Table of contents for April 2017 in Esquire

Spring. When our thoughts turn to getting back outdoors; when we feel those first warm breezes that awaken in our mind all that is possible once again, all that we will achieve in the months ahead. Spring. When all we want to do is make like Clint Eastwood on Rome’s Via Veneto in 1965 and get on our board and ride, ride, ride, and just leave the world turning its head as it watches us—a man owning the street, forging his own path. For more men with flair, turn to page 48 of The Code. Live like a king: Enter for a chance to win a trip for two to the premiere of Guy Ritchie’s King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, including airfare, a two-night hotel stay, and $500 cash.…

In addition to feelings, interior decorating, and The Crown, one of the most obvious of the many subjects modern man cares a lot about but rarely if ever discusses openly is his hair. Consider for a moment how five-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady, who appears to have worn his more ways than Lady Gaga, is largely mum on the subject. Or recall the recent news that François Hollande was found to be spending eleven thousand dollars (eleven thousand dollars!) a month (a month!) on his clip-on helmet of Lego locks. Before that, le silence. These days, in fact, the arenas of sports and politics surprisingly outshine almost all other realms of male vanity, fashion and Hollywood included. Colin Kaepernick’s protest was also cloaked in silence, for instance, but his…

Esky Wisdom Improving your posture will make you feel better about having already bagged your New Year’s resolutions. VIN DIESEL Family connections: Stepfather an acting coach Previous experience: Nightclub bouncer, breakdancer, telemarketer Big break: Saving Private Ryan Major roles: Riddick, Xander Cage, Dominic Toretto, Groot Trademark: Deep voice Special skills: Sky snowboarding, extreme carjacking, motorcycle surfing Novel distinction: First actor with 100 million Facebook likes DWAYNE JOHNSON Family connections: Father and grandfather both pro wrestlers Previous experience: Canadian-football player, “The Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment” Big break: 1998 King of the Ring tournament Major roles: Scorpion King, Hercules, Luke Hobbs, the Tooth Fairy Trademark: Raised eyebrow Special skills: “Rock Bottom,” “Spinebuster,” “People’s Elbow” Novel distinction: Most selfies in three minutes (105) Dry bar: It feels good to eschew booze now…

Is there anything more terrifying than the Nazis? Politically, militarily, even fashionably—everything they did was perfectly evil. They believed in mass extermination; they built planes that screamed; they even wore skulls on their caps, for chrissake. I had thought nothing could make them more horrifying, but that was before I encountered Blitzed (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; $28). Now I know the only thing more terrifying than the Nazis are the Nazis on meth— which most of them were, according to this chemical chronicle of the Third Reich. The entire Fatherland seems to have been hopped up to the eyeballs before, during, and after the Second World War. Blitzed is not your typical history book, but that’s because its author, Norman Ohler, is not your typical historian. A novelist and self-described “cyberpunk,”…

Because style is always personal At a certain point in your career, you risk looking like an amateur pulling contracts out of your . . .messenger bag. Which is why you should harness the power of the briefcase. (Or, as we like to call it, the hard case.) Take this model from Bertoni 1949, which features handpainted planes streaking into the wild blue yonder. Inspired by the P-51 Mustang (this World War II fighter helped dispatch one fifth of the Luftwaffe in a single week), it channels the adventure of aerial combat where you’d least expect it. Even without the painted details, the bag is covetable—it’s wrapped in French calf leather and secured with palladium fittings. You could find such features in other briefcases, but they probably won’t make you…

I do not take fashion risks. The boldest piece of clothing I wore last year was a pair of lighter-than-indigo jeans. So I questioned my judgment after buying a band-collar shirt. What kind of hooligan would wear this thing with buttons but no collar that looks like it flew off the assembly line early? Still, I wore it around the house for a day (practice builds confidence), and then I wore it to work. Turns out, it’s easy to pull off anything that gets you so many compliments. This shirt is all over the place, but in a good way. It’s both casual and formal— polished under a blazer, just as cool half-unbuttoned over a T-shirt. It’s got an unplaceable, out-of-time romance to it, too. The design dates back to…

You won’t find me reenacting Gettysburg anytime soon, but I am a big fan of vintage military clothing. I like to mix functional old pieces—stuff with provenance— into my daily wardrobe. Not because they have a military association per se but because they were made to perform in extreme conditions, which means they hold up remarkably well decades after they’ve left active duty If you know what to look for, military clothes and civilian workwear are everywhere in men’s fashion, even the stuff that sashays off the runway. There 1942 U. S. Navy foul-weather hoodie from Etsy; shirt ($98) by J. Crew; jeans by Fabric-Brand & Co.; beanie ($45) by Filson. THE TEST OF TIME TWO U. S. NAVY SAILORS PHOTOGRAPHED ON ADAK ISLAND, ALASKA, 1943. ABOVE: THE SAME STYLE…

