She turned herself into an 'LA 10.' It's part of a growing 'unrecognizable makeup' trend.
That might be meaningless at first glance, but these taglines are part of a growing 'unrecognizable makeup' trend on TikTok, in which makeup looks are so transformative that they make the wearer appear to be an entirely different person.
TikTok creator @lottiestarrs has been spearheading the "LA 10" trend. In a video with nearly 60 million views, she goes from pink-haired and barefaced to a blonde bombshell, transforming downturned eyes into a smoky, upturned look with a heart-shaped lip. She 'got bored one night,' and in another video with 22 million views, turned herself into an 'LA 10' — not only looking unrecognizable from the previous clip, but completely different from her other "unrecognizable makeup' looks.
Praise flooded her comments section: 'Girl this is talent… art even,' one user wrote. 'I stood and applauded,' quipped another.
Other creators hopped on the trend, including Marylyn Chukwuekezie, a beauty content creator based in Nigeria. She recreated celebrity makeup looks — from SZA to Sabrina Carpenter (her favorite look so far) — and used wigs, contour, blush and eye makeup to turn herself into an "LA 10."
Debates around makeup and 'undetectable plastic surgery' have already been popping up on social media. Last year, Lindsay Lohan and Christina Aguilera shocked fans with fresh looks. Now, makeup is entering the conversation.
In July, 'Bridgerton' Netflix star Charithra Chandran stole Andrew Garfield's spotlight at Wimbledon after a video of her seated behind him went viral. But the replies just as quickly turned sour when the internet began picking apart Chandran's appearance, posting side-by-side photos of her with and without makeup, calling her "mid" and accusing her of having filler and plastic surgery.
Some people are upset about these unrecognizable looks. However, others argue that it's all in good fun and we shouldn't take everything on the internet quite so seriously.
Makeup is an 'enhancement' and 'art'
The problematic joke, 'Take her swimming on the first date,' has been around for nearly a decade — it's tossed around by men who claim that seeing a woman without makeup early on is the only way to avoid getting 'bamboozled' into dating someone unattractive.
In 2021, actress Sydney Sweeney — who has often been praised for her looks (and is recently the subject of heated debates over her American Eagle ad) — cried on Instagram Live while trending on X (then, Twitter) for 'being ugly." In October 2024, Sweeney was photographed on set with a brunette curly wig, baggy clothing and no apparent makeup. Then, she was featured in an X thread with 11 million views titled 'Catfish of the Year,' comparing a photo of her on a red carpet to candid paparazzi shots.
Another user came to her defense: ''Sydney Sweeney is a catfish' sir if you cannot recognize that a blonde woman does not wake up with jet black eyelashes and face glitter then you might be too stupid to reach.'
Many women have pushed back against criticism of makeup, arguing that makeup is 'art' and not 'a form of lying.'
"A beautiful woman, we've been taught, is beautiful naturally with no visible effort on her part," Leora Tanenbaum, author of "Sexy Selfie Nation," previously told USA TODAY. "But we all know that it's impossible to conform to our societal beauty ideals with no effort."
Chukwuekezie likes the way she looks without makeup, but wearing it gives her a confidence boost.
'I don't feel less pretty when I'm not wearing makeup, but I actually do feel more pretty when I'm wearing makeup,' she says. 'It doesn't affect the way I see myself; it's like an enhancement. It's a form of art for me, and I just love doing makeup.'
When criticism goes too far
Chukwuekezie says people upset about a lighthearted makeup trend are taking it a step too far.
"Makeup does enhance your features, but it doesn't change your features," she says. "It still doesn't mean that the person wearing makeup is wearing makeup because she feels ugly."
Even amid praise in her comment sections, she admits that there are always people saying, "You're not doing it right."
Others have speculated that she is using makeup to emulate Eurocentric features. "I don't even understand that at all," she says. "I have to be like, 'Calm down.'"
