It was 11am and I was drunk. Whisky was dribbling over the top of my glass and a large Scottish man was standing over me yelling “Is that enough?” He ignored my reply and kept pouring. Booze soaked my hands and pants. It fell onto the concrete floor and puddled around my shoes. The world spun slowly. “Drink up,” the Scotsman said. His name was Paul, and he was my new best friend.

About 15 hours earlier I’d arrived on Islay, an island near Ireland with a

Travel isn’t so much about being in a different place as it is about paying attention. When you live with an awe-inspiring view, you barely see it after a while. When you catch the train to work, it’s hard to notice the life going on outside the window. But when you’re in a place that’s not your home, you look at faces, eavesdrop on conversations in languages you don’t understand, and stare out the window wondering what life’s like in this place and how it’s

I got my first tattoo when I was 17 or 18. My older brother is covered head to foot and because he’s my oldest brother, growing up I saw all the cool tats he was getting. He’s in his 50s now, and he’s got stuff that I’m into now, but he had it when it was in style originally, super old-school stuff, mermaids and all that sort of stuff, and it’s all come back around. He probably started my obsession, but I guess for me it was about growing up, being free, and as soon

The first cock fight I ever saw came free with a litre of gasoline.

Ten minutes by scooter from the cliffs above Uluwatu, perhaps the most famous surf break in Bali, I watched an old woman with toes splayed by a life barefoot pour kerosene into the stomach of my scooter. Tipping the bottle of Absolut Vodka with total nonchalance and perfect aim, she held the lid between her toothless gums, looking off into the distance and, seemingly, back in time.

Petrol in Bali generally comes in

Election 2017 looked to be one of our most boring yet, with Labour on the sidelines a whipped and whimpering cur while National rode the last swell from Hurricane Key into a historic fourth term, despite the incumbent Prime MInister being a fill-in nobody wanted the first time around.

Then all hell broke loose. Resignations, ascensions, buzz words. Positive campaigns, negative campaigns, a lot of what were probably lies. The media machine has devoured it all, spewing out so many takes it’s

This weekend Mike Andrews will lead hundreds of immaculately suited gentleman on vintage motorcycles on a ride through Auckland. Thousands of riders around the world will be doing the same to raise awareness and money for The Movember Foundation’s prostate cancer research and men’s mental health programmes.
Simon Day spoke with Mike about raising his young son Cooper, attention to detail, and his own struggles with mental health.

Have you

The New Zealand International Film Festival is rolling its wonderful way around the country. Here are ten top picks by The Spinoff Auckland editor Simon Wilson, plus five tips on how to make the most of the festival.

Five good things to do at the film festival?

1. If it’s on at a grand old theatre,

Our Queenstown store Manager, James, won the 2016 Executive Leadership Award and decided to use the prize to trek to Everest Base Camp. He has just returned and has shared his experience with us.

At the Barkers Conference in 2016 I won the Executive Leadership Award, after eight months working for Barkers. After a night of merriment and probably a little too much wine, I had to decide what to do with my award

As we hurtle forward into the future at what seems like an ever-increasing rate, our vocabulary and mental constructs have had to adapt and come along for the ride. But change is uncomfortable, and occasionally scary - particularly when one considers the very real need for an updated vocabulary to reckon with these singular times we’re living through. Thankfully, the institution of the Oxford English Dictionary is here to maintain order, to define the undefined and to spread the gift of good