Day: August 23, 2025

• This post originally appeared in the BI Today newsletter.
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Welcome back! What would you do if your kid brought their college girlfriend home and they slept in the same room? Well, one “cool mom” didn’t mind. Find out why.

On the agenda:

• An Alzheimer’s researcher shared what he’s doing to preserve his brain health.
• Las Vegas is stuck in a Sin City slowdown.
• Why people are shelling out $2,100 for a trendy jacket.
• New drink on the links: Golfers can’t get enough of the Water Hazard.

But first: All eyes on Burning Man.

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This week’s dispatch

It’s time for some desert fun

Burning Man, the arts festival that attracts well-known tech bros, billionaires, and Hollywood’s A-list, kicks off on Sunday.

And for those leaving their corporate world-cares behind to attend the magical desert party in Black Rock City, Nevada, there are a few must-pack items you can’t leave behind.

Business Insider’s Anneta Konstantinides is no newbie to the playa or the dry lake bed where Burning Man takes place. After attending in 2023, she writes she learned that the most important part of her planning was the packing — especially since thousands of festivalgoers bring nearly everything with them, including living accommodations.

Here are some of the 91 items Konstantinides can’t leave behind:

• Don’t wear anything “with loose feathers, glitter, or sequins — anything that can litter the playa is known as ‘MOOP’ and is looked down on by Burners.”
• “Many, many pairs of socks. We’d wear these even with our sandals to protect ourselves from the alkaline dust — no one wants Playa Foot!”
• Body wipes since many people attending Burning Man don’t shower while spending a week in the desert.
• Konstantides also advises bringing toiletries to protect you from the sun and dust, including sunglasses, chapstick with SPF, saline nasal spray, and cuticle cream.

Boosting your brain health

When it comes to brain aging, nothing helps more than healthy habits, according to Dr. Rudolph Tanzi, a brain aging researcher. He created the acronym “SHIELD” to encourage good brain health and potentially reduce the risk of conditions like Alzheimer’s.

Tanzi also takes omega-3 supplements, which can lower inflammation and reduce the risk of blood clots. Mounting evidence suggests those effects can also have antiaging benefits.

Reducing the chances of cognitive decline.

Leaving Las Vegas

For years, two of Sin City’s main draws were that it was one of only two places to legally gamble in the US and that it was relatively cheap to visit. Now, though, as sports betting has expanded to other cities, Las Vegas has started to lose its special appeal.

Plus, Vegas has gotten expensive. Resort economics have changed, tourists have begun to expect more luxury goods and services, and some establishments now charge New York City prices for drinks.

Still, it’s not dead — just sleepy.

A customized luxury piece

Luxury fashion brand Bode is all the rage right now, with its one-of-a-kind $2,100 Senior Cord Side Tab jacket becoming a fan-favorite investment piece. While most luxury brands are known for their rare pieces, Bode runs its business differently.

After purchasing the customizable jacket, Bode emails the customer an extensive questionnaire about their hobbies, favorite movies, lucky numbers, and more. Customer Marc Bass said the brand has achieved something few others have: It’s created a line of conversation-starting garments that are truly unique and accessible.

Worth the splurge.

Meet the Water Hazard

Many golfers have long preferred the Transfusion as their cocktail of choice while out on the green. The vodka-based drink features ginger ale, grape juice, and lime juice. But a new drink is taking over, according to golf course workers.

The Water Hazard mixes vodka with blue Gatorade, lemonade, and Sprite. The Gatorade’s electrolytes add a hydration twist to the refreshing drink, although it’s unlikely you’ll get the electrolyte benefits since the Gatorade is mixed with alcohol.

Plus, the aesthetic is nice.

What we’re watching this weekend

• “The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox”: This Hulu miniseries delves into the 2007 wrongful conviction of American student Amanda Knox (played by Grace Van Patten), which became a headline-grabbing international incident.
• “Peacemaker”: In season 2 of HBO Max’s hilarious DC Comics series, expect more outlandish adventures from this disturbed superhero played by John Cena.
• “F1: The Movie”: Now available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, and Fandango at Home, check out one of the summer’s best movies as Brad Pitt plays a washed-up Formula 1 driver who seeks glory against the greatest racers in the world.

