Pony Sweat workout video
Like many people, I have a hard time getting excited about working out. Doing the same shit over and over can get boring, and I’m always worried I look like a doof trying to figure out how to lift weights or struggling on the elliptical. When a friend in L.A. told me about a new online workout from Pony Sweat, though, I figured I’d give it a shot. The workout blends all the joy of ’80s aerobics with a punk-as-fuck modern aesthetic, making it something I can actually look forward to doing. Led by Emilia Richeson, Pony Sweat is inclusive of all body types and packed with positivity. Plus, the music’s pretty good. Although Richeson mainly leads Pony Sweat as a weekly class in L.A.’s Highland Park, “Pony Sweat: Volume One” is free on YouTube, and she promises it will be the first of many to come.
New Japan Pro Wrestling’s G1 Climax Tournament
I’ve espoused my love for the simple, sports-styled spectacle of New Japan Pro Wrestling several times on this site, but I’ve never snuck in a plug for one of the company’s most exciting events of the year: the G1 Climax tournament. If WWE’s WrestleMania or NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom is Christmas for wrestling fans—a one-night-a-year over-the-top blowout—then the G1 is Hanukkah, a round-robin tournament spanning 19 shows from July 17 to August 13. And while none of its matches (with the likely exception of the finals) will approach the lengthy epics that headline NJPW’s biggest shows, the shorter duration and faster pace of each bout ensure they’re way more accessible and action-packed. Now with NJPW’s New Japan World streaming service (which’ll run you around $9 per month), you can see all the matches and shows, the biggest of which will be broadcast with English commentary. So if you’re a wrestling fan looking for an alternative from the creatively floundering WWE, or if you’re at all interested in checking out a more serious take on the form, one that eschews many of the most cartoonish and embarrassing aspects Mr. Vince McMahon has fostered over the years, there’s no better time to dive in.
The McElroy Brothers Will Be In Trolls 2 podcast
Justin, Travis, and Griffin McElroy have built a comedy empire on the back of their My Brother, My Brother And Me podcast—and Seeso series—but their latest project is uncharacteristically bold and “serious.” The McElroy Brothers Will Be In Trolls 2 is a new “prestige podcast” in the vein of Serial that’s all about what it says right there in the name. Basically, the McElroys recently learned that a number of ancillary characters in the Trolls movie were played by YouTube stars, and so they’re chronicling their quest to get into the film’s eventual sequel. Only a few episodes of the podcast have been released, but the show really comes together in episode two when they bring in their agent. There’s something deeply hilarious about people trying to sell someone on a very goofy concept with a relatively straight face, so while the agent clearly likes the McElroys and wants to help them succeed, he (rightly) only has so much patience for what is clearly an outrageous master plan that involves the brothers eventually getting their own Trolls spin-off. Like everything these boys do, it’s a delight.