The Profile: Silicon Valley’s pro-tech Democrat & Comedy’s newest star
This edition of The Profile features Marcello Hernández, Ro Khanna, Kayla Barnes-Lentz, Kevin Hart, and Ryan Serhant.
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PROFILES.
— Comedy’s newest star [**HIGHLY RECOMMEND**]
— Silicon Valley’s pro-tech Democrat
— The reality TV star building a real estate empire
— The influencer selling longevity hacks to women
— The struggling celebrity media company
PEOPLE TO KNOW.
Comedy’s newest star: Marcello Hernández is emerging as Saturday Night Live’s breakout Gen Z star — a hyper-energetic Miami comic whose charisma feels built for both TikTok-era fame and old-school stand-up. This GQ profile paints him as relentlessly “on,” turning every interaction into material while grinding obsessively at comedy even as Netflix specials and movie roles pile up around him. Hernández wants to become the next crossover comedy star in the mold of Kevin Hart or Adam Sandler. (GQ)
Silicon Valley’s pro-tech Democrat: Ro Khanna is reinventing himself from Silicon Valley’s favorite pro-tech Democrat into one of its loudest critics — backing a billionaire wealth tax, attacking the “Epstein class,” and openly antagonizing donors like Peter Thiel. Khanna believes distancing himself from tech elites could make him a credible 2028 presidential contender at a moment when public distrust of AI, billionaires, and Silicon Valley is surging. (Bloomberg)
The reality TV star building a real estate empire: Ryan Serhant says the real villain of his Netflix show Owning Manhattan isn’t a rival broker — it’s himself. The profile frames Serhant as a reality-TV savant who understands that fame comes from “creating noise,” whether that means jumping naked into a pool on camera or turning his own ambition and ego into storyline fuel. (New York Magazine; For more, check out my profile on Ryan Serhant here.)
The influencer selling longevity hacks to women: Kayla Barnes-Lentz is building a female-focused longevity empire on the idea that the biohacking world was built by men, for men. This profile portrays her as part wellness guru, part human experiment — turning blood tests, sleep tracking, saunas, and hormone data into a booming business for women who feel left out of Silicon Valley’s “live forever” movement. How much of modern longevity is real science, and how much is elite wellness theater?
COMPANIES TO WATCH.
The struggling celebrity media company: Once valued at $650 million, Kevin Hart’s media company has faced layoffs, executive turnover, stalled projects, and internal conflict as Hollywood spending slowed and the business remained overly dependent on Hart himself. The profile suggests Hart’s new deal with Authentic Brands Group — which moves his endorsement business outside Hartbeat — may signal the slow unraveling of the company’s original vision.
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