, and by others I mean iPhones, etc. Almost every page on our site will look pretty and work well on your mobile.

And, you may have noticed that we’ve begun publishing a new storefront.

Every Wednesday, we’re working with our favorite brands to create a custom store. This past Wednesday’s store, Todd Snyder, is still taking orders. Check it out. Buy a thing or two. Todd’s a good guy. He makes quality stuff.

And now, I’ve taken enough of your time. Have a great week.

@stevebryant
Executive Editor

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