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Pop Culture

A chat with Devon Rodriguez, the artist who surprises subway riders with epic portraits

The artist with over 8 million Instagram followers shares the best reaction he's had from drawing a stranger's face and more.

Devon Rodriguez holding a sketchpad
Getty Images for Meta

Subway portrait artist, Devon Rodriguez, shared what he loves most about drawing people's portraits.

Devon Rodriguez has known he had a talent for drawing since the first grade, when he would spend his lunch period drawing whatever his classmates requested in their notebooks. That's also when he learned he could make something from his art.

"l'd be like, 'All right, you guys have to give me some some of your chicken nuggets, because at this point I need something for this,'" Rodriguez says.

Years later, in 2010, an art teacher gave him an assignment to draw a stranger on the subway to practice portrait drawing. That assignment, along with Rodriguez's entrepreneurial spirit and the wisdom to leverage social media, would lead the artist to internet fame and the career he always dreamed of.

You may have seen viral videos of Rodriguez drawing gorgeous portraits of people on the New York subway and their stunned reactions when he gives them to people. Upworthy caught up with him after the Meta Sonic Listening Party during Miami Art Week, where Rodriguez stretched his creative muscles on the MetaQuest 3, learning to play the piano for the first time. The event was a part of Meta's multi-year "It's Your World" campaign—a call to action for the next generation to pave their path on their own terms—and Rodriguez shared how people can utilize new technologies to expand their skills and creativity.

(This interview has been lightly edited for space and clarity.)

UP: What's the most memorable response you've had from one of your subway portraits?

DR: "There's this one guy I drew and he had like all these face tattoos, and his eyes were tattooed and, you know, people would think he's very scary looking. But when I gave him a drawing, he opened up and was so kind-hearted. It became my most viral video with like 170 million views, and It was because people were like, 'I didn't expect someone that I thought was scary…you, like, humanized him, and you took down the veil of my judgment, and you're teaching me not to judge by a book by his cover.' So things like that I really love because it's meaningful beyond going viral, you know? It's changing thoughts."

UP: What's the best part of drawing someone's portrait?

DR: "I love everything about it. I can't explain it, but even when I'm not drawing, I'm always staring at people. Like, sometimes I forget that I shouldn't stare at people. I'll look at their eyes or their ear and be like, 'Oh, I wonder how I would draw that. That looks cool.

And then also, you know, just knowing—I don't want to sound cocky, but—knowing that I'm good at it. It's kind of like a party trick, getting people's reactions, like, 'Oh my God! It's me and my face and my individual features!' You know, they're so impressed by it, so it's fun."

UP: When they see themselves the way you draw them, are they surprised by their own beauty?

DR: "Yeah, I think so. Don't they say, when you look in the mirror, it's not really a true portrayal of the person? And then when somebody else sees them, that's how they truly look. So maybe there's something like that, where they're like, 'Oh wow, this is the way other people see me.' That different perspective."

UP: Take us back to when you were younger, before you had millions of followers and people knew about you and your art. What did you dream about doing?

DR: "This is exactly what I dreamed. And it's crazy—it's actually beyond what I dreamed. My dream was to become a big artist, a famous artist—it's cringe to admit that, but it's just the truth. But there's no real route or formula to become that. So. I just feel blessed that somehow I used whatever resources that were available to me, which was social media, to make it happen.

I'm always telling this story about how I took things into my own hands with like social media. Like with Instagram—I literally dropped out of college in 2015 for Instagram because I was like, why am I trying so hard for this art degree? I could just become an Instagram artist and then get clients from that instead of wasting my time and not knowing if I could make it. I feel like I have different choices than, let's say, my parents did because social media wasn't around."

UP: How do you think art in general makes the world a better place?

DR: "I think it's just one of the really positive sides of humanity—just creativity and seeing somebody create something with their hands that looks so beautiful, and it's so profound, and you get this strong feeling from it. That's, like, the light side of humanity, you know? It changes the world. When you watch somebody sing a beautiful song and you know they've been practicing for 20 years, it's like, wow. It's moving."