"I had a comment that was, 'LA 10 girls are skinny, white and blonde or brunette,'" she continues. "I'm like, sorry, I don't think this has anything to do with the makeup."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Unrecognizable makeup' is taking with 'LA 10' trend
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The Offline Rebellion of the Most Online Generation - The Assignment with Audie Cornish - Podcast on CNN Podcasts
Audie Cornish 00:00:00 I'm Audie Cornish and this is the assignment. There was a time when social media was supposed to connect us. Instead, it's starting to feel more like a trap. TikTok clip 00:00:09 There's a really scary trend happening right now on the internet, and they're trying to take away your ability to browse anonymously. Audie Cornish 00:00:15 For example, governments are rewriting the rules of the internet, especially for young people. In the name of safety, users are being asked to verify their identity for all kinds of sites. CNN news clip 00:00:25 Now the congressman behind the bill argues it would essentially be like kind of showing your ID at a liquor store if you want to buy beer. Audie Cornish 00:00:33 Feeds are shaped by algorithms we don't control, disinformation spreads fast, and some topics just disappear. And so the question becomes, how do you opt out of a system that insists you stay logged in? For some artists and organizers, the answer isn't new. It's folded, stapled, and Xeroxed, the zine. Kennedy McDaniel 00:00:54 It's a practice, it's a medium, it's an art form, it is a meditation. I think every creator has their own definition on how they call it. Audie Cornish 00:01:03 'Self-published magazines zines are handmade deeply analog no-to-low commitment for the reader no platform or password necessary and for a growing number of gen z artists and organizers zines aren't just nostalgic they're a way to connect and resist and create outside the algorithm but why would the generation raised on tweets tiktoks and Hashtag activism turne to paper? Stay with us. Audie Cornish 00:01:38 'Like fanny packs, vinyl, and internet-free dumb phones, zines are back, revived by a new generation for the nostalgia, but not necessarily as novelty. Kennedy McDaniel first discovered zines in a college class working with high school students called poetry and social justice. And she wasn't in the class because she just like really loved poetry. It also brought her into community with other young people from her hometown of Baltimore. Kennedy McDaniel 00:02:05 I did come across zines as a practice I was like, oh, this could be a cool way to kind of combine our works together. Audie Cornish 00:02:13 'That same semester, Freddie Gray died while in police custody, sparking riots known to activists as the Baltimore uprising. McDaniel's first zine was a self-care guide for activists. And it was born out of those protests in 2015. And in a moment when activism was going viral online, she was drawn to something slower. Kennedy McDaniel 00:02:36 'Instagram, TikTok, all of these different pieces of social media or spaces on the internet that were meant to connect us and increase engagement across the world. These have also been co-opted in many ways. There's a lot of disinformation and misinformation. There's lot of censorship and suppression of information. There are also even safety elements such as, do I want to be posting about a protest knowing that my face may be identified, my face maybe connected to my Instagram, the cops may open my phone using my face ID and now see all of this information online and now all of a sudden we're being tracked. And that wasn't necessarily always there when we first started thinking of hashtag activism and how the— Audie Cornish 00:03:24 Or even now that I think of going back to the 90s you one of the things that was intriguing is people When they moved zines and zine culture and I think in a way became blogging culture Um, it's sort of there's a through line there. It's still you didn't feel like You were at the mercy of the algorithm you were at the mercy.. right like the sort of weight and impact and the infrastructure of the business of social media ...wasn't quite what it is today. Kennedy McDaniel 00:03:57 Right, right, I think it was very person to person. There was no one else involved. Now there is an algorithm involved. There are many people behind an algorithm, right? That also have their own intentions and motivations in a way that they want to shape the world. And all of that adds into, okay, now my communication is being disrupted, it's being censored, it's been blocked from getting to who I wanted to reach. And when I think of zine making, there's just this level of freedom from start to finish. Thinking of an idea, sharing an idea. You do the research the way you want to. You reach out to who you find interesting and the voices you feel are important to document. You decide how you want it distributed and who you want share it with. There's just a level of free and independence at every step of the process. Audie Cornish 00:04:49 Do you think there's a rise in zines also because people feel a little bit scared or people feel like it's safer politically? Kennedy McDaniel 00:05:00 I think there are a few different reasons for the rise in zine making, and I definitely think that is one of them. I guess I would say more so, what feels important in this moment is community and the people that you have that are directly around you, the proximity. Audie Cornish 00:05:20 Which is different than the megaphone, right? It's different from hashtag activism, what you're saying. Like you keep coming back to this idea of like safety and community. And I just sort