Shoe and apparel brand Adidas recently launched a new Our Icons Go Vegan initiative to create animal-free versions of its classic shoe styles. In 2018, Adidas launched its first veganized icon, the Stan Smith sneaker, in partnership with designer Stella McCartneyand debuted a second version with colorful star patterns and chunky rainbow shoelaces in 2019. This year, the company added two new styles to the vegan collection, Samba ($80) and Continental 80 ($80), both embossed with a Adidas Original Vegan logo and made with animal-free materials, down to the glue. With the same look and feel as the original style, this version advocates for a better future with an entirely vegan design, Adidas describes the Samba style.

In addition to using all-vegan materials, for its Continental 80 style, the company uses environmentally friendly algae-based EVA foam for the construction of its midsole. The shoe that once found its rhythm in the packed fitness studios of the 80s makes some new moves today, the brand described the new style. These vegan Adidas shoes completely eliminate the use of animal products. So swap out the bold colors of the 80s and exchange them for a brighter future.

Please support independent vegan media and get the very best in news, recipes, travel, beauty, products, and more. Subscribe now to the worlds #1 plant-based magazine!

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Adidas Is Veganizing Its Iconic Sneaker Styles - VegNews

This week, many companies spoke out about the Black Lives Matter movement. Supporting the movement goes beyond "corporate responsibility" it's corporate humanity. Buta few plant-based brands are taking action and actually funding the movement.

Thisongoing fundingwill become a critical part of the success of the Black Lives Matter movement over time. Here are the vegan-friendly companies that have pledged donations or contributions, soyou may choose to support.

Many of the plant-based brands that we report on here at The Beet stepped up in a big wayincluding Purple Carrot which donated $40,000, and Miyokos Creamery which isdonating to Black Lives Matter and the NAACP while also encouraging their customers to do the same.

Earlier this week one of the fastest-growing west coast vegan fast-food chains, Plant Power Fast Food, said its dedicating 100% of its profits this weekend (June 6th-June 7th) to two organizations: NAACP and the Black Visions Collective. Plant Power Fast Food has locations in Ocean Beach; Encinitas; Redlands; San Diego State University (SDSU); Long Beach; and Riverside. All locations are participating in the initiative. (If you cant make it to a Plant Power location, consider donating directly to one of their partner organizations.) It seems like each day the list of brands publicly showing support, and actually taking action, are growing.

Partake Foods is Giving 100 Percent of Proceeds This Weekend

Partake Foods, a black-owned plant-based and allergy-free cookie company, is giving a portion of their sales this month to a number of organizations. A post on their Instagram reads this: This month, 10% of total sales from our website will go to the amazing efforts of @foodequality & @emilybrownspeaks to ensure food insecure families with #foodallergies have access to the food, education and advocacy they need and deserve. partakefoods.com / more info on FEI at foodequalityinitiative.org. Because of how you already showed up for Partake this month, we will be able to support nearly 500 families from our sales on June 1st and 2nd alone!

Partake also reminds us that it is critical to specifically and intentionally purchase from black-owned businesses.Black educators, organizations and companies need our support now and every day, says Partake Foods in a blog post entitled 100 Black Educators, Organizations, and Companies. By buying products, spreading the word to your friends and family, leaving reviews and making it a point to become a repeat customer or regular financial supporter, you help Black business owners provide for their families and create products and resources for everyone.

Partake Foods in one company you can start withyou can order their tasty cookies online. (And, weve rounded up some other black-owned plant-based food and product companies you should support as well.)

Impossible Foods Is Donating to an Okalnad, CA Local Organization

Impossible Foods is organizing a food donation with Acta Non Verba, a nonprofit that elevates life in Oakland and beyond by challenging oppressive dynamics and environments through urban farming. It is founded and led mainly by women of color in the Oakland community.

HU Kitchen is Donating to Black Lives Matter and the NAACP

HU Kitchen, a vegan chocolate company, has committed to supporting the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Black Lives Matter and other organizations. Today, that work starts with the following actions: our company and our founders are collectively donating $125,000 to the @naacp_ldf, @campaignzero, @blklivesmatter, and @soulfirefarm, a post on their Instagram reads. We will also be continuing our team education through a diversity, equity, and inclusion lens, working to facilitate open conversations about anti-racism, violence, and equal justice.

Daiya Foods is Donating to Those Experiencing Food Insecurity

We have spent much of this week pausing, listening and learning with the intention of proceeding thoughtfully and with clear actions against inequality and discrimination, an Instagram post from Daiya reads.

They say they are taking some specific steps guided by their values which include the following:

No Evil Foods is Donating to 2 Organizations, and Encouraging Others to As Well

The plant-based meat company No Evil Foods has made multiple donations over the last several days including to the Black Trans Travel Fund and Color of Change. They lay out easy ways to donate and are encouraging their followers to contribute these organizations as well.