UP: What was the Meta Listening Party experience like for you?

DR: "The listening party was Meta introducing us to their new technologies, like the MetaQuest 3 and the Ray-Ban smart glasses. I own a MetaQuest, so I was already familiar with that. They have this graffiti game where you spray paint, and I was always so impressed by how realistic it is compared to real spray paint. Even when you move, it's like subtle things that only an artist would know. Like when you spray paint and flick the can, how the flair would be exactly [right] and like the distance from the wall—so many little subtle things.

At the Meta party, they were showing us PianoVision, and they had a professional pianist, and he was talking about how close it is to reality. So it was just like a whole campaign showing us all their technology and how accessible it is for people to learn things. Instead of buying a whole piano or buying a whole art kit—let's say you want to paint portraits or something—with the MetaQuest you have access to all of that.

Then I got to perform what I learned on the piano in front of all these people. I was a little nervous, but overall it was all fun."

two men sitting at a piano, one wearing a MetaQuest headset

Devon Rodriguez and Austin Millz played on PianoVision with Meta Quest 3 at the Meta Sonic Listening Party in Miami on December 09, 2023.

Getty Images for Meta

UP: As someone who works with traditional mediums, is it surprising to you how advanced technology has gotten? Or is there still a gap to bridge in terms of working with paper and pencil versus working with something totally digital?

DR: "Yeah, it's actually very close. I feel like people don't really realize it until you actually put it on. Like you have to try on the Quest and experience it for yourself, because it's shocking how advanced it is."

UP: What advice do you have for aspiring artists?

DR: "My advice is to just really find what you're passionate about because then that's gonna pull you—you're not gonna need motivation, you're just gonna want to do it. So like, don't draw people on the subway just because you see me doing it and it works. Don't do this because you see another guy doing it. Do something that you really love and then you'll be the best at that, because no one's gonna have to tell you to do it. You'll have your own drive."

UP: What's coming up in the near future for you?

DR: "Like three months ago, I started this series where I go up to strangers and I sit down on the street with them and talk to them about their life while I'm drawing them. And I did some traveling to Europe last year, so next year I want to pick 12 countries and go explore and film constantly, like exploring and learning about all these people and cultures while I'm drawing all of it. And then creating a whole series, and putting them into like a book of drawings of people from around the world. Yeah, so that's my next plan."

You can follow Devon Rodriguez on Instagram and learn more about the MetaQuest 3 here and the new Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses here.

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Joy

Hunger in affluent communities: How a Silicon Valley food bank is fighting food insecurity

We can all help fight hunger nationwide with one simple shift in the way we grocery shop.

Photo credit: Canva

Food insecurity is an issue in communities across the United States.

When people hear “Silicon Valley,” hunger isn’t usually the first thing that comes to mind. Instead, most think “global tech hub” and “wealth.” Named after the silicon used in computer chips, this renowned region is home to nearly 3 million residents and is famous for offering some of the highest salaries in the United States.

Given Silicon Valley’s association with wealth, it’s easy to overlook that not everyone living there is affluent. The high cost of living in the area makes it challenging for those without high-paying jobs to make ends meet. Many residents, including those who work full-time, struggle with basic living expenses.

That’s why Second Harvest of Silicon Valley helps provide food to more than 500,000 people across Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent inflation have prevented many families from getting ahead, making the food bank’s role crucial in providing access to nutritious food.

However, the high cost of living in Silicon Valley is also affecting Second Harvest. Despite the evident need in the community, the food bank had to close its largest warehouse in June 2024 due to rising rent costs.

donationsVolunteers help sort food bank donations.Photo credit: Canva

"Every single week, we receive more than 85 tractor-trailer loads of food. All of that food gets handled at our warehouses and goes back into the community," Second Harvest of Silicon Valley CEO Leslie Bacho told NBC. "Unfortunately, this is our largest facility that we are closing, so we're having to just figure out how we can have that work get done other places."

