Category: News

Before there were New England IPAs, Milk Shake IPAs, and even session IPAs, there was the classic West Coast IPA. These hoppy, bitter brews are what many drinkers conjure first when they think “IPA.” They’re often quite dank, but they balance those pine resin notes with bold citrus flavors.

The West Coast IPA boomed so big in the early 2000s and into the 2010s that there was sure to be a backlash. But the style endures and remains loved by beer drinkers. It’s nothing if not high impact — grabbing your attention with all of those bitterness units combined with a fruity punch.

Check out ten of our favorite West Coast IPAs featuring bright, fresh, citrus flavor profiles below.

Ballast Point Sculpin IPA

ABV: 7%

Average Price: $12 for a six-pack

The Beer:

This beer from San Diego’s Ballast Point is consistently ranked as one of the best IPAs ever made. It’s a 7% ABV West Coast IPA, hopped five different times during the brewing process to guarantee a little weed-terpene dankness matched with mouth-watering citrus flavors.

Tasting Notes:

On the nose, you’ll find hints of lemon zest, juicy peach, and pine trees. On the palate, you’ll find notes of guava, mango, pineapple, and resinous, spicy hops. The finish is filled with crisp, tart tangerine and lime flavors.

Bottom Line:

This award-winning IPA is guaranteed to please the most serious citrus fans. It’s balanced out with just the right amount of hop bitterness.

Sierra Nevada Dankful

ABV: 7.4%

Average Price: $11 for a six-pack

The Beer:

It’s not simply the seven different hop varieties that make this piney, resinous, floral beer highly drinkable and memorable. It’s also the fact that this 7.4% beer is brewed to support various charities — including those involved in social equality and the environment.

Tasting Notes:

Before taking a sip, breathe in the aromas of crisp malts, caramel sweetness, and a nice mixture of pine, pineapple, and grapefruit. Take a sip and you’ll be greeted with spicy, bitter hops, fresh-cut grass, lemon zest, and ripe limes. It all ends in a memorable combination of resin and citrus.

Bottom Line:

This is a great beer for people who are just as interested in charitable acts as a beer that’s bursting with hop and citrus flavors.

Green Flash West Coast IPA

ABV: 8.1%

Average Price: $13.99 for a six-pack

The Beer:

When it comes to West Coast IPAs, San Diego is the center of the universe. One of the best brewers of this style is Green Flash. Hop fans will enjoy many of ithe brand’s offerings, but it’s hard to top the classic Green Flash West Coast IPA with its five different hop varieties and pleasing mix of tropical fruits, ripe citrus, and floral hops.

Tasting Notes:

On the nose, you’ll find scents of ripe grapefruit, tangerine, pine, and wildflowers. The palate is swirling with caramel, rich malts, lemon zest, and subtly bitter, floral hops. The finish is filled with crisp, tart lime and orange notes that are balanced with a nice bitter backbone.

Bottom Line:

You can’t go wrong with a West Coast IPA that’s literally called West Coast IPA that also comes from one of the most well-known breweries on the whole West Coast.

Firestone Walker Union Jack

ABV: 7.5%

Average Price: $10 for a six-pack

The Beer:

There are few beers more important to the history of the West Coast IPA than Firestone Walker Union Jack. Named for one of the co-founders of the brewery, this well-balanced brew is filled with Cascade, Centennial, and CTZ hops as well as dry-hopped with Centennial, Simcoe, Citra, Cascade, Chinook, and Amarillo hops.

Tasting Notes:

Take a moment to nose this IPA and you’ll find aromas of a lush forest of pine trees, wet grass, and ripe pineapple. The palate is filled with tropical fruits, tart grapefruit, lime zest, and resin. It all ends in a nice pairing of bright citrus and bitter hops.

Bottom Line:

If you’re only going to drink one citrus-filled West Coast IPA, make it this OG from California staple Firestone Walker.

Maine Lunch

ABV: 7%

Average Price: $7.99 for a 16-ounce bottle

The Beer:

There are few beers with as much name recognition as Maine Lunch. The name and the bottle are simple, but the juice inside isn’t. Named for a beloved whale with a fin that appears to have had a bite taken out of it, this West Coast-style IPA from the East Coast is loaded with Amarillo, Simcoe, and Centennial hops.

