Table of contents for May/June 2021 in Men's Journal

“PRISTINE BACKCOUNTRY” isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when someone mentions Los Angeles. But the nearby Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area offers a surprisingly easy escape from potholes and population density. Hiding in plain view above (insert your least favorite L.A. freeway), the 153,000 acres of sage-covered slopes and oaky canyons are laced with over 500 miles of hiking trails stretching from central L.A.’s Griffith Park to outer Malibu. Home to more than 1,000 plant and 500 animal species, it’s been called the world’s largest urban national park. Winding through it all is the Backbone Trail, one of the longest continuous trails in Southern California. At 67 miles, it threads through one of the largest Mediterranean-type ecosystems on Earth. It doesn’t take long to completely forget you’re…

1. Flashbomb Heat Seeker 3/2 Chest Zip E6 Rip Curl This revolutionary suit covers you during extra-crisp predawn missions by retaining heat—and creating it, courtesy of Flex Energy neoprene, which activates to generate added warmth as you paddle. Stretchy mesh panels help absorb solar heat while matte panels on arms and chest reflect wind chill. $460; ripcurl.com 2. R1 Lite Yulex Front-Zip (Short-Sleeve) Patagonia This redesigned winner’s stretchier pattern allows effortless freedom of movement, and a reconfigured front zip makes entries and exits hassle-free. It also remains one of the most sustainable wetsuits, utilizing natural rubber on the exterior fabric and a noticeably softer arm and leg lining that are both 100 percent recycled. $299; patagonia.com 3. Modulator 3/2 Chest Zip Volcom Don’t let this suit’s smooth and simple look…

GRILLED SURF AND TURF PAELLA Serves 4 5 Tbsp. olive oil2 boneless chicken breasts, cut into 2-inch chunks8 oz. chorizo, sliced into ¼-inch pieces1 yellow onion, roughly diced3 scallions, roughly chopped1 orange bell pepper, roughly diced5 cloves garlic, roughly diced½ cup sherry1½ cups paella rice (aka bomba rice)1 tsp. red pepper flakes1 (15 oz.) can crushed tomatoes3 cups chicken stock1 pinch saffron1 tsp. paprika12 clams, cleaned12 mussels, cleaned10 large shrimp, peeled and deveined1 bunch parsley, roughly chopped2 lemons SPECIAL EQUIPMENT: A standard 15-inch steel paella pan with handles. If you go bigger, make sure it still will sit flat on your grill. 1. Heat 2 Tbsp. olive oil in paella pan on medium-heat grill. Add chicken and cook about 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Add chorizo and…

Don’t agree with these choices? Let us know about your favorite BBQ joint at editors@mens journal.com. PUERTO RICO Style: Whole hogs spit-roasted over charcoal and macheted into heaping, succulent portions. ▪ El Rancho Original ▪ Los Pinos ▪ El Mojito CALIFORNIA Style: Tri-tip beef cooked “Santa Maria” style on an Argentine grill over red oak embers for about 2 hours, sliced thin, and served with salsa. ▪ The Hitching Post II (Buellton) ▪ Shaw’s Steakhouse (Santa Maria) ▪ F. McLintocks (San Luis Obispo) TEXAS Style: Sliced brisket smoked over pecan or post oak, “hot gut” sausages, Flintstones-esque beef ribs. ▪ Smitty’s Market (Lockhart) ▪ Salt Lick (Driftwood) ▪ Louie Mueller (Taylor) KANSAS CITY, MO Style: You got it, they’ll smoke it over hickory, especially fatty brisket nubs turned into crunchy…

BY THE 1990S, after 150 years of British rule, Hong Kong wasn’t just legally and systemically different from mainland China, it was an altogether different society. A recent poll found just 11 percent of people in Hong Kong identified as Chinese. Most identified as Hong Konger. The Chinese takeover in 1997 came with a deal that for 50 years Hong Kong would operate with democratic elections, its own legal system, and freedom of speech. But China began intervening in Hong Kong affairs early and often. Outcry over “mainlandization” exploded in 2014 when China preselected local election candidates. In November 2020, rancor between Beijing leaders and local lawmakers crescendoed when the national government “disqualified” four pro-democracy members of Hong Kong’s legislative council for being “unpatriotic.” The body’s remaining pro-democracy caucus resigned…