To help maintain the flow of food, the Albertsons Companies Foundation Nourishing Neighbors Program and O Organics gave Second Harvest of Silicon Valley a $200,000 grant. And they weren’t the only organization to receive funding. Thirty nonprofits received a total of $30,000 in grants during the O Organics $30K in 30 days campaign this past summer to help ease food insecurity. Hunger is an ongoing issue that requires continuous funding, and initiatives like these help ensure that food reaches those in need.

How can we all help make sure people get the food they need?

There are so many worthy organizations that need support to fight hunger, and there are numerous ways to help, from making direct donations and organizing food drives to volunteering. Enhancing these efforts, O Organics provides an easy way for everyone to contribute consistently by simply changing how we grocery shop.

Every time you choose an O Organics product, you not only provide nutritious food for your own family but also help someone facing food insecurity. Through the “Fight Hunger. Serve Hope” program, O Organics has contributed nearly $14 million over the past two years to reduce food insecurity, enabling 56M meals and counting to help fight hunger in local communities.

O Organics helps fight food insecurity.images.albertsons-media.com

Doesn’t organic food cost more than non-organic?

People often assume that organic food is more expensive, but that’s not always true. Many organic products cost the same or even lower than their non-organic equivalents, especially when comparing private label brands like O Organics to national products.

O Organics has products in every aisle of the store, making it easier than ever to find organic products that suit your family’s needs. Purchasing O Organics products also helps support organic agriculture. Small changes that benefit both the planet and its people can add up, and simply choosing one product instead of another can make a significant difference.

No matter where people face food insecurity, whether in Silicon Valley or communities across the U.S., we can all find ways to help. Learn more about how O Organics is helping fight hunger here and look for the O Organics brand at your local Albertsons Companies grocery store, including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, ACME, Shaw’s, Jewel-Osco and Tom Thumb.
Education

Teacher of the year explains why he's leaving district in unforgettable 3-minute speech

"I'm leaving in hopes that I can regain the ability to do the job that I love."

Lee Allen

For all of our disagreements in modern American life, there are at least a few things most of us can agree on. One of those is the need for reform in public education. We don't all agree on the solutions but many of the challenges are undeniable: retaining great teachers, reducing classroom size and updating the focus of student curriculums to reflect the ever-changing needs of a globalized workforce.

And while parents, politicians and activists debate those remedies, one voice is all-too-often ignored: that of teachers themselves.

This is why a short video testimony from a teacher in the Atlanta suburb of Gwinnett County went viral. After all, it's hard to deny the points made by someone who was just named teacher of the year and used the occasion to announce why he will be leaving the very school district that just honored him with that distinction.

In a video carried by Fox5 Atlanta, 2022 Gwinnett County Public Schools Teacher of the Year Lee Allen breaks down what he sees as the overriding problems in the county's school system. While his comments are specific to that of Gwinnett County, it's virtually impossible to not see the overlap across all of America and how the problems have become exponentially more challenging as students have migrated back to in-person learning.

"At the end of this year, I will be leaving Gwinnett County Schools, leaving behind the opportunity to submit for state teacher of the year, roughly $10,000 in salary, and most importantly, the students and colleagues I've built strong relationships with," Allen, a math teacher at Lawrenceville's Archer High School, says at the beginning of his remarks. "I'm leaving in hopes that I can regain the ability to do the job that I love."

Normally, one might assume teacher pay is the overriding issue for educators like Allen. But he makes it clear that he is, in fact, leaving money on the table to avoid what he deems as unacceptable changes to the student body and how the district manages its teachers and the learning environment. Here are his main grievances, in order:

  • "First issue at hand is student apathy and disrespect for school rules and norms. … We have an alarming number of students that simply do not care about learning and refuse to even try."
  • "We are also experiencing incredible disrespect and refusal to follow basic school rules. There is little to no accountability or expectation for grades or behavior placed on students or parents. Rather than being asked what the student can do to improve their understanding, teachers are expected to somehow do more with less student effort."
  • Cell phone use. Teachers simply cannot compete with the billions of dollars tech companies pour into addicting people to their devices. Phones allow constant communication, often being the spark that fuels fights, drug use and other inappropriate meetups throughout the day. We need a comprehensive district plan with support behind it in order to combat this epidemic and protect the learning environment."
  • "Lastly, there is a huge disconnect between administrators and teachers. The classroom in 2022 is drastically different from just three years ago. Most administrators have not been in a classroom full-time in years or even decades. Many teachers do not feel understood, valued or trusted as professionals from administrators and the decisions that they make."