Tasting Notes:

On the nose, you’ll be treated to scents of ripe oranges, zesty lemons, and a nice floral throughline. Take a sip and you’ll find flavors of guava, juicy grapefruit, tangerine, caramel sweetness, and a nice herbal, piney backbone. The finish is a nice mix of sweet citrus and mild bitterness.

Bottom Line:

When it comes to a beer name, we couldn’t think of one more aptly named than Lunch. Who needs a turkey sandwich when you can just enjoy a pint or two of this citrus-filled brew?

Three Weavers Expatriate IPA

ABV: 6.9%

Average Price: $12 for a six-pack

The Beer:

This West Coast IPA is named Expatriate because, in addition to American hops, it’s brewed with two-row barley and English crystal malt. This 6.9% IPA is popping with El Dorado, Simcoe, and juicy Mosaic hops. The result is clean, crisp, fruity, and perfectly hopped.

Tasting Notes:

On the nose, you’ll find aromas of orange peels, ripe mangos, and pine. The first sip is overflowing with juicy pineapple, tart grapefruit, subtle berries, and a nice, steady level of floral, piney hops. The finish bridges the gap between bitter and fruity.

Bottom Line:

The combination of English malts and American hops gives this a bold, rich, caramel flavor that is complemented by the ripe citrus hop flavor.

Stone IPA

ABV: 6.9%

Average Price: $11 for a six-pack

The Beer:

Like Firestone Walker and Ballast Point, Stone IPA is one of the best examples of the West Coast IPA style available. First released in 1997, it’s crisp, hoppy, filled with citrus flavor, and has a nice hop, bitter bite.

Tasting Notes:

Take a moment to breathe in the aromas of sweet cereal, rich malts, resin, and orange zest. The palate explodes with lemon juice, tropical fruits, ripe pineapple, and pine. It all ends with a pleasing, subtly bitter finish.

Bottom Line:

Stone IPA has been brewed longer than most of the breweries in this country have even existed. More than twenty years of brewing guarantees a clean, dialed-in brew every time.

Bear Republic Racer 5

ABV: 7.5%

Average Price: $11 for a six-pack

The Beer:

This award-winning IPA is well-balanced thanks to the addition of wheat, malted barley, crystal malts, and Cascade and Columbus hops. Bear Republic’s flagship brew is refreshing, zesty, and filled with floral, hoppy, and citrus flavors.

Tasting Notes:

Give this beer a nosing and you’ll notice hints of pine trees, resin, ripe oranges, and a floral background. When you sip this beer, you’ll find flavors of juicy tangerine, guava, orange peel, and bitter hops. The finish is dry and citrusy.

Bottom Line:

Bear Republic expertly uses hops in its beers. Racer 5 is probably the cleanest, most crisp, and easily drinkable example of this.

Melvin IPA

ABV: 7.5%

Average Price: $15 for a six-pack

The Beer:

California isn’t the only place crafting high-quality, citrus bomb West Coast IPAs. Wyoming’s Melvin has perfected the style with its award-winning 7.5% IPA. It gets its bold flavor from brewing with Centennial, Citra, and Simcoe hops. But it takes it one step further by dry hopping with all three of the same hops — a fascinating and fruitful move.

Tasting Notes:

On the nose, you’ll find aromas of bready malts, ripe grapefruit, orange zest, and plenty of bitter, herbal notes. On the palate, you’re sure to note the trifecta of orange, lemon, and lime as well as sweet malts, subtle caramel, and a palatable bitter finish.

Bottom Line:

If you enjoy West Coast IPAs with dry-hopped flavor, you can’t go wrong with Melvin’s absolute hop bomb. It will probably become your new spring and summer go-to.

Surly Axe Man

ABV: 7.2%

Average Price: $18 for a 4-pack of 16-ounce cans

The Beer:

Don’t fear that axe man. Although he should be given the respect he deserves, as he is the Minnesota-based brewery’s most popular beer. This gem is double dry-hopped with Mosaic and Citra hops as well as Golden Promise malts. It was first brewed in a collaboration with Denmark’s Amager Brewery.

Tasting Notes:

The nose is filled with hints of mango, guava, and tangerine thanks to the dry-hopping process. This is followed by pine needles and a nice malt backbone. The flavor profile is dripping with juicy tropical fruits, ripe tangerine, mouth-watering peach, and loads of citrus — all of which lead toward a dry, slightly bitter finish.

