Ep. 111: Too Online/Feelings Check-In. 1) Paul Mescal Runs 2) Body Lotion Attracts Spiders 3) Feelings On Wrapping Up The Year

[00:00] Approaching this podcast today is hard. It's December 28th. We're in the throes of Twixmas. [00:05] My brain is as smooth as one could be. I have not had any thoughts. [00:11] Any critical thinking has not happened. So that's where I'm at. Welcome to Two Online by Boys Club. Hot internet news served fresh. I'm Natasha Hoskins. I'm Dina Burke. And this is Boys Club. [00:26] Wait, is it just boys club? It's just boys club. [00:29] The Boys Club podcast? No. No. [00:31] Just boys club. Wow. It feels like it's been a while. I feel like I've lost some muscle for me too. I wish we had started recording earlier because we had a lengthy discussion about lip liner and whether or not the overlining works. And let me tell you, it works on camera. It doesn't work as much in person or I'm not doing it right enough, but it works on camera. If, but it's questionable in person. If you see either one of us with too aggressive of an overline in person, [01:01] say you've gone overboard on the overline. Get back in line. Literally get back in line. We're approaching today's podcast a little differently where we're doing 50% feelings, 50% to online. Because honestly, both of us have been... [01:15] off offline. So we only had one story each, which I think speaks to our improved mental health over the holiday. Totally. Totally. Okay. So yeah, the format for the show, [01:27] Typically, as we brief each other on an internet happening, and then this week, we'll also be doing feelings check-in.

[01:33] But before we get started, do you want to talk at all about [01:37] brand new again? Should we be talking about it all the time? We should be talking about it all the time. We're so bad at self-promotion. Like it's insane, but we're trying. And so I hope you have grace with us as we try. [01:48] We are doing a conference. We are doing a one day summit in Austin during South by Southwest. [01:55] March 12th at the proper hotel. Very chic setting. Very incredible content programming. January 3rd-ish. [02:04] January 3rd-ish, we'll go live with tickets. And very, very limited. We only have 200 tickets. [02:11] So... [02:13] I expect these will just be flying off the shelf. Please prove me right. It will be a full day of programming, listening to incredible speakers talk about the new consumer internet that we're all here thinking about and building and consumer crypto and digital culture and kind of a blend of all these different themes that we talk about a lot on this podcast and in our newsletters. And yeah, there is special pricing and availability for Boys Club members. [02:43] - Yes. [02:43] or zaddy holders. So if you are one or both of those things, you are in luck, you get very special, very deeply discounted pricing on these tickets and also ticket availability. So keep an eye on that. And the best way to stay in the know on that is to subscribe to our newsletter link in the show notes. [03:01] That's it, right? That's it.

[03:31] Crypto trading involves risk of loss. Cryptocurrency services are provided to US and US territory customers by Payward Ventures, Inc. PBI, DBA, Kraken. Do you want to go first or should I? I can go first. Okay, so we're going to start with two online. I am very excited about this. [03:49] story. Here's a headline. A wild Paul Mezcal rumor, which includes rooting and running, has sent the internet into a tizzy. Are you familiar? I saw some tweets about this, but I don't know what happened. So I'm excited. Excellent news. Excellent news. Okay. So I first came across this story when my timeline absolutely exploded with jokes about Paul Mezcal. [04:13] In some context, I was on family vacation. I was leaving my phone in the room because I'm an addict. And if it's with me, I'm on it. So I was like, I've got to unplug. This is the only way. This is my only hope. And so then I would come back to my room and I would have some phone time, like very at the end of the day, whatever. So I come back to my room. I open Twitter and it's all Paul Mezcal. It's all Paul Mezcal. For context, for folks who might not know who Paul Mezcal is. [04:39] He's a very hot Irish Irish. [04:44] Irish. It's a part of the story. He was in Normal People. He was in... Connell's Chain, if that rings a bell for anybody. What was it? [04:53] Connell's chain [04:55] okay this is an internet story in and of itself deep cult deep cut there he's a very talented actor he's very good looking he was engaged question mark to phoebe bridgers i i doubt that there was a ring there was a ring okay we need to honestly we need to have a whole paul mezcal series of internet stories related to this man he has like a really intense cult following i would say of people who are like obsessive about him and sort of understandably so if i do say so myself