While Allen points fingers at administrators and student behavior, he also says that the pressures put on both students and teachers alike by COVID-19 had a catastrophic impact on learning. "The pandemic has acted as a catalyst and turned a slow negative trend into an exponential crisis," he says.

But he also offers some solutions, stating, "I won't list complaints without offering ideas for improvement."

  • All administrators should spend at least one week in a high needs classroom, "without a suit, without people knowing your title and in the same room, all day, for an entire week."
  • Prioritizing smaller class sizes.
  • Greater transparency from the district in terms of needs and expectations and goals.

"We all want the same thing and we cannot accomplish this without supporting one another," he says near the end of his remarks.

With more than 400,000 views already, it's clear his remarks resonated with people not just inside his school district.

There's almost nothing more important than how we educate our children. And while the national political debate centers on areas of far less importance generated to gin up controversy and campaign fundraising, it's families and local leaders who will need to do the heavy lifting of reprioritizing the fundamental principles of learning and leadership if we want an American educational system that can compete on the global stage in 2022 and beyond. After all, when literal award-winning educators like Allen are walking away, it's clear something more needs to be done.


This article originally appeared on 6.28.22

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Got a 20-something at home? Parent coach shares simple rules for a healthy and happy home.

A lot of parents need to hear this.

via Canva

A mother and her adult child.

Studies show that today, roughly 45% of people ages 18-29 live at home with their families, the highest number since the 1940s. The top reason these Gen Zers and young Millenials live at home is to save money (40%), while 30% say they can’t afford to live independently and 19% are recovering from emergency costs.

By comparison, in 1970, just 7% of adults ages 25 to 35 lived at home with their parents.

There are bound to be some struggles when young adults live at home as parents try to understand how to navigate life with their grown children. When you’re raising teenagers, it’s a lot easier to draw the line when it comes to house rules, but how should parents treat their kids when they are grown adults?

Mom and parent coach Kim Muench shared some practical advice recently on Instagram for parents who aren’t sure how to create healthy boundaries with their college-age kids. Muench is the mother of 5 adult children and coaches parents of adults to become the “clear, confident, and consistent guide that’s needed in this stage of parenting.”

In her video, Muench says parents need to give their children more freedom while expecting them to be more responsible.

“Your 20-year-old daughter, who's living at home, does not need a curfew. She does need to communicate whether or not she's going to be home that night,” Muench said in an Instagram video. “Your 24-year-old son needs to do his own laundry. He also needs to move it from the washer to the dryer and back to his room in a timely manner,” she continued.

She adds that parents should stop monitoring the daily activities of their adult children.

"Your college kid does not need to be tracked. Unless, it's part of an agreement that everyone in the family has, for safety purposes. You don't need to be counting the amount of alcohol or the number of beers in the refrigerator after your son has been home for the weekend. Your son does need to buy his own alcohol and drink responsibly."

Parents should also have open lines of communication with their adult children so everyone knows what’s expected of them. “If you're not coming to an agreement on what should be done or what is happening or not happening yet that's supposed to be happening, then you need to sit down together and talk about how you can solve the problem together,” she said.



Most of the younger commenters thought this was the exact message their parents needed to hear. “People will freakishly control their kids all their lives into their 20s and be confused as to why their children are still continuing to live at home. It's creating an unhealthy view of boundaries and fear of being on their own,” Ppris0nwifee wrote in the comments.

A young adult who lives with her parents praised Muench’s approach because it works in her home.