of, I hear you cocooning, which is sort of interesting coming from your generation. Kennedy McDaniel 00:05:35 I would say not cocooning, I would say rooting, getting people in where we are, connecting with each other underground. You're not always going to see, like, this big fanfare. Also knowing when it comes to, again, the things that we share on social media, there is this level of. For example, I've seen people post different fundraisers for feeding people in Palestine, and they're having a lot of challenges in part because people are responding and sending funds, but they're saying it right in the tagline, for Palestine, for Gaza, and it's like, whoa, this is about to get blocked immediately and these funds aren't going to go anywhere. And that's because you see something on social media, maybe you rush to action, you're not thinking it through, you're not in community necessarily. And then things kind of can fall apart when they're so broad versus if I'm with in my community, if I hand you a zine and you read it, there's something more intimate. There's something we're connected. There's Something that puts us all in community and in space with one another. And that deeper connection, I think, is where a lot of real power can be built. We're starting Audie Cornish 00:06:49 to see big brands borrow the esthetics, for lack of a better term, of zines. There was a collaboration between the music site Pitchfork and Turnstile, Gucci, the most mass label ever, and is prone to a little reaching into the culture, dating apps. There's a visual element that I thought was just a 90s thing that now I'm actually seeing in the context of this. It is the imagery from zine culture. And what's the difference between that, right, and what you're doing? Or let me take that back. What's the different between a zine and like a product like that, right, something that looks like it? Kennedy McDaniel 00:07:34 And one, shout out to TransStyle, also Baltimore Love. I think I will say, I would not necessarily say that that is a zine when you have a big backer behind it, like Bridgeport, that is now a magazine. But I think, you know, they are also a part of the subculture too, so that lends some... Audie Cornish 00:07:53 But who's getting what out of it, right? When there's a collab like that, is it Pitchfork who benefits? Is it Turnstile? You know what I mean? It's kind of borrowing the shine. 00:08:02 'Yeah, and I'll say beyond the Turnstile piece, but just in a broader sense. I think that corporations always take whatever is hip or cool, whatever they can use to make more money, they will co-op that, whatever that is. So that can be a bit frustrating as someone who authentically makes zines from their heart and from their lived experience. And I'm not in it for the money. There are... Who is making seeds, who is in it to, you know, even live off of, like, this is not something that you're, it's gonna pay your bill to put food on the table by any means. And so I think any, I think larger groups, larger, you, know, something like pitchfork or I've seen other things too, where it's like, okay, like you have a lot of backing behind this, this being very printed and distributed across the street. 00:08:54 Wait, are you saying they're industry, zine industry plants? You think there's some people who look a little too polished? You just said, I hear what you're saying. Kennedy McDaniel 00:09:03 And it's always the bigger names when it's like a magazine, but then they'll do a smaller zine or that's a limited edition of your magazine. That's not necessarily a zine when it's, you know, from a national, you don't name. Um, but of course, you know, I don't want to gatekeep too much on the zines either. Audie Cornish 00:09:24 That is the most Gen Z thing you've said, which is truly saying something. But you need to say it with your whole chest. You're like, some of y'all out here are not real zine people. Kennedy McDaniel 00:09:35 Everyone should make zines besides corporations and billionaires. That would be my my my statement on the matter. I don't really want to hear their personal thoughts or insights. That's of no interest to me. Audie Cornish 00:09:53 'Is there also something about the whole, you mentioned holding something in your hand. And it occurs to me that, you know, right now we're in an era where very few of us can like own, so to speak. Like our music in a way, we're like renting or leasing when it comes to streaming. If you use an e-reader, that's a book that could be yanked from your device. Like, I don't know, it feels like maybe... This obsession that Gen Z has with like vinyl or whatever is about being able to hold something and to own something. Yes, they're... And you can tell me I'm wrong. Kennedy McDaniel 00:10:37 No. Audie Cornish 00:10:38 Like, do you feel like you own things? Kennedy McDaniel 00:10:40 Oh. Audie Cornish 00:10:41 I feel like I used to. Kennedy McDaniel 00:10:43 I don't own the house that I'm in, I don't own the music that I listen to, I don't own a car, I don 't own anything in this economy. So I think being able to hold materials, physical objects, especially just ephemera that is meaningful. Like there's a reason why your family has stacks and stacks of these old scrapbooks and you open them up and you can just go through them And that is... You know, not just a visual experience, but a spiritual and a physical one too. And I think that there is something really important about being able to hold this in your hand, to hold your own history, to hold things that feel meaningful to you, to whole things that have spoken to you. I get a very different feeling, I think, reading a poem that I see online versus is. I got an amazing