Month: July 2019

Olivia Culpo, the model, influencer, actress and cover star of Maxim’s July/August Hot 100 issue, is hosting the Maxim Hot 100 Experience July 13 at the red-hot Hyde Beach at SLS South Beach. 

Culpo will be joined by numerous other models, athletes, actors and influencers, along with musical entertainment by DJ Bobby French, for the exclusive event celebrating Maxim’s annual Hot 100 issue, on newsstands now.

The Hot 100 Experience brings Maxim to life by honoring the 100 influential and empowered women who captured our attention this year with their beauty, brains and social media success. The women featured in the 2019 Hot 100 have a combined social footprint of more than 1 billion.

“I’ve always looked at the Maxim Hot 100 with admiration,” said Culpo. “There have been so many smart and successful women featured who have inspired me and my career in countless ways which makes this cover so meaningful to me. It still doesn’t feel real! Thank you so much MAXIM for the opportunity and to all of the people who worked on this with me.”

For the first time ever, The Maxim Hot 100 Experience moves to Miami, timed to Swim Week in partnership with sbe. Taking place at the famed Hyde Beach at the SLS South Beach Hotel, guests will be treated to an elite experience, amazing talent, great mixology, unique brand activations and most importantly…an epic evening of unapologetic fun. For tickets and table information, go here. 

Maxim would like to give special thanks to our Hot 100 Experience partners, including SBE, Hyde Beach, SLS South Beach, Vellamo, Dobel Tequila and Infuzed Brands.

Don’t miss the Maxim Hot 100 Experience at Hyde Beach on Saturday, July 13, from 9 p.m. until close. We’ll see you there!

Just west of the Sunset Strip’s swanky sushi bars, Italian boutiques and beer-stained nightclubs the Boulevard transforms into an automotive candyland — one rife with sharp corners, hip-swaying S-turns and dizzying dips. 

Lined with video game palm trees, it’s the kind of place that begs for misbehavior even if you’re driving a rented Corolla. But behind the wheel of a McLaren — especially when it’s the latest offspring in their legendary Longtail family — you might as well be licking your lips with a forked tongue.

You’ll be gunning the British performance marque’s spectacular twin-turbo V-8 to make it howl, and burping lightning quick downshifts just to hear the 600LT bark and protest angrily at slowing down. 

The most delightfully obnoxious aspect of this latest Longtail, the 592-hp powerplant, is not the most revelatory. 

That would be the 600LT’s agility and road feel: the steering is so communicative if feels like you’re tracing your fingertips on top of Sunset’s pocked concrete. In Track Mode it’s as if the Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R tires are so sensitive they could read braille.

There’s so much chatter from the steering wheel, in fact, you’ll swear there’s no secret Sunset can hide from the 600LT. Which translates into an almost prescient agility: twitch the wheel and the Mac is already there, slicing the road like a scalpel incision. 

It’s dangerous in a way; at times my passenger, pale and white-knuckled, was too stressed to even peep a word of dissent, yet I was convinced the 600LT wasn’t even flirting with its limits. Its grip is so sure-footed you have to be on a closed circuit to even begin testing the mid-engined supercar’s limits.

Which makes sense, really. In the world of McLaren, the normally disparate worlds of “street car” and “race car” are never far apart. 

Ever since their Formula One-inspired F1, often called the greatest road car ever made, the difference between what McLaren sells at showrooms and what they lock up in a paddock has never been all that considerable. But that distinction is even more blurred when it comes to their Longtail family.

Ever since the first of its name back in 1997, the “Longtail” designation bears great import in the history of McLaren. That F1 GTR Longtail was born as a response to the shady shenanigans other constructors were using to blur the line between “production cars” and homologated racecars in GT series. 

Focused on optimizing aerodynamics, shedding weight and increasing downforce, the F1 GTR Longtail went on to claim the top two podium spots at that year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans (beating the closest competitor by nearly 30 laps), and five of 11 FIA GT Championship races. 

The 600LT is the fourth McLaren to bear the Longtail moniker, and like its great grandfather it too focuses on aerodynamics, weight and downforce. 

Dual top-exit exhaust ports — the most stirring visual difference between the 600LT and the 570S it is based on — check all three goals. 

McLaren engineers will tell you it’s to fit a new diffuser that shaves almost 30 pounds from the 570S, and along with a new rear wing helps add another 220 pounds of downforce. 

But we know it’s really there for the drama.

The island that was featured in the infamous Fyre Festival promotional video (the one with models, yachts, jet skis, and DJs), called Saddleback Cay, is currently for sale for a cool $11.8 million.

The island is one of 365 islands in the Exumas, and is a substantial 35 acres with seven beaches, and has access by air to New Providence. But unlike the video, Ja Rule and the model squad including Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid aren’t included. 

In case you’re wondering, the actual Fyre Festival disaster wasn’t held at Saddleback Cay, but instead at the nearby larger Norman’s Cay. So rest assured you wouldn’t be purchasing the Fyre fallout zone.

Also, this island was not owned by Pablo Escobar. Billy McFarland and his lies strike again.

