Victoria Fox's Blog, page 200

The Reason Old Record Players Are Making A Big Comeback

The main drivers behind why record players have seen a resurgence seems to be a mix of sound quality and the simple, cyclical nature of trends and nostalgia. The Recording Industry Association of America, or RIAA, published a study on consumer trends that showed most purchasers of record players were born between 1997 and 2012, effectively making Gen Z the core audience for the vinyl resurgence. Northwestern University’s Nu Science Magazine theorizes that younger people gravitate toward “vintage” trends due to a disconnected sense of nostalgia. This would make sense in the context of record players since vinyl was largely phased out by the time millennials and Gen Z came onto the scene.

The rediscovery of older technology and reapplying it to a modern context is not a new phenomenon. It’s a discussion many in the fashion world have had over the years, with fashion curator Michelle Finamore telling The Zoe Report that recycled trends have been a practice since the 17th century. Similar romanticism can be found in various other industries, from entertainment to automobiles. Viewing and cherry-picking certain parts from an unfamiliar era seemingly comes naturally to us for one reason or another, and the resurgence of vinyl records and record players has proven that.

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Jamie Lee Curtis Fires Up Comic-Con Crowd With Plea to Fight Climate Change: “We’re F***ing the World”

Jamie Lee Curtis enjoyed a celebratory moment just before taking the stage at San Diego Comic-Con on Friday to promote Mother Nature, which is her first graphic novel and takes aim at the forces contributing to climate change.

“I saw this book in print two hours ago for the first time,” said Curtis, who was joined onstage by her co-writer, Russell Goldman, and artist Karl Stevens. “I’ve seen it in a PDF form, and it is thrilling.” She did not waste time emphasizing the project’s ecologically minded message: “We’re fucking the world. There is a possibility of change, but we’re going to have to do it, and I’m really thrilled to see how enthusiastic you guys are for this beautiful piece of work that Karl has made for us.” Her points were met with enthusiastic applause from the supportive audience.

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Featuring plenty of gruesome violence, Mother Nature is out Aug. 8 from Titan Comics and centers on Nova Terrell, a resident of Catch Creek, New Mexico, who seeks payback against a nefarious oil company that was linked to her father’s death. Curtis explained that she initially told husband Christopher Guest that she had an idea for a screenplay and that he encouraged her to write it herself. Ultimately, the project’s team decided it would work best as a graphic novel; this marks the first time that Curtis, who is a New York Times best-selling author and is soon to release a new children’s book, has worked as a creator in the medium.

Jamie Lee Curtis at Comic-Con gets big cheers with EEAAO mention while recalling her favorite life moments: “If you think I saw Deirdre Beaubeirdre coming … you’re crazy people” #SDCC pic.twitter.com/darHxPYxx7

— Ryan Gajewski (@_RyanGajewski) July 22, 2023

During her time on stage, Curtis noted that the timing was right for the project, given the extreme weather recently experienced by much of the nation. “It’s happening today!” she exclaimed. “We are the hottest we’ve ever been in this country this week. I mean, talk about good timing. Seriously, we couldn’t be talking about something more important.”

Curtis, who said there was a chance for Mother Nature to be adapted into a film down the road, emphasized that she doesn’t see climate change as a political issue. “I’m not proselytizing,” the Halloween actress said. “I don’t care what side you’re on. It’s happening, and there are things we can do to ameliorate it and to try to stem the tide, excuse the pun. Shit is happening, and so it feels absolutely on point right now.”

Later, a fan asked the star to recall some of the favorite successes in her life, and Curtis brought up her two daughters and also her work in Everything Everywhere All at Once, which earned the performer her first Oscar earlier this year. “The greatest moments have been things I never saw coming — my family, my personal life, my work,” she said. “If you think I saw Deirdre Beaubeirdre coming. If you think I was sitting there thinking, ‘Hmm, we’re going to make a little indie in 38 days in Simi Valley, California, for $12 million, and we’re all going to end up winning Oscars,’ you’re crazy people.”

