Bob Iger’s secret Instagram account

Good morning. It’s Wednesday, March 25. A few clouds in the morning will give way to a sunny afternoon, with highs topping out in the low 80s across the basin and Valley.

In today’s edition, we have an L.A. Material exclusive on a media titan’s social media pseudonym, a look at LA28’s new branding, and the rest of the L.A. news you need to start your day.

Bob Iger is famous around the world as the telegenic, now-former CEO of the Walt Disney Company. 

But on Instagram, he goes by another name: Max Stryker.

Iger’s personal account — set to private, without a profile photo — uses the handle @maxstryker and has been operating for years. Some bold-face friends include David Geffen, Joshua Kushner, and of course, Iger’s wife Willow Bay, the dean of USC's communications and journalism school.

Yet Iger apparently forgot to turn on the privacy settings for the corresponding Threads account, which L.A. Material spotted and screenshotted before it became private last week. Recent posts include a snap of his wife kayaking and a family selfie at Madison Square Garden. Last week, Max Stryker also posted a video farewell marking Iger’s last day, writing, "It has been a true privilege to have served as the CEO of Disney. Best, Bob."

Iger appears to have used the Max Stryker name elsewhere on the internet, including on two accounts on X.

What's with the name? It could be a family reference. Or an homage to this Nerf gun.

A spokesperson for Disney declined comment, and Max Stryker has (so far) not accepted our friend request.

The L.A. 2028 Olympics host committee unveiled its official design system Monday: a maximalist, neon-soaked and vaguely psychedelic visual identity inspired by the California superbloom.

The superbloom, like the Olympics, doesn’t occur every year, and “all the stars have to align for this thing to happen,” said Ric Edwards, LA28’s vice president of brand design.

The organizing committee also took a maximalist approach in their botanical inspiration: The vivid shades of pink, green, orange and blue used in the official color palette are inspired by the bird of paradise, a decorative tropical plant not found in any of the naturally-occurring wildflower superblooms that dot Southern California hillsides every few years. (Like many of L.A.’s most iconic flora, the bird of paradise is not native to Los Angeles, though it has been the official city flower since 1952.)

The look also comes with four flavors of font that are “designed to be stacked,” which Edwards told us echoes a distinctly L.A. visual language: strip mall signage.

Gas prices reaching $10 a gallon, a prospect the people of Los Angeles are now forced to entertain, would have a colossal number of hugely consequential impacts on how we live.

Among the least consequential: How will gas stations add an extra digit when all of their electronic signs are only built to display one number in front of the decimal point?

We looked for answers at one of the most notoriously expensive gas stations in L.A., the Chevron next to Olvera Street, which was selling Supreme gas at $8.49 a gallon. If gas breaks the $10 threshold, there’s a good chance this station will be the first in the nation. But when asked if Chevron had a plan — or if the ever-present 9/10ths of a cent could be switched into a round number — counter worker Chavez said that he didn’t know anything about it and wasn’t interested in discussing it further.

Over at another famously expensive gas station, the Mobil on Beverly and La Cienega where Supreme+ gas is currently $7.19 a gallon, employee Shaheen said she hadn’t thought about where the space for an extra digit would come from.

“Maybe they'll have to send someone out to fix it,” she said. “I better talk to my boss.”

PROJECT HAIL MARY: In an attempt to delay implementation of SB 79, a 2025 state law directing municipalities to allow more housing around transit stops, the Los Angeles City Council voted yesterday to implement an alternate and less robust upzoning plan that would allow for buildings up to four stories in 55 areas currently zoned for lower heights. SB 79 allows municipalities to implement gentler zone changes to delay the full rollout of the law — which would increase allowed building heights to between six and nine stories around 141 transit stops in the city — until 2030.

HOPPERS: You’re not crazy — there really are way more grasshoppers in Southern California, and it’s all because of the weather.

CRIME 101: The LA Times has the rundown on a recent trial that exposed a local subculture of “crypto kids” accused of stealing millions in bitcoin and other currencies — including one who spent $569,525 in one night at an unnamed L.A. club after a heist.

REMINDERS OF HIM: Philippe the Original, one of LA’s oldest restaurants, announced that it’s getting rid of the signature sawdust on its floors “following conversations with our insurance provider.” The sawdust dates back to Philippe Mathieu’s original 1908 establishment, said the restaurant.

GOAT: In other french dip news, downtown bar and sandwich purveyor Cole’s will finally close on March 29th after multiple false alarms — though they hope to reopen under new ownership.

For today’s peek inside our subscriber-only Discord server, a combination capsule review and celebrity sighting from @PartyMads and @Eric Spiegelman in #i-was-here.

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