GT Kombucha is Donating to the George Floyd Memorial Fund

GT says they are supporting the George Floyd Memorial fund and asks that their followers join in that support: https://www.gofundme.com/f/georgefloyd

Follow this link:

These Vegan Brands Support Black Lives Matter and Are Giving Back - The Beet

Whether you are a pro at baking or not, you can still make incredible baked goods. It just takes an easy-to-follow recipe. Fortunately for you, we have plenty. We gathered 15 recipes to help you make vegan baked goods that are so gorgeous and delicious people will think you bought them at a bakery! Share the photos online or share the goods with your friends and family and watch them be amazed.

We also highly recommend downloading theFood Monster App with over 15,000 delicious recipes it is the largest meatless, vegan, plant-based and allergy-friendly recipe resource to help you get healthy! And, dont forget to check out ourVegan Dessert Archives!

Source: Coffee and Chocolate Macaroons

Macarons are an absolute treat to eat, but theyre trickier to make. Prepare yourself for the eventuality that you may not get these right the first time around, so get to know your oven and invest in an oven thermometer if need be. The result from this Coffee and Chocolate Macaroons recipe by Clmence Moulaert is absolutely delicious, like drinking a hot latte while munching on a bar of dark, creamy chocolate.

Source: Coffee Glazed Chocolate Hazelnut Cake

This Coffee Glazed Chocolate Hazelnut Cake by Maya Sozer is deliciously moist and decadent, all while being 100 percent whole wheat and refined sugar-free. The sponge itself is made with whole wheat flour, cocoa powder, and hazelnuts and flavored with almond milk, peanut butter, maple syrup, and vanilla. Topped with a gooey coffee cream spiked with espresso, this treat is perfect for pairing with a hot cup of coffee on a chilly morning.

Source: Funfetti Cinnamon Rolls

These easy vegan Funfetti Cinnamon Rolls by Hayley Canning are soft, fluffy, unbelievably gooey and delicious. Packed with cinnamon sugar deliciousness.

Source: Easy Banana and Nutella Puff Pastries

These Easy Banana and Nutella Puff Pastries by Holly Jade are most definitely a treat you wont want to miss making. Only three ingredients which are easily accessible. Who wouldnt want a pastry parcel filled with hazelnut chocolate spread with slices of banana?

Source: Cherry Cheese Danish Crescent Rolls

Imagine, flaky, buttery crescent roll dough stuffed with sweet cream cheese and gooey fruit pie filling and then covered with a sugary glaze. What could be better for dessert or breakfast with a cup of hot coffee? These Cherry Cheese Danish Crescent Rolls by Melanie Sorrentino look like they came right out of a bakery, but theyre actually super-easy to make.

Source: Chocolate-Filled Croissants

These Chocolate-Filled Croissants by Abby Thompson are the best croissants youll ever have, all thanks to coconut oil! When baked, the dough becomes so light and flaky and the chocolate becomes melty. You wont be able to resist trying one of these fresh out of the oven.

Source: Blueberry Scones

Only one bowl and 8 simple ingredients are needed to make these healthy Blueberry Scones by Hayley Canning. Filled with blueberries, they are ready in only 30 minutes! This recipe is something you can make early in the week, to have to snack on. Or it is a great recipe to make for friends coming over for brunch or for your family at breakfast.

Source: Cinnamon Sugar Coffee Cake

Prepare to fall in love with this Cinnamon Sugar Coffee Cake by Clara MacLeod! Its super moist, full of texture, and oozing with cinnamon-sugar goodness with a crumbly topping. And (as always) its 100% vegan!

Source: Blueberry Jam Danishes

These Blueberry Jam Danishes by Lan Pham Wilson are not only delicious but they are beautiful as well. The blueberry is a perfect mix of tangy and sweet! You must try them!

Source: Oven-Baked Puff Pastry Apple Beignets

Beignets come in a lot of versions. With batter and then fried in oil, with puff pastry and fried in oil, but this version has a healthier baked spin. When you oven bake puff pastry it gets really crisp. When you fry them in oil the pastry will set out even more but will be more soft. Just choose what you like best, but definitely give this Oven-Baked Puff Pastry Apple Beignets by Mireille Aikman a try!

Source: Pumpkin Cream Cheese Danish

Whats fab about danishes, is that they sound fancy and involved, but with the help of a ready made pastry dough its so easy breezy you could make it while hopping on one foot, instagramming, or while doing your taxes. If you love effortless eats and all things pumpkin, then this vegan Pumpkin Cream Cheese Danish by Gabrielle St. Claire is for you!

Source: Almond Croissant

Almond croissants are very hard to find in shops and cafs which is such a shame. So here is an easy Almond Croissant recipe by Philipp Ertl to make your own! All ingredients can be found in your supermarket and making the recipe is very easy as well. Perfect for breakfast on the weekend!