During the panel, Curtis did not address the ongoing actors strike, which has kept performers from promoting their acting work at Comic-Con. The labor disputes involving SAG-AFTRA and the Writers Guild have meant that this year’s panels largely went without the big names and recognizable faces that typically thrill crowds and lead to lengthy lines for prominent events.

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Gareth Edwards, Justin Simien, Louis Leterrier Share Hollywood War Stories, Talk Original Movies, AI

While their upcoming movies may not have had panels at 2023 San Diego Comic-Con, Gareth Edwards and Justin Simien, who respectively have sci-fi thriller Creator and Disney’s Haunted Mansion hitting theaters in the coming weeks, managed to give their projects a spotlight, despite the ongoing actors and writers strikes.

The filmmakers, who were part of a Directors on Directing panel hosted by film website Collider, were in Hall H on Disney’s dime, as they repeated several times, and tried to behave as best as they could when moderator Steven Weintraub asked a couple of thorny questions about marketing and studio notes.

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The duo handled it well enough, although the real wild card on the panel was Louis Leterrier, the Fast X director who was a last-minute replacement for David Leitch.

When Weintraub asked about projects that fell apart in the development process, Simien responded, “Disney is paying for me to be here right, so I can’t.” The director is well known for working on a Lando Calrissian Star Wars series that was ultimately put back on the shelf.

Edwards responded by talking about the different kinds of meetings he’s found himself in, and Simien did elaborate about his experiences, without naming names.  

“You have a bunch of great initial meetings and the people are meeting with are genuinely excited, and then their bosses come into the picture,” he said. “And they’re not so sure or they were in a shareholder meeting or whatever goes on above our pay grade. And somewhere in the middle, it changes.” The attitude then becomes, in his words, “The very thing we hired you to do, let’s not do that.”

Leterrier then wowed both by revealing details about a dream project of his that never got off the ground: Yellowstone Falls, a story of a mother wolf and her three cubs making their way through Yellowstone while being chased by zombies, who in this scenario have run out of humans to eat and have turned to eating animals. “It’s my magnum opus,” he said.

Leterrier also detailed how he once spent eight months working with James Cameron on a remake of Fantastic Voyage, meticulously drafting the take and even developing new cameras for the endeavor. “It was killed in the room,” he said.

(He also hilariously recounted how Cameron was not at the pitch and he tried in vain to reach him. “Did you get ghosted by him?” asked Simien. “No, no,” Leterrier defended. “He had a good excuse. He was in the Mariana Trench.” Edwards quickly shot in, “He uses that excuse with everyone.”)

The panel was a fun and informative jaunt, with the directors expounding on different relationships with cinematographers, creating original movies in a time where branded IPs rule and the use of artificial intelligence.

Simien noted that he had very specific demands for Mansion, on which he worked with Jeffrey Waldron.

“When you see Black people in movies, especially if they are the only Black person in the movie, you can barely see them sometimes. They need to be lit differently,” he said. “And I can’t tell you how to do that exactly, but I just know I want to see Lakeith Stanfield’s face when he’s standing next to Owen Wilson. And that is actually quite a technical feat.”

On the question of remakes, Simien said he desperately wanted to make a version of The Wiz, to claps and hollers from the audience.

“This is the very first movie I ever saw, so by the time I saw the original Wizard of Oz, I didn’t understand they made a white version of the Wiz. I just didn’t get it,” he added.

His wanting to remake the movie became a running joke throughout the panel, much to his chagrin.

Edwards, who is behind the original movie Creator and got his break in 2010 making a low-budget indie titled Monsters, amusingly talked about how he was enticed into making his big studio movies.

“When I first came to L.A., I was like, ‘I’m not going to do it. I’m just going to make my own films and figure out the next one. There’s no way, you can’t talk me into it,’” he recalled. “And then what happened was, ‘Do you want to do Godzilla?’ Fuck. Of course you say yes … And after that, it was, ‘That’s it, I’m not doing another. That’s the end of it.’ Then came, ‘Do you want to do Star Wars?’”

It was and is hard to say no to these kinds of overtures.

But Edwards also noted that his movie is one of the few original studio offerings this year, a stark and dreadful contrast from years gone by when the top 10 movies of any year would be all originals.

