Category: Articles

  • Beer

    I promised myself when I started writing for HellYeah that I would only write about topics that I’m genuinely interested in. I have multiple articles in the pipeline, but I thought that to kick off the new year right, my first story had to be big, bold, fun to read, and maybe even a bit mainstream. So, what- reader- is a mainstream topic or thing that makes you think of the phrase “hell yeah”? F-22 Raptors, Dale Earnhardt, Michèle Mouton, and the Shelby Cobra are all too niche (along with the other stories I won’t mention yet), so what could I do?

    That’s it! I’m tending to one right now as I write this article.

    Beer. One of- if not the– most alluring creations known to humankind, and it literally ticks all boxes: mainstream, tick. Fun, tick. I’m passionate about it (who isn’t), very big tick. Also yes, beer as we know it has been around for at least five-thousand years, however archaeological findings in Israel from 2017-18 indicate that a western-Asian nomadic people called Natufians were making a low-alcoholic beer over 13,000 years ago for ritual purposes. For at least five-millennia, beer has become the most popular and widespread alcoholic beverage in the world, spawning an industry that rakes in over $800 billion US dollars every year. You see the effect of this industry every day; on TV advertising, billboards, sporting events, online and on all social media platforms. Politicians condone it, celebrities endorse it, and I believe it is literally impossible to go a day without seeing some sort of advertisement or mention of beer.

    I don’t mind though because apart from water, beer works everywhere: Working out in the yard all day under the sun? Have a beer. Hiking to the top of a mountain? Have a beer. Gone fishing? Have a beer. Having a beer? Have a beer. Even winemakers love to quote “It takes a lot of beer to make good wine”. If you can think of doing something, you’ll probably think of having a beer as well (as long as its socially acceptable- drinking a beer at a job interview won’t bode well for your career).

    Even some animals enjoy a beer sometimes, with the best example being that of Wojtek the brown bear (pronounced Voy-tek), who during World War II was gifted to the soldiers of the Polish 2nd Corps as a mascot. Joining the 22nd Artillery Supply Company, Wojtek played a crucial supply role in the Battle of Monte Cassino (1944) by carrying crates of supplies and ammunition on his back to relieve his fellow soldiers. In return for his service, Wojtek was rewarded with a promotion to Corporal, honey, fruit, and most importantly- Beer, and lots of it. Wojtek survived multiple campaigns during the war and later died of old age in 1963.

    Beer is a core pillar for many societies as it transcends gender, class, social status, and species. Personally, I’ve had some great memories while around beer. For example, when my siblings and I would leave a can out for Father Christmas *cough-Dad-cough* because apparently the big man didn’t drink milk when he flew over Australia. Another one is when after a few beers, some mates and I went out rallying an old Holden Barina on dirt tracks- it didn’t survive. One of my favourites though is when I was completely alone in a Berlin hotel room sometime after New Years Day 2019, looking out the window, people-watching in the early hours of the morning while listening to the cricket back in Australia.

    Beer was here before us, and it will continue long after we die. Don’t trouble yourself over the logistics of it though, because in the words of Stone-Cold Steve Austin himself, “I’ll take a cold beer instead…”. Hell Yeah.

    Noah 

    Writer & Editor – HellYeah 

    Photographer – FourWheel Media 

    @hellyeah_media 

    @fourwheel_media 

  • The Intimidator

    The gold Gargoyle sunglasses, the perfectly trimmed moustache, the charisma of a superstar, and the no-bullshit attitude to match his immense skill behind the wheel is what made Dale Earnhardt Senior the face of NASCAR in the late 20th Century. 

    Born in 1951 and raised trackside in North Carolina along with his four siblings, they watched their father – Ralph “Ironheart” Earnhardt – race stock cars. It was clear that Dale was destined to get behind the wheel at some point in his life. This was apparent as- much to his parents’ dismay- Dale dropped out of school in his 9th year, hopeful with the aspiration of pursuing his career in motorsport. In 1975, Earnhardt began his professional career in the NASCAR Winston Cup, scoring his first career points at the longest race in the series, the World 600 held at Charlotte Motor Speedway. 

    In 1979, Earnhardt joined Rod Osterland Racing, and in the following year he won his first of 76 Winston Cup races out of a total of 676 over a career spanning 26 years. During his career in NASCAR, Dale Earnhardt Sr. built on his family’s racing brand, amassing over forty-million dollars in earnings. 

    Although Dale Sr. became a cultural icon around the world during his peak from the mid-eighties to the late 1990’s, he knew that popularity wouldn’t win races, and his racing style reflected his cutthroat mindset. Because he had no issue with intentionally (and skilfully) wrecking other drivers to gain positions on track, Dale Sr. started to become referred to as “The Intimidator” in the paddock. Some drivers would rather yield their position over spinning out and potentially hurting themselves in a wreck. In reaction to a newspaper article criticising him for aggressive driving, Earnhardt Sr. famously quoted, “you win some, you lose some, you wreck some”– highlighting just how much he didn’t care about how he raced, just as long as he finished in first. 

