NO.LIFE 010

Welcome to issue 10 of NTW’s weekly newsletter, straight from founders Cal & Rocky.

Cal’s gearing up for MrBeast’s Hunger Games and tracking Ibiza’s Final Boss meme back to Stansted. Rocky’s bouncing from the Forbidden City to a Labubu wonder-land, bleaching his hair, and calling the rise of “bagheads.”

Let’s get into it.

CALLUX FIRST >

MrBeast’s Hunger Games… 

Jimmy wants to drop 26 people on an island and make them battle it out with laser guns for $1M.


It’s Squid Game meets Fortnite meets whatever’s cooking in Jimmy’s sleep-deprived brain. But the clickbait is mainly Hunger Games.


I’ve been in 2 Beast videos: 
- Stay in a circle for $100k vs 10 Youtubers (I lost) 
- Last to take their hand off a private jet wins it (I lost) 

But hunger games here I come! I’ll win this one!

Chess > Baseball

A livestream of someone repeatedly going to the bathroom during a heated Chess.com match (now dubbed as, toilet‑gate) pulled more viewers than the MLB All‑Star Game.

MLB peaked at 8.1 million, meanwhile, this toilet drama chess stream, basically a dude, a board, and suspicious bladders, surged past 8.7m live concurrent viewers.


What did we learn? Drama + bathroom breaks = more addictive than America’s top sport.

Ibiza Final Boss: What next? 

You must have seen the clip right?

Bob cut, black tee, gold chain & LV man bag. Dancing like an NPC that unlocked God Mode. 

He was named the Ibiza Final Boss, and now he’s been identified.


Turns out he’s just a regular guy from Essex. One night out, a few too many sambucas, and now his face is floating around TikTok like he’s a GTA character mod.


The real question:
What happens when he lands back at Stansted?
Does he launch a DJ career? Sign a Boohoo deal?

Because in 2025, all it takes is one meme, one camera phone, and you’re not just going viral, you’re expected to do something with it. Personal brand inc.

The Mafia has a Sports Card Addiction

We got into sports cards for fun. Now it’s an obsession. Palatials flying everywhere. 

I hit a Thierry Henry 1/25 and a few 1/5s. Still no 1/1 though… the group’s got 14 between everyone.

None are mine, nightmare fuel.


By far the most active group chat i’ve ever been a part of. I go away for 2 hours and there’s 999+ msgs. Randy does this for a living but Simon’s collection is insane.

Whatnot is the place to be, live shopping is coming in a big big way.

Call of Duty vs Sidemen (cheers Vik) 

We’ve talked for years about a proper Call of Duty LAN event to settle “who’s actually cracked.” Red Bull finally let us make it real. 

Nostalgia was off the charts. 


Moments:
- JJ fuming at the start bc Cal and Josh were an hour late (sports cards buying)
- I had a lot to prove from a disaster Sidemen video a few months ago (I went on to win every series)
- Randy is cracked, although he was on keyboard and mouse. Still cracked. 
- Good vibes, red bull looked after us, and a great idea from vik. 10/10 would go again. 



p.s I won my first ever golf ProAm today. With a lot of help, but still.



NEXT UP, ROCKY >

Timelines Collide

The last few days have been a blur - back-to-back factory meetings, supplier calls, zero sleep. That’s the rhythm of production life. But somewhere between the chaos, you learn to find balance in the “twelve o’clocks” - midday breaks and midnight moments. That’s when the inspiration hits.


Yesterday was one of those moments worth sharing.


There’s no shortage of opinions about China. Some good, some bad. But for me, it’s simple: China continues to be one of my greatest sources of energy and perspective. The kindness, the respect, the willingness to collaborate - it’s unmatched.


In the heart of Beijing, I saw two faces of modern China. First, the vast and humbling weight of the Forbidden City - centuries of culture and symbolism stitched into every stone. Then, a sharp left turn into PopLand - a newly opened hub celebrating the world of Labubu’s, dripping in youth culture and community. Two extremes. Both deeply Chinese. Both thriving.

This is the paradox and the beauty of China. Tradition and futurism living side by side. And for me, it’s what keeps this place in my top destinations in the world - not just for business, but for creative fuel.

If you ever get the chance: go. The time is now.

Beans & Branding: Fashion’s New Fix

There’s something quietly - and then suddenly - happening on London’s high streets. The luxury fashion houses aren’t just dressing you anymore; they’re pouring your flat
white, too.