Source: Hazelnut Praline Cakes

If youre a fan of Nutella (who isnt) and everything hazelnut youre going to love these Hazelnut Praline Cakes by Kirsten Kaminski! Theyre vegan, incredibly decadent and so so tasty! Plus theyre actually really easy to make and the layers make them not only pretty but ensure you get a taste of goodness with every bite. Just imagine a crunchy, naturally sweetened base, followed by a rich cream, drool-worthy praline layer and topped with the creamiest hazelnut chocolate any takers?

Source: Dark Chocolate Strudel With Toasted Nuts

Whats fab about these Dark Chocolate Strudels With Toasted Nuts by Gabrielle St. Claireis everything! Its quick, easy, has minimal ingredients, can easily be made in bulk, rich with chocolate, filled with toasted nuts, perfect for any season, perfect for brunch entertaining, can easily be made in bulk, and you can make in advance by baking the entire thing and slicing later!!

Source: Cardamom Coffee Cake Muffins

Be prepared to become obsessed with these Cardamom Coffee Cake Muffins by Molly Patrick! These scrumptious muffins blend together some of the best sweet ingredients and it produces an outstanding result. Bake these and share with your friends and family to put a smile on their face.

Reducing your meat intake and eating more plant-based foods is known to help withchronic inflammation,heart health,mental wellbeing,fitness goals,nutritional needs,allergies,gut healthandmore!Dairy consumption also has been linked to many health problems, includingacne,hormonal imbalance,cancer,prostate cancerand has manyside effects.

For those of you interested in eating more plant-based, we highly recommend downloading theFood Monster App with over 15,000 delicious recipes it is the largest plant-based recipe resource to help reduce your environmental footprint, save animals and get healthy! And, while you are at it, we encourage you to also learn about the environmentalandhealth benefitsof aplant-based diet.

Here are some great resources to get you started:

For more Animal, Earth, Life, Vegan Food, Health, and Recipe content published daily, subscribe to theOne Green Planet Newsletter!Lastly, being publicly-funded gives us a greater chance to continue providing you with high-quality content. Please considersupporting usby donating!

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15 Vegan Baked Goods So Gorgeous People Will Think You Bought it at a Bakery - One Green Planet

So you're doing this vegan thing. Cool! Me, too. For about three years now. Welcome, friend. It can be tough at first to go from the land of milk, burgers, and convenience to the land of aa bowls, cauliflower wings, and judgment, but after a while, you're gonna love it here. I promise.

There's no doubt about it, though. Adopting a vegan lifestyle is challenging, especially in the beginning. "Eliminating all animal sources of food from your diet requires more than just discipline," says plant-based personal chef and author Angelique Santana, founder of Eat With Angelique. It's not like other "diets," after all. It really is a lifestyle that comes with a certain ethical responsibility as well as benefits to your health. There's a lot at stake.

We're here to make your journey to becoming vegan a successful and long-term one. To offer the easiest and most effective advice possible, we tapped Santana as well as a trusted dietitian with lots of experience helping people transition to plant-based living. They put together this simple, digestible guide to going vegan once and for all. Keep scrolling for their five key tips.

"Know your motivation and rationality for becoming vegan," advises Divya L. Selvakumar, Ph.D., MPH, a registered dietitian and nutrition professor. Understanding what personally motivates yoube it health, the environment, animal rights, the economy, or all of the abovewill become useful when friends, family, and co-workers inevitably confront your choice. "However, in response, do not be confrontational, but be brief in your explanation, citing health, protecting animals, etc. As long as you are true and humble to yourself, this is what matters the most," says Selvakumar.

Jenn Clairborne Sweet Potato Soul ($18)

You don't have to be a perfect vegan overnight to get into this new lifestyle. (In fact, that never happens, even with people who seem perfect.) "Take your time. You do not have to make dramatic changes all at once," says Santana, who suggests beginning to replace items in your home as you use them up with vegan alternatives (oat milk for cow milk, plant-based cheese for Kraft singles, veggie burgers, nutritional yeast, etc).

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Adopting a vegan lifestyle is not easy, so for long-term success, it's important to ease yourself into it. "Instead of drastically cutting out all animal products, a person should give himself or herself some time to gradually cut back," agrees Selvakumar. For instance, for the first week or two, see how it feels to try eating a vegan breakfast and lunch and reserving your meat and dairy consumption for dinnertime only. Or try only eating animal products on the weekends and plant-based products during the week. "Any difficulties or issues should be identified, and each person will have a different timetable," says Selvakumar.

