Inside the Growing Whisper Network of LA Gym Nuts

As COVID-19 closures keep their sanctuaries on lockdown, Los Angeles's trainers and gym rats are finding new ways to get their fix. [Image] [Image]( "People Here Will Break Every Rule": Inside LA's Underground Gym Scene On a typical training day, Dustin Watten, a 33-year-old professional volleyball player, wakes up at 7 a.m., meditates for 30 to 60 minutes, journals his intentions for the day, and makes a smoothie bowl of bananas, dates, kale, ginger, turmeric, almond butter, cacao nibs, and sprouted buckwheat before heading to the gym for two hours of Olympic weightlifting. “I’m a pretty good volleyball player, but my smoothie bowl game is really, really impressive,” he tells me. The afternoon is filled with foam rolling, studying game film, and a second meditation, followed by an hour of team practice, and then into his nightly routine: TV, a plant-based Buddha bowl, and the last meditation session of the day. But the pandemic disrupted Watten’s regimented training schedule, forcing him to resort to extreme measures. He filled a packing box with dried lentil beans and used it as a crude medicine ball in HIIT workouts. He traveled to Hawaii to train outdoors in the sand with renowned big wave surfer Garrett McNamara. And for the past couple weeks, he’s been Olympic weightlifting at an Orange County gym that technically isn’t open due to the statewide ban on indoor fitness facilities—but you can get in if you know the right people. Fitness is about more than staying in shape for people in Los Angeles; for many, it’s fundamental to their way of life. So with gyms closed and the pandemic threatening to ruin their physiques, the L.A. gym rats and meatheads have created a loose-knit underground fitness economy consisting of makeshift garage gyms and real gyms operating in murky legal territory, workouts held in public parks, and a black market for gym equipment. “L.A. is so unique,” says Chris Benck, a 31-year-old personal trainer and former CrossFit instructor in Santa Monica. “There are so many people in this city who either run every day, or do three hours of CrossFit, or go to Gold’s Gym, and they’re finding ways to continue doing it… People here will break every rule to get back to the gym.” [Read the Full Story]( [Image] [Image]( Good Memories of Ellen Can't Erase Other People's Realities A slow avalanche of anecdotes from the set of The Ellen Show has recently begun to emerge, starting with a report from BuzzFeed. Staff have come forward with allegations of sexual harassment and assault. Degeneres says she wasn’t aware of the situation, but a number of staff found that hard to believe. And now, as anecdotes about Degeneres' less than stellar attitude toward staff emerge, celebrities are coming to the defense of Degeneres. Suddenly, the impossible task of speaking out against someone the world admires has become doubly daunting with her celebrity friends in tow. But what does it even matter? Justin Kirkland offers a reminder that having a favorite memory of someone doesn't void the stories of others. [Read the Full Story](  [Image]( 15 Extraordinary Books You Can Read in One Sitting The one-sitting novel isn’t just something you can read in one afternoon—it’s something you should read in one afternoon. The one-sitting novel is perfectly structured to be consumed as a complete, transporting experience, whether that’s a breakneck ride through a thrilling narrative, or a slow, dreamy fog that envelops your mind as you page through. The best one-sitting novels sweep you off your feet, whisking you away to another world, only to deposit you back on your doorstep a few hours later, dazed and changed, seared in the fire of something new. For the sake of argument, we capped our choices at 250 pages—just enough to deliver a truly immersive experience, but not so many pages as to bleed over into the next day of reading. From the blisteringly contemporary to the classic, the lighthearted to the weighty, here are our favorite one-sitting novels. Go ahead—get lost in them. [Read the Full Story]( [Image]( How Coyote Ugly Perfectly Captured the Hilariously Sincere Optimism of the Year 2000 The year 2000 felt like that first sip of a Coke—refreshing and bubbly and new. At the end of the year, we'd elect a new president (even though that turned out... kind of sticky). We'd just entered into this new millennium, and there was a hopefulness that permeated throughout film. Almost Famous and Remember the Titans and even Gladiator had this common thread of resilience, even if it seems a bit misguided the more dated it gets. Amid the crop was a notably less critically acclaimed hit in Coyote Ugly. Critics hated it, but audiences embraced the charm of this sugar-coated grit story starring no one you'd particularly be able to pull out of a line up. It grossed $60 million domestically on a $45 million budget and became a summer hit. Coyote Ugly was the underdog success story in a bevy of underdog success stories. Justin Kirkland reflects, 20 years later. [Read the Full Story](  [Image]( The 18 Best T-Shirt Brands to Know Right Now We're living through historic times for the humble T-shirt. The basic tee, once imbued so indelibly with ties to the counter-culture courtesy of associations with on-screen badasses like Brando and Dean, has now become so innocuous it's downright mainstream. The T-shirt has become the de facto building block of the everyday outfit, long since replacing stuffier counterparts like the collared shirt, let alone (*checks notes*) the suit. There have never been more options, and while we're ever-thankful for the variety, it can all be a bit overwhelming. Luckily for you, we sifted through the nearly endless versions available online to track down our favorites, with the recommendation that if you happen to find a style you like, you stock up on it—and fast. [Read the Full Story]( [Image]( Four Mysterious Cold Cases That Authorities Just Can't Crack Outside of infotainment docuseries like Unsolved Mysteries, internet detectives have dedicated many hours, words, and posts to solving cold cases that have been long forgotten. The hivemind, as it turns out, is pretty good at playing gumshoe. What follows are some of the most vexing cases in history that, despite the best efforts of professionals and amateur internet sleuths, remain completely unsolved. [Read the Full Story](  Follow Us       [Unsubscribe](  [Privacy Notice](  esquire.com ©2020 Hearst Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. Hearst Email Privacy, 300 W 57th St., Fl. 19 (sta 1-1), New York, NY 10019   Â