zine work that you open an envelope and you take out this folded piece of paper and you unfold the paper and you read this poem. That is a moment in time and space that is so separate from this idea of just scrolling through, looking at something, scrolling through. It requires a level of attention and presence and... then it evokes this level of intimacy that I think is really powerful. Audie Cornish 00:12:09 Artist and activist, Kennedy McDaniel, will be back in a moment. Audie Cornish 00:12:18 You know, I feel like it's a little unfair. I'm kind of poking at you here in an anthropological way. I'm like, tell me about your culture, young person. But Kennedy, what questions do you have for me? Because in a way, I'm here, yeah, like at a big vintage, let's call it, media organization. I have friends who came up in magazines, friends who come up in the blogging era. Like what, yeah. I'm asking all the questions, but how do you think about all this? What do you wanna know? Kennedy McDaniel 00:12:45 Yeah, and I will say I'm 28, so I don't feel like so young. Audie Cornish 00:12:50 No, no, that's so young. I'll just stop you right there. I'll take it. Thank you. No, but my judge is like, how old were you like your freshman year of high school? Kennedy McDaniel 00:13:02 What year was it? Oh, it was 2014. Audie Cornish 00:13:05 Yeah, okay. Yeah. You're a child. Kennedy McDaniel 00:13:13 As long as I can take it, I will. Audie Cornish 00:13:12 Take it. Take it as long as you can. Keep moisturizing. That's all I'm going to say. Kennedy McDaniel 00:13:17 Um, I think one thing that is coming to mind for me is like, um, the presence of these different black publications, right? Essence, Ebony, Jet Magazine, like these are things that I would see growing up in my house, or I would kind of like peek through, I'd see Jet Beauty of the Week, like, oh, who's she? Yes. These like images of black people and black beauty and... These are images that I don't see so much anymore, especially not in print. So I would love to hear about, and these magazines are still in existence, so what that experience was like, kind of living through the height of this. Where it is now and— Audie Cornish 00:14:05 'It is — that's a good point that's a very good point first of all it's funny you bring up like Jet like those things were the size of zines, right? Like they weren't even they were these little booklets that you'd flip through and then later ebony and essence took over in that realm of kind of constantly showcasing black excellence that that was sort of the under girding of all of that. And you know, now that I think about it, two things happen. One, over time, and you are familiar with this, there was a sense of being anti-respectability politics, right? Respectability politics according to your generation is there's no amount of good dressing, good looks, class you can deploy that will protect you against instances of racial discrimination or harm, okay? So right away, that's different, right? So is that same person gonna pick up a zine or a magazine that's like, top five best dressed lawyers in Atlanta, you know what I mean? Which was the bread and butter of that stuff. And then the other thing, I think journalists like me, and I take full responsibility of this, I feel like there was a 90s era of black journalists who really made their way in the business. They're big names, and they were kind of the black journalists in the newsroom. And then there is a generation like me that followed that was like, well, I don't want to be pigeonholed. And there were moments where I really sort of fought against focusing on just the black community because I wanted to have the biggest possible reach. And I thought, oh, if I'm integrated into this world, I'll be able to bring these ideas and people like you right now. Into this story. There's a version of this interview that is with a white punk rock guy from Baltimore. You know what I mean? Like just with a different interview where that would have happened. But to your point, you're raising a good question. I'm going to think about now is like what was lost in that decision making? And the revival of kind of black media or Latino media, this sort of effort to refocus and create so-called safe spaces is reminding me that something was lost. In that line of decision-making. Kennedy McDaniel 00:16:25 'Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. Audie Cornish 00:16:27 Did any of that make sense? Kennedy McDaniel 00:16:29 It made perfect sense. And I think, yeah, I mean, I have these conversations in my own life, in my career, around what does it mean to work outside of systems versus within them? Or when you're working. Yes, it's that. Yes, yes. So I think we all are contending with that in one way or another. And of course, it comes up in media and in the way that we relate to each other. Audie Cornish 00:16:55 It's fun, I'm glad, it's so interesting that you asked that. What about the line of questioning made you ask that? Kennedy McDaniel 00:17:01 'Well, I will say that what I've been really enjoying about certain black zine experiences I've been in, one of these is at the Black Zine Fair in New York, which is run by Sojourners for Justice Press. Amazing work, amazing organization. But one of the zine workshops there, people brought ebony magazines and essence, and being able to just really engage with those magazines and make zines out of those reinterpreting, re-engaging, re-storying, or like creating new narratives when it was there was a really beautiful experience and also a way to engage with history, right? Recent history, but not something that we're always looking through and not something that we really