The Sunday Digest 018
Groutfits, bodysurfing, and van Gogh — oh, my!
Welcome to The Sunday Digest — a free Sunday newsletter featuring long (and some short) reads, original columns, things I’ve saved over the last week, relaxing playlists, episodes releases, exclusive product drops, and more. Yes, you can reply to this email. I’d love to hear from you. Or, if podcasts are more your speed on Sundays, we’ve got that too.
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Sunday Read: Pointless Beauty: The Art of Bodysurfing
by Rory Parker for Patagonia
Whether it’s reading “Let My People Go Surfing” or watching The Endless Summer, the culture of surfing has always been something that’s fascinated me. Being that I’ve only taken one surf lesson in my life, however, the practice of actually doing the sport itself pales in comparison to my interest in it.
Growing up in Northern Michigan, surfing really wasn’t an option unless you wanted to strap on a wetsuit in sub-zero temperatures while heading north to Lake Superior in the dead of winter. During the summertime, on the other hand, we found ourselves with waves that were perfect for the subject of today’s Sunday Read: bodysurfing.
There’s a purity inherent in bodysurfing that no amount of popularity can ever kill. It’s the only form of wave-riding that allows one to be physically a part of the ocean, rather than apart from it. It doesn’t require a plank made of toxic chemicals. It presents no space for logos and few opportunities to profit off accessories. It’s inherently masochistic and forever blessed, or cursed, to remain the domain of the type of twisted mind that can look at a shallow, wind-torn, close-out and think, “Time to play.”
Bodysurfing is a high-impact hobby for the low-impact crowd. It will fill your sinuses with salt water, your hair and ears with sand, and your heart with joy. But it will never make you cool. It will never make you rich. It will never make you normal.
And thank heavens for that.
Read it in full here.
New Episode: “What’s This Summer’s Aesthetic?” and More Listener Questions
This month’s listener questions include favorite/recent athleisure brands, preparing for a big party weekend out of town, how soon is too soon to invite new friends out, this summer’s aesthetic and signature cocktail, my top-five favorite current Instagram follows, recent clothing and shoe finds, a ranking of drinking vessels, and a rapid-fire round.
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and anywhere else podcasts are found.
New Episode: Retail Therapy 008: Martinis, Coastal Grandmas, and Blokecore
This episode’s description: Barrett and Will finally did it — they created the most Will deFries episode of Retail Therapy they possibly could. Leading off with talk about the resurgence of martinis in "going out" culture, they then dive into two aesthetics that are very much on the rise — 'blokecore' centered around UK soccer culture, and 'Coastal Grandma' which is essentially just dressing like you're a character in Something's Gotta Give. They also talk about John Mayer's Sob Rock Tour and add some items to the wishlist.
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and anywhere else podcasts are found.
The Sunday Haiku
It’s time to get dressed,
in an outfit of all grey,
Behold… the groutfit.
Relaxing Watch: The Evelyn House
My “trying to relax” YouTube rotation is as follows: scenic drone footage, vintage concerts, street style, extended soccer highlights, and (of course) home tours.
The Local Project brings a lot of cool spaces to their page, but their recent video on Evelyn (a reimagined Australian “cottage”) really caught my eye for some reason. I particularly enjoyed the lack of light coming from the ceilings and how it meshed with the entire arch motif. I mean, just tell me you wouldn’t want to spend a Sunday on that lawn. You can’t.
Sunday-ish Twitter Follow: @vangoghartist
I feel like van Gogh would’ve been more of a Tumblr guy, but I’m somewhat addicted to this constant feed of van Gogh paintings on my Twitter timeline.
Twitter is largely an echo chamber of miserableness so it’s always refreshing to see some scenic works mixed in on a casual Sunday.
Oh, and their retweet game is also fire.
See you next week,
Will
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