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The Mighty Mongrel Mob: An Example of Tribal Aesthetics

3 June, 2015

Recently Vice published a photo series taken of men from the Mighty Mongrel Gang in New Zealand.

Fascinating isn’t a strong enough word to describe these men. I’m going to remove all moral assessments of who these men are and what they’ve done. It’s very easy for me to sit here, on my porch in the suburbs, typing on a Macbook, to say that these are bad men.

In all honesty, I think I immediately go there because they intimidate me. Hell, they terrify me. I can’t imagine being face-to-face with one of these men.

So it’s easy for me to write them off as bad. What I can’t do is say they’re not good at being men. When it comes to the amoral virtues of Brett McKay’s Provide, Protect, and Procreate along with Jack Donovan’s Strength, Courage, Mastery, and Honor, these mobsters are most likely excellent at being men.

With that as our base, and understanding that this is a style blog, I want to talk about their appearance.

It’s men like these who prove it a lie when other’s say things like “real men don’t care about the way they look. They just do what they do and don’t care what anybody thinks of them.”

This doesn’t happen when a man doesn’t care about how is appearance influences people around him.

There is meaning and intentionality in the colors, materials, styles and cuts they choose to wear. All of these are reflective of the men and what they want to advertise to the world around them.

Their tattoos are an excellent way of demonstrating loyalty to their tribe while removing themselves completely from the rest of society. These men are so committed to their way of life that they have permanently altered their appearances in a way that makes them completely incapable of escaping the tribe from which they originate. That same loyalty is indicative in their clothing.

Notice the fascist aesthetic and the nazi symbolism? These are not men who are concerned about whether or not the rest of the world believes them to be nice, tolerant, or non-judgmental. They don’t need us to like them. They don’t care what we think. We are not part of their tribe and they want us to be afraid of them.

And it doesn’t stop with just the men. They understand that a tribe’s ability to continue to remain relevant depends on its growth. Growth stems from ritual, and much of the way we dress ourselves each day is related to ritual. An office worker goes through the ritual of putting on a suit and tie each day. A member of the Mongrel Mob has his ceremonial and ritualized clothing. They pass these rituals and this aesthetic identity along to their women and children to ensure that the tribal identity is congruent for all members and that its values are upheld by the following generation.

Is their clothing what makes them men or makes their tribe? Absolutely not. But they would look entirely different and therefore communicate something entirely different were these portraits taken in bespoke suits.

Spring 2015

28 May, 2015

No words. Just some inspiration for winter. Most images pulled from Tumblr.

Review: Grooming Lounge

26 May, 2015

If you haven’t been following John’s excellent series on Masculine Grooming here on the site, you’re really missing out. He does a great job of breaking down the importance of having a solid grooming routine in a way that I hope has become expected with the other content of the site – mainly by giving us a little bit of history, psychology, and how-to all thrown in together.

Part of dialing in a grooming practice is using proper tools. While that does include the heavy hitters like razors and trips to the barber, it also consists of a daily dose of lotions, oils, and powders. It’s funny, I struggled typing out that last sentence because every iteration I came up with sounded soft, girly, and a bit dainty. If you feel that way at all about the necessity of grooming, seriously go read John’s series before getting deeper into this post.

After digging through John’s posts I realized my daily ritual was seriously lacking. I (like most of the civilized world) was already in the habit of daily showers, teeth brushing, and other minimal cleaning efforts, but I was not one to use lotions, powders, or oils. In fact, other than a beard oil and some pomade, I wasn’t using much beyond the typical shampoo, conditioner, and body soap.

A few months back I was introduced to one of the founders of a site called Grooming Lounge. After a few emails and a quick phone call, we agreed on their sending me a few products in exchange for a review. They were big fans of the beard and so beard care products are what they sent.

One of the cool things about Grooming Lounge is the mix of other brand’s products along with their own. The package they originally sent me consisted entirely of other brand’s offerings. In it were a shampoo, conditioner, and lotion from Blue Beard, a scruff and goatee softener from Soft Goat, and a jar of beard oil from Beard Brand.

In full disclosure, I have not used the Soft Goat product. The other products have kept my beard soft enough and I wear it long enough, that I haven’t seen the need to yet.

Everything else has been great though. Some will argue that using beard specific shampoos and conditioners is unnecessary. However, after learning how different beard hair is from both head and body hair, along with how different the skin on a man’s face is from that on the rest of his body, it makes sense that beard care should require different products. What I’ve found is that the use of these items has kept my beard cleaner, softer, easier to maintain, and a whole lot less itchy.

After about six weeks of using the contents of the first package, I had the opportunity to meet both founders of Grooming Lounge at StyleCon in Atlanta. While we were there they followed up on how I was liking what they sent, and they gave me a few more goodies to try out. This time around though, everything they gave me was a product that they’ve developed and produced under their own brand.

Unlike the beard-specific items from before, this kit consists mostly of shave and skin care. Maintaining the full disclosure, I haven’t yet used their “Shavior” razor burn treatment oil. Mostly it’s because I use a single-blade safety razor and haven’t experienced razor burn in years.