If you slip up for whatever reason, don't beat yourself up or throw in the towel. I remember early on in my vegan journey, I found out the sandwich bread I'd been making toast with for weeks had whey in it, and it was so discouraging. There are plenty of non-vegan ingredients secretly hiding in foods, like the gelatin in jello and marshmallow. Experience (and a lot of googling) will eventually make avoiding these foods come second nature. Until then, be patient with yourself. As Santana says, "Don't be too hard on yourself if you 'cheat' or have a setback. Go back to your why and re-focus. Practicing forgiveness and gratitude is always a good idea."

Kate Bingaman-Burt What Did I Eat Today?: A Food Lover's Journal ($7)

W&P Design Porter Reusable Portable Lidded Bowl ($25)

To remove the stress of finding vegan-friendly options out of the house, start by making a lot of your own dishes. "Eat breakfast before you leave the house, pack lunch for work, and have dinner at home," Santana suggests. Bring your own food to parties to take the worry out of having nothing to eat or being a burden to the host. And also trust that your friends and family will come around (if they're not immediately supportive) and will eventually know to have vegan options available whenever you hang out.

As for eating out: "Look at the menu of the place you are going so you can plan ahead and even call if have to," says Santana. "Always ask for what you want. More times than not, they will accommodate you." (Personally, I promise this is true!) Also, download the Happy Cow app to find vegan and vegetarian options in your area.

Homespon Reusable Lunch Bag ($12)

Lauren Toyota Vegan Comfort Classics ($16)

There areso many shockingly delicious vegan alternatives to meat and dairy; have fun experimenting with them and finding your favorites. "Open your mind toward trying something new," says Selvakumar. "The meat substitute companies that are well known areBeyond Meat and Impossible Foods. Well-known dairy substitute companies areFollow Your Heart and Daiya, which have excellent choices of cheese, yogurt, and the like."

Try making your favorite non-vegan dishes with these substitutes, and add lots of yummy spices, which are normally what make food (vegan or not) taste so good anyway. (Hot for Food is my favorite vegan recipe channel for vegan comfort food that doesn't taste "too vegan" or healthy.)

Other plant-based sources of protein to work into your rotation include seitan, tempeh, beans, lentils, nuts, tofu, and quinoa. Almond milk, coconut milk, oat milk, flax milk, and soy milk (and ice cream, yogurt, etc.) are great dairy alternatives.

Though if you're worried about getting enough protein, know that our bodies don't actually require as much as many people think: All you need is 0.8 grams of protein per kilogramof your body weight a day. So for me, a 115-pound woman, that's about 41 grams, which Iusually get by lunchtime without even trying.

Follow Your Heart VeganEgg ($13)

Garden of Life B12 Vitamin ($13)

"Most vegansneeda B12 supplement because we do not eat animal products andyoucannot get B12 from plants," says Santana. Definitely consult with your general physician before supplementing, but know you'll probably need to add at least B12 (which you can also get in various fortified foods, like cereals or plant milk, or in injection form). "Vitamin B12 is very important for red blood cell function," says Selvakumar.

Garden of Life Raw Vitamin B12 ($15)

Going vegan can be a lonely experience, especially if it's not common in your family, friend group, or hometown. So Santana and Selvakumar suggest finding a support group for vegans, either in person or online. "Many people who are entering the vegan lifestyle may find themselves getting discouraged. Using social media and joining vegan clubs promoting a vegan lifestyle, cooking, etc., can be a great way to meet new and long-term vegans," says Selvakumar, who suggests the following resources for vegans:

1.Vegetarian Resource Group (both vegan and vegetarian)

2.Vegan Society

3.Vegan RD

Good luck out there, have fun, and don't give up!

This post was published at an earlier date and has since been updated by Sarah Yang.

Next up: How Eating a Plant-Based Diet Changed My Relationship With Food

This article originally appeared on The Thirty

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What You Need to Know About Going Vegan - Yahoo Lifestyle

Meera Sodhas crispy fried rice with cucumber, peanut and herb salad. Photograph: Louise Hagger/The Guardian. Food styling: Emily Kydd. Prop styling: Jennifer Kay.

Out of failure often comes a lot of washing-up and, occasionally, a better dish than I had originally planned. This was meant to be a take on the Laotian dish nam khao, made using rice balls mixed with Thai red curry paste, among other ingredients, and fried. It didnt work out (lets not talk about it). But what did arise, quite happily, out of the ashes of that recipe was this one, in which Ive hard-fried day-old rice until addictively crisp and chewy, and mixed it with an eye-wateringly punchy, sweet, sour and crunchy salad.

The key to successful crispy rice is day-old, fridge-cold rice. That either means using leftover rice or starting this dish the day before. If youre using leftover cooked rice, youll need 1kg, but given that most people wont have that much to hand, Ive written the recipe assuming youre starting from scratch (if you do have cooked rice, adjust the quantities in the recipe according to how much you have). To transform this from lunch into dinner, add a few slices of fried and seasoned tofu to the mix.