What to shop

• Pack light, look sharp: We found a bunch of comfy, stylish pants that are perfect for travel. They’re easy to pack and easy to wear. Check out our guide to the best women’s travel pants for looking polished without sacrificing comfort on the go.
• Ticket buyer protection for a price: Our deep dive has verified that StubHub is a legit spot for buying and selling event tickets with valid, on-time delivery or refunds if anything goes wrong. Just beware: you’ll pay extra for that peace of mind with clearly shown fees.
• Saatva’s Labor Day sale: Saatva is offering up to $400 off its luxury mattresses during its Labor Day sale, along with perks like white-glove delivery. It’s one of your best chances this year for serious savings on high-end comfort.

More of this week’s top reads:

• What Disney adults fear the most.
• I’ve visited Portugal over a dozen times. There’s one underrated region I keep going back to.
• My experience on “Survivor” made me want to live among nature. So I moved to Mexico.
• Nine ways you’re making your wedding look cheap, according to a luxury planner.
• I was burned out at work, so I quit my job, sold my home, and moved to Spain. It was the best decision of my life.
• Spike Lee says he won’t shop around his scrapped ESPN Colin Kaepernick doc: “That thing fell apart a year ago.”
• Inside a matcha rave, where Gen Zers go wild for ice-cold brews, sober partying, and getting home at a reasonable hour.
• Coach Deion Sanders says athletes should stop choosing colleges that offer a short-term payday.

Chipotle wants to turn dorm rooms into burrito bowls.

The BI Today team: Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York. Akin Oyedele, deputy editor, in New York. Grace Lett, editor, in New York. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York.

Ghent – The Gentbrugge neighbourhood in Ghent hosted the inaugural Grand Prix Gentbrugge, a 250-meter race featuring 57 participants. Lisander Cardyn claimed victory in the adult category, while Linus triumphed in the under-15 division. This event marked the kickoff of the Gentbrugge Leeft festival, reports 24brussels.

The Grand Prix, renowned as “the shortest time trial in the world,” unfolded along a slightly less than 250-meter course, with the starting podium set up in the church square of Gentbrugge. Among the competitors were 14 children and 43 adults, including former Belgian champion Jesse Vandenbulcke.

Organizers had to limit registration to 60 participants, as outlined by Tim Van Steendam, one of the event coordinators. He stated,

“We had to close registrations at 60. You can’t start that early on a Friday evening, and we also have to take the sunset into account.”

Winners and Key Events of the Gentbrugge Leeft Festival

The competition featured live commentary, leading to excitement among the crowd. Cardyn of Sint-Amandsberg finished the adult race in 27.52 seconds, while Linus secured first place in the under-15 category with a time of 30 seconds. Event commentator Schotte noted,

“I just prepared, as usual, a phone call with the organisers, after which I wrote down a sheet of paper with all the information. And the rest I just improvised,”

The Grand Prix Gentbrugge also officially launched the three-day Gentbrugge Leeft festival. Tim Van Steendam emphasized the community spirit behind the event, stating,

“It’s mainly the sense of community that drives us to organise this.”

The organizing committee comprises a diverse group, from local florists to writers and other residents. Tim added,

“We’ve been organising this for about five years now, and we’ve noticed that the neighbourhood has grown much closer together since then.”

This year’s festival program features a wide array of activities suitable for all ages, including a flea market, a barbecue, and live music. Tim outlined changes in the competition structure, stating,

“In previous years, the participants had to pull a truck that got heavier each time, but this year it will be a competition with real strength tests.”

Among the festival’s highlights is the traditional John Massis Cup, designed to determine the strongest individual in Gentbrugge. This year, the competition will adopt a new format, as explained by Tim Van Steendam:

“The qualifying rounds start on Saturday, where participants must stack beer barrels and tilt a heavy tractor tire. The three strongest men and women will return on Sunday. Then they’ll get to bend steel, a true tribute to our John Massis, the legendary powerhouse who is buried nearby.”

Initiated in 2018, the Gentbrugge Leeft festival aims to foster closer ties within the Gentbrugge community. Organized by a local committee of residents and small business owners, the festival has expanded over the years, introducing various activities, including flea markets, barbecues, live music, and sports competitions.

The festival’s centerpiece, the John Massis Cup, commemorates the famous Belgian strongman from the 1970s, who is interred in the vicinity.

• Morgan Mazor practices matrimonial law as a partner at Bender & Crane. She frequently works with Gen Z clients.
• Mazor noticed a trend among her young clients: Gen Zers were more likely to ask their partner about finances and sign a prenup.
• “My parents always told me, ‘We don’t talk about money,'” Mazor said. “Gen Zers have opened up the door to talking about it.”

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Morgan Mazor, a 37-year-old partner at Bender & Crane who practices matrimonial law. It’s been edited for length and clarity.