    Some could argue that it was Dale Earnhardt Senior’s hubris that eventually led to his death in 2001. As the HANS device had only just been introduced as an optional safety precaution in NASCAR, some drivers (including Earnhardt Sr.) chose not to use it. On the final lap of the 43rd Daytona 500, Earnhardt collided with the wall at 180mph after making contact with fellow drivers Sterling Marlin and Ken Schraeder. Earnhardt was killed instantly by a basilar skull fracture, the exact injury the HANS device was designed to prevent. 

    Dale Earnhardt Senior is survived by his wife Teresa, and children Dale Jr, Kerry, Taylor Nicole, and Kelley. Dale Earnhardt Jr. chose to continue his father’s legacy and continues to race in NASCAR to this day. 

    Now my opinion: Earnhardt was one of the greatest racers of his generation of motorsport. He was up there with others of his time such as NASCAR’s Richard “The King” Petty, Australian Super Tourer driver Peter Brock, and legendary Brazilian F1 driver Aryton Senna. Earnhardt became one of the few to rise above the many- becoming a worldwide household name while still only racing in a sport that was usually confined to only a few states in the USA. The man lived on the edge, and his recklessness eventually caught up with him. In retrospect, you’d just know that had he survived that wreck in 2001, he would have dusted himself off and gone straight back out on track to do it all again.  

    Noah 

    Writer & Editor – HellYeah 

    Photographer – FourWheel Media 

    @hellyeah_media 

    @fourwheel_media 

  • First Look, First Shot, First Kill.

    Built to replace the legendary F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon, the development of the F-22 Raptor from commencement of R&D to first flight only took around 16 years. With the improvement and implementation of better radar and missile guidance systems in the late 20th Century, the need for a multi-disciplined stealth fighter jet was made apparent, and the mission statement of “first look, first shot, first kill” would guide the development of the F-22 Raptor into the feat of engineering we see today. 

    According to the US Air Force, “The F-22 cannot be matched by any known or projected fighter aircraft”, as it has an extremely high thrust-to-weight ratio which allows it to outmanoeuvre all other aircraft. In addition to its top-class manoeuvrability, the F-22 produces more thrust than any other known aircraft, with the ability to break the sound barrier and cruise at speeds greater than 1.5 Mach without using its afterburners, thus using less fuel and extending its capable combat range. The Raptor was also designed with a radar cross-section, meaning that little to no conventional radar equipment would be able to accurately identify the jet as little more than a bee. 

    Currently, there are around 180 active Raptors in the US, each capable of carrying a payload of 480 twenty-millimetre rounds for its main cannon, two AIM-9 heat seeking air to air missiles, six AIM-120 radar air-to-air missiles, and/or two 1000-pound GBU-32 JDAM bombs. I find it appropriate at this time in the article to mention that each F-22 Raptor costs a small fortune of $143 million USD each, not to mention fuel, maintenance costs, and the wages for everyone involved. 

    On the 4th of February 2023- a whopping 18 years after its first mission capable flight- the F-22 Raptor scored its first air-to-air kill by shooting down an (alleged) Chinese spy balloon over the coast of South Carolina. This kill must have been quite important, as there are now rumours that the US Department of Defence/War will continue to maintain its fleet of Raptors until the 2060’s.  

    Call me a futurist, but with the slim possibility of flying cars and air travel becoming a normal thing around that time, I’d hope that we can pick up an old Raptor from Facebook Marketplace and joyride it around like it was a third-gen Camaro with ripped seats and cracked dash. 

    Either way, the F-22 is easily the coolest jet fighter jet ever and I don’t even care what you F-35 maniacs think, and I’ll just say this – Michael Bay chose the Raptor for three Transformers movies, and we never saw the F-35 in a single scene. 

    Noah 

    Writer & Editor – HellYeah 

    Photographer – FourWheel Media 

    @hellyeah_media 

    @fourwheel_media 

  • What The F**k is HellYeah?

    “Hell yeah,” I say as I watch 1982 World Rally Championship driver Michèle Mouton race through the sunburnt Greek landscape in her Audi Quattro. “Hell yeah,” I say as I watch the F-22 Raptor make maneuvers once thought impossible for a modern fighter jet. “Hell yeah,” I say, as I watch the motorbike-human blur of John Hinds – The Flying Doctor hurtle past the camera, dangerously close to a stone wall at the Isle of Man TT. “Hell yeah,” I say, as I watch MMA fighters Don Frye and Yoshihiro Takayama trade rapid blows to each other’s heads during their infamous 2002 bout. 

    You get the point. 

    Don’t get me wrong though, the phrase “hell yeah” is not new, and is not uncommon to hear every day, however I feel that it can be expanded on so I am beginning to write this blog/article/whatchamacallit – the aptly named, HellYeah. 

    HellYeah has a sharp focus on all media surrounding motorsport, fighter-jets, music, surfing, art, fashion, skateboarding, mountain-climbing, photography, and people otherwise just being cool, or doing cool things. I aim to write an article-style blog, provide my own and highlight other people’s photography, and hopefully in future, begin to interview the crazy people centred around some these phenomenal acts of day-to-day daring. 

    Who knows, maybe I’ll also design some T-Shirts. 

    I’m Noah, and this is HellYeah.

    @hellyeah_media 

    @fourwheel_media