The Profile: The exec solving Facebook’s growth crisis & the man on a quest to make pickleball quiet
This week's edition of The Profile features Ryan Gosling, Drew Barrymore, Nicola Mendelsohn, and more.
Good morning, friends!
Only nine days until my first book, HIDDEN GENIUS, hits shelves. It’s crazy to think that I started writing in February of 2021, and we are finally at the finish line — or hopefully, it’s actually the starting line.
Anyway, I’m sharing more content around my book on my Instagram, and I’d love it if you came on this journey with me there. Here is an example of a short video we published yesterday:
I’m so excited for this next chapter. Thank you to each and every one of you for the kind words, endless support, and helpful feedback all these years. This book is for you.
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PROFILES.
— Hollywood’s leading man making a comeback [**HIGHLY RECOMMEND**]
— The executive solving Facebook’s growth crisis
— The man on a quest to make pickleball quiet
— The star grappling with her childhood traumas
— The founder of Slow AF Run Club
PEOPLE TO KNOW.
Hollywood’s leading man making a comeback: People noticed that actor Ryan Gosling had disappeared from Hollywood, and now he’s back as Ken in the new film, Barbie. What was he doing all this time? He had just had his second child, and he says, “I wanted to spend as much time as I could with them.” In this profile, he talks about parenting, how acting has completely changed for him now, and why he’s prioritizing the off-screen roles more in this season of life. I recommend you give this profile a shot — it’s written by GQ’s Zach Baron, and it’s a masterpiece. (GQ)
“Nick Cassavetes straight up told me: ‘The fact that you have no natural leading man qualities is why I want you to be my leading man.”
The executive solving Facebook’s growth crisis: Nicola Mendelsohn was promoted to head Meta's global business group. The promotion is a career feat for the Manchester, England, native who never set out to be a high-powered executive. But Meta’s current state has tinged the achievement: Over the past year, it recorded three straight quarters of declining year-over-year sales, and it has announced layoffs of roughly 24% of its workers. It faces a dim economic outlook for advertisers whose dollars fuel Meta’s sprawling machine. Can she turn things around? (Fortune)
“She understands what advertisers are looking for. But she also understands people and what makes them click.”
The man on a quest to make pickleball quiet: Once a niche sport for retirees, pickleball has exploded over the last decade. Last year, 8.9 million Americans played pickleball regularly, while another 27 million played at least once, making the sport nearly as popular as running. But that incessant pwock sound is become insufferable for some. North Berkeley, Calif., apartment dwellers have moved out over the game’s unrelenting noise. A suburban Kansas City couple filed a lawsuit against an adjacent country club, alleging that the “repetitive nuisance” of pickleball woke them up at 6 a.m. Enter Bob Unetich, a retired engineer and Carnegie Mellon University professor and founder of Pickleball Sound Mitigation LLC. He is on a mission to make pickleball … quiet. (The Hustle)
“The most annoying of all frequencies. It catches your attention.”
The star grappling with her childhood traumas: The Drew Barrymore Show launched into a void during the pandemic and, three seasons in, has become a therapy-infused, feel-good viral sensation — a part-Oprah, post-Ellen lovefest among its famous host, her famous guests, and her adoring audience. Now, she’s bringing the public along for her postdivorce, alcohol-abstaining, single-mom journey of healing and self-discovery. As someone who’s been famous since she was 7 (and doing coke by age 12), Barrymore is learning to heal the wounds of her childhood while managing fame on her own terms. (New York Magazine)
“What would it be like to be empathetic toward that little girl?”
The founder of Slow AF Run Club: Martinus Evans is the founder of Slow AF Run Club, a virtual community for back-of-the-packers with more than 10,000 members worldwide. At 300 pounds, he is a beloved figure among runners who have felt left out of the sport. He’s graced the cover of Runner’s World, posed nude for Men’s Health and appeared in an Adidas ad. He’s now a certified running coach to lead a global movement to make the sport feel welcoming for anyone who wants to run, whatever their size, pace, fitness level or skin color. (The New York Times)
“I want everyone to know that they can run in the body they have right now.”
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