Vote. For Mankind.

Whether your political pinnings reside with Obama or McCain you should know that tomorrow will be a watershed moment. This year’s election has been such an extraordinary series of unique instances and unprecedented occurences that I think most people have come to take that for granted. Don’t.

Honestly, I can tell you now that I feel both Presidential candidates have our nation’s best interest in mind and heart. How they plan to make that happen is another matter. I may sway one way or another, but I find patriotism and well-understood convictions for one’s country the finest character a man can hold.

The stigmas of calling yourself a Republican or Democrat aren’t seen here in the hallowed halls of GP. We, like all men, have our own political beliefs and they are mighty important. But whether it’s trekking the Continental Divide on horseback with nothing but a knife, enjoying an aged Porterhouse and cigar, arguing the finer points of color palettes and decor, debating the best constructed timepiece, finding the latest deal online, taking 10 minutes to make sure your 5 o’clock shadow is just so, or just fragging-out in Call Of Duty, one thing remains true…

We are men. We suffer and succeed in tandem.

So tomorrow (or now) act accordingly. Take the time for your voice to be heard and stand just a bit taller once you’ve voted. Take a moment to look around, toss partisanship aside, and embrace your fellow man’s well-judged beliefs. Know that mistakes will be made and the journey may be tough. But most of all, know that you may well have made the most important decision in your life.

- Eric Y.

Find Your Local Poll

Gear Patrol and AXE On The Scene With UnScene

GP’s Bradley Hasemeyer second row, far right. Courtesy: 944 Magazine.

Recently, smell and sight lord AXE and 944 Magazine teamed up at Sofitel’s Rose Lounge in Los Angeles inside the swank and modern Sofitel hotel to benefit Behind The UnScene. Raising awareness and funds for the genius non-profit and a few charities. Invited, GP’s outreach extraordinare Bradley Hasemeyer was on the scene. His take:

Cameras, red carpets, beautiful women, great music and cost-free imbibing. BAM: That’s how I’m living… tonight.

UnScene finds emerging photographers and exposes them via mobile and online competitions giving them first-time gallery launches and event premieres.

The event featured drinks prepped by mixologists with the same notes of each of AXE’s new Proximity fragrance lineup: Vetyver, Amber and Bergamot. Each, at a different bar with tones of the fragrance’s individual ingredients. Who knew that’s what ‘beech wood’ smells like? I liked.

Admittedly, I was a bit hesitant to try a “Bergamot Martini” due to a bad experience with bergamot in a high school chemistry class (long story). Nevertheless, I pressed forward for the benefit of our readers.

Three martinis, or was it four (?), later, I was glad I did. Ed: LAist did catch Bradley having that fourth.

In addition to the drinks sponsored by Belvedere, a few celebrities—Michelle Branch, Rick(y) Schroder, Karina Smirnoff, Jesse McCartney, Cisco Adler and Shwayze were on hand to promote their own photographs. They ran the full gamut.

Donations were donated, drinks were drank, conversations were conversed, good times were had, and that, ladies and gentlemen, is what charity events are all about.

Check out 944’s full gallery of the event, including the aforementioned ladies.

Look for the next UnScene Tour coming to your neck o’ da woods soon.

That, And An Interview With The Men Behind Them

A sampling of the pants Bonobos has to offer.

Fall is here and if you don’t live in a place where the hottest drink they serve is a rum runner, then pants are now wardrobe de rigueur. Unfortunately though, if you’re like me and don’t want the hassle and cost of tailoring every pair you buy then you were relegated to ill-fitted off the rack choices.

That is until now.

Unlike many sartorially-lazy men; the founders of Bonobos, Andy Dunn and Brian Spaly, saw the problem and decided to fix it by starting a company with one purpose in mind: make quality pants that look good and fit great on everyday guys. No wonder they graduated from Stanford Business School, but more on that later.

Bonobos pants can only be purchased online and that’s part of their genius. By avoiding the costs associated with maintaining a brick & mortar store and hiring sales clerks, Bonobos channels the funds towards high quality fabrics and a customer service department second to none. In other words every dollar of your purchase goes to what matters most to you as a customer, the pants. Furthermore, there’s no need to worry about paying for clothes you can’t try on first, because Bonobo’s return policy is unconditional (literally, read it) and covers all shipping costs.

Experiencing the product spurred my desire to know more about the men behind them, and any advice they might have about starting a business from the ground up. After all, we’re all about advancing mankind.

Luckily the founders were nice enough to sit down with me for an interview (the perks of writing for GP), which we’ve got right after the jump.

So read what they have to say. Prosper from it (sartorially or otherwise).

Read the rest of this entry »

Just in case you’ve been living under a rock, we’re here to remind you that the Presidential election is now one week away. In celebration, we’ve gathered some links for you to check out.

Who are you voting for?

For those of you who are still undecided (yes we know you’re out there), spending 10 minutes of your time to take the Glassbooth’s quiz can help you choose the candidate that’s right for you. Simply add points to the issues that matter to you most, take a quiz based on your chosen issues, and let the site inform you about which candidates most closely align with you and why.

Where is your poll located?

Not sure where to vote on election day? Google’s providing a Google Maps service to find your nearest poll. Click here and enter you address to make sure you know where you’re headed next Tuesday.

Take a Breather And Laugh
Finally take a break from the political news frenzy and get a glimpse of the lighter side of politics from these sites.

• Still deciding between Obama or McCain? How about John McClane? Yeah that’s right, yippy ki-yay election mother f*&%$#

• Barack Obama may have been accused of many things during this campaign, but we’re pretty sure stealing your new bicycle never came up. Take some time to click through this simple yet hilarious site to find out about other egregious acts Barack may have commited against you. Who knew he was capable of such things?

• For you Palin lovers haters, a candidates VP choice is pretty damn important. And if SNL wasn’t enough, hunt around the site palinaspresident.com. A site, updated daily until election day showing Palin in action as our prez. Some one clearly has too much spare time.

Enjoy. But more importantly, get out and vote dammit.

Around The World In Five Movies

Hollywood isn’t the only place where great movies are made. So to broaden your Netflix horizon we put together some of the best manly foreign films out there. Our apologies though if adding them mean’s waiting just a little bit longer for Sex and the City to arrive in the mail. Of course, feel free to email Patrick if you’re dying to know how it was.

Our selections after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

Think You Got What It Takes?

Gear, Guides, Girls… you know the drill. It’s why you come here and what makes Gear Patrol so damn tasty.

Well, Gear Patrol is looking for contributing editors, columnists and writers to join our crew.

We know you’ve got a job and a life so we’re not asking for a ton of your time. But first and foremost, you must be an enthusiast. An enthusiast of areas related to being a man, especially those that we cover (or not). You don’t need blogging experience (we’re an online journal, not a damn blog), but you do need to write with an understanding of our mission: Advancing mankind. That, doused with a healthy dose of humor, an abundance of wit and a willingness to tell every single person you work for Gear Patrol. We can help with the rest.

If you’re a writer for another site, then we welcome you with open arms. We’re not a vindictive bunch here… as much as 8 guys with access to alcohol can be.

In turn you will be blessed with GP credentials (we hear it’s the IT thing for 2009), awesome swag and a business card that will make your current card cower in shame.

If you’re committed and qualified to advancing the cause, then email jobs@gearpatrol.com with “GP Writer” in the subject line along with the following:

• Brief explanation of why you’re qualified.
• Your favorite post on GP.
• Sample 200 word post of a something (doesn’t have to be something you purchase) appropriate to GP that we haven’t written about.
• Something that’ll surprise us. We like surprises.

Looking forward to it.