[05:25] Okay. And I knew as this was happening and I was watching it, I was like, this is a gift from the Lord on Christmas day for my internet story and immediately went into TikTok research. What is going on? What is happening? [05:40] Mm-hmm. [05:40] I was looking for the source material because it was clear that something had happened. And all of the tweets that I was seeing were jokes about him running. And he has for a long time had a lot of jokes around him because there's all these paparazzi and fan photos of him running around London. Like he likes to run. He likes to exercise and he wears really short shorts and people love it. And the whole existing theme. And so there was like a build on the theme where people, the main sort of heart around the joke was that people were running with him. [06:10] him. And so I was like, okay, what is going on? So there's two TikToks. There's one where a girl is like, let me give you the gift of telling you what's going on. And then there's one where it's a stitch. And so it's a guy who, it starts with a man and he's like, [06:24] use this basically to stitch a rumor that you know and then it stitches to this really cute British girl so I watched the first one but I'm like no no no I want to start with the source material like any good researcher would exactly exactly so are you trying so far with me [06:39] Yeah. [06:40] Okay, great. I go to the stitch one and it's this really cute British girl. And she starts by saying about a year ago, I heard a rumor that a certain Irish well-known actor who was in a TV adaptation of a Sally Rooney book was frequenting North London bars, trying to have a threesome with girls and their friends, which is like, fair enough. Like you do you. So that's how she starts it. And immediately, if you know who Paul Maskell is, you know, you know who this is. Like she gives

[07:10] Yeah, as far as blind items go, that's not very blind. Not at all. Not at all. She goes on to tell this story about him going around North London trying to have threesomes. And she's like very pro sex about it. She's like, do your thing. And then she says a few months later, I'm telling my co worker about this because he doesn't really come off like a threesome guy. Like if you look at him, he seems like a relationship guy. [07:35] Some might say. She would say. And so she was like, "It was kind of funny to tell my coworker." And my coworker said, [07:41] I have a friend who had a one night stand with said actor. And after they have a one night stand, [07:47] He's like, do you want to go for a walk in the morning? And they go for a walk around Hyde Park and they're chatting and they're walking and they're talking. And then out of nowhere, he just sprints away from her. [07:58] just literally legs it around Hyde Park and is gone. [08:02] and so this girl's telling a story and she's like this is the weirdest move and all of a sudden the girl's standing there and what is she doing what does she do she's been abandoned and so then she starts to theorize okay there's a few things that could be happening here he could have seen paparazzi and maybe just like took off didn't want to be photographed with her he could have seen someone he knew he could have seen someone else taking a picture there's all these reasons that he could have done it but her theory which i find amazing is that it's a bit and he does it [08:32] Give the girl the ick. [08:34] And basically be like, what? [08:37] that's so weird i'm so uninterested in him now because it's so cringe to do that and that it's his strategy finds a girl goes to bar takes her home goes for a walk runs away she's like not obsessed with him anymore

[08:51] So this is our theory and it's about two and a half minutes and then the video ends. [08:55] Of course she has a follow-up because it goes totally viral and everybody's watching it and it's a whole thing. So then there's a follow-up video and she said, I have had so many of you coming forward to tell your story. [09:09] To tell your Paul Maskell story. And there was a lot of them who said that essentially, or whatever, in her words a lot, who knows how many that is. But that said, the same thing happened. But instead of just taking off, he says, oh, I have to take a wee. And goes behind a tree to pee. And then never returns. Just completely abandons them. So this is the source story of why everybody's talking about it. Her theory is it's a kindness to give these women. It's a gift that he's giving. [09:39] It's a gift that he's giving. And so the story continues. So then of course this happens. And then the internet starts sort of like building upon itself. And a few things that I really love. One is that I went into a Reddit that was discussing this in quite a bit of detail. And there were two things that emerged from the Reddit that I really love. One is that this woman said, Paul Mezcal running from girls in the park is the new Timothee Chalamet spreading chlamydia [10:09] that tweet goes absolutely viral and then she does elaborate and she was like someone needs to go around north london asking for stories because it's the west village every single person has a story with timothy chalamet and the context here is that timothy chalamet famously went to nyu got chlamydia slept with everybody and then everybody had chlamydia and it was his fault and so people are saying that's the paul mezcal version of that story excellent so that was one storyline the other