The rest of their lineup has made its way nicely into my daily and weekly routine though. The two products I now use daily are the Mug Moisturizer and Super Powder. The former is a lotion that helps keep dry areas softer and more flexible, while the latter is a body powder which keeps moist areas dryer and more breathable.

While I do keep a beard and have done so for nearly ten years now, I – for the most part – insist on keeping it crisp and sharp. For me this means a weekly shave every Sunday. I do a quick clean up on both my neck and cheeks, along with using a beard trimmer to make sure everything is nice and organized. In the past, I’ve been happy to use drug-store products as both shave cream and after shave, but Grooming Lounge has helped me make the transition to using higher quality goods.

I’ll admit that the first time I used their shave lineup I was a bit skeptical. I thought using a a pre-shave oil was superfluous, a non-lathering cream was inferior, and a more expensive after shave was unnecessary. I was wrong on all three counts. The closeness of my shaves is better than it’s ever been. My already minimal skin irritation is almost completely eradicated, and the balance between sharp and cool of a higher-grade after shave keeps my pores closed and feels great. All of these products have an incredible, masculine smell to them that makes the process more enjoyable as well.

While the pre-shave oil and after shave are now a part of my weekly routine, I’ve decided to keep their shaving cream as part of my travel and dopp kit. The reason’s for this are three-fold. First, the difference in the quality of my shave between using Grooming Lounge’s shaving cream vs my current was minimal. Secondly, having a non-lather shaving cream is significantly easier for travel. It doesn’t require a brush or mug and helps me keep things light. Third, I genuinely enjoy the weekly routine of using a mug and brush to create a heavy lather for my shaving. It’s cathartic and not something I want to give up when the results are just as good.

As Grooming Lounge continues to expand their offerings, both in the other brands they carry and the products they create themselves, I’m excited to see them continue with the same level of quality they’ve demonstrated thus far.

Dismantling the Dadbod

14 May, 2015

The #dadbod is the latest trend making its way around social media. In my mind, it’s the latest attempt by the world to justify pathetic and slothful behavior in order to pacify those men who aren’t willing to better themselves. Now, I know that the article was written by a woman and stated her specific reasons (It’s not intimidating, we like to be the pretty ones, better cuddling…blah) but how many guys have you seen light up the internet with pictures of beer guts, proudly sporting their dad bods? Embracing the movement is embracing weakness and laziness.

I could make my case purely from a health standpoint. Obesity and heavy drinking are directly correlated with high blood pressure, heart problems, obesity, stroke and even cancer. Gluttony should not be celebrated. Take a look at healthcare, how many patients are habitually sick or injured directly because of their lifestyle? And the other small percentage that are injured in an accident or occasionally sick recover at a much faster rate because their body is working at an optimal level. Gene expression, both good and bad, is absolutely affected by diet and exercise.

In the article it states, “We don’t want a guy that makes us feel insecure about our body. We are insecure enough as it is. We don’t need a perfectly sculpted guy standing next to us to make us feel worse.” Again, I know this was written by a woman, but too many guys echo the sentiment. What is masculine about bringing down others around you in order to feel better about yourself? A man should be a leader, someone who looks to surround himself with people that stretch his learning and well-being to make him a better person. Especially in a relationship you should look for someone that makes you better in all aspects. A man can choose to embrace controversy and learn how to grow from it or completely shy away and live like a coward.

The general acceptance of the dad bod is honestly surprising to me -specifically from the population infatuated with super heroes and larger-than-life personalities. I hear people talk about how ripped Captain America is but the thought of getting in shape themselves and inspiring others never crossed their minds. Men look towards greatness…it’s human nature.

A man can go to the opposite extreme by spending all his time working out, eating clean and just worrying about his bicep measurements (even to the point of crazy injections). The term “meathead” isn’t completely false. A man needs to learn to not go too far in either direction. Enjoy the occasional pizza but also be aware of your health and eat right and exercise frequently. Living shredded isn’t the goal but I guarantee that if you eat right and exercise regularly you’ll be pleased with the way you look.

Challenge yourself, read a book, get up and exercise, spend some time preparing meals and see how your desire to acquire knowledge and develop physically increase. You get out of this life what you put into it. Spend all your time playing the victim and you’ll be just that, a functionless product of circumstances. Take responsibility, make proactive decisions and you’ll mature more than ever. Not only will you benefit from it but also those around you will benefit from it. Be someone that makes others better.

“I don’t care what your profession is. You will be more successful if you trained regularly and ate well. You will have more energy, more confidence, look better and people will treat you like the boss that you are or can be.” -Mike Rashid

Podcast Episode 5: Dress Like a Man – Interview With Jack Donovan

7 May, 2015

Today’s episode is a bit different from my typical format, and one I’m very excited about. Rather than revisiting an old post, I wanted to bring on a man whose writings and discussions on masculinity have had a massive impact on my own understanding of what it means to be a man. There’s some NSFW language on here, so if you’re listening to it at the office, pop in some headphones.