I once owned a Balenciaga black lambskin hoodie. The moment I put it on, the weight settled across my shoulders — dense, elastic. It told me immediately that this thing was difficult to make. Lambskin has natural give, but it punishes any imprecision in the cutting — one wrong line and the piece is ruined, unfixable.

Honestly, going for a run in one of Los Angeles' most expensive neighborhoods puts you under a certain kind of pressure. You turn a corner, and suddenly LeBron James is walking his dog. Today, we're heading to a part of West Los Angeles I know intimately and return to often — Brentwood. It has perfected an art form that is much harder than it appears: the art of controlled looseness.

Imagine a substance beloved by children and synonymous with romance—yet one that, centuries ago, served as actual currency used to trade human lives. Today, we aren't talking about run-of-the-mill candy. We are going to strip away chocolate’s glamorous veneer to reveal its true face.

This is the epic journey of cacao: from its ancient, mysterious sanctuaries to its transoceanic voyages on the great ships of the Age of Discovery; through the brutal commodification wrought by the Industrial Revolution; and finally, to its salvation—and the reclamation of its soul—at the hands of a few obsessive visionaries in modern-day Paris.

I have been to Paris twice so far. The first time, I was eighteen years old, poor in every measurable sense, and so completely, recklessly alive that I barely noticed. The second time was 2017, alone, pre-COVID, with a good hotel and no plan and nowhere I had to be. Two trips separated by almost two decades.

Paris meets you exactly where you are. Whatever I brought to it, the city reflected back in that particular shimmering light that somehow makes you want a girlfriend, a cigarette, or a reason to stay another week.

The Story of Loro Piana & Zegna

In a vast exhibition hall on the outskirts of Milan, Zegna recreated the landscape of an Australian sheep station: the floor was carpeted with real turf, while giant screens displayed footage of flocks grazing across the open plains. At the entrance stood a glass display case containing the world’s finest wool—simply resting there, like an artifact in a museum.

We would like to share the story of our encounters with these two brands.

There is a saying by an eighth-century monk that comes to mind every time I land in Rome.

"As long as the Colosseum stands, Rome shall stand; when the Colosseum falls, Rome shall fall; when Rome falls, the world shall fall."

When he penned these words, the Roman Empire might still have arguably served as the organizing principle of the known world; he was making a declaration of eternity. What compels me to pause every time I walk the Via Sacra, two millennia later, is the fact that these words still ring true today.

Welcome to Zenith Massif.

The Stories of Erewhon and Eataly

In this episode, we’re talking about two grocery stores. But please don’t think of them merely as grocery stores—they are two of the most interesting cultural propositions in contemporary America, ones that happen to exist in the form of retail.

Welcome to Zenith Massif.

Think of us a concierge of new perspective, the story and adventure that high in plain sight. The investment of an un acquired taste. I'm your host, and today we are talking about my Los Angeles.