Not so long ago, when I was in my mid-thirties and employed in Manhattan, I had an after-work ritual. Two or three nights a week, before boarding a train at Grand Central to my house in the exurbs, I’d stop at Jimmy’s Corner, a boxing bar, for a martini and a beer. The bartender, Mike, had studied with the novelist John Gardner and had good stories on tap. Next, I’d sneak into Grand Central Oyster Bar for a dozen briny Cotuits or Malapeques. When I got home, my wife was invariably working on recipes for her first cookbook, which was about steak. I was eating large. Gin, beer, oysters, steak: These are a few of my favorite things, the four horsemen of the four essential food groups— spicy, crispy, salty,…

Beautiful people fall in love every day. They spot each other in a fetid swamp of lumpy mortals and think, I’m hot, you’re hot, it is on. They’ll tell their equally attractive kids heartwarming stories about “love at first sight,” but such pairings are about as compelling as a casting agent’s daily grind. Brangelina, the Bennifers, the Hiddleswifts, the Teigen-Legends: We get it. All of your charming tales about having so much in common (“He also loves puppies! Oxygen, too!”) don’t fool us. We’ve got eyes. When you’re both supernaturally fine, your personal brands are meant to be together Far more intriguing are couples who aren’t a perfect match lookswise. Suddenly, there’s a riddle to solve: What the hell is she doing with him? (And vice versa, of course. But…

W hen Edward Lee Howlette joined the New York Police Department in the summer of 1965, he didn’t know the first thing about how to be a cop. He was twenty-three years old, an Air Force veteran of Cherokee and African- American descent who had moved to Brooklyn from Richmond, Virginia, a year earlier. His only previous encounter with the police had come while hitchhiking in his service uniform; a state trooper had given him a hectoring lecture on the danger of taking rides from strangers. Howlette had come to New York knowing no one aside from his aunt, her husband, and a cousin. He worked several jobs, took civil-service tests, and attended classes at Columbia University before being recruited by the Bureau of Special Services, the clandestine intelligence branch…

AS A BOY, HE SPUN A FANTASY WORLD FUELED BY A LOVE OF AMERICAN WESTERNS. STRAIGHT SHOOTER “Shall we talk about what I do about those bloody Mexicans? How I keep those troublemakers out?” Pierce Brosnan says as the television in the lounge of the Soho House outpost in Malibu loops the news that Mexico’s president, Enrique Peña Nieto, has canceled his planned visit with Donald Trump. As Brosnan points us toward a sundrenched corner table overlooking the Pacific, I ask what his brand of border enforcement entails. “String them up and torture them, hang them, take their property,” he says, letting loose a dark laugh. To be fair, he isn’t talking about himself but rather his latest character. On the dark, violent, blisteringly intense The Son (debuting April 8),…

I’m addicted to prayer beads. I have an altar with all kinds of them. They have the image of the om, which is very sacred to me. The om is like the collective, the connector, the sound of God. I’ve always had an om around my neck—I like the way it looks against my clothes—but I’ve been wearing these particular beads for six years at least. They remind me of that line “All my girls do yoga” [from Rae Sremmurd’s “Do Yoga”]. I’ve been hearing that so much in class.…

As its name implies, this limited-edition bottling from Utah’s High West, one of the more innovative craft distillers in the country, is a blend of straight bourbon and rye whiskies (aged ten to fourteen years). The result is dynamic yet smooth: You get the spice and character of the former and the I-can-sip-this-all-damn-night ease of the latter. It has appeared every spring since 2013 and disappears quickly, so if you spot it, stock up. High West Distillery Bourye, $80; highwest.com…

1. A Pen of All Work By Raymond Pettibon You might know Pettibon best for his ’80s punk albums— he created the Black Flag logo—but this careerspanning catalog shows that his illustrations are really gritty critiques of the American 21st century. Phaidon/New Museum, $90 2. Madonna: Nudes + By Martin H.M. Schreiber In 1979, a quiet 21-year-old named Madonna Ciccone modeled for a photography class. Four years later, she was a star. And today, you can own never-before-seen photos from that legendary session. ACC Editions, $28 3. Personal By Vincent Peters Peters’s black-and-white celebrity portraits borrow imagery from classical sculpture and impressionist painting—meaning Victoria’s Secret Angels dressed in nothing but light and shadow. teNeues, $125 4. New York in Photobooks Edited by Horacio Fernández Cool concept: Take the best spreads…