“It’s simple math. They put films in the cinema and when lots of people go to see them, they make more of those films,” he explained. “When people don’t, they make different films. The way this changes, if people want original filmmaking in cinema, go to support original filmmaking.”

Leterrier is already a Creator fan and the director was so out of his seat with excitement that when an extended clip of the movie was shown, he ran into the Hall H crowd and sat with the audience in order to have a good vantage point to see it on the massive screens.

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Ariana Grande, Ethan Slater’s ‘Wicked’ zodiac compatibility explained

Venus retrograde came hard and came early for Ariana Grande.

Within three days of confirming her split from husband Dalton Gomez, news outlets reported that our Cancer queen has moved on and found love with her redheaded “Wicked” co-star Ethan Slater.

Sources say the couple, who met on the set of the forthcoming Broadway adaptation, have been dating for months.

Both are/were navigating estrangements from their respective spouses (Slater is married to but separated from his high school sweetheart Lilly Jay with whom he shares a son, born in January 2023) and seem to have found solace and spark in one another.

Grande’s relationship history, (detailed in the banger “Thank You, Next,”) includes former flames and fiancees Graham Phillips, Jai Brooks, Nathan Sykes, Big Sean, Ricky Alvarez, dearly departed Capricorn Mac Miller, Pete “Big D- energy” Davidson, and Mikey Foster. Grande married Dalton, a Leo real estate agent, in a secret ceremony in May 2021.

What do the stars reveal about the new new romance between Ari and the stage star best known for playing sentient sea dweller Sponge Bob Square Pants? Read on to learn more.

Sun in her fun house

Slater’s sun, Mercury and Venus are in Grande’s fifth house of romance.Ariana Grande / Instagram

Born June 2, 1992 Slater’s sun, Venus and Mercury fall in Gemini and synastry wise, all fall in Grande’s fifth house of pleasure, play, creativity and fun.

This is a cozy, heavy petting, mugs of cocoa, flannels and feelings kind of connection. In astrology, the sun is the self, Mercury indicates how we commune and Venus how we express love.

With these planets/placements in Grande’s fifth house it is clear Slater is bringing human touch, genuine curiosity and soul baring conversation as offerings to the hallowed altar of AG.

TBH folks, there is no finer rebound for our girl than a redhead who can serve to show her what she was starved of in her marriage.

Keep in mind that the fifth house is the land of flings not forever so while these two might burn bright and hot for one another there’s little evidence to suggest long term sustainability.

D–k daze or made to last?

Slater’s birth time is not listed so his moon sign is a source of debate. Annie Wermiel

There is no finer rebound for our crab queen than a redhead who can serve to show her what she was starved of in her marriage.

Grande is in the midst of her Saturn return, a time of seismic change and personal evolution that ushers us, with a fair shake of upset, into adulthood.

Add to it that transit wise, this Venus retrograde in Leo is activating Grande’s eighth house of sex, death and transformation, calling on her to go in and go deep when it comes to matters of intimacy and secrecy.

She’s shedding skins, burning boats and radically flipping her own script and Slater may be just the match and the ink she needs for this phase of phoenix-ing.

Grande’s Saturn in Pisces squares Slater’s Venus in Gemini, and his Saturn in Aquarius squares her Venus in Taurus, a doubling down of a not so easy dynamic.

The new couple shares some very interesting astro energy.Instagram

As Cafe Astrology notes, “This relationship may begin with a strong feeling of comfort and compatibility, over time, some very challenging dynamics are likely to surface.

The Saturn person, fearing the Venus person’s withdrawal of affection, loyalty, or respect, can easily become critical or demanding of the Venus person.

In response to Saturn’s critical demeanor, Venus may withhold affection. A vicious circle can quickly occur.”

Since, this aspect is two fold in this synastry chart, both this initial compatibility and long term complication are amplified.

Moon struck

New couple Ethan Slater and Ariana Grande (pictured center-ish) reportedly met on the set of “Wicked.”michelleyeoh_official/Instagram

Alas, Slater’s birth chart is not listed online and since he’s recently made his Instagram profile private I can’t reasonably ask him or his mom.