The thing that I’ve noticed the most with Gen Z is that the stigma around talking about money has really changed.

I’m a millennial. My parents always told me, “We don’t talk about money.” You’re not supposed to ask about how much money anybody makes. You don’t ask somebody how much they spent on their house or how much something costs. What are their spending habits? How much debt does somebody have?

Even when I was dating, it wasn’t a discussed factor. Gen Zers have opened up the door to talking about it.

There were also much more traditional trajectories. Somebody would eventually stay home and raise their children. Now I’m asking, “Are you going to have children?” That’s not automatic.

Whether or not someone will stop working is definitely on the back burner. Everyone is on board that we have to be a two-income household.

Gen Z is absolutely more open to prenups.

I can see the trend that prenups are not this, “Oh no, if we’re doing this, we’re going to get divorced.” It’s just another one of those check boxes of things that you do now for financial planning.

For millennials and older, prenups were more about families that had money pushing them. I see Gen Zers that realize their potential, that may not have the money already, but are thinking, “I’m a young professional. I have these career aspirations.” They’re coming to a prenup thinking things we never thought about before.

It’s about those young professionals on the cusp of their careers. I could even talk about Jeff Bezos. It was amicable, but it was likely one of the most expensive divorces ever. Things like that could have been worked out in a prenup.

What will be interesting about Gen Z is the digital entrepreneur. If these younger kids are focusing on making money through digital influencing, how do you capture that income? How do you value that? That’s something you may want to carve out in a prenup.

I’ve had clients come to me and be like, “We’ve already talked about it. This is what we want to do.” I’ll come in and draft it, then it gets sent to the other spouse’s lawyer, and there’s pushback. When I had older clients, they would want me to have the conversations with the lawyers and try to figure it out.

I see the younger generation sit down, go home, and have that conversation with their future spouse. They’re willing to do that face-to-face; they’re not hiding behind a lawyer or a parent.

I think that also creates healthier relationships because you have the same expectations financially. Besides infidelity, financial things are really what break marriages in the end.

• I like to chat with other moms when I travel. I’ve received some of the best parenting tips that way.
• These strangers’ advice has helped me learn to accept my supporting role as a mom.
• It’s also taught me how to be more present for my kids now and worry less about their future.

I travel often, and whenever I do, I always ask moms of older kids (teens and older) the same question: Looking back, what are you grateful for that you did as a mom, and what would you have done differently?

Perhaps because I’ll likely never see these women again, I feel like they are always super honest with their response.

One woman told me I should ask my own mom, but I told her the reason I ask other moms is because my mom was diagnosed with dementia as soon as I had my first son.

I regret never asking my mom parenting questions, but I honestly didn’t know what to ask until I had my own kids, and by then it was too late. That’s why I ask strangers.

Asking stranger moms for advice has helped me become a better parent

Answers include simple things like, I wish I had made my high school son get a crappy summer job so he would realize the value of a dollar. That advice always stayed with me, and this past summer, I made my own high school son get a camp counselor job. It turned out to be a great decision — he learned how to manage both kids, parents, and bosses, and also realized how hard you have to work to make minimum wage.

Another piece of advice from a mom I met in St. Lucia was how she was glad she met her son where he was. He was a little different and quirky — he dressed in a really unique style and his hair was completely different from the other kids — and she let him be him and not try to suggest more mainstream ways to fit in. I loved that.

Parenting is tough, and often, as moms, we want to protect our kids, so we try to shield them from hurt feelings and being excluded by other kids by suggesting ways they can assimilate or blend in.

However, I realized that by trying to make them something they are not, I’m doing a disservice to my kids. Instead, this mom’s advice helped me realize that my job, as a mom, is to accept them and their sometimes strange and quirky habits and let them know I’m there for them no matter what. The rest of the world can judge them, but my job is to accept them and make them feel safe.

So, when my son made me a paper purse in art class, I wore it proudly.

Some of the stories I hear are deeply sad

Another mom I met in Sydney told me her son committed suicide, and in hindsight, she wished she had been more present in his childhood instead of being so worried about his future. That always stayed with me.

I worry about my kids’ future — will they be happy in school, will they stay away from drugs, will they get involved in the wrong crowd? Listening to this mom, I realized that I’m missing out on the now by worrying about the future.

So, I decided to implement Kid Appreciation Day. A few times a month, whenever my kids either feel down, or want to talk to me about something, or we are celebrating a win (a good score on a math test), I take them to their favorite spot, Chipotle, and they can order anything they want.