You wouldn’t know it to look at her today, but there was a time when Adwoa Aboah could hardly bear to exist in her own skin. Instead of running away from her past struggles with addiction and depression, however, the 24-year-old model turned actor turned activist founded Gurls Talk, a forum where young women can share their stories in a safe environment. “Being open makes me a lot happier than hiding everything away,” she says in a deep British accent that’s more old soul than It girl. This month, she opens up to a whole new audience as Lia, a courtesan who shares a sultry kiss with Scarlett Johansson’s character in the cyborg thriller Ghost in the Shell. She’s also taken her message of empowerment to the road, visiting schools…

The blazer—navy blue, two-button, notched lapel, 12 percent silk to lend a sheen—was a facsimile of style. The tie—satin weave in flamboyant yellow and blue—snagged on anything with a sharp edge. Silk strands sloughed off behind me as if I were a sartorial Johnny Appleseed. Its label read, like someone’s idea of a sick international-labor joke, hecho en china. It was a Saturday night in Washington, D.C., one day after the president signed an executive order barring refugees worldwide—and anyone from seven predominantly Muslim countries—from entering the country. Sporting the jacket-and-tie combo, both from the Trump Collection—a licensed line of business wear—I headed to Trump International Hotel. Standing at the bar in its cavernous atrium, the Benjamin (as in Franklin—I could hear bones rolling all the way from Philadelphia), I…

How he found his style: I usually wear Vans, Russell track pants and hoodies, and Calvin Klein. Then I’ll throw on a Raf bomber. I look like I’m about to get on a treadmill. It comes from a type of rebellion. At fashion school, other people were in head-totoe Comme des Garçons, and I wore workout clothes. Style is about either dressing for the occasion or purposefully showing that you’re not dressing for the occasion. His favorite designer: Raf Simons is next level. He reappropriated things in such a smart way. His bomber jackets from around 2000, they’re literally from a military-surplus store. He sewed patches on them and sold them. This whole Vetements thing, he really did that first. On collecting: People told me I was wasting my money,…

INSIDER TIP A PRICK IN TIME • • • Turkey neck is part of getting older, but you can head it off early without surgery. Dr. Andrew Jacono, whose plasticsurgery practice is 35 percent men, recommends three treatments in your 30s: Kybella injections to dissolve the fat, ultrasound therapy to tighten the skin, and Botox to keep the muscles from sagging. He admits, “It’s a lot of maintenance,” but hey, that’s midlife. —J. R. Last year, I decided to get a face-lift. It was a bit like playing Russian roulette, but it was also the best decision I’ve ever made. Let’s be specific— it wasn’t really a facelift. It was more like a neck-lift: I had my turkey neck tightened and added a chin implant to strengthen my jaw. Just…

THE DOSSIER Born: October 22, 1973 Which makes him: 43 Married to: Yumiko Fukushima, for 17 years and running. Who is: A former television announcer. Hits in Japan’s NPB, 1992–2000: 1,278 Hits in MLB, 2001–16: 3,030 Which totals: 4,308 Official MLB hit record: 4,256, held by Pete Rose. When Ichiro Suzuki rapped his threethousandth hit last year—a remarkable feat considering he didn’t play in the United States until he was twenty-seven— he might well have bowed out of the game. The greatest Japanese import in the major leagues had guaranteed his spot in the Hall of Fame and earned the respect of his peers and the adoration of his fans. All he had to do was say goodbye Instead we find Ichiro, at age forty-three, getting ready for his seventeenth…

A: In a WELL-TAILORED JACKET, of course. We know what you’re thinking. A three-time NBA champion walked out of the locker room, signed a contract without looking, and slapped his name on some label called Dsquared2. But let us stop you right there. For one thing, Dwyane Wade is good friends with Dsquared2 designers Dan and Dean Caten—drop-bythe- house friends. For another, the six-four, 220-pound Chicago Bulls guard is a serious student of fashion. Has been for years. It started with his stylist, Calyann Barnett. “Everybody thinks that they can dress themselves,” he says. “But she got me to try some new things, and that made a big difference.” By the time Wade’s style was getting as much coverage as his game, he was ready to go deeper. So in 2011, Barnett took…

Edward Conlon Author of “NYPD Black,” page 104 Credentials: Former NYPD detective; author of the best seller Blue Blood. What those careers have in common: “You find out what you can about a story, try to make sense of it, and tell it the way you see it.” Hopes to witness: An arrest in the story he’s working on next. Hawre Khalid Photographer of “Goodbye, My Brother,” page 84 Credentials: His work has been featured in National Geographic, The Washington Post, and Time. Hometown: Kirkuk, Iraq. Where he: Started to work as a photojournalist in 2007 during the Al Qaeda in Iraq attacks. Hopes to witness: “A time when there is no war to cover.” Alex Belth Author of “Maverick of the Month,” page 70 Credentials: Editor of Esquire Classic,…