Abs are the centerpiece of your physique. Aesthetics aside, the stronger they are, the greater your athletic performance: You’ll run faster and lift heavier. To level up your core strength, add weighted abs exercises. Rather than a blitz, this workout prioritizes “control and time under tension,” says Chase Weber, celebrity trainer and founder of THR33 Active CBD cream. Your whole body is recruited for stability, but your abs will be screaming. 1. Weighted Hyperextensions Lock yourself into a hyperextension or glute-ham machine, feet anchored, hips over pad. Hug a weight plate at chest and bend at hips to lower and lift slowly for counts of 2, squeezing glutes to protect low back at top. You can also use a heavy resistance band: Strap it underneath the hyperextension machine, then wrap…

USE AI FOR GAINS Sometimes lifting is all about quality, not quantity. Tonal has two extendable arms that generate up to 200 pounds of resistance, plus a motion-sensor camera hidden in its 42-inch screen to analyze form and offer cues to boost performance. An initial fitness assessment determines your baseline, then AI algorithms take over. “Spotter” mode drops weight if you struggle in the bottom of a chest press, while “Burnout” mode reduces weight one pound at a time at the end of a set of curls, so you can work your biceps to failure. $2,995 plus $49/month membership; tonal.com HIRE A VIRTUAL PERSONAL TRAINER The full-length reflective surface of Mirror hides an LCD screen controlled by an iOS app. Try a class in more than 50 disciplines, or connect…

Barely a year ago, e-mountain bikes were a curiosity on backcountry trails—now they’re here to stay. Twenty-five percent of all dollars spent on mountain bikes in 2020 went to models equipped with a motor and battery that boost pedaling power. That’s because pedal-assisted bikes offer indisputable advantages: They lessen the gut-punch of harsh, relentless uphills, and help riders crank over blocky rocks and other muscle-sapping technical features. Consequently, e-mountain bikes (e-MTBs) let cyclists of varying abilities and fitness levels ridetogether compatibly, with badasses on regular bikes and less-aggro types using pedal-assist. Action photographers are increasingly using e-MTBs to chase pros into Gnarville—while hauling loads of camera gear with far less pain. Riders in scorching climates love how e-MTBs let them dodge heatstroke in temperatures that typically make cyclists hang up…

CAN THIS NEW EV REALLY DRIVE US OFF THE GRID? WE’RE ABOUT to get hit with a surge of burly electric adventure vehicles, from a plug-in pickup from Rivian to the electrified rebirth of Hummer. Each of these rigs will be powerful—and heavy. What if there were another way? Such is the question posed by Aptera and its eponymous three-wheel electric vehicle with solar assist, which the San Diego company aims to roll out in 2022. Aptera is a featherweight—it should weigh between 1,800 and 2,200 pounds. Along with an absurdly low drag coefficient, that spry makeup will enable the solar panels on its shell to create enough power to send it 45 miles daily—meaning some owners might not have to plug it in at all, though when they do…

ONCE UPON A TIME, a film reaching theaters and your home at the same time sounded crazy, like having to personally educate your kids because they couldn’t go to school for an entire year. Now it’s a reality. Here are a handful of movies hitting big screens and streaming simultaneously this summer, letting you keep up with the new blockbusters, even if it means making your own popcorn. SPACE JAM: A NEW LEGACY Expected Release Date: July 16 Benefits of being a LeBron teammate: You get to win a title and appear in a Space Jam reboot! (Get him something nice, Anthony Davis and Kyle Kuzma.) In reviving Michael Jordan’s original, King James brings together Don Cheadle, Foghorn Leghorn, and lots more actors, athletes, and animated characters. IN THE HEIGHTS…

CROWDS DIG DAVE BAUTISTA. During his run as a WWE pro wrestler, the six-time champion got pretty hooked on hearing the roar of 70,000 fans. His ears are still ringing. “Nothing will replace that electricity,” says Bautista, who stepped away from the sport (aside from some cameos) in 2012. In his unlikely second act, Bautista has found himself a Hollywood heavyweight — literally — a 6'6", 270-pound star known for playing the soulfully deadpan Drax the Destroyer in Marvel films like Guardians of the Galaxy and The Avengers: Infinity War. Between the wrestling and Comic-Con crowds, Bautista is now recognized instantly in airports and health food stores across the planet. So you might think that after a pandemic year lying low in his Tampa, Florida, home, the dude might be…