[10:39] away and giving girls the ick is very robert pattinson coded because i don't know if you know this but also famously robert pattinson had a stalker and he took the stalker out on a date and he bored her so immensely that she stopped stalking him like he like flipped it on her and she was like never mind and so everybody's like this is so robert pattinson oh my gosh that's so good so that's really good so then just coming back to twitter where i originally heard this [11:09] many funny tweets about this. And most of them are people giving context to his running photos. A lot of them are women joking about how they're going to like train to be able to go on a date with him so that they could follow him and run alongside him and like not let him go. So there's all these different videos of women running. There's like women talking about like their Christmas wishlist being like running shoes. Like there's all this stuff going on. But my favorite tweet from this, and I don't even know if they're related, [11:39] this tweet is perfect where basically like two restaurant photos of a family in Italy or somewhere in Europe having dinner. And it's, [11:49] Layla Sadoe. [11:50] She's like that beautiful French actress. It's her with her family, clearly her parents and like her sister or something. And she is showing her family pictures of Paul Mezcal and Phoebe Bridgers, like clearly on the phone. And the timing of it just seems so perfect that she's sitting at Christmas dinner talking about Paul Mezcal running away from women in London and showing them pictures. And it's just a perfect tweet to end the story. Oh man. So good. So good. I wish for him

[12:20] there's something childish about his way of coping with the women that he's sleeping with totally i mean i do love another thread that i thought was really great is someone was like man you have to appreciate his commitment to the irish exit which him being an irish man is really funny [12:39] I don't know. I kind of don't believe it. I just think it's too weird and funny for it to be real. And I don't know, something about a story having a life of its own and evolving over Christmas is... [12:54] Just, it never reads as believable because everybody's just so bored. [12:58] And people are so willing to believe anything. Right. And so I don't think that it's true, but I do love it. He's a big fan of, [13:05] Mitski [13:06] who is just like a big feeler in her music and in her lyrics. And so I would just hope that [13:13] that he would have, I don't know, just be more in touch with his emotions and be able to like communicate that to the people that he's in relation with. I saw quite a few fan made videos of him running compilations of him running around London with Mitski playing over it. And so people are doing the work to bring it full circle. Or the emotional labor. Great. Well, great story. Thanks for briefing. I'm so glad I know now. [13:43] Okay, what's yours? Okay, so I know that you've seen it because this popped off in our Discord, but the spider lotion story, there may be a body lotion that attracts spiders and the gals on Reddit are determined to figure it out. You have seen this, right? I have seen it, but I haven't researched it. I just saw...

[14:03] The thing that made me look through our discord was, I think it was gem was like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. And I was like, wait, what is going on? [14:11] Yeah, so shout out to Phelps. He dropped the first link in there that broke the story. But basically, there it starts with a review on Sephora. [14:23] So that's where the origin of this whole... [14:27] story begins and the review title is scent attracts wolf spiders and it's like a product it's for like a product review on sephora so you know yes i've seen that screenshot [14:38] Yes. In the tweets that have gone viral about this, and even the stuff that's happening on TikTok, everyone's being really cagey about naming the product for some reason. They're like, I don't want to get sued. But Oh, weird. I'll do it. It's Sol de Janeiro. It's Delicia drenched body butter. If they decide to sue us. [14:55] And that's what brings down Boys Club. What we've had. What a great story to tell our grandkids. [15:01] That is what it is. I just feel like this is free information on the internet. I mean, right? [15:06] Yeah, I don't know. I don't... The... Libel. Mechanics. This is libel. The mechanics behind the libel here, I'm not sure. But basically, the review goes on to say that this woman... [15:16] uses the lotion and she's seen a wolf spider every day since she started using the lotion and that one of the spiders appeared to have chased her. [15:25] that she like, she turned some corners and she went left and went left and she went right and it went right. And so I do want you to wait, what is a wolf spider? I want you to Google a wolf spider right now because I think it's important for you to get a visual on this little guy. Okay, he's a little guy.