The moon changed signs on the day he was born so our man is either a late degree Gemini moon or an early degree Cancer moon.

Should the reality lean towards the latter there’s a chance of a sun/moon connection/conjunction between Slater and Grande, a natural and beneficial yin/yang, masculine/feminine, two halve of the same whole energy that feels comfortable and supportive to both parties, like a bespoke sports bra.

If our man is a double Gemini, sun and moon, (and bless his bones if he is) his moon in Gemini would trine Ari’s in Libra, a favorable, free flowing, drunk in love kind of aspect.

Interestingly, Slater has Chiron, the point in the birth chart that indicates our deepest wound, in Grande’s seventh house of partnerships.

Ethan Slater is a redheaded Broadway fixture.Getty Images for Nickelodeon

This dynamic is one of epiphanies, triggered transformation, profound patching up and closure of all kinds. As 12andus.com explains, “Chiron person (Slater) shows House 7 person (Grande) how relationships and partnerships can be vehicles for healing.

The House 7 person (Grande) may come to see past traumas and wounds in a new light, putting things into perspective or finding closure on past relationships thanks to Chiron person’s influence (Slater).

Through this relationship both can come to work through past patterns of isolation or codependency.”

Coming together to combat codependency and begin a heart forward, centered self rewrite of the book of love? A profound and timely gift for both parties.

Right on, write on babies. Here’s to you, together or apart, and ever in service of the next step in your personal evolution.

Astrology 101: Your guide to the stars

Astrologer Reda Wigle researches and irreverently reports back on planetary configurations and their effect on each zodiac sign. Her horoscopes integrate history, poetry, pop culture and personal experience. She is also an accomplished writer who has profiled a variety of artists and performers, as well as extensively chronicled her experiences while traveling. Among the many intriguing topics she has tackled are cemetery etiquette, her love for dive bars, Cuban Airbnbs, a “girls guide” to strip clubs and the “weirdest” foods available abroad.

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Don’t fall prey to fake ‘girl dinner’ trend outrage, food experts say

Please romaine calm.

#GirlDinner has enticed over 247 million views on TikTok, as young women share what they pulled together to consume while watching their favorite show on the couch.

Critics are sounding the alarm on the “disturbing new trend,” claiming that the videos showcase too-small portions of food, even though “girl dinners” are often an aesthetic arrangement of cheeses, cold cuts, crackers and fruits (i.e. “snack plates”) or a random assortment of leftovers from the depths of the fridge.

“Any time people are posting pictures of food, [it] has the potential to cause comparison among individuals,” Kelsey Rose, a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences at the University of Vermont, told The Post on Friday.

She went on to clarify that while “nutrition is individualized, and a balanced meal is super-important, having a one-off night — where you have a ‘girl dinner’ (as long as you’re full and satisfied) — isn’t a case where you’re having a disordered relationship with the food that you’re eating.”

The #Girldinner tag has amassed over 247 million views on TikTok. @karamarkert/TikTok

Nevertheless, the trend follows criticism that TikTok promotes “toxic” diet culture and “glorifies” weight loss, and the alarming rise of adolescent eating disorders since the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, many of the videos that are causing concern may be jokes that might have missed the mark for some — like a TikTok from last week that shows a woman walking out of a kitchen with a glass of ice for “girl dinner.”

Others have cracked that Lunchables or Easy-Bake Oven treats are the original inspiration for the trend.

The trend has been ridiculed online, as some joke that Lunchables or Easy-Bake Oven treats are the original “girl dinner.” @charhrobertson

“Girl dinners” are actually nothing new.

Like many other online movements, they are simply an age-old occurrence that Gen Z has rebranded into a hashtag.

Olivia Maher, the self-proclaimed creator of the “girl dinner” concept, explained in a TikTok posted in May that “in medieval times peasants had to eat nothing but bread and cheese,” arguing that the scraps are actually what she would consider her “ideal meal.”

Cultures across the world have long adopted grazing boards at mealtime.

Think tapas in Spain, charcuterie boards in France, bento boxes in Japan and noshes in Jewish households.