Bottom Line:

This is the boldest, baddest IPA on this list. You don’t have to wear a Viking helmet when you drink it, but it would surely improve the experience.

It’s been nearly three months since the deadly failed MAGA coup attempt, in which die hard Trump supporters tried, and failed, to overturn the 2020 election results by storming the US Capitol building. Since then, there have been more than 300 arrests, footage of which has occasionally been turned into social media content. But it’s safe to say that none of them have been as funny as the guy who was arrested while actually wearing a t-shirt that directly incriminated him.

As per AP News, when one Garret Miller was rounded up at his Dallas home on January 20, he greeted authorities while wearing a shirt that featured a big picture of Donald Trump. There were words, too: “Take Back America,” it read, as well as “I Was There, Washington D.C., January 6, 2021.”

What’s more, like many of the hundreds of people arrested for storming the Capitol, he thoroughly documented his actions on social media — not on Parler or Gab, the services taken over by right-wing extremists, but on Facebook. As per AP:

After Miller posted a selfie showing himself inside the Capitol building, another Facebook user wrote, “bro you got in?! Nice!” Miller replied, “just wanted to incriminate myself a little lol,” prosecutors said.

But that’s not all:

After the Democratic congresswoman tweeted the word “Impeach,” Miller tweeted back to her, “Assassinate AOC,” according to prosecutors.

In a Jan. 10 post on Instagram, Miller said the officer who shot and killed a woman in the crowd of rioters should get a televised execution, according to prosecutors. Miller believed the officer was a Black man and called him a “prize to be taken,” prosecutors said.

“He will swing,” he allegedly wrote. “I had a rope in my bag on that day.”

Miller — who remains jailed in Oklahoma and whose transfer to D.C. is on hold after he broke his collarbone while playing soccer in the facility’s recreation yard —faces 12 counts, including civil disorder, obstruction of an official proceeding, and assaulting, resisting or impeding officers. His lawyer claims that he has expressed regret for his actions, and that he “has no history of violence, and he did not engage in any acts of violence in connection with the charged offenses, unlike many others who have previously been released.” It’s big if true, especially considering the sentiments expressed by his t-shirt.

(Via AP News)

NBA Top Shot‘s biggest problem has generally been a good one: too many people want a part of the basketball highlight collectable startup as part of the explosion of interest in NFTs. To get its ever-growing collector base more involved, the company has tweaked the way its done several pack drops, including a massive drop where it guaranteed every user with an account would get access to a Series 2 pack.

After several more limited drops involving the NBA All-Star Game, the Dapper Labs beta announced Monday another massive pack drop, this time rolling out over a two-day period so hundreds of thousands of collectors could get a shot at three more moments from the fast-rising collectable market.

As Top Shot explained on its blog, the Series 2 pack drop is open to all collectors, with the goal of the extended window being that anyone interested can get a pack without having to wait in long queues for the chance to purchase one. Despite that, more than 150,000 users were initially in a queue for the packs when the waiting room went live on Monday.

The drop will be available to users until Wednesday at 11 AM PDT, and Top Shot promised an update on the actual delivery of those packs by April 7. That’s a bit of a wait for collectors eager to roll the dice and possibly pull a rare rookie moment or perhaps a very valuable LeBron James highlight, but it’s a smart way to make sure everyone interested has a chance at the ecosystem that’s seen moments on the marketplace continue to go for high prices. While some of the more common moments from lesser players can be found for less than $15, there are currently 11 moments with an asking price in the six figures. And while it’s unlikely anything you pull from a base pack will go for that much, a lucky user could certainly make their $9 back many times over if they are fortunate.

In other news, Top Shot also announced that “gifting” moments, sending them from one account to another for free, will be discontinued “for the foreseeable future” as the company continues to battle against collectors with multiple accounts exploiting the system to circumvent pack purchase limits and other restrictions. The company is also working to increase the number of users who can withdraw funds from their accounts. As of Friday, Dapper Labs announced that more than 28,000 users have access to their funds, with more than $18.7 million taken out by collectors since the beta went live in the fall of 2020.

Ever since allegations of sexual misconduct emerged against Armie Hammer, the actor has either dropped out of or been dropped by one movie after another, from the Jennifer Lopez action comedy Shotgun Wedding to The Offer, a limited series about the making of The Godfather. He even lost his agents and publicist. Now it looks like the final domino has fallen: The Billion Dollar Spy, the last project he had on the docket, has gotten rid of him as well.