The rule is we have to eat there and they can’t look at their phones. We go to a Chipotle two towns over, so they don’t run into their friends. I hear about the girls they like, the challenges they are having with school or friends, and the daily ins and outs of their lives.

This has completely changed my relationship with my kids. They know they can tell me anything and I’ll listen, not judge or give advice, unless they ask. Plus, spending one-on-one time together (I never take my two sons together), has really allowed me to focus on their needs as individuals. It’s our special time together, and I hope they cherish those moments as much as I do.

It’s changed my life

Another mom told me she would tell her daughter, I don’t love what you did, but I love you. That’s such a great way of letting my sons know that I’m disappointed in their behavior, but I still love them.

The advice I’ve gotten over the years has always made me think and ask myself: Can I do better?

My kids are now 14 and 16, and I’m still asking moms, because I’ve been receiving great advice for 16 years. The difference is, now people ask my advice back.

I tell them I never regret traveling with my kids — even if it means pulling them out of school. I am also so grateful that I volunteered all the time when they were in elementary school — I was pizza mom, fruit Friday mom, art appreciation mom (even though I suck at art), and field day mom. Now that they are in high school, they don’t want me around school, but they loved it as kids. It’s one of the best things I did.

• Chenin Matthews is the director of guest experience for the Four Seasons’ private jet.
• The hotel-and-resorts company runs trips that can cost over $240,000.
• Custom meals from the executive chef, and guests breaking into song are among the unique moments.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Chenin Matthews, director of guest experience for the Four Seasons Private Jet. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I came straight from college as one of the managers in training at the Four Seasons Hualalai, in Hawaii. For the last three years, I’ve had the pleasure of calling the jet program my main focus.

Travel is often exciting just because of the end destination, but it can also be a bit cumbersome. That’s not the case with the Four Seasons jet.

It’s a customized Airbus A321, with 48 first-class lay-flat Italian leather seats, so it’s absolutely stunning. In the back, we have a standing-room lounge that creates this social atmosphere.

A normal week varies whether I’m grounded or in flight.

Grounded, it’s making sure that we feel really great with our logistics, working with our Four Seasons teams and properties.

When we are traveling with the guests, every three days you’re in a new destination. I’m on about four of these trips a year.

We’ve got some regional trips that are $148,000, and then we’ve got our longer, 24-day trips that are more from there.

Some of our guests are successful in their own world where they handhold every single detail, and then they’ve allowed us to step in and take over. It’s really interesting to see the relaxation that comes to them.

You never touch your luggage, you don’t have to worry about where your boarding pass is, or which gate you’re going to — we’re there all along the way.

We’re talking with the guests to make sure we are delivering any wants and needs, customizations, and bespoke experiences.

We have an executive chef doing the catering, so it is always going to be three courses.

They’re either focusing on something from where we just came or where we’re going. Coming out of Japan, we have some wagyu beef on board. That’s always a favorite.

Even though we have a menu, it doesn’t mean that’s where it stops.

Oftentimes, we’ll have requests from people who are missing a little bit of home, like an American-style grilled cheese. We had some British folks who were missing fish and chips, but our chef made sure to have it.

I couldn’t tell you my favorite itinerary. It’s like choosing your favorite child. They’re so diverse and they offer such different things.

Ancient Explorer, which we just launched for 2027, is very ambitious. We’re going to Petra, the Great Barrier Reef, Easter Island, and Bangkok — all over the place.

Uncharted Discoveries, the itinerary that takes you through Latin America, features Cartagena, one of our newer properties coming online, and a ship trip to Antarctica.

When I first started, we used to say it was once in a lifetime experience, and we had to remove that because we have people who keep coming back.

We have a fair amount of people who travel solo, but 24 days later, it’s a group of friendships.

There’s a bittersweet element to the last flight. Guests have broken out into song and dance. It was “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” from Dirty Dancing.” One time, we had a captain on his last flight before retiring, and so people sang “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow.”

I can’t say that there are any downsides to my job.

Part of the fun of travel is the unique moments that arise. There was a seaplane from another company that had an emergency landing, but there’s a reason that we have Champagne on board to stall us a little bit.

Sometimes it’s someone who has stumbled across a location that they remember from their honeymoon 20 years ago.

The first time I went to Bhutan with guests, people came out having emotional experiences from being up in Tiger’s Nest. It’s quite a pilgrimage to do the hike up there. Or when we go on a safari in the Serengeti and it’s people’s first time seeing a cheetah.