Upper Missouri River Breaks Lewis and Clark come alive on 149 miles of designated Wild and Scenic River, with painted sandstone cliffs and knife-edge box canyons, highlighted by the 65-mile White Cliffs section of this national monument. Ask Missouri River Outfitters (mroutfitters.com). Lower Mississippi River Live the classic Huck Finn dream with surprisingly still-wild overnight escapes like the 98-mile float from Memphis, TN, to Helena, AR, through hidden backwaters, wooded islands, and side channels to silent, sandy campsites. Load up with Quapaw Canoe Co., near the blues-country “Crossroads” in Clarksdale, MS (island63.com). Columbia River Paddle an off-theradar 51-mile section through the Hanford Reach National Monument, which protects the mighty Columbia’s last nontidal, free-flowing stretch—and plenty of wildlife, too—between Priest Rapids Dam and Richland, WA, where Northwest Paddle-boarding can point you…

With a sizzling economy, trendsetting fashion scene and notorious nightlife, Hong Kong of the 1980s and ’90s was the most vibrant city in Asia, if not the world. When China took possession of the former British territory in 1997, it pledged to let the good times roll by granting the city semiautonomous status for 50 years. Its “one country, two systems” plan would allow Hong Kong to retain capitalism and personal freedoms unavailable to mainland Chinese. Unable to keep itself from seizing Asia’s most glittering prize, China soon began welching on the deal with incremental regulatory moves. In 2020, it passed a “national security” law giving the government new powers to punish critics, silence dissenters, and forever alter life for Hong Kongers. Overwhelming numbers of Hong Kong’s 7.5 million residents…

“THE CITY FEELS FOREIGN TO MANY HONG KONGERS NOW.” IN NOVEMBER 2019, DJ Clark left his home on a quiet street and headed for Hong Kong’s Polytechnic University. What he witnessed over the next few hours on the campus was like something out of a Hollywood blockbuster. Molotov cocktails coursed through the air; explosions shattered roadways; police vans engulfed in flames backed away from mobs; water cannon spray laced with chemicals singed flesh; tear gas canisters scattered smoke trails. Clark is a journalist, and the footage he recorded of the battle between protesters and the police won a 2020 World Press Photo Interactive of the Year Award. The moments he captured in the monthslong saga that thrust Hong Kong into international headlines would have been unthinkable just five years earlier…

SLAUGHTER PEN AND BLOWING SPRINGS Bentonville, Arkansas The Slaughter Pen system includes rollicking downhill flow lines (Boo Boo and Choo Choo) and chundery Schroen Train. The Razorback Regional Greenway to the Blowing Springs network has cliffy drops and waterfalls. SOUTH MOUNTAIN PARK AND PRESERVE Phoenix Towering saguaro cacti surround these 70 miles of blocky-rocky singletrack where Pivot Cycles developed and tested its Shuttle e-MTB. THE WHITE RIM Moab, Utah This 100-mile route showcases scenery in Canyonlands National Park. On e-MTBs, cyclists can complete it over three days (rather than the usual four) and float up the final 1,500-foot climb. GREENHORN GULCH Ketchum, Idaho Smooth, flowy ribbons of decomposed granite wind through thickets of wildflowers, grasses, and ghost forests scorched by wildfires. E-MTBs let you see it all on the 23-mile…

EACH FALL thousands of people from around the country flock to Montana to hunt. They come for the state’s wilderness, abundant game, and the mythology that imbues its vast, open landscape. And because it’s one of the few Lower 48 states where wildlife—and access to it—is still a public trust. Montana’s free and fair wildlife access sets it apart in the West. In New Mexico, for example, nearly half of all hunting tags go to private landowners, who can sell them to the highest bidder. In Colorado, up to 25 percent of tags are given to landowners to sell. In Wyoming, hunters can’t hunt in wilderness areas without paying an outfitter to guide them. In Texas, most land has been privatized. That’s why when Montana’s state government moved to privatize…