have a good version of today in a, you know, in a — Audie Cornish 00:17:49 Or, in fact, that we're still arguing about today. So much of recent black political history, let's just say, or brown political history if you think of other communities, we're so fighting over it. Kennedy McDaniel 00:18:03 Yes. Yes. And I think there's a lot to be said around voice, around what is the truth, around even we are, as the collective, we're very committed to creating spaces for Black zine makers. But we also know that we are not a monolith. So there are many voices even within that that we're not necessarily in alignment with, right? So there's this dance of how do we create a space that we really want everyone to feel like their voice can be heard and shared, while knowing that not every black person has a zine that will deeply resonate with me because we're Black. That's simply — Audie Cornish 00:18:48 Yeah, and depending on where you are in the country, the politics are going to feel very different in that zine. Kennedy McDaniel 00:18:55 Absolutely. Politics, priorities, yeah. Audie Cornish 00:18:59 So we've talked so much about kind of why your generation might be interested. We've talked about why you're interested as an artist. What's your advice or takeaway you want people to have? Who are going pick one up? Or who wouldn't have typically, right? Because I'm seeing them very suddenly, like there was a new newish bookstore that opened in my town and there was, a wall of zines. And I was like, what? You know, and you open them up and sometimes it's words, sometimes it is pictures. And the thing you say in your mind is enormous is, what is this? What is this and who is this for? So give me some takeaways. Kennedy McDaniel 00:19:37 Yes, I would say that zines are by everyone and for everyone. So if you are someone who is seeking any form of connection, community, information from a source that you might not find or that might be different from the mass media that you are tired of potentially. You might be interested in picking up a zine. Now, there are many zines that don't speak to me. That's why I also talk so much about black zine making, because I want people to know, just because a certain subsection of zines have never called to you before, there is a section that does, based on your interest, based on, maybe it's music, maybe it your creative hobbies, maybe it is your politics or your art, whatever it is, there zines about it, And they're made by people who have. Experiences that you might resonate with or that you might learn from. So I think if you are interested in having this moment of connection and this moment of intimacy, of really understanding the thoughts and experiences and feelings one individual to another, I think that you should pick up a zine and see what's inside. Audie Cornish 00:20:56 I think my takeaway is that if I pick up a zine now, I'll know that I'm looking at something that is a window into a person's mind and expression, untouched by the algorithm. Like now that is really striking me because our entire existence now is shaped by this thing we create online and that's shaped by algorithms. And all of a sudden you have this little book that's an expression of you that isn't put through that grinder. Kennedy McDaniel 00:21:38 Absolutely. And it goes both ways. Audie Cornish 00:21:40 'Do you see, like, an actual light bulb over my head now that I'm saying this? It's not like I don't understand self-expression, but I just don't understand, like why wouldn't you blog? Why wouldn't you, you know, there's so many other ways to do it, but there's something about what you're saying of, like no, no, you're guaranteed if someone hands this to you that it is untouched by that entire thing. Kennedy McDaniel 00:22:04 'Yes, it is pure and it is relational. And I think a lot of the information that we receive from many other sources, it can be a dump and it can just, you're kind of, it washes over you. Yeah, a feed, right? Feed these atoms and it's like, but I think zines can disrupt all of that and take you out of whatever this space is, that many of us don't even want to be in, that we actually use so that we can be connected. And it's not serving us, and yet it's the only thing that we have. So zines are another thing, another tool that we could use to connect, one, with ourselves, right? Reflection, introspection, that can be done through zine-making. And two, connecting with one another and creating a sense of community, whether it's through— I read the zine and it's done and I felt this connection with someone. Or whether it's I've read this and I moved to action or this is a really interesting group and I want to do more in my community around this. Or whatever that call to action may be. Audie Cornish 00:23:16 Without the pressure of likes, followings, of performance, of public performance. Like, do you even know how to do this stuff without likes? Like, what happened to you? Did you put out a zine and like look around like, like someone up vote me, what's happening? Kennedy McDaniel 00:23:34 And I'll say that, I think is where something really special about zine making happens. When you're sharing it with someone, when you put it in someone else's hand, like there's this level of appreciation and care and gratitude. I think a level of respect and care that comes into sharing and trading zines too. And that can be a really special space. Audie Cornish 00:24:00 'That was Kennedy McDaniel, one-third of the Blackberry Zine Collective, which is actually named for the fruit that grows in clusters, a nod to the power of folks working together, one page at a time. I want to thank you so much for listening. Come back next week.