Prep 10 minCook 45 min (including pre-cooking the rice)Serves 4

For the rice 350g jasmine rice (or 1kg leftover cooked rice) 1 tsp salt 4 tbsp sunflower oil (I like Mr Organics) 12 spring onions, finely sliced

For the salad 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed 1-2 birds eye chillies (to taste), finely chopped 2 tsp caster sugar 4 tbsp lime juice (ie, from 2 or 3 limes) 3 tbsp light soy sauce 1 cucumber, deseeded and diced 125g edamame beans, defrosted 5 tbsp (or 50g) salted peanuts, roughly chopped 1 handful coriander leaves (10g), roughly chopped 1 handful mint leaves (10g), roughly chopped

If youre cooking the rice from scratch, put it in a sieve and rinse under a cold tap until the water runs clear. Tip the rice into a pan, add 600ml freshly boiled water and bring to a boil. Cover, turn down the heat to a whisper and cook for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave the rice to steam with the lid on for another five minutes, then spoon and spread out on a couple of plates, leave to cool completely, transfer to a container, seal and put in the fridge until needed.

Warm the oil in a large saucepan (for which you have a lid) over a medium-high heat and, once hot, add the spring onions and fry, stirring, for two minutes. Add the rice and salt, gently mix to combine, then press down with a fish slice to even out the top.

Leave to cook for six to seven minutes, then use the fish slice to turn the rice, and repeat the process twice more, until it starts to turn golden brown in places the rice will take about 20 minutes to get a good level of crispiness, but if you have the time, keep going while you make the salad, to get it extra-crispy.

While the rice is frying, make the salad. Whisk the garlic, chilli, sugar and lime juice in a bowl, add the cucumber and all the remaining ingredients and toss to coat.

Put the rice on a serving plate and pile the herby, nutty salad in the centre, but only do this just before serving, or your newly crisped rice will go soggy.

Read more:

Meera Sodha's vegan recipe for crispy fried rice with cucumber, peanut and herb salad - The Guardian

Welcome to Deals of Note, where Gear Patrol captures all the best deals of the day. You can also follow all our deal posts in the Deals section. Comments or concerns? Wed love to hear from you at deals@gearpatrol.com.

We doubt were alone in saying that during the past month weve absorbed more information about face-masks than we ever thought possible. Its abundantly clear to us now that not all masks are created equal. The bandana youre tying loosely around your face is a great option, but there are other form-fitting masks to explore as well. One such mask is Tekto Gears high-end, street-ready Takta mask, which just got restocked on its site. It uses not one, but five filters to remove up to 95 percent of particles down to 0.3 microns. Plus, you can order replacement filters so you can change them as necessary. The mask also features superior ventilation through Tektos Dual Valve System, meaning not only will you be inhaling fresh, clean air youll be breathing easily, so to speak. Finally, Tekto is giving Gear Patrol readers 10% off with the code GP10 and the mask ships today but act fast, as these masks tend to sell out quickly.

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Today's Best Deals: A Face Mask With Five Filters, Savings on Vegan Workout Supplements & More - Gear Patrol

LISTS Where to Start With STRFKRs Catchy, Cosmic Electro-Pop By Casey Jarman June 10, 2020

STRFKR has been many bands over the course of its 14-year lifespan. In late 2006, it was a solo project that served mainly as a catalyst for Josh Hodgeswho was tired of fronting his singer-songwriter project Sexton Blaketo beat the hell out of his drums over pre-recorded minimalist electro-pop. STRFKR became a band early, in organic fashion, with members joining without much forethought or planning. By summer 2008, the band gained a reputation as the most promising group in Portlands then-bustling house show scene, placing second in Willamette Weeks annual Best New Band poll. Regional success led to lengthy self-booked national tours (serving as more of a mobile dance party than a traditional band). With 2011s sparkling sophomore effort Reptilians, the band amassed a broader fanbase, and in Polyvinyl, a permanent label home. In the years since, the band has battled with its own pop sensibilities, released inventive remix collections and served a delivery vehicle for sampled nuggets of cosmic wisdom from philosopher Alan Watts.

There is a tension in the projects odd skillset of super-catchy choruses, existentialist philosophy, and songwriting that focuses on death as often as it does on romantic relationships. Hodges, who is sheltering in place at his home in Portland, admits that hes not naturally the party-starting dance-party frontman he appears to be. Im a born grandpa, basically, Hodges laughs. Its funny that we facilitate these big parties and then we get on the bus and its like Everyone be quiet, you know?

Hodges is the first to admit that playing the same songs night after night can be grating. He has an open disdain for much of the music industry (hence his bands tongue-in-cheek name). But hes proud of the sort of 90s approach that STRFKR built its name on. We toured a lot and built personal relationships with fans, he says. We were always at the merch table after the show.