You’ve seen it. From The Prada Caffè glinting inside Harrods, to Ralph’s Coffee tucked into Mayfair like a preppy sanctuary. Kith Treats blurs sneakers and cereal, Carhartt WIP is pushing cortados, and of course, Aimé Leon Dore has practically trademarked the art of café cool.


And just when I was walking the streets of Beijing I stumbled upon it: Maison Margiela Café. Yes, Maison Margiela - the house of anonymity, deconstruction, and avant-garde rebellion - is also in the caffeine business. I didn’t see it coming, and yet, it makes 
perfect sense.


Here’s the thing: The traditional luxury model is built on scarcity, high margins, and even higher price tags. But what we’re seeing now is a lateral move - one that doesn’t dilute the brand, but extends it. Coffee, it turns out, is the perfect vehicle: low overheads, high turnover, endless foot traffic. It’s retail theatre at its most casual and most calculated.
These cafés aren’t just cash cows. They’re community builders. They keep the brand in constant rotation - a daily ritual instead of a seasonal splurge. You might not buy the £1,200 trench coat, but you’ll sip the £4.50 oat milk latte served under the same brand halo. And you’ll come back. Again. And again.


NTW Café soon?

FLOP OR FIRE: Bleached Out, Zoned In

This one’s been sitting with me for a bit - not in my head, but on it.


Before heading out on a two-week trip across Asia, I bleached my hair. A lot of people told me not to. Everyone had an opinion: “Don’t do it.” “You’ll regret it.” “It’s not you.”

Maybe not headline-worthy, but for me, it’s a small reminder: do what makes you happy. Do the thing you’ve been thinking about for too long. Hair, idea, project, whatever. You’ll either own it or learn 
from it. 


Like Mike said - you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.


2025 for me has already been full of firsts. We just dropped our first-ever NTW t-shirts. New models, new directions, new mindset. And we’re barely halfway through the year.

If you’ve been waiting for a sign - this is it.

From Kicks to Carriers: Bag Culture Is Coming

I’ve been getting deeper into bags and accessories lately - the kind of niche you don’t realise you’re obsessed with until your FYP knows you better than your friends do.
It is still early days, and there are many purists that will argue otherwise. But this week, mid-doomscroll, I stumbled on those pieces from Anne Sofie Madsen and Caroline Clante, dropped during Copenhagen Fashion Week. Yes - it’s a rat. Yes - as a bag. And damn… they beat us to it.


We’ve seen the oddball bag before. Balloon dogs, teddy bears, the occasional ironic fruit. But this? This hit different. At this point, novelty is strategy.

But here’s the real shift: the bag charm trend that’s been building for the last year? Best believe it’s here. Sneaker collabs are diluted. Bags are becoming unisex. Something new will take centre stage. Come Summer 2026, the purists might want to look away - bag charms are taking the back seat. What’s next? Full-blown, multi-collab wearable objects. Sculptural. Unexpected. Hyperpersonal. Capturing audiences.


We have sneakerheads. Could bagheads be next?


Time will tell. But the challenge is out there. Let’s see which brands actually run with it - and who just plays catch-up.

The Right to Play: Inside the Factory, Outside the Comfort Zone

This morning started on factory floors - outsole manufacturer first, then over to our T-shirt supplier. Two different categories, two very different sets of problems. But one truth always hits the same: making anything at a high level is way more complex than it looks.
Whether it’s dual-injection soles that won’t line up by a fraction, or the pressure balancing act of getting a graphic print just right - every part of the process is fragile. One wrong move and the whole thing unravels. The margin for error is slim, and the only way through is to stay sharp, stay calm, and solve in real time.


I spent today deep in the QC on our latest production. And trust me - with footwear, nothing ever goes entirely to plan. But that’s where the real work lives. Not just inspecting what went wrong, but sitting down with the factory, figuring it out together. Listening. Learning. Tweaking. That mutual problem-solving is what elevates the product - and the relationship.

Our quality standards are non-negotiable. That’s why these trips are essential. You can't scale without standards, and you can't break standards without showing up.


For anyone trying to dive into any industry: work hard, yes. But also work smart. Stay curious, stay consistent, stay humble. The key is earning your “right to play” - by understanding the game better than most. Because at a certain point, knowledge becomes efficiency. And that’s when you find your flow.


That’s where we are now. And that’s how we keep moving. Let’s go.