What’s your historical Los Angeles and New York connection?
I grew up in LA, then shipped myself off to Syracuse, which friends seem to think was motivated by a profound self-loathing. NYC was a natural next step.

Describe your experience in NYC.
I arrived in February ’09 and luckily was able to plug right into the group of friends I made upstate. I started at VICE shortly thereafter, which has dominated much of my time since. Beyond that, it’s been overpaying for great food, appreciating a nice bike ride, people watching, camping upstate, running around with friends, missing all the “things you can’t miss” – essentially, my very own idealized/bastardized version of E.B. White’s New York.

What was the biggest challenge of moving from LA to NYC?
Not seeing my family. Everything else is solvable.

How can NYC and LA best engage with each other?
This newsletter’s a great start. You should have more of your fancy events. Other than that, maybe we should take a cue from the 90s and get a listserv going… as long as it doesn’t turn into the shitshow that is the NY Tech mailing list, we’ll be alright.

Favorite LA secret spot
The best secrets in LA are trafficless driving routes – I like the scenic (if not steep) path through the park from Mulholland & Coldwater to North Beverly Drive. But watch out for Park Rangers with nothing else to do but hand out fake tickets.

Favorite NYC secret spot
The real answer is my buddy’s apartment (featuring a 30-ft projection screen) but to be inclusive, I’ll say the back room at Il Bagatto (2nd/B) – not secret, just a really good vibe.

If you were not at VICE, what would you be doing?
VICE has ruined me – I have the best job I could ask for – I work with some of my best friends, who also happen to be some of the smartest people I’ve ever met.  We’re building a business that incentivizes great creative work and disincentivizes shit, which is everything you could want in media. If not here, I’d likely start my own thing or pursue a completely different interest – maybe green tech or foreign policy.

What’s on your playlist right now?
Daft Punk, Deerhunter, Dirty Beaches, The Knife, Inc., Savages; rediscovering the end of high school with Interpol and Secret Machines; Harry Nilsson forever.

From the 2462 Miles newsletter: connecting NEW YORK CITY + LOS ANGELES