With all of the focus on touring, the bands studio albumsfive in total, though many remix albums, b-side collections and EPs flesh out a broader discographyare sometimes overshadowed. Ahead of the bands new album Future Past Life, out now, we walked through STRFKRs Bandcamp catalog alongside Josh Hodges himself. Im super lucky, he reflected toward the end of our chat. This band supports me and like eight of my friends. Im not educated, Im not qualified to do anything. As many days that I can live off of music, Ill take them. Heres where to start.

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Josh Hodges moved back to Portland after a stint in New York City as a singer-songwriter, and STRFKR was the band that emerged from his discontent. The Sexton Blake project wasnt making Hodges any money, and it wasnt bringing him satisfaction. So he gave it up. I was totally sober, and not very social, so it was one of my only outletsdoing music, Hodges remembers. I was writing songs pretty much every day, just for fun. And Starfucker was just me taking that out in public.

The early STRFKR stuff is super simple and catchy. Most of those songs were just written for me to play drums on. Its all mid-tempo beats that I could play fairly well, Hodges recalls. The live shows are what made it stand out. Those first shows in Portland were magical. Every show was different. Sometimes wed do noise stuff for 20 minutes and then drop into German Love. We were just trying to entertain ourselves.

STRFKRs original moniker represented the antithesis of everything Hodges wanted in the music industry. It was chosen as a sort of insurance policy against success. But success came anyway. Everything came into place with the right peopleRyan [Biornstad] and Shawn [Glassford] being in the band at the right time, and contributing the right things. Biornstad provided unhinged energy to their live shows; Glassford booked the bands early tours, and found the band its first publicist, Avery McTaggart (whos with them to this day). But there was a learning curve. It became kind of its own thing and I thought, Well, Im along for the ride. It became my life, and I definitely didnt feel in control of it, aside from making the music.

Where the self-titled debut album and follow-up EP, Jupiter, were recorded and performed almost entirely by Hodges, Reptilians enlisted the help of STRFKR drummer Keil Corcoran and fledgling producer Jacob Portrait, who had been working with an explosive Portland-via-New Zealand band called The Mint Chicks. Portrait, who would go on to work with Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Wild Nothing, (Sandy) Alex G, and others, brought the band to the storied studio of veteran Portland rockers The Dandy Warhols. I think we were just trying to take my songs and make them into something we could play live and still have a party atmosphere at live shows, Hodges recalls. Some of the original demos sound way different than how they wound up.

I was actually unhappy with that album, he adds. But it was a good experience, and thats some fanss favorite album. While Hodgess dissatisfaction revolves around the albums cleaner production style and more pop-centric tracklist, Reptilians still has plenty of both chaos (see the lovably ramshackle opening track Born) and quirkiness. The overpowering synth horns on lead single Bury Us Alivethe product of a preset on a shitty 80s Yamaharemain one of the most divisive STRFKR recording decisions to date.

Between Reptilians and Miracle Mile, STRFKR jettisoned the vowels from its name, experienced a painful split with early member (and high-energy performer) Ryan Biornstad, coalesced as a four-piece, and took a break from their rigorous touring schedule to spend a few months writing and recording in the home of a family friend on the coastal Oregon city of Astoria.

I didnt even have a place to live at that point, so it was really nice, Hodges says. The dudes would come down for a weekend, wed work on music. We had all these little stations set up.

Miracle Mile wound up being STRFKRs most collaborative record to date, which changed the trajectory Hodgeswho had recently rediscovered alcoholhad in mind for it. I wanted that whole album to be a happy, drunky guitar record, he remembers. There are a few songs that feel that way. But Keil and Patrick [Morris] wanted electronic stuff for the live show, so it wound up being this really long album that probably should have been split into two. But it definitely captures where we were then.

Where they were may have been a bit more ramshackle than on Reptilians, but Miracle Mile proves that, left to their own devices, pop is still an essential element of STRFKRs DNA. YAYAYA and Last Words are among the earwormiest selections in the bands catalog. More ethereal and tender cuts like Kahlil Gibran and Golden Light, though, steal the show.

After the collaborative, sprawling Miracle Mile, Hodges took a solo trip into the Joshua Tree desert and began work on what he knew would be a sparkly synth-pop record of his own design. Recorded largely alone and completed alongside mixer/producer Jeff Brodsky, Being No One, Going Nowhere is STRFKRs most distilled dance music collectionwith the groups usual live drums notably absent. At the time, Hodges was obsessed with the hard-to-find Prophet-5 synthesizer, which appears heavily on the final record. The streamlined, layered result sounds excellent in a good pair of headphones. Its fun making that kind of music. Its not fun playing it every night on tour, honestly, Hodges admits.