This comes from Variety, who report that the actor, once a hot property, is no longer attached to the Cold War drama-thriller, which would have cast him opposite Mads Mikkelsen and seen him directed by Amma Asante (Belle, A United Kingdom). It’s not clear yet if the film is still going into production without him.

There is one more project that still has his name attached: the sequel to Call Me By Your Name, the romantic drama that was widely seen as taking his career next-next-level. However, unlike The Billion Dollar Spy, that film had never officially gone into development and still has no script. The original film’s director, Luca Guadagnino, is even busy with pre-production on another film, so the sequel’s future is even more in doubt than it was before. There are still two films he completed before the allegations came out: the Agatha Christie adaptation Death on the Nile and the Taika Waititi soccer movie Next Goal Wins.

This all began when multiple women came forward with disturbing allegations against Hammer involving his sex life. In mid-March, a woman came forward accusing him of rape and other violent behavior. He is currently being investigated by the LAPD.

(Via Variety)

Ghislaine Maxwell, the associate of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, currently awaiting trial in a Brooklyn detention center, was brought up on two fresh charges of trafficking on Monday, as per NBC News. The new accusations involve a fourth victim: a 14-year-old girl allegedly recruited by Maxwell to perform sex acts, which she wound up doing between 2001 and 2004.

According to the new federal indictment, the as-yet-unidentified girl was groomed by Maxwell to perform sex acts with Epstein. She was allegedly paid hundreds of dollars for each appointment, and, according to the charges, “brought multiple females, including girls under the age of 18, to provide sexualized massages for Epstein at his Palm Beach Residence.” Maxwell also, the indictment claims, “sought to normalize inappropriate and abusive conduct by, among other things, discussing sexual topics in front of [the victim] and being present when [the victim] was nude in the massage room of the Palm Beach residence.”

The new charges are part of an ongoing case against Maxwell, who has already been accused of participating in the abuse of three other underage victims in the 1990s. Maxwell has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Her trial is scheduled for July, about a year after she was arrested in a remote New Hampshire mansion, having evaded authorities since December of 2019, when authorities first began their investigation into her alleged activities. She has been denied bail, having been seen as an extreme flight risk, and she currently occupies a building across the river from the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Lower Manhattan, where Epstein is alleged to have committed suicide.

(Via NBC News)

Hulu’s Theranos, The Dropout, is still in the works for the streaming service but it’s officially swapping out actors for its starring role. The Hollywood Reporter shared on Monday that Saturday Night Live standout Kate McKinnon won’t be playing tech startup founder Elizabeth Holmes, an actress/role pairing that had many excited about the show when it was first announced.

Instead, Amanda Seyfried will take over and play Holmes, while also serving as a producer after McKinnon left the role last month:

Showrunner Elizabeth Meriwether (New Girl), Liz Heldens (The Passage), Liz Hannah, Katherine Pope, podcast host/ABC News’ Rebecca Jarvis, Victoria Thompson and Taylor Dunn exec produce. The series is from Searchlight’s TV division and 20th Television. Seyfried will also be credited as a producer on The Dropout.

Seyfried replaces McKinnon in the role. The SNL Emmy winner departed The Dropout last month. The series was poised to begin filming after the NBC sketch comedy favorite wrapped its current season in May. A casting search began immediately after McKinnon dropped out of the series. The Dropout was one of two series McKinnon had lined up outside of SNL. She remains set to star in and exec produce NBCUniversal’s Joe Exotic series, which is earmarked for a 2022 debut across NBC, USA and streamer Peacock. McKinnon signed on to The Dropout before boarding Joe Exotic.

The Dropout is based on an ABC News podcast about the Theranos scandal, one of several other media productions that followed the enigmatic Holmes in recent years. Holmes, whose quest for medical millions was also chronicled in a 2019 HBO documentary, The Inventor, has been a big topic in innovation-obsessed Silicon Valley and Theranos’s rise and fall. Overpromising on a miracle blood diagnostic device that basically never worked right, Theranos was as compelling a pyramid scheme as you could imagine in the tech world, so no matter who plays Holmes there will be considerable interest in the fictionalization of the story. But we’ll have to wait and see if Seyfried can match the Theranos founder’s infamous voice, which may or may not be put on for show. Even after all these shows, you see, there’s still some mystery to be solved here.