Even celebrity foodies, such as Alison Roman, have eschewed the phrase “girl dinner” while still promoting the concept.

“This video you’re about to watch is in no way inspired by girl dinners,” Roman noted in a recent YouTube video.

“This is not that; this is our version of apéro hour,” she said, referencing a French happy hour tradition that consists of “nearly anything you like,” like “a dip, a nut, an olive, a fish, a cheese and vegetables” — so, essentially a “girl dinner.”

Tapas in Spain, charcuterie boards in France, bento boxes in Japan and noshes in Jewish households are some examples of snacking from around the world.

As they tend to do, this viral trend has sparked several spoofs and spinoffs, including “husband meals” (what spouses scarf when wives are away) and “boy dinners.”

Aspiring musician Arkane Skye went viral starting the TikTok trend #BoyDinner — which has over 52 million views — with a catchy song and satirical video showing himself biting into a slice of leftover Domino’s pizza he found under the covers in his disturbingly messy room.

He told BuzzFeed that the videos are a funny “generalization of boys not only making unhealthy food choices but also being unclean and lazy.”

Some warn that the small servings may encourage eating disorders, but others insist these snacking dinners can be healthy if they are nonrestrictive. TikTok

As for “girl dinners,” Rose told The Post that the trend could be interpreted as “a form of self-care in the way that someone is feeding themselves in a way they enjoy with satisfying food — without having to make a full meal or care [for] someone else.”

If you or someone you love is struggling with an eating disorder, you can get help. Call the National Eating Disorder Association helpline at (800) 931-2237 or visit NationalEatingDisorders.org.

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My hyper-realistic prosthetic eye is shocking — but I’m learning to love it

He’s got perspective.

A man has gone viral on TikTok after showing off his hyper-realistic prosthetic eye — although viewers may be even more “shaken” by what’s revealed behind it.

Amit Ghose, 33, from Birmingham, was diagnosed with a rare genetic condition called neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), when he was two years old. The condition causes tumors, which grew on the left side of Ghose’s face and one eye — leading to its removal when he was 11.

“In the past, I have been very sad about my condition — at times I felt extremely low and depressed,” Ghose, who works at a law firm as a relationship executive, told NeedToKnow.co.uk.

“I would be jealous of others,” he admitted. “I would look at their ‘normal’, symmetrical face and feel as if I was ugly.”

Ghose started posting his day-to-day experiences with facial disfiguration on TikTok, which quickly gained traction and now receives millions of views.

Ghose shared how he takes his eye in and out on TikTok.Jam Press Vid/@amitzzz

Ghose admitted people have said cruel things to him about his eye.Jam Press/@amitzzz

In a recent clip, which received over 4.5 million views, Ghose showed users how his eye can be taken off and re-attached.

In the clip, he removes the prosthetic eye — which resembles a patch, covering the entire eye socket — to reveal the magnets underneath which are used to keep it attached.

Ghose’s followers on social media asked him if it “hurt” to remove and replace the prosthetic — but no physical discomfort could compare to the hurtful comments he hears from people about it, he said.

“Some people will say, ‘Oh my God… what happened to your face?” he revealed. “Young children will often get scared and cry [and] young adults [and] teenagers will mock me saying, ‘Did you get run over by a train?.’”

Ghose says he’s always tried to embrace his facial differences.Jam Press/@amitzzz

He says he’s now embraced his disorder.Jam Press/@amitzzz

He married his wife in 2021.Jam Press/@amitzzz

“Sometimes I’ll leave it off when I’m home and the doorbell will ring, and I will go to open the door, forgetting that I’m not wearing my eye,” he explained.

“And if it’s a postman or if it’s somebody doing a delivery they usually get really, really shaken,” Ghose admitted. “I’ll say, ‘Oh I’m so sorry’, and even though I celebrate my condition, I understand how this can be a bit shaking for people.”

Despite those in his life who told him he could never find love, Ghose married his wife, Piyali, a year ago after being introduced to her by a family friend in May 2021.

“I worried that people judged me for my appearance, rather than judging me as a person,” Ghose told SWNS. “But from the moment I said hello to Piyali and introduced myself, we clicked.”