Love songs and break-up songs abound on Being No One (so named for a book by Buddhist nun and author Ayya Khema), but in true STRFKR fashion, so do songs about finding inner stillness. The title track (the only lyrics to which are Youre alright where you are/ Being no one/ Going nowhere) is Hodgess favorite to play on tour. Hodges says that meditation has saved him from bouts of deep depression throughout his life, and spiritually minded retreats used to be a regular part of his life. But because of touring, I have pretty much stopped meditating, he admits. Touring is a hard life for keeping up healthy habits.

Still, the band incorporates existentialist musingsboth lyrically and with samples of lectures from philosopher and author Alan Wattsin songs across their discography. The Alan Watts samples are like Easter Eggs, Hodges says. Hes not even my favorite speaker, but hes really entertaining and accessible. If it ends up helping someone discover this stuff that Ive found to be useful in my life, thats great.

For those of us who have followed STRFKRs career closely, Future Past Life is an immensely rewarding listen. Where past records have sometimes glossed over Hodgess greatest giftshis penchant for writing subtle hooks, his delicate vocal delivery, his deep affection for off-kilter soundsFuture Past Life brings them to the forefront. The 10-song collection, much of it the byproduct of a chance collaboration with Dutch musicians Mathias Janmat and David Hoogerheide, is the perfect balance of pop majesty and outsider weirdness.

Hodges, who is uncharacteristically proud of the new record, says the collaboration with the Dutch musicians began as a non-canon experiment. We were going to do our own project that wasnt STRFKR, Hodges says. But I really wanted these songs to get out into the world. With his bandmates blessing and input, the collaborative tracks were folded into the new record. The remaining tracks were a mix of new and old. I found old demos that sounded crazy and overproduced, and I stripped them down, Hodges says. Its fun to do that. Like theres something good in theremaybe I covered it up with weird production. Thats something Im trying to do lately: put less shit on everything.

A collaboration like this might lead to jealousy and infighting with some bands, but the other members of STRFKR are used to a certain amount of fluidity in the recording process. All of us just want to make an album that were real proud of, Hodges says of his STRFKR bandmates, who hope to soon be prepping and reinventing the material for tour. And this is the one I feel the happiest about, for sure.

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Where to Start With STRFKR's Catchy, Cosmic Electro-Pop - bandcamp.com

CINCINNATI Cries for justice, marches, rallies and 10 days of protests hit one 13-year-old girl right in the heart. It was broken the day Mario Gibbs died in jail.

Years of pain Kimora Coffey kept inside came out in one question written in bold, black ink on the poster she held: Why didn't my dad's life matter?"

"My dad died of sickle cell while in prison and he didn't get the help that he needed and ended up dying, said Coffey. "I was around 7.

"I was so confused about what happened because I didn't know he died. I just thought he disappeared for a while. When I got older, I realized I'm never going to see him again, and it just keeps happening these days to where I just really miss him."

We met Coffey and Dahlia Gulley while they were protesting the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. For them, and others, the motivation was deeply personal and life-changing.

Gulley, 26, was out there nearly every night. Her voice carried and begged fellow protesters not to break curfew based on a personal promise from Lt. Col. Paul Neudigate, an assistant police chief.

I gave them my word that we would not aggressively push the curfew if they would disperse peacefully, Neudigate told WCPO 9. I held true to my word. They held true their word. I think this is a great first step."

Gulley said she is normally soft-spoken and usually avoids that kind of public exposure.

"I have really bad anxiety and I have really bad agoraphobia as well, she said. I would not have been able to stand in front of you or talk to you probably three or four days ago.

"So I changed a lot."

That goes for Gulleys boyfriend Jason, too.

"My girlfriend has opened up my eyes a lot, said Jason, who was protesting with Gulley. I had some things to change and I have and I'm out here and fighting for what's right."

"She found her voice, and the promise that the lieutenant colonel made us and kept kind of just emboldened her. I'm proud of her."

While pride is part of each protest, people like Coffey and Gulley sense enough passion to see their cause through.

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Some protesters found motivation from pain, anxiety in their lives - WCPO

Over the last couple of weeks, the conversation around the NFL has shifted toward the continued social injustices that the black community has faced, especially after the disheartening passing of George Floyd. It has thrust Colin Kaepernicks name back into the headlines as he made a strong stand for bringing attention to those issues when he was with the San Francisco 49ers. The collective push from the players to center on that subject has put forth a building notion that it could open the door for Kaepernick to return the NFL. With that in mind, the former star quarterback appears to be ready to make that come fruition.

RELATED: Colin Kaepernick Has Matt Ryan Backing His NFL Comeback

The discussion around Colin Kaepernicks football future has become a prominent topic around the NFL.

Kaepernick has remained on the outside looking in for nearly the last four years. There have been numerous situations that have cropped up that could have seen him receiving another chance to play in the league, but instead, teams have continued to pass on him due to the potential perceived distractions that he brings.

The 32-year-old has remained firm in his stance along with his desire to continue playing football as proven with his workout late last year. Its only a matter of him getting that opportunity to play again.

