Motley Athletics: Andy Roddick

Written by Max Gosselin-Ildari on September 3, 2010

I took great enjoyment in watching today, a certain event that provided me a moment of most excellent mirth; Andy Roddick was defeated by the unranked Janko Tipsarevic in the US Open’s second round.

Andy Roddick, the only player with no class on the ATP tour, has a history of barking at the umpires and affirming false American stereotypes. These stereotypes include indefensible arrogance, mindless acts of buffoonery, and a tennis game that is dependent on a heavy serve. All but the latter, I would argue, are invalid, but they are all characteristics of the infamous, Andy Roddick.

So thank you, Janko Tipsarevic, for giving me a moment of such overwhelming glee that I know, up until tomorrow’s sunrise, I will live and sleep with warm gaiety.

-Max


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Join our Team: PR Coordinator/Intern

Written by Matt on September 3, 2010

Hello internet. We’re looking for a PR Coordinator with interests in social media, men’s lifestyle and, of course, dapper grooming.

Are you a student in Public Relations or Internet Marketing? Have you interned at a firm, but felt like your thoughts were thrown by the wayside? Do you have a growing interest in start-ups and men’s lifestyle? Are you passionate about Digg and/or run your own blog?

As part of the team, you’ll stay on top of our press hits, reach out to new media contacts, and create press releases for our new products and events. Being our PR Coordinator means knowing about things before they happen and generating a lasting and exciting buzz. Being part of The Motley team means that you’re part of something revolutionary.

The low-down: We’ll be straight up – We’re looking for someone who really wants to be part of our team – part of something that is up and coming. The Motley has been around for less than a year and the buzz around our company has been overwhelming. We’re based in Los Angeles, but you can really work from anywhere. There is no pay, only experience, free products and goodies that we’ll send you every now and then. We want someone who wants to grow with us. We’re looking to build a long term relationship.

Are you still interested? Send an e-mail to Matt – matt@themotley.com with a resume and tell us why you’d like to work with The Motley.


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Motley Music : My Morning Jacket

Written by Ryan on August 31, 2010

I want to try something a little different this week. In lieu of an album review, I want to tell you about one of my favorite rock ‘n roll front-men. In case you haven’t heard about their quasi-legendary live show prowess, My Morning Jacket has been thrilling audiences for over a decade. James Oliges, Jr., aka Jim James, aka Yim Yames, has accrued a mountain of accolades with his work in MMJ. However, he doubles as a full-time guest musician for what seems like half of the artists out there. A native of Kentucky, he has a penchant for bluegrass, but dabbles in just about everything.

This is a mere sliver of his non-MMJ projects:

Side Projects:
Monsters of Folk (w/ M. Ward and Conor Oberst)
Producer and musician on Dear Companion (w/ Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore)

Guess Appearances;
“Shame, Shame” (w/ Dr. Dog)
“St. James’ Infirmary” and “Louisiana Fairytale” (w/ Preservation Hall Jazz Band)
“Goin’ to Acapulco” (w/ Calexico from the Bob Dylan documentary, I’m Not There)

Solo Work:
Tribute To (George Harrison Tribute Album – ATO Records)

Check out my favorite song from the MMJ show on Friday.


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Motley Fitness : The Perfect Push-Up

Written by Tyrone on August 30, 2010

…and you can put down the weights —you’ll not yet need them. We’re still ramping you up on functional fitness basics.

This go round: The Perfect Push-up (as demonstrated by lil’ Simon of San Diego’s Crossfit Invictus).

Of all the movements you can perform using just your own body weight, the push-up is the pinnacle of multi-joint upper body exercise.

The Push-Up is an essential strengthening and conditioning exercise and paves the way for heavier weight bearing activity such as the bench press. This one exercise helps strengthen stabilizing muscles, build the shoulder girdle, biceps and the chest, further develop core strength in the abs, and stretch the biceps and the back.

As an example, I’ve opted to put you on to an OPT video via the folks at Optimum Training (click this link to view). They show a clean demo on the Perfect Push-Up. We start with a modified version of the push-up and then we show a regular version of the push-up.

A couple of ground rules though:

  1. Keep hands underneath or slightly behind your shoulders. If you’re doing wide-grip push-ups, then keep the hands on the same parallel as your shoulders.
  2. Plank or straighten the body as stiff as a board. DON’T LET THE HIPS SAG. [INVERSELY, DON'T STICK YOUR BUTT UP EITHER.]
  3. Tighten the abs throughout the entire movement; this helps to stabilize the hips (and keeps them from sagging) while building core strength.
  4. DON’T LET THE HEAD SAG; neutralize & straighten the head & neck. Look forward.
  5. No shallow push-ups. Lower the chest ALL THE WAY TO THE DECK [Read: Floor] and then push through the saddle of the palms until the arms come to full extension at the top of the movement.
  6. Do the exercise properly. Don’t cheat yourself.