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Mikel Arteta exclusive: His ‘evolution' as a manager and the ‘gift' of young talent
'Every artist has their critics.' That is the title of a striking piece of artwork hung high above the London skyline, depicting a brooding photograph of Mikel Arteta marking out something that looked like stream-of-consciousness ideas in black paint. The notion of Arteta the artist is an interesting one for a manager whose team is built on core values of control, work ethic, unity and a specialism in set pieces. Advertisement As for the other part, Arteta is very accustomed to living with critics, so that part feels less open to interpretation. He is also a strong self-critic. For any manager, there is a fascinating contradiction in that they have to be unbendingly sure of themselves in order to lead a group of highly-tuned performers in the face of heavy public pressure, but also be open-minded enough to question themselves, adjust their own principles and absorb new ones. The game moves. So must they. Which is exactly where we find Arteta in the summer of 2025. He is about to begin his seventh season in charge of Arsenal and is speaking to The Athletic after being announced as sportswear company Under Armour's new global ambassador and director of sporting performance. Just like Arteta's football philosophy, the culture he wants to cultivate and his methods for pushing the boundaries are not fixed. They remain in development — and the way his mind works, it will stay that way until his last day in management. 'There is much more to come,' he says. 'Because the manager that the boys needed three years ago is a different manager than they need today. The team has grown so much in every sense of that word that they need somebody else — and that somebody else has to adapt and identify what is really important, what is really going to get that fire in the belly to get the best out of them. That's the evolution of the manager. 'It's not just the idea of changing. If we go to YouTube and the next evolution is, 'Oh look, he has put this player in this space!' that's not evolution of the manager.' So what does he want to be for his players now that he wasn't before? 'Exactly what they need, and each of them are going to require a different manager,' he explains. 'Each of them are going to require at some point a certain something that they don't expect from the manager. And that's the beauty of it. When it's something new — 'Oof, that is going to make me better and I didn't see that coming'.' Arteta's mind is constantly whirring to come up with an idea that might bring a spark, new motivation, a tiny detail that can make a difference. It might be a team challenge or a private talk, an unexpected metaphor or a trick. Where do all these things come from? 'Put in the hours,' he says. 'When you are working on something, that triggers something else. Having a conversation with somebody about one topic creates so many other things, and that stays in your brain and sometimes at night, sometimes in the shower, sometimes when I'm on the pitch looking at something, I say: 'I'll have this.'' Advertisement It all stems from what he calls 'the power of the conversation'. Ideas are everywhere if you just care to listen out for the flicker. Arteta has more one-to-one chats with his players these days. 'It's not always easy, though,' he counters. 'Because the player always wants something from the manager and that is more game time. But the player needs to understand: the more competitive it gets, the squad gets bigger and you're going to have to share. You will be extremely important whether you play 60 minutes or the last 30 and that's something to learn.' Surely that will be one of the most sensitive challenges, to get, say, Viktor Gyokeres and Kai Havertz to collaborate to share game time. Or Myles Lewis-Skelly and Riccardo Califiori. Or Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli. And so on. It is a modern football requirement. 'We cannot take away the fact that the desire to play every game is something super positive,' Arteta says. 'What we need to understand is that I have to make a decision to play a player for a certain reason, and maybe I pick the player next to you, and that's not easy.' So much so, occasionally Arteta goes home and feels sad. Because if, on the one hand, giving someone an opportunity can 'transform his life', on the other hand, a player on the downward curve senses his raison d'être diminishing. These are big feelings to manage. 'That person is probably in this country alone without his family and the only reason why he's in this country is to play football, to play minutes, and you're taking that away from them. That's tough.' It weighs heavily sometimes. The life of a football manager is pretty unusual. But it demands the ability to keep moving, keep demanding, keep inspiring, and keep taking the big decisions. Day one of pre-season is always a big one. It's the time for a manager to look directly at his players and see how much desire he can detect. This time, Arteta was very pleased with what he saw. 'I look at their eyes and their bodies, and they tell you straight away how much they want it. They looked in great shape. You can talk. 'Yeah, yeah, boss, it's gonna be a great season. I'm gonna do this…' They come on day one and they have three or four kilograms. Big problem. Our players came in and they were looking incredibly fit.' They are ready. He is ready. Vamos. Arteta is talking ambition, vision and values — the aspects he picked out about Under Armour which persuaded him to work with the sportswear company. At the launch event, there is some discussion about how Under Armour has a reputation for scrapping it out, but how they want to take big, audacious steps to be a serious player in the football market. Advertisement They saw in Arteta someone they identified with, as founder and CEO Kevin Plank explains: 'We brag about being underdogs — being for all those not born big enough, tall enough, fast enough, strong enough, smart enough, pretty or handsome enough, for all those that didn't feel like they were born in the pole position but had to work for it, to struggle to fight through something, of striving to be more, striving to be better. 