[15:39] Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. So, you know, they're like this big, you know, those ones. Oh, oh, oh, very gross. Oh, they're big. It's not like the daddy long legs. It's like a more, what's the one in like the desert? It's thicker. [15:56] It's like got some heft to it. It's a thick boy. It's a thick boy. It's a big boy spider. Okay. So that's her review. And so Reddit takes this and starts sciencing it. [16:08] And one person was like, I'm going to basically do an experiment and report back. [16:13] And this person, they do an experiment where basically they put on the cream and... [16:19] They saw two spiders. [16:21] Okay. To wolf spiders. And then they put the cream on a tissue. [16:25] to see if the tissue would attract the spider, and a spider went [16:29] to the tissue paper. [16:30] Oh, OK. So that's the second thing that happens in the in this sequence of events. Then there's a chemist that enters the chat. And this is all happening on the Sephora Reddit page. So there's this person called Marching Koala on Reddit. [16:45] And this is going to get a little technical, but basically they go on to say that there's the combination of these two. [16:52] chemical compounds. [16:53] farnesyl acetate and hexadeclycate, which are used as [16:59] fragrance and also thickening agents, that this is basically a synthetic way of producing the equivalent of the female pheromones of a spider. So you're basically like the combination of these two things are creating a

[17:16] A fair like a pheromone like a sign for sexual communication. You're communicating sexually. Oh my god to attract a [17:23] the spider as a female spider a male spider yeah a male so a male wolf spider you're creating the female pheromones to attract a male wolf spider to come and f*** you so that is insane i know it's insane so then someone just to be very thorough in the research someone did look through the ingredients of the delicia cream didn't find these exact ingredients listed however op [17:49] original poster says that it could be part of a list ingredient or it could come under fragrance. You know, when people just put like fragrance in the ingredient list, like that it could be sort of layered under that. So jury's out on what's going on here. DVD. DVD. As of Thursday at 1215 p.m. Central Time, there is no official statement from Sol de Janeiro. What's the activity on the Reddit? Like insane viral. Okay. Like just okay, that thread has gone totally bonkers. It's actually a really fun thread to read if you're looking for something [18:19] do link and show notes it's gone totally viral that i will say the ground zero is that that reddit thread we're kind of waiting for solda jennaro to say yes or no those ingredients those ingredients are in this cream or they're not [18:34] And they haven't said anything. Their TikTok is all still like promotional videos. The review is still up on Sephora, but it's now onto page four. So you really have to dig for it. Yeah. And the new ones that have come in are very positive. So I don't know. Oh, that's more incriminating than anything else. I mean, who knows if maybe that was just organic reviews that came in. And then there was some chat that like maybe this

[18:58] person's like a plan and doing something nefarious, whatever, like trying to take down Sol de Janeiro. It's like a competitor, something like that. Yeah. And so I went into that for a user's [19:09] other conversation activity on Sephora. And it's like very normal stuff. Like they've been posting for a couple of years. Like they were talking about 2017 VIB sale date for all we can tell, like a normal user who had this experience with the Wolf Spiders. Quick thought that I had, and the tissue paper really debunks this because depending on the fragrance that you're using and your own product, [19:34] oils on your skin. [19:36] it will change the smell. Like the fragrance that I put on will smell differently on you than it will on me because of your hormones and whatever. [19:44] the oil on your skin. And so my thought was maybe it was this particular woman or [19:50] some other women or people with the same pH level or something that it was like the perfect combination to attract the spider. Right. But then putting it on the tissue kind of debunks that altogether. It does. It does. The content around this is [20:04] incredible, truly incredible. There's this one Reddit user, Maximillian, [20:09] who's offering to buy up anyone's unwanted wolf spider cream because she wants to collect an army of spiders to breed and release where there's a lot of mosquitoes in her area. I know it's incredible. Other people are saying send it to your enemies. Buying this spider lotion for my goth girlfriend. Like it's just so good. The takes are incredible. That's so funny. I have a question though also about this. Wolf spiders. Are they everywhere? That's also the other part of it that