RELATED: Carlos Hyde Says Signing Colin Kaepernick Is the Only Way the NFL Can Prove it Cares About Social Justice

Much of the chatter around Colin Kaepernicks potential NFL return has come from other than him.

It has been building chatter that Kaepernick has become quite aware of the situation, which he is continuing to gear himself more than ever before to make a comeback, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.

Hes not. Per a source with knowledge of the situation, Kaepernick is in great shape, and he wants to play. And he is more motivated to play than ever to the NFL.

That isnt to say that Kaepernick has offers lined up, but rather that hes ready to go if that opportunity comes his way. It has been a situation that hasnt changed much if at all with his preparedness to return, which he voiced thoroughly following his workout last year.

It has been on the NFL to make a move to give him the chance to prove he still belongs in the league. That part of the equation is out of his control, but hes staying prepared physically for the moment if or when it comes.

RELATED: Colin Kaepernick Opened Eyes to Racial Injustice, but Should That Land Him an NFL Job?

The entire situation comes down to the NFL presenting Colin Kaepernick with a chance to play in the league again.

Kaepernicks message concerning social injustice and oppression toward minorities, especially the black community, has changed over the three-plus years. What has continued to occur in the United States and the increased public pushback over the last couple of weeks has only further underlined that as a prominent social issue.

What may change things is many other superstar players such as Patrick Mahomes, Odell Beckham Jr., Deshaun Watson, DeAndre Hopkins, and Tyrann Mathieu, among others, have vocally pushed for change in the NFL. Its all but a certainty that there will be kneeling in the 2020 season as Adrian Peterson has already confirmed he will do. The NFL knows where their players stand on the social issues, and its on them to right another wrong by giving Kaepernick a fair opportunity.

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Colin Kaepernick Never Lost His Motivation to Play in the NFL Again - Sportscasting

Though the WTA tour has been suspended since March 8 as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, Patrick Mouratoglou hasnt lost any faith in Serena Williams successfullytyingMargaret Courts all-time record of 24 major titles.

Williams began the year by winning a smaller tournamentin Auckland, before being ousted in the third round of the Australian Open by Wang Qiang. Her last appearance came in a FebruaryFed Cup Finals qualifying tie, where she split her two singles matches.

What makes me be very positive is the fact that I feel her motivation is still the same. She came back to a great level, reached four Grand Slam finals. But she didnt win one, so something is still missing, Mouratoglou said Friday evening on Tennis Channel Live.

This something, we really want to get it. Shes practicing like the other players but its so difficult for a tennis player to practice without any short term or even longer-term goal because nobody knows when they are going to come back. I cant wait for her to know when shes going to play next, because I know the motivation will go to the next level.

As of now, the US Open is still on the books and earlier this week, reports emerged that the USTA proposed moving Cincinnati to New York in an effort to stage two meaningful tournaments for players to fly in for. While Williams is not able to look ahead toward a confirmed calendar yet, Mouratoglou believes her vast history in navigating a variety of circumstances will provide her and other name players a huge advantage when tour events start back up again. On the flip side, a skyrocketing talent such as Coco Gauff, who trains at his academy, will need more time to hit their stride.

I think its more difficult for a young player because they are so hungry. They feel that things are going well, they think theyre getting better day after day. Theyre so ambitious because they feel the tennis world will belong to them. So its difficult to stop and not be able to continue to raise, he said. The older players who have so much experience, such as Serena and of course Novak, Rafa [and] Roger, they will need less time to get back to their best level because they dont need as much competition as the other players. Theyre the only ones who are able to do that.

When his academy shut its doors to minimize coronavirus exposureto students, Mouratoglou kept busy by developinga new exhibition series, the Ultimate Tennis Showdown (UTS). Throughout the week, organizers have slowly released the confirmed lineup, which includes reigning ATP Finals champion Stefanos Tsitsipas, 2019 US Open semifinalist Matteo Berrettini and 19-year-old Felix Auger-Aliassime. Mouratoglou didnt want to give away any unique specifics about how this event will be distinguished from others, but said the idea behind it is to discover the future format of tennis.

I dont want to say too much, because I want to surprise people. I think the format of tennis is too long, the 49-year-old said. There are too many downtimes where nothing much happens. I also think players struggle to share their emotions with the crowd, like they were doing in the '70s and the '80s.

We propose a new way to showcase tennis, trying to bring much more emotion, a much more dynamic and modern show, to see if people are attracted to that, more than tennis the way we know. Real tennis fans, we like tennis the way it is, but I realize also, its a bit old fashioned. The world has changed a lot these past 40 years. The way people consume sports, consume videos has changed, and tennis hasnt changed at all.

The UTS is set to kick off on June 13 with David Goffin taking on Alexei Popyrin.

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Mouratoglou: Serena's "motivation will go to the next level" on return - Tennis Magazine