These moments are very powerful, to see how things unexpectedly touch people in different ways.

I was just on a trip a few months ago, and one of our guests was really touched by this moment that he had with a monk, so he actually wanted to donate about 2,000 kilograms of rice to this particular monastery.

Travel is intoxicating. To be able to experience, touch, and connect with different people, cultures, and food, is something that is special to me.

• Burning Man, the annual music and arts festival in the desert, is in a precarious financial situation.
• Last year, the organization behind the event operated at a financial loss.
• Ticket sales and donations are up this year, but the event, popular with the Silicon Valley elite, has not sold out.

The famously anti-capitalist festival Burning Man is in a bit of an ironic pickle: It needs money.

Burning Man Project, the nonprofit organization behind the annual event in Black Rock City, Nevada, is entering its 2025 festival on shaky ground.

“Everything is now at risk,” Marian Goodell, Burning Man Project’s CEO, wrote in a letter requesting donations after last year’s event.

Burning Man, which was born in San Francisco in the 1980s, has gained traction with Silicon Valley elite over the past few decades. Some of the richest names in tech, like Elon Musk, Eric Schmidt, Sergey Brin, and Larry Page, are regular attendees. But in recent years, it has struggled to break even as the costs of putting on the festival have increased and sales of high-priced tickets have not kept up.

So far, things are looking up this year. The organization expects more than 70,000 attendees, a spokesperson told Business Insider. That’s more than the 69,141 who attended last year, according to the festival’s official dispatch.

Donations are also up year-to-date, Goodell said earlier this month. And the festival’s new dynamic ticketing system more accurately reflects its costs. Last year’s standard ticket price, $575, didn’t cover the organization’s cost per attendee, which sat at about $749 in 2023. This year, Burning Man tickets are priced on a transparent sliding scale from “give a gift” — any ticket priced above $750 — to “receive a gift” — the limited number of tickets priced below $750.

Goodell said Burning Man’s “financial outlook is much stronger than where we were a year ago,” when it operated at a financial loss in 2024.

Still, tickets for this year’s festival, which runs from August 24 to September 1, have not sold out as they did each year from 2011 to 2023, less those when the event was called off due to the pandemic. At its peak, in 2019, Burning Man hosted 78,850 attendees.

Last year, after higher-priced ticket sales did not meet expectations, the nonprofit raised its fundraising goal from $10 million at the beginning of the year to $20 million by November to address a shortfall. Thanks to 10% staff cuts and a surge in donations, it squeaked through.

In 2023, the most recent year for which data is available, the organization’s expenses totaled $63.6 million, more than double what they were a decade prior, according to financial filings. Those expenses cover staff and year-round activities, as well as the festival’s basic infrastructure, like toilets, fuel, and medical staff.

Burning Man’s own principles are at odds with its fiscal well-being

Part of Burning Man’s financial problems lies in its very ethos. The event, which took on its current shape as a music and arts celebration in the desert in 1991, revolves around 10 principles, including “radical inclusion” and “decommodification.”

The former means the organization has been historically hesitant to raise ticket prices; it offers financial aid for those who qualify for reduced-priced tickets. For years, the standard ticket did not cover the average cost the organization bears per attendee; the discrepancy between the two peaked in 2022 when a standard ticket cost $475 and the actual cost per attendee was $676.

The event’s roots in “decommodification” mean it eschews corporate sponsorships or merchandise and concession sales that could subsidize ticket sales and donations. Similarly, the organization does not collect licensing fees from the many Burning Man regional offshoots that were attended by more than 100,000 people last year.

The armchair critic may be surprised that an event now synonymous with tech billionaires would be in financial straits. Some of the world’s richest men are regular attendees. But while Burners are getting richer — 37.2% earn between $100,000 and $300,000 annually, compared to 21% 10 years ago, according to an annual volunteer-run census — the majority still earn under $100,000 a year.

Some burners were not thrilled with Goodell’s calls to action last year, commenting on her posts with critiques about the amount that the organization spends on salaries and real estate (Goodell earned $391,000 in 2023, according to disclosures, and its office has an address in an expensive San Francisco area). Others said they want the nonprofit to focus on the annual Burning Man event, not its many charity initiatives, like the disaster relief project Burners without Borders and global artist grants.

The richest Burners have not spoken publicly about the festival’s finances, though they may very well be among those who donated to keep the festival afloat. While the organization does publish a list of donors, there is the option to remain anonymous. For all we know, Sgt Pepper Bm or Uncle Cornelius could be Dustin Moskovitz’s Burning Man alias.