The game is to see how many you can do before sacrificing the integrity of the form/movement. Build on your progress incrementally. Rome wasn’t built in a day.

The same is true for your upper body—it takes time to build, kids.

How many did you do? Post comments—I’m interested.

Have fun with this until we work with next week’s exercise; your favorite I’m sure: The Pull-Up.


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The Motley Staff’s Daily Rituals : Garrett

Written by Madison on August 28, 2010

Garrett : Product Consultant

Daily Ritual : I brush my teeth and wash my face twice a day, but other than that, I like to practice spontaneity.

Before Bed : I try to fall asleep to Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Facial Cleanser : Billy Jealousy White Knight

Facial Moisturizer : Brave Soldier Solar Shield SPF 28

Soap : Irish Spring Original

Shave Cream : Cremo Cream

Candle : Havana by Archipelago

Styling Product : LS&B 85 Karats Grooming Clay

Last Song I Had Stuck in My Head : The Dawson’s Creek theme song

Favorite Book : The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

Favorite Movie : The Godfather

Last Movie Seen : Oldboy

Last Place I Travelled to : London

A Place I’d Like to Visit : Yosemite

An Icon I Admire : Albert Einstein


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Motley Style : NYC Men’s Shopping Guide

Written by Tony Prado on August 26, 2010

Our top picks for Men’s Shopping around the Big Apple…from ultra hip finds at Opening Ceremony to fine shirts and lunch at Nicole Farhi, you want to check out these stores next time you’re in NYC!

Clockwise from Top (Click on name for link):

Billy Reid 54 Bond St. @ Bowery, East Village, NYC – Named by GQ as the Best New Designer in America, Billy Reid’s style is Southern dapper gentleman meets urban prep.

Cockpit USA 652 Broadway @ Bond St., Greenwich Village, NYC – Military inspired casual wear from Naval officers’ bridge sweaters with brass buttons to WWII leather tanker jackets.

Opening Ceremony 35 Howard St. @ Broadway, SoHo, NYC – As NYC-hip as it gets! Great finds from some of the most influential designer labels today including Alexander Wang, Rodarte, & Dunhill.

Odin 750 Greenwich St. @ 11th St., West Village, NYC – A NYC staple and a great collection of the latest in menswear including 3.1 Phillip Lim, Band of Outsiders, & Thom Browne.

Camouflage 141 8th Ave. @ 17th St., Chelsea, NYC – Men’s boutique featuring a great selection of in-season high fashion items including Etro, Marc Jacobs, Helmut Lang, & Burberry.

202 by Nicole Farhi 75 9th Ave. @ 16th St., Chelsea, NYC – An incredible ‘lifestyle’ concept by London-based designer Nicole Farhi featuring apparel, homewear, and a chic café/brasserie all in one location. Definitely worth a trip whether for a poplin shirt or a full English breakfast.

Scoop Men 430 West 14th St. @ Washington St., Meatpacking District, NYC – Trendy fashion from a vast selection of well-known labels including Rag & Bone, John Varvatos, Spurr, & Gilded Age.

Topman 478 Broadway @ Broome St., SoHo, NYC – The Men’s store to famed UK label Top Shop brings you the latest trends at an affordable price.


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Motley Athletics : The US Open — ATP

Written by Max Gosselin-Ildari on August 25, 2010

Lets stop overdosing on pre-season football and baseball wildcard races, and talk some tennis. Roger Federer is number two in the world. Not many people know that. A couple weeks ago he was number three. My friends, it saddens me to say that Roger Federer’s era of utter domination, opponent humiliating, overdramatic victory back flops has come to an end.

Federer just won the Roger’s Cup, but a serge in power is beginning to take over on the ATP tour. Robin Soderling, Juan Martin Del Potro, and Thomas Berdych have become pioneers of a new trend in tennis strategy: hitting through the opponent.

Like most everything, tennis is cyclical. Federer brought an element of finesse to the game which dominated players dependent on power. Specifically, Roddick. But now, players like Soderling have built up enough upper body strength to dominate points in the middle of the court. Federer cannot keep up.

Nadal, however, can and will continue to. Right now Rafael Nadal is the absolute best player in the world. So look for him to make a deep run at his first US Open championship. He is a fierce competitor with the power of the strongest players in the game, mobility like the great Patrick Rafter, and technique comparable to Federer’s.

Let’s get down to the predictions.