Ghose said he plans to continue making videos about his experience, hoping to help and inspire people,

“I want to educate people about the challenges and eventually normalize visible differences,” he explained, adding “overtime” he’s come to terms with his condition.

“I can’t change how I look,” he quipped. “But can change my mindset.”

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I was excited to propose to my girlfriend — until our hotel burned down

Jason Lee Pryer, 21, was stoked to propose to his girlfriend, Melanie Nunne, 21, last week at the historic Royal Albion Hotel in Brighton, England.

He never expected a blazing inferno would dampen the special day.

“We were only staying there for that night. I planned the proposal for a couple months,” Pryer told South West News Service. “I’d stayed there once before, and it was a really nice hotel, so I thought I’d take her there.”

Nunne believed she was hitting the town with her sisters that Saturday night, but really Pryer was preparing the ultimate surprise — complete with balloons, flower petals and drinks.

“Her sister went downstairs and put a blindfold on her and said, ‘We’ve got a surprise for you, just don’t ask any questions.’ She didn’t know I was there,” he explained.

Melanie Nunne believed she was hitting the clubs with her sisters, but really Jason Lee Pryer was waiting to pop the question.Melissa Nunne / SWNS

But immediately after saying “Yes” and celebrating with prosecco, the fire alarm rang.Melissa Nunne / SWNS

When Nunne walked upstairs, Pryer flung open the door and pushed on with the proposal — despite smelling smoke that he brushed off as an outdoor barbecue.

“She came in. Her sister read her one of the love letters I wrote to her. I stood behind her, I got down on one knee and I proposed to her,” he continued.

As soon as she said “Yes,” they celebrated with a glass of prosecco as a smoky aroma hung in the air.

Nunne went to change her clothes, Pryer recalled, which is when fire alarms began to blare.

Nunne’s mom pulled her from the room and booked it downstairs, as Pryer searched for his new fiancée in the chaos.

Pryer picked a 200-year-old hotel to propose in.Jason Lee Pryer / SWNS

“Her sister grabbed me by the arm and said, ‘Jay, we’ve got to go. I don’t know how close it is to us, but we have to go,’” he remembered.

They rushed out of the lower level, eventually making their way to the beach as fiery debris flung from the burning 200-year-old hotel.

“One of the planks of wood that was alight landed next to me. I completely froze, and my partner grabbed me by the arm and said, ‘Jay, we need to go this way,’” he remembered.

Once they located police, they were instructed to find Royal Albion staffers at the Leonardo Hotel, more than a mile away.

They ditched their belongings and booked it outside, only to see their hotel go up in smoke.Melissa Nunne / SWNS

Some of the hotel’s displaced guests were reportedly forced to find other lodging in Brighton or nearby cities.Melissa Nunne / SWNS

Free lodging was reportedly promised to displaced guests on an as-needed basis, but Pryer said it wasn’t offered to them — so they found their own at the nearby Old Ship Hotel.

“I explained to them what happened, and that Mel has bad lungs, pneumonia, and needs to get out of the cold,” Pryer said of Nunne, the mother of a 2-year-old girl.

Thankfully, the Old Ship gave them free drinks, breakfast and coats to keep them warm. The family had not taken their possessions with them (except the wedding ring and its box) as the fire raged.

Now, the couple is attempting to hunt down their belongings, including their phones and overnight clothes.

They claim fire personnel and Royal Albion’s parent company, Britannia Hotels, have not provided answers.

“It’s stressful, not knowing what’s going on. It does hurt,” Pryer said.

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Samsung Wallet gets digital school ID support for campuses across the US

Students at 68 colleges and universities across the US will easily be able to use their Samsung phones to tap for access and purchases. Samsung’s Wallet app now supports digital student IDs, so long as it’s on the United States versions of the brand’s latest devices. Some of the educational institutions that have enabled ID integration for Samsung Wallet are Penn State, the University of Florida, Central Michigan University, University of North Alabama and the Stevens Institute of Technology.