(Via Hollywood Reporter)

Lady Gaga’s dog walker, Ryan Fischer, was discharged from the hospital this weekend after a longer-than-expected recovery, according to TMZ. Although he said he felt great just a few days after being shot last month, he was forced to stay in the hospital for several weeks due to a partially collapsed lung. Fischer had to be readmitted for surgery, with doctors removing part of his lung. Fischer recounted the story, including the sorta horrifying news that he was conscious as doctors tried to save him after the initial shooting, in a post on Instagram:

Fischer was shot in February by thieves who accosted him while he was walking the singer’s French bulldogs. When he attempted to fend them off, the thieves shot him and took two of the dogs, while the third was out of reach. The dogs were returned the next day after a flurry of news coverage, found tied to a pole in an alley later that night. The woman who found them recognized them from the news coverage, which may have been a contributing factor in the thieves deciding to abandon their efforts. Gaga, who had offered a $500,000 reward for their safe return, said she’d gladly pay.

Read Fischer’s account of his crooked road to recovery above.

The meaning of the term “vanlife” is constantly in flux. Three or four years ago, it was a catchall for a generation of young vagabonds fitting out brand new vans and using them to model or work remotely while traveling the continent. Today, it’s becoming more of a widely-accepted way of life — an active choice made by anyone looking to escape the grind in trying times.

Films like Nomadland highlight how you can realistically live the vanlife even if you aren’t a model traveling with a photographer partner. And while the glossy, bikini-clad, IG porn (and often all too white) #vanlife scene still exists, it’s no longer perceived as the only way to experience this travel movement. People of every background are fitting out cars, vans, RVs, delivery trucks, and campers to give life on the road a chance. Meanwhile, groups like Van Life Pride and Diversify Vanlife are giving LGBTI and BIPOC folks the chance to share their own visions of car-based vagabonding.

With Summer 2021 poised to be the ultimate “Road Trip Summer,” we’re profiling 30 vanlifers we think are worth a follow on Instagram. We’re starting off small — featuring a few accounts that are literally just starting out — and building to the bigger names in the community (plus one legit celebrity). Check how this diverse group of travelers are chasing their personal adventure dreams and let them inspire your next big trip.

Kojo + Yaya — 1.2k followers

The Follow:

Kojo and Yaya’s account is a great place to start following the vanlife movement, since they’re just starting out. The couple is taking on the #vanlife ideal through a “queer-Black lens” and adding plenty of keen eyed photography. Kojo is a filmmaker and Yaya is an actor. Their IG account is supported by a YouTube channel that’s also tracking their progress in building out their new home and the beginnings of their life on the road.

Libby Kasmer — 1.3k followers

The Follow:

Libby Kasmer’s account is one part vanlife and two parts rock climbing. Kasmer and her partner are living the nomadic existence in pursuit of their rock climbing goals, making this a great outdoors/rock climbing follow as well.

WildlySonia – Black Van Life — 1.9k followers

The Follow:

Wildy Sonia feels like a classic vanlife follow. The account is full of wind-swept beaches, yoga poses, waterfalls, van-side campfires, and more. Wildy Sonia also blogs about her experience on the road, traveling in deaf communities, and in her van on her own blog, — offering those wondering about the vanlife a black female voice with experience to learn from.

Raquel Lonewolf Casita — 3.4k followers

The Follow:

Latinx vanlifer Raquel, or Lonewolf Casita, is traveling the country, fitting out new vans, and enjoying every minute. That makes her account a very easy follow, especially if you’re looking for various ways vans can come to life as homes and the process of builds alongside the snapshot of Raquel’s journey.

Danya Schwertfeger — 4.3k followers

The Follow:

Danya Schwertfeger’s handle is partially about vanlife. But what you’re really getting is a professional photographer’s look at the travel world. Schwertfeger’s eye for travel and adventure sports photography is always engaging and covers a large swath of the globe. Add in a dash of the vanlife nomadic lifestyle and you have an easy and enticing follow.

Anaïs — 4.6k followers

The Follow:

Anaïs’ IG account is a great place for anyone looking to start out in vanlife. The handle follows along as Anaïs — a flight attendant by day — refits an old FedEx fleet vehicle, slowly transforming it into a home on wheels. Anaïs shows the hard work it takes to do this on your own with the important message that it can be done solo.