“My parents are this way with me and it makes living here and having a social life so easy with no conflict. I can go out whenever I feel like it for however long. I just have to communicate where i'm going and if I'll be back. other than that they mind their business, it makes living at home really easy,” Strangelydeceased wrote. “Props to the parents who have boundaries but let their adult children live like adults when living at home.”

Having a young adult in the house can be hard for parents because they have to break many of the habits they developed while parenting over the past 18-plus years. That’s why it’s great that parenting coaches like Muench are here to help them navigate this tricky stage of life in a way that supports both parent and child’s needs.

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Popular

Obituary for a 'very sick man' went viral because it's so funny you'll wish you knew him

You'd never want to date one of his daughters.

via Legacy.com

Joe Heller (1937 - 2019) of Essex, Connecticut appears to have lived a full life: he was in the Navy, worked at the Yale library, and raised three daughters. But he was also a hoarder, a hardcore napper, and loved pulling pranks that involved feces.

Well, as Abe Lincoln once said,"A man without vices is a man without virtues."

His hilarious obituary, believed to be penned by one of his daughters, is going viral because it paints a loving picture of a man who clearly didn't take life too seriously — a lesson we could all use from time to time.

The obituary opens with a helluva zinger.

Joe Heller made his last undignified and largely irreverent gesture on Sept. 8, 2019, signing off on a life, in his words, 'generally well-lived and with few regrets.' When the doctors confronted his daughters with the news last week that 'your father is a very sick man,' in unison they replied, 'you have no idea.'

In his youth, Heller played the role of a prankster.

Being the eldest was a dubious task but he was up for the challenge and led and tortured his siblings through a childhood of obnoxious pranks, with his brother, Bob, generally serving as his wingman. Pat, Dick and Kathy were often on the receiving end of such lessons as "Ding Dong, Dogsh*t" and thwarting lunch thieves with laxative-laced chocolate cake and excrement meatloaf sandwiches. His mother was not immune to his pranks as he named his first dog, "Fart," so she would have to scream his name to come home if he wandered off.



He met the "love of his life" at work and his daughter can't believe he fooled her into marriage.

Joe was a self-taught chemist and worked at Cheeseborough-Ponds where he developed one of their first cosmetics' lines. There he met the love of his life, Irene, who was hoodwinked into thinking he was a charming individual with decorum. Boy, was she ever wrong. Joe embarrassed her daily with his mouth and choice of clothing. To this day we do not understand how he convinced our mother, an exceedingly proper woman and a pillar in her church, to sew and create the colorful costumes and props which he used for his antics.

Heller had a knack for creatively intimidating his daughters' boyfriends.

Growing up in Joe's household was never dull. If the old adage of "You only pull the hair of those you love" holds true, his three daughters were well loved. Joe was a frequent customer of the girls' beauty shops, allowing them to "do" his hair and apply make-up liberally. He lovingly assembled doll furniture and built them a play kitchen and forts in the back yard. During their formative years, Joe made sure that their moral fibers were enriched by both Archie Bunker and Benny Hill. When they began dating, Joe would greet their dates by first running their license plates and checking for bald tires. If their vehicle passed inspection, they were invited into the house where shotguns, harpoons and sheep "nutters" were left clearly on display.


He never met a dog he didn't like.

After retiring from running Bombaci Fuel, he was perhaps, most well-known for his role as the Essex Town "Dawg Kecher." He refused to put any of his "prisoners" down and would look for the perfect homes for them. One of them was a repeat offender who he named "A**hole" because no owner would ever keep him for very long because he was, in fact, an a**hole. My Dad would take his buddy on daily rides in his van and they'd roam around town with the breeze blowing through both of their fur. He never met a dog he didn't like, the same could not be said for the wanna-be blue bloods, snoots and summer barnacles that roamed about town.


He had a small issue with hoarding.

Joe was a frequent shopper at the Essex Dump and he left his family with a house full of crap, 300 pounds of birdseed and dead houseplants that they have no idea what to do with. If there was ever a treasure that he snatched out from under you among the mounds of junk, please wait the appropriate amount of time to contact the family to claim your loot.