My dark horse pick for a deep US Open run is David Nabaldian. Finally back from injury, Nalbandian has upped his game to a level on par with the top five. He has a tournament championship this season and has competed admirably against Nadal, while dominating other high ranked players.

My pick to win the US Open is Robin Soderling. Soderling lost in two straight grand-slams to Rafael Nadal but performed valiantly in both matches. He’s hit a bit of a slump, but Soderling seems to get better and better in every Slam event. The hard court should suit his game and well, I just got a feeling about this one. Soderling has put in the work, and he’ll see it come to fruition in the 2010 US Open.

The first round of US Open starts this Monday, and if you have never followed it, start now. We are entering a more field-friendly era. In other words, an era where Federer and Nadal aren’t winning every time. So check it out, tennis is a lot more fun than people think.

Oh, and for ultimate glory:

Soderling over Djokovich in 4. Thats the word.

-Max


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The Motley Staff’s Daily Rituals : Kelly

Written by Madison on August 24, 2010

Kelly : Marketing Director for The Motley

My Daily Ritual : GTL- “Gym, Tan, Laundry.” The process of staying fresh and mint… Must be done everyday to achieve maximum potential. Side effects may include fist pumping. (Urban Dictionary)

After Waking Up and Before Bed : Stretch!  It’s a morning and nighttime necessity.

Interesting Tidbit : My coffee is always decaf.

My Facial Cleanser : Clinique Liquid Facial Soap

My Conditioner : Use Apivita Conditioner for Dry Hair as a hydrating mask.  Leave on for 20 minutes, then rinse.

My Shave Cream : Cremo Cream

My After Shave Moisturizer : Corn Huskers Oil Free Treatment Lotion. Sometimes Grandma just knows best.

My Candle : Santorini by Archipelago.

Last Song I Sang in the Shower : The theme song to “Cheers.”

Last Book Read : Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh

Last Movie Seen : Get Him to the Greek

Last Place I Travelled To : Toronto, Canada

A Place I’d Like to Visit : Istanbul, Turkey. I also can’t wait to go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando.


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Motley Music : Shame, Shame – Dr. Dog

Written by Ryan on August 23, 2010

I thought I would bring it back east for this installment since the west coast got all the love last week. Everyone…meet Dr. Dog. Dr. Dog…this is everyone. Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, let’s get down to business.

Shame, Shame (Anti Records, ©2010) was released on April 6, 2010. Shamefully (pun), I just picked up a copy this week, so I am only now able to proclaim the good news. This is the band’s first release on the aforementioned Los Angeles-based label, having been with Park the Van Records since 2004’s Easy Beat (coincidentally, Park the Van’s maiden release). Rob Schnapf (Elliott Smith, Beck) took the production reins, helping to accentuate the album’s darker undertones. Sonically, it’s rawer than their last release, and the songs are a “little more heart-on-your-sleeve kind of stuff”, says co-frontman, Scott McMicken.

Anyway, I hope I didn’t scare you off by that “dark” comment. This album is dark the way a 100 lb. model is “fat” when she blows up to 102 lbs. It hasn’t lost that circus rock feel (a term which I like to think I’ve coined). The darkness is attributed to the songs’ lyrics, not the music itself. Take “Shadow People” for instance – “The rain is falling, it’s after dark. The streets are swimming with the sharks”. This may sound like a depressing little number, but McMicken’s delivery softens the blow. For all you Black Keys fans out there, Dan Auerbach co-wrote “Shadow People” with Dr. D. I’m just sayin’…

Check out “Stranger” and “Later” to hear the other half (lead vocal-wise) of Dr. Dog – Toby Leaman. I’ll even take care of the heavy lifting.  Here’s a performance of “Stranger“.  Enjoy!


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Know Your Scent : Archipelago Candles

Written by Madison on August 20, 2010

The sense of smell is a powerful thing.  Scents trigger memories and set moods, and there’s no better way to aromatize your living space than with a quality candle.  Archipelago candles have rich, inviting scents and come in simple, classic tins.

Try Havana (a slightly sweet, dark scented combo of bergamot and Cuban tobacco) or Stonehenge (a warm, dark combo of smoked cedarwood, bergamot, and amber) in the bedroom or office.

Santorini (a clean, citrusy- scent with a hint of ocean breeze) is ideal for the bathroom or as a morning/mid-day pick-me-up.

Dubai (a spicy, citrus aroma produced by a blend of mandarin, amber, and musk) is recommended for any living space, particularly the bedroom.

Amalfi (an earthy, outdoorsy scent of sage and olive blossom) is recommended for the kitchen or office.

Each 5.9 oz candle burns approximately 55 hours.

So pick the scent – or scents – that best fit you and make your place smell fantastic!


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