'And Mikel has led a very similar story as a player: he played in the biggest clubs but there were always others he had to compete against, so you watched him work with the hand that he was dealt and having the ability to rise to the highest level.' Plank is a highly successful businessman. He saw something compelling in Arteta straight away. He tells the story of their first meeting. It was scheduled for breakfast at the manager's north London home, the morning after the final day of the 2023-24 season. Plank went to the game. Arsenal beat Everton 2-1 but the mood was loaded with what might have been as they finished up second in the league after Manchester City bulldozed past them. Plank figured the meeting would be cancelled. It wasn't. Arteta showed up, ready to have a conversation. As a manager, there is a steeliness mixed in with all those creative ideas he loves. 'Every artist has their critics.' It is beginning to make a lot more sense. And here's another apparent contradiction about Arteta. Not so long ago, detractors created a narrative that he was not a believer in young talent. Evidence in recent times obliterates that, with the emergence of Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri last season and the extraordinary elevation of 15-year-old Max Dowman to the first team being carefully managed by Arteta, his coaching staff, the club's safeguarding team and the teenager's family. Two other youngsters, Marli Salmon and Andre Harriman-Annous, featured in Arsenal's first team for the first time in pre-season. The truth is, overseeing the transition of a youthful talent into the first team is one of the most rewarding and stimulating aspects of Arteta's job. It is, he says, 'a massive gift and a big responsibility' that requires the greatest consideration. 'There's nothing guaranteed in sports. It's not about giving the opportunity for the sake of it. When someone is really knocking on your door and giving you every reason, every single day, to earn that opportunity, you have to give it to them. If there is a passion that I have and something that I love, it's that. But at Arsenal, especially at this level, you really have to earn it and be so good.' Advertisement Arteta is a father to three sons. He likes to take them to Hale End, Arsenal's academy, when he drops in several times a season to see how things are going. That paternal instinct impacts how he assesses the balance between looking after a prodigy from a human perspective versus recognising the platform to allow brilliance to flourish at their best level. As a father and a manager, he feels the nuances deeply. 'With Max, for example, my eldest is 16,' he says. 'When I look at Max, he is one year younger than my son, you know?' He smiles at the madness of it all. 'I know the conversations I have with my son and the things that we have to be on top of, so I can imagine exactly how Max lives at home and the conversations that his parents are having with him and the things that they need to be constantly teaching and educating him with. So it's something fascinating. But he's showing great maturity, and it's a credit to his family as well, the way they are raising that kid.' Arteta has observed a transformation in youth development since his own days as a kid at La Masia, Barcelona's fabled academy. 'It's the evolution of the game. I think if you asked me at 15 if I could play with the first team? Impossible. It was honestly impossible. I could not do it, not mentally, not physically. 'All the tools, all the training, all the education and all the development that they are now having at a very young age are paying off. A lot of work has been done in this country and that's why those players at 15, 16 years old look ready to play men's football, and that's very, very strange.' Even for him, it is taking some getting used to. The environment is another key, and Arteta credits the senior players at Arsenal for being thoughtful and welcoming role models. 'We are lucky because the players that we have,' he adds. 'They are really caring. They are really supportive and they are genuinely happy to see somebody do that. Sometimes that is not always the case, but I think they have the right environment at Arsenal to grow and fulfil their potential.' Arsene Wenger — another keen promoter of youth — always tempered his enthusiasm with realism. One of his sayings was, 'You pay with points'. But when he considered burgeoning ability unstoppable, he would do it, no question. Advertisement 'Arsene used to say that a lot and I understand why,' Arteta says. 'The temptation will always be to give the opportunity to the players who have experience, and if they make mistakes, it will be less and they have probably made mistakes already. But if you have the choice between a young player that you are so convinced about the qualities, and another player, and take a little risk? I think it's worth it. 'In football, nothing guarantees winning games. It doesn't matter what age you have in your passport, what experience you have. You have to have the sense that the player is prepared to handle a certain situation and has the personality to overcome exposure at this level.' Interestingly, he also uses the safe space of London Colney to get a few bumps out of the system away from the mega-scrutiny of competition. Kids need a few hard knocks on the way. 'Let kids make mistakes and then support them. Sometimes we have to make them fail in training so they can learn to overcome these situations when they come up in a game.' When Arteta and Andrea Berta, Arsenal's sporting director, spend time planning the squad, Hale End is central to the conversations. 