[20:39] Right. It's disgusting. I don't know. It's disgusting. And it's really horrifying. Like, where are they... [20:46] Right now. [20:47] Are these areas, and this woman who did the experiment would love to have her on the pod, if you'd be willing. But one of the questions I have for her is like... [20:55] in her area, does she see wolf spiders all the time? She said, okay, great question. She said it had been like three years since I saw a wolf spider. And now, and then I saw one every day since I've used it. So, Oh my gosh. So there is some, I don't know. Because I grew up in Florida and like spiders don't even really exist in Florida. In high humidity climates, that's not really what you see. In dry climates, that's where they thrive. So really what I need to do is send it to one of my friends in Florida, have them put it on. And if a wolf spider appears, something is [21:25] chemically has gone wrong. Totally. Totally. I am picturing these people like [21:29] in Arizona. What I really don't like about it is the idea that wherever this cream was, [21:36] created and tested, that could be part of the problem is that you can create something in a situation or a climate that doesn't have a specific species. And then it's sent around the world and like it can have this unforeseen result. Awful. Horrible. Awful. [21:53] You know what I mean? I do. I will say the best thing about this story is... [21:57] Just love a band together towards a singular goal of figuring out some sort of mystery. And that's really what we saw here. And that's always such a gift when that happens, especially when it's in very low stakes situations like this.

[22:12] Great story. Great story. When you're first getting started with crypto, it can be scary. Am I doing this right? Is this just like my bank or trading app? How is it new and different? Well, that's why we love Kraken. They have a 24-7, 365 customer support team that's there to hold your hand all along the way. [22:27] This isn't a nine to five Monday to Friday bank. This is crypto. It's all the time. Anyone's welcome. Open door policy. Come one, come all. Try something new at kraken.com backslash boys club. Not investment advice. Crypto trading involves risk of loss. Cryptocurrency services are provided to U.S. and U.S. territory customers by Payward Ventures Incorporated. PBI, DBA, Kraken. [22:50] Very quick feelings check in in our final minutes here in our final minutes of the year. Really? The next few days. I was going through my phone photos. Yeah. [23:01] primarily because I was trying to get all these things together for a end of year wrap up that we're going to do. And then it sent me down a rabbit hole and I found a picture of you, me and Dave. [23:13] Two years ago, almost to the date. Dave is my husband for listeners. [23:17] Davis, Dina's husband, and our volunteer editor of this podcast. [23:24] He does some pro bono work. Thank you, Dave. And... [23:30] It was the three of us and we were setting up our first podcast episode and it was two years ago. [23:35] And I had many feelings about it. One feeling was just, wow, we have a lot of fun because we looked so happy in these photos and we're all laughing and just having a really good time and like figuring something new out together. And that was really cool. And I remember that specifically. The other feeling I had was, wow, we've been doing this for two years. That is incredible.