Apple has supported contact-free student ID cards since 2018, allowing students to tap their phones to access facilities and, say, get food at the cafeteria. Google Pay also launched student ID integration in 2020 in partnership with a company called Transact, which offers solutions for tuition and other student expense payment. That’s the same company Samsung has teamed up with to enable this integration, which means users will have to download the Transact eAccounts mobile app from Google Play, as well.

Like other digital student ID integrations, Samsung Wallet allows students to access school facilities with their phone. The app’s Fast Mode feature will let users tap their phone without having to unlock their screen, while Power Reserve means they can use their digital ID even if their phone has switched off due to low battery reserves. That said, the capability to pay using NFC at on-campus stores and vending machines aren’t available at all of the participating institutions.

At the moment, students can only use Samsung Wallet’s digital ID support if they have a Galaxy S20 phone or later, a Note 20, a Galaxy Flip or Fold device, or a Galaxy A53. Galaxy Watch support is coming this fall. Samsung also says that it’s working to expand the offering and make it available for students in more institutions. 

All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. All prices are correct at the time of publishing.

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Cowboy insists it’s not the next VanMoof as it raises prices to ‘stay healthy’

Electric BikesCompany launches cheaper Core e-bike configurations while predicting profitability starting this quarter. 

By Thomas Ricker, a deputy editor and Verge co-founder with a passion for human-centric cities, e-bikes, and life as a digital nomad. He’s been a tech journalist for almost 20 years.

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Cowboy and VanMoof are two very similar e-bike companies, which is why we’re all wondering if Cowboy will be next to file for bankruptcy now that the era of free VC money is over and profitability is key to survival. This week Cowboy introduced a cheaper no-frills e-bike configuration ahead of yet another price increase. Moves that have only intensified scrutiny of the boutique Belgian startup.

Nevertheless, Cowboy CEO Adrien Roose tells me that the electric bike maker is on more secure footing, despite all the similarities.

For example, both European e-bike makers took on millions from investors in recent years while posting heavy losses during periods of rapid scale up. Both focus on direct-to-consumer sales of premium, software- and sensor-laden e-bikes assembled from lots of custom parts, and both Cowboy and VanMoof had to secure additional funding earlier in the year to deal with unforeseen operational challenges in a post-pandemic e-bike marketplace that has cooled off considerably.

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This week, Cowboy launched a less expensive (but still not cheap) $2990/€2490 “Core” configuration of its Classic, Cruiser, and Cruiser ST models that offers fewer features, like replacing the maintenance-free Gates Carbon belt drive with an oily chain-drive, as it raises prices elsewhere. That’s eerily similar to VanMoof’s product trajectory with the launch of the cheaper scaled-back S4 after raising prices on its overwrought S5 flagship, all just two months before the company went public about its dire financial situation.

Cowboy’s Core e-bike configurations only come in black, lack a wireless charger under the integrated phone mount, and ship with a slower charging brick. Cowboy told Dutch-language Bright magazine that the upcoming price increase from $3490/€2990 to $3790/€3290 on August 1st for its belt-driven (now called “Performance” configurations) e-bikes was required to “stay healthy” (more on that later). Those same e-bikes were priced at €2490 when launched in Europe two years ago and as low as $1990 when first introduced to the US — back when startups could sell their electric bikes at a loss due to the seemingly endless supply of investor capital.

Cowboy aims to further justify the difference between the Core and Performance configurations through software. Moving forward, Cowboy e-bikes configured for Performance will benefit from the otherwise optional $300/€300 Cowboy Connect software features like adaptive power, crash detection, and three new Google Maps features to share live journey info, alert the rider to upcoming hazards, and the ability to choose a route based on the best air quality. Cowboy Connect also unlocks the e-bike maker’s first Apple Watch app. All nice to have, I guess, but certainly not critical to the operation of an e-bike.

So yeah, like VanMoof, Cowboy e-bikes are high-tech proprietary computers-on-wheels with a feature set that can, at times, verge on gimmickry. Nevertheless, Cowboy wants you to know that it’s different.

“Cowboy is in a very different position to VanMoof,” insists Cowboy CEO Adrien Roose in an email exchange with The Verge. “Our key stakeholders including our investors, supply chain and distribution partners and employees are fully supportive of the business plan we are executing.”

