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Marilyn Cole, the one and only British Playmate of the Year, talks being the first to bare it all
By Marilyn Cole as told to Anna del Gaizo

I grew up in Portsmouth, a historic port city in the south of England. By the time I was 16, I couldn’t wait to leave school and earn money. In my family it was tradition to work for either the Civil Service or the bank—a respectable office job. I went into the Ministry of Defense and worked in the dockyard as a clerk and then at a bank. Then I broke the family mold.

The allure of the kitchen is almost folkloric. There's a magic that takes place there, whether in a home or restaurant, and not just because of the mystique we often attach to food. It's the heart and soul. It's only natural that a true chef possess both in hefty measures. Chef Tabitha Yeh doesn't just get particularly vibrant when discussing and describing the cuisine she creates. You get the sense the kitchen is her genuine happy place, and the state of mind is contagious. Now as the Head Chef for the Playboy Club New York, she intends to invite that sense of euphoria out of the kitchen and onto the tables. She's also heading up the only restaurant in New York to offer olive-fed wagyu miyazaki steak. We're not hesitating to RSVP yes. 

It’s difficult to talk about Clara McGregor without discussing her dad, Ewan of enduring Trainspotting and Moulin Rouge renown. Like her contemporaries, the Hailey Baldwins and Sistine Stallones of the world, it’s arguable we wouldn’t be talking about her if it weren’t for her famous father. But understated and innately cool with a low-key kind of charisma, Clara McGregor is different.

If you haven’t heard of Lucha VaVOOM, then you probably aren’t even aware that you can see “authentic Mexican masked wrestling, striptease and comedy collide” right in front of your face. Rita D’Albert and Liz Fairbairn founded Lucha VaVOOM in 2002, and their unique brand of camp, kink and general kookiness is more explosive now than ever. Subtle it’s not. Leaping and somersaulting wrestlers fight in the grand tradition of Lucha Libre (defined by vibrant masks, high-flying moves, and comic book-level savagery) and racy burlesque acts strip, shimmy, and shock for a sensory-loaded experience.

When The Naked and Famous released their first single “Young Blood” in 2010, it debuted at number one on their native New Zealand chart. It didn’t take long for the song, along with three others, to permeate airwaves on the other side of the world, too. The band—comprised of Alisa Xayalith (vocals, keyboard), Thom Powers (vocals, guitar), Aaron Short (keyboards), David Beadle (bass) and Jesse Wood (drums)—toured for nearly two years straight, released a second album titled In Rolling Waves in 2013.

Like the amur leopard or white antelope, the gorgeous professional female DJ is a rare creature, one who, at top level, embodies an elevated degree of coolness to which many aspire and few achieve. Enter DJ Eva Shaw, a Dutch-Canadian-born former model who’s invigorating the electronic dance music scene and beyond. Her latest single, “High" (featuring Shaggy and Demarco), continues the buzz she generated with 2016's "Rise N Shine" with Poo Bear. Look out for her latest collection with G-Star RAW, part of their ongoing collaboration: a line of sporty-sexy sunglasses that beg to be showcased on the daytime dancefloors of Ibiza… or your friend’s next pool party. Here, the multitasker talks about how she established herself as a club scene mainstay and what we can expect next.

From a rocker who lived on the road to sustainable energy expert: The dual lives of Jeff Siegel, publisher and managing editor of Green Chip Stocks, may sound disparate, but the fact that he’s something of a renegade with a rock ‘n’ roll spirit has been a substantial factor in his success. Jeff’s prolific newsletter guides industry insiders and investment novices alike. If you’ve ever been curious about socially conscious investing or the business side of cannabis, he’s the man to read religiously. We had a candid conversation about why legalization is finally a great inexorability, what we can do to combat the war on drugs, and how you can invest wisely in the cannabis space.

What does decadence mean now? To Courtney Nichols, it means consuming everything. Those are her words, a mantra she holds so near and dear, “consume everything” is the motto for her dinner-meets-dance parties, an ongoing event series at once loud and proud and clandestine. Each is unique, depending on the DJs, guest list, venue, and theme, but marathon-grade fervor, as well as unlimited oysters are constants. So far the Los Angeles-based Disco Dining Club has hosted a number of soirees in Los Angeles and struck Berlin once; Nichols has her sights on New York and San Francisco next. I talked with the nightlife guru about the current LA party scene, what makes a great blowout and how to get an invitation to one of her increasingly infamous soirees.

Master mixologist Warren Bobrow, also known as the Cocktail Whisperer, has gained a cult following for his deceptively simple, elegant drink creations. Now, with his fourth book, he’s showing us how to get high while we drink, literally. But Warren’s take is more elevated than that. Cannabis Cocktails, Mocktails, and Tonics: The Art of Spirited Drinks and Buzz-Worthy Libations breaks infusing your homemade drink with cannabis into an easy-to-follow science and includes 75 fresh recipes. You’ll also find non-alcoholic alternatives and a breakdown of drink-friendly strains and their flavor profiles, from piney, mimosa-friendly OG Kush to super-savory Trainwreck to surprisingly absinthe-ready Sour Diesel. Here, the expert and writer talks about the most special spirits, the best bars in the country and why cannabis and cocktails are a brilliant match.

Michael Ian Cummings, Josh Hubbard, and Noah Rubin formed SKATERS in 2012. Since then, they’ve been called “devishly enticing,” the band that can “finally bring guitars back into fashion,” and have been compared to the Ramones and New York Dolls for their post-punk core, mellow-catchy hooks, and seemingly effortless excess of throbbing energy. Three years later, they shook off Warner Bros. Records as their label and went off on their own.

The street-bred, aerosol-fed graffiti artist is a dying species. But RIME, also known as Jersey Joe, is one of the few who’s keeping the gritty, guerilla tradition alive—ironically by taking to the canvas and imparting elements of fine art into his own uncensored style. The New York City-to-New Jersey-raised and world-traveled artist has been painting for more than a decade, and with a pop culture-conscious and deceptively nuanced aesthetic, Jersey Joe’s unpretentious gutsiness is currently raging brighter than ever.