[23:58] incredible great work pat on the back for both of us and then the last feeling i had was like and somehow i feel like we should be further along than we are [24:09] and try to like look and hold that feeling for a second and be like, where is this coming from? And how is this me comparing myself to, [24:17] the rest of the world and what about that is good healthy ambition yeah and what about that is unhealthy [24:27] stealing of my happiness, comparing myself to other people and not even someone specific. [24:33] I mean, I did have... [24:34] dinner, sat next to Alex Earl last night at dinner, not us eating together. She was at a separate table and I was at a separate table. And I was like, Matt, I, Matt's my husband. I was like, I have [24:46] I have a feeling. And he was like, what's your feeling? And I was like, I feel jealous of this woman. Oh, no. And he was like, of course you do. She's 23. She's a baby. And she's so successful. [25:00] For whatever reason, you can love or you can hate or whatever. Anyway, this is a tangent that's going into another feeling. But coming back to the photo... [25:09] I had that feeling of like, man, I wish we were further along than we are. And we've worked really, really hard for where we're at and I don't, [25:16] know exactly how we get to the next level. [25:19] of what we're doing here. [25:21] And that felt like the biggest hurdle around it. Mm-hmm. [25:24] Back to the Alex Earle thing. She is very beautiful. [25:28] And just as hot as she is online. And I'm happy for her. I genuinely am happy for her. We're in the same industry, but we're on totally different fields. And I felt present to that in that moment. I felt small in that moment, sitting next to someone who's 10 years younger than me.

[25:46] doing a similar thing. It's interesting that you see that as similar. It's really not similar. I really don't see that as similar at all. It's not. But we're all pulling out these little microphones and we are all pulling out the microphones. But I think that the end goal for Alex Earl in her wildest dreams looks very different than the end goal for you in your wildest dreams. And I think [26:09] They're two different paths and there's similar similarities, but I think they're very different. The thing that I've been thinking about is that I want to be less validation seeking. [26:18] I don't see you as someone who looks for validation. Not personally. What do you mean? For Boys Club. Oh, okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. [26:24] We put stuff out and like, I want people to like it. And I want people to think it's good. And even this podcast, I want to have the freedom to... [26:32] do work and feel [26:34] confident and comfortable in the work and not [26:38] have the works... [26:41] success be [26:44] decided by other people. It's very hard in the business that we're in, but [26:48] Yeah. That would... [26:50] bring me a lot of peace if that were to be true. [26:53] you know, [26:54] I'm not sure. [26:55] I do know what you mean. [26:56] I don't. [26:57] um, know that it's possible. And if we were in like a shipping logistic business, then I would say great goal. Yeah. But like our businesses, people liking, um, [27:09] Thank you. [27:09] the content we put out yeah and i think also another part of it for me is getting some space from the brand like me personally and boys club and like having some distance that

[27:19] I don't feel like every time someone is talking about boys club, they're talking about me. [27:23] Yeah. And I think that that's achievable. [27:26] And I think that [27:27] I do too. I think that that is something that... [27:32] As possible. As possible. [27:33] maybe more possible than the first one. But I think that that's important from my mental health. Like this past week has really shown me like, [27:40] Man, we've been in the trenches over the past couple of months, like just like really online too much. It's just been so full on. And I think having some space and maybe we cut this, I don't know, but having some space to... [27:53] what happens with boys club is not like, [27:55] a reflection of me directly. [27:58] no separation from our personal lives and our work lives. Yeah. Like it's all it's I don't even there's not even a line to [28:09] separate them out it's all really mixed up there so it feels tough to for that not to bleed into like [28:16] our feelings about ourselves, even though where it starts is not anywhere near that. [28:21] We have some work to do, it sounds like, on ourselves. I just want to be really clear about the Alex Rowling. I do not want to be an influencer. I do not want to be an influencer. [28:30] That's not what I'm saying. [28:32] I know that is what comes across, though, which is what I wanted to try and clarify, that I think that your end goals are different. [28:39] Totally. [28:40] Anyway... [28:42] Big active questions here in the boys club world. Mm-hmm. [28:48] Really grateful for the year we've had. Yeah, me too. We've come a long way. We've come a long way. We've come a long, long way.

[28:55] I think you said we did 17 events this past year? [28:58] 17 events this past year. That's so stupid. It's too many events. That's absolutely dumb. Um, I do think the best is yet to come. I do too. [29:07] I do too. Okay. Happy New Year, everyone. Thank you for listening.