I blame work. I blame Netflix. I blame my children. There was a time when real video games were an integral part of my life, but adulthood and modern challenges have made this pastime a faint memory. Hold on, phone alert. “Lost Ballots Found in Warehouse”? Oh, fake news, I blame you, too. Insert “Angry Face” emoji. And by “real video games,” I mean the kind that you pop into your Xbox or PlayStation and settle onto your couch to play until you realize, several levels later, that you’ve run out of Red Bull and haven’t showered in days The mindless Candy Crushesque games you play on your phone are really more of a distraction from your interminable commute. (But hey, you’ve got a Trader Joe’s and great public schools,…

“Our country just did a pratfall,” Josh Tillman, better known as Father John Misty, says with a laugh. “We just keep stepping on the same fucking banana peel over and over and over again all through human history.” Pure Comedy, Tillman’s brilliant new album (his third as Misty), is a roast of our species. What he calls “the cosmic joke” is on us. “I’m looking at a bird in the sky,” he says of the song “Birdie,” “and going, ‘I feel bad for you, motherfucker, because we have business and technology and metadata and all these things that make us so free.’” Or take “Ballad of the Dying Man,” in which he sings, “Eventually the Dying Man takes his final breath/But first he checks his newsfeed to see what he’s…

1. EMPIRE by Trump ($30) Official product description: “It’s [sic] addictive aroma continues to unfold into the heart of the fragrance with a masculine blend of orange flower and jasmine that mingles with exotic tonka bean.” Fake-news review: Win over the haters and losers with an overpowering cake-batter scent that has undertones of mothballs, polyester, and Febreze. Lurking beneath an exterior of populist appeal is a powerful whiff of the cold winds of Russia. Recommended for making unwanted advances on women a third your age. 2. SUCCESS by Trump ($28) Official product description: “As it evolves, the mix of frozen ginger, fresh bamboo leaves and geranium emerge taking center stage, while a masculine combination of rich vetiver, tonka bean, birchwood and musk create a powerful presence throughout wear.” Fake-news review:…

• • • Say what you will about 1969, it was a banner year for luxury engineering. In the UK, Land Rover had just finalized the prototype for the Range Rover. Over in Switzerland, Zenith introduced the world’s first automatic chronograph, the El Primero. (We landed on the moon, too. It was aweinspiring, but not particularly posh.) Now, forty-eight years after hitting those milestones, the two companies have joined forces on the El Primero Range Rover Special Edition. If you, like us, suffer from collaboration fatigue, you’ll find this union refreshingly simple. The watch lifts design codes directly from the Range Rover: The second hand picks up a detail from the hexagonal shape of a grille, and the perforated strap mimics upholstery. Flip it over and you’ll see the legendary…

• • • There are times when structure is required in a man’s life. Studying for the bar? Absolutely. The weekend? No, thanks. And the last thing you want to do this summer is roll up to your beach share with a wheelie bag that makes you look like some guy trying to rebook a canceled flight. That’s why you need a big stuff-it bag. Because it’s soft (not like a hard-frame wheelie), it bends to your will and expands to accommodate your hit-the-road needs. It fits all your clothes for the weekend, and also lets you jam in books and magazines, headphones, and a laptop. Use it as a canvas onto which you project the possibility of a few unplanned hours, or days, or even weeks.…

INSIDER TIP AN APP THAT CUTS THE CRAP • • • What you don’t know about the ingredients in your products might make your skin crawl. Since they aren’t regulated by the FDA, they can contain a lot of risky stuff: carcinogens, virility-reducing toxins, and run-of-the-mill allergens that can still cause a nasty rash. The Think Dirty app gives you peace of mind, vetting products before you purchase them. A barcode scan identifies potentially harmful ingredients and rates items on a one-to-ten scale (aim for a three or less). You already care about what you put in your body—now think about what you’re putting on it. You’re going out tonight. You’ve showered and shaved, and you’re looking your best. So you spray on some cologne—the finishing touch—and you smell like.…

The headquarters of Planetary Resources sits in a business park in the city of Redmond, Washington, fifteen miles east of Seattle. This is Microsoft country, and the lobby is just like that of any tech startup. There’s the obligatory life-sized statue of Boba Fett to greet you, a pool table, beer on tap, vintage arcade games, and a group of twenty- and thirty-somethings working on laptops and nurturing stubble. Given the company’s stated mission— landing probes on asteroids tumbling wildly through space and mining them for natural resources with solar-powered robots in nearly zero gravity—the place is remarkably unremarkable. Until, that is, you get to the bright, glass-walled, antiseptic space in the center of the office where masked engineers in white overalls, white surgical masks, and hair nets pad softly…