Brent Rose — 6.6k followers

The Follow:

Following Brent Rose’s vanlife handle is like following a veteran vanlifer whose face is wisened from the sun of the southern deserts and all those times he’s had to bail himself out on the open road. Rose is a professional photographer and writer who has been living the vanlife for five years. He’s spent those years testing technologies and his own mettle, giving him some serious depth when it comes to the real ins and outs of vanlife.

Deenaalee — 7.8k followers

The Follow:

Deenaalee (Deg Xit’an Dené/Sugpiaq) is an Indigenous activist, fishermxn, hunter, and roamer. Deenaalee’s account is filled with outdoor adventure, wild fish and game, and moments of life on the road out of a car or camper. A follow also takes you deep into the Alaskan wilds with an Indigenous framing of a life lived as close to nature as possible.

The Peace Bus with Kwabi — 8.2k followers

The Follow:

This might be more of the fringe of the vanlife movement than a classic vanlife follow. But it’s important work — from a van! — that deserves a nod of respect. Kwabi Amoah-Forson uses his light blue bus to help children around the Pacific Northwest and the rest of the country. Amoah-Forson travels around and helps out at schools with food drives, toy drives (he even dressed up as Santa and gave out gifts last year), and with general education for children of color who might slip through the cracks of the American school system.

It’s a follow that will inspire wanderlust and restore your faith in humanity.

Van Life Pride — 8.4k followers

The Follow:

Van Life Pride (started by vanlifers Nat and Abi … more on them later) is creating a “Safe space for LGBTQ nomads and allies to connect.” The handle celebrates “queer nomads” and helps connect vanlifers with each other and celebrates life on the road for the LBGTQ community.

Jupiter + The Hot Dogs — 12.3k followers

The Follow:

Jupiter is traveling the country in a re-fitted RV with a couple of dogs. The handle is a great place to get a look at living on the road through Black and queer POV while taking in the backcountry of the American West.

It’s also a really solid follow for anyone looking to build out their own ride/home as they go.

Whitney Whitehouse — 13.6k followers

The Follow:

Whitney Whitehouse is an outdoor and animal photographer with a vanlife backdrop to her travels. The vanlife aspects of Whitehouse’s feed are classic shots of fluffy dogs, bed racks, the outdoors, and campgrounds. That’s all framed by Whitehouse’s keen eye for wild vistas, wild animals, and all the dogs she meets along the way.

Lyn Sweet — 13.9k followers

The Follow:

Lyn Sweet’s IG handle offers a melding of vanlife and tattoo artistry. Sweet is a roaming tattoo artist and her feed is dominated by ink and art. Interspersed, you’ll find a life on the road, transcendental pop art, and plenty of outdoor adventure.

It’s an easy follow for anyone looking to add some color to their feed.

Peter & Shruthi — 13.9k followers

The Follow:

Holiday at Sea, run by Peter & Shruthi, is a classic vanlife handle. The couple posts up images in dulcet tones from the desert to the forests to the beach. Yes, there are ads speckled throughout. But the overall vibe is a wanderlust/1970s feel of two people living an idyllic life on the road.

Linda Littlewing — 15.1k followers

The Follow:

Linda Littlewing’s account is for the adrenalin junkies who also happen to be vanlifers. Littlewing travels the canyons of America’s Southwest looking for the coolest places she can glide around in a squirrel suit or with a parachute. Some of the paragliding videos Littlewing posts are truly breathtaking (and scary AF if you’re not into walking off cliffs with only a parachute).

Sam & Greta — 15.8k followers

The Follow:

Is it still #vanlife if your nomadic home is an old-school Land Cruiser with a pop tent up top? We’d argue, “hells yes.” The beauty of Sam and Greta’s One Way North NZ is that it’s very specific. It’s all about Land Cruiser culture through their globetrotting camera lens. You’re transported to special places (Southern Europe, Western Australia, Northern New Zealand, and so forth) with a clear aesthetic and culture around Land Cruisers, which are arguably the best adventure trucks out there.

Clarissa King — 18.8k followers

The Follow:

Clarissa King’s vanlife handle is very much about a model living an adventurous and beautifully photographed life. King’s backdrop is the sea and mountains of the Pacific Northwest between northern California and northern British Columbia with her Ram Roadtrek van providing a home on the road.