Heller was born with an innate napping ability.

Joe was also a consummate napper. There wasn't a road, restaurant or friend's house in Essex that he didn't fall asleep on or in. There wasn't an occasion too formal or an event too dour that Joe didn't interrupt with his apnea and voluminous snoring.

According to the obituary, Heller will be laid to rest on Friday, September 13, at 10:00 am in Centerbrook Cemetery, but his family urges attendees to dress casually.

Joe despised formality and stuffiness and would really be ticked off if you showed up in a suit. Dress comfortably. The family encourages you to don the most inappropriate T-Shirt that you are comfortable being seen in public with as Joe often did. Everybody has a Joe story and we'd love to hear them all. Joe faced his death and his mortality, as he did with his life, face on, often telling us that when he dropped dead to dig a hole in the back yard and just roll him in.

You can read the entire obituary at Legacy.com.


This article originally appeared on 9.10.19

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Joy

Family-run donut shop in Louisiana creates the perfect Addams family-themed Halloween ad

“Now THIS is MARKETING."

@mikosdonuts/TikTok

They really are a scream.

A family owned donut shop got a little creepy and kooky with their social media this Halloween season—and people are loving them for it.

Miko’s Donuts, located in Broussard, Louisiana and owned by husband and wife Trey & Julie Mikolajczyk, has become a sweet staple of the area not just for its delicious pastries (like their beloved ‘Mikronut’ croissant donuts) but for their incredibly creative and cinematic marketing reels.

This time, however, the Mikolajczyks truly outdid themselves by channeling everyone’s favorite gothic, yet wholesome clan—the Addams Family.

As that iconic theme song plays in the background, we see Julie (aka Morticia) and Trey (Gomez) posing in front of gravestones, snapping their fingers to reveal more and more family members—that includes their two children, plus the staff they’ve added over the years. Julie tells Upworthy that this was meant to reflect how they have grown as a business over time.

Sticking true to the Mikos mission of “edgy + traditional donuts with a side of entertainment,” the clip also shows the team making their seasonal offerings in the shop, Addams family-style—with deadpan faces and delightful macabre.

Put as plain as a glazed donut: it’s just freaking cool. Watch:


@mikosdonuts Went goth…might delete later. 🦇🪦 Halloween inspired donuts are here and available all through the month of Oct👀ber! #themikosfamily #mikoscrew #donutshop #donutreels #donutpun #donutgoth #adamsfamilyremake #halloweeninspired #localbiz #eatlocal #gothaesthetic #cousinit #wednesday #lurch #alvira #gomez #donutexplorers ♬ original sound - mikosdonuts

Down in the comments, people were sold.

“Now THIS is MARKETING. The marketing team all need raises,” one viewer wrote.

“This is the most elite commercial ever,” wrote another.

One person even said “Brb telling my husband we need to drive 13 hours to get donuts.”

It can be difficult for mom and pop shops to really differentiate themselves, but the Mikolajczyks have embraced the challenge, and view it as an opportunity to get creative. Julie shares that they are always collaborating with their videographer Cameron Theyard to come up with “out of the box” ideas to keep locals engaged.

And it's lovely to see that it’s working out. Mikos donuts is currently going strong in its sixth year! Just goes to show that while it’s not easy being a small business…a little imagination does go a long way.

By the way, there's even more Halloween goodness where that came from. They've also made Ghostbusters, Twilight, and "Thriller" themed videos. Am I personally hoping for a Death Becomes Her one in the future? Yes. Absolutely. I would also settle for a Beetlejuice one.

Even if you aren’t a Louisiana local, some Mikos items (like their king cakes during Mardi Gras season) are available to ship. Or you can support them by giving them a follow on TikTok and Instagram. You know you’ll be entertained.

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Health

Why Tom Holland launching a non-alcoholic beer brand is actually a big deal

For one, others may see themselves in his journey.