1. The sustainably built COALATREE EVOLUTION HOODIE is made partly from spent coffee grounds mixed with melteddown plastic bottles to create a soft, water-repellent fabric. Nice details include thumbholes and a kangaroo pouch that turns it into a pillow. $109; coalatree.com 2. Beyond the solid eco bona fides of APPALACHIAN GEAR COMPANY’S ALLPACA CREW, made from 100 percent alpaca yarn responsibly sourced from Peru, the fabric makes a superb insulator—lightweight, packable, breathable, and extremely fast-drying. $153; appalachiangearcompany.com 3. The carbon-conscious JACK WOLFSKIN JWP SHELL is built with 90 percent Bluesign-approved textiles, uses a 100 percent recycled waterproof and stretchy membrane, and is completely PFC-free. It’s also ultralight, weighing a mere 14 ounces. $130; us.jackwolfskin.com 4. Casual cool that’s ready for adventure plus a build from recycled nylon called ReZion make…

A lot of people can get really discouraged in losing,” says Noah Lyles. “But losing is a great teacher.” Not that he has learned that lesson very often. A high school track phenom who declined a college scholarship to turn pro, he has been racking up wins since 2018 when he busted the 19.7-second mark in the 200-meter dash at four competitions—a feat previously accomplished only by legendary Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt. This summer in Tokyo, he stands as good a chance as any of sweeping the 100-, 200-, and 4x100-meter races, another feat only ever logged by Bolt. Interestingly, Lyles thinks of sprinting—maybe the purest burst of physical power in sports—as a psychological battle. “If I have a strong mindset, even when my body’s down, I can make it…

HERB-MARINATED HANGING LEG OF LAMB Serves about 10 1 whole leg of lamb (bone-in)1 cup white wine1 small white onion, cubed2 Tbsp. sea salt1 Tbsp. black pepper10 garlic cloves2 tsp. red pepper flakes2 tsp. oregano2 tsp. thyme2 tsp. rosemary2 lemons, juiced2 Tbsp. oil SPECIAL EQUIPMENT: Campfire cooking tripod, preferably castiron, available at outdoors stores and online; butcher’s hook; meat thermometer. 1. Use sharp knife to score about a dozen slits all over outer fat layer of leg of lamb. 2. In blender, mix all other ingredients until smooth. Place lamb into foodsafe container and pour marinade over. Place in refrigerator at least 4 hours, ideally overnight. Rotate leg every few hours to marinate evenly. 3. Use an existing fire ring or construct a camping-style ring with large rocks. Start fire…

There’s your neighbor who grills ribs on Memorial Day, and then there’s John Vergos, whose family runs the Rendezvous in Memphis, the BBQ institution that invented dry rub in the 1950s and is regarded by many ’cue nerds as serving the best damn pork ribs in the country. We asked Vergos for some rib-cooking pointers, and, surprisingly in a culture obsessed with secrecy, he didn’t hold back. You can apply his advice to a full recipe available on mensjournal.com. 1. STAY SANE ABOUT THE MEMBRANE Tongs duels erupt over whether peeling away the white membrane before grilling flavors or dries out meat. Vergos says it really doesn’t matter. The Rendezvous leaves it be, as would you if you cooked 1,000 slabs a day. 2. GRILL BONE-SIDE DOWN FIRST Keeps the…

“FOREIGNERS COULD GET AWAY WITH ANYTHING.” TODAY the world bows before China’s economic might, but three decades ago, Hong Kong was one of Asia’s “little dragons.” In 1991, it was the world’s 11th largest trading power, with more total exports than China or India. Adjusted for purchasing power, its per capita income exceeded that of Japan and Great Britain. It was also a cultural makeweight. Riding the kung fu craze kicked off by favorite son Bruce Lee, Hong Kong cinema rose to peak influence, with actors like Jackie Chan and Chow Yun-fat and directors like John Woo energizing global audiences with action classics like Hard Boiled (1992) and Drunken Master II (1993), whose combat choreography informed films like The Matrix. The money, neon, and anything-goes vibe that blended the best…

THE 2020 recession was the worst in Hong Kong’s history—the economy shrank 6.1 percent. Property values—now stable and still among the highest in the world—have dropped 30 percent since mid-2019. The coronavirus pandemic was a factor, but analysts remain circumspect about Hong Kong’s economic footing. “Rediscounting of rents over the past two years has led to declines of close to 30 percent in some transactions,” says Harry Tan, head of Asia-Pacific real estate research for Nuveen, a Chicago-based global assets management firm. “Shops previously hosting luxury brands have in some cases been replaced by convenience stores or pharmacies—which was unheard-of in its heyday.” In March, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng stock market index was overhauled to reflect changes in Hong Kong’s role as a financial center. “Companies from China will now…