Anni & Her Mercedes Bus Elsa — 20.2k followers

The Follow:

Anni & Her Mercedes Bus Elsa offers a European view of the vanlife (which is very Southwest-U.S. centric at the end of the day). Anni’s feed feels like a breath of refreshing air, with a wholly unique look at the world while still feeling familiar. That familiarity is mostly thanks to the vanlife aesthetic translating very well to the Central European outdoors that fills this feed — stoking our wanderlust to travel overseas and rent a van once we get there.

Nat and Abi — 20.8k followers

The Follow:

Nat and Abi, who started Van Life Pride above, have one of the easiest vanlife follows on IG. Their feed is filled with outdoor adventure, vanlife cooking, and life on the road. You can also read our interview with Nat and Abi about adjusting to life during COVID as nomads.

Diversify Vanlife — 21.2k followers

The Follow:

Diversity Vanlife is another great resource for BIPOC and LGBTQ folks who are either in the vanlife already or looking to take their life nomadic. The handle is a great landing place for people to tell stories and share ideas, tips, and travails of life on the road. Diversity Vanlife also hosts a podcast, Nomads at the Intersections, which aims to give “underrepresented voices” a platform in the nomadic movement.

Ana Alarcon — 21.7k followers

The Follow:

Ana Alarcon’s IG feed is a look at the vanlife community through the POV of an Indigenous Mexican, vegan-friendly, fitness-forward, and outdoor-loving lens. The vanlife aspects are more in line with vanlife as a mode to travel as opposed to the everyday way of life with the beauty of America’s West (forests, mountains, beaches) as the backdrop.

Erin McGrady — 25.2k followers

The Follow:

Erin McGrady’s feed gives you a chance to see through the eyes of a gay Korean-American writer traveling the country with her partner (who’s also a travel writer and photographer). McGrady’s feed is filled with backwood campfires, good dogs, beautiful vistas, and plenty of wanderlust-inducing vanlife vibes.

Laura Edmondson — 28.1k followers

The Follow:

Laura Edmondson’s IG handle is a quintessential #vanlife feed. There are stunning shots of the American Southwest intermingled with tips for life on the road, stunning beaches, nomadic communities, and even a bit of rock climbing.

Also, there are plenty of dogs running around in front of eye-catching backgrounds from all over America’s wild spaces.

Alexandra and David — 28.8k followers

The Follow:

And They Travel, curated by vanlife duo Alexandra and David, is about vanlife, sure. But, it’s really about the phenomenal photography the couple capture as they travel coast to coast. While vanlife is at the heart of Alexandra and David’s travels, it’s really the stunning travel photography that’ll fill your feed every day.

The Beyonce of VanLife — 32.5k followers

The Follow:

Candyss Love, the Beyonce of VanLife (great handle), has built a vanlife feed that leans into healing and mental health guidance with nomadic travels as a backdrop. Love offers in-depth advice into her life on the road with plenty of vanlife tips that are often centered around mental well-being at the core of any travel experience (vanlife or not).

Noami, Dustin, and Amara — 56.7k followers

The Follow:

Noami and Dustin are digital nomads who are helping redefine the modern vanlife movement. They’re the founders of Diversity Vanlife (mentioned above) and host the podcast, Nomads at the Intersections, both of which aim to give voice to the often sidelined vanlifers out there.

Their personal feed is a peek into a classic vanlife couple (with a dog) who are out there grinding while living that nomad life, all while helping grow a more inclusive community.

Kathleen Morton — 97.5k followers

The Follow:

Kathleen Morton of Tiny House, Tiny Footprint was one of the early adopters of the vanlife movement. Morton runs Vanlife Diaries on IG, podcasts, and literally wrote the book on vanlife, Vanlife Diaries. While Vanlife Diaries is a great follow for the community aspects, Morton’s OG account is also essential for anyone looking to go nomadic or find a little help as they make their way.

Noël Russell — 113k followers

The Follow:

Noël Russell’s vanlife account is another classic. Mexican-American Russell, a travel creator for She Explores, writer, and photographer, has helped define what vanlife looks like on Instagram. Her handle is a masterclass in not only how to travel as a digital creator but how to curate a travel/vanlife feed.

Plus, the feed is full of gorgeous outdoor scenery, the most chill vibes, and a sweet little dog to boot.