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore (left), Canva (right)

Tom Holland has launched BERO, a non-alcoholic beer brand.

Actor Tom Holland has launched a non-alcoholic beer brand, BERO, and the response has been…interesting.

Some people question what the point of a non-alcoholic beer is. These are real comments from people reacting to the news:

"What is beer without alcohol?"

"Can you even call beer, beer, if its non-alcohol?"

"If it's non alcoholic then isn't it just soda?"

"Wouldn't it be better to just have a Coke or something?

There seems to be some misunderstanding of why someone would want to drink a non-alcoholic beer, which is a little surprising considering society's shifting views about alcohol, especially among the younger generations. But that misunderstanding is exactly why Tom Holland's BERO is such a big deal.

A lot of people might see themselves in Tom Holland's journey

Holland shared with Jay Shetty how he recognized he had an unhealthy relationship with alcohol after deciding to do a "Dry January." Having a drink was all he could think about, which scared him. He decided to extend his not drinking to February to prove to himself that he didn't really have a problem.

"Two months go by, and I was still really struggling," he said. "I felt like I couldn't be social. I felt like I couldn't go to the pub and have a lime soda. I couldn't go out for dinner—I was really, really struggling. And I started to worry that maybe I really had an alcohol problem."

So he decided to wait until his birthday, June 1st, to have a drink again, thinking that if he could make it six months without alcohol that he didn't have a problem.

"By the time I got to June 1st, I was the happiest I'd been in my entire life," he said. "I could sleep better. I could handle problems better…I had such better mental clarity, I felt healthier, I felt fitter. And I said to myself, 'Why am I enslaved to this drink? Why am I so obsessed with the idea of having this drink?'"

While he says he doesn't want to preach to anyone about drinking, he's loved being sober.

"It's been amazing. I can't believe the difference that I feel from not drinking."

Other people may see themselves in Holland's story, at least the first part of it, and it may help them to hear how much he has enjoyed being sober. So often, people think that sobriety sounds boring or painful or awful, so hearing someone like Tom Holland—a popular celebrity who is beloved by multiple generations—speak positively of the experience could be just the push someone needs to recognize their own problem and do something about it.

Having non-alcoholic 'real drink' alternatives is helpful for sober social stigma

People may choose not to drink for many reasons—addiction, health, religious belief or simply hating the taste of alcohol. But there's a strong social culture around drinking that people may not fully appreciate until they find themselves outside of it.

It shouldn't make a difference, but having drinks that aren't just soda or juice to order when you're around people who are drinking makes everyone feel a more comfortable. It's nice for non-drinkers to be able to order something that doesn't feel like it came from the children's menu, and having a beer to order can feel a bit less like a violation of the "grab a beer together" vibe, even if it doesn't involve alcohol.

As Holland's message to early supporters of BERO, having a non-alcoholic beer provides "a way to celebrate and connect without compromise."

Much like the push for mocktails, having non-alcoholic beer options allows non-drinkers to participate in the culture of "going out for drinks" without feeling as much pressure to drink alcohol.

Some people actually like the taste of beer but don't want the alcohol

Several commenters asked what the point of beer without alcohol is because "beer doesn't taste good" and people basically only drink beer for the alcohol. But there are actually non-drinkers who like the taste of beer and enjoy having non-alcoholic alternatives.

There are already non-alcoholic beers, of course. Anheuser-Busch launched its non-alcoholic beer O'Doul's in 1990, and for a long time that was basically the only option for teetotalers who wanted beer. Now the market for non-alcoholic drinks is increasing, so we're seeing more and more options.

Holland shares that one of his goals with BERO was "to bring all the sophistication and flavour of the best craft beverages," which will appeal to people who like beer but have discerning tastes. Beer drinkers have lots of options and their own personal preferences, and there's no reason non-drinkers can't have a wide range of tastes to choose from.

If people don't want to drink non-alcoholic beer, they certainly don't have to. But there's no question that having more non-alcoholic drink options is a good thing for people who don't want to or can't drink alcohol.

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