For anyone that’s interested in splashing out $11.8 million on this private island, just know that the current owner has the land tied to a company so the transaction may require you to also buy a portion of the company.

There’s no way to win this battle. Gravity always comes out on top. As Aniol Serrasolses paddles closer and closer to the rushing edge of a monstrous waterfall, he passes the point of no return and his fate is sealed… he’s going over the precipice. 

You or I would likely be overwhelmed by the natural fear that comes with a death-defying drop from heights of 100 feet or more, but for Serrasolses, it’s a moment of clarity, a few seconds of purity and absolute focus. 

The world around him doesn’t exist. It’s just him, his kayak, and the hope that his skill, experience and planning are sufficient to let him float away safely after an epic descent. It may look like insanity, or even a death wish, but for Serrasolses, it’s the only rational way to live. 

Serrasolses was born and raised in Catalonia, Spain, not exactly a hotspot of kayaking. When his older brother first took him out on the water when he was 12, Aniol was hooked. 

“Since the very first days I knew I wanted to spend my life kayaking around the world,” he recalls. “I was a small kid with big dreams.” 

But kayaking isn’t a local activity, it requires travel and resources to attempt the most challenging, and exhilarating, white water rapids and waterfalls on the planet. But Aniol is special, and it didn’t take long for brands to take note. 

“As soon as I got my first sponsors, kayaking became a sustainable activity for me,” he says. “Signing with Red Bull when I was only 20 took things to the next level.” 

Since then, Aniol, now 28, has traversed the globe, seeking out the most challenging white water rapids and waterfalls, in some of the most remote locations imaginable. In fact, simply reaching many of his expedition destinations can be as strenuous, and dangerous, as his on-river antics.

According to Aniol, “part of the experience involves being exposed to extreme weather conditions and wildlife, walking for days carrying your kayak fully loaded, having limited access to communications and sometimes even accepting that rescues are not possible.” 

At times, Aniol’s day-to-day existence seems more like a Bear Grylls expedition than an athletic adventure, taking the young Spaniard to the edge of civilization and beyond. 

“The Amazon, it’s a beautiful but challenging destination,” Aniol admits when asked about his most treacherous expedition. 

“We paddle into the wild. If you are out of supplies you only eat what you hunt, conditions are favorable for the transmission of tropical diseases and you can expect close encounters with the revolutionary armed forces.”

If snakes, tropical diseases and armed militia are the obstacles to reaching a river, perhaps Aniol’s lack of fear when on the water is understandable. After all the uncertainty of the trip, the kayaker is in his element once he starts paddling, removing any uncertainty on the water with extensive planning and preparation. 

“Kayaking is an extreme sport that involves multiple risks,” he explains. “As a professional athlete I take my career seriously and practice it with great responsibility. Aside from having specific physical training and continuous courses on apnea, first aid and rescue to name a few, I strongly suggest scouting every challenging section on the river.”

“I always do a risk assessment before going for a new descent: What is the best line? Which are the ideal spots for safety kayakers? Is the pool deep enough? Where are the eddies? Are there big holes, siphons or undercuts?” 

That may seem like a lot of effort and unpleasant preparation hiking up and down a river, but the potential consequences of getting things wrong couldn’t be greater. 

“This one time I was stuck in a very deep gorge in Mexico with a group of friends,” Aniol soberly remembers. 

“We had rushed into a section of white water following our leader and dropped off a 90-foot waterfall by accident. We all survived the landing but couldn’t find any exit routes afterwards.”

“Some were injured by the impact and the only option out was paddling downstream and dropping off another waterfall without scouting possibilities. I had to take the risk and run it. I managed to climb the canyon right after and throw a rescue rope to get one by one out of that scary situation.”

While he and his team escaped that situation with their lives, Aniol has paid a heavy price for his career choice. He broke his back dropping a 40-foot waterfall in Norway when he landed on a rock hidden under the waterline. He has dislocated his shoulder twice and broken ribs multiple times. 

“Injuries are part of the game,” Aniol says. “But having patience to rest, discipline for rehab and a positive mindset make a good formula to overcome injuries when they occur.” 

While he has made perhaps his biggest public impact with his descents of white water rapids and waterfalls, he’s also a competitive kayaker, winning competitions like the North Fork Championship in Idaho last year. 

Winning the world title again is a current goal of the Catalonian phenom, making his accomplishments even more jaw-dropping when you consider that he’s dominating his sport in both racing and freeride kayaking. But it’s in the remote, unforgiving wilderness where Aniol finds his purpose, and the calm required to attempt a potentially fatal rapids or drop-off. 

“For me it’s about experiencing the wild with close friends and pushing the boundaries of the sport to new heights. Expeditions are my favorite: you pack your boat with only the essentials and you adventure in to the unknown. You forget about the outside world and live in the present moment.” 

And as for the moment that you, I, and most sane people would paddle frantically to avoid – going over the edge and into the abyss of an angry, violent waterfall – Serrasolses finds himself the epitome of calm and most at peace. 

“It is the best moment. I reach the lip of the fall and time stops as I contemplate the most breathtaking view. I no longer feel fear. I’m aware of each movement. Everything is worth it.”