May and Travel — 289k followers

The Follow:

May and Travel is an eclectic follow. The handle is all about that vanlife with a lot of music played by May, making the IG feed engaging in a unique way. The handle has a very clear aesthetic with the West Coast as the main backdrop. Still, there’s a real relaxed vibe to the photos that’ll entice you out on the road in search of something unique and beautiful.

Tom Green — 475k followers

The Follow:

Legendary comedian Tom Green struck out on the open road in his van to explore America’s Southwest with his trusty companion, Charlie, last year. Green took along a portable podcast studio and a set of cameras to capture his journeys while he and Charlie drove between national monuments, ancient Indigenous ruins, and campsites with fellow nomads.

Green’s vanlife feels raw and real, almost like watching a documentary or the quasi-doc/film like Nomadland (especially if you follow along on his YouTube channel). That authenticity is what makes this a great vanlife follow. You can read more about Green’s travels here.

Thanks to his role as Hollywood stuntman Cliff Booth in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Brad Pitt walked away with his first Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor last year, but that’s not all he walked away with. According to Greg Rementer, the second unit director for Bullet Train, Pitt has thrown himself into doing his own stunts and has been refusing to use a double for the upcoming action flick.

“Brad did 95 percent of his physical stunts — the fighting,” Rementer told Vulture. “He’s like a natural-born athlete. He really got in there!” In the film, Pitt plays a hitman named Ladybug, who finds himself trapped on a train full of assassins:

Based on the Japanese graphic novel Maria Beetle by Kotaro Isaka, the ensemble thriller finds half a dozen hitmen from various criminal factions — each with their own respective mission, each with a competing agenda — aboard the same titular train. Needless to say, bloodletting ensues.

Announced over a year ago, Bullet Train will also star Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny, who joined the flick from John Wick director David Leitch. The film also stars Sandra Bullock, Bryan Tyree Henry, Zazie Beetz, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Michael Shannon. It’s a good cast.

In an interesting twist, according to Collider, Leitch actually used to be Pitt’s stunt double in the early 2000s, which is how he was able to secure Pitt’s uncredited and extremely random cameo in Deadpool 2. The two go all the way back to Pitt’s Fight Club days, so it’s kind of neat that they seem to be switching roles when it comes to who gets to do the stunts now.

(Via Vulture)

The San Francisco 49ers made an aggressive move last week when they pulled off a trade with the Miami Dolphins to jump up to No. 3 in the 2021 NFL Draft. The presumption was that the team moved up that much with an eye on a signal caller, as it’s exceedingly rare for teams pull off that kind of move for any reason other than landing a quarterback.

Almost immediately, two things started circulating. For one, the team did not plan on trying to move on from starting QB Jimmy Garoppolo, even if they took a quarterback with the third pick. The other was that amid what is an ultra-promising quarterback class, the guy the Niners have targeted was not Ohio State’s Justin Fields or North Dakota State’s Trey Lance, but rather, Alabama’s Mac Jones.

Both of these things were taken a step farther on Monday, when head coach Kyle Shanahan addressed both of these things prior to heading to Tuscaloosa for the Crimson Tide’s Pro Day and seemed to reveal his hand.

Obviously a key component of Draft season is to throw up smokescreens all over the place, and at the very least, “we plan on keeping Jimmy G despite the fact that we appear to be in the market for a quarterback,” is one hell of an attempt at keeping Garoppolo’s value afloat for trade discussions. It is also important to mention that there is no guarantee this is for Jones, because Alabama has a pair of receivers in this class — Heisman winner DeVonta Smith and speedster Jaylen Waddle — who would be outstanding fits in that offense. Having said that…

Listen, no disrespect to Jones, who had an outstanding season for Alabama in his one year under center, but this entire process by the Niners is astounding. Now, the team does have some flexibility with how it can handle Garoppolo’s contract, so at least there is that. Still, going all-in like this to take Jones, who is arguably the most limited of the five quarterbacks expected to go in the first round, is eyebrow-raising. He is a good fit in the Niners’ offense with some of the short and intermediate routes he’ll be asked to throw, but Lance and especially Fields are good at this, too, and both add a vertical threat and mobility that aren’t totally strengths of Jones’ game. Even if one wants to argue that Jones is the most ready of the three to play right away or the safest of the three — while I do like Jones, I’d take Fields here, but that’s neither here nor there — it’s a curious move, but Shanahan seems to no longer want to play a coy game with his preference with the third pick.