Good morning. This summer, Nike is releasing a shoe in collaboration with Kool-Aid in colorways “Mixed Berry” and “Tropical Punch.” You may be asking yourself if this is actually happening, and the answer is “Oh, yeah!”

— Hannah Doyle & Syd Cohen

Travel Creator to Skate Across the US in Fundraiser

Hannah here. 🫡 Reporting live this morning from the breezy Venice boardwalk, where travel creator Brooke Johnson is kicking off a 70-day trip skating across America on her longboard, from California to New York. The energy here in Venice is buzzing—here’s why.

Johnson has a big goal: raise $50,000 for Wings For Life, a non-profit funding research for spinal cord injuries, in honor of her late stepdad, Roger.

As she boards 2,800+ miles across the country, Johnson will share daily short-form videos on Instagram and TikTok and weekly long-form videos on YouTube for her audience of 400K.

Here’s how she’s prepped for (and funded) the trip →

• “Over the past few years, I’ve been creating relationships with brands and I’ve been planting a seed that I’m skating across America,” Johnson told us. “I hadn’t talked about it on social, I was just talking about it to the right people…so that when I did come to them with a pitch they weren’t shocked.”

• Johnson sent out official pitches in January and secured sponsorships from four brands—Under Armour, Playtex, Cricket, and Sandy Vans—which will cover costs for Johnson and three teammates (an editor, videographer, and producer) to live and work in a sprinter van for the entire trip.

• “Its the first time in my creator career that I've been able to pay someone industry-standard wage to come along on this trip and for me that makes it really exciting,” Johnson said.

Johnson has been training since last year (she already skated from LA to Mexico), and she’s aiming to skate 60 miles per day. 

The road ahead: Johnson is encouraging creators and fans to DM her throughout the trip to meet up and create content, using the hashtag #SkateTheStates2025.  

“I’m most excited to meet people along the route,” Johnson said. “I want it to feel like OG YouTube—like grab your camera and go do something.”

The Recession Indicator Meme, Explained

Messy buns. DoorDash payment plans. A new Hunger Games book. This may sound like the perfect night in, but to the chronically online, these are all examples of the internet’s latest trend: recession indicators.

Context: The recession indicator meme has taken off with Gen Z as a way to quell economic and political anxiety and revisit trends from the last major recession in 2008.

For example, a few things creators have clocked as recession indicators:

• Knee-high Converse shoes. One commenter said, “If I’m paying for a shoe I’m getting as much shoe as possible.”

• Old YouTube series. Comedy YouTuber iDubbbz revived his series Content Cop for the first time in nine years, much to the surprise of fans.

• Asking creators where they got basic clothing items like jeans or sweatshirts, according to creator Kay Poyer.

Big picture: As consumer behavior creator Katie Robinson noted in a video about “recession core” content, some mundane trends can indicate economic trouble ahead—but most are likely Gen Z’s way of coping with uncertainty, politically and financially.

Is TikTok the New Yelp?

Following the success of TikTok’s Google Reviews integration from last year, the platform is now testing a “reviews” tab, where users can leave ratings for select tagged locations in the comments section of videos.

Context: A 2024 survey conducted by marketing technology company SOCI found Gen Z is more likely to use Instagram (67%) and TikTok (62%) as search engines than they are to use Google (61%). Over the past year, TikTok has been incorporating new features to keep up this momentum, including a suggested search bar and advertisers in search results. 

Big picture: Several platforms are jockeying to own search—consider Instagram’s strategy to improve search features or its new invite-only Reels feed, for example. 

🔥 Press Worthy

• Patreon begins testing a livestream feature with no limit on continuous streaming (compared to TikTok’s 60-minute and Twitch’s 48-hour limits).

• Entrepreneurial creators make 25% more than social-first creators, according to a new survey from Kajabi.

• Alix Earle speaks at Harvard Business School.

• Jesser signs with Powerade as its first creator partner.

• Former MSNBC host Chris Matthews is reviving his cable news show, Hardball, on Substack.

📚️ Thank You For Pressing Publish

The content we’re looking forward to reading, watching, and listening to this weekend.

• Read: For his Normal Sport newsletter, writer Kyle Porter uncovers why Rory McIlRoy’s Masters win was so emotional—and the humanity that makes him different from the six Career Grand Slam winners before him.

• Watch: Designer Devin Matthews rebrands a local sandwich shop in the first episode of his new channel, SuprOrdinary, where he reflects on life as a mid-career creative and takes on new design challenges.

• Listen: Paul F. Tompkins goes on So True with Caleb Hearon, and the two comedians have an earnest conversation about reckoning with toxic masculinity, finding positivity, and…possums.