The big difference between Cowboy and VanMoof is the prospect of profitability: Cowboy has repeatedly said that it’s close, after having posted EBITDA losses of around €21 million over the last few years; but VanMoof never was, having reportedly lost nearly €80 million in each of the last two years. 

Last week, Cowboy issued a press release titled “Cowboy on track to profitability with break even as of Q3 2023.” However, Roose now tells me that the company is “on track to achieve our goal of profitability within the current quarter, and on a full year basis next year.” Of course, profitability could be €1, but even that would be a first for the six-year old company after a history of losses. A profitable 2024 would certainly be notable.

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a:hover]:text-gray-63 [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63 dark:[&>a]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray”>Photo by Thomas Ricker / The Verge

Roose cites “meaningful revenue growth” for each month this year so far for his optimism about the quarter ending on September 30th, as well as “strong sales” through July following the launch of its more upright and comfortable Cruiser e-bike on July 3rd. “We expect sales to exceed our target which will make it the best month of the year so far.” 

Roose lists a few other notable differences between Cowboy and VanMoof:

Cowboy assembles close to its customers in Europe. (VanMoof’s e-bikes were assembled and distributed to customers from its factory in Taiwan.)Cowboy has evolved from a D2C-only business and now distributes its bikes through an expanding range of independent bike dealers and retailers. Through these bike dealers the company is also transforming its after-sales model. (VanMoof’s direct-to-consumer support was almost entirely performed at about 50 branded stores in select cities, whereas Cowboy is currently working with over 100 independent bike stores to sell, repair, and service its bikes with another 200 scheduled to come on board in Europe this year.)

To “stay healthy,” Roose candidly explains that the August 1st price increase is needed to ensure that reasonable profit margins exist for both Cowboy and its new network of independent bike shop partners. Roose also cites several other metrics to demonstrate the company’s relative operational health: 

Cowboy inventory is down 50 percent from a year ago and its working capital position is stable.Cowboy is achieving 40 percent gross margin on new bikes sold.Production costs are down 20 percent.

So, while you might not like Cowboy’s price increase, that coupled with operational efficiencies across the board could be the difference between your expensive e-bike running for years, and, well… VanPoof! [Editor’s Note: credit to ex-Verge Dieter Bohn for sliding that and “VanOOF” into my DMs on the day VanMoof declared bankruptcy.]

Despite the opportunity VanMoof’s exit presents, which was recognized by Cowboy’s cheeky release of the Bikey app (that has earned the company oodles of goodwill in VanMoof communities), Roose seemed genuinely distraught over VanMoof’s demise when I met with him on a video call, a feeling that was also expressed by fellow Cowboy co-founder and CTO Tanguy Goretti.

“While a lot of individuals will be quick to jump guns and criticize VanMoof, I think they still deserve some recognition for their achievements,” wrote Goretti on Linkedin. “They have helped change the face of the industry and the perception of e-bikes since they started 14 years ago (!). They made it cool when it was a product mainly used by our grandparents. They truly had a positive impact on cities and not a small one.”

RIP, VanMoof — you’ll always be my first.

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How To Delete Picsart Video Files On Android

If you are a longtime Android user, you likely know where to find all your apps’ files. However, for those using an Android for the first time or users that need a reminder, it’s important to note that many files won’t be directly saved in the apps themselves. Rather, they are saved in the File Manager app that is connected to the phone’s internal and SD card storage. Picsart videos will be saved in a folder of the same name. In this folder, you can find videos you have made on the app and any other projects you created.

Open the Android files app or a file manager that you prefer. Navigate to the Picsart folder.The videos will appear in a sub-folder titled, well, Videos. Tap that folder to find your videos.When you find the video you want to delete, press on it until a checkbox appears.Tap the check boxes of the video or videos you want to delete.Tap the Delete button, then confirm your intent. Afterward, the video or videos you selected will be deleted from your Android device.

If you decide that you need a video file you deleted for whatever reason, there’s a way to do that. Handy Recovery recommends finding a previous backup of your phone’s data and choosing the video to restore.

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