'The first thing that we do is look in the academy and see if there is any potential there that can really help in the first team, and if the answer is yes, you have the solution. If the answer is no, then you have to go to the recruitment policy. 'Ideally, you know what you want to recruit: very young, very talented and cheap. That's easy on paper! Then you have to go to the markets.' Across football, younger teenagers are making such remarkable strides that Arteta believes the governing bodies need to address the regulations about game time and freedom of movement. There are restrictions at Premier League level which are not necessarily the case worldwide. Provided someone is advanced enough and every aspect of their wellbeing is looked after, holding players back here while they can be progressing elsewhere is not something he agrees with. 'As the game has evolved, the law has to evolve,' he says. 'It is also in relation to the talent that we can recruit all over the world, because if there is great talent here, great, but we have to open our doors again. It's going to make the league, country, grassroots football, much better because the more capacity we have, the standard is going to be raised. It might take two or three, four years, but everybody afterwards will be better because the standards are higher.' The countdown to the new season is getting louder. Arteta hopes he has made the right tweaks to push his squad that little bit further this time. They have been bolstered by new signings in all departments of the team, each of whom has the capability to be challenging for playing time more or less straight away. Advertisement Arteta outlines the three pillars that he leans into often when dealing with players in general. 'I always ask three questions. Can he do it? Does he know how to do it? And does he want to do it? Maybe he can do it, but he doesn't know how to and I can teach him. If a player doesn't want to do it, it's better to leave him alone. If a player is willing to do it but doesn't know how to do it, let's work on him because we can still overcome that barrier. When the guy is not willing to do something, I think, long-term, it won't work.' The newcomers are welcomed into a group who demand of themselves and each other. They will have to lock into that, too. Arteta wouldn't have it any other way. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
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Billy Joel to close beloved New York motorcycle shop after diagnosis
Billy Joel is closing his beloved motorcycle shop on Long Island, New York, after nearly 15 years, and will auction off his extensive collection of bikes later this year. The decision to close 20th Century Cycles in late September was made after he was diagnosed with a rare brain disorder, according to a spokesperson, Claire Mercuri. In May, Joel announced that he was cancelling upcoming concerts after learning he has Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus, a fluid buildup in his brain that can affect thinking, concentrating, memory, movement and more, according to the Cleveland Clinic. The 76-year-old singer, composer and pianist was having trouble with his balance but otherwise felt good, he said in an interview last month on Bill Maher's Club Random podcast. Joel, who grew up in nearby Hicksville, opened 20th Century Cycles in late 2010 as a place to maintain and repair his motorcycles, restore and customise ones he bought and showcase his collection for the public at no charge. 'It's basically promoting an aesthetic here," he said in a 2013 YouTube video filmed at the shop. "I like the older style. I like the automotive style from the '30s to the '60s. I wanted to collect a whole bunch of those kinds of bikes, put 'em in one place and let people see what that era of bikes looked like. Because it's starting to be a lost aesthetic.' He said he also wanted to bring foot traffic and business to downtown Oyster Bay — a ritzy waterfront community about 25 miles (40 kilometres) east of midtown Manhattan — where part of the street that includes 20th Century Cycles was renamed Billy Joel Way in 2023. 'I've been living in this community for a long time,' he said in the video. 'I actually grew up not far from here. And I'd like to get a little interest going into the town and the village.' Joel's nearby home in Centre Island is listed for $29.9 million, and he has been living in South Florida, while keeping a home in Sag Harbor on Long Island. The shop became a popular stop for motorcycle enthusiasts and tourists. It was home to Joel's collection of more than 75 bikes, dating back all the way to the 1940s and including Harley-Davidsons, Triumphs, Ducatis, Moto Guzzis, Indians and BMWs. One of the most valuable, he said, was a 1952 Vincent Rapide, which can sell for tens of thousands of dollars and sometimes more, according to auction sites. 'I think everybody in Oyster Bay would agree that it's a big loss," said Ted Bahr, who owns a vintage rock poster gallery next to 20th Century Cycles. 'Billy's place is visited on weekends by dozens and dozens of people, typically on motorcycles but also people in cars. People come up and look at the window all the time. I mean, it's a real destination. Billy Joel is a real superstar, and he is a hometown boy, so it's really unfortunate." The motorcycles that were in the shop have already been moved out. But it has been open on recent weekends, selling new, used and vintage motorcycle parts that were still in stock there. Joel's enthusiasm for motorcycles dates back decades. In 1982, he was riding a motorcycle on Long Island when he was struck by a car that ran a red light, injuring his left thumb and dislocating his right wrist. He spent about a month in the hospital. He has also ridden motorcycles in various benefits for 9/11 first responders, breast cancer and other causes over the